The Beer Thread

[sweetcell]

between homebrews this weekend, i had a Mischief by The Bruery (http://www.thebruery.com/beers/YearRound/mischief.html).  it markets itself as a "hoppy belgian ale", and it's downright delicious.  i'm generally not a fan of hoppy + belgian - typicaly hops & belgian yeast tend to step on each other in uncomplimentary ways, but Mischief pulls it.  i'll be buying this one again and am now curious about The Bruery's other offerings.  they seem like a legit craft brewery.

[James Ford]

Have you had Houblon Chouffe?

between homebrews this weekend, i had a Mischief by The Bruery (http://www.thebruery.com/beers/YearRound/mischief.html).  it markets itself as a "hoppy belgian ale", and it's downright delicious.  i'm generally not a fan of hoppy + belgian - typicaly hops & belgian yeast tend to step on each other in uncomplimentary ways, but Mischief pulls it.  i'll be buying this one again and am now curious about The Bruery's other offerings.  they seem like a legit craft brewery.

[sweetcell]

Have you had Houblon Chouffe?

i haven't.  it's been on my need-to-try list for some time now, just haven't stumbled across it yet (emphasis on stumbled ).   i'm a fan of La Chouffe and N'Ice Chouffe, so i have high hopes for the Houblon (which is the french word for hops, fyi).

last weekend i bottled a batch of belgian blond that i made using the d'Achouffe yeast strain.  it wasn't carbonated yet but it already tasted amazing.  can't wait to try it in a couple of weeks.  and in a couple of months, if i can get any to last that long.

[Relaxer]

I've been in Athens, Ga all week and drinking lots and lots of Red Brick Brown and damn its so good

[Relaxer]

But who cares because I hate this thread

[sweetcell]

don't listen to him, that's the beer talking.

[stevewizzle]

homebrew update:

pale ale is tasty. the malodextrine made the body maybe a bit too thick, carapils and water adjustments next time around.

saison is quite a ways a way from being properly bottle-conditioned.  3711 french saison yeast is a beast!!! FG = 1.000. 

brewed an iipa last night.  fuck these ridiculously hot temperatures, took forever to chill the wort.  using our mashtun as a water-bath and throwing in some frozen water bottles.  recipe here: http://hopville.com/recipe/1279731/imperial-ipa-recipes/8-ate-eight-iipa

started to make water chemistry adjustments.  feel so fancy.

[sweetcell]

saison is quite a ways a way from being properly bottle-conditioned.  3711 french saison yeast is a beast!!! FG = 1.000. 

    

translation: that yeast munched the hell outta the beer.  1.000 is a ridiculously low final gravity.  it's going to be dryyyyyyyyy like a proper saison should be.  nice!  once it's conditioned, feel free to include some if/when we get together to compare homebrews.  i've never had a homebrewed saison (except for my grand cru that was accidentally fermented at too high a temp and developed a lot of saison'y esters... so it was more of accidental saison).  it will likely complement my belgian blond nicely, which turned out just a tad sweeter than i wanted it.

i haven't gotten seriously into water correction other than throwing a little gypsum and/or using acidulated malt, depending on the style.  i don't have a scientific approach and am pretty conservative about the adjustments.  i need to get my tap water analyzed so i know what i'm working with.  i've reached out to the city for a detailed water report and got no reply.  bastards.

chilling in these temps is definitely a pain.  i've had success getting those last few degrees by throwing a chunk of sanitized ice into the wort once i've got it down into the 80's (use boiled water, sanitize the container before adding the water, put a lid on it while it freezes, etc).

[stevewizzle]

saison is quite a ways a way from being properly bottle-conditioned.  3711 french saison yeast is a beast!!! FG = 1.000. 

    

translation: that yeast munched the hell outta the beer.  1.000 is a ridiculously low final gravity.  it's going to be dryyyyyyyyy like a proper saison should be.  nice!  once it's conditioned, feel free to include some if/when we get together to compare homebrews.  i've never had a homebrewed saison (except for my grand cru that was accidentally fermented at too high a temp and developed a lot of saison'y esters... so it was more of accidental saison).  it will likely complement my belgian blond nicely, which turned out just a tad sweeter than i wanted it.

i haven't gotten seriously into water correction other than throwing a little gypsum and/or using acidulated malt, depending on the style.  i don't have a scientific approach and am pretty conservative about the adjustments.  i need to get my tap water analyzed so i know what i'm working with.  i've reached out to the city for a detailed water report and got no reply.  bastards.

chilling in these temps is definitely a pain.  i've had success getting those last few degrees by throwing a chunk of sanitized ice into the wort once i've got it down into the 80's (use boiled water, sanitize the container before adding the water, put a lid on it while it freezes, etc).

in these upcoming weeks, i'll let u know when it's done.  august i am likely in montana most of the month, so hopefully it is done sooner than later.  3711 did some serious high score pacman shit with this beer though... pretty excited.  sorachi actually is a little underwhelming right now, but you know how hops go - sometimes takes a little bit to really come out.

should have had ice by hand. lesson learned. big effort for the ice cubes, nice job with that.

you're in MD right?  DC water is nice, they have the report mailed to you, and they also have it available on the web-site.  i'm decent with the water chemistry, i'm excited to see the [edit] "results."

[sweetcell]

Have you had Houblon Chouffe?

i haven't.  it's been on my need-to-try list for some time now, just haven't stumbled across it yet (emphasis on stumbled ).   

finally stumbled into it tonight - on draft, no less.  it's "belgian week" at my fav tap-o-rama here in dallas.  tonight's special offering was a keg of houblon chouffe.  it's the best belgian IPA i've tasted to date, largely because the yeast successfully shines through - more so than the hops, IMO.  i also had a lot of fun picking out the commonalities between the houblon and my belgian blond which uses the same yeast, so i really savored every sip.  the houblon was good but not amazing.  i'm glad i got a chance to finally try it but i didn't order a second.  instead i had me a snifter of st bernadus abt 12.  currently sipping a duvel, contemplating what life will be like next week when i will no longer have an expense account i can charge all this delicious beer to...  it was a good run *sigh*

[sweetcell]

in these upcoming weeks, i'll let u know when it's done.  august i am likely in montana most of the month, so hopefully it is done sooner than later.  3711 did some serious high score pacman shit with this beer though... pretty excited.  sorachi actually is a little underwhelming right now, but you know how hops go - sometimes takes a little bit to really come out.

should have had ice by hand. lesson learned. big effort for the ice cubes, nice job with that.

you're in MD right?  DC water is nice, they have the report mailed to you, and they also have it available on the web-site.  i'm decent with the water chemistry, i'm excited to see the

i'm on vacation last week of july & first week and a half of august, so lets plan on having a homebrew summit when you return from MT.  saison was made to be stored, so it'll keep just fine.

your recipe says that you added the sorachi ace at 45 and 30 minutes.  with that long a boil, you won't get any flavor or aroma from the hops.  in essence, you've added expensive bittering hops.  anything longer than 15 minutes and you won't get much flavor or aroma.  15 to 10 minutes for flavor additions, 10-0 minutes for aroma.

when making ice for chilling, i use small plastic yogurt-type containers (or tupperware) to make "ice pucks".  i use containers with a lid so i can cover up the water while it freezes and prevent stuff from landing on its surface (which could potentially introduce infectious contaminants to the wort).

yes, i'm in MD - rockville to be precise.  the city issues an annual water analysis, but it's fairly useless.  there is a lack of detail.  they don't give any of the info that brewers require.  that's why i contacted them and requested a more detailed report.  and i got nothing.  bastards! 

look like you didn't finish that last sentence

[i am gay and i like cats]

http://bites.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/27/12973140-cheers-6-british-beers-to-quench-your-olympic-thirst?lite

http://sprbrewcrew.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/five-beers-to-enjoy-with-the-2012-olympics/

[James Ford]

I'm here in San Diego.

My friend and I hit Ballast Point, Alpine, Alesmith, Green Flash, and Lost Abbey Saturday and Stone today. i'm about beered out.

Best beers were Ballast Point Sculpin, Alesmith Speedway Stout, and Alpine Duet, Pure Hoppiness, and Nelson.

Tomorrow night we're going to Toronado, which has Alesmith Speedway Stout, De Struisse Pannepot, Ballast Point Sculpin, and Pliny the Elder on draft, among many others. So Ill have to get my taste back.

Speaking of Belgian IPA's, tried Green Flash Le Freak, and it was horrible.

[Frank Gallagher]

Good, good beer. $8.99 a 4-pack but well worth it.

[Yada]

 
http://ipaday.org