Friday, May 4, 2007
American Brew
I just saw the beer documentary "American Brew" on A&E. I have to recommend it. You can get a copy for $5 here. While you're there, check out the rest of the Here's to Beer site. They've got a couple of original series, Fresh and Thirsty Artist.
New Features
Technology is great, and I find it helpful to be able to get as much information as you can about a certain passion. I intend to fill this blog with links to damn near everything I discuss. If I miss something please feel free to comment. Because I'm so enthraled with the wonderful interweb, I added an interactive tech related beer link section including RateBeer and Beer Mapping's lookup page.
I also put a couple beer maps on the right to show the contrast in number of beer related businesses between Miami and Portland. Thank god I'm moving to Portland.
I also put a couple beer maps on the right to show the contrast in number of beer related businesses between Miami and Portland. Thank god I'm moving to Portland.
New Beer Friday
So, I'm out of MI2PA and I'm getting to the dregs of my Sierra Nevada keg. I decided, it's payday, I should go by and check out Crown's new offerings. I picked up two new beers: St. Peter's IPA and Boulder Beer's Hazed and Infused. Hazed and Infused, is unfiltered (Hazed) and dry hopped (Infused)giving it an amber color and heavy hop aroma and flavor without being overly bitter. It's a little unbalanced with a strong hop aroma (you can really smell the citrusy Centinnial hops) and flavor (strikingly peachy with citrus as well). Good stuff. The IPA will wait for this evening.
Kinda disappointed with their websites. St. Peter's doesn't describe their individual beers and Boulder is all flash, so you can't go to a specific page...bah.
St. Peter's IPA was if nothing else, probably authentic. It tasted like an English beer that had traveled to India by ship a few hundred years ago. Most of the reviews I've seen remark about it's skunkiness and mine was no exception. Not a beer I'd recommend.
Kinda disappointed with their websites. St. Peter's doesn't describe their individual beers and Boulder is all flash, so you can't go to a specific page...bah.
St. Peter's IPA was if nothing else, probably authentic. It tasted like an English beer that had traveled to India by ship a few hundred years ago. Most of the reviews I've seen remark about it's skunkiness and mine was no exception. Not a beer I'd recommend.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Rogue
On our Oregon coast trek, Michele and I stopped in Newport to tour Rogue's Brewery and stay above their downtown pub: Bed and Beer. While the apartment above Rogue was dingy and the brewery's tour guide was uninformed, the beer was delicious. The tour concluded with a complimentary Santa's Private Reserve; a delicious, hearty, seasonal red. We also decided to taste Integrity IPA, Imperial Pilsner, Kell's Irish Lager, Chipolte Ale, Mocha Porter, Hazelnut Brown, Rogue Imperial Stout, and Brewer (perhaps my favorite of all the beer I had in Oregon). We also visited the downtown Newport Rogue Brewpub, as well as the one in downtown Portland. We continued the tastings with Juniper Pale Ale, Imperial IPA, Menage Frog (sweet Belgian tripel, not my style), Organic Brown Ale, Hop Heaven, and Monk Madness (another favorite).
Rogue distributes nationwide and makes very, very good beers. Check the links for more info/history.
From top to bottom: Rogue's Brewery, exterior; Rogue Gift Shop; Palates of Grain; Fermenters, Bottling System; Bottles and Kegs Ready to Ship; The Tasting.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Mapleshade I2PA
On the day of C3PA's bottling, I brewed another batch (Mapleshade Imperial IPA). At the advice of Brewmaster's owner, I decided to bring C3PA into balance and add some more alcohol. To do this, we used the same recipe, but with 2.5 gallons malt extract, up 0.8 gallons from the C3PA's 1.7. This turned out to kill C3PA and created another beast entirely. At first I was very disappointed with the results: a medium bodied, darker, sweet, malty ale. Hop flavor, while discernible, was easily balanced by the malt and the sweetness was very disappointing. This beer is beginning to come of age as of 2/27, a full 2 weeks after kegging/bottling. The sweetness is not as dominant, and the flavors are becoming more complex. It has strayed away from a session beer, as the alcohol is indeed increased. 3 pints does a good job of knocking me out on a weekday. While this beer is growing on me, my next batch will be back to C3PA's original recipe, but I'll boil the first addition of Chinook for an additional 30 minutes (for a 90 minute boil total). This should bring the bitterness to a near intolerable level...just what I'm after.
Mapleshade I2PA is far from dead though, I'm gonna tweak this recipe too and morph it into what it should be. I'll increase the Chinook boil as well in this one, maybe sub a little of the extract for some grain (more Munich?), and maybe add another hop variety. I'll also be out of my Pacman yeast, which is no longer available, and have to sub for another strain (Northwest?). This recipe is going to take some tweaking, but should be really good and complex. Seems like it's going to age really well too, I may add a couple of bottles to the cellar, see what it's like in a few months.
Here you can see the difference: Mapleshade I2PA on the left, C3PA on the right.
Mapleshade I2PA is far from dead though, I'm gonna tweak this recipe too and morph it into what it should be. I'll increase the Chinook boil as well in this one, maybe sub a little of the extract for some grain (more Munich?), and maybe add another hop variety. I'll also be out of my Pacman yeast, which is no longer available, and have to sub for another strain (Northwest?). This recipe is going to take some tweaking, but should be really good and complex. Seems like it's going to age really well too, I may add a couple of bottles to the cellar, see what it's like in a few months.
Here you can see the difference: Mapleshade I2PA on the left, C3PA on the right.
C3PA
December 12, 2006 brought my first recipe, an off-balance IPA/APA. I came up with the name C3PA due to the 3 hop varieties used (Chinook, Centennial, and Cascade). The PA is for the general pale ale distinction. The combination of everything, obviously an homage to the gay droid form the Star Wars series.
Inspired by Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, the hop bill was adapted to a 14 gallon batch from a 5 gallon clone recipe I found online. IBU's were calculated at around 75. The grain bill was that of Brewmaster's Airman IPA, which also fit into the requirements of an IPA grain bill according to "Designing Great Beers".
The recipe is as follows:
1.7 Gallons Light Malt Extract
15oz Munich Malt Whole Grain
13.8oz Wheat Whole Grain
14.5oz Crystal Malt Whole Grain
89oz Pale Malt Whole Grain
The whole grains were crushed and then steeped at 150 degrees for ~50 minutes.
The Light Malt Extract was added and a 10 minute boil was required for protein break.
2.8oz Chinook hops were added.
30 minutes later, 0.7oz Chinook hops were added.
30 minutes later, 2.8oz Cascade and 0.2oz Centennial hops were added and the heat was shut off to the kettle.
The wort was cooled to below 80 degrees and transferred to the fermentation vessel, which was vigorously shaken to aerate. 1 package Wyeast Labs Rogue Pacman yeast was pitched.
Nearly a month later, the fermented beer was dry hopped with 5oz Cascade and 0.5oz Centennial hops. It was kegged/bottled 2 days later on 1/12/07.
I was very much delighted with the results. An off-balanced bitter/hoppy pale, light in color and body. Hop flavor was obviously dominant providing both citrus and pear flavors. Mouth feel was slightly acidic and harsh. This was a great drinker and in my mind, damn near perfect.
Inspired by Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, the hop bill was adapted to a 14 gallon batch from a 5 gallon clone recipe I found online. IBU's were calculated at around 75. The grain bill was that of Brewmaster's Airman IPA, which also fit into the requirements of an IPA grain bill according to "Designing Great Beers".
The recipe is as follows:
1.7 Gallons Light Malt Extract
15oz Munich Malt Whole Grain
13.8oz Wheat Whole Grain
14.5oz Crystal Malt Whole Grain
89oz Pale Malt Whole Grain
The whole grains were crushed and then steeped at 150 degrees for ~50 minutes.
The Light Malt Extract was added and a 10 minute boil was required for protein break.
2.8oz Chinook hops were added.
30 minutes later, 0.7oz Chinook hops were added.
30 minutes later, 2.8oz Cascade and 0.2oz Centennial hops were added and the heat was shut off to the kettle.
The wort was cooled to below 80 degrees and transferred to the fermentation vessel, which was vigorously shaken to aerate. 1 package Wyeast Labs Rogue Pacman yeast was pitched.
Nearly a month later, the fermented beer was dry hopped with 5oz Cascade and 0.5oz Centennial hops. It was kegged/bottled 2 days later on 1/12/07.
I was very much delighted with the results. An off-balanced bitter/hoppy pale, light in color and body. Hop flavor was obviously dominant providing both citrus and pear flavors. Mouth feel was slightly acidic and harsh. This was a great drinker and in my mind, damn near perfect.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Florida Brews
Titanic Brewpub:
Best brewpub in South Florida. I had the privilige of brewing with Steve at Titanic. Unfortunately it didn't turn into a regular thing. Their White Star IPA is very good, very hoppy, nice use of Cascade (I love me some citrusy Cascade). I'm probably going to be a little biased toward IPA's throughout this blog, as I'm a self-proclaimed hop head. Their oatmeal stout is also a must drink. Triple Screw Light Ale is just that, and I wasn't impressed by their seasonal wheat (which Steve admitted wasn't all that good). Their seasonal Double IPA is good, but not outrageously different than the White Star.
Indian River Brewing Company makes a couple different beers. The Native Lager, not too interested in. The Eleven Brown Ale needs a tasting. Thunderhead Red is a malty red, nothing to write home about.
Key West Sunset Ale, while no longer brewed in the keys (now also owned by Indian River Brewing Company) is a staple on the islands. Not really good enough to get back in the real world though. Found some applicable descriptions here: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/key-west-sunset-ale/2828/.
That's it for the descent and indescent local brews I've had. Here's what we have in retail:
Many grocery stores sell Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Red Hook ESB and IPA. I've always been a fan of SNPA, smooth with citrus hints from the Cascade hops. Red Hook's ESB is a little too bland for my taste, but the IPA is good in a pinch. Crown Wine and Spirits and Whole Foods carry a broader range including selections from Rogue, Dogfish Head, and Shipyard. Once pointed out to me, the buttery, diacetyl flavors created by Shipyard's yeast put me off to their beers. Dogfish Head makes many delicious craft beers. Their 60 and 90 minute IPA's are my favorite. Lots of sprucy flavored hops (Warrior and Amarillo), not the citrusy, west-coast varieties I love, but good indeed. They use a continuous hopping technique where hops are added continuously throughout the boil as opposed to in stages as is common. Rogue's beers (yummm) will be discussed more in detail later, they really deserve their own post.
What else? Nothing else I've had really deserves much mention. St. Peters Cream Stout is very good. However I really don't know much about it or the brewery. Do your own research.
Best brewpub in South Florida. I had the privilige of brewing with Steve at Titanic. Unfortunately it didn't turn into a regular thing. Their White Star IPA is very good, very hoppy, nice use of Cascade (I love me some citrusy Cascade). I'm probably going to be a little biased toward IPA's throughout this blog, as I'm a self-proclaimed hop head. Their oatmeal stout is also a must drink. Triple Screw Light Ale is just that, and I wasn't impressed by their seasonal wheat (which Steve admitted wasn't all that good). Their seasonal Double IPA is good, but not outrageously different than the White Star.
Indian River Brewing Company makes a couple different beers. The Native Lager, not too interested in. The Eleven Brown Ale needs a tasting. Thunderhead Red is a malty red, nothing to write home about.
Key West Sunset Ale, while no longer brewed in the keys (now also owned by Indian River Brewing Company) is a staple on the islands. Not really good enough to get back in the real world though. Found some applicable descriptions here: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/key-west-sunset-ale/2828/.
That's it for the descent and indescent local brews I've had. Here's what we have in retail:
Many grocery stores sell Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Red Hook ESB and IPA. I've always been a fan of SNPA, smooth with citrus hints from the Cascade hops. Red Hook's ESB is a little too bland for my taste, but the IPA is good in a pinch. Crown Wine and Spirits and Whole Foods carry a broader range including selections from Rogue, Dogfish Head, and Shipyard. Once pointed out to me, the buttery, diacetyl flavors created by Shipyard's yeast put me off to their beers. Dogfish Head makes many delicious craft beers. Their 60 and 90 minute IPA's are my favorite. Lots of sprucy flavored hops (Warrior and Amarillo), not the citrusy, west-coast varieties I love, but good indeed. They use a continuous hopping technique where hops are added continuously throughout the boil as opposed to in stages as is common. Rogue's beers (yummm) will be discussed more in detail later, they really deserve their own post.
What else? Nothing else I've had really deserves much mention. St. Peters Cream Stout is very good. However I really don't know much about it or the brewery. Do your own research.
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