Untamed ESB

Posted on September 3, 2008 by Brian

I cracked open my first ESB from the revival batch and it’s not bad. It has a nice malt flavor with a noticeable bitter finish. It has an amber color, but is a little cloudy. There is also a good bit of sediment in the bottles. For the first time in my homebrewing journey, I didn’t do a secondary fermentation, so I’m assuming that is what’s responsible for that. Overall, it’s entirely drinkable, but still has that “extract homebrew” taste and feel to it.

I also used some Munton’s conditioning tablets in the bottles, since I wanted to get away from using corn sugar. I’m not totally sold on them. After a week they’ve almost completely dissolved, but I did see some tablet particles in the beer I tried today. I’ll have to see if I still see anything after another week or two.

So I’m pretty relieved that after a six month layoff I still know how to brew, but I think this has reaffirmed that if I’m going to grow any more as a homebrewer, I need to start pushing my boundaries and either go all-grain or start doubling the ingredient amounts in these recipes. I’m a huge fan of big beers, and my homebrews haven’t lived up to that expectation so far.

Posted in Homebrew | 3 Comments

I like cold beverage

Posted on August 28, 2008 by Brian

As a follow-up to my post on frosted mugs, I was listening to an interview with Gary Vaynerchuk, the guy from Wine Library TV, and he made an interesting comment on cold beverages. He said that he always tastes anything (red wine, white wine, beer, whatever) at room temperature because “when a product is cold, it is hiding its flaws.”

Again, there is a time and place for anything, but if you want to get a true sense of all the flavors in a beverage, try it room temperature or slightly chilled.

If you want to listen to the entire interview, it’s pretty cool. He’s talking with the guy from Basic Brewing on their podcast. They sent Gary five of their homebrews to taste and comment on. He also gives some good perspective on his views of wine and beer.

Posted in Practical Beer Tips | 1 Comment

those crazy economics

Posted on August 26, 2008 by Brian

Go figure. That ol’ supply and demand curve is still right after all these years. As you may have heard, the price of hops has skyrocketed over the past year, increasing about five or six-fold. This has really caused a stir in the beer world, as breweries and homebrew shops have been stockpiling supply due to shortages and super-high prices. (I think this has exacerbated the problem, but that’s for another post…)

An article on the Wall Street Journal website today illustrates that economics do work, and not all is lost for hops. For years, a hops surplus brought prices down to around $5/pound. These low prices forced a lot of hop farmers out of the market because they could not grow hops profitably. Well, it shouldn’t take an economics wizard to predict that with hops now at around $20 to $30/pound, it is going to get the attention of more farmers and will bring more back into the hops market.

Now, as the article also points out, it isn’t quite that simple. Because of risks from insects, disease, weather, and the equipment needed to harvest and store the hops, it is a complicated crop to grow. However, as we’re beginning to see, economic forces will take over. Supply is going to increase due to the high prices and prices will begin to come back down and eventually an equilibrium will be reached. Since I’m no economic wizard, I won’t pretend to be able to predict where that equilibrium will lie, but I do predict we’ll still be able to enjoy wonderfully hoppy beer for decades to come.

Posted in Beer-related news | Leave a comment

Blue Ridge unveils new seasonals

Posted on August 19, 2008 by Brian

Blue Ridge Brewmaster Jay

Blue Ridge Brewing Company was perhaps the first brewpub I ever visited when I was old enough to partake of the sweet elixir way back in the day. They first opened their doors in 1995 and have since seen other brew pubs come and go, but they remain a staple on Main Street in Greenville. I remember visiting when I was in college, up from Charleston to see my beloved C of C Cougars battle Furman in those epic Southern Conference basketball battles. Those were the days…

One of the highlights of moving to downtown Greenville has been to be in walking distance of Blue Ridge. On Saturday, the Big Gnome and I took advantage of our prime real estate and went to Blue Ridge to sample two of their brand new seasonals, the Rye Patch Pale Ale and the Black Honey Imperial Stout.

We had the Rye Patch Pale first. This was a great beer to start us off, tantalizing us with its deep golden color. The hop aroma was apparent right from the get-go. The flavor was dry and crisp with an intense tart bitter hop finish. Make no mistake about it, this beer is all about the hops. There is not much in the way of malt sweetness to balance the hops, but I did not find it overbearing or overpowering at all. It’s like it revved the engine, but brought it back down before it hit the red line. I could probably have about two pints of this before my taste buds would call for mercy. I really liked it.

For “dessert” we were able to partake of the Black Honey Imperial Stout. Brewmaster Jay can correct me if my facts are mistaken, but I believe this is the highest gravity beer that Blue Ridge has done, coming in at a whopping 10.5% ABV. Served in a 12 oz. globe, this beer as black as well… black. The aroma screamed of smokey roasted malt and the flavor followed right in line. This beer was very full-bodied and sweet, as you would expect from such a high gravity brew. It was a very intense beer that you could sip on for some time over some good conversation or chocolate dessert. Very enjoyable.

I give high marks to Blue Ridge’s latest creations. I’m glad that after all these years they still have their creative juices flowing and aren’t afraid to experiment with new beers. South Carolina isn’t exactly known for it’s craft beer, but Blue Ridge represents well, and hopefully they will inspire some other locals to strike out on their own. More, I say, we need more!

Posted in Beer, Breweries | Leave a comment

frosted mugs: a refreshing travesty?

Posted on August 14, 2008 by Brian

At the Flying Saucer a few years back I saw a quote on their big chalk board, “Frosted glasses are for amateurs.” Of course that led to the debate: are they being beer snobs, or is there validity to the statement?

Obviously, the point of a frosted glass or mug is to keep beer colder longer. So is this necessarily a good thing? It is a general law of science that the colder a food or beverage is, the less flavor you actually taste. This is the primary reason that light lagers need to be served as cold as possible. I’m sure you’ve had a warm Budweiser, and it is anything but refreshing. (I find it helpful that Coors, with the blue mountains on their bottles, gives you a nice indicator as to when their beer is no longer repulsive.)

For higher quality beers that have a better, more intricate flavor, you don’t want to stifle that by serving it too cold. I found a nice overview on realbeer.com that shows you recommended temperatures for serving different styles of beer. The general rule of thumb is the darker and stronger the beer is, the warmer it should be served. Now, when I say warm, I don’t mean serving it like tea. We’re talking 60 or 65 degrees for stouts and porters. There’s a reason why the Brits and Germans have been drinking beer like this for centuries.

Here’s a practical tip for the home beer drinker: If you’re not in a hurry and are drinking a quality beer, try taking the bottle (or can if it’s an Oskar Blues) out of the fridge and leaving it on the counter for 10 minutes before you open it. It will still be nicely chilled, but more of the flavors will be released.

The bottom line is, when it comes to beer, just do what you like. Sometimes nothing is more refreshing than an ice cold beer after a hard day’s work or when you’re out in the heat, and that’s ok. I just encourage you to try something different and give it a chance. I know that when I order a beer out at a bar or restaurant, I want to get my money’s worth and often request an unchilled glass. Perhaps that makes me a snob, but I’m not scared to enjoy my beer the way I like it, and that is with delicious flavor.

Posted in Practical Beer Tips | 3 Comments

you know you’re a geek when…

Posted on August 10, 2008 by Brian

you build your own home-made cooler:

This insulated box will hold the carboys that contain my fermenting beer. I’m going to rotate 2 liter bottles of frozen water inside to cool it down. I’m hoping to keep the temperature in the box to around 65 degrees or cooler. Even though ale yeast does well at warmer temperatures than lager yeast, I’ve come to learn that the optimal temperature range for ale yeast is around 60 or 65 degrees.

The end result that I’m hoping for is obviously a better tasting homebrew, one that doesn’t have that “homebrew” taste to it. I have not been able to completely eliminate that subtle flavor to this point. I’m hoping this will be a good step in that direction.

Posted in Homebrew | 1 Comment

I’m back in the game!

Posted on August 9, 2008 by Brian

Through the miracle of fermentation,
this will become beer.

After a six month hiatus, the Untamed Brewery is going back online. My ESB (extra special bitter) brewing kit arrived from Northern Brewer yesterday, so I will be brewing up my first batch of beer since my IPA back in January. I had been holding out to move into the “all grain” brewing realm, but due to budgetary constraints, I decided to do another partial mash recipe. Besides, I probably need a refresher since it’s been so long. Diving back into homebrewing by doing all grain would be like getting off the couch and running 10 miles for the first time in six months. It’s bound to be a painful experience.

I’ll keep you posted how it goes, and to all of you in South Carolina, be on the lookout for my ESB in about 4 or 5 weeks.

Posted in Homebrew | 2 Comments

divine poultry

Posted on August 3, 2008 by Brian

Big Gnome is awed by the Little Chicken

I can now add beer-can-chicken to the list of “things I regret missing out on for years because I never tried it,” which includes humus, Thai green curry, and playing the guitar (which I just started learning last week, so it’ll be a while before I’m playing with Jack White).

We finally tried to make this this last night after talking about it for years, and it may have been the best chicken I’ve ever had. Coated with a home-made barbecue rub featuring cayenne, brown sugar, cumin, paprika, and salt, slow-cooked on the grill over hickory wood chips for about 75 minutes, and steamed from the inside with Schlitz, this chicken was flavorful, spicy and tender.

I’ve had my beer-can-chicken cookbook for about two years and I can’t believe I didn’t try this sooner. It was so easy! While there are infinite possibilities, the basic recipe involves cleaning out a whole fryer chicken, using a dry rub or marindade, then sticking a half-full can of beer up its butt and propping it on a grill for 75 to 90 minutes.

I got my recipe from Beer Can Chicken and 74 Other Offbeat Recipes for the Grill by Steven Raichlen. I’m sure you can find other recipes online. The basic premise is the same on most recipes. The summer is running out, so I highly recommend trying this soon while it’s still good grillin’ weather.

Posted in Beer, Practical Beer Tips | 1 Comment

August 2008 – Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Brian

You never forget your first true love…

I usually try to recognize lesser known craft beers in my Beer of the Month club so as to help people broaden their horizons, but I thought I would get back to my roots and give some love to my trusty old favorite, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was my gateway into hoppy beer. It was the first hoppy beer that I ever tried, and after some time, really liked. It had such a different flavor from the other beer I liked at the time, which included Newcastle, Bass, and John Courage (Which I just found out no longer exists. I seem to be slightly behind the times, but that also tells you the last time I ordered one. Part of me is saddened by this.).

Sierra Nevada is too popular now to be considered a microbrewery, but I still consider it craft beer. The Pale Ale is a “safe haven” for beer drinkers. It’s the one ale that you will find in nearly every self-respecting bar. If they don’t at least have Sierra Nevada, you’re probably in trouble.

But at the same time, don’t discount this beer because it is popular. It is genuinely good, despite its mass appeal. It features the signature Cascade hops which gives it that citrus aroma and slightly grapefruit-sour flavor. The success of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale led to Cascade being the standard finishing hop of many American style pale ales.

Despite the distinct hop flavor, it is not overpowering. Weighing in at 5.7% ABV and 37 IBU, it has a medium body and just enough hops to let you know it’s there. It’s a great beer for those who haven’t become hop heads, but still want to experience a different side of beer than they might be used to. Even for the hop heads out there, this beer is a refuge in the world of light lagers.

Posted in Beer of the Month | 4 Comments

do you think Budweiser will come out with a Belgian Triple?

Posted on July 27, 2008 by Brian

A couple weeks ago, it was announced that Budweiser was going to be bought out by Belgian beer giant InBev for around $50 billion. There’s a good Washington Post article that gives some background not only on this transaction, but reviews the consolidation that has been occurring in the mass-produced beer world for the past few years. If you don’t follow the business of beer, I’ll sum up:

  • 2002 – Miller Brewing merges with South African Brewers to form SABMiller
  • 2004 – AmBev (Brazil) merges with Interbrew (Belgium) to form InBev
  • 2005 – Coors merges with Molson (Canada) to form Molson Coors
  • 2008 – SABMiller merges with Molson Coors to form MillerCoors
  • 2008 – Anheuser-Busch merges with InBev to form Anheuser-Busch InBev

The public reaction to the AB-InBev merger that I’ve read about and talked about with my beer-caring friends has been primarily negative. Why is it that this particular merger has struck such a negative chord, while the other mergers with Miller and Coors went largely unnoticed? Perhaps it’s because after Miller and Coors were bought out, Anheuser-Busch was the last true American mega-brewer left and our patriotic nature wants to cling to that.

Now, I’m no economics professor, but we hear about mergers and acquisitions all the time in business. It’s part of living in a global economy. In such a competitive landscape, companies are always looking for ways to generate more revenue and cut costs. They have to do that to survive, and with the dollar being so weak right now, the U.S. is ripe for foreign investment.

The bottom line is for most of us, Bud is still going to taste the same, it’s going to look the same, and the Clydesdales aren’t going anywhere. It will suck if they close breweries in the States and it costs people jobs, but that’s the world we live in. We have to adapt and get stronger in other areas to compete.

So the lesson here is, as always, if you want to support American business, grab your nearest micro-brew, toast as loudly as you can, and spread the good news of craft beer!

Posted in Beer-related news | Leave a comment