Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale - A Review

I found this at my local honey hole, and was surprised.  The Spring Seasonal 19 days after the first day of Winter? Oh well, why not?

Appearance (0-3): Pours up a crystal clear golden color with a thin, quickly fading head. 1 point.

Aroma/Bouquet (0-4): There are hints of grain and citrus, but it doesn't have a strong aroma at all. 3 points

Taste (0-10): Slight graininess, hints of hops and citrus.  I can taste the "Belgian" in it, but it is muted and very subtle. I has a slightly bitter finish with some grain. Reminds me of a Farmhouse ale. The malt hop balance is good, as there isn't much of either in the flavor.  Low carbonation, which is out of style. 7 points 

Overall Impression (0-3): A few years ago, Jimmy Suaric, the brewmaster at Shiner, correcting my explanation of one of the seasonals by saying, "Our interpretation of the style!" And this is their interpretation of the style. I can taste the style in there. But it's very subtle.  And since it's available here in Paradise, it gets 3 points

Total: 14 points

Mississippi Law Requires Home Brewers to Pay Excise Tax

Just when you think you get a handle on these silly liquor laws, something else pops up. Mississippi law does allow home brewers to make beer at home if they get a permit from the state. However, the permits available don't apply to homebrewers, and those permits cost $1000. And, theoretically, would make the home brewer pay an excise tax of $0.4268 per gallon of beer produced.

If I lived in Alabama, and this law were actually enforced, I would need to pay the state $85 to brew beer that I don't sell. What would hurt worse, the police could seize the beer.

Rep. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, is riding to the rescue, saying he will "likely" introduce legislation to correct this. But you know how politicians are.

This all came up because the local beer advocacy group Raise Your Pints requested clarification from the attorney general's office as part of the organization's plan to clarify the state's beer law. The group has been told that the law would not be enforced.

Compound in Beer Could Fight Viruses

Sapporo Medical Center in Tokyo published a study reporting that the compound humulone is hops that can help mitigate the respiratory syncytial virus, which is the cause of most respiratory illness. It is the leading cause of pneumonia and bronchitis in infants and older adults in the US.

Well, then. Tonight I'll take the oral medicine to prevent pneumonia.

White Stout?

Like Black IPAs? How does a White Stout sound? Well, kinda brown, actually. . .

I got this recipe from BeerAdvocate Magazine and Drew Beechum's column. I'm always fascinated by these kind of things so this is next on the agenda, likely January 29.

White Stout

Imperial Stout

Type: All Grain	Date: 1/1/2013
Batch Size: 6.00 gal	Brewer: Jeff Holt
Boil Size: 7.97 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Jeff's Equipment
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 60.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 17.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 82.35 % 1.25 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 5.88 % 1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 % 1.25 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 5.88 % 1.00 oz Magnum [14.00 %] (60 min) Hops 34.6 IBU 1.00 oz Crystal [3.50 %] (10 min) Hops 3.1 IBU 1 Pkgs London Ale (White Labs #WLP013) Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.076 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.021 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 7.17 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 37.8 IBU	Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 10.7 SRM	Color: Color
Mash Profile
Mash Name: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge	Total Grain Weight: 21.25 lb
Sparge Water: 3.88 gal	Grain Temperature: 72.0 F
Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F	TunTemperature: 72.0 F
Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE	Mash PH: 5.4 PH
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 26.56 qt of water at 165.9 F 154.0 F
Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).
Carbonation and Storage
Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar	Volumes of CO2: 2.4
Pressure/Weight: 4.5 oz	Carbonation Used: -
Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F	Age for: 28.0 days
Storage Temperature: 52.0 F
Notes
Created with BeerSmith

Bloody Bastard Kegging Day

After putting it off for five days, I finally got around to kegging Bloody Bastard Ale. I measured its final gravity at 1.007, making it about 6.25% ABV.

This batch was smokier than the previous one.  Should be delicious in a few weeks!

Alcohol Infographic

I hesitated posting this, but I need content. 

Here's an interesting demographic about what, when and how much Americans drink. I have one huge problem with it: the binge drinking graphic, and the binge drinking stats at the bottom. Whenever I hear someone use the term, my hackles rise. Sure enough, this infographic "Alcohol Addiction" of the Healthline.com website.

Sigh.

Still, it is interesting.  Now excuse me, my 12-pack is getting cold.

Healthline

KegSkins - No More Ice!

One day, Max Chautin watched $20 of ice melt at a party and came up with the idea for a keg-sized koozie. He managed to sell some KegSkins to The Venetian in Las Vegas for a pool party for 8000 guests. The KegSkins were able to keep the beer cold for up to 5 hours!

While 70% of his business is corporate, you can have one a KegSkin of your own for $39.95. If you want it customized it's $49.95.

The Ten Biggest Beer States

I ran across a story in the New Jersey Star-Ledger that listed the top ten beer states based on sales per capita from The Beer Institute. Here's the list:


10. Delaware (34.3 gallons)
9. Nebraska (34.6 gallons)
8. Texas (34.6 gallons)
7. Vermont (34.7 gallons)
6. Wisconsin (36.2 gallons)
5. Nevada (36.5 gallons)
4. South Dakota (38 gallons)
3. Montana (40.6 gallons)
2. North Dakota (42.2 gallons)
1. New Hampshire (43 gallons)

That's an interesting list in and of itself, but the article's writer, Tom DePoto, supplemented the data with information from the Center for Disease Control. Gems such as, "Delaware is among the top 15 states in the country for both binge drinking and heavy drinking," and "Binge and heavy drinkers account for nearly 26 percent of the adult population in the state [of Texas], and "Consumption has dropped nearly 2 percent, but a lot of binge and heavy drinkers remain."

So DePoto took a statisical list of beer sales with would generally be reported with a wink and a nudge, and editorialized the rest. Whatever happen to journalists' objectivity?

On The Interstate Part 2

While I was on the Interstate--25 miles from my house and serviced by the same distributors--I picked up something that would never ever arrive in Paradise: Miles Davis' Bitches Brew!

Miles Davis' Bitches Brew

Appearance (0-4): Since I don't know what gesho is (the labels read "Ale brewed with honey and gesho"). The label says it's an imperial stout.  So I'm judging it that way. Pours up an opaque jet black with a small tan head that fades quickly to a ring of tan bubbles. 3 points

Aroma/Bouquet (0-3): Slight aroma of coffee and roasted malts. 2 points

Taste (0-10): Coffey/roasted malt to start, with some hop bitterness on the middle of the tongue. Thick mouthfeel, Good carbonation. 9 points

Overall Impression (0-3): According to Wikipedia, gesho is used in a manner similar to hops. No clue what it tastes like. So I don't know how to judge it.  What I do know how to judge is how easy is it for me to get. This is not available in Paradise. Therefore it gets 0 points

Total (0-20): 14 points

I Had to Drive to the Interstate

Since I had to go to Kerrville. . .

Well I didn't actually have to go. I wanted to go to Grape and Grain. I had no expectation of finding bottles of Pumpkinator. The distributor told my local honey hole here in Paradise was told it was all sold out. Go figure.

Pumpkinator

Appearance (0-4): Jet black with a thin tan head. Opaque. Gorgeous. 4 points

Aroma/Bouquet (0-3): Pumpkin Pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg.  Maybe some pumpkin, it's hard to tell. The spices predominate. 2 points.

Taste (0-10): Some malt and pumpkin sweetness, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla, and a bit of hop bitterness in the finish. Reminds me of Dr. Pepper. Full bodied with medium carbonation. Amazing beer.  10 points.

Overall Impression (0-3): I love this beer. I look forward to its release every year. And, except for this year, I never get it. It's distributed with an eye dropper.  And this after moving to the larger brewery which promised we'd see more of this stuff. And by we, they meant folks along the Interstate. The rest of us in flyover country don't.* So, in accordance with my new review rules: 0 Points

Total: 16 points

*I don't blame Saint Arnold. Their local distributor, who shall remain nameless, distributes it with an eye dropper.

Saffron Tripel Tasting Notes

Saffron Tripel

Appearance (0-4): Poured up a hazy golden with a thin white head that falls fairly quickly. 2 points

Aroma (0-3): Hints of citrus and banana. Very subtle. 3 points

Taste (0-10): Medium bodied, light carbonation. Slight graininess, with hints of citrus, slight hop bitterness on the edges of my tongue, and at the finish. 8 points

Overall Impression (0-3): This turned out to be a little smaller than a tripel, which may explain why this is a bit hoppier than expected. But I like it. And who knows, I might just brew it again with a smaller hop bill. 2 points

Total: 15 points

Beer Bellies Cause Broken Bones!

MSNBC is reporting that beer guts are bad for you. Shocking!

Dr. Miriam Bredella studied 34 obese men (half with beer bellies, and half with fat stored all over their bodies) whose average age was 34. They learned that men with significant abdominal fat have weaker bones. She believes it is probably hormone related.

I Detect a Theme Here. . .

Having never actually served in the Armed Forces (Thanks for your service, Satan.) I've never had the opportunity to wear a bandolier. Sure, my character in my favorite first person shooter wears one, but I have little need for large amounts of ammo in my day to day life. So when I spotted The Hops Holster, I knew I had to have it!

When going to the ice chest is just too daunting a challenge (or when it's all the way across the lawn), slide 12 of your favorite cans into the insulated holders, strap them in, and grab an extra can for a brewers dozen. Then the party can go on the road (So to speak. This blog does not advocate drinking and driving.) with you.

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations, Mark! You are the winner of the Home Breathalyzer Giveaway!

Keep an eye on the mailbox.

Thanks to everyone who participated.