Brew Batch #60 Mongoose IPA

I wanted to try a Maris Otter based IPA, most of my others tend to have gold malt LME backbones so this is that attempt. Grain bag looked like a possum's codsack but the LME was healthy. Some crazy Brit hop additions of UK Admiral and First Gold gave way to OG 1.060+0.002 @77F. May bottle some, we'll see.

Our Tastes-- Salty Nut Imperial Moustache Red Ale

Picked up some Imperial Moustache Red Ale while passing through HuntsVegas and have just now gotten around to knocking this growler out. Salty Nut is a new micro in Huntsville, AL that seems to be on the right track with regards to marketing and consistent product. No technical data on the brew via their website but it's a great example of the red ale class. Color is a deep ruby, with a hop nose that's relatively non existent though they tout using extra. Oddly enough the water profile seems neutral to hard like most reds, which tells me they have some good attention to detail on this batch. No hop bitterness on the taste, mouthfeel is full with a slight astringent grain taste of husk. Not sure of the abv, but the contents of the growler disappeared quickly and quietly;)

Baseball and Beer

For me on a hot summer's day, nothing pairs together better than a pro baseball game and a cold brewsky. Throw in some roasted peanuts, and I'm in heaven, or is this Iowa? Nonetheless, what better way to push through the "Dog Days," than to rank the 30 Major League baseball clubs based on their in-stadium Craft Beer selection. That is exactly what this analysis by the Washington Post "The Best Beer in Baseball" did. Each team was scored on the locality, uniqueness, and quality of the craft beer selection in their stadium, which earned them an overall ranking. Much to my surprise, a team I followed since my little league days, mostly due to Chris Sabo and his RecSpecs, (Thanks, for giving us nerd kids some jock cred) the Cincinnati Reds came in 2nd place overall. Nice! They beat out the likes of teams that play at Coors Field, Miller Park, and Busch Stadium. Now, if only they could beat those teams on the field. The article stated, that the Reds increased their suds selection to more than 130 distinct beers, which in turn increased their Craft Beer sales by Three Hundred and Sixty-Three percent. 363!!! Wow, in some stadiums, that's a lazy flyball to the track, but for Great American Ballpark, that's a homerun. Let's hope the Reds can catch a winning streak so the fans can enjoy a few pints of a well crafted Fall Seasonal, or Oktoberfest.

*Also to note, the New York Yankees came in last place overall. So ha, take that Evil Empire! Go home and cry in your watered down American Lagers with your 27 World Series trophies.

Colonial Ale (aka The Benny Frank Ale)

"Beer is proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy."  Benjamin Franklin
Ok, maybe that wasn't the exact quote from one of our founding fathers. I think it was something or other about God giving us rain, which falls on grapevine roots, which then, blah, blah, blah brings forth wine and such, and in turn makes us all happy go lucky, or something like that. With 'ol Benny boy being the Francophile that he was, I can understand his logic. But me being the 'ol malt-ophile that I am, I prefer the misquote. I believe Ben did mean all good rain that falls to the earth to sustain vines, grapes, barley, or corn is God given, and intended to make us happy. And I choose to believe George Washington cut down that tree to make an amazing "Cherrywood Porter"  like Beat 12's. So ever since the libation hit the lips, the potation hit the palate, of the Poor Richard's Ale at Bosco's in Nashville, I've wanted to recreate a similar brew at home. One that would make me and our First Post Master General, and the good Lord above happy. But, for no good reason, I procrastinated.  After a few months, an urging voice in my head whispered, "Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today." Okay? Oddly inspired again, I performed an online search for a recipe. Immediately my search yielded the tercentenary webpage for Ben Franklin. There I found a modern day recipe by Tony Simmons which was chosen at GABF 2005 as a beer "The First American" might have brewed himself. The recipe did call for some new techniques, and a new ingredient. Hmm, I did not feel particularly confident about this brew. May be best to wait on this one, and stick to what I know. "The cat in gloves catches no mice." Wait, what? Sure, I guess I could experiment with this brew, and take the time to figure it out, but... "He who is good at making excuses is seldom good at anything else." Alright, alright, already. I hear ya, I must brew a "Poor Richard's," aka "Le Bonhomme Richard," aka "The Benny Frank" Ale. I researched and prepared to do this one right, because, "If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail." I looked at many different recipes and ingredients, all while using Simmons' recipe as a guide, and came up with a plan. On brew day, Beat 12 and I prepped and measured all of our ingredients, and set aside plenty of time to mash flaked maize, and perform a full 90 minute boil. Time went by quickly as we intoxicated ourselves on the smells of steeped malted grains and boiled hops, and before we knew it, we made our final addition of 6oz of molasses at 15 minutes. We chilled the wort, and added our water up to 5 gallons to a perfect 70 degrees F. The OG measured a 1.058 - a little short of expectations, but then I remembered, "Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed." True, true. The color was a wonderful dark brown, and a nutty aroma from the grains came through. With perfect pitching temperature, Beat 12 did the honors of pitching the starter, and within 12 hours, the air lock was full of activity. Excellent! Time to sit back, relax, and let the yeast do its work.  "In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in water there is bacteria." Let's just hope my sanitization proves that.

*All Benjamin Franklin quotes provided by GoodReads.com

Our Tastes-- Third Voyage

A fine double IPA that's marmalade in color and slight tan in head. Picked this one up in the Sam Adams Hopology pack this year. I've had it but blogged it not, up to this point. The aroma is almost of sweet must. Originally part of the small batch series, (like Fat Jack), it now appears to roam free whenever Jim has a seasonal IPA bomb to drop. As an homage to Capt Cook and his "3rd" and final voyage, Jim channeled "Sam C" and gave us an IPA with Cascade hops from the UK, New Zealand and the Pacific NW US which follows Cook's path. All being from the same species yet environmentally skewed due to growing conditions. Slap some Simcoe in it and voila. The malt backbone on this one seems pretty big with Two-Row Harrington, Metcalfe & Copeland Pale, Caramalt, Honey Malt with the sweet undertones of the last 2 come through nicely. Funny how brewer's all find inspiration in multiple places or people and brew to them in tribute. That's the ultimate. It's a good 8% easily downable brew that burps straight grapefruit.