ACBF Update

So far so good! I've noticed that this year is A LOT more crowded than last, but the beer lines are moving quick. I've been able to hit most of the brewers but some didn't bring some of the beers as advertised. Oh well, I'm still having fun and drinking some great beer. The best one yet was Sixpoints Bengali tiger! Absolutely amazing beer!


Cheers,
Jason

American Craft Beer Fest

Tonight is the first night of ACBF.  I'll be heading in with a few friends to enjoy some of the best craft brewed beers in the world!  There are 75 brewers attending pouring over 300 different beers.  I have my list of beers I'd like to get to.  I have 14 beers on my list that I don't want to leave without trying, in no particular order (but yes, I have mapped them out so I can get to them easily)!!

 

Midas Touch - Dogfish Head

Watermelon Wheat - 21st Amendment

Cuvee de Cardoz - Brooklyn Brewery

Hazed and Infused - Boulder Beer Co.

Oak Aged Never Summer - Boulder Beer Co.

Flashback Anniversary Ale - Boulder Beer Co.

Morimoto Soba Ale - Rogue

Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale - Sierra Nevada

Bengali Tiger - Sixpoint

Confluence - Allagash

Oak Aged Mad Hatter - New Holland

Toasted Brown Ale - John Harvard's Cambridge

Jack D'Or - Pretty Things Beer and Ale

 

The only one of these I've had before is the Sierra Nevada, but it's such a good beer that I want more.  I chose these because either I've never had a beer from the brewer, or had the beer.  Sixpoint is my new interest.  I've written about their Sweet Action and they continue to impress me.  We shall see!  I might try to post a few from the fest, but don't quote me on it.  I'll definitely post a recap though!

 

Cheers,

Jason

Wedding Brew and Benmarl Winery

This weekend was the weekend where I served my Newest American Pale Ale, aka CrystALE recipe, at my friend's Kate and Shaun's wedding which was at the beautiful Benmarl Winery in Marlboro, NY. The weekend was awesome. We spent a lot of time at the winery, setting up for the wedding, the rehearsal and then for the actual ceremony and reception. We didn't get an official tour, but I took it upon myself to nose around a bit and check it out. The wine cellar was my favorite. There were stacks of full barrels, a "Vintage" room filled with bottles from the 50's and 60's and then through the barrels there was the fermentors, bottling line and label station. I could begin to see the start of my brewery with all the fermentation equipment and barrels around. I was in heaven.

My biggest excitement came on the actual wedding day. I had brewed 4 cases of my beer for the reception. All 4 cases were gone by the end of the cocktail hour (actually more like an hour 40). I was extremely happy, and slightly bummed I didn't make more. All night I had people approaching me telling how awesome my beer was. My sister-in-law, who is a graphic designer, helped to make the labels which were also a huge hit. We didn't' start making the labels until Wednesday and they had to be done on Thursday, so needless to say it was rushed......which would be why I missed spelled "bottled". Oh well, It was a gratifying experience nonetheless. One of the guests was actually a brewery at the Barrington Brewery & Restaurant in Great Barrington, MA. I spoke with him for a while about the beer, brewing as a profession and other things and the one thing I remember fondly was the constructive criticism he gave. He was very impressed with the beer and though it was a very marketable beer. He also though there was a hint of an off flavor in the finish of the beer, but couldn't detect what it was exactly. I had hoped I could have had more so I could have reviewed it again myself, but I guess I could have worse problems.

Cheers,

Jason

Self Distributing States

I was doing a little research on states that allow self distribution by brewers and I found some good information on the Brewers Association website which was very helpful.  But the list they gave wasn't enough....I wanted a cool way to display it........maybe on a map.  Then, I stumble upon this site, which allows you to make customized maps with whatever information you want!  VERY COOL!  So, as you can imagine....I created a map called "Self Distributing States".  Hopefully this is helpful to people doing research on distribution options.  If not, hopefully you can have fun playing with maps!

 

Cheers,

Jason

Beer Taxes

I've been reading a lot of blog posts and articles online lately (here, here and here) that have to do with the issue of beer excise tax and the governments proposal to raise it. Like the authors of these posts, I strongly disagree with the notion of raising the beer excise tax.

I have two views on this issue, first as a beer consumer. I think it is ludicrous that I, as a beer drinker, should be taxed strictly because I enjoy beer. This is unfair to me as a consumer and I personally think that if the government needs to raise taxes on something in order to generate additional revenue (to supplement all their spending), shouldn't all American's share this burden? A fair way to raise taxes would be for income tax to be raised which effects everyone and doesn't force beer drinkers to pay for our "sins". Although, it's my opinion that in this economy taxes shouldn't be raised in the first place.

Second, as someone who is working towards owning a brewery, I try to look at this from the brewers perspective. Lets say you were a small independent craft brewer. You have steady sales, but in this economic climate, things just haven't taken off. Then, you get hit with an additional excise tax on the beer you produce. This additional cost can not be absorbed by your business and you are forced to pass that cost on to your consumers. Some consumers see this price hike and go shopping for alternative beers to yours, thus decreasing your sales even further ultimately forcing you out of business. I have a hard time looking at this scenario and saying "it is what it is".

In the comments of Lew's post, he got into a deeper discussion on this issue and put it as plain as it can be!

"Are you telling me that if the government taxed, what, bacon that would be okay as long as people kept eating it and paying the tax? A tax on beer makes no more sense than a tax on bacon. So why tax bacon or beer?"

On another note, there is a great article (pdf format) from the Tax Foundation on the effect of cross border sales of beer due to sales and beer excise tax. I got it from J's blog. It's a long read, but very interesting. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Jason

Fermentation Friday - Brewday Joy & Stress

Thanks to Ted over at Ted's Homebrew Journal for hosting this months Fermentation Friday.  This months topic is Brewday Joy & Stress.

"...for something a bit more light and fun, this month's topic revolves around the brewing activity itself.  Brewing is an extremely rewarding endeavor, especially after sipping on the end product....a delicious pint of cold carbonated beer.  But in the process of making it, it's not always 'a walk in the park'.  I'm interested to hear about what areas in the brewday brings joy and stress"

To start, I can say for sure that I'd rather be home brewing a fresh batch of beer.  I have about 4-5 potential recipes that I've created that I want to try out and also try and re-formulate and try and make my friends wedding beer (crystALE) a little better and closer to Sixpoint's Sweet Action.  But I digress....

 

I think one of the biggest and best reason I (and I'm sure almost all homebrewers) get joy from brewing is being able to drink the final product and know you made it.  But I'm not going there.....I have a feeling a lot of people will cover this well and I don't need to go any further.  So, for me the one things that brings the (second) most joy in the process is being able to re-brew a previous batch and make it better.  I've been doing a lot more of this lately trying to get more consistent with a few of my beers.  Because I hope to open my own brewery someday, this is essential to my success.  I need to be able to open the doors with high quality beers AND be able to make them consistently.

 

On the contrary, I do get very frustrated at times when I brew.  For example, BOILOVERS!!!!  I hate them!!  I know the cause, and I have found a way (heard from a friend) about a way to reduce these by using a spray bottle and spraying the foam as it rises and try's to spill out of the kettle.  I can tell you from experience that this technique works very well!!!  Another are that brings frustration, and this stems from not being the most patient person ever, is the wait from brewday to the most exciting point, the first sip!!!  I know it's something that I can't change, but it's frustrating to me.  I guess I'll need to space my brewing sessions out so I can pop open a first bottle from a previous batch on each subsequent brew day......but that's a whole other post for another day!  I need more time in my day!!!!

Brooklyn Brewery Tour

This past weekend, I was in Brooklyn for a bachelor party. Luckily, the party started at the Brooklyn Brewery! We took a tour and sat in the "tasting room" (it was more like a bar) and sampled their awesome line up of beers. I left there a very happy beer lover! I took some pictures, which are the the bottom. Sorry about the quality, but they're from my cell phone.

The tour was short. Not in time, but in distance traveled. You move from the tasting room, over to the brewery room and listen to the tour guide talk about the history of Brooklyn Brewing Co, the building and their current state. All in all, it was about 30 feet. As someone who wants to open my own brewery I thought the tour was very cool, and yes they started as home brewers!!! At the start, they did contract brewing with F.X. Matt (Saranac) up in Utica, NY. To this day, the majority of there beer is still produced at the Matt Brewery. Only a few beers (Local 1, Local 2 and others) are actually brewed in the Brooklyn Brewery.

Next we moved back to the tasting room and sat at some of the tables they had set up and began to sample their brews. I started off with the Brooklyn IPA, which they called E.IP.A. (East India Pale Ale). This was golden in color and had a great head. Huge hop aroma's and it packed a wallop of hop bitterness.

Next up was the Brooklyner Weisse. Their Bavarian yeast strain gave it lots of the traditional Banana esters and some great flavor as well. I've had some Hefe's that were just too overpowering with the banana/clove ester combo, but this was perfect. It didn't get in the way of the backbone of the beer, the wheat!

Beer 3 was just a quick sample, the Intensified Coffee Stout. Had this beer been lower in alcohol (8.5%) I probably would have had a few, but since we had a LONG day of bachelor party drinking to do, I only gave it a taste. WOW!!!! I could smell the coffee aroma before I even stuck my nose in it! The first sip was amazing. Big coffee flavor, with a great rich malty backbone. The maltiness and coffee flavor really mask the alcohol in this, which is part of the reason I shied away from it.

The Brooklyn Brown was next. I'm a huge brown ale fan and this beer did not disappoint. It poured a deep dark brown color and had hints of some roasty malt character. The chocolate malt was evident and very pleasant. The hop character was a little restrained from what I was expecting. Not a lot of bitterness, but subtle flavor and aroma. One of the main reasons I liked this beer so much was it reminded me of my American Brown. When I brewed it, the judges told me it had a roasty character that is not traditional in the style, and it was too dark. Color wise, my brown is the same. It made me smile and I know I will be back to the drawing board to figure this one out!

As we were leaving, I grabbed two bottle to take home.....famed Local 1 and Local 2. I have yet to try these but I've heard and read a lot of great reviews on them, so I'm very excited to get into them. If you're ever in Brooklyn, or NY for that matter, definitely take a trip to the brewery and check it out. You won't be disappointed!!

Cheers,
Jason

Allagash Curieux - Review

I haven't gotten into doing reviews much, but I'm starting to explore this more so I can expand my knowledge because I think reviewing beers and thinking about how and with what these beers are brewed will help me to better understand how to brew them.

First up, Allagash Curieux.

Appearance - It comes in a "standard" Allagash 750 ml bottle. The beer pours a pale color and a champagne like fizz popped from the glass. A small bright white head formed and quickly disappeared.

Aroma - Sweet alcohol with pleasant hints of bourbon. The aging in the Jim Beam barrels certainly helps.

Taste - At first sip, bourbon flavor is evident. Warm alcohol coats the taste buds. There is a taste of something I can't pinpoint, which is nice and enjoyable. The website says hints of vanilla and coconut are evident, but I don't think that's what I was picking up. Either way, I enjoyed it a lot. I guess it will be forever a mystery.

Mouthfeel - As I suspected from the champagne like fizz when poured, the carbonation is a bit prickly at first. The tulip glass I was using has a ridge on the edge which can contribute to this fizz as it agitates the beer as it passes over the ridge. It had a nice creamy mouthfeel which became silky and soft towards the end of the sip.

Drinkabilaty - AT 11% alcohol, I'm thinking this is a very nice treat to have once in a while. I "could" definitely drink a few of these, but it would definitely have it's effect on me. This one took me about an hour plus to drink and I had a nice buzz. This beer would be a great after dinner drink and something to sip with a wonderful dinner. I'm not sure what I would pair it with for dinner, but I'll figure it out and make it one night. To be continued.....

Next up, Pike Brewing Company's Tandem.

Cheers,

Jason

Wedding Brews - Progress report

The two brews look like they have completed primary fermentation.  I had moved them to the basement one day after they were brewed because the temps in my kitchen where I usually keep the carboys got up to the 80's.  I was a little upset that I didn't plan for that because they had been fermenting very nicely and formed a nice foam krausen on top, but the agitation from moving them to the basement caused a little of that to sink back down into the beer.  As you can see from the picture, some of the chunkies are floating around.  You can also see how high the temp was from the stick on thermometer on the first carboy.

 

This week I'll transfer them to the secondary and dry hop them.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they turned out from being hot, and then chilled to the lower temps of the basement.  I can't wait for that fruity aroma from the Glacier hops!!!

 

Cheers,

Jason

Wedding Brew Weekend

As I've mentioned in previous posts (see Witbier and Two Brew Weekend) I was asked to brew some beer for my friends wedding. With the final beer being chosen in early April, I set out this weekend to brew it up for the big day......twice. Early in the week I decided to make two batches. I thought that for an entire wedding reception, 2.5 cases just wasn't going to cut it (now that I said that, I bet there will be a ton left over).

The first batch went off without a hitch. The mash settled perfectly at 152 and stayed there for the entire 60 minutes. I had a small boil over at the beginning mostly because I was paying more attention to drinking some of the last batch and watching the Red Sox. Post boil, I ended up with 6 gallons, which is what I planned. Chilled, racked and pitched. Batch one down!

The second batch went off.....but not so much without a hitch. To set the stage, it was close to 90f in Natick on Saturday, I had gone for a 7 mile run about 2 hours prior to starting the first batch, had one bowl of oatmeal to eat all day, and about 6 homebrews by the time I started batch two. Needless to say, it had it's effects on me. I didn't realize my mistake until the boil, but it turns out I used an extra gallon of water in the mash. DOH!!!! (sorry Chappy, the beer will be fine, I promise)

Sunday, after I had sobered up, I went through my notes and realized where I went wrong. In an attempt to be more efficient, I started batch 2 while batch 1 was still chilling prior to pitching the yeast, so I didn't have the availability of my Blichman boilermaker with the volume sight gauge on the side. Instead, I went back in time to my "pre-boilermaker" days and used a wooden spoon I had notched out at the gallon marks. Apparently I mistook the 5g mark for the 4g mark. Other than that slight mix up, the batch come out well. It's a little lighter in color but it's fermenting away.

Both batches have a very nice krausen on them and are vigorously fermenting away right now. I'm a little concerned that because of the ambient temp in the room, that I might get some bad esters in the beer, so I might move them to the basement. But then basement is on the cooler side of the temp spectrum. Probably in the high 50's. I did give myself a few extra weeks, so if the fermentation slows, I think I'll be ok. Recipe is below.

So here's my questions.....do you think I should blend the two batches prior to bottling to essentially make them one large batch? If you could let me know your thoughts and experiences with blending, that would be great!

Cheers,
Jason

CrystALE

OG - 1.050
Batch Size - 6 g

Fermentables:
8 lbs Two-Row
1.5 lbs Crystal 15L
1.5 lbs Crystal 40L
1 lbs Munich .25 lbs Brown Malt
.5 lbs Flaked Barley

Hops:
.5 oz Columbus (13% AA, 6.5 AAU, FWH)
.5 oz Magnum (14.5% AA, 7.3 AAU, 30 min)
.25 oz Columbus (13% AA, 3.3 AAU, 30 min)
.5 oz Glacier (5.5% AA, 2.8 AAU, 15 min)
.25 Columbus (13% AA, 3.3 AAU, 10 min)
.5 oz Glacier (5.5% AA, 2.8 AAU, DH)

Yeast: Wyeast 1056 American Ale