Olde Towne Brewing Company

On a quest to find a new place of habitation in Huntsville I decided to seek out the Olde Towne Brewing Co. (featured in Southern Brew News ...pick up a free copy at your local watering hole). Well it took a little map reading and help from my phat daddy via cell phone while he was at work (place of work not disclosed) in order to find them but it was well worth the trip. They are officially the only microbrewery in AL (defined as 15,000 barrels or less in production a year, just like a certain Sam started). Upon entering Melonhead and I were greeted by a certain older cat that when I questioned about beer availability gave us 2 Pale Ales straight off the line just before capping. Now this is how beer should be enjoyed when possible. Even Melonhead was licking her lips when greeted with a freshie. He then turned us over to a fellow War-Eagle-er who told us a little about the newly established brewery (ca 2004) and about the latest Beers Across America order of about 3000 cases of their pale ale and amber they had put out. They have a nice clean facility and he said it took 8 hours of non-stop bottling to empty their bright-fermenter (one ready to bottle and cap) in order to empty it. They have a line that runs about 50-55 or so bottles a minute with 4 guys running it (which was just the picture when we entered). By the way when I opened the door I thought there would be an open desk/secretary area but instead I walked right into the fermenting area which was a very nice touch especially when welcomed with a smile as some guy was video-taping the line. The younger cat (sorry didn’t catch any names) told me where to pick up all of their beers at a local BP but told me not to bother buying the Extra Pale Ale which I found puzzling. He said it didn’t sell well because it was more of their version of Coors, Miller, etc and the people buying their stuff wanted BEEEERRRRR. I’m sure the big boys started out this way before becoming commercialized. He said to pick up a sixer and try it but that the Pale Ale (made with 100% Cascade) and Amber were well worth it and also said they would be replacing the Extra Pale Ale with a Robust Porter due to slumping Extra Pale Ale business. As a partying gift he GAVE me ½ case of Pale and said to enjoy since it was all in the family “War Eagle”. Go by, visit, contribute and buy from this small brewing co. 214 Harmon Rd NE downtown H’ville, don’t bother calling, I tried and everyone is on the bottling line of loudness anyway, just pay 50 cent;) in parking and walk in.

Other Business

We are mad at work trying to come up with solid T-shirt ideas for our up and coming brew company. (Name not to be disclosed at this time to whack-os out there that would rather ride other people's coat-tails than sew their own.) However I have come up with some great ideas and with Junk's help hope to incorporate a little advertising into the whole mix. We also hope to have a good IPA going soon and some deuce doses on their way to AU. I also gagged down a 3-2 of Icehouse, which after the first 22 ounces seemed good, in order to have a good bottle for yeast starters on the high gravity stuff we may have coming out this winter. News from Terrapin to come..

Now Brew Batch #13

IRA hit the bottles tonight in our 2 hour bottling marathon. FG 1.002+0.00 @65F for 4.33%ABV. We bottled up 47 brown long necks, 2 clear and a mutt all with red crowns. The only problem is that I have labeled them in gold which didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, silver which is okay then back to basic black which seems to be the best so far. It seems to be one of those don't fix it if it ain't broke kind of things. Junk and I talked about how to divvy up the mutts for Red and such. Overall it was a great night of bottling with a clean kitchen at the end and a couple of Steam Styles to wash out our gullets. Which by the way will find itself in a head-to-head with Anchor Steam soon! (Stay Tuned)

Brew Batch #14 First!

Tonight Junk and I bottled 47 short-neck green with green crowns of EPA (and of course 2 clear). And they were a pain in the ass! I used the "old" Old Dutch Windmill bottles from brew batch #1 and I guess I had more patience with them then or something because the remainder of the sanitized ones are out on the curb waiting for recycling. I couldn't get a good crown seal on about 6 of them the first try. So the rest of you little bastards let it be known, as soon as you are in someone's belly will be chunked!! FG 1.012+0.00 @ 65F, which scared me at first because I am worried about glass hand grenades going off downstairs in about 2 days when the pressure builds up. This batch turned out amazingly clear with a great color. 4.85%ABV. We tried it out and it will be one awesome "Hey, how you doin'" session beer.

Brew Batch #13 & #14 Update

Junk and I managed to rack over both batches after having a nice long fermentation run. The color on these batches is quite impressive and will undoubtedly make up for any loss in ABV. Will order some new crowns tomorrow and hope to put another 100 or so in hibernation. May try a couple of the Steam Style while we are bottling these just to see where it is.

Brew Batch #14

English Pale Ale.
>1611hrs Live blog straight from the kitchen, the grain bag is steeping right now!
>1723hrs 1st Target hop addition for the 60 min boil.
>1836hrs It's in the final 20 minute ice bath. This will be the perfect 3 hour batch.
>1934hrs After smoking a little stoagie and talking future strategy we decided to pitch and sit the new batch outside with us to talk to as we enjoy some liquid bread welcome it to our new world!
I sit here as Junk cleans the equipment, he's becoming a master brewer quickly! After pouring out a lot of the wort in the gravity tube and making my butt pucker Junk managed an OG 1.044+0.002 @75F
The DWA (Designated Work Area) looks as though we never even brewed. On to the next batch. Nice, first-timer.

Brew Batch #11 Finally!!

Goes to bottle. We managed 48 long-neck browns with black crowns, 2 clear and 2 Grolsch pints. Damn I can really tell that I paid attention to the brewing details on this one! It will be February before we cut this one loose on the general population, but after a "flat" taste test, it's a keeper! Sometime soon we will reveal the label for this one, which will be my first labeled beer. I can't thank Junk enough for the bottling help and cleanup. I guess with an empty fermenter that means we are brewing again tomorrow! Holy catshit, go figure! Clue: this was originally to be the batch for the #1 hint (see previous post). Right now things are on track for A LOT of brewing, except that we are currently taking applications for a new Brew Mistress, basically a chick that likes hanging out with guys as they brew with no strings attached. She basically tries the girly stuff and gives us views from the split point of view;) FG 1.018+0.001 @ 71F to give 7.7%ABV. Now this wildcat is going to hibernate for a while, but you can expect that we break this kitty out for a stroke after Christmas.

Brew Batch #13

Bring out the leprechauns because Irish Red Ale is in the house. We had special visitors Kris and Ramal (currently working on their AU chapter induction). We all enjoyed several fine beers. Ramal;) has a degree in chemistry and was quite in tune with the brewing process for a first-timer. However there was this incident with a chocolate cupcake and the grain toss at the end of the night. Kris works for an unnamed beer distributor with connections to another distributor (visit one night if you want the details) and his friend plays hella drums to Jimmy Buffet. Overall, it was great except I managed to allow a boil over for the second damn time which may have affected our sugar turnout after looking at the mess on the stove eye.
OG 1.032+0.001 @70F which was bit depressing for Junk since it should have been around 1.040 but if it goes low then all is well for a moderate session beer.

One Busy Brew Week

Today I came home from lecture to find a 47 lb package of hops, grain, and malt syrup on my front porch. Now for you Brits, that's 21.4 kilos!! And for you Aussies that's 3.36 stones keeping in mind that the average weight runs about 12 stones for a good half-back. So I have 25% of a good rugby player to turn into 25 gallons of beer:) Sounds cool like that. I got in 5 batches and plan on doing 2 tomorrow with Junk and just making an easy week out of it before Thanksgiving break. Without giving away what we're brewing, I'll just give you hints:
1. A maltier, sweeter, low hopped beer that can be traced back to Burton-upon-Trent-- style examples are Bass Pale Ale and Boddington's Pub Ale
2. A little toasted malt, and a past crowd pleaser-- style example is Gaelic Ale (and no Killian's is not exactly like this one, good guess though)
3. A spawn from American lager beers, adjuncts such as rice and corn are sometimes added-- style example Terrapin Beer's second seasonal beer that became so popular it is now the 2nd type of beer they produce
4. Developed during the British colonization of a certain subcontinent-- no example needed if you don't know you should work on rounding out your palate!
5. This one may be a little tricky for some to guess, these beers were given a hair more hops and some pale malts and are great session beers due to low ABV-- style example Honker's Ale

Don't change that Bat-Channel

Brew Batch #12

I know this post comes before #11, but #11 is absolutely an investment!! (Stay tuned next Tuesday) Tonight Junk and I bottled 47 12oz long-necked brown with teal crowns, 2 clear for SRM education and 1 mutt. OG 1.008+0.001 @ 73F should give us a nice "session" beer at 4.0%ABV. This one really pulled it's way through after the whole old yeast melee. It was like having a "preemie" at 32 weeks with barely developed lungs, fearing it will have asthma and the little guy fighting it's way through and kicking some ass! I think this one is going to turn out just right. On a personal note I am way behind on "Our Tastes" postings but hope to soon catch up and throw some pics up on the server.

TnDC Buyer Tips

This is the time of the year when true beer lovers scour the land looking for the latest winter/seasonal brew. But sometimes just finding some of the old reliables at a foodstamp prices is enough the make you drool. So last Friday I shot over to Brandon's Package Store in Peachtree City, GA and boot-legged back a few cases of the good stuff including: Shipyard Pumpkin Head, Flying Dog's Dogtoberfest, Horn Dog BarleyWine, Gonzo Imperial Porter and Heller Hound, as well as a case of SweetWater's Festival Ale in the sixers and 4 1-liter pop-tops. But the best find so far would be the Bruno's right off exit 255 I-65 with their dedicated end cap to SweetWater's Pale Ale, IPA and Blue at $6.99/sixer and (drum roll)...Mike's Handy Food Mart Gardendale, AL with more cheap imports than you can shake a stick at. SweetWater, Hoegaarden (pronounced who-gar-den) for $7.99/sixer!!, and even Tucher in the singles, Pete's Rally Cap Ale $4.99, Sam Adams Octoberfest $10.99/12 pack!! Drink up.

Brew Batch #12 update

Junk and I racked the trub on #12 today, made a taste test and it was good. It was still actively fermenting when we racked it over into the secondary so I am hoping that it continues to ferment a bit more to give it a 4.5% or so. Looks like this is going to be a great session beer. I figure by next Tuesday we'll be bottling those and they'll be ready to at least try before we put RR in a bottle to hibernate;)

Stop The Presses...

This morning I woke up to clean out the fermenter that had #12 in it and low and behold it had a nice white foamy ring around the inside of it. It also still had those pesky small colonies in the middle. So at 10am I called the great guys over at Northern Brewer today to get some clarification on my brew problem. Apparently the smack pack had not been incubated long enough. According to Wyeast for every month over the culture date, you should give the pack an extra 24 hrs. So technically we shouldn't have brewed until about today in order to see how much the pack would swell. Brew Dude told me that a 72 hour lag is not uncommon for older yeasts to get started and that I could taste it after racking into the secondary and make sure to leave the last 12oz in it so that if it in fact is mold colonies that they would float on top and not settle. He also said if the yeast kicks up enough it could overwhelm the mold and still give a good beer, but if it tastes funky when racked especially since racking is done from the bottom up, "it's over". But for now we have gone from one bubble every minute or so to one every 6 or 7 secs. GAME ON!!!!

Brew Batch #12 UPDATE

Well we feared the worst, a yeast pack that was inactive and it was confirmed tonight. I prayed to the Wyeast god that the "puffy-ness" I felt after smacking this old pack (4 mos) was not in fact inflation due to it warming to room temp but just a slow pack to get started. Well there were no bubbles tonight and when I cracked the lid open there was no foamy ring either, I was hoping it had done some mad fermenting over the weekend. But to add insult to injury there were 3 or 4 small mold colonies on top. Yuck!! So at this point I can't even repitch another culture. I have officially screwed up a batch every way you can imagine short of not adding the yeast at all. I read in "Joy of Home Brewing" that a truly experienced homebrewer messes a batch up at least one time every way possible. So ends the list, I hope.

Brew Batch #12

Started a little California mistake tonight. Junk, Melonhead, and myself brewed a little Steam Style (see Anchor Steam Style Ale for a true rendition). Steam-style brew is one of the true beer inventions of America. The folks in San Francisco wanted a lager beer there but the temps were too high resulting in a weird ale type brew made with a lager yeast above 55F. The yeast pack was old yet "hopeful" with a little swell, but I still have confidence that out of the 100 billion cells possible that one will pull it out and go through a little process called binary fission. This batch will be water to mouth in 28 days, which works out great since my running regimine has increased. Thanks for all the help, it was a GREAT session for brainstorming, which is exactly why we brewed this beer, a session beer at about 4.5% give or take when all is said and done.
OG 1.036+0.002 @77F

Mug Club Field Trip

Tonight we took the first of hopefully many Mug Club field trips to another pub/bar/brewery. Loco’s Deli and Pub put an Oktoberfest ad in the Plainsman about $10 mugs and $5 German beers (4 offered on 3 rotating taps) so we opted to scoot away from mug club and venture into unknown waters (famous last words for Ahab). They offered Dinkelacker, Spaten, Franziskaner, and Warsteiner Dunkel on draft. Well like many new relationships this one started off with a lot of head, on my Dunkel! I don’t blame our waitress Britney but instead the hoarder of suds behind the counter. (So Brit you owe me half a pint of liquid beer). But shortly thereafter everything got on track. Merry had a Purple Haze. Junk started with a Spaten (his of course brimming so that suds runneth over) and Britney in her pink form fitting T kept them coming. Did I mention Brit is a redhead? Future TnDCer? Thank you Brit;) I digress. But discovering the draft goods included an unknown to me and my cohorts...Hoegaarden, brought smiles to everyone’s faces. We could try awesome Belgium wheat that runs $12/sixer in our newly acquired 23oz mug for only 5 bucks… so went the next mug filling. (Our Tastes posting to follow). The aroma of the yeast left a slight clover and bananas feel that was mouth-watering. I strive to do as well one day. So as I sit here tonight drinking a Red Brick Ale (thanks Junk) from ATL Brewing Company in my birthday mug (thanks Merry), I say go to Loco’s ask for Brit and push the magnesium out of your neurons to prevent memories from being written. Melonhead—just told me “cabbage juice was once used for hangovers- it contains chelators that offset acetylaldehydes….think I’ll stick to B12, ibuprofen and water before bed. Cheers, brewing tomorrow-----Steam Style, baby..Yeah baby. .

TnDC Update and Other Notes of Business

Of late, a true TnDC has been rare and elusive here at the AU chapter. However, recently (meaning since this semester started) the AU clan has embarked on a different mission. Every Wednesday night Olde Auburn Ale House has Mug Club Night for its Mug Club members where we get a free meal of decent portion and regular prices for 23oz mugs (Happy Hour 3-9 Mon-Thurs..there's your plug Mr. Cargile). Oddly enough some of the best things just evolve from meager beginnings. Oelfeekee, Junk and myself have made this a regular occurrence and hope that you would come out and join us as well as support our local brew pub. Also on the skinniest of skinny there will be more Catch Her In The Rye being brewed for some sort of celebration of Jamie winning the bronze. (pics to be posted some day).

Oktoberfest und biergartens

Well October is here and so is Oktoberfest, even in Alabama. I was shocked to see one in Cullman , and in Boaz.
But the one Junk and I have been brewing over is the one in Helegna, GA. The South's own little piece of Brat. This one starts in September and goes right into November, like a good Oktoberfest should.

Brew Batch #11-- REINKE'S REVENGE

At 1435hrs this afternoon the usual bunch got together and brewed #11, affectionately known as Reinke's Revenge from here on out. On the roster of apprenticeship included Garreju a.k.a "Junk" of the AU TnDC chapter, Whitehouse subchapter; and Oelfeekee also of the AU TnDC chapter, High Springs subchapter. I can already tell that many of you will be wondering, "What's with all of the subchapter business?". Well as we bring our HSOP years to a close the AU chapter will dissolve and hopefully we will all take what we have learned and shared back to our "current" subchapters to form our own network of pure TnDC chapters literally from tip to tip, from sea to shining sea. I digress.... RR's is a Russian Imperial Stout with 12 whopping lbs of fermentable sugars. We figure to push the 10% mark. The brewing went off without a hitch (with just a slight boil over shortly after sparging, which was my fault due to closes the lautertun), but other than that this baby is going to be big and a mouthful, just like the мерзкий школьный учитель (loosely villainous schoolmaster) we have come to respect at the least. OG came out to be 1.072 + 0.001@ 72F.

The End of an Era:(

Sadly Brew Batch Numero Uno crossed the great gullet of the unknown for the last time tonight. As Garreju a.k.a Junk and I had the last 2 pints after a marathon brewing session that was supposed to only go a few hours and ended up being almost 12! Alas EPA is most certainly destined to become another batch, just as the Phoenix rises from the ashes so shall EPA ferment from the strain......To Be Continued

Whoop There Iya!!! (or there it is)

Congrats to Jamie Ray!! At this year's GABF Jamie Ray, brewer at Montgomery Brew Pub and Olde Auburn Alehouse, pulled out a bronze in the rye catagory with his Catch Her In The Rye. Now I'm not bragging but if you were to look back at some previous posts, say---2/11/05, I think you'd see that I picked it as a winner along time ago. It is a definite quincher.

Update..

It's been a while since I last spoke to the rest of you in TnDC-land, but things are going to be "all better" in 10 days. I've hatched a brewing idea to honor one of the HSOP profs on the way out, we'll call him Dr. Warsh;) I will be ordering the Russian Imperial Stout for brewing on 9/30 after our kinetics final. This beer will take some tender loving care and time to age (about 4 months), just like getting used to Dr. Warsh. I also tried Brew Batch #10, last weekend and it needs about another week or so of aging then it should be smooooooottthhhhhh.

Developing News!!

"The Science Of Beer, scientists at the USDA suggested that men should take a look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.

The theory is that drinking beer is turning men into women.

To test the theory, 100 men were each fed six pints of beer. It was then observed that 100% of the men gained weight, talked excessively without making sense, became overly emotional, couldn't drive, failed to think rationally, argued over nothing, and refused to apologize when wrong.

No further testing is planned." --contributed by Bugman1109

I'll keep you posted if there are any other developmets in this research.

BREW BATCH #10 500th Bottle!!!!

Bottled #10 tonight with the pops and it was perfect! We got 48 12 oz. brown long necks with star and stripes crowns (nice touch to the American Amber theme), 1 clear one for settling and I had a great Jubel pint bottle that I had not yet used so I threw it in there first. Everything went well other than I have developed a little leak somewhere around the nozzle of the bottling bucket. I even snuck a taste and this is going to be another staple recipe. FG 1.002+0.002 @ 77F to give it a smooth 5.29% abv. I need to think of a good name for this batch, "Old Glory" "Amber Waves"... I'll keep thinking about it. Cheers to all those who made this great.

FREE THE HOPS!!!

For those of you who don't know Danner, the founder of Free The Hops, had a great meeting yesterday with Senator French. FTH is a group trying to change the beer laws in AL raising both the size and abv limit to the same as the rest of the nation. Right now you can only enjoy about 30% of all of the beers in the world, the other 70% are illegal. AL is one of only 4 states still using such conservative beer laws, West Virginia, MS and some other conservative state that slips my mind are the only others in the union using such outdated beer laws. Recently, Pop The Cap in NC got a bill passed that claimed new beer laws. Please visit these sites and do what you can especially if you are a true beer loving Alabamian that would like to at least try one of the other beers on he restricted list.

How Big Is Wyoming?

That's just what I was thinking, since it is in a ton of western movies and seems to be a state that may have everlasting sunsets and many an untravelled path. Well as of 12/2000 which was the last census it was 493,782; 50th in the union. That's right there are more people in Alaska than in Wyoming. Ah yes but are they more depressed? To put it in prospective there was approximately 1/5th population of Wyoming at the last AU vs Al game. nuff' said. "My times up, I thank you for yours.."

University of Wyoming tidbits

This is the link you'll need just in case you want to download the University of Wyoming fight song. I listened to "Cowboy Joe" and it was ok, it's not "War Eagle" but I guess after a few cold regional brews it may actually get the ole blood flowing. Univeristy of Abalama had "The Million Dollar Band", but out West they're known as "University of Wyoming Western Thunder Marching Band". The only reason I know the colors is that my ex had to wear this color combo "because it looked" to one of the first games we went to together, only to find out that it was the school colors of the opposing team, as we sat right in the middle of a bunch of Dye Hards. I'll miss her... :(.... not

Brew Batch #10

OG ended up being 1.040 +0.001 @74F. Which is right about in line. I may have let it settle a bit too much before getting around to actually taking the measurement but it is definitely turning out to be a great batch. Hell, its already bubbling like crazy and should be ready to rack over on Friday.

BREW BATCH #10 500TH BOTTLE

Brewed #10 tonight with the help of Melonhead- Gardendale chapter, and Frank- OK City chapter. This batch brewing was flawless and it should be since I have been doing this for a while. Stewed up a batch of American Amber, seemed fitting. It smelled and looked great. Even though I have only gotten a handful of hours of sleep in the last few days due to finals, this batch really wound me up!! There was no spillage at all!! And the mess will simply be some dishes in the morning. I started brewing early 1930hrs. I enjoyed a 6-pack of Sweet Georgia Brown hand delivered by "the Head" (our tastes to follow) and a great Carlos Torano NS Perfecto. ultimately at the end of the process the only one awake is me to pitch, which seems kind of nice:) OG will be determined in the morning, I am lucky to be able to type this

Looking For A Haircut?

I personally wondered who the biggest tribe of Native Americans in Wyoming were. Well according to this site it's the Arapaho. Cloud men I think is what they were called, interesting...

A Little Rope After Dinner?

Used to be in the good ole days I man would be hanged to death in the state of Wyoming. Now the options are a little more narrow, but at least you don't shat and piss your self right after the big SNAP! Check out this crazy dude .

Wyoming Fun Facts

Ever wondered what
Castilleja linariaefolia was? Did you know that Wyoming had the 5th Highest Point in the world, Gannett Peak 13,804 feet? Ever wated to call someone in Wyoming and couldn't remember what the area code was? Well fret not the WHOLE state has only one-- 307. This is where the western most chapter of TnDC is now.

The Month of Kreuger

This month we'll be honoring the name Kreuger and all it has meant to me. I say this because AUHSOP has lost a dynamic duo to the state with the motto "Equal rights". I wonder if that was the motto when the Indian Nation ruled it? Yeah, I doubt it too;)

Some New Brew Names Contributed

Now I don't usually advocate self-panegyrical stroking but a few names have been contributed by Shane (TnDC chapter to later be announced): FrankenBrau? or how about St. Frankie's Girl? Not too bad if you ask me, but for all of the true fans I promise to save names like this for when I rival Sam Adams as one of the finest microbrews;)

Brew Batch #9

Last night phatdaddy and I finished the ole girl up with 48 12oz brown long-necks with gold crowns and a few mutts to give away. This beer has become a definite staple and is quite comforting to make. I know just when I need to pull myself out of the garage while I am enjoying a stogie to check the lautertun for boil over.
FG 1.004+.001 @74F to give it 4.3%abv. a nice session beer with a clear color and great taste.

Brew Batch #9

Well ladies (or how about just Lady, crazy-ass lady froot-loop mother licker***), sorry got off on a rampage about my brewing partner for the night (now I know why we started this out as a boys only thing) the only problem is that she has been here for every batch, but I'm here to say TnDC brewing takes a backseat to no one (even parents in town to kiss the ass of the eldest that the whole family thought they would never get rid of and forced her fiancé or should I say fiancée (and no old women cannot marry in AL) to have a heart attack at the ripe old age of 31!! right after he proposed. Man do they deserve each other:) Anyhoo, #9 goes to gas!! 500th bottle here I come. I'm already thinking of something different and unfamiliar (not an Asian woman) but more along the lines of maybe and American Amber.
OG 1.034+0.001 @ 74F (with every problem known to man) suprised I remembered to even boil the H2O!! Must have been the Friday the 13th curse or something.

Big Brew 2005

My first year to do Big Brew and it started off with a big dud. I had everything I needed and forgot the damn hops in Auburn, after smacking my pack. I wanted to try doing the American Pale Ale recipe again just get that one down pat. So I guess I will call Northern Brewer tomorrow or Monday and see what I can do about a smacked pack and no hops. Oh well live to brew another day.

yes..

a st paddy's day tndc post is coming..... 01/24/06 no it's not, I moved all of the material to this year, sorry

Great Smokes for Great Beer..

I was given a couple of fine Cuban stogies to taste and I will tell you that I have already had a couple before in my lifetime, but these were the finest... as in frog fuzz fine. The name skips me for the moment (I'll repost it later), but this stogie was already cut, burned even with a delicate ash and had the smoothest draw since the invention of the peace pipe (not that I have ever tried one but I imagine the Native Americans didn't screw around when it came to their tobac and drink--hmmm maybe something I should blog later). I inhaled this morsel while ingesting a couple of my finest pints #2,3&4!! (see earlier posts for descriptions). So thank you Mr. A, for sharing in your bounty and giving that Portuguese pack mule enough euros to cross the Atlantic so that WE may indulge in yet another forbidden fruit, at least until Fidel passes on to that great socialized Cuban tobacco farm in the sky. Wonder if I'll leave to see that? Or if he'll become the first Terminator and out live all of us stogie smokers;)

Saint Patrick's Day 2005

Look I know you guys were looking for something juicey, but I just had a lot of great Irish-Car Bombs at the alehouse and forgot.... until reality

One Year and Still Going

This is a joyful time of year for all who enjoy beer and the idea that one day someone may bury you in a large Guinness bottle and hermetically seal it for freshness. Amazing the thoughts that run through my head. Make sure to wear your green and make it long sleeve because St. Pat's on the plains is going to be 40F and a slight dizzle all day and night, perfect Irish weather for sitting in your favorite pub and having a few pints;)

Notes of Business

This week is a busy one with the 1 year independence anniversary of the new blog tomorrow and of course St. Patty's on Thursday. I will be attending the Meteorite (this is a really neat site) concert at the Ale House and sipping on some great Irish Red (no green beer for me, I'll substitute a mug that changes to green when cold beer is put in it, I'll be the one in green;) At my house there is an all week, maybe month marathon of Braveheart in the DVD player with So I Married An Axe Murderer to follow after Pat's Day and if I had TrainSpotting I would throw it in there at the end of the month. Also if you need to download the latest Revenge of the Sith full-length trailer, Donovan- Halcyon chapter has been kind enough to put it on his site.

"Looks Like..."

"Looks like I have Chiclets in my mouth." naaayyyyy horsieee. If you missed last night's episode of the Osbourne's it was a belly-acher. The best part was Ozzy almost setting the house on fire because he forgot about the blender making his smoothie and him getting a lot of dental work done with replacement of most of his bridgework. He came out looking like a real winner. I am laughing as I type it still makes me laugh so much. Can't wait until this season comes out on DVD.

Our Tastes-- Red Hook Winterhook

This was a most surprising ale. It was dark and malty with that definite 5.5% kick. As I continued to drink I noticed a nice warming come over me. This beer typically comes out early in the season and I was quite pleased to see it still on the shelf at my squeeze's local beer nook (Mike's Handy Food Mart). Yeah the name is funny but you wouldn't believe the types of beer these guys get in. I enjoyed it enough that I wish I had saved at least 3 for yearly comparison and update, but alas my tongue is thick and typing is slow;)

Brew Batch #8

This dares to be the best yet. Had some help tonight in the form of Jennifer- newly formed Henagar chapter We bottled 48 12oz brown long necks with green crowns, 1 clear ( I remembered this time) and a pint pop-top for Nate. I'll have to admit she was good at filling and capping, not many including men seem to seamlessly master the art on the first try, fret not brew on my companions. We both sampled it and boy can you taste the alcohol in this "cockle-warming" batch. Had some late night cat-draggers (or in this case a weiner dog, chihuahua, and pomerian), Steph, Shelby (chapter to be announced later) and The Gumer- Perkasie chapter probably our farthest nothern chapter to date, except for Tamalita and I think she is in the U.K. now. FG 1.010+0.001 @65F, 7.14% ABV.

Bugs In Africa?

As Ozzy put it "a bug bites you in Africa and you're fucking dead, man.." Once again I am bettered by the health heightening powers of laughter.

Brew Batch #8

Got things underway again for the first time in a long time and it felt goooood!!! Winter Warmer is this batch type, a Minnesotean type beer that said it will warm your cockles;)so this was a no-brainer when it came to buying it. I'll admit I got the jitters little because it has been some time since I brewed last and by the end I was well on the way to being buzz-worthy and can really remember little except that I forgot to add the liquid malt extract before starting on with the boiling hops. Which I hope doesn't effect the taste, but its done now. So with a little help from Merry- Gardendale TnDC transplant chapter I managed to get this one done. As a matter of fact I'll be pitching the yeast tomorrow when the liquid has oozed out of my bones a little more. OG 1.066+0.001@ 65F.

Post BnD TnDC

Met a few chapters at the local watering hole and proudly filled my 22oz stein 3 times with some Catch Her In The Rye, The Monk's Dubbel and back to the Rye (I just like the name of that one);) This test was the kind that kicked you in the balls so hard it made you piss a little blood the next morning and you couldn't sit long in your chair or at all in a hard plastic classroom chair. However, I will say that I loved that rye. Jamie even told me that I could get up with him about grinding out some malt grain he has left over if I wanted to practice before making the swap to all grain brewing.

Another Laugh-Out-Louder!!

Well as Ozzy put it, "Why don't you just hit ya self in the face with a f@ckin' bat, if you just want to look ugly?" Kelly got a lip piercing in her lower left lip and I will have to agree that it is not very flattering for her but then again the drugs aren't doing a whole hell of lot for her either. I love this show!!

New Mug Club

I joined the Lifetime Mug Club at The Olde Auburn Ale House tonight and started things off right. First off I had 1 Monks Dubbel, Auburn Amber, Pilsner Urquell, and 2 EPAs that your's truly made back on March 25th 04'. It costs $110 or just under and I got a sweet 22oz mug that I carefully measured to make sure that was right because it was told to me to be a 23ozer but that is right to the lip, a nice dark blue polo with the Ale House emblem embossed on it, there is never a cover for me, and I get whatever the going price is for a pint all the time. Not too bad of a deal considering it pays for itself in about 50 beers. Oh, I also get a free meal on Wednesday nights, more of an appetizer size than a meal, so that is probably about $4 or so if I had to pay for it. Just gave me a good reason to go more on a regular basis.

"I ain't goin'.."

I have to buy the 2nd season of "The Osbournes". I had forgottten how funny this damn show is. I salute Ozzy for not wanting to go to Bora Bora. There are plenty of other places to go in Tahiti. Plus in his words "Leboot a la toot a blah blah, f#@k it, I ain't going'.." because the French were so snooty last time;)

Our Tastes-- Samuel Adams Boston Ale

Had a couple of tumblers of this stuff and realized I had never blogged about it. This is by far one of the best beers Jim Koch puts out. For those that don't realize it, Sam Adams started out as a homebrew recipe of Jim's dad in 1984 in Boston. It was one of the best microbrews out, then slowly started to snowball down the proverbial mountain in popularity. So after making more than 15,000 barrels a year consistently it became a "regional" brew. Actually one of the biggest regional brews. It is still a microbrewed beer just at a larger volume, hence giving it the "regional" brew name. It has a amber-light brown color with a fabulous lattice, not like the Pale Ale. It was first brewed to celebrate the opening of the Boston Brewery.
"Like Samuel Adams Boston Lager®, it was an old family recipe that was rescued by Jim Koch from his father's attic. Samuel Adams® Boston Ale, a Stock Ale, has a complex, caramel malt character balanced with distinct spicy and herbal hop notes. Our proprietary ale yeast imparts a variety of fruit and ester notes in both the nose and flavor which are indicative of the style."
This brew has that homebrew "aged" quality to it, which means when you muffed the recipe or method a little that you let it age for some time just to allow the flavor to balance out. It is fermented at "cooler" temps and Kraussened.
Some characteristics: 180 calories, 5.1%ABV, year round availability, and Spalt-Spalter Noble hops, East Kent Goldings and Fuggles

Osbournes Return Season #4

I got to catch the new episode of The Osbournes tonight and I must say Ozzy didn't disappoint. I own the 1st season of The Osbournes and must say it is funnier than the damn show. It has out-takes (if you can believe that) and an Ozzy translator!! Who would of thought that a man addicted to everything natural and synthetic would be falling down to have his first "VAT" of coffee in the morning then be allergic to it to the point where he couldn't sleep at all. I tell ya shit like this makes me roll around laughing and appreciate the "normalcy" of my life:) Cheers to you, Oz.

The Monk's Dubbel

Had a couple of pints of "The Monk's Dubbel" at the Olde Auburn Ale House and I'll have to say this is some of the best beer Jamie (the brewmaster) has ever made. He also has a little contraption in the back that allows him to brew 15Cong of brew at a time using 3 old stainless steel kegs and 3 propane burners, which means all I need is 2 more glass carboys and I can set my myself up for a little kegging:) They are also going to have a shindig for their 5th year anniversary on February 12th, so I may see if Big D or Melonhead wants to attend for a little beer and some bands.

Quick Update

Yep, I'm still alive. Just started back to pharmacy school. I only had 12 days off and worked 7 of them for a whopping 65 hours and took the rest off to make sure I started this semester in good health because it is going to be a beeeaaatttcchh. It's been named "7 weeks of Hell" because they compress an entire semester into it;( I have managed to sanitize and wash a load of bottles, so all I need to do now is get on the next 2 batches, Pale Ale and a good Winter Warmer. I picked up a couple of brewing books and assuming I have spare time will hone my craft. I also made really good friends with John at Olde Auburn Ale House before the semester ended and he is quite the Brewmaster's apprentice. Jamie Ray the Brewmaster there has a sweet set up for doing 15Cong at the time. So I think for a summer project maybe Big D and I can build one of these to brew on. So almost a year after secession I have managed to expand my palate and craft and brew up 7 batches!!