Holiday Homebrew!

I just kegged the porter I made a few weeks ago. It was delayed a bit because we had a ridiculously cold stretch of weather here, and my kegerator is in the freezing garage.

Anyway, it's quite tasty. Extremely dry and crisp, with a balance finishing very slightly on the bitter side. Style-wise it's probably more of a brown porter than a robust porter. I used homegrown Goldings hops, and they lend a really nice spicy note in the nose as well as a good hint of flavor.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly crisp and light, but with a nice creaminess.

I'm waiting for the sample I pulled before I force carbonated it to warm up so I can calculate the alcohol content. I'd make a rough guess of 5% abv for now. I'll update after I get the final number.

Overall a really nice beer, even if I do say so myself...

Update: The sample finally warmed up: ABV is 4.71%

Post-work Jubelale on Tap

Definitely tastes slightly different than the bottled version. I wonder if they're using pub gas to pump it? I'll have to ask.

Update: Nope, they're not using pub gas. The on-tap version is smoother and less dry than the bottled version. Interesting, but still tasty.

More beer from Yurp

Today's beer is another Belgian. La Monecuse Special Winter Ale, by the Brasserie de Blaugies brewery. According to the label, they're Belgium's smallest brewery.

750ml bottle 8% alcohol

Cans

of imperial stout are OK. This particular stout is quite yummy. It's thick, black and completely opaque. There's very little head, but what's there is a dark tan color.

The aroma is surprisingly restrained. There's a bit of roast malt, but the aroma is really lacking otherwise. I'd much prefer at least a hint of hops and a more pronounced maltiness in the nose.

Flavor is all roast malt, with a bit of alcohol warmth. It finishes fairly dry, but not overly so. Pretty well balanced.

Overall, a nice beer. Not the best imperial stout I've had, but not the worst either. If I needed a beer in a can for some reason, this wouldn't be a bad choice.

Box o' beer

Today's beer is the 2006 edition of Fuller's Vintage Ale, in a nice decorative box.

EKU 28 tasting

Zowie. This one is crazy strong -- 11% abv -- and it shows up. Very warm feeling. It's pleasantly not too sweet, styles like this can tend that way and this one doesn't.

Unsurprisingly, it's all about the malt in this. Rich and meaty, with some very sherry-ish and port-like aromas and flavors.

Not the kind of thing you'd want on a hot summer day, but a great warmer for the dreary rain here now.

More Belgian Beer

Today's beer is another Belgian -- Gueuze Girardin lambic.

I've never had this one, but I do like lambics.

Two years of Jubelale

Since today's beer is last year's version of a seasonal ale, I figured I'd pick up a six pack of the current version for a side-by-side comparison.

First, appearance -- they both are the same color, but the 2008 version is fairly cloudy.

Aroma: the 2008 version has dominant caramel tones with a bit of toffee and nuts, and a hint of smoke. This year's beer has a less dramatic nose, with mostly just a slight nuttiness and roast malt aroma. Not much in the way of hop aroma in either version, but perhaps a bit more in the '09.

Taste and mouthfeel: the '08 version has a bit of caramel sweetness with subtle hop flavor. Both versions are assertively bitter in the finish, but I'm a bit surprised that the '08 finishes sweeter than the '09. The current one is very dry. That is correspondingly reflected in the mouthfeel, with the '08 being fairly full bodied, and the '09 feeling considerably lighter.

They're both great beers, and it's interesting that they can be so different coming from (I'd assume) the same recipe.

Happy Monday

Today's beer is one of my favorites from last season: Deschutes Brewing's Jubelale.

Eku 28

Today's beer is an 11.2 ounce bottle of 11% brew from Germany. I've never had this one, so it'll be an interesting first.

And as you can see in the background, we put our tree up yesterday. It's an 8' tall Noble Fir -- first time in a number of years we've had a big tree. It's pretty and smells great.

Delirium Noel Tasting

This is nice. Not sure of the underlying style -- I guess I might call it a strong Belgian amber ale. Doesn't seem like a Dubbel or Trippel -- it doesn't have the banana and clove notes I would expect for those.

Anyway, it tastes good. Big malt flavor, with a fairly clean finish. Hops are subtle at best. Tastes like it might have had candi sugar added, which is appropriate for a Belgian ale.

750ml bottle, 10% alcohol, brewed in 2007.

Yes we can

Real beer, in a can? Yes!

Today's beer is "Ten Fidy" imperial stout, from Oskar Blues brewery in Colorado. 12 ounce can, alcohol not specified.

Anchor's Aweigh

I figured I'd catch up a day and crack open the Anchor xmas ale today too. This is a dark ale in a 12 ounce bottle, no alcohol content specified.

There really couldn't be a much starker difference in interpretation of holiday beers than this one and the French one from earlier. The Anchor is very dry, with lots of spices in the nose -- mostly ginger and cola notes. The flavor is malty but not sweet, with a very assertive hit of spruce notes, I'd be very surprised if this wasn't brewed with spruce tips. There's a bit of astringency, which may be from the spruce, but it's not overpowering. It's quite tasty. I'll have to pick up this year's version to see what it's like.

The French

Make nice beer. I'll update with more as I finish the bottle.

Update: This is just generally yummy. Extremely malty, with a balance on the sweet side and minimal hop presence. Very strong caramel in the nose, but not a huge aroma other than that. Great mouthfeel, creamy with good body, finish is a bit sticky.

This is actually a "Bier de Garde" (roughly translated as "beer for keeping" or "beer for saving"), and not really a "Christmas" ale in the sense we mostly think of it now with lots of spices and such. I think that explains why it's quite a bit more subtle than some of the beers in the calendar so far. I do really like the style though, and is actually the only kind of French beer I've made myself.

Update the second: I forgot to mention: 750ml bottle, alcohol not specified, but not crazy strong, probably 6 to 7 percent.

Anchor brewing xmas ale

From 2007. Interesting -- they change the recipe and the label each year for this beer, and the recipe is kept secret: http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/christmasale.htm I'm curious to see what this aged example will be like.

Obliteration Tasting

With a name like obliteration, I expected this to be much harsher. This is pleasantly refined. No mistaking, it's got plenty of assertive hop flavor and bitterness, but it's got the malt to balance it out. It definitely finishes on the bitter side, but I think it's actually smoother and easier to drink than the Stone IPA that's the closest beer to it I would compare it to. Overall very enjoyable, and another nice break from the mostly-malty holiday ale styles in the calendar.

Sucky white elephant gifts suck

That is all.

Double IPA

Today's beer is "Obliteration V" from Midnight Sun Brewing in Anchorage. I've never had this beer or anything from this brewery, so I'm curious to try it.

Delirium Noel

This is a Belgian xmas ale. I've had it before, but it's been a while and I honestly can't remember much about it.

Good at either end of the trail

Still catching up on the days I've missed, so tonight I'm drinking the Oregon Trail brewing's Bourbon Barrel Porter.

This is 22 ounces of subtle bourbony goodness. While the Top Sail was like taking a slug of porter followed immediately by a shot of bourbon, this one is much more restrained. It helps that it's "only" 7.5%, but it's overall a better balanced beer. It's got a thick, luxuriant head, that lingers nicely in the glass. Overall it's quite enjoyable, and is both tastier and more drinkable than the similar Top Sail. A great effort from the tiny little local brewery.

Mirror Mirror

I'll need to save this one for a while. It's got a "best after" date of 4/20/2010. It's a 2009 limited edition release barleywine from Deschutes brewing. It's based on a double-strength batch of their Mirror Pond pale ale. A third of the 11 percent brew is then aged in oak barrels. Sounds yummy, but we'll have to wait 'til at least spring to find out.

Old Knucklehead Tasting

This is a pleasant surprise. This is Bridgeport's 12th bottling of their barleywine, released in early 2008. I think I had this when it was first available, and it was definitely too young back then. The nearly two years of bottle age have helped immensely.

This is a 22oz bottle of 10% beer, so it's not for the faint of heart or liver. It's surprisingly dry, with a great balance and crisp finish. Many barleywines I've had have been either ridiculously bitter or cloyingly sweet, but this exhibits neither of those traits. It's just a really big, nicely malty beer, with some subtle toffee and sherry notes. Quite enjoyable.

Edit to add: A couple quick notes as I continue drinking this. First, the mouthfeel is really nice, amazingly smooth and creamy. Second, the bourbon-barrel aging is only very slightly noticeable, mostly in the nose. I'm really enjoying this beer.

Delayed Sunday morning post: A local beer

(Note: This post got lost somewhere in the tubes when I first sent it Sunday morning)

This is another bourbon-barrel aged beer, this time from a local brewery here in Corvallis. I've had this beer before, and it's quite nice.

I'll probably crack this one open tonight after work while I'm making chicken-n-pasta for dinner.

La Choulette de Noel

Yum, more French xmas ale.

Cascade Kriek Ale Tasting

This is yummy. Lots of great sourness and wild yeast notes. Cherry flavor is there, but is not overpowering. If I didn't know this was beer, I'd think it was some sort of crazy cherry lemonade. Very refreshing, and although it's 8.1%, it seems light. It's a very nice change from the super dark malty stuff in the calendar so far.

Flanders!

This will be different. This style tends to be sour and very "non-beer" like.

Jenlain Noel French Christmas Beer

This is a refreshing change from the over-the-top beers so far. The 25.4 oz bottle holds a 6.8% malty amber ale with lots of subtle flavors. Good toffee and caramel notes, with some hints of citrus and spice too. Really pleasant and very drinkable. Another winner.

Barleywine!

Should be yummeh.

Boring non-holiday, pre-Civil War beer

Enjoying a boring Rogue Dead guy with the folks from work before we all head home to watch the big game.

Yay beer!

Today's beer is one I've never seen before. French holiday ale -- I've liked most of the French beers I've tried, so I'm hopeful this one continues the trend.

Top Sail

This one is different, in a good way.

This is a 2008 beer, that had already been aged for 10 months before its release to the public. It has since been aged a further year, and has become damn nice.

22 ounces of black 9.85 percent, bourbony goodness. I'm amazed at how pronounced the bourbon flavors and aromas are. If I recall correctly, I had this beer when it was initially released, and while it was good, I don't remember it being this good. I think the age has helped it quite a bit.

It's quite potent, unsurprisingly, but it actually seems stronger than the Paradox Speyside, which had more alcohol. I'll update, perhaps less coherently, after I finish the bottle.

Update: It's mellowed a bit as it warmed while I finished the bottle. Overall, I like this a bunch. The Paradox Speyside was actually more subtle, this one tastes more like they left a couple gallons of bourbon in the cask when the put the beer in for aging. It's a good thing though, it's tasty. If you don't like bourbon, you won't like this though.

Imperial Porter

Today's Advent beer is a bourbon-barrel aged imperial porter from Full Sail brewing. I'm excited to try this one, but it might not be tonight...

Ruben And The Jets

Not only a 40 year old Frank Zappa album, it's also a yummy beer!

22 oz bottle, 8.6% alcohol. Lots of nice rich caramel and toffee notes, both in the aroma and flavor. Balance is a little on the sweet side, but not overwhelmingly so.

Overall, another tasty beer. Hope the trend keeps up!

Test?

Testing e-mail posting...

Advent beer day 3

Today's beer is Lagunitas brewing's "Ruben and the Jets" -- named after the Frank Zappa album.

Paradox Speyside tasting

As noted, today's Advent beer is Brew Dog brewing's "Paradox Speyside" imperial stout aged in whisky barrels. This is a 10% beer, in an 11.2 oz bottle.

I mistakenly put this in the fridge this morning. I should've read the label instructions that told me to drink it at room temperature. Anyway, cold it's quite nice, the whisky notes are apparent but the underlying stout is still assertive and tasty too. I can tell plenty of the subtleties are missing. I'll update after it warms up...

Update: Somewhat surprisingly, it hasn't changed all that much after it warmed up a bit. There's definitely a more notable alcohol warmth, and everything might be just a bit "bigger" overall, but it really hasn't changed all that much from its cold state. It's a really nice imperial stout, aged in whisky barrels. The whisky notes are quite apparent, and very nice. It's a really pleasant beer, very tasty, and overall quite good. Good second day of Advent beers!

Today's beer

Tasting tonight after work.

Mikkeller Holiday Ale tasting

As noted earlier, today's the first day of Advent, so I get to start the Advent beer calendar my wonderful wife got me for xmas.

This beer is described on its label as "Holiday Ale Brewed With Spices" -- that may be, but it really tastes like kind of a strong chocolate/coffee stout or robust porter, with some extra caramel and almost cola-like notes.

It's a very tasty beer, great flavor, with a surprisingly crisp mouthfeel and clean finish. Doesn't feel like an 8 percent beer. Overall a great way to start the calendar!

Addendum: Just a quick update -- as I near the end of the (large) bottle, and have let it warm a bit, the flavor has become quite a bit more complex. Some subtle spice notes have come out, but most pronounced is a really nice touch of sourness. So, the beer's yummy cold, but great at about 60 degrees. I'd definitely buy this beer again.

First Advent beer

The first beer in the advent calendar is Mikkeller's "Holiday Ale Brewed With Spices" -- 750ml bottle, 8% alcohol. It's only 9:00 am, so a tasting report will have to wait 'til later. Should be a great way to start the calendar!

Beer Advent Calendar!

It's time for beer Advent! Definitely one of the best things about the holiday season. I'll post about all 27 beers as I get to them. Advent starts this Sunday, so that's when I get to open the first beer...

A great way to spend a lunch hour

Tuesday was a beautiful day for a bike ride. I wish we had more fall days like this.

Fw: Belgian beer tasting!

This morning I ran a 15k trail race in 1:20. I spent the whole afternoon at a Belgian beer tasting. It was a good day.

Adobe Illustrator Hollow Arrow Line Tidbit

This is mostly just here so I won't forget how to do it, and so that anybody else trying to create hollow arrow lines with Illustrator (CS4) might not have to figure it out like I did.

1. Using the pen tool, draw your line. Curved, straight, whatever.
   
   
2. Set the stroke to something appropriate for the overall width of your finished hollow item. In my example, I ended up with 7pt stroke.
   
   
3. Add arrowheads -- Effect -> Stylize -> Add Arrowheads. You'll need to mess around with the style you want and their relative size. Note that they're specified in relation to the stroke width, so they scale if you change the stroke.
   
   
4. Position your arrows where you want them. As of right now this is still a normal Pen line, so you can move it and stretch it to your heart's content and the arrowheads you added will properly reflect your changes. After we do the next steps it'll be a compound object and you won't be able to easily reposition the ends, so make sure everything looks the way you want it to now.
   
   
5. Expand Appearance -- Object -> Expand Appearance
   
   
6. Expand -- Object -> Expand... You'll need to uncheck the "Fill" box, and just use Stroke.
   
   
7. Add -- Effect -> Pathfinder -> Add.
   
   
8. Set the fill and stroke of your finished item (I used a white fill and a black stroke, but I was working on a B&W illustration). You'll have your nice hollow arrowline.
   

Here are some boring examples:

A big wiener

This is what winning $800 on a slot machine looks like...

Between that and the free Giverny Suite upgrade @ the Paris hotel, all of a sudden I really love Vegas...

Happy Independence Day!

Sun, steaks, and a happy dog with his ball. That, a beautiful mountain bike ride, and blowing stuff up make for a great 4th. Hope you're having fun too.

It runs!

I got my old dirtbike running today.

It's a 1987 Honda XR200 that I bought brand new back then. It had been sitting for several years needing some TLC. I finally got around to it, and now I can sell it.

I rode it around a bit, and it's just as fun as I remember. Dirt bikes are so lively and nimble compared to streetbikes. I'm definitely going to have to get my dual-sport K175 Kawasaki project going once I sell the XR.

Proof

Just to show that I'm not making the running thing up...

Run For The Hills

The 8k trail run on Sunday was a ton of fun. Weather was awesome, and there was a huge turnout that raised over $5000 for the local trail group.

I finished under 45 minutes (44:54) which was my goal (9 minutes a mile) and I felt pretty good about. That put me at 13th place in my age group (30-39) out of 23 entrants and 65th overall out of 177 total. The winning time and new course record was 30:34 which is just plain crazy fast.

Tracie entertained our moms by (slowly) doing the 2-mile paved walk with them, and she even won some free coffee drinks from two local coffee shops at the post-event raffle, so that's a bonus.

Competition update

While I haven't done a car race yet this season (the weather is just finally getting decent for such things) I have done a few other competitions, as touched on briefly a couple of posts ago. Here's an update:

1. My first 5k -- on April 25th I did my first 5k road race. I managed to run it in an official time of 23:03, which was good enough for 3rd in my age group and 20th overall (out of over 300 folks). Not too bad. Unfortunately, running on pavement did not agree with my body and I ended up with tendinitis in my feet for a few days, which worried me a bit for my next event...
   
   
2. May 3rd -- the Mudslinger mountain bike race. For the first time in 20 years, I competed in a mountain bike race. I last did this when I was 19, and it was also a Mudslinger event. For this one, it had rained non stop for the three days leading up to the event, so there was definitely plenty of mud to be slung. The terrain was fairly treacherous due to that, and I've never seen so many crashes and the resultant pieces of bikes littering the sides of the trail. Thankfully I stayed on my bike and it was lots of fun. I ended up 9th out of about 30 in my category (Cat3 Men, age 35+). My new bike did very well too.
   
   
3. May 16th -- 27th annual Oregon Homebrew Festival. For the first time in several years, I entered one of my beers in the Oregon Homebrew Festival. I happened to have the timing right to have a beer ready for entry, and decided to put it in literally at the last minute -- I bottled it from the keg and took it down to the brew shop on the final day the entries were allowed. I'm glad I did -- I won the category! It was a Northern English Brown ale, and it won that category (English Brown Ales). I won the same category 9 years ago with a very similar beer, so it's nice to know I still have the skills even though I don't brew nearly as often as I did back then. I didn't find out until last week that this event was one of only 17 in the country to act as a qualifier for the "Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing" -- essentially the national championships of home brewing. So, by winning at this event, I have qualified to enter a beer in that category at this national contest in early 2010. It's very cool to be able to do that and it should be a great experience.
   
   
4. Upcoming -- 8k trail run race, May 31st. On Sunday I'm doing an 8k trail race. This should be more suited to me, and should be quite fun. I doubt I'll be competitive, 'cause there are some crazy fast trail runners around here, but it's for a very good cause -- the entry fee goes to the local trail maintenance group. I'm actually heading out today to pre-run the course as my last longer run this week.
   

I hope to get in a few autocrosses this year, probably one or two down in Eugene, and a couple of Oregon Region SCCA events at the great location they use in Packwood, Washington.

Thus ends the ridiculously long competition update.

Sean

New bike!

This time it's Tracie's turn. She just picked up this 2008 Specialized Myka Comp. It's her first full suspension bike. We'll be hitting the trails tomorrow for "Happy she's not a mother" day

Friday beer blogging, take two.

Deschutes Obsidian Stout/Hagen-Dazs Vanilla float. Mmm, dessert.

Friday beer blogging

After work Ninkasi Oatis Stout

Just a test to see if my new blackberry/blogger thing works...

Spring has sprung

It's spring, and all the local running/cycling events are starting up in full force. Having been out of shape for years, I didn't really pay attention to how much goes on around here with that stuff.

Now that I am in shape though, I can take advantage of it, so I just did my first 5k (3.1 miles) road race. I ran it in 23:02, which isn't too bad, but I was very slightly disappointed not to get into the 22 minute range. Not bad for my first race though. I do most of my running out in the hills on trails, and I'm really not much of a fan of running on the pavement. It's not as interesting, or or as challenging as doing hills. The race was fun and a good experience, I just doubt I'll do it again.

Next weekend is the Mudslinger mountain bike race, which will be interesting. I haven't raced bikes in 20 years, but I'm in better shape now than I was back then. I'm not as brave/stupid though, so it'll be interesting to see how I do.

That's just weird

I went for a trail run at lunch time a couple of days ago, and, since I was a bit toasty afterward, I drove back to work with the windows open.

I immediately had a massive allergy attack. Constant sneezing for about 15 minutes, then the delightful fun of a runny nose and sneezing for the rest of the day, and even overnight until I could get to the store for some (generic) Zyrtec©™. It was delightful.

So, you think, what's the big deal about that? Lots of people get allergies, you pansy.

Feh, I say to you! It's January! WTF?

I've been fighting "hay fever" my whole life. Done the shots, every medicine under the sun, etc. And, since I've always lived in the Willamette Valley of Oregon (the "Grass Seed Capitol of the World" as the sign on I-5 says), and I like it here, I've known I was stuck with that situation.

But I've never had an allergy attack in January. That's just plain wrong.

I think I'll blame Al Gore since he invented global warming. Suck it, Al, you fat bastard.

Post-xmas beer wrapup

Merry holidays and happy solstice. Bill O'Reilly can go fuck himself with the whole "war on christmas" crap.

Anyway, the advent beer calendar is over, and it was amazing.

The last few beers were:

Shmaltz brewing, He'brew, Jewbelation Twelve, twelfth anniversary holiday ale -- 22oz bottle, 12%abv. 12 malts, 12 hops, 12%abv. They probably should've put this in a 12 oz bottle, to be consistent, but the 22oz bottle was definitely pleasant. A very nice, strong ale. Almost too strong, but good flavor. The 12s could've been a bit much, it probably would've been just fine with four of everything, but it works.

Deschutes Brewing Company, The Abyss, 2007 release -- 22oz bottle, 11%abv. This is a just plain amazing beer. I've actually been saving one of these 2007 editions since last xmas, so I haven't opened this one yet. I'll probably wait for a special occasion, but now that I have two bottles, it's going to be harder to hold onto them both.

Mikkeller, Santa's Little Helper 2008 -- 750ml bottle, 11%abv. This was a pleasant surprise. For a young, strong beer, it was pleasantly crisp and dry, but with great flavor. Highly recommended.

Castle Brewery Eggenberg, Samichlaus Bier, 2007 bottling -- This is "the definitive" xmas beer. 14%abv, 11.2fl oz bottle. The strongest lager in the world. Aged 10+ months before it's bottled, it's still worth holding onto like you would a wine. I've had previous year's bottles, so I'll see if I can hang onto this one for a while to let it mature a bit. It can be a bit overwhelming when it's "young" but it's still good.

Oh, and my home brewed English brown ale (recipe several posts below) is in the keg, and some bottles have gone out to folks for the holidays. It turned out quite well, good malt flavor, dry and crisp, with just the right amount of hoppiness. I was a bit worried about the hops, since I'm using my homegrown hops that I don't know the exact acid content of, but they seem to be right where they should be for the somewhat-subtle style.

Overall the advent beer calendar was a great gift, and was hugely enjoyable. Thanks Trace!

Again, happy holidays, and may all your beers be yummy.

Mmmm, beer...

Yet another beer update.

Tuesday: Anchor Steam -- Old Foghorn, 12oz bottle, 8%abv. A very nice barleywine. Nothing extremely special, but quite pleasant and tasty.

Wednesday: Russian River Brewing Company -- Pliny the Elder double IPA, half-liter bottle, 8%abv. This was a pleasant surprise. "Pliny" the elder, according to the always historically authoritative beer label, was a Roman naturalist born in 23 A.D., who helped to name/identify hops, and also saved people from the eruption of Vesuvius. Regardless of what the man did or didn't do, the beer was good. Extremely hoppy, lots of good hop aroma and flavor, and assertive bitterness. Quite pleasant, if you're into hops (like me), and you'll feel smarter after reading the label.

Today's beer: Theakston -- Old Peculier, "traditionally brewed Yorkshire ale". I haven't opened this one yet, and have no idea what to expect. If it's anything like the rest of the beers in this calendar, it'll be good.

I'm giving up beer.

Hah, as if.

My liver and waistline will probably appreciate this month being over though.

Saturday's beer: Caldera Brewing Company, India Pale Ale (IPA), 12oz can, 6.1%abv. These Caldera beers are good, but it's just plain weird to pour a real beer out of a can.

Sunday's beer: BrewDog, Paradox Speyside, 11.2oz bottle, 10%abv. This was delightful. It's an imperial stout aged in Scotch whiskey barrels. Recommended to be served at room temperature, which was a good recommendation. It was very tasty, and I just wish the bottle was bigger.

Today's beer: Full Sail Brewing, 21st birthday Doppelbock, 22oz bottle, 8%abv. This is a special release for Full Sail's 21st anniversary. I've been really impressed with the Full Sail beers over the last several years, and this is no exception. I'm not normally a Bock or Doppelbock fan, but this one is great. Good malt profile, crisp, clean, rich, just overall very nice. Full Sail had a bad span of years a while back, but ever since they became employee owned, they've been producing good stuff. Glad to see their 21st birthday pass with a good brew to mark the occasion.

Yes, thank you, I will have another

Yay, more beer!

Yesterday's beer was: Alesmith, Yulesmith Holiday Ale, 8.5%abv, 22oz bottle. I like Alesmith's beers, and this was no exception, quite yummy.

Today's beer: Caldera Brewing Company, Pale Ale, 5.4%abv, 12oz can(!). Haven't had this one yet, and other than being one of the few "real" beers available in cans, and the little I've read about it at the linked site, I don't know much about it.

Oh, and I couldn't wait, I'm drinking the Double Bastard mentioned previously -- I'm pleasantly surprised with its quality. Very nice beer. I remember the previous one I'd had as being overly harsh, but this one is more subtle, if you can use "subtle" to describe a 10.5%abv beer.

Yes, more beer

Today's beer: Affligem Noel, Christmas ale brewed with spices. 750ml bottle. 9%abv.

A very tasty Belgian ale. Kind of in between a dubbel and a trippel. Very flavorful and just overall quite pleasant.

But then again I've imbibed almost the whole thing, so perhaps that's clouding my judgment.

Yet Another Holiday Beer Update

Today's beer: Unibroue, Don De Dieu (Gift of God), 9% abv, 750ml bottle (25.4 fl oz). This is a "triple wheat ale", and is quite nice. If all wheat beers were like this, I'd drink wheat beer.

Thankfully, the French Canadians produce something other than Celine Dion.

Monday Beer Update

Saturday's beer was: Avery Brewing Co., Anniversary Ale Fifteen, 22oz bottle, 7.68%abv. An "Ale brewed with spices, herbs, and figs" according to the label. Also from the label:

15 years of brewing! You know what's been the best part lately? Tons of experimentation! For the past couple of years, we've been working with several strains of brettanomyces (wild yeast). We found one and deemed it the best for it's [sic] tart flavor and funky, fruity aroma. Adding black mission figs for a subtle jammy aspect, hibiscus flowers for an herbal bouquet and hazy sunset hue, and white pepper for a bit of spicy twang, we've created FIFTEEN -- a unique drinking experience inspired by the wild farmhouse ales of Belgium. Though immensely complex today, more flavors will emerge with time, so throw a few bottles in your cellar for future celebrations. Thanks to all of you who have made our 15 year ride possible!
Peace to all and follow your dreams!
Brewed with Rocky Mountain water, malted barley, malted wheat, hops, black mission figs, hibiscus flowers, white pepper, and a very unique strain of brettanomyces yeast.

(Note that the misplaced apostrophe not only occurs on the label, but also is on the linked web page above. A nice touch of consistency, at least.)

The description's a bit over the top, but what can we expect from marketing people. I haven't opened it yet, we'll see what it's like later.

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Edited to add:

I'm drinking the "Fifteen" now. It's a very nice ale, but as over-the-top as the description is, the beer itself isn't all that crazy. The bret yeast is definitely noticeable, but as to the rest of it, it's just a very nice, clean, crisp ale. Yeah, it has a bit of fruit and funk, but if they hadn't told me it was brewed with white pepper, hibiscus flowers, and figs, I wouldn't know. Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice beer, it's just not really as crazy as I expected it to be, given its description. (note proper lack-of-apostrophe in that "its")

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Sunday's beer: O'Hanlon's Brewing Company, Ltd., Thomas Hardy's Ale, 8.5oz bottle, 11.7%abv. I've had a previous year's version of this one. This is the 2006 edition, and if the last one was a proper indication, I'll probably hang onto this one for a couple more years before I think it's ready. I can't find a home page (quickly) for the brewery, but you can see what The Independent says about the beer.

Today's beer: Lagunitas Brewing Company, Lumpy Gravy. I'm drinking this one right this second. It's a variety of brown ale, but otherwise is hard to describe. It's tasty though. Named after the Frank Zappa album, and I believe was released on the 40th anniversary of the release of that album. A great album, and a tasty beer.

Speaking of brown ale, I made one yesterday, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 9lbs 2-row pale malt
  
• 1 lb 80l crystal malt
  
• .5 lb chocolate malt
  
• 4 oz Goldings hops (home grown!)
  
• White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast
  

Process:

1. Steep grains at 154 degrees for one hour.
   
2. Mash out
   
3. Sparge, extracting approx 7.5 to 8 gallons of wort.
   
4. Bring to a hard rolling boil
   
5. Boil for 15 minutes
   
6. Add 2 oz Goldings (bittering)
   
7. Boil for 45 more minutes
   
8. Add 1.5 oz Goldings (flavor)
   
9. Boil for 15 more minutes (75 minutes total boil)
   
10. Start chilling and add final 0.5oz Goldings (aroma)
    
11. Transfer to fermenter, pitch yeast and aerate.
    

It was a good brewing session with no surprises. The wort tastes great, and the yeast is happily working away right now, so I'm hopeful it ends up tasty. Should be done in time for Xmas, especially since I force-carbonate.

Another beer update

Today's beer is: Fuller's -- Vintage Ale Limited Edition, 2006 release, half-liter (16.9oz) bottle.

As shown on the linked page, this is a fancy bottle, in its own little box. Since this is the 2006 release, this one is already properly aged so I'll probably go ahead and drink it shortly.

Since I haven't been drinking each beer on its own night, I'm ahead a couple of bottles. Tonight I opened the Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, which I've had before. Tasting it, the easiest way to describe it is by reference -- if you've had the much more common Bridgeport IPA, just imagine that, but the volume bumped up about 25%. The color, aroma, flavor, and bitterness are quite similar between the two, there's just much more of them in the Ninkasi beer. I like the Bridgeport, so the Ninkasi is quite nice.

Edited to add:

From the tasting notes at Fuller's site:

Vintage Ale 2006
This full-bodied vintage is brewed with Fuggles and Super Styrian hops that create a tapestry of rich, spicy flavours. Orange, citrus and fruitcake notes are all present, and are balanced well with the biscuity, creamy malt flavours leaving a soft and warming finish.

We'll see if that's true soon.

Holiday beer update

Last night I drank the Bridgeport Old Knucklehead barleywine mentioned in the post below, and it was grand. It was nice and dry, almost crisp. Very refreshing for such a big beer. A nice surprise.

Today's beer: Stone Brewing -- Double Bastard, 22oz bottle. Arrogant Bastard, but doubled. This is the new 2008 release. I've had a couple of the previous year's releases, so I think I'll try to save this one and give it some more age before I drink it.

Holiday Beer!

Although I'm a strict Atheist (I go to all the meetings), my wife and I do celebrate the holiday season. Evidently there's some religious thing called "Advent" that has something to do with something that happened a couple thousand years ago, or something. They probably stole it from the pagans.

Anyway, what really matters is that for this "Advent" thing evidently somebody sets you up with daily gifts. I vaguely remember one of my grandparents giving me some sort of calendar doohickey with doors that you opened each day during Advent to reveal a chunk of candy. Well, now that I'm all grown up, I get beer instead!

The local brew shop here created a small set of "Beer Advent Calendars" -- essentially a really fancy case of beer with each beer individually placed in a small box labelled with the date it's supposed to be opened. My wife was kind enough to buy one of these for me, and it's been great.

So far, the beers have been:

November 30: Mikkeller -- Holiday Ale (dark, strong Belgian ale with spices), 750ml bottle. I'm a huge fan of Mikkeller beer. Very cool setup where a couple of guys rent brewery space and make kick ass beer. I've had several of their beers, and have been consistently impressed.

December 1: Heater Allen -- "Hugo" bock. Nice beer, 22oz bottle, I normally don't like Bock, but this one was quite good. This is a fairly new local (McMinnville) brewery that's been pretty impressive with their lagers.

December 2: Bridgeport -- Old Knucklehead Barleywine, 22oz bottle. I haven't opened this one yet, maybe tonight. I've had previous releases of Old Knucklehead and have liked it, so I'm assuming that will continue. I don't drink much Bridgeport beer these days, but they are one of the "main" Oregon breweries that got the whole microbrew revolution going around here.

December 3: Ninkasi -- Total Domination IPA, 22 oz bottle. I've had this one before, and it's quite nice. I've been enjoying Ninkasi's beers a bit more recently. They're a relatively new local (Eugene) brewery that's only been around for a couple of years, and a couple of their early offerings weren't great. The stuff I've had recently has been good though.

I'll post more details as I open more of these up, it's going to be a good month...