Brew Batch #71 Imperial Red Ale

I've got a couple of back to back high gravs I've been wanting to do while it was cold (thanks El Niño), so today I'm trying my hand at an Imperial Red Ale. Good malt backbone, several ounces of Cascades and Centennials, should lead me right into my "IPA or Die" series for the spring/summer where I plan to load the keezer with nothing but IPAs. OG 1.106 +0.001@ 69F, man I hope that true 1L starter I did works!

Sound Advice

When putting together children's furniture, this is an indicator you purchased a product from a sound and understanding company.

Brew Batch #70 Blueberry Stout

Into the secondary today with 60mls of extract. Everything I've read says 120mls but I can't un-pour it when it's in the bottling bucket! Comes in at 1.010 +0.001 @67F and rolls around in the mouth as a dry stout so hopefully the blueberry will lighten and sweeten it just a touch. Should be ready for the prodigal son's return.

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.