Home brewing goodness

One of the things that I really love about the home brew community is just how friendly everyone is of each other. I had a great experience last night that I just felt like sharing.

A few days ago I was browsing craigslist, and stumbled across an ad for a guy trying to get rid of some fresh Cascade hops about 30 minutes away from my house. Not only that, but his price for them was $1 per ziplock baggy. He said normally you can get about 3 oz of fresh hops in one. With how much hops are at the LHBS per ounce, this was a great deal. I contacted the guy and we set up a time for me and Dan to come down and pick the hops.

So last night we leave to pick the hops, and bring him a couple of our most recent home brews. Of course it starts raining while we're on our way over. When we get there we meet the guy, and he's pretty cool. He showed us around his back yard, and told us some guy came earlier from hours away and completely cleaned out over half his vines. Still he had plenty left though, and after chatting with him for a bit, we set to work on the vines. He showed us how to trim the vines back to make it easier to get the hops without killing the plant, and we stood out there in the rain for a about an hour picking hops and talking home brewing with this guy that's at least twice our age. We ended up with a little over 20 ounces of hops... for $6. And today we get to brew a wet-hopped IPA! Awesome.

St. Peter's Organic Ale

I have to confess that sometimes I buy beer more because of the packaging than anything else. Leipziger Gose, Rogue's XS Russian Imperial Stout, and even Anchor Porter to some extent are examples of bottles I picked up because they looked cool. St. Peter's Organic Ale is another bottle that I picked up at least partially for its appearance. It comes in an old-time medicine or gin style bottle, strangely enough made of nearly clear greenish glass. I was a little surprised by this as brown glass is generally considered superior, since it allows less light through. This is important, because beer can be spoiled by UV light, causing it to become light-struck, or "skunked" as it is commonly called. During long shipping times, imported beers especially can be affected by this if the beer is not handled properly.

The whole "organic" thing doesn't necessarily appeal to me in particular, I'm more just interested in how the beer tastes. It does give the brewery a nice niche for people who care about that sort of thing. They also produce a gluten-free beer for people whose dietary requirements would normally keep them from being able to enjoy a beer.

The Organic Ale poured a brownish-golden color, and was crystal clear in the glass. No head at all formed from a normal pour, and there was no lacing on the glass.

The aroma was a floral hoppy smell at first, with a bit of funk underneath. I'm not sure if this was indicative of being light-struck or a normal part of the beer's smell. From looking at what others have to say about the beer it does seem to be fairly common, but that still could be caused by the clear bottle. Either way, it wasn't too strong or terribly unpleasant. In addition, it had some earthen quality to the smell and an underlying sweetness from the malt.

The beer had a smooth taste that seemed strongly influenced by honey on the front of the tongue, but the bitterness of the beer overtook the sweetness nearly immediately. It wasn't that the bitterness was strong or overwhelming, just that the sweet quality didn't last very long in the mouth. I was also reminded a little bit of honeysuckle as I sipped the beer, as it had that sweetness, but also somewhat of a plant-like characteristic. There's a little bit of spice around the edge of the mouth, and no alcohol flavors. The aftertaste moved back to the honey flavor.

It had a fairly light body, with a weaker level of carbonation. What carbonation was there was tiny prickly bubbles. I did think the beer was extremely refreshing though, and had a good wetness to it. It left a bit of smooth coating on the mouth as well.

Overall I did enjoy drinking this beer, and was intrigued by how different the flavor was from anything I've had before. It was very easy to get down, nice and smooth, and incredibly refreshing. While the flavors weren't particularly strong or complex, they worked together well to provide a decent balance. If it wasn't a higher priced import I could see myself drinking this regularly, but as it is I can't really see myself returning to it again. While very good, it has an understated flavor that I just can't see myself craving like I do with other beers, and I could just as easily replace it with a highly drinkable domestic beer. Still, I would recommend trying it at least once.

- Adam

Random News Update

So there's 2 fairly major things that I found out about this week pertaining to beer. First is that this year, Samuel Adams will be releasing Utopias again. This is generally regarded as the world's most expensive commercial beer, retailing at $150 a bottle. Dan and I are already on a waiting list for this beer, so depending on how many bottles are shipped in, we may end up with one. It comes in a special 24-oz bottle shaped like a copper brew-kettle. It's served uncarbonated, and at room temperature.

The other thing I was informed of was that Dogfish Head and Sierra Nevada will be making a set of collaboration beers. One is called Life & Limb, the other is Limb & Life. Limb & Life will be released first as a draft beer, and is a lower ABV version of Life & Limb. Life & Limb will be released in bottles only, and is meant to be aged. More info can be found here.

Flying Dog's Kerberos Tripel

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a bit of a fan of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson. My interest in Thompson's life, like many others, was instigated by my first and several subsequent viewings of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. So when I was browsing through State Line's collection of domestic micro-brews and noticed a few bottles featuring what appeared to be some of Ralph Steadman's art and a quote from Dr. Gonzo himself, it got my attention. "Good people drink good beer." Never have truer words been spoken, I thought. So after perusing their bizarrely canvased collection i decided on a sampler of the four beers in their Canis Major Series.

Kerberos, named for and branded with a picture of the mythical three headed dog that guards the gates of hell, is a traditional, bottle conditioned, Belgian Tripel. I've had quite a few tripels over the last year and a half, and, while not my favorite style, have always found them to be rich and full of flavor.

This tripel pours a cloudy golden color with a modest half a finger off-white head. I'm sure mine was extra cloudy, as i prefer to pour some of the yeast in with most dubs, trips, and quads. The head slowly faded into just a ring of bubbles around the glass, and left no lacing as i drank.

The aroma is powerful. I could smell it from a distance as I poured the glass. It is massively fruity with overtones of citrus. It reminds me of the smell of dried apricots with a less noticeable apple scent as well.

The flavor initially is very similar to the smell. It is sweet and fruity with a mild citric taste like an apricot. The yeast then starts to hit you on the mid-pallet, again, pouring some of the yeast adds this flavor that I enjoy. There is a bit of a spicy flavor here as well, not much, but enough to get my attention.

Kerberos has a great dry mouthfeel, which I absolutely loved. Overall it started feel like I was drinking a dry white wine, especially considering that apricot is a common flavor in white wines. The carbonation was sharp on the tongue. Had this been a less flavorful beer i could see this really distracting from the taste, but as it stands, it didnt effect my opinion of the flavor.

For a beer that was by no means light in flavor or in body, Kerberos is highly drinkable. The intense flavors mask its 8.5%abv perfectly as it's dry finish begs you to keep on sipping it down. A brilliant and devilishly dangerous beer, to say the least. This is a brewery, and a beer that I will be revisiting often.

-This has been Dan saying: "No point in mentioning these bats, I thought. Poor bastard will see them soon enough."

North Coast Brewing's Old Rasputin

Facebook is well on its way to taking over the world. Even my mom has a facebook profile now, so it's really not much of a surprise that North Coast Brewing has their own facebook page where you can become a fan of the brewery or a particular beer. What was surprising to me was when I stumbled upon their page for the Old No. 38 Stout earlier this week, and found a link to my own blog up there! So having this on my mind, when I made a trip over to State Line last night to pick up some new brews I couldn't resist grabbing a 4-pack of Old Rasputin.

When a beer has an A on Beer Advocate and a 100 on Rate Beer, it's a pretty safe assumption that it's not only tasty, but also a decent representation of the style. I've had a few Russian Imperial Stouts in the past such as Rogue's XS Imperial Stout, Great Divide's Yeti, and Stone's Russian Imperial Stout. My reaction to these has varied pretty greatly from not being able to finish the Rogue XS, to enjoying the Great Divide and Stone brews even though I had to take my time with both. Not knowing quite what to expect from Old Rasputin, I was a little nervous going in.

The beer poured a deep, nearly black hue with a 1-finger light brown head. The head dissipated to a thin layering fairly quickly, but this remaining layer stuck around for a while. As I drank the beer, it left a decent bit of lacing at first, but this dropped off after I got about a quarter of the way through the glass.

My first whiff of the beer surprised me a little bit. One of the things I've come to expect based on the Russian Imperial Stouts that I've had in the past is a blast of aroma when it's first poured, and a decent bit of alcohol coming through in the smell. Old Rasputin however had a moderately strong, but not overpowering aroma, and the alcohol was definitely not forefront. What I did smell was a nice, slightly sweet combination of chocolate and coffee. Underneath this was just a touch of smokiness, and finally just a hint of alcohol. For being 9% ABV, this was definitely well masked.

Having had my nerves comforted a bit by the pleasant smell, I went ahead and took the first sip. What I immediately noticed was a mix of dark chocolate up front in the mouth, a little bit of a nutty quality in the center of the tongue, and a bitter roasted coffee flavor in the back of the mouth. There was a bit of heat left in my mouth from the alcohol, but I didn't really taste alcohol in the flavor. The aftertaste is pretty similar to dark chocolate as well. The flavors are bold, but they mix together well. Even though the bitterness was the dominant flavor of the beer, it wasn't so bitter that it became a chore to drink or needed to be sipped to get through the glass. The sweetness from the chocolate flavors and the nutty quality are also balanced in such a way that the bitterness isn't the only thing to focus on.

The beer had a fairly thick feel in the mouth, as is to be expected with a Russian Imperial Stout. There's a very substantial quality to it. It's moderately carbonated, just enough to leave a nice tingle on the center of the tongue, but not so much as to distract from the flavors. As mentioned before, there was a nice subtle warmth imparted from the alcohol as well.

As with all the other Russian Imperial Stouts I've had, Old Rasputin was definitely not a gulper. It's meant to be savored and enjoyed over a longer period of time than it would normally take to consume a beer. However, unlike the other Russian Imperials I've had, I didn't feel like it was a chore to get through at any point, and felt like I could have had another without getting sick of the flavors. It was definitely the easiest to get down of the Russian Imperials I've had. It had a nice balance, complex flavors, but still didn't completely overpower the palate. I'd definitely recommend this one to others and I can see myself going back to try it again. Another strong offering from North Coast, so I'm looking forward to seeing what else they have out there.

- Adam

Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout

It's always fun when a brewery comes out with a limited edition beer. I tend to see it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try something, and go into it with the expectation that they have put a lot of thought into the recipe. In fact, I pick these up with the expectation that they'll be better than average. Sometimes they are, and sometimes they're a disappointment.

One thing I have noticed is that you really have to keep an eye out to find these limited releases. Although sometimes I'll happen across an article or press release through Beer Advocate or some other beer related website, generally the first time I hear about a special release is when I see it on the shelf at the liquor store. Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout was a major exception to this. They may have even *gasp* advertised that it was coming.

Now Guinness tends to be my stand-by drink whenever I'm going anywhere that finer beers are not sold. Unless you're at the lowest of the low end establishments, anywhere that sells beer is likely to have Guinness in bottles, if not on tap. Although it's pretty thin bodied and not all that flavorful for a stout, it's easy to drink, and there's nothing that I dislike about the flavor. I would even say that I like Guinness. If nothing else, it's one of the easiest beers to get down, and I don't think I've ever thought, "no thanks, I don't want another Guinness, I can't take this flavor anymore." So when I saw the 250th anniversary beer, I figured I'd give it a shot.

To make things a little more interesting, I did a side-by-side comparison of the Guinness 250 with a can of the regular Guinness Draught. It's probably closer to the Extra Stout recipe, but Dan already had cans of the draught from the last time we made black and tans.

The 250 was nearly identical in appearance to the draught. The only difference I noticed was that the head on the 250 was a slightly darker color, more tan, and had a 1 finger rocky head. The draught on the other hand had a head the same size, but was merely off-white and creamy and smooth looking. It's possible that the nitrogen widget in the can affected the appearance of the head. I did also notice that there was much more lacing on the glass with the 250.

The aroma did stand out as a difference between the two. The 250 smelled sweeter, and had less of a roasted quality. It was also stronger than the aroma of the draught. The 250 smelled OK, but not great.

The taste of the two was also slightly varied. The 250 had a more bitter quality to it. The draught was creamy and had a stronger roasted flavor. The flavor of both was not terribly strong though.

The area that the differences stood out the most was in the mouthfeel. Granted, this is at least partially due to the fact that the can had the nitrogen widget. The 250 had more body, although at best this would put it in the "medium body" category. For a stout, it's still pretty thin. It also had a higher level of carbonation and felt sharper. The bubbles seemed to be larger. It was definitely less creamy than the draught. Again, this is probably due to the nitrogen widget. I'm sure on tap the 250 would feel more similar to the standard draught.

Overall, I thought the beer was alright, but it really wasn't anything special. Certainly it wasn't something to really celebrate their 250th anniversary with. Although I liked the thicker body, the carbonation was too high and I actually enjoyed the flavor of the regular draught a little more. I'm just a sucker for roast I guess. The beers were incredibly similar, and that alone was disappointing to me. If I remember correctly, the 250 was also a little more expensive, and there's nothing I've seen in it to justify the additional expense. Unless you just can't resist, I'd say to avoid this one, at least if you're paying for it. I did like it about as much as I like the regular Guinness draught, but there's certainly better beers out there for the same price or less. To be fair, I had a second that was warmer, and it tasted a bit better. The carbonation was subdued a bit, and the roasted quality came out a bit more, although not so much as in the draught still. This was at nearly room temperature, probably around 65 degrees.

- Adam