Thread O' Beer!

[bac0n]

I would love to try my hand at making a Czech pilsner (what with a good chunk of my family being from not too far from the town where the style originated), but I just don't have the patience to wait 3 months for it to get ready (to those that don't know, the term lager is German for "storage") nor the type of refrigeration needed to keep the beer at the low temp required (around 50 degrees Fahrenheit).

I tried brewing a lager once (a schwarzbier) and it turned out well, but Ales take so much less time, I've decided to stick with those for my homebrew exploits. If I decide to do a lager again, it's likely going to be a Marzen (Oktoberfest), just so I can call it Jacquestoberfest.

[Spun Lepton]

What if I wanted to make a pub ale like Boddingtons, bac0n? Are there any annoying, time-eating caveats to making something like that?

[megladon8]

What if I wanted to make a pub ale like Boddingtons, bac0n? Are there any annoying, time-eating caveats to making something like that?

Dairy protein.

Stouts and (I'm guessing) Boddington's traditionally use dairy to give them that slightly creamy texture. This is a bitch to work with. My brewery wouldn't be able to do it. We mimic it by adding gypsum powder.

[bac0n]

Dairy protein.

Stouts and (I'm guessing) Boddington's traditionally use dairy to give them that slightly creamy texture. This is a bitch to work with. My brewery wouldn't be able to do it. We mimic it by adding gypsum powder.

Well, Boddington's is an ESB, and I took a look at a few clone recipes online, and neither of them had any exotic ingredients - only Epsom salts to adjust the pH balance of the water.

[megladon8]

Well, Boddington's is an ESB, and I took a look at a few clone recipes online, and neither of them had any exotic ingredients - only Epsom salts to adjust the pH balance of the water.

Ah,well, colour me...um...wrong?

[D_Davis]

Last night I went to the Victory Lounge in Seattle for some beer and board games. They had just tapped a new keg of Sunset Wheat, currently my second favorite beer. It was the murkiest, thickest, more unfiltered hef I've ever had, and it was so, so good. It had the consistency of fruit nectar, real substance.

[bac0n]

Sweet!

You guys in the Pac Northwest, man you have it so good. About 7 years ago, I was in Seattle, and in the Campus town of, I think it's Univ. of Washington Seattle, there is this store which is nothing but beer coolers, several rows of them, with every style you cold imagine, and plenty I had never heard of, from breweries from all over the world. That was my first taste of this magical thing called Chimay.

And don't get me started on McMenamins...

[D_Davis]

Sweet!

You guys in the Pac Northwest, man you have it so good. About 7 years ago, I was in Seattle, and in the Campus town of, I think it's Univ. of Washington Seattle, there is this store which is nothing but beer coolers, several rows of them, with every style you cold imagine, and plenty I had never heard of, from breweries from all over the world. That was my first taste of this magical thing called Chimay.

And don't get me started on McMenamins...

There are so many good beer stores here, it's crazy.

My favorite is just called The Beer Store. Tons of awesome brews.

I also really like McMenamins - their ruby is delicious!

[D_Davis]

Could we turn this thread into a general Beer Thread?

Anyone try Hog Heaven Barley Wine?

Just bought a pint. Gonna try it tonight.

[bac0n]

Could we turn this thread into a general Beer Thread?

Anyone try Hog Heaven Barley Wine?

Just bought a pint. Gonna try it tonight.

Great idea!

As for Barley Wines, I'm not a big fan. I find them generally to be too sweet and syrupy for my tastes.

Sierra Nevada makes the only one I've enjoyed, tho I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on Hog Heaven.

BTW - the brewery that's been getting the most of my money lately is Lagunitas. If you can find their Undercover Ale, you should grab up a six. It is AMAZING.

[megladon8]

I'm also not a fan of barley wines, nor of wheat beers or fruit beers.

I don't like my beer to be sweet. Malty is about as close to "sweet" as I can get, and even those few malty beers I love, I can only handle one at a time.

Jen's new fave is Rickard's Dark, which is perhaps one of the maltiest beers I've had. Well, that's a little far - but it's a dark, malty beer. Jen likes them dark and malty, just like her beer.

[D_Davis]

Hog Heaven was delicious! So amazing. It has a fruity and spicey bouquet, with a perfectly balanced taste - bitter, but not too hoppy, malty but not overly sweet. Highly recommended for fans of barley wine, and it's only about $8 a pint, which is a good price for a good bw.

[D_Davis]

Also had 2 pints of Ayinger's last night at the People's Pub in Ballard. That's a great hefe.

[bac0n]

Always on the lookout for a good hefe (my wife in particular loves the stuff, claims Paulaner as the champion), but I don't know if they sell Ayinger this far east.

On a different note, I brewed a wheat beer this past weekend, and, as always, shit happened which made things a little bit... interesting.

So, brewing beer consists of basically two stages: First, letting your grains steep in moderately hot water (usually around 145-150 degrees F) for about an hour so the starches turn to sugar. This is called the mash. You then add a bit more water at a hotter temp to stop the sugar conversion. This is called the sparge. You then drain off the liquid, called the wort, into a large kettle and, stage two, you boil it for anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half depending on what the recipe calls for. There's not a whole lot more to brewing beer than that.

Anywho, all went smoothly until the end of the boil, at which point you need to get the wort down to a temperature of 80 degrees so you can pitch the yeast (any hotter and the yeast will die). This needs to be done as quickly as possible, because at the end of the boil and onward, everything needs to be sterile, again because contaminants will kill the yeast.

Now, the cool thing about homebrew is that there's a gizmo to make practically every stage of the operation braindead simple. There's even a gizmo to get that wort chilled, called, appropriately enough, a wort chiller. It's basically a long copper coil with hose connectors at each end. You place the chiller in the wort, connect both ends to hoses, and run water through it. About 10 minutes later, your wort is down to a temp where you can pitch the yeast.



So, I place the wort chiller in the wort 50 minutes into the boil (it needs to be in there for 10 minutes so it too is sterilized), wait 10 minutes, then turn on the water. When I get back, my buddy informs me that there's hardly any water coming out the other end of the chiller. Also, the level of the wort in the kettle seems to be rising.

So, we pull the chiller out of the boil, to find out there's water gushing out of two huge gashes in the side of the thing. It's like a goddamned BP oil rig! Fortunately, my buddy from a few houses down is also a home brewer, and he has a wort chiller of his own, which he was more than happy to lend to the cause, and a half hour later, after sterilizing that wort chiller and then cooling off the wort, we were finally able to pitch the yeast and get the stuff downstairs to begin fermentation.

So, in light of the wort chiller leak, I've decided to call this latest batch Deep Horizon Wheat. Should be ready mid-august to top kill my thirst.

[D_Davis]

Always on the lookout for a good hefe (my wife in particular loves the stuff, claims Paulaner as the champion), but I don't know if they sell Ayinger this far east.

Hefe's to try:

Ayinger
Franziskaner (amazing!)
Paulaner Hefe-weizen
Weihenstephaner

All German-style (no d'uh) wheat beers

[soitgoes...]

Hefe's to try:

Ayinger
Franziskaner (amazing!)
Paulaner Hefe-weizen
Weihenstephaner

All German-style (no d'uh) wheat beers

Tucher Kristall Weizen is a good one too.

EDIT: Hacker Pschorr makes a good Kristall Weisse as well.

[D_Davis]

That's a great write-up, B.

I'd really like to try my hand at making beer some day.


I also have 2 bottles of Delirium Tremens sitting in the fridge, just waiting to be enjoyed.

[bac0n]

I'd really like to try my hand at making beer some day.

You're probably in the best part of the country to do it. The homebrew community in the Pac Northwest is huge. Hell, I think half the population of Oregon makes their own beer.

Regardless of where you live, homebrew is super easy to get into. You don't need a whole lotta equipment to get started, there's plenty of people online and offline to help, and most of your favorite styles are available as kits, which produce really good beers.

[Spun Lepton]

An article I haven't read, yet.

Sampling American Pale Ales
http://events.nytimes.com/2010/06/30...ws/30wine.html

[D_Davis]

Perfection exists. Here is proof.

[D_Davis]

You're probably in the best part of the country to do it. The homebrew community in the Pac Northwest is huge. Hell, I think half the population of Oregon makes their own beer.

Regardless of where you live, homebrew is super easy to get into. You don't need a whole lotta equipment to get started, there's plenty of people online and offline to help, and most of your favorite styles are available as kits, which produce really good beers.

I'll probably give it a shot next year. What's a good wheat kit to try?

[bac0n]

I'll probably give it a shot next year. What's a good wheat kit to try?

Most brew supply stores assemble their own kits, so it varies from store to store. What I would recommend is go to a homebrew supply store in your home town, and taking a look at what they got. Most of the kits have explanations of styles, and there are usually many clone kits, aka, a NewCastle clone called OldCastle or something if it's a particular beer you're trying to make.

Better yet, I would just ask someone who works there. Just tell them what beer or style you're trying to reproduce and they'll either find you the kit you need, or make one for you. They'll also help you with what equipment you'll need to pick up in order to make it.

[Hugh_Grant]

An article I haven't read, yet.

Sampling American Pale Ales
http://events.nytimes.com/2010/06/30...ws/30wine.html

Cool. Danke. I loves me some pale ale.

[Lasse]

I had a veeeeeery boring day at work, so I'm having a few Newcastle Brown Ales that I bought the other day.

It's not spectactular, but it really is a good beer.

[D_Davis]

Newcastle is always a good choice.

Enjoying a couple of these right now. Warming up for a night at The Stumbling Monk and Clever Dunnes.