Well, as I teased in my last post, I waskicking around the idea for a smoked wheat ale. The kicking, however, has ended, and I have arrived to my next recipe: Scorched Earth Ale. I am going to be probably changing this one and taking a lot of advice from some brewing friends, but this is a drastic direction that I am curious to play out.
I want it to be similar to a rauchbier, but I want to go a step further by merging it with an American wheat beer. So, to accomplish this, I am using the smoked malt, but I'm sticking to the wheat malts that I think will get me as close to the wheat counterpart of a Marzen. This I feel will allow me to arrive to a slightly darker color of the rauchbier, but also allow me to stay true to the wheat beer at heart.
The hop side of this equation is the part I am REALLY debating myself about. I want it to be hoppy, but I'm unsure of the mixtures and the IBUs. I am going to be wrestling with this one and also looking into some suggestions from friends, but right now I'm aiming at the highest end of the scale I am comfortable with and then working my way back.
I know that I can continue to try making the typical beers, but I want to test my skills and perspective as a brewer to be further outside the box than expected.
I would welcome anyone's input or advice as this is still very early in the planning stages.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Friday, July 27, 2012
Inspiration & Updates
Ok, so I know I have been away for a bit, but I have a good reason. The Feelin' It imperial pilsner is on its way (update on that thread to follow) and I had to make a trip to St. Louis for a wedding...and some beer.
Let's talk about that one for a second. In St. Louis, there resides a company called Schlafly, which became essentially a true guide in the wonderful world of craft beer. I not only learned about what I liked in beer, but learned about the brewing process, the various styles of beer, and overall the beer culture. For those reasons and many more, I will always hold Schlafly and brewers in general in a very high opinion (unless they make meh beer...mushroom beer, seriously?!).
As for the trip to St. Louis, Coren and I got to explore the Schlafly Tap Room (via a guided tour from a wonderful individual within that company. Cheers to you sir!), the Schlafly Bottleworks, and Urban Chestnut. Now, as far as the overall vibe, I always have liked Bottleworks more because I find it is just chill, but Coren liked the Tap Room for its energy. We both liked the beer at Urban Chestnut, but the service was just terrible; we had roughly 6 people behind the bar, and it took me asking for a second round to get one.
We wrapped things up with the wedding of two dear friends, where I presented them with their gift of a 6 pack of the Flint Hill Scotch Ale, from which I chilled and poured them a bottle and the response was very surprising ("Neither of us like dark beer, but that was super smooth. You have found your calling.").
We left St. Louis with: 6 Yakima Wheat, 6 AIPA, 6 Oatmeal Stout, and 30 Dry-Hopped APA. I am always finding it difficult to pass those as I move to attend to the pilsner, but I'm staying strong for a good day to break them open.
Now, the beer inspiration and updates. As for inspiration, I am kicking around an idea of a smoked hoppy wheat ale, and I think it may have 2 versions (a la the Plowed Porter). The first will be a late harvest wheat ale, with hints of smoke and citrus (Amarillo and Cascade) hops; should come in roughly at 6.5-7.0 ABV and 50-70 IBU. The second will be its big brother, and imperial wheat, where I ramp it all up and aim for 8.0-10.0 ABV (not going to be easy, but who doesn't like a good challenge) and 80-100 IBU. I'm still in the kicking around phase with ingredients, but I know that I am going with smoked barely and 2 row American pale. The wheat malt I am still debating on, mostly on if it should be American or German.
That is about it, but make sure you check out the updates on the pilsner. I am getting close to the end of secondary fermentation and nearing conditioning, so the results will be in shortly.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
Let's talk about that one for a second. In St. Louis, there resides a company called Schlafly, which became essentially a true guide in the wonderful world of craft beer. I not only learned about what I liked in beer, but learned about the brewing process, the various styles of beer, and overall the beer culture. For those reasons and many more, I will always hold Schlafly and brewers in general in a very high opinion (unless they make meh beer...mushroom beer, seriously?!).
As for the trip to St. Louis, Coren and I got to explore the Schlafly Tap Room (via a guided tour from a wonderful individual within that company. Cheers to you sir!), the Schlafly Bottleworks, and Urban Chestnut. Now, as far as the overall vibe, I always have liked Bottleworks more because I find it is just chill, but Coren liked the Tap Room for its energy. We both liked the beer at Urban Chestnut, but the service was just terrible; we had roughly 6 people behind the bar, and it took me asking for a second round to get one.
We wrapped things up with the wedding of two dear friends, where I presented them with their gift of a 6 pack of the Flint Hill Scotch Ale, from which I chilled and poured them a bottle and the response was very surprising ("Neither of us like dark beer, but that was super smooth. You have found your calling.").
We left St. Louis with: 6 Yakima Wheat, 6 AIPA, 6 Oatmeal Stout, and 30 Dry-Hopped APA. I am always finding it difficult to pass those as I move to attend to the pilsner, but I'm staying strong for a good day to break them open.
Now, the beer inspiration and updates. As for inspiration, I am kicking around an idea of a smoked hoppy wheat ale, and I think it may have 2 versions (a la the Plowed Porter). The first will be a late harvest wheat ale, with hints of smoke and citrus (Amarillo and Cascade) hops; should come in roughly at 6.5-7.0 ABV and 50-70 IBU. The second will be its big brother, and imperial wheat, where I ramp it all up and aim for 8.0-10.0 ABV (not going to be easy, but who doesn't like a good challenge) and 80-100 IBU. I'm still in the kicking around phase with ingredients, but I know that I am going with smoked barely and 2 row American pale. The wheat malt I am still debating on, mostly on if it should be American or German.
That is about it, but make sure you check out the updates on the pilsner. I am getting close to the end of secondary fermentation and nearing conditioning, so the results will be in shortly.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Brewing this Summer...
I have been doing some serious crunching at work and at home, so I haven't been able to post lately, for which I apologize. That doesn't mean, however, that the brewing thoughts have stopped.
I have a few beers in mind for the next few batches. First up, we have the Plowed Porter, which was inspired by and had its recipe in part written by Coren McLeod, who heads up the marketing aspect of things for me. The recipe for it can be found here.
I am really excited about the challenge of making such a dark and complex beer, which explains another new recipe. I took the basic components of the Plowed Porter and made, with some input from Coren, a holiday version of Plowed, which will be brewed in the fall and allowed to age until the holiday season (approximately 2-3 months). The recipe is all booted up and ready for a view.
I am still kicking around a few others, but I already posted about the imperial pilsner I am going to be making next. A few of the others I have some thoughts on are a mixed up version of the Belgian IPA (American hops, Belgian malts, and English yeast), a cracked wheat hoppy ale with some biscuit malt, and there is also an Octoberfest in the mix.
Of course, when I get more specific about recipes, I will share those here.
Stay tuned for another festival review, even if it was terribly belated.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
I have a few beers in mind for the next few batches. First up, we have the Plowed Porter, which was inspired by and had its recipe in part written by Coren McLeod, who heads up the marketing aspect of things for me. The recipe for it can be found here.
I am really excited about the challenge of making such a dark and complex beer, which explains another new recipe. I took the basic components of the Plowed Porter and made, with some input from Coren, a holiday version of Plowed, which will be brewed in the fall and allowed to age until the holiday season (approximately 2-3 months). The recipe is all booted up and ready for a view.
I am still kicking around a few others, but I already posted about the imperial pilsner I am going to be making next. A few of the others I have some thoughts on are a mixed up version of the Belgian IPA (American hops, Belgian malts, and English yeast), a cracked wheat hoppy ale with some biscuit malt, and there is also an Octoberfest in the mix.
Of course, when I get more specific about recipes, I will share those here.
Stay tuned for another festival review, even if it was terribly belated.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
Feelin' It Imperial Pilsner
After careful consideration, I have made a new recipe to celebrate the summer heat, or rather to offer me some relief from it. In the tradition of one of our family lines (a very small part, but still a part), I am made my own version of an imperial Czech pilsner, titled Feelin' It. Considering the midwest has seen record heat for more than 5 days now, I figure the name was appropriate.
I tried to stick as close to the style while still imparting some of my own personal flavor into the mix. I am going to sit on the recipe for a bit and get some feedback from some homebrewing friends, but I like the direction the recipe took me.
I am hopefully going to be brewing this one within the next 24 hours, so I will be able to provide an update to the recipe, if there is one, and also let you all know about how the brewing day goes.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
Update 1: The beer gods have spoken and I have made my slight adjustments to the recipe and purchased my ingredients. Tomorrow, we BREW!
Update 2: The beer was brewed, and I must admit, that is one hoppy damn beer! The malt and hops are going to really come together as time goes on, but the chilling was something I was stuck on, until my inner MacGyver spoke to me. I ended up using a big storage bin, filled it more or less to the top with cold water, added a garden pump to circulate the water, wrapped a towel around the carboy to use the wick effect (pull the water up as it evaporates on top), pointed a fan at it to speed up evaporation, and have begun a rotation of replacing frozen items to bring the temp down even further. Let's hope it is worth my efforts and Richard Dean Anderson approves.
Update 3: Wow, what a crazy fermentation! I am literally speechless at the length of this aggressive round, with a krausen (foamy stuff on top) that looks like a B-movie monster. It has gone on for roughly a week, so I'm going to let it sit right where it is and continue the chilling regiment.
Update 4: The beast has finally returned from whence it came! The fermentation has calmed down in a big way, but I still want to give it a chance to really mellow out before a transfer.
Update 5: Finally, the first of two racking days has arrived. I moved the beer to the secondary vessel and sampled the product. The FG on this is around 1.011, which gives me an ABV of ~7.0, which is right about where I wanted it to be. The taste is totally hopped to the heavens, which will chill out with some aging, but that means being patient, and I'm already dying to try this one.
Update 6: 1 week of lagering in the chilling station down, 2 more to go. Then 3 weeks in the bottles (we all know I will be sampling them at the end of each week anyways).
Update 7: I sampled again, and it looks like not only was I right about the ABV (it has settled and is sitting pretty at just about 7%), but I am finally seeing it calm down a bit. Sadly, I fear the lack of the proper lagering temperatures will result in this being more akin to a IIPA, but I could be wrong. The nice thing is that even if this is not hitting the style I wanted, it is still going to be a fantastic beer! Sometimes the mistakes are the ones worth keeping!
Update 8: I bottled this 8/10/2012 and I am already surprised. The slightly harsh alcohol flavor not only mellowed out, but the beer is becoming delightfully smooth. I have a feeling this will be a fun one! For those that are interested, I primed with 5 ounces, allowed the carboy to reach a moderately warmer temp to avoid any shocks from the sugar, and finished in about 20 minutes (bombers make ALL the difference).
Update 9: I tasted this 2 days after bottling, to see if the conditioning was occurring, and I am happy to report that the refreshing pssst escaped from the bottle, and the head is already starting to form, even if it has a long way to go. 1 week tasting next weekend!
Update 10: I have given this one an extra amount of time for conditioning, and I'm pleased to say the carbonation is spot on. Unfortunately, due to the inability to maintain the consistent lagering temps, I find that the pilsner aspect of this is severely lacking. Is it still a good beer and drinkable? Oh heck yeah! It just isn't quite as crisp as I would like it to be. Plus, I think the time of it sitting out for so long combined with not quite enough hops made the hoppy aroma and taste die off rather quickly. I already have formed a new plan of attack for this one the next time I brew: 3 times as much hops during the boil (some bittering, some aroma) and 2 times as much during dry hopping. Oh yeah, and the next time it will be lagered properly at 40 F the entire duration. The rig worked for what it was worth, but I would not recommend that to anyone else that wants to get those cellar temps. So, this one I will chalk up to the universe getting the best of me...for now. On to the next brew!
Update 11: After 3 weeks in bottling, this beer has not only finished its work, but damn what an easy to enjoy brew! I have to admit, there are some imperfections due to the changes in the temperature while I lagered it, but nonetheless, this is very drinkable and has a nice strong head and a hint of citrus on the head. Next time, there will be more hops in the boil and the dry hopping. I want this to be a flagship beer, so the recipe will be tweaked to represent that. To the next batch!
I tried to stick as close to the style while still imparting some of my own personal flavor into the mix. I am going to sit on the recipe for a bit and get some feedback from some homebrewing friends, but I like the direction the recipe took me.
I am hopefully going to be brewing this one within the next 24 hours, so I will be able to provide an update to the recipe, if there is one, and also let you all know about how the brewing day goes.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
Update 1: The beer gods have spoken and I have made my slight adjustments to the recipe and purchased my ingredients. Tomorrow, we BREW!
Update 2: The beer was brewed, and I must admit, that is one hoppy damn beer! The malt and hops are going to really come together as time goes on, but the chilling was something I was stuck on, until my inner MacGyver spoke to me. I ended up using a big storage bin, filled it more or less to the top with cold water, added a garden pump to circulate the water, wrapped a towel around the carboy to use the wick effect (pull the water up as it evaporates on top), pointed a fan at it to speed up evaporation, and have begun a rotation of replacing frozen items to bring the temp down even further. Let's hope it is worth my efforts and Richard Dean Anderson approves.
Update 3: Wow, what a crazy fermentation! I am literally speechless at the length of this aggressive round, with a krausen (foamy stuff on top) that looks like a B-movie monster. It has gone on for roughly a week, so I'm going to let it sit right where it is and continue the chilling regiment.
Update 4: The beast has finally returned from whence it came! The fermentation has calmed down in a big way, but I still want to give it a chance to really mellow out before a transfer.
Update 5: Finally, the first of two racking days has arrived. I moved the beer to the secondary vessel and sampled the product. The FG on this is around 1.011, which gives me an ABV of ~7.0, which is right about where I wanted it to be. The taste is totally hopped to the heavens, which will chill out with some aging, but that means being patient, and I'm already dying to try this one.
Update 6: 1 week of lagering in the chilling station down, 2 more to go. Then 3 weeks in the bottles (we all know I will be sampling them at the end of each week anyways).
Update 7: I sampled again, and it looks like not only was I right about the ABV (it has settled and is sitting pretty at just about 7%), but I am finally seeing it calm down a bit. Sadly, I fear the lack of the proper lagering temperatures will result in this being more akin to a IIPA, but I could be wrong. The nice thing is that even if this is not hitting the style I wanted, it is still going to be a fantastic beer! Sometimes the mistakes are the ones worth keeping!
Update 8: I bottled this 8/10/2012 and I am already surprised. The slightly harsh alcohol flavor not only mellowed out, but the beer is becoming delightfully smooth. I have a feeling this will be a fun one! For those that are interested, I primed with 5 ounces, allowed the carboy to reach a moderately warmer temp to avoid any shocks from the sugar, and finished in about 20 minutes (bombers make ALL the difference).
Update 9: I tasted this 2 days after bottling, to see if the conditioning was occurring, and I am happy to report that the refreshing pssst escaped from the bottle, and the head is already starting to form, even if it has a long way to go. 1 week tasting next weekend!
Update 10: I have given this one an extra amount of time for conditioning, and I'm pleased to say the carbonation is spot on. Unfortunately, due to the inability to maintain the consistent lagering temps, I find that the pilsner aspect of this is severely lacking. Is it still a good beer and drinkable? Oh heck yeah! It just isn't quite as crisp as I would like it to be. Plus, I think the time of it sitting out for so long combined with not quite enough hops made the hoppy aroma and taste die off rather quickly. I already have formed a new plan of attack for this one the next time I brew: 3 times as much hops during the boil (some bittering, some aroma) and 2 times as much during dry hopping. Oh yeah, and the next time it will be lagered properly at 40 F the entire duration. The rig worked for what it was worth, but I would not recommend that to anyone else that wants to get those cellar temps. So, this one I will chalk up to the universe getting the best of me...for now. On to the next brew!
Update 11: After 3 weeks in bottling, this beer has not only finished its work, but damn what an easy to enjoy brew! I have to admit, there are some imperfections due to the changes in the temperature while I lagered it, but nonetheless, this is very drinkable and has a nice strong head and a hint of citrus on the head. Next time, there will be more hops in the boil and the dry hopping. I want this to be a flagship beer, so the recipe will be tweaked to represent that. To the next batch!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Top of the Hops Festival - Racine, WI - May 12, 2012
I recently was going over some notes, and I thought I should share them with you regarding another festival I attended. The notes/scores of the beers I tried will be provided at the bottom, after some general observations of the festival itself.
The Top of the Hops in Racine, WI started off by offering discounted tickets on GroupOn, which I will always be a fan of (hooray saving money!). With that, we were off on our expedition on a somewhat chilly Saturday in May, but there was beer to be enjoyed, so damn the weather!
Upon arriving, the facility was prepared very nicely, with each brewery in its own area, under large tents. Considering it was an overcast day and we were positioned very close to Lake Michigan, the tents may not have been all that necessary, but still, it was nice to have them for a sense of nostalgia of other beer festivals.
This festival offered a VIP ticket, which gave you early entry, access to free food, and private beers. Sadly, the private beers that were being offered were a number I had already enjoyed or sampled and found not to be my favorites. There was one beer here that I had not expected to find, and to say that I was pleasently surprised is a drastic understatement. Grand Teton's Pursuit of Hoppiness was incredible, with warm malty characters, but balanced wonderfully with stand-up-and-take-notice hops on the nose.
As for the festival as a whole, the entire facility was filled with breweries, but very few of the stations were manned by people from the breweries, but rather volutneers, which I have mixed feelings on. First of all, if you are going to volunteer at a beer festvial, you should probably know something about beer at the very least, but I do appreciate the giving of their time to help out, so I'm torn.
There was a really enjoyable beer school done by the folks from Samuel Adams, who turned out to be very laid back and fun, the standard for beer people in my eyes. They even enjoyed how big of fans we were of their recent exporations into IPAs and hooked us up with some samples to enjoy after the event. Cheers!
Another enjoyable conversation took place with the people of Rhinelander, where we got a chance to trade war stories, ask about their beers, and learn a bit more of their passion for the process. I am also heartened to hear people that have been doing this for a while and still have the same drive that I do for the pursuit of world class beers. A big thanks to them for being such good beer people.
After touring the entire area, got a good perspective of who was present, and sampled along our way. Those beers that stood out were St. Francis's Lust Weiss, Abita's Jakamo IPA, and Grand Teton's Sweetgrass APA (the Pursuit of Hoppiness was scored, but being a VIP beer, I placed it into its own category to rate the festival beers against each other).
The only true down sides as far as the beer was concerned were, thankfully, only 2 beers. Tallgrass's Belgian Tripel and House of Brews' Pale Ale were subpar on the style and a huge disappointment. Hopefully it was just a batch issue, but I am a little gunshy to try either again in the near future.
Overall, this was a fun festival, the weather was decent, and I got to have great beer, which is the best compliement I can pay to any festival. So, I tip my hat to the breweries and organizers for a well done event.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
NOTES/SCORES
Frankemuth - Dunkel
Grand Teton - Pursuit of Hoppiness
The Top of the Hops in Racine, WI started off by offering discounted tickets on GroupOn, which I will always be a fan of (hooray saving money!). With that, we were off on our expedition on a somewhat chilly Saturday in May, but there was beer to be enjoyed, so damn the weather!
Upon arriving, the facility was prepared very nicely, with each brewery in its own area, under large tents. Considering it was an overcast day and we were positioned very close to Lake Michigan, the tents may not have been all that necessary, but still, it was nice to have them for a sense of nostalgia of other beer festivals.
This festival offered a VIP ticket, which gave you early entry, access to free food, and private beers. Sadly, the private beers that were being offered were a number I had already enjoyed or sampled and found not to be my favorites. There was one beer here that I had not expected to find, and to say that I was pleasently surprised is a drastic understatement. Grand Teton's Pursuit of Hoppiness was incredible, with warm malty characters, but balanced wonderfully with stand-up-and-take-notice hops on the nose.
As for the festival as a whole, the entire facility was filled with breweries, but very few of the stations were manned by people from the breweries, but rather volutneers, which I have mixed feelings on. First of all, if you are going to volunteer at a beer festvial, you should probably know something about beer at the very least, but I do appreciate the giving of their time to help out, so I'm torn.
There was a really enjoyable beer school done by the folks from Samuel Adams, who turned out to be very laid back and fun, the standard for beer people in my eyes. They even enjoyed how big of fans we were of their recent exporations into IPAs and hooked us up with some samples to enjoy after the event. Cheers!
Another enjoyable conversation took place with the people of Rhinelander, where we got a chance to trade war stories, ask about their beers, and learn a bit more of their passion for the process. I am also heartened to hear people that have been doing this for a while and still have the same drive that I do for the pursuit of world class beers. A big thanks to them for being such good beer people.
After touring the entire area, got a good perspective of who was present, and sampled along our way. Those beers that stood out were St. Francis's Lust Weiss, Abita's Jakamo IPA, and Grand Teton's Sweetgrass APA (the Pursuit of Hoppiness was scored, but being a VIP beer, I placed it into its own category to rate the festival beers against each other).
The only true down sides as far as the beer was concerned were, thankfully, only 2 beers. Tallgrass's Belgian Tripel and House of Brews' Pale Ale were subpar on the style and a huge disappointment. Hopefully it was just a batch issue, but I am a little gunshy to try either again in the near future.
Overall, this was a fun festival, the weather was decent, and I got to have great beer, which is the best compliement I can pay to any festival. So, I tip my hat to the breweries and organizers for a well done event.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
NOTES/SCORES
Frankemuth - Dunkel
- Dark brown, chocolatey color
- Sweet, malty, caramel notes
- Very light hop notes with decent head retention
- Mouthfeel was very mild
- Malty taste with a mild bitterness
- 7.5/10
- Golden color
- Weak hop notes on the nose
- No hop taste at all
- Watery mouthfeel
- No bitterness on aftertaste
- 3.5/10
- Nice straw color
- Light notes notes on nose
- Good bitterness on taste
- Mild mouthfeel
- Missing punch for the name
- 5.0/10
- Cloudy straw color
- Traditional belgian banana & clove notes
- Light mouthfeel
- Hint of bitterness on taste
- 8.5/10
- Burnt orange, light amber color
- Good hop notes, with hints of citrus
- Great bitterness on the intial taste, but lingers too long
- Malty, hoppy mix unbalanced
- Mild mouthfeel
- 7.0/10
- Light amber color
- Glorious hop notes on the nose
- Nice bitterness
- Mild to heavy mouthfeel
- Sweetness and bitterness balanced wonderfully
- 8.5/10
- Cloudy straw color
- No hop notes at all
- No banana & cloves on nose at all
- A very mild bitterness on the taste
- The mouthfeel is nice and smooth
- Missing on the style completely
- 1.0/10
- Golden color
- Slight malty notes on the nose
- Direct and simple taste, not overly done
- No bitterness on taste
- Easy to drink and light mouthfeel
- 7.5/10
- Dark as the night
- Sweet and malty notes mixed with chocolate/coffee
- No head or retention
- Great bitterness on the initial taste
- Want it to be a bit stronger
- Mouthfeel is watery
- 7.0/10
- Golden to amber color
- Reserved hoppy notes on the notes
- Sweet and malty taste mixed with hoppy citrus
- Clean finish with no bitter aftertaste
- Mild mouthfeel
- 8.5/10
Grand Teton - Pursuit of Hoppiness
- Cloudy amber color
- Smells like a hoppy heaven
- Sweet malty characters balanced perfectly with tart hop bitterness
- Mild-heavy mouthfeel
- Slight bitterness on finish, but not overtly harsh
- 9.0/10
Nessie's Scottish Ale: Review
The days waiting for this one are over! A while back, I made the Scottish Ale from Brewer's Best, who have been a good ally in the learning process of brewing and its pit falls. Since this was a lighter ABV than some other Scottish Ales, the fermentation didn't take long, but I still wanted to give it an extra week of sitting before bottling it, just in case. It came in at roughly 4%, but I'd have to get another reading on the finished product to know for sure.
I also didn't follow the instructions exactly, because I wanted a bit more head on my final product, so I boiled the hops for an extra 10 minutes on both the bittering and aromatic varieties.
The beer itself is what you would expect for any product that is prepackaged and planned: pretty good, but little wow factor. I will say this for the beer, which is being dubbed Nessie's Scottish Ale by the marketing staff here (wink): the malty notes come through very nicely, with a hint of sweetness from the leftover starches. The extra hopping did pay off, allowing for a nice strong head with good retention, although there is almost no hop notes or taste to discern whatsoever. There is also a wonderful body to this beer, as a result of the speciality grains and the extra boiling, but it is a welcome component to say the least.
In the end, I would have to rate this beer a 7.0/10, because it does meet the expectations that were set out for it with the ingredients available, but it does nothing to create the OMG response, which is what I am always trying to find in a beer, especially any I make. That is not to say this wasn't a good beer, because it was quite drinkable, and great for those cold nights you might need something with a bit more heft.
Nonetheless, I am hoping the lessons of this beer were translated well in the Flint Hill Scotch Ale, which is currently in the secondary vessal and is slowly maturing. Only another 17 days of aging there and then it is at least 2 weeks of maturing in the bottles. Be still my beating heart!
If you want to see the recipe for this brew, head on over to http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.html .
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
I also didn't follow the instructions exactly, because I wanted a bit more head on my final product, so I boiled the hops for an extra 10 minutes on both the bittering and aromatic varieties.
The beer itself is what you would expect for any product that is prepackaged and planned: pretty good, but little wow factor. I will say this for the beer, which is being dubbed Nessie's Scottish Ale by the marketing staff here (wink): the malty notes come through very nicely, with a hint of sweetness from the leftover starches. The extra hopping did pay off, allowing for a nice strong head with good retention, although there is almost no hop notes or taste to discern whatsoever. There is also a wonderful body to this beer, as a result of the speciality grains and the extra boiling, but it is a welcome component to say the least.
In the end, I would have to rate this beer a 7.0/10, because it does meet the expectations that were set out for it with the ingredients available, but it does nothing to create the OMG response, which is what I am always trying to find in a beer, especially any I make. That is not to say this wasn't a good beer, because it was quite drinkable, and great for those cold nights you might need something with a bit more heft.
Nonetheless, I am hoping the lessons of this beer were translated well in the Flint Hill Scotch Ale, which is currently in the secondary vessal and is slowly maturing. Only another 17 days of aging there and then it is at least 2 weeks of maturing in the bottles. Be still my beating heart!
If you want to see the recipe for this brew, head on over to http://www.brewersbestkits.com/recipes.html .
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Wisconsin Beer Lover's Festival - Glendale, WI - June 16, 2012
The intrepid exploration of beer festivals is a great way for any homebrewer to meet like-minded folk, and it doesn't hurt that they have great beer to try as well. I cannot begin to count how many I have been to, but I do plan to catalog them on the blog for my own memories.
The most recent festival was only a few days ago, and the drive was really not bad at all, with the mild exception of WI drivers and their desire to speed up, pass me, only to immediately exit. That aside, we arrived no worse for wear and were stunned by the size and location of the festival. It was roughly 30-40 breweries in total, but it was spread throughout an outdoor outlet mall. For those keeping score at home, yes, I did mean to type "outlet mall."
On site, the breweries were set up under small tents and the patrons were lining up for their samples. The use of those small tents is one of my only complaints about the logistics of the festival, because it is a poorly thought out festival that doesn't consider the sun/heat beating down on the consumer as they wait to sample a beer. Come on guys, we deserve some shade too!
Aside from that, the lack of a uniform system of direction or signs to indicate which brewery was where and what they had on tap would have been so much faster. Because of the poor signage, I almost missed the other half of the festival!
Still in awe at the organization of this event, I began my sampling. This festival's sampling glass was better than some other recent festivals (using pint glasses as tasting glasses in the midst of 90 degree heat still boggles my mind), opting for the 3 oz. traditional festival glass and having water scattered throughout to rinse the glass between tastings. Well done!
Another truly welcome sight was the decision for brewpubs and local food vendors to pair food to the individual beers. So little attention is paid by most, but the right beer with the right food makes the two of them vastly better. I especially liked the assortment of cheeses available, but we were in WI after all.
Now that the festival and its pros & cons are behind us, let's talk beer. The beers that jump right to my mind as being pretty good were: Lakefront's Brad Scotch Ale, Silver Creek's Imperial Maiboch, and Vintage Brewery's Hoppity Jones.
The best of the festival was a tie for me between Bulls Falls' Zwickel and Titletown's Johnny Red, which both came out and delivered on the style very well and found a way to surprise me at the same time.
Not to be outdone, Lake Louie's IPA, Hinterland's IPA, and Pearl Street's Smokin' Hemp Porter (even if they kept bashing me for my Cubs hat) all were respectable in their own rights, but they didn't stick out in my mind very much in the end. Still, I would recommend a six-pack any time and you wouldn't regret any of them.
For those people that like the unconventional, then Woodman Brewery had you covered, from a Jalapeno Blonde, a Mushroom Ale, and a Cupcake Ale. While they were different, the shock appeal is what likely kept pulling people over to their taps. They, however, did nothing for me aside from making me question the brewmaster's decisions and forcing me to pour out my samples. Kudos on thinking out of the box, however.
Overall, this festival was executed well with a ton of variety in the styles and breweries that were present. The food pairing was a delightful addition to a hot day, allowing those festival rookies (you so totally know who you are) to avoid heat stroke, dehydration, and public stupidity. I did find some beers that I expected to find, several that I didn't, and I was surprised more often than not, which is really the best part of any festival.
That wraps up the review for the Wisconsin Beer Lover's Festival.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
NOTES/SCORES
Capital Brewery - Urban Fire
The most recent festival was only a few days ago, and the drive was really not bad at all, with the mild exception of WI drivers and their desire to speed up, pass me, only to immediately exit. That aside, we arrived no worse for wear and were stunned by the size and location of the festival. It was roughly 30-40 breweries in total, but it was spread throughout an outdoor outlet mall. For those keeping score at home, yes, I did mean to type "outlet mall."
On site, the breweries were set up under small tents and the patrons were lining up for their samples. The use of those small tents is one of my only complaints about the logistics of the festival, because it is a poorly thought out festival that doesn't consider the sun/heat beating down on the consumer as they wait to sample a beer. Come on guys, we deserve some shade too!
Aside from that, the lack of a uniform system of direction or signs to indicate which brewery was where and what they had on tap would have been so much faster. Because of the poor signage, I almost missed the other half of the festival!
Still in awe at the organization of this event, I began my sampling. This festival's sampling glass was better than some other recent festivals (using pint glasses as tasting glasses in the midst of 90 degree heat still boggles my mind), opting for the 3 oz. traditional festival glass and having water scattered throughout to rinse the glass between tastings. Well done!
Another truly welcome sight was the decision for brewpubs and local food vendors to pair food to the individual beers. So little attention is paid by most, but the right beer with the right food makes the two of them vastly better. I especially liked the assortment of cheeses available, but we were in WI after all.
Now that the festival and its pros & cons are behind us, let's talk beer. The beers that jump right to my mind as being pretty good were: Lakefront's Brad Scotch Ale, Silver Creek's Imperial Maiboch, and Vintage Brewery's Hoppity Jones.
The best of the festival was a tie for me between Bulls Falls' Zwickel and Titletown's Johnny Red, which both came out and delivered on the style very well and found a way to surprise me at the same time.
Not to be outdone, Lake Louie's IPA, Hinterland's IPA, and Pearl Street's Smokin' Hemp Porter (even if they kept bashing me for my Cubs hat) all were respectable in their own rights, but they didn't stick out in my mind very much in the end. Still, I would recommend a six-pack any time and you wouldn't regret any of them.
For those people that like the unconventional, then Woodman Brewery had you covered, from a Jalapeno Blonde, a Mushroom Ale, and a Cupcake Ale. While they were different, the shock appeal is what likely kept pulling people over to their taps. They, however, did nothing for me aside from making me question the brewmaster's decisions and forcing me to pour out my samples. Kudos on thinking out of the box, however.
Overall, this festival was executed well with a ton of variety in the styles and breweries that were present. The food pairing was a delightful addition to a hot day, allowing those festival rookies (you so totally know who you are) to avoid heat stroke, dehydration, and public stupidity. I did find some beers that I expected to find, several that I didn't, and I was surprised more often than not, which is really the best part of any festival.
That wraps up the review for the Wisconsin Beer Lover's Festival.
As always, drink well and be merry. Slante!
NOTES/SCORES
Capital Brewery - Urban Fire
- Amber to reddish color
- Light head and little retention
- Syrupy, malty nose with a strong scent of bourbon
- Sweet at first, but finishes harsh
- 5/10
- Pale gold color; very clear
- No head at all
- Slightly sweet to the smell, but no strong notes
- Mild taste of sweetness, but nothing special
- 4.0/10
- Cloudy straw, goldish color
- Light head and little retention
- Good spice notes and sweetness on nose
- Very clean taste with a nice, slight bite on the aftertaste
- 7.5/10
- Golden color
- Great head with decent retention
- Slightly sweet and malty nose
- Very light sweet taste with almost no flavor
- 3.0/10
- Cloudy amber, reddish color
- Lovely head and tight head retention
- Malty and hoppy nose with some grassy notes
- Nice tartness with bittering hops, but not bitter enough for the AA
- 6.5/10
- Light straw color
- Great head retention
- Light hoppy notes on the nose
- Very clean taste, but a little weak for the style
- No aftertaste
- 6.5/10
- Amberish to red color
- Thick head with great retention
- A hint of smoke and malt notes on the nose
- Very full bodied
- Malty and sweet to the taste
- A clean tart finish
- 8.0/10
- Good amber color
- Light head with little retention
- Malty notes that come across a little muddled or watery
- A nice sweetness on the taste
- Bland overall, but matches the style
- 6.5/10
- Light straw color
- Minimal head with no retention
- Very light nose with a hint of sweetness
- Tastes more like a blonde than a pills
- 4.0/10
- Cloudy straw color
- No head with no retention
- Very sugary nose with desert-like notes
- Far too sweet; no balance
- 2.0/10
- Clear amber color
- Slight head with a little retention
- Balanced nicely on the nose between malty and hoppy
- Style is executed very well; missing a wow factor
- 8.0/10
- Black as the night
- Very little head and less retention
- Strong malty notes
- Watery and mild flavor
- Not enough profile; poor execution of the style
- 3.5/10
- Cloudy straw color moving towards a golden color
- Nice strong head and good head retention
- Malty and sweet notes on the nose
- Hit the style perfectly, but needing a bit more ABV to match the imperial title
- Clean with a fun aftertaste from the spices
- 8.0/10
- Light gold color
- Decent head with good retention
- Mildly hoppy nose, but understated
- Very good bite from the hops
- The aftertaste has the same bite, but the wow factor is not present to move it up
- 8.0/10
- Light straw to gold color
- Very light head with little retention
- Slight sweetness and hoppy notes on the nose
- Delicious taste, but not sharp enough with the hops
- Very clean and aftertaste was minimal
- 7.5/10
- Dark and milky brown color
- Nice head and good retention
- Creamy and lovely taste
- Not quite as hoppy on the nose or taste as desired for style
- 8.0/10
- Very clear straw color
- Light head with no retention
- Very hoppy, grassy nose
- Clean, refreshing taste, with a finish that satisfied perfectly
- Very little aftertaste
- Drinkable for many a session
- 9.0/10
- Black as the night
- No head at all
- Malty, roasty, coffee notes very prominent
- Watery body
- Flavor was mild and muddled
- 6.5/10
- Black as the night
- Roasty, malty notes very strong on the nose helped by some nice hop compliments
- Smooth and clean
- Mild aftertaste, but not overly harsh
- 8.0/10
- Clear and red as hell
- No head or retention
- Malty, hoppy notes overwhelm the nose in a great balance
- Smooth and clean on the palate with each sip
- Session beer for sure!
- 9.0/10
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