Really nice news video on Bhramari:
http://wspa.com/2016/02/10/bhramari-...form=hootsuite
ricks
looks a fair amount like Larry, er, Ozzie
No, but I just did.
Black Watch-Highland Brewing Company
Liquid brownies!!!
Part of their Warrior Series, this is a double chocolate imperial milk stout as they took 5 grains, roasted barley, flaked oats and a bunch of cacao nibs, threw in some lactose and created an almost black elixir with a one finger head that smells like a pan of dark chocolate brownies with semi-sweet chocolate chunks that has been drizzled heavily with fudge sauce. Tastes just about the same. This is some kind of sweet so it took me almost an hour to consume the 12 ounce serving that was even more flavorful as it warmed. I'll guess IBUs of 30 and the ABV is on the bottle at 8%. Forget dessert tonight as I just drank it. Thanks to ricks68 for including this in his recent delivery.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Interesting article about nanobreweries, Burial in particular:
http://www.newsobserver.com/living/f...e60612506.html
No mention of Sub Noir in Raleigh which started as a nano and has remained that way.
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.
Oskar Blues Pinner 6er for the game tonight. Plan on drinking straight from the can
Gthc!
Until duketaylor chimes in, I can say with some certainty that:
1) "Run wild" is not a good idea. These are prolific little buggers. Plan to trim them at least weekly unless you'd like a very tall privacy wall of tangled bines.
2) Second year hops are definitely more prolific than first year hops.
3) Hops are really fun to watch grow, as they can grow up to 6" per day.
4) It's really fun to make your own beer with your own home-grown hops. Tasty, too.
Can't remember where you're from...we got our rhizomes from American Brewmaster in Cary. The guy is an NC State ag major who has quite a large number of bines and can answer a lot of questions especially about local conditions. We got Cascade and Chinook, both said to grow well in the area. We had good luck with Cascade, not so much with Chinook. The Chinook gave us lovely foliage, but only a handful of cones.
Plant in mounds of 2-3 rhizomes, add plenty of organic matter, and you'll have an entertaining growing experience. Do be sure to have tall enough poles. When they get to the top of the pole, they just continue growing and make a large mat at the top that is difficult to deal with.
Definitely March/April. Now is the time to pre-order the rhizomes. Plenty of places to buy from online, though I like being able to pick them up and talk to the guy. Check out American Brewmaster and see if you can pick them up in either the Cary store (with a bottle shop and right next to Fortnight Brewing) or just off of Capital near the beltline. The NCSU Ag major is in the Cary store and quite a nice person to talk to. I'm assuming he's still there...I haven't been there since last season.
2015-07-25 Hops.jpg
Here's a picture of last year's hops at the end of July. These are second-year bines. We used a modified tee-pee instead of last year's trellis. I don't recommend it, it's too short and everything grew together, making harvesting much more difficult.
The two Chinook are on the left, and rather anemic looking. We got about 9 usuable cones. The Cascades are the other bines. Lovely, lush, foliage with lots of nice cones. However, the tee-pees grew together because we couldn't get out to prune often enough. The bines can send out runners sideways for several feet and can make an untangleable mass even inside of a week! Note the tee-pee on the right...it's too short and overgrew the pole -- and with 3 bines at the top, there was quite the mass at the top when we harvested about 5 weeks after this picture was taken. We took down each tee-pee and had to dig through the dense foliage to harvest the cones. We got a paper grocery bag of Cascades -- if two of the bines hadn't been cut by contractors cutting the lawn, we'd have had a lot more.
Next time I go out to Mom's house, I'll check for sprouting. They usually come up about now.
I'm not sure what will happen to our hop farm as Mom passed away in October. My brother inherited the property, and it's unknown what he'll do to the property. Right now, there are no plans to change anything, but I may need to move the plants. I'm going to miss Mom's daily pictures and her careful measurements of each day's growth. She really enjoyed watching them grow. (I really missed her last night after that incredible win...but that's another topic!)
From 1/28/15 but worth re-posting after last night:
Arrogant Bastard Ale-Stone Brewing
I looked through the archives and found no review of this beer so I'll guess it's been >5 years since I tasted it. Poured from a bomber and divided over 2 nights. Appeared a reddish-brown with a foamy head that lingered. Nose was pine and citrus and tastes were the same with some tobacco and a bit of caramel sweetness that lost out to the almost overwhelming hop blast. I'll guess IBUs are 80+ and the ABV of 7.2% just doesn't quite achieve balance. Stone doesn't categorize this brew but it most reminds me of Bigfoot which I stopped buying 3 years ago. I've seen it labeled an American Strong Ale but that style is less bitter, has a somewhat higher ABV and is a bit sweeter. This would be a good ale to have with game or spicy fare. I've got 3 (different) Bastards left from the mixed 4 pack I bought a couple weeks ago and the next tasting will be this weekend.
An amusing read from the "painted" bottle:
"This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory–maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make things taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.
At Stone Brewing, we believe that pandering to the lowest common denominator represents the height of tyranny - a virtual form of keeping the consumer barefoot and stupid. Brought forth upon an unsuspecting public in 1997, Arrogant Bastard Ale openly challenged the tyrannical overlords who were brazenly attempting to keep Americans chained in the shackles of poor taste. As the progenitor of its style, Arrogant Bastard Ale has reveled in its unprecedented and uncompromising celebration of intensity. There have been many nods to Arrogant Bastard Ale…even outright attempts to copy it… but only one can ever embody the true nature of liquid Arrogance!"
"You're Not Worthy (yea, I'm looking at you, c*rolina)"
From last PM:
Couple modifications as last night I had the entire bomber (11 ounces for the 2nd half and 11 ounces to celebrate that very tasty victory)
The ABV was more on the order of 74 or 73 (%), or something like that. I may be missing a decimal point in those numbers somewhere, but, then again, maybe not .
[redacted] them and the horses they rode in on.