Central State JEM

An interesting take on a Flanders Red Ale.  Subdued sweet tart with wine and oak flavors. Easy drinking.

Rating = 4 glasses. 

Toppling Goliath Pompeii

Pompeii is an American IPA and the best hazy hop bomb I've ever had. Tons of mango and citrus flavor coats the mouth and tongue like a mango-orange-pineapple hopsickle. The flavor lingers forever. 

Rating = 6 glasses. 

Beer Porn Aug. 2019

Here's my haul from Indianapolis.

1. I bought two beers from Toppling Goliath. The brewer has many beers in the top 250 on Beer Advocate. 
1. Pompeii is a big hazy IPA. currently it is the 23rd highest-ranked IPA on beer advocate and 677 overall.
2. Pseudo Sue is ranked # 5 American Pale Ale and 122 overall.
2. I bought two beers from Great Lakes.
1. Edmund Fitzgerald is the #6 American Porter and 983 overall.
2. Oktoberfest is the #3 Oktoberfest/Marzen and 3,098 overall.
3. Trappistes Rochefort 10 is a old favorite. It is #2 ranked quadruple and 90 overall.

Chimay Premier

Premier is an easy-drinking Dubbel with subtle hints of brown sugar, plums, and clove. As I drank I thought that it might be my favorite Dubbel. However, I fear that my preference for the style is well under control. Too much clove perhaps.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Russian River Pliny the Elder

Wow. Wonderfully balanced. Simultaneously bitter and subtle. The bitterness coats the tongue and mouth and lasts for what seems like forever. My favorite double IPA.

Rating = 7 glasses.

Birds Fly South Weatherman

Another interesting beer from BFS. Do they pitch yeast in addition to "locally sourced bacteria" and Brettanomyces? Surprisingly easy to drink. A peach-cherry smoothie? Less sour and tart than I expected.

Rating = 4 glasses.

"A mixed-culture Biere de Garde brewed with locally sourced bacteria and a healthy dose of Brettanomyces to produce subtle notes of cherry. This award-winning Belgian Ale is aged a minimum of three months in our Cognac Foedre."

Pale Fire Lucille Oatmeal Stout

Eh. Lacks body and complexity.

Rating = 2 glasses.

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA

A fine IPA.

Rating = 4 glasses.

Birds Fly Sout Rustic Sunday

Rustic Sunday is an interesting rye forward saison with sour notes. Uses Solera, mixed fermentation, Sauvignon Blanc puncheons, and rye. I don't know if the mixed fermentation comes from the puncheons or if the brewers pitch critters. Does puncheon = barrel or stave? I know that Solera involves blending beers of different ages but don't know exactly how BFS does it. Do they blend just before bottling of mix ages while aging?

My first taste on draft in Atlanta was yummy. 

I have had several bottles since then. 

BeerAdvocate rates it as Outstanding, the 7,187th best beer overall, and the 305th best Belgian Saison.

Rating = 6 glasses.

Goose Island Goose IPA

A decent IPA. Rating equals at least 3 glasses.

Goose Island Summertime

This is a nice Kolsch. A tiche sweet and easy drinking. Rating equals 3 glasses.

Pacifico on draft @ Mexico

My favorite macro lager? I enjoyed it with $1 tacos. Would buy again. Rating = 2, maybe 3 glasses.

Easter treats

Hardywood Bourbon Barleywine
An English barleywine with notes of bourbon barrel aging. Flavorful without being intense.The bottle had aged at least 10 months. I'll look to buy some of the 2015 release. 
Rating = 5 glasses

Blue Mountain Sour Banshee
A little sour, a little bourbon. Nothing intense. Alex like it. I wanted more sour.
Rating: = 3 glasses

Duchesse de Bourgogne
The classic Flanders Red Ale. A flavorful and easy drinking blend of sweet and tart. 
Rating = 4 glasses (at least).

Some good beer tonight

Duclaw Devil's Milk is a nice barleywine. BA calls it an American barleywine but it drinks more like English. Nice and flavorful. Of course, it was after 2 Singels and 5/6 of a flight. I liked it.

Rating = 4 glasses, at least

Alpine Super IPA is a nice double IPA.

Rating = 4 glasses, at least

Allagash Interlude is an interesting wine-barrel aged Saison with some 
Brett. Rating is tough - the taste was different.

Rating = 4 glasses. I need another taste.

Vanderghinste Oud Bruin is a sweet version of Flanders Oud Bruin. I 
liked it

Rating = 5 glasses.

Hardywood Singel is a Belgian Blond Ale, even if BA calls it a Pale Ale. 
Nice, easy drinking, and flavorful. Given its distinctive taste,

Rating = 5 glasses.

Smuttynose Finest Kind clone

Homebrew 3 is a clone of Smuttynose Finest Kind IPA, my favorite IPA and one of my favorite beers. Put in the fermenter this morning and a CO2 bubbles emerge from the air lock every 3 seconds 11 hours later. I am excited.

Stone Lucky Bastard

Lucky Bastard is a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Oak-Aged Arrogant Bastard, and Double Bastard. It is a hit! Lucky > Double > Arrogant. Smoother than the other too and still packed w/ flavor.

Rating = 6 glasses.

Stone Double Bastard

Double Bastard is a big Strong Ale. Lots of malt and lots of hops. Barleywine-ish but with a rougher edge.

Rating = 5 glasses. Down from 6 glasses.

Some reviews of Budweiser's ad at the BIg Game.

Bud made heads turn with an ad that differentiated itself from craft beers.

Click here to see what The Atlantic said.

Click here to read an even more harsh review from Paste Magazine. The comments indicate that the ad is a copy of an earlier ad for Carthartt.

Funny picture

Click here to see a tap line for Bud.

Homebrew 2 - Duvel clone

My second batch of homebrew is in bottles. I used a clone of the recipe for Duvel, a classic Belgian strong pale ale and one of my favorite beers.

The yeast was active; krausen  clogged the air vent and then the pressure blew off the lid to the fermenter. CO2 bubbled for 2 weeks. Then I racked to secondary fermenter and left the beer in the crawl space @ 50 degrees for two weeks. A week back in the fermetorium and CO2 again appeared at a slow rate.

Emily helped both to make the wort and to bottle the beer.

My tastes during the bottling tell me that the beer has promise. I plan to give it 3 weeks to condition in the bottle and then see what has happened.

It is darker than I wanted and expected.

What's in the cellar?

Click here to see the inventory in my cellar

Blue Mountain Long Winter's Nap

Blue Mountain describes Long Winter's Nap as a blonde tripelbock. It is big, malty, and tasty.

5 glasses

Foothills Hoppyum IPA

Hoppyum is a nice IPA with a good bite. I tasted drafts the last two Fridays.

5 glasses.

Home brew: Shakespeare Stout

I brewed my first beer. I had assisted ML several times. My main job was to drink beer. After she started using all-grain recipes I decided I wanted to take the lead. My daughters bought some good equipment for me and I finally pulled the trigger. I wanted a stout for the cold weather ahead and followed a recipe for a clone of Rogue Shakespeare Stout that I found online.

I am pleased. The beer looks beautiful. It is really dark and a nice head forms when poured. It has flavor, lots of smoke, some charcoal, and a blast of hops. I fear that it is not balanced, the hops are too much for the malt. Perhaps it will mellow some as it sits. I may want to tweak the recipe if I follow it again.

3 glasses, maybe 4

Update: 22 Jan. Getting better. Rating = 4 glasses. I would brew again in a heartbeat.

Recent good beers

Drie Fonteinen Intense Red Oude Kriek
Drie Fonteninen has blended great lambics and are now brewing their own. I think that this was a one-off to celebrate their entry into brewing. It is a fantastic Kriek. It is darker and fruitier than most Krieks and packs a powerful sour punch.

6 glasses, at least. I want another bottle before going to 7.

Russian River Consecration

Another fabulous wild ale from Russian River. This one is aged in Cabernet Sauvingnon barrels and contains currents. The wine flavor was a little too strong imho. Otherwise, 7 glasses

6 glasses

Hardywood The Great Return
My favorite double IPA. Nice hops and not too sweet.

6 glasses

Williamsburg Alewerks Lover's Greed

This is a nice Wild Ale. Its flavor falls between Gueze and Flanders Red Ale, a nice blend of tart and sweet. I'll buy again.

5 glasses. 

Bear Republic Cafe 15 Racer

A really nice IPA. Easy drinking with some grapefruit and bit. 5 glasses.

Sierra Nevada Harvest Single Hop IPA Brewed with Equinox Hops

Nice but not great.  3 glasses.

Rodenbach Caractère Rouge

Rodenbach Caractère Rouge is a special one-off version of its famous Flanders Red Ale, made with fresh cherries, raspberries and cranberries.. It is good, interesting, and expensive. I like Grand Cru better.

4 glasses given the price.

Rodenbach 2011 Vintage

Rodenbach 2011 Vintage is a one-off Flanders Oud Bruin. It is fantastic. 7 glasses. Tart with flashes of sweet. Better than Grand Cru. Better than Caractère Rouge, a more expensive beer. Shared with Alex. We both liked it a ton.

gluten free

Click here to learn how to make gluten-free beer.