With a little help from my friends

 

One of the nice things about nice people, is that they will share.  I was able to stop into Max's on Wednesday night, and while enjoying a couple of beers, Bob opened up a bottle of Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown Wet Hop Ale.  This is the beer that has ingredients they grew on their property.

First off, when a brewery waxes the top of the bottle to completely seal it, it looks awesome.  I have no clue whether or not there are any advantages to it, but it looks awesome.  It also gives it a superiority feeling to the bottle; maybe the bottle looks at the other bottles and laughs, who knows?

Bob then offered to give me and the couple next to me a taste.  Of course I accepted, and this is what I got from my small sample.  I cannot say what drinking a pint of this would feel like, but my sample definitely showed huge, fresh hops (which it was supposed to have) and a sweet malt (caramelly- I don't think that is a word, but I used it).  The hops were the big flavor, coming hard with the piney taste and a bit of grapfruity flavors.  I could see this being a very good beer, and something that I will go and try to pick up.

In regards to trying samples from other people's beers, I have found that 95% of beer geeks offer up a sample when you are talking to them.  I have no problem sharing at any time, and I love sharing a bottle.  It is another part of the beer community that needs to be recognized and applauded.  Go to most Buy-as-you-go beer events, and you can see the community sharing between each other.  It puts a smile on my face, just knowing I joined the fun.

Beer for NFL Teams

I would bet that 99 out of 100 blogs that do Beer and Sports teams together place BMC or other Macros associated with BMC as most of the teams.  Today, I was happy to find a blog that was that 1.  In comes Tailgate Advice and their post Best Beer for Tailgating (although they did throw a couple of BMC beers in the mix).  Nice list of beers, many that I have heard of, some that I haven't.  It is worth a look.  As for the Ravens:

Baltimore Ravens- Heavy Seas Beer, Big DIPA The Ravens are personified by players like Ray Lewis, tough and rugged. So when you go down to M&T Bank Stadium, you need a real tough guy beer. Saying that be careful how many Big DIPAs (TRIPLE hopped DOUBLE IPA) you order. Too many of these monstrous beers and you will be streaking on the field and getting slammed by Ray Lewis!

 Can't go wrong with placing Heavy Seas as the beer for a Ravens game.

Baltimore Beer Week

Starting October 7, Baltimore Beer Week takes over the city.  Being the week before and the week of my wedding, I will probably not be able to attend many events (if any).  But there are a couple that I would like to highlight, that I wish I could get to.

Two the intrigue me deal with local awesome brewer Brian Strumke of Stillwater Ales.  Stillwater ales will be the featured beer for a couple of beer dinners in the city.  The first will be at the Metropolitan on Wednesday, October 13.  This beer dinner will be a Stillwater/12% Imports event.  12% Imports are the distributor who has helped Stillwater to become in demand in the NCY/Philly/Baltimore markets.

The second beer dinner is the event that I wish I could go to out of all of them.  Held at Jack's Bistro and paired with Stillwater ales on Thursday, October 14, you cannot go wrong.  Jack's Bistro is my favorite restaurant in Baltimore.  The chef consistently comes up with great new menu items, and we have never had a bad meal there.  I am sure he will cater to Stillwaters strengths, and the food will be delicious.

I wish I could attend these events, and I hope you can make it to one of them.

Quick Review- The Bruery Orchard White

Even though it is a cold night, I decided to think of summer.  In comes the bottle of The Bruery Orchard White that is in the beer box.  From The Bruery's website:

Orchard White is an unfiltered, bottle conditioned Belgian-style witbier. This hazy, straw yellow beer is spiced with coriander, citrus peel and lavender added to the boil and whirlpool. A spicy, fruity yeast strain is used to add complexity, and rolled oats are added for a silky texture.

I will open, sample while cold, and then make notes as it warms:

Poured a bright yellow, with the smallest amount of orange.  Huge head hangs for a bit, then diminishes to a quarter inch on top.  No lacing remains.  In the nose, the beer comes with a lot of yeasty spiciness.  Also gives off a scent of lemon (peel?) and rosemary lavender (decided to read the bottle).

Initial taste:  Carbination jumps out of the glass and doesn't allow the coriander and lavender to flourish.  Yeasty spice comes through, and combines with the nice malt to create a nice backbone.  Lavender holds on to the finish.  The combination mends well together, creating a drinkable beer (even though the carbination may be a bit too much).

The 5.7% abv doesn't effect the beer, and it might as well not even be present.  Seems like a beer that I could easily have a few of.

Update:

Slightly warmer, the carbination calms down, the citrus (lemon?) turns up.  Coriander also becomes more of a featured taste.  With the lavender continuing to dominate the finish.  As the beer continues to warm, the coriander becomes dominant, as the other flavors mellow.  The yeasty spiciness disappears, and the lavender and lemony flavors are subjected to the background.

The Session- Frankenstein Beers

To begin this awesome month, Drink With the Wench asks us about Frankenstein Beers:

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a blog post on "Frankenstein Beers." There are no rules about how to write about this topic — feel free to highlight a Frankenstien brewer, brewery, beer tasting notes … or just your opinions on the concept."

I may sound like an old fart on the subject (which I am not). Or maybe just some traditionalist (again, which I am not). The reality is that I have no problem with crazy beers. I love trying new and experimental brews. Popping open the Saison du BUFFs from Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory, ordering whatever is weird from Max's or finding something brewed with herbs and spices I never heard of at the Michigan Brewer's Guild Summer festival, I have never shied away from the different. 

But at the same time, many times I would just rather have a basic simple beer.  I love getting a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and knowing what is coming at me. Pour me a Prima Pils, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Bear Republic Racer 5 or Old Rasputin and I will never complain. It may not be as fun, but it is still enjoyable. 

For every Frankenstein beer that comes out, every crazy new fad (goze, sours, RIS, hop-bombs)- there will always be solid basic beers that will win people to craft beer, and keep beer geeks/snobs happy. My favorite beer is the one in my hand, and I would be happy to share it with you. 

Cool night= a beer with some heat

It just felt like a good night for some Stone Old Guardian barleywine. So here is my instant review.

It pours with a nice half inch creamy head on a amber/dark orange beer. (The lacing hangs on the side of the glass, refusing to give up throughout the entire serving.) Smell brings a lot of sweetness (molasses and caramel). Makes me want to get this beer to my mouth. Slight smell of grapefruit hops. This is exactly what I want an 11% beer to smell like. I cannot wait to taste it.

Once the beer is brought to my lips, the hops really kick in. Super hopped. The bitterness cuts the malt in half, almost overpowering it. The alcohol is very prevalent in the mouth, you can tell it is big. As the beer warms, it develops with more flavors coming out. A little more caramel, toffee and dark fruits.

Not as thick as I was expecting, the Old Guardian is smooth going down as the carbonation is just right. Overall, it is a very enjoyable beer. Something that I would like to sip in front of the fire this upcoming winter. I think during time, this beer could firm up and balance out so the hops don't overpower it. Can't wait to try in the future with some age on it.
After (drinking) thoughts:

I didn't put much thought into this beer before I drank it. Now after evaluating it, I realized that this is the first time I can remember having it. Many times, I have had the Sierra Nevada Bigfoot, Victory Old Horizontal, Lagunitas Olde GnarleyWine and (my new favorite) Troegs Flying Mouflan, but I am surprised I didn't have Old Guardian before. I now look for this to enter my beer box for a bit of age, and for it to be on the rotation of barleywines that I consume.

Wedding Brew Day

Our simple setup.

What does a beer geek do for the beer selection when getting ready for his wedding? I pondered that question for a long time. Then while talking to my brother (an experienced homebrewer), we decided to brew for the wedding. Then, what style do we brew? The answer came in the form of when the wedding was taking place (October) and what can we make (ale)... this turned into our own Oktoberfest style ale (we also brewed a basic Witbier to give another option for the reception).  Because of time and simplicity, we chose to go with a partial malt recipe, we didn't have and entire day to devote to the beer.

The Lighting of the Kettle

BYOW

My brother lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan for a couple of years.  Down the street from where he lived were a group of guys who love beer, and all brewed together.  This helped my brother out trremendously, as their knowledge helped develop his skills.  He, in turn, is helping me learn the art.  (It was great having someone who knows what is going on, and why everything works- as well as his equipment.)

The day turned out to be a nice brewday.  A bit chilly in the morning, high in the mid 70's, with little breeze.

Sometimes you have to wait

My brother and I started the day by both grabbing a variety pack from the distributer.  He showed up with Troeg's Anthology (one of the greatest mixed packs out there- in my opinion).  I decided to give the Magic Hat variety pack a whirl.  

Magic Hat's beer is good, but I always thought it was somewhat basic.  Their #9, very popular with many of my friends, is good, but I can't get into it like others.  I always thought that Blind Faith was very good, and loved buying a pint, but then they stopped making in (yes, I am happy they just brought it back). They just released Vinyl, which is a Amber Lager, something you can drink all night, but not go out of my way for.  What I do appreciate, is their Odd Notion series.  Not always my favorite beers, but sometimes they bring on a great beer- the American Sour was absolutely amazing.

In the two mix packs were:

Troeg's- HopBack, DreamWeaver, Pale Ale, and Java Head.

Magic Hat- #9, Hi.P.A., Hex, Odd Notion (Green Apple Wit)

The Hex (and Oktoberfest) and the Odd Notion made alot of sense on the day, as we were brewing both (although no green apple).  All of the Troeg's were delicious, as usual.  The Odd Notion had a strong Green Apple smell, but was very mellow when drank.  All the beer was very drinkable, and perfect for an early Autumn/late Summer day.

Some of the other guys came around for the brew, one guy (my former roommate and Max's drinking partner) brought his leftover 21st Amendment Brew Free or Die IPA- can't go wrong.

We decided to get spring water, chosing to avoid the hard water found at the house.  After firing up the kettle, we were able to use the first of my brother's toys that he brought along.  The 7lb. Barley Crusher grain mill ripped the malt apart for us.  The chocolate malt and pale malt then went into the pot.

Exact amounts

We were originally going to feature only Hellertau hops in the Oktoberfest, but instead chose to use the Hellertau in the boil and help it out with some Saaz towards the end.

The Witbier used wheat flakes as well as some pale malt flavored with coriander.  We also utilized Hellertau and Saaz hops for the witbier to match the Oktoberfest.

It just smelled so good.

We will be kegging the beer into corny kegs after the fermentation in complete. Overall, we are looking for these beers to be enjoyable by both craft drinkers and macro drinkers. The fact that remains is: it is a wedding, people will drink whatever is available.  Maybe one of these people will say, wow, this has more flavor than Bud Light.  Then the next time they are out, they order something new.  Who know?  It could happen.

Boil, Boil, Toil makes trouble.

Waiting isn't a problem when you have beer.

Detailed conversation.

Fun with Hops

Must Love Burgers (we needed to eat too)