2013 Bro-in-Law Pub Crawl

Well this afternoon, I pitched in and did what any good brother-in-law would do, I became the scapegoat for a great afternoon. In turn, my bro-in-law took me to several places that even though I lived in HuntsVegas several years ago had never been to or were even open. It all started at Below the Radar BrewHouse. Now boarding, seats and tray tables in their full and upright position, this was our flight:

From right to left: Triple Dog Dare Belgian Tripel, Bad Moon Rye-Sing, Cryptic DIPA, and Black Ops Black IPA. The Triple Dog Dare Tripel had a heavy yeasty, clove imbalance and bitterness I'm not used to in a tripel. No head even on initial pour, but a smooth 9.4% abv. No need to mention color on these, unless you're Ray Charles.
Bad Moon Rye-Sing rye IPA had a good pepperiness in there. Both beers had great lattice so far. Great Big C hop nose compliments the malt backbone with a Bourbonesque color. 7.0% abv.
Cryptic DIPA had an off orange color that threw me off. I thought the nose would shut down the nares but alas it did not. After the first sip, I take it back. Pass the Sudafeds. 9.0% abv. Good crushing hop blend on this one.
Black Ops black IPA. 7.5%abv and though the picture doesn't do it justice, it's light black. Yeah it's possible, then again this was only a four ounce pour. Light citrus hop nose with coffee bean roast and a surprising slight sweetness, yielding forth a Big C hoppy boldness as well. May be my favorite. My B-I-L also took in some RedStone Mead while we were there, because the abv on this light stuff wasn't enough to start the fire. Tab paid, moving on. Next stop, The Nook.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking... who's car is that? But this place was phenom! Of the entire crawl, I could have stayed right here because truly looks were deceiving (and it was raining and cold and kinda crappy bowl games were on). The Nook stashes 450 bottles, 50 taps and 46 large bottles (22 bombers or bigger) at their location and they have a license to sell on site! I can't paint you a picture, you'll have to visit on your own, but the outdoor sitting is quaint and as small or large as you want to make it.  Renovations are being done, but the existing deck, porch, tables, overhang and greenery, I'd put up against any tasting house. The tables are all cast iron so the overhead heating lamps (yeah like at McD's and propane heaters warm them to give off heat). I started out by having The Brew Stooges Mo' Better Bitter ESB. Tea like in color great white head. Balanced excellent hop profile with a nice lingering bitterness at 3.6% abv. This is the kind of session beer you can have all day. Amstel Light if memory serves is a 4.2% to give you an idea.

Next, was Yellow Hammer Dark Hammer Quad. No head on this one but a great white foam ring left to lattice.  The clear dark brownness and full mouthfeel matched well with the nose of heavy raisin and taste of dark fleshy plum. Can you say, dark Belgian candi? 10.3% and the the tongue smacks of cloying sugar.

(Infrared wall mounted and glass tube commercial propane heaters like the one in the background can be purchased here). Then to finish the sippage I tried my BIL's JW Lee's Harvest Ale matured in port casks 2005. Didn't want it to go bad and don't let the particulate bother you, it's got vitamins in it.

And the final stop was Wish-You-Were-Beer. For a hole in the wall, this place sported taps galore and the prices weren't that bad. In a strip mall, located next to several fast food places that just happen to walk-down deliver to the cigar smoke room right next door. I filled up my first half growlers of Founder's Imperial Stout and Blue Pants Pinstripe Stout. Let you know how they turn out later!
But the most memorable part of the crawl was the outdoor john at The Nook. A balmy

Inaugural Gingerballs 10k

As Red and BlackStone as our unofficial official run sponsors, I ran the last of the 10K races of the year. I ran one a month and when there wasn't a local one, I ran one with Red's beer awaiting. It's become somewhat of a cult run, much like Pulp Fiction, and has doubled it's runners. Andy Mc of Yard Dog Brewing Co. ran a flash half marathon on Christmas Eve (which was to be the initial run, but my schedule conflicted) for his BlackStone Gingerballs. All I can say is that with Red making beer, it's always at least a flash run of one!

Beer and These Go Together

When the Jean-Claude Van Damme Volvo commercial came out, it was an instant hit for me being from the Bloodsport era. But the answer from Lone Wolf McQuade, owns me. I could have pint after pint and just roll his one around in my mind. Could Chuck really do this?......or is it just CGI?

Our Tastes-- DFH Piercing Pils

First and foremost, thanks to Bootleg Chuck and his wife Lydia. Without them beer muling this stuff illegally across multiple state lines, it would still be a dream. Piercing Pils is another DFH offering I couldn't' turn down. Tasting this with Andy Mc, it pours a beautiful clear dark champagne effervescence. A phenomenal white thick head tops off the pilsner glass and wafts a soft pilsen malt backbone and Czech hop to the nose. The bitterness of the Pilsen malt and Czech hops (as well as Amarillo hops) seesaw across the tongue yet balanced well with the tart white pear tea and pear fruit meat. We both agree, an oddity for the winter but hey, we bought a growler! 6%abv with less than 40IBUs.

Brew Batch #55 Honey Kölsch (aka Jake's Juice too)

Racked tonight to 1.004+0.001@72F. Gives a healthy 5.1% so far with little room to drop. So we're just working on flavor profile now. Made with Auburn honey, this one may be a champion this year;)

I Can't Make This Up

The folks at Time have found that I and my comrades will at least statistically outlive the stiffs. And if you really want to look at some cool images check these out at Bevshots, as part of the article. (Notice the population sample is good and the consumption was 1-2/day)

Yard Dog Brewing Co. Wee Hefty

Well after being almost beaten by this recipe it finally went into the keg and bottles today. On 11/9 OG started at 1.070@ 68F and ultimately plummeted to 1.018 to yield a solid 7.4%abv wee heavy. Andy Mc (brewmaster) wasn't satisfied with us bruising our hands by manually filling the carboy with ice cubes then scalding off fingerprints when we funneled in the wort. This beer was racked 3 separate times and spiced twice with a blend of coriander, nutmeg, clove and American cinnamon. It was great to see how the profile backed off on the initial tasting with the hop bitterness still profound. Aka 3 Stooge Brew is resting comfortably in the kegerator at 42F on 12.5lbs CO2 for now. Brewed as a gift to his sister, who will be getting aforementioned bombers in due time. Can't wait to try this one in a few weeks.

Special Delivery!

Well after a well deserved wait, this arrived via "Junk" mail today. So the top 2 finishers in the Frozen Turkey Balls 10K will be enjoying their 24 prizes until the coffee stout gets here then the final 10K of the year and series, (still deciding on when and what to call it). Thanks to Red and BlackStone brewery for keeping us healthily moving and spreading the good word of their brew.

Brew Batch #55 Honey Kölsch (aka Jake's Juice too)

My builder really appreciated the Honey Kölsch, so I fired up the burner again for him today so he'll have beer for hunting season to enjoy. Same recipe, I'll be curious to see if the profile will be about the same, may snatch back a gallon or so for Merry, she's starting rounding her palate on kolsch's. OG 1.040+0.001 @69F.

Our Tastes-- Samuel Adams Juniper IPA

Trying to keep up with all of Jim's concoctions and small batch tasters, I'm pouring up Juniper IPA. A beautiful dark straw honey-like color with an effervescent thick off-white head. Nose is a subtle light hop but nothing to write home about. Made with two-row and honey malt, then hopped with Columbus (aka Tomahawk) and Ahtanum, this is a great beer. BUT, I was looking for a definitive juniper berry somewhere! I'm disappointed. Now, I'm going to find some good juniper berries somewhere and profile them, but as of right now other than a more piney, resinous feeling to the beer, this is just a holiday ploy. I rank it right up there with the availability of Utopias 10th anniversary. 5.8%abv, hoppy for sure, but just call it "I needed a beer to fill my winter sampler IPA", I would have felt better about the label. Give me some back story on the chick picking in the background and I would have felt better. I guess the medicinal benefits and voodoo of the "berry" should be enough.

Our Tastes-- Claymore Scotch Ale

Andy Mc picked us up a sixer of this to sample against a project he's got going and since this wasn't on draft when I went to GABF and sat in their couches at Great Divide, I thought we'd give it a whirl.
A nose of smoky wooden barrel on a flattened white head, only obtained with a hard pour into the tumbler. There's an astringency across the tongue that lends into an alcohol warmth at the very back of the taste, no doubt from the 7.7%abv. On the breath out through the nares, one can easily discern the peat in this wee heavy. Dark mahogany with ruby highlights with little recognizable hop addition on it's overt malt backbone. Some trivia, the claymore was massive heavy Scottish sword, of the same that is seen in Braveheart wielded by William Wallace. The analogy is that it may take to hands on the pint to control this brew.