The adventures of a beer lover, brewriana collector and homebrewer in the Texas Hill Country
Thanks to Satan's timely arrival and assistance, I put a March pump in a toolbox. I finally got some additional fittings, and now, she is complete!
I will use this when I brew Bloody Bastard Lager. More on that later.
Appearance (0-3): Pours up a cloudy brown with ruby highlights and a thin tan head. 2 points.
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Aroma of green apples with some sweet malt in the background. 3 points
Taste: Hop/Malt Balance (0-4): Sweet malt, dark fruits with cardboard notes and that imported beer flavor. 2 points.
Aftertaste (0-3): Leaves hints of fruit (plums, etc.) in the finish. 2 points
Mouthfeel (0-3): Full bodied with lots of malt and warming alcohol. 3 points
Overall Impression (0-3): Not bad. Tastes old, though. Still a good beer. 2 points
14 points
Labels: Beer Review
Grape Juice is a retail wine and beer shop with close to 400 different selections, a wine and beer bar with 20 different beers on tap, and a restaurant in Kerville at 523 Water Street. That could make it the store with the largest variety in the Hill Country! Has anyone checked it out?
The Sunday before Thanksgiving, I kegged the Mirror Pond Pale Ale clone. Looked good. Tasted good. Smelled medicinal. OG was 1.060, FG is 1.014 which is about 6.1% abv. I put it in the fridge and have attached the CO2 to it, so hopefully it will be carbonated by Sunday when Satan comes to visit.
Labels: Recipes
Three men survived six days on a capsized boat in the Gulf of Mexico. They survived by drinking beer. "It kept you full. Made you feel full," one of them said.
Labels: Beer News
Lee, over at I Love Beer, recently announced that the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas just endorsed incumbent Governor Rick Perry in next year's election. If you are a supporter of craft beer and a Republican, I think your mind has just been made up.
Labels: Beer Politics
After three months in secondary, I kegges the Saison d'Hiver. Clear amber/orange with bourbon and cinnamon notes. 9.4% abv. Should be awesome in a few weeks. Even better next year! Even though this in my employer's Christmas beer, I will bottle a six pack for Nationals, and 4 22 ounce bombers for next year.
Part Cing will be the serving!
Labels: Recipes
Manny, one of the Basin Brewers, gave me a bottle of the Ken Schmidt-Maui Brewing-Stone Brewing collaboration, Kona Coffee macadamia Cococut Porter. To save time typing it over and over again, I'll call it Ambrosia.
Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter
Appearance (0-3): Pours up jet black and opaque, with a thick tan head that lingers and lingers. But the bubbles were a bit large, especially as it dissipated. 2 points
Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): Starts with a strong roast coffee aroma. Hints of chocolate, cream in the background. I can't tell if there's coconut, but who cares? Amazing aroma! 4 points
Taste: Hop/malt balance (0-4): Great balance, exactly as expected. 4 points
Aftertaste (0-3): Leaves a nice coffee finish with a lingering creamy sweetness on the back of the tongue. Some of it may be coconut, but it's hard for me to pick up. 3 points
Mouthfeel (0-3): Thick, full-bodied beer. Like a milkshake!! 3 points
Overall Impression (0-3): There are not enough superlatives for this beer. It's smooth, creamy and delicious. I enjoy coffee stouts and porters, but not the bitter roast that coffee can often give. Fredericksburg Brewing Company's Coffee porter is more like a cup of coffee, and made me wish for scrambled eggs. So did the Breakfast Stout at Back Country Brewing Company in Frisco, Colorado. This is a desert beer. This would have been great with the chocolate mousse I had at NHC in June. 3 points
Total: 19 points
Allow me to summarize, please. I do not believe there is a 20 point beer. Some approach it, and this is definitely one of those beers. I do not use half points or quarter points to judge beers. So 19 points is likely the highest score I will ever give. But, if I did do partial points, the score would be 19.9. An amazing beer. Wish I could get it here.
Labels: Beer Review
From the Press Release (photos from the Jester King site):
Jester King Craft Brewery is excited to report that it has completed fund raising, found a location and purchased a warehouse. After eighteen months of planning, fund raising began in June and finished this November with $500,000 raised. A 6,000 square foot warehouse has been secured, which is in the process of being disassembled and moved to the site of the Jester King Brewery.
The brewery will sit on four acres of ranch land in southwest Austin off of Fitzhugh Road. In addition to the brewery, the land will be the site of an olive grove. It should be a wonderful destination for artisan food and beer and local music.
Jester King is currently in the process of purchasing brewing equipment and becoming licensed. It projects to open in six to nine months during the spring or summer of 2010.
Congratulations to Jeff Stuffings, and thanks for putting the brewery on my side of town!
Labels: Jester King Brewery
Circle Brewing Company in Austin reached their first financial goal, and ordered their 30 barrel brew house. They're still looking for investors, but they are on their way!
Labels: Circle Brewing
The Board of Black Star Co-op has announced that the first cooperatively owned brewpub in the world will be located at North Lamar and St. Johns, north of the University of Texas Campus, in the Midtown Commons. Midtown Commons is Austin’s first transit-oriented development, which will include Capital Metro's light rail. If it ever gets off the ground (CapMetro that is, not the Commons).
Labels: Black Star Co-op
Yet another brewery is in the early stages of planning. And it's in Austin, too. Barbed Wire Brewing Company has a website that is clearly under construction. Anyone know anything else?
Labels: Barbed Wire Brewing Company
Ninkasi smiled again. No major problems. Hit my numbers in the mash and pre-boil gravity. Collected about 6 gallons, and got an OG of 1.050. I was shooting for 1.046. Close enough for Gubmint work, I suppose.
Four days in the fermenter and then I add the dry hops. Age another week and a half and into the keg!
Any prayers to Ninkasi on my behalf are gratefully accepted.
Labels: Recipe
If you would like to see some beers we can't get here, check out the list of the best 50 beers in Northern Ireland.
From the Rahr & Sons Newsletter:
Dear POSSE -
we have transfered the Bourbon Aged, Winter Warmer Old London Ale out of the OAK Barrel Casks and into KEGS !!!!!!
Now we have 20, count them 20 - 50 gallon Markers Mark Bourbon OAK Barrels that we are offering up at $75 a barrel.
These oak barrels would make a great table, garden items etc etc........... the sale will be as a first come first serve......
Come on out to our Saturday and Wednesday Tours and pick one of these great OAK BARRELS.
Ps. The Bourbon Aged Winter Warmer is just FANTASTIC !!!!!! It should be out in the bars and restaraunts within a week to 10 days !!!!!!
Satan came over for a visit and he asked if we could brew a British Pale Ale. I recently had the Deschutes Mirror Pond, and I thought it was "veddy" British. Fortunately, Jamil Zanisheff's show "Can You Brew It?" recently attempted a clone. Even though the boys didn't feel like the cloned the beer, JZ made a couple of suggestions, that I thought I would try. Sadly, I haven't had a chance to brew it, yet. Right now it is on schedule for Sunday the 8th.
Mirror Pond Clone Sorta
6 gallons | 60% efficiency | OG 1056 | 40.9 IBUs | 90 minute boil
7# Marris Otter
7# US two row malt
1# Crystal 60 (Recipe called for Crystal 80. LHBS was out.)
3 oz Cara-Pils
1 oz Cascade/85 minutes
1.25 oz Cascade/30 Minutes
1 oz Cascade/15 minutes
1.25 oz Cascade/1 minute
.5 oz Cascade/dry
WLP002
Mash at 149° F for 60 minutes. Boil 90 minutes. Ferment at 65°F.
We got an early start so we could visit Freetail Brewing in San Antonio.
Labels: Recipes
Robert Shields of Hampshire, England, wanted to sell a few bottles of beer to his friends. So he asked the government what he needed to do:
[Shields] had to register as an official brewery, get two further licences and convert his shed into a bonded warehouse.
He then had to get a personal licence to sell alcohol and go on a training course before police ran a criminal record check on him.
Finally authorities demanded he put up notices in front of his house and take out official adverts in the Daily Echo.
He should have just asked them to buy the ingredients. . .
Labels: Beer News
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