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.