Ladies of Craft Beer

Posted By: Theresa Carpine

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Last fall, I noticed that Dry Fly Distilling, Washington’s first legal distillery to operate since Prohibition, was selling some of their used whiskey barrels. I don’t have much use for whiskey barrels, so I didn’t think much of it until Boundary Bay Brewery, my favorite Washington brewery, announced that they were aging some of their beers in the Dry Fly barrels.

My hometown distillery and my adopted hometown brewery were joining forces to create craft beer? I was excited, to say the least.

After some weather-related delays, the two quarter-kegs of Boundary Bay beer made it over the Cascades to Spokane for a crowded tasting event at the Elk Public House on Thursday, March 8, 2012. For $7, patrons received a shot of Dry Fly Whiskey and a 12 oz. pour of either Boundary Bay Barrel Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout or Cabin Fever.

By the end of the night, both quarter-kegs were gone and at least six empty Dry Fly Whiskey bottles lined the bar.

I started off with the stout, while my companions, Jackie and Dylan of Sweet and Stout Cupcakes, tried the Cabin Fever. I really love the Boundary Bay’s IOS as it is, so I was anxious to see how the whiskey barrels had changed the flavor. The aged version seemed less sweet and drier, which surprised me; I find that aging usually adds smoothness to a beer. The whiskey flavor really came out in the finish, which was a stark contrast to some of the original elements of the beer. Tasting the beer and whiskey side-by-side seemed to emphasize the competing flavors, rather than bring them together.

We flipped beers for the second round and I thought that the whiskey-aged version of Boundary Bay’s winter seasonal benefited from the aging more than the stout. Cabin Fever, a spicy winter warmer, took on some of the elements of a barleywine: strong, sweet, and smooth. Here, the flavor of the beer was enhanced and matched by the whiskey.

Full disclosure: I’m not a whiskey drinker and apparently I made a lot of interesting faces while sipping my shot, which I made last both rounds, but tasting each beer with the whiskey created a different experience than drinking the beer alone. Now, if only I had the unaged versions to taste side-by-side with the aged beer! Maybe next year…

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Posted By: Sara Bryce

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I am not a stout fan. I understand that this makes #StoutDay problematic.

My fiancé, lucky for me on this holiday, loves stouts. To know this is true, one only needs to gaze upon the lumberjack-style beauty that is his beard; we are both convinced that his facial hair growth is fueled by his hearty consumption of the stuff.

I decide to send him out on this quest alone. This will either be exponentially profitable, because I get to wear pajamas before 7 p.m.; or a serious mistake, since he may not return for five hours and every single text with which I attempt to ascertain his coordinates will go unanswered (this actually happened for an entire work day during our local Oktoberfest). I am putting all trust in his judgment. I am also trusting that he won’t fall into the Beer Abyss of Unanswered Texts.

Anticipating the feared scenario will happen anyway, but hoping to be pleasantly surprised, I retrieve a leftover Ace Joker from the fridge.

Pleasant surprise happens at 6:30, when he enters the apartment with 7 stouts in tow: Founders Breakfast Stout; Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout; Bell’s Java Stout; Bell’s Double Cream Stout; New Holland Dragon’s Milk Oak Barrel Ale (yup, I’m from Detroit so I’m excited to get so many western Michigan beers in stores up here in Wisconsin); Southern Tier Mokah Imperial Stout; and Weyerbacher Tiny Belgian Style Imperial Stout.

The question of the day: Where to start?

Founders Breakfast Stout
He says: Let’s start with Founders’ Breakfast Stout, since that’s the one no one can get in Florida and we can laugh.
(We moved here from Tallahassee)
She says: It smells like a coffee shop. Good sign!
He says: Slick, but not oily. Velvety? It has a slight hazelnut scent.
She says: Tastes more like chocolate than I thought it would. Reminds me of the chocolate chip pancakes my dad makes.
He says: Mmm, it’s on my mustache.
She says: I have a sudden memory of Penny on Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
He says: *burp* That’s a good’un.
She says: Part of a balanced breakfast.

Bell’s Kalamazoo Stout
She says: Less coffee or chocolate. Fewer memories of Saturday morning cartoons.
He says: I started too fast, even after a mouth rinse.
She says: Thoughts are turning now to Fraggle Rock. I’m not sure why. Maybe I’m just having visions of extreme facial hair in the wake of all this stout?
He says: There’s a bit of a toffee note. Tasting some vanilla and chocolate. Coffee-colored head. They talk like that on Ratebeer.com
She says: I don’t talk like that.

Bell’s Java Stout
She says: Huge coffee smell, but the coffee taste is slightly stale after having Founders’.
He says: It actually reminds me of Eight O’Clock Cuban coffee.
(We drink this coffee every morning)
She says: Oops.
He says: More stout in my mustache. I’m sure it’ll be wire-thick by morning.
She says: (entering her selections into her iPad, viewing Untappd’s suggestions) Dude, Untappd, I know I would like Southern Tier Crème Brûlée. #StoutDay will not be about mourning those beers I cannot have, but about appreciating those that I can.

Bell’s Double Cream Stout
She says: Tastes boozy. Me likey.
He says: Caramel notes hide the booze taste a little. There’s an oily mouth feel. Definitely my favorite Bell’s stout.
She says: (watching a replay of a questionable Florida State run that has been ruled in FSU’s favor) Yay! Bell’s Double Cream makes fumbles go away!

Southern Tier Mokah
He says: Heavy sweetness. It almost smells like bubblegum. Cuban coffee aftertaste.
She says: Too chocolatey for my taste. It might go well with something really spicy, like an entire bottle of Cholula.
He says: Fun beer fact–the carbonation will cut through the hot pepper oils on your tongue.

Dragon’s Milk
She says: Smells almost spicy. Ooh, bourbon barrel aged.
He says: Beautiful lacing on the glass. It’s a little less opaque than the first few beers. Barrel age taste is there. This beer is going to age well.
She says: Clearly I like liquor, because I’m loving this one, too.

Tiny:
(Last beer of the night. There’s a cork. Technical difficulties, but we finally open the beer without the use of a sword)
He says: Wonderful dark brown head, Belgian notes of glory and a spicy finish.
She says: Oooh. Smoother than Dragon’s milk but not fraught with the sweetness of Mokah. Solid beer with a Belgium feel. I’m totally on board.
He says: There’s a trip to Pennsylvania “brewing” inside my head due to this beer. I have to have it on tap.
She says: I can’t believe it’s only 9:30 and I’m feeling like this without any liquor. Note to self and to readers—Eat square meals on He Said/She Said nights. You don’t make friends with salad.

I’m not sure why I’m not a fan of stouts, because I did actually like giving these a chance. Stouts just don’t have what I love in a beer. I’ve heard the argument before that ladies “should” like stouts because of their ability to taste like baked goods and other things “girls like,” but give me a huge, stinky, hopped up double imperial pale ale any day!

What are some of your favorite stouts? What stouts did you celebrate with on Thursday? Let us know in the comments!

Posted By: Theresa Carpine

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International Stout Day (Thursday, November 3, 2011) is a month away! Tonya Vots posted a friendly reminder that bars and breweries all over the world can list their stout-related festivities on the official website, but you can celebrate stout in the comfort of your own home as well. Here are a few DIY ideas for Stout Day.

Along with drinking it, I love to cook with stout. In fact, my very first Ladies of Craft Beer post was my recipe for Double Double Chocolate Stout Brownies. I’ve since experimented by melting Heath Bar toffee bits on top during the last twenty minutes of baking, which gives them a nice crunch. Enjoy them as your dessert on Stout Day!

Speaking of baking, another fun activity on Stout Day might be to peruse the amazing stout cupcakes that my pals Jackie and Dylan have conjured up over at their blog, Sweet and Stout. Based on their name, you can tell that they really love stouts. Their St. Patrick’s Day experiment of Guinness Extra Stout Chocolate Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting turned into a real business and their beer cupcakes will soon be available for purchase in the Spokane area.

If you live in the distribution area, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Stout Day than with a Fat Dog Stout from Stoudt’s Brewing. First of all, their brewmaster is “Queen of Hops” Carol Stoudt. Secondly, their name is only one letter off from stout. Finally, Fred Eckhardt called it “[s]infully delicious” in All About Beer Magazine. Who is going to argue with that recommendation?

Homebrewers, if you’re planning to brew up a batch of stout on this very special day, someone please name it Sigurd the Stout after a 10th century noble of the Orkney Islands immortalized (and mythologized) in the Orkneyinga Saga. That is a great name for a beer, and you can get some pretty good artwork out of the concept too.

Along with drinking a rich, dark stout, what are you plans for Stout Day? Leave a comment to let us know!

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• Sweet and Stout Launch Party
• Stout Day Update
• Dry Fly Barrel Aged Boundary Bay Beer Tasting
• He Said / She Said: #StoutDay Edition
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Posted By: Leah

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I had the opportunity to attend Dark Lord Day at Three Floyds Brewing Co. this year.  This is a festival for the annual release of their Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout that draws more than 6,000 people to the small town of Munster, IN.  Only 23,600 people reside in Munster, so this is nearly a 25% increase in their population for the day of the Dark Lord.  They post signs on the roadways to remind residents that traffic is likely.

Three Floyds Brewing opened in 1996, by brothers Nick and Simon and their father Mike, in Hammond, IN.  In 2000, they outgrew the original facility and moved to the current location in Munster.  With growing interest, they opened a brewpub onsite in late 2005.  Each April they release Dark Lord, “A demonic Russian Style Imperial Stout, brewed with Intelligensia coffee Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar this beer defies description, available one day a year in April at the brewery, Dark Lord Day.”

Golden Tickets go on sale approximately 6 weeks prior to the date of the event and can be purchased online on a first come, first serve basis.   Each ticket allows the (21+) holder entrance to the event and the opportunity to purchase a specified number of bottles of Dark Lord.  Face value of the ticket is $10, but often they are listed on eBay and other sites for much more than that.  This year, they split the tickets into 3 groups of timing for bottle purchase.  Aaron logged onto the website as tickets went on sale and was lucky enough to purchase 2 tickets for us in Group A 10am-12pm.  We decided to spend the weekend in Chicago and drive down to Munster for the event.

We arrived in Munster around 9am and the line already extended from the brewery, down the street, around the cul-de-sac, and halfway up the next street.  If 6,000 people attended, I’d say at least 3,000 arrived earlier than we did.  Normally waiting in a line for over an hour is not much fun, but at an event like this it’s pretty much tailgating.  People travel from many places to attend DLD and all bring bottles to share with others there.  The beers outside are just as good as the beers being offered inside the festival.  We had brought a growler of Coup D’etat Saison from Revolution Brewing and our friends had a cooler full of Saint Arnold’s Devine Reserve Series, with many versions.  The best part of the line is being surrounded by beer geeks!  The conversations to be had…

Once reaching the festival gates around 10:30, we were ushered into another line to obtain our bottles of Dark Lord.  If you were not in Group A, you were allowed to enter the festival to roam around.  Our line led to the back of the brewery where we entered and exchanged our entrance tickets for a Dark Lord scratch off ticket.  If the scratch off ticket was a winner, the holder was entitled to purchase a $50 limited release bottle of Dark Lord.  There were four styles of special release bottles; Dark Lord aged in Pappy Van Winkle 23 year barrels, Dark Lord aged in brandy barrels, Dark Lord aged in brandy barrels with vanilla beans, and Dark Lord de Muerte- Dark Lord aged in bourbon barrels with ancho and guajillo peppers.  We did not win with either of our tickets, but had friends who won on 3 of 4 of theirs.  Maybe they’ll think of us when they decide to open those (hint, hint).  After purchasing our ration of Dark Lord, we were able to purchase other releases by the brewery and we got 2 bottles of Dreadnaught, their Imperial IPA.

After completing our purchases, we hung out in the brewery with friends and mingled with others.  They had many booths set up serving 3 Floyds beers for $5 and a trailer outside serving guest taps.  Being that I had just spent the last 2.5 hours in line, I opted to purchase whichever had the shortest line, and ordered 3 Floyds Alpha King and Zombie Dust.  People also continued their bottle shares in groups of new friends and old.  The brewpub was also open with a line that crossed the festival grounds.  Since we were driving back to Chicago, we cut our day short and left around 3pm.  The festival continued with live music and food offerings until sundown.

This is an event that I hope to attend again in the future.  It was well run and the attendees were polite and respectful of others.  All were there to have a good time and share it with those around them.

Posted By: Guest

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He Said / She Said is a series where a lady contributor from Ladies of Craft Beer will pair up with a person of the male persuasion- be it her husband, boyfriend, brother, father, friend, uncle, co-worker, etc, and as a pair they will review two or three beers in succession.

The object of this experiment is to get an idea of how men taste different brews versus how women taste different brews- are there really distinct differences or is it mostly just due to the fact that different people in general have different tastes- while having a blast in the process. What is the real answer? (Is there a real answer?)

You be the judge.

~~~~~

My boyfriend, James, is a homebrewer and craft beer fanatic, so when I told him we would be doing a He Said/She Said beer tasting, he was pretty excited. Any excuse to get me drunk get me drinking craft beer makes him happy. With the only stipulation being that we were not going to be drinking any IPAs (I hate them and will not drink them at all), we set out to pick our poisons. Wanting a variety of styles, we eventually chose an altbier, a winter ale, an oatmeal stout and a homebrew stout. I would include pictures but they are all stuck on the camera with no way to get them out. So close your eyes and imagine what they look like – oh wait, don’t close your eyes, you can’t read this!

 

Starting with the Shiner Old-Time Alt (ABV 4.2%), we poured half the bottle into our wide mouthed glasses. This was a surprise addition the Shiner Family Pack James got for his birthday last month. Since he reviews beers for Ratebeer.com, he carefully took his notes while I dove right in. I noticed the low head and the amber/reddish color. I am the artist in the family, so James’s description was merely “light brown.” He noted a bready aroma, and once I had a few sips I noted the bread smell, too, but it was more a sensory memory than an actual experience. Drinking it made me think of breakfast toast. As I continued to sip, I noted a sharpness that I tend to associate with a lager, but deeper than a Rolling Rock. Once I said that, James noticed the lager-y-ness, too, but also thought it had a bready, chewy taste with a metallic tinge. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but not a great beer.

Next, we tried the Sam Adams White Ale, aged one year (ABV 5.4%). James choose this for the second tasting for its reported spices, and he did taste coriander once he sipped (though I tell him he ALWAYS tastes coriander in every beer). He described it as very floral, almost lavender-like, though the taste didn’t match the strength of the smell. My first response when it was poured was how very light the color was. Apparently, this beer was once the spring ale from Sam Adams and it tasted like it. It was very light tasting, with a medium-thick mouthfeel. James agreed, saying the spices help mitigate the sweetness, making it a great drinking beer.

 

Of the two stouts, we decided to try the homebrew next, dubbed Boris II, since it was a second version of a previously successful stout. Having really enjoyed the first one, we had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, from the first, we could tell something was wrong. It was highly carbonated, but with absolutely no head. Made in January and bottled two weeks ago, it was very young. Unfortunately, we both agreed it smelled “funky.” For James, once you got past that funkiness it tasted alright. But for me, I couldn’t past the overripe fruit stand smell. I tasted bad red-skinned apples. Either way, neither of us was happy with the outcome, but hope it gets better with age.

The last beer in our tasting was the Firestone Limited Release Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout (ABV 5.5%). James immediately noticed it was sweet smelling, roasty with chocolate notes. I thought it smelled dark and creamy, not really roasted. I was excited to drink this one, since it was one I picked out while we were buying beer on a recent trip to Arizona. However, it was disappointing once it got in my mouth. The front end was smooth but then it was like it just evaporated off my tongue. As James put it, it was light and made you want another drink – not how I want my stout to taste.

 

James and his friends get together a couple of times a month to taste several beers and when they are done, they rank them in the order of preference. So we did that with the four we drank this afternoon. James’s picks: Velvet Merlin, the Sam Adams, the Shiner and the homebrew. I thought the White Ale was best, nice and light, followed by the Shiner, the Velvet Merlin and the homebrew. Seems neither of us could get past the funky homebrew.

In the end, we had fun trying the different styles and I look forward to next year’s release of the Sam Adams White Ale.

~~~~~

 

Nicole Ferweda is a freelancer in Houston who is learning about craft beer, making cheese and who likes to spend her time volunteering for good causes. You can find her at @Nferweda on Twitter and her blogs on DigestThis! at HoustonEntree.com.

 

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Posted By: LDelk

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This is my FAVORITE time of the year! Being a certified food nut in addition to my obsessions with beer and wine, I can’t think of a better time of year to celebrate the glorious union of my loves. This list is a collection of some of the best beers out there to pair with your Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hannukah dinners! Cheers!

Alaskan White, 5.4% ABV: Aromas and flavors of light citrus, peppercorn, mild spice, wheat and orange peel. Finishes with a light wheaty finish. A great holiday brew for fans of lighter beers and those just entering Craft beer heaven.

Food Pairings: Ambrosia salad, light hors d’oeuvres, orange-cranberry spinach salad, latkes, mashed potatoes.

Dogfish Head Punkin Ale, 7% ABV: A wonderfully mild and balanced spiced Pumpkin beer. A comforting noseful of nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar and baking spice. Rich, yet not overbearing like many Pumpkin beers. This is a natural match for holiday foods!

Food pairings: Pumpkin pie/cheesecake (of course!), carrot cake, clove studded ham, herb stuffing

Moylans Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, 8% ABV: Aromas of toffee, Werther’s Originals, and orange peel. Mmm. Not normally a Scotch Ale fan, I think this one is balanced and not overbearing and syrupy. Nice hoppy bitterness on the finish.

Food pairings: Sweet potato souffle/casserole (0ne of my favorite things to make for Thanksgiving!), orange poppy seed muffins(a breakfast pairing!), apricot cream tart.

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, 6.6% ABV: Like it smokey? More of a griller during the holidays? Smokin’ that turkey this Thanksgiving? This might be your beer. When I smell this, I feel like I am standing in a smokehouse.The nose is intense…of bacon, and aged meats. Pepper and spice, with a slight sweet note, that is buried just beneath the surface of the spice.

Food Pairings: Grilled and smoked meats, dark chocolate, spiced cake, spiced cheese straws

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV: One of my favorite Imperial Stouts. This is a great beer for waking up Thanksgiving morning or after the insane food revelry! Aromas of dark Caro syrup, molasses, mocha, coffee and pepper combined with a burst of hoppiness. A punch of espresso on the palate, along with tobacco on the finish. There is a definite, measurable bitterness here, from both the hops and the roasted malts.

Food Pairings: Coffee cake, molasses biscuits, flourless chocolate cake

I’m seriously getting hungry writing this. Off to the kitchen and beer cellar…Stay tuned for Part 2 of my Top 10 Holiday Beers! Eat well, give thanks, and drink Craft beer!

Originally posted 2010-11-22 12:05:47.

Posted By: Stevie Caldarola

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PubCakes combines two of the greatest foods on the planet, beer and cupcakes. I, myself, have been on the search for the best beer cupcake recipes, and Misty Birchall of PubCakes seems to have found them.

What started as a hobby for Misty has quickly blossomed into a dream job. Unsure of what career to pursue after serving 6 years in the US Navy, Misty moved back home to San Diego, started a desk job and went to school. During the summer break of 2009 she stumbled across a chocolate stout cake recipe which planted an idea. Can cakes be made with other types of beer, and more importantly with San Diego’s amazing beer? Misty utilized local beer hot spot Toronado to test out PubCake’s wares, including:

Irish Carbomb – Guinness, Irish Cream frosting, and chocolate whiskey ganache

Stoned Portzilla – Stone Smoked Porter, coffee ganache, and caramelized coconut

Top Ten Cake – Karl Strauss Tower Ten IPA, cayenne caramel, cherry, and ancho chilies

Beer for Breakfast – Alesmith Wee Heavy, bacon, and maple cream cheese frosting

Cup O’ Hefen – Ballast Point Wahoo Wheat, coriander, and citrus buttercream

Punkin’ Vegan – North Coast Brewery’s Old Stock Ale, pumpkin, and maple topping

Currently PubCakes does not have a storefront, and is renting an existing kitchen space at night and delivering cupcakes the following day. In lieu of a storefront, PubCakes sells desserts to local pubs such as Toronado, KnB Wine Cellars, and The Tipsy Crow. Cupcakes can also be purchased by the dozen directly through PubCakes or by calling 858-952-8523 (delivery or pick up only).

PubCakes will be participating in a San Diego version of Cupcake Wars against four local cupcakeries. Watch the XETV, San Diego 6 morning show San Diego Living on September 21st between 9:00-10:00 AM to see PubCakes compete. The winner will be decided by local viewers who vote on their http://www.sandiego6.com/default.aspx.

PubCakes can be found on Facebook and Twitter.

Have a question for me? Email me:

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Originally posted 2010-09-06 21:05:38.

Posted By: Melissa

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What does a mother do when her kids graduate from college, get jobs and become independent? Well, I knew what I didn’t want to do, that’s for sure. I didn’t want to be one of ‘those’ moms that my younger friends at work talk about…the descriptions were less than flattering, but basically I was not supposed to make my kids my hobby. No problem there, I said to myself. Happy to have raised two independent children into adulthood, I felt I had completed my role as a parent and was ready to just mentor as needed. My husband Jeff and I put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into raising two fairly well-adjusted kids and I wanted us to celebrate that achievement for a good long while. Yes, I needed a hobby that did not revolve around the kids. I needed one that Jeff and I could do together; one that would make our kids proud. So, I chose beer.

Actually, Jeff and I decided early on in 2010 that we wanted to do something based on our growing love of craft beer. We were going to search out beer festivals, breweries and beer pubs and bars and ‘taste’ our way around the country. Not a lofty goal really, and that was okay with us. We live and work in Central Florida, close to New Smyrna Beach, but we are originally from the South Jersey/Philly area. A road trip sounded like a perfect way to get things started.

We kicked off the ‘Year of the Beer’ tour by driving up I-95 to Philadelphia for a little vacation that just happened to correspond with Philly Beer Week this past June. We hit Victory, Yards, Triumph and Philadelphia Brewing Company and too many bars to list during our 10 days home. Oh, and we made sure to bring some beer back to Florida with us. Our SUV was filled with coolers of growlers and cases of excellent Philadelphia brewed beers, which we coddled for that 1000 mile drive home. We filled up our beer closet (a converted linen closet) and then popped open the growlers with our kids. They are craft beer enthusiasts as well, and think our hobby choice was a good one, mostly because we end up giving them a lot of beer.

During that long drive back home to Florida, we couldn’t stop talking about those Philly brewery visits and how much we enjoyed tasting the variety of craft beers the area had to offer. Somewhere on I-95 in South Carolina, we decided our missions would be to check out the Florida breweries and beer pubs in our area. We wondered if Florida had anything that could even come close to the delicious craft beers of the greater Philadelphia area, so we set our sights on a few that were within driving distance of our home in Central Florida.

2010 saw more than one visit to Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, as well as a stop at Dunedin Brewery in the nearby Dunedin/Clearwater area. Since our kids live in Jacksonville, we hit Bold City Brewery and the newly opened Intuition Ale Works this past fall. Each brewery was unique in its own right and the beer offerings were varied and enjoyable.

Cigar City Brewing in Tampa is, by far, one of our most favorite places to go when we are in the Tampa/ Clearwater area. They have a nice-sized tasting room and bar area adjacent to the brewery. They don’t serve food, but we saw a few folks who brought in their dinner from area restaurants and ate while they enjoyed one of CCB’s many fine brews. The tasting room was filling up fast and it had a relaxed vibe which made it extremely easy to sit and taste each and every beer on tap. We ordered a flight and tasted their Jai Alai IPA, Madura Brown Ale, Cubano Espresso Brown Ale, Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout and my preferred CCB beer, Oatmeal Raisin Cookie – and yes, it tastes as good as it sounds. CCB always has a few guest brewery selections on tap and that night they offered Swamp Head Wild Night Honey Cream Ale and Dunedin Brewery’s Apricot Peach Wheat Ale. (Swamp Head is out of Gainesville – they are next on our list to visit). Brewery tours are typically by appointment, but at our last visit there, one of the employees announced that a brew tour would start in 5 minutes. We got in line and enjoyed a fairly quick but informative tour. We did learn that CCB is going to have their yearly party to celebrate the release of Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout [Editor's Note: quite possibly my favorite beer ever!] on March 12th. This release is limited to 3000 bottles and the tickets go fast with a limit of 4 bottles per person. I am pretty sure Jeff is going to add a bottle to his beer closet.

Overall, we’ve had a fun year and the thing that I’ve found most interesting in tasting almost 100 different beers during 2010 is that, regardless of beer style, each brewery has its own, very specific taste or fingerprint when it comes to how they brew their beer. Now, this may not be that much of surprise to those folks who are seasoned craft beer drinkers, but I found it to be a pretty amazing part of our journey this past year. Perhaps the best part of our new hobby is that our son and daughter and their significant others have the same love and passion for craft beer drinking as we do. Our son, a math teacher, has never sounded as eloquent as he does when he describes the taste of a newly acquired bottle of craft beer. Our music teacher daughter just returned to Philly to visit some old friends and proudly sent us pictures – not of her with her girlfriends – but those of the beers and bars she hit along the way. So no, our spare time does not revolve around our kids. But they want to do things with us that we both enjoy. What more could a mom want?

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Posted By: Julia Taylor

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As the clock hit midnight and ushered in 2011, I resolved to reduce my carbon footprint in the new year and figured I start by applying the three Rs to brewing. Our weekend brew schedule included a Big Red Ale with an estimated ABV of 7.5-8%, so thought this was the perfect time to introduce a parti-gyle into the brew day. Parti-gyle is the English name of the traditional procedure of mashing grains with two (or even three) infusions of water, resulting in successively weaker beers. Each beer is run off to its own pot, or gyle, so is a great way to get different beers from one mash. Because the first runnings are strong with high sugar concentration, this method is particularly useful where one beer is strong and the other is weaker. Parti-gyle brewing is no more difficult than regular all-grain brewing, but does require a bit of figuring and calculating beforehand or on the fly if you want to hit gravities perfectly, but don’t let that stop your creativity.

This process requires that both beers have similar malt characteristics, so I planned an amber, similar to New Belgium’s Fat Tire, to complement the Big Red. After you run off the strong beer, you can also “cap” the mash. This is adding crystal, roasted, and toasted grains to the mash before putting in the strike water for the 2nd beer. There isn’t a standard calculation to determine how capping will affect the OG so focus on the taste characteristics and color. Since each beer goes into its own pot, you still have the freedom to vary the hop profile and yeast since boiling and fermentation are done separately. Here are some ideas for different mashes to yield strong / mild beers:

• Weizenbock / Dunkelweizen
• Dopplebock / Dunkel
• Imperial Pilsner / Classic American Pilsner
• Tripel / Belgian Pale
• Old Ale / Dark Mild
• Bock / Munich Dunkel
• IPA/ Ordinary Bitter
• Scotch Ale/ Scottish Ale
• Barley Wine/ Pale Ale
• Belgian Strong Dark / Belgian Abby Ale
• Maibock/ Belgian Pale
• Imperial Stout / Dry Stout

The first step in building your parti-gyle recipe is to determine your estimated original gravities. We determined that we wanted our big beer to come in around 7.5% and the second between 4.5-5% so we were looking for an approximate 1.075/1.045 split. Using Tom-O’s Parti-Gyle Cipherin’ Sheet we decided to go with an average (batch) original gravity of 1.065 (1.0780/1.0520 split).The average preboil OG was 1.0553 @14 gallons and this is the information that is plugged into Beer Smith or desired brewing software to determine the grainbill. Once you finalize your recipe enter the SRM into the parti-gyle spreadsheet and it will give you the color split for each beer. At this point you can determine if you want to cap the mash for additional color or flavor.

We know that our total grain bill is 28.75 lbs., water-to-grain ratio is 1.25 qt./lb., preboil volume is 14 gallons (from spreadsheet), and absorption amount is .2 so we can figure out the amount of water we will need for the initial strike and sparge.

To determine the strike water, multiply the grain bill by the water-to-grist ratio and divide by four to get the amount in gallons.

(28.75 * 1.25)/4=9 gallons of strike water

For the sparge water, add the total preboil volume and absorption amount minus strike amount.

(14+(28.75*.2)-9=10.75 gallons

Mash at the desired temperature and time, then completely drain the wort from the mash tun into the first boilpot (first runnings). Refill the mash tun with sparge water, and stir. Recirculate the mash and drain into the second pot (second runnings). You now have two boil kettles with two distinct beers so have fun with your hop and yeast selections.

Recipe

Grain Bill

Mash @ 154 F

22.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US

1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L

1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L

1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 80L

1.25 lb Caramunich Malt

1.25 lb Munich Malt

0.20 lb Chocolate Malt

Big Red (First Runnings)

OG-1.077 FG-1.019 IBU-25.4 ABV-7.6%

Boil-60 minutes Pre-Boil Volume-7 gallons

0.50 oz Warrior @ 60 min

0.50 oz Warrior @ 10 min

0.50 oz Warrior @ 0 min

1.00 oz Warrior-Dry Hop 14 days

American Ale Yeast II (Wyeast Labs #1272)

Red Light (Second Runnings)

OG-1.052 FG-1.013 IBU-23.3 ABV-5%

8 oz. Cara Amber Malt

2 oz. Chocolate Malt

Boil-60 minutes Pre-Boil Volume-7 gallons

1.00 oz Cascade @ 60 min

1.00 oz East Kent Goldings @ 20 min

1.00 oz East Kent Goldings @ 0 min

Safale-US-05-I packet

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Posted By: JOConnell

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Ugh, holiday parties. They can be fun, inebriating and if you’re not careful lascivious. Regardless, bringing food seems to be required much of the time. When you have a reputation for making good food, no matter what is going on in your life, you can’t just bring the cellophaned cheese tray on display in the front of (insert name of big grocery store here). Beside, I don’t want to eat the rectangles of orange and white cheese with the dried corners.

Cream Cheese to the Rescue! Going back 3 generations the smart women of my family knew that you can put anything in or on cream cheese and you have an appetizer. For my mom it was the little frozen salad shrimp and cocktail sauce poured over the white rectangle. Her mom always had hot pepper jelly on hand and if she had the time she’d roll those up in slices of salami, if not it was do it yourself. I still LOVE that combo. This Stout ball is a little more involved but mostly you’re just getting your hands messier.

A Stout Cheese Ball

1 8 oz package of Cream Cheese

3 oz plain Chevre or goat cheese crumbles

3 Tbl Stout Ale (Lagunitas Imperial Stout worked for me)

2 Tbl + 1/4 cup fresh Chives, diced

2 Tbl + 1/4 cup Nuts, roasted & chopped

Pull the package of cream cheese out of the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature and soften.

In a bowl, with a spatula or your hands, blend the cream cheese, Chevre and stout until evenly mixed. Add the 2 Tbl each of chives and nuts, incorporate. (I used Pumpkin Seeds because I had them on hand but walnuts would work really well I think) Return to the fridge for about an hour to allow to chill back down.

Take two pieces of plastic wrap and cross them in the middle to make a larger, sturdier work space. Mix the remaining nuts and chives and spread evenly in the middle of the wrap X.

Get the cheese mixture which should be pretty solid, push it all together into a ball shape. I found this easiest to do with my hands. It should be about the size of a softball. Place in the middle of the chives and nuts on the wrap and roll it around until every part of the ball is covered in pretty green. Wrap up the whole thing and return to the refrigerator until time to serve, with crackers or sliced bread.

Needless to say the store bought Wine Cheese Ball someone brought, had nothing on this version.