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.

Brew Batch #27 Belgian Dubbel

First in the "Wedding Series" of beers this one went to bottle. I got 27 long neck 22oz bombers with black crowns. I put one off to the side to try as the wedding gets closer, I ain't giving my close family and friends wedding cat piss as a gift. I'm a little worried about this one but the tripel was the same, it seems to taste initially green, perhaps yeasty but it hasn't been on the yeast bed in a month however good fermentation seems to have started again because there was about 1/2" on the bottom when racking to bottle. FG 1.006 +0.00@ 65F to give it about 7.6%abv.

Representation!!

Flying Dog decided to show how much they like my dog's (Growler) love.

Our Tastes-- Yazoo Rye Saison

Sent to me via Junk, Rye Saison is Yazoo's offering at their 5th anniversary. The label is a departure from Linus's wife's murals to a full photo of his 5 year old little girl (with her hand in front of her face), a nice marketing twist to immortalize family on his life journey, after all every man yearns to leave a legacy, so that his legend may be told. This label speaks volumes to me. It's not just doing well but touching others (in family and outside) to leave a positive impact. Pouring a slightly cloudy mustard yellow with flat white head this one noses of anything other than rye. Immediately entering the mouth it attacks the tart buds and seems to leave a film on the teeth. It is a unique blend unto itself. Made with rye and pale malts, spice "American" hops (I assume Centennial or Cascade but Linus do love Amarillo) and a farmhouse yeast (which one day I'll get someone to define for me... french ((yes little "f", don't get me on that rant the last time the french needed proof Hitler was in downtown Paris)) yeast) perhaps a weak strain. A descent beer in its own right. Came in a nice BrewMasters Reserve 4-pack. This touches the realm of DFH Festina Peche. Most saisons brewed today have abvs of 5-8%. Have some just to say you tried it and supported an American micro!

Our Tastes-- Coney Island Sword Swallower

Sword Swallower Steel Hop Lager is a brew The Enabler and I picked up on our last trip to Peach Tree City. According to the label it is a "spectacle" of 8 hops and 4 luscious malts. Apart from that there is a stunning blond in a titillating red dress that has a steel shank down her throat? Phallic much? Pouring one of the clearest lager profiles I've seen, so much so I could see my fingerprints on the glass I had just wiped down. Head is nothing to remark on. Nose is no hops to notice and has the "standard" lager smell to it. This is a surprisingly bitter beer. (maybe they should have used 5 malts). Made with Specialty 2-row, rye (which is what smacks the side of the tongue), Canadian wheat malt, along with Warrior, Northern Brewer, Palisade, Crystal, Fuggle, US Golding and Cascade then dry-hopped with Cascade, Crystal and Amarillo. 6.8%abv, makes it a super buy, I'd swill it around again.
BTW, each purchase goes toward go toward Coney Island USA a non-prof for the lost American arts, much like brewing great beer.

Our Tastes-- Yazoo Wassail

Ending the last of the big Nashville trip brews, we try Wassail, Linus's latest seasonal offer through the tap room. Wassail defined as "liquor for drinking and wishing health to others on festive occasions, esp. spiced ale, as on Christmas Eve and Twelfth-night." This beer pours a med/dark clear brown with macro bubbles. Aroma is more malt and spice than hops. When tasting the carbonation almost put an unpleasant feeling in your mouth, like pop-rocks. The taste is bland to begin with for such a colored beer then the spices slowly jump around on the taste buds. Not sure what spices were used but this is much like my Reindeer (Batch #7), that was my first attempt at my own recipe so to speak. There is definitely cinnamon, maybe a clover, but nutmeg for sure at the end. The mouthfeel is almost vanilla cookie. Overall, a good beer, not my fav of the trip but worth buying a growler.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Midas Touch Golden Elixir

Well if Sam Calagione is anything, he's inventive. Midas Touch, is a replication of the actual oldest-known recipe of fermented beverage in the world. Made with barley, white Muscat grapes, honey & saffron this brew is truly an innovation reborn. Santa Claus brought me a couple of new Rogue tasting goblets so that's what I using and I'll have to say the color is unique and breathtaking. The color reminds me of The Bees' Knees that is currently fermenting (still wide open!) in my brew room. It has a slightly cloudy light orange hue. The head completely dissipates to flatness with a couple of small patches of thin white foam (like a pond that has duck weed in it). A University of Pennsylvania expedition opened a tumulus (burial mound) that likely contained King Midas and some serving vessels in Turkey. Of course we all the story of Midas and nearly starving to death and turning his daughter to gold after Dionysus gave him the golden touch. The taste of this stuff is truly confounding. The nose as you take it in is that of southern muscadines (or scupanons) and slight honey, then leads to a dry taste with little hop (or well-balanced with the honey). A very neat bevvy. Plus drinking it out of a goblet makes you feel king-like. At 9%abv and 307kcal, a four pack of these will have you calling for the royal house cat to see if it likes your golden member;)

Our Tastes-- Left Hand/Terrapin Terra-Rye'Zd

Terra-Rye'Zd is a collaborative release between Left Hand Brewing (Longmont, CO) and Terrapin Brewery (Athens, GA) . A Black Rye lager that's got a high rye and malt bill which is able to grab the nose with a bready rye whole grain. The hops aren't listed on either site but I can attest that the color is an opulent black with flat head. Taste is a bit more complex than I imagined. A hoppy rye unlike any other brew I have encountered. A medium mouthfeel and 6.6%abv makes this "a keepsie". Glad I bought a dozen to see how it ages.

Our Tastes-- Blue Marble Organic Pilsner

Made in the same place as sierra NV, Chico, CA, this is an introduction by The Enabler. Pouring a tight extremely cotton white head with a slightly blueberry aroma this brew has a clear light straw color. Blue Marble for taste is equivalent to one word..REDBRIDGE. It has a champagne color and aroma that fools the mind, cringe factor (as The Enabler puts it). 3.9%abv, we had it. Despite the label this marble is NOT "a keepsie". Latticing is extraordinary, but carbonation lends an overpowering bitterness.

Our Tastes-- BlackStone Maris Otter

I saved this brew for a little celebration, but alas "Poor Yorick, I knew him well" (Act 5 Scene 1: Hamlet). Red (denoted here in pink) tapped off some fresh for me before it even hit the brite (I think). A wonderful slightly cloudy dark straw with a subtle hop aroma. Taste is still beyond description. I first had this type of beer last February and was instantly hooked. If I had to choose a favorite type of brew this would absolutely be it! I will say however that last years batch seemed to be a bit more malt, which this time of year I prefer. The hoppiness is more than I expected based off of last years recipe, and there may not be a change, but more of a palate shift on my part. No info is listed on the BS website and I was just slathering to have some. Travis and Red (denoted here again in pink) have outdone themselves on this one. The usual recipe includes 2-row malt crossed between Proctor and Pioneer malts by Dr G D H Bell in 1966 in Cambridge. Brew on ye lads of labial smacking goodness!

Our Tastes-- Grand Teton XX Mountainberry Double Wheat

Part of Grand Teton Brewing Co.'s 20th anniversary series, we try XX Mountainberry Double Wheat. First and foremost it pours a very tight creamy off-white head. I have always wanted to try any of the GT brews and this was the first one I could get my hands on. Poured in a cordial glass with nice latticing. The foam could be used to build a snowman. The aroma is a phenomenal mix of marionberry, huckleberry and blueberry (a pound/gallon). Started out as a regular huckleberry beer and now has returned with a vengeance. A very clear "berry" hued wheat beer with slight particulate. This was to be one of my victory beers for the BCS championship but instead is now a sorrow laden imbibe. A clean little to no aftertaste palate is what you'll have after this one. A slightly over-carbonated mouthfeel. Website says it pairs well with fruity desserts, glazed ham or balsamic salads. 7.6%abv and a visit to the brewery...

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale

Ah, yes the beers keep getting progressively darker, yet they hold on to their hops. DFH's IBA is a most new fav of mine. I think I first snagged this one over at Green's on Ponce in ATL. A wonderful cross between a brown ale and IPA, this one pours a dark brown with well balanced hoppy malty nose. The head clings to the glass like saran wrap! When pulling a swig of this into your mouth there's a trick of the brain, the malty aroma is quickly faded out by the hoppy full mouth feel. Made with caramelized brown sugar and paired with whole-lead Liberty (a new one for me, apparently a cross between female Mittelfrüh and a downy mildew resistant male) and Goldings this 7.2%abv, 238 kcal serving drinks just as good in the dead of winter as it does on July 4th, well maybe better in the dead of winter (it fills the belly!). Once again DFH pushes the envelope of what is "beer".

End of Another Era

#9 hits it. This one was born May 13th, 2005 and for the almost 4yrs that have passed (since the brewing) the sweet malt and light hop aroma still beckon to the olfactory. Med brown in color with an ever frothable head on the swirl makes me proud to have brewed an American Pale Ale so often. it's because of this great American brew that I have chosen this recipe to keg first. got a 5lb CO2 tank for Christmas and plan on using it soon. Hard to remember the hops in this one but one thing is for sure they were only 99cents an ounce at the time. Cheers!

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA

By the label is an Imperial IPA, DFH's 120min IPA, pours beyond a dark apricot, more of a plum jelly color with an unassuming aroma! The foaming color is almost a creamy dark yellow, as though it still had hops growing in it! The taste is an explosion of initially a velvet carpet across the tongue that erupts in a malty hop that goes beyond my description. The alcohol gives a downward frown to my mouth even after 6 or so other beers! I just smacked myself to make sure I was still awake. You breathe out an antiseptic equal to Listerine on crack, no need for a dental cleaning. Boiled for 120mins continuously hopped with high alpha American hops, then dry-hopped daily for a month then aged for another month over whole hops and only released thrice yearly! In this hop shortage I can see why. 20%abv, 120 IBUs and 450kcal/12er, age for a decade or so....

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA

Keeping on with the End of the Dog Days of Summer tasters, we're trying DFH's 90min IPA. Pouring a deep golden apricot with an aroma too complex in hoppiness to try to state. No head to mention, no lattice but then again we're trying this in a snifter like the website says. I would me amazed to know what smooth combination of hops this is. According to the label they use on constant 90min hop addition, made with English 2-row malt. 9%abv,90 IBUs, and 294kcal/12er.

Our Tastes-- BlackStone Oatmeal Stout

Pouring a flattening slightly creamy head, BlackStone's Oatmeal Stout, has the color of unrefined coal!! The nose is a well balanced toffee, coffee, possibly blackstrap molasses? Balanced oh so well with oats this smooth velvety stout will wake the stout monster in anyone. Upon swirl the sweet light brown head returns like the phoenix. I forgot to ask Red (denoted here in pink) what the abv is on this one, but then again I was enthralled by the tour. Definitely a keeper with OG 1.064, IBUs 27.

Brew Batch #29 The Bees' Knees Mead©

Branching out from our normal barley side we enter into a domain of godly nectar and deadly stingers... I decided to try my hand at making some mead, particularly a cyser. Started with 1.5C small batches of apple cider then added 5lbs of clover honey and 2 3" sticks of cinnamon. Repeated this 3 times and let it cool overnight. I forgot to adjust for the volume of honey which was 80oz/5lb container so I ended up with waaayy more volume than I thought (almost 6 gallons). However, OG on this one was 1.124 +0.001 @70F. I will pitch the yeast starter and nutrient tomorrow and hope for the best. Making this stuff was a breeze even though I hovered like it was my first batch. Only problem is that it will take up my 6C glass carboy for the next year probably, time to buy a new one;)

10 Things to do with Beer

I am not a big beer drinker so I did some research on other things you can do with beer besides drink it. I found this article in a Men's Health Magazine. They listed 42 things I just picked my favorite. Enjoy!

1. Bathe in it- the alcohol softens the skin.

2. Put out a Fire-Although certainly not as effective as a real fire extinguisher, a can or bottle of beer can mimic one if none is available. Simply shake and spritz. After all, beer is mostly water. This works on small grill flare-ups, and some people have been known to carry an emergency can in their car in case of engine fire.

3. Marinate Meat-Beer is slightly acidic - and that makes it an excellent meat tenderizer. This allows you to enjoy leaner cuts that otherwise might be too tough. Poke a few holes in the meat, and add beer. (English ale is great for beef.) Marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or, better yet, overnight. Do not drink the marinade.

4. Polish Pots-In days of yore, the last bit of beer from spent kegs was collected and used to polish the copper vats in breweries. Because of its acidity you can just pour some on, let it sit for a while, then wipe it off.

5. Catch Mice- Slugs aren't the only pests with a fatal attraction to beer. You can also trap mice with it. Set out a few small pails or bowls of beer, with a small ramp leading up to the lip. The mice will be attracted by the smell, hop in, drink their fill, and then be unable to climb out.

6.Shampoo your hair- Not only is beer the remedy for a dull party, it's also the cure for dull hair. Pour a cup into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Let it reduce until there's 1/4 cup left. This removes the alcohol, which can dry hair. Let the beer cool, then mix it with a cup of your favorite shampoo. Pour it into an empty shampoo bottle, then wash and rinse as usual. It'll give your hair more shine and luster.

7. Loosen Rusty Bolts- Pour some beer on them and wait a few minutes. The carbonation may help break up the rust.

8. Clear up Brown spots in the yard- the fermented sugars in beer stimulate plant growth and kill fungi. It is recommended spraying either home brew or Rolling Rock (both are chemical-free) on those annoying brown spots in your lawn.

9. Pass a Kidney Stone- As you've undoubtedly noticed, beer is a diuretic. It helps flush the kidneys and bladder. This can be beneficial if you're suffering from a bladder infection or kidney stone. It helps dilate the ureters [the tubes connecting the kidneys and bladder], which may help you pass a stone quicker and easier. Plus, the alcohol will take the edge off the pain.

10.Kill Slugs-Gather a few empty jars and fill them a third of the way with cheap beer. Then bury them about 15 feet from your garden. Make sure the rims are almost level with the soil surface. For some reason, slugs love beer. They'll find the traps, drop in, and drown. Do this in the evening, let them party all night, and give them an honorable burial in the morning.

Our Tastes-- Yazoo Hop Project #9

An interesting ply to keep hopheads acoming. Linus (Yazoo's brewmaster) started a series of pale ales/IPAs where the hop additions simply aren't the same from batch to batch. When I saw him at the Magic City Brewfest this spring it was Hop Project #6, I think. But as soon as I saw his "Pleasure Chest" (an old converted Coca-Cola ice box) I had to have what was in it (a few times:) This IPA pours a creamy froth and awesome reddish-brown color. The best part of this over-the-top beer first is the aroma. I have never smelled such a flowery, piney aroma. I wonder if it was dry-hopped, those types of beers seem to grab the olfactory a bit more. The taste is without explanation. These Hop Project beers are so hoppy, I'd be curious to know what the IBUs are on average for these last 9. If you don't like hops, steer clear, because this batch is like hop extract with a little alcohol added, I feel as though I have cleansed the bacteria (and enamel) out of my mouth just by having this pint. This mamma-jamma is made with Zeus, Galena, Simcoe, and Glacier. Never had a beer with Zeus, but this new variety has to be a bittering hop at almost 17% α-alpha, Glacier is the new Fuggles or Syrian Goldings (so was it dry-hopped with this?), Simcoe has got to be the aroma hop with Galena smacking around as who knows what.

Our Tastes-- Dogfish Head Black & Blue

Black & Blue is a bit shocking and "almost sour at the beginning, ok not really I change my mind now, it like sparkles in your mouth", thank you Merry for that deep tasting. I will give it to her that she guessed raspberries are in it, now back to our regularly scheduled tasting.... I've poured it up in a cordial glass. Aroma is a faint wafting of fermented fruit with a settling lightly non-latticing thick off-white (almost a purplish hued) creamy head. The taste is a full mouth of berry and alcohol that smacks the sides of the tongue. (Hence the sparkle, Merry) The color is reminiscent of Wicked Merry Berry, which I just had a few minutes ago! Junk some are headed your way. One truly has to have some great beers made WITH fruit NOT extract in order to convey the true color. Made with black raspberries and blueberries, 10%abv and 290kcal/12er.