TnDC Field Trip#4 Music City BrewFest

Just got back from the Music City BrewFest and it was an awesome sold out event. I couldn't believe they were scalping tickets to a damn brewfest! And the panhandlers were thick. I didn't realize Nashville had such a terrible problem with those slimbags. But thankfully my partner in crime was there to keep me going with the flow and my hands sanitized after I went pee;) I'll admit it wasn't as nice as the Magic City BrewFest due to the setting and lack of free food and of course the 20,000 other people that were there in such a small area. All I know is that my first beer was Bosco's Cascade IPA and the VERY last one was a Hazed and Infused dry-hopped pale ale. Evereything in between is a bit muddled. Oh, and Merry scored more schwag than I have ever seen in my life. She had to literally carry it back to the hotel in a bucket!

Brew Batch #23 The Hempen Hulk

I have always wanted to brew some hemp ale since Jamie Ray (current brewmaster at Montgomery BrewPub) gave me a pound of it a while back. So I did a little research and came up with my own recipe and brewed it tonight, affectionately naming it The Hempen Hulk, because I am going to bottle this one in green Grolsch bottles and dip them in purple wax!! Just another commemorative in the making. Hopefully this one will turn out okay. This was also the first time I put the LME in at the end to preserve the color of the brew. The guy at Alabrew suggested me trying this if I had gotten to the point where I wanted to start brewing consistent batches all the way around including color (aka SRM). So with a little Dingemanns, Centennial and Irish Moss I put this behemoth in the lautertun only this time I was outside using the propane King Cooker. Yeah, this was the first batch I used an outdoor burner and other than a little getting used to the heat settings I found to be rather neat. It will definitely be the modus opperandi in the winter time and may be the standard for the following batches. I'll admit it smelled a little "grassy" but after being around the brewpot for a few hours I didn't even notice. As I started this batch it was a clear summer evening then ironically as I added the bittering hops the night sky became a light purple and it began to sprinkle a little. Hey I can't make this stuff up, I'm not that imaginative. All I could think was , "Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry."-- Bruce Banner the tv series ca. 1978. We'll see how it turns out. OG 1.038+0.002 @77.1F.

Had To Blog This...

Okay so Bao Xishun the current world's tallest man and a herdsman from Inner Mongolia at 7'9" marries Xia a hometown girl at 5'6" and hopes to have an NBA girl in a few short years. The wedding was sponsored by 15 companies hoping to cash in on his fame donating everything from her shoes to the liquor to the bridal bed! Today he meets He Pingping, the current world's shortest man at 2'5" also from Inner Mongolia. Now considering Asians are "fast acetylators", my question is how many beers does it take these guys to get a buzz? By the way they don't hold the all-time records for height.

Our Tastes-- Michelob Märzen

The last of the brews from the 2006 Ales & Lagers Sampler is the Märzen. This one has been around for a while and definitely has the coolest dark green label with Adolphus Busch superimposed on it, looks like a dollar bill. It has a smooth malty finish to it with little legs or head. This Märzenbier has a nice malty aroma and dark amber color. This is actually a recipe Adolphus brought with him when he came to America and is made with Two-row and barley malts. Best enjoyed in a tulip glass and contains 5%abv.

Our Tastes-- Michelob Pale Ale

This beer left me wanting more out of a pale ale. Straw in color with no initial head, little to no hop aroma. However, what taste it had was good n' smooth, BUT no Sierra Nevada. It's brewed with Northwestern Hallertau, Saaz and Tettnang then dry-hopped with fresh Saaz cones. Best enjoyed in a tall, fluted-pilsner glasss and with red meats. 5.2%abv

A New Brew Buddy

Many of you have already been introduced to this new addition to the Brew Crew. You know her as B.C (Birth Control) Her name was changed to protect her innocence. Here she is helping in the racking process. When she is not brewing beer she splits her time at home with her mommy and being a dog model. Check out her work on the photo gallery at www.generationdog.com (she is the last one wearing a white t-shirt)

Ok back to the beer….
So this made me start thinking how good is it to give dogs beer? There are so many owners who like to share their brew with their dogs. Some dogs really seem to enjoy drinking beer.

In my research I found that there are some bad long term effects. Just like a human drinking beer a dog can experience a sense of euphoria. This can cause your beloved pooch to stumble and fall and let's not forget the throwing up that comes after drinking too much. They also can wake up after a night of drinking with a hang over. It can also cause liver damage just like in humans. In order for the alcoholic beverage to really hurt your dog they would have consume about 10 beers a day. I am sorry to report that there is not a Doggie AA organization.

How can you help your dog ditch the bottle?
There is a special beer brewed just for dogs. It is called Kwispelbier. The name is Dutch and means wagging tail. This is a non- alcoholic beer. Dogs really do not seem to know the difference. It tastes like beer. They do not know that it does not have alcohol in it. The brew master is a pet shop owner named Terrie Berenden. She made the brew from beef extract and malts. If your dog is truly your best friend you will have to shell out some money for this beer. It cost $2.14 a bottle.

For all you dogs and dog lovers remember to drink responsibly!!

Brew Batch #22

I shall name this one Ménage à Frank! The color and taste on this trippel is truly going to be something special. Tonight phat daddy and I filled one 12oz longneck brown, 1 clear and 26&1/2 22oz longneck browns and capped them off with nice dark blue crowns. FG 1.012+0.002 @78.2F to give it 7.4%abv. For some reason I am worried about this one not having fermented all the way but it came down from 1.066!! Dad said he didn't want to hear any hand grenades going off in the house. Well we'll know in less than a month if that happens. If not this one is going to age nicely.