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!!