TnDC Field Trip #13

Off to watch the Auburn Tigers play in the OutBack Bowl. We made a trip to WOB (World of Beer) where they host over 500 beers on draft and bottle (my squeeze found it on her iPhone). The selection at this place is phenomenal! They even have deals on seasonals that are rotating out. They didn't have my 1st choice which was the Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale so our tender offered up Frosted Frog by Hoppin' Frog. Man this beer was a good'en at 8.6%abv. My partner in crime had a homemade "fruity" beer of a house wheat with a splash of lambic, little did he know she is a girl that likes the "full" lambic experience. We learned of other Guinness mixer drinks such as a "Dirty Hoe" (with Hoegaarden) and "Dirty Red Headed Hoe" (with St. Louis lambic), but her favorite came in the form of a "Chocolate Raspberry" (Young's Chocolate Stout and St. Louis Lambic) layered out. Needless to say as OK played Stanford we had happy mouths. Then onto Tampa Bay Brewing Company in Ybor. Merry with her iPhone has become quite the navigator. When we got downtown we happened upon the OutBack Bowl parade. I had to try this place just to see what it was like. It's still run by mom ans son and I met the Head Brewmaster, David Doble (the son) and he was a heck of a nice guy. My 1st beer and for me a name that still makes me laugh out loud, Jack the Quaffer porter! We all know what the actual term means but the urban dictionary has it defined a little differently. Next was Old Elephant Foot IPA, and to end the night Moose Killer barleywine. If you're in Ybor you have got to go sit and enjoy the brew and ambiance of TBBC. On the way home once again the iPhone navigator got us out of the ghetto twice and tomorrow we will be continuing our coverage from the 2010 OutBack Bowl.

Our Tastes-- DogFish Head Sah'Tea

The last DFH beer I have to try, Sah'Tea. A 9th century inspired beer that we'll be having in a tulip glass. Pouring a bright quickly dissipating white froth this beer has notes of caramel, ginger, honey, cinnamon, juniper berries and chai tea. It's made the "Finnish" way by dumping white hot rocks into the wort to give a pronounced caramelized profile. The taste a mouth full of clove, bananas, cardamon, nutmeg, orange peel, with a tart unsatisfying overall flavor. My face hurts as I type from the astringent tightness between my gums and cheeks! Maybe I shouldn't have saved this one for last. The Enabler brought up a good point during this, we need some Utopias to wash this stuff out of our mouths. Color is the most exciting aspect of this brew. A nice golden orange. I grasp at my cods as I take drink after mouth punishing drink. Made with German Weizen yeast you'll lose yourself in the complexity of the aroma and flavor as you look for the metaphorical life ring for your palate. 9%abv. This beer left me with a "taste dickey"on my tongue.

Brew Batch #37 Québécois Quadruple Wheat Wine

Keggin' another one! 2&12/2 Cong into a keg and the other half into 24 long necks with gold crowns. FG 1.010+0.000 @63F to give about 9.8%abv. Tried a little shot glass of it and it promises to be a winner as it ages in the bottle.

Brew Batch #38 Brown Ale

Knocked out a batch to put into my soon to be empty keg. NB has a new one out called Caribou Slobber that seemed to fit nicely into my schedule. An American brown ale with a little more hop to it than it's across the pond cousin. OG 1.050+0.000 @56F. Should end up being a nice fresh session beer in February.

Our Tastes-- Samuel Adams 2008 Longshot Traditional Bock

I'm just now trying this beer from last year's winners and if memory serves me Alex Drobshoff placed in a couple of different categories, so they were sure to pull one of this cat's entries. This traditional bock seems to encompass what I've come to enjoy in this type of beer. It pours a deep dark copper with light head. There is a definite malt backbone to it from either the Munich or Veinna malts. There is a sweet nose of banana or fruit bread, fruitcake? Taste is titillating plums/raisin with a tartness of cherries. The malt backbone and low hop allow the sweet part of the taste to linger on the palate throughout. 6.8%abv and I'd buy it if it were a commercial (I mean his own label). Here's a list of the guys he beat out since McDole's Double IPA was placed in this year's due to last years hops shortage for his recipe:
Alex Drobshoff of California Traditional Bock
Michael Robinson of New Hampshire Espresso Stout
Aaron Schenk of North Carolina German Pilsner
Chad Warner of Massachusetts English Brown Ale

End of an Era

Batch #18 Wicked Merry's Berry brewed on 8/27/06 is being finished off as I type. This only leaves a few batches still in bottles that I will hammer away on while I am waiting to transfer, keg and carbonate the other batches. Amber Waves, Steam Style and of course a ton of RR that I can just let get better. Maybe I'll do this one in kegs for Melonhead next year so she'll have something to gnaw on for football season.

Our Tastes-- Chateau Jiahu

The next to last DFH beer that I have in my possession to try is Chateau Jiahu. Being sick has put my taste buds on hold for a few weeks, but I'm on the mend. I've always been curious about this beer for the history behind it. It poured up a dark champagne hue in our snifter glasses with about the same consistency in the bubbles and head. The nose is slightly tart with hints of honey and apples. Mouthfeel is medium with the same taste as the nose. This recipe was identified by molecular archeologist Dr. Patrick McGovern preserved in pottery jars found in a 9000 year-old village (Jiahu) in Henan province of China. DFH used "pre-gelatinized rice flakes, Wildflower honey, Muscat grapes, barley malt, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers. The rice and barley malt were added together to make the mash for starch conversion and degradation. The resulting sweet wort was then run into the kettle. The honey, grapes, Hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers were then added. The entire mixture was boiled for 45 minutes, then cooled. The resulting sweet liquid was pitched with a fresh culture of Sake yeast and allowed to ferment a month before the transfer into a chilled secondary tank." It was truly a wonderful experience. With it's price and 8%abv, it's probably not the best session beer but I'd buy it again fo' sho.

Our Tastes-- Burton Baton

Closing in on the last DFH beer that I have stashed away, this one was given to me by Junk. Burton Baton is a wonderful medium amber pouring IPA blend. Head was flattening tan or so with slight drops of yeast brown that were the last to hit the foaminess. The aroma is an amazing soft hoppiness of floral and slight pine. According to the label it is a blend of young and white oak-aged IPA. Taste is a well distributed hop all the way across the palate. There is definite closing of the nasal passages due to "hop nose" for me. For those of you that don't know or have never experienced this ask a "hop head" friend or drink more IPAs, it'll happen to you too. Apparently certain types (or heavy amounts) of hoppy beers start to close me up, this one is doing it in 1/4 of a pint! Not much vanilla to this one for me from the wood. This is just a great citrusy, piney 10%abv IPA. Made from pilsner and amber malt, hopped with Northwestern hops this is a blend of an English Strong Ale and DFH's 90 minute IPA.

Brew Batch #36 REINKE'S REVENGE 2009

Racked over today onto 2 ounces of white oak chips. I'm a little concerned because it was at 1.026 which is was last year's batch was bottled at and I think that may be what caused the over carbonation in bottles. So, I'm hoping it drops a few more point at least.

Our Tastes-- Avery Samael's Ale

So for The Enabler's 32nd we are trying Avery Samael's Ale (Brewed 2006 Batch#2). We tried this one in a large cordial glass. The color is a medium-dark particulate brown with a nose of profound sweetness. The flavor is as complex as the previously tasted Samuel Adams Utopias 05'. There is a heavy maple with plum and raisin with a definite taste of fresh white oak. Mouthfeel is medium with a clean finish and alcohol warmth that comes forward. An oak-aged English Strong Ale brewed with Two-row barley, caramel 150L, Columbus and Fuggles hops. Now סמאל from what I have read may have gotten a bad rep. Even though this is part of Avery's "demon series" Samael is a fallen angel. He may have been the one who tempted Eve yet stayed Abraham's hand from killing his own son. At 14.5%abv you can control Samael by pouring it in a small glass.

Our Tastes-- Reaper Ale Redemption Red Ale

KOKO! (Keep On Keepin' On). Redemption Red Ale is one of the last Reaper beers we have to try and it makes the grade as well. Pouring a reddish medium brown with slight particulate. The nose is a bready malt with little hop aroma. Columbus boil, Amarillo finish with an Amarillo dry-hop. 6.6%abv with 20.35 fatty-making CHOs per 12er. Well worth the bills it was bought with.

Our Tastes-- Reaper Ale Deathly Pale Ale

As we grind it out trying to deplete current stores of great brew we try Deathly Pale Ale tonight. Pouring a nice creamy off white head and cloudy dark wildflower honey. Sweet, floral aroma from it's malt and high alpha acid hops. Made with Chinook for the boil and finished with Cascade then dry-hopped with both. 6.2%abv and 16.25gms CHO per 12oz serving. Good mouthfeel and bitter aftertaste makes a keeper.

Brew Batch #37 Québécois Quadruple Wheat Wine

I picked up this recipe several months ago with the yeast culture showing a January date! To my surprise it cultured and activated in less than 24hrs, I mean it was churning. I read an article that wheat wines are taking over barleywines in popularity, possible because wheat is a bit cheaper than barley right now and there aren't many hops added? Nonetheless OG 1.078+0.001 @68F. Hopefully it has a long way to drop.

The Bees' Knees Mead©

Ah yes, I bet you had forgotten about this sleeping beastie. Bottled everything up today. I got 28&1/2 short brown 12oz with plain golden crowned of the cyser and 10 “Anchor" and 13 "Grolsch" style bottles of the vanilla cyser. FG ended up at 1.006+0.001 @69F. This yields about 16.9%abv for both. One thing I noticed is that on the rack prior to bottling, the vanilla seemed to be slightly lighter in color. Did the vanilla beans have anything to do with it? Either way I have already gotten everything ready for my next mead batch and have started pricing jumbo blackberries and Michigan cherries for the next batches.

Brew Batch #35 Zeus IPA

I am dying to ultimately see how this one turned out. I kegged it tonight and the FG ended up being 1.002+0.001 @67F. This makes it about 8.3ish%. I have to borrow a bottling gun in order to pull some off for bottles but the snip I had seemed very promising . Without carbonation behind there seems to be a lot of flavor profile missing. Perhaps that's the secret beyond hops and their head retention/flavor character. It's on 17pSI at ambient 54F right now since it's going down to 48F, I'll leave it on the back porch the into the kegerator tomorrow am to hold it at 40F and back off the gas.

Brew Batch #33 XX Ale

I bottled the XX Ale today and still have the yeast in the "yeast bank" that I've started. I understand that you lose about 50% viability every 2-3 weeks, so I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to reculture and pitch it or not. I have 30&1/2 22oz bombers with gold crowns on them. FG 1.004+0.0 @64F to give about 8.4%abv. I tasted it in my usual and customary way and it smells and tastes just like the cellared beer Junk and I had at Bosco's. There is a substantial yeast quality to it and what I presume may be all of the unfermented sugar (maltodextrin?). We'll see how it ages.

Our Tastes-- Ménage à Frog

Made by Issaquah Brewery (aka Rogue), Ménage à Frog was my 1st Belgian Style Tripel Ale encounter. I first had this in Charlotte, NC at The Flying Saucer, shortly after being heimliched so I wasn't sure if I was high on the brew or just being heimliched, again. The really wow factor for me was the wax covered crowned cork 750ml bottle. I mean just getting into this thing was an Indiana Jones hunt. I stopped to smell the cork, not knowing it was ever served this way at FS and it smelled like fine chenin blanc wine, I thought I needed cantaloupe or passion fruit with just the cork aroma alone! On a side note I put this in the fridge for my buddy Jim, who is slowly becoming a BMC convert/homebrewer, but is having his ticker looked at tonight, so he would want me to have this without him I'm sure. He has however picked the Belgian "line" of beers as his current favorite, due most in part to The Satin Hammer Jamie made, I'll discuss later this weekend (I hope). It pours a pure liquid gold color with marshmellow creamy head that dissipates to near skimming flatness in my tulip glass. The bubbles caress the glass in champagne-like fashion. This beer is why I tried my hand at BTs. It has a nose of slight fresh cut white oak (won't cut it for you find your own damn tree) married with white grapes. Mouthfeel is full with a definite tart but not bitter to it. I bought these bottles over 2 years ago before I even got serious into dating my wife and for them to have this kind of earthy spice and longevity is awesome and why I bought her a bottle while I was at it...damn, may have just drank her bottle? Aftertaste is nice as well, definite pear/green apple fell to it. Made with Pilsner malt, Saaz hops and Abbey yeast, it's my tarty fruity favorite. 9%abv. I'll admit after a full "lupper" earlier, I find it hard to feel my fingertips after 2 of these, man did my liver just retro back to high school?

Brew Batch #36 REINKE'S REVENGE 2009

The perennial favorite to brew since 2005. I'll admit it I am 9 days behind on the "date to really brew it on", but The Hyundai Half had me hobblin' like my hamstrings were only an inch long the next day!! Nonetheless, this year's batch has been taken of the burner and is chilling as I type and already has a twist in store. After some great feedback on my Sam Adam's LongShot score sheets from various family and friends, this year's batch will be secondaried on some white oak chips. I've read about barrel chips and charring them to yield certain flavors of vanilla, rum/raisins/plums and finally caramel on the dark roast, so I am going to toy with concept this year and see what happens. I am also going to keg this batch, but still bottle several bottles for Junk, Red (denoted in pink) and T-rav for verticals and criticism. There was something missing in this beer and I would really like to hone in on what I can do to alter the flavor profile just a bit. Boil time for extraction, hop additions, etc are all the same from the original batch, only this method will change. Fermentation days are usually the same, the only alterations this year will be white oak chips (not sure of charring just yet) and kegging. OG 1.080+ 0.001@ 72F

Our Tastes-- Yazoo Hop Project #19

Some of Hop Project #19 stuff made it down to Alabama where I was able to pick it up at Whole Foods in B'ham, which also has a consume on site license (right now) thanks to the new legislation that was passed. In other words I could have a bought a bottle of this stuff at the front register then gone and sat down at a booth and enjoyed my libation! Anyway, Linus has been making this batch for at least 2 years if not a little longer. I remember when Junk told me about this line of beers when he was going through an extreme "hop head" phase. The aroma on this beer is what is truly amazing to me. Trying it has inspired me to brew nothing but pale ale batches or IPA batches and change nothing but the hop additions, much like the 42-A series. It pours a wonderful creamy light tan head with an explosion of floral pine for the nose. Color is a reddish medium brown. Taste is so hop complex I honestly don't know where to start. There is a lingering specific bitterness that is a big hop! No mention on abv but we couldn't get it until the law passed so >6%abv.

Hyundai Half Marathon

This is a map of the route I'll hopefully finish Saturday, that's right my immediate goal is to finish, the secondary goal is to finish in 2hrs or less.

What beer shall I have 1st just before collapsing?

Our Tastes-- Sierra Nevada Kellerweis

Since the Bavarian Hefe is ready to start sampling we are trying Kellerweis hefeweizen. It pours a phenomenal cloudy yeasty dark golden. Aroma is a clean smooth wheat grain. Taste is a crisp mouth filling slight banana clove. This is a nice hefe. An American hefe made by the true Bavarian open fermentation process. Grains are Two-row, pale and Munich malts bittered with Perle or Sterling. 4.8%abv and a definite "Re-Buy" as The Enabler put it.

Brew Batch #34 Bavarian Hefe

Put CO2 on it tonight at about 12.5-14PSI in the hopes that it will be around 2.6 or so volumes. Hefes are usually higher carbed "fizzy" beers so I hope to hit this one right, shortly after will follow some sort of IPA, either Tongue Splitter (an Enabler) donation or the Zeus IPA. We're fightin' off winter as much as we can but fall seems to be seeping in. This is my 4th batch kegged and after taking in some of Rob's kegerator advice, hopefully not my last!

Brew Batch #34 Bavarian Hefe

Into the keg tonight with The Enabler's help. We sanitized 2 kegs to prepare for the next keggable batch. FG 1.000+0.001 @73F to yield 5.7%abv. Sample shots were exquisite. This should be a nice departure from he NaPO4 contaminated batch from back in the day.

Brew Batch #35 Zeus IPA

Modeled after the highly renowned (in small places) 42-A IPA and it's kin the (*) from The Wedding Series, I brewed an IPA tonight with a special ingredient. I increased fermentables 16% and at 45mins added 35gms (approx. 1oz) of my very own Mitchell Farms Zeus whole leaf hop cones!! I have no idea what the true α acid % is but the literature I've read puts it at 15-17%, so I low ball it for about 15, how's that? The starter of Thames Valley Ale yeast really helped get things going on this one. OG 1.060+ 0.001@72F. I've also started a yeast bank that I hope to have going in my garage fridge soon. Everything from a few bottles of EC Lavlin 1118 to good ole American 1056. Cross your fingers on this because one, I'm keggin it and maybe a few special bottles for TnDC homies. BTW, #20 ended tonight, this was the last batch I brewed when I was The Rocket City chapter. This is the one that made it all the way from HuntsVegas to Montgomery with The Enabler. One thing I have learned and will try to improve on, there are some beers that age very well. Overall, the wheat/wit class does not. This one had lost some love but considering a 3/9/07 brewing and 5/2/07 bottling it was still pretty good.

Hops Update 2009 Zeus

But there can be no end less Zeus rear his head, this a a tittilation of how large the 2nd year cones are>

BTW>> a recipe having "Mitchell Farms" hops soon will be brewed, we ain't no Yakima Valley (Mike), but we learned in one day! (See "Dirty Jobs" instant homebrewers classic episode "Vellum Maker"

I'd show off the Nugget and Sunbeam I finally was able to groom into existence this year but Army Worms got to the 1st 6feet (yeah naked vines!)

Hops Update 2009

Then finally we have my batch of homely Mt. Hood in a planter for new rhizomes from this year>

Hops Update 2009

The Mutation of what used to be a 2nd year Brewer's Gold from The Enabler, there's no way this stuff grows this much in 2 years. If you made it to the wedding, the first harvest went in to a vase at the bar where the devoured beer was being dispensed>

Hops Update 2009

And we continue on to The Enabler's batch of Willamette(in the background) and Cascade:

Hop Update 2009

At this time last year we were almost 3 months into the season, this is a pic of Jim's Mt. Hood that was donated by Joe, member of CABS, who has harvested 40 or so cones on a 1st year rhizome. Next year we'll have to teach him how to train better

Our Tastes-- DogFish Head Immort Ale

Closing in on the last DFH beer that I can run across my palate until Sam comes up with a new one is DFH's Immort Ale. Served up in a blush glass, Immort is stained cherry wood in color with a definite cloudiness is you remember to swirl the bottle. Good head retention for a beer of this abv, (11%), with an off white or cream color to it. The aroma of New England molasses, slight vanilla, heavy white oak and some touch of fruit (raisin, dark plums) and a burning to the nares of EtOH is matched only by the pyramid of taste... there's an astringency in the aftertaste (it hits me the most so I wrote it 1st), I couldn't quite put my finger on the breath out through the nose but it is definitely the peat-smoked malt, The Enabler picked up on the juniper berries, and the burning of the alcohol makes your eyes tweak. I can't imagine what the kcal count on this brew is, probably 500/bottle! There a little lattice clinging to the glass much like the film on my front teeth and the mouthfeel is full, the more you roll it around the bigger it seems to get (like a raw oyster for me).

Our Tastes-- Stoudt's Scarlet Lady Ale

Pouring a tarnished penny in color and admittedly I haven't had an ESB in a while, Scarlet Lady Ale is a good representative of the class. Nose on it is that of a malty bread that seems like it would be good for you. Made with Maris Otter, Carafa, and Caramel malts, bittered with Perle and aroma'd (if that's a word) with Willamette. Little to no head retention with it. 5%abv good with pig, oink> Overall impression is that I probably wouldn't buy it again, but I'd let someone give it to me.

Our Tastes-- Lost Coast Downtown Brown

Even though we're trying to finish the dog days, we're stopping to sling a little Lost Coast beer around. Downtown Brown is a light brown ale that has a wonderful aroma to it. According to John of the USA chapter, "it smells like an old girlfriend's nook", she must have been a light brown sweet nutty girl with a flat head? It has an even mouthfeel to it, with a medium brown color. Made with roasted and crystal malts it's a keeper, no info on abv.

Brew Batch #34 Bavarian Hefeweizen

I haven't done a wheat since Brian and I contaminated the last batch when I first started brewing, man that was back in 04'? The Enabler and I knocked out this batch on his back porch and some brew of his own. This one is supposed to be an effervescent, cloudy hefe made with German wheat yeast. Got a cloudy and windy on this batch, so was this a good sign or nay? OG 1.040 +0.001@ 71F.

Our Tastes-- St. Teresè's Ale

And onto Highland Brewing Co.'s St. Teresè's Pale Ale . This has by far become my favorite and least indulged pale ale. It is a wonderful medium straw color whose nose is that of mellow pine that gives way to a nice blast of dry-hopped Cascade goodness, this is a great BMC conversion beer because those people can taste true Cascade hops. Made with Chinook and Cascade this beer is awesome. Have some now! 5.2%abv

Our Tastes-- Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Christmas in July! There was a fire sale on this at Liquor Barn in KY, so I picked up a few and here we go with Christmas Ale from GL (we've tried their stuff before, remember Eddie Fitz is a fav!) Color is slightly red with that typical holiday nutmeg color to it. Tight white creamy head that quickly dissipates. Aroma is a cinnamon, nutmeg, clover or light mint. Taste hits you as heavy ginger, citrus or orange. Made with honey and fresh ginger this one creeps up on you like Santa Claus at 7.5%abv. Goes well with fruit cakes and bread pudding. It's good in the summer but I bet it's great in the winter as the snow falls, I can see this beer being warmed almost like a cider.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Festina Pêche

Still finishing out the "dog days of summer", Festina Pêche is our next brew. A pilsner pale color to this one that was shocking since it is made with real peaches. Nose is somewhat sour/tart possibly from the addition of lactic acid bacteria. It just clawed at my tongue after the first swalla. Made during the hot months, I'll be honest I may stay on the lawnmower rather than get off to have a cold one of these. It does however have it's own niche. Made in the Berliner Weiss style which was once called the "champagne of the North" by Napoleon's troops during their occupation of Berlin in 1809. Oddly enough this beer style is served many times as Himbeere (shot of raspberry) or Waldmeister (shot of woodruff) in a wide mouth goblet with a straw. Head is flat and that's it. 4.5%abv.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Theobroma

"Food of the gods", is what we are trying today in tulip glasses to accent the color and nose. DFH's Theobroma was first bottled in 5/2008. Made from "honey, Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs (from our friends at Askinosie Chocolate), ancho chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds)." Color is that of orange blossom honey, head is flattening and there seems to be a slight particulate floating around. Nose is a bit bland for what seems to be the endless list of ingredients. Mouthfeel is full and creamy. There is an after-after taste of cocoa well after the mouth is clear. We can't tell if the warming note is from the alcohol at 9%abv or the ancho chilies; however, after reading about the annatto this could very well be the complexity of warmth and nutmeg that we taste. This recipe came from a chemical analysis of pottery in Honduras which dates human consumption of cocoa back to 1200 B.C. A very complex brew but I'm not sure if it's worth the price of every day drinking.

Brew Batch #33 XX Ale

Pulling experience from the olden days, where one brewed with molasses and just about anything that had fermentable sugar in it, I'm trying my hand at an XX ale. This batch ended up at 1.062+ 0.001 @ 73.7F. This is the first time I have brewed with treacle, which was a deep black half pint oil change of a 57' Chevy. this stuff was so sugar concentrated that when I scooped out the last bit, there were sugar crystals in the bottom, no wonder it sounded like I was a rolling sandpaper around in tar??!! This will go into 22oz bottles, everything else is going into the kegs for kegerator enjoyment.

Our Tastes-- Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

This is the first legal high gravity beer The Enabler and I have tried. Yeti Imperial Stout. There is a nice delicatessen/wine store that has always had a great beer selection so when the legislation passed he was the first one to have his license in order so that he could start letting the good stuff flow. Dirk's Filet & Vine. GDBCo. has always made great beer but this one is interesting. The head pours the darkest (except for RR) gingerbread brown I've ever seen. There is a rich chocolaty nose and little lattice. Taste is heavy with an almost burnt malt flavor. Initially it drinks just fine, but then the overwhelming char comes in. Nice balance of malt and hop, 75 IBUs, 9.5%abv. Here's to not stagnating and pumping the standard. Medals in 05' and 08', so are our palates coming round or is this beer just this good?

Brew Batch #32 Scottish 60/-

I finished brewing this one right before I got married and decided to go with the Extra Pale Ale because the 80/- seemed to condition so well and Junk thought the force carbonation may be better covered by the hops. It has a great taste and light chestnut color. FG 0.998 +0.001 @71F to yield 3.86%abv, this promises to be a great session kegged beer for the next month or so. I've also picked up some good reading lately now that life had slowed a bit and my next batch is an XX Old Ale and either an IPA to throw in the fridge or a Bavarian hefe.

Our Tastes-- Bluegrass Brewing Company Scotch Ale

Finishing off the last of the growlers filled at BBC, I down the last pint or so of BBC Scotch Ale. No longer listed on the tap section, since they turn their variety very often (a great idea), this one is a wonderful malty offering. Used during the aging process were the Knob Creek and Woodford Reserve barrels that Jerry, the brewmaster, showed us during the tour. They had a whiskey cellar torn down and "donated" in trade for beer at there St. Mathews location. It was awesome. It held 30, 50gallon (size of a whiskey barrel, thought it was 31, but that's beer) bourbon barrels. And as warm as it was that day, it still seemed so cool with the gravel laid in the floor. Don't have the tech specs on this one and don't think I could type about them right now anyway. 8.8%abv!

Our Tastes-- Fat Tire 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

My last Fat Tire tasting for now is 1554 (for short). This style of beer apparently was referenced in a Belgian book dating back to 1554, hence the name after the original recipe was lost in a flood of the brewery in 1997. So the head is as flat as a flitter, and the color pushes my comfort zone in the beginning of summer with its medium dark brownness. A very distinct aroma of roasted grain (not burnt toast) but of a brewery that is steeping darker roasted grains fresh into the mashtun. Taste is a hint bitter as it clears the back of the tongue. As it lingers though charred bread does come through. I love a beer that smells one way, tastes another, then aftertastes something else. It really opens the palate. Nice how they used a light lager yeast strain with dark chocolate malt. I remember when I first got this beer, visiting Red and Junk and it was my new fav for winter when I didn't want meat-and-potatoes.

Our Tastes-- Fat Tire Amber Ale

Still reeling from the fact that I had lunch and breakfast at gate 80B in Denver at the Fat Tire Pub, I am finally finishing off some of the Amber Ale that seemed to me to be a seasonal offering, but I have found some places that carry it year round (the bike covered in snow threw me off). The color and head are reminiscent of my own Amber Waves. I nice tight low frothy head. The aroma of great biscuit malt (which for me has come to represent a great amber, you'll know it when you wiff it). Formerly Fat Tire and Abbey Belgian Ale, this is modeled after Jeff's trip bike trip around Belgium. As an electrical engineer he enjoyed more of the Belgian use of esoteric ingredients, such as fruits and spices and variable yeast strains. 5.2%abv and a definite keeper (like your favorite marble).

Our Tastes-- BBC Frambozen

After an extremely long hiatus and limited Internet access, we're back! Tonight I'm trying a growler of Bluegrass Brewing Company Frambozen. Made much like BBC's summer wheat this one is fermented with raspberries. The head on this one is light white with an unmistakable pure raspberry aroma! Color is a slightly berry-hued straw. From what I read on the brew board this one is about 4.5%abv. The taste on this one is rather odd, I guess for me. It's almost as if it has flattened perhaps a bit on the travel home, but it still had so much froth, so it seems counter-intuitive.

Back from "The Big Island"

So I'm back and heavier one more member (and a permanent one at that) for the Woodland Creek chapter. I'm sitting here enjoying a Cohiba and Sam Adams 2005 Chocolate Bock with my new wife and I'll have to admit it's, OK. Only problem is that I had to do laundry and the lawn before I got to this point, which is fine if the beer and stogies are going to be this good. On last Wednesday I got to try Mehana Volcano Red Ale. All of Mehana Brewing Company's beers are labeled on-island and distributed there. Much like Kona's beers, they use fresh naturally filtered water that started out as rainwater and traveled down 30 miles of black volcanic stone (puna). Overall, the beer was okay, it was free at the time, but mainland beers really don't have anything to worry about.

TnDc Field trip #12

Today we rented a Jeep and headed to the southern most US point, Ka Lae. This is where the trade winds meet the island chain of Hawaii and the wind blows at 20-30mph ALL the time! On the way back we stopped in Kailua-Kona and the brewery was closed for Kona Brewing Company to have the floors refinished, which is like the only day of the year they are closed, but we still managed a tour with Randy. It's a nice setup with 10K gallons ALL kegged and distributed for HI only. They tried bottling there and couldn't keep up with demand, so the bottling line was abandoned for a brewing alliance with Red Hook and Widmeir Brothers. 210K gallons of beer were bottled last year and distributed to the west coast and HI. However, since they only brew <15K barrels a year ON SITE they are considered a micro. They have nice in-line setup that seems pretty manpower efficient. Cold storage for the islands seems small compared to overall consumption but demand is there by far. Some barrels were purchased for limited stuff and of course the next day they were releasing 08' barleywine, lillikoi wheat (label name has been abandoned due to inability to ask for when drunk), and another beer that lapses me but Merry and I did have a full taster, they even had place mats that kind of guided Randy along the taster. The water travels 30mi from mountain top to tap through black lava rock to give it the true Hawaiian feel; however, the brewmaster has to fly to the mainland to tender up chemical levels of NaPo4 to yield the true bottled feel? Needless to say a great beer but no real competition.

Force Carbonation

So it's the night before I get hitched and we just had the celebration dinner at The J Clyde and I'm getting some help in person from Junk and he's getting help from Red via his cell phone. "This is how we do it."

Free At Last!!

Governor Riley signed HB373 this morning "Freeing the Hops"!! Alabama can now have Gourmet Beer topping 13.9%abv and "Rogue" size containers. I'll have the 1st wedding dinner at The J. Clyde to have legal higher abv beer in Alabama if they can get it in.

Brew Batch #31 Extra Pale Ale

This kegging stuff is crawling up the crack of my ass. I am trying to figure out what temp my kegerator hangs at and at which setting in order to extrapolate what PSI and volumes of CO2 my beer will be at equilibrium so that it has a nice presentation and isn’t flat, the entire time making sure that I have tightened all the connections so I don’t have a leak and just empty my tank. I’ve read that once you get comfortable with kegging you’ll only do bottles for special occasions. I hope that’s the case because brewing has become unfun. It’s just a lot of Physics II I thought I had left behind. 1.000+ 0.001@ 70F to give 5.1%abv.

Brew Batch #30 Scottish 80/-

Affectionately known as the “Scottish Snowmen”, this batch was my 1st to keg. Went in the “corney” on today (5/19) and has been hooked up to gas at 12.5PSI to hopefully yield a nice shilling at about 2.1 volumes of CO2? If not this will have been the greatest short lived beer I have ever brewed because my guests at the wedding will be the guinea pigs on this one. Originally this one to be my test batch at kegging but it turned out too good to hope for better on the 60/-. At FG finally at 1.000+ 0.001@ 67F, this one should be about 6%abv. I tried the customary shot beer on the transfer and man did it taste great.

Our Tastes-- Bischoff Wheat Beer

Look, this is another truly German bier and it hurts my head to read the website because I only took a semester of German, with a year of Japanese (too bad we haven't tried any nip brews, I mean that in the best possible way, I have some great Japanese friends and they know they have killed us with tape recorders and small electronics, there's no need for them to regrow their Navy after WWII). Falkensteiner UR-Weisse, is a wheat beer with fine yeast bed. I can't read the description so what you read in English is vat u bei gettin'. Heavy yeast nose comparable to Hoegaarden with particulate matter sinking to the bottom of the wheat glass we are using. Expected straw cloudiness. Heavy clove yeast strain used. This is a great hefe, or U-R hefe, I-B Frank. 5.2%abv, nice label, green bottle, great to have tried out of the BOTMC.

Brew Batch #32 Scottish 60/-

My soon-to-be bro-in-law got to watch the action unfold on the bigger scale tonight with this smaller shilling batch. I hope to maybe use this but the 80/- is looking nice and me be more apt since it has completely fermented out. An uneventful evening of good beer and an OG 1.026+0.002 @77F.

Our Tastes-- Sea Dog Raspberry

Trying to clear out brews that Merry has been sitting on for some time, I pulled one of her Sea Dog Raspberry Wheat Ale. Made by Pugsley Brewing Company in Portland, Maine, this brew pours a wonderfully cloudy slightly red tinged straw. The aroma is a nice crisp raspberry (reminds me of the summer I worked in Clanton at the berry picking farm, damn I hated wearing long sleeves in the summer but I liked having arms left over at the end of the day). Head is flat and unremarkable. Even though this beer may be past it’s prime date, it still has a stupendous mouthfeel and flavor profile. Makes me want some buttermilk biscuits to go with a jam taste in my mouth.

Brew Batch #31 Extra Pale Ale

My first batch at the new house and it went off without a hitch. I just bought a new burner setup off of Jamie Ray (former OAA current MBP brewmaster) and this thing is hot! 100K BTUs. Took a little while to get the settings right but it heats up nicely. Not sure if brewing on the back porch is my thing since it was a little windy which happens to catch the burner flames so I may try the garage but in the summer that will be stifling and I don’t want to leave the garage door open because what I do here is still illegal. Archaic constitution. Great Cascade bite on the taste, OG 1.036+0.001 @71F. This is one of the beers I hope to have on tap at the wedding, had to slide something in there for the BMC drinkers.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Pangaea

Attempting to finish off the DFH line-up I had in my Ps extra bedroom we embark on a trip to every continent with Pangaea. Best served cool, not cold in a snifter or wine glass. A clear light amber with head that dissipates fills our glasses. This particular bottle was bottled on 10/30/06. and I wish I had an image of the label art (it has the supercontinent of Pangaea on it). The smell is a suprising flat, but the taste is a hand grenade fo flavors! The most complex DFH I've had, maybe 2nd overall to SA Utopias! Mouthfeel is full with touches of clover/banana, honey, moutain berry, pure water, slight ginger?, with a velvet that smoothes across the tongue. Made with water from Antarctica, fermentable basmati blue rice from Asia, crystallized ginger from Australia, moscavado sugar from Africa, Belgian yeast from Europe, and I have no idea what from the Americas (probably just the damn taxes on it here). 7%abv and a healthy fattening alternative to pork right now.

Our Tastes-- Penn Weizen

Made by Pittsburgh's 1st microbrewery, Penn Weizen is a nice exchange on the palate of a weizen beer. Pennsylvania Brewing company opened it's vats in 1986 and recently celebrated its 20th year. Penn Weizen is one in a line of many truly brewed German-style beers offered by this brewery. This beer is another great example of why you should strive to use the "correct" glass for the beer. Since starting the DFH line of beers, we have attempted to use the right container and this one had added pleasure when tasting. Pouring a M-I-crooked letter crooked letter-I-crooked letter crooked letter-I-humpback humpback-I (wasn't that fun) silt if you will of cloudiness with a frothy quickly dissipating head. The aroma has a nice banana clove waft to it with a hint of the Bavarian yeast. The taste is no Hoegaarden, but does in a pinch, it's a little heavy on the yeast profile for me. Made with 2-row, wheat and barley malts and Hallertau hops. 4%abv.

Our Tastes-- Duck Rabbit Brown Ale

Duck-Rabbit Brown Ale, kept me going through many a night of Stout Month, and finally it makes it to the big blog. Pouring an amazing tan cushion of head with an overall med-dark brown color. This is supports a 7 variety grain bill and gives a note of smoke on the palate during the aftertaste. I love the DR series of beers and think the idea of only dark beers is great but this one leaves a little more to be desired. An American Brown Ale with a bittered taste due to the Amarillo during the boil and Saaz for the dry-hop, no abv listed.

End of an Era (and good riddance)

Brew Batch #15 bit it in the only way it knew how, in a gusher! See below pic, this is 2 12oz beers in a gallon pitcher. Now don't get me wrong it was nice to see the head nice and creamy like marshmellow fluff, but I added vanilla extract at the wrong time not knowing what I was doing for my 1st flavored beer then I bottled too fast after the G only dropped 20 points. This was a nightmare to pour and settle to enjoy, BUT I learned a lot and that's what brewing is all about. I'll admit I did love the aroma.

Our Tastes-- Bischoff Doppel Bock

Oh this one promises to be a great German adventure. The Enabler picked this up through BOTMC. Bischoff Doppel Bock is best described like this, expect honeyed ripe red apples and a touch of grapes on the nose with a sweet dough note and a touch of the traditional German yeast mustiness. Also on the nose, look for juicy chewy sweet malts and a slight hint of blonde tobacco. On the palate, the bier goes down a little edgier than many doppelbocks with an assertive carbonation level and an overall flavor that lands a bit on the bitter side which helps stave off what might otherwise have become a cloying sweetness that some doppelbocks suffer from. Expect a pretty complex array of flavors that will develop as it warms. There's a pleasant fruity character which provides notes of apples and grapes as well as rum-soaked raisins, rye and a ghost-like juniper note. Look for a late-breaking sweet coffee-like note toward the finish (think Viennese coffee), I know I do. Now that I have completely plagiarized the BOTMC newsletter, Malt of the Earth, I am going to drink the beer that came in the green bottle, whose nose reminds me of junior high gym class, the flavor of Beck's Oktoberfest with a higher abv, mit 7,5% alkohol because I can't read the damn website!

Our Tastes-- Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier

As soon as I could get my hands on some of the new 2008 Beer Lover's Choice Award winner I picked some up. Blackberry Witbier is another great concoction from Jim Koch. It was up against Coffee Stout. Pouring a slightly cloudy dark straw this beer has little to no head retention. The aroma is an unfamiliar berry-esque. It's the Marion blackberries from Oregon located in the foothills of the Oregon Trail where some families ahev been growing the world's best blackberries for centuries. The taste is a bittersweet berry profile and even though it is a new twist leaves a little more to be desired for me. This follows other winner like Nut Brown Ale, Irish Red, and Honey Porter. This is a great marketing gimmick that is used to somewhat track the taste of the populus. By throwing out 2 totally different recipes, SA can keep their finger on the pulse of the changes in tastebuds. 5.5%abv. Made with 2-row Harrington and Metcalf and of course malted wheat then hopped with Spalt Spalter, 60 percent of the popular vote (30,957 total votes) of 52,000 put this one in year round rotation.

Our Tastes-- Michelob Celebrate Chocolate

The Enabler snagged this one from liquorama, a vintage 2006 limited holiday edition the website has nothing on it still that I can find. It's rated on beeradvocate and we're going to give it a whirl. Color is a light brown with little head to speak of while the nose is amazingly of cocoa powder! Taste is okay with the cocoa flavor hanging around the mouth for a while. ABV is 8.5% and the bottle looks that of a NATO round with even a depression in the bottom of the bottle to handle extra pressure. A good beer but something that I'd have to be in the mood for, I mean it's a lager...that tastes like chocolate, kind of, nuff said.

Our Tastes-- Anchor Bock Beer

Bock beers are traditionally my favorite type of beer that throws the Stout Mouth back into hibernation for good. Anchor Bock beer is an example of that style. Color is a dark mahogany with slight red tints. Head pours a flat unhealthy looking slight white. Well the website helped absolutely not at all. Made with 2-row barley and wheat to yield a 5.5%abv bevvy. First made in 2005, nothing to baaaahhhh about.

Our Tastes-- Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

"Torpedoes in the water.."-- The Hunt for Red October (trust me read the book!) This one was snagged for me by Junk after the ATL Cask Ale Tasting . The color is a weird color for me, a dark straw with slight red as opposed to heavy red highlights that I've grown accustomed to for most IPAs. The aroma is an unbelievable heavy floral pine with a taste that matches. Head is flattening wit little lattice, which is odd because with all of the hops in it you would think this damn thing would grab the side of the glass like cobwebs. The taste is FULL with a pungency that crawls across the palate and clings to the teeth in a coat. Torpedo is made with 2-row, Carapils and Crystal. I have noticed that the most memorable IPAs have these grains in common. Bittering hops are Magnum, finishing with Magnum and Crystal then dry-hopping with Magnum, Crystal and Citra. I wonder if the continuity of the same hops gave the smooth aroma and flavor. 7.2%abv, 70 IBUs seem larger than that. I'll be burping this beer for a few more hours fo' sho'.

Our Tastes-- Coney Island Lager

The last of the Coney Island beers that we taste is the Lager. It filled the glass with a tarnished copper. In the fluted pilsner glasses the head is flat. The head is what I expect from a beer that you drink a lot of just because you need hydration! It's a complex beer but I think they have over reached their boundaries a bit. Made with specialty 2-row, 2 types of pale ale, Maris Otter, Cara Munich 60L, Red Wheat, Vienna 4L, Light Munich 6L with Flaked barley, hopped with Warrior, Amarillo, Cascade, Tettnanger, Saaz, Hallertauer and dry-hopped with Cascade. At 5.5%abv, it was quenching at best, no mo' money will go their way.

Our Tastes-- DogFish Head Red & White

The word for the night is "snifter", and I don't mean what Red did on his last date, I'm talking about the glass. We've had 2 beers tonight in snifter glasses. Red & Red color is cherry red in the snifters, with a flat head. We did notice that since we are tasting in the snifters that that may affect the head, there are some small bubble trails at the very tops of the creases. Nose is next to sweet naught. Made with coriander and orange peel as a Belgian wit this beer was a shock. Blended with Pinot Noir juice (like the wine) and aged in the same barrels (11%) at a fraction and blended with plain oak barrels (89%). 10%abv, its a nice brew but not one of my faves.

Our Tastes-- Terrapin Side Project #3

Gamma Ray is the 3rd in this brewery's series of "Side Project" beers. This is the first Side Project beer I have tried and picked it up at Midtown Spirits on my last visit to NashVegas to see the brew brothers. It pours a very dark straw with flat head in our thin pilsner glasses. "Brewed with 50% wheat, a handful of Munich malt and 700 lbs of Tupelo and Sourwood honeys from Savannah Bee Company" The honey taste is there on the sides of the tongue and you can smell it on the breath out. Esters are apparent across the palate. At least we think they are esters because we know that the honey fermentation is an acidic one. 11%abv and we like it.

Our Tastes-- Brooklyn Lager

Continuing with the garage clean out at my parents house, I try Brooklyn Lager. I'm not much of a true lager guy. Don't get me wrong when Budwesier Select came out it was truly the best thing out close to a mass homebrew that was smooth to devour by the case when fishing, BBQin', hop gardening, baseball watchin', etc. It pours a nice amber light orange with a nonexistent head. Listed as being a British inspired Vienna-style beer (due to dry-hopping) the aroma is balanced at best. Made with American 2-row, Hallertaur Mittelfreuh, Vanguard and Cascade gives a 5.2%abv. It's okay but as of yet I am unimpressed with BB brews. I'm working my way to others in the line and still trying to complete the "DogFish Days" of summer before summer gets here but I only have so much time and so much liver.

Our Tastes-- Cooper's Stout

The most fascinating thing about searching the site for this beer is that you only have to be 18 to enter, instead of 21 like in the USA. Cooper's Stout was a brew I tried around the new fire pit The Enabler has and wasn't able to blog at the time due to lack of Internet at my new house. For the yokes it pours an Aborigine spear tip black with a flattening white head. The aroma is a light sweet malt. When pouring it yields a slight yeast bed. Mouthfeel is lighter than I would have thought for a stout, but for a beer in the Aussie bush it has to be. Most of the hop notes are unnoticeable. A great contribution from the BOTMC, The Enabler had. 6.3%abv.

The End of Two Eras Cont'd

Shortly behind WW was my IRA (#13) for St. Patty’s 06’. Made on 11/15/05, this one included a boil over and I think that I had invited Jenna and her husband over. He enjoyed watching the process and even snagged a Budweiser stocking shirt for me long before they sold out to InBev. I’m still so proud of the color of this beer, it is a superb Killian’s hue. I know it sounds weird to describe it by another mass beer but Killian’s truly has a great Irish red color, it’s my standard reference method if you will (for color that is). The head when it was first tried was smooth and medium, but after all of this time has started to become over carbonated and yields an overwhelming head at the very end that must be allowed to settle to begin enjoying the brew. This was my first batch solo using Irish moss, a clarifying agent. Red mentions another method on his tour and I can’t remember the technical name but it equaled fish intestines to help gather grain proteins and yeast for better settling. Damn, what is that stuff called? Anyway a great beer to the end.

The End of Two Eras

After Stout Month, I ended up with one last Winter Warmer (Brew Batch #8). I remember making this stuff on 2/13/05, I think I was dating Melonhead then, not sure if she was there or not I’ll have to go back and read the old entry. When I read the description on NB’s website and it talked about this Minnesotan beer, I was hooked. I think I was going through my first “dark” phase learning to appreciate something other than lagers. The color of dark kiln dried Indian wood is still absolutely striking (just put together a Sourav table for the new house;) There is little to no hop that is noticeable but the cloyingly malt taste is heavy. Hard to believe that a beer can still be this good over 4 years later!

Random Brewing Tasters-- Tongue Splitter Ale

After a taste of this, "The Beast" be asleep for another year, a great clear brew racked by The Enabler with superb head retention. I'm curious to see what the IBUs may be and the color is superb at a dark straw. Tastes like a pine cone that has been run over by a sharp lawmower. I may use the ProBrewer sampler Red told me about just to see what the Nugget, Glacier, Cascade, Cascade, Sterling additions hopped it up to, then turned around and dry-hopped with 1/2oz's of Cascade and Sterling. No info on the probable abv though.

Stout Month Is Over!

April Fools... It's been a long dark month and some have wavered ever so slightly but overall many emails have come in about the dedication to the "Month of Evil", "Month of Darkness"? Overall a worthwhile effort that may continue next year, but who knows, I'll be back in the rotation next year for St. Pat's, it falls on a Wednesday, may need to take the last half of the week off! Tonight we try Lion Stout, which brings a certain tune to mind;) the bottle first and foremost is exquisite with its Lion's head crown, reminds me of a trappist bottle. Little tech info is available since the website is under construction. It poured up nicely in a goblet with a flattening head yieldng a dark African color of night. Flavor is a nice initially sweet malty full mouthfeel leading to a smokey end flavor. This 11.2oz beauty is a fine 8%abv BOTMC additon via The Enabler.

Chapter Announcement

Even though I am wide open working, I've had time to buy a new house and become the Woodland Creek chapter of TnDC. To keep everyone straight I can't remember if I mentioned that Junk is now our Memphis chapter with Red hanging in there in Nashvegas. The Enabler is still our Eastern Oaks chapter and everyone else is still in their respective areas. I've gotten some great feedback about Stout Month. Red apparently is destroying as much coffee stout as he can and I've yet to have anything that wasn't considered a dark brown, porter or stout. It's really a commitment having stout while you're doing yard work. Keep shaping and deepening those shallow minds filled with BMC lager!

Stout Month?

No that's not a typo. I'll be working 199hrs in the month of March and that means I already know I'll miss St. Pat's Day itself, so I announce and challenge each TnDCer to make March "The Month", instead of stout mouth, make it stout month! I've decided to do this all month long considering today's tasters. Convert light beer drinkers for one month with your knowledge of higher B-vitamin content (which helps with blood circulation and neurosynapse firing), greater anti-oxidant power (for cardiac muscle) and greater xanthohumol levels to fight colon cancer. Reach out to the light side of the force and tease them with the dark. Oh yeah and we're bringing back the the tam hat! Got one at Target of brown leather and red flannel innard, if you're a proud beer drinking man, a tam should be on your noggin.

Brew Batch #30 Scottish 80/-

For yet another milestone in my short and not so yet spectacular brewing career, I took it to the old school. I have to try my hand at the Scottish equivalent to an ESB but with more malt influence. Not a hard batch and if I can master kegging between now and the wedding will be on tap! We'll see. I have kegs that I have no idea how to use, but then again I didn't know how to brew either. OG 1.044 @64F. With the start to the day being almost 2" of snow this was the best brewing day lately. The Enabler even finished it up for me so I could go to a business dinner.

Our Tastes-- BlackFlag Imperial Stout

The story goes on and on, with BlackFlag Imperial Stout (American Style). Made by Beer Valley Brewing Company and available year round!! This Imppy poured the equivalent of a black hole, meaning that if light passed into it that it would dissipate and gravity is unknown. The head is a wonderful heavy brown. Only alcohol is present in the nose. The taste after several HG (high gravity) beers knocks you down and kicks you in the cods like Scottish football. The balance of 100+IBUs balances the malt so well it's hard to ascertain anything other than the pure body fuel of ethanol. 8 different malts and Warrior, Chinook, Columbus and Cascade fill this "booty-chaser". I remember this as the day that I almost caught, wait for it.......Capt. Jack Sparrow.

Our Tastes-- Alesmith Speedway Stout

Speedway Stout pours like it says, asphalt black. The head is very tight and retaining, enough so to mask the aroma, I smell little to nothing. If you pull hard on it, there is only alcohol, so we're playing guess the abv, my guess (10.5-11 because on higher gravity beers the head is usually flat unless hops are added in abundance to retain it) The Enabler's guess (10abv), drumroll please...12%! So far good lattice look like a staircase, the taste is sobering alcohol, no wonder the Rooskies drink this shit, they had to stay warm! I guarantee you in Red Dawn they were packing this. On the very back end of this one, I pick up some of the Ryan Bros. coffee beans this is conditioned with. "...which is aged in Bourbon barrels, has been rated the #1 BEST BEER IN THE WORLD at ratebeer.com. It was also featured on CNBC's "Squawk Box" in a segment on the best dark beers in America." Sure enough out of almost 1100 ratings this one is a 4.34/5.0. A superb snag by my cohort. Best had in a snifter we hung it in a pint!

Our Tastes-- Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

My first North Coast beer Old Rasputin looks to be a winner. BTW, we are using my Christmas gifts from Pops to taste these stout and dark beers in, the Rogue Goblets. It pours a nice light brown head and aroma of slight malt. Taste is heavier on the bittering hops and roasted coffee almost too much for my taste. A nice beer produced at Fort Bragg with 9%abv and 75IBUs.

Our Tastes-- LeftHand Imperial Stout

"A black beer to brighten your day" read the label of LH's Imperial Stout pours a dark but NOT truly black color. Aroma of heavy malt and raisins. The taste is exquisite with a full bodied mouthfeel of slight vanilla, roasted coffee and cheek caving in alcohol (9.15%). Made with Premium Pale 2-row, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate, Roasted barley, Black barley and Flaked oats (the oats definitely give this one a smooth velvet feel). Then hopped with Magnum and US Goldings. A nice start to the Kalends of March.

Our Tastes-- Coney Island Albino Python

Coney Island's Albino Python is a White Lager brewed with spices. Other than the white phallic albino python that is reaching out for the brunette's labia (lips), the label is nothing special. A beer made with Specialty 2-row, torrified wheat (looks like Sugar Smacks), Weyermann Acidulated, Flaked oats and Caramel Pils. Add to it Warrior, Saaz and Summit then spice it up with ginger, sweet fennel and orange peel. Its your typical cloudy white ale on the pour with flat head and nose of fermented wheat protein. Aftertaste gives the usual wheatie. 6%abv, it was good.

Our Tastes-- Coney Island Freaktoberfest

#2 in the Coney Island taste series is Freaktoberfest. If the label isn't scary enough the cloudy blood red Kool-Aid that it pours does. Oh, and the head matches a wonderful lung foaming pink. Made with Canadian pale ale and wheat malts, German Munich and Vienna malts and British Caramel malts then bittered with Warrior, Cascade, Willamette, Hallertau and Northern Brewer. I'm not sure that there is a taste that can describe this brew. It's definitely bitter and there is a hop aroma there but you can kiss my Casper the ghost if I know what it is. 6.66%abv.

Our Tastes-- Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale

I picked some of these bad boys up at GOP, to cover one that Junk had gotten me previously and thought we would give them a spin tonight. Weyer's Imperial Pumpkin Ale pours a medium brown copper and flattening head. The aroma is fresh pumpkin meat, cinnamon and touches of vanilla. Made with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and cloves; each none of these is tastefully distinctive when rolled around the mouth. This is a definite seasonal keeper. 8%abv.

Our Tastes-- Terrapin Sunray Wheat

Initially pouring an extremely pale clear "mead" color then as I swirled the base went to a cloudy flat headed bev, Sunray, yields the nose of a yeasty slight honey. The taste leaves behind a slight hint of the Tupelo honey from the Savannah Bee Company. "It’s inviting banana/sweet clove like aroma gives way to a pleasant, clean finish with a hint of tartness." Only available in the "All The Hits" variety 12-pack until this spring. Not sure what the abv is but I'd have this only if I haven't had it before. Not the best Terrapin I've had.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra

Keeping in mind I just had D'Etre, D'Extra is posted to be a doubling if you will of its predecessor. Not real sure where the label comes from but I'll research for personal gratification. Looks like Hank Sr. It pours several shades darker than Etre and cloudy as well. What head was here initially in my porter glass has long gone in the time it has taken me to type this. Aroma is still the raisin with slight smoky hints then the taste...the "doubling" of everything explodes in your mouth like TNT (trinitrotoluene, I gave this word to win Hangman when I was 5 at Happy Time Kiddie Land, my childcare place). These 2 beers are great vertical beers to try for both a novice and brewmaster. All the elements are there but so different in concentration. I'll have to remember this taster for differences in imperials for instance or "extreme" beers (pale ale vs IPA). From what I have read this is the same but pumped as D'Etre but more raisins (a great sugar and fruit contributor). 18+%abv, 425kcal/12oz. This stuff leaves your ears warm and head queasy after half a glass!! Well worth it. I sense not so much beer that's created but life experiences by Sam C. at DFH. I swear this stuff leaves a thick sugary coat on your tongue.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre

You're supposed to have Raison D'Etre ("reason for being") in a goblet but my current goblets aren't "beer clean" so I went with a port glass that I recently bought. It pours a nice dark tea color with a flattening white foamy head. The raisin note plus malt aroma and a smacking of alcohol has made this brew an acquired taste for me. When I first had this beer, I thought it was as bland as unsweetened tea, but has become a regular in the beer fridge. The Belgian beet sugars remind me of Ménage à Frank (nice when you can reference your own brew when tasting a micro form someone else) and the green raisins are very apparent. 8%abv and 220kcal/120z. This puts me about half way through the DFHs that I'll be trying.

Our Tastes-- Duck Rabbit Porter

Duck-Rabbit Porter is my next venture and I'll admit it carries a certain darkness (tis the season). OK, honestly my head bows to it as I pour this beautiful brown libation. To look at this deep tulip fresh with a brew that has a head that looks as a still fermenting beer. It is amazing how the slightly brown head looks so much like actively creating top fermenting yeast. Almost like one of those therapeutic mattresses, a little bit of a stretch. I swear it looks like a loofa its so tight with a marsh-mellow-over-the-campfire lattice that clings with each sip.There is no other sweet porter that matters to me now! A great initial mouth fullness and mutation to a heavily roasted coffee chocolate. So much so you breath it out after tasting. not sure what grains are used, hops or abv, but right now Duck Rabbit is the "Dark Beer Specialist" that they proclaim to be.

Brew Batch #29 The Bees' Knees Mead©

Update, racked it out of the primary glass carboy while still fermenting to get it off of the yeast bed and cinnamon sticks and it smelled BEEautiful. It was so light that it was hard to start the siphon for racking. As of now the gravity sits at 1.010 @64F to yield about 16%abv!!! WTF! No wonder muslims can only drink this! In the usual customary tradition (carried on by much better brewers than I) I tried a shot of it and the flavor was simple yet complex. The aroma of slight sweet clover honey is still there with a hint of cinnamon. The taste is full and light in the mouth with a champagne feel (due to the yeast strain, I'm sure, Lavlin EC-1118, aka Prise de mousse, Saccharomyces bayanus). The finish is extremely tart with lingering cinnamon. I'm sure this will mellow with aging. Oh and the alcohol is there too.

Our Tastes-- Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout

Notice anything about the name on this one, (see previous post about UK beers, "In the red corner, weighing in at 1pt 0.9US fl oz), you'll get it if you've read. The bottle and crown itself are really quite nice with a royal purple label and purple and white crown with a ram's head on it. The smell is 100% pure unadulterated cocoa powder! No malt, no hops, there may not be any beer in there, haven't tasted it yet, stand by... color is the typical uh, black. Head is flat and taste... and explosion of sweetness and chocolate. Mouthfeel is huge, malt bill is the last thing you taste, this is by far the best flavored stout I have ever had. I will make this beer before the end of the year! The only notes I have on this one (since it is not listed on their site http://www.youngs.co.uk/ ) is that it is made with pale ale and crystal malt, chocolate malt, special blend of sugars, Fuggle and Goldings hops, real dark chocolate and chocolate essence. Put them together and you get the best stout I have ever gulped at 5.2%abv.

Brew Batch #28 Imperial IPA (aka 42-A*)

Today The Enabler and I bottled up 26 FULL and 1 partial 22oz long-neck bombers with silver crowns of 42-A*. The color is as great as the original but the nose on it is noticeably different for all of the true 42-A connoisseurs out there. The use of Kent Goldings at the end had given a slightly different aroma for sure, but the overall taste is very promising. I hope both of these brews turn out well. I have 25 sets to give out plus 1 extra 42-A*. Red (denoted here in pink) can sign my boobs for that one since I told him I felt like I was following a rock star around on the tour at BS and we'll consider it an even trade;) May not do labels for the bottles but will try hang tags instead, they seem to be more cost effective at this time and more personal. Then again both could be disasters and we'll all be sitting around knocking back The Wedding Series? FG 1.006+0.001 @67F, to yield about, drumroll please.......8.7%abv. Must have been the way I mashed the grains this time by incremental raising of the temp. Each beer I have done this on so far has turned out higher in OG, of course the special addition helped too (tee-hee).

Our Tastes-- Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout

Funny to me how when you look at English or "Old World" beers that they introduce the beer on the label as though they are fighting in a boxing match. In this corner weighing in at 1pint 2.7ml (550ml, 18.7oz is a "Victorian pint") Samuel Smith Old Brewery Tadcaster The Celebrated Oatmeal Stout reads the entirety of this beer. A clear bottle, like Newcastle, delivers this dark brown libation to my pint (best enjoyed in a goblet). The aroma is malty, sugar-coated raisins. Lattice is light and feathery on the pint. Taste is a velvet bitter sweetness of oats. Samuel Smith's Oatty was actually commissioned to be made, because of 1977 oatmeal stouts were gone. Best at 55F, no abv listed, but light by necessity.

Our Tastes-- Steelhead Extra Stout

The Enabler got this next one from the Beer of the Month Club courtesy of Bootleg Bonnie. Steelhead Extra Stout pours an opaque black with thick frothy brown head. Heavy chocolate malt nose with a good balance of hops. The label looks oddly like another stout I know of with a trout on the front? The taste on this one is of a heavy grain bill that finishes with a burnt coffee aftertaste. The alcohol is there in part but the oaky flavor and bitterness is what captures the mouth, mouthfeel is full and warming. The yeast bed at the bottom was a welcomed sight and looked thick enough to re-culture. About a quarter into the pint the head is gone and reflects a black pool. 6.6%abv with a sigh of contentment.

Our Tastes-- Budweiser American Ale

I told myself after InBev bought the longest standing American icon in brewing that I wouldn't drink anymore of their products as the board lined their pockets with euro from the Belgians and Augustus I rolled over in his fermenter. American Ale surprisingly is a nice departure from the usual Bud swill. It pours an amber/copper with a quickly flattening head. No lattice to mention. The aroma is a great traditional Cascade (which leads me to believe there may have been something to the rumor of Bud buying up stores of hops, either to destroy them to cut the competition or I guess eventually using them in this brew). Overall a drinkable beer that now comes in a pry-off embossed long neck. 5.3%abv

Our Tastes-- Saranac Season's Best

Saranac's Season's Best is a Nut Brown Lager with a rich clear medium brown shellacked pine. The head retains a nice slim white foam. The aroma is a biscuity malt and toast. Taste for this one is a "lagery" slight hop that makes for a different seasonal offering. Made with Munich and Biscuit malts then bittered with Tettnang. A relatively medium/heavy mouhtfeel and 5.3%abv. I'd drink a couple of these.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head World Wide Stout

Continuing with a night of apparent darkies, DFH World Wide Stout, makes me yearn for St. Patty's at the OAA (which may or may not be there) very soon. I am not having this one in a deep tulip but I will if need arises have it in one. WWS pours a 10,000 mile oil change, with the noise of fresh Rice Krispies, that quickly quiets as though milk has over softened them. No need for a "beer clean"glass on this one because you can't see through it anyway! The nose is heavy with raisin, plum fruitiness almost killing the malt bill I know this one must contain. There is a slight translucence to the color after settling, which allows some (like a blackhole) light to pass. A taste of heavier vanilla and roasted, toasted malt like none other that I have had. Silk as it passes thougth the teeth and I can only imagine the hops needed to balance this center ring circus act. 18+%abv, 372kcal/12oz. There is a late season grumbling like no other, beyond Phil seeing his shadow yesterday. I can think of nothing better than 6 more weeks of bone-chilling cold to freshen the ole tastebuds and close the ranks of great friends around a warming brew.

Our Tastes Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

I have been dying to try this brew since I picked up a case of them a while back. the newest addition to the DFH family of brews is Palo Santo Marron (literal translation is Holy Tree Brown). It pours like liquid night, with little ot no head that is a creamy (quickly dissipating) oatmeal cookie brown. The aroma is a slightly oaky, vanilla heavy malt. An unfiltered brown ale aged in handmade Paraguayan Palo Santo wood brewing vessel's, each at 10K gallons each (the largest wooden vessels since Prohibition). A wonderful very full mouthfeel and taste that is driven by the 12%abv. Malt, vanilla, bittering hop, rich desert, oh and 12%abv. This is a supremely built beer and yes I said built, literally from the ingredients to the aging vessels.
0026hrs-- an hour and 15 minutes later I just finished, this beer is HEAVY!

The Bees' Knees Mead©

When I was up at BlackStone a few months ago, Red (denoted here in pink) and I came across a rather novel word, "Brewmaster's Jacuzzi". It was the 2 gallon bucket that the fermenters were blowing off into, kind of made you want to put your feet in and soothe them. Well to help aid in the lowering of blood pressure, I introduce the "Brewmaster's Aquarium". Much like the calming effect of goldfish in a dentist's office, watching The Bees' Knees continue to bubble after 30 days is guaranteed to do the same. Working on getting Red (denoted here in pink) and Travis (T-rav?) to do a CABS meeting once things have settled in the summer, after nuptials. And yes, in the background that is 42-A* going to bottle on the morrow.
"To do something in space is irrelevant, but to make good beer, that is something."
~Vaclav Klaus

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Fort

I had forgotten that I tried this beer and had to take good notes over Christmas. One word describes this beer, TWANG! It's the feeling you would have if you could pluck a banjo string behind your eyeball. DFH's Fort pours a cloudy medium brown while I used my newly bought short tulip glass. Initially this beer had almost a yellow head to it with an aroma that literally made my whole mouth tickle. Aroma for this one was overwhelmingly phenolic. If a newbie convert from BMC needs a beer that gives a great nose definition of phenol in beer this may be a good example. Keith nailed it when he said that the taste "smacks you around a bit", I agree. The attack on the sour/bitter tastebuds makes you almost shudder even after have a few. I wonder if Brettanomyces was used in the fermentation of this one? Made with over a ton of pureed raspberries and 415kcal/12oz, this one will be memorable. BTW Tara McPherson makes all of the wild artwork. Merry's poor dad decided he would try this one with us, guess we won't be tasting with him again any time soon.