Another nice score

Another nice score at the beer store last weekend with upcoming reviews:
Harpoon 100 Barrel Ginger Wheat - reviewed
Harpoon 100 Barrel Oyster Stout
Orval
De Glazen Torren Oilsjtersen Tripel
Lagunitas Cappachino Stout
Southern Tier Gemini
6 of Troegs Nugget Nector - reviewed (not posted yet)
6 of Founder's Red's Rye - reviewed

Principles of Brewing Science by Fix

I have to say that this is by far and away one of the best brewing books I've ever read. It is not for the new brewer but if your looking for an intermediate to advance level brewing science book, this is it. Granted I have no idea what the chemical formulas mean....but I understand what he's saying.

Homebrewer's order a copy today; well worth it!

Harpoon Brewing Company 100 Barrel Series Ginger Wheat – Review #0007

For the most part I’ve enjoyed all of Harpoon’s 100 Barrel Series that I’ve tried. Having gone to school in Boston I’ve an attraction to any and all Massachusetts breweries.

Pours a slightly hazy goldenrod yellow with a big head that quickly fades to a fizzy ring leaving no lace what so ever, even in a freshly cleaned and dried glass; surprising for a wheat beer.

Asian inspired aromas of fresh ginger with lemongrass dominate this beer with a malty, spicy undertone.
Drinks with a medium body that quickly fade to a dry finish leaving behind a lingering fresh ginger aftertaste. Little to none of the lemon or honey, as per the ingredients, detectable in the flavor.  Hints of white pepper and other unidentifiable savory spices dance on the tongue. 

Overall an excellent beer if a bit one dimensional. Split a 22oz with my wife and had trouble finishing my share due to the overwhelming ginger; perhaps a bit too heavy handed with the ginger. Would be more drinkable with some additional sweetness and citrus. 

Nogne O 100 - Review #0006

 I received a bottle of #100 for my birthday and finally opened it up tonight. Labeled as a Barley Wine I’ve seen it listed as an IIPA (the Barley Wine Label is supposedly an error).  #100: 23,5°P, 80 IBU, 10% ALC/VOL, brewed with Maris Otter, wheat, and chocolate malt; Columbus, Chinook, and Centennial hops; English ale yeast, and Grimstad water. Whatever you call it it’s interesting, and after recently enjoying the Mikkeller’s All Others Pale, I’ve become interested in European craft beer.

Pours a murky dark ruddy brown with a slightly off white head that quickly fades to lacey white rings around the glass. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, hints of whole wheat bread, with a spicy, citrusy, and somewhat minty herbal hop aroma. 

Dry, yet creamy, mouth feel with a high level of carbonation that’s prickly on the tongue…..update: lost my notes on this one and that’s all I had.

this is only a test....

Well I must apologize to everyone for being away for so long; what can I say life has been busy.

Just a quick update for the moment, I have a few reviews I'm working on: NJHOPZ Final Gravity Podcast Ep2 has been posted and can be downloaded here. Even though I was unable to attend and had tons of information to share it's still pretty good ;p

Shipyard Brewing Co’s Old Thumper – Review #0005

It has been at least 10 years since I’ve last had an Old Thumper and I have to say it has been too long. This ESB once held an esteemed place in my heart and was a regular brew in my weekend rotation. A recent listing of regional winners in All About Beer magazine resurrected my interested in this beer so I picked up a six pack tonight on my way home from work.

Old Thumper pours a slightly opaque orange/caramely color with a mousey head that quickly dissolvers to not much more than a ring around the glass. Strong aromas of browns sugar and rum dominate this beer with hints of hard candy and spice (not unlike a root beer hard candy).

A dry, fairly light mouth feel that leaves a prickly sensation on the tongue. Malty, with hints of dark bread crust and caramel with a lingering hop resign aftertaste. A seemingly authentic and traditional ESB well worth a try.

Glassware and Sam Adams Noble Pils

Last night my wife, daughter, and I stopped at our local pub for dinner and was pleased to see they had the new Sam Adams Noble Pils on tap. I enjoyed it but found it hard to critique as I was eating dinner, had my daughter in my lap, and they served it in a frozen pint glass.....argh frozen glasses are a real pet peeve of mine. No beer should ever be served in a frozen glass, especially one that boasts hop flavor. So, sorry to say there is no review of the Noble Pils, however for all the unrefined beer drinkers here is an excellent link to an article on proper glassware from BeerAdvocate.

Mikkeller’s All Others Pale – Review #0004

I’ve been wanting to try Mikkeller’s All Others Pale for some time now and finally took off the skirt and picked it up this past weekend. I enjoyed it and would pick it up again. As always I try and expose my wife to good beer and she, true to fashion, dismissed it as terrible; she really doesn’t like hoppy beer.

All Others Pale comes right out of the gate with a huge candi sugar aroma followed up with a bready/biscuit backbone. It's a radiant, hazy, light orange to the eye that, once settled, has a long lasting thick head with aromas of bready malts and citrus, specifically orange, grapefruit and nectarines.

The flavor is very complex and rapidly changes as it warms up. My initial sip offered a dry mouth feel with almost an astringent hop character that very quickly faded to a silkiness on the tough not unlike a vanilla cream soda. Once warmed up that same silkiness becomes more reminiscent of a dry cracker, and a strong, herbaceous hop character. Over all a very complex pale ale reminiscent of an American style but distinctly European.

Electric HERMS vs RIMS

Now that my brew system is up and running again I’ve been contemplating some future moves. Propane is a pain in the neck and I would love to go all electric, would be nice to have my daughter join me out side on a nice brew day, but my eclectic is 120v so I’m limited. As a small half step upgrade I’ve been kicking around the idea of a small HERMS or RIMS set up for step mashing or mash outs. I’ll be picking up a 5 gallon beverage cooler tomorrow from someone on Freecycle and I’ll be stashing it away for a while until I decide what to do…hell, it’s free why not.

21A’s Monk’s Blood – Review #0003

From the 21A:
"Monk's Blood is the first installment in our new Insurrection Series, a limited edition, four-pack release of a very special beer that rises up in revolt against common notions of what canned beer can be. A Belgian dark-strong, brewed with dried mission figs, Belgian dark candy sugar, vanilla beans and aged over oak chips comes in at 8.3% ABV available in 4-pack cans and on draft at your favorite good beer place."

First let me say this beer really delivers as promised and does not disappoint. Pours a gorgeous dark ruby red with an off white, dare I say linen white, head that just cascaded down the glass as I enjoyed this beer.

Initial aroma impressions are similar to a dark fruit bread: stone fruits (cherries and plums) with raisins and figs; notes of vanilla, hard candy and a sourness not unlike a Flanders’s Brown all underpinned by dark bread.

Medium bodied with a dry, mildly hoppy, earthy/spicy finish. It tastes malty and bready with currents, cherries, figs, and hints of spice; no sourness or acidic flavors as indicated by the aroma. The oak is not over done and is barely noticeable, perfectly balanced; adds a subtlety that almost can’t be placed.

Over all a fine example of a Belgian Dark Strong; I wouldn’t go so far as to say a true classic example….more of a classic example that leans toward an American interpretation. Well done 21A, well done indeed.

Weekend score

My sister-in-law got me a $25 gift certificate to Shoreline Beverage in Huntington, NY. It's one of the better, if not the best, beer distributor in the area near my Mother's house on Long Island. Has a very large selection of American Craft Brews as well as some hard to find imports.

I was able to get there over the weekend while visiting the Fam for my wife's birthday. Picked up a 4 pack of 21A's Monk's Blood, a bomber of Herculie's IIPA by Great Divide, a bomber of Mikkeller's All Others Pale, and an Avery The Beast. I've had both the Monk's Blood and the Herculie's before and both are excellent beers. Stay tuned for the reviews.

Welcome and nice to meet you!

It was nice to get out to a NJHOPZ meeting last night for the first time in months. Couple of new guys showed up and some old familiar faces too. I must say that homebrewers must be some of the most generous people out there...I walked away with two homebrews, about an ounce of home grown whole leaf Cascade hops, and some Thames Valley II yeast (that was an actual purchase).

Excuse me bud….

My daughter turns 4 this summer and my wife and I plan on holding her birthday party at the pool club we intend to join. Last year one of my board members introduced me to the Swim and Sports Club in Flanders, NJ; the place rocks. The club has a plake, that’s right it’s not a typo. A plake is a pool fed by a natural spring (pool + lake = plake…I don’t make this up). Beyond the plake they also have a clubhouse, picnic grounds, a giant open field, and 2 playground. They allow parties in the picnic area….but never mind that.

I really want to showcase my homebrew this year. Last year I had intended on brewing three to four batches for the party and well never did, and what I did brew, I finished before the party….it was a hell of good IPA.

Now that you have the back story I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what to brew. I want to try and offer a few selections of beers that would appeal to a wide variety of people and herein lays my conundrum: am I selling out because it’s easier to make beer for the masses then it is to convert them into knowledgeable beer drinkers? Not only that, is it my pride, subconsciously persuading me to make beer that the masses will enjoy which will in turn award me praises? Never have I even once considered making an American Pils until now. I don’t normally even drink pils, any pils, just not my style, and now I’m searching forum after forum, on the verge of emailing the Pope (Jamil) himself for advice on how to brew an American Pils with a Cal Common yeast all because I subconsciously want people to like my beer.

I feel like I’m failing myself. I have never made beer to please anyone but myself, why the sudden change of heart I have no idea? Make no mistake I’ve brewed shitty beer and I know it’s shitty; I’m my worst critic. I’m not running around saying my beer is better than anyone else’s but it makes me happy and that’s what has always kept me going….

Interesting Articles

Found some very interesting brewing articles today.

Ester Formation in Brewery Fermentations by Hilary Peddie

A Flavour Model for Beer Fermentation by Douglas Gee, et al

and

The Formation of Esters and Higher Alcohols During Brewery Fermentation; The Effects of Carbon Dioxide Pressure by Renger, et al


Enjoy.

Deep in the heart of Texas

It has been one week to the day and I'm jonesing to take a gravity reading of my Amarillo Pale ale. Perhaps when I get home from work, I work a part time job that includes every other Saturday, I'll break out the thief and pull off a sample.

My Amarillo Pale was my first brew on my new equipment. Few months ago I discovered that I was upgrading in too many directions and it would have cost me more to retrofit everything than it would to start fresh. So I got a new 10 gallon cooler and 10 gallon boil kettle for Christmas. Thanks Santa!

Anyway the brew day was a smashing success. Got higher efficiency then expected, the day went as smooth as silk, and a buddy of mine and I put back a few nice beers.

Here's my recipe:

Target OG 1.051
Actual OG 1.058
Target IBU 47.5
Actual IBU 54.3

12lb Halycon Pale Ale Malt
.5lb Crystal 20L
.25 Crystal 55L
.5lb White Wheat

2 oz Amarillo 8%aa FWH carried over to boil
1 oz Amarillo 8%aa at knockout

Safale US05

Mashed 60 minutes at 152f. Mash with 4.25 gallons of water: 1.28qt/lb. Infused mash with 2.5 gallons of boiling water for a 10 minute mash out at 168f. Collected 5.25 gallons of first runnings at 1.067. 3.5 gallons of 170f infused for second runnings. Collected 9 gallons at 1.051. Boiled 60 minutes, added whirlfloc at 10 minute remaining. Chilled, whirlpooled, racked off the trub and pitched.

Fermented at 64f....looks and smell wonderful, has aromas of fresh bread with a nicely assertive citrus character.

Moylan's Double IPA - Review #0002

Finally broke open a Moylan's Double IPA last night that's been sitting in my fridge for a week and I'm sorry to say, it was a bit disappointing. Don't get me wrong it is a well designed beer and worthy of the awards and accolades it has received, it's just not my type of double IPA.

I found it a bit too full bodied and I don't care for Chinook and Simco hops; I just don't care for the piney/resiny hops. Lingers in the mouth and feels sticky on the tongue.

Poured a beautiful orangie/amber with a nice long lasting head. Aromas of citrus and pine with a hint of the garlic and onions. A bit too full in the mouth feel but just a bit, that's more of a personal issue. Nowhere near as full bodied as say an Avery Maharaja, but not as dry as a Southern Tier Unearthly.

Over all an excellent Double IPA but not one I would gravitate towards again in the future.

My pal saccharomyces cerevisiae

In my quest for technical brewing knowledge I finally gave up trying to read scholarly works by biochemists and focus on the basics.....

Life Cycle of the Budding Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by IRA HERSKOWITZ. Department of Biochemistry & Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143 MICROBIOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Dec. 1988, p. 536-553.

Click for the link but not sure if it'll work outside the college network.

Founders Red's Rye Ale - Review #0001

Let me first say that Founders has quickly become one of my favorite brewery out there today. Their beer is well crafted and not too over the top as Dogfish Head, who I personally feel brews over the top beers just to be over the top, and broken.They have an excellent assortment of beers that are exciting while still maintaining balanced and drinkability.

I've seen Red's Rye around for months but always seem to pass it up for their Centennial IPA or Backwoods Bastard or Dirty Bastard or Dry Hopped Pale Ale....like Founders much? Yes I do.

I finally decided to have one when my wife and I were out to dinner a few weeks ago at a place called Salt in Stanhope (not a half bad selection of beer, nothing too exciting but not bad). As usual I was pleasantly surprised at how good this beer is. A huge hop burst of citrus and grapfruit from the Amarillo hops with a spicy/malty rye backbone with hints of caramel.

Pours a lovely garnet red with ruby highlights and slightly off white head. Clear as day with a wonderfully enticing aroma. The easiest drinking 70 ibus I've ever had. Makes me wonder if they mash hop or first wort hop this one....perhaps late additions combined with low cohumulone levels of Amarillo just make this a home run.

One of the best red rye ales I've had, far exceeds Harpoon's 100 Barrel Series Rusty's Red Rye which was my leading rye beer previously. Nice work Founders, keep'em coming.

Welcome to the jersey zymurgist

Let me start off by saying welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by. My name is Scott and I'm a homebrewer in North Jersey. Been brewing on and off for the last 14 years. I've recently come out of hibernation again after selling all my gear and starting fresh. My intention with this blog is to document my brewing as well as various reviews and musings on beer and brewing.