Ale Monthly

May 2009

2009-06-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

This month's Motto

May took me to a few new places, mostly, the Seattle Beer Scene. Although I only tried a smattering from Elysian and Pike Brewing Co, both with some really exceptional stouts and solid IPAs. I did hit one of the most amazing beers store: Bottleworks. The selection was phenomenal, the prices were just right, and the ambiance ... well, lets just say, I hope they get a few more lights in there soon (or the lights in the Chilled Beer Case fixed). It took me a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to see WTF I was looking at, but once I did, oh boy. It made me wish I lived in Seattle.

In addition, tried a smattering of Aaron's Homebrews while brewing some new Knockshock with Aaron and Greg: an additional round of Flanders Red, plus Liquid Gold, a cherry bourbon barrel quadrupel ... at over $100 a batch in raw materials, easily our most expensive beer yet.

Lagunitas Brewery tour, Iron Springs tasting, and a tasting of some of Moylans Finest Eats and drinks were also in the books. Couldn't think of a better tour (with complementary tastings) anywhere in Northern California ... well, except for the Anchor Tour, which is really unparalleled.

Throw in the legendary Bell's Two Headed, a Full Sail take on a hopped up Scottish Ale, a couple of De Proef offerings for under $3 each (BOTTLEWORKS!), and an organic beer called Initial Attack: Wildfire IPA, well, thats a wrap ... oh, except for the Mikkeller single hop beers: I tried one, the Cascade, and was quite disappointed, so I couldn't stomach the $5-6 per 12 oz for another, but I love the idea!

I'll keep the reviews brief, only non-brewpub beers, but the photos will be plentiful.

Wonderful Chandelier at Laugnitas Tasting Room

Cask Action

Line em Up!

Pretty

More Maximus

Bottling Cage

And conveyor

Iron Springs Lineup ... Respect the Paddle!

Bells Two-Hearted IPA
Floral, Resiny nose, light grass, more pine that orange, slight smoothness in the background. Light medium gold to orange, thick off white head. Flavor loaded with hops, orange, zest, slight warmth, smooth finish, not too lingering.
4.3

Full Sail Reserve - Keelhauler
Scottish Ale
Strong nose of malt: caramel, toffee, slight chocolate and butterscotch, slight warmth-phenolic and light citrus. Color is ruby with chocolate highlights, huge off-white head. Medium to full bodied. Flavor of butterscotch, caramel, toffee, chocolate, biscuit, orange, and light phenols (apple) with a very slight medicinal taste. Smooth finish. A little neither here (scottish ale) or there (hoppy beer).
3.4

Angelik Blond
Belgian Sour-Blond Ale
Nose of apple, lemon and lactic tanw, with a light horseblanket and tart cherries. Medium to light gold in color with burnt amber highlights. Huge rocky, frothy head with lace. Rather smooth flavor, pils-toast, apple, and slight lemon and lactic tang. Slightly bitter-puckering finish.
3.8

Van den Vera Grand Cru
Flemish Red
Nose of strong toffee, butterscotch, figs, cherries and raisins. Musk and tang. Deep amber color with ruby-chocolate highlights, medium off white head. Medium to light body, with quite a bit of sediment. Flavor of toffee, chocolate, cherries, raisin, and light chalk and bannana. Good deal for $2.50, but not a winner.
3.6

Mikkeller Cascade Single Hop
IPA
Medium malty, caramel, light musty aroma with light orange and grapefruit. Light amber with golden highlights, huge off-white head. Medium to full body. Flavor of caramel, toffee, biscuit, orange and grapefruit. Finish is quite bitter, but the full mouth reduces the impact. Muddled overall, malt dominates, and light oxidized character.
2.8

Butte Creek Initial Attack Fresh Hop IPA
Organic IPA
Nose very floral, lightly resinous, and high in orange and grapefruit constituents. Light toffee and biscuit, delicate pear esters in the finish. Thick, rocky tan head. Light amber in color, chocolate and ruby highlights. Medium to light bodied. Rich, resinous taster. Slight grapefruit, very flora, definte caramel and light burnt toffee. Slightly yeasty aspect, pretty smooth finish, great for an organic.
4.1

Pikes Double IPA
Imperial IPA
Strong orange nose, with hints of toast and biscuit, slight resinous quality. Medium orange with ruby highlights, nice tall off-white head. Medium to light bodied. Flavor is toward the hops, surprisingly spicy, zesty, with light orange and malt undertone, light warming. Bitter finish, but not lingering.
3.9

Pikes Extra Stout
Strong roast and chocolate nose, with hints of currant, licorice and toffee. Medium off white head. Deep chocolate color with espresso highlights. Very thick mouthfeel and body. Rich, roast-chocolate forward stout, with hints of toffee, coffee, almonds, raisins and rum. Medium to dry finish.
4.2

Elysian Promethus IPA
Strong grassy nose, with nice herbal, floral and zesty lemon-orange with light grapefruit. Large off-white head, deep golden-yellow with orange highlights. Medium bodied. Zesty orange-pine, a little spicy with some grapefruit in there. Delicious, lightly dry finish. On tap at Tangletown!
4.2

Elysian Perseus Porter
Coffee, roast and chocolate all very prominent, with hints of toast, biscuit and toffee. Deep chocolate color with espresso highlights. Light tan head. Medium bodied, but a little dry. Flavor similar to nose, but more caramel and stronger chocolate. Smooth rounded finish, but again, quite dry. Could use an edge one way or the other.
3.5

Elysian Dragonstooth Stout
Roasty, chocolately and warm nose, slight currants, berries and coffee. Deep espresso color, nice large tan head. Medium to full bodied. Flavors of chocolate, roast, coffee, currants, with light fig, toast and caramel. Really robust, slight warmth, mouthfilling and smooth, well rounded finish. Leaves you wanting another sip.
4.2

Elysian Immortal IPA
Lemony-orange zest, slightly resinous, with light spicy hop notes, toffee, caramel, and slight yeast-apple esters. Light orange with golden highlights, medium off white head. Light to medium body. Flavor similar to nose, but more caramel and orange, less esters, more creamy. Decent IPA, nothing to write home about.
3.7

The Session #28: Think/Drink Globally Story

2009-06-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

Here is my first posting for The Session, a monthly, interactive group activity/posting for Beer Bloggers. The theme is Think/Drink Globally for this month, and the description is as follows per Brian at Red White and Brew, this month's host:

So, in honor of Global Craft Beer Forever, I pose everyone writes about the farthest brewery (including brewpubs) you have visited and specifically the best beer you had there. Again, not your favorite or any old brewery you've been to, but the one that is the longest haul away, be it by airplane, car, ferry, rickshaw, whatever. (If you blog about beer but have never been to a House of Brewing, get on it!)

Then, the last part, since this exercise gives us an excuse to drink beer, do one of the following:if you brought home a bottle while visiting the brewery and have it secreted away, crack it open.if you don't have any left from that visit but the particular beer is available where you live (or if not your fave from said brewery, another brand from it), go get one.otherwise, find a local beer of the same style and do a little compare and contrast

And my account:

The furthest away from home I have been for freshly crafted beer would Brasserie St. Georges in Lyon, France.. I was there 3 years ago while visiting friends. It dates back to 1836 and is the place is amazing. Very old time feel, and the restaurant is enormous, with a great art-deco style. It also hold the world record for the world's largest sauerkraut and largest baked alaska ever served! It is definitely an institution, it gets mobbed every year for the Fesitval of Lights, Lyons Joie de Vivre, in December (pulling in 2,500 people!).

They had 3 beers on tap, a blonde, an ambree and a brune, which were all delicious. I was upset they didn't have a blanche, which many of the places in the region featured, but in any case, the beer profile in the region was quite simple and generally pretty solid. The ambree was hands down my favorite, slightly malty, lightly tart and biscutty, a slightly phenolic and spicy quality, and a very smooth finish.

I unfortunately have no beer remaining from the establishment, but I do have a glass with St. George on it slaying a dragon. Which is completely awesome.

I could find a few available comparisions to the Ambree at a local shop, but they would most likely be from Belgium or France in any case. Maybe Ommegang Rare Vos would really be the closest thing I could find commercially available to me that is made in the States. The only way to get something even close local without waiting for a brewpub to have it as a season offering would be to BYO, Brew Your Own, so I have a recipe at the bottom of this post.

One of the great things we found in Geneva and eventually Lyon was a brilliant style for serving beer: the column. I've heard the refered to as La Girafe as well, but more frequently La Colonne. They come in several sizes, but in general, are about a 48" high column of beer a little wider than the mouth of a pint glass. The column is clear and has a tap handle with a wide base at the bottom for stability (this is beer, after all!) Now, the place we went to in Geneva, it was much more of a party, drink a bunch of lager sort of place, so many tables had the Colonne set up. Brasserie St. Georges, however, probably had more wine drinkers in the house than beer. So when the column came out, some serious heads turned! We were without a doubt the white elephant in the room. Thank god we order the small one.

It is still so very interesting that so many places tout themselves as Brasseries in France that it is synonymous with "Cafe", and the brewing part has all but been forgotten. It was nice to be at a Brasserie for once that actually was one!

http://www.brasseriegeorges.com/

Recipe:

St. George Ambree
5 Gallon Batch

7 lbs Belgian Pilsner
1.75 lbs Malted Wheat (red if available)
1.5 lbs Honey Malt
1 lb Belgian Aromatic
10 oz Belgian Carvienne
4 oz Belgian Special B

Mash at 140 Degrees for 50 Minutes
Protien Rest at 120 Degrees for 20 Minutes

1 oz Hallertau (5% AA) at 60 Minutes
1 oz Hallertau (5% AA) at 15 Minutes

Ferment with Belgian Ale Yeast (White Labs WLP 550) at 72 Degrees for 1 week, rack to secondary, bottle at two weeks

Mash Efficency, 70%:

1.069 OG, 1.010 FG
IBU: 25
SRM: 13
ABV: 6.0

The Prescription May 2009: Bourbon and Porter and Chicken

2009-05-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

... oh my.

This month, a recipe for a Bourbon Barrel Smoked Porter to go with some Bourbon Honey Chicken. This recipe is a little heavier than last month, but is a good summer recipe for the grill. An ode to the grillmaster in all of us, if chicken isn't your thing, this could easily work well with pork, steak or even veggies (hobo style in a large foil packet on the grill? why not). In any case, mixing the marinade correctly and getting a good char on the food is key. I used a wok for mine. The BB Porter really serves as a good base for barbecue, already containing smoked malt, toasty oak, chocolate flavors, and a small amount of bourbon. What you won't get are the bitter, roasty, and warming aspects of the beer, which I've chosen to pair with sweet and spicy notes in the marinade and glaze.

Bourbon Honey Chicken
Serves One. Adjust accordingly for more.

Large Chicken Breast (I had a 3/4 lb boneless breast, adjust recipe accordingly)

Marinade:

1/4 Cup Bourbon Barrel Stout. See recipe below, or find your own at the local store.
1 tbsp hot sauce (I chose to use the ubiquitous Cholula)
1 tbsp worchester sauce2 tbsp honey (any kind should work, I just used Grade A Wildflower found in the "honey bear")

Set aside 1/3rd of the marinade for the glaze. Marinade breast for 45 minutes to 2 hours. Cook chicken thoroughly and develop a good char. Add 3 tbsp of honey to the rest of the marinade and top the chicken once cooked as a glaze.

Knockshock Bourbon Barrel Porter
5 Gallon Batch

9 lbs American 2-row
2.25 lbs Wyermann Smoked Malt

1.25 lbs Carafa

12 oz Munich

8 oz American Crystal 60L
10 oz American Chocolate
4 oz Amercian Black Patent
.25 Aromatic Malt

Mash at 143 Degrees for 50 minutes. Bring to boil.

Add 1 oz East Kent Goldings (6 AA) at 60 minutes.

Chill to 80 Degrees, pitch any "neutral yeast", aka, dry yeast or Calfornia Ale Yeast

Ferment for 5 Days, Transfer; at 2 weeks add 2 oz of American Medium Toast Oak chips, soaked in 4 oz of Jim Beam for 2-3 Weeks. Let sit in beer for 3 days, then bottle. Ready to drink at 1 month to let the oak-beam flavor meld. Also, before adding to the Beam, I would highly suggest boiling the chips 3-4 times (removing the water after each) to remove the tannins, and to toast them lightly in addition at the end to remove the water and add a nice, heavier toast to them. A good 20-40 minutes on a cookie sheet in a 350 degree oven should work nicely.

65% efficency

1.075 OG, 1.020 FG

27 IBU

36 SRM

April 2009

2009-05-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Lots of great beer events in April, including Belgian Beer month at the Toronado and Moylans and Deschutes at the Jug Shop . Pliny the Elder ... an old favorite, now in bottles and receiving pretty nice distribution. Napsmith coming out with some great stuff, light delicate ales, that harken back to a simpler time (you can catch them at the Jug Shop May 8th). Lots of Knockshock too, the simulated barrel beers are finished: Bourbon Barrel Smoked Porter, Barrel Aged Saison and Barrel Aged Blond.

Pliny the Elder

russian river brewery, IPA

Nose of fresh hops and resin, and bitterness. Hops have some pine but mostly grapefruit, orange and slight apple. Huge off white head. Light orange color with auburn highlights. Has some light legs. Mouthfeel is light. Fresh, strong pine and grapefruit flavors, pleasant background sweetness. Quite bitter but not lingeringly. Great fresh hop aspect for a bottled IPA. 4.6

Pikes IPA

pike place brewing

Nose of light esters, apple, more malt and toast balanced, with light toffee. Light orange zest in the background. Light to medium orange in color, with amber highlights. Light bodied. Delicious, balanced well between the hops and malt. Apple esters merge with orange, grapefruit hops well. Has a light lingering biterness in the finish. Nice version of a more British IPA, malt sweet esters balance well with the hops. 4.1

Alaskan IPA

alaskan brewery

Grassy nose, grapefruit, orange and definite lemon, with light resin quality. Full off-white head, light lace, medium to deep gold in color with orange highlights. Light bodied. Flavor more subdued, less grassiness, more orange and light malt-caramel sweetness, toffee residue. Medium to sweet finish, light bitterness. 3.7

Napasmith Pale Ale

napasmith brewery

Nose of light toast, biscuit, and esters, mostly apple and pear, with light pine-earthy hop in the background. Low off white head. Light gold in color with auburn highlights. Light body, rather dry. Lightly nutty flavor, with toast, caramel, biscuit and light hops, followed by apple and pear esters. Light finish, crisp but lightly creamy, with a light bitterness. Almost like a nice english bitter. Harkens to another era. 3.9

Herren Pils

braueri keesman

Nose of strong pilsner malt: biscuit and toast. Deep yellow color with golden highlights, bubbly off white head that disappears quickly. Light to medium body with a slight creaminess. Rather sweet beer up front, light malt, toast, bread, but is quickly followed by a harsh bitterness, hops in finish are really earthy. Lightly crisp, but bitter, finish. 3.3

Keyte Double Trippel

belgian dark strong ale, brouwerij strubbe

Soft malty nose: caramel, raisin, cherries, figs, with light banana and toffee. Deep tan, long lasting head; a little lace, but no legs. Slight haze, deep ruby color with chocolate highlights. A little slick on the palate, medium bodied. Sweet up front, with raisins, plums, soft malt and caramel, leading into a tart cherry finish. Nice complexity to this beer, a "musty" one with still really strong character. 4.3

The Prescription: April 2009

2009-04-08T13:08:00.001-07:00

I've decided to begin a month post focusing on beer and food recipes that pair together as a meal. Lets call it the Prescription.

This month, a recipe for a Belgian Red Rye to go with a Dijon Chicken Apple Salad. A nice spring dish you can easily make yourself, and an ode to Eastern France and Belgium. The pleasant fruit and estery flavors pair well with the sweet apple sausage, honey and pears, while the slightly bitter rye and bitter, citrus hops works off of the argula, walnuts and dijon. A good substitue for the beer would be a Saison (Dupont or Foret) , or possibly a more bitter Belgian Blond.

Dijon Chicken Apple Salad
Serves One. Adjust accordingly for more.

Nice Bed of Arugula (4 cups?)
1 Chicken Apple Sausage (any local one will do). Or make your own!
1 Red Anjou Pear
1/4 Cup Chopped Walnuts

Honey Dijon Vinagrette
-1/4 cup Olive Oil
-1/4 cup Basalmic Vinegar
-1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
-2 TBSP Honey
-1 TBSP Cracked Pepper

Pan Fry Apple Sausage, cut into 1/2" cubes.
Core Pear, slice into 1/4" thick pieces
Top Arugala with sausage, walnuts, pears, and vinagrette.

Gregors Belgian Red Rye Ale
4.5 Gallon Batch

9 lbs American 2-row
2.25 lbs Rye Malt
.75 lbs Crystal 150L
.50 lbs Cara-Pils
.5 lbs Cara-Munich Malt
.25 Aromatic Malt

Mash at 143 Degrees for 50 minutes.

.5 oz Magnum 16% AA First Wort Hop
.5 oz Magnum 16% AA at 60 Minutes
.5 oz Amarillio Gold at 10 Minutes
.5 oz Amarillio Gold at 5 Minutes

Chill to 80 Degrees, pitch WLP550 Belgian Ale Yeast

Ferment for 5 Days, Transfer, Bottle at 2 weeks.

The classic "what beer are you" quiz, with a twist

2009-04-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I was hesitant to do it, but the dismal quality of "What beer are you" quizzes out there left me .... well, pissed. I had to at least attempt my own, obviously focused on styles rather than beers themselves. You can find it here

note: need to be a facebook user to use this quiz, as far as I can tell.

March 2009

2009-03-18T10:25:00.001-07:00

Following the Irish Tradition, I had lots of new stouts and porters this month. Even tried a Guiness Stout Float for the first time, with Ben + Jerry's Americone Dream. And yes, everyone is right, it does taste like Dr. Pepper.

Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quadrupel

Belgain Quadrupel laid over cherries and barrel aged.

Nose of cherries, vanilla, plum, oak and raisin. Light sour, tartness, funk and earth. Amber color with chocolate highligts, light tan head with definite lace and legs. Medium bodied. Flavor pronouncably bourbon and caramel, with cherries, vanilla, oak and toffee filling in between. Finish is dry, lightly bitter and light warming. The 11.2 ABV is hidden very well in this beer, I don't know how long they've aged it, but it is perfectly blended and ready to drink now. Delicious, intense yet smooth, and incredibly unique beer, my favorite so far this year. 4.6

Anchor Porter

2 Year Old Bottle, signed by Fritz Himself

Strong, sweet caramel, chocolate, definite toast and bread and yeast, light spiciness. Deep espresso color with golden highlights, and a thick, deep tan head. Rich, medium to full mouth. Really strong caramel, dried fruit and chocolate flavors. , with light and pleasant oxidized flavor in the background, adding notes of cherries and pepper. A smooth, rounded finish. A much more rounded option than the fresh, less robust flavors of chocolate and caramel, more complex. 4.7

Schlafy's Bourbon Barrel Stout

Nose of toast, oak, molasses, plums, and a definite warmth, but not really fusel. Very deep chocolate color with ruby highlights, rich, off-white head. Rich, medium to full mouth. Strong chocolate, malt and molasses flavors, with light bourbon, toast and vanilla in the background, and note of earthy hops in the finish. Definite warmth and light alcohol flavor. Medium finish, lightly creamy, not to bitter, and very warm going down. This is a solid, robust BB stout, and although they said this is ready to drink now, I would lay this down for a least a year to let the heat subside. 4.0

Dogfish Head Chickory Stout

Nose of strong roast, toast, coffee; light molasses, licorice and chocolate. Color deep brown, almost black, with a thick tan head, seems opaque. Medium to full mouthfeel. Roast, toast, vanilla, coffee, and light toffee, chicory, earth. The finish is reather creamy, with a light lingering spiciness and bitteresss. Overall, definitely chocolate all around with a unique spiciness from the chicory, similar experience to a New Orleans Iced Coffee, but more robust. 4.2

Firestone Walker Reserve Robust Porter

Nose of toffee, caramel, light chocolate, almond and earthy hops. Dark brown with golden highlights, rather opawue, medium lasting off-whilte head, medium body. Nutty flavor, almonds, pecans, with toffee, then hints of chocolate, toast and coffee. Finish is smooth, lightly bitter but not lingering. Rather on the Brown side or Porter than Robust in my opinon, but still pretty solid. 3.6

Lagunitas Imperial Stout

Nose of caramel, bitter chocolate, roast, and a definite fusel character with a light warmth, dried fruits and plums. Jet black, fast disappating off-white head. Rather medium to light mouthfeel, but slick. Flavors of chocolate, coffee, raisins, plums, earth, molasses, allspice, and a light roastiness. Some harshness, and definite some warmth, with a earthy hop flavor at the end. Lingeringly bitter finish, slick and warm in the throat. This beer doesn't have enough complexity or robust flavors to hide the alcohol behind, I'd say cellar this a year or two and try again, but I'm not holding my breath. 3.3.

Stone Old Guardian Barleywine

Nose of caramel, citrus and earthy hops; light resins, phenols and alcohol definitely in the background. Light chocolate and toffee notes. Amber color, with ruby highlights, and a light tan head, thick and lasting, light legs. Medium to light mouthfeel. Flavor of caramel, malt, resin, citrus-orange, and pine. Very lingeringly bitter finish, zezty, with some warming going down. Good barleywine, definitely can tell Stone's signature on this with the hops (NW variety) and malts (Maris Otter) used, and the heat this packs is hidden well. Possibly a more intense hop character or unique grain used to give an edge would be great, but this is pretty solid. 3.9

Charlesville Trippel Wit

Nose of vanilla, bubblegum, pear, light malt and phenolic warmth in back, with caramel and light orange. Medium body, light creaminess. Strong malt and caramel flavor, with hints of banana, pear, honey, corainder and orange. Finish light an bitter. A little too much of a hefe-yeast character to this one, but enjoyable. 3.8

Maredsous Dubbel #8

Plum, raisin, fig, toffee, fusel and light orange. Chocolate color with amber hues, medium off white head that goes away quickly. Quite thin mouthfeel. Flavor of plums, cherries, figs, caramel and light citrus. The finish is very bitter. Seems like this is fermented to quickly, at too high of a temperature, or the yeast is too attenuative. Dryness, thin body and fusels all point to this. Citrus hops a little to much for an abbey. 2.4

Abita Abbey Ale

Nose of clove, white pepper, figs, licorice, pear. Garnett color with ruby highlights, thick, light beige rocky head. Rather dry mouthfeel. Flavors of cherries, raisins, plums, toffee, light pear and a slight funk. The finish is rather dry, and lightly bitter. Dryier and less malt forward than most abbey ales, but quite nice. 4.0

Abita Andgator

Helles Dopplebock

Nose of bubblegum, banana, soap and light grain. Light yellow with golden highlights, tiny bubbles, medium, off white rock head with some lace. Medium to full mouthfeel. Strong malt, toffee and toast flavors, light melanoidan complexity, creamy. Light to medium bitter finish. Confused beer, yeast profile of wheat but the malt complexity of a dopplebock. 2.8

Label of the Month

Brew Dog Tasting

2009-03-18T10:22:00.003-07:00

The Jug Shop had a Brew Dog tasting Friday, as they had just started carrying their line. Brew Dog is a craft brewery from scotland, and they finally have gotten their production of their award winning beers up to capacity to ship to the states. They have a lineup of three rather pale ales, and a robust imperial stout, which they love to age in scotch casks. I couldn't expect any less from Scots, would you?

The lineup started with the Physics, a lightly complex amber ale that won at the 2007 World Beer awards for best strong pale ale. Nice start. The Punk IPA was next. They explained it as "not being west coast style", but it nonetheless showcased the hops more than any other beer, had a nice light body and lingering bitterness, and was my favorite of the lightest ales. The hardcore was next, which was much too sweet and had a crisis in hop identity. The Rip Tide was definitely delicious, roasty, very nutty, smooth and warm, I can see why they used this as their base beer in the casks: it has enough to stand on its own, but not so much flavor and complexity to fight with the barrel. It was also a 2007 World Beer awards for best imperial stout.

Now, about those barrels? Thats what we're all after, isn't? We've had pale ales and stouts. We've even had beers on wine and bourbon barrels - but scotch barrels? The Pardox line does just that. They had two from the Pardox line, which takes the Rip Tide stout and lays them on casks for 6 months. The ones they had this time were on Glen Moray 1991 Speyside Casks and on Ardbeg 1991 Islay Cask. They also used the Islay cask to make a Storm IPA. The Storm was very distinct, possibly more suited for the name Pardox, as the Peat and the thin, hoppy IPA are really a dichotomy. The Pardox Islay was incredibly unique, and the flavor were much more melded together, the peat and the chocolate. The Pardox Speyside was hands down the winner for the night, and the only one on sale, at $13 a 12oz bottle (yeouch!). It is very deep, complex, almost port-like, but smoother and less sweet, and brandy like, but richer and thicker. The Speyside will soon be gone, on to different casks, looking forward to seeing what cask they can throw at us next.

The Physics
American Amber
Nose of toffee, biscuit, light earthy hops. Medium to light orange, dry, light body. Light toffee and caramel, but mostly bread, grain and fruity esters, plum and pear, with light earthy, pine and citrus in the end. Very nice take on a bitter with an American slant. 3.9

Punk IPA
American IPA
Earthy-pine-citrus nose, light yeast esters. Really resinous. Light amber color. Very dry mouthfeel. Flavor very resinous, similar to the nose, with more orange and light grapefruit. Light biscuit, grainy background. Lingering bitter finish. 3.8

Hardcore IPA
Imperial IPA
Overt resin and fruity nose, grapefruit, banana, caramel, orange, biscuit. Deep orange color with rouge highlights. Medium bodied. Very carmel, biscuit flavor, with strong bubblegum, orange and tropical fruits. Light warming, with a rather sweet finish. Really to intese and confused. 2.8

Rip Tide Stout
Imperial Stout
Chocolate, roast, cream and light cherry flavors in the nose. Deep chocolate color, almost black. Creamy, silky mouthfeel, very nice. Flavor is very nutty, toffe, chocolate, cream, espresso, toast and light cherry. Light bitter finish. 3.9

Storm IPA
Barrel Aged IPA
Complex nose, peat, toast, vanilla, grain and cistrus hops. Pale amber color with gold highlights. Very dry mouthfeel, slightly puckering, with strong peat flavors, followed by toast, oak, vanilla and citrus. Lingering bitter and puckering finish. Couldn't drink a lot of this, but one of a kind. 4.1

Paradox Islay
Barrel Aged Stout
Rich nose, chocolate, roast, peat, toast, vanilla, molasses, light cherry. Deep chocolate color, ruby highlights. Rich yet dry mouthfeel. Strong chocolate, molasses, peat and toast flavors, with hints of cherry, vanilla. Medium to dry finish. Really adds an edge to the rich, creamy stout, and some complexity, but not entirely sold. 3.7

Paradox Speyside
Barrel Aged Stout
Almost a brandy like nose, with sweet caramel, dried fruits, cherries, grapes, spice, licorice, tannins, and light bread, toast and peat. Deep chocolate color with an amber hue. Medium mouthfeel, very rich. Flavors of chocolate, dried fruits, cherry, grapes, pepper, clove, peat and vanilla. Warming, bitter and medium to dry finish. Stellar. 4.4

Knockshock Brewing Collaborative - Brew Day

2009-03-18T10:22:00.001-07:00

Jobless and pinching pennies, what better idea, as six packs of craft beer are reaching $7 ON SALE, than to take up the DIY spirit and brew your own? I've been homebrewing for almost 5 years now, and doing all-grain batches for 4, and at roughly 50 cents a beer, what better to do on a weekday afternoon than a couple of 5 gallon batches? My Knockshock Brewing companion Greg and I have moved on to additional money saving measures, including doing low hop beers or using increased alpha acid hops, using simple grain bills with mostly affordable, American 2-row malt, and reusing yeast by pitching off slurries (up to 6 times or so.)

I've been writing my own recipes for a few years now after taking inspiration and learning how to build a beer from Ray Daniels great book Designing Great Beers. And with a program such as the Recipator or ProMash, calculating your grain bill and results (ABV, IBU and SRM) become quite simple. Granted, there are some factors that vary, such the mash efficiency and fermentation temperature, that the limited system cannot account for. C'est la vie. I've tried replicating batches, and simply put, with an all grain system at the scale we are producing these beers, it is virtually impossible. So I've embraced this spirit and rarely make a beer twice. Generally, if it turns out so good the first time that I want to make it again, it invariably disappoints.

In any case, here are some photos of the most recent brewing activity, and recipes of those beers if you would like to try them at home yourself. I've been brewing once a week for three weeks strong, should have a nice stash showing up in a few months. I'll keep you posted of how they turn out.

A brew with a view

Knockshock Sour Brown

really a take on Russian River's Supplication. I love this beer, and couldn't find any ideas out there to base my recipe on, so this is my stab at it. It doesn't have a lot of the bugs that Supplication has, but it is really in the spirit of light, refreshing sour beers with a bit of malt complexity and depth, like of you revisit my Sours and Chocolate night.

8 lbs American 2-row

1.5 lbs Wheat Malt

1 lb Carapils

12 oz Belgain Aromatic

6 oz Belgian Biscuit

4 oz Honey Malt

Mashed at 148 degrees for 1 hour.

Added 1 oz of Hallertau Pellet Hops, 3.8 AA, at 60 minutes

Cooled to 120 degrees, added White Labs Lactobacillus Delbrukii to the wort directly into a glass primary.

Pitched White Labs Belgian Ale yeast slurry the next morning. Transferred after 7 days to glass secondary.

Add 4 oz french oak, medium toast, soaked in chardonnay for 2 weeks, after 14 days.

Bottling TBD, probably at 1 month.

Sparge: rising the sugars off the grains

Spigot controls the flow of the sweet wort

Knockshock Sour Saison x5

This is another one of our 5x experiments. The first took place three years ago, using a base wort of 5 gallons with 5 different hopping schedules. I can't say it was easy, or went off without flaw. Boiling 5 different little 1 gallon worts certainly increases some of the idiosyncrasies of homebrewing: different gravities for each running, more kettle carmelization, different hop utiliztion rates. Not to mention how much of a pain in the ass it is to boil 5 batches, then transfer them, and the bottle off of each. However, this one seemed much simpler: same wort, same hops, same primary yeast - but different secondary yeasts. Each a different sour beer contributor. We've included Brett Bruxxelis in three beers, wild bacteria in two, Ommegedon dregs in one and oak in another. The base beer was formulated to be a pretty neutral, saison like beer (honey malt = funk), with a west coast citrus blanket of Amarillo to balance the sourness, much like many of the nouveau sour beers, like Ommengang Ommegedon, de Proef Signature ales, ect.

8 lbs American 2-row
2 lbs Malted Wheat
.75 Honey Malt
.25 American Vienna
.25 Flaked Barley

50 Minute mash at 145 degrees. 20 Minute Mash out at 120 degrees.

.5 oz Amarillio 10 AA, at 60 Minutes
.75 oz Amarillo, 10 AA, at 20 Minutes
1 oz Amarillo, 10 AA, at 5 Minutes

Cooled to 80 degrees, Pitched White Labs Belgian Ale. Transferred after one week to glass secondary. One week later to 5-1 gallon tertiaries, and bottled 1/6th of it as a control group (to taste the difference between the bugs).

Added a beer of 2 lbs wheat DME beer to 5 other jugs (needed additional gravity for the bugs, the Belgian had attenuated too much):

#1 with Brett Brux
#2 with Brett Brux and Oak
#3 with Brett Brux + exposed for a night 1 week in
#4 with Ommegedon Dregs
#5 with Infected Grain Juice left out for a night.

Bottle when deemed "ready".

Wort Boil on the Propane Burner

Mmm, wort.

Chiller porn

Knockshock Bourbon Barrel Smoked Porter

I've done a couple of smoked porters, one just straight up and another with figs added (which was a hot mess, but delicious). Either case, I wanted a little extra punch to this one, and have experimented with simulated barrel aging before (a peat smoked disaster ... one of my only two or three straight up awful calls in my 5 year history), I decided this was the beer to do it with. There is always a question of smoking your own, what type of smoke flavoring, and how much to use. There is certainly a wide range of opinions, but I've found that using Wyermanns Smoked Malt is a pretty safe way to go. They use beechwood, and is pretty mild, and you can use it for between 10 and 25 percent of the grist for a smoked porter, depending on your smoke tolerance and grain bill. As for the barrel aging, I would love to have the space and money for a barrel, but for now I have to go for the simulation. Once again, much debate, do you use chips, cubes, old staves? I go for the American Oak chips, which have a huge surface area, and leave them in a minimal time, probably 3 days, after boiling, toasting them, and letting them spend a week in beam. A few ounces will do. Again, if this was an Imperial Porter, I'd probably go for more chips and/or longer contact, but use caution.

9 lbs American 2-row
2.25 lbs Wyermanns Smoked Malt
1.25 lbs Carafa Malt
12 oz American Munich
10 oz American Chocolate
8 oz American Crystal 60L
4 oz Black Patent Malt

Mash at 145 Degrees for 1 hour.

Add 1 oz 9.0 Columbus Hops at 60 Minutes

Ferment for 1 week, transfer, add hops 3 days before bottling, roughly 2 weeks later.

Bourbon Barrel Porter with the Mash Tuns

Airlock: to keep the bugs out (when desired)

February 2009

2009-03-02T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ten Fidty and Telegraph Wheat at City Beer

well, February 2009 was quite the month, Strong Ale month and SF Beer week provided a plethora of refreshing, tasty and humbling new beers. Here are a few that are new to report for the month:

Drakes Imperial Stout Slight malt, molasses and currant, but mostly chocolate, caramel and roast. Medium to light mouthfeel, a very bronze to black color. Flavors of roast, caramel, toast, with chocolate, coffee and toffee highlights. Definite warmth. Somewhat slick and medium bitterness in the finish. 4.0

Oskar Blues Ten Fidty
Imperial Stout, in a can!
Vanilla, chocolate, malt, caramel and definite graham cracker in the nose. Medium bodied, jet black, a little slick on the tounge. Flavors of chocolate, cream, toffee, light vanilla. Slight bitterness in the middle, but overall a creamy, slightly sweet finish. 3.9

Dikke Mathile
Belgium Amber Ale
Nose of toast, pear, apple, slight banana. Light amber color, light haze, with slight gold and orange highlights. Light nutty flavor, banana, pear, light earth and citrus. Light to medium bitter finish, slightly creamy. Nice, balanced Beligum Amber. 3.8

Port Midnight Sessions
Black ale - Schwartzbier
Nose of chocolate, toast, slight roast and yeast. Medium to thick body, deep black with deep garnett highlights. Flavors of roast, toast and light chocolate. Light finish, slightly thick. 3.8

New Belgium Lips of Faith
Dark Kriek ale with Cherries
Nose of cherries, caramel, sour fruit, berries, oak and toast. Deep amber with garnett highlights, light haze, off white but quickly disappating head. Light to thin body. Flavors of sour cherries, caramel, oak, toffee, light grain and sweet-tart. Lightly puckering finish. Could use some more complexity, but a nice beginning. 3.7

Alesmith Anvil ESB
Nose of strong toffee, light malt and toast, and hints of dried fruit. Garnett color with a light orange tinge, light bodied. Flavors of toffee, toast, light vanilla and apple esters. Lightly dry and malty finish. 3.6

Widmer 2009 Brewers Reserve
Belgium Golden Ale
Nose of toast, toffee, and strong banana and pear esters. Clear, deep gold with orange highlights, off white but disappating head. Flavors of grain, carmel, banana, pear and light citrus in the finish. Very light "band aid" flavor from the phenolics. Light sweetness to this beer that ends with a rather bitter finish. 3.4

Josephbrau Winterfest
Dopplebock Nose of chocolate, roast, smoke, dried fruits. Deep brown color with golden highlights, medium to full bodied. Flavors of chocolate, roast, caramel, smoke, toast, banana, pear. Light oxidation. Finish is medium, light bitterness over the sweetness. 3.0

Lost Abbey Avant Garde
Biere de Garde
Nose of apple, caramel, toffee and cherries. Medium bodied, deep gold color with orange highlights, low head. Flavors mostly toffee, toast, caramel and slight yeast esters. Finish is sweet, mild, creamy. Really needs more farmhouse and yeast character. 2.5

Peek into the Coolers at City Beer

SF Beer Week 2009: Odds and Ends

2009-02-18T16:17:00.001-08:00

A few odds and ends to note for the Beer Week 2009 wrap up. It was great, so many highlights as previously mentioned, but here were a few treats I didn't note:

SF Beer Week Official Beer: Original Albion Ale
This beer has a lot of history, as being the first brewpub in California and the second in the nation. Later taken over by Mendicino Brewing Company, this brewpub followed the spirit of Anchor Steam in the late 70s by resurrecting forgotten beer styles in America and focusing on the craft rather than the mass produced and "drinkable" nature of light lagers. Napasmith now makes this beer, with one of the original brewers, Don Barkley, at the helm. Quite a piece of craft brewing history.

Original Albion Ale
Extra Pale Ale
Nose of toast, biscuit, yeast esters, notably pear and apple. Deep gold in color. Off white, fast dissipating head. Flavor of toast, pear, light orange and lemon. Very delicate, rather dry finish. Almost like a light wheat ale with more hops. 3.6

Homemade Framboise: La Frappe
This was one of the most labor intensive brews I had made, and it has been rapidly approaching its 2nd year since production. A framboise, or raspberry lambic, I used some spontaneous fermentation methods, including a sour mash, ale yeast fermentation, and open fermentation in my closet to pick up some brett. In addition, 7 months in I added 6 pounds of organic raspberries. Bottling after 10 months. I've had this one in the closet for near 2 years now, I wanted to see how it aged. Definitely a treat, this beer has an intense sour and raspberry flavor, with light barnyard and lactic notes. Now only if I could get the haze away and get some more carbonation the next time.

La Frappe
Fruit Lambic
Nose of raspberries, light cherry and sweetness and some funk, light sourness. Deep raspberry in color, very hazy and almost opaque. Very low and dissipating head. Mouthfeel rather creamy and low carbonation. Strong raspberry and sour flavors, with some sweetness in the finish and light lactic quality. Flavors are there, slightly off, but much too creamy and low on carbonation. 2.9

Stone Smoked Porter with Chocolate Cake and Bannana Ice Cream
This was a nice treat after Beer Week was over that I had at Boccadilos. The beer was recommended to go with some smoked salmon. This pairing was fine, but maybe a lighter smoked beer could have gone a bit better, or beer with the usual alder smoked malt to match the salmon. However, when the warm chocolate cake and banana ice cream came out, they really played off each other: cold and hot together, smoke and fruit, sweet chocolate and bitter chocolate-coffee. Lovely.

Stone Smoked Porter
A rich, dark and delicious porter with chocolate and coffee overtones accented by a subtle smokiness from just the right amount of peat smoked malt. Unlike a rauchbier, the "smoke" in Stone Smoked Porter is an ELEMENT of the character rather than being THE character.
Nose of caramel, chocolate and smoke, light roast and coffee. Deep chocolate, close to black but not quite there, off white and dissipating head. Medium body, little light on the palate. Smokiness in the flavor very subdued, caramel and light chocolate are in the forefront, with light molasses, coffee, toast, and hints of dried fruit esters. Finishes on the sweet rather than dry end.. 3.7

Beer Week Part 6: Southern Style Dinner

2009-02-18T14:51:00.001-08:00

...with some of my own beer pairings.

My friend Scott had a few of us over for some gourmet southern style cooking Sunday evening. I opted to bring a few beers over to try to pair some of them with the dishes. As I saw Oysters, Fried Chicken, and sprouts, I thought that Saison DuPont would be a pretty brilliant pairing with these. In addition, I brought a light, fruity amber over, Ommegang's Rare Vos, to pair with some of the richer items, including the biscuits and gravy, prawns, deviled eggs and the fennel, blood orange and kiwi salad.

Saison Dupont
Saison Dupont is a classic Belgian farmhouse ale. This is a beautifully balanced, complex beer that has a refreshing fruitiness and long, dry finish. It is bottled unfiltered so it may be cloudy or have a slight sediment but this is normal and perfectly natural.
Nose of bitter orange, clove, white pepper, and light grapefruit, biscuit, grain and bubblegum. Huge off-white head, deep straw color, quite hazy. Medium to large mouthfeel, due to very well carbonation. Flavors similar to nose, but more pears, apples and bubblegum, and slight earth. Finish is very bitter, dry and lingering. One of a kind. 4.6

The DuPont paired very well with the oysters. Most people will tell you stout with oysters, but I prefer this, it is almost like ginger with sushi, as it cleanses the palette quite well after the oyster, and the fruitiness and phenolics pair very well with the subtle, fishy and lemon flavors in the oyster.

The chicken was less successful, but good. This beer is probably better with roasted chicken, although the bitterness cut the light greasy aspect of the fried chicken well. The light spiciness and chicken flavor went really smooth. Something slightly richer would go well, maybe a English ESB?

The sprouts charred bitterness clashed with the DuPont a bit. They were almost too flavorful, something much more plainly bitter (a pilsner) or possibly even a malty amber would have proved better, lots of the subtlety of the saison was lost on this pairing.

and onto the vos
Ommengang Rare Vos
Belgian Amber Ale.Rare Vos is flemmish for "Sly Fox," and the name of one of Brussels’ great cafes. It has a sweetly fruity malt character and yeasty spiciness. A fine dose of yeast permits the beer to mature and mellow in the bottle.
Nose of toast, biscuit, light toffee and esters, pear, apple and light orange. Medium to light mouthfeel, mostly carbonation filling it. Flavors of biscuit, toast, light toffee, pears, apple, light white pepper and clove. Rather dry and light mouthfeel at the finish, more toast and biscuit than esters and phenols. 3.8

The vos paired well with the salad the best: the orange, kiwi and fennel worked so well with the esters and phenolics and light bitterness and toast in the Vos. The prawns a close runner up, as the spiciness and fish paired with the bitterness and phenols of the beer.

It paired less successfully with the deviled eggs and biscuits and gravy. The richness of these items may have done better with an IPA (deviled eggs) or a rich porter or stout (biscuits and mushroom gravy), something less delicate and more in contrast. Nonetheless, they were still all quite delicious.

SF Beer Week Part 5: Kellerbier and Stout Brulee

2009-02-15T12:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday found me serving as designated driver to several wineries in Sonoma. Rainy, lightly cold and a rather winding adventure, the highlight of the day for me was being treated to a meal and a beer at Hopmonk Tavern in beautiful downtown Sebastopol. A mid sized tavern, the real treat seemed like summer days and evenings on the patio. Nonetheless, the meal was fantastic. I got the Hopmonk Kellerbier, an unfiltered Pilsner taken from the cellar before lagering, and the Ham and Cheese with Tomato Bisque soup. They paired quite well together, the savory ham and cheese with the creamy soup and rather sweet Kellerbier. They also had a Pale ale and Dunkelwizen on tap, along with a handful of local and exotic favorites. I'm assuming this is THE place to drink beer in Sebastopol.

Hopmonk Kellerbier
unfiltered Pilsner
Nose of toast, grain, light sweetness and apple. Hazy yellow to light gold in color, medium to light body. Biscuit, light malt, grain, light citrus hops. Medium finish. Lingeringly too sweet. 3.4

The main treat may have been a Stout Brulee featuring North Coast's Old 38 Stout. Crystalized sugar on top with a rich, chocolately and creamy pudding beneath, almost like cross between creme brulee and mousse.

SF Beer Week Part 4: Flanders and Chocolate and Barrels

2009-02-15T12:29:00.001-08:00

Thursday began at City Beer, where we got there early to squeeze in for the Sour Beer and Bitter Chocolate night. For $25, we got drink tickets for 6 4 oz tastes of Flanders Style Sour Red ales and all the TCHO bitter chocolate we could handle. TCHO, a local Chocolatier dedicated to deliciously bitter and sustainable, free trade chocolate, had four of their offerings in shaved form there: "Nutty", "Chocolatey", "Fruity" and "Citrus". They weren't specifically paired with the sour red ales, but overall, the "nutty" one paired poorly and the "citrus" paired hands down the best, really playing off the cherry and sour-tart flavors in the beers. Most Importantly, I had the chance to finally try the infamous New Belgium La Folie, over a year old according to Craig. Most of the beer offerings in the lineup were that old, which was a good age to taste, and having all six in a row was a great way to compare, contrast and judge each of these beers. I had tasted two of them night before, after all. The supplication was the only one really out of the style range, as more of a fruit lambic in my opinion than a sour red due to the fermentation. And unfortunately only two were new to me, but I'll list them all here. The Dissident, upon additional review, was the standout here.

New Belgium La Folie
This is New Belgium Brewing's interpretation of a traditional Belgian Sour Brown. This unique beer has been peacefully aging in oaken barrels for several years.
Sharp nose of tart cherries, currants, lemon and light caramel. Body light to thin, orange to light amber in color. Strong cherries flavor, dried fruit, light toast, tart raspberries, very light toast and apple. Light to medium acidity. Incredibly dry finish, tart, very lingering. 4.4

Ommegang Grand Cru Rouge
Flanders Red ale aged for 18 months in oak.
Nose of cherries, malt, tart fruit, plums. Medium to dry mouthfeel, amber to mahogany in color. Very strong cherry, citrus, and light malt, toffee and toast. 3.9

Russian River Supplication
Brown ale aged in Pinot Noir wine barrels for one year with sour cherries, Brettanomyces yeast, and Lactobacillus & Pedicoccus bacteria.
Nose of barnyard, oak, cherries and light toffee and toast. Very light mouthfeel, light gold with ruby highlights. Flavor very sour, tart, honey, toast, fruit, pears. Very dry, puckering, lightly bitter finish. One of a kind sour. 4.4

Itchgems Grand Cru Rouge
Flemish Red ale aged in Oak Barrels
Nose of cherries, raspberries, light oak, toast and vanilla. Very light body, slightly hazy and amber in color. Definite a pucker. Pears, lemon, toffee, light oak, and strong cherry in the finish. Very dry, not so lingering though. 3.7

Rodenbach Grand Cru
Flemish Red ale aged in Oak Barrels
Intensely sour ale with a mild malty background. Nose of dark cherries, berries, plums, currants, wood, earth and definite barnyard. Mouthfeel is very puckering and acidic, slightly thin but still rich. Additional notes of caramel, oak, plums, chocolate. Has a slight vinous quality, and the tartness lasts past the finish. 3.9

Deschutes The Dissident
Fermented for more than 18 months in isolation from the rest of the beers, The Dissident is a distinctive Oud Bruin, Flanders-style brown ale, with a fruity aroma and flavor, the first wild yeast beer made by the award-winning Deschutes Brewery.
Powerful yet smooth sour brown ale. Nose is of dark cherries, raisins, figs, plums, toffee and chocolate. Medium bodied and mouth filling, with a tart and slightly tannic aspect to it. Flavors similar to the nose, but slightly more wood, earth and slight toast and caramel. Not overtly farmhouse or barnyard, the brett flavor is subdued, but the sourness and cherries pervade. 4.5

After the Flanders and Chocolates we made our way down to 21st Amendment where we tried out some 21A Strong Beer Month and Elysian Barrel Aged "Got Wood" offerings. I won't say I was blown away on any of the Oaked offerings, especially the 21A one, it seems like many may have been chipped for a short period. In any case, these were some rich, strong ales, and $4 got you a pretty damn full snifter. Also, it was awesome to see that more TCHO chocolate was in store in the 21A Imperial Chocolate Porter!

21A Hop Crisis on Oak
IIPA on Oak
Aroma of Grapefruit, vanilla, light toast and toffee. Light bodied, slightly thick, deep orange color. Orange, light toast, light toffee, biscuit and vanilla. Light bitter finish, somewhat acidic, not too lingering. A nice IIPA with notes of Oak, at 11.2 ABV alcohol well concealed. 4.1

21A 2005 Strong "Oaked"
Barleywine on Oak
Nose of oak, malt, strong currant, toffee, caramel and light apple. Medium to light body, slightly silky. Deep garnet with ruby highlights. Complex flavor, caramel, toast, chocolate, currants, cherries, light pear. Medium to thick finish and sweetness. 3.8

Elysian Bi-Frost
Winter Ale on Oak
Aromas of vanilla, toast, pear, lemon. Medium body, creamy, light orange hue. Strong flavors of grapefruit, orange, toast, pear, light vanilla. Medium finish, slightly slick. 3.6

Elysian Jack Frost
IIPA on Oak
Nose of orange, alcohol, slight toffee, toast, dried fruits. Light orange to deep gold hue, medium body with some viscosity to it. Orange, grapefruit are powerful in the flavor, slight toffee, currants. 3.7

21A Double Trippel
Belgian Imperial IPA.
Nose of pepper, earth, pine, light orange and lemon, toast, toffee. Medium to light body, light amber color. Flavor is overwhelmingly citrus, lemon and orange, with white pepper, banana, pear, earth, wood, pine flavors in there. Complex hop profile, backed by a light phenolic yeast profile. Medium finish, very smooth and not overtly bitter as expected. 3.9

21A Ripple Imperial Chocolate Porter
Made with TCHO chocolate
Nose of cocoa, roast, caramel, light dried fruits and molasses. Medium bodied, jet black. Flavor very similar to nose, more chocolate and roast, less caramel, slight apple ester to it. Medium to dry finish, medium bitterness but not lingering. 4.2

SF Beer Week Part 3: Sours and Belgians and Cheese

2009-02-12T15:16:00.001-08:00

What could be better than a bar with Russian River tap handles two rows deep? Ommegang and local cheese piggybacked on top of it. I missed the madness Tuesday night, but they still had all of the Russian River beers on tap sans 1 (Erudition ... we shall meet one day soon). There were at least four new to me, along with many of my barrel aged sour favorites. Once the line died down to the "secret room" in the back of the Toronado (I had no idea) where they kept the Ommengang wares, I jumped in to get two of my favorites, Three Philosphers and Grand Cru Rouge, paired with local cheeses.

Three Philosophers
Belgian Quadrupel with Cherries, Three Philosophers is a remarkable limited edition strong ale brewed by Brewery Ommegang in response to a home brewer’s description of his dream beer. Realbeer.com, the internet’s largest beer website, hosted a contest called “Create a Great Beer.” Brewery Ommegang was chosen by Realbeer.com to brew the Belgian-style ale for the winning essayist. Noel Blake, a home brewer from Portland wrote the winning description for what his “dream beer” would be like.
Malts, caramel and slight berries, notably cherries and raspberries. Medium amber color, slightly slick and medium to light body. Toffee, caramel, light pear, orange and cherries. Medium finish, light sweetness but not distracting. 3.7

with Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy Queso De Mano
Very nutty, and creamy, funky and toasty. Rather firm and slightly tangy-bitter finish. Not an awful pairing but would have loved something smoother, nuttiness pairs pretty well though.

Grand Cru Rouge
Flanders Red ale aged for 18 months in oak.
Nose of cherries, malt, tart fruit, plums. Medium to dry mouthfeel, amber to mahogany in color. Strong cherry, citrus, and light malt, toffee and toast. 3.9

with Brie
closest description I could find. Very creamy, light lactic, smooth, milk, light mold and bitterness. Pairs well as more of a counterpart to the strong malt and sour flavors in the beer.

here were a few of the Russian River offerings that were new to me ...

Defenestration
"Hoppy belgian ale"
Nose of strong orange, slight grapefruit and esters, notablely pears. Light body, light orange color. Really strong grapefruit flavor, orange, toast, and apples. Dry finish, lingeringly bitter. This really seems like one of their IPA passed off as a Belgian, maybe with a Abbey yeast strain. 3.8

Damnation #23
Trippel on Oak Chips
Nose of malt, vanilla, pear, light citrus and oak. Light gold to yellow in color, medium to thick mouthfeel. Sweet malts, honey, toast, biscuit, vanilla, oak and light pear esters. Medium finish, slightly sweet, low bitterness. Interesting take, maybe a bit drier and more oak, still slight cloying nature to it. More complex but less enjoyable than the standard Damnation Golden Strong. 3.7

Mortification
Belgian Quadrupel
Nose of dried fruits, caramel, chocolate, cherries, boysenberries, cranberries. Slight must. Medium to full body, deep garnet color. Figs, chocolate, malt, slight cherry, earth and complex melanoidian like aspect. Slightly sweet finish, finishes full. 4.1

along with some old favorites ....

Supplication
Brown ale aged in Pinot Noir wine barrels for one year with sour cherries, Brettanomyces yeast, and Lactobacillus & Pedicoccus bacteria.
Nose of barnyard, oak, cherries and light toffee and toast. Very light mouthfeel, light gold with ruby highlights. Flavor very sour, tart, honey, toast, fruit, pears. Very dry, puckering, lightly bitter finish. One of a kind sour. 4.4

Sanctification
Who's afraid of the "big bad BRET?" We'll tell you who: winemakers! Because of our close proximity to several hundred wineries, we often get winemakers visiting our brewery. (After all, it takes a lot of great beer to make great wine!) Because we use 100% Brettanomyces yeast to ferment Sanctification, most winemakers will only smell the glass, and only a very few will venture to taste the beer. Sanctification is one of the most unique beers you will ever taste! It was fermented with 100% Brettanomyces, rather than the traditional Saccharomyces.
Tart nose, citrus, acidic (is this possible in the nose?), orange, light horse blanket. Very light body, straw colored with gold highlights. Tart, sour, acidic, light wheat and straw notes, orange. Very dry finish, though not incredibly lingering due to the mouthfeel, only light bitterness. 4.2

Compunction
Ale with currants added and aged in oak barrels.
Sour, cherries, figs, raisins, toffee. It has a dry, vinuous character, should age superbly, and the barrel character is quite apparent, slight notes of vanilla, oak, earth. Quite acidic and a lingering sour finish. This one sticks with you. At 10 percent, it has a more viscous character than the others, and is wonderful. 4.4

Beatification
100% Spontaneously Fermented Ale (lambic).
Wow. This is as sour and bubbly as they come. Almost no brett flavor, very dry, grapefruit, tart and hints of wood, pear, apple. This is an incredibly one dimensional ale, and I mean that in a very good way! If you like sour, dry and bubbly, this is the way to go. 4.7

SF Beer Week Part 2: Barrel Beers ... all the way from Maine?

2009-02-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Wonderful evening at the Tornado. Allagash had a stellar lineup of their best offerings. Their White, Trippel, Black, and Four were there, along with more complex barrel aged offerings such as the Curieux, Odyssey, Interlude. Listed below were their four offerings which were new to me, but I love them all!

Fedelta:
Allagash had the honor of hosting De Struise Brouwers Brewmaster Urbain Coutteau and his co-workers Carlo Grootaert, Phil Driessens and Peter Bruin along with the "Homebrew Chef" Sean Paxton of homebrewchef.com on August 29. The Brewers with our Brewmaster, Jason Perkins collaborated on a Belgium Blonde called Fedeltá which means Fidelity in Italian. De Struise had previously brewed a version of this beer at their farm brewery in Belgium. After collaborating strategically over e-mail, phone and in person on brew day, the five brewers were able to put all their hard work into a great brew. Fedeltá, 8.2% Blonde was brewed using a selection of imported Pilsner Malt, Domestic Pale Malt as well as 15% Wheat Malt. American Cascade and Amarillo Hops were also selected resulting in 35 IBU. Also added in the boil was Cane Sugar and Honey. Fedeltá was fermented with our house Belgian-style strain, producing a subtle ester profile. The result is a smooth beer with subtle flavors of spice, honey, and vanilla as well as citrus hop flower notes. Fedeltá will be available in limited markets, draft only in the fall.
Trippel like nose: spice, banana, pepper, slight toast and orange. Light gold, medium body. Flavor is fruity, notes of pear, honey, sugar, vanilla, slight toast and biscuit and earth. 4.0 out of 5

Hugh Malone:
The base of the beer includes English two-row malt and pale crystal malts, establishing an understated sweetness. To give Hugh Malone its hop character we use generous portions of Simcoe hops at three points in the brewing process. To begin with, we use a technique referred to as first wort hopping, in which Simcoe is added to the sweet wort as it enters the kettle. When the wort comes to a boil in the kettle we add Warrior hops, adding another layer to the bitterness of the beer. Later in the brewing process we steep a large amount of Simcoe in the whirlpool to impart a distinct hop aroma. Finally, during secondary fermentation in our conditioning tanks, we dry hop the beer, which instills a hoppy aroma with notes of pine and grapefruit.
Balanced, zesty orange nose, slight earth and vanilla. Deep amber, medium body, slightly hazy. Very smooth flavor, zesty, resin, apple and pear esters, Medium to dry finish, slightly creamy. 4.1

Victoria
To create Victoria Ale, the brewers drew on references to Bucchus, the Thracian god of wine, in the history and artwork of the Victoria Mansion as inspiration for this new beer. One hundred pounds of chardonnay grapes were brought in, crushed on site and added directly to the mash. With a focus on the subtle wine-like character of the grapes, the 9.0% ABV brew boasts a pale copper color, Belgian yeast influence and a medium body with a long finish.
Slightly sweet nose, toast, sourness, white wine. Light body, slightly slick and acdic, light gold color. Flavor is of white grapes, apples, pears, vanilla, light vinegar even. Slightly acidic finish, toast and oak. 4.1

Victor
Similar to Victoria, but red grapes (Chancellor) were used in place of white.
Nose of pear, cider, and slightly generic citrus. Light to medium body, light orange hue, acidic. Notes of cherries, oak, grapes, plums and sherry. Dry, slightly stick and acidic finish. 3.8

SF Beer Week Part 1: Double IPAs and Palate Fatigue

2009-02-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, what can I say. I've been in the Bay Area for over 7 years and this is my first venture to this 7 year old event in Hayward ... thank god it is a stones throw from BART.

The venue was expanded this year I was told, and took up a half a block of downtown Hayward's wonderful streets. The farmers market was going on at the same time right around the corner, there was needless to say a lot going on this sunny afternoon. Maybe the perfect time to finally visit this institution. Got there at the opening at 11, and it really didn't fill up til 1:30 or so. It was really a showcase for California Double IPAS, with a few exceptions from Delaware (Dogfish Head, ever heard of it), Oregon and Colorado. Greg and I figured we had tasted about one third of the offerings already, so went to divvy up the remaining 30 or so beers between our tickets.

I really feel for those who had to judge these brews and choose the winner. Palate fatigue? Everything started tasting the same after a bit, the flavor aspects were difficult to pick up (except for a couple of notable offerings: Dogfish Head's 120 minute IPA and Stones Sublimely Self Righteous [aka, 10th anniversary] ale). Almost a study in different bodies and different finishes, and hop characteristics, to an extent.

My Top 5:
Bear Republic Mach 10
Pizza Port Hop 15
Fifty Fifty Landslide
Russian River Pliny the Younger
Drakes Denoggenizer

tasting notes and ratings:

Pizza Port Hop 15
Lawnmower nose, grass ,resin, orange and grapefruit. Medium Body, light orange hue, and large orange and slight pepper flavor, light toffee and esters, and slight warmth. Smooth, moderate bitter finish. Really solid. 4.1 out of 5

Pizza Port Poormans IPA
Really huge grapefruit nose, slight apple and caramel. Medium to light Body, deep orange color, resiny flavor, with giant orange flavor supported by toast and soft toffee. Distinct nose versus flavor hop profiles. Smooth, bitter finish. 3.8

Pizza Port Lou P Lin
Grass, orange and toast nose. Light body, deep golden color. Flavor very similar to nose, maybe more orange and slight grapefruit. Dry finish, very bitter finish. 3.6

Russian River Pliny the Younger
Resin, earth, malt, toast and grapefruit nose. Medium body, light orange color. Caramel, toast, orange and grapefruit flavor. Finishes smooth, not too bitter. This beer hides its warmth quite well. 3.9

Drakes Denoggenizer
Light resin, caramel nose. Medium body, light amber color. Really rich flavors, resin, caramel, yeast, orange. Smooth finish, medium bitterness. 3.8

Bear Republic Mach 10
Grassy nose, orange. Medium to light body, light amber color. Flavors include caramel, toast, grass, orange. Really awesome orange presence throughout, and quite dry, smooth and easy finish, medium bitterness. Another great offering from Bear Republic. 4.3

Green Flash Imperial IPA
Grassy, Grapefruit and slight toast and earth in the nose. Light body, light orange to deep gold color. Flavors similar to nose, but more toast, orange and slight estery, apple characters. Dry, but a much too bitter finish. 3.7

Sierra Nevada 393 Hop Secret
Caramel and grapefruit nose, slight toast. Medium body, deep amber color. Rather malty in the flavor balance, low hop complexity, caramel and grapefruit. Finishes slightly full and sweet. 3.0

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA
Serious hop overload in the nose. Orange, grapefruit, soap, basil, burning. Medium body, slight and sticky, pale orange color. Flavor is like basil, grass, orange and alcohol. Not even really an double IPA, this is something different entirely. Finish is acidic and pucking, you pull back. Points for the effort. 2.0

Mendocino IPA
Malty and floral nose, orange. Medium bodied, light amber. Smooth, caramel, toast, earth, orange flavor, with slight apple esters. Slightly bitter finish 3.5

Flying Dog Double Dog
Clean, sharp nose, full of orange. Medium to full body, light orange color. Flavor is similar, more malt than hops, orange profiled. Bitter finish, sharp. 3.2

Ballast Point Dorado
Grapefruit, orange and toast in the nose. Medium to full body, light amber. Flavor similar, really balanced yet hop forward. Medium, lightly bitter finish. 3.8

Alpine Brewing Pure Hoppiness
Caramel, toffee, grapefruit, lots of orange. Medium to light body, orange color. Orange, toast, caramel flavor, slight esters, pear. Lightly sweet, bitter finish. 3.5

Sonoma Chicken Coop Jersey Giant
Toast, yeast and grass in the nose. Very light body, very light amber-orange. Flavor like the nose. Dry, fruity, lightly sweet finish. 2.9

Fifty Fifty Brewing Landslide IPA
Bold lemon and orange nose. Light body, sightly opaque, but gold to orange color. Flavors of fresh lemon, orange and toast. Medium, dry finish, very zesty. 4.0

Rubicon Rex IPA
Grapefruit, orange and somehow bitter nose. Medium body, orange color. Strong orange, toast and slight pear esters and zest. Lightly sweet finish, and slightly bitter. 3.7

Stone Sublimely Self Righteous IPA
Malt, toffee, cream, chocolate and orange in the nose. Medium to heavy body, deep amber to light brown color. Citrus still dominates flavor, but the backbone is caramel, toffee, chocolate, roast. Drier finish, slightly creamy, medium bitterness. Interesting. 3.6

Auburn Alehouse Isotope PU240
Sharp, bright and zesty hoppy nose, orange. Medium to light body, light amber. Flavor similar, more grapefruit and lemon though. Light finish, rather bitter. 3.8

SF Beer Week!!!

2009-02-04T10:31:00.000-08:00

Its almost here! Gotta do it on a dime, this is my working plan of events to attend.

Shortlist. Go to the SF Beer Week Website for more info on each event.

Saturday : Double IIPA Fest at the Bistro, Hayward.

Sunday: Day of rest, that is a LOT of IIPAs.

Monday: Allgash at Toronado

Tuesday: Barrel Beers at Jupiter and Tripel Rock

Wednesday: Ommengang and Cheese at Toronado

Thursday: Elysian at 21st Amendment

Friday: The Bruery at Alembic

Saturday: More Liver resting

Sunday: Scandanvian Beers at City Beer

January 2009

2009-02-04T09:45:00.001-08:00

Well, 2009 brought a swift cessation to the high caliber and quantity of beer I have been consuming. The recession has taken its toll on my employment, so I'll be drinking quite a few less beers this year, but not necessarily any less variety.

I did manage to make it to the Jolly Pumpkin Event this month at the Jug Shop. They had four selections, all fermented directly in oak barrels: the La Calabaza Blanca, Bam Biere, Roja, and the Bam Noir, lightest to darkest, in that order. They did not have my two favorites, the Luciernaga and the Oro de Calabaza. Still, they manage to grab my brewery of the year title from 2008, so hats off to them and the Jug Shop Staff, who were being quite generous with amounts of pours.

La Calabaza Blanca:
Nice, refreshing, slightly sour and lactic wit beer. Slight spiciness up front, a little funky, and really refreshing overall. 3.9 out of 5

Bam Biere:
Really rough barnyard character to this one. Light, bitter, dry and slightly vinegar like aspect, it was tough to put down at first, but once the tartness starts to build up after a few sips, you can get the complexity of the beer behind it, notes of vanilla, oak, toast. 3.5

Roja:
Most by the book sour ale, this is a Flanders Red, a la Rodenbach (but this version much lighter bodied). Refreshing for a red, this one goes down smooth, and avoids the "sweet-tart" aspect that many have. Much lighter bodied, tart up front, and only a mild malt complexity behind it, notes of cherries, toffee and oak. 4.1

Bam Noir:
This was certainly the least sour of the four, and was originally the hardest to get behind. But after a few it is really enjoyable (note: a few means one oz. tastings). I figured it would be a dark version of their Bam, but not really. More of a Belgian Dark ale with funky highlights. Roast, coffee, caramel in the nose, slightly sweet up front, with some lactic qualities, and filling, smooth, and slightly chocolately through the finish.
3.7

Others this month:

NapaSmith Wheat
Had this at Taylors at the Ferry Building. Really nice, an American wheat beer with some phenolic and spicy complexity. Full bodied, notes of wheat, toast, pepper, citrus. There is a slight sweetness to this that I'm not sure if it is distracting or makes it so enjoyable. Another sample is in order.
3.6

Stone Cali-Belgique
Bevmo on Van Ness. This is slightly a mess of a beer. Their IPA fermented with a house Belgian Strain. I don't know where this strain originates, but is weird. The nose smells like bubblegum and cotton candy, with slight citrus from the hops. Mouthfeel is medium to thin, but the flavor tastes a little like soap, bubblegum, oranges and banana. Really weird phenolics going on in this beer, needs to go back to the lab. 2.2

Ballast Point Sea Monster
Bevmo on Van Ness. Newest to get on the Imperial Stout train. I thought this would be cheaper since most of their ales on the shelf are at $4 or so, but I got this one before the BevMo staff could tag it, and paid $9 for it. My expectations were not met, since there was an Abyss just down the shelf for $3 more, but a good imperial in any case. Nose of alcohol, chocolate, espresso, currants, toffee. Much less burning in the taste, and a much more carmelly-chocolate flavor comes through, hints of roast and licorice. The body is medium, and the finish is slightly slight and warm.
3.7

Much more to come next month with SF Beer Week!

366 Beers in 366 Days

2009-02-04T09:31:00.000-08:00

The results of my 2008 366 beers in 366 days can be found here! Features the top and most unique new-to-me beers from 2008 can be found:

HERE