Otto's Apricot Wheat

Otto's Apricot Wheat is a good all around beer.  It doesn't have any overpowering tastes, and the style is enjoyable year round.  It does have a clear apricot flavor, so I could see why some people might enjoy it more during the summer months.

With a half-inch white head and slightly cloudy golden body, this is an appealing brew.  When the head settles, it leaves slight lacing on the sides of the glass, and mild carbonation maintains a small ring around the edge.  9/10 for appearance

The aroma is about what you'd expect.  The apricot comes through, as do the wheat tones.  The aroma is fairly faint, though, so if you're sitting near the kitchen door where the smells of cooking would be stronger, it may be difficult to pick up on the nose on this one.  22/30 for aroma.

The taste nicely matches the aroma.  There's a bit of nutty-grainy flavor under the apricot, but no flavors are overpowering.  It's smooth and mellow, with very little lingering aftertaste.  The only real downside for the taste is that the apricot flavor tastes somewhat fake or artificial, like that fruitiness is just a little too sweet or something.  On the upside, the malt flavors keep the sweetness nicely in check.  31/40 for flavor

I'd say this beer has a medium mouthfeel -- it isn't watery, but it isn't really full-bodied, either.  It's a fairly crisp beverage, and that crisp, clean mouthfeel works well with the flavors in the beer.  8/10 for mouthfeel.

This is very much a drinkable beer.  It isn't the kind of beer I'd savor, but it's a nice change of pace, it pairs well with a wide range of foods, and it's crisp and clean enough to enjoy on a hot summer afternoon.  Because it's suitable for so many occasions, that ups the drinkability factor.  8/10 for drinkability.

Overall that comes to 78/100.  This isn't a great beer, but it's tasty and it gets the job done.  It's one of Otto's beers that seems to have a wider distribution every year (maybe that's just my perception, or maybe it's just a local thing, I haven't really looked too much into it).  I'm looking forward to picking up a sixer of this come yard work season (which is hopefully just around the corner -- I hear birdsong in the mornings again!).

Cheers!

Miller Lite

This may be a very difficult review for me to write fairly in some regards.  I've got the BJCP guidelines open next to me so I can hopefully be more even-handed in my review than I might otherwise be.  I'm partial to beers that use a minimal amount of adjuncts, since I don't always enjoy the adjuncty tastes.  (In case you haven't figgered it out by now, I like making up my own adjectives.  I do not like, however, when Subway commercials do the same.  I'm a hypocrite.  What of it?)

Miller Lite falls squarely into the Lite American Lager category of the BJCP.  The straw coloring and lack of any real head are fairly typical of this style.  Despite the fact that it looks like a glass of urine from some dehydrated bastard, it does match the style guidelines.  7/10 for appearance

There is only a very, very slight grainy aroma, very difficult to detect.  Going by the BJCP guidelines, this fits the category.  Going by my rubric, it would receive a fairly low score.  I should revise the aroma row of my rubric.  Since it does abide by the style guidelines, I can't really grade it too harshly on aroma.  22/30 for aroma

There is very little taste to really evaluate here, and the slight taste that exists is thin and watery.  However, this style isn't supposed to have a strong flavor, and I can see why many people consider this a "refreshing" beverage, though I would not myself describe it that way.  My buddies and I jokingly refer to it (and most other Lite American Lagers) as piss-water or yellow fizzy.  That being said, the detectable flavor is mostly grainy (corn?) with just a faint hint of nuttiness.  I really don't taste much in the way of hops at all.  It isn't really a bad taste, and it certainly isn't an overpowering taste.  Nor does it leave much of an aftertaste, except maybe a slight stale flavor on the back of the tongue.  There aren't any signs of skunking, and I can taste no off-flavors.  It is very difficult for me to assess this beer fairly (which is why I'm relying on my rubric and the BJCP guidelines very heavily here...), but I would feel comfortable giving this a 30/40 for taste.  (My personal preference would put it closer to 8/40, give or take)

I honestly feel that the moderate to high levels of carbonation detract from the experience of the beer here.  It becomes somewhat difficult to really taste all aspects of the beer because of the sharp effervescence.  That much bubbly coupled with that scanty taste is an unbalanced combination.  And here we find another fault with my rubric, which I will need to adjust: the mouthfeel is within the BJCP guidelines, but it would score poorly on my rubric.  7/10 for mouthfeel

I do have to rate this beer pretty low for drinkability, though.  When guests bring this beer to my house, the leftover cans usually go in a crock pot with some corned beef, not into my glass.  I rarely want a beer so badly that I'll grab any kind of Lite American Lager, except for maybe Yuengling lager, which has a bit more taste and slightly less carbonation than its competitors.  2/10 for drinkability

Overall, I give this beer a 68/100.  While it does meet the Lite American Lager criteria, I don't particularly care for it.  I'm somewhat surprised that my score for this beer came out as high as it did, so I guess working with the guidelines and a rubric did help me be a little more level and fair than I otherwise might have been.  And, this was obviously a good beer to test my rubric against, since it did point out a couple flaws that I will need to address.

Ok, I'll be honest.  I only really had this beer for two reasons: 1) I wanted to evaluate a style of beer that I hadn't already covered, and 2) it was $1 on tap.  Seriously, how could I turn down a dollar draft, even if it is a pretty crappy beer?  It cost like 1/4 as much as my appetizer did.  I may be a beer geek, but I'm certainly not a beer snob.

On to the next one...  Cheers!

Yuengling Bock

Yuengling Bock is one beer that I haven't had more than a tiny taste of before.  I mildly enjoyed this beer.  In the past, I have seen some pretty good deals on this Bock at the local distributor, but passed it over since I wasn't sure I'd like it enough to merit buying a case of it.  Next time I see it, though, I will pick it up if the price is right.

I like the dark color with the white to off-white head.  It was served with about a half-inch head and showed a decent level of head retention, with moderate lacing as the head eventually fell.  It was a little difficult to see the true color of the beer due to the dark lighting in the pub and the dark backdrop.  9/10 for appearance

The aroma was grainy and malty, with just a touch of hoppiness.  I think I also smelled some toasty or chocolatey hints, but there were a lot of aromas coming out of the kitchen behind me, so it was kind of hard to distinguish.  The aroma that I could detect was very pleasant and inviting.  22/30 for aroma

The taste was more on the malty side of the spectrum, with some nutty, brown bread/toast, and maybe caramel notes.  It didn't have a strong or lingering aftertaste, which is a positive.  There is also a bit of hop spiciness, but it is more subdued than the malty flavors.  32/40 for taste

Moderate carbonation gave this brew a decent mouthfeel.  It wasn't anything that really grabbed my attention, but it certainly didn't detract from the beer.  It didn't have that thin, watery taste, nor was it very full-bodied, either.  7/10 for mouthfeel

This is very much a drinkable beer.  I could see myself drinking this by itself on a warm afternoon or pairing it with pretty much any dinner.  It's not the kind of beer I'd savor, nor would I pay extra to have one, so I'd give this a 7/10 for drinkability.

The overall score for this beer is a 77/100.  I'm usually a pretty big fan of bocks, dopplebocks, eisbocks, et al., but I wasn't overly thrilled with this one.  I'd certainly drink it instead of a plain old lager, that's for sure, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have another one.  However, if I could get a case for a decent price, I'd lay it by in my stock to enjoy with dinner now and then.

Keep hunting those distributor sales...  Cheers!

Guinness

Up until a few years ago, Guinness was my beer.  If I went out somewhere and they served Guinness, I wouldn't even think about having anything else.  I think in some strange way, I felt proud that I liked such a dark beer -- me, a chick, liked a "better" beer than all those suckers guzzling their Bud Light.  And then I discovered that there was really a lot more to beer than branding.

There are few bars or restaurants around here that serve any real selection, so I'm often stuck with very few choices.  Those choices usually include Miller Lite, Coors Light, Bud Light, Yuengling, Sam Adams Lager and seasonal, and maybe Shock Top.  Pretty slim pickin's for a beer lover such as myself.  There is, however, one local place that serves Guinness (sadly from a can), so when we went there to eat the other night, I got a pint of my old standby.  Unfortunately, my phone was about dead, so I was unable to get a picture to post.

I've always loved Guinness's appearance, with the rich, dark body and the creamy off-white head.  I especially love watching the bubbles fall.  Guinness is not the only beer with "falling" bubbles.  It's just the most well-known example.  I give Guinness a 10/10 on appearance any day, especially if served on tap.

The aroma is pretty faint and is mostly of roasted malt, with some subtle nutty tones.  You can smell the malt more than the hops.  22/30 for aroma.

The roasted malt flavors come through, as does a fair amount of bitterness and something like burnt toast.  The nutty hints are also present, but seem more sedate in this particular pint than I remember them being.  However, if I am being honest, it isn't as full-bodied as I'd like it to be or as I'd expect it to be.  And I'm not referring just to this particular pint -- I've always thought Guinness tasted a little thin up front, and that it left a stronger taste afterwards.  It did pair well with the cheese steak I had for dinner, though.  33/40 for taste

I really don't understand where people get the idea that Guinness has to be "chewed" like liquid bread.  As I said above, it feels thin and watery, not bready or full-bodied.  6/10 for mouthfeel

Despite the thin/watery taste and mouthfeel, I do constantly return to Guinness, and I think it's more than the brand or nostalgia.  I really do just enjoy this beer, even though it isn't what I would consider the "ideal" Irish Stout.  The off-white-on-black appearance, the toasty aroma, flavors of the malt and the bitterness, and the lingering aftertaste all contribute to the Guinness experience.  Some beers you drink just to have a drink, but that's not the case with Guinness.  Not for me, at least.  I do enjoy a good Guinness.  8/10 for drinkability.

Overall, that sums to 79/100.  So far, my rubric seems to be holding up, but two data points does not a pattern make.  While Guinness has dropped a few notches since my awakening as a beer nut, it will always hold a special place in my heart (and my stock).  In some ways, it's a cultural symbol for me, what with the iconic Guinness posters and ads.  I even have an Irish flag with the Guinness toucan and a soccer ball.  It hasn't actually seen the light of day since it served as a door in my college days, but when I build my basement bar, it'll be a fixture.

Ní neart go Guinness!

My Beer Rubric & Homebrew Pumpkin Ale

So, I'm a professor.  And one of the things professors do is make rubrics.  I basically took the 100-point rubric I grade my students' essays on and converted it to a beer rubric.  I'm hoping this step makes my reviews a little more fair when it comes to styles that I don't particularly care for (Light American Lagers, for example).  I included a drinkability category so that my own preferences and tastes can still play in to the overall score, but I'm going to try to base most of my reviews on how well the beer matches its style.  If I don't know what style it's supposed to be, I'll use my best guess for the purposes of my review, and update my information when I can.  Here's the rubric I came up with:

It's a work in progress, but hopefully it'll help keep my reviews more even and balanced, especially for my least favorite styles.  So, let's give it a go with my homebrew pumpkin ale:

I brewed this beer over a year ago, in February 2012.  I used 60 oz. of organic pumpkin and spiced it with nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, then I added a few extra cinnamon sticks and whole cloves to the primary fermenter, too.

It's a cloudy burnt-orange color, which is about what I'd expect to see in a pumpkin ale.  The head is a little foamier than usual since I topped up the CO2 right before I pulled this mug from the keg.  9/10 for appearance. (It's hard to get a low appearance score.)

The aroma is predominantly pumpkin, but the cinnamon and cloves are very apparent, too.  I do, however, catch a little of the odor associated with the off-flavor that haunts my homebrew.  There's also a much more understated sweetness behind it all.  22/30 for aroma.

Sitting in the keg untouched for several months really helped this beer -- it tasted a little raw when I served it on Thanksgiving, though I still got quite a few compliments on it (my friends and family are thankfully honest with me; many of them have told me they don't like certain beers I make).  The flavors don't taste as sharp now as they did a few months ago.  I might have overdone it with the cinnamon, since that seems to be the one lingering taste on the back of the tongue.  The other spices, though, are mellow and mild.  It is difficult to taste the malt or the hops through the pumpkin and spices, since there is such a strong pumpkin taste (unlike many commercial pumpkin ales, which taste thin to me).  I think I should use less pumpkin, less cinnamon, more cloves, and let it mature longer next time around.  There is also, unfortunately, a slight off-flavor common to all of my homebrew batches, so I should knock a few extra points off for that.  My beer is warming up as I type this, and it's tasting better the closer it gets to room temperature, too.  It was probably about 35F out of the tap, and it's more like 55F now.  31/40 for taste.

It has a creamy, silky mouthfeel when you swish it around, but it finishes moderately dry.  I don't think the dryness goes very well with the flavors, though.  But, as it warms up, that dryness is less and less present.  7/10 for mouthfeel.

This beer is certainly drinkable, and it pairs very well with hearty meals.  It doesn't have that watery taste some commercial pumpkin ales have.  I like that you can taste the pumpkin clearly and easily -- if I'm drinking a pumpkin ale, I want to actually taste the pumpkin, not just get a hint or a whiff of it.  I would mark it an 8/10, but the off-flavor does slightly detract from drinkability, as well.  7/10 for drinkability.

Overall, that adds up to 76/100, and that seems about right.  This is not anything special, but it is a decent brew.  It has more flavor than many commercial varieties, but it also has off-flavors and is not well-balanced.  With 4.67% ABV, it's not surprising that there is no noticeable alcohol-warmth.  I enjoyed brewing and drinking this beer, though as I said, there are a few things I'd do differently next time around.  Hopefully next year's batch will be better!

Cheers!

Schneider Weisse Hopfenweisse

Schneider Weisse may well be one of my favorite breweries.  I fell in love with their Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock a couple years ago, and when I got the chance to try another of their beers recently, I jumped on it. The Tap 5 Hopfenweisse that I bought does not have the same label as the brew made with Brooklyner, so I'm not sure if it's the same recipe.  I do very cursory research on most of the beers I buy, since part of this whole blogging about beer thing is really rooted in a strong desire to learn as much as I possibly can about beer.  However, I don't want my research to inadvertently affect how I taste and evaluate each beer, so I try to avoid really researching each brewer and/or beer until after I've had a chance to jot down my tasting notes.  I actually had this one a couple days before I decided to start blogging about beer, so today's post comes from my memory and my tasting notes.  First, I like the bottle:

It caught my eye on the shelf before I even realized I was looking at a product of one of my favorite brewers.  I know, liking two beers Schneider Weisse brews shouldn't necessarily label them as a favorite brewer.  But it does in this case, because Aventinus and Aventinus Eisbock are, in my opinion, about as close to the perfect beer as you can get, so Schneider Weisse scores uber points with me on that count.

I digress.  The poured beer was just about the prettiest beer I've seen recently:

There was a decent amount of sediment left in the bottle after the pour, and I tend to like that.  With good head retention and prominent lacing, this beer screams, "drink me!"  I love the cloudiness and the golden-orange color.  It just looks like it would have a more complex, more full-bodied character.  And looks here are not deceiving, either.  It has a very pleasant aroma, and you can smell the wheat, along with hints of banana, clove, citrus (lemon?), and an earthy/grassy undertone.  The flavors nicely complement the aroma, and though there is a small bit of a bitter bite up front, it does not linger more than a second or two before the smooth mellow tones of the wheat and esters of banana and clove take over.  While both the Hopfenweisse and the Aventinus are wheat-doppelbocks, the Hopfenweisse is much lighter in color and lacks the raisin/plum/dried-fruit-complex-sweetness that is prominent in the Aventinus.  (At some point, I'll actually write up a review of the Aventinus, preferably next time I have it so I can post a picture of it.)

If you like wheat beers, or if you're looking for a more complex palate, you'll probably enjoy the Hopfenweisse.  I highly recommend it, and I would rate it a 9/10, maybe even a 9.5/10.  (Seriously thinking about switching to a 100-point scale.  Maybe I'll draw up a rubric.)

Another day, another beer.  Cheers!

Shipyard IPA

Today, I went for one of the lighter colored beers in my stock, the Shipyard IPA that I picked up a few days ago:

It poured with one hell of a head, as you can see.  The head fell more quickly around the edges and more slowly in the center, leaving a mesa of foam in the middle of my mug and moderate lacing on the sides of the glass.  It has a crisp, pine-like aroma, but there's also something else in the background that kind of reminds me of straw or rope, something along those lines.  This IPA has a pretty decent flavor.  Some IPAs are so hop-heavy that it can be difficult to taste the grain profile, but that's not the case here.  I'd guess it's relatively low in IBUs for its style.  You can taste both the mellow malt and grain flavors as well as the grassy, floral spiciness of the hops.  There's also a touch of sweet apple, but thankfully not the green apple/rotten apple off-flavor associated with acetaldehyde.

What I liked about this beer in particular is that it doesn't have that overbearingly bitter aftertaste that some IPAs leave you with.  The hop flavors are strong up front, but the back end is fairly crisp and clean, with only a mild lingering aftertaste.  Overall, I'd say this is a slightly above average IPA, but it's definitely a smoother drink to have with a meal than some of the more heavy-hitting IPAs (Green Flash's Le Freak or Palate Wreaker, for example).  I'd give this either a 6 or 7 out of 10.  It deserves more than a 6, but maybe not quite up to a 7.  Maybe I should switch to a 100-point scale...

Still on the hunt for new beers to try.  Cheers!

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

It was freezing cold on Friday, and I wanted something to kick the chill after I got back from walking my dog, so I grabbed one of the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stouts out of the case I picked up a few days ago.  It's an appealing beer when first poured:

No light came through the poured beer -- it's a silky-looking opaque black.  There was about a half-inch light brown head, but it fell very quickly, leaving slight lacing on the sides of the glass.  It's got a delicious roasted malt aroma with very strong bittersweet chocolate notes, but there's also a faint floral character lurking in the background.  The flavor is predominantly a creamy chocolate, but you can also taste hints of caramel, coffee, and burnt toast.  The maltiness is well-balanced with the hop profile, which added a little in the way of fruitiness (blackberries, maybe plums?).  I was expecting more of a bitter taste from an Imperial Stout; Brooklyn's website says this beer only has 51 IBUs, which is on the low end for this style.  The 10% ABV does not disappoint, and this IS finishes with a slightly bitter, slightly dry warmth.  This is the kind of beer that should be sipped by itself or had with dessert.

I believe this is the first Brooklyn beer that I've had.  I had heard good things about Brooklyn beers, and this one grabbed my attention.  I will definitely be looking for other Brooklyn varieties to try in the future.  Cheers!

Shipyard Export

I swear, I don't usually drink every single night.  Last night, however, I did continue my beer-tasting streak.  I traded a buddy of mine a couple Lancaster Winter Warmers for a Shipyard Export and a Shipyard IPA.  I tried the Export last night, since I've been having a lot of heavier beers lately.  So I decided to switch it up:

The golden-orange color is pretty appealing, but there isn't much in the way of head, despite the higher levels of carbonation.  It has a pleasant aroma -- citrus, honey, and floral notes, with a little maltiness in the background.  The taste is a little unexpected after the aroma, since it's much more herby and grassy (maybe hay?) with biscuit/cracker flavors.  The citrus comes through in the taste, also, but not as prominently; it leaves a slight grapefruit taste on the back of your tongue.  It finishes slightly dry, clean, and crisp, with a bit of a lingering hop-bitterness in the back of the throat.

This is definitely a lighter beer than the old ales, doppelbocks, imperial stouts, and barleywines I've been enjoying lately.  It's a nice change of pace, since it's more hoppy than malty.  Shipyard Export clocks in at 5.1% ABV, and it seems like it would go really well with grilled chicken or pork chops.  It's a drinkable beer, not great, but decent.  I'd probably give it maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10.  I'd probably enjoy it more during the hot summer months.

I may not always be completely thrilled with the new beers I try, but I am always glad I tried them.  Cheers!

Lancaster Winter Warmer

If you want to get a good price on cases, stop by a distributor when they're changing over their seasonal stock.  I wound up dropping $30 total on two cases of seasonal beers: Lancaster's Winter Warmer and Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout.  I was impressed with the Winter Warmer, which I tried last night:

It's described on their website as a "classic Olde Ale," and it certainly fits that bill nicely.  It poured from the bottle with about a one-inch tan head, which settled pretty quickly -- it was halfway settled by the time the camera on my phone was ready to go.  It has a rich, spicy, floral, resiny aroma, and a solid roasted malt and coffee flavor that complement the warmth it leaves in your mouth.  Notes of caramel, molasses, figs, dates, and even some plum also came through, and there's just a touch of dryness on the back end.  Overall, I thought the aroma and flavor profiles were well-blended and balanced.  While you can taste the floral spiciness of the hops, it isn't overly bitter (their website lists it at 30 IBUs).  It's definitely a sipping beer, which is nice for these freezing cold early spring days.  I'd give this beer a 7.5/10.  It's not quite an 8 in my book, but it's almost there.

I was also a little warmed to see "Benefitting the Wolf Sanctuary of PA" on the bottom of the label.  I feel better about buying from companies that do something to give back in some way, shape, or form, especially if it helps the environment or animals (or both).  And I've always thought wolves were just awesome...  If you'd like more information on the Wolf Sanctuary of PA, you can visit their website here.

I'm glad I stopped by the distributor -- this case cost me only $10, which is an excellent price, especially for a beer this good.  Even if I don't finish it before warmer weather sets in, I can always stash it in my basement through the summer and enjoy it when the fall chill creeps back into the air.  I'll have to keep my eye out for other end-of-season clearances.  Cheers!

Otto's Sampler

Last night, the hubby and I went to meet up with a buddy at Otto's Pub and Brewery in State College, PA. We like to get a sampler when we go to places like that, so that's what we did last night:

It's not the best picture, but you get the idea.  The four around the circle are, from left to right, Winter Warmer, Ottonator, Beer Engine #2 - Arthur's Rye-IPA, and Beer Engine #1 - Jolly Roger Imperial Stout.  The fifth sample was their guest tap, which I believe was Troegs Nugget Nectar, but don't quote me on that.  I'm sure I'll review the Troegs in a future post, so I'm going to focus just on Otto's beers today.

I was impressed with the Winter Warmer.  The beer list on the table described it as a "Belgian Raspberry Porter," and it was delicious.  I would almost suggest it as more of a dessert beer, since the raspberry nose and flavors are fairly prominent, and it has a sweet-chocolate undertone.  I tasted a roasted coffee flavor that blended nicely with the other more prominent flavors, and it had that breadiness and a mild spiciness that I enjoy in many Belgian styles.  At 8.2%, this brew will definitely help you shake that winter chill.

I've had the Ottonator and the Jolly Roger before, but both were slightly different this time around.  The Ottonator is a doppelbock with a broad, malty taste, caramel and coffee undertones, and slight residual sweetness to balance out the hop-spiciness.  It weighs in around 7.7% ABV, so it leaves a nice warmth in your throat that's perfect for those cold winter days. Or for the last night of winter, when it's below freezing and snowing out...  The Ottonator is a good, solid, very drinkable beer that pairs well with a wide range of foods.  I prefer it with the reuben and sweet potato fries they make at Otto's -- they go very well together.

The Rye-IPA was decent, too.  My tastes seem to go in cycles, and my preferences lately have been for more malty beers.  Give it a few months, and I'll probably cycle back to preferring hoppy beers instead.  My own preferences aside, I found this beer to be just a little off-balance.  I don't think the rye spiciness melded well with the hop flavors.  The beer list at the table said this one was made with Palisade and Amarillo hops, and while the herby/citrusy aroma of those hop varieties was definitely there, I don't think they were the best choice to match the flavors of the rye.  I think something grassy like Fuggles or earthy like Hallertau Hersbrucker might have gone better.  Or, maybe a longer conditioning period would have helped the flavors blend more smoothly.

The Jolly Roger Imperial Stout, as I said above, was better this time around.  I had it last year, as well, but wasn't terribly fond of it then, since the flavors did not seem well-blended.  This year's batch, however, tastes much better overall.  Last year's version tasted too wood-chippy, and while those flavors are still present in this year's, they are more mellow and subdued.  You still get the woody dryness on your tongue, which adds to the other earthy notes, like chocolate, roasted coffee, and a bit of vanilla.  I could have sworn that the Jolly Roger was aged in oak bourbon barrels, but I can't find anything this year to back that up, so maybe that's just my whimsical memory playing tricks on me again, though I do taste some of the same undertones in this beer as I do in bourbon.  This IS has about 10% ABV, so of course it's another one that warms up your gullet nicely.

All in all, it was a satisfying evening.  If you're looking for a good meal and some above average beers, check out Otto's in State College, PA.  Cheers!

Homebrew: Foamy Roggenbier

For many, many years, I've tried to keep up with writing something on a regular basis, but I found that I ran out of things to write about.  I hope that doesn't happen with this blog.  Unless I'm too busy out finding and sampling new beers.  I think my main issue before was that I just hadn't found my real passion yet.  Now that I have, cyberspace beware!

My passion for beer has led me into the world of homebrew, which has turned out to be a most fantastic hobby.  My husband and I started our homebrewing experience a few years back with a California Common, and that was the only batch we bottled.  It was pretty tasty for a first go.  We switched to a 5-gal. keg system after that, since washing and sanitizing bottles is pretty time consuming.  We also bought a nice big chest freezer and adjusted the cooling knob so we could lager in the summertime if we want, and it also lets us maintain more consistent temperatures for better conditioning.  Right now, we have the remnants of a grand cru, about a gallon left of the pumpkin ale I made for Thanksgiving, and a couple gallons of a roggenbier.  I also have a Belgian Tripel that's still conditioning, and I can't wait to try it!

I have notebooks full of notes and calculations, and I worked up a spreadsheet to keep track of my recipes, calculations, and other helpful information, like grain and hop characteristics, water quality, yeast strain profiles, keg psi charts, etc.  It's a very fulfilling hobby, to say the least.

I have, however, run across a small issue I can't sort out with my roggenbier.  It looks like this coming out of the keg:

I brewed it and fermented it like normal.  The OG was 1.043, and FG was 1.012 when I kegged it.  I topped it with CO2 at about 12psi and disconnected it from the CO2 tank.  Then I put it in my keezer, which was set around 40-42F, to let it condition -- colder than I would have preferred, but at least the temperature was fairly constant, instead of being subjected to 20+ degree temperature swings twice a day, every day.  When I went to tap it, it was under so much pressure that foam backed up into the CO2 hose when I tried to connect it.  The keg lid has no pressure relief valve, so I had to push in the poppet to bleed off enough pressure to get the tap on (very messy -- foam was spraying everywhere in my mudroom while I did this).  I left the CO2 hose off, since there was already more than enough pressure in the keg.  I've emptied more than half the keg since then, and it is still under enough pressure that all I get is foam, and I still haven't attached the CO2.  I fill up a half-gallon pitcher, wait about 10-15 minutes, and get about a pint of beer out of it.  I let the glass of foam above sit for about five minutes, and it looks more like this:

The beer smells and tastes like it should after the head settles, but I can't figure out for the life of me where all that extra pressure in the keg came from.  My husband thought the beer might've kicked off again when we kegged it, but the fact that the FG was already so low, coupled with the pretty cold temps in the keezer, make me wonder if that's what really happened.  Any suggestions or thoughts would be helpful, since I'd rather not run into this issue again.

If you like beer and are looking for an interesting new hobby, try looking into homebrew.  It's made me learn so much more about beers of all kinds, and it has really enriched my life.  Cheers!

Achel Brune 8*

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day, and thankfully I had some stock laid in that I could choose from.  I wound up indulging in an Achel Brune:

I'd been looking forward to trying this beer for some time.  Achel is one of the seven Trappist breweries currently operating in Belgium.  As I mentioned in my last post, I am partial to Belgian beers, and I've never found a Trappist or knock-off Trappist brew that I didn't enjoy.  Achel Brune was no exception.

This beer poured with one heck of a head, and the high levels of carbonation, good head retention, and moderate lacing add a lot to the appearance.  It's got a very appealing color, and the aroma is bready, malty, and sweet, with hints of dried fruits.  You can kind of see it in the picture above, but there was quite a bit of sediment in the bottle, too, though there was little to no clouding in the poured beer.

 The taste matched the aroma pretty well, and it is nicely full-bodied, with raisiny tones under the main bready/malty flavor.  I also picked up on some delicious phenolic hints and spiciness, cloves in particular, that are usually produced by several of the Belgian ale yeast strains, and it finished with a good alcohol-warmth in the back of the mouth, thanks to its 8% ABV.  There's also a good bit of residual sweetness to nicely balance out the breadiness and spiciness.  Overall, this was a very satisfying beer in terms of appearance, aroma, taste, and mouthfeel.  I would give this one an 8/10.  Achel Brune might appeal to folks who like Schneider-Weisse Aventinus, though Brune's palate seems a little less fruity (Aventinus has much more in the way of plums, dates, and the like).

And, since I do believe in savoring good beer, I switched to yellow fizzy afterwards:

It's yellow.  It's fizzy.  It's a slim ass-hair better than Coors Light, Bud Light, and the rest of them.  It's still more adjuncty than I'd like, but it's decent when you want a beer but don't want a big price tag or extra calories.  Like soda for grown-ups.

I hope everyone (responsibly) enjoyed St. Patty's Day as much as I did.  Cheers!

Intro: DAB Dortmunder

I'm a woman, and I like beer.  No, I love beer.  I love beer so much that I spend much of my free time finding and trying new beers, and I built a database from the ground up so I could catalog brewers and beers from around the world, then evaluate and rate each one I try.  I'm even trying to figure out some sort of recommendation process, where the database would be able to select beers similar to ones users say they like, but that's a little more difficult, since many of the qualitative factors (type of grains, hops, yeast strain used) are often not available.  However, since I have little in the way of free time these days, my progress with the database has slowed down some, but I'm hoping to get back to it soon.  As soon as all the little fix-'em projects around the house get done...

Database aside, I decided to start blogging about beer because 1) I love beer.  2) If I ever get any readers, they might be able to suggest beers that I have not yet heard of or tried, which I would really appreciate.  3) It gives me something to do that isn't home repair or data entry or grading papers.  4) I just really love beer.  That's going to kind of be the theme here, if you hadn't guessed.

So, I thought I'd start with a beer I tried last night -- my first Dortmunder:

I don't always use the "correct" glassware for my beer.  I just pour it in whatever's clean and close at hand.  I enjoyed this beer (duh).  You can see the nice golden-yellow color.  It had about a one-inch head when I poured it, and you can't really see it too well in this picture, but it left slight lacing on the sides of the glass.  It's a well-balanced lager with a solid grainy-malty base and mellow to mild hop flavor.  The barley flavors come through pretty well.  Smooth, crisp, and clean, this beer went well with my dinner (ham steak, mac & cheese, and salad).  It had a full-bodied taste, unlike many local and commercial lagers, which taste thin and watered down to me.  I also tasted some biscuit-like flavors on the back end, which I tend to like. I'd give this beer a 6/10, maybe even a 7 because it does have that drinkability factor.

I found this beer at the awesome beer store attached to the Candlewyck Beef & Ale in Buckingham, PA (a very long drive for me, but well worth it).  <shameless_plug>If Beervana were a real place, it might well look something like this store.  It's laid out like you would expect to see a nice wine store, with the crates and display bottles and whatnot.  I think I wandered around there for close to an hour.  I also signed up for their mailing list (which I almost never do) because they had so many beers that are hard to find around here.  I even found a few brewers I'd never heard of before to add to my database!  And, best of all, they had an excellent selection of styles that I love.  Right now, I'm partial to Belgian styles, grand crus, Abbey style ales, and eisbocks.  And they let you mix and match a six-pack, so I got to snag a good variety at a reasonable price. </shameless_plug>  I should probably mention that I don't work there, don't know anyone who works there, yada yada yada.  But they do carry and excellent selection, which can be hard to find in Pennsylvania (thank you PLCB).

My goal is to try at least a dozen beers I've never had before each year (preferably many, many more than that!).  I'll post on here whenever I come across a beer I've never tried before.  If anyone has any suggestions for beers I should try, leave me a comment and I'll try to track it down.  Cheers!