It's been a while since I dedicated a post to my homebrews. I actually haven't posted about any of the beers I have brewed in 2012. I have done four and two are currently in secondary fermentation in preparation for my sister-in-law's wedding in June.
Achocalypse
I got a kit for Christmas from my mother-in-law (Steve picked it out) and it was for an imperial chocolate coffee stout. It's definitely, based on price alone, one that I wouldn't have sprung for on my own, so it was a good choice. It was my first attempt at a stout and it was a doozy. It came with about 3 lb of specialty grains along with some dry malt extract. Extra additions included unsweetened cocoa bars, unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla beans, and coffee. Steve and I brewed this one together, on New Year's Eve, before going to the Dogfish Alehouse New Year's dinner in Fairfax, VA. The brew itself was pretty straightforward, except that the grains came uncracked so we had to improvise by throwing them in a coffee grinder (it worked, but I wouldn't recommend it if you can at all avoid it). Also, right near the end of the boil, the recipe called for 8 oz of unsweetened chocolate bars. So basically, we threw in two large bars of chocolate and let it melt into the wort. The wort was as thick as chocolate syrup as it was cooling.
Since this was supposed to be imperial, I made a massive, 2-liter yeast starter that used three packets of a liquid Irish yeast strain. The OG was supposed to be around 1.090, but ended up quite a bit lower at about 1.063, bumping the final ABV from around 9-10% to around 6-7%. It bubbled away happily in primary for about a week before I transferred it to secondary. Then came the interesting part. It had to stay in secondary for about 6 weeks, with numerous additions along the way. I added a couple of split vanilla beans right off the bat to give a slight hint of vanilla (which is unnoticeable in the final product). Then about two weeks later, it called for, basically, a whole canister of unsweetened cocoa powder. I let that sit for another two weeks before bottling. At bottling, the recipe called for coffee. I bought a bag of fresh Starbucks Sumatra coffee beans and a French press, fresh brewed the coffee and chilled it slightly before adding to the bottling bucket and bottling the beer. The reason to add the coffee right at the end is to give it a coffee kick upfront and it was immediately evident. Strong coffee notes up front, bitterness from the chocolate in the middle and a dry, chocolatey finish. Not a bad overall effort, but it was missing something in the way of mouthfeel. Steve suggested we try to add some maltodextrin next time we brew it to thicken it up. I did hit a snag in bottling, as many of the bottles got over-carbonated. I had to crack every bottle, let the fizz pour out, and recap them, then cold-crash to halt carbonation. What a mess. Overall grade: 7/10
Hoppelganger
This is a beer that I brewed in June of 2011, but I tweaked the recipe a bit this year. Last year's was OK; this year's was pretty phenomenal. This beer is modeled off of one of my personal favorite IPAs, hence Hoppelganger, but this batch turned out to take on characteristics of its own. In fact, it didn't taste much like its "doppelganger" at all this year, which made me even happier. This beer contains 4 different kinds of hops and two dry hoppings in secondary. The aroma is to die for for any hop head. Lots of floral, citrusy head to this one. The only thing better than the aroma is the first taste. It tastes more like a west-coast IPA than an east coast one (which is funny, because its "doppelganger" is decidedly east coast), with lots of light citrus and floral notes throughout, light carbonation, and a dry finish. This was a huge hit with my friends and family, with several people requesting more. All in all, it was all gone within a couple weeks. My one friend said that if I ever start a brewery, this beer has to be one of my regulars. Overall grade: 9/10
Saison Cerise
This is an exciting one for me. I brewed a Saison last summer that was a big hit. It was a farmhouse style saison with lots of earthy and grassy notes and a strong French saison yeast strain that imparted a lot of spiciness. This beer is basically the same recipe, with a couple twists. I tweaked the grains slightly, but for all intents and purposes, it is the same as last year's saison. This year, however, I am experimenting with a little thing called Brettanomyces for the first time. Northern Brewer sells a couple strains of Brett now and the Lambicus strain looked perfect for what I wanted to do: a sour cherry saison. I was turned onto this idea last year when reading an issue of Zymurgy detailing saisons and all the different ingredients you could add to them. I love cherries so I figured it would be a perfect opportunity to try something new. The Brett will turn this super earthy saison into a sour, and the Lambicus strain is for use in Belgian styles and imparts a cherry pie like flavor along with the funk that comes with using Brett.
I brewed this beer about two months ago and it's currently sitting in my secondary fermenter. I was dead-on with my gravities and I used a yeast starter even with the beastly WLP3711 yeast strain. It fermented clean down to almost an even 1.000 within 4 days. I transferred to secondary and added a 3 lb. jar of sour cherries, along with the Brettanomyces Lambicus. The Brett went to work almost immediately, along with whatever yeast was left from primary. I actually thought that I would need to install a blowoff on my secondary fermenter because the wort was bubbling almost up through the airlock within hours. It eventually settled down and now the Brett is slowly working on the remains of the cherries, which are now more white than red. I am planning on throwing in another 1-2 lbs of fresh sour cherries when they come into season. I expect this beer to turn out around 9-10% ABV and have a very earthy, sour, cherry flavor. I tasted a bit a week ago and all I can say is: so far, so good.
Hoppily Ever After (or, 115th Dream Hopbursted IPA)
I don't normally buy kits, but I spotted this one on Northern Brewer a couple months ago and had to try it. The thing that caught my eye: a pound of hops. That's right, one whole pound of hops. And it's all in the boil. Six different hop additions included in this one and, from what I can tell, about 4 or 5 different varieties of hops. This kit came with a giant bag labeled "Hopburst hops", which was a combination of four different hop varieties. It's a proprietary blend, but I am pretty sure I know which hops come in the bag. The other curious thing about this beer is that there are no specialty grains. It came with 12 pounds of liquid malt extract and 6 pounds of that came as a late addition with 15 minutes left in the boil. In order to thin the beer, it called for 2 pounds of corn sugar at flameout. This was by far the strangest boil I have done so far. I decided to go with dry yeast for this one and it worked out great. My OG was almost spot-on and the dry yeast kept it bubbling for 11 straight days. It was actually still going when I transferred to secondary, but I had to get it transferred so it could start the clearing process. It actually bubbled in secondary for a day or two and settled down to a good gravity that should yield about a 9.5% beer. When I transferred this beer to secondary two weeks ago, the first thing I noticed was a lack of hop aroma. It has a very light hop aroma, which is surprising considering there is a whole pound of hops in there. I think I might do a dry-hop just to give it a little head. I'm really excited about this beer.
My fermenters are full for now, but I'm planning on brewing more in June and July, and I may even try a mead this summer (my wife has been wanting to try one for a while now). More updates to come.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Unleash the Beast
My last post focused on a very special tasting of a very special beer called Founder's KBS. This time I'll be tasting another very special beer, Avery Brewing's The Beast Grand Cru. It is "brewed with Rocky Mountain water, two-row malted barley, honey malt, and imported Belgian specialty grains (aromatic, pale wheat, roasted wheat, and Special B), hops (Magnum, Galena, Saaz, Hallertau, Tettnang, and Hersbrucher), brewing sugars (raisins, dates, blackstrap molasses, alfalfa honey, turbinado sugar, and dark Belgian candi sugar), and a hellion of a Belgian yeast strain." Phew. They make this beer every year and have since 2004, with slight modifications each year. The one I am tasting is the 2011 version, which was brewed last August. This one is the second-highest it's ever been in alcohol content at 16.83% ABV. Woof. I'll literally be giving tasting notes as I taste it for the first time, so here goes.
It pours a beautiful dark amber hue with a small foamy head. I'm using a snifter for tasting this one. First thing that comes to mind is how little sediment there is for having so much sugary content and hop. The smell is super sweet and I can instantly catch whiffs of raisins, dates, and sugar, and perhaps some honey. First taste: wow, very dark and roasty, with a strong alcohol middle and a sweet, dry finish. Definite notes of raisin and date, and a little bit of a dry honey finish with next-to-no hop flavor. You can definitely tell that it is high in alcohol content by its middle. This beer reminds me a lot of Dogfish Head Raison d'Extra. It has similar ingredients but is maybe slightly more complex. The main taste is very similar though, as both feature a heavy raisin taste throughout. The honey, dates, and extra sugars are what sets this beer apart from Raison d'Extra though. The more I taste, the less roasty it feels. The mouthfeel is thick and is something that lingers on the palate. This is definitely a fantastic beer and it's one I'll be trying to find again to age. From what I have heard, it is even better when aged for a couple years. I'm going to go finish this beer. I'll post another update soon on my latest homebrew adventures.
It pours a beautiful dark amber hue with a small foamy head. I'm using a snifter for tasting this one. First thing that comes to mind is how little sediment there is for having so much sugary content and hop. The smell is super sweet and I can instantly catch whiffs of raisins, dates, and sugar, and perhaps some honey. First taste: wow, very dark and roasty, with a strong alcohol middle and a sweet, dry finish. Definite notes of raisin and date, and a little bit of a dry honey finish with next-to-no hop flavor. You can definitely tell that it is high in alcohol content by its middle. This beer reminds me a lot of Dogfish Head Raison d'Extra. It has similar ingredients but is maybe slightly more complex. The main taste is very similar though, as both feature a heavy raisin taste throughout. The honey, dates, and extra sugars are what sets this beer apart from Raison d'Extra though. The more I taste, the less roasty it feels. The mouthfeel is thick and is something that lingers on the palate. This is definitely a fantastic beer and it's one I'll be trying to find again to age. From what I have heard, it is even better when aged for a couple years. I'm going to go finish this beer. I'll post another update soon on my latest homebrew adventures.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Three Letters: K-B-S
It's mid-March so that means that another of my Holy Grail beers is in season. That beer is Founder's Kentucky Breakfast Stout. I have never had it, but my friends Steve and Alex still talk about that fateful night a year ago when they found it at a local bar in PA. They still say that night was magical and the beer was one of the best they ever had. In case you don't know what KBS is, here is the Founders description of it:
"What we've got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."
It's 11.2% ABV and 70 IBUs. And I have five bottles of it.
The Chase
I'm not usually a beer-chaser. I have only done it once, for Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half. I'm glad I did, but that was a much quieter release that Founders' KBS or CBS ever are. This year's KBS release at Founders tasting room didn't exactly go as planned. Founders had promised a case to everyone that showed up but, upon seeing the turnout, changed their minds and only allowed 12 bottles per person. They said next year they are making triple the amount that they made this year and implementing a lottery system on release day.
Anyway, back to my chase. The last 36 hours have been filled with a lot of emotions for me. I was hopeful that I would get some last night when the Total Wine near me got three cases of it. I left work at lunch time, only to pull into my parking spot as the last 4-pack walked out the door. Three cases were gone in 7 minutes. The distributor was inside the store when I got there and he said there was another Total Wine that was getting it this morning. I also had a Whole Foods trip queued up for the following morning, so I thought, why not?
This morning, I called Total Wine at 9:02 am (they open at 9) and they said they had some in stock. I wasn't prepared for this. I thought they wouldn't have it until later in the day. I hopped in my car and made the 30-minute drive, but was only able to score one bottle of it, as the store was limiting it to one bottle per person. It was a bummer, but hey, at least I had one bottle. The same distributor was at that Total Wine and he said he had already delivered it to the Whole Foods. I jumped in my car and booked it back to Whole Foods. I didn't see any on the shelf so I went to customer service. The nice woman there told me that they were all out... except for the 4-pack that was behind her on the counter, reserved for her. But wait, she said; the other Whole Foods might still have some. She called them for me and they said if I could get there within an hour, they would hold it for me. I hopped back in my car and traveled another 30 minutes to the other Whole Foods. They had my 4-pack waiting. The guy said they had seven left, but unfortunately it was one per person. Which was okay. I shouldn't be the only person to enjoy this beer. Five bottles is enough to have some now and age some.
The Tasting
I am literally tasting this as I am writing. I have a full glass sitting next to me that hasn't been touched yet. Here we go. The aroma has lots of chocolate and coffee notes, but there is definitely a hint of bourbon in there as well. First sip: wow, definitely lots of chocolate and coffee up front and a bite of bourbon. It finishes smooth and leaves the bourbon behind on your taste buds. It's really an extremely complex beer; there is so much going on in it. The more I sip, the more I taste the mounds of chocolate in this thing. The bourbon becomes almost an afterthought until you start feeling the beer leave your palate. The bourbon is what gets left behind, while the chocolate and coffee finish dry. Also, I wouldn't even have realized this beer is 70 IBUs if I hadn't read it on the label. No real hoppy notes at all, just lots of chocolate, coffee, and bourbon. Excellent beer, and definitely worth the trouble to get it.
I also want to post a homebrew update, but I don't have time right now. I'll post that soon. For now, I'm going to finish this amazing beer and maybe have some more.
"What we've got here is an imperial stout brewed with a massive amount of coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year to make sure wonderful bourbon undertones come through in the finish. Makes your taste buds squeal with delight."
It's 11.2% ABV and 70 IBUs. And I have five bottles of it.
The Chase
I'm not usually a beer-chaser. I have only done it once, for Founders Curmudgeon's Better Half. I'm glad I did, but that was a much quieter release that Founders' KBS or CBS ever are. This year's KBS release at Founders tasting room didn't exactly go as planned. Founders had promised a case to everyone that showed up but, upon seeing the turnout, changed their minds and only allowed 12 bottles per person. They said next year they are making triple the amount that they made this year and implementing a lottery system on release day.
Anyway, back to my chase. The last 36 hours have been filled with a lot of emotions for me. I was hopeful that I would get some last night when the Total Wine near me got three cases of it. I left work at lunch time, only to pull into my parking spot as the last 4-pack walked out the door. Three cases were gone in 7 minutes. The distributor was inside the store when I got there and he said there was another Total Wine that was getting it this morning. I also had a Whole Foods trip queued up for the following morning, so I thought, why not?
This morning, I called Total Wine at 9:02 am (they open at 9) and they said they had some in stock. I wasn't prepared for this. I thought they wouldn't have it until later in the day. I hopped in my car and made the 30-minute drive, but was only able to score one bottle of it, as the store was limiting it to one bottle per person. It was a bummer, but hey, at least I had one bottle. The same distributor was at that Total Wine and he said he had already delivered it to the Whole Foods. I jumped in my car and booked it back to Whole Foods. I didn't see any on the shelf so I went to customer service. The nice woman there told me that they were all out... except for the 4-pack that was behind her on the counter, reserved for her. But wait, she said; the other Whole Foods might still have some. She called them for me and they said if I could get there within an hour, they would hold it for me. I hopped back in my car and traveled another 30 minutes to the other Whole Foods. They had my 4-pack waiting. The guy said they had seven left, but unfortunately it was one per person. Which was okay. I shouldn't be the only person to enjoy this beer. Five bottles is enough to have some now and age some.
The Tasting
I am literally tasting this as I am writing. I have a full glass sitting next to me that hasn't been touched yet. Here we go. The aroma has lots of chocolate and coffee notes, but there is definitely a hint of bourbon in there as well. First sip: wow, definitely lots of chocolate and coffee up front and a bite of bourbon. It finishes smooth and leaves the bourbon behind on your taste buds. It's really an extremely complex beer; there is so much going on in it. The more I sip, the more I taste the mounds of chocolate in this thing. The bourbon becomes almost an afterthought until you start feeling the beer leave your palate. The bourbon is what gets left behind, while the chocolate and coffee finish dry. Also, I wouldn't even have realized this beer is 70 IBUs if I hadn't read it on the label. No real hoppy notes at all, just lots of chocolate, coffee, and bourbon. Excellent beer, and definitely worth the trouble to get it.
I also want to post a homebrew update, but I don't have time right now. I'll post that soon. For now, I'm going to finish this amazing beer and maybe have some more.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Weekend of Compelling Ales (and Whatnot)
I haven't posted in quite some time. I'm not great at keeping up with this blogging stuff. And it's not for lack of material either. In the three months since I last posted, I have tried a number of vintage beers, including a three-year-old Avery Mephistopheles, a beer chasing expedition that led to me obtaining and tasting Founder's Curmudgeon's Better Half (tasty) and a vertical tasting of Dogfish 120 Minute IPA from 2008 and 2011. I also paid a visit to the new Troeg's brewery in Hershey, PA and sampled a couple of their new (and awesome) Scratch Beer series, including the amazing Triple Mango IPA. But a week ago I attended one of the greatest events I have ever attended, Dogfish Head's third annual Weekend of Compelling Ales and Whatnot (WOCAAW). And it's worth blogging about.
I knew I wanted to go to this last September when I ran in the Dogfish Dash. It's a weekend of Dogfish spent between the brewery in Milton, DE and Rehoboth Beach, DE that is filled with awesome beers, food pairings, and chilling with Sam himself.
On Saturday, there was an event at the brewery in Milton between 10 am and 3 pm. There were tours, tastings and delicious food pairings, as well as Sam presentations throughout the day. When we got there, we got wristbands and punch cards with all the beers that they had on tap. We got awesome custom Dogfish tasting glasses to use all day and custom coasters to take home.
We ended up tasting all 15 beers on their list, along with this year's version of Saison du BUFF, which was originally a collaboration between Dogfish, Stone, and Victory. The 15 (+1) beers we tried:
Kate: Hi Sam. This is Sarah. She is shy but she is a big fan.
Sam: Hi Sarah. (shakes hand) Can I give you a hug?
Sam gave her a hug and then got a picture with her. My wife was absolutely gushing. All in all, it was a wonderful day and it makes me appreciate the things that Sam and Dogfish as a company do for beer and the craft brew industry even more.
I bought some cool stuff at the gift shop, including a running shirt, a case of Saison du BUFF, some 75 Minute Cask Ale (if you can get your hands on some of this, DO IT) and a set of awesome coasters. After the event, we headed over to the brewpub for the rest of the night. The beer list wasn't as good the second night, but we still scored some good beers. Here is the list from Saturday night:
On Sunday morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed over to the brewpub for brunch. We were all hurting pretty bad, but I had to try a couple of their beers on tap. They had one called Count Chocula, which was a small brewpub batch chocolate ale. I have to say, it was just okay. I also had a World Wide Stout Randallized with coffee, vanilla beans, and cocoa nibs. That was a pretty fantastic combination, but the beer stayed on my palate all day. My friends Matt and Trey got Blood Marys made with bacon-infused vodka and said it was like drinking bacon. After brunch we headed home, but all decided that the weekend was worth the trip and it's one we would be making again next year. The amazing beers and atmosphere made it worth the trip, but the most amazing thing was how down-to-earth Sam was. He couldn't have been any nicer and watching him on Saturday, I realized that he was in his element surrounded by so many people who love his beer. He really is a genuine guy and he does some great things for the beer industry. As long as he keeps doing things like this, I'll be an avid supporter of Dogfish Head.
And if you don't believe me, just go to this link. This is picture taken by Sam with his camera phone (my friends and I are on the left). He thought it was so cool that so many people love his company and his beer and needed to take a picture of his fans to post on his blog (there is also a video of the event on YouTube). Anyway, if you live anywhere near Delaware, it's a worthwhile event and it's one I plan on attending every year. I have homebrew updates as well, but I'll post those in a separate post.
I knew I wanted to go to this last September when I ran in the Dogfish Dash. It's a weekend of Dogfish spent between the brewery in Milton, DE and Rehoboth Beach, DE that is filled with awesome beers, food pairings, and chilling with Sam himself.
Chillin' with Sam (I'm in the middle)
The weekend was loosely thrown together, with specials at the brewpub in Rehoboth all weekend, an event at the brewery on Saturday, and a beer brunch on Sunday. My friends and I got in Friday evening and a couple of their rare, brewpub-exclusive beers like Flux Capacitor were already kicked. However, we still got some dandies. My wife ordered a brewpub exclusive right before it kicked. It was called Fungus T. Mungus (no doubt an ode to Incubus) and it tasted a bit like Sah'Tea. It was Dogfish's Beer Advocate collaboration from last year. I kept track of the beers I had all weekend. Here is the rundown from Friday night:- Burton Baton - Randalled (filtered) through Cascade hops, vanilla beans, and brown honey rum oak chips (10%)
- Raison d'Extra '08 bottle (18ish%)
- Poppaskull 2010 (9.5%)
- 120 Minute IPA Randalled through Cascade hops
- Black and Blue 2012 (10%)
- World Wide Stout aged on brown honey rum oak chips for 6 months
OMG Raisins!!
On Saturday, there was an event at the brewery in Milton between 10 am and 3 pm. There were tours, tastings and delicious food pairings, as well as Sam presentations throughout the day. When we got there, we got wristbands and punch cards with all the beers that they had on tap. We got awesome custom Dogfish tasting glasses to use all day and custom coasters to take home.
Day 2 - it begins
We ended up tasting all 15 beers on their list, along with this year's version of Saison du BUFF, which was originally a collaboration between Dogfish, Stone, and Victory. The 15 (+1) beers we tried:
- Aprihop w/ cheese pairing (there were apricots in the cheese!)
- 120 Minute IPA
- Immort Ale w/ cheese pairing
- Midas Jitos (Randallization of Midas Touch through mint and lime)
- Red & White (2011)
- Black & Blue (2011) w/ dark chocolate pairing
- My Antonia w/ pretzel pairing
- Namaste w/ cheese pairing
- Sah'tea
- Ta Henket
- Chateau Jiahu
- Palo Santo Marron
- Burton Baton
- Dirty Fermentini (2011 Beer Advocate collaboration)
- El Diablo Verde w/ nacho bar (first small batch brew)
- Saison du BUFF
Kate: Hi Sam. This is Sarah. She is shy but she is a big fan.
Sam: Hi Sarah. (shakes hand) Can I give you a hug?
Sam gave her a hug and then got a picture with her. My wife was absolutely gushing. All in all, it was a wonderful day and it makes me appreciate the things that Sam and Dogfish as a company do for beer and the craft brew industry even more.
Our completed cards contained a hidden message!
I bought some cool stuff at the gift shop, including a running shirt, a case of Saison du BUFF, some 75 Minute Cask Ale (if you can get your hands on some of this, DO IT) and a set of awesome coasters. After the event, we headed over to the brewpub for the rest of the night. The beer list wasn't as good the second night, but we still scored some good beers. Here is the list from Saturday night:
- Life and Limb 2009
- Positive Contact (in stores in May)
- Saison du BUFF
- Bricolage
- 120 Minute IPA
- Burton Baton
- Olde School 2009
On Sunday morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed over to the brewpub for brunch. We were all hurting pretty bad, but I had to try a couple of their beers on tap. They had one called Count Chocula, which was a small brewpub batch chocolate ale. I have to say, it was just okay. I also had a World Wide Stout Randallized with coffee, vanilla beans, and cocoa nibs. That was a pretty fantastic combination, but the beer stayed on my palate all day. My friends Matt and Trey got Blood Marys made with bacon-infused vodka and said it was like drinking bacon. After brunch we headed home, but all decided that the weekend was worth the trip and it's one we would be making again next year. The amazing beers and atmosphere made it worth the trip, but the most amazing thing was how down-to-earth Sam was. He couldn't have been any nicer and watching him on Saturday, I realized that he was in his element surrounded by so many people who love his beer. He really is a genuine guy and he does some great things for the beer industry. As long as he keeps doing things like this, I'll be an avid supporter of Dogfish Head.
And if you don't believe me, just go to this link. This is picture taken by Sam with his camera phone (my friends and I are on the left). He thought it was so cool that so many people love his company and his beer and needed to take a picture of his fans to post on his blog (there is also a video of the event on YouTube). Anyway, if you live anywhere near Delaware, it's a worthwhile event and it's one I plan on attending every year. I have homebrew updates as well, but I'll post those in a separate post.
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