February 4, 2009

First Tuesday Beer Club

Posted by amm002 under Beer Events, Rating: A, Rating: A Minus, Rating: B, Rating: B Plus, Rating: C Plus | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
[8] Comments 

I felt a little like we crashed the study party when a handful of us walked into Acadia Cafe on the West Bank of the U of M campus last night for our inaugural First Tuesday Beer Club meeting. Undergrads seated around pub tables with open books spread about, quiet conversations about the day’s lecture. A relaxed and scholarly environment mixed with the faint smell of hops and quality craft beer.

Calling our rendezvous a “meeting” might be a little formal. The small group was really a spin-off from a larger wine tasting circle, consisting of seven guys who realized that they all maybe enjoyed drinking and talking about beer slightly more than they do wine (maybe I’m just speaking for myself). After our last wine event, we decided to meet up at Acadia to test drive a few of their offerings, informally calling our gathering the First Tuesday Beer Club. But unlike the more rigid and structured wine events where scoring and extensive tabulations took place, we were just going to drink good quality craft beer and nod our heads in approval when we liked something. Maybe a few grunts mixed in for good measure.

We started the night with Surly Mild. I’d actually never seen this one on tap before, and was very eager to give it a shot. The menu described it as an English-style dark mild ale that resembled a malty version of iced tea. And that really wasn’t too far off. Given it was Surly, I was very surprised at just how little was really going on with this one. Barely noticeable aroma (save for the small hint of toffee), relatively nondescript taste, and thin mouthfeel. What immediately came to mind after taking a few sips of Mild was “session beer.” At 4.2% ABV, there’s no way anyone was going to have four or five or twelve of these and be in any danger of stumbling home. While this is probably a good stylistic example of a lighter English-style ale, it’s definitely the least favorite Surly offering I’ve had (Rating: C+).

The rest of the night went something like this:

Southern Tier Gemini Double IPA (far and away the crowd favorite – Rating: A-)
Rogue Yellow Snow IPA (so-so, pretty drinkable but compared to Gemini a little lower on the IPA scale – Rating: B)
Anchor Bock (very good…I’m not a big lager guy so I was pleasantly surprised – Rating: B+)
North Coast Old Rasputin (I’d had this in the bottle before, and was even more impressed with it on draught – Rating: A)
Saison Dupont Organic Farmhouse Ale (ick…something medicinal and uninviting about this one – Rating: C+)
Bell’s Sparkling Tripel 2007 (solid example of a Belgian tripel…yeasty up front with a nice, sweet finish – Rating: B+)
Bell’s Cherry Stout (enjoyable, nice way to cap off the night – Rating: B)

We each had our share, and ponied up the $8 per guy to settle the tab (seriously…I think they must have forgotten to put a couple pitchers on the bill). Next stop on the First Tuesday beer tour…The Muddy Pig. See everyone there.

 

January 25, 2009

347 Bottles of Beer On the Wall…

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing | Tags: , , , , |
1 Comment 

Big day on the homebrewing front.

First, I bottled my Dubbel Deuce and managed to squeak out close to 2 cases, 46 bottles to dsc01553be exact. I’m dealing with a pretty nasty head cold at the moment, so I couldn’t smell a hell of a lot. But the small sample that I could smell and taste from the bottling bucket seemed pretty nice. Classically Belgian with a hint of dark fruits and candi sugar. I pasted on labels for this one as well, which are admittedly amateurish and ridiculous (much like my similarly juvenile barleywine labels). I’ll need to invest in some decent label making software. Microsoft Clip Art isn’t cutting it.

After the dubbel was complete, I sanitized my keg and a case of bottles for the long awaited raspberry imperial stout. Smelled absolutely dsc015551fantastic coming out of the secondary. Roasted coffee, dark chocolate, toffee, and of course balanced by the sweet aroma of raspberries. Color was also great, dark milk chocolate. I’m really looking forward to this one. I made up 24 bottles for longer term storage, and kegged the remaining 3 gallons for immediate enjoyment. I’m hoping to give it a shot later tonight once it has a few hours to force carbonate.

That brings my current total of available homebrew to just over six cases between the dubbel, raspberry stout, barleywine and Summit Winter Ale clone. Combined with my commercial stuff, I have entirely too much beer on hand for one man to handle alone. Good thing Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner.    

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December 26, 2008

Post-Holiday Brewing Escapades

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing | Tags: , , |
[4] Comments 

dsc01025Took care of a few homebrewing activities today. First up was bottling my barleywine which I brewed more than a month ago. I popped the air lock off the secondary, and my senses were immediately enveloped by a walloping aroma of booze (11.5% ABV to be exact) intertwined with malty sweetness. My eyes began to water profusely, and I had to grab a hold of the countertop to steady my wobbly legs. Well, slight exaggeration. But I’ve almost never been in the presence of such a strong beer before…let alone one I’d created myself.

As I bottled into bombers for long-term cellaring, I took a few sips of the flat ale to get a sense of the taste, and I was pleasantly surprised. While the aroma is nice and malty, the taste is something altogether different. Initial sense of sweetness, but followed by an irresponsible amount of hoppy bitterness. However, it’s smooth, not harsh, as I used a continuous hop infusion over the 75 minute boil to even out the 9 ounces of Cascade, Willamette and Mt. Hood. All in all, I’d say this is by far the biggest beer I’ve ever made. And I can’t wait for it to carbonate over the next couple months.

After the bottling, I brewed up the Raspberry Imperial Stout I talked about recently. Luckily for me, we had a small respite in the arctic chill that’s been holding most of us hostage inside our warm homes the past couple weeks, so I was able to get out in the garage. It’s amazing how 25 degrees can feel like it’s 60. Everything went well, and I got it racked to the primary with a healthy 600 ml yeast starter to get things moving in the right direction. It took less than an hour to see the first bubbles of CO2 escaping from the air lock.

 

December 22, 2008

Raspberry Imperial Stout

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing, Recipes | Tags: , |
1 Comment 

My buddy Chip over at Brewhound Minneapolis recently posted what looks to be a very tasty Raspberry Imperial Stout recipe from Charlie Papazian, godfather of the homebrewing industry.

I think this recipe will work out well, if only for the fact that it uses malt extracts as opposed to all-grain, since it’s been nearly impossible for me to get out in the garage to brew with the bone-chilling temperatures of late (and no sign of letting up). I’ll at least be able to get a brew fermenting from the comfort and warmth of my kitchen so I don’t have to wait until Spring. 

I’m also thinking I’ll use the same base recipe to brew my ExperiMint Imperial Stout I talked about recently. Just substitute the raspberries for fresh mint. Should be interesting to see how the two different ingredients play out in the finished products.

Here’s the list:

6 lbs. plain light dried malt extract
8 lbs. dark malt extract syrup
1 1/4 lbs. crystal/caramel malt
1/2 lb. black roasted malt
3/4 lb. roasted barley
1/2 lb. chocolate roasted malt
2  oz. Chinook or other highly flavored hops (boiling)
2 oz. Cascades hops (aroma)
11 lbs. red raspberries (crushed and placed in the primary fermentor)
Ale yeast

This recipe is supposed to get into the 7% ABV range, a little light for what I’d call an Imperial Stout. But I’m sure very delicious, nonetheless.

 

November 12, 2008

Southern Tier Imperial Pumking

Posted by amm002 under Rating: C | Tags: |
[15] Comments 

dsc00822There’s certain movies that I can’t help but watch when I’m flipping the channels and run across them. Evil Dead 2. Billy Madison. Caddyshack. And of course, Bloodsport. One of the worst, and best, martial arts movies ever made. It was a mainstay of my childhood sleepover parties, each fight scene painstakingly reenacted by pre-pubescent 10- and 11-year-olds until someone accidentally got punched in the face or fell off the arm of the couch and started balling after a poorly executed flying roundhouse kick. 

If you’re not familiar, Bloodsport is your typical cheesy 80′s action flick, on the scale of Commando or American Ninja (which I’ll admit I will also watch if home alone on a Sunday afternoon). Tale of a young man named Frank Dux (played by Jean Claude van Damme) who travels to Hong Kong to fight in the world’s most secretive, deadly martial arts competition, The Kumite. The movie also features Chong Li (Bolo Yeung), the largest and most intimidating Asian man ever put on the face of the Earth. Freakish pecs. And a penchant for killing his opponents in the squared circle.  

Long story short, Frank befriends a fellow American after arriving in Hong Kong (Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds) who is seriously injured in a fight with Chong Li. Then Frank kicks and punches his way to the top of the tournament to face his nemesis in the final death match to decide it all. After having cocaine thrown in his eyes in a dirty move, Frank miraculously comes back to beat Chong Li, avenging his friend and honorably representing his shidoshi, Tenzo Tanaka. The man who taught Frank the Way of the Tanaka Clan. Toss in an under-developed romantic plot, a couple training montages set to synthesizer music, and some over-acted martial arts scenes, and you’ve got yourself a nice little Wednesday evening of movie watching fun.

I sipped on Southern Tier’s Imperial Pumking Ale while I enjoyed this classic, and developed some pretty immediate opinions with each slow pull. I know this gets high marks by many, but it really didn’t do it for me.

Poured with almost no head, but a nice orangey coloring. The pumpkin comes screaming at you in the nose. Way too much in my opinion. And it’s not really “pumpkin pie”, which I prefer, but more like raw pumpkin. Kind of a vegetable quality, or even egg nog. I took my first sip, and the sweetness took over, cloying and nearly undrinkable. I could hardly choke down one glass before I gave the rest to my fiance, who unlike me, really liked this beer. From what I drank, I couldn’t really tell in the aroma or taste that this beer is 9% ABV. 

I think the problem I have with this beer is that it’s more about pumpkin than it is about beer. Too gimmicky. I really liked Southern Tier’s Imperial IPA, so I’m wondering if their offerings like Creme Brulee or Cherry Saison are good, or more along the lines of Pumking. Overall, I just didn’t care for it. But I’m also a guy that thinks Bloodsport is good entertainment. So take it for what it’s worth.   

Rating: C

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November 11, 2008

Home Brew Review: The Captain’s Spiced Pumpkin Ale

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing, Rating: A | Tags: |
[13] Comments 

dsc00820I gotta be honest. I’m normally a pretty reserved, humble guy. Some might even say too even-keel in some situations. But I’m just going to step out of my non-bragadocious skin and go ahead and say it. This Spiced Pumpkin Ale I brewed up is really, really good. In fact, much better than most other commercial pumpkin ales I’ve ever had.

Poured from the keg with a huge fluffy head, with a very nice deep red coloring. Great clarity too, which is sometimes tough to get with homebrews. I think my filtering efforts and Irish Moss in the boil paid off. Perfect aromatic balance between cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg. Truly smells like pumpkin pie, with a healthy alcohol kick thanks to the brown sugar. When I brewed this one, I used about a pound of the stuff during the boil, and it’s probably added at least a few percentage points in ABV. I’d guess this is between 8-9%.

The taste is near flawless. Just enough of the pumpkin pie to let you know what you’re drinking, but a great malty mouthfeel thanks to the carapils and Munich grains I used. Also just the slightest hint of hops at the end. Very smooth. In fact, my brother (who doesn’t normally like “dark” beers) commented that it was almost like a light beer, with lots of great pumpkin flavor. And, considering he and several other friends drank a dozen pints of the stuff on Sunday while watching the Vikings-Packers game, I’d say it’s a crowd favorite.

This is one of the most drinkable beers I’ve ever created. It’s so nice when it all comes together. Come get some before it’s all gone.

Rating: A

 

November 11, 2008

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat

Posted by amm002 under Rating: C Plus | Tags: , |
1 Comment 

dsc00814I’m not typically a big fan of wheat beers, and even more skeptical of beers that tout fruit in their name. But I decided to give Sam Adams Cherry Wheat a try the other night. And I actually kind of liked it. But part of that could be that I drank it directly after the aforementioned Landshark.

Poured with a reddish amber hue, not much in the way of head. Not sure if they use real cherries in the brewing process (I highly doubt it, but the label hints at it…probably more like “real” cherry extract or syrup), but it has a pleasant fruit aroma.

The taste is definitely cherry, mixed with a subtle wheat maltiness to it. I don’t think the cherry thing is necessarily overdone. But I also couldn’t drink a bunch of these, as I’m sure it would get pretty cloying rather quickly. This beer gets beaten up pretty well on Beer Advocate, but overall I think it’s a decent enough beer (for what it is).

Rating: C+

 

November 8, 2008

Nice Rack

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing | Tags: , , |
[3] Comments 

dsc00800I spent most of the morning racking my three different beers that have been fermenting or conditioning over the past few weeks.

First, I sanitized one of my carboys and cracked the lid on the Dogfish Head 60 Minute clone. It smelled pretty good and hoppy. Racked the beer into the carboy, and dry hopped with 2 ounces of Cascade and Willamette. I’d originally planned on Cascade and Simcoe, but I decided I didn’t want that super piney, grapefruit thing going on with this one. It’s also the first time I’ve just dropped the hops right into the carboy, as opposed to using a nylon bag, so we’ll see how it affects the clarity of the final product. It’s kind of cool seeing about two beautiful inches of thick, bursting hops soaking in your beer. I’ll give it at least a couple weeks to marinate until I bottle.

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Cascade

Next, I sanitized my corny keg and transferred my Spiced Pumpkin Ale that’s been in secondary for a couple weeks. Smelled great. Pretty sweet, which I’m sure is from the brown sugar. But hopefully doesn’t taste too sweet. Once I filled the corny, I hooked it up to CO2, burped it, and gave it a 20 psi shot for a few minutes before I dropped it down to 7, then refrigerated. I’ll give it a taste later tonight to see how we’re coming along. 

Finally, I racked the recently brewed Summit Winter clone into a sanitized carboy to condition for a bit. Nice toffee brown coloring, which is just about spot on with the real thing.

So, in total, that’s about 15 gallons of good homebrew that I’ll soon be adding to my craft beer rotation. Can’t wait.

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DFH 60 Clone with Dry Hop

 

 

October 26, 2008

Dogfish Head Brewing Day

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing, Recipes | Tags: , , |
[5] Comments 

How do I follow up Darkness Day? With a great brewing day.

My buddy Mills stopped over, and we brewed up a clone of Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. I was able to get the recipe from Sam Calagione’s book Extreme Brewing, so I know it’s accurate. Only problem I ran into was that the home brew store didn’t have the exact hops I needed, so I subbed a couple. I’m sure it will still turn out very well. Here’s what we used:

12 lbs. 2-row
1 lb. English Amber
0.5 ounce Simcoe in the boil
0.5 ounce Cascade in the boil (subbed for Amarillo)
0.5 ounce Willamette in the boil (subbed for Warrior)
0.5 ounce Cascade at end of boil
Wyeast 1187

Now, here’s the fun part…Dogfish Head’s flagship IPA is named for the unique technique used to create the memorable hop flavor and aroma, continuous hopping. I mimicked the technique, parceling out my 1.5 total ounces of Simcoe, Cascade and Willamette throughout the entire 60 minute boil…one tiny pellet at a time. Pretty tedious, but I got through it. Then I added the last half ounce of Cascade at the end of the boil. I’ll dry hop with 1.5 ounces of Cascade and Simcoe leaves to give it that extra kick. I’m pretty excited about this one, because it’s the first time I’ve used English Amber, what I think gives DFH 60 Minute its distinct toasty, biscuity taste.

While we brewed, we partook in my Oatmeal Coffee Stout and Spider IPA, both noticeably improving with each passing day. I’m very pleased with how both have turned out.

Once I wrapped up cooling and racking the DFH clone into the primary fermentor, I racked my freshly fermented Spiced Pumpkin Ale into the secondary to marinate for a few weeks until Thanksgiving. Man did it smell nice, just like a pumpkin pie (with alcohol). Can’t wait.

 

October 13, 2008

Busy Brewing Day

Posted by amm002 under Home Brewing, Recipes | Tags: , , |
[8] Comments 

It was another busy weekend. But Sunday I took the opportunity to brew a Spiced Pumpkin Ale for the upcoming holidays. Here’s the grain bill and hop schedule:

10 pounds 2-row
1.5 pounds Carapils
1.5 pounds Light Munich
4 ounces chocolate malt
1 ounce Mt. Hood (at 60 min.)
1 ounce Cascade (at 30 min.)
1 ounce Mt. Hood (finishing)

To make this a true pumpkin ale, I also dropped in the following midway through the boil:
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks (in boil for 30 minutes)
2 cups brown sugar
30 ounces of canned pumpkin filling

The mash/lauter went very well, hit my OG of 1.068. I had the garage door closed during most of it since the wind was causing issues with my propane heater, so things got extremely hot during the boil. After adding in the pumpkin and spices, the place smelled like a bakery with pumpkin pie in the air. Chilled, racked, and pitched Wyeast 1056 with no complications. It’s bubbling away nicely at about 70 degrees. I’m a little concerned I used too much brown sugar and the beer will be too sweet. But I’m hoping some of that is tempered during the fermentation. Target FG is 1.017, giving this a nice little 6.6% ABV kick. Grandma won’t know what hit her.

Once I got done with my Pumpkin Ale, I decided to keg the Spider IPA that’s been dry hopping for a few days. I realize I just brewed this one less than two weeks ago, but I just couldn’t wait. It smelled nice coming out of the secondary, and after turbo-carbonating the keg for a couple hours, it tasted good. Much better than my previous IPA attempt. Definitely aromatic with Simcoe coming through in the nose. I’ll review this one over the next couple weeks once the “green” wears off a bit.

In other homebrew news, I cracked a test bottle of my Oatmeal Coffee Stout that’s been bottle conditioning for about two weeks now, and it was pretty well carbonated. I’ll let the two cases hang out for another week, then refrigerate. Look for the review soon.

 

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