IPA

Notes From Philly Beer Week

by

So Philly Beer Week is here, and of course, I’m too lazy to get my butt into the actual city proper, but fortunately, there are plenty of events out here in the burbs. On Saturday, I actually hit up two locations, the first being Pinocchio’s, who had a bunch of Firestone Walker stuff on tap. It wasn’t a big event or anything, though earlier in the day, they had tapped a keg of Velvet Merkin, an apparently very rare (at least, ’round these parts) and very unique bourbon barrel aged oatmeal stout. The base beer is only 5.5% ABV, but the angels must be damn thirsty, as the barrel aging seems to raise it up to around 8-8.5% or something. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that folks would be lining up outside the place before it opened to get a taste of this stuff, so I missed out.

So I had to make do with a glass of Parabola (I know, boo hoo, right?), another bourbon barrel aged stout, this one clocking in at an impressive 13% ABV (it was, uh, the only thing I had for a few hours on Saturday). Unfortunately, I seem to have neglected the picture of this one, so you’ll have to use your mind’s eye to visualize from these scintillating tasting notes, hastily tapped into my phone one handed as I browsed the bottle shop’s wares:

Firestone Walker Parabola – Pours a black as night color with practically nonexistent head (there was a ring of brownish stuff clinging to the side of the glass, but not much going on with the rest). Smells of strongly of bourbon, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and oak. Taste is full of that same rich caramel, vanilla, bourbon and oak, with some chocolate for good measure. Mouthfeel is rich and velvety, low carbonation, but enough to keep it from being cloying. I had no idea this thing was 13% as I was drinking, but I kinda felt that way at the end of my (fortunately small) glass. Overall, fantastic beer, something I hope to get some more of at some point… A-

Beer Nerd Details: 13% ABV on tap. Drank out of a small snifter-like glass (I’m guessing 8-10 oz).

So I hung out at the shop for a while, shot some shit with the locals and beermongers, picked out a few bottles to take home, grabbed a piece of pizza and and glass of water to calm myself down, then I headed over to Wayne, PA for the Main Line Jazz and Food Fest, where Teresa’s Cafe (one of my favorite beer bars) was doing a big Tröegs tasting. Wayne ave was closed off for a block or so, and a bunch of local restaurants and other businesses set up tents and tables and whatnot, along with a live jazz band playing on the stage. It was a pretty low key, family friendly affair, but the weather was gorgeous and beer was flowing like wine!

Ironically, my first beer was not even a Tröegs – when I spied some Sierra Nevada ExPortation (a porter aged in barrels over at Russian River), I had to make sure I got some, as it was my first sour revelation and I thought I’d never see the stuff again (it was a one time Beer Camp brew, though perhaps they’ve made more batches for beer week). It was excellent, though I think some of the other sours I’ve had this year might outrank it (stiff competition though). If you get a chance to try some, you totally should.

Ad this point, I hunkered down for some dinner, and ordered me a Brotherly Suds, a special Philly Beer Week collaboration between Victory, Sly Fox, Yards, Iron Hill, Stoudts, Nodding Head, and Tröegs (who hosted the brewing session). It apparently started out as a Vienna lager… but then they used a Kölsch yeast (i.e. an ale yeast), American hops (Centennial and US Tettnanger), and rye. It seemed more like a Kölsch or British Pale Ale to me, though. Unfortunately, I came away a bit underwhelmed:

Troegs Brotherly Suds 3

Brotherly Suds #3 (Tröegs Scratch #67) – Dark amber color with a finger or two of head. Smells a bit like a British pale ale, lightly fruity, some grassy, earthy hops. Taste has some nice complexity, some delicate fruit and hop flavors, maybe some light spiciness, but it’s all rather muted, and it’s got that British pale ale or Kölsch feel that I don’t usually care for. Mouthfeel is nice, surprisingly light bodied. Overall, it’s ok, but not my thing… I probably shouldn’t have drank this after the ExPortation – it actually would have made a nice walking around outside beer, but not so much as a complement to dinner. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 4.6% ABV on tap. Drank out of a pint glass.

And finally, after dinner, I headed back outside for some browsing and Jazz and walking around and whatnots, picking up a cup of Tröegs Perpetual IPA, something I’d not had before, and which was excellent:

Troegs Perpetual IPA

Tröegs Perpetual IPA – Apparently the reason I hadn’t seen this before is that it was a limited seasonal brew, only available in august. Tröegs has recently just moved to new digs, and their expanded brewing capacity means they can now turn this into a year-round brew. Pours a golden orange color with a little head… Huge hoppy pine in the nose, with a little grassy citrus too. Taste has that same huge piney, resiny flavor, a little grassy citrus, and a mild, pleasant bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, light to medium bodied, and very easy to put down. Conditions were probably not ideal here, but it was a really nice walking around outside beer. I’ll give it a provisional B+, but it’s on the A- bubble…

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV on tap. Drank out of a fancy plastic cup.

Well, there you have it: lame, unreliable notes from a day of drinking and merriment. I’m still not sure how many other events I’ll hit up this week, but I’ll definitely be going to a Hill Farmstead event on Saturday (also at Teresa’s)…

Sixpoint Resin

by

Ah, the words we use to describe hops. Some of them don’t sound very appetizing. Weirdly, this seems to be the case for my favorite hops. The big, American citrus and pine bombs that are so popular actually have some rather weird descriptions hurled at them. Cat urine? Um, what? Sounds rather gross. Apparently some hops really do give off that sort of aroma, but not having cats, I can’t really say. In any case, I don’t get that sort of description when it’s being used as a positive (I mean, I love me the smell of something like Weyerbacher Double Simcoe – does that mean I like cat piss?) Dank? Yeah, that’s not usually something I want to drink… and I’m not much of a weed guy either (dank being something that’s apparently positive in that realm). Ditto for the word resin, which also has that pot connection, though at least its standard definition isn’t super disgusting. It’s got a more neutral connotation, so it’s got that going for it…

Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love beers that people describe as having dank, resiny, cat uriney hop flavors and aromas, I just don’t tend to use those words to describe it, with the exception of resin. I actually love that piney, resiny flavor that comes from some hop varieties like Simcoe, Chinook, and Columbus/Tomahawk/Zeus. So when I saw this beer’s name, it sounded promising! Sixpoint is a brewery I’ve not had much experience with, and those energy drink looking cans never really inspired much confidence, though I don’t know why. They’re distinctive and well designed, so let’s give them a shot:

Sixpoint Resin

Sixpoint Resin – Pours a hazy orange brown color with a finger or two of head that leaves plenty of lacing as I drink. The smell is full of sweetness and fruity hops, with just a hint of pine (with a moniker like “Resin”, I was expecting more of that piney aroma). Ah, I see, the pine comes out much more in the flavor, which starts very sweet, with a big, resiny pine flavor, followed by some more citrusy hop character. Bitterness doesn’t really emerge until the finish, and it intensifies through the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is light and bright, plenty of carbonation, but quite drinkable for such a big beer. Overall, a very nice DIPA, something I could certainly go for again! B+

Beer Nerd Details: 9.1% ABV canned (12 oz.) Drank out of a tulip on 5/12/12.

A promising start for Sixpoint, and I’m sure I’ll have some more of their stuff at some point, though who knows when?

Hopwired

by

The crazy growth of craft beer is certainly not limited to the U.S. Here we have a beer made with malt and hops grown exclusively in Mordor New Zealand. To give a misleading, overly broad, and probably deathly wrong summary of geographic hop characters, European hops tend to be earthy, herbal, spicy and pungent. American hops have a citrus and pine character that is quite different (even U.S. grown European hop varieties – like Fuggle – tend to have more citrus than their European counterparts). Well, the Kiwi hops used here are apparently also quite citrusy, but while American varieties tend towards grapefruit, NZ hops seem to be more tropical. On their website, they say: “Passion fruit, limes, oranges and Sauvignon Blanc grapes to name but a few. A local Marlborough winemaker even said it smelled like gooseberries… Gooseberries? When did you last actually smell a gooseberry??”

IPAs do tend to get a bit on the samey side sometimes, so it’s really refreshing to try a beer like this that has distinct and unique flavors, while still conforming to the general idea of the style:

8 Wired Hopwired

8 Wired Hopwired IPA – Pours a clear, deep golden orange color with a finger or two of white head that leaves plenty of lacing as I drink. Smells strongly of fruity, bright and citrusy hops, with maybe a bit of a floral component as well (this becomes more prominent as it warms). The taste is quite sweet, plenty of light malts here, with a bracing hop bitterness emerging towards the finish. That fruity, floral hop flavor makes its way into the taste as well, and as mentioned above, it’s distinct from that grapefruit and pine character of American hops – more tropical, I guess. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with tiny bubbled carbonation, and a relatively dry finish. Overall, this is quite a nice change of pace, and I’m really glad I got to try some of this stuff. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.3% ABV bottled (500 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip on 5/5/12. IBUs: 70. Hops: Southern Cross, Motueka, Nelson Sauvin.

A good first showing from these hobbits brewers of NZ, and I’ll almost certainly be checking out some of their other stuff. If I can find it!

Mikkeller Green Gold and Gypsy Contracts

by

So I’ve written about gypsy brewers like Mikkeller or Stillwater before, but a recent comment about contract brewing got me to thinking about the differences between contract brewers and gypsy brewers. For the uninitiated, contract brewing is basically outsourced brewing. People who can’t afford breweries themselves find a facility with excess capacity, and leverage that to establish their brand and start building a revenue stream. So I guess the question is: aren’t these gypsy brewers just glorified hipster contract brewers?

Contract brewing has something of a negative connotation amongst beer nerds. There’s a perception that these brewers are cheating and that the final product would be better considered as something made by the actual brewery involved. The extent of the outsourcing seems to be somewhat variable. There are apparently companies that are really just marketing firms that rely entirely on the contracted brewer for the beer stuff (not hard to see why contract brewing would get a negative reputation in that case). Then there are companies that have a little more control over the end result. In reading around about gypsy brewers, it seems like they have a much more active role in the process. They’re physically at the rented facility, making the beers themselves, with minimal involvement of the host brewery.

I suspect we’re going to see the devaluation of the term “gypsy brewer” over the next few years as the marketers pick up on the hype and attempt to exploit it. Pretty soon, we’ll have “gypsy” brewers making beer at a Miller or AB Inbev plant. Riiiight. In the meantime, it appears that folks like Mikkel Borg Bjergsø (Mikkeller) and Brian Strumke (Stillwater) are the real deal, and their beers really show that, like this IPA from Mikkeller:

Mikkeller Green Gold

Mikkeller Green Gold – Surprisingly dark amber color with minimal head. Tons of hops in the nose, full of pine, and some citrus too. Taste is also dominated by pine and citrus hops along with a very prominent, dry bitterness that hits in the middle and lasts through the finish. There is a nice malt backbone though, enough to balance out the bracing hops. Lightly carbonated and medium bodied, it’s not quite refreshing, but it’s still easy to drink… Overall, another winner from Mikkeller. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV on tap. Drank out of a pint glass on 4/1/12.

This is a relatively straightforward brew (apparently one of Mikkel’s first IPA recipes), but Mikkeller continues to be one of the more interesting brewers out there (Gypsy or not). I’ve got another review of his stuff coming soon, and I’m sure I’ll continue to explore his ridiculously large selection of beers.

Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA

by

Dogfish Head is always producing interesting, if perhaps a bit gimmicky, beers. Unfortunately, interesting doesn’t always translate to “tastes good”. Yeah, yeah, you developed the recipe from some three thousand year old tomb, but it doesn’t taste very good (I’m looking at you, Midas Touch!) And lately, it seems like everything has to have the weirdest ingredients ever. But when it comes to more normal styles, Dogfish Head can really nail it. In particular, they’re great at IPAs. Their Minute series of beers is exceptional. I’m sure many would call the whole continually hopped nature of the series something of a gimmick, but compared to some of the other stuff they do, I think it’s a valid approach.

The 60 Minute IPA is an excellent take on a standard style (though I may have overrated it a bit), the 90 Minute is an exceptional beer (and the best thing Dogfish Head makes), and the 120 Minute is a monster. Then there are the variations. Squall is bottle conditioned 90 Minute IPA, and it’s really nice (alas, this beer was discontinued… in favor of the beer I’m reviewing today). Burton Baton is wood aged 90 Minute IPA, also a fantastic beer. And now we come to the 75 Minute IPA, a blend of the 60 and 90 Minute beers, with additional dry hopping and bottle conditioned with maple syrup. Also, I think this is their first beer bottled in their fancy new embossed bottles…

Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA

Dogfish Head 75 Minute IPA – Pours a bright but slightly cloudy golden color with tons of billowy white head. Smells strongly of sugary sweet citrus, with plenty of pine and hints of something else too. Perhaps a bready yeast character? And as it warms, it takes on a more earthy character. Taste has a nice, sweet profile that eventually gives way to a nice dry bitterness in the finish. You get a little of that citrus and pine flavor too, and again, something I’m having trouble placing. Perhaps it’s the yeast or the maple syrup… and again, as it warms, an earthiness emerges. Mouthfeel is strongly carbonated, but still surprisingly light to medium bodied. I haven’t had a 90 Minute IPA in quite a while, but this feels a lot lighter. Overall, a damn good IPA and a solid addition to the minute series (though I think I still prefer the 90 Minute). B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a tulip on 4/12/12.

While Dogfish Head can be hit-or-miss with me, I’m always at least interested in trying their stuff. I don’t really have anything in the pipeline right now, though I do have a couple bottles of 120 Minute aging in the cellar right now, along with the monster World Wide Stout (both of which are beers I really love).

Firestone Walker Double Jack

by

Firestone Walker has one of my favorite logos, mostly because it features a standing bear holding up its paws like an old-timey boxer. This is across from a more typical rearing lion figure that nevertheless seems like it’s relying on wimpy slaps (though, granted, it looks like it has some pretty vicious claws) in the implied fight to the death depicted on most labels.

Firestone Walker logo

Oh, and I guess the brewery is somewhat known for their beer too. While it’s far from my first of their beers, this is the first time I’ve actually reviewed one… a situation that will reverse itself in a few weeks, I suspect, as a few others are in the pipeline. There are many interesting things about the brewery, especially their philosophy on barrel fermentation, but since this particular beer is fermented on stainless steel like most other beers, I’ll save the barrel discussion for later:

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Firestone Walker Double Jack – Pours a gorgeous clear golden color with a finger of white, fluffy head. Smells strongly of bright citrus with some resiny pine aromas peeking through as well. As it warms, maybe some more floral notes come out to play. Taste also has a nice citrus and pine character to it, with a robust bitterness emerging in the middle and intensifying through the finish. Mouthfeel is smooth, medium bodied, and goes down pretty easy. Overall, fantastic double IPA. I feel like I should have more to say about a beer that is this good, but the only thing that comes to mind is that… I want more! A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a snifter on 4/7/12. Label sez: 02/29/12 (presumably bottling date).

I’ve had some of their standard Union Jack IPA before, and I really enjoyed that. I actually mentioned Walker’s Reserve Porter in my Oscars post, though I never got around to doing a full review. I wasn’t a huge fan, but it’s a solid take on a style I don’t usually love. Coming up, we’ve got Firestone Walker XV, their blended anniversary monster beer that everyone’s been raving about (as will I, when I get to the review, probably next week!) and Sucaba, another barrel aged barley wine that I’m very much looking forward to… Basically, they’re a brewery to look out for…

Beer Club: The End is Beer

by

Tonight was beer club, a meeting of beer minded individuals from my work who get together for a meal and lots-o-beer once a month. We had a good turnout this month, with quite a few interesting beers to try. As usual, we hit up a local BYOB, this time a Thai place. Good times were had by all.

Beer Club March 2012

(Click for bigger image)

For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer we tried are below. As usual, conditions were not ideal, so the below probably isn’t completely representative of reality. In order of drinking (not in order of the picture above):

  • Elysian NIBIRU Yerba Mate Tripel – I arrived a bit late to the gathering, so I didn’t get to have a lot of this, but it was a nice Tripel style beer with a twist. Apparently part of a twelve beer series celebrating the Mayan apocalypse of 2012… (also the source of the “End is Beer” pun). I wouldn’t call it a top tier beer, but it was nice. B
  • Lakefront New Grist Sorghum Beer – Wow, is this a light colored beer. Incredibly light beer in every way. Not bad, per say, but there’s not a ton of flavor here either. It reminded me a lot of a less tasty but better balanced Coors Light, if that makes any sense (which it probably doesn’t). Certainly not a great beer, but it has it’s place. C+
  • Tröegs Nugget Nectar – I’ve actually reviewed this before, but I’ve revisited it a couple times since then and I have to admit that it gets better every time I try it. Nice hoppy citrus and pine resin character, with some earthy/herbal notes as well. An excellent beer, I’d upgrade this to a B+, maybe even higher (this was generally considered the best beer of the night by beer club homies)
  • My Homebrewed Simcoe IPA – Seemed to go over very well with the beer club folks, even the people who don’t normally love IPAs. Not to toot my own horn, but this did turn out really well. Tons of citrus and a little pine from the hops in both the nose and taste. The bitterness is well matched and pleasant. Really solid beer. B+
  • Atwater Dirty Blonde Ale – A very nice, sessionable wheat ale that sorta suffered from being tasted after a few stronger, fuller flavored brews. A very nice beer, to be sure, but it was hard to really pronounce it a great beer compared to other beers in the tasting. B-
  • Stillwater Of Love & Regret – Another of my contributions to the night, I bought this last week without realizing that I’d actually had it before, so I figured I’d share the wealth. The bottle did sorta explode when I popped the cap, instantly foaming over. Luckily, we did not lose much of it, and the beer still tasted wonderful. It’s got a saison style feel to it, but a little fruitiness and lots of spice too. Very nice beer and one of my favorites of the night, though some others didn’t care as much for this one… B+
  • Great Lakes Conway’s Irish Ale – This Irish Red Ale seems to share something with the typical English Pale Ale style, though this time around, there’s enough flavor around to make it feel balanced and actually decent. I enjoyed this beer, despite not being very blown away by it. B-
  • Lagunitas A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale – A very nice IPA style beer, though BA lists it as an American Pale Wheat Ale. Not sure what that means, but it turns out that it’s a lot like a regular old (well, a very good, actually) IPA. Lots of American Hop Character, quite nice. I’d like to try it again sometime… B+
  • Left Hand Milk Stout – Another beer I’ve had before and enjoyed. Reminds me very much of Lancaster’s Milk Stout – very roasty, some coffee flavors, and overall a decent roasty stout. Solid, but not one of my favorites. B
  • New Belgium Lips Of Faith – Cocoa Mole – A most unusual beer. I get lots of caramel malt and chocolate out of this, but the chipotle spice is what really gives this beer an extra kick. It was pretty good in the context of beer club, though I’m not sure I’d love to drink an entire bottle of the stuff. B
  • AleSmith Old Numbskull – My other contribution for the night, this was the biggest beer of the night, and boy does it have an intense aroma/flavor profile. Lots of caramel and citrusy, resinous hops. Really nice and I liked it a lot, but I was glad to have shared it with a bunch of other folks. Overall, might be the second best beer of the night behind the Nugget Nectar. B+

A great time was had by all, so it was another successful beer club, and as always, I’m already looking forward to next month!

Pliny the Younger

by

Yeah, so remember how I said that I wouldn’t go out of my way for Pliny the Younger, Russian River’s fabled “triple” IPA? Well, I’m a weak, weak man. My favorite local bar had a rare kegs and eggs event this morning featuring, among other things, Pliny the Younger. They’re just down the road, so how could I really turn this down? I got there about 45 minutes before they tapped the keg, got myself a ticket, and partook in some excellent brunch eatings and a neutral Allagash White whilst I waited.

The hype surrounding the ultra-rare but highly rated IPA (as of right now, #1 on Beer Advocate’s top beers in the world list) was a bit of a turnoff, but since the hoop-jumping was at a minimum, I couldn’t really complain. The Philadelphia area is one of the lucky few to receive some of this stuff, but from reading about past events (mostly in center-city), I can’t say I would have been too enthused to participate. The idea of trekking into the city, paying for parking, then waiting in long lines for a couple ounces of the prized brew was not appealing. But this was right down the street, relatively uncrowded, and mostly pleasant. No waiting for 4 hours in the snow, and I didn’t have to pay 10 bucks to get a few drips of the beer applied with an eyedropper. I got a whole glass!

The bar got crowded, but never really approached madness. Oh, sure, there were lots of beer dorks in attendance, including some of the more annoying variety (one porn-mustachioed fellow walked up to the bar and proclaimed “You know why I’m here” in this sniveling, condescending tone and accompanying glare that was so annoying I’m surprised the bartender didn’t respond with a punch to the face), but for the most part, beer nerds are amiable folk, and a good time was had by all. I even saw one guy sharing his bounty with less prepared strangers who had arrived too late to get their own, which is just plain nice.

For my part, it was a fun experience, and I’m happy to check another white whale beer off the list. But is it the best beer in the world? Did I hear celestial choirs as the angels descended from heaven aboard boats of transcendent light, penetrating through the dank windows of the bar? Let’s take a look, shall we:

Russian River Pliny the Younger

Russian River Pliny the Younger – Pours a shiny gold color with minimal head. Wonderful nose full of citrus & pine. Really fantastic aromas. I just sat there sniffing the stuff for a while, and tried to make the beer last… Taste is full of that same citrus & pine, but it’s got a very well matched sweetness & bitterness. It’s a hop bomb, to be sure, but it’s perfectly balanced with sweet malts. Mouthfeel is very smooth, very drinkable, and again, extremely well balanced. As it warms, a pleasant boozy note emerges, but that doesn’t upset the balance at all… Overall, I can see what the hype is all about and I’m really glad I got the chance to try some of this. A

Beer Nerd Details: 10.5% ABV on tap, drank out of a 6 oz mini-snifter.

So is it the best beer in the world? No. But there may have been a hint of those celestial choirs and angels there too. It’s a great beer, to be sure, and I loved drinking it, but quite frankly, there are tons of excellent IPAs and DIPAs out there there are close enough, and plenty that are just as good or maybe even better. I had a few glasses of Hopslam on tap this year that were just as good if not better than Pliny the Younger. It’s certainly worth the stretch for a glass of the stuff, especially if you’re a hophead, but I have a feeling that if I went really far out of my way, I’d be disappointed. Fortunately, that was not necessary. I mean no disrespect, and if Russian River distributed the stuff far and wide, I’d greedily partake in as much as I could, but I think this beer’s astronomical ratings are at least partly due to how rare it is. My expectations were mitigated, of course, but they were met by the beer, which is often not the case. I love this beer and I’m really happy I got to try it without having to resort to any diabolical schemes involving the sacrifice of my left shoe and firstborn son…

Adventures in Brewing – Homebrew Review!

by

Homebrewing has been a real blast. I mean, I’m not a miracle worker, but I have managed, on several occasions, to turn water into beer. How awesome is that? Even when the results don’t come out as planned, it’s a fun hobby. I reviewed my first batch of homebrew, a brown ale, before I started my second beer (around a year ago), but for a variety of reasons (i.e. laziness), I’ve since fallen way behind on reviewing my beers. So over the course of this past week, I’ve cracked open one of each unreviewed homebrew and gave it a whirl. I suppose I should note the obvious conflict of interest here. While I’m sure you all think of me as a BJCP approved expert and grandmaster Cicerone, my beer tasting notes are highly subjective on even the best day, so my notes on beers I’ve brewed myself might be overly harsh or too lenient. I really don’t know which, and maybe both are present in my notes. Make of this what you will, but since I bore you all to tears with my tedious brewing-day recaps, I figured it’d be worth letting you know how they came out (at least, in my mind and in the probably-no-definitely biased feedback from friends and family).

Homebrew #2: Trappist Tripel – I went a little adventurous for my second brew. High gravity beers are more difficult to brew for a variety of reasons, but I did alright, despite a few rookie mistakes. There are some good things about it, but it ended up with a lot of alcohol character in the taste. It has gotten better with age though, and I think I may be experiencing “waves of maturation”, as sometimes I think this has turned out reasonably well, and other times I think it’s kinda horrible. I still have about a half a case of this left, and with such a high ABV, I think I’ll let it continue to mature (checking on it occasionally). Feedback from friends and family indicates that the beer is rather heavy, which it is… Let’s see how this one treats me:

Homebrewed Tripel

Pours a clearish golden color with a little orange and a finger of head. The smell is quite nice. Typical bready Belgian yeast and spice, along with a surprising fruity character and a not-so-surprising boozy factor. Taste is sweet with that Belgian spice character and plenty of booze, which really asserts itself in the finish and aftertaste. The mouthfeel is full bodied with solid carbonation to start and a little bit of a sticky finish (which becomes more pronounced as the beer warms up). Plenty of warming alcohol character… actually a bit too much hotness here, which is this beer’s one major flaw. Overall, it’s actually gotten better with age, though I wouldn’t call it great. Not bad for my sophomore effort though! B

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 3/13/12. Bottled on 3/6/11.

Homebrew #3: Bavarian Hefeweizen – This is, without a doubt, the worst beer I’ve ever made. I’m not sure what went wrong here, but there’s always been a very distinct off flavor here that I can’t quite describe. I want to say it’s vegetative, but that’s not really right. None of the traditional off flavors seem to describe what I’m getting out of the taste of this beer. In any case, at no point has it ever resembled an actual wheat beer, aside from perhaps the yeast character (which shares a lot with Belgian yeasts). Let’s see how it’s doing now:

Homebrewed Hefeweizen

The beer looks pretty enough. Perhaps a little dark for the style, but a nice golden orangeish color with tons of head. When the beer was young, the aromas were dominated by banana, but as time has gone on, the clove has come out more. It actually smells pretty darn good. The taste is better now than it was when it was young, but there are some off flavors present and it still doesn’t taste at all like wheat. There’s an almost tinny undertone to the beer as well. Carbonation is very high and along with the spice, it’s got a bit of a harsh mouthfeel (this isn’t normally a bad thing in my book, but for this particular beer it is). Overall, it’s not a complete abomination and it’s actually drinkable, but there is something wrong with it. (Other folks have told me that they don’t mind this beer, so maybe I’m being to hard on myself, but in honesty, this beer turned out nothing like what I was going for, and so thus I rate it lowly!) D

Beer Nerd Details: 5.25% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a shaker pint on 3/10/12. Bottled 5/15/11.

Homebrew #4: Saison – This was the first homebrew I made that I truly loved. I patterned the recipe after Saison Dupont (one of my favorites) and the beer actually turned out that way, so this all makes sense. I was very excited about this batch and impatiently cracked one open after only one week of bottle conditioning. And it was perfect. Beautiful fragrant spices and pale malts, very deep flavors, perfect carbonation and a well balanced, full body. Unfortunately, that perfection hasn’t lasted. The beer is still good, but I perhaps used too much priming sugar, as bottles these days tend to be overcarbonated and as the beer has matured, it’s taken on a bit of that boozy hotness (nowhere near the levels of the tripel, but still there). I think I underestimated how effectively the 3711 French Saison yeast would eat up the wort, as this did come out a bit stronger than I was looking for. If I make something like this again, it will be a little lower in gravity, with less priming sugar at bottling time, and again, I think better temperature control will also be helpful. Anyways, response to this beer has been generally positive, though some don’t like the spicy and overcarbonated nature of the beer. Here we go:

Homebrew Saison

Pours a cloudy golden yellowish color with tons of fluffy head that leaves a little lacing as I drink. Smell is filled with spicy aromas (definitely clove, maybe some banana and bready Belgian yeast. The taste is sweet, but filled with spiciness (again clove), and a mild bitterness in the very dry finish (this level of bitterness wasn’t in the beer on the first week, but it’s not inappropriate either). Maybe just a hint of booze as well. Mouthfeel is very strong, full bodied, and harsh with tons of carbonation. Overall, it’s still quite good, but it’s not even really close to my initial taste of the stuff. B+ (though maybe an A for that first taste).

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a goblet on 3/10/12. Bottled on 7/6/11.

Homebrew #5: Stout – The goal with this one was to make a stout with more than a one dimensional roasty character to it. I planned to emphasize chocolate and caramel in this batch, and for the most part I succeeded. However, the beer does have some issues. No real “defects” per say, just things that aren’t ideal. For instance, the final gravity was around 1.020, which makes for quite a heavy tasting beer – I was hoping for more attenuation here. Perhaps as a result, the head on this beer is pretty lackluster, and it fades quickly. Its the sort of beer that starts off well, but gets to be a bit much by the end of the bottle. Perhaps it will improve with time, but here’s what I’m getting out of it now:

Homebrewed Stout

Pours a very dark brown color, almost black (no highlights when held up to light) with a finger of quickly disappearing light brown head. The smell features that caramel malt in full force, with a chalky roastiness also present, maybe just a hint of coffee. The taste is similar, though the roasted malts are more prominent here and it could perhaps have used a bit more hop balance. Still, it’s not one dimensionally roasty, and that caramel and chocolate malt adds a nice complexity to the taste. The mouthfeel is extremely heavy and full bodied. It’s well carbonated, but a little acidic in the finish, especially as it warms up. It’s the sort of beer that starts out well enough, but it really gets rough towards the end of the glass. Overall, it’s ok, in the direction I wanted to go, but it hasn’t quite reached the destination. I think some recipe tweaks, either toning it down (or up!) and using some more hops could help it out. I also need to figure out how to get a little more attenuation out of the yeast… Again, I like this beer, it’s really interesting, but it’s hard to rate it very high when even I can’t seem to finish an entire bottle of it. C+ (would be maybe a B- or B if it held itself together longer)

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a snifter on 3/11/12. Bottled on 8/28/12.

Homebrew #6: Spiced Christmas Ale – Not to toot my own horn, but this is the best beer I’ve made so far (ok, I’m going to toot my own horn a little ). It’s a winter warmer style beer whose recipe was created on-the-fly in the homebrew shop (with a lot of help from the owner). Anchor Christmas was something of an inspiration, but this beer isn’t patterned after a specific version and I came up with the spicing regimen entirely on my own. It’s the beer I’m most proud of, from the recipe and spicing regimen to the way it turned out. Seems to be a popular beer when I give it to others, including the guy at the homebrew shop (I totally owed him a couple bottles thanks to his improvisation), who asked if I entered it into any competitions. It turned out to be pretty much exactly what I wanted, and unlike the saison, it’s stayed that way for a few months now. Ok, let’s toot some more horns:

Homebrewed Christmas Ale 2011

Pours a deep, dark amber color (almost, but not quite brown), with a finger of light colored head. Smells fantastic. The cinnamon and clove come through especially well, though I also get a fair amount of sugary citrus in the nose. A friend described it like it was a snickerdoodle cookie, which is pretty awesome. The taste has a sweetness to it, but it’s very spicy and it has a well balanced, somewhat dry finish. The mouthfeel is a dream – smooth, almost creamy, medium bodied, a little harshness from the spiciness, but still quite quaffable (probably my most quaffable beer). Overall, I can’t believe this beer came out as great as it did. I was worried that I’d overdo the spices (and in a lot of spiced winter beers, the spices are overpowering), but the spices I added balanced out really well. Again, this is probably my best beer, and I think it stacks up well against a lot of the commercial winter warmers I had this year. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.0% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a tulip on 3/11/12. Bottled on 11/20/11.

Homebrew #7: Simcoe IPA – My most recent brew, it’s only been 3 weeks since bottling. I’ve had a few of these so far (again, I was very impatient with this one) and damn it’s been good. A little undercarbonated in the first week, but that should have worked itself out by now, so I’m really excited to try this out…

Homebrewed Simcoe IPA

Pours a very pretty golden color with a finger of head that leaves a little lacing as I drink. Smells strongly of grapefruit and pine (interestingly, more pine now than in week 1) along with a nice sugary sweet aroma. The taste also starts off sweet, plenty of that citrus and pine hop character, and a nice, bracing bitterness in the relatively dry finish. Mouthfeel is quite good. Medium bodied and the carbonation has come up to speed too. Not sure how to describe it, but it’s like the carbonation has small bubbles. Actually quite quaffable. Overall, this is one damn good IPA. There’s nothing quite like a super-fresh IPA, but I can’t wait to see how it matures over time as well. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7% ABV bottled (12 oz.) Drank out of a snifter on 3/10/12. Bottled on 2/18/12.

So there you have it. All in all, I think I’ve got 3.5-4 cases of homebrewed beer left, with another 5 gallons (about 2 cases) in the fermenter right now. Alas, my best beers are the ones that go the fastest, and the IPA was a small batch to start with. Anyways, I’ve learned a lot since my first batch, and I think my past couple batches show that I’ve at least got the basics down. I’d list out some of those learnings, but that’s perhaps another post for another day.

Gemini

by

I don’t normally just defer to a brewery’s marketing department when writing an intro to a beer, but this one is actually pretty well done:

High in the winter sky, two parallel stick figures are visible & known as “the twins,” or the constellation Gemini. The astronauts of the 1960s flew as teams of two in a program named after the celestial pairing. At Southern Tier, we have our own fraternal twins, Hoppe & Unearthly. Blended together & placed in this vessel, the mission of our Gemini is to travel high & take passengers on a journey far into the heavens.

Well, there you have it. I’ve already discussed my lack of creativity when it comes to naming my own beers, but a lot of beer names are just sorta random. But it’s always nice to see a very well thought out name for a beer, like this one.

One weird thing about this beer: The bottle sez it’s 10.5% ABV, but Southern Tier’s Website sez 9%. RateBeer sez 10.5%, Beer Advocate sez 9%. What’s going on here? Similar inconsistency exists for one of this beer’s blended duo – Hoppe is sometimes listed at 8% and other times 8.5%. Given that this is a blend of Hoppe and Unearthly (which, thankfully, is consistently reported as 9.5% ABV), I would be surprised if it somehow gained a few percentage points of alcohol… lending further credence to the 9% number. This post on the RateBeer forums seems to indicate that Southern Tier adjusted a bunch of ABV values on their website, but the entire discussion is speculation (and pointless debate over why ABV matters) and the thread is from 2009. One would think that if Southern Tier adjusted their ABVs, they would have also updated their labels at some point… I smell a pedantic email session coming on.

Well, whatever the case, the important thing is how it tasted, so here we go:

Southern Tier Gemini

Pours a golden orange color with just a bit of quickly disappearing head. Smell is sugary sweet, lots of juicy hop aromas, a little pine – fantastic nose. The taste is extremely sweet, lots of those juicy hop flavors emerging in the middle, and just a hint of bitterness in the finish and aftertaste. Mouthfeel is crisp and clean, just a hint of sugary/boozy stickiness, but at the same time, it hides that alcohol very well. Overall, a fantastic DIPA. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 10.5% (or maybe 9%) ABV bottled (22 oz. bomber). Drank out of a snifter glass on 2/24/12. Bottle sez: DOB 01/26/12 (so this was less than a month old at time of consumption).

Southern Tier continues to make intriguing beers, though they tend towards being overly sweet for my palate. That being said, I may have even rated this one higher if I haven’t had the opportunity to have Hopslam a few times recently… I’ll most likely be checking out more Southern Tier beers at some point, though perhaps not right away…