The correct version of my American Amber experiment is done dryhopping and carbing. I'm reasonable happy with this beer. It's not quite as aggressive as I'd hoped, but it is pretty true to the style.
The carb is perfect, nice lacing. Color is on the dark side for the style, which was what I aimed for. It was dry hopped on the last 1/2 oz of the organic Indiana Cascade hops I got, for 3 weeks.
Now for the drinking. The smell is pleasant. Lots of graininess with a hint of those cascades. The flavor is what I aimed at, as well. There is a pronounced malty sweetness, a hint of some nutty overtones (I wanted more of that), and a reasonably clean, dry finish.
Like I said, not my favorite style of beer, but my challenge was to develop a partial mash recipe on my own that was true to a BJCP recognized style. Amber is an interesting style. It is both a very broad standard, and very easy to miss. It is a style that is simply defined by the color, and what it lacks (pronounced hoppiness).
-James
Monday, February 27, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
I went to LBC :-/
So, as far as Lafayette beers, I've exclusively posted about People's beer for over a year now. There's a reason for that. As far as LBC goes, the eighty five is their most unique, and tastiest, option. 85 IBU, ~6.5% and it's straw colored (!?). It is a very good beer.
So, the grad student government had a "social" at LBC on Thursday. I met up with Joe at Peoples for a hop killa and headed over afterwards. My plan was to have an 85, socialize, grab some free food and leave. Well, turns out grad students are all the same, so no socializing happened. I had my 85, and was thinking of leaving when I saw a fellow McLuck and her husband grab one of the (free) pool tables. I grabbed Zach and we played pool. Several games in I decided to grab a small beer.
LBC has a MiChinook American Pale on right now, and I was intrigued. The beertender claimed it was closer to an IPA than an APA and had very little body. More interestingly, it is made of all MI grown Chinook hops (thus the name). I ordered a pint (4.75 for an imperial pint) and went back to pool. The first sip told me I was going to be disappointed. First off, the beertender is obviously a malthead...this is nowhere NEAR an IPA. It's actually less hoppy than Sierra Nevada Pale (which I consider as my APA standard). As far as body goes, I can guess the grain bill because I made the EXACT same beer with the Cascade pale. I've commented before that my Cascade pale needs some colored/roasted malts next time to bring more to the palate. After I got over the lack of body and flavor I noticed something else...chinook doesn't really bring a ton to the table without some backup. This beer tastes EXACTLY like my Cascade pale, except it doesn't have the floral awesomeness of cascades. I guess that's where my disappointment came from. I have brewed a better beer than this. Same ABV, same lacking of body, but I feel the Cascade hops brought more to the plate than the Chinooks.
This is officially the first beer that I can say that I HAVE done better. Not that I could, or will, or should, but have. I take a little bit of pride in this, but my main reaction is that I wanted my $4.75 (plus tip) back. I made mine for ~$1.00 a bottle. It really makes me want to redo the cascade with some roasted malts...although I no longer have access to the IN grown dry-hops that I used.
My skill is advancing, and it's making me want to try to brew more and more aggressive beers. But every now and then you need a mediocre commercial beer to bring you back to what it is all about, and that is making the best beer for the style you aim at. I have never claimed that my Cascade pale was perfect, or great. It was very good for a homebrew, but I had always considered it miles away from what a commercial micro should be.
The only way to attain greatness is to shun mediocrity. I will not settle.
-James0
So, the grad student government had a "social" at LBC on Thursday. I met up with Joe at Peoples for a hop killa and headed over afterwards. My plan was to have an 85, socialize, grab some free food and leave. Well, turns out grad students are all the same, so no socializing happened. I had my 85, and was thinking of leaving when I saw a fellow McLuck and her husband grab one of the (free) pool tables. I grabbed Zach and we played pool. Several games in I decided to grab a small beer.
LBC has a MiChinook American Pale on right now, and I was intrigued. The beertender claimed it was closer to an IPA than an APA and had very little body. More interestingly, it is made of all MI grown Chinook hops (thus the name). I ordered a pint (4.75 for an imperial pint) and went back to pool. The first sip told me I was going to be disappointed. First off, the beertender is obviously a malthead...this is nowhere NEAR an IPA. It's actually less hoppy than Sierra Nevada Pale (which I consider as my APA standard). As far as body goes, I can guess the grain bill because I made the EXACT same beer with the Cascade pale. I've commented before that my Cascade pale needs some colored/roasted malts next time to bring more to the palate. After I got over the lack of body and flavor I noticed something else...chinook doesn't really bring a ton to the table without some backup. This beer tastes EXACTLY like my Cascade pale, except it doesn't have the floral awesomeness of cascades. I guess that's where my disappointment came from. I have brewed a better beer than this. Same ABV, same lacking of body, but I feel the Cascade hops brought more to the plate than the Chinooks.
This is officially the first beer that I can say that I HAVE done better. Not that I could, or will, or should, but have. I take a little bit of pride in this, but my main reaction is that I wanted my $4.75 (plus tip) back. I made mine for ~$1.00 a bottle. It really makes me want to redo the cascade with some roasted malts...although I no longer have access to the IN grown dry-hops that I used.
My skill is advancing, and it's making me want to try to brew more and more aggressive beers. But every now and then you need a mediocre commercial beer to bring you back to what it is all about, and that is making the best beer for the style you aim at. I have never claimed that my Cascade pale was perfect, or great. It was very good for a homebrew, but I had always considered it miles away from what a commercial micro should be.
The only way to attain greatness is to shun mediocrity. I will not settle.
-James0
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
DIPA tasting
The Black Sparrow is an interesting bar in the Lafayette area. I enjoy it on the weekdays, where it is a very chill place to grab some interesting beers (No Crap on tap is their motto) and have a cigar if the time is right. They always have a beer or two or five that I've never had, but they don't do any favors on the price. They do actually tend to be about $0.25 less than Chumley's normal price, for beers they share (blue moon's are more common...and not the beer), but their best deal for any tap is $1 off on Wednesday (? I think?). That is, until they had the opportunity to have 6 DIPAs.
This week they are having a special DIPA (or IIPA if you like) event. 6 of their 8 taps will be DIPAs for the entire week (or until Thursday when they run out). To top it off, they are offering flights of 5 oz glasses of each of the beers, so you can actually taste them all and not end up dead.
The lineup tonight was the new Hopkilla, 3-Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf, Hopslam, Founder's Double Trouble, Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A., and Brooklyn Blast!. I've already covered this batch of Arctic Panzer and Hopslam pretty well in here, so I'll focus on the rest.
Hopkilla, 8.5% ABV 104 IBU. This is the newest batch and it is definitely smoother than other batches. This could be the freshness coming through, and time will only tell. I've reviewed the previous two batches pretty extensively.
Founder's Double Trouble, 9.4%, 86IBU. This beer reminds me of Hopslam with less honey and more malts. Founders plays the hop bill close to the chest, but there is something very very citrusy in here. No dominating pine notes, almost all of the aroma and lighter flavors are citrus, with a healthy bitter wallop at the end to remind you that you're alive. This is a great DIPA, up there with the Hopslam and Space Cowboys of the category. I feel it missed just a touch on the balance, and will have to land 3rd on my list.
Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A, 10%, 96 IBU. So, this is a weird choice. Schmaltz is better known for their "He'Brew" series of beers. They are a kosher brewery, which is not the easiest thing in the world. There is a long ol' story about this beer on their website, it seems to be dedicated to Lenny Bruce. The name is a play on words, which always strikes dear to my heart. Not only is the R.I.P a not so subtle homage to Lenny, it is a hint as to what makes this beer truly unique. This. My friends. Is a Rye Double India Pale Ale. Schmaltz actually posts their entire recipe online (leaving out just the tiny but technical details). The malt is ~20% Rye malt and it was a 100 barrel batch (7300 lbs of grain!). Hops include Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe (definitely), Crystal, Chinook, and Centennial (also prevalent). This is perhaps the most interesting of DIPAs I've ever had, since the earthy, nutty tones of the Rye malt force their way through the abundant hops as a....sweetness. This is the maltiest, sweetest DIPA I've ever had...and it was fantastic.
Now. Brooklyn Blast!. The "!" is part of the name...I really wish I could leave it off. I did not like this beer. And now that I'm reading the description I understand why...these people make no sense. "Here in Brooklyn, we are halfway between the hop country of Yakima Valley, Washington and the hop country of Kent England." Armed with this 'knowledge' of geography, they drew the conclusion that it would be a good idea to make a Double AMERICAN IPA using half American and half English hops. English hops tend to be lower AA, and much heavier on the 'earthy' character compared to the citrus notes of the big American hops. This is not a good combination. And it showed through in the beer. At first it just seemed green and a little piney. Then when you were dying for the DIPA bitterness to knock back the initial badness it....well...it didn't show up. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It just kind of ended. It also seemed that this keg may have been slightly skunked, or at least I hope that flavor wasn't intentional.
So there we go. More DIPAs in a single sitting than any mortal deserves to enjoy.
-James
This week they are having a special DIPA (or IIPA if you like) event. 6 of their 8 taps will be DIPAs for the entire week (or until Thursday when they run out). To top it off, they are offering flights of 5 oz glasses of each of the beers, so you can actually taste them all and not end up dead.
The lineup tonight was the new Hopkilla, 3-Floyds Arctic Panzer Wolf, Hopslam, Founder's Double Trouble, Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A., and Brooklyn Blast!. I've already covered this batch of Arctic Panzer and Hopslam pretty well in here, so I'll focus on the rest.
Hopkilla, 8.5% ABV 104 IBU. This is the newest batch and it is definitely smoother than other batches. This could be the freshness coming through, and time will only tell. I've reviewed the previous two batches pretty extensively.
Founder's Double Trouble, 9.4%, 86IBU. This beer reminds me of Hopslam with less honey and more malts. Founders plays the hop bill close to the chest, but there is something very very citrusy in here. No dominating pine notes, almost all of the aroma and lighter flavors are citrus, with a healthy bitter wallop at the end to remind you that you're alive. This is a great DIPA, up there with the Hopslam and Space Cowboys of the category. I feel it missed just a touch on the balance, and will have to land 3rd on my list.
Schmaltz Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A, 10%, 96 IBU. So, this is a weird choice. Schmaltz is better known for their "He'Brew" series of beers. They are a kosher brewery, which is not the easiest thing in the world. There is a long ol' story about this beer on their website, it seems to be dedicated to Lenny Bruce. The name is a play on words, which always strikes dear to my heart. Not only is the R.I.P a not so subtle homage to Lenny, it is a hint as to what makes this beer truly unique. This. My friends. Is a Rye Double India Pale Ale. Schmaltz actually posts their entire recipe online (leaving out just the tiny but technical details). The malt is ~20% Rye malt and it was a 100 barrel batch (7300 lbs of grain!). Hops include Warrior, Cascade, Simcoe (definitely), Crystal, Chinook, and Centennial (also prevalent). This is perhaps the most interesting of DIPAs I've ever had, since the earthy, nutty tones of the Rye malt force their way through the abundant hops as a....sweetness. This is the maltiest, sweetest DIPA I've ever had...and it was fantastic.
Now. Brooklyn Blast!. The "!" is part of the name...I really wish I could leave it off. I did not like this beer. And now that I'm reading the description I understand why...these people make no sense. "Here in Brooklyn, we are halfway between the hop country of Yakima Valley, Washington and the hop country of Kent England." Armed with this 'knowledge' of geography, they drew the conclusion that it would be a good idea to make a Double AMERICAN IPA using half American and half English hops. English hops tend to be lower AA, and much heavier on the 'earthy' character compared to the citrus notes of the big American hops. This is not a good combination. And it showed through in the beer. At first it just seemed green and a little piney. Then when you were dying for the DIPA bitterness to knock back the initial badness it....well...it didn't show up. Nothing. Nada. Zip. It just kind of ended. It also seemed that this keg may have been slightly skunked, or at least I hope that flavor wasn't intentional.
So there we go. More DIPAs in a single sitting than any mortal deserves to enjoy.
-James
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