I have had a few bottles each of the PostNatal IPA-Style Beer and the Cherry Sparkles Cherry Wheat. Here's what I like and don't like, and what I'll do differently next time.
PostNatal IPA-Style Beer is a bit too dark for an IPA. It is more like an Indian Brown Ale (DFH-style, but half the ABV). The body and bitterness are good. It came together well in conditioning. Next time, I'll use much lighter crystal malts, shooting for like 6SRM. I think this was 11 SRM with some pretty dark (60L?) crystal in there. It tastes it. That will mellow and sweeten with time, but the hops will also fade with time. I am happy with the bitterness, though I might boost it from 45 IBU to 60 IBU next time, with perhaps a bittering 60 minute addition to the boil, instead of just FWH and 30 minute (and later) additions. I would also increase the late additions to provide a lot more hop aroma and flavor. Like an extra ounce or two spread across the last 20 minutes of the boil.
Cherry Sparkles is good. I wouldn't change a thing. Maybe a little more cherry flavor and a little less food coloring. I also wish it had more carbonation, though I used 5 oz. priming sugar. I wouldn't add more than that. Maybe the food coloring is suppressing the yeast or something... But it's fine the way it is. The base beer is Stonington Memorial Summer Ale, which I've made before. This time I spread the hops all throughout the boil, and I like the fullness of hop character it provides to the base beer. I also used US-05 instead of a liquid American Wheat ale strain of yeast. The American Wheat provided a tartness but no banana or clove, which is good. It isn't a Wit, after all. The US-05 doesn't have tartness, but the wheat still provides a soft tart bready flavor. But there's that weird estery phenolic peachy thing that I've been getting in my light colored beers with the US-05. I am planning on fermenting warmer (65F instead of 62F) in the future to try to reduce or eliminate that. FWIW, the cherry hides that undesirable aspect quite well.
Showing posts with label tasting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tasting. Show all posts
3.01.2008
Cherry Sparkles Bottled
I did end up bottling Cherry Sparkles on the 26th, just a day after PostNatal IPA. I added a bit of cherry flavoring, which was more like black cherry than maraschino cherry. And I used almost a whole tube of red food coloring shooting for a pink color. I think I might have overshot, and I may be more red than pink, but we'll see how it looks once it's conditioned.
The taste was nice. The base beer is my latest incarnation of Stonington Memorial Summer Ale. That's a half malted wheat, half pale ale malt grist with Tettnanger hops. In the past, it was a 60 minute addition and a flameout addition, but I changed it up a little, with additions as first wort hops (added to the kettle as runoff begins), along with 60, 45, 30, 15, and flameout additions. It all amounted to about 20 IBU, which was a little higher than I wanted, but my volume was low, so there you go. This gives the beer a noticable but mild bitterness and all-around hop character, which was nice for the base beer. I packaged about a gallon of this un-pinked. The pink beer ended up being just slightly cherry, almost more from the nose, inferring a flavor. The food coloring is mostly high fructose corn syrup, and that showed in the flavor of the pink beer. I hope that isn't too fermentable, or my bottles might blow up. Time will tell.
They're nearly conditioned already, but I'll give them a few more days before I pop one open and test it. I don't need to drink a flat one, thank you. I already tried that anyway.
The taste was nice. The base beer is my latest incarnation of Stonington Memorial Summer Ale. That's a half malted wheat, half pale ale malt grist with Tettnanger hops. In the past, it was a 60 minute addition and a flameout addition, but I changed it up a little, with additions as first wort hops (added to the kettle as runoff begins), along with 60, 45, 30, 15, and flameout additions. It all amounted to about 20 IBU, which was a little higher than I wanted, but my volume was low, so there you go. This gives the beer a noticable but mild bitterness and all-around hop character, which was nice for the base beer. I packaged about a gallon of this un-pinked. The pink beer ended up being just slightly cherry, almost more from the nose, inferring a flavor. The food coloring is mostly high fructose corn syrup, and that showed in the flavor of the pink beer. I hope that isn't too fermentable, or my bottles might blow up. Time will tell.
They're nearly conditioned already, but I'll give them a few more days before I pop one open and test it. I don't need to drink a flat one, thank you. I already tried that anyway.
2.15.2008
Pictures and revisions
<--Dragon King (left)...and...(right) Marynka Porter-->Now: Marynka Porter. I was on crack when I said this was fruity like Cascades. There's none of that. The body is pleasantly light, given the darkness of the beer. I think it's more the Fuggles I'm picking up on and remembering and calling Cascades. What the hell do I know, anyway?
Marynka Porter Tasted
I also broke into the Marynka Porter. No photo of this one, either. What's wrong with me? I think I'll have to drink one each of the Marynka and the Dragon King tonight so I can get a few snapshots to post here.
The Marynka Porter pours deep dark brown with a small head. The smell is of roasted grains. The taste is dark too. The Marynka hops promised a licorice, cedary flavor, and deliver something like that. I really like the Marynka hops with the Porter. I also used a small dab of Fuggles, but I used a lot more Marynka. I find this kind of a little light-bodied, and the hops seem almost fruity to me at times. I might have guessed there were Cascades in there if I didn't know better. Unless Northern Brewer.com sent me Cascades labelled as Marynka. Which I don't think they'd do. This is my favorite home-made beer right now. The Mean Giant Double Stout and Big Slick IIPA are just a bit over-the-top intense sometimes. But the Marynka Porter hits the spot. And at 7.1% ABV, it's the lowest alcohol of my own beers available right now!
The Marynka porter has no phenol at all to it. Maybe that's just because the dark grains hide it, but I don't think so. The massive hops and ABV in Big Slick couldn't hide it, so why would dark grain flavor hide it. This is part of my new belief that my water is alkiline, and thus better at dark beer.
The Marynka Porter pours deep dark brown with a small head. The smell is of roasted grains. The taste is dark too. The Marynka hops promised a licorice, cedary flavor, and deliver something like that. I really like the Marynka hops with the Porter. I also used a small dab of Fuggles, but I used a lot more Marynka. I find this kind of a little light-bodied, and the hops seem almost fruity to me at times. I might have guessed there were Cascades in there if I didn't know better. Unless Northern Brewer.com sent me Cascades labelled as Marynka. Which I don't think they'd do. This is my favorite home-made beer right now. The Mean Giant Double Stout and Big Slick IIPA are just a bit over-the-top intense sometimes. But the Marynka Porter hits the spot. And at 7.1% ABV, it's the lowest alcohol of my own beers available right now!
The Marynka porter has no phenol at all to it. Maybe that's just because the dark grains hide it, but I don't think so. The massive hops and ABV in Big Slick couldn't hide it, so why would dark grain flavor hide it. This is part of my new belief that my water is alkiline, and thus better at dark beer.
Dragon King Tasting Notes
I don't have a picture yet, for some reason... but I have broken into the Dragon King Pale Ale.
It pours a very light golden color, with a pretty good sized head. It is still pretty cloudy. The initial aroma is lemony, which I guess comes from Ahtanum hops. Then there's a big whiff of phenol in there, like band aids, still. Where the hell is this coming from?! All new buckets and stuff, so it's not that... Overall, it's not too hard to get past the phenolic smell. The taste doesn't carry it. This beer is an easy drinking 7.8% ABV. The 40 IBU aren't quite enough to achieve a deep bitterness, but there's enough to keep it interesting. The lemon zinger finish makes me anticipate that this will be a nice refreshing summer beer. Refreshing and nearly 8%. Phenols or not, that's not too bad.
Just today I got an email that had included the AHA forum daily email in it. They're having a discussion on phenols over there. Once you get past all the talk of "good phenols" that come from yeast, like Hefes and Belgians and things, I found a new bit of information. Many said that the band-aid phenol could come from high pH sparge water/wort runoff. I am pretty sure that my water is alkiline. The water report indicates it has a high pH, which I always thought didn't matter, as long as the other stuff was OK. Not that I've tested it...
But I also notice that my very dark beers don't seem to have a problem. In fact, before I started brewing, I didn't think I really liked dark beers like stouts and porters. Now I love them. Mine always come out really well. This would make sense with high alkilinity water, since the dark grains have a lot of acidity to them. It might be starting to come together.
It pours a very light golden color, with a pretty good sized head. It is still pretty cloudy. The initial aroma is lemony, which I guess comes from Ahtanum hops. Then there's a big whiff of phenol in there, like band aids, still. Where the hell is this coming from?! All new buckets and stuff, so it's not that... Overall, it's not too hard to get past the phenolic smell. The taste doesn't carry it. This beer is an easy drinking 7.8% ABV. The 40 IBU aren't quite enough to achieve a deep bitterness, but there's enough to keep it interesting. The lemon zinger finish makes me anticipate that this will be a nice refreshing summer beer. Refreshing and nearly 8%. Phenols or not, that's not too bad.
Just today I got an email that had included the AHA forum daily email in it. They're having a discussion on phenols over there. Once you get past all the talk of "good phenols" that come from yeast, like Hefes and Belgians and things, I found a new bit of information. Many said that the band-aid phenol could come from high pH sparge water/wort runoff. I am pretty sure that my water is alkiline. The water report indicates it has a high pH, which I always thought didn't matter, as long as the other stuff was OK. Not that I've tested it...
But I also notice that my very dark beers don't seem to have a problem. In fact, before I started brewing, I didn't think I really liked dark beers like stouts and porters. Now I love them. Mine always come out really well. This would make sense with high alkilinity water, since the dark grains have a lot of acidity to them. It might be starting to come together.
1.24.2008
Pre Cut "Just Resiny"
So today I went back to Zok's. I could go on and on about how great it is there. It was even better this time than last time.
Today there were three other guys there. Bill Hincks was there, and it was great fun to meet him in person. Now I have a face and a voice to the email correspondence. Then there was a guy named Andy Jackson there, who is from Mystic. He had a beer made with Spruce, and on top of that, Zok was just saying, "there's this other guy that makes a good beer with some Spruce in it..." Then there he is! And there was one more guy, whose name I didn't get. But he was nice, too. It was the five of us hanging out for a while, sampling various beers. Just cool, really. Never had anything like that at any other homebrew shop.
But, what does this have to do with a sour Pre Cut Ale With Fir, you might ask, except for the fact that Andy brought a pine beer, too? I brought a bottle of Pre Cut with me, so Zok could try it and analyze the nature of the sour taste. He detected a sour taste, but decided it wasn't lactic, and was probably not an infection. Further anti-infection evidence is the fact that the bottles aren't absurdly fizzy. Lactic bacteria devour sugar that beer yeast won't touch. The feakin' bottom feeders of the yeast-microbe world, and that's saying something. So if the beer was infected by lactic acid, souring bacteria, it would keep fermenting until the beer was so fizzy it spouted forth from the bottle as soon as you opened it. This is not the case - Pre Cut is just a normal carbonation level, whatever that means...
So the final diagnosis is that Pre Cut was just too Fir-infused. The sour taste could just come from the tree. It was overwhelmingly voted "resiny". The two full boughs of Fraser Fir, stick and all, was too much for those little three gallons to take. It might have been something extracted from the sticks put in the beer. Heck, it might have been something that they sprayed on the tree while it was growing. In fact, I caught a whiff of the same sour smell from another old piece of the tree that the kids were playing with today.
So in the end, I might have replaced all my plastic crap for no reason. But better safe than sorry, and the stuff was dirty. Furthermore, I really drove myself crazy with the "why" and "how" of the infection. I guess I will sleep well tonight, knowing that I didn't really do anything wrong, except just used too much Fir with too many sticks in there. Next time, I'll just use the needles.
Today there were three other guys there. Bill Hincks was there, and it was great fun to meet him in person. Now I have a face and a voice to the email correspondence. Then there was a guy named Andy Jackson there, who is from Mystic. He had a beer made with Spruce, and on top of that, Zok was just saying, "there's this other guy that makes a good beer with some Spruce in it..." Then there he is! And there was one more guy, whose name I didn't get. But he was nice, too. It was the five of us hanging out for a while, sampling various beers. Just cool, really. Never had anything like that at any other homebrew shop.
But, what does this have to do with a sour Pre Cut Ale With Fir, you might ask, except for the fact that Andy brought a pine beer, too? I brought a bottle of Pre Cut with me, so Zok could try it and analyze the nature of the sour taste. He detected a sour taste, but decided it wasn't lactic, and was probably not an infection. Further anti-infection evidence is the fact that the bottles aren't absurdly fizzy. Lactic bacteria devour sugar that beer yeast won't touch. The feakin' bottom feeders of the yeast-microbe world, and that's saying something. So if the beer was infected by lactic acid, souring bacteria, it would keep fermenting until the beer was so fizzy it spouted forth from the bottle as soon as you opened it. This is not the case - Pre Cut is just a normal carbonation level, whatever that means...
So the final diagnosis is that Pre Cut was just too Fir-infused. The sour taste could just come from the tree. It was overwhelmingly voted "resiny". The two full boughs of Fraser Fir, stick and all, was too much for those little three gallons to take. It might have been something extracted from the sticks put in the beer. Heck, it might have been something that they sprayed on the tree while it was growing. In fact, I caught a whiff of the same sour smell from another old piece of the tree that the kids were playing with today.
So in the end, I might have replaced all my plastic crap for no reason. But better safe than sorry, and the stuff was dirty. Furthermore, I really drove myself crazy with the "why" and "how" of the infection. I guess I will sleep well tonight, knowing that I didn't really do anything wrong, except just used too much Fir with too many sticks in there. Next time, I'll just use the needles.
1.17.2008
Big Slick 2 Sampled
Ever since I found Pre-Cut to be infected, I've been nervously anticipating the state of Big Slick 2. The first time around, Big Slick was supposed to be my most awesome thing ever. It ended up poorly attenuated, and I tried to fix it, and in the actual end, it was DMS city, like a bottle of cooked corn. Bummer. Major.
So today, sixteen days after brewing, the thing is still bubbling in the airlock and I am nervous as hell. I am fermenting at 62-64°F, but still, shouldn't it be done by now??
I did something I am almost categorically against. I thiefed a sample a few minutes ago. I sanitized the plastic beer thief, and drew three pulls. That was enough to fill a hydrometer sampling cylinder. Gravity is 1.015. OG was 1.085, and BeerSmith predicted 1.020 for a FG. But I have been beating BeerSmith all the time with my one-two punch of temperature control and US-05 dry yeast. Slightly worrisome, but not alarming...yet.
Then the smell. It is still fermenting, and I have never tasted still ferementing beer before, or at least not recently. At first, it smells like...uh...hops I guess. But there's something else in there. I now have labelled the smell "puke", though "pee" was my first disgusting thought. Hopefully that's just the smell of something that's still fermenting, like it's just the yeast dropping down to the bottom of the bucket so I can leave them behind. You know, how the yeast on the walls of the bucket smell so nasty. Maybe it's just that. But I'm pretty worried now.
The taste has set it straight. I can't pick up any sour. Sure, it's warm and flat and not done, but it is pretty promising! It is 9.2% ABV, but not too hot, even this young. The hops are absurd - just like an IIPA ought to be. It is really big, soft, and smooth in the mouth. I can sort of taste a touch of the puke if I really look for it, but the hops are center stage here.
Prognosis: I think this one's going to be just fine. No, it will be awesome! I might need to give it some more time, though... If I can, I'll rack to secondary tomorrow afternoon, and then bottle it in a week or so, with a fresh packet of yeast. But then again, I might just bottle it in a few days when the airlock stops bubbling, as has been my lately routine.
So today, sixteen days after brewing, the thing is still bubbling in the airlock and I am nervous as hell. I am fermenting at 62-64°F, but still, shouldn't it be done by now??
I did something I am almost categorically against. I thiefed a sample a few minutes ago. I sanitized the plastic beer thief, and drew three pulls. That was enough to fill a hydrometer sampling cylinder. Gravity is 1.015. OG was 1.085, and BeerSmith predicted 1.020 for a FG. But I have been beating BeerSmith all the time with my one-two punch of temperature control and US-05 dry yeast. Slightly worrisome, but not alarming...yet.
Then the smell. It is still fermenting, and I have never tasted still ferementing beer before, or at least not recently. At first, it smells like...uh...hops I guess. But there's something else in there. I now have labelled the smell "puke", though "pee" was my first disgusting thought. Hopefully that's just the smell of something that's still fermenting, like it's just the yeast dropping down to the bottom of the bucket so I can leave them behind. You know, how the yeast on the walls of the bucket smell so nasty. Maybe it's just that. But I'm pretty worried now.
The taste has set it straight. I can't pick up any sour. Sure, it's warm and flat and not done, but it is pretty promising! It is 9.2% ABV, but not too hot, even this young. The hops are absurd - just like an IIPA ought to be. It is really big, soft, and smooth in the mouth. I can sort of taste a touch of the puke if I really look for it, but the hops are center stage here.
Prognosis: I think this one's going to be just fine. No, it will be awesome! I might need to give it some more time, though... If I can, I'll rack to secondary tomorrow afternoon, and then bottle it in a week or so, with a fresh packet of yeast. But then again, I might just bottle it in a few days when the airlock stops bubbling, as has been my lately routine.
1.15.2008
Pre-Cut is Sour
Did I say "sour"? I meant "acidic". There was something wild in there. I bottled it about four days ago, and today it is sour. It was verging on funk at bottling time, but today it is funky. Funny thing is, with this mild dose of acid, it is pretty tasty. Doesn't exactly blend with the fir that well, but at the same time, it isn't horrible.
But now I am worried about my bottling equipment and even the bucket I fermented this in. Are they infected? I don't think I want to risk souring the Big Slick 2 by bottling with the same equipment. Lucky me that Big Slick 2 is still bubbling away in there, unaware of the buggy risks that it has just avoided.
To-do tomorrow: go to Rob's and get a new bottling bucket, siphon, and bottling wand.
Hey, this frees me up to go ahead and make "Lambic Imprint" (a takeoff on Limbic Imprint - yes, we are going to do a natural homebirth.) Lambic Imprint will be a 100% Brett B. beer! But according to Vinnie Cilurzo, it will take about six months before it's ready.
But now I am worried about my bottling equipment and even the bucket I fermented this in. Are they infected? I don't think I want to risk souring the Big Slick 2 by bottling with the same equipment. Lucky me that Big Slick 2 is still bubbling away in there, unaware of the buggy risks that it has just avoided.
To-do tomorrow: go to Rob's and get a new bottling bucket, siphon, and bottling wand.
Hey, this frees me up to go ahead and make "Lambic Imprint" (a takeoff on Limbic Imprint - yes, we are going to do a natural homebirth.) Lambic Imprint will be a 100% Brett B. beer! But according to Vinnie Cilurzo, it will take about six months before it's ready.
1.11.2008
Mean Giant Tasted (Twice)
Yesterday was my wife's Birthday. I made for her a dark chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. The perfect excuse to taste the Mean Giant Double Stout that has been conditioning since 1/3/08. I can tell by squeezing the barometer PET bottle that it isn't really ready yet, but sometimes I just can't resist dipping in anyway.Yesterday morning I put a bottle in the fridge. When I popped it at cake time, it was flat. So it tasted the same as the bottling sample, just colder and flat. A bummer, for sure. Not to say it wasn't good. It is very strong, with tons of roasted flavor, really big and strong tasting, like a Mean Giant should be. It was just flat. Flat. A little bit of bubbles for looks and a bit of palette lifting would be nice. But flat it was.
Tonight, I couldn't resist again. I took a warm conditioning bottle, from the temperature controlled fridge at 62°F, and put it in the fridge for like literally two minutes. More of a gesture of goodwill than anything else. This one popped like a beer. It poured with a small, but present head that left a ring around the edge of the glass til the last sip. See the photo above for the immediately post-pour shot. Awesome. I think now that a beer like this was meant to be had at a warm temperature like that.
I think with a few more days conditioning, it will be slightly bubbly like this even cold, but in the mean time, I am happy to sneak samples from the warm fridge.
12.27.2007
Pulls from the Cask
Pick it, pack it, fire it up. Come along, and take a pull from the cask. Bonus points for calling me out on my strange reference there.
I just love having access to this little cask of Little Bear's Brown Beer available. Not only can I sample beer that isn't really ready yet, but I can sample it in small doses. I pulled like two ounces tonight, and just savored every drop of it. It took me 20 minutes to drink those two ounces of 4.3% session mild/American Brown Ale. Sometimes I can down a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot in 20 minutes.
I guess it's just fascinating to me to witness day by day the subtly changing and improving character of the beer as it conditions. Part of it might be just getting rid of those residual sugars meant to be turned into bubbles. Part of it might just be the act of aging and mellowing with age, though I would think that happens on a longer time scale than day-by-day, but you never know.
I'm getting closer every batch to a kegging system.
I just love having access to this little cask of Little Bear's Brown Beer available. Not only can I sample beer that isn't really ready yet, but I can sample it in small doses. I pulled like two ounces tonight, and just savored every drop of it. It took me 20 minutes to drink those two ounces of 4.3% session mild/American Brown Ale. Sometimes I can down a Sierra Nevada Bigfoot in 20 minutes.
I guess it's just fascinating to me to witness day by day the subtly changing and improving character of the beer as it conditions. Part of it might be just getting rid of those residual sugars meant to be turned into bubbles. Part of it might just be the act of aging and mellowing with age, though I would think that happens on a longer time scale than day-by-day, but you never know.
I'm getting closer every batch to a kegging system.
12.18.2007
North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Holy shit, I have just tasted the best Imperial Stout ever! Sure, Smuttynose is good. Brooklyn is good. Haven't had the Dogfish Head World Wide yet (although that is more Double Imperial at 20% ABV). But this is awesome!As the devout will know, I have been going out of my way to find Barley Wines and other big seasonal beers (that is, high alcohol) to sample, take notes on, think about, and ultimately write about here on my blog life (and on my other blog life at www.brainardbrewing.com/blog/). So I am used to the fruity esters in aroma and flavor and the warming burn that high alcohol beers bring to the table. I like it a lot of times, but sometimes I wish it weren't that way.
I have finally found a high alcohol commercial beer without a lot of alcohol burn. In fact, if you didn't tell me the alcohol content (which is in the 9% area) I would guess it could even be a regular stout, or maybe a slightly big 7% stout. But no, it is a full 9%. Big as any beer, but the beauty is that the flavors of the base style come through in a big way. There's no overdose of hops. No alcohol bomb waiting for you. Just an awesome stout that seems to anticipate the flavor of alcohol and be made just to accompany that flavor.
The best part is that you don't even have to be able to get this stuff at your local beer store. You can buy it online from one of the coolest web sites I've found lately: Liquid Solutions. I like the place so much that I am in the process of becoming an affiliate over at Brainard Brewing. Personally, I am going to get at least another case of this stuff. I don't want to ever run out.
12.16.2007
Beer Pr0n
I have put up a bunch of photos on Flickr. There is a photo of each of the beers that I've tasted and photographed there. It is pretty cool.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21975831@N08/tags/beer/
You should check it out!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21975831@N08/tags/beer/
You should check it out!
12.14.2007
Flanders Red
Earlier this year I had a Rodenbach Grand Cru. I was just learning about Belgians and I think I was expecting something a bit more like a Dubbel than a sour beer. I was surprised, and not that enthralled with the Rodenbach.
Since that time, I have stayed pretty far away from sour beers. Though they have been calling to me. More and more I have been reading about how the pros use oak barrells to sour their beers, and thinking about giving oak and Brett a shot in my own brewing. Then earlier in the week, Garrett Oliver inspired me to buy some real Lambic Gueuze, which is wild and probably a bit sour.
While buying Barley Wines, I bought a few bottles of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. I knew it is aged in oak and blended. I knew it was a Flanders Red style. I expected wild, funk, and a bit of sour. I became very excited to try it.
Tonight is the night. I am drinking it right now. I think this is going to take some getting used to. It drinks more like champagne. Even though it looks like a beer. But it does look like a bit of a sick beer - sort of cloudy, even musty looking. Very interesting new experience.
Unfortunately, due to schedules of children, I ate dinner at like 4 PM today, which was a bit unexpected and sudden. So I am not eating right now. Garrett Oliver says that I should enjoy this with pretty much any fish, or anything to which you might think you should add a spritz of lemon juice. I think that food would buffer the sour dry beer a bit, and I think I might just go look for a snack to accompany this beer.
I bet that by the time I have had those other two bottles of Gueuze, I will feel like beer that is not somewhat sour and bone dry will taste like unfermented wort to me. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate appreciation for this style while not losing the love for Barley Wines I've been working on.
Peace
Since that time, I have stayed pretty far away from sour beers. Though they have been calling to me. More and more I have been reading about how the pros use oak barrells to sour their beers, and thinking about giving oak and Brett a shot in my own brewing. Then earlier in the week, Garrett Oliver inspired me to buy some real Lambic Gueuze, which is wild and probably a bit sour.
While buying Barley Wines, I bought a few bottles of Jolly Pumpkin La Roja. I knew it is aged in oak and blended. I knew it was a Flanders Red style. I expected wild, funk, and a bit of sour. I became very excited to try it.
Tonight is the night. I am drinking it right now. I think this is going to take some getting used to. It drinks more like champagne. Even though it looks like a beer. But it does look like a bit of a sick beer - sort of cloudy, even musty looking. Very interesting new experience.
Unfortunately, due to schedules of children, I ate dinner at like 4 PM today, which was a bit unexpected and sudden. So I am not eating right now. Garrett Oliver says that I should enjoy this with pretty much any fish, or anything to which you might think you should add a spritz of lemon juice. I think that food would buffer the sour dry beer a bit, and I think I might just go look for a snack to accompany this beer.
I bet that by the time I have had those other two bottles of Gueuze, I will feel like beer that is not somewhat sour and bone dry will taste like unfermented wort to me. Hopefully I will be able to incorporate appreciation for this style while not losing the love for Barley Wines I've been working on.
Peace
12.12.2007
Avery Hog Heaven
Yesterday I got my hands on a few bottles of Avery's Hog Heaven (I almost wrote "instances" instead of bottles - guess I am still not fully detached from my old computer programming job).
I got a chance to taste Avery's Old Jubilation a few weeks ago. Their winter warmer has (to me) an alcohol presence that is stronger than the actual alcohol in the beer. I've written about it somewhere - either here or at Brainard Brewing.com or both. Not that it wasn't good, it was just strongly alcohol flavored at a modest 8.something ABV.
The Barley Wine is 9%, but it is not as highly alcohol flavored. In fact, it is very much IPA flavored, with plenty of Cascade hop citrus aroma and flavor emerging. Of course, it has all the Barley Wine malt character and a subtle, complementary, alcohol presence, but it was more hops than anything else really.
It isn't often that you can find a big beer that tilts towards the hops, but this one does so in a masterful way. I can't wait to try Fourteen in the coming days!
12.03.2007
Wheat Wine vs. Barley Wine...FIGHT!
First of all, I better explain the image. If you never played Street Fighter (and I'm talking about a really old one, like for Super Nintendo) then you won't get it, and just skip to the next paragraph. At the start of a match, it would say the names of the guys and then fight. Like in this example "Ryu vs. Ken...FIGHT!" So that was the inspiration for the name of this post. Add on to that, we used to make up stupid names for the guys. Since you could have a guy fight himself, they were just in different colors, we decided it made no sense for them both to have the same name. Hey, we were in like eigth grade. Especially remembered for me is "Balrog vs. Sog...FIGHT!" (BTW Balrog was the real guy. Sog was the joke name.)I have been sampling and reviewing a lot of Barley Wines lately. To me they are great winter ales, so I went ahead and skipped the rest of the winters in favor of seeking out barley wines. I even wrote a style profile article on the old BW. Along the way, I came across a Wheat Wine from Smuttynose. Good stuff.
It just made me think about the differences between the two. They aren't as pronounced as you might expect. The Barley Wine is generally darker and a bit more nutty and pruney, but the Wheat Wine is surprisingly dark and also quite robust in flavor. Both are somewhat dominated by alcohol flavor (who can help themselves at over 10%?), and both are awesome. If you can, get any barley wine or wheat wine you can find. If you find a Wheat Wine that's not the Smuttynose, then let me know - I want to try it!
11.27.2007
Christmas Presence Bottled
Ever since I got my temperature controller for my fridge, I’ve had bottled CornucopIPA in there, and fermenting Christmas Presence, as well as the old mead and cider that may or may not end up viable.
Each day, I’ve been checking on the CornucopIPA bottles to see if they’re ready yet. By and large, they are ready, but I still only take one at a time, since I like to let them condition for two full weeks at a warm temperature before fridging them all. I have been noticing that Christmas Presence continues to bubble through the airlock.
Activity had stopped, I thought, before I put the beer in the warm temperature controlled fridge. It is set to 70, while the basement it sits in varies between 60 and 65 these days. I guess the stable temp re-invigorated the yeast in the fermenter. This US-05 is good stuff!
So bottling time anyway – I am sick of waiting for it, besides, it must be done by now. When I popped off the lid, sure enough, there were many little clusters of bubbles on the surface of the beer – signs of activity that I would tell a newbie to wait to be gone before bottling. But not me – I am boldly defying intelligence and bottling anyway.
I took a gravity reading, first, to be on the safe side, and it reads 1.013! In case you missed it, my OG was 1.080. This makes my beer 8.8% ABV! Wow! Plus the FG is so low, it MUST be done dropping – how much more fermentable sugar could be in there? So I bottled it. I think it will be fine. I will monitor the plastic bottle, and fridge it when it is time, and probably drink it all before the yeast gets a chance to wake back up and get back to work. So I am not worried.
Nervous due to past bad experiences getting beers 8.5% ABV and up to condition properly, I used the technique that I used last time with CornucopIPA, where I took a generous portion of the yeast from the bottom of the fermenter into my bottling bucket. Since CornucopIPA was drinkably carbonated in about two days, I think there might be something to this strategy. Time will tell if it worked as well for Presence.
So as I bottle, I always taste the hydrometer sample. This is great! It is a little harsh on the alcohol, which should mellow a bit with time, cold, and carbonation, but even if it doesn’t it is a winter warmer for sure! The flavor and aroma are burnt, almost smoky. As I labeled the bottles, all I could smell was something like milk chocolate. I am super excited to have this one ready to go.
11.24.2007
CornucopIPA Tasting
Just over two weeks ago, I brewed an ale of all the leftovers in my brewing ingredients storage. It was some LME, some DME, a few random specialty grains, and plenty of Magnum and Cascade hops. It ended up as an IPA, and I called it CornucopIPA, like Cornucopia IPA, since it was like harvesting my ingredients store.
I tasted it when I dry hopped it, and I was nervous. It seemed overly dry, and reminded me of my Maple Syrup Wine, which ended at gravity 1.000, and I might use to strip some paint off my mouldings. But I crossed my fingers and hoped it would mature a bit. A few days later, when I bottled it, I tasted it again. It was still pretty unsatisfying.
I bottled it on Wednesday. Now less than three days later (I actually put this one in the fridge this morning) it is nearly ready to drink. My barometer plastic bottle is getting very firm in my temperature controlled 70 degree fridge. When cold, the beer is barely carbed, but could be done if needed. I will let most of them condition for the full two weeks for the full effect.
The great news is that something about it has improved 100%! I don't know if it is the cold temperature. Or maybe it is the bit of fizz that's in there. Or maybe the dry hop Cascades had a chance to act in the bottle. But whatever it is, this is a really good IPA. Not to pat myself on the back, but it is reminding me of the Sierra Nevada Celebration 2007 Ale. Now I didn't really intend to make a Cascade grapefruit hop bomb (although if you looked at my recipe you might wonder why I wouldn't think that) but that's what it came out to be, and that's what American IPAs are these days.
So in the end I have made a quintessential American IPA that I'll be proud to share with everyone. I'll probably be so proud that it will be gone in a week, but it feels good to make a great beer, after so many challenges in some of my latest batches.
I tasted it when I dry hopped it, and I was nervous. It seemed overly dry, and reminded me of my Maple Syrup Wine, which ended at gravity 1.000, and I might use to strip some paint off my mouldings. But I crossed my fingers and hoped it would mature a bit. A few days later, when I bottled it, I tasted it again. It was still pretty unsatisfying.
I bottled it on Wednesday. Now less than three days later (I actually put this one in the fridge this morning) it is nearly ready to drink. My barometer plastic bottle is getting very firm in my temperature controlled 70 degree fridge. When cold, the beer is barely carbed, but could be done if needed. I will let most of them condition for the full two weeks for the full effect.
The great news is that something about it has improved 100%! I don't know if it is the cold temperature. Or maybe it is the bit of fizz that's in there. Or maybe the dry hop Cascades had a chance to act in the bottle. But whatever it is, this is a really good IPA. Not to pat myself on the back, but it is reminding me of the Sierra Nevada Celebration 2007 Ale. Now I didn't really intend to make a Cascade grapefruit hop bomb (although if you looked at my recipe you might wonder why I wouldn't think that) but that's what it came out to be, and that's what American IPAs are these days.
So in the end I have made a quintessential American IPA that I'll be proud to share with everyone. I'll probably be so proud that it will be gone in a week, but it feels good to make a great beer, after so many challenges in some of my latest batches.
11.17.2007
Winter Ales
For the longest time, I was not much of a follower of seasonal releases. I was more the one who was disappointed when the season was up and the beer I had grown to love was gone. Magic Hat's Roxy Rolles was just that for me last year.
I think I am starting to get it now. For example, last night I had a Victory Pilsner, and it just seemed sort of out of place on a cold Connecticut night. It was still good, but I was wondering why I passed over a darker brew.
I just the other day picked up a sixer of Ipswich Winter Ale and one of Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale. OK maybe the DFH isn't exactly "seasonal" but hey it is dark and hearty. I posted complete tasting notes over at BeerAdvocate, but here's the rundown:
Ipswich is solid. It has a nice dark malt and fruit aroma, with a hint of chocolate and caramel. The flavor is right in line, with a nice dose of hops and even evident alcohol. It was a very enjoyable drink. The only thing that I would really change is the alcohol presence. It is only around 6.4%, but drank more like a 7%'er. But lucky for them I like the alcohol taste. To me it is sort of like the caffeine in coffee - without it, the drink is just lacking substance.
Dogfish Head is a thing of beauty. I nearly shed a tear as I took the last sip from the glass. It also has a nice dark malt and fruit aroma, but the chocolate and caramel are more pronounced. The flavor was in line, with extra help from hops and alcohol, but it was more intense, yet smooth and balanced. The only thing I wasn't impressed with was the head. I understand a brown ale should be lightly carbonated, but I still like to see some head, and have it last while I drink it.
Both are highly recommended, and both are cheaper (at least here at my local A&P liquor store) than Sam Adams. Maybe next I'll have to bite the bullet and try the Sam Adams Winter Ale (or is it a lager?) this year.
I think I am starting to get it now. For example, last night I had a Victory Pilsner, and it just seemed sort of out of place on a cold Connecticut night. It was still good, but I was wondering why I passed over a darker brew.
I just the other day picked up a sixer of Ipswich Winter Ale and one of Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale. OK maybe the DFH isn't exactly "seasonal" but hey it is dark and hearty. I posted complete tasting notes over at BeerAdvocate, but here's the rundown:
Ipswich is solid. It has a nice dark malt and fruit aroma, with a hint of chocolate and caramel. The flavor is right in line, with a nice dose of hops and even evident alcohol. It was a very enjoyable drink. The only thing that I would really change is the alcohol presence. It is only around 6.4%, but drank more like a 7%'er. But lucky for them I like the alcohol taste. To me it is sort of like the caffeine in coffee - without it, the drink is just lacking substance.
Dogfish Head is a thing of beauty. I nearly shed a tear as I took the last sip from the glass. It also has a nice dark malt and fruit aroma, but the chocolate and caramel are more pronounced. The flavor was in line, with extra help from hops and alcohol, but it was more intense, yet smooth and balanced. The only thing I wasn't impressed with was the head. I understand a brown ale should be lightly carbonated, but I still like to see some head, and have it last while I drink it.
Both are highly recommended, and both are cheaper (at least here at my local A&P liquor store) than Sam Adams. Maybe next I'll have to bite the bullet and try the Sam Adams Winter Ale (or is it a lager?) this year.
10.28.2007
Battle of the Pales
Last week I had Battle of the Pils. But it included a Kolsch/Alt cross. Oops.
OK, So now I see that Beer of the Gods isn't a Pilsner at all, in fact it isn't even a Lager. Boy do I feel foolish. But the profile of it is so much like a Pilsner, that I naively grouped it into the category for my Battle of the Pils. Since I was originally looking for a pale beer with a solid malt backing and plenty of hops, I can see how I went wrong here. But the fact is I went wrong. Consider this a correction.
Sorry for any confusion!
OK, So now I see that Beer of the Gods isn't a Pilsner at all, in fact it isn't even a Lager. Boy do I feel foolish. But the profile of it is so much like a Pilsner, that I naively grouped it into the category for my Battle of the Pils. Since I was originally looking for a pale beer with a solid malt backing and plenty of hops, I can see how I went wrong here. But the fact is I went wrong. Consider this a correction.
Sorry for any confusion!
10.27.2007
Oatquake Oatmeal Stout is Overattenuated
I know I've written a lot here today. But here's one last thought.
I have been tasting my Oatquake 2 Oatmeal Stout the past few days. It is bottled and almost fully carbed and ready to go. Tonight I put it head-to-head with Sammy Smith's Oatmeal Stout. And I understand the problem I've got.
But first, to explain mine. The smell is roasty and dark. The appearance is black and opaque, with a sort of small head (it is still conditioning) that pretty quickly dissipates. The taste is bitter and roasty. Bitterness comes from hops, which are strong, and also from malts, which are dark. It doesn't really have that rich smooth feeling I was expecting the oats to give me, and that I had last time I used a similar recipe to this. The mouthfeel is a bit watery but sharp, combined with a prickly hops sensation. Overall it has a pretty low body, perhaps less than the pilsners I've been drinking lately.
Sammy's is so much richer smelling and fuller in the mouth. The basic flavor is pretty much the same, and the hops are pretty close. The problem is that I mashed my Oatmeal stout at too low a temperature. Until now, I've been confusing low mash temp with high efficiency. I can still get a good high efficiency mash at a higher temp, it's just that I might not hit a low FG with a higher mash temp. Which in this case would have been better. Mine is just too watery in the mouthfeel department. It has a mild body to say the least. I guess that's what happens when you finish at 1.015 on a stout. Well live and learn. I guess that's why the first Oatquake, which finished at 1.028 (for a whopping 1.8% ABV) was so tasty.
So this one is overattenuated. Normally you talk about beers being underattenuated. That normally means there are too many residual sugars and the resultant beer is too sweet. Well mine had the opposite problem. I made too many fermentable sugars, and didn't leave enough residuals there to make a substantial body that a stout needs.
I have been tasting my Oatquake 2 Oatmeal Stout the past few days. It is bottled and almost fully carbed and ready to go. Tonight I put it head-to-head with Sammy Smith's Oatmeal Stout. And I understand the problem I've got.
But first, to explain mine. The smell is roasty and dark. The appearance is black and opaque, with a sort of small head (it is still conditioning) that pretty quickly dissipates. The taste is bitter and roasty. Bitterness comes from hops, which are strong, and also from malts, which are dark. It doesn't really have that rich smooth feeling I was expecting the oats to give me, and that I had last time I used a similar recipe to this. The mouthfeel is a bit watery but sharp, combined with a prickly hops sensation. Overall it has a pretty low body, perhaps less than the pilsners I've been drinking lately.
Sammy's is so much richer smelling and fuller in the mouth. The basic flavor is pretty much the same, and the hops are pretty close. The problem is that I mashed my Oatmeal stout at too low a temperature. Until now, I've been confusing low mash temp with high efficiency. I can still get a good high efficiency mash at a higher temp, it's just that I might not hit a low FG with a higher mash temp. Which in this case would have been better. Mine is just too watery in the mouthfeel department. It has a mild body to say the least. I guess that's what happens when you finish at 1.015 on a stout. Well live and learn. I guess that's why the first Oatquake, which finished at 1.028 (for a whopping 1.8% ABV) was so tasty.
So this one is overattenuated. Normally you talk about beers being underattenuated. That normally means there are too many residual sugars and the resultant beer is too sweet. Well mine had the opposite problem. I made too many fermentable sugars, and didn't leave enough residuals there to make a substantial body that a stout needs.
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