Here we go again on our own...

Well, after a 6 month layoff, we're back. Summer has been crazy. Beer Festivals galore. I'm not complaining, but they do get a bit old by the end of the summer. So, here we are at the end of the season and I'm ready to get back into this. Lots of really great things have been going on in the world of craft beer. Unfortunately, its sort of too late to give details on them right now. I'll try and work them in later in various ways.
The biggest thing to start since the last post are the tastings my wife and I have been hosting at our house. The first one was in a fairly small affair that was very Imperial Stout-centric. I was able to get my hands on a number of the country's finest examples of the style, including Three Floyds Dark Lord, Surly Darkness, Deschutes The Abyss and Sexual Chocolate (the name of the brewery is escaping me right now). That's not all that we had though. My friend Clay had recently returned from Belgium and brought back some treats. About 2 dozen treats to be exact. However, the pinnacle of his finds were all three Westvleterens, 6, 8 and 12. These beers are extremely rare and are not distributed anywhere in the US. So, to get to try all three together was quite a pleasure. This was the fourth time I had the "Westy" 12 and it remains one of my favorite beers of all time. It has never disappointed.
The second tasting was a dramatically different affair. There were twice as many people and many of those people didn't quite realize what we were in fact trying to do. This was evidenced by the person who brought a 12 pack of Bud Light Lime. Anyway, it was still alot of fun. We tried some great beers, but once again I failed to keep any sort of record of the beers I tried. So pictures from the next morning are really the only way for me to remember what was consumed. I do remember that New Glarus' Enigma, Dogfish Head Squall IPA, Green Flash Imperial IPA, DFH Chateau Jiahu and Three Floyds Behemoth Barleywine were some of my favorites of the night.
I am planning another tasting around my birthday. Hopefully it will be a smaller, perhaps more focused, affair. I am sure that anyone interested in reading this blog will probably be there. For those of you who weren't there, here are a few pictures to whet your appetite.

Impys Aplenty

Man, I am not sure what it is about spring, but two of the best Imperial Stouts in the world come out in the spring. Not exactly the time of year one would associate with a rich, heavy style of beer, but nonetheless...

Anyway, this past Tuesday, Founder's Brewing released KBS to the delight of the Kentuckiana Beer Geeks. This beer's actual name is Kentucky Breakfast Stout. For some reason, it was changed to just KBS this year. I have a sneaking suspicion that the government, be it state of KY or the Feds, had something to do with the change. As you might have guessed, this is yet another Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout. However, I would say the base beer of KBS (Breakfast Stout) is one of my favorite stouts around. So, throw it in a barrel for a couple months, and you get something special. Of course, special comes at a cost. I believe Whole Foods is charging around $25 for a 4 pack. They also have singles of it for $6.49. I haven't heard who else has it in town, although I am sure that all of the usual places will have at least some (Liquor Barn, Old Town, ValuMarket). Also, I know that Todd at The Keg has some. However, he only got one case this year, so he will be selling it as singles only. If I get a price, I'll update you all. If you can get your hands on a bottle, definitely give it a shot. Its worth the money.

The other big stout to come out at this time of the year is Three Floyd's Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout. This beer is HUGE. The final gravity of this beer is higher than most beer's original gravity. The big appeal of this beer is that it is only available on one day a year, Dark Lord Day, and it is only at the brewery in Munster, IN. They have the DLD party every year, and they get their hands on some really great guest beers from all over the country. Also, you can try their Oak Aged Dark Lord, and their Vanilla Bean Dark Lord. This year, as a bonus, they will be releasing Popskull too. Popskull is FFF's collaboration with DogFish Head Brewing, out of Delaware. Not alot is known about the beer right now, other than it is a big, probably hoppy, brown ale. Hopefully I'll get my hands on a bottle or two and I can tell you all what it is like.
So, I will be going, and this will be my first festival I have covered for this blog.

For this year's festival, FFF changed up the process a little bit. In years past, you showed up, tried to get as close to the front of the line as possible, and hoped they didn't run out of beer. Every year there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people who went home empty handed. In order to try and rectify this, FFF instituted the "Golden Ticket" lottery. You registered your name on the Dark Lord Day website, they sent you an e-mail when tickets went on sale, and for $10 you could buy a "Golden Ticket." Every person was able to buy up to 2 tickets. Then when DLD gets closer, FFF will let us know how many bottles we can get with each ticket, based on the yield of the brew. I would guess it will be anywhere between 2 and 4 bottles per ticket. Tickets went on sale this past Tuesday, and all 4,000 tickets were snatched up in about 4 hours. So, I got 2 tickets. Now, I know what some of you are saying. "Why do you have to pay $10 just to get the right to buy DL?" Well, I look at it this way; The money goes to charity, so the brewery isn't pocketing the cash. Also, I can take the time to travel up there secure in the knowledge that I won't be coming home empty handed. I think that that alone will make the day exponentially more fun. If anyone reading this has tickets too and they want to carpool, just let me know.

So, what if you can't afford KBS, or didn't get tickets for DLD? Well, there are lots of great Imperial Stouts that are readily available in Kentucky. Bell's Expedition is great. Avery's The Czar is another one. I recently tried Night Tripper from New Holland Brewing and found it to be a breath of fresh air. Full bodied and rich with a slight dusty cocoa quality that would have been overwhelmed had the brewers decided to barrel age the beer. This beer is a proof that sometimes simpler is better.

Well, that's about it. When I get back from DLD, I'll set up a tasting and we crack open a bottle of Dark Lord. I love to share. Until later, cheers all.

Homebrew Update - 3.4.09

I have never posted about my homebrewing adventures on this blog, but I figured I'd include it.

Today, I racked my Raspberry Lambic into a new carboy and added some new oak chips to it. I have a new batch of Brettanomyces (sp?) on its way, so I'll start a secondary fermentation with that. For those that don't know, "Brett" is one of the cultures that is used in brewing sour ales. It adds what is best described as a "Wet Horse Blanket" quality to a beer. Now, I know that alot of you probably don't think that that sounds good, but trust me, when it works with the beer, it can be divine.

I started the beer as a basic wheat beer, using a combination of wheat and pale malt extract. I also used artificially aged hops for it. You want to use aged hops so that their bittering qualities have died down. For this style, you want the hops more for their preservative qualities than for their bittering qualities. To do this, I baked the hops in an oven for 30 minutes, then left them out in the open for a couple of days. Not the best way to do it, but if you don't have a couple of years to actually age the hops, its at least quick.

Then, in primary fermentation, I used a Belgian Witbier yeast strain. It added some fruity esters, but not a whole lot. The lack of coriander and orange peel definitely kept those qualities to a minimum. Anyway, after primary, I racked into secondary. In secondary I added 6 pounds of Raspberry puree, oaks chips that had been soaked in Sherry for a week, and a Lambic culture blend that included Brett and three others. That was in October.

So, today I racked over to yet another fermenter. I'll add the next Brett strain on Sunday when I get back home from Saint Louis. Then, the beer will age for another 6 months or so. That will make this beer, all told, about a year long project. But, I grabbed a small "barrel sample", and I think after those six months, this beer could be something very special. It is starting to get a very nice tartness and a very, very earthy nose to it.

So, that's it. I'll keep you all updated on the progress. And, if anyone wants to try it once its done, I will have plenty. Also, hopefully Fitz and I will get back in the swing of brewing soon and I'll more brews to report on. Until later, cheers, all.

Beer Updates - 3.3.09

I spoke to Brennen from Whole Foods today for quite a bit, and he informed me of some cool things going on. First and foremost, they now have a kegerator. At some point in the future, I think they will be doing some growlers. But for now, they are trying to get people to drink while in the store. This may seem a bit unorthodox, but I would love to down a pint while shopping. Then again, I hate shopping. First on tap, they have BBC's APA. A Louisville staple, it is a great way to kick off the new system.

Brennen also mentioned that they will be getting a few pallets of Genesee Bock Beer in a couple of weeks. Now, I haven't had this beer, so I can't vouche for it. But, a 12-pack of what I assume will be 12 ounce cans will only set you back $7.99. So, as the weather warms up and cookouts start happening, this will be a welcome alternative to some of the macros. Brennen says they have some 12-packs available right now, but the bulk of it will be arriving by the end of the month (ish).

Finally, a huge cheer erupted today from the KY beer geek community, as Founder's Brewing, out of MI, has finally landed in the Bluegrass. Brennen got his first cases of Centennial IPA, Red's Rye and Double Trouble IIPA today. I assume that you will start seeing it in all of the usual places soon, such as Liquor Barn, ValuMarket and Old Town. I also spoke to James at the Nachbar. He got all three Founder's beers in bottles, and he also got a keg of Red's Rye. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Being a fan of anything Rye, this beer is one of my favs.

Finally, be on the lookout for Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. Word is that it will be on the next shipment that Beer House gets from Stone. For anyone who has read this blog before, you will remember that I am huge fan of Stone's 11th Anniversary beer. Well, the SSRA is the 11th Anniversary gone year-round. I have a couple of bottles of 11 in the cellar, so I am excited to taste it against a fresh batch. Hopefully some draft of it will show up here and there as well.

Alright folks, I don't want to get you all to the point where you expect all of this good stuff so often, so I'll sign off for now. Cheers, all.

Welcome back!!!

Man, where the hell have I been? Well, things have been crazy. I am sure that most of you can relate. While I haven't been updating the site regularly, don't think that I haven't been drinking some good beer.

First and foremost, a kind gentleman from MN sent me some Surly Furious to help me curb my almost incurable jones for the stuff. Seriously, if you've never had it, seek some out. I am down to only 3 cans, but two of those have been promised to out of towners. Guess I'll have to cook up another trade pretty soon.

Let's see. What else has happened? Oh, that wonderful nectar called Hopslam was released. A 10% IIPA that is, as I see it, an ode to the Simcoe hop. If you ever have someone question your description of grapefruit in beer, just have them stick their nose in this bad boy. Every year beer geeks everywhere await its release, and they couldn't have been disappointed by this year's edition. While perhaps a tad sweeter than I would have liked, the ruby red grapefruit character is back in full effect. I love it. I can't drink alot of it, but if it is a one or two beer night, there is no better option for a guy like me. I tried to find a picture of the label to post on here, but I'm sure you all know what it looks like.

I also discovered a new beer recently. Troegs Brewing, out of Harrisburg, PA, releases a Wet Hop Ale, called Nugget Nectar.

Now, I had this beer in February, so I didn't know how well the hop character had held up since it was brewed. Yeah, I know, its only a few months, but with wet hop ales, fresh is always best. Anyway, this beer did not disappoint. Rich and well balanced, this was one hoppy monster. In spite of my previous show of affection for HopSlam, I actually would drink the Nugget Nectar over it any day of the week, and twice on Sunday. That's how good it is. They don't sell it here in KY, or even in IN. I found mine in Cincy at Jungle Jim's. It is a bit of a hike, but they have one fantastic beer selection, full of lots of beers you can't find here in KY.

Speaking of beers you can't get in KY, I visited Todd at The Keg in Clarksville, IN today. Todd had a beer geek field day last week. He got in some new, very hard to find beers. First is the Nogne O Dark Horizon 2nd Edition. I won't spend too much time talking about it, because the case he got was gone in a matter of days.

However, he got two other beers that I, for one, never thought I'd get to try. First is Black Albert, a Belgian Royal Stout from De Struise out of Belgium. This beer was originally brewed for Ebenezer's Pub, in Lovell, Maine, and that was where US distribution began and ended. However, a few months ago, I heard rumblings of a couple cases hitting the IN market. Before I could get to those places, the bottles had all disappeared. Then, I heard Rich O's was getting a keg for Gravity Head. I wasn't sure I'd make it up before the keg blew. So, once again, I thought I'd miss out.

Then, I went to The Keg. I now have a bottle of BA in my cellar, just waiting for the right time to enjoy. I'll be sure to let you all know just when that is.

The other beer that Todd got in was from Mikkeller. Mikkeller is a pretty cool operation. Mikkel, the now lone brewer, doesn't have a brewhouse. He rents out space wherever he can find it, whether its Struise, or Nogne O, or whoever. So, if you try one of their beers, be sure to check the label to see where the beer was actually brewed.

So, this beer is called Beer Geek Brunch Weasel.

It is a bigger brother of their Beer Geek Breakfast, a beer that I have never been shy about criticizing. BGB is a 7.5% Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee, and BGBW is a 10.9%Imperial Oatmeal Stout, also brewed with coffee. The major difference is the coffee that was used. BGBW uses Kopi Luwak. For those not in the know, here's what Wikipedia has to say about it: "Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world, selling for between $120 and $600 USD per pound...Kopi is the Indonesian word for coffee, and luwak is a local name of the Asian Palm Civet. The raw, red coffee berries are part of its normal diet, along with insects, small mammals, small reptiles, eggs and nestlings of birds, and other fruit. The inner bean of the berry is not digested, but it has been proposed that enzymes in the stomach of the civet add to the coffee's flavor by breaking down the proteins that give coffee its bitter taste. The beans are defecated, still covered in some inner layers of the berry. The beans are washed, and given only a light roast so as to not destroy the complex flavors that develop through the process." So, poop coffee. Anyway, I love many of the Mikkeller beers I have had, and I can't wait to try this very rare beer. If you feel so inclined, Todd has some bottles left. It will set you back about $11, if memory serves, but I have a feeling it will be well worth it.

In that same trip, I also picked up a bottle of Mikkeller's Single Hop Simcoe IPA. As I stated before, I LOVE Simcoe hops. So, I am very anxious to try this one. The only other all Simcoe beer I've ever had is Weyerbacher's Simcoe IIPA, and I love it. So, I have high hopes.

I guess that'll be about enough for now. I promise to try and update more regularly. Also, we'll have some more tastings coming. First, I think, will be a four beer tasting of all of Oskar Blue's beer. I am very excited about that. I haven't had the Old Chub yet, but Gordon might be the best IIPA (ish) being brewed in America.

Until next time, cheers everyone.

Beer 101: Styles - California Common

For this week's beer style, I decided to do a style that I like very much. It is the California Common, also known as Steam Beer. This is one of the only styles indigenous to the United States. It started when immigrants wanted to make lagers, but didn't have refrigeration to get the beer down to proper lagering temperatures. Therefore, it is a beer that uses a lager yeast strain, but ferments at temperatures closer to those found when fermenting ales. This higher fermentation temperature produces fruitier esters than would normally be present in a traditional lager.

For a twist on the style, and the only beer style indigenous to Kentucky, try New Albanian's Phoenix Kentucky Kommon. Roger told me the whole story one time, but I don't want to get it wrong. If I can get him to type it out, maybe I'll post it here on the site. (By the way, NABC also makes a pretty kickass Common as well, called Mt. Lee) Anyway, here is the California Common. Enjoy.

California Common Beer

Aroma: Typically showcases the signature Northern Brewer
hops (with woody, rustic or minty qualities) in moderate to
high strength. Light fruitiness acceptable. Low to moderate
caramel and/or toasty malt aromatics support the hops. No
diacetyl.

Appearance: Medium amber to light copper color. Generally
clear. Moderate off-white head with good retention.

Flavor: Moderately malty with a pronounced hop bitterness.
The malt character is usually toasty (not roasted) and caramelly.
Low to moderately high hop flavor, usually showing
Northern Brewer qualities (woody, rustic, minty). Finish fairly
dry and crisp, with a lingering hop bitterness and a firm,
grainy malt flavor. Light fruity esters are acceptable, but otherwise
clean. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium to medium-high carbonation.
Overall Impression: A lightly fruity beer with firm, grainy
maltiness, interesting toasty and caramel flavors, and showcasing
the signature Northern Brewer varietal hop character.

History: American West Coast original. Large shallow open
fermenters (coolships) were traditionally used to compensate
for the absence of refrigeration and to take advantage of the
cool ambient temperatures in the San Francisco Bay area. Fermented
with a lager yeast, but one that was selected to thrive
at the cool end of normal ale fermentation temperatures.

Comments: This style is narrowly defined around the prototypical
Anchor Steam example. Superficially similar to an
American pale or amber ale, yet differs in that the hop flavor/
aroma is woody/minty rather than citrusy, malt flavors are
toasty and caramelly, the hopping is always assertive, and a
warm-fermented lager yeast is used.

Ingredients: Pale ale malt, American hops (usually Northern
Brewer, rather than citrusy varieties), small amounts of toasted
malt and/or crystal malts. Lager yeast, however some strains
(often with the mention of “California” in the name) work
better than others at the warmer fermentation temperatures
(55 to 60°F) used. Note that some German yeast strains produce
inappropriate sulfury character. Water should have relatively
low sulfate and low to moderate carbonate levels.

Vital Statistics:
OG: 1.048 – 1.054
IBUs: 30 – 45
FG: 1.011 – 1.014
SRM: 10 – 14
ABV: 4.5 – 5.5%

Commercial Examples: New Albanian Mt. Lee, Anchor Steam, Southampton Steem
Beer, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager

Hoppy New Beer!!!!!

Hey all!!! Sorry for the long time since the last post. Things have been crazy with the holiday season. Hope everyone had a great couple of weeks. So, alot of things happened since we last caught up.

First, Todd at The Keg hosted his annual Holiday Beer tasting. A great time was had by all, but there were a few standouts. First, was Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus. This is an Imperial Porter that is hopped to hell and back. This was one very fresh and had a distinct catty quality. Very good, but will probably be better in a couple of months after the hops meld into the beer a little bit more.

The other beer that stood out was an '06 Delirium Noel. Anyone who says that beer doesn't age well needs to only try this beer to be swayed. Complex with lots of candied fruit/sherry qualities, it's one of the best beers I have had in a while.

I also decided to take a couple of bottles from my cellar to share with the fellow geeks that would be attending. First, I took a bottle of Smuttynose Imperial Stout. This one was a pleasant surprise, as it is the rare Imperial Stout these days that is not Barrel Aged. This allowed a sort of dusty cocoa quality to come through. A very nice beer to be sure, and one that I wish I a few more bottles.

The next beer I brought was AleSmith's Winter YuleSmith

offering. AleSmith releases two different versions of this beer. One comes out in the summer for the 4th of July Holiday. It is a straight up Double IPA. Their winter edition is described as an Imperial Red Ale. I had this beer last year in April or so, so it was a few months old. I thought it was good, but nothing too special. Boy, was I wrong. Having this bad boy young is like straight up hop juice. Amber in color and sticky as hell, this beer simply oozes hop goodness. I enjoy sharing new beers with people, but I wish I could have had this one all to myself.

Also, over the break, I had the chance to try what was the last of what I call my "Holy Grail Beers." For the last year or so, this list has consisted of Pliny the Elder from Russian River brewing, and this beer, Westvleteren 12. I was fortunate enough to get a bottle of Pliny a couple of months ago through a trade with a guy on RateBeer.com. My overwhelming thought on the beer was "Eh." I've certainly had worse IIPAs, but it didn't come close to meeting my expectations. So, that experience was disappointing. So, you can imagine my trepidation when my buddy Clay invited me over for a "Westy 12." I wanted more than anything else for this beer to be great. Not just good, but great. I didn't want all of my yearning to be in vain. Well, I am happy to report that it wasn't. Westy 12 earns every one of its accolades as one of the world's great beers. Lots of dried fruit/fig qualities. The beer was amazing. It took me an hour to drink 11.2 ounces of it, because I didn't want it to end. Thanks so much to Clay for the beer. Sorry, Justin. I promise, we'll have one together soon. I don't care what it takes.

I am gonna call it a day for this post. I don't want to bombard you all with too much at once. I have some ideas for some new content this year. Hopefully you all will enjoy it. Happy drinking all. Cheers!