"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.