Ymm, Beer

[devildeac]

Color me jealous. Mr. DA & I may have to plan a weekend jaunt down to that neck of the woods. (Not this weekend, unfortunately.)

I did have a Full Sail IPA yesterday afternoon at a work function.

Well, where's your review? Here's mine:

One of their foundation brews. IBUs of 60 so moderately bitter with a mild citrus/grapefruit aroma and taste. The malts balance the hops very well but the ale is not sweet. Orange-amber and clear appearance. A fine spring/summer brew and at 6% ABV you just might be able to enjoy another one like the LTD which I believe is up next.

[devildeac]

Full Sail LTD-In honor of their 21st year they are releasing a new brew every month or two. This is for February and they have 6ers of them. Ingredients from their fine web site:

2 row pale malt
vienna malt
wheat malt
caramel malt
Saaz hops
goldings hops

IBUs of 32 so the slightly sweet maltiness is more present than any hop bitterness. This is a lager and is a "hella good" one (their words and I certainly agree). Gold and clear and ABV is a bit high for a lager at 6.4% but not really noticeable unless it's your 2nd brew in your "session."

[CameronBornAndBred]

Full Sail LTD-In honor of their 21st year they are releasing a new brew every month or two. This is for February and they have 6ers of them. Ingredients from their fine web site:

2 row pale malt
vienna malt
wheat malt
caramel malt
Saaz hops
goldings hops

IBUs of 32 so the slightly sweet maltiness is more present than any hop bitterness. This is a lager and is a "hella good" one (their words and I certainly agree). Gold and clear and ABV is a bit high for a lager at 6.4% but not really noticeable unless it's your 2nd brew in your "session."

Ymm. I love when they give all the ingredients, makes attempting a clone lots easier. I've seen Full Sail, but never tried it. I'll have to give it a shot after your reviews, especially the IPA.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I finally got around to bottling my milk stout today, and found it had developed a lovely thin layer of greyish mold on top. 5 gallons wasted, grrr, but it's my own fault. Mold means something was not sanitized properly. Everything after the boil has to be bacteria free, you can't be too clean. Obviously I got slack on something. Bright side, it has only happened to me once before, interestingly enough also with a stout. Maybe there is something in the darker grains that provide a better environment for the bad guys. Anyways, to any prospective brewers, here's a mistake on my part that you can learn from.

[devildeac]

Ymm. I love when they give all the ingredients, makes attempting a clone lots easier. I've seen Full Sail, but never tried it. I'll have to give it a shot after your reviews, especially the IPA.

I don't think NC is one of their 19 states in which they distribute, but I believe I will have some extra shoes and socks in our suitcases which make great beer bottle protectors and transportation carriers and I have far more samples than I can consume myself-really. Soooo, I will need a trading partner sometime next month. Wonder who that could/might be? Hmm... art show...trip to the coast... west coast beers... home brews...

[CameronBornAndBred]

Here's some pics I took last week during my brewing. There was a limit on photos, so I divided them up.



^^My equipment. The brewpot on a burner, mash/lauter tun, and water.



^^^Inside the mash/lauter tun. The grains sit in here with water at about 160 degrees for an hour, then I seperate the water from the grains through the filter in the bottom. I use a screen filter shaped into a ring.



^^^Some of the grains that will be used in the mash. The homebrew shop mills the grains for me.



^^^The mash in the tun.

[CameronBornAndBred]

^^^The brew pot with the wort coming to a boil. When it boils it explodes into a big sticky mess. Fun to watch, but you have to be careful not to let it overflow.



^^^The wort at full boil after I've added hops.



^^^My homemade wort chiller (next to a goblet of homebrew)



^^^Once the boil is over, I use the wort chiller submerged in the wort with cold water running through it to bring the wort down to 70 degrees or so. Then it goes into my fermenter on the right, and I pitch the yeast. Then I wait 2-3 weeks, and bottle. Ymm, beer!

[alteran]

Great posts and pics.

I meant to followup my and your earlier posts and basically say, "Doh! thanks for the corrections," but it's funny how acknowledging mistakes is an activity that tends to slip my mind.

The general thrust I was shooting for was to simplify as much as possible-- I think that in the effort to obtain "the perfect brew," we hobbyists sometimes forget how drinkable a brew you can get without doing all the extras.

I see you're doing a full brew, that's what I do as well-- no way to do that without a wort chiller. I'm surprised you ended up with contamination.

How many batches do you fire up a year? I do about four.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I see you're doing a full brew, that's what I do as well-- no way to do that without a wort chiller. I'm surprised you ended up with contamination.

How many batches do you fire up a year? I do about four.

I usually try to always have at least one fermenter going, sometimes two, on a two week cycle. So that gets to be a lot of beer! This time of year my mind drifts towards gardening and I'll be done with it in a few weeks, and start up again in September. (Too hot to brew in the summer). The contamination came from the fermenter, I'm sure. I must not have cleaned it as well as I thought. Come join us for some brunchgates in the Fall, I always bring some brews to each game!

[devildeac]

I usually try to always have at least one fermenter going, sometimes two, on a two week cycle. So that gets to be a lot of beer! This time of year my mind drifts towards gardening and I'll be done with it in a few weeks, and start up again in September. (Too hot to brew in the summer). The contamination came from the fermenter, I'm sure. I must not have cleaned it as well as I thought. Come join us for some brunchgates in the Fall, I always bring some brews to each game!

And darn good ones, too.

[devildeac]

^^^The brew pot with the wort coming to a boil. When it boils it explodes into a big sticky mess. Fun to watch, but you have to be careful not to let it overflow.



^^^The wort at full boil after I've added hops.





^^^My homemade wort chiller (next to a goblet of homebrew)



^^^Once the boil is over, I use the wort chiller submerged in the wort with cold water running through it to bring the wort down to 70 degrees or so. Then it goes into my fermenter on the right, and I pitch the yeast. Then I wait 2-3 weeks, and bottle. Ymm, beer!

I'm thirsty.

[devildeac]

Double Mountain Brewing Company-Hop Lava IPA-Local brewery/pub in Hood River, Oregon. Happy hour brew. The bar food was about 1/2 price but the beverages were not. Another list of ingredients for CB&B (but no bottles returning to NC as this is draft only):

organic pilsner malt
Munich malt
centennial hops
cascade hops

The hops win here. 75 IBU and 7% ABV and a moderately brutal palate attack, in the good sense expecting that with these IBU and hop varieties. Some grapefruit but more pine/spruce aroma and flavors. Slightly cloudy and golden-amber. Held up well with a caesar salad, a spicy eggplant, tomato, olive and onion appetizer and a bowl of linguini and lots of basil.

[ohioguy2]

We just returned from Fort Collins. My wife and I took the New Belgium tour. In the tasting room upstairs we were served La Folie. This is a wood (oak) conditioned beer that is bottled and then corked. It has a very sour apple taste that grows on you after the first sip or two. I really enjoyed this beer, but it is not for everyone. We learned a lot about the company, including its history--tour was good, beer was good--

[CameronBornAndBred]

This is a wood (oak) conditioned beer that is bottled and then corked. It has a very sour apple taste that grows on you after the first sip or two. I really enjoyed this beer, but it is not for everyone. We learned a lot about the company, including its history--tour was good, beer was good--

Was it actually a cider, or just an ale with the apple taste? Sounds very interesting.

[ohioguy2]

Was it actually a cider, or just an ale with the apple taste? Sounds very interesting.

Not a cider--ale --with a very sour taste. I do not believe there are any apples or apple products in it. I just used the green apple reference to give an idea of the first tastes.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Not a cider--ale --with a very sour taste. I do not believe there are any apples or apple products in it. I just used the green apple reference to give an idea of the first tastes.

Awesome...Jolly Rancher beer! Beer reviews are all metaphors and comparisons, but sometimes the brewer gets sneaky and is actually literal. Some caramel porters have the taste, some actually use it. I bet a couple Jolly Ranchers dropped in the fermenter would go a long way. Might not be a good long way though .

[ohioguy2]

Awesome...Jolly Rancher beer! Beer reviews are all metaphors and comparisons, but sometimes the brewer gets sneaky and is actually literal. Some caramel porters have the taste, some actually use it. I bet a couple Jolly Ranchers dropped in the fermenter would go a long way. Might not be a good long way though .

The Jolly Rancher comparison is actually one of the ones our tour guide gave to prepare us for the taste. I bought a bomber of this--took it back to my daughter's home and we drank it with cheese and crackers.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
This is a hop lover's beer, and it's a good one. A burnt golden color, this ale is thick and full of flavor. It has so much body, it reminds me of freshly made Jello about 5 minutes after you start chilling it. Still very liquid, but not watery. The hops are what this one is all about, they add a citrus flavored bite that lasts a while, with a touch of sweetness to it. 7.2%ABV, very nice chilled on a warm spring day. I'll have to hold on to one to compare to Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, and see how they differ side by side.

P.S. Just read the bottle description, and it says "a big American IPA, perfectly balanced yet full of flavor and aromas highlighting the complex citrus, pine and herbal character of whole cone American hops." I love when my nose and taste buds work!

[bluebear]

Not a lot of past experience with Scotch Ales but tried a few over the past week..Alesmith Wee Heavy and Great Divide Claymore Scotch Ales..Both are extremely malty with very little hops...sweet and smooth. Both also have a certain earthy hint. I liked the Alesmith a little better as it is more full-bodied and balanced. The Claymore seems a little flatter. I'm going to continue the theme tonight with Founders Dirty Bastard..

[bluebear]

Gotta bump this back to page 1..Last night had Founders Old Curmudgeon--and Old Ale..I've become a big fan of Founders and this is no exception. This is a fairly hefty, dark ale. There is something about this that reminds me a lot of barleywines but without the bitterness of the hops..There is really little hop taste at all as the ale is dominated by sweet malts. I picked up a 4 pack but may go back in the next few days to get another 4 pack to stash away..highly recommended..