Red pens and black stouts...

It's grading day for me, with the first midterm of the semester. Barry, I don't know how you do this on a regular basis...3 times a semester is more than enough for me. Very average results...I'm guessing it's going to come out around 75%, which is pretty good for the first time I've written an exam for this class. I've gotten the impression I'm on double-secret probation for having my grades too high, so am trying to keep it under a 3.0 this semester.

Turning to beer, tonight I popped open a Three Floyd's Moloko Plus Milk Stout. I've only ever seen this once, so I don't know how rare it is, but it looks cool anyway. It's a pretty good beer, but maybe a little too sweet for me. It reminds me of when I pour a cup of coffee at the office and the sugar comes out of the canister too fast and I'm stuck with a barely drinkable cup of joe. This has a strong coffee-ish taste and smell, very "roast-y" if that makes any sense. Strange fizzy taste on the tongue too although it looks flat in the glass. The sugary-ness is just too overpowering though...to the point where I'm almost expecting it to still be sitting in granules on the bottom. This is one of those beers that you kind of enjoy the novelty of trying, and don't hate, but would likely never pull off the shelf again. I still have a lake louie milk stout in the fridge that I'll compare it to tomorrow.

Verdict: C+/B-

P.S.-I'm not sure who's worse, the Bengals or my fantasy team. Brutal.

New Otto's IPA

This is the last of a growler of 'Slab Cabin IPA' from Otto's I bought last night. The bartender is one of my students. (How come I didn't get a discount?) This definitely has some rye in it. I am becoming a very big fan of rye in all beers and IPA's in particular. My feeling is that rye adds a little spice to the beer.

Slab Cabin is better than Otto's DD IPA, which has been suspended until hop prices come back down.* Also the ABV is lower, which I am all for. Lately I've been looking for lower alcohol beers. (Except for the stouts I'm making. Obviously.)

Extremely sessionable. I would happily drink this all evening.

The grade: B.


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*Does anyone else suspect that regardless of future hop yields, prices will remain high? Are hops and petroleum the same from an economical perspective?

Brewing suggestions wanted

Today's brewing complete. I have about 2.5 gallons going in the primary. I am planing to split this into two batches and dry hop one with coffee beans.

I broke my hydrometer, but I believe the gravity is high.

The malt profile is

Pale 2-row
Chocolate malt
Belgian biscuit
Cara Aroma
Dark Malt

and I hopped with the last of my Nugget.

Question: What should I add to the other gallon?

Upland IIPA

Katie and I went to Upland last night to try a new Imperial IPA. It is amazingly well named as "Bad Penny IIPA" because that's exactly what it tastes like. To me, it's a cross between a heavily circulated penny and some mild battery acid. I did not like it. I even left half a glass on the table when we left, although in full disclosure that was half of my second glass. I think this would fall under Barry's favorite word "astringent." To be fair, it actually reminded me A LOT of Dreadnaught, so it could be that you guys who like that would like this one. For me, as Dreadnaught is my least favorite IIPA I've ever had, it did not make a good role model for this one, but I think that is pretty clearly what they were shooting for.
C-

Katie had an Octoberfest that was pretty good.

PS...another negative was the 50,000 mosquitos on the patio. How about investing in some citronella Upland?

Bottled some Sposborth

So I bottled three different batches today. The picture shows the Java Porter. It smells like coffee and chocolate brownies and a little Nugget hops. Earlier I bottled my Nugget Pale Ale and then later, the Single Malt Whisky, Triple Malt Porter. I also blended the Java and Whisky into a couple of bottles. I would have bottled the Pilsner too, but I ran out of bottles. The Nugget PA batch was ruby red.

The Java Porter smells good enough that I've already made a yeast starter to make another batch tomorrow. I broke my hydrometer today.

Of all the homebrews I've made the porters and stouts come out best. I resolve to make more imperial stouts and porters.

Here is the current Sposborth reserve list:

Imperial India Pale Ale
Oaked Imperial India Pale
Nugget India Pale Ale
Chocolate Biscuit Porter
Rebellious Rye Ale
Belgian Pale
Java Porter
Single Malt Whisky, Triple Malt Porter
Scottish Breakfast Blend (Java/Whisky)
Pilsner (coming soon)
Pumpkin Ale (coming soon)

Barry I read that Furious is brewed using Golden Promise barley. I'm going to try to replicate it. Do you know the O.G./F.G. for Furious? How is your Hoppy Brown?

Breakfast At All Hours

Let us drink Breakfast often.

A

Catching up...

Haven't posted in awhile due to the fact I was deathly ill for about the last 10 days. I haven't left the house except to stumble in to teach every other day, and if my scale is to be believed I think I lost something in the neighborhood of 15-20 lbs in 10 days. To put the experience into pleasant euphemisms, my gastrointestinal system was waging some kind of unholy civil war with violent offensives both to the north and to the south, if you catch my drift. But, I'm feeling much better the last day or two, and may even venture to open up a beer tonight. I'm also posting some old drafts that were waiting for me to add pictures.
In other news, I finally got around to picking up Duane's massive Lambic bonanza today, so if you're nice to him he might share. Included is roughly 4.5% of the world kiwi-lambic supply.

New Left Hand IIPA

9/28/08:

Left Hand Twin Sisters Double IPA. Chewy, sticky, hoppy, malty. Lots of caramel maltiness which seems to be what the beer advocates dislike. Not me, this is nearly perfect. Easy Drinking. Surprisingly full flavor for a pretty light color that almost looks like a bud lager. This is a truly great beer. Like Mercury Morris, it's in the Hopslam neighborhood, if not quite knocking on the door. I'd put it somewhere between Hopslam and 90 minute in taste, or maybe a Breckenridge 471. Whatever it is, it's an A+. Go Lefty!

Belgian Darks

9/28/08




1: Bell's Hell Hath No Fury Ale. This was really good. Kind of mellow and not overpowering but I'm viewing that as a positive. Fruity. A little flat but still great. A








2: Unibroue Chambly Noire. Very yeasty flavor, much less fruity than the Bell's. Kind of watery. Fizzy. Probably my least favorite Unibroue to date. C-






3: Dogfish Raison D'Extra. Another ridiculously high ABV dogfish. Heavy alcohol burn like their 120 min or World Wide Stout. I had pretty low expectations for this, but wanted to give it a try anyway. It's actually not half bad if you can handle the high gravity. To be honest, all these Uber-ABV beers are pretty much overwhelmed in the flavor area by the same basic alcohol flavor, but there are some of the Belgian dark fruity flavors coming through. I'd give this a B+, but probably won't ever get it again. Might try the D'etre if I can find a single of it (they only had it in 6 packs today and I knew I didn't want that many)

Bell's was the big winner tonight.

Go Green Flash

Whoa, Doctor. Lot's of alcohol burn, quite bitter, hoppy front and finish and Belgian candy finish. This is the very in my face Le Freak from Green Flash B.C. The label says, "Extreme Ale converging San Diego-style imperial pale ale and Belgian-style trippel." Sums it right up.

There is a lot of flavor in each sip. I'm sure that this would age like a champ.

Very Good: AB

Remote posting from St Louis

While the town is shitty, I did manage to find one beer that I've been wanting to try for a while. To counter Barry's previous post, this is a beer from a brewery that is usually disappointing, but this brew is great.

New Belgium La Folie - This one is a Flanders Red Ale (in the style of Rodenbach if you've had that before). It is outstanding. This one is tart like a granny smith apples. My streak of good sour beer continues. Who would have thought that the brewery that produces such shit like Fat Tire could belt out a brew like this?

A

A Toast to All the Bullshit

Avery's Ale to the Chief is a shout out to these blowhards that don't answer the questions asked and continually repeat themselves. To you gentlemen!

Here are some musings: Avery's big beers, as a whole, are very alcohol heavy in taste. Though I only had one bottle, the Maharaja IIPA was like drinking gasoline and grass clippings. Very unimpressive. Chris's drainpour posting was also an Avery. My high hopes for this beer are slightly tempered now as well. A citrus based hop pale ale is overriden by that unpleasant taste of astringency (to answer your previous question Pete: astringent is a taste of gas and vodka in my mind). It is also inconsistent, with some sips shining through and others being overpowered. Inconsistent and a bit of a letdown, much like our political system and candidates.

B -

P.S. I would really like the opportunity to drink another AleSmith IPA

P.P.S Any other thoughts on breweries that don't deliver on expectations?

Bud American Ale

Let's start with the grade: C. (In a world of only microbrews this would earn a D.)

The good: nice carbonation, not too heavy.
The bad: too 'Red', not hoppy (okay, slightly hoppy).
The meh: The taste.

Tastes a lot like Yuengling Lager, only more advertising and more expensive at $7.41 per six pack. If you don't like amber lager or Yuengling, skip it. I was curious enough to buy it once, having seen about 10,142 adds for it.

The return of Sposborth - with OAK

What a difference a day makes. Tonight I'm trying the oak chip version of the IIPA. I would love to get a second opinion on this one. The flavors are more varied - vanilla, bourbon and oak. The hops are not overwhelming like in yesterday's IIPA. Tonight's beer is a little colder too and I think that is a big help.

I'm as happy with the oak chipper as I was disappointed with the 'plain' IIPA. Next time I'll add a little more crystal malt and try to improve the hue. I would probably scale down the oak chips slightly next time. The oak chips soaking in whiskey should do a lot of good in the Stout I just made.

There is a little lacing. A good swirl brings out about a half inch of white foam.

I'm doing it; I'll give it an A for taste.

Sposborth IIPA

Too hoppy? That is my current verdict. Unbalanced is a maybe more accurate description. The beer looks very clear and nice, perhaps too much, and tastes a little too much like nothing good. Maybe all grain is harder than I thought. I do think there is not enough malt. Probably I should yield and add some DME to my next batch. Too much like cough syrup and too smelly (sickly aromatic). Hopefully the taste will improve as I have been anxiously awaiting this homebrew. I will try to pinpoint the flavors later.

Having said all of that, it is still better than most IPA's I can buy in Centre County (Zeno's excluded). It just isn't as good (yet?) as I hoped for. There are 10 more bottles and my fingers are crossed.

Current grade: B-.