I have tried so many beers within the last month. Thanks to a meet up at a local brewery in my college town, I've been trying so many incredible beers. This includes...
Pliny the Elder HeadyTopper (Reminded me a lot of On The Wings of Armageddon) Oak Aged Bretta by Logsdon Farmhouse Ales Maredsous 8 Brune (That I aged for a year to great success) Uncle Jacob's Stout Imperial Stout Trooper Mango Magnifico
I tried at least 30, but those were the highlights for myself. I also have a new favorite pilsner in the form of Pearl Snap by Austin Beerworks. Cleanest, most refreshing pilsner I've ever had.
Thanks to a trip to Wegmans, my beer storage includes the following:
Yuzu - Lips of Faith by New Belgium Dortmunder Gold, Eliot Noir, Edmund Fitzgerald, Burning River Pale Ale, and Commodore Perry IPA by Great Lakes Brewing Trappist Rochefort 10 (x2) McChouffe (Which will be amazing in a year, after tasting one) Stone Cali-Belgie IPA Hitachino Nest White Ale Mischief by The Bruery
Pretty happy how things have been going in Virginia beer-wise.
I have a new iteration of my Viking ale. This time, I re-visited the malt processing possible at the time. Malting kiln finds show several possible fuels, including peat. Other hardwoods, grasses, and dung are also found. Peat gives an extremely distinctive type of smoke flavor (hello Scotch!), so I figured it'd be worth trying out.
Revisited my technique, omitting the peas and flax seeds, and upping the salt and herb concentration to 5% each. Instead of barley and oats that I malted myself, I used commercial peated malt.
Grind the peated malt into flour, mix with salt and herbs, and make into sourdough.
Note: the smell of peat smoke does not wash off of your hands.
When I baked the stuff, the biscuits rapidly caramelized - coffee-like roast on the bottom, lightening up to dark caramel on the top.
When I mashed some biscuit in hot water:
Tasted like red-eye gravy (i.e. country ham drippings deglazed with cold black coffee) with a hint of juniper and a vague herbiness. Mixed it with honey and more water, added some sliced prune plums (tart plum variety), and dumped it on top of the dregs of a previous batch.
Tried it on Saturday, 3 days after fermentation (when I suspect a Viking would have drunk it). I literally have no idea what it tastes like. It's just...what? Huh? Sweet, a bit like coffee, yeasty, tart, nutty. My palate is immediately overwhelmed with flavor combinations that we don't use today.
I'll let it ferment out and see what it's like.
Verdict: holy shit Vikings ate and drank weird things.
I've been drinking so many new beers lately. List of new Favorites
-Sweet Baby Jesus! by DuClaw -Wake and Bake Oatmeal Stout by Terrapin -Optimal Wit by Port City Brewing -Skullsplitter by Orkney (Old Favorite really) -Gulden Draak 9000 -Resolute by Three Brothers Brewing (In my college town)
Any tips on making mead? Skyrim has gotten me in the mood for trying to recreate Nord Mead and I even found someone's recipe for Honningbrew on deviantart.
Any tips on making mead? Skyrim has gotten me in the mood for trying to recreate Nord Mead and I even found someone's recipe for Honningbrew on deviantart.
4) If you're using cheap honey, consider adding some fruit - blackberries are delicious. If you're using good honey, don't add anything.
5) Varietal honies can produce some really interesting results. Buckwheat mead is fucking delicious, but it takes about 2 years to condition correctly.
6) Buckets are easier to clean than carboys.
7) Any food-grade container with a sealing lid can be used as a fermenter. Leave at least 25% headspace - so you'd ferment 4 gallons of mead in at least a 5 gallon container.
8) 1-gallon water jugs are fantastic for small experimental batches.
9) A 1:4 honey:water ratio by volume will make a fantastic, basic mead. This is the ratio most commonly found in all of historical mead brewing. This equates to about 3 pounds of honey per gallon of water - you'll wind up with 1.25 gallons of mead. Add 1 tsp yeast nutrient per gallon-ish. Do whatever the yeast packet tells you to do.
10) Yes, you can use bread yeast. Don't. Proper yeast isn't that expensive, and it'll be better.
7) Any food-grade container with a sealing lid can be used as a fermenter. Leave at least 25% headspace - so you'd ferment 4 gallons of mead in at least a 5 gallon container.
1 gallon of headspace & 4 gallons of mead in a 5 gallon container... that's 20% headspace if you go by the volume of the container and 25% headspace if you go by the volume of the liquid. Soooo... assuming you're going by the volume of the liquid, and you add another 1/4 of the liquid's volume to find the size of container you need?
7) Any food-grade container with a sealing lid can be used as a fermenter. Leave at least 25% headspace - so you'd ferment 4 gallons of mead in at least a 5 gallon container.
1 gallon of headspace & 4 gallons of mead in a 5 gallon container... that's 20% headspace if you go by the volume of the container and 25% headspace if you go by the volume of the liquid. Soooo... assuming you're going by the volume of the liquid, and you add another 1/4 of the liquid's volume to find the size of container you need?
Yes, that's what I meant. At least 25% of the liquid volume as additional headspace.
More can't hurt. Less can cause you to vent your product all over the room.
It seems a bit early for Samuel Adams spring variety pack to be out. Separately I wish they would stop putting Boston Lager in their variety packs. I know why they do it but it is never fun to throw away beer regularly.
It seems a bit early for Samuel Adams spring variety pack to be out. Separately I wish they would stop putting Boston Lager in their variety packs. I know why they do it but it is never fun to throw away beer regularly.
I picked up one of these the other day when I noticed them at the local store. It also struck me as a bit odd that they were out already since the winter pack usually runs until January. I'm right there with you on them putting the flagship brew in the pack - I mean, we know what their main offering is, so why put two of them in a sampler pack? Sure, I drink them, but I'd rather they stuck in two of some other seasonal brew. As for the rest, I haven't tried too many of them yet, but can't say as the Maple Pecan Porter was anything that was up my alley. I'll probably use the other one to make beer bread or something.
Comments
Pliny the Elder
HeadyTopper (Reminded me a lot of On The Wings of Armageddon)
Oak Aged Bretta by Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
Maredsous 8 Brune (That I aged for a year to great success)
Uncle Jacob's Stout
Imperial Stout Trooper
Mango Magnifico
I tried at least 30, but those were the highlights for myself. I also have a new favorite pilsner in the form of Pearl Snap by Austin Beerworks. Cleanest, most refreshing pilsner I've ever had.
Thanks to a trip to Wegmans, my beer storage includes the following:
Yuzu - Lips of Faith by New Belgium
Dortmunder Gold, Eliot Noir, Edmund Fitzgerald, Burning River Pale Ale, and Commodore Perry IPA by Great Lakes Brewing
Trappist Rochefort 10 (x2)
McChouffe (Which will be amazing in a year, after tasting one)
Stone Cali-Belgie IPA
Hitachino Nest White Ale
Mischief by The Bruery
Pretty happy how things have been going in Virginia beer-wise.
Revisited my technique, omitting the peas and flax seeds, and upping the salt and herb concentration to 5% each. Instead of barley and oats that I malted myself, I used commercial peated malt.
Grind the peated malt into flour, mix with salt and herbs, and make into sourdough.
Note: the smell of peat smoke does not wash off of your hands.
When I baked the stuff, the biscuits rapidly caramelized - coffee-like roast on the bottom, lightening up to dark caramel on the top.
When I mashed some biscuit in hot water:
Tasted like red-eye gravy (i.e. country ham drippings deglazed with cold black coffee) with a hint of juniper and a vague herbiness. Mixed it with honey and more water, added some sliced prune plums (tart plum variety), and dumped it on top of the dregs of a previous batch.
Tried it on Saturday, 3 days after fermentation (when I suspect a Viking would have drunk it). I literally have no idea what it tastes like. It's just...what? Huh? Sweet, a bit like coffee, yeasty, tart, nutty. My palate is immediately overwhelmed with flavor combinations that we don't use today.
I'll let it ferment out and see what it's like.
Verdict: holy shit Vikings ate and drank weird things.
Holy shit that sounds amazing.
Nice smooth mouthfeel, with a rich flavour and an ideal amount of bitter aftertaste.
That said, I haven't tried that many beers like it.
The Grand Unified Theory of Viking-era Ale Production Evidence
Or: How I Learned to Diagram My Brain
-Sweet Baby Jesus! by DuClaw
-Wake and Bake Oatmeal Stout by Terrapin
-Optimal Wit by Port City Brewing
-Skullsplitter by Orkney (Old Favorite really)
-Gulden Draak 9000
-Resolute by Three Brothers Brewing (In my college town)
Oh wait, none of them are lagers.
http://www.amazon.com/Yeast-Nutrient-1-lb/dp/B0064H0MWY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386774463&sr=8-1&keywords=yeast+nutrient
2) Use an ale yeast, preferably something English (fruitier fermentation):
http://www.amazon.com/Fermentis-Safale-S-04-ct-11-5-Packs/dp/B008RZZGS6/ref=pd_bxgy_gro_text_y
3) Sanitize everything. Use bleachwater or Star-San:
http://www.amazon.com/Five-Star-San-Sanitizer-size/dp/B00EDSJAAG/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1386774673&sr=1-2&keywords=star+san
4) If you're using cheap honey, consider adding some fruit - blackberries are delicious. If you're using good honey, don't add anything.
5) Varietal honies can produce some really interesting results. Buckwheat mead is fucking delicious, but it takes about 2 years to condition correctly.
6) Buckets are easier to clean than carboys.
7) Any food-grade container with a sealing lid can be used as a fermenter. Leave at least 25% headspace - so you'd ferment 4 gallons of mead in at least a 5 gallon container.
8) 1-gallon water jugs are fantastic for small experimental batches.
9) A 1:4 honey:water ratio by volume will make a fantastic, basic mead. This is the ratio most commonly found in all of historical mead brewing. This equates to about 3 pounds of honey per gallon of water - you'll wind up with 1.25 gallons of mead. Add 1 tsp yeast nutrient per gallon-ish. Do whatever the yeast packet tells you to do.
10) Yes, you can use bread yeast. Don't. Proper yeast isn't that expensive, and it'll be better.
More can't hurt. Less can cause you to vent your product all over the room.
http://www.webstaurantstore.com/dutch-gold-bulk-orange-blossom-honey-5-lb/125HONEYBLSM.html?utm_source=Amazon