Brewfus Alewise

Fun with fermentables

2010-03-07T11:41:00.000-08:00

No contest when it comes to consumption - beer wins by a country mile. But, I must say that I enjoy baking bread every bit as much as I enjoy brewing beer. Guess that makes me bit of a yeast monger...

And thanks to a brief stint in unemployment this past summer and strategic time management since, we haven't had to purchase a loaf of bread in six months. I like it that way. At any given time, our freezer boasts loaves of rye, whole wheat, cinnamon raisin, or olive bread. I recently made bagels (which turned out fantastic) and am venturing into the realm of 100% whole grain (i.e. no processed white flour).

The parallels between beer and bread are obvious: yeast acting on grains through fermentation and the application of heat; heady aromas and delicious end-products; origins rooted in the deepest of human history.

Today's post meets at the literal intersection of bread and beer: beer bread! Full disclosure - I'm not that crazy about beer bread; I've made it once or twice before, and I always conclude that I prefer my beer in a glass rather than a loaf.

That said, I'd been feeling the urge to whip up a loaf of beer bread since dropping by my favorite pottery shop in the known universe over the holidays. Located in Petoskey, Michigan (my hometown), Sturgeon River Pottery is owned by Karen and Steve Andrews. Steve was a high school football coach of mine and I went to high school with his sons. Whenever Elena (the wife) and I visit Petoskey, we make a point of stopping by their store/studio to see what's new (and we usually leave with an item or two).

On this particular visit, Elena was looking for a piece to purchase with the gift certificate I'd given her for Christmas. While she perused, Steve and I got to chatting. Once our conversation meandered from making a living Up North, to homebrewing, to bread-baking (with several topics in between), Steve showed me a beautiful bowl that doubled as a bread baker. We chatted for a few more minutes before Steve excused himself. He and Karen were closing up for winter and preparing to head south, where they'd spend a few months throwing and firing next season's pottery. We said goodbye.

We shopped a little longer, and were surprised to find one of Steve's bread bakers (along with a recipe card) waiting for us at the register. The clerk explained that it was a gift from Steve. The bowl has become my every day oatmeal/cereal bowl - just as Steve said his had. Beautiful pottery from good people.

Below is the Andrews' beer bread recipe. The beer I used for this bread was Blue Point Brewing Company's Toasted Lager, though Steve said any beer will work. Experiment!

Beer Bread Recipe

1 can/bottle warm beer (for bread)

1 can/bottle cold beer (to enjoy with the freshly baked bread)

4 T. sugar

3 c. self-rising flour

-or-

3 c. flour

4 1/2 t. baking soda

3/16 t. salt

Mix ingredients together and pour into greased "Bread Baker." Place in a cold oven so that the baker heats with the oven. This will keep you from cracking your baker. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes. Enjoy!

The bread turned out well - dense and rich. The richness (which some might love) is part of what I find a little off-putting about beer bread. As I said, I prefer my beer in liquid form. In bread, the earthy flavor of cooked beer is a little too intense for me. The best way to eat a bread like this, in my humble opinion, is slathered in butter and mom's sweet, homemade jam.

Toasted Lager (5.3% ABV)

Blue Point Brewing Company

Patchogue, NY

Appearance: Crystal clear body with a thick and creamy head. Copper/Amber in color. Plenty of bubbles migrating north during the tasting.

Aroma: Distinct hoppiness with a subtle malt lingering in the background. Clean and balanced aroma. A sweetness emerged as the beer warmed.

Taste: Great mouthfeel. Carbonation made its presence felt, but faded quickly. Wonderfully balanced hop/malt balance. Drinks like the well-bred offspring of a bold pale ales and an understated IPA. Cleanness of the lager allows the hop character to stand out. Grassy notes. A simple and straightforward taste.

Overall Impression: I'm usually an ale-exclusive quaffer, but this lager is good! With the thermometer topping 70° today (what a difference a month makes), this was a perfect beer to celebrate spring. Not surprising that the Toasted Lager took gold at the 2006 World Beer Cup. Here is Blue Point's explanation of the "toasted" in Toasted Lager: The "toasted" part of the name refers to our direct-fire brew kettle's hot flames that impart a toasted flavor to our most popular microbrew. Most brewery systems achieve temperature control through computers and electric heat; Blue Point is kicking it old school with this flame-broiled lager. I'll toast to that!

--Brewfus

The Dogfish Days of Winter

2010-02-23T17:31:00.000-08:00

Forty-five inches of snow couldn’t keep us from traveling to Baltimore over President’s Day weekend - not when the objectives were to visit our dear (and soon to be married) friends AJ and Amber, and to journey to the Mecca of American Craft Brewing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Most home brewers and beer geeks already know about Dogfish Head and their lineup of super-unique and super-sized beers (speaking of super-sized, eight of the 16 beers we sampled weighed in at over 10% ABV, with two tipping the scales at a whopping 18%), but if you (a) have been living under a rock, (b) want a glimpse inside the mind of Dogfish’s founder and owner, Sam Calagione, or (c) need even more reasons to loathe all that Anheuser-Busch InBev stands for, then I suggest you check out this excellent little film called Beer Wars (available from Netflix).

The Tour

Anyway, even after daydreaming about this visit for weeks, I was not the least bit disappointed by the actual experience. AJ made a reservation for us to tour the brewery in Milton, Delaware, followed by dinner at the brewpub in Rehoboth Beach where Dogfish was born in 1995. John (our Off-Centered Tour Guide) was a home-brewer himself, and I was quite jealous as he described his recently built, 1,500 square foot, backyard brew house. He said he needed space for the sixty or so brew pals he invites to his annual chili cook-off, and I can’t blame him for wanting to relocate that many chili-eating, beer-lovers from his living room to the great (ventilated) outdoors...

The tour itself offered the typical sights and sounds – a sniff of hop pellets, a stroll past fermenting tanks, an overview of the beer making process – as well as a few fun facts about Dogfish. For example, I was delighted to learn that Dogfish Head was founded on $30,000 and a dream. (Don’t worry, Danger Kitten, I won’t sign any leases without your input...) I was also delighted to learn, although not surprised, that Dogfish brews contain almost 4x as much malted barley as the commercial giants, i.e. Coors, Miller and Bud, and nearly 2x as much as other craft brews.

After the tour, we retired to the tasting room where Marisa (a.k.a the Temptress of Taps, the Seductress of Samples) served up a few of the brewery’s finest (which you can read about on the website): Midas Touch; Red & White; Black & Blue; Paulo Santo; and 60 Minute IPA. Amber loved the Black & Blue (a belgian-style Golden Ale fermented with blackberries and blueberries) so much that she bought a 750ml bottle to take home. We bought a bottle of the Red & White (a belgian-style Wit brewed with coriander and orange peel and fermented with Pinot Noir juice) for Danger Kitten’s dad, Carlo, who is a wine-guy turned appreciator of good beer.

Before hitting the road, I had the chance to chat with Mark, whose business card (which happens to be made of wood) reads Event Czar / Donation Dude. We talked about local farms, his journey to employment at Dogfish, a great little package store in PA (though the name escapes me), and his most excellent beard (which put mine to shame). Mark also made mention of three excellent events the brewery is affiliated with: the late September Dogfish Dash 5K; the Off-Centered Film Fest; and the Dogfish Head Intergalactic Bocce Tournament – which appears to be even more awesome than it’s name, if that’s possible...

The Brewpub

Once we finished off our samples and settled our debts in the gift shop, it was off to Rehoboth Beach for dinner at Dogfish’s brewpub. Thanks to Michael Pollan (author of Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food) and the film Food, Inc., Danger Kitten and I are pretty careful about the meat we put in our bodies, i.e. we’ll pass on the antibiotics and growth hormones found in most industrial beef and poultry. We also happen to LOVE hamburgers. Therefore, we were thrilled to learn that the beef served at the brewpub is raised on a steady (and chemical free) diet of grass and spent brewery grains! Lucky cows... Danger Kitten and AJ opted for the Indulgence Burgers (with cheddar, bacon and onion rings on top), while I went with the classic swiss and shroom. Amber’s feta pizza with crab and spinach was damned good, too!

But who am I kidding? We would have been happy eating bread and butter that night, so long as the beer flowed. And flow it did! Our first flight consisted of five offerings: Punkin Cask Ale; Life & Limb (a collaboration between Sierra Nevada and Dogfish); Black & Blue (again); Midas Touch (again); and Burton Baton. And, following that: Chicory Stout; Indian Brown Ale; Shelter Pale Ale; Raison D’Etre; Black Thai; Fort; and World Wide Stout. Black Thai was a new brew that epitomizes what Dogfish Head is all about. An Imperial Stout brewed with edamame (soy beans) and Thai Basil and fermented with lager yeast and 250 pounds of pureed blackberries, Black Thai was the brainchild of Butch in Dogfish’s Maintenance Department. It was totally random and quite tasty.

I fell in love with the Burton Baton, a blend of 90 Minute IPA and an oak-aged English strong ale. But the show-stopper was the World Wide Stout. This unbelievably rich and smooth (and strong – 18% ABV) stout was described by John (our Off-Centered Tour Guide) as, What Guinness dreamed of becoming as a child. And I can look you in the eye and tell you honestly that at $30 a four-pack, this beer is worth every penny. It begs to be sipped from a snifter by the fireplace on a cold winter’s eve...

We were sad to leave Rehoboth Beach, which looked like a great place to spend a weekend...in the summer, but it was getting late and we had a two-hour drive ahead of us (don't worry, Amber was our DD). Fortunately, our beer adventure wasn’t quite over, since I’d packed three barleywine ales that I’d been saving for a special occasion.

The (next day) Tasting

My stalwart readers will recall that Eric, Scott and I brewed a batch of Wallace Fogbottom’s Strong Ale in August. Since I happened to have a few bottles left, I decided to square it off against a few big beers... Comments from myself, Danger Kitten, AJ and Amber are commingled below.

Wallace Fogbottom’s Strong Ale (8.4% ABV)

Eric’s Kitchen

West Haven, CT

Brew Date: August 29, 2009

Bottling Date: November 27, 2009

Tasting Date: February 14, 2010

Appearance: A figgy brown, deep amber color; darkest of the three; hazy/cloudy with a nice head.

Aroma: Sweet motor oil (thanks, honey); slightly yeasty; sweet and simple; deep bitter with a tangy finish.

Taste: Super-sweet and sticky; boozy, with no hop bitterness; a lingering caramel aftertaste.

Overall Impression: Balanced; light, sweet and fruity; easy aftertaste; very smooth and sweet; not as big as a barleywine is apt to be, but bigger isn't always better - isn't that what they say?

Olde School Barleywine (15.0% ABV)

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery

Milford, DE

Appearance: Almost garnet in color; lightest of the three; a deep but clear amber; bubbly.

Aroma: A spicy/alcoholy nose; more pungent than the others; fruity and complex with no noticeable hops; fresh; bitter and hoppy.

Taste: Almost cloyingly sweet; candy-like; flowery; bitter and hoppy with a lingering aftertaste.

Overall Impression: A soft, sweet aftertaste; satisfying; lets you know you’re drinking a stronger beer; aftertaste is bold, but not overpowering; packs a punch, but in a non-violent, peace-loving sort of way...

Monster Ale Barleywine (10.0% ABV)

Brooklyn Brewery

New York, NY

Appearance: A darker amber; clear but not clean(?); ruby colored; sharp(?) amber. <-- Poetic license?

Aroma: Bitter smell; hoppy; piny but not over-strong.

Taste: Cloying; fizzy with a bitter aftertaste; a sharp,malty bitterness; full-bodied with a quickly dissipating aftertaste.

Overall Impression: Deep aftertaste; a bitter and fairly dull beer that leaves you yearning for something more (ouch!); a tad more bitter than you'd expect from a barleywine; least favored of the three, but one I'd certainly order in a pub.

--Brewfus

Great bread. Great Lakes. Great bouillon. So-so beer...

2010-02-06T08:30:00.000-08:00

Despite the single digit readout on the thermometer, this past Saturday was a 10. (Notwithstanding the beer, but more on that later.) The wife and I ventured down to Norwalk to visit the So No Baking Company & Cafe - a place Danger Kitten has been itching to see. The proprietor is a graduate of the CIA, which is an institution the wife has been thinking, reading and dreaming about lately. Note: this CIA trains chefs and bakers, not snoops...

The bakery is located a block from Long Island Sound on the outskirts of trendy Southern Norwalk - an area that appears to have enjoyed a reincarnation of sorts in the past twenty years - across from a shipyard. We enjoyed lunch and pastries while watching a baker make chocolate croissant. If you ever need to kill an hour in Norwalk, Connecticut, look up the bakery.

After lunch, we made the half mile trek to the aquarium. We'd decided to make a day of it in Norwalk, as it seemed silly to drive an hour just for lunch, and were excited to discover that the aquarium's IMAX was showing Mysteries of the Great Lakes. As someone who grew up on (and in) Lake Michigan, I was pretty thrilled. The film provided an excellent, albeit quick, glimpse of the beauty, history, and threats facing the Lakes. The tragic tale of the mighty and once abundant lake sturgeon brought tears to Danger Kitten's eyes. I mean a lot of tears...

Fortunately, the emotional surge caused by the sturgeon wore off pretty quickly, as our next task was to load up on seafood and fish heads for the evening meal - Court Bouillon. Lucky for us, Norwalk has an excellent little fish market called Paganos. The wonderful fishmonger sold us mussels, bay scallops, monkfish and cod, and gave in a bag of Red Snapper carcasses.

A pot of happy Snappers.

As an aside, check out this picture of a monkfish. The fishmonger explained that monkfish is the "poor man's lobster," and at $6.95/lb, who were we to argue? It earned this name mainly because the only edible part of the fish is the tail, which yields firm, versatile, and mild meat. Because the fish is so damned ugly and yields so little meat, fishermen used to simply take the monkfish tail home for use in their own kitchens. Buy some if you get the chance, but try not to think about the picture you just saw...

The Court Bouillon was rich, satisfying (particularly on a frigid January evening), and perfect with the crusty ciabatta we had in the freezer.

And so, after a full day and a full stomach, it was time to taste a beer. (You knew I'd get around to beer eventually.) I'd been looking forward to a strong ale to warm my innards and titillate my senses. Unfortunately, the beer I chose was up to the first task, but not the second, which disappointed given how much I'd enjoyed the brewery's Autumn Ale during our Oktoberfest tasting...

Weyerbacher's Abbey-style Quadruple Ale (11.8% ABV)

Weyerbacher Brewery

Easton, PA

Appearance: Deep copper. Orangey reddish. Very little head retention, although the bubbles rose until the pint was finished.

Aroma: Powerful. Lots of malty sweetness punctuated by yeast. No hops to speak of.

Taste: An explosion of malt and alcohol. Spicy with very little bitterness. A distinctly Belgian sweetness (not surprisingly). Full-bodied but a bit flat. Weak body with a fleeting mouthfeel that was muscled out of the way quickly by booziness.

Overall Impression: Not the most balanced of beers. Dominated by a rich and deep malty sweetness. Too much “Big Beer” and not enough subtleness or complexity. A case study in less would be more...

--Brewfus

It's the economy, stupid

2009-11-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

'Twas the day after Thanksgiving and, for state employees like me, this year the day meant more than just feeling bloated and planning creative ways to use up all that cranberry sauce. This year, it meant taking an unpaid vacation day (i.e. a furlough day) to help address the state’s fiscal crisis in my own infinitesimally small way. You see, the State of Connecticut is projecting a deficit this year of almost $400 million, and is counting on its many thousands of employees to help plug those pesky budget holes by taking a few uncompensated days off before the end of the year.

Being loyal and humble public servants, we (my pals Eric and Scott are also state employees) decided that since we had to furlough, we might as well furlough in style. Breathe it in deeply and embrace it. Fill it with activities as far removed from work as possible.

Therefore, after a vigorous morning hike (on the blue trail) at Sleeping Giant State Park in Hamden, CT, we got down to the serious business of bottling our Wallace Fogbottom's Strong Ale and brewing a batch of High Octane Furlough Stout.

Wallace Fogbottom's Strong Ale (8.4% ABV)

You can read about Wallace Fogbottom's conception here. We brewed the batch on August 29, pitched extra yeast (dry) on September 25, and bottled it on November 27. Initially, we planned to bottle it closer to Halloween, but laziness and the challenge of matching three schedules kept pushing the date back. Our brew had a hefty O.G. of 1.099 and an F.G. of 1.040, meaning the ABV came out to a respectable 8.4%. Fogbottom was based (ever so loosely) on Anchor's Old Lighthouse in the Fog Barleywine Ale, which has an ABV of 8.8%. The recipe we used gave us a target O.G. of 1.099 (bull's eye!) and F.G. of 1.032. With different yeast (i.e. a little more care), I think we would have gotten there. In any case, the green beer tasted great. Strong and sweet, though with a little less hop bite than I would have liked. Once this strong ale ages for another month or so, I think it will be a pretty special brew to hunker down with on a cold Christmas Eve.

High Octane Furlough Stout

Our Furlough Stout is based on a recipe for Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout from Charlie Papazian's book, Microbrewed Adventures. Our grain bill differs slightly from his insofar as we had to substitute the 10 ounces of crystal malt in his recipe for 7 ounces of Munich + 3 ounces of Vienna that we had on hand. To his recipe, we're planning to add 2 quarts of espresso steeped water after fermentation for a little umph!

Ingredients

4.5 lbs amber malt (3.5 pounds extract; 1 pound dry)

8.0 oz wheat malt (dry)

2.0 lbs Briess 2-row pale malt (crushed)

1.5 lbs British roasted barley (crushed)

12.0 oz organic rolled oats (whole)

7 oz Munich malt (crushed)

3 oz Vienna malt (crushed)

1.0 ounce Magnum hops pellets (14.4% alpha) - 90 minute

0.5 ounce Hallertau hops pellets (3.0% aplha) - 30 minute

1.0 ounce Cascade hops pellets (7.3% alpha) - 1 minute

1 tablet Irish moss - 10 min

Irish ale yeast

Target O.G. 1.061

Target F.G. 1.016

Target ABV 5.7%

Target IBU +/- 44

Actual O.G. 1.052

Post fermentation, we'll be adding 0.5 lb ground espresso beans steeped in 2 quarts water.

We began by bringing 5 quarts of distilled water to 180° F, adding the crushed grains (Briess malt, British roasted barley, Munich malt, Vienna malt, and rolled oats), stirring to distribute the heat evenly, and turning off the heat. Over the next 45 minutes, the heat in the pot stabilized at about 150° F. The consistency in the pot was that of super hearty oatmeal. In fact, Eric claimed (after a few beers) that he planned to save the spent grains and eat them for breakfast the following week.

We then brought the temperature of the grains back up to around 167° F and strained them into a second pot, rinsing them with water that we heated in a small saucepan to 170° F. At this point, we added enough water to achieve 2.5 gallons in the pot, added our amber malt, wheat malt, and Magnum (90 minute) hops, turned up the heat, and turned our attention to Wii Sports. We brought the pot to a boil and reduced the heat at around 190° F.

An hour later, I'd lost every game we played (as usual), and we added our Hallertau (30 minute) hops. With ten minutes to go (80 minutes after adding the amber/wheat malt and Magnum hops), we added a tablet of Irish moss to help clarify, and nine minutes later we killed the heat and added our Cascade (one minute) hops.

We strained the brew into our fermenter, adding enough water to hit 5.5 gallons, and dropped in the wort chiller. Once we hit 70° F, we pitched our Irish ale yeast and sealed the lid. One week until we re-rack. Two weeks until we bottle and add the coffee. Then presto! Our High Octane Furlough Stout will be ready just in time for Christmas!

--Brewfus

Christmas in Oktoberfest

2009-11-21T16:48:00.000-08:00

Last month, we rang in our fifth Christmas in October. That’s right, Christmas in October. This tradition, which admittedly hasn’t spread a whole lot further than our immediate families, began way back in the fall of 2005. Danger Kitten and I were living down in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, working hard as public educators, and beginning to suspect that our relationship might outlast our two-year commitment to Teach For America...

Case in point: at the mall on a balmy September Saturday, I found an almost-too-good-to-be-true deal on a Kitchen Aid mixer and snatched it up faster than a Cajun on a crawfish. Nothing says I'm in this for the long haul like a counter-top mixer (with the exception, perhaps, of a mortgage). Danger Kitten had been intimating for some time how much she wanted, nay needed, a mixer, and this one was even the right color -- majestic yellow.

As the owner of an insatiable sweet tooth, I’ll be the first to admit that this purchase wasn’t entirely altruistic. As I stood in the store, gazing at the mixer, I imagined an unyielding parade of cookies, cakes, and other such delights marching down the counter and onto my plate. I knew right then that the sooner I gifted this little machine, the sooner I’d be sated!

Therefore, I immediately set to teasing my future bride with hints that her Christmas gift was already purchased, and that she was really, REALLY going to like it. After several weeks of this, she announced that she, too, had gone Christmas shopping, and that perhaps it would be best to exchange gifts early in order to end the suspense. I heartily agreed, and the holiday was born. We pulled out our decorations, loaded some holiday music on the iPod, and celebrated an impromptu Christmas, in the middle of October.

Celebrating our first Christmas in October, down on the bayou.

This year, Christmas in October happened to be scheduled exactly two weeks after the bottling of our Oktoberfest homebrew: Lavoratory Choctoberfest (which I first wrote about here). Given Danger Kitten's work schedule, and the fact that I was unemployed at that point, I had total autonomy over the planning and execution of the event. So it was decided that (a) we'd have a German themed celebration and (b) there would be lots of Oktoberfest. Here's a little taste of what we ate:

Appetizers: liverwurst from Moon In The Pond Farm in Sheffield, MA; rye bread (which I baked); cheddar cheese; and apple slices.

Dinner: chicken schnitzel; spaetzle (German egg noodles which I made with a little help from my stepfather); and brussel sprouts in browned butter.

Dessert: anisplatzen and pfeffernuse (German Christmas cookies); and pumpkin ice cream.

I planned the meal with an emphasis on advanced food prep, which meant I'd be free to enjoy my Oktoberfest in a state of unrushed bliss, rather than hustling about the kitchen like a mad man. The only cooking that needed to be done at supper time was the dredging and frying of the schnitzel, the boiling of the spaetzle, and the browning of the brussel sprouts. In the words of Charlie Papazian, I was able to relax, not worry, and have a homebrew!

My stepfather, Michael, happily stirring the spaetzle.

The blind tasting, which preceded dinner, included the following Oktoberfests:

Sam Adams Octoberfest

Paulaner Oktoberfest

Harpoon Octoberfest

Weyerbacher Autumn Ale

Blue Point Oktoberfest

Hofbrau Oktoberfest

Thomas Hooker Octoberfest

And, of course, our very own Choctoberfest.

Our illustrious lineup, brought to you by Dario's unnamed cousin.

The panel of tasters included myself, Danger Kitten, my father-in-law and his girlfriend, and my mother (for the first three samples) and stepfather. Grandpa opted for his usual -- Beefeaters gin, neat, with one cube.

The beauty of this panel was its inexperience. No one knew much about head retention or IBUs; instead, the focus was on taste, appearance and overall impression. It was a lot of fun tasting and discussing each beer as we went. And because I masked the bottles early in the day, the only beer I knew for certain during the tasting was my own (#4).

The blind tasting, served up with liverwurst, apples, cheddar and rye

The main takeaway for me from the tasting was that no one was able to identify the home brew in the lineup by taste, although Michael did eventually notice the haze in sample #4. It is my hope that someday my home brew will stand out from the crowd for its singular excellence. But, at this point, I'm just glad it blended in with its commercial peers.

In fact, the Choctoberfest (named after Eric's chocolate lab, Wallace) ended up one of the highest rated among the bunch. The big winners in our unprofessional tasting were Blue Point, Weyerbacher, and the Choctoberfest. Some of the comments offered on our beer included: yeasty; great aroma; light amber, cloudy color; very drinkable (which is always good); sweetly balanced; and spicy flavor.

Fast forward to today (November 21), and it's been a month-and-a-half since bottling and three weeks since Christmas in October. Since I'm finally almost ready to publish this post, it seems like an opportune time for another tasting! Therefore, without further ado...

The sweet nectar of fall - Lavatory Choctoberfest!

Lavatory Choctoberfest (4.1% ABV)

Eric's Kitchen

West Haven, CT

Brew Date: August 29, 2009

Bottling Date: October 3, 2009

Tasting Date: November 21, 2009

Appearance: Copper in color. A creamy, hazy body. Thick head with fat bubbles.

Aroma: Bright, spicy, yeasty, malty.

Taste: Heifeweizenish? Yeasty with hints of clove. Spicy. A smooth, malty flavor. Mild bitterness. Tastes like...an Oktoberfest!

Overall Impression: Hands down the best beer I've been party to. I was a bit more critical of the beer at the Christmas in Octoberfest tasting a few weeks ago than most of my guests (I've always been my own toughest critic); but in this brewer's opinion, the beer has really opened up since then. Very balanced. Great color. Great flavor. I'll be taking a six-pack to Thanksgiving next week, and I look forward to sharing it with the uncles! Should be fun.

--Brewfus

Northwest Brewfest

2009-09-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

A wise old soul once told me (or did I read it somewhere?), "Practice moderation in everything." And, for the most part, this rule describes my life fairly well. I'm pretty balanced in my approach to work and leisure (excepting fantasy baseball, on which I spend entirely too much time...), and I try not to overdo it. That said, sometimes it's just more fun to cut loose.

From left: my father-in-law, Carlo; his girlfriend, Reka; my pal, Eric; and yours truly, Brewfus. Eric is a fellow brewer and blogger. And yes, we coordinated...

On August 23rd, my comrades and I attended the Northwest Brewfest in Torrington, Connecticut, and cut loose we most certainly did. I mean, how can you not when surrounded by 50 brewers, wielding 100+ of their best beers, who gleefully fill your 4 oz. plastic cup to the brim, over, and over, and over again. Another expression I like is, "When in Rome..."

The Brewfest was a riotous time, and the lineup of brewers in attendance included some of the big dogs of the craft brew world (Boulder Beer, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, and Sierra Nevada) as well a local favorites (Thomas Hooker and Willimantic BrewingCo).

Even Kona Brewing showed up, which was fun for me because my wife and I honeymooned in Kauai, and Kona was our beer of choice!

Clearly, Carlo needed a re-fill...

The highlight of the day for me was sampling Sierra's Kellerweis, an open fermented American hefeweizen. (I can't be expected to remember its finer points, as we were 80% of the way canned, err, through the event, when we reached Sierra's table. Suffice it to say it stood out from the crowd...at least for me.) Here's an excerpt from this Beer Advocate article about the beer's unique brewing process:

Several years ago, the brewers began working with a unique Bavarian hefeweizen yeast strain unknown in this country. This amazingly flavorful yeast was so exciting that they began working on a recipe for a traditional German hefeweizen with the Sierra Nevada twist. Traditional hefeweizen is a style that seems deceptively simple, but in reality is devilishly complex. For years the brewers weren’t satisfied with the beer; something was missing. In a flash of inspiration, an epic trip was arranged. The brewers took a whirlwind tour through the legendary Bavarian wheat breweries to see what they were doing. It was there they realized the advantages of making wheat beer using the traditional system of open fermentation.

My father-in-law (see pictures above) fell in love with three of the heartier brews being poured: Brooklyn's Local 2, Dogfish Head's Palo Santo, and Sam Adam's Dunkel. He's not a fan of hoppy beers, which explains his affinity to these rich nectars.

A Reka sandwich, courtesy of the twins.

While the boys played at the Brewfest, Danger Kitten (my wife) and Cup O'Cake (Eric's wife) got together with their friend Linda for a little Bake Over, which you can read about on their blogs here and here. Needless to say, there's nothing like capping an afternoon of beer drinking with hot-from-the-oven baked goods. Except, of course, a nap.

Never let anyone convince you that beer tasting is easy!

--Brewfus

Let them eat beer!

2009-08-31T06:30:00.000-07:00

Those of you who also subscribe to my wife's blog, Danger Kitten Bakes, know that I recently made her a chocolate stout cake for her birthday. My mom gets credit for the idea (thanks mom!), because she knew I was planning to make a cake for Elena, and she came up with the idea of mixing our respective blog topics - beer and baking - into a dessert we could eat and then write about.

I won't recount the cake making process, which you can read about here, but I will tell you about the stout I used to make said cake. (The recipe called for Guinness; I thought otherwise.)

Dario, the wonder pig, protecting his afternoon delight...

Young's Luxury Double Chocolate Stout (5.2% ABV)

Wells & Young's Brewing Co.

Bedford, UK

Appearance: Coffee almost black in color. Super velvety head (creamier than Guinness).

Aroma: Chocolaty and robust, with a slight metallic edge lurking in the background. Once the beer warmed up a bit, the aroma blossomed into what can only be described as a plate of warm, chocolate chip cookies.

Taste: The first (and obvious) flavor is bittersweet chocolate, followed closely by a sweet nuttiness. It feels smooth and creamy on the tongue, with a hint of bitterness lingering at the back of the mouth.

Overall impression: If it's going to be stout, make mine an Oatmeal from either Wolaver's or Samuel Smith. Young's Double Chocolate was delightfully creamy and smooth, though a bit too sweet to drink all night long - much better to have with a plate of rich, creamy cheeses, or else with dessert. And, if you do choose to pair it with a dessert, you might as well make it a decadent, chocolate stout cake...

--Brewfus

Three guys. Two batches. One dog.

2009-08-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday, I brewed not one, but two batches of beer with my homebrew pals, Eric and Scott, and Eric's new chocolate lab, Wallace. Wallace seemed more interested in his new rope toy than our brewing session, but his emotional support and unyielding companionship really carried the day.

We brewed an Oktoberfest lager (Eric's choice) and a Barleywine ale (mine). The Oktoberfest recipe, called "My First Marzen," came from this website. The Barleywine recipe came from Charlie Papazian's third book, Microbrewed Adventures. It was called "Old Lighthouse in the Fog Barleywine Ale." In honor of Wallace the dog, and in light of the fact that we had to substitute 50% of the ingredients in the Barleywine, I'm calling it "Wallace Fogbottom's Strong Ale."

For the first time ever, the Original Gravity of a beer brewed by yours truly came out on the button! The Barleywine was supposed to be 1.099 O.G., and we achieved 1.100. The Oktoberfest should have been 1.064 O.G., but we hit 1.043.

The Barleywine recipe Charlie presents in his book was based off of Anchor's Old Foghorn Barleywine. He did not know the actual recipe, so he guesstimated, and since we had to make partial hops and yeast substitutions, ours is a variation on a best guess, which puts it rather far afield. No matter, I am excited for the final product, which should come of age around the beginning of November - perfect timing to enjoy a Fogbottom in front of the fire on a cool, fall evening.

[insert name here] Oktoberfest (6 gallon recipe)

1.8 lbs German Vienna Malt

1.8 lbs German Dark Munich Malt

0.12 lbs Belgian Chocolate Malt

6.6 lbs Dry Light Malt Extract

1.2 oz Hallertau (pellets, 4.5% AA) - 60 min

(We only used 1.0 oz)

0.6 oz Hallertau (pellets, 4.5% AA) - 15 min

(We used 0.7 oz)

WYeast 2308 Munich Lager

O.G. 1.043

Wallace Fogbottom Strong Ale (4 gallon recipe)

8.8 lbs Light Dried Malt Extract

1.5 oz Northern Brewer Hops (pellets, 9.0% AA) - 120 min

(We used 1 oz Northern Brewer, and 0.3 oz Hallertau)

1.0 oz UK Wye Northdown hops (pellets, 7.0% AA) - 20 min

(We used Challenger (7% AA) hops)

1/4 tsp powdered Irish moss

(We used one tablet Irish moss)

English-type ale yeast - double dose

(We used one vial of English-type, and one packet of dry ale yeast)

O.G. 1.1oo

NOTE: Depending on fermentation activity, we may pitch additional yeast when we rack the Fogbottom to a secondary fermenter.

(I'll keep you posted!)

--Brewfus

Driving Ms. Danger Kitten

2009-08-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

A month and a half ago (yes, I've been negligent in my blogging duties), my wife, a.k.a. Danger Kitten, scheduled a classroom observation in Harlem, and asked if I was interested in joining her for an afternoon in NYC, i.e. drive. Being a devoted husband, I agreed to chauffer, and immediately set to finding a suitable watering hole to hunker down in while she watched reading teachers do their thing.

My first thought was to sign up for a tour of the Brooklyn Brewery, but unfortunately our visit landed on a Tuesday and tours were weekend only...

Not to be deterred, I surfed over to Beer Advocate and turned up this list. Someone needs to check it for selection bias, because if we accept it as valid, 6 of the top 13 beer bars in America are located in the Big Apple, including the one I chose - David Copperfield's. And, no, the bar has absolutely nothing in common with the illusionist of the same name.

I was drawn to David Copperfield's for two reasons. First, it was the easiest pub for me to reach using public transportation. Second, I'm a sucker for literary association. David Copperfield was a character from a Charles Dickens novel of the same name. The story is supposed to be autobiographical in nature - a mistreated youth perseveres to become a successful author - though I haven't read it. (Dickens never grew on me, though I do remember enjoying Great Expectations in high school.)

In any case, Copperfield's was cozy and comfortable, with marble bar tops, a quality juke box (Motown dominated the airwaves during my visit), and a friendly staff; in fact, while I was tasting and jotting down notes, the bartender, Andrea (from New Jersey), asked what I was up to. When I told her about my little blog, she was intrigued. When I mentioned that my wife blogged about food, she was even more intrigued, noting that she and her sister were planning to make ravioli from scratch that evening. (NOTE: I was totally okay with the fact that she was more interested in the food blog than the beer blog.)

The draught list at Copperfield's is extensive (30 on tap), and the bottle lineup includes many of my favorites, such as Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Biere and Samuel Smith's Nut Brown. The balanced offering included everything from the tried and true classics (Anchor's Liberty Ale) to the truly bizarre (Dogfish Head's Palo Santo Marron).

As it was a hot July afternoon, I was in the mood for a saison, and first sampled Southern Tier's Cherry Saison. This tart and tinny ale was copper in color and had a simultaneously sour and boozy flavor. The head dissipated almost instantly. On the whole, the beer left me unsatisfied.

I ended up with a pint of Sorachi Ace (another saison) from Brooklyn Brewery; so in a way, I ended up getting an abridged version of the brewery tour I'd been aiming for. The beer was released in July, and is only available on draft near the NYC area.

Sorachi Ace Saison (6.5% ABV)

Brooklyn Brewery

New York, NY

Appearance: An almost pinkish hued, golden colored ale. Fluffy, proportionate (i.e. the right amount) head.

Aroma: Lemon/citrus with a yeasty backdrop.

Taste: The Japanese hops mingling with the Belgian yeast gave the beer a smooth, sweet, yet crisp flavor. I first tasted a bubble-gumminess, that moved to a clove/fruitiness. Each sip yielded a slightly different and pleasurable flavor. Complex and enjoyable.

Overall Impression: This was a truly unique beer - complex enough to beguile the taste buds, yet light and clean enough to satisfy without demanding much attention. It drank lighter than its 6.5% ABV, and, if you can find a keg, it would be the perfect choice for a Labor Day BBQ.

-- Brewfus

Hot off the Wire - Baltimore beer from an old friend...

2009-08-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

Those who know us well know that we don’t watch much television. I watch sports. Danger Kitten occasionally channel surfs for movies. The only reason we have cable is for the bundle discount on our Internet service. Yet, last year, friends turned us on to HBO’s series The Wire, a five-season drama that ended in 2005, which we watched religiously this spring thanks to Netflix. Better late than never?

Anyway, the show takes a nitty-gritty look at the mean streets, schools, docks, politics and media of Baltimore, through the eyes of the police, drug dealers, unions, teachers, politicians, and journalists who call the city home. It was a riveting show which we became utterly obsessed with, and which we sadly finished in June. And, our viewing of the final episode coincided perfectly with a visit from my good friend AJ and his fiancée, Amber, who moved to Baltimore this past year to teach, and who were on their way to Petoskey, Michigan (AJ's and my hometown) via Ann Arbor. As new Baltimoreans, we've encouraged them to give the show a try. But I digress...

Turns out people do read my blog, because AJ showed up in Ann Arbor bearing this little medley:

He got the idea from this earlier post. (See #28.)

AJ brought me this six-pack of Maryland brews after reading my blog, and in honor of his kindness, and my disposition toward strong beer, I decided to taste (and write about) the barleywine...

The six-pack is long gone, but the gesture lingers on. Thanks, AJ, for pulling a solid.

Below Decks Barleywine (10% ABV)
Clipper City Brewing Company
Baltimore, MD

Appearance: Ruby, deep reddish copper, lacy head that dissipates quickly.

Aroma: Malty, spicy yeasty.

Taste: Strong and warming, a malty kick in the teeth! Smoothly carbonated, neither flat nor over bubbly. Alcohol lingers on throat and nose, spicy and fruity but quickly covered by the booziness.

Overall Impression: My head felt warm after three sips, perfect for savoring on a winter's eve by the fire, not so perfect for consuming between innings at a softball game.

--Brewfus

Salute your Short's! Pandemonium Pale Ale and Huma Lupa Licious IPA

2009-06-07T03:21:00.000-07:00

Despite growing in up northern Michigan, I am sorry to say I have not visited Short's Brewing Company, in Bellaire...but I will. I discovered Short's this past winter during a visit to my hometown, Petoskey, Michigan, when my sister, Christina, compared a batch of Bitter I'd made to a Short's sold at the food co-op where she works. Intrigued, I made a point to do some investigating (i.e. sampling), and I've become a big fan of their Bellaire Brown.

While shopping the other day, I remembered the sole surviving Pandemonium Pale Ale in my fridge, and decided to grab a bottle of Huma Lupa Licious for an impromptu tasting.

Pandemonium Pale Ale (5.4% ABV) &

Huma Lupa Licious IPA (6.6% ABV)

Short's Brewing Company

Bellaire, MI

Appearance

Pandemonium: A somewhat thin and translucent head with coarse bubbles - disappears pretty quickly. Bold, coppery amber color.

Huma Lupa Licious: A thick, soft, lingering head. Deep straw color - almost orange.

Aroma

Pandemonium: A grassy, almost sweet aroma - earthy.

Huma Lupa Licious: A crisp, fresh-pine scent - invigorating.

Taste

Pandemonium: Zesty bitterness followed quickly by a full, sweet malty goodness. Fizzy with quick dissipation, followed immediately by full bodied malt. A pleasant, celeryish flavor that dissolves into a mild, lingering bitterness.

Huma Lupa Licious: A clean, sharp, grapefruity flavor. Smooth and creamy. A bitterness on the back of the tongue that hangs on well after the sip.

Overall Impression

Pandemonium: A good choice for a Friday night at the pub with a few friends. Tasty, but won't distract you from the topic of conversation. Drinkable and satisfying.

Huma Lupa Licious: Very refreshing - the kind of beer you want after a few hours of yard work, during an August softball game, or while tending burgers on the grill.

Parting Shot...

Maybe its the fact that I've been on a big IPA kick lately, but if I'm getting dropped on a desert island, I'm hoping to wash ashore with a flat of Huma Lupa Licious. Speaking of IPA, I just bought a four-pack of Double Trouble, an Imperial IPA from Founder's, the big-hitting Grand Rapids brewery. I am very excited to dive in to these 9.4% ABV heavy hoppers.

--Brewfus

Bella Wheat, a.k.a. The Leap Year Beer

2009-05-31T12:34:00.000-07:00

Today I'm writing about my first homebrewing experience: Bella Wheat - a Bavarian wheat beer I brewed on February 29, 2008.

When he sold me my brew kit, Paul Zocco, owner of Zok's, encouraged me to first brew a few batches of beer straight from a pre-hopped kit in order to get used to the process. I purchased two kits that day, one of which was the Edme Microbrewery Series Wheat Beer that became my first batch; the other was a Northern Brown Ale kit from Ironmaster (more on that later).

I wanted to start with a wheat beer because Elena is a big fan of hefeweizens, and this was the closest I could get (from Zok's) in a kit. A true hefeweizen (hefe means "with yeast" and weizen, "wheat") is unfiltered, i.e. the little yeasties are permitted to reside in the finished product, making it rich in both character and vitamin B12!

I must have studied the four sets of instructions I ended up with (a cheat sheet from Zok, the instructions on the side of the malt extract, and the Beginners Steps in my newly purchased homebrew books - How to Brew by John Palmer and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing: Third Edition by Charlie Papazian) for a week or so before feeling fully prepared to begin. Thankfully, and not surprisingly, all four sets of instructions gave similar guidance: some recommended a longer or shorter boiling of the wort; one said it was imperative, another optional, to start the yeast in water before pitching into the lukewarm wort.

Facing four sets of slightly differing instructions caused me to experience feelings of intimidation followed closely by liberation. Truth is, there isn't much to brewing beer (from a kit, anyway). And, even if you screw up (a little bit), the final product is usually more interesting than most of the six-packs you find in stores. Charlie Papazian, the Godfather of American Homebrewing, offers the following advice to homebrewers young or old, novice or experienced: Relax. Don't worry. Have a homebrew.

Brew Day

On this day, as I didn't have any homebrew yet, I probably reached for an offering from Otter Creek, whose mixed-twelves were frequent visitors to the beer shelf that winter. But I did relax, and not worry...too much.

After sanitizing all of the equipment I would be using that day, I began by combining the two cans of hopped malt-extract (12 1/2 c.) with water (11 1/2 c.) and brought the mixture to a boil, stirring vigorously to prevent the molasses-like extract from scorching on the bottom of my aluminum brew pot. After maintaining the boil for 30 minutes, I poured the near-boiling mixture into my fermenting bucket, which contained enough chilled (not quite frozen but plenty cold) water to give me a total liquid volume of pretty close to 5 gallons.

The initial temperature of the fermenting bucket, after I added the hot wort to the cold water, was 90-degrees F, and my task now was to reduce the temperature as fast as possible to room temperature so as not to kill off the yeast I was about to add.

I hoisted the bucket to our kitchen sink, packed ice around it and stirred as fast as I could to bring the temperature down as quickly as possible - speed is of the essence. After 15 minutes, I pitched (added) the yeast, aerated (introduced oxygen, which yeasties like, to the wort by stirring vigorously (again)) the green beer for 10 minutes, put the lid on, and inserted the airlock. And that was basically it. In a lot of ways, brewing from a kit is a lot like preparing canned soup for fifty.

Fermentation Cha-cha-cha

At the time, we were living in a charming but drafty old house in Collinsville, Connecticut, and the only place in our apartment warm enough for the beer to be happy was next to the radiator. I was elated, 18 hours after sealing the bucket, to notice the first few bubbles of CO2 escaping through the airlock. Every time I passed through the living room, I would crouch down, wait for a bubble to pop, and sniff the escaping air for some clue as to what the final product would be like. Signs of fermentation ceased after about four or five days; and, after eight days, I trasferred the beer to a secondary fermenter.

Bottling Day

On March 20, after watching Michigan State (my alma mater) knock Temple out of the NCAA Tourney, I bottled and capped with no surprises. My notes from bottling day say it tasted of alcohol, but not much else. That was good enough for me at this point - evidence of, at least partial, success.

Consumption!!!

Here's what I wrote in my beer journal on March 27: Final product was darker and more flavorful than I expected. I like the flavor despite the intensity, but will try one can of extract plus the comparable amount of dried malt next time. Bella Wheat tastes very similar to a beer Carlo (my father-in-law) gave me for my birthday - Lumpy Gravy a 2007 brown ale from Lagunita's Brewing Company.

And on November 14: ...Elena and I chilled and drank the last bottle of Bella Wheat. The beer matured into what Elena describes as "thick and caramely." I was impressed by the head that developed, and the rich, sweet aroma. The sweetness approaches unpleasant, with subtle cidery hints. The effects of priming sugar over time? In any case, the character of the beer is much changed from the beer I brewed and drank this spring. This is an argument in favor of setting aside a few beers from each batch to sample over time. In this case, 9 months later.

Conclusion
Bell Wheat was my first born, and consequently holds a special place in my heart. I was very proud to share that beer with friends, family, and coworkers, even though the process was simple enough for a toddler to pull off and the final product reminded people of anything but wheat...

I'm think about brewing another Wheat, or maybe a Saison, this summer, once Elena and I move back to Connecticut in July. One tempting recipe I found recently was for an Apricot Wheat, which called for pureed apricots and sounded like a real summer hit. I found the recipe while surfing Bryon's blog. The recipe was offered by Hunington in response to the all important question, What should I brew for a summer family get together? Good question Bryon. And great answer Hunington. Stay tuned...

--Brewfus

Live from Grizzly Peak... It's Sunday Afternoon!

2009-05-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today's post comes to you live from Grizzly Peak, one of three brewpubs - on the same street, in fact - in downtown Ann Arbor. I'm sitting here for three reasons. First, Fox Sports Detroit is not included in basic cable, and I'm tired of listening to Tigers games on AM radio. Second, the pub is WiFi equipped. And third, I felt like having a pint!

Out of kindness, or is it an aversion to promoting mediocrity, I won't bother naming the third brewpub; but, the other brewpub, Arbor Brewing Company, is great. I'm particularly fond of their Sacred Cow IPA, which tastes a little like apricots and pine needles (in a good way). A real summer treat! Elena, who happens to be an excellent baker and happens to have an excellent blog devoted to her baking adventures (no, I am not above shamelessly promoting my wife's blog), really likes ABC's Brasserie Blonde, a citrusy, orange-hued Belgian ale flaunting a subtle spiciness.

As a former English teacher, I'm a big fan of analogies. The best analogy I can come up with to compare Grizzly and Arbor (ABC) would be high school cross country teams...just hear me out. ABC is the well coached team with a stable of finely conditioned athletes. From top to bottom, they know how to compete and win more meets than they lose because of their depth. In other words, you will rarely be disappointed with a pint from ABC. Grizzly, on the other hand, won't win many meets, because the few star runners (and no Prefontaines, mind you) on the squad are not enough to compensate for the slackers. Their Bearpaw Porter is pretty good (a B+ on Beer Advocate), but I've had a few duds, too.

Today's pint, however, is not one of them. I'm drinking Wee Owen's Roggen from the rotating tap; a beer and a style - roggenbier - I hadn't heard of before this afternoon. Beer Advocate describes roggenbier as a traditional German style rye beer with a pronounced spiciness and a slightly sour flavor. I'm not getting much rye from the beer, and the color is sort of a hazy peach (as opposed to the coppery/red you'd expect in a rye), but there is a pleasant citrus flavor mingling with a mild sourness, accompanied by a fruity aroma and a yeasty, chewiness, all balanced out by a mildly bitter finish. Probably wouldn't win awards in the "rye" category, but a yummy brew, nonetheless.

--Brewfus

Ball Park Blues

2009-05-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know picking on ballparks and their hyper-inflated beer prices is totally overdone, but sometimes you just can't help yourself.

I read this article a few weeks ago in the NY Times, and although 90% of the text is devoted to a Pilsner tasting, the fourth paragraph caught my attention. Turns out that Citi Field, home of the NY Mets, serves beer from Brooklyn Brewery to its fans. How refreshing, I thought, to have access to delicious craft beer at a baseball game.

Fast forward to last Friday night, when Elena and I attended the Tigers vs. Athletics game in Detroit - thanks to my pal Andrew, a season ticket holder, who was fishing in Canada. Though I wanted one, I was determined NOT to be suckered into buying a beer. But, while standing in line for pizza, Elena convinced me to have one. So I chose the lesser of two evils and opted for a Labatt Blue; my other choice was Bud Light.

That was it. Seriously. In a state with as vibrant a beer scene as Michigan, it seemed damn near felonious that a fan's choices were so limited. I mean, the Detroit Beer Co., which brews a very solid lineup, is less than half a mile from Comerica Park!

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not so big a snob that I didn't enjoy sipping my beer while watching the game. After all, beer and baseball are God's gift to the working stiff. But, how much did I pay, you ask, for that epically mediocre lager? $8.25...

If you live near a stadium that serves beer worth bragging about, do tell.

--Brewfus

Speaking of Toronto...

2009-05-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

If you should someday find yourself in search of good food and good beer in that glorious city, be sure to check out the Mill Street Brewpub in the Distillery District. This is where Mrs. Alewise and I celebrated Valentine's Day 2009 (it's a pretty special woman who considers pubfare and pints a romantic dinner) and we found the food, the brew, and the staff to be top notch. It's been too long, and I took no notes, so I won't be able to recall the finer details of what we drank, but I would heartily recommend picking up a six-pack (or ordering a pint) of any of the three we tried: the IPA and Betelgeuse (a Trippel) for me; a Fruit Beer (Raspberry Ale) for Elena.

Best part of the evening for me was my experience in the gift shop. When I visit brewpubs or microbreweries (and, of course, if I like their beer), I try to get a sticker for my brew bucket.

Mill Street did not carry any, but when I explained to the manager why I wanted one, she spent ten minutes rummaging in drawers and cabinets beneath the register, confident that she had one from years ago. Several times, I told her not to worry about it, that I appreciated her effort, that it would be okay. She continued undeterred, and finally found one. Then she refused to let me pay for it. I thought this was unacceptable, so I stuck five dollars in the tip jar on the counter, at which point she insisted that I also take a bottle opener. Needless to say, I was impressed. And grateful. And likely to give them a shout out months later in the blog I had no idea at the time that I'd be writing...

--Brewfus

Need a laugh? Grab this book...

2009-05-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Elena and I spent Valentine's weekend in Toronto, and while shopping in the Kensington Market, we stumbled across the Good Egg, a fantastic little shop devoted to food and those who love food (and who doesn't?). For those who've never been to Toronto or visited the Kensington Market, I would strongly encourage you to do both - having done so myself six times...

Anyway, we spent a good two hours in this shop, and I probably spent all but five minutes of those two hours with my nose deep in a book called The Modern Drunkard by Frank Kelly Rich - which I subsequently bought and now cherish (not really, but it is hilarious). This gem of a book is an irreverent and full-throated response to the largely unanswered question as to what happens after you've consulted that bar guide, mixed those cocktails, and sent them down the hatch. Its pages are dedicated to the art of being drunk, and catalog all the wonderful shenanigans people have pulled or should pull, at some point in their life, while drinking...heavily.

My favorite section in the book is titled 40 Things every Drunkard Should Do: Checkpoints on the road to excess.

An excerpt from this section's intro reads: "Fortunately, imbibers have historically been immune to popular opinion, hence this list. If you manage all forty before you take a bar stool at St. Gabriel's Pearly Gate Lounge, you may feel secure in the fact that you've lived a rich and full life, even if only the boys and girls down at happy hour think so. And when you do belly up to the big open bar in the sky and the bartender asks, What sort of life did you lead?, you can look him right in the eye and say, Gabe, baby, I'm glad this is eternity, because I've got a helluva lot of stories to tell."

Here are a few of the more colorful and memorable entries on the list...

6. Get drunk on the grave of your hero. Wait until the cemetery closes for the evening, then slip over the fence with a bottle of something strong. Prop your back against the gravestone and tell your hero how much he inspired you, how much he changed your life. Revel in the fact that your inspiration is only six feet of hard-packed earth away. It'll be the greatest one-sided conversation you'll ever have. Then pass out. Let the groundskeeper be your alarm clock.

8. Embark on an impromptu road trip. Out of the blue, propose a trip to Las Vegas, London, Jack Kerouac's grave, or, for the love of God, the Two-Headed Cattle Museum. It doesn't really matter where; the joy is in the journey. There's nothing like a burst of irresponsible freedom to shake up your worldview. It will be an adventure you'll never forget or tire of talking about.

17. Fight a good fight. Samual Johnson said, Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea, and those who go to their graves without ever getting into a fistfight undoubtedly feel the same way. How many times have you gone home thinking, Damn I should have clocked that jerk. Next time, do it. Swing first, swing hard, and make sure you're in the right. You may not win, but at least you were in there swinging.

28. Send a friend a bottle of good liquor. Apropos of nothing and don't tell him it's coming. Attach a card reading: Tonight the drinks are on me. He will never forget it.

39. Make your own beer, wine, or moonshine. It's akin to spinning gold from straw, except this gold gets you loaded. There are few finer feelings than getting drunk on alcohol you yourself coaxed from the most unassuming of ingredients, Do it once and you will forever feel secure in the knowledge that no matter what goes down in the future, you will drink.

Another great section is titled The 86 Rules of Boozing: There's more to it than tipping a glass and acting foolish.

And I quote...

5. Buying someone a drink is five times better than a handshake.

20. Drink one girly drink in public and you will forever be known as the guy who drinks girly drinks.

31. If you have been roommates with someone for more than six months, you may drink his beer, even if it's hidden, so long as you leave him one.

34. If you bring cheap beer to a party, you must drink at least two cans before you start drinking the imported beer in the fridge.

51. Never brood in a dance bar. Never dance in a dive bar.

69. If there is ever any confusion, the fuller beer is yours.

Good stuff, and I'd be curious to hear your additions to these lists...

--Brewfus

Bangers and Mash: My Beer Roots

2009-05-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Like many young men of my generation, my relationship with beer began at a tender age. During high school (and most of college), beer drinking was all about economy. A thirty pack of Strohs for $15.00? Perfect. A keg of The Beast for Friday in Cedar Village? Sounds good. Bud Lite, MGD, Rolling Rock (if I was feeling fancy). But those notions changed during my fourth (out of five) year at Michigan State, when I landed a spring semester internship in London, England. It was there, in village pubs older by centuries than the U.S., that I discovered there was more to beer than foam and hangovers.

David, the patriarch of the family I was living with (and a friend of a family friend), was old school. A plainclothes policeman with the London Underground who palpably disliked the French for their poor showing in WWII (and who inexplicably was a huge ABBA fan), David wanted me to leave England with an appreciation of the rich history of local English pubs.

We would wash down bangers and mash (that is Queen's English for sausage and potatoes) with a pint of cool (not cold) English bitter, and he would tell me how, traditionally, each village brewed ale that was unique to the contours of its geography, using local grains fermented by wild yeast, and consumed within walking distance of the source; a difficult concept to wrap your head around when you are used to roaming grocery store shelves lined with the same beer in store after store. He explained that hardworking Britons drank ales specific to a season - heavier, darker ales, like Porter, during colder months, and lighter ales, like Pale Ale, during warmer months. He explained that the silly looking cone shaped structures, visible all throughout the English countryside, were called oast houses.

I also had the opportunity to sneak off to Dublin and Amsterdam during my semester abroad and visit the Guinness an Heineken breweries. In the years since, I have toured a number of craft breweries (which are admittedly far less industrial and far more interesting), but seeing the process of beermaking in those beer "factories," from raw grain to the bottling line, was informative.

David was by no stretch an expert, but he helped me to see beer
in a different light. I began to think about the connection between the slender stalk of barley and the farmer who cultivated it from the land, the brewer who converted it into malt, and the denizen who quaffed it from his glass.

Since that trip, my relationship with beer has been transformed from one of convenience to one of respect. A grad school pal (thanks Eric) inspired me to begin homebrewing, and my wife, Elena, bought me a brew kit a from a great little shop in Willimantic, Connecticut called Zok's. Whenever I travel, I check to see if there are microbreweries en route, or brewpubs at my destination. I read brewing magazines (Zymurgy), brewing books (Papazian and Palmer), and brewing news (GLBC).

My goal is to use this space to detail my successes and failures in brewing, to share my random thoughts on things beer, and to connect with other like minded (or un-like minded) folks who are passionate about their brew.

NOTE: A foamy thanks to Señor Brew™, whose excellent blog, Noble Square Brewing, was the first brewing blog I followed, and who graciously pointed out my error (the first of many, I'm sure) in misremembering the actual use of oast houses. Does that make British David my Brian McNamee? As Señor points out in his comment below, oast houses are used to dry hops, not grain; and, sparging is a part of the brewing (not drying/kilning) process. Gracias Señor!

--Brewfus