Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat expands market

Chippewa Falls subsidiary of Miller Brewing Company, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company introduced its wheat brew, Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat, to Austin and the Dallas/Fort Worth area in late 2006. It finally made its way to Fredericksburg and I, for one am very happy.

I'm a big fan of Coors Brewing Company's Blue Moon beer, so I thought I'd give Sunset wheat a spin.

Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat

Appearance (0-3): Light golden color with a thick creamy head. 3 pts.
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Intense spicy aroma rolls away from the glass in waves! Slightly sweet smell and earthy/yeasty background. There's a hint of orange but no hop aroma. 3 pts.
Taste: Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): Very subtle hop and malt flavor. Coriander spice is dominant, accented by sweet orange flavor. 3 pt.
Aftertaste (0-3): Sweet cistrusy finish with lingering licorice like finish. 3 pts.
Mouthfeel (0-3): A little thin. 2 points.
Overall Impression (0-3): Sampled after a Blue Moon. The coriander/anise (?) kicks this through the roof! 3 points.
Total: 17 points

I can't recommend this beer enough. The flavor of the spice is beyond description!

Beer better for the environment than wine

According to an article on the Australian Broadcasting Company's website, if you are an environmentalist, you shouldn't be drinking wine. The article calculates the water usage of various products and services, with an eye on their recent drought.

Beer versus wine: with beer, water is used in the growing of barley and also in the malting and fermentation of the beer. There isn't a lot of grain in beer so 100lt ought to do it for a bottle of beer, Wayne feels. Add to that the volume in the beer itself.

Wine will use 270lt per bottle. Beer is better in terms of use and as well, a lot of grapes are grown under irrigation.

So in addition to being the drink that civilized mankind, beer is better for the environment.

Is there anything that beer can't do?

The upside of the recent snow storms

This is perhaps the best beer fridge!

"Bleeding" Coasters

Here's a link to the Scary Ideas website that pictures police supplied coasters that appear to bleed when they get wet. That's a bit . . . disturbing.

Roots Organic Brewing Turns Two Years old

Willamette Oregon's Roots Organic Brewing Company recently celebrated their second birthday turning out popular organic brews. Despte being open only two years, the company has met it's four-year income goals and will soon expand production.

Random Beer Name Generator

What do you think of the name Flatulent Drunk Rauchbier? Or Lost Fourth of July Red Dopplebock? or Amber Groundhog Day Wit? Here's where to get more of these names: The Random Beer Name Generator!

Papazian's Quarterbock

In The Homebrewer's Companion, Charlie Papazian describes a low alcohol beer he calls Quarterbock. The result is a 2% alcohol light bodied amber beer. Papazian describes how to make a 1 gallon wort, and how to add the finished beer to 3 gallons of water. Then he suggested that one could brew a dopplebock, take a gallon of that beer and add it to the water.

Being frugal, the second option appealed to me. I can brew once, keg twice, and have 8 gallons of beer. What's not to love?

So, when it's time to keg the dopplebock, I will take one gallon and add it to 3 gallons of boiled water and keg both beers.

Brew Ha Ha at Fredericksburg Brewing Company

The Fredericksburg Brewing Company (The Biergarten) in Fredericksburg, Texas, will be the site for a new comedy club with first performances this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights, March 16 and 17, at 8:00 p.m. Robert Hawkins, who has performed twice at the Montreal Comedy Festival and appeared on Comedy Central, Premium Blend and The Late Show, will be the first featured act at Brew Ha Ha. If you are going to be in Fredericksburg this weekend, admission is $20. For more information, call (830)997-1646.

AHS Bavarian Dopplebock

Over the weekend, I brewed Bavarian Dopplebock from Austin Homebrew Supply. Normally I would provide a recipe, but since this is a kit, I won't.

The OG was 1088.

The Beer Belly for Ladies - Kinda

Over on the right is an ad for a product called the Beer Belly. It's something you stick under your clothes to carry your favorite beverage wherever you go. While the device is ingenious, it isn't very attractive on the ladies.

Here's the solution! To quote from the website: "the Winerack undergarment incorporates stealthily slung, CamelBak-esque bladders to get sauce past even the most exhilarating admission frisks. But whereas the Beerbelly lends the wearer an air of grotesque obesity, because of the over-breast hooch sacks, this two-sizes-fits-most sports bra claims to convert underdeveloped gals into succulently busty women -- turning A cups into double Ds, and double Ds into sloshy surface-to-air missiles."

Beer Lovers can mingle online!

The folks at Here's to Beer has launched "Clink" over on minglenow. "Clink" will allow adult users to post pictures of themselves enjoying beer on the social network service.

Here's to Beer is an industry-wide program, spearheaded by Anheuser-Busch, to elevate the status of beer.

ABC Extra Stout - With Ginseng

Asian brewing giant Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore, is experimenting with various Asian healing herbs in their beers. Their first release, in conjunction with Chinese New Year, was a ginseng infused version of their flagship ABC Extra Stout. APBS' brewing manager Tai Seng Kong said, "We felt that adding ginseng, a traditional Chinese herbal root known for its medicinal properties, would give a refreshing twist to the original version of the stout." Ginseng is an expensive ingredient, and ABC Ginseng retails for $14.20 for a 4-can pack.

Wahl & Henius Ale to Secondary

On Saturday, I transferred the Wahl & Henius Ale into secondary. If I hit my gravity, as i think I did, but my measurements don't support it, then the beer is about 3.3% alcohol. That was what I was shooting for! The main reason I transferred to secondary is to clarify the beer.

The color was light amber, kinda orange. I sampled it, and the beer is sweet, with a nice hop finish. I hope I can wait two weeks to keg this!

The Ultimate Beer Fridge

Can't be bothered to get up from your recliner to fetch a beer? Then John Cornwall is your hero! The 22 year old has spent $3000 building his Beer Launching Fridge.

The fridge is activated by a remote control which sets off a lift mechanism in the fridge which delivers the can to an electronic catapult. The catapult rotates until it is lined up with its target and then hurls the beer up to 10ft to the drinker. The fridge holds a full case of cans: 10 in the magazine and 14 in reserve.

Robotic Beer Launching Refrigerator - Click here for funny video clips

Anchor Bock Beer Review

Yet another in my occasional beer review.

Appearance: Dark brown to black with an creamy, off-white head. When held to the light, ruby colored highlights. Very stout like. 2 points.

Aroma/Bouquet: Roasted malt predominates. No malt sweetness, and no apparent hops. 2 points.

Taste: Hop/malt Balance: Very mild roasted malt taste. Very mild hops. Tastes like a stout. Very good. 3 points.
Aftertaste: Finishes with a coffee-like roasted flavor, but still quite mild. 2 points.
Mouthfeel: Chewy and full-bodied. 3 points.

Overall Impression: If the label had said "Anchor Stout," I would have called this a perfect beer. But it's labeled as a bock. Shouldn't that mean more malty sweetness? 1 point.

Total: 13 points

It's a damn good stout, though!