2011's Final Homebrews

Time to report back on my last two homebrews. One exceeded expectations, one disappointed. Next up? An oak-aged bourbon stout!

Vacationland Belgian Pale Ale, Score: 9
Named in preparation for my summer vacation up to Maine. Iwasn't particularly pleased to be forced to use a Belgian Abbey yeast strain for this Pale Ale, but it did provide the desired Belgian flavor. Fantastic fresh appealing nose with multiple notes of sweetness. Translucent pour with nice head. Taste has solid malt profile but is not overly-heavy. Bitterness is light, pleasant, and on-par for a Pale Ale. Yeast imparts a wonderful musty, Belgian component and some medicinal notes on back end. Even with big flavor, Vacationland has a light mouthfeel and is very sessionable. Probably my tastiest beer yet. Could not keep it on the shelf. Working in tandem, Dan and George quickly wiped out my inventory as the Patriots season progressed. A ringing endorsement, I suppose.

Republic of Cascadia Dark Ale, Score: 5
I was hoping to produce a Pacific Northwest-style Black IPA but wound up with another Robust Porter. The body was simply too heavy, Black IPA's are lighter and more sessionable. Pours dark murky color with neat head. Sweetness and hops hit nose nearly equally. Acidic bitterness is first flavor to hit the tongue, followed by heavily roasted coffee flavored malts. Sour, off-flavor note becomes more prominent as beer ages. Warrior, Willamette, and Cascade hops did impart a tasty bitterness at least. Smooth and lively. I will take another whack at this style at some point. It is worth noting that while I scored this lower than past porters, I think my grading scale is getting tougher as time goes on. Not a bad thing.

Out of the brewpot

Time to rank the homebrews! Sadly, my last two were just good, not great. Expectations are high though for my upcoming Belgian Pale Ale and Black IPA!

Josh's Homebrew Pilgrimage Porter, Score: 5
a chocolate raspberry porter named for my annual winter trek up to maine for some beer and hockey. raspberry flavoring extract was used simply because pounds of fresh ones would have been ridiculously expensive. real unsweetened baker's chocolate was used however, to not entirely positive results. super sweet raspberries absolutely dominate the aroma and are fairly appealing. chocolate joins in flavor but the extreme dryness of texture gives distinct impression of cocoa powder. mouthfeel is still creamy but well-carbonated. ultimately, the excessive dryness imparted by chocolate proves to be fatal flaw for me. lot of potential but ends up being a sipper of a dessert beer.

Josh's Homebrew It Must Be Wedding Saison, Batch 2, Score: 6
the first recipe that i have brewed twice, this time in honor of dan and dena's wedding. sadly, this did not turn out quite as well as homebrew #7. much of the blame goes to the fact that i couldn't come up with the same yeast as the first time around... far more spiced and peppery than i was looking for. earthy yeast, light fruity bitterness, and balancing malts defined the beer once again. also dried out a little more and heavier in body, but still sessionable. good not great.

Homebrew Retrospective

With Homebrew #15 hot-off-the-press, it felt like a good opportunity to look back at my accomplishments in 2 1/2 years of brewing. There is no question in my mind that the quality has improved steadily and it's worth noting that all but one (my only all-grain recipie, an oatmeal stout) were thoroughly drinkable. It has been a lot of fun to use new ingredients and brew exactly what I have been hankering for!

For the occassion, Dan has put together his ranking of my first 14 homebrews. He did a pretty good job, but if you are looking for the answer key, I included it below.

(Note: Homebrews in picture to the side are in chronological order from left to right, and front to back. #1 Waiting Pale Ale, #2 Promised Porter, #3 Vain Stout, #4 Hoppy IPA, #5 Crimes Bitter, #6 Kahawa Porter, #7 Wedding Saison, #8 American Wheat, #9 Mr. Jack Pumpkin, #10 Naughty Stout, #11 Wit, #12 Stash IPA, #13 Google Pale, #14 Cherry Dubbel, and the soon-to-be-reviewed #15 Pilgrimage Porter!)

Dan's Rankings
1. It Must Be Wedding Saison
2. Stash
3. Bia Kahawa Afrika
4. Cherry (Hold-the-Chili) Christmas Dubbel
5. Hoppy Holidays!/Obama Beer!
6. Promised Land Porter
7. The-Waiting-Is-The-Hardest-Part Pale Ale
8. GoogleDoc Draft
9. Crimes Against Humanity Bitter
10. Wit and Wisdom
11. Hold-The-Lemon American Wheat
12. Mr. Jack Ale'Lantern
13. You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You!
14. Naughty or Nice

Josh's Rankings
1. Stash
2. It Must Be Wedding Saison
3. Bia Kahawa Afrika
4. Crimes Against Humanity Bitter
5. Cherry (Hold-the-Chili) Christmas Dubbel
6. Promised Land Porter
7. Wit and Wisdom
8. GoogleDoc Draft
9. Hold-The-Lemon American Wheat
10. Hoppy Holidays!/Obama Beer!
11. Mr. Jack Ale'Lantern
12. The-Waiting-Is-The-Hardest-Part Pale Ale
13. Naughty or Nice
14. You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You!

Homebrew Update

Time for a homebrew update! My last couple of brews have been a hoppy pale ale for my fantasy football draft and a cherry dubbel ale for the Christmas season. Both turned out pretty well.

GoogleDoc Draft
brewed for our fantasy football draft last fall but it wasn't carbonated in time. it turned out i used lactose, a non-fermentable sugar to prime the batch. fortunately, it ended up being a correctable mistake. fairly cloudy amber pour with thick head. huge grassy, citrusy nose. definite earthiness to it, not necessarily in a bad way. good amount of hoppiness in taste, not too much, just right. light to medium body and fairly textured. lively. very quaffable. i liked this better than my first pale ale.
Score: 7

Cherry (Hold-the-Chili) Christmas Dubbel
as the name suggests, my second winter seasonal beer involving cherries. instead of real fruit i went for flavored extract this time -- a good choice. fairly translucent amber on pour with neat head. you do catch a wiff of cherry in the aroma but i detect alcohol more than anything. (i am not good about keeping track of my gravity readings, but i would peg this as my first homebrew of over 6% abv...) clean, medium-bodied mouthfeel. astringent bitterness up front, which was a bit of a surprise to me. layers of malts are present, however -- this has to be the most complex brew i have made, as well. this could stand to mellow a little, so we will have to see what some age will do. overall, i thought the cherry flavor was well-placed. good stuff.
Score: 7

Next up? A Chocolate Raspberry Porter. When I bottled the wort last week it smelled absolutely amazing. Two more weeks to go!

Ho-ho-hops!

We wish you a beery Christmas
By JOSH SMITH December 15, 2010
http://providence.thephoenix.com/food/112954-ho-ho-hops/?page=1#TOPCONTENT

Beer is the world's most popular alcoholic drink. Living during this current renaissance of craft beer has allowed a wide spectrum of styles and flavors to become available, making the beverage even more accessible than ever. So whether your loved one has a budding interest in or full-blown obsession with craft beer, there are plenty of beer-related gifts that belong under the tree this year.

TICKETS TO A BEER FESTIVAL OR DINNER. I find that many of those on my Christmas list have more than everything they need in life, making the gift of an experience much preferable to giving more material things. An evening at a beer festival or beer dinner, especially for the uninitiated, is one of the most fun gifts you can give.

BEER OF THE MONTH CLUB. This is one gift I haven't had the chance to try out yet (hint, hint, for any family and friends reading!). Check out DrinkCraftBeer.com, where my friend Devon has put together a great comparison of some of the most popular clubs out there. This isn't a cheap gift at $35-45 per month, but having a case of new beers arrive every month on your doorstep is pricless!

GEAR FROM LOCAL BREWPUB. Odds are that if you are considering a beer-centric gift for your loved one, they probably already have a favorite local brewpub. These community institutions both deserve and need our support, so pick-up a T-shirt, sweatshirt, hat, or glassware emblazoned with the brewpub's logo. If you are making your purchase close enough to Christmas, growlers to-go may also be an option.

READING MATERIAL. There are a number of craft beer publications to help you keep up to date on all beer-related happenings. I subscribe to Beer Advocate magazine, an incredibly informative source of all news beer.

PROPER GLASSWARE. This is not the first time that I have sung the praises of proper glassware in this column, and it probably won't be the last. Beer glasses are cool and exponentially improve the experience of drinking beer. Put another way, proper glassware makes good beer better.

Survey what glassware (if any) that this individual already owns. If he or she doesn't have proper glassware for their favorite style, than move this suggestion to the top of the list! Every respectable beer drinker should have at least two pint glasses, mugs, snifters, tulips, and pilsner glasses. Crate & Barrel is one of the best places to start.

HOME BREW EQUIPMENT. For the past two years I've brewed my own beer. After an initial investment of $100 for equipment, each batch costs approximately $40 for 50 bottles. And it's so easy! Boil malts and hops for an hour, put in a carboy with yeast, bottle, wait three weeks, and — voila! — you have beer! This gift is certainly intended for hardcore craft beer enthusiasts, but if committed, this is a great opportunity to learn a lot about beer and be creative. Most any home brew book will tell you what equipment is necessary, but a gift certificate to your local home brew shop works too. I've heard kits, such as Mr. Beer, work fine, but if the beer lover on your list is serious about brewing, I recommend getting higher quality equipment.

BEER. You knew this was going to make the list at some point. Honestly, this is generally what I am hoping to see under the Christmas tree. Nøgne Special Holiday Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Rogue Santa's Private Reserve, and Full Sail Wassail are all great winter seasonals if you want to go that route. This is also a good opportunity to pick up that more expensive "splurge" beer they may have been putting off, perhaps Allagash's Confluence Ale or Dogfish Head Fort. Who knows, maybe they will open the bottle and share a glass with you on Christmas Day!

Homebrew #11 & #12

With a hoppy pale ale almost finished (a Mirror Pond Pale Ale clone), I realized that I never briefed you on my last two homebrews. Both were tribute beers, the most recent going down as my favorite homebrew to date...

Josh's Homebrew's Wit and Wisdom
Bottle -- Brockton
named for the recently departed howard zinn, a former brewer himself. to call this a gusher doesn't begin to describe. this is the first time i have had a bottle explode... and a growler too! what a mess. cloudiness you hope for in a wit. aroma is primarily citrus and some biscuity malts. again, a very fruity flavor. sweet and slightly tart. wheat lends a textured, dryish mouthfeel. overall, very easy to drink. an enjoyable summer beer.
Score: 7

Josh's Homebrew's Stash
Bottle -- Brockton
first off, you may be wondering about the name. it's a tribute to phish, who i was preparing to see at mansfield. (a phenomenal show, but i know that is not why you are here to read about...) this was my second ipa, and while the first one was pretty good, i wanted a hoppier, cleaner ipa this time around. in pursuit of this goal i used 5 ounces of cascade, fuggle, and columbus hops and was overly cautious in straining the beer. the results were fantastic. generally i am slow to render judgement on a homebrew but this time i declared it a winner after the first taste. very piney nose, and the flavor follows. very tasty. while the bitterness is fairly robust, it is easy to put away a few at a time (i am going to have to ration this liquid gold...) orange in color and good clarity. add it all up and you clearly get the greatest beer i have ever made.
Score: 9

Naughty or Nice

Homebrew number ten continued my recent streak of seasonal beers; this was a stout for those cold winter days. As I mentioned before, rather than play it safe after the disaster of my first stout, I decided to double down. This would be a milk stout. With chocolate, lots of it, and cherries. And chili peppers too! I know I lost a lot of people with that last one, but to them I say, try a bar of chocolate with chillies inside sometime. They belong together.

But it didn't stop here. At some point Dan suggested, mostly in jest, that I should put a cherry in some of the bottles, a chili in others... and not tell people which is which! Brilliant! Naughty or Nice was born. In many ways, this homebrew was more of an adventure than a beer. Totally worth it though.

Josh's Homebrew's Naughty or Nice
Bottle -- Brockton
incredibly explosive on pour, especially when the cherry gets caught in the neck of the bottle... which happens every time. sadly, some beers saw more of my kitchen ceiling than a glass. so it goes. big creamy tan head once you get it out. chocolate, cola, and somewhat peppery nose (more black pepper than the spicy variety though)... and chocolate cocoa powder again dominates the flavor. i was both surprised and pleased to pick up the cherry flavor throughout. you will get some heat that builds in the back of your throat, but overall fits in well, i think. however, when there is a jalapeno in the bottle in place of the cherry, it gets downright spicy. as my dad said, you need a beer to wash down this beer. so there are worse things. lively, as you might expect. medium bodied, not heavy, but also not a session beer for all the powerful factors at work. this was a really fun, interesting beer, but certainly not my finest work.
Score: 4

Homebrewing through the seasons

It has been a while since I posted about my homebrews, so let's catch up. My last few homebrews have been heavily tied to the seasons, unlike my early homebrews which just focused on some of the major styles. A wheat beer for the steamy end of the summer, a pumpkin ale for the fall, and a darker beer planned for the holidays.

Hold-The-Lemon American Wheat
Bottle -- Brockton
designed as a clone to widmer's hefeweizen -- my first attempt at a true clone. not a hef though, just like widmer's isn't a hef. american wheat is a much more appropriate designation in my book, much like harpoon's ufo hefeweizen or sam adam's summer. (but hopefully mine will be a little better than the latter though...) the idea was a flavorful, yet easy drinking beer. nice enough looking beer with some fresh hops on nose. love the flavor too -- citrus from the hops and caramel from the malts. solid balance. yeast is especially tasty (wyeast 1007), again more fruity than a german hef strain. smooth going down, perhaps slightly watery. i thought this accompanied meals especially well and was pleased with how close this was to what i was going for. i should point out the flavor turned slightly after 6 weeks, but nothing compared to this next beer...
Score: 6

Mr. Jack Ale'Lantern
Giant pumpkin -- Brockton
pours clear orange with neat head... spice does come through in aroma, along with malts, a hint of alcohol, and apples? that was unexpected. nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves all present themselves in taste to lend a real pumpkin flavor to it (i discovered in the brewing process that pumpkin really doesn't have much a flavor to it at all, and what we consider to be the taste of pumpkin is actually fall spices... seriously, taste it sometime.) there is a moment of bitterness up front and i was surprised to taste the yeast as well. very lively mouthfeel throughout and very light bodied. as mentioned in the last post, this rating is for the beer when first brewed. the spices did start to sour fairly quickly, so this is a beer that needs to be consumed relatively quickly. still, i would consider this a success.
Score: 6

On deck:
Chocolate. Chipotle. Milk. Stout. Returning to the scene of my greatest failure: homebrew #3, You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You! I thought I could play it safe on this one and produce a Guiness or something... or I could brew the greatest beer ever made. Results to come at Christmas.

Fun with pumpkins

This was probably the most excited I have been about Halloween since the age of 5. Yes, 5 -- by the age of 6 I had already developed my current disinterest in candy. But enough about my sad, puritanical life.

This Halloween was exciting since I was going to build a keg out of a pumpkin. And then put my homebrewed pumpkin ale in it. And then drink it! This was going to be big.

Step 1: Now listen carefully because this is the most important step: Find some suckers to allow you to create a keg out of a giant pumpkin inside their house! Ladies and gentlemen, Leanne and Ryan! (Note the lack of alcoholic beverages in front of everyone but myself -- this becomes increasingly relevant as our story goes on...)

Step 2: Find a large knife with which to stab the pumpkin. Remove a lot of pumpkin guts.

Step 3: Secure access to some serious powertools. (Note concerned look on the face of all onlookers...) Now, very carefully drill a hole that is just big enough for... @#$% %^&*! Okay, take a deep breath, we can fix this. RYAN, WHERE IS THE DUCT TAPE?! WHAT?! WHO DOESN'T OWN DUCT TAPE?!?!

Step 4: With the tap "secured" we are ready. It is at this point the relevance of completing Step 1 becomes very evident. Man, Kelly would kill me if I ever did this in our house. Nevermind that, everyone, fill that pumpkin!

Step 5: Wow, that is a lot of beer. Let's seal this up and get started!

Step 6: "You are going to have some, right, Kelly? Where is your cup? Oh, you are full. Okay, how about you, Ryan? What, you are making hot apple cider? Well, that was forseeable... George! My trusty old buddy, George! Here have some delicious pumpkin beer! What? It is too sweet?! BUT THEN WHY ARE YOU DRINKING HOT APPLE CIDER INSTEAD?!?!" Obviously, I proceeded to drink a lot of pumpkin beer. Here is some of the aftermath. Note massive flooding below pumpkin.

To be fair, this beer was much better when I first brewed it. I had heard that spiced beers tend to sour over time, but I never thought it would happen in the span of a couple of weeks. In an effort to fix the problem, I added a brown sugar solution to sweeten the beer, which was definitely an over-correction. So it goes. I thought the beer was still delicious, although the last quarter of a pumpkin was a little heavy. I wouldn't say the pumpkin infused much flavor, but that wasn't really the point, is it? Next time I would better time the brewing, put the pumpkin on ice, and probably get a smaller pumpkin. But again, where is the fun in that? Regardless, I highly recommend trying this yourself next Halloween. Just remember, Step 1 is the most important step.

RedBones Barbeque

RedBones Barbeque
55 Chester Street, Sommerville
Now this is a barbeque joint! Not trendy in the least, this place has some good old fashioned cooking. The pulled pork sandwich was amazing. It isn't often that I open one of these posts talking about the food, and I don't mean for it to take away from the beer. 24 taps, with a good mix of local, west coast, and Belgian. Bottle list isn't much to speak of, but you come for the tap list, right? The atmosphere was very comfortable with a full restaurant and bar, the game on, and bright decorations reminiscient of a road-side stand (see picture below from The Phoenix.) I believe they get live acts downstairs, host charity runs and poetry readings, so there is a lot going on. Service, quality -- this place had it all. Certainly recommended, especially if you are hungry.
Atmosphere: 5/5, Selection: 8/10, Quality: 8/10, Service: 4/5, Overall: 15/20, Total: 40/50
Total rating: A-

Chester Street Amber
Sample -- RedBones Barbeque
i couldn't figure out where this beer came from at first before deciding that it must be a housebrew. whatever the story, it was pretty good. note of chocolate stuck out to me. manages to be both flavorful and very light drinking.
Score: 7

Harpoon Leviathan Saison Royale
Sample -- RedBones Barbeque
curiously, our waiter tried to talk me out of ordering this beer as "a lot of beer." seeing as it was just a sample and i am a man, i told him i thought i could handle it. glad i did because it was great (...and strong...) golding and hallertauer hops are strong enough that you feel like you are eating them whole. a good thing -- delicious.
Score: 9

Southern Tier Harvest Ale
Sample -- RedBones Barbeque
an esb with very impressive lace coating. sweet, hoppy, and smooth. good qualities. best southern tier drinking experience i have had in some time.
Score: 7

Homebrew: It Must Be Wedding Saison

I can hear it already. My success has gone straight to my head! Yup, Mr. Cedrone is going to tear me apart for rating my homebrew higher than those in the same style put forward by such reknowned brewers as Jolly Pumpkin, North Coast, and The Lost Abbey. Here is the thing though: mine is better. I can't think of a saison that I didn't enjoy, but this did happen to be a pretty lackluster bunch. And while there is a special place in my part for my homebrews, this was an excellent beer.

Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
750 ml -- Lighthouse, Manchester, ME
very light color with frothy head... nice aroma of fruit and yeast... taste is of white grapes... very, very dry. a very odd farmhouse, for sure. has a delicate, champagne-like taste i have come to associate with jolly pumpkin. not neccessarily a good thing either. i think i may have gotten ahead of myself with this brewer...
Score: 6

North Coast Le Merle
Bottle -- Chris Gasbarro's, Seekonk
very active head... very spicy aroma paired with funky yeast... quite sour, not altogether pleasant either... fruitiness is present, but not as dominant as in some farmhouses... liveliness in mouthfeel is kind of distracting to be honest... not the best saison i have ever had, but this style is always enjoyable.
Score: 5

The Lost Abbey Carnevale
22 oz -- Luke's, Rockland
pretty light for the style. yeast was missing desired level of funkiness too. kind of simplistic too. being a belgian from lost abbey i had pretty high expectations... i suppose a little too high.
Score: 5

It Must Be Wedding Saison
Bottle -- Brockton
so this seemed like the perfect style for a wedding brew: light and sessionable, flavorful yet accessible to non-craft beer drinkers. the style has a springy-feel to it too. unfortunately, i wasn't able to serve it at the wedding itself, but honestly, i had to ration it even though it was just available before and after the reception. anyways, it seemed to go over well. pours ruby-orange color, opaque, with big head and tight bubbles... spice, yeast, hint of alcohol, and cherry cough syrup... banana and yeast hit taste buds first, center of taste is nutty malt and earthy, fresh hops, with building bitterness at end... taste is quite fruity, while yeast dominates -- funky and tart... dry, textured, and lively. a lovely beer to drink. without a doubt my favorite homebrew yet and the first beer i would consider brewing exactly the same the next time around... high praise.
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 9/10, Flavor: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, Total: 4.0
Score: 8

Homebrew: Bia Kahawa Afrika

Ah, breakfast beer! I have written a lot about breakfast stout's in this blog, but what about a coffeehouse porter for breakfast? Well, why not? (Besides the obvious...) That was part of the thought when drawing up my latest homebrew. I started with the recipie for my fairly successful Promised Land Porter and tried to make it even more robust with 4 oz of Cascade, Fuggle, and Williamette hops. And to make it a coffeehouse, I cold brewed 1/2 gallon of Fair Trade coffee from Kenya. Thus the name in Swahili, Bia Kahawa Africa (African Coffee Beer.) Before we get there though, let's see how it stacked up to some other pretty good breakfast beers.

Redhook Double Black Stout (with Coffee)
22 oz bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
very nice head to top black body... chocolate malt and cola-like smell... coffee does assert itself in flavor, along with sweet nuttiness and a hint of vanilla... creamy, smooth feel. very enjoyable. i think a lot more of redhook because of this beer.
Score: 9

Long Trail Brewmaster Series Coffee Stout
22 oz bottle -- Chris Gasbarro's, Seekonk
very pleased to see long trail get into some more specialty beers with this series. classy label. pours perfectly into my tulip glass. nice strong roast coffee smell that melds nicely with alcohol. alcohol presence in the aroma isn't always welcome, but it works very well here. malt flavor is heavily roasted, but not yet charred. slight pepperiness too. bitterness is there, but is off-set by subtle sweetness. good carbonation in the mouthfeel, but aftertaste is not quite as smooth as you might expect. liked this a lot.
Score: 8

Bia Kahawa Afrika
Bottle -- Brockton
pours very dark, with sizable off-white head. smells more like an ipa with all of the cascade hops here, followed in hot pursuit by the coffee. coffee flavor comes on strong in the taste (some might say too strong... but not me.) cocoa flavor from chocolate malt accompanies. bitterness is quite earthy. very smooth, with a little more heft to the body than my last porter. that is a good thing, and taste was pretty close to what i was looking for as well. gonna call this a victory.
Appearance: 3/5, Aroma: 8/10, Flavor: 7/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 15/20, Total: 3.7
Score: 8

Homebrew: Crimes Against Humanity Bitter

I have said before that I find it very difficult to rate my own homebrews. I alternate between being overly critical and understandably fond of my own creation. In general, I think my rankings have been too high. I realized I would not rate one of these beers nearly as highly had it come from a craft brewer, but my enjoyment of and attachment to these beers has led me to unintentionally boost the score of these beers. Not to mention the fact that I think there is still a lot of room for me to improve as a brewer with these styles. As I have said before, ratings are most definitely subjective. But I think it helps to 1) take some time before reviewing the brew, and 2) tasting some of my homebrews side by side. After utilizing these strategies, I feel the need to rerank my homebrews.

1) Josh's Homebrews Promised Land Porter, 7
2) Josh's Homebrews Crimes Against Humanity Bitter, 7
3) Josh's Homebrews Hoppy Holidays! / Obama Beer!, 5
4) Josh's Homebrews The-Waiting-Is-The-Hardest-Part Pale Ale, 5
5) Josh's Homebrews You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You!, 1

Homebrew number six (a Robust Coffee Porter!) will be done in a little more than a week, so stay tuned. In the meantime, want to hear a little more about this second favorite homebrew? I think this awesome label speaks volumes.
Crimes Against Humanity Bitter
Bottle -- Brockton
brewed as an english pub style bitter ale for my bad bush, good beer party to see dubya out of office. style chosen for its general accessibility to non-craft beer drinkers and its low alcohol content. recipie for palace bitter used from charlie papazian's joy of homebrewing. fermentation took longer than recipie called for, and sadly, beer was not ready in time for party. we did get some use out of the beer by using the label above for a spirited trivia game about these crimes committed by the bush administration. but back to the beer. pours a dark golden color with slight cloudiness and quickly rising head on pour. looks great. smells of semi-sweet malt, faint hops and spice. taste is mild at first, almost watery. but earthy hops, grain, and belgian-like yeast soon come through. maybe i am tasting what i want to taste but i sense that slight butteriness that characterizes many english bitters. hops are fairly assertive and bitterness builds as you drink. i think the alcohol is low enough that this could qualify as a mild style beer. very light and drinkable... goes very well with food. even if butteriness isn't there, i think this english bitter is very true to style and probably the best technical beer i have brewed yet.
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 7/10, Flavor: 7/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 13/20, Total: 3.5
Score: 7

House Brews

I will never pass on a house tap when I find one at a bar or restaurant. One, I want to encourage this kind of behavior. Imagine, if all bars did this, every homebrewers could find a tap for their beer! Two, there is always the hope of finding a hidden gem. The IPA I found at Paddy O's came awfully close...

Beer Belly Ball and Chain IPA
Tap -- Paddy O's, Newton
i found this at an irish pub in newton. overall their tap selection was pretty unexciting (flat sierra nevada pale, harpoon ipa, sam...) except for a big fancy tap of murphy's irish stout, which i found out was just ornamental! fortunately in that tap they did have an ipa from "a couple of locals." all bars should do this. it was a really good brew too: nice up-front bitterness with balancing malts that make this sessionable. bravo!
Score: 8

Fresh Catch Amber Ale
Tap -- Fresh Catch, Easton
yeah, this wasn't good. fairly dark pour for such a watery, flavorless beer. they must have used a few black patent malts to artificially darken this beer up because there is very little substance to it. as much as i love getting the house brew, i can't really recommend this beer.
Score: 2

Loco Pilsner
Tap -- Loco Restaurant, Easton
first thing that strikes you are the similarities to bud light. fortunately, there is more to this beer than that. flavor of light toasted malts does come through to taste. hops take on an almost fruity nature in aroma and flavor. an easy drinker as you would expect. pretty good actually.
Score: 6

My Homebrew: Hoppy Holidays! / Obama Beer!

Hoppy Holidays! / Obama Beer!
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
okay, first thing's first: yes, i had two names for this beer. as a december brew, most of my friends and family recieved a six-pack of this ipa. but, with one growler left on inauguration day it had to be rebranded as obama beer! whatever name it went by, this was my finest brew yet. pours reddish-brown with a big billowy head that notches glass whole way down. this may be the darkest ipa i have ever had -- i like it! a huge aroma: sharp floral hops, and quite sweet. bitterness at very front of taste. hops are grassy and earthy in nature. flavor is a little sour (like pretty much all of my brews so far...) but combined with fruitiness of hops, it works. and i was very pleased to see the oak chips i aged this beer in come through in the taste. dry, lively, and medium-
bodied mouthfeel. we'll be brewing
this one again!
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 9/10, Flavor: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 12/20, Total: 3.5
Score: 8

Uncle Jim's Homebrews

Who is Uncle Jim you ask? Why my friend Ryan's uncle, of course! And apparently, Uncle Jim is a pretty good homebrewer! Ryan brought me a few of Uncle Jim's latest homebrews during his last visit, and I thoroughly enjoyed them all. I may have rated my homebrews a little higher than Uncle Jim's, but he is clearly the more advanced brewer. Well done, Uncle Jim!

Uncle Jim's Amber Ale
Bottle -- Massachusetts
amber in color too, with bitter start that fades to weak malts. ryan warned me that this was a really old beer, and it dies seem that the time to drink this beer had passed.
Score: 4

Uncle Jim's Cream Ale
Bottle -- Massachusetts
pours very clear with fresh, lightly bitter aroma. taste of grassy hops, grainy malts, lemon. somewhat buttery mouthfeel. interesting beer.
Score: 6

Uncle Jim's Oatmeal Stout
Bottle -- Massachusetts
very nice looking pour with sustained head... smell of malts and liquor after it warms... some coffee in taste, but largely bittersweet chocolate... pretty thin. enjoyed the beer what would have liked a little more depth to the taste.
Score: 6

Uncle Jim's Red
Bottle -- Massachusetts
very hoppy in aroma and taste both. drinks quite smooth. i find the irish red's to be too malty but this kind of hoppy red is more my speed.
Score: 8

Uncle Jim's "SB"
Bottle -- Massachusetts
i am slightly embarrassed to say that i couldn't spot what style of beer this was (the only marking was an "SB" on the label...) malty aroma made me think superbock, while the bitter aroma makes me think special bitter is more likely. uncle jim, are you out there? can you settle this one for us? either way, solid beer and thanks for the bunch!
Score: 6

My First Homebrews

This was a difficult post for me to write... best evidenced by the fact that it took me four months to finalize it. I know some of you were curious to see how my first batches turned out so I promise not to wait so long to rate the next one (its an IPA aged in wood chips!) Anyways, homebrewing is quite easy and a whole lot of fun! Highly recommended. That said, I still have a lot to learn. I think it will be interesting to document my progress as a brewer (assuming there is progress...) on this blog. If you think homebrewing is something you might like to try, you can read my post about brewing for the first time here. Okay, here were my three first homebrews!

The-Waiting-Is-The-Hardest-Part Pale Ale
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
my first homebrew! mistakes were made (both the thermometer and hydrometer were broken...) but the final product was a drinkable beer! which of course, is where the name for the beer came from; brewing was easy, waiting was the hardest part! i think the label was an instant classic: my assistant brewer dan trying to drink the wort as i restrained him... inevitably this will be the creative high-water mark of my brewing career. anyways, pour is a translucent golden/copper... perfect one-finger off-white head... healthy carbonation, and retains head to very bottom... aroma dominated by sweet malts, but quite a few earthy hops emerge too... flavor of sweet, caramel malts... grassy hops in background of taste... not quite as bitter as i like in my pale ales, but still a good flavor... smooth, slightly grainy mouthfeel... packs a surprising punch -- this has to be pushing 5.5% ABV... very sessionable though... of the beers i have brewed this is definitely the favorite among my friends. a total, and unabashed success!
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 6/10, Flavor: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 12/20, Total: 3.2
Score: 7

Promised Land Porter
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
my second beer was brewed with friends before we went to see bruce springsteen, and so the name of this beer came from my favorite song of the show. you can see the label is supposed to be the promsied land: a field full of hops. and while this porter didn't turn out quite as hoppy as i like my porters (think smuttynose's robust porter...) i truly enjoyed it. pours into a mug as a dark mahogany-brown and cola-like in appearance. healthy, frothy head with very good retention. heavy roastiness dominates aroma with a few earthy hops in background. roasted malts carry through to flavor. bitterness is certainly present, along with a little sourness. i drink this beer nearly at room temp so flavor softens a bit as you drink. goes down very smooth. i like this beer, but porters -- as one of my very favorite styles -- i hold to a higher standard. i will be taking another shot at the style very soon.
Appearance: 4/5, Aroma: 6/10, Flavor: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 11/20, Total: 3.0
Score: 6

You're So Vain... You Probably Think This Stout is About You!
Bottle -- Brockton, MA
this beer was brewed for my dad on his 60th birthday... which made its failure that much more tragic. as my friend dan was all too eager to tell me: i got cocky. i decided to try a mostly grain recipe without fully appreciating how much more difficult it was. the margin of error here was off the charts: i tried to get all of the sugars out of the grain but i know i didn't, the yeast was left unrefrigerated, and i bottled the beer without adding priming sugar... having to open each one and add the sugar. oi. while none of these bottles exploded, they were unquestionably over-carbonated, erupting out of the bottle with huge churning heads. aroma is incredibly sour, with off putting earthiness. add to that a muddled burtness and you have a taste that leads you to the inevitable drain pour. a total loss.
Appearance: 2/5, Aroma: 1/10, Flavor: 2/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 3/20, Total: 1.0
Score: 1

HOMEBREWING!

Well, you probably saw this coming. Starting to brew my own beer has been in the back of my mind for about a year now. When Kelly and I were looking for new apartment's, my biggest questions concerned access to a garage in which I could start my brewery. Things began to get serious when I purchased The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by master brewer Charlie Papazian. Come the Fourth of July weekend, Dan, Kelly, and I were en route to Walpole Wine & Spirits, which also had a pretty decent homebrewing section.












Now I don't like shopping, but on matters of great importance I am very deliberate. I examined all the different homebrewing kits, checking the equipment included with my notes on what I would need. (It was upon opening one of the kits up that I drew the ire of the stores staff...) One of the biggest decisions was whether to buy one of those easy homebrewing kits, or a brown bag that the store had put together with all of the ingredients needed for that recipe. I chose the later since they included the style I had finally settled on: a pale ale.











$225 later I was the proud owner of: 6-gallon carboy, 7-gallon food grade quality plastic bucket and lid, 16-quart stainless steel pot, funnel and strainer, 2 plastic hose, racking cane, bottle filler, spigot, airlock, hydrometer, thermometer, 24 glass bottles, cleaning brush, bottle caps, bottle capper, 2 cans and 1 bag of malts, 2 packages of hops, and 1 package of Irish moss. (36 more bottles, bleach, and a stirring spoon I had at home.) Now it was time to start brewing!











In many ways, this was the easy part. I quickly decided homebrewing is more cooking (something I can do) than chemistry (something I cannot do.) For those of you who are interested, here is a stripped-down list of the steps to brewing your very own pale ale:

1) Put bag of grain malts in a gallon of water to steep and bring to boil.

2) Remove grains. Add two 4 lb cans of malt extracts and 1 oz of Liberty hops. Boil for 30 min, stirring constantly.

3) Add 1 oz of Cascade hops and Irish moss. Boil for 15 min more.

4) Strain pot (this is called wort) into 6-gallon carboy (glass jug) filled with 4-gallons of cool water.

5) When temperature is below 90 degrees, add yeast and agitate carboy. Place airlock on top of container. Let ferment for 10 days in a cool, dark place. Do not -- under any circumstances, as much as you may want to, as good as it may look, as much as she may try to seduce you -- drink the wort.

6) Siphon beer into bucket with 2 cups of sugar at bottom. Pour beer into bottles and seal with bottle cap.

7) Age for 16-18 days. This, obviously, was the hardest part.

8) Drink the beer!











You can see that homebrewing really isn't that difficult... although I suppose I should withhold judgement until I try the beer first. Really, the waiting is the hardest part (that wort is a delicious smelling temptress!). Which brings me to the name of my first beer: The Waiting Is The Hardest Part Pale Ale. Ratings to come in another 10 long days.

LongShot v. LongShot

I generally stand up for Sam Adams as I find their beers err on the side of drinkability... not a bad thing. And while I do have my share of problems with the brewer, I also really like their American Homebrew Contest. They decided on eight winners, brewed up their winning beers, and released them in limited quantities. My friend Dan and I pitted the LongShot Grape Pale Ale against the LongShot Weizenbock. It wasn't a fair fight.

Sam Adams LongShot Grape Pale Ale
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
fresh (but minor) aroma of raisins/grapes and some grassy hops. grape-apple taste, with kind of sour finish... much more subtle than most fruit beers. thin body and very lively on lips. i wasn't impressed.
Appearance: 3/5 Aroma: 3/10 Flavor: 4/10 Palate: 2/5 Overall: 6/20 Total: 1.8
Score: 3

Sam Adams LongShot Weizenbock
Bottle -- People's Liquor Warehouse, Fall River
pours hazy brown with two fingers of frothy off-white head. on the first whiff i was nearly knocked over by distinctive german yeast. on closer inspection spice, sweetness, and banana emerge. all of these elements are found alongside toasted wheat taste, as well as a very strong presence of alcohol. very complex, very good.
Appearance: 4/5 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 8/10 Palate: 5/5 Overall: 16/20 Total: 4.2
Score: 9

Winner: Sam Adams LongShot Weizenbock