Brew Batch #40 Warrior IPA

Into the keg that QQWW was in. There for a while I thought QQWW's keg was magic because it seemed to keep giving beer even though I swore I only had a gallon or so left. Alas, a couple of nights ago, was the last of my quadruple wheat wine. However, I enjoyed the beer so much even at 9.9%abv, you're guaranteed to see it again. Doug (my builder) and I just had some sample swill and it's a good'en! FG 1.010+ 0.001@ 72F gives it a straight 7%abv. It has an awesome initial taste with a great bitter to the back end. Can't wait to get it cold.

Our Tastes-- BBC Quadruple Lambic Blend

Picked up last July or so, I have 2 bottles of this and we're cleaning out the fridge at the Woodland Creek chapter. Color is a dark straw or apple juice with little or no head. Tart raspberry sourness, more sour apple to Melonhead. Oh my Lord! There is an initial sour, acetic acid buttery taste on the 1st mouthful. The 2nd is much the same. After 2 drinks, I'll be waiting for The Enabler to show up to rid our house of more of this. The color is astonishing, aroma complex but the taste is ...acquired? Right now, I am looking for a mass produced Lindemann's to quench Melon's thirst. I can't believe this beer took up my fridge for almost year.

Alas the End...

I've noticed that kegged beer seems to flow through my body quicker than bottles. ABA met it's end tonight, but that leaves an empty keg?

TnDC Field Trip #14 Cont'd

Breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe was a fantastic start. Great coffee and of course samples of supreme honey. Snagged the baseball tee. Then onto the Mast General Store. This place is sweet. Full of old signs and products, cool new clothing and of course a sh'ton (that's a shit ton, non-metric measurement) of honey products. Got some great wildflower honey at a nice price. Then for lunch...Asheville Pizza & Brewing Company. Pizza was great then time for some Shiva IPA. Oh what a brew. Made with pale, Munich and wheat (of all types) malts then hopped with Columbus, this beer had a great fruity citrus bite. Met one of the assistant brewers, Peter, that gave some great advice on brewing. Had to have a growler for the road! And for the evening we went to Thirsty Monk and appeased one of my greatest curiosities. A place that started as a true Belgian only bar and expanded to the upstairs (oh yes it was in a basement to begin with, Belgians ONLY).
1st beer up for Merry was Hansenn's Lambic Experimental Raspberry 2009 matured in oak barrels. The nose of tart raspberries and Brett, with a clear deep ruby color hits the palate with a sourness of acetic acid (vinegar) and a tart of oak that reminds me of drinking dill pickle juice as a kid... it was a risk then but so rewarding... compared to Lindemanns lambic this is the Ferrari of lambics. The initial profile makes you suck yourself into your own head, then as the first impression lulls you awe for more. 100% Belgian.

2nd My choice, Highland Seven Sisters abbey-ale dubbel 6.5%. Double the grain bill and Belgian dark Candi, slap some Trappist ale yeast with a great ester quality, made with Pilsner, Pale, Extra Special and Chocolate malts. Sweet aromas with a hint of nuttiness makes this limited a definite keeper. Hopped with Hallertau Hersbrucker and German Spalt.
3rd up is John John (which means technically I'm staying rogue for the time being). This beer is a collaboration between brewmaster John Maier and John Couchot the master distiller. In this one they take Dead Guy and put it in Dead Guy whisky barrels. Being first in the John John series a 3,100 gallon batch of John John Ale produces 1357 cases of beer. 6.5%abv and deep honey color with a strong vanilla oak flavor and quick dissipating head makes this beer the best and most complex I've Rogue had.

4th be Heavy Seas Siren Noir English style imperial stout! Man they fermented and flavored with Belgian chocolate nibs! It pours an opaque black with slight malt nose, taste is full with little to no roast or toffee but great caramel vanilla slightly hanging on the plank I call my tongue 8%
Finished the night at The Bier Garden with a great meal and some local beer that at this point I can't really remember, Appalachian? Catawba Valley? It was all good, best St. Pat's ever!

TnDC Field Trip #14 Cont'd Biltmore Estate

Biltmore Estate is a house on 8000 acres of land that has a 2-lane bowling alley, 70,000 gallon indoor swimming pool, 250 rooms, 65 fireplaces, 4 floors, 175000sq ft of living space, with winery, river, hunting land, greenhouse, ad nauseum, and all of it built 1890-1895. 43 indoor bathrooms, most houses had none. And I would live in some of the servants rooms! Built by the Vanderbilts of old railroad fame, I was amazed when Menonhead wanted to go to this place. Initially I thought it's just a house but 3 hours and 11 miles traveled around the entire property later, I could probably do my summers there. Of course the winery pulled us in and we sipped some of the following: Cab Sav Blanc de Noir, Chenin Blanc ($), Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Merlot, Century Red, Limited Release Merlot, Limited Release Malbec, Cab Sav ($), Limited Release Tempranillo, Limited Release Chenin Blanc, Cardinal's Crest Red, and finally Syrah. ($) denotes wines that we would buy and we snagged a bottle of Century Red and Limited Release Merlot.

St. Paddy's 2010 TnDC Field Trip #14

Came to Asheville for St. Pat's this year and it was a blast. Junk met the Melon and I over here for a little R&R and a few pints to boot. Lobster Trap, the home of Oyster House Brewing was our 1st stop. Had a flight of Patton Ave Pale Ale, IPA, Moonstone stout and an offering from French Broad Brewery of their Kolsch (we think). The Patton Ave Ale is made with bittering of Chinook, Columbus and Magnum followed by Simcoe and Cascade. At about 5%abv it was a nice brew. IPA was good! No info on the website concerning recipe. Then there was Moonstone Stout, yikes! Junk and Melon quaffed this stuff up. Made as a dry Irish stout with 5lbs of fresh oysters (shell and all). Low abv at 4.5% with calcium and seas salt this one is not supposed to taste like oysters. However, for me it did twang of a certain fishy brininess. Not across my teeth again. Stopped into Bruisin-Ales , a boutique beer shop with over 800 types of brew. Met the owner Jason Atallah and bought a few brews, including some that will appear on the blog soon. I even got a free pint glass. To finish up the night our choice was Jack of the Wood. The Irish music was phenomenal and the company couldn't have been better. We only tried one of their beers, 11th annual Green Man Stout, 6 or was it 7 pints of it:) Salud

You Got Irish Peeps?

This is by far the best site I have found that gives a family name history. Ever wondered if names like Mitchell, Garrett, Hartley or Middleton had "micks" in their past?