Brew Batch #70 Blueberry Stout

After a "gurgly" start to the holiday vacation, I was actually able to brew at least one of the "I'm not so comfortable with these types of batches" batch. The worst thing Junk could have given me over the years is several great pumpkin beers and a Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Stout. As past brewings have shown, I've beat my head against the gourd several times now and as of today tried my hand at a blueberry stout of my own. The goal was to simply make a good plain stout that I could flavor to my liking. OG 1.046 + 0.001@ 71F. I may take the 1728 Scottish Ale yeast out of this one and see if I can pitch directly into an IPA.

Our Tastes-- Folklore

I thought I had this dark beer lust whipped, then I got out to do some Christmas shopping. Returning to my fortress of solitude, Folklore from Stillwater Artisanal was staring at me through the glass of the beer fridge. Black as the devil's heart, no on carbonation with a sinfully malt evoking brown ring around the pint glass. The nose is an unassuming charred oak wood and raisin hint. On first taste the roasted flavor is foremost with a slight astringency at the end cloaked only by it's 8.4% warming abv. The body is somewhat thinner than I'd expect but I'd have a another (or three) if inventory allowed.

Dark Beer Benefits

I've spent the month imbibing dark beer like religion as my beard grew. Now higher, generally speaking, in calories is the only draw back I can see in dark beers (but you'll survive longer!). As a matter of fact I just had 2 of them now I'm having a tripel to cleanse the palate;) Now oddly enough beer in general is good for you in moderation with pales and darks differing yet in categories. Silicon, which promotes bone strength is found higher in pale beers (hence my tripel). However, dark beers provide B vitamins like most styles, and higher levels of iron, due mainly to malt and hops used. I need not explain to anyone how important Fe & H2O are to mammals. In a study of canines with narrow arteries, only the dark beer group had less coagulation properties than the pale beer group with the same average arterial narrowing. For every 100mls of dark beer you're also getting 1gm of soluble fiber. We all need more sleep to push Mg+2 out of our neurons to allow for better memory lay down. Well dark beer has lactoflavin and nicotinic acid (beware this is a vasodilator hence BP drops resulting in tachycardia) that promotes sleep. If you're having 2 brews and you're butt naked in the tundra, pick a light lager, you'll be warmer longer before you loose your toes. Otherwise, Dark Beer is like E.T.,...Friend. (do your own youtube look up)

Brew Batch #69 The G-Man

Into the keg and SOME bottles. The color for this one is superb, I'll hold taste reservation until I grab some Friday. FG 1.004+ 0.000@ 63F to give 5.78%. The nose is good, but if I blow through this one I've promised myself to do it again with spices on the cold side of fermentation. The whole purpose of this beer was not only to keep the Christmas spice beer seasonal thing going but to come up with a solid sweet brown ale recipe that could be altered to suit future needs. Rules for engagement on the limited edition bottles are as follows. Only those partaking of a draft pint may have bottles. This allows me to have about 3 gallons on tap and still move inventory which allows for better tap rotation. Drink up, drink up, as fast as you can.

Our Tastes-- DB Schwartz Bier

I've hammered away at Reinke's inventories this month both kegged and bottles and as I bottled/kegged Gman, I had to sip something differently dark . Schwartz Bier by Devil's Backbone poured up a head and nose of attention getting roasted cereal. I'm pretty sure my mouth watered like some mad Labrador. The taste on this brew was complex and smooth, perhaps the smoothest schwartz I've had. The body was medium and dangerously quaffable, I put it right up there with Jack the Quaffer porter. I've noticed DB's malt bills tend to be a little more complex than other breweries, but then again their medal tally is as well. This one touts Carafa 2, Dark Munich, Melanoidin, Cara-Red and Pilsner malts, then hopped with Northern Brewer and Saaz. I'm not sure which malt lends the hint of sweetness, but it balances great with the Dark Munich and pilsner to give a fantastic slightly sugary roast. At 5.1% this is a great dark winter brew. Coincidentally, DB i snow available in NashVegas. Gotta find me a beer mule up there;)

Stout Month

Back in the day, I committed myself to a different brew in the month of October to push the palate. Redeeming this notion, I'll be having one stout a day for the month of "No Shave". Unless otherwise stated here, Earth may assume it's inventories of Reinke's (2005 ca. to 2014). However, Junk threw me some stout mouth bait not too long ago and today the beast is biting. From the Sooner Nation and a new brewery to me, I'm sipping Prairie Artisan Ales Limo Tint. Now a lot of good things came out of Oklahoma, and at first pour this opacity with it's pronounced nose of velvety cocoa nibs and slightly toasted malts seemed to be one of them. Then the head dissipated faster than a regular coca cola. Oh where, oh where had my little brown head gone. Carbonation was still there but in the same way it is for Miller High Life. The taste has all the right properties of a great milk stout aged over chocolate like the label says but the body is thin and the carbonation lends a touch of metal. Don't get me wrong the label was enough to get me through the pint, but I'd like to see Krebs Brewing put a little more grist and lactose in this one. Funny, Krebs is also a well known cycle that gives aerobes ATP. I guess I could live off of this, if say other milk stouts weren't available.

Brew Batch #68 Jake's Juice

Ah yes, the final JJ's for the year (told him to make this one stretch!) I'm always amazed at the change in color and how this recipe has evolved. The swill taste has a definite "American" slight tart to it; whereas, the German kolsh 2565 reigned in the subtle sweetness of the same malt backbone. I changed nothing but the yeast and both times the same results. For me the jury has spoken and 2565 will be the stable horse for this one from now on, of course if Jake prefers 1010 he'll get exactly what he wants, just may have a separate fermenter going for me next summer. FG 1.006+0.001 @68F to give a consistent 5.91%

Making My Own Bourbon

I let the "first fill" drop down until this month and rotated to the garage instead of the house this month. The level was so low after the summer aging that I went ahead and added the other 750ml of single malt and 32oz of cold spring water to top it off! I'm hoping a lot of the first 32oz of spring water become the seepage and Angel's share in the attic. Next month I'll leave it up in the attic until January 1.

Our Tastes-- Third Eye Pale Ale

Last of some Collbran, CO bootleg, I'm finishing up some Third Eye Pale Ale, by SteamWorks Brewing Co. Now I'll admit I was a little curious about a brewpub that recently won silver and bronze at GABF 2015. The silver was for their kolsch, a style of which I've made more this year than in the last 3 combined! I used to tell people when they wanted to "experiment" from BMC (Bud Miller Coors) that a true pale ale was represented by Sierra Nevada. That still holds true but if you want to push the envelope a little beyond what's mainstream and readily available, this is my new rarity "class" suggestion. A wonderful medium bodied dark copper with thick white head. Nose holds a good balance of malt and hop with that hop lingering ever so gently on each sip. There seems to be a bit more malt sweetness on this one rather than on SN's offering where the malt is more subtle and the hops more forward. Heck if you can find them both on the shelf, dual them up.

Brew Batch #69 The G-Man

So after sipping on Muffin Man for 2 years and reading arduously on this beer style and taking the time to convert it to all grain for footnotes. I'm laying into gingerbread beer. In theory this should be nice and cold and ready to pass the gullet around late November. It was this or I bang my head against the gourd again this fall. Partially inspired by past spiced winter brews, I traverse into unknown territory with this one. OG 1.046 +0.002 @75F. Yeast harvested from this brew and either repitched or doubly pitched will ferment a milestone for Beat-12 Brewing I have approached with great trepidation. It smelled like Christmas in the last five minutes of the brew and I'm exited. I'm trying to decide if a well made base beer with extracts/spices is better and more easily/consistently made than a "from scratch" beer with fresh ingredients like pumpkin and ginger. We'll see how it sips soon enough.

National Drink Beer Day 2015

Not to be confused with National Beer Day (apparently April 7th) to celebrate the Cullen-Harrison Act, this is an unofficial holiday with an origin I can't find. So I'll pour up something memorable and quaff down some Devil's Backbone Vienna Style Lager! It pours a head like a mane on a lion with about the same hue. Nose reminds me of sweet bread and the taste is unforgettable even though it was "boned" on 10/08/2014. Thank goodness it's been nice and cold. Made with Vienna, Pilsen, Dark Munich and Caramel malts balanced with Northern Brewer and Saaz this is a brew I would keep year round as my go to house beer. The smoothness is unlike any lager I've had. 4.9%abv plus silver and gold at GABF. When you look at the Aussie medals, it seems Foster's has a ways to go to catch up;)

Ten of Fitty Part Six, eh?

Continuing with Parallel 49, I'm trying The Toques of Hazzard. An IPA of course, in case you were wondering. Poured up a light clear straw with dissipating head. Not as heavy nosed as I would have thought for an Imperial "Pale Ale" or perhaps perfect considering it's wheat base. Nelson Sauvin and Citra hopped this one has a more red wine feel to the taste. There seems to be a burgundy/merlot wine must to the taste profile perhaps from the Nelson hops. Better than the triplets we just had in my opinion. 9.2%abv and a sweet Zamboni label for beer fridge magnet needs!

Ten of Fitty Part Cinq, eh?

Having an all day IPA taster looks to be where I'm headed, eh?. A product of Parallel 49 Brewing, Snap, Crackle, Hop is an Imperial Rice IPA. This is a first for me. Pouring a particulate, thick white headed marmalade, this brew whiffs of a heavy malt backbone and New Zealand Motueka hops. I've gotten into the Aussie/NZ line of hops of late and have already conjured a Koala bear IPA recipe that slowly creeps up on you and snuggles you into bed, but this is my first known swill of the Motueka. Wonder how they grow at 32.2697° N, 86.1402° W? The need for pseudophed has not gotten to me yet, but it's acoming. 9.3%abv and a wicked label for magnet making as a British Columbia head nod.

Ten of Fitty Part Fo'

Sliding into a A Little Sumpin' sumpin' ale by Lagunitas. 64.20 IBUs, 7.5%abv. Nose is an underlying citrus with bready backbone. I've had this one before but not blogged it so what better occasion. The 64 IBUs seem heavier than I would expect perhaps form the lighter malt backbone of this beer. After further research, the recipe on this one, the fact that it's a pale wheat malt bill explains alot. It's the smoothness of the wheat protein that lends to both the nose and taste. An absolute keeper that just seems to get better as it gets closer to room temp!

Brew Batch #68 Jake's Juice

Look, when 11 gallons just isn't enough and the last batch was so controversial among the panel, you brew it again going into hunting season. So the 2565 German yeast turned the heads of most, this batch just like the other half of the last one is 100% inoculated with 1010 American. The real fun for me behind this brew is that I feel like I have a great handle (or at least a better one) on kolsch styles, specifically honey kolsch. The only variant I would throw in if I could split a batch at this point would be a protein rest at about 120-122F and keep 2565, I think. Other than that I feel like I could put this beer up against any of the same and I rather like the idea of the honey not always being exactly the same. OG 1.050 +0.002@75F, spot on. See ya in 4 weeks!

Inaugural Beach Balls 10K

Late El Niño kept us from having a hot summer, (nothing like 2 years ago) so before we have an Indian summer we opted into Beach Balls this year as a transition from Hot Balls to Fall/Turkey Balls 10K beer worthy runs. Attendance this year was steady as we ran "the turn" for the Seaside Half Marathon from Rosemary Beach back to Seaside proper post office. Draper Lake was nice into Big Redfish, Alligator and finally the cooking started at Western Lake right in to the sun with no shade. At only 88F and 88% humidity, I thought this run would be "fun". But the last 2 under estimated miles of this mis-calculated 6.75mile "10k" began to steal the life out of me. Alas, our ever enduring sponsor BlackStone Brewer, Red, made sure there was some Session Player available. Now I've never had a session IPA and the thought has crossed my mind in the past that these beers were simply juked up pale ales, but no, there is a discernible difference, and that's not just the water weight loss talking! Somewhere above SN pale ale, level with SW 420 IPA but below Adam Bomb this citrus juicy full bodied low abv malted backbone IPA has won me. Much like I tell my wife she's my favorite (I've only had one;). The label is cool with the pick silhouette and I can only imagine the .73mm refers to it's thickness, crowns are about 4 times that?

Brew Batch #67 Bitter!

Well I wanted something light and quaffable, so I kegged up 5C of a crisp, lightly bitter....Bitter today. The FG 1.004+ 0.002 @77F to yield a "come hither destroy me by the quart" 3.54%abv. If this one makes it to bush hog time at Knotty Pine, it won't make it to day's end;)

Our Tastes-- Quasimodo

After a long haul the last couple of weeks, I relished the idea of coming home and trying a b'day drop off by Andy Mc. Quasimodo pours an extremely clear rich dark brown with thick creamy tannish head. As soon as I poured up my goblet it wafted out at my my olfactory glands from a foot away with it's heavy fig and Belgian candi warmth. My mouth began to water with a Pavlovian nature and reminded how powerful really well created beers are. The taste is such an onslaught to the senses I find it hard to capture the first taste in it's totality. Fruity and yet bitter with a 10% abv undeniable heat. This is my first experience with 3 Taverns and as I thoroughly enjoy watching the lattice cling to the glass off my "hunched back punch" I come to a resounding conclusion....I only have one in stock and half of it is already in my belly!

Ten of Fitty Part Drie

Duvel's Tripel Hop 2014 continues the taster. A Belgian golden that changes dry-hops each year, for 2014 Saaz and Styrian were still used in the boil with Mosaic on the dry-hop. A smooth detergent bubble golden from either lack of carbonation at the brewery or miscalculation based off of the abv at 9.5%.. Almost has a pear nose that gives way to a smooth warming golden citrus grassiness from the Mosaic. I'd drink this while cutting my yard if the lines didn't matter. ;)

Ten of Fitty Part Two

Next up Stealin' Time from Magic Hat. Pours a somewhat cloudier version than the last brew. Head is proficient on this 5.5% wheat. Nose is a slight sweetness. Ginger hits the palate right off on this cold crisp brew. Made with lae and wheat malts, then tamed by Apollo and Simcoe hops this is a  IBU keeper.

Ten of Fitty Part Một

The Enabler got me 40 ounces of beer to try and 10 to grow on for my birthday. So on a day that looks overcast, we'll be delving into his palate of beers for me. First up, Saigon export. Made by Sabeco Brewery, located in Ho Chi Minh City (the favorite Communist city on our bucket-list inernational beer crawl, nevermind that it's last) Though we can't seem to pull the website up directly, these guys would do great at moonshining here in the Southeast considering the heavy taste of corn in their lager. Pours a clear, light to medium straw with great carbonation considering where it's made and exported from. My dad didn't ever mention this beer, he was more of a Tiger 33 guy. Sabeco was established in 1875, you'd think the commies would have them a better website by now considering they own roughly 90% of the brewery. It's along the lines of almost pilsner, smells like Dutch Windmill (see previous posts). Beer is light, crisp, lager at 4.9%.

Brew Batch #67 Bitter!

Knocked out an ESB with OG 1.030+ 0.003@ 81F, this morning. Looking to rotate fresh stuff into fresh kegs and friends gullets. This should be a good session beer to end yard cutting season with and start football season with. #68, I'm thinking "do-over".

Brew Day Cancelled

Brew Batch #64 Southleterven 12

It's shameful what happened to this batch. I never blogged it to begin with!! Like the Chachapoyan Fertility Idol it was simply sought at the end of it's long secondary ferment and kegged today. On 2/4/15, I never even mentioned the brewing of the highest scoring, mis-categorized beer we entered at HODO. OG 1.080+ 0.001 @67F, FG 1.010+ 0.002 @77F yielded a great 9.1%. The addition of extra hops is slightly noticeable on the taste but obviously not the aroma. Cold conditioning now with some keezer lines needing cleaning. Also restocked with some new brewing ingredients for my next batch. I'll give you a hint... I like my women and coffee just like it.

Making My Own Bourbon

Well Junk gifted me a sweet Wasmund barrel for Christmas and as an easy to remember date and slow down in life I chose today to start the aging process of my own bourbon. So I have this 2L oak charred barrel that I soaked in spring water  and swelled in the attic for a week to check for leaks between the boards and bands. After rotating several times, it's been filled with 750ml of Wasmund's single malt 124 proof spirit that was distilled on 9/12/14. They used 60/40 blend of applewood and cherrywood hand malted barley that's double pot distilled between 150-160 proof. I'll pull it out of the attic and place it inside for a month then rotate back up the next month until next July 4th next year or so. Around Christmas I'll pour the second 750ml in because right now the "first fill" is topped off with spring water to aid in evaporation, expansion and the Angel's share (I'm stingy). Copperfox.biz

Summertime VBS

It's taken a while for me to clear the keezer, kind of like when mom cooks for an army but there's only 5 or 6 of us. Having 25 gallons of beer to consume caught me a little of guard in the inventory planning department, but I've wiped everything clean and have empty and ample fermenters and kegs. I've already picked up some summertime brews (new and old favs). One word ....REVIVAL.

Brew Batch #66 (or #1) Jake's Juice AG

Final kegging, conditioning and bottling (6/30/15) has taken place on this much anticipated batch of JJ's and this was an awesome experience in changing one aspect of a beer with slight but profound difference in the profile. In the past I had used solely American 1010 yeast, but with this batch I pitched it and German 2565 in their respective fermenters. Each one had the same amount of time in their primaries, racking and conditioning and the jury is in. German 2565 came in at 1.004+0.001 @74F yielded 5.91% abv, the best albeit the same color but with a taste slightly sweeter and a minuscule yeast background. American 1010 (my stable horse on this recipe) 1.002+0.002 @77F yielded 6.3% basically the same color but with a more crisp and a hint of tartness that in batches before I had overlooked or missed. I am extremely proud of this maiden all grain lengthily researched batch. With a protein rest next time and the same conditioning schedule, it may hit it's pinnacle. However, like all good horses I think I'll have to let 1010 got to pasture because the properties 2565 showed, I'm going to let it race from now on.

Our Tastes-- Yellowhammer 3rd Anniversary Ale

Yellowhammer 3rd Anniversary Ale is a Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 9.2%. It pours up the same color we've had all night. Death by mahogany. The nose imparts a nice vanilla extract on the flattened head no doubt from the aging and abv (it's a 2013 brew). Astringent to begin with but ends spicy warm as it passes through the palate with a full bodied peppercorn coming through. I've noticed YH likes brewing Belgians of all kinds. Next time I'm in Huntsville, I may need to try their tasting room. Solid beer guys, keep it up.

Our Tastes-- Voodoo Doughnut Pretzel Raspberry Chocolate Ale

Another contribution by Junk and a taster I finally got to try. This line of beers also includes a banana doughnut something or other, I think? VDPRCA pours a dark brown with chestnut highlights and is made with 10 ingredients, "2-Row, Munich, C120, Chocolate, Black - Kiln Coffee & Rogue Farms Dare™ and Risk™ Malts; Rogue Farms Rebel Hops™; Pretzels, Raspberry Extract, Chocolate, Pacman Yeast & Free Range Coastal Water". The aroma is dead on for absolute German chocolate covered pretzels!! Now let's be honest the taste is a gimmick and I often wonder what "flavor" we will taint good beer with next along with a snazzy label just to push conventional thought. Having said that and being a capitalist and proponent of the free market, I'd buy it again, try it with doughnuts and the shirt though pink is a must have for me. 5.4% abv for this candy coated "doughnut" brown ale. Will be trying the bacon one when I get it with my bacon-lovers t-shirt on.

Brew Batch #65 La Gran Calabaza...Pastel

Into the keg today at FG 1.010+ 0.001 @74F. The color is spot on and the nose hints away at pumpkin pie but it's much more subdued that I thought. This recipe has continued to haunt me, but I've decided not to give up. I'll just continue to take good notes and alter it where necessary. I'll be dropping it cold and blowing off the keg, so in the mean time while it's pressurizing, I hope the nose and flavor pump up a bit. On the FG taste it seemed more like an amber that someone jut put spices in, not 8lbs of pumpkin. 6.83% and we'll see where it goes, even have a great tap handle for the keezer!

National Beer Day

I had no idea that this was such a big deal that we celebrated New Beer's Eve (April 6th), to coincide with it. So on this day in 1933 FDR signed the Cullen-Harrison Act which allowed people to buy, sell and drink beer again as long as it was <4 .05="" 1.5million="" a="" abv.="" amstel="" barrels="" be="" beer="" day="" drank="" drinking="" enough="" href="http://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics/by-state/" in="" is="" light="" more="" must="" oddly="" of="" one="" popular="" population="" s="" so="" than="" that="" the="" why="">Colorado
produced in all of 2013. To put it all in perspective, every man, woman and child (and yes the census included Native American's as of 1930) consumed 47 ounces of beer on that one day. You read it here first.

Our Tastes-- Southern Tier Warlock

I finally got a chance to sample Southern Tier Warlock and it did not disappoint. The dichotomy to ST's Imperial Ale, Pumking, this imperial stout has already been perfected considering it's only been brewed since 2013. Pouring a clear medium brown with slight garnet hues, the white thin head gave way to pumpkin pie and hazel nut (good pick up by The Taskmaster). The taste is a bit overly spicy in the nutmeg realm with much bitter coffee in conjunction with allspice. I haven't tried a lot of ST brews, but after checking out their website, I may have to brush up a bit more on them. I noticed at least 4 pumpkin based beers, so apparently they're not skittish of the gourd! I'll definitely be picking this full bodied "Black Series" beer up again next year. 8.6% abv

Happy St. Pat's 2015

It's a rarity that I have to work on St. Pat's but this year was just how it fell. Managed to get in a pint of lovely and found a couple of articles that explain a good bit behind the "why" of certain points to the holiday. I think the last one is a little extreme but has some good points. But if they post it at the international airport in Dublin, it's gotta be right.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2014/03/please-dont-call-it-st-pattys-day/
http://paddynotpatty.com/
http://gawker.com/5990788/its-st-paddys-day-not-st-pattys-day

Brew Batch #39 The Bees' Knees Mead© 2010

I know many of you have asked about this one since 09' has long since gone the way of endangered (almost the dodo). Into the bottles finally this afternoon with the help of Merry! A case of the long necks with silver crowns and a couple of bombers for corking on the vanilla bean blueberry batch and believe it or not, I bottled the plain cyser on 12/2/14. Both came in at around 14% but there is a definite difference in the blueberry batch. It seems to have a great golden blue hue to it. A long time in the making. Already had some takers on it since it's really ready right now going into the bottle. 15lbs of honey never tasted so good.

Brew Batch #66 (or #1) Jake's Juice AG

Though it be Friday the 13th, today was my lucky day. Today was my first GAG (going all grain)! We brewed 10 gallons and split them between 2 different yeasts to see if there was a certain profile we liked most with the brew. Threw together some pilsner, white wheat and honey malt to create the mash, then used the usual hops and added some Sumiton, AL honey to it at flash out. It's usually made with honey procured from Auburn only, but I told Jake a long time ago that would be the biggest variable because I couldn't always guarantee the same honey. Using the Brew Magic for the first time was exhilarating and nearly as gut wrenching as the "maiden voyage" a couple for weeks ago. I got a better handle on the flow of the system and even had to deal with a little stuck sparge. But when we tested the OG and profile, it was spot on. From a data standpoint all of the research I did on the kölsch beer type was well worth it. OG 1.050+ 0.002@ 82F with Wyeast 1010 going into 1 carboy and 2565 going into the other. See you all in 4 to 6 weeks at the tasting room;)

Our Tastes-- Blueberry Hill Lager

Trying to keep up with the offerings from Father Jim, I wrap my lips around Samuel Adams's Blueberry Hill Lager. It pours a very familiar slighted blue honey color, bright white light head and a nose of the same familiarity. Even Merry thinks it smacks of "wickedness". It is a crisp, light tasting, light bodied lager with a gentle overlay of blueberry on the end of the taste. Made with 2-row and honey malt then bittered with Tettnang Tettnanger to aid in the slight citrus freshness. Now that I've slid into some all grain brewing, I know a little bit more about this particular grain bill and enzymatic activity. It's a shame this one comes in the Summer pack only right now, I'd stock up and lawnmower this one right next to dad's "blue mountains" and Canoe Paddler. A solid 5.5% 191cal/long neck kayaker!

Brew Batch #65 La Gran Calabaza...Pastel

I've wanted to try my hand at a true pumpkin beer since the pumpkin porter. So I wrangled up an old recipe from 55 batches ago (see #10) and did some good research on mashing in with gourds and the use of pumpkin pie spices. It was a little more labor intensive but as Junk would say, "I'd drink pumpkin beer year round if it were available". True Story, so would I. Had to use some 6-row and picked up spices from Penzey's and with some guidance from Andy Mc on roasting, we now have The Great Pumpkin....Pie in the fermenter. OG 1.062+0.001 @66F. A little higher than I would have liked but let's see where she ends up.

Brew Batch #63 Pecan Porter

Just kegged this one tonight and had to cold drop it the old fashioned way, outside at 23F. Kegerator is on the fritz. I even ladled out the pecans and have dried them out at 350F for a little while to see how they pair with the beer. FG came in at 1.020-0.001 @52F, needless to say that through me off but with correction gives it a 6.56%abv. Taste is mellow and awfully quaffable at aforementioned cellar temp. Thinking about starting a "Your (no you're) Nuts series". I've read a good bit about pistachios, sunflowers seed and a few others with regards to their oils and types of beers they pair best with. Who knows maybe a pistachio stout is around the corner?

Our Tastes-- Monkey's Uncle

I had heard of this beer since being pulled in to Monkeynaut, the only problem Straight to Ale only releases Monkey's Uncle in March and September. So when Wish You Were Beer had it on tap, I had to pick up a howler. Sharing with Junk and Andy Mc it poured a dark straw with thick mellow whip white head. I assume it had Big C hops in the brewing process because of the grapefruit piney hoppiness on the dry finishing taste. Their website says available in cans in late 2014, I'm still waiting but I'll make this 8% Imperial IPA meet it's nephew on a regular basis in my garage fridge!

The Sabco System

The time has come, to brew a many things: of Pils, and Porters, and Oatmeal Stouts, with hops of Kent Goldings. Yes, we have traveled through the looking glass, and like fresh oysters, took a big step (if oysters had feet) to opening Frank & Andy Brewing Company. We bought a Sabco Brew Magic System, just like some the big boy breweries. The same system that "DogFish Head" started on. The used system was located in Alabama, only 2 hours away. We could make a day trip to pick it up. Lucky us! We drove the truck up, loaded it in, secured it down, and headed home with our pearl. Our excitement revved high, almost too high, cause if weren't for an impromptu stop along the way to check riggings, our Hot Liquor Tank might have careened violently down the winding back roads. Whew, lucky us. Once safely in the garage, like Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dumber we stared at the system, and each other for a minute. Now what? Maybe it was the idea that we were that much closer to taking Frank&Andy commercial, and a cloud of self-doubt overcast our eagerness. But like good Carpenters we went to work, and cleaned up the stainless steel kettles and frame to a renewed shine. It maybe daunting to venture on and take on the likes of big "SuperFootballGame" advertisers, but the journey with plenty of beer at our side will be worth it.

"Not Your Mother's" Peanut Butter Milk Stout

I decided to brew up the milk stout recipe for the last batch in the homebrew kettle. Ah, the last batch. The balance of malt and hops along with the memories, gave off a bittersweet feeling. The reason for our parting, we are upgrading brewing systems, as we progress towards opening Frank &Andy. So no worries F&A fans (all 2 or 3 of you). As we progress as brewers, so too must our beers, and that's why this go around on the Milk Stout recipe I added Peanut Butter. The overwhelming popularity, but inability to find the Peanut Butter Porter, created in me the desire to experiment with this ingredient. OG measured 1.071 @ 68 degF, which was a little light, and the peanut butter turned the wort to a hazy brown rather than the jet black stout I was accustomed to. First whiff, I definitely picked up a roasty nut aroma, but upon first taste, I got more roasted peanut than sweet creamy peanut butter. The Doc even said, "Tasted more like graham crackers than peanuts."  I guess this ingredient will be a little more elusive to tackle than I initially expected. Oh well, I wish I could have sent the 'Ol Brewpot out on a good note, but missteps are sometimes the nature of experimentation and the beauty of progress.

Ballast Point: Habanero Sculpin

This past Growler-fill trip to HopCity, I spotted on tap one of the highest rated IPAs in the land, but with a special twist, Ballast Point's Habanero Sculpin. I loved the citrusy hops with a light "al dente" malt chew of the regular Sculpin. I also remembered Frankie's last post on increased testosterone with spicy food, and thought, "I could get some t-level therapy while knocking back an excellent brew at the same time. Win-Win! What could possibly go wrong." (Note: Ironic Foreshadowing) I purchased a Howler (Half-Growler) and went home happier than a clam at high tide. I poured a glass, and out came the beautiful golden straw IPA. Mmm, looked like Sculpin. A nice bubbly, thick white head formed, and I brought the glass up to my nose. Mmm, smelled like Sculpin. All those citrusy hops begged to be consumed. I took a sip. Whoa! It tingled the lips! [Cough, Cough, Cough] It singed the back of my throat! It pretty much incinerated my palate. The habaneros over ran the balance of the hops and malt like a Santa Anna Army. I held strong, and gave it another taste. It was no use, the reinforcement of habaneros continued the onslaught over my taste buds. Even a small burp allowed an uprising of chili peppers to complete any unfinished business in my mouth. The good thing was, after 4-5 more sips, I either began to acquire a taste for the scorching brew, or all taste buds had gone numb from the cauterization of my nerve endings. Nonetheless, I think Frank and Andy should probably stay clear of any chili pepper beers. So, if that's your thing Montgomery, sorry.

Trim Tab Brewing

Going 0 for 5 at the brew competition did cast a dark cloud over the weekend in Birmingham, but let's not forget a silver lining to the trip, a visit to Trim Tab Brewing. This place was great. The hulking bar was made solid wood that looked sturdy enough for the hardiest of drinkers, but at the same time refined, with a nice mahogany stained finish. The other seats and areas in the spacious tap room gave a modernist feel with sleek subtle lines. The industrial white brick walls were adorned with unique paintings. A very different feel than the bar like qualities of most tap rooms. We were welcomed to the Trim Tab, ahem, "Tasting Gallery." Oh, pardon. We settled into our bar stools, and perused the beer bill of fare with our shirts slightly puffed out. Then our swanky noses in the air were dialed down, when the bartender informed, that the "Tasting Gallery" space was designed to give local artists a venue to display their work. "Oh, that explains it," I thought, "Now I get it, Cool." We checked out the beers on tap again. Right away, I was sold on the "Nitro Nilbog," a traditional Barleywine served on nitro. The sinfully seductive dark reddish-brown hues, sweet maltiness, and smooth creamy head did not fail to satisfy all the way to the last drop. Next up was a cask conditioned Rye Brown Ale. Yes! I was in maltmouth heaven. As we praised the good artisans that brewed these wonderful elixirs, we were graciously offered an impromptu tour of the facilities. Amazing, this place could do no wrong. They took us through the looking glass, and showed and told us all we wanted to know from start-up to now. I was amazed by their set-up. They even had a refurbished Airstream trailer in the back for those late night brew sessions. I thought about how Frank and Andy Brewing has progressed through the start up phase, as we gawked at their fermentors, and I could visualize many parallels. Yes, I've pictured giant stainless steel vats, but ideas, concepts, and execution. I looked around Trim Tab, and felt little bit in a crystal ball for Frank and Andy. Of course not exactly, but maybe similar execution, similar style, similar vibe. Great beer, great place.

Spicy Men are Keepers

I pride myself on being somewhat well-rounded, like an oval (sometimes hexagon depending on who you talk to). That's why when I read this study about men who prefer spicier foods having higher testosterone levels, I immediately had to repost it and give my skewed views. Now first and foremost for those of you that actually read the 3 page abstract..it's an abstract, some of the values aren't very valid from a "good" study standpoint, most of the statistics and measurements are weak at best, but the correlation of those same weak measurements is definitely there. Bottom line on it is men who prefer spicy foods tend to have higher T levels. Now this isn't always a good thing but characteristics like metabolism, fat and bone composition are positive, body hair tends to be of overall better quality and the "drive" is there for the ladies with lower "soft cod" issues (layman term). Allow me to point out a couple discussion topics, I have some friends that are thinning on top but have shag carpets on their chests and grow beards like Bunyan. Really hard testes are no bueno from a medical perspective and "drive" is directly proportional to how often you get in the car. Now "coffee talk" amongst yourselves as I go have a chili beer;) Up next the correlation between phytoestrogens, man-boobs and IPA preference. (BTW, not this kind of cod:)

And the winner is...

On Saturday January, 10 2015, the folks at Good People Brewing opened their doors and palates to the 2nd Annual (HODO) Heart Of Dixie Open Homebrew competition. This year was an official BJCP event open to all ale categories, with the winners of each category receiving a lab analysis of their beer. Wow, this offered us a chance to see how well, and how clean we were brewing. We, Frank & Andy Brewing, constructed a brew schedule to register 5 beers this go around: 1 porter, 2 stouts, and 2 strong ales. Another nice addition to HODO 2.0 was the crowning of a "People's Choice" champion on Friday night. We were all in. We took the kegs of two of our samples, along with two extra fun filled kegs ("Benny Frank" Brown ale, "Not Your Mother's" Milk Stout), to be shared and enjoyed by the front line, working collar, beer drinkers of the area. Excitement ran high, as this was to be a fun time to be had by all. Undeterred by the brewery's "Pardon our Mess" front door and parking lot renovations, I pulled up over the curb, and onto the sidewalk to quickly unload kegs and equipment. Once legally parked, and back inside the brewery, I set up our jockey box system,

and awaited to let the free beer flow. As I poured up our servings to the waves of people, I got the chance to meet and chat with many interesting beer drinkers, both experienced and new, as well as other brewers. I was impressed with some of the great beers these homebrewers made. Rauchbier, Berliner Weisse, Belgian, Citra IPA, and a Vanilla Bourbon Porter to name a few. Then with three out of our four F&A kegs kicked, we all anxiously awaited "The People's" coronation event, and which one of these excellent homebrewers was to be crowned. The news trickled through the dwindling crowd, and for some reason, the results were to be announced tomorrow along with the BJCP judged categories. Fine. Much to my dismay, I packed up what was left of our stuff, and vacated the premises with a funny limp to my walk, painfully unsatisfied. My patience was to be tested. But, the next day rose anew, and with it a resurgence of exhilaration. After a customary visit to The J Clyde to refuel, and a side trip to a new brewery, Trim Tab, (Great brews! But that's for another Blog Post) we strolled back to Good People to mix and mingle with the all the other homebrewers, and with fingers crossed, collect a little recognition. The mood and the crowd was certainly more subdued from Friday night, and most definitely from last year. The sparse folks that remained strained their ears to hear the category winners over the muffled PA system. We waited for our categories. Then when Porters and Stouts were announced stuffed together into one category, (What! that was the majority of our entries all lumped into one), we were hit with the premonition, like a searing scar across our brow, that something dark was about to happen, which was not the naming of one of our beers. And when the Strong Ale category magically disappeared with our hopes into the yeasty ethos, we knew we were done, dashed, defeated. Jilted in our spirits from HOBO 2.0 we left. We drank, we complained, we drank a little more, but we hoisted up our boot straps, and planned our next step on our brewing path, cause "F#*$@'n A!!! Energy and persistence can conquer all things," or was that too much of the "Benny Frank" talking.

Brew Batch #63 Pecan Porter

Trying my hand at pee-kans since this is a readily available treat this time of year. Did a good bit of research on this recipe and the swill didn't over power me with pecan nose and flavor but that's what secondary is for. OG 1.068+ 0.001 @69 with a mega starter of Wyeast 2112. I'll remember this as the batch I sat outside for about an hour in 20 degree windchill when the wort chiller was blocked.