Discovery World's Legacies of Milwaukee Brewing Tour

Because of scheduling conflicts I can't make this, and I know there's short notice on signing up - but I wanted to share this anyhow.  This is a tour that's well worth taking.

When:  Saturday, 9/21/13 10 AM - 5 PM
How Much:  $80 for Discovery World members, $90 for the rest of us.

The tour takes a luxury Badger coach bus around the Lower and Upper Eastside, Haymarket Square, Schlitz Park, Brewers Hill, Riverwest and Murry Hill.  It includes lunch at Stonefly Brewery (and a tour of it with the head brewer), beer samples, a tour booklet, a beer brewed in Discovery World's THIRST lab (The one I got on the tour I took was good), and other stuff.

You have to be 21 and if you park at Discovery World you get a special rate of $8

Sign up in advance.

I took a tour with this group a couple years ago, and I desperately want to do it again - scheduling just seems to be my problem.

Check out their website for more information:
http://www.discoveryworld.org/programs/legacies-of-milwaukee-brewing/

If you go, tell me about it!

Common Courtesy

This summer has been of doing things, which hasn’t left me the time to write as much as I’d have liked, but getting out and about more than I have the last few years has reinforced a couple points of common courtesy when it comes to going out for drinks (or participating in events where drinking is expected to play a role):

Don’t Be a Drag

• Don’t get self righteous.  If you’re not drinking and everyone else is, don’t talk about it.  Nobody cares.  Not really.  What you end up doing is making them feel like you’re judging.  And if you are judging, then you might want to think about why you’re even there.
• Don’t hide that you’re not drinking.  Nobody likes a fake.
• Don’t be the odd man out.  Sometimes non-drinkers can make everyone else uncomfortable.  drink non-alcoholic beer - the alcohol content is negligible and you fit in even if everyone knows you're drinking NA.  If NA beer isn’t your thing, find something that is - something like a Shirley Temple, or if all else fails, a tonic or coke with a lime wedge.

Buy a Round

• Don’t be cheap.  Buy a round once in a while.
• Take Care of Your Friends
• We’ve all been short on cash.  As long as your friend isn’t a mooch, buy a drink for him if his money’s tight and you’re all having a good time

Take Care of Your Bartender/Waitress

• Tip.  Just do it.  And if you like the person taking care of you and want to make sure they take real good care of you, be polite, be patient and tip well.  You’d be surprised how often it pays off.

Be the Designated Driver

• Don’t always take advantage of friends that don’t drink. 
• Don’t get smashed if everyone else expects you to drive.  If you start as the driver, expect to end as the driver unless someone specifically says they’ll drive everyone home at the end of the night.
• If you’re the sloppy drunk, make sure you’re the DD every so often to thank your friends for all the times they took care of you when you were too far gone to take care of yourself.
• Don’t drive drunk.  If you have a couple drinks, drink water and stop early - give yourself plenty of time to sober up.

What points of common courtesy do you think are most important?  What do you think I've neglected to mention?

Lakefront Brewery Tour

On my vacation this summer, one of the things I hit up were tours I’d been meaning to take - including Lakefront Brewery.  It’s close to home and I’ve heard from friends that it’s their favorite brewery tour, but I had just never made the time for it.

I rectified that. 

Honestly, it’s a small tour, but a good one.  The brewery is in a single building, with a gift shop, a large tasting room, a room overlooking the brewery floor, and the brewery floor itself. 

You’re given tokens for four 6-oz beers, and your guide encourages you to fill up before the tour starts.  Then they talk about the start of the brewery, and the basics of brewing (which you get on every tour of every brewery you visit) and then there’s a break to cash in more tokens for more beer.  Then the tour moves down to the end of the bottling line where they talk about bottling and kegging and such.

When it’s all done, you can trade in your sample cup for a Lakefront Brewery pint glass.
The whole thing costs a mere $7.00.

What really makes the tour a step above the rest is that it’s relaxed, fun and funny.  I think they pick their tour guides carefully, because I’ve heard the same from other people who’ve taken the tour, and I don’t think we’ve all had the same guides.

Most tours I’ve taken have been interesting, filled with information and led by people who are passionate about the history of the brewery or the crafting of good beer.  My Lakefront tour guide was passionate about drinking, funny as hell, and had a sense of humor somewhere between a 12 year old and a college co-ed.  Really, the guide made the tour great.  It doesn’t hurt that I have yet to have a beer from Lakefront that isn’t good.

My suggestion - take the tour.  Do it.  You won’t regret it.

Milwaukee Brewfest 2013

Amanda and I went to our fourth Brewfest on Saturday, July 27.  Since we’d tried buying VIP tickets after they’d sold out last season, Amanda bought them for me as my Christmas gift.  It got us an extra hour, access to a few beers that weren’t available to everyone else, access to a roped off section where there were more port-o-potties and some picnic tables with dishes of pretzels.  I know some people wouldn’t think it’s worth the extra money, but I’m glad we did it.  Happy enough that I think we’ll probably do it again.

Yet again, it was impossible to try everything.  I suppose that’s a sign that I should be willing to dump more beer, but I’d rather interpret it as the event doing a good job bringing a wide variety of beers for sampling.  We hit the tables hard, and got through a good number of them, though, and there were only a couple beers that I wanted to try which ran out before I got to them.  Cider Row was improved, which made Amanda (who’d not the most enthusiastic beer drinker) quite happy. 

It was a fantastic time and I ended up learned several important lessons:

• Pacing yourself is everything.  You’d think this would be common sense, but some of us have to learn the hard way.  This year I did a good job pacing myself, and made it from open to close.
• Pacing is easier if you have friends.  We met up with a bunch of guys we knew from the Milwaukee Blitzdkrieg men’s roller derby team, and chatted with them between beer stops.
• If you have a friend, it’s better to let them hold your glass than to lose it.  I ended up having to get a new one because my original glass walked off.
• A pretzel necklace will increase your stamina considerably.  A pretzel necklace with beef jerky is even better.  A pretzel and jerky necklace with Wint-O-Green Lifesavers will let you end the event with fresh breath.
• And my most important lesson:  I don’t like barley wine.  Not at all.  No apologies, but after trying it both last year and this year, I can say for certain it’s just not for me.  I’m sure there’ll be people who are appalled to hear that I’m such a philistine, but I’d rather spend my trying beers I’m likely to enjoy than trying to convince myself I need to acquire a taste for barley wine.

For the most part, I didn’t really have any beers that I didn’t like, and I tried beer from a lot of breweries in a lot of styles.  I confirmed that I’m a fan of bourbon barrel aged beer, though, and that when you’re doing a scotch ale, sometimes less is more.

The one beer we tried that stood out was by Rogue which created a beer based on Portland, Oregon’s Voodoo Doughnuts “Memphis Mafia” doughnut.  Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter.  The Banana was pretty strong in this ale.  Amanda liked it (which is a good sign, because she likes Bananas, but not fake banana flavoring), but I have my reservations.  Unlike Amanda, I wouldn’t drink this by itself, but I think it would do well as a beer float.

All-in-all this was a great time, and the perfect Christmas gift.

One Thing Off The Bucket List

I’ve wanted to check out the Delafield Brewhaus, and I finally made it there for lunch the other day.  I haven’t gone so far because their location is a little inconvenient for me.  But I had the day off and made the most of it.

The decor is an odd mix of German beer hall, brew pub and random brewerania.  Having old brewerania hanging on the walls is pretty common in brew pubs, but it’s a little of an odd mix with the German beer hall elements.  They make it work, though.  I ordered their Das Laker (fried Walleye sandwich), which was quite good, and a beer sampler.   

The sampler included: 

• Leisure Beer, a light-bodied lager which won a 2012 World Beer Championship Bronze
• Summerzeit Hefe Weizen which won the 2002 World Beer Championship Silver
• Delafield Amber, their biggest seller and winner of the 2002 World Beer Championship Bronze
• Pewaukee Porter, which won the 2011 World Beer Championship Silver
• Fruhlingzeit Maibock
• Nagawicked Pale Ale

It’s not surprising that their amber is their biggest seller.  I’ve heard it said that every state seems to have a style that is the staple of most brew pubs and micro-breweries.  If that’s true, then it’s the amber in Wisconsin.  But their amber wasn’t at the top of my list.  In fact, they all  ranked about the same in my book - drinkable but not particularly noteworthy.  The Leisure Beer is their lightest - I’d consider it a lawnmower beer - and I thought it was their best.  For me that’s a pretty clear mark that I won’t go out of my way to visit again. 

If they were more conveniently located for me, the food is good enough that I’d go back for their food and get a beer, but I think brew pubs need to be better than just okay.  It makes me wonder about the awards their beers won, though.  The taste of their beers has likely shifted since they won the awards - it happens in all craft breweries - but was the shift that big?  Or do I have different criteria for judging a good beer than beer judges?  I’d like to learn more about picking out different flavors in beer, but I think the most important test is the one that any beer drinker can do.  “Do I like this?  Would I come back for this?”  If the answer is no to either question, then it’s time to move on.

O’so Tasty!

I decided to celebrate this hop day that I picked up while out visiting my Mother-in-Law and my wife’s home town.  Although I didn’t pick up anything local this time, I picked up something from a brewery I haven’t tried yet - O’so Brewing Co. (www.osobrewing.com) in Plover, WI - not far from the Point and Central Waters breweries.

I picked up their Hopdinger.  The bottle advertises it as “Pungent - Hoppy - Crisp - Floral - Bitter - Piney - Resinous - Engaging.”  It pours a thick tan head that looks like a butterscotch shake from the top.  It has a nice, translucent, light reddish-orange color and it smells like peeling an orange in a pine forest after a rain.  I have to admit - I love the way it smells!  The taste is a nice balance of hops and malt, producing a flavor that reminded me of eating a fresh buttermilk biscuit with orange marmalade that’s just a little bitter from having a touch too much rind.  The flavor shifts to something a bit piney in the aftertaste.  Start to finish, it’s really good.

Helpful Hops

Although I’m drinking a much lighter, much more lightly hopped beer than normal tonight, I thought I’d touch on a few characteristics of our favorite little flower.  Hops are flower clusters that are commonly referred to as the cone.  They are also available to brewers in a processed pellet form, and I think I read somewhere that Miller uses a patented processed hop that increases shelf life/reduces chance of skunky beer.  Don’t quote me on that, though.  The aspect that most people notice is the bitterness, but hops can add a variety of flavors and smells to beer that are quite delightful.  There are a number of hop varieties, and each brings its own unique characteristics to the beer they are added to.  Hops are also added to beer at a variety of stages in the brewing process depending on what specific characteristic the brewer wants to foster.  Many people I know love malty beer; but I’ll have mine with a side of hops, please.

Nevertheless, I’m taking it easy tonight with a nice light Helles.  Schlafly Summer Lager, to be specific.  It poured a pale, clear amber with a light fizzy head.  It is fresh, crisp and light with a light toasted malt flavor backed by a little crisp hoppiness.  Since it was a warm day, and I didn’t turn the air on, I think it’s perfect for an evening where I’m trying to cool the house down.  Cheers!

Sumerian Sample

This weekend I went to a party thrown by my good friends in GSM Bristol, a group of late 16th century reenactors who work at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.  This was a reunion, and I had a great time.  In addition to sharing stories and laughs with friends old and new, I had the opportunity to sample a number of good beers.  Some were commercial, some were home brews.  A number of my friends brew, so they brought some beer and we passed the bottle getting some sips.  I'm not going to take the time to rant and rave about how good some of them were.  Instead, I want to focus on one interesting beer. 

Ivan made a Sumerian beer.  He malted his own grain and smoked some of it.  The beer was to be made with wild yeast started with fermented dates.  Since the recipe he was using indicated that the alcohol content would be fairly low, he boosted it with some champagne yeast.

The end result had a rich, full, interesting flavor.  It was sour and acidic.  It tasted like tomatoes, and the flavor from the smoked grain came through.

It was not a beer I would just sit and drink.  But it is something that I think might pair well with a good meal.  My friend Scott suggested that it might improve with age.  Ivan said that the information he'd read about the beer didn't talk about it after much time, so he wasn't sure how it would turn out with time. 

Personally, I think that it's quite drinkable now, but it needs something to complement the flavor.  I'm thinking that  maybe a steak withh a rice pilaf and maye some kind of fresh vegetable relish/salad with a vinegar base would be really good. 

More so than any other beer that I've tried, it makes me want to learn more about beer and food paring so that you can maximize the enjoyment of both.

Maybe I need to find the time to start working on that...

Old Fashioned, Not Outdated

Tonight I’m drinking Samuel Smith’s India Ale, and when I decided to pick up this beer, I decided to check out their website - http://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/

It’s not a fancy site, but the info about the brewery makes me wish I could visit North Yorkshire, England.  The Old Brewery is Yorkshire’s oldest brewery, and they still employ a cooper!  In case you don’t know, coopers make barrels and it’s a profession that’s fascinated me for years.  That right there makes me like Samuel Smith all that much more.  So far I’ve had their porter and their organic raspberry - both of which I love.  Now I find out that they are AWESOME as well as a brewer of good beer?

But it gets better - there are pubs in the area that stock only Samuel Smith’s beers.  The brewery has an area manager who looks after Samuel Smith’s pubs and recruits live-in management couples to run a pub and live above it.  They also provide a pub atmosphere focused on the beer and on conversation - no music or TVs.  Maybe that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it sounds fantastic to me.

Okay, enough about my new-found puppy love with this brewer.  I might as well devote a couple of sentences to what I’m drinking:

It poured a clear orangey-amber with no carbonation or head.  The scent wasn’t strong.  It was fruity like, apples and pears and sparkling white grape juice.  The hops played a large role in the flavor, but I would describe it as predominantly malty.  It is not what I would consider a bitter beer, although there was definitely a bitter finish.  Instead of being a force to be reckoned with (like I’m known to seek out in beers) the hops provided a bitterness that added character and balance to the malt as well as a hint of fruitiness which reminded me of cider.  This was very good.

MKE Brewfest 3

This last Saturday (July 28th) was the third annual Milwaukee Brewfest (milwaukeebrewfest.com.)  This is an event that I really like, and I’ve been fortunate enough to go all three years.  (Next year’s is July 27th, 2013 - If you haven’t made it to one, I suggest you save the date!)

Milwaukee Brewfest is held at McKinley Park on the lakeshore, and it is a great location for this event:  the beauty of the lake, the open space for the tents and grass instead of pavement.  It is perfect for sampling beer, enjoying the weather, and plopping down just about anywhere if you’ve had a bit too much.

This year brought a couple of small, but important changes.  They had a waiting area where you could get your wristband and glass before they opened instead of standing in line and then having to take care of business when they opened the gate.  Great idea!  There was still a line to get in, and the waiting area filled up before the line cleared, but it definitely got people in more smoothly.  Amanda and I arrived 30 minutes early, which meant we were able to find a place in the shade to wait.

The drawback of being there early was watching with longing as the people who had purchased VIP passes casually sampled without the crowds.  VIP passes get you in early, get you samples to several VIP beers that aren’t available to the thirsty masses, and also gives you a chance to talk with the people pouring beer.  Even after the gates open for general admission, the crowds in the beer tents rarely prevent you from getting a sample right away (unless you choose to stand in the one or two long lines that inevitably form somewhere,) but if you want to ask someone about their product you’ll either get the 30 second intro, or you’ll seriously tick off the people behind you.

The other difference this year was the ballots for Brewfest Queen voting.  The first two years they were un-crimped Lakefront Brewery caps to drop in the container for your chosen queen-hopeful.  Unfortunately, it seemed like a lot of them were thrown away.  This year the caps were replaced by a paper ballot with blanks for name and email address.  Although less cool, it advertised the possibility of winning free beer.  Who doesn’t love free beer?

I had a blast, and tried plenty of beer and cider.  I haven’t yet figured out how to take any real notes while taking full advantage of the event, so I’ll just give you two quick lists with my tops and my bottoms. 

Tops:

• Svea Liljas Sasquatch Stout
• Four Horsemen Hop Rush IPA
• Dale's Old Chub Scotch Ale
• Delafield Brewhaus Pomegranate Ale
• Ale Asylum Sticky McDoogle Scotch Ale

Bottoms:

• Big Bay Summer Tide
• Lagunitas Gnarly Wine

Everything else fell somewhere in between.  I had a great time, and I plan to make it next year - maybe I’ll get my rear in gear early enough to get VIP tickets, though.  Happy Hop Day!

A Sense of Style

I hope you had a happy Hop Day! 

For today I drank two styles of beer:  an American Pale Ale (APA) and an Extra Special Bitter (ESB).  In both styles, hops are the key; and since there is a bit of overlap between the two styles, here is a quick run-down of similar styles and what typically makes them different from one another:

• Bitter is an ale typically made with a pale malt.  Extra Special Bitter typically refers to stronger versions while Ordinary is on the low end and Best or Special falls somewhere between.  Many are adjunct beers (made with other grains in addition to the barley malt) which tends to make them a bit crisp.
• Pale Ales are typically stronger, and many are all malt.  American Pale Ales are typically stronger than English Pale Ales, but the real difference is the way the hops come through in the flavor (American Pale Ales being brewed with American hops).
• India Pale Ales are part of the Pale Ale family, but they are typically a little paler, stronger and more bitter than other pale ales.  The American IPA is much like other IPAs, but with American hops.

Honestly there is a good deal of overlap with these styles, so it is possible to drink to different styles from two different breweries and find that they have a lot in common.  That wasn’t the case for me, though.  Both beers are from Schlafly in St. Louis. 

The first beer was a Schlafly Dry Hopped APA.  The head formed more quickly than I anticipated and faded slowly.  I had to pour half a bottle at a time to fill my glass without overflowing.  The biscuit-colored head was dense, but still fluffy.  It smelled faintly of hops and was a murky reddish orange.  It had a mild flavor, starting dry like a red wine with a thick malty texture.  This was not a “coffee” beer, but it had something of the acidity and bitterness that I notice when drinking from a black coffee.  Aside from an unassuming bitterness that would be at home in a maibock, it tasted like dry wheat toast.  It was a decent beer - I give it three stars.

The second beer was a Schlafly Winter ESB.  It had a short, fizzy head that faded fast.  The beer was a reddish walnut color and smelled slightly floral backed by the smell of rising bread dough.  It was bitter, tart and fizzy; sweet with a hint of caramel.  The sourness was citrusy.  To me it seemed a little medicinal.  The carbonation was too fizzy and I kept thinking of Alka-Seltzer.  I was also expecting it to be a little heavier.  Overall, I didn’t care for it - I give it one star.

Export IPA

Happy Hop Day!  Tonight I’m drinking a Schlafly Export IPA.   Schlafly Brand is brewed in Saint Louis by The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc.  They are the largest locally owned independent brewery in the St. Louis area, and they have two brew-pubs:  The Schlafly Tap Room in Downtown St. Louis and Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood.  Schlafly is distributed mostly within 300 miles of St. Louis.  The Export IPA is one of their Special Release seasonal beers (March-April AVB 7.2%, IBU 65.)

It poured a nice white frothy head and was a good orange color.  The scent was wonderful and fruity:  apricots and peaches with a little raisin and citrus.  The flavor was even better.  It was biscuit and fruity - sweet like banana and apricot.  There wasn’t much bitterness - just a touch at the end.  It’s not what I expect when I think of an IPA, but it is REALLY tasty.  I love this beer!

Brew Tour

Last November (2011), Amanda had a work conference in Las Vegas.  I needed a get-away, and since lodging was already covered, we only had to pay for my flight and expenses.  Since I didn’t have much money, I decided to take a walking beer-tour of the strip and the surrounding area.

When we checked into the hotel, the bell-boy and I chatted and he suggested Ellis Island.  I got myself a map and checked the internet to make a plan.  I intended to get started first thing in the morning, thinking that in a place like the strip that wouldn’t be an issue.  I was wrong.

Brew pubs and beer bars open at 11:00 a.m.  Since I’d left our room at 8:30 that morning, I walked an awful lot before I got my first beer - at the Sin City Brewing Company bar at the Flamingo. 

Sin City Brewing Co.

Sin City Brewing has two other locations, one at the Miracle Mile and one at the Venetian, but both are tiny - just a small bar with a few stools, open to the shopping centers in which they’re located.  They didn’t have a sampler, but the bar tender agreed to pour me a sip of whatever I wanted before I bought a pint.  I paid $6.00/glass, and all things considered it wasn’t a bad price for where I was drinking and what I was getting.

• Their stout was pretty good - smooth and very drinkable.  It had a mild caramel nose, Light mouth feel that coats your mouth with a soft maltiness, and a little bitterness on the aftertaste.
• Their Amber was my favorite.  They describe it as a “Full bodied Octoberfest beer.”  It was malty and smooth without much bitterness.  Very pleasant.

Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.

Gordon Biersch was recommended by my friend, Scott, and I have to admit they are fantastic!  I had a salad and their garlic fries along with their beer sampler.  The following are the beers I sampled in order from my least favorite (which was still a good beer) to my most favorite:

• Czech Pilsner - Crisp and malty, balanced nicely by a bit of hop bitterness
• Märzen - Bready with a slightly floral hop finish, and a sweet-malty scent
• Golden Export - Malty with a hint of hops.  It has a mild scent and a good aftertaste
• Hefeweizen - Malty with a little pleasant sourness and a scent that was a bit sour and musky.  It was light and very nice
• A Seasonal IPA - Despite the floral scent, the flavor was more of a sweet, fruity hops with a bitterness that lingered into the aftertaste.  It was a good IPA
• Schwarzbier - Normally I’m not a big fan of schwarzbiers, but theirs is really good.  It has a mild, malty scent, and the flavor, predominantly malty, leads with a bit of bitterness and ends with a fairly clean finish
• A Seasonal Winter Bock - Sweet and malty.  The flavor was strong (although not overpowering) with a lingering finish.  This was also their darkest beer

Hofbräuhaus Las Vegas

Compared to the Old German Beer Hall in Milwaukee, I found it a little disappointing. – The Las Vegas location is bigger, but that's all it has on Milwaukee.  The dining hall is separated from the front bar and gift shop.  The taps at the bar are on a giant stainless steel T that is mounted on the bar, and it takes up enough space to visually block what seems like nearly half of the bar.  The beer was great, but I’ve long been a big fan of Hofbräu beers.  My suggestion is to get a table rather than sitting at the bar.  They have daily lunch specials, but it looked like their menu paired sausage with fries rather than kraut, potato salad or red cabbage like I would have expected.

Ellis Island Casino & Brewery

If I were to do it over, I would skip Ellis Island Casino and Brewery, but if you’re short on funds, you should know they were the least expensive beers I’d found.  There is a seating area near the brewery equipment, but it isn’t a brew pub.  It’s the seating for pizza and for BBQ, which open late in the day.  The bar at the other end of the building serves the beer brewed there.  I can say, that the bartender working the day I was there was very nice.

• Their IPA was light amber and tasted much like a light beer with a little bit of hoppiness.  I’d prefer it to a macro brew, but it wasn’t much when you expect an IPA.
• The Weiss was not impressive either, and after that I wasn’t interested in trying their other beers.

The Pub at Monte Carlo

This was my favorite place to drink, and the atmosphere was great.  The lighting was subdued, and the décor emphasized two things:  beer and sports.  I sat at the bar and behind the bar was a wall of kegs and beer signs.  They had a 7 page beer menu which clearly indicated where beers were from and whether they were in bottles or on one of their many taps.  I had two Nevada beers there:

• Joseph James Brewing Co. Hop Box IPA - It was a beautiful reddish-amber color, and the lacy head clung to the glass.  The scent was mild and floral.  It had a great mouth feel.  There was a nice lingering bitterness around the back corners of my tongue.  The flavor was sweet, not overly malty and had a floral bitterness.  I could have drunk a lot of it if they weren’t charging $9 for a pint.
• Tenaya Creek Brewing Co. Hop Ride IPA - It was a crystal clear golden orange with a dense lace from the head.  The scent was fruity, like a citrus-mango scent smelled across the room with open windows on a cool spring day.  The mouth feel was light around the edges of the mouth and the back of the palate but clingy and pucker on the roof of the mouth.  Bitterness is a little strong at the front of the mouth, reducing as it rolls to the back of the throat and there is a fruity sweetness that fades quickly.

Amanda’s partner at the conference told me that there was a nice bar a little further from the strip that was the place to go, but I didn’t have a chance to make it.  My conclusion is that you are better off looking for a bar with a good beer selection than looking for a brew pub, but I had a great deal of fun on my beer tour of the strip.

Spiced Winter Ale Bottled

Today I bottled the Spiced Winter Ale (Northern Brewer kit) that I brewed five weeks ago.  It spent two weeks in the primary fermenter and three in the secondary.  I finally had time to bottle it today.  It smelled good and looked good.  My only concern is that the hydrometer reading indicated there isn't much alcohol in it.  I may just be really bad with the hydrometer, but I'm not sure.  I have a lot to get done today, so I didn't double check with the refractometer - I figure it's too late now anyhow.  I'm going to just have to find out once I start drinking it.  And I can't wait!  I'm pretty sure I haven't repeated any of the mistakes I made on the last two batches, so now I just need to figure out what I have to learn from this batch.  I love brewing beer!  I can't wait until I'm good enough that I can make beers that I can show off and share with people.

Bitter Boulevard

Happy Hop Day!  I like IPAs, but bitter is done well in other styles as well.  Not going too far afield, we’re going to look at two beers by Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri.  Boulevard has been in operation since 1989 and they lay claim to being the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest.

A claim like that could mean a number of things - largest unaffiliated with major brewing conglomerate, largest selection, largest distribution area, largest production in gallons, etc.  Someday I should look at the claims each brewery makes to see just what they mean.  Regardless, I’ve enjoyed every beer that I’ve had by them, so until I decide to look further, I’ll just keep drinking.

For my friends in Wisconsin, you’ll find their beer hard to find, since it isn’t distributed here (I got mine from a friend in O’Fallon, MO).  This is intentional, because they believe that their limited regional distribution helps them focus on maintaining a variety of wonderful and fresh beers.

One of their first Beers was the Boulevard Pale Ale, which is one of the two beers I’ve recently drunk.  It is a beautiful reddish orange with a soft, cream-colored head.  It has a mild malty-citrusy scent and a pleasant, light mouth feel.  The taste begins with a bitterness that’s almost fizzy with a bready finish.  It is more malty than bitter, but very well balanced.  Honestly, I wish I’d been eating a grilled cheese sandwich when I drank it.

The other beer that I had was their Double-Wide IPA.  It poured a more murky orange with slightly brownish undertones, but it had a wonderful, white, fluffy head like whipped egg whites.  The scent was an engaging floral aroma with a hint of sour.  The mouth feel was crisp in the way that I love on hot days.  The flavor is predominantly an earthy bitterness that is almost a little chalky with just a hint of malt.  If you don’t like bitter, then you won’t like this beer because that is it’s defining characteristic.  Although the flavor was almost disappointingly monochromatic, the lack of breadth did not ruin the beer for me.  Simply put, I enjoyed it.

End of the Hop-Day Hiatus

As much as I'd rather drink beer (and write about it), my day job had to be a priority.  But things seem to be returning to normal, so that means beer!  Since Wednesday (Independence Day!) wasn't really much of a hump-day, Tuesday was my hump-day this week, marking the first day where my daily schedule returned to normal.  So after work I went out with my friend Brad.

We grabbed supper at McBob's Pub and Grill on North Ave, just off of Hwy 41.  If you've never eaten there, then I highly suggest going and having their corned beef.  They have the best corned beef sandwich I've ever had!  In addition to good food, they also have a decent selection of beers (macro, micro and import) on tap and a good selection of bottled craft beers. 

While I was there I tried Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA.  It is a golden American India Pale Ale (7.0% ABV / 75 IBU).  It is an award winning beer (several years at the Great American Beer Festival).  It was good, easy to drink and was a comfortable companion to good conversation.  It was bitter without being overwhelming, but it brought some nice flavor to balance out the bitter.  I give it 3 3/4 stars.

Schlafly American IPA

Happy Hop Day!  I poured myself the Schlafly Special Release American India Pale Ale by The Saint Louis Brewery Inc. and can say that I immediately like the simplicity of the way it looked in the glass.  It had a crystal clear medium amber color with a light, white, fluffy head.  I also loved the bottle because they took the time to add a great quote:

“There can’t be good living where there isn’t good drinking.” - Benjamin Franklin

The scent was mild.  I didn’t smell malt, just a light, floral hoppiness.  I took a sip and the mouth feel was light, washing easily over my entire mouth.  It wasn’t thick or soft, but it was very pleasant.  It tasted sweet, with a bit of floral hops chased by a nice bitterness.  This beer was simple, but good.  It definitely fits into what I expect when I open an IPA.

I give it 4 stars

O’Fallon 5 Day IPA

Happy Hop Day!  This week I cracked into my Missouri beers.  The label of O’Fallon Brewery’s 5 Day IPA said that it was the Riverfront Times 2008 Best Beer in St. Louis.  I set my expectations high.

It poured a murky orange with barely any head and no lace.  I’m fine with not being able to see clear through a beer, and I like the look of a fine frothy head, but I don’t put much stock in it.  I like the color, but I have to say that if you’re looking for a beer experience includes a nice visual, you’d probably be just as safe drinking this one from the bottle.

It smelled like orange rind or maybe the orange pinwheel cookies that my mom makes.  Very nice.  The mouth feel was smooth, light and refreshing.  It was crisp and refreshing, like drinking a cool glass of water on a hot day - very pleasant experience.  It wasn’t very malty, but it had a clean crisp citrusy start and a mild citrusy bitter finish that lingered at the front of my mouth

Nothing wows me about this beer, but it is VERY drinkable.  It would make a decent session beer.  As far as styles go, it reminded me more of a maibock than an IPA, but maybe that’s just me.  I give it 3.5 stars

Christmas in June

I am bad with gifts that I receive - I get gifts that I absolutely love, but I will wait to play with them until I have time to seriously enjoy myself.  It must drive my wife nuts.  She got me some awesome gifts for Christmas that I'm just getting around to playing with.  She bought me a bottle tree, so the last couple of days I've been washing and de-labeling the bottles that I've been saving up (and collecting from friends).  I won't need them for a few weeks, but I really wanted to play with my bottle tree.

She also got me Powdered Brewery Wash (which my equipment is soaking in right now) and Star San (which I just used to sanitize the yeast starter kit she bought me).  Star San mix is re-usable, up to a point, so it's currently sitting in my secondary fermenter waiting until I'm ready to sanitize the equipment that is currently soaking in PBW.  Still following me?

After work today, I ran to the local Northern Brewer store to pick up the yeast I need because my new yeast starter kit says the starter needs to sit for at least twelve hours - and I want tomorrow to be a brew day. 

Tomorrow I'll be doing a NB Spiced Winter Ale kit.  Considering when I probably should have brewed it (it was also a Christmas present from my wife - notice the theme?), it was a good choice.  It may be a little out of season, but since I'm not as fond of summer styles, I'm more than happy to be brewing and drinking a winter beer out of season.  In fact, I'm really looking forward to it.  I'd say that 6 weeks will be a long time to wait, but I've got a nice selection of Missouri beers to keep me busy.  Since it's a wide selection, I want to take my time with them.  That might mean the timing is just right for my homebrew.  We'll see.

That's not all I received for Christmas, but it's all that there was time for tonight.  Now I think I'm going to finish my New Glarus Laughing Fox and curl up with a book.

Black Top - Bottom’s Up

Happy Hop Day!  Today we're looking at a new beer style (or sub-style) for me.  One of the beers that I received for my birthday was a New Glarus Brewing Company Black Top Black IPA.  When I poured it, I noticed immediately why it was called a “black IPA” - it had the color of a porter or a stout.  As I poured, it formed a nice head which faded slowly, leaving a thick lace on the glass.

The scent was very subtle, but it reminded me a little of fruit cake, except less spicy.  My first thought when I took a sip was that the mouth feel was very clean.  My first impression was that it was like drinking a glass of water, the way that it washed all over my mouth and then kept moving.  Normally this isn’t something that I like in beer, but I paid more attention to it with my second sip and realized that my first impression hadn’t been accurate.  There was a solid, front-to-back softness that carried with it the thickness of the malt and the tanginess of the hops, but initially, they’re hidden by a crisp, smooth, fresh feeling that is deceptively clean.  After that passed, I noticed the more pleasant mouth feel that I expect from a good beer, lingering the longest toward the front of the roof of my mouth and leaving my tongue puckering with expectation for another sip.

The flavor was very well balanced between malt and hops.  At least for an IPA, I thought it was very balanced.  The hops were a bit stronger, but there was a very distinct roasted coffee flavor that I found to be the predominant flavor.  In slow motion the flavor went:  crisp, sweet, sour, bitter, roasty and coffee - with the coffee notes lingering along with tanginess from the hops.  The aftertaste was predominantly that roasted malt flavor supported by a sweet hoppiness. 

As far as IPAs go, this wasn’t what I normally consider a standard IPA because of how much of an influence the malt had, but the impact of the hops was exactly what I look for in an IPA.  Now, although I prefer hoppy and bitter beers, I am a huge fan of stouts and porters (stouts being the first beer I drank regularly, they will always hold a special place in my heart).  This beer combined the best of both worlds.

I easily give this beer a five star rating.  I love it.  I’ve had beers that I like more than this one, but I like it a lot, and it brought such a balance and strength to the flavors, all flavors that I love, that I can’t help but give it a five.

The description on the bottle is right “Expect this beer to pour a hop forward jet black glass brimming with aromatic bitterness.”  It goes on to say “Brewmaster Dan skillfully weaves molasses and chocolate malt undertones with a soaring rush of clean citrus and pine hop notes.”

Molasses?  Yes, I can see that

Chocolate?  No, but maybe I don’t have enough experience with chocolate malt to pick it out

Clean citrus hop notes?  Definitely

Pine hop notes?  Hmm.  I had to think about it while drinking this, but yes, I definitely detected the Pine hop notes. 

I love this beer!

While drinking the beer, I read the bottle.  It said, “We invite you to discover this newest beer style Black IPA.  Political debate rages over the origins of this jet black beer as both coasts feel they deserve credit.”

What?  A new style?  Both coasts claiming it as theirs?  So this is a new American Hybrid?  I figured I had to know more.

BeerAdvocate refers to this style as the American Black Ale:  “Also referred to as a Black IPA (India Pale Ale) or Cascadian Dark Ale, ales of this style range from dark brown to pitch black and showcase malty and light to moderate roasty notes and are often quite hoppy generally with the use of American hops.”

Ratebeer describes it as “An emerging beer style roughly defined as a beer with IPA-level hopping, relatively high alcohol and a distinct toasty dark malt character. Typically lacks the roastiness and body of a strong stout and is hoppier than a strong porter. Expressive dry-hopping is common. Also called India Dark Ale, India Black Ale, Cascadian Dark Ale, Dark IPA, and sometimes India Brown Ale.”

BeerScribe provides a nice introduction and description of the Black IPA in a short blog post that I suggest you read:  http://www.beerscribe.com/2010/09/01/the-black-ipa-problem/

If you love hops and enjoy malt, I definitely recommend New Glarus’ Black Top.  If you are a fan of one, but not the other, then I encourage you to give it a try and post a comment here to let me know what you think.