UNTAMED BEER – a beer blog featuring beer reviews, news and discussion | beer in its natural state, not tamed, domesticated or cultivated

the homebrew Titanic

Posted on January 27, 2009 by Brian

After two straight home runs with my Pumpkin Ale and Slain Trolls Blood Coffee Stout (which I’ll review at a later date), I was riding high on my homebrew horse. Well, today I was put back in my place. I’ve managed to recover from a lot of near disasters in my brief homebrewing career, including boil-overs, shattered carboys, forgetting key steps and so-forth. It seems that each brew has its own adventure, but the beer turns out ok. Well, today I felt like a left a soldier down in the field.

This was going to be my first all-grain batch of beer, a hoppy pale ale. I figured that after two years I could easily make the jump. Not so, apparently…

I don’t want to bore you with too much detail about my brewing set-up, so you’ll just have to fill in the blanks if you’re a homebrew expert. One of my big issues is that I really don’t have the proper equipment to make an all-grain batch. Primarily, I don’t have a big enough brew kettle. Mine is only about 5 1/2 gallons, and I need at least a ten gallon. But, I’m resourceful, so I figure I could improvise and make it work.

Anyway, the first nightmare occurred after I mashed the grains and poured them into my lauter tun, which is a jimmy-rigged system consisting of two buckets inside each other, with the interior bucket having a bunch of holes drilled into the bottom. I also attached a spigot to the outer bucket to drain the wort. This system worked like a charm on my coffee stout, which was the first time I’d used it.

Well, after pouring out the grains into the bucket, I noticed that I had burned the ever-living tar out of the bottom of the grains, creating a caramelized crust on the bottom of my brew kettle, which also serves as my mash tun because I am poor. I frantically began trying to clean the brew kettle, having to resort to my Cutco spatula spreader to scrape the bottom, and finally to some copper wool. The bottom of the kettle now looks like it was cleaned by Freddie Kruger.

Meanwhile, the grains were sitting in the lauter tun for about 30 minutes while I tried to scrape the kettle. In that time, the grains must have cooked into oatmeal, because when I tried to drain the lauter tun, it of course got clogged. I twice tried to pour out the grain, unclog the bucket, and run the water through again, but it was no use. It would not drain.

By this time I figured that I had probably oxidized my wort too much with all the back and forth, and there was a lot of visible sediment in the wort that was draining off. I think that a contributing factor to the clogging problem was that my grain was milled too finely. I used a different source to mill my grain, and I had a strange feeling when saw it come out of the mill, like there was too much dust and fine powder in the result. I just chalked it up to my ignorance, so I naively went along.

My first brewing casualty. May it rest in peace.

It came time to make an executive decision, and I chose to cut my losses and stop before it got worse. I didn’t want to waste $20 in hops and some very special yeast that was given to me, not to mention several more hours of effort, and risk that I might waste it on terrible beer. It was a tough decision, but I need to regroup and try again.

I just ordered a new batch of grains which will hopefully arrive by the weekend so I can try again. It’s been a very discouraging day, but I am ready to try again. I’m not really sure what the lesson is, but if this happens again next time, I’m going to have to reevaluate my life.

Posted in Homebrew | 7 Comments

aged Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine tasting

Posted on January 22, 2009 by Brian

More will come of my very interesting day yesterday, once I’ve had a chance to sift through my notes and ponder the implications upon my life. Actually, I’m being overdramatic as usual, but it was a very fun and educational day of beer. I am down in Charleston, SC right now, as I am in a wedding on Saturday. The wife and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity and come down a couple days early and do some beer stuff. One of the stops on our tour was the Charleston Beer Exchange. I’ll write in more about the Beer Exchange, but while I had some down time in between stops, I wanted to highlight a unique experience.

2009, 2008 and 2007 Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywines

The guys at the Beer Exchange were able to get their hands on three differenent vintages of Sierra Nevada Bigfoot barleywine: 2007, 2008, and 2009. We were able to sample all three in order from oldest to youngest, then youngest to oldest, and then randomly one more time for good measure. It was really neat to see how the character of the beer changed with age.

Just to take a step back, for those that may not know what a barleywine is, it is traditionally a strong ale, ranging from 8% to 12% or more ABV. It is usually very sweet and can have fruit-like flavors. The sweetness of the flavor and the heavy body often give it a wine-like consistency, but since it is beer it is dubbed “barleywine.” Most barleywines I have tried have subtle, if any, hop character in the aroma or flavor. But if you know Sierra Nevada, they are never subtle about their hops.

According to Sierra Nevada, they have not changed the recipe of Bigfoot, so any differeneces in character should be attributed to the aging of the beer. First we tried the 2007 Bigfoot. It was very smooth with, surprisingly, a subtle hop character. The malt flavors really stood out and it was a very pleasant beer. It reminded me most of some other barleywines I’ve had.

After that it was on to the 2008. The hop aroma and flavor was much more apparent in this one. You could instantly tell this was Sierra Nevada. However, the 2009 took the hop aroma and flavor to an even higher level. You could catch the hop aroma from several inches above the glass, and it had a nice hop bite. For hopheads out there, it was well balanced with the malt flavor, but was anything but mellow.

I actually liked the 2007 vintage the best, with 2009 coming in second. (If I’m not careful, I might have my hophead card revoked soon.) The 2008 was a tweener and I’d rather be on one end of the hop spectrum or the other. If the hops is there, then bring it. Otherwise I’ll take a nice, smooth sippin’ beer like the 2007.

As far as aging beers, most beer styles are best when they are fresh. Most beer will stay good for some months, but doesn’t improve with age. However, many of the imperial styles with high alcohol content, like barleywine and imperial stouts, can become more complex or mellow with few years under their belt.

It was really interesting to see how the hop character of the Bigfoot slowly gave way to the malt over the course of a couple years. So if you can stand the temptation of having some really good beer sitting in a closet for a couple years, give it a try. It might just be worth the wait.

Posted in Beer | 3 Comments

my first print article

Posted on January 20, 2009 by Brian

This month has marked an historic occasion. No, not that one… I had an article published in print for the first time! On page 27 (out of 28; I’m guessing they were desperate for filler…) of the January/Febtober 2009 Southern Brew News (SBN), there is an article that I wrote introducing myself as the “Hop Tipster.” In case you haven’t heard, I’ve gotten a gig as the editor of the SBN Hop Tips e-newsletter, which is a beer event calendar that goes out twice a month.

I hope that this article is the first of many as I try to expand my beer writing sphere of influence beyond my personal blog. So be on the lookout for the current issue of the Southern Brew News, which is free and can be found at many fine beer establishments.

If you want to stay current on beer events, sign up for the newsletter. There are several Brewing News regions, so if you want to get mine, be sure to check SBN at the bottom of the page. I hope you enjoy!

Posted in Untamedbeer news | Leave a comment

2008 Brewery of the Year: Coast

Posted on January 12, 2009 by Brian

I’m probably a little biased about my selection for the Untamed Beer 2008 Brewery of the Year award, Coast Brewing Company from North Charleston, South Carolina, but I don’t care. It’s my blog. I had the good fortune of living in Charleston when Coast opened its doors in the fall of 2007. Lucky for me, my wife had the idea to write a feature story about the new brewery for the Southern Brew News, so we were invited to the Coast grand opening party. It was there we first met brewmaster David Merritt and co-heir to the throne, Jaime Tenny. Because we felt like we were there from the beginning, Coast will always have a special place in our hearts.

However, it would be one thing if it were like, “Aw, it’s such a cute little brewery, and they’re organic!” But my sentimentality only goes so far. Their beer is damn good. I would be so bold as to say it’s the best beer brewed in South Carolina and holds its own against any beer I’ve had from the Southeast. It is reminiscent of the beers I had on the Oregon Beer Trail back in ’07.

David & Jaime, where the magic happens.

Coast tries to use organic ingredients whenever they can and they don’t filter or pasteurize their beer, so it comes out tasting very fresh. David is also not afraid to be a little adventurous, so the flavor and aroma of his beer is always intense and vibrant. I also like that since Coast is still small and nimble, they can take a lot of liberties and experiment with new seasonals and recipes all the time. It seems like they always have something new on the horizon.

Coast’s staple brews are the HopArt IPA and Kolsch 32/50. The HopArt is a hoppy, but well-balanced IPA. The hop flavor and aroma is intense and fresh, but not overpowering. It goes down so smooth, it’s like drinking juice. (Which at 7.7% ABV can sneak up on you. I once had three pints of this at a Leon Russell show at the Charleston Pour House, and let’s just say I felt like I was transported back to the Concert for Bangladesh.)

For those that aren’t into hops, the Kolsch 32/50 is a light-colored, medium bodied beer with a smooth finish. Kolsch is a lager/ale hybrid style, so it brings you the best of both worlds. It’s easy drinking like a lager, but in my opinion tastes a little better and brings a little more to the party.

My favorite Coast seasonal has to be the Blackbeerd Imperial Stout brewed in the winter months. I haven’t had it in a while, but I remember it being an intensely roasted, bitter (in a good way, like dark chocolate), slap-your-mama good stout. The Rye Knot Brown Ale has made its way to Barley’s Tap Room here in Greenville for the fall, so I’ve been enjoying that one lately. It is a full bodied, hoppy brown ale with a nice coffee flavor.

Proof I was there.

While Coast doesn’t bottle their beer yet, they have already taken Charleston restaurants and bars by storm on draft. Be on the lookout as they continue to grow. Greenville was their first stop out of Charleston, so I’m sure they have plans to take over the world, or as far as their brew tanks will take them. So if you’re ever out and happen to see their beer on the list, order one. You won’t be disappointed.

Posted in Breweries | 2 Comments

January 2009 – Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

Posted on January 5, 2009 by Brian

yeti_photo If I were snowbound inside a mountain chalet for weeks and had one beer to stock my fridge, the Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout would be it. This may very well be one of the best stouts I’ve had. It has everything I enjoy about a stout, and despite it’s strength and intense flavor, has a smoothness that would allow me to drink way more of it than I should.

Immediately out of the bottle, you notice the black-as-night color and rich dark brown foam that forms at the head of the glass. It truly is an intimidating sight for the weak of heart. However, don’t let this initial fear overcome you, there is good yet to be found. Continue forward with courage…

As you raise the glass to your mouth, you notice the roasted aromas, bringing you back to a day gone by, perhaps even to this morning when you freshly ground your coffee for your morning brew. You do freshly grind your coffee, don’t you?

The taste of the Yeti is borderline perfect. It has a semi-sweet dark chocolate flavor, but it maintains a wonderful balance between bitter and sweet. Both flavor profiles come out nicely, but it is tremendously balanced. At the beginning, you get a sweet caramel flavor, but on the back end, you get a pleasant roasted coffee bitter finish.

The Yeti has a very creamy body, which contributes to the pleasant experience of drinking this beer. For those that do not generally like stouts, I recommend having a beer like this with dessert, as the sweetness will help calm down the bitter finish even more. The only downside to this beer is that it does have a slight alcohol twinge in the aftertaste that tingles the tongue. Personally, I enjoy anything that can tingle my tongue, so I don’t consider this a bad thing. At 9.5% ABV, I can hardly blame the Yeti for tingling.

Perhaps the greatest testament to this beer came at a beer tasting I MC’d a few months back. For dessert, I paired the Yeti with chocolate cake, and the Yeti was the first beer to be finished, despite it being the last served. Even those people that “did not drink beer” really enjoyed the Yeti. That is not necessarily a good thing, as non-experienced beer drinkers can like some bad beer, but in this case, I think they were right on. It is such an intensely flavorful, yet well-balanced beer that it has the potential to appeal to a wide audience, especially when paired with the right food.

So before the weather starts warming up, I highly recommend you try this beer if you have not already. It is best consumed on a brisk winter night by a roaring fire with a chocolate brownie in hand. Does life get any better than that?

Posted in Beer of the Month | 4 Comments

Christmas presents

Posted on January 2, 2009 by Brian

After a three week sabbatical from blogging, I’m back for 2009 with a vengeance. All beer, all the time.

I just wanted to share a little bit from my Christmas experience. You know how when people find out that you like something or collect something, then everyone always buys you that thing for a gift? Well, lucky for me I’m known as the “beer guy” in my circles, so everyone buys me beer. Being somewhat of a minimalist, I’m very thankful for that, since I won’t end up with a thousand crystal swans or hula girl dashboard figurines stuffed in a closet.

Matt presenting me with gifts from the
Great White North. “Some nice jugs you got
there…”

Well, my friends and family came strong this year. All those lessons and “teaching moments” on beer are finally paying off! I got hooked up. I haven’t had the opportunity to try many of them to this point. The ones I have tried so far were given to me by Matt, a friend of mine from high school that was down from Minnesota. He brought me a selection of Bender and Furious beers from Surly Brewing Co. in Minneapolis and Two Hearted Ale from Bell’s Brewery in Galesburg, Michigan. The Furious and Two Hearted Ale IPAs and both were hoptastic. I can’t get any of them here in South Carolina, so it certainly was a special treat.

Surprisingly, given my love of hops, my favorite of the three may have been the Bender. It’s a dark brown ale with a complex, yet smooth flavor. The head poured thick and creamy, a very attractive beer. The flavor starts off clean and slightly bitter, but finishes with caramel, vanilla and coffee. It’s a really nice winter beer that hits the spot on a chilly evening. Since I’ve been drinking a lot of higher gravity beers lately, it’s nice to find a non-high grav (this is only 5.1%) that brings a lot of flavor without overpowering. I could see myself sitting down in a pub in the great white north and downing a few pints of this while debating Gus Frerotte vs. Tavaris Jackson with some Vikings fans. (If it were me, I would just direct snap to Peterson and forget the whole quarterback thing.) Maybe that’s why they call it Bender.

Some of the other highlights from my spoils include Allagash White, Dubbel and Tripel; Guinness Stout; Highland Oatmeal Porter; a sample of four winter seasonals from Ridgeway Brewing in Oxfordshire, England; and three selections from Founders, including the Breakfast Stout, which has somehow elluded me for months since it arrived in South Carolina. I’m waiting for just the right time to drink it. Maybe for breakfast tomorrow. Oh, and how could I forget Johnny bringing us a gallon sized bottle of Troegs Mad Elf Ale. He arrived from Pittsburgh just in time to help me drown my sorrows as Denver got crushed by San Diego and effectively ended the Mike Shanahan era.

So thanks to all who so generously gave me such wonderful gifts. I don’t deserve any of it, but I truly appreciate it.

Posted in Beer | 4 Comments

Untamed Beer group on Facebook

Posted on December 11, 2008 by Brian

I decided a few months ago to try this “Facebook” thing, and while I find it moderately creepy, I’ve been having fun with it. Earlier this week I started an Untamed Beer group that is open to the public, so if you are on Facebook, come join in the merriment.

By the way, I found this very amusing. If you do a group search for “untamed beer,” in addition to my group, you also get:

I Am Rock (music – metal)
Corey’s Basement (common interest – family)
Man Squad (common interest – sexuality)
Mountain men(people) of appalachia (just for fun – totally random)

I am genuinely frightened.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

December 2008 – Michelob Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale

Posted on December 8, 2008 by Brian

bourbon-cask I first had the Michelob Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale on draft about four years ago at the Flying Saucer in my quest to get in the Ring of Honor. I remember trying it and being quite pleased with the selection, and even more surprised when I found out it was a Michelob beer. I don’t have much faith in my macro-brewing providers, but they show here that they are capable of creating a good beer with a distinct flavor.

The Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale is a deep amber color and vanilla is very noticable in the aroma. It has a medium body and drinks quite smoothly, quite appropriate for cold winter nights. The flavor is malty with vanilla also coming through in abundance in the flavor. It’s almost like drinking a vanilla cream beer.

While a very good winter seasonal beer, it isn’t perfect. Being an appreciator of bourbon, especially Maker’s Mark, I figured my palate was equipped to pick up on any bourbon flavor from the casks. However, I can’t really detect any bourbon there. It’s probably in there, very subtly, but the vanilla flavor seems to dominate, at least on my tongue. Also, I couldn’t help but notice a subtle “this is still a Michelob beer” twang in the aftertaste. (If you sit really still when you drink it, you’ll know what I mean.)

Overall, I do think this is a worthy effort and a good demonstration that the big boys can make a tasty ale if they put their minds to it. So the lesson, as always, don’t discriminate based on the label. Give something a try, cause you never know what is on the inside.

Posted in Beer of the Month | 7 Comments

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