Nøgne Ø / Jolly Pumpkin / Stone Special Holiday Ale

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!



It's been tough to blog lately, I've had a ton of "real-non-beer-job" year-end stuff to deal with, but I recently purchased the collaborative brew from Nøgne Ø / Jolly Pumpkin / Stone.



This seemed quite different from what I remember of the 2008 batch. This year's seemed to be more about the spices than anything else. It actually reminded me of one of our early (and terrible) homebrews where we through WAY too much spruce into a stout. I think that's why I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous year. But it was still good! Go try it for yourself.



Hopefully I'll cram in a post or two more before the new year, but in case I don't, thanks for following and here's to a craft beer filled 2010!

Dogfish Head & BeerAdvocate Collaboration - Smoking the Malt!

This is a cool little video from BA showing how they're smoking malt for their upcoming collaboration brew, exclusively available at Extreme Beer Fest in Boston, MA.

Allagash 2009 Interlude

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of trying this offering from the great minds at Allagash Brewing Company. I would say that 90% of the time Allagash hits it out of the park, but I found this to be a SLIGHT misstep. Although, full disclosure: I had this entire 22oz bomber by myself, so it may have been a bit too much for just one mortal human. That aside, I found this Wild Ale to be a bit too bitterly sour, whereas something like Russian River's Consecration or the Ithaca Brute hits the sour level perfectly. Not the greatest drinkability here.



A brief perusal on BeerAdvocate shows that some people seem to agree with me. But delving deeper, it seems the reviews for vintages of this are much better. Perhaps they switched something in their recipe this year and it didn't quite work as well? I don't believe I've ever had it before, so I can't compare.

Space Beer

The week(s) from hell continues here in the non-beer-related work world. Forgive me. In the meantime, check out this video about beer made with barley grown in space!

Christmas Beer Tree

Stupid regular non-beer job is killing me this week. Must find time to blog. In the meantime, here's something that's way better than a regular old Christmas Tree:

The Metal Madman Chugs Sam Adams Boston Ale

This guy is hilarious. He's really good at chugging beer and happens to also enjoy craft beer. He was our true inspiration in our Dogfish Head 120 Minute Chug Attempt.

NSFW (language).

Rattle'n'Hum - best beer bar in NYC

There I said it. I really feel that it has de-throned the mighty Blind Tiger. Of course, both spots suffer from getting absolutely PACKED, but Rattle is definitely bigger and more accommodating. Their selection is always top notch and the owner, Patrick, is friendly as hell and you can tell he really cares about quality beer.



Last night they began their 1 year anniversary celebration with a Cask Festival. As you can see they had quite a few casks, and those were only the US ones! They still have a whole slew of UK casks in addition to those.

In short, GO TO RATTLE'N'HUM IF YOU VISIT NEW YORK CITY!

Post-Script:

I've been distracted by 3 nights of Phish at MSG this week, which explains why I've resorted to posting beer videos (although they are all awesome).

Spoetzl Brewery's 100 Bottle Salute

The Story of Brooklyn Brewery

Here's one more for you.

Tour of Sierra Nevada

Busy week. Here's some filler, take a virtual tour of Sierra Nevada with Mr. Ken Grossman!

Thanksgiving Pairing Photos

First up! Allagash Grand Cru paired with Thanksgiving Dinner. Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Turnip, Sweet Potatoes, Stuffing, Green Beans and Corn!



This was THE perfect pairing. The combination of the dryness of the turkey and the sweet malty goodness of Grand Cru.



Next up was dessert! Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout paired with Pumpkin and Apple Pie with a side of vanilla ice cream.



Here's where my pairings derailed. When I went to the beer store to pick up these pairing beers, I had just read about how great the Oak Aged Yeti was and I was excited to try it. Well, I would advise that anyone looking for pairings with dessert, to avoid oak-aged beers. The whiskey/oak aged flavors overwhelmed the sweetness of the pies. This would have been perfect without the whiskey and oak flavors. The mouthfeel was spot on.



A few nights later, two awesome things happened. First, I found 4 packs of Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout for $5.79 each at The Cellar 32 in Brigantine, NJ. That is by far the cheapest I have ever seen it. I asked about cases but they didn't have any, so I just bought four 4 packs and went home very pleased. The second awesome thing was that my Mom surprised me with cake for my 28th birthday (12/1). Organic chocolate cake! First thought? Chocolate Cake + Chocolate Stout!



This was an excellent pairing. Although I couldn't help but still desire a glass of milk on the side in addition.

Homebrew Update and Thanksgiving Pairings

Ten Dudes Kinda Hoppy IPA - brewed Nov. 2007

We realized the other day that we have a full 6 beers readying themselves in either bottles or in fermenters:

1. "#3" Barleywine - Brewed 9/23/09 - Final ABV ~ 9.8% (for our 3rd anniversary in homebrewing)
2. "Pipe Reinforcement" Brunch Stout - Brewed 10/13/09 - Final ABV ~ 3.5% (from an all grain breakfast stout kit)
3. Kölsch - Brewed 10/27/09 - (from an all grain Kölsch kit)
4. Smoke Ale - Brewed 11/10/09 - Exepected ABV 8.3%
5. "Dark Road" Imperial Stout - Brewed 11/14/09 - Expected ABV 14% (dark lord clone recipe)
6. Mild Ale - Second Runnings from Dark Road

We are playing to try an Oatmeal IPA recipe after the holiday.

Speaking of Holiday, here's what I'll be pairing Thanksgiving dinner with, thanks to Beer Advocate:

Dinner: Allagash Grand Cru - Strong Belgian-style Ales' "higher alcohol percentages cut through fats and starches, provide an edge of sweetness, and boast very diverse and complex flavors that lend themselves very well to this pairing."
Dessert: Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout - "Ensure that your beers are sweeter than your desserts. Rich and big Stouts are our favorites, and tend to work very well."
After Dinner/Digestive: Dogfish Head Raison D'Extra - "Time to kick back and let that food digest. No doubt you are bloated at this point, so the moment calls for something smooth and numbing."

I likely won't update again until Monday, so have a wonderful and hopefully beer-filled holiday weekend.

Blind Tiger Ale House: The Best AND Worst Beer Bar in NYC

The photo above is deceptive. Its taken from outside the bar through their front window (also note i didn't take it, I borrowed it from MSNBC). Also of note is how few people are in the bar when the photo was taken. Imagine the complete opposite of the crowd above...and then double it, and you start to get an idea of how crowded Blind Tiger's VSK Event was on Wednesday evening.

Their beer list was staggering, as it often is. The faithful Blind Tiger patrons are always to be counted on to show up in droves. Looking at the list, there are multiple beers that are once-in-a-lifetime level:

Del Borgo/Dogfish Head My Antonia
Sierra Nevada Limb and Life (in collaboration with Dogfish Head)
Allagash Interlude '07
Lagunitas Barrel Aged Ruben and the Jets
Goose Island Demolition
Stone Vertical Epic '06
Dogfish Pangea
Dogfish 120 redux'08(via Randall)
Brooklyn Backbreaker (cask)
North Coast Old Rasputin 10th Anniversary (aged in bourbon barrels)
Brouwerij De Regenboog Wostyntje '08 (mustard seed ale)
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout '04
JW Lees Harvest Ale aged in a Calvados Cask (Wooden Pin)
Bear Republic Apex '08 (imperial IPA)
Rogue Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop
Rockies Fresh Trak (fresh hop)
Captain Lawrence Nor'Easter
Southampton Saison
Chelsea Imperial Mild Aged in Bourbon Barrels
Blue Point 10th Anniversary IPA
Smuttynose Big A IPA '07
Kuhnhenn All Hallows (Pumpkin Ale)
Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Aged Barleywine
Flying Dog Horn Dog Barley Wine '07
Great Divide Hoss Lager (Vienna Lager)
Lefthand Goosinator
Firestone Walker Nector Black Xantus (IMP STOUT, BOURBON BARREL AGED, INFUSED WITH COFFEE)
Farnum Hill Cider Semi Dry
Magic Hat Sour Notion
Picobrouwerij Alvinne Melchior (Belgian Strong Ale)

If you're anything like me, you're wiping up all the drool that has spilled out of your mouth while reading that list. Seems a LOT of people felt the same way.

We showed up at about 6pm, which is already regrettable since the event technically starts at 3pm, but I do have a (dumb) day job. Any time I go to Blind Tiger, I brace myself for the annoyance of how small the space is versus the large amount of patrons, but this was a whole new level. I walked in the door, looking for my friends. I made my way through the crowd and it took me about 7 minutes to maneuver from the front door to the bathroom, something that would normally take about 3 seconds. I finally found my friends who were squishing their way through the room the same as I.

After awkwardly trying to find a spot to try to try to get one of the three bartenders attention, we looked at eachother and realized that even if we did get a beer, it would have been near impossible to enjoy it comfortably. It was incredibly frustrating, but we left without getting a single beer. It felt terrible to be so close to such a large amount of rare, delicious beer, but it was just too much.

I walked out never wanting to come back. They have SUCH insane events that it just becomes overwhelming. So, what do do? Number 1, waaaaah i went to a bar and it was too crowded, waaaaaah. Yeah. But at the same time I really wish Blind Tiger could somehow have a bigger space. Or maybe spread their rare kegs out more perhaps. All that said, our friend Jeff arrived a little after 9pm and it had started to clear out a bit. I guess next time an event of this magnitude comes along, I'll have to sacrifice a couple kicked kegs and just go later after a good chunk of the crowd has stumbled out. /endrant

HOLY FERMENTATION!

To continue the week's homebrew theme, brewmate Jeff uploaded this video of our fermentation of the previously posted Dark Lord clone brew. As you can see, its fermenting like crazy! This is about 30x more bubbles than any other beer we've ever brewed. Hopefully it comes out actually tasting good.

Also, a name has been bestowed upon this loomingly dark brew.. Dark Road Imperial Stout!

Brew. Brew! BREW!

This past Saturday, my brewing team and I had our craziest yet most productive day of homebrewing yet. We've been brewing since September 2007 and we rarely find time for it on weekends, usually we have to cram it all in after work on weeknights. Anyways the slate for this dreary Saturday included not only bottling our 3rd Anniversary Barleywine that we brewed at the end of September, but also brewing the biggest (ABV-wise) beer we've ever attempted. We did some research about clone recipes of the infamous Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout and formulated our own:

Ingredients
19lb 2 row ---mash
2lbs Munich malt ---mash
.5lb flaked oats ---mash
.5lb special B ---mash
.5lb Flaked Barley ---mash
.5lb Crystal 60L ---mash

2lbs Roasted Barley ---steep
1.5lb Chocolate malt ---steep
.5lb Crystal 120L ---steep
.5lb Black patent malt ---steep

2lb honey ---boil
1.25lb molasses ---boil

2oz Super Styrian 7% (75 min)
1oz Nugget 13% (75 min)
1oz UK Fuggle 4% (75 min)

1 pack US-04 dry ale yeast
1 pack US-05 dry ale yeast

?lb coarse grind coffee, cold-steeped 12 hours just prior to bottling
2oz medium toast american oak beans, steeped in Jack Daniels for 2 weeks

target OG: 1.154 target FG: 1.039 target ABV: 14%

Procedures
- 7 gallons mash liquor, strike temp 165º (23lbs mashing grain bill, 1:1.22 grist ratio)
- 2.5 gallons absorbed by grain <----NOTE: grain bag absorbed X2 as much as mash grain
- 152º mash for 90 mins
- 3.25 gallons sparge @ 175º to collect 7 gal pre-boil <---less than expected
- Begin 2nd runnings
- steep remaining 4.5 lbs dark grains in grain bag under 160º for 30 mins
- 75 minute boil, add all hops @ 75 mins
- final volume = 5.75 gallons (1.25 gallons lost in boil)

O.G.: 1.130

-----------------
SECOND RUNNINGS
- 6.25 gallons additional sparge, 6.25 collected
- grain bag steeped 1 hour during main boil (approx. 140º)
- 60 monute boil
1oz UK Goldings (60 min)
.5oz UK Goldings (30 min)
.5oz UK Goldings (15 min)
1oz Crystal 3.8% (0 min)
- wort left to stand for 6 hours to cool
- 1 pack Nottingham dry yeast pitched
- fermented @ 66-68

O.G.: 1.050

As you can see above, we missed our O.G. but not by all that much. The second runnings brew is our first time experimenting with that, so if that turns out well we'll consider that a bonus beer. Of course its fun homebrewing, but it definitely makes us all wish we could have a larger space for all our stuff. We really take over wherever we brew as you can see.



All in all, it was about a 7 hour day, but hopefully worth it. If it tastes ANYTHING like Dark Lord, it will be considered a success.

Home(brew) Improvement

A little something occurred to us the other day while brewing our first Smoke Ale: we should be heating our wort at the exact same time as we sparge! It makes a ton of sense and cuts down on the time it takes to heat up that large amount of wort.



Of course, this is how a lot of the expensive brewing systems are already set up. Not sure why we hadn't thought of this before, but it was relatively easy. The only obstacle there was that the tubing coming out of the the mash tun ball valve was too long and we had to make sure there wasn't too much of it touching the heating kettle.

Stoudt's Double IPA

Stoudt's Brewing Company is located in Adamstown, PA, and is a brewery that I've seen many many times on the shelf of my local beer store. For some reason that I can't quite pinpoint (for some reason I want to say its something I find displeasing about the font of their logo despite liking the logo in general), I've never picked up a single one of their beers. But it just so happens that in the book I'm currently reading, Red, White, and Brew: An American Beer Odyssey by Brian Yaeger, the author spends an entire chapter discussing Stoudt's brewery and family history, some of which you can read for yourself here.



So I was finally prompted to give Stoudt's a try, and what better way to start then their bottle-conditioned Double IPA. At 10% ABV, this certainly qualifies as an Imperial. What I couldn't help but think after I polished this off is that this is what a more drinkable Dogfish Head 120 Minute would taste like. Don't get me wrong, I quite enjoy the 120, but its simply not something one can enjoy any bit regularly. The Stoudt's DIPA however is perfect for a 1 or 2 12oz session. Complex, earthy, citrusy and malty. This is quite clearly a beer to be held as the definition of the style.

Flying Fish Exit 1 Bayshore Oyster Stout

I'll admit it. I was scared to try this beer. I am not a fan of anything seafood at all and I'll also admit that I picked this up at the beer store a week ago and put it back down and didn't purchase it. This time around, I bit.

Flying Fish Exit 1 Bayshore Stout is the newest in FF's Exit Series and their website describes it as such:

The third stop on our multi-year trip to explore New Jersey through its beer and culture takes us to Exit 1.

The southwest bayshore has been supplying oysters to Americans since colonial times. Until the 1950s, hundreds of millions of oysters were harvested annually. Now, thanks to efforts by many organizations, the oyster is coming back.

Oysters and stout had long been associated in the UK, but the tradition was gradually lost. Exit 1, an “export style” stout brewed with oysters, celebrates this tasty combination. The creamy flavor of English chocolate and roasted malts harmonizes with minerals from the oyster shells. Irish ale yeast adds a bit of fruitiness and a dry crispness. This rich stout is perfect for cool weather–and especially delicious when paired with a few Jersey oysters on the half shell.

Learn more about oyster restoration near Exit 1: DelawareEstuary.org.

Beer brewed with oysters.
Alcohol 7.5% by Vol.

So despite my reservations about seafood tastes, I tried it and I am happy to report there is only the slightest hint of the sea in this beer. It actually makes me want to try seafood, so I consider it quite the success.

Definitely seek it out, as it is limited. And in case you missed it, scroll down a few posts and watch the very interesting making-of video of Exit 1.

Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine

Beer Saturday Part IV - No Joke Oktoberfest at Spuyten Duyvil

Our journey from Defiant back to Brooklyn was...interesting. Torrential rain, bad traffic and not having enough cash for the George Washington Bridge. Fun stuff! But Spuyten Duyvil's No Joke Oktoberfest was a nice little coda to our long beer day.



the list:

In Wooden Barrel:
1. Hoffstetten Original Hochzeitsbier von 1810
2. Schneider Organic Weisen-Edel Weisse

In Gravity Keg:
1. Zehender Mönchsambach Bernstein Lager
2. Spezial Rauchbier
3. Will Schederndorf Landbier
4. Bayer Theinheim Unfiltered Lager
5. Sauer Rosdorf Unfiltered Lager
6. Fischer Greuth Rauchbier
7. Fischer Greuth Lager
8. Löwenbräu Buttenheim Lager
9. Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe Dunkel
10. Mahrs Bräu Pils
11. Kraus Hirschaid Pils
12. Lindenbräu Gräfenberg Vollbier

On Tap:
1. Heller-Trum Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock Unfiltered
2. Hofstetten Kuebelbier Zwickel
3. Hofstetten Honig Bock (honey bock)
4. Mahr's Der Weisse Bock
5. Monchshof Festbier
6. Monchshof Schwarzbier

German Mead:
Steinwaelder Hausbrenneri Schraml's Dry Mead (matured in plum brandy oak barrels, 15.5% alc./vol.)

It was nearly impossible making our selections, so we just stuck to the barreled beers! Spuyten Duyvil is one of the best beer bars there is.



Also took a few photos of the Captain Lawrence Flaming Fury bottles when we got home:

Flying Fish Exit 1 - Brewed with Oysters!

Brief video aside as I prepare the next post...

Beer Saturday Part III - Defiant Brewing Co.

Our next stop was Defiant Brewing Company in Pearl River, NY. This was a bit of a last minute addition after seeing that the reviews for Gaslight Brewery in South Orange, NJ weren't all that great. But we really lucked out with picking this place, because its awesome.



As you walk in there is a VERY long bar that stretches almost to the back of the area. What they've done here is create a shared space between the brewing facility and the imbibing area. Its pretty genius, as it makes you really feel like you're somewhere special as you're drinking the beer that's made a few feet away from where you're seated.



There are about 6-8 "bright tanks", which eliminates the need for kegging their own beer for consumption within the brewery. The beer travels from the fermenters which are located near the back of the brewhouse to the bright tanks which are located directly behind the bar. Need a growler filled? They'll take it and pull it right off the bottom of the bright tanks. Very cool.



They also have the tanks attached to taps that are all lead to this barrel-inspired design you see above. Oh, also worth noting is that ALL OF THE BEER WAS $3.25 for a pint! That is relatively unheard of and a very nice surprise. Especially since its high quality beer. Our favorites were The Horseman's Ale (a pumpkin ale), the O'Defiant Stout and their American Pale Ale, which didn't have a name.

Conclusion: GO TO DEFIANT BREWING COMPANY!

Stay tuned for the finale, Part IV, where we hit Spuyten Duyvil's No Joke Oktoberfest.

Beer Saturday Part II - Peekskill Brewery

After the good time we had procuring our bottles of Flaming Fury at Captain Lawrence, we made our way to Peekskill Brewery in Peekskill, NY. It was a rainy day, but that didn't affect the nice little drive to the town beside the Hudson.



This place is only a year or so old, but its already established itself as a solid stop on any craft beer lover's road trip (or boat trip) through the region.



Their menu consists of a majority of craft breweries on tap in addition to 3-4 of their own brews. When we arrived, they had their Paramount Pale Ale, Yeah Peaches and Wee Heavy on tap. Both the Paramount Ale and the Yeah Peaches were solid choices. We only sampled the Wee Heavy, but something seemed off about it. It had a medicinal, almost chloroseptic taste to it. Maybe it was just a bad tap or something like that. The other two beers were much better.



This here is the PB Paramount Pale Ale. The bartender was very friendly and answered all our beer geeky questions about the brewer and the brewery and how they started.



As you walk down the hallway that connects the two portions of the restaurant, you stumble upon windows that look into the (tiny) brewhouse. Honestly, it's microscopic. The brewer cannot possibly be claustrophobic.. I think one person is about the max-cap of that little room.



Definitely a cool place to check out if you're in the area. I don't know if I'd recommend road-tripping specifically for this place, but plan on stopping in as you're passing through.

Beer Saturday Part I - Captain Lawrence Flaming Fury Release

This past Saturday, my brewing buddies and I went on a short tour of some of the local breweries and brewpubs. First up was a stop at Captain Lawrence in Pleasantville, NY. They were having a release for their latest barrel-aged sour ale, Flaming Fury.



Here you see the crowd forming the line to get their beers. We arrived there at about 10:30 and waited out the rain before getting on the line. At 12:00, Scott Vaccaro himself emerged and announced that it was time to begin. This was the first time I've been to a release at CL, so it was quite a sight to see person after person emerging from the brewery's doors with the maximum allotted 4 bottles awkwardly carried in their folded arms. No lie, despite being around 80th in line, I still had a nervous feeling that it would all be gone by the time we got to the front.



Once you get inside, you get a sense of how small the brewery still is. Despite its small size, there are tons of barrels stacked to the ceiling labeled with all sorts of delicious future brews. Mouth-watering.



After purchasing our bottles (NOTE to anyone who goes to any future releases, its cash only. Somehow I stupidly didn't realize this), we hung around for a bit to sample some of the beers they had on tap for tasting. We had the new Pumpkin Ale, the Smoked Porter and the Double IPA, all of which were quite good. We also perused the brewhouse and took note of how they did things right. Beer geeks get excited by empty grain bags displayed on the wall.



Above you'll see the aftermath. Click the photo to get a closer look. Some of the empty beers displayed on the wall are among the best in the country. The beer community is so generous, sharing their stashes with all...very cool.

Our next stop was Peekskill Brewery in Peekskill, NY, but i'll save that for Part II.

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA and Red Rocket Ale

Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA - American IPA, 7%

Cloudy amber-orange color, about a finger of head is retained. Nose is malty and citrus. This beer just nails the exact median between malt and citrus, thick but not overwhelming. Hoppy without being too bitter. An excellent example of an IPA.



Bear Republic Red Rocket Ale - American Red Ale, 6.8%

Appearance is a deep dark amber with minimal head that reduces quickly. Nose is a mix of fruity and hoppyness. Hugely malty in the initial taste. As that washes around and away, a dry, burnt bready taste remains. Delicious. Very creamy, very dry.

U.S. Senator supports Rock Art in Monster Energy battle

This is awesome. (via beernews.org)

(Burlington, VT) – Dan McLean of the Burlington Free Press reported this morning that Senator, Bernie Sanders, I-VT, has sent a letter to Hansen Beverage Company. The letter, of course, is about Hansen’s threat of legal action against Rock Art Brewery for use of the “Vermonster” name on bottled beer and the confusion it may cause with its own “Monster Energy” brand.


“I am not a trademark attorney, but I believe that any normal person would find your claim preposterous,” Sanders writes. “An energy drink is not a beer, and the word ‘monster’ is not ‘Vermonster.’ Any person who would get confused by these two different products and names should probably slow down a bit, and lay off energy drinks.”

You can see the full text of the letter on the Burlington Free Press website.

The cease and desist letter was the first of three questionable ones that came to light this month.

BevReview.com reported on a letter it received concerning a random forum review of Monster Energy Drink from 2007.

An actor from the 2006 film, The Shadow Walkers (rated 2.5 out of 10 on IMDB), also reported that a C&D letter was sent to him for a random candid shot of him holding up a can of Monster Energy Drink during shooting.

Are Hansen shareholders aware of what the company is spending on its legal team?

Meanwhile, the letters have generated a lot of buzz on social media networks within the last week with thousands of messages coming in supporting Rock Art and promoting a boycott of Monster Energy Drink. The buzz has slowed considerably though a few hundred tweets have still come across today.

Trying to plan a NY/NJ Brewery/Brewpub Tour for Saturday

So far the plan is

Captain Lawrence for the Flaming Fury Sour Ale release (Pleasantville, NY)
Peekskill Brewpub (Peekskill, NY)
Defiant Brewing Company (Pearl River, NY)
Gaslight Brewery/U-Brew Homebrew Store (South Orange, NJ)
then back to Brooklyn for the No Joke Octoberfest at Spuyten Duyvil:

In Wooden Barrel:
1. Hoffstetten Original Hochzeitsbier von 1810
2. Schneider Organic Weisen-Edel Weisse

In Gravity Keg:
1. Zehender Mönchsambach Bernstein Lager
2. Spezial Rauchbier
3. Will Schederndorf Landbier
4. Bayer Theinheim Unfiltered Lager
5. Sauer Rosdorf Unfiltered Lager
6. Fischer Greuth Rauchbier
7. Fischer Greuth Lager
8. Löwenbräu Buttenheim Lager
9. Klosterbrauerei Weissenohe Dunkel
10. Mahrs Bräu Pils
11. Kraus Hirschaid Pils
12. Lindenbräu Gräfenberg Vollbier

On Tap:
1. Heller-Trum Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock Unfiltered
2. Hofstetten Kuebelbier Zwickel
3. Hofstetten Honig Bock (honey bock)
4. Mahr's Der Weisse Bock
5. Monchshof Festbier
6. Monchshof Schwarzbier

German Mead:
Steinwaelder Hausbrenneri Schraml's Dry Mean (matured in plum brandy oak barrels, 15.5% alc./vol.)


...NO JOKE

Should be quite the Saturday. Does anyone have any recommendations for additional breweries and/or brewpubs in the immediate area that are must-visit?

I want to do THIS!

To get into kegging homebrew, one either has to buy a (at minimum) $400 kegerator, or do something similar to the video above. I'd really like to be able to make one, but I'm not sure I trust my skills to create a worthy kegerator. Also, another problem is space. Currently, we have none.

Captain Lawrence Flaming Fury

Helluva name! This one will be released this Saturday at the brewery and we're hoping to make it up for the event. Here's the info straight from head brewer Scott Vaccaro:

Captain Lawrence Flaming Fury – Barrel Aged Sour Ale with Peaches. This one is for the sour lovers out there, and I mean real sour lovers. I will be very blunt; this one is one of the more intense sour ales we have produced. It sat in the barrels for well over a year, aging with NY grown peaches from a local farm and Brettanomyces. The flavors are fruity and sour, with a very lively carbonation (chill well before opening, like champagne)

Release Date: October 24th – 12pm
Price: $10 – 375ml bottle
Sales: Limit 4 bottle per customer
Production: 750 bottles

Sounds delicious. We're planning a brewpub tour on Saturday that would hopefully include a stop to pick up some bottles of this. We'll see if its doable.

If I get some, maybe I can set up a good trade?

Cask Beer Out of a Pumpkin at Barcade's 5th Anniversary Party

Last night was Barcade's 5th Anniversary Party and they spared no beer-expense! Check out what they featured on tap (I've bolded the ones I had):

Allagash Burnham Road - 8.0% ABV - Smoked ale
Avery Sixteen - 7.7% - anniversary Saison
Brooklyn Manhattan Project - 8.5%
Bruery Autumn Maple - 10.5% - Belgian strong ale
Chelsea Tsar's Revenge 2008 - 9.7%
Coney Island "dry hopped" Sword Swallower (cask) - 6.8%
Dogfish Head Theobroma - 10.0%
Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout (served from a pumpkin cask) - 6.8%
Goose Island barrel-aged Imperial Brown - 9.0% - Old Ale
Kelso Newtown Kriek - 4.5% - Local Lambic
Left Hand St. Vrain - 9.0% - Belgian Tripel
McNeill's Organic IPA - 7.5%
Rogue Sequicentennial (cask) - 6.3% - brewed for the 150th anniversary of Oregon
Roosterfish Nut Brown - 5.6%
Sierra Nevada Estate - 6.8%
Sixpoint Hops of Love
Sixpoint Oktoberfest
St. Somewhere Pays du Soleil - 8.0% - Belgian Dark Ale
Victory V-12 - 12.0% - Belgian Quad
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin - 8.0% - Double Pumpkin Ale

That's a lot of delicious beer. But easily the most interesting thing on the list is the Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout served directly out of a freakin' pumpkin! Here the guys are tapping it:



First of all it's interesting to make a Pumpkin Stout, as most pumpkin infused beers are usually lighter fare. But to add in the idea of having it sit in a pumpkin. Let's just say I want to go pumpkin picking and start doing this for our homebrew.

Here are a few other photos of the evening: