To Micheal Jackson!

To Micheal Jackson, the Beer Hunter!

Godspeed and Good Hunting!

Cheers, Micheal!

Please consider making a donation to the National Parkinson's Foundation.

Mamma Mia Pizza Beer on the shelves soon

A few months ago, Tom Seefurth hit the news with his pizza flavored beer, made with Italian seasonings, tomatoes and garlic. For a while, Tom was in every newspaper. Despite the silence, though, Tom has been hard at work.

The Original Seefurth Family's Pizza Beer Co. has been incorporated and is actively looking for contract brewers to produce Mamma Mia Pizza Beer to sell in retail outlets.

But the story has more details about the brew itsel:

Seefurth said he and Athena made some significant changes in the original recipe, specifically, it has a lower alcohol content; it is more of an American light ale rather than the original French saison, and it is less sweet, he said, adding it finishes very dry, like a light beer.

Dave's Pale Ale Review

I picked a six-pack of this up at Vail Liquors in Lionshead Village. I had read about Dave's Pale Ale and it's packaging, and wanted to see if the can obviously affected anything.

Dave's Pale Ale

Appearance (0-3):This poured up an Orange/Amber with a thin white head. 2 points

Aroma (0-4): The hop aroma is subdued, and there is a hint a caramel in the background. Smells great! 3 points.

Taste: Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): There is a slight hint of malt at the start, but the hop flavor quickly fills your mouth, finishing bitter on the back of the tongue. 3 points.

Aftertaste (0-3): It leaves a bitter hop tang on my breath, but not overpowering. 2 points.

Mouthfeel (0-3): Not bad. It's not thin. 3 points

Overall Impression (0-3): Did the can affect anything? Not having had the real thing on tap, I can't say for sure. But it tastes like other brew pub IPAs, so I guess it doesn't. Too bad I can't get this in Texas. While it's not a session beer for me, it is very good. 3 points.

Total: 16 points

I did try to drink one straight from the can. My advice? Don't. Use a glass. It tastes better.

Glenwood Canyon Brew Pub- Glenwood Springs, CO

After picking the boss up at the airport and returning them to Vail, they cut me loose for the day. Since check-in at the next hotel wasn't until 4 pm, and it was only 1:30, I decided to check out Glenwood Springs. This was the first brewpub I was able to actually see from the highway, and that made it easy to find. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and the place was full. Heck, Glenwood Springs was full.

I only ordered a brown ale. I had to get back to Vail, and I didn't want to deal with the traffic with a buzz. It was a really nice brown ale, and was only $3.75.

If I ever find myself in Glenwood Springs again, I will stay in the Hotel Denver, and spend the whole time at the bar.

Backcountry Brewery, Frisco, CO

I picked up the boss at the airport in Denver, and we stopped by on the way to Vail. Backcountry Brewery was easy to find. We got there a little before noon, and most people were watching the game in the bar. We were seated and ordered a sampler. I ordered the BBQ sandwich. The beers were good. The Wheat beer was great, and the breakfast stout was excellent. It was made with coffee and was not overly roasty. It was creamy and smooth with a finish of coffee. I Should have skipped the sampler and gone straight for the stout. Service was good, delivery was fast, and the food was very good. It's too bad I only get to Colorado every decade or so. I want to come back here.

Gore Range Brewery, Edwards, CO

After a Saturday training session at our software vendor's office, I headed over to Gore Range Brewery to get computer code out of my brain. Like much of the area, places don't have big signs announcing their presence, but this was pretty easy to find. Having had meals in Vail and Lionshead, it was nice to find a place without tourists. It was about 5 pm, and the place was only slightly occupied: a couple on the patio, four of five people at the bar, and a few couples in booths. It took the bartender a few minutes to take my order, but after that he was prompt as could be.

The beers were all good. Nothing spectacular. The honey ale was light and "sessiony." The red ale was surprisingly smooth. There were some hops, but another session beer. The stout was a little too roasty for my taste, but it sure did look pretty, being dispensed with nitrogen.

Some locals brought in their kids, so there was a nice family feel. If your in Vail, this is the place to visit.

Rosie's Brewpub, Leadville, CO

After my computer class in Vail, I thought I'd run down to Leadville and try Rosie's Brewpub. It is only 33 miles from Vail. Over two freakin' mountains! What I thought would be a 40 minute drive was more like an hour.

Cool place. Obviously a local hangout. But it's bright a cheerful and the service is excellent. Rosie's is in a little frame house a block from Leadville's main drag. It is nothing fancy, but the pale ale was pretty good. Just hoppy enough to help cut the jalapeno heat, but not overpowering. I didn't think a 7% stout would be a good idea for the trip back to Vail. It was Happy Hour, and I had a basket of fried jalapeno slices. The total bill was $4.01. No souvenirs for sale though. :(

If you in the area, stop in. You won't be sorry.

Dixie Cup 2007 Registration

I have just packed my entries to send into the 2007 Dixie Cup Homebrew Contest: Kentucky Common 4 and Coconut Chocolate Stout. If you want to enter your homebrew, you have until September 28th. You may enter as often as you wish, but only twice in each category. Wish me luck.

Dillon Dam Brewery, Dillon, CO

After Tommyknocker, I stopped by Dillon Dam Brewery en route to Vail. I had read about the chile beer, and couldn't resist a stop, even though I really wanted to get to my hotel.

It was 2 pm on a Thursday, and there were a few people at the bar. and a scattering of customers. I had a chile beer and a pretzel. The beer was cold and the pretzel was fresh out of the oven. Their beer mustard is tangy and delicious, but the pretzel didn't need it. It was crispy on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside.

I had planned to detour a bit and hit Pug Ryan's in Dillon, Wolf Rock Brewing Company in Keystone, and Back Country Brewery in Frisco. But I had been up since 4 am, and was in need of a nap. I have more time. I'll make them.

Tommyknocker's Pub, Idaho Springs, CO

I stopped by Tommyknocker Brewery for lunch on my way to Vail for a conference, and sat in the bar area next to the brewery. Most of the brewpubs I've seen put their breweries behind glass. Not here. You can see the brewers working away.
I got there a little before noon on a Thursday, and there were a few people around. More arrived after I ordered. The selection is amazing. I didn't know what to order. I had thought about the rye porter, but they were out, darnit. So I chose a Pale Ale and a Cajun Chicken Sandwich. Great sandwich! I topped it with a little chipotle sauce, and was sure glad I had the pale ale. The hops cut the spice perfectly.
It cost me $20 to get out of there. A little more than I wanted to spend, but, oh well, it's on the expense account. Ssh. Don't tell my boss.

Kentucky Common

Well, on Monday August 27, I brewed another Kentucky Common Beer, hoping to correct a few errors in the last batch. The specifics are below, exported from QBrew.

Kentucky Common

Recipe		Kentucky Common		Style		California Common Beer
Brewer				Batch		5.00 gal

Recipe Characteristics

Recipe Gravity		1.048 OG		Estimated FG		1.012 FG
Recipe Bitterness		33 IBU		Alcohol by Volume		4.8%
Recipe Color		56° SRM		Alcohol by Weight		3.8%

Ingredients

Quantity		Grain		Use
6.00 lb		Amber malt extract		extract
0.50 lb		American black patent		steeped
1.00 lb		American chocolate malt		steeped
1.00 lb		Carafa III malt		steeped
Quantity		Hop		Form		Time
1.00 oz		Cascade		Pellet		5 minutes
Quantity		Misc		Notes
0.25 unit		Anise Seed		teaspoon in last 30 minutes of boil
1.00 unit		Belgian Ale yeast		package

Introducing: Guinness Red!

Queenie, my co-worker from the UK, and who has the unfortunate lot in life to be married to my Honey Creek Brewery brewing partner, has always told me that Guinness is an old man's drink "back home." Naturally, this kind of image cause beer sales to fall. Guinness had been trying to lure younger drinkers with a variety of promotions, including a promotion with Northern Irish bread company Irwin's Bakery, to create Guinness bread.

On August 29, Guinness rolled out Guinness Red.

Guinness Red is made with the same raw ingredients as regular Guinness Draught but uses lightly roasted barley to give a different taste and colour. Simon Garnett, senior innovation manager for Guinness Red, said a three-month trial - in 141 Mitchells & Butlers pubs earlier this year - had shown that the "smoother sweeter taste" had recruited new drinkers to the Guinness brand.

I wonder what grains they are using?

Betty Faulker Bock III

On August 25, I went to Midland to brew beer with my cousin, known here as Satan. Satan started brewing about 12 years ago with his best friend, Buddy Harry. Buddy had a way with names, and they came up with some doozies: Penche Madre Peach Wheat, Alimony Ale--Bitter as Hell, Brother Spud's Oatmeal Stout, and Betty Faulker Bock.

Betty Faulker Bock III

1 lb pale malt
10 lbs Munich Malt
8 oz 2°L white wheat
8 oz Crystal 120°L Crystal
2 oz chocolate malt
1 0z Hallertauer 3.25% 60 minutes
1 oz Hallertauer 3.25% 30 minutes
1 oz Hallertauer 3.25% 5 minutes
Alt yeast

Bring 7 gallons of water to 170°F, and add to grains, striking in at 96° for 20 minutes. Remove 1/4 of the thick mash and bring to 122° over 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Raise to 1497deg; over 15 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Raise to boiling over 15 minutes and boil for 30 minutes. Stir to prevent scorching. Return small mash to the main mash and adjust temperature to 122°, and hold for 110 minutes.

Remove 1/4 of the thick mash and bring to a boil over 15 minutes. Boil for 30 minutes. Stir to prevent scorching. Return small mash to the main mash and adjust temperature to 146-151° and hold for 30 minutes.

Remove 1/3 of the thin mash, and heat to boiling over 15 minutes. Boil for 15 minutes and return to main mash. Sparge with 170° water and collect about 7.5 gallons.

Boil for 90 minutes.
OG 1.062

Satan woke me up at 7 am on Saturday morning and we drove to the lab where he works. We set about prepping and by 9 am we were mashing. At 3 pm, we had sparged, and had the mash liquor in the boiling kettle. After a quick lunch at Micheal's Charcoal Grill, home of the King Kong Burger (great place with really good burgers) we returned to the lab to boil for 90 minutes. At 6 pm, we had finished the boil and started cleaning up. We got back to Satan's Lair at 7:30 pm to rest our weary feet.

Brewing Analogy

The other day, I visited Satan in Midland to brew Betty Faulker Bock (See my next post. Or the one after that.). Some of his coworkers stopped by, three brothers who like beer. As we started sparging, they began asking us about brewing. We both tried to impress on them how easy brewing is. On the way home, I was listening to old Brewing Network podcasts where someone referenced Doc Scott's Cookie dough analogy. While I never heard the entire thing, I think I can figure it out.

There are two ways to get your cookie fix. Buy cookies in the store or make your own.

Take your average cookie recipe. You mix all the ingredients into a dough, then chill it. Then you take bits of the dough and put them on a baking sheet. In 20 minutes you have cookies. This is all-grain brewing. At this level, you can tweak all the ingredients to achieve the desired flavor you are looking for.

Or, you can go to the store and buy pre-made cookie dough, slice it up, put it on a cookie sheet and in 20 minutes you have cookies. This is extract brewing. You can push M&Ms into the dough, and make one cookie, or put one big chocolate chip into the center and make another. That's extract brewing with specialty grains.

G3 Beer server

-from Gizmodo.