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.

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!