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.