Just went down to the liquor store to buy booze for the first time. They didn't even card me. I picked up some Mississippi Mud: Black and Tan. Pretty tasty albeit bitter. Anyone here ever tried it?
Had a Yeti Imperial Stout yesterday with dinner. It looked more like motor oil than beer, and the tastes all seemed to clash with each other, with coffee being the big winner. Left me with a headache as well. Seems like my beer snobbery endline is the Russian Imperial Stout. I'll stick to IPAs when I need a strong, bitter taste.
-The new pub with all the beers on tap, has a special beer company for each DAY this week. Yesterday was Allagash, which I tried their Big Little, Black, and Old HLT.
The Big Little is a pretty nice BPA, with strong citrus and lemongrass flavors with a clean barley finish. Moderately carbonated, very drinkable, but a little funky.
Black was pretty awesome. Roasted malt with subtle, but a lovely chocolate presence throughout the whole beer. Incredibly smooth, wish I ordered a full beer of it.
Old HLT is almost like a wine, with intense malty-cherry flavor. Sweet and somewhat vanilla like, it'd be perfect for a beer float but regular it'd be conflicting with a lot of food. Very Kasteel Rouge like.
-Today, I made Hard Apple Cider Sorbet. Using Angry Orchard (My current favorite apple cider. Dry, but very tangy and sweet with nice alcoholic punch) and was able to make a tasty sorbet with my ice cream maker. I'll probably do a vlog of it soon, but I realized while making it that my tupperware container can't have any air pockets and that while the mixture is in the ice cream maker, it needs more maintenance.
-Tomorrow, I'll probably go to a Troegs/Laughing Dog/RJ Rockers/Caldera tasting, and go across the building to try the Epic Brewery Beers on Tap.
-Friday, I'll go Ommengang/Stillwater Brewery Tasting, and go across the building to try the Blue Mountain and Legend Beers on Tap.
-Saturday, it all culminates to the Rocktown Beer and Music Festival in my college town, with 40 craft breweries and live music from 2:30 to 9 PM. So looking forward to it, friends are coming into town and we are going to have a BLAST.
Saw a 6L bottle of St. Bernardus Abt. 12 at the liquor store today. There was a sizable novelty tax on it (equivalent volume was ~$45), but still, a 6L bottle of beer!
I've been to the BrewDog pubs numerous times. Fuck Diageo with a piece of rebar. BrewDog runs, hands down, the single best pub I've ever been to in any country in my entire life.
Samuel Adams (NOUN) is another I tried but I cannot say I am a fan of it. It is not terrible but is just not a flavor I enjoy.
I feel this way about most of the beers they make.
I feel that way about a few of their more popular ones, like their Boston Lager, but I like most of the ones I tried from them. They are not usually on my list of beers I drink regularly though, just things I taste once to try it. I need to post a picture sometime of my collection of beer bottles, I usually keep a bottle of a beer I like with the only exception being Samuel Adams where I keep a bottle of their beer like it or not.
I would also suggest with Samuel Adams, using their special glass does actually increase the flavor of all of their beers. I'm not sure what kind of witchcraft it is (Which Pete will probably school me on), but it really does work.
My favorite current Samuel Adams beer at the moment is their Double Bock. It's quite smooth and strong.
I actually have one of those glass, a local bar gave them away to everyone who purchased a seasonal beer during an event a while back. Not sure about how much they effect flavor but the glass is nice.
Glassware has a significant effect on head formation, which in turn has a significant impact on taste. I'm not sure on the specifics regarding the Sam Adams glass, but it is important.
Yeah, Guinness spent over one million euros designing the current Guinness glass. Certain beers need certain glassware, and brewers will go a long way to ensure their branded glasses have the characteristics necessary for perfect pours.
Yes, glassware matters. Pilsner glasses are designed to regulate the flow of CO2 throughout the beer, ensuring steady carbonation and consistent head. The Sam Adams glass does that while also opening up to a snifter, giving the beer room to "breathe" and helping to channel aromatics.
It actually works.
Also Noble Pils is still one of my favorites. And what about Sam Oktoberfest? That's some good shit.
I've been pondering taking a homebrewing class at a local microbrewery. Tell me, o wise ones, would the same equip and techniques be applicable to making hard cider?
Yes and no. Beer takes a lot more effort than cider to get the right product (in my opinion), but it can be challenging to get a cider with the specific characteristics you want. At any rate, it's ultimately easier to make a cider; beer requires the right mix of grain, hops, secondaries, and yeast, while with cider you basically just press your apple mix, add yeast, and ferment.
Go ahead and take the class, though; lots of basics (like carboy and airlock usage, sanitation, and environmental control) will be relevant for ciders. Plus, as I tell my friends, microbreweries will usually help you find a beer that you like even if you're not a "beer person." Most people try cheap beer, decide beer isn't for them, and never meet the right beer. You could take the class and really get into good beer!
My first batch of homebrew is now fermenting! I hope I didn't make any huge mistakes. I was pretty keen on sterilization and kept good time. I did however approximate the addition of extra water to the wort in the fermenter and couldn't get a good hydrometer reading due to the shape of the jug (I didn't want to lose the hydrometer into the beer). Still, I learned a lot and I hope that everything turns out well (or at least drinkable).
Comments
http://blog.timesunion.com/norder/when-albany-ale-ruled-america/810/
-The new pub with all the beers on tap, has a special beer company for each DAY this week. Yesterday was Allagash, which I tried their Big Little, Black, and Old HLT.
The Big Little is a pretty nice BPA, with strong citrus and lemongrass flavors with a clean barley finish. Moderately carbonated, very drinkable, but a little funky.
Black was pretty awesome. Roasted malt with subtle, but a lovely chocolate presence throughout the whole beer. Incredibly smooth, wish I ordered a full beer of it.
Old HLT is almost like a wine, with intense malty-cherry flavor. Sweet and somewhat vanilla like, it'd be perfect for a beer float but regular it'd be conflicting with a lot of food. Very Kasteel Rouge like.
-Today, I made Hard Apple Cider Sorbet. Using Angry Orchard (My current favorite apple cider. Dry, but very tangy and sweet with nice alcoholic punch) and was able to make a tasty sorbet with my ice cream maker. I'll probably do a vlog of it soon, but I realized while making it that my tupperware container can't have any air pockets and that while the mixture is in the ice cream maker, it needs more maintenance.
-Tomorrow, I'll probably go to a Troegs/Laughing Dog/RJ Rockers/Caldera tasting, and go across the building to try the Epic Brewery Beers on Tap.
-Friday, I'll go Ommengang/Stillwater Brewery Tasting, and go across the building to try the Blue Mountain and Legend Beers on Tap.
-Saturday, it all culminates to the Rocktown Beer and Music Festival in my college town, with 40 craft breweries and live music from 2:30 to 9 PM. So looking forward to it, friends are coming into town and we are going to have a BLAST.
Also, I love Leinenkugel's berry weiss even if it's girly and doesn't taste like beer.
2. Try it
3. Thank me
For those who don't want to read the linked blog post, here is Brewdog's Official comment -
(http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/17497)
Hell or High Watermelon is in the top 5.
(http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3818/17497)
Samuel Adams New World Tripel is another I tried but I cannot say I am a fan of it. It is not terrible but is just not a flavor I enjoy.
My favorite current Samuel Adams beer at the moment is their Double Bock. It's quite smooth and strong.
It actually works.
Also Noble Pils is still one of my favorites. And what about Sam Oktoberfest? That's some good shit.
Go ahead and take the class, though; lots of basics (like carboy and airlock usage, sanitation, and environmental control) will be relevant for ciders. Plus, as I tell my friends, microbreweries will usually help you find a beer that you like even if you're not a "beer person." Most people try cheap beer, decide beer isn't for them, and never meet the right beer. You could take the class and really get into good beer!
Just wait till you're doing all grain and cursing yourself for not doing a cereal mash on those fucking oats.
We should do a swap!