Thursday, December 27, 2012

Half Acre Big Hugs

Ever since I decided on moving to Chicago, someone has been nagging me to grab Big Hugs.  Well, in the past that was easier said than done a my schedule has made attending beer events some what difficult at this time of year (damn you responsibility!).  That being said, I got lucky and met someone from Half Acre this year and they were kind enough to actually get me a growler of Big Hugs at their release party that I was once again unable to attend.  I may have had a little too much fun rubbing it in someone's face...

Half Acre Big Hugs

Appearance- An opaque black color as no light appears to shine through.  A small tan heard disappears almost entirely except for a small ring, but this is a growler that I got earlier in the weeks so that probably has something to do with it.  Small amounts of lacing as well.

Smell- A rich full chocolate smell right away.  Moderate to high amounts of roasted malts are layered with smells of dark chocolate.  Hints of coffee, and more specifically, espresso as well.  Although there are compliments of espresso, the chocolate and roasted malts dominate this beer.  Small to moderate amounts of alcohol are noticeable towards the end.

Taste- There is a smooth chocolate similar to the smell.  The chocolate seems to be almost bitter sweet throughout the beer, jumping from one to the other.  Medium to high amounts of roasted malt are apparent throughout.  Some malt sweetness can be tasted as well.  Light amount of coffee/espresso, but it does not quite stack up to the chocolate character.  Currants can be tasted slightly, but are washed away rather quickly.  Although this is a 10% alcohol beer, there is only a small amount noticeable at the end of the beer.

Mouthfeel- Full bodied and slightly creamy.  Some alcohol warmth towards the end.  terribly smooth for 10% beer.

Overall- I have been looking forward to this beer and it did not disappoint.  Incredibly smooth for its size and its combination of chocolate and roasted malts while still managing to balance out the alcohol.  Also, look at that label.  Seriously.  Look at it.  How could you say no to Big Hugs?  Just google that and have fun with all the variations.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

X-Mas Ale-egations Brew Day

Well, I'm trying to keep up with this blog thing again, but I have had some other things on my mind.  The good news is that I was asked to brew a beer for the firm I work at.  And lets be serious, I don't have a chance on making it with my legal skill or intelligence, so I have to find something else to trick people into liking me.

I personally have never been a huge fan of spiced beer, but I need to both find a style that was not offensive to a large number of people, and one that would fit the season.  That being said, a spiced beer around this time can still be enjoyable.  More importantly, I got to to make incredibly terrible puns!  In the short time I had, I could only come up with two that were so bad as to put them on a bottle and embarrass myself: X-Mas Ale-egations and the Yule Against Perpetuities (yeaaaaaaaaah law jokes!).  The second didn't fit so I went with X-Mas Ale-egations and we were off.

X-Mas Ale-egations

Recipe

Batch size: 6.0 gallons
Original Gravity: 1.074
Final Gravity: 1.022
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Grain

18.5 lbs. English Maris Otter
0.75 lb. Crystal 80L
0.25 lb. Black Patent Malt

Hops

1.0 oz Horizon @ 60 minutes

Spices

1/2 broken up cinnamon stick @ 1 minute
1/3 tsp Ginger @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Nutmeg @ 1 minute
1/8 tsp Allspice @ 1 minute

Yeast
Made yeast starter two days in advance from Wyeast 1028 London Ale

Unfortunately, I was a bit rusty since I haven't brewed a while.  During the process, I forgot it was supposed to be a 90 minute boil and stopped at 60 resulting in more beer than I had expected, and a less strong one than originally planned.  The good news is that since it was for people other than me, it was nice to have the alcohol percentage a little lower as to not get me in trouble.  That and I got more beer to hand out to friends.  Unfortunately, I cannot find the rest of my notes for this one, so this will have to do!


Saturday, November 24, 2012

2009 Goose Island Bourbon County

Well, I had been waiting a while to open up this one, and what better excuse than being home for the holidays.  I mean, I have to choose something to keep my mind off Ohio.  And as newly minted man with a mustache, I insist on drinking out of a snifter.  Now if I could only grow proper facial hair...


2009 Goose Island Bourbon County

Appearance- An opaque motor oil black color as tot he best of my knowledge, no light is making it through this one.  A small tan head disappears quickly leaving no sign of its existence behind.  Obviously there is not much lacing as well.  This isn't terribly surprising with the age on this beer.

Smell- There is still a fair amount of wood present in the smell that is accompanied by a musty sort of smell.  Tons of roasted malt with coffee undertones that is expected.  A moderate vanilla smell helps bring together the beer with a pleasant amount of bourbon.  The musty character continues throughout the beer as well.

Taste- A rich and complex malt flavor drives this beer's profile.  The roasted barley, coffee, and smooth chocolate mold together wonderfully.  Compared to younger versions of this beer, this is amazingly more smooth and enjoyable.  It does not just taste like a big beer, rather each component has seemed to fall into its place.  There are small amounts of dark fruit esters in the middle right before an alcohol taste finishes out the beer.

Mouthfeel- Full bodied and chewy.  There is very little carbonation to go with the full body and the alcohol leaves a warming taste as well.

Overall and Notes- This was well worth the wait.  Much smoother than a fresh bottle and I would even like to see one more year on this one.  My only regret is not putting another one of these bottles away.

Also, remember you can still donate to my disgusting mustache!  This is the last week!

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

I'm Back/ Jolly Pumpkin de Viento

Well, it may have taken some time, but I am officially back!  The summer was full of beer fun and me trying to concentrate on being a real human.  Obviously, I am sick of that and am once again dedicated to not acting my age!  Told you it would happen, sucker!

So with new residence in Chicago and a new year, I grabbed a new beer.  Jolly Pumpkin de Viento struck my eye because of my questionable obsession with Jolly Pumpkin and simply because I had not seen it before.  So lets get to it.

Jolly Pumpkin de Viento


Appearance- A dark brown, but not quite an opaque black. There are red tinges along the edges where the light shines through. A tan foamy head is resilient and looks slightly creamy. Decent lacing as well.




Smell- Smell is not as strong as I expected. The smell of coffee and roasted malts is moderate in strength. There is a lingering tart smell in the background. It also seems as if there is a slight bandaid or plastic smell as well.



Taste- Once again, the beer starts with a coffee roast taste, but the strength leaves you wanting a little more punch. It has the slight peppery taste of the saison towards the end. The end of the beer brings just the slightest tart flavor (the least amount I have experienced in a Jolly Pumpkin). More prominent is a plastic or bandaid taste, but it is not overpowering. 



Mouthfeel- Medium mouthfeel with a dry finish like you would expect from a saison. Carbonation is smooth.



Overall- This generally leaves you wanting more from one of the ends: i.e. more roast and coffee or more sour and funk. Unfortunately this gets stuck somewhere in the middle. That being said, still enjoyable and a weird concept as well.





From the bottle: "March 15th, 2012 a tornado tore through Dexter, missing the brewery, but not all of our neighbors.  What could we do to help?  Hmmm.  We do know how to make beer.  So make a beer is what we did.  This beer.  Teaming up with co conspirators Great Lakes Coffee Roasting Company, Schera's Algerian Restaurant and The Abu Nawas Beverage Company to create a collaborative beer like none other.  A dark and smoky sour Saison full of rich aromatic coffee and the spicy heat of a secret Algerian spice blend. "  Also nice to not that proceeds go to the Dexter Relief Fund!


Well speaking of funds, I am shamelessly going to plug myself.  I am growing a mustache in for the month of November in order to raise money for prostate cancer research. (Movember!)  Please think about about donating and make fun of how ridiculous I look.  http://mobro.co/kevinlolli

Also, the good news is, I still am terrible at designing webpages/blogs!  Woo!

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

Holy crap, a new glass!  I'm working on it, alright.  I left all my other ones in Ohio.  If you were unaware, I love Jolly Pumpkin.  In fact, I used some of their bottle conditioned wild yeast to make my own sour beer in the past.  I know that they probably aren't on the scale of some Russian River sours and others out west, but I haven't been out there.  Anyways, these are solid beers nonetheless and I will probably always have a fondness for them since they are what got me into funky/sour beers.  Although I have had this one in the past, it's time to review it!

Oro de Calabaza


Appearance- Golden yellow in color with a layer of persistent white head.  The body is slightly cloudy while lacing sticks to the side of the glass.

Smell- A sour tart smell pounds the nostrils immediately.  It seems mostly to be lactic acid rather than acetic as well as some barnyard funk as well.  Beneath all the funk and sour is some citrus, most notably that of lemon with some grassy character that probably melds in with the barnyard character as well.

Taste- A muted front with some slight funk.  The funky barnyard flavors begin to rise in the middle with an increase in sour as well.  There is some slight citrus, but not what I noticed in the smell.  Slight peak of tartness in the finish that carries into a barnyard aftertaste.

Mouthfeel- Medium-light body with moderate carbonation.  Very dry finish.

Overall and Notes- The last time I had this beer on tap at South Park in Dayton, there seemed to be a lot more umph and more importantly, more sour.  I know that Jolly Pumpkin has been said to be a little less consistent than other sour brewers in there creation because of a lack of blending (I believe that was the explanation, someone correct me if I'm wrong).  That being said, still a solid beer.  Jolly Pumpkin doesn't disappoint me and I'm sure any day I will find myself fighting the urge to buy one of every one of their beers.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

5 O'clock Shadow Double Black Lager

Since I was recently called out for my lack of posting, I thought maybe it was time to get back at it.  This whole school thing is really starting to get in the way of my life.  Recently, a friend of mine gifted me a beer for doing him a favor so I thought I would throw it on here.  This is my first beer from Grand Teton Brewing Company and hopefully not my last.

5 O'clock Shadow Double Black Lager


Appearance- Dark brown color with a tan bubbly head. Disappears a little and is edging towards patchy. Lacing can be seen sticking to the glass.

Smell- Moderate amount of malty character with toasted malt and a bit of roasted malt being the most prominent. A slight amount of caramel in the nose with traces of coffee. No real hop aroma.

Taste- Moderate malty beginning that changes to a rich Munich malt in the middle. Toasted flavor as well as the roasted malt that was noticeable in the nose. Some low bitterness at the end with a clean lager character throughout.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Nice and smooth while finishing slightly dry.

Overall and Notes- Full flavored and smooth. Although I was surprised to see a "double" schwarzbier, this one worked out well.




LOOKS LIKES YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BREW ANOTHER BEER BUDDY.  It was worth taking the time to post just to invalidate your post.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Haymarket Angry Birds Belgian Rye I.P.A.

Once again I find myself apologizing for not posting in a while.  Same excuses, new day, so I will spare you the trouble.  Good news is that Haymarket has Angry Birds back on tap!  I of course used this as an excuse to buy my first growler in Chicago (how pathetic, no?) and give myself an underserved pat on the back for finishing up some recent assignments.  Don't judge me.

Angry Birds Belgian Rye I.P.A.


Appearance- Hazy golden yellow with a small off white head. The head disappears almost completely, but the growler was opened up yesterday (although there was not much head then either). No lacing on the glass.

Smell- Belgian yeast hits first with noticeable bubblegum and phenolic clove. There may be a hint of banana underneath as well. Citrus hops begin to come through in the middle with a resiny smell following. Slight alcohol in the finish.

Taste- The beer starts strong with the belgian yeast characteristics again. the bubblegum character is prominent with clove lingering in the background. Seems to be a little candied fruit as well. The middle brings the citrus hops the work together well with the yeast. Slight bitterness build in the middle and continues into the finish of the beer. All the while there is a slight belgian phenolic yeast characteristic hanging in the background. Great balance.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with medium low carbonation. Its a little less carbonated than yesterday according to notes so I am going to chalk it up to the opened growler. Smooth on the tongue and slightly dry in the finish.

Overall and Notes- I love this beer. I personally believe its one of the best, if not the best, examples of the Belgian IPA I have had to this date. Great mix between hops and yeast characteristics. Easy to say that I will be refilling my growler often. Not surprising to see it brought home the Gold Medal at the GABF.


The only thing I have to do next is convince the lovely people at Haymarket to allow me to lay directly beneath the Angry Birds tap and let the sucker flow.  The only thing I'm really iffy on is the name, but they did name another beer after Justin Bieber which gave me a chuckle, so I will let it slide.  Also, meant to address something in my other post.  I'm not sure if there was a misprint when I posted about Haymarket last, but growler prices are not as ridiculous as I originally posted.  As well, Haymarket had a limited bigger version on this that was incredibly delicious.  That and two taps dedicated to 2010 Bigfoot and Hopslam.  Haymarket, what I'm trying to say is I love you.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Stillwater Stateside Saison

I won't lie, I'm a little backed up with places and beers I have been meaning to post.  Been a little busy lately.  That being said, I couldn't help popping open my first Stillwater saison tonight.  I mean anyone that can do gypsy brewing is alright in my book.  That just sounds awesome.  Gypsy brewing.  On to the beer!

Stillwater Stateside Saison


Appearance- Golden yellow in color with a decent amount of haze in the body. A billowing white bubbly head appears before relinquishing its size to something more manageable. That being said, the head stays around with sticky lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell- Some ripe fruits with pear and banana lurking beneath. Spicy phenols emerge with some esters throughout the beer. The end becomes a little musty that feels accentuated by the spicy phenols.

Taste- A sweet malt beginning that has some bread and biscuit in the taste. The middle develops into slight fruit with the pear and banana once again coming to the forefront. Towards the end the beer starts to dry out with some spicy phenols and a slight bitterness accompanying it. 

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with a sweet start that becomes dry int he finish. I would prefer a saison that is a little drier, but still enjoyable.

Overall and Notes- Good first beer from Stillwater. If the beer was slightly drier I think it would make this go a little further. Nonetheless, a great beer.


Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Wisconsin Belgian Red

Well, it's time to get into the New Glarus.  After an abysmal last couple of weeks, I decided to pop open the Wisconsin Belgian Red.  I've had the Raspberry tart, but this is my first encounter with this cherry beer.  Unfortunately, when I was in Ohio I forgot to grab my other glassware.  Apparently my mind was elsewhere.  These things tend to happen to idiots.


Wisconsin Belgian Red


Appearance- Burgundy with a little haze as it is able to be seen through. Off white head dissipates until it becomes small and patchy with a ring around the glass. 

Smell- Sweet and slightly tart cherries push through this beer. Malt accompanies with a little bit of a musty character.

Taste- The cherries hit you right away coming at you first a little sweet but quickly becoming tart. Thick malty taste is beneath as the cherries continue throughout. The finish seems to have a cherry skin flavor to it with a lingering tart flavor in the back of the mouth. 

Mouthfeel- Medium-body, sweet throughout.

Overall and Notes- More than just any fruit beer. Very rich in character and full in taste. Would be great after dinner or for the holidays.




I'm hoping that it won't be too long before I can get back to Wisconsin and pick up a couple more bottles of this and Raspberry Tart.  Unfortunately, you still have to deal with my camera.  This wouldn't be such a big deal if I wasn't running out jokes to make fun of myself.  Also, does anyone from Wisconsin know if they have a shirt with that "Drink Indigenous" logo?

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Fat Washing

Before I get into the glory that was my Wisconsin beer haul, I thought I would give a quick update on the bacon beer process.  More specifically, I am referring to the process of fat washing.

I had heard of the practice before when individuals have wanted to use real ingredients instead of using extracts in their beer.  The general sense is to get the taste of something fatty inside your beer without going through the normal troubles.  Fats and oils tend to ruin head retention, and more importantly facilitate a rancid beer.  Hence why you can't just throw something like bacon into your boil and expect everything to go off without a hitch.

Of course, as everyone knows (or the 2 people that read this blog), I decided to embrace my American roots and include bacon in my beer.  I can't take credit for going about this alone as I tried to follow what "Ryan Brews" did with his hot wing beer.  Unfortunately, I am still an idiot and did not see the more comprehensive steps he laid out before trying my first experiment.  I won't go into too much detail as he seems to be able to explain the process much better than I, but I will point out some differences in my approach that I will be changing in order to better match his.

I went out and bought some apple smoked bacon and quickly cooked three strips.  I wanted the distinctive applewood bacon smell and taste, so no big surprise here.  Afterwards, instead of adding the fat to the vodka, I added the actual strips.  I had read somewhere that this was a good way to make your own, but after observing my results, I believe the fat may impart a much strong smell and taste (It is the fat that the alcohol interacts with and just the strips leaves less fun in the glass).


















After placing the strips in the glass, I let it sit for one full day.  I would have let it sit a little longer, but I was at my parents doing all of this and needed to leave.  Isn't procrastination fun?  Anyways, the liquid looked a disgusting murky brown with small chunks of meat suspended in the glass after becoming dislodged from the strips.  I removed the large strips and placed the glass in the freezer.  As everyone knows (well, I'm hoping for the sake of our education system), alcohol has a lower freezing point than water.  As a result, the fat on top of the glass will freeze and the alcohol will be left alone beneath it.   After this, the fat was broken through and put through a coffee filter for good measure into another glass.  I didn't have the time, but I would highly suggest repeating the freezing process at least a couple of times.  Fat in beer = sad face when trying to drink beer.


Unfortunately, the sweet stout in secondary fermentation wasn't finished after the addition of maple syrup before I had to leave to head back to Chicago.  That means, I was not able to bottle the new beer.  Although a bummer, I think it is for the best.  When I head back I am going to redo the fat wash technique one more time.  I was only able to use some really cheap vodka as that is all that was lying around.  As a result, the character seemed a little more rough than I would have liked with a rubbing alcohol smell being fairly strong and pushing what little bacon there was out of the way.  As well, instead of adding strips I will be adding just the bacon grease instead.  I'm hoping this will give a slightly larger taste.  I don't want anything overpowering, but most certainly something stronger than the first concoction.

I will update with my second attempt when I get around to it.  Also, apologies for the blurry pictures of the filtered bacon vodka.  They are a product of my father.  Apologies as well for this post that is most likely riddled with errors.  It is a product of me.  I could edit it, but I just don't care.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Wisconsin

With the time off, a friend of mine suggested we take a short trip to Wisconsin during the day in order to grab some New Glarus beer.  Seeing as I thought it would be rude to decline such an invitation (as well as being a little too excited to have some New Glarus), I politely agreed to accompany him.  He may contest the "polite" part.

We didn't go to far past the border as we are both lazy and we needed to keep it a day trip.  Upon research, we stopped in Kenosha first at a bar called Captain Mike's Beer and Burger Bar.  We knew they had some New Glarus on tap and we figured why not get some while we were having food.  The menu was pretty limited to burgers, but tons of different choices.  The burgers had the option of Organic grass fed burger or kobe beef, yeaaaaaaah environment.  After that you choose everything you want on the burger, but I will let you leaf through the menu if you want to see all the combinations.  They also suggest throwing a slab of peanut butter on any burger that has bacon on it.  I thought what the hell, you only live once, and through a slab on mine.  Delicious.  Lastly, I went with New Glarus's Apple Ale, which I will update on later, but it is slightly like a sour apple jolly rancher.

After the food, we went to the closest liquor store to grab some New Glarus.  We both had to try and contain ourselves and try not to buy one of everything.  Since we were not allowed to mix and match, we thought it best to buy a couple six packs each and then swap three of each six pack with another so we got to try as much as possible.  The final decision were: Apple Ale, Back Forty Bock, Fat Squirrel, Moon Man, Road Slush Stout, and Wisconsin Belgian Red.  It really didn't come out as bad as it sounds since we shared with each other, but plenty of beer nonetheless.  Hopefully will be making the trip in the future again.

Well, it is now back to school and work.  It seems as if I should stop imitating the maturity of a five year old and grow up a bit for the sake of my schooling.                                                                         Life is a drag.                       

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

A New Beer Year

A new year full of new beer is here!  The past week has brought a lot of new things my way in the world of beer with many kindnesses as well.  The most notable is acquiring a bottle of Black Tuesday from someone who apparently had a lot of leftover Christmas spirit.  Thanks again, this was way too nice.  I only bring this up as I promised to make some bad jokes in exchange for the bottle.  Unfortunately, I won't be opening this bottle for a while as I am going to let it age so bad jokes will have to be put off for now.  Shucks, I'm worthless.  It certainly is a Black Tuesday I suppose (Crap!  It's Wednesday, why didn't I make this yesterday?).

Also, it seems as if I am starting to hoard bottles of beer from the Bruery in my parents basement crawl space.  I'm quite ok with this problem.  If anyone tries to correct it, I will cry uncontrollably.  Do you really want to see that?  Please don't answer yes.  I still have to pick up a bottle of 4 Calling Birds at the store to put away for this year, but that shouldn't be a problem.

In other news, I will soon be heading to Wisconsin for a short day trip with the one goal of buying New Glarus.  Luckily I have a friend (or at least someone is tolerable of me) that shares the love of New Glarus and invited me along.  I will of course update to my adoring readers what I got.  As well, a short post on fat washing will be coming along in the short future.  Mmmmm the beer of a new year!  And to think, I have to go back to law school in a week.  Anyone interested in funding a brewery for me instead?

As you can also see, Santa did not provide me with a camera.  Apparently, he is not an avid reader of the blog.  Pshhhh.  He can see everything?  I'm calling bs.