Our Tastes-- Smirnoff Twisted Asst. IVAN EDITION

Piotr Arsenyevich Smirnov was the Russkie that at 20 years old in 1860 Moscow (back when they really hopped - no pun intended) accidentally left a chunk of charcoal next to some alcohol over night and realized in the morning that it had adsorbed the fumes, leading him to the development of the charcoal filtered vodka we have all come to love. How this led the company to introduce Smirnoff Ice (2000), Triple Black (2002) and Twisted V (2004) I'll never know. The Madarin Orange is okay, a little like a light Sunkist; Green Apple is a bit more sour than I would have thought, Raspberry is alright and the last one left such a small impression that I can't even remember its flavor. I went through this phase when I was younger (right after the Zima year) and it seems to me that this beer is made for young women and my parents, go figure. Bottom line is this stuff is sweet and will keep you from enjoying almost anything else after you have had a few.

Our Tastes-- Purple Haze IVAN EDITION

Located 30 miles north of Nawlins, LA; Abita makes a line of microbrews using the artesian waters of Abita Springs. Purple Haze is a very nicely flavored beer. I went through a phase where "sweet" beers like Smirnov and Zima were good to me but as my tastes have evolved I try to steer clear of beers like this. However, this one was a pleasant surprise that Merry Bighead picked up. It is a crisp, wheat beer with a slightly purple hue to it. This comes the fact that raspberry puree is added to the beer after filtration to give it a slight after taste odd color. I enjoyed this beer enough and Merry has begged enough that as soon as I have some bottles I will probable try a new recipe that incorporates the raspberry flavor just to see how I do on a post-fermented flavored beer (definitely after this semester). The raspberries provide the lager with a haze, a fruity aroma, and a tartly sweet taste. So try one the next tie you are cooped up during a hurricane. Another plus to this is that when Merry has a favorite beer, I become her favorite "bed bug". Hallelujah!!

Our Tastes-- Modelo Especial IVAN EDITION

This beer is the second in popularity in the Grupo Modelo. Modelo Especial is a Pilsner type beer and is just as good as its dark counterpart (Negra Modelo) when a lime is dunked in for good measure. It has a crisp flavor (not bitter at all) and light color. Though I am not a big fan of mexican beers, save a few, this one has really grown on me (especially since the local Bruno's has it on sale for $9.99 a 12!!). Joe J. and I both agree this beer is top notch and definitely worthy of a beach or deepsea fishing trip. It will also serve as a nice refill in homebrewing with its odd shape.

Our Tastes-- Negra Modelo IVAN EDITION

Now this is a premium Mexican beer!! The bottle are an awesome shape for the winter brew that I will be trying in a few weeks. This bad-boy has been around since and was first brewed in 1926 as a draft beer. It is Mexico's #1 dark beer and 1 of the top 5 export brands. It is a Munich-style beer that is great with or without the customary lime.

A few nuances about this beer is that:
1)The wort is cooled and simultaneously saturated with sterile air to inoculate the yeast and begin fermentation (giving little to no chance that bacteria can colonize)
2)Cervecería Modelo, S.A. makes its beers with the finest hops from Bohemia and Saaz as well as buying malt from the leading growers in Germany and the USA
3)Because of the public's preference for clear glass, it dropped its plan to use dark bottles, which would have helped conserve the essential oils in the hops.
In 1931, Negra Modelo was put on the market in half and quarter bottles.

Our Tastes-- Budweiser/Bud Lite IVAN EDITION

I had plenty of Budweiser/Bud Lite, thanks to Joe J. I have slowly started preferring Bud to Miller Lite in recent years. Maybe its true your tastebuds do change as you get older. It is a refreshingly nice beer with a color and tastes that needs not be expounded upon due to its universal appeal, hell even the Japanese like it. Couple of tidbits on Budweiser: It was founded in 1876 and is a Lager beer (bottom fermenting yeast that takes a little while longer and is temperature sensitive, they also produce 100 million barrels/year, they have some of the best draught beer out there (especially the "party ball" that seems to be making a comeback, DRAUGHT is unpasteurized and that is why is must stay cold (allowing it to warm causes "flat" or skunked beer, or even worse contaminated beer) they also have a 110 day guarantee of freshness from the born on date, which is a neat ad move for your fresh beer drinker, but so far the neatest campaign ploy is Day Old Beer Tasting at your local pub or tavern (this stuff was "born" yesterday!!)
Got an old beer ball you don't know what to do with? How about a keg and an old school fridge?

Quite a Nail-Biter

Well the AU vs. LSU (10-9 victory for those of you just emerging from your cave) game was enough to cause Joe J.-Mobile chapter to leave the game about 3&1/2 minutes before it was over just to pace in the coridor leading to the stadium. However this entire weekend has lead to plenty of beer tasting and stogie smoking (which is probably why I am now sick). It was nice to have refugees from Mobile in AU for the hurricane (though we only faired slightly better) and Joshie- new addition to the TnDC Mobile chapter (see earlier post) yet not able to enjoy hopped and malty beverages made do with his "big boy" cereal and milk and finishing it all down to the last spoonful/nippleful.

And the Storm Rages On....

Just had our 3rd tornado, but they have all been east of here closer to Opelika. Winds are a bit heavy like my head (from having too much beer with the news) and I have officially lost power, but the ole laptop is fully charged and I have phone still. I can here transformers exploding all over the place, but I have plenty of beer and propane. Let TnDC continue..

Ivan was not invited to TnDC!!

Ivan just made landfall and is beating Gulf Shores to death (98mi/hr sustained), but I still have power and phone. So we will be doing a little _nDC all weekend and hopefully the LSU game will still be on. I hope to be able to do some blogging at least some "Our Tastes" stuff. Everyone hang in there and let's do some WnDC, TnDC, FnDC, etc...

Brew Batch #6

Extra Pale Ale was created tonight. It started out having an awfully light color but then again I have been brewing a lot of darker beers. As it boiled for a while it did darken up. This is the last batch of the unofficial summer so I will probably be brewing exclusively in AU for the remainder of the semester. Since we only have 2 weeks break this Christmas, I doubt I will have time to kick up a batch during the holidays BUT the "Winter Warmer" recipe is looking pretty good. Going to have to look into aeration and yeast starters to do that one.
OG 1.034+0.003@80F ( a little low, 1.045 is the usual but if it ferments down well should yield a nice brew)

The 1st Taste-Off

Tried some Sam Adams Pale Ale BrewMaster's Collection against some TnDC Orange & BREW American Pale Ale that I found hiding at my place this weekend and it was phenomenal. I picked up the SA Pale Ale at Dirk's Filet and Vine. I had never had any of the SA Pale Ale and since they use Kent Goldings and Fuggles hops I thought I would put'em in a little competition with each other. Boston Brewery first started brewing their Pale Ale in 1999 but my APA was ca. 9/19/2003, so it had almost aged for a year when I found it. I'll have to say with as little bias as possible that I would take my PA over theirs any day. Take a look for yourself

Temporary Schedule Change

Until further notice TnDC will become FnDC (FridayNightDrinkingClub), for probably the remainder of the semester. However, you can still count on the same festive nature and level of activities (if not more) as usual. Crazy thing about Pharmacy school, it keeps going on Friday mornings whether you are hung over or not. See hangover remedies I personally try to remember to take a B Complex before I go to bed. Cheers!