Beer, Brew & Culture

Thoughts about what's in my glass, boiling in my kettle, or just life. Posts are my own.

[beerbrewculture]

A Journey through Saisons! @brewerydupont @allagashbrewing @eviltwinbrewing @rockmillbrewery @gooseisland @boulevard_beer #beerbrewculture #saison http://ift.tt/2d6ZdZq

[beerbrewculture]

Back in April during my birthday, my brother was gracious enough to give me a gift that encompass something I truly love, beer, and tasting beers! From there he gave me six different Saisons, five of which were American and the sixth being the standard bearer of Dupont. I have had those since April, and have been waiting for an opportunity to taste all six within a flight. I arranged the beers according to geographical location from east to west starting with Dupont and running all the way out to Nebraska with Boulevard. I then drank in the order of west to east, giving each beer and opportunity to rest as well as come to a comfortable temperature of 45 to 50°. The following were my tasting notes from each, recognizing that each of these beers were made wth different interpretations of the style of Saison.

SHW, thank you for the great experience! It was quite the ride and something I will never forget!

Boulevard Smokestack Tank 7, Nebraska

Bright and brilliant, strong head that subsided in less than 5 minutes. Golden color with slight ester. Clean peppercorn and slightly herbaceous finish.

Goose Island Sophie, Illinois

Not as bright as Tank 7, quickly fading head, and lighter mouthfeel, let's the barnyard play through. Definitely funky compared to Boulevard, more of a taster than a savorer!

Rockmill Brewery Saison, Ohio

Less barnyard than Goose Island, slightly darker, and a little more crushable. I'm questioning the cage too, but beautiful presentation. Head fades to small bubbles in a hurry. Dregs apparent in the bottom of the glass.

Eviltwin Ryan and Beaster Bunny, Connecticut

Highest esters yet in any of the Saisons. Strongest carb, but literally no head retention. Color matches that of the bottle, overall, lacks the balance that the others enjoy.

Allagash Saison, Maine

Clearest of the Saisons, quickest head to fade. The flavor and esters are there, however there is no carbonation to lift the flavors. Generally, I'd say almost the least interesting on the day.

Saison DUPONT, Belgium

The classic! Not too thin, not too heavy, struck the perfect balance between clean with spice and a hint of funk. Most balanced of the crushable + flavor department. Oh, and a slight kick of acid.

[beerbrewculture]

The Scoop on Sloop Last Saturday, my wife and I and headed north to Sloop Brewing Company in Elizaville. Google being the pal that it is, informed us of the hour long ride from the house, however it wasn't exactly the easiest of rides through the woods. Here are a few thoughts from our visit: •The Tasting Room was comfortable and a lot more inviting than I had expected. There was not much info as to whether or not we would be swamped in the heat, but thankfully the tasting room was air conditioned and relaxed. •The beer lineup was definitely hop and sour forward. If I had to find fault, it would be here. Nothing dark or malty to be found on tap, but I know that is not always the norm. •But that lack of diversity gave rise to my wife's first exclamation that she liked an IPA! I was convinced that perhaps the heavens would open up, but she exclaimed that the Juice Bomb was good! Here's to late hopping and whirlpool additions in the New England Style IPAs, but Juice Bomb gave a nice and soft mouthfeel without the intense bittering charge of typical IPA's. •Mosaic Bomb was my choice for the day, just the right flavor and body to sit out on their patio. Sloop is definitely worth a trip. I would have preferred a few more offerings on the dark side of the force as well as some packaged beers to go. I purposely left my growlers home, as we were headed to dinner afterwards, so I had nothing for home. I look forward to seeing their cans available locally more frequently. If you go: Sloop Brewing Company 1065 Co Rte 19 Livingston, NY 12523

[beerbrewculture]

A little less than 3 years ago, my brother in law Stephen broke me into the world of all grain brewing. After 4 years of ho hum results from extract brewing, we woke up from our Thanksgiving stupor and brewed a big saison. Malty, yeast expressive, and admittedly over spiced (we used almost half a spice rack jar of coriander in the brew-some times the head of the beer would be speckled with the bits of spice like cinnamon on top of a cappuccino!), we split a 10 gallon batch in two and my 5 gallons was the first to make it into a keg for me. The beer was delicious, and I was probably more infatuated with all grain process at hand than the recipe itself. That was the last saison I had brewed until two months ago. I have found myself listening to a number of brewing podcasts, whether it be the Brewing Network, Brad Smith’s Beersmith, or my latest discovery, Experimental Brewing, and all the guests on these shows come back to the same theme. Beyond IPA’s, fresh new hops and boundaries of alcohol content, is a fascination with saisons, farmhouse ales, and Belgian beers in general. A refreshing beer that does not linger on the palate and something fun to experiment with seasonal fruits, the saison offers a lot of leeway and flexibility to the brewer. My first try solo on a saison recipe yielded ‘Silly Saison’, an easy 5.1% drinker that finished down around 1.007 FG. From what I recall, this beer is decidedly drier and bit more shallow than what we brewed a few years ago, and as such, the crispness almost becomes cutting, but just short of inappropriate. What throws a real curve ball to the mix, is that in the 10 gallon batch that was split, half of the batch received a dose of 3 pounds of raspberries. Depending on the light, the appearance of these two beers is either indistinguishable or blatantly ruby versus straw toned. Taste wise, the straight beer speaks to a bread cracker undertone from the flaked wheat, where as the raspberry imparts the classic fruit character, almost reminiscent of Lindemans Framboise, minus the funk. As for the yeast, I am convinced I did not ramp up the temperatures enough to achieve the expression of the WLP 565 is capable of. Next time I think I'll sink the fermenter in my fish tank heater set up to get up to the 80's by the end of the fermentation.

[beerbrewculture]

Wayward for Westbrook Maybe I sold the beer selection differently, or the vibe from the marketing and labels, but last Saturday, while the rest of New York beer drinkers were at TAP, I was surprised at Westbrook Brewing Company. About 2 years ago, I got to try their 4th anniversary stout, and wow, that was something special. Dark bits of cocoa nibs and coconut became the inspiration for my coconut chocolate porter. Shortly thereafter I had an opportunity to try the gose. Salty, tarty, and refreshing, the gose is a definite as stalwart in my new found affinity for sours. After driving a short 20 minutes out of Charleston on our family vacation, we arrived in a quiet and out of the way industrial park. The signage was clean and fresh with some tired landscaping wilting in the heat. The buildings were beautifully new and fresh, almost odd compared to many of the other breweries I have been to. Walking in to the tasting room felt something akin to a brand new shopping center, extremely clean and missing an scent of a brewery. I almost fault the brewery for this, as it felt so out of place, but Westbrook should be applauded for the level of cleanliness. As for the beer, I sampled a number of IPA offerings, witbier, and a lone stout. The Belgian IPA was tasty and my preference of the hopped varieties, though more of a yeast expression would have been appreciated. The El Dorado/Citra/Amarillo IPA was their take on the New England "Juicy" IPA craze. The flavors were righteous, but did not stop. The lingering sensation was almost medicinal, not a fan of that presentation. The Mosaic/Kohatu/Galaxy IPA was just not a flavor that jived with me, and I don't know if it was the lineup of beers or the hop combination. The Weisse Weisse Baby, a lemon coconut Berliner Weisse was perfectly refreshing on the hot spring day. It makes me want The one I wish I could have brought home with me was the Cookies and Cream Stout. It was not the beer to be drinking in 80 degree weather with lactose and oatmeal, however it was delicious and really made me wish that more stouts/porters were available on draught, let alone in cans. All in all, I am glad we had the opportunity to visit the brewery. I grabbed a few sixers for my family to drive up with in a few weeks. I'll have more on those soon, but in the mean cheers to Westbrook and hopefully I'll cross some of the stouts soon again!

[beerbrewculture]

You would think that after 20 years of playing with the Internet, I would have this thing figured out…

Either way, this is my 3rd 1st post to my new space. I don’t know what it will eventually be or do, but I am curious none the less. Cheers!

[beerbrewculture]

1 year later, I do need to post more often! Thanks for the support all!

[beerbrewculture]

Go Milk a Cow-10 gallon brew day with split batch fermentation. Modeled after Lefthand's Milk Stout, I made a higher gravity American Stout with hopped with Magnum and East Kent Goldings, and dosed with 2 pounds of lactose. Of particular note is how my process is starting to really work. Tonight, my mash and brew hit Beersmith's exact estimated gravity. I hope this is a sign that I can begin to count on higher efficiency and extraction. The fermentation is 50/50, with WLP001 California Ale on the first 5. The second batch is WLP550 Belgian Ale. I'll crank the fermentation on the Belgian in the hopes of the coaxing some more yeast stress. Everything I have read says I can really abuse this yeast.

[beerbrewculture]

As the rest of the East Coast was getting blanketed by Jonas, the snow failed to hit my neck of the woods. We were spared the 24+ inches that the rest of my family got hit with. So I took the 'snow day' to brew a batch of a Belgian Witbier/Blue Moon Clone. My wife has wanted something she could drink, not overly hoppy, not too boozy, and otherwise pretty drinkable. Most of my beers have been pretty assertive. The Belgians have been boozy and estery, the IPA's are over the top. The stouts have been heavy on the roast character. All of this makes it a little rough to share a homebrew with my wife. Enter a simple malt bill, 50% 2 Row, 25% white wheat, and 25% flaked oats. A 90 minute boil, 3 teaspoons of coriander, and 1.5 teaspoons of orange peel. Finish with some White Labs California Ale, and it should be a perfect beer for this spring. The bright side of this batch was an uptick in my efficiency. I'm still trying to dial in the whole process, and from what I keep seeing is, fly sparge is most efficient, but damn it takes a long while. Progress I guess.

[beerbrewculture]

Feeling like something along the lines of an illegal Cuban cigar, my friends in North Carolina, Craig and Jeff, have run me a few bottles of Asheville's Wicked Weed! First off, I'm super thankful! I had tried their Freak of Nature Double IPA a summer ago, and that put the brewery on my radar. Shortly there after, the founders appeared on The Brewing Network's Sunday Session, and really gave a great vision for beer and the scene there. New York has been behind on getting some of the darling beers as of late, including missing out on some bigs like New Belgium, regionals like Jester King, and state wide distributed, like Wicked Weed. I know that it is not an issue against New York State, but rather the distribution of the individual breweries. It would be nice if the Hudson Valley could have a few more solid, small, and responsive breweries, with small bottling runs and easy access to buy (more hours and locations). I instantly think along the lines of Trillium in Boston, Wicked Weed, and Other Half in Brooklyn. But then again, it is the 845, I'll take whatever I can get! La Bonte, described as a tart farmhouse ale with plums, was really pleasant on a cold Sunday night. It was bright with a crisp malt background, just short of being spicy. The plum offered a deep note that played well with the puckering action of the sour. The sourness was present, but not enough to really cause an issue. The brett strain isn't over the top, but it's there, and the barrel says hello. This beer in the summer is probably right on, as the characteristics are just enough to keep you more than interested, even when it is hot out. I'll be posting a few more reviews from Wicked Weed's offerings as I enjoy them.

[beerbrewculture]

Erste Lager

It took long enough, but here i am, after 7 years of homebrewing, I finally brewed my first batch of lager. I don't know if it's the Reinheitsgebot that scared me or my low efficiencies I have been getting off of the mash, but the ultimate factor is fermentation temps. Mother Nature has finally decided to join us this year and temps have finally dropped to allow for some cold fermenting temperature ranges.

I headed to my local homebrew store and picked up the ingredients the night before. Two regrets of my shopping trip: 1) the only liquid lager yeast was the White Labs Zurich Yeast, which is for high ABV lagers, think Baltic Porter and 2) I didn't match the alpha acid ratings of the Czech Saaz hops. As for the yeast, Safale S-23 Dry Yeast was the fit. I'm not thrilled that it is dry yeast, but two packets should make up for it. On the hops, the Czech Saaz were a little low on their Alpha ratings, and in the interest of maintaining uniformity, I didn’t grab hops from the same batch. Once I plugged the numbers into BeerSmith, I did notice that I would have an especially low IBU rating. So I turned to some leftover East Kent Goldings I had from CoCoCoa Porter brew a few weeks ago.

The brew day went quite smoothly, although Mother Nature decided to throw everything from rain, hail, sun, and wind my way during it. This was the first brew I did with my new Chugger Pump and spare arm. Both worked very well and really opens up my thoughts to what I can accomplish with larger beers. I do have to nail down my Fly Sparge technique, but in the mean time, patience should become my biggest goal.What I failed to do during this batch was allow the fly to completely transfer to the mash tun and rest for another 10 minutes and then drain. It is always a learning experience with beer.

Erste Lager (First Lager) is currently fermenting on the basement steps in the garage. Temps are reading 46 degrees on the exterior, leaving me to believe that internal temp is a 2-4 degrees warmer. i will leave out there for the first week, then inside the coolest part of the basement for week two. Week 3 will visit the finished basement for a diacetyl rest, then back outside for a long lager. Plan is to have this flowing in early March off of the keezer.

[beerbrewculture]

I had a chance right after Christmas to brew on snowy morning. I adapted Jamil Zainasheff's Robust Porter recipe, particularly his Chocolate Hazelnut version. My version came in a little low, mostly because I over estimated the absorption rate of the grain. The first runnings tasted chocolatey from the start, so the pound of Herhshey's Cocoa Powder really amped that up. The coconut was added at 10 minutes as well as another 2 pounds to the primary fermenter. Fermentation took almost 3 days to kick in. The size of the batch, almost 12 gallons, was chilled outside, but the yeast apparently didn't want to get going right away. I'll keep an eye on it and try to get it to ferment out as low as possible. The video comes from my Snaps... P.S. Ok, so maybe I was a little harsh on Angry Orchard. I wish them luck and hopefully my new neighbor brings even more great things to the area! As another aside, I haven't posted in a while in the interest of focusing on family and work. I find myself still wanting to vent, so I'm back at in the new year!

[beerbrewculture]

Last weekend I got the opportunity to visit two unique places that have just opened their doors here in Orange County, and I don't know just yet know how I feel about them. The first stop was to the newly erected and carved from the hillside, Angry Orchard. As my recollection serves me, Angry Orchard Hard Ciders were the corporate brain child of the Boston Beer Company-a way for good ol' Sam Adams to maintain dominance of the craft beer shelves. A quick Wikipedia check shows that Angry Orchard currently holds 50% of the US market of hard cider sales, and it’s sales comprise 20% of the Boston Beer Company volume. Packaging states that it is made in Cincinnati Ohio, with no mention of what variety apples or process goes into making the drinks. News broke about a year and a half ago that Angry Orchard was making a home here in the Hudson Valley. Initially I was very excited about the news. A well known brand was coming to town, exactly 2 miles from my home and perhaps I saw opportunity in having a convenient watering hole so close to home. Over the last year and a half, I have watched some interesting changes take place at the orchard, and to my enthusiasm. The first and immediate change was that the orchard became a walled fortress, with 8 foot fences surrounding the property. I am hard pressed (see what I did there?) to think of another orchard in the area that has shut its self off from the surrounding wildlife and nature. It also helps that their location is closed off by properties that will never change, namely residential, wetland, and a protected land trust plot to its west. They really have found a fantastic property for preserving their brand. The second change was the clearing of multiple trees for the creation of their Innovation Cider House. This was an understandable move, as the barn on the grounds looks rustic but not up to the task of hosting thousands of tourists for cider tastings. As for the property, it really is above and beyond anything that the craft industry in the Hudson Valley has offered. In terms of commercial fit and finish, I almost had the impression that I had just toured an Anheuser Busch plant in either Rochester or Columbus. The self guided tour looked genuine although new and sourced from various locations, something akin to the furnishings of a TGIFridays or a Cracker Barrel. The Innovation Cider House is absolutely beautiful and simply the best of quality was put into the facility. After touring through the brief set up, you are met by 2 tasting bars, that currently had 5 ciders on draft. The token gets you a choice of three and I decided to go with the Farm Fresh, Hop'n Mad, and the Bourbon Barrel Aged varieties. The later only got you a half pour as that cider comes in at 11% or so. After reflecting on my trip this week, I generally didn't have the best of impressions from my visit. I worry for the future of such a location. Will it please the people who are traveling to visit? Will it positively paint the picture of cider makers in the Hudson Valley? Will it do homage to the amazing apple heritage that Orange and Ulster County are known for? I hope for the areas sake that the answer to all of those questions is a resounding yes! And selfishly, that eventually they have a full pint service to offer patrons as another option to entertain guests. I hope that my thoughts are seen as areas to improve upon and not harsh criticism. I am floored by their new contribution to the area! I wish Angry Orchard the best of luck and I look forward to the coming years of such a facility! Maybe this weekend I'll get my thoughts down about Clemson Brothers Brewing, my other visit. But until then, cheers!

[beerbrewculture]

On Deck

Unknown Alpha Harvest Ale has been tapped! Surprisingly crisp for a beer that I had no idea what the alpha acids would be. More forward than last year's harvest ale, it has a nice smooth balance. Hops are there, but no where near as in your face as BeerSmith would have had you believe with standard Alpha measurements. On a whim I added about 4 ounces of chocolate malt in the hopes of darkening the base slightly while maybe adding a hint of character beyond the 2 row malt. I believe I accomplished that, but yet I'm curious as hell to see what the IBU's are on this brew. Overall I am very pleased with what my little garden of hops did this season. My hope for the hops next season is to perhaps gain a few more ounces and get more than a 5 gallon batch out of the 9 or so plants I have in the backyard. On my calendar for brews, I have a few I want to do for myself and with my Co Op boys. For myself, I have a case of Florida oranges coming, so the plan is to make a chocolate orange porter, throwing a load of Hershey's cocoa and the load of orange zest in the boil and fermenter. My hope is to embody the holiday treat of the breakable chocolate orange that is a stocking stuffer. That will be kegged and on tap for Christmas and the holidays. Hopefully it will go as I believe my family is hosting Christmas. To brew with the boys in the Co Op, I'm planning a variation to Maui's Coconut Porter. Loaded with coconut and spiked with chocolate, it should clock in at ~7-8% ABV, and be great for the holidays and the New Year! To contrast the two dark beers, I'd like to throw a lighter beer into the mix. I'm thinking a saison to float through the holidays and the middle of the winter. The last saison I made with my brother in law was actually my first all grain beer. And man, did that go quickly. The one regret I have on that we spiced that beer with coriander, creating a small spice slurry in the bottom of the keg and bottles. This time around my plan is keep the fermentation under control and let the yeast bring the flavors out. Now that temperatures have dropped in my area, I can always ramp up with a fish tank heater and water bath. In the back of my mind is my desire to try a lager. I'd like to brew one in the month of December and hopefully have it pouring for the Super Bowl. It will be generally a natural ferment, outside in the stairwell of my garage. Temps can drop down to the 30's and 40's, so it should be close to ideal. Just some thoughts, hopefully I'll be sharing a beer with you soon!

[beerbrewculture]

Sunday morning? A Black Russian Imperial with espresso? Yes, please, and more #beer #homebrew #beerbrewculture http://ift.tt/1NiQQXi

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A homebrewed baby and a homebrewed ale! Love and thanks to @m_weissy3 & @anthonys_appetite for the perfect outfit! #nofilter #AudreysBrownAle #homebrew #SonyA5000 #beerbrewculture http://ift.tt/1PI7rUW

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via Twitter https://twitter.com/eddiepro

[beerbrewculture]

So after a bit of a layoff brewing since the big 1 barrel day back in August, today was the day to get busy again. Today I was really able to get a feel for using my new mash tun. It was a simple mix of 15 lbs of 2 row and 4 ounces of Chocolate Malt for a small addition of color. Tentatively named 'Unknown Alpha', it is a fresh harvest ale with an unknown IBU rating. The hops used today were a blend of everything from my backyard hop yard. The mix was somewhere around 45% Chinook, 40% Zeus, and 15% Cascade hops. Each were dosed into the hop bag at 55, 35, 20, and 5 minute marks along the boil. I used a nylon bag to avoid a stuck runoff from the whole leaf hops. My big take away from today's brew is time vs. quantity. Start to finish it took 6 hours to brew and it makes me much more likely to make a 10 gallon batch in the future. Until next time, cheers!