484. Epic Brainless on Cherries Belgian-Style Ale

Epic Brewing Company is a new brewery out of Salt Lake City, Utah; they’ve come up pretty hot and heavy as of late, especially here in Dayton—we’ve seen a couple of events featuring their beer, and quite a wide variety of beers as well. I actually had this beer on tap a couple of weeks ago at Lucky’s, and it is much better out of the bottle. Described as a “malt beverage brewed with cherries and aged on oak barrels” (and they do indicate that the barrels are French Oak), Brainless on Cherries is part of Epic’s Exponential Series. And as to why beers from Utah are blowing up in Dayton, Ohio—well, that’s another story, one most likely beyond even my abilities to bullshit.

Brainless on Cherries pours a pinkish grapefruit leavened with an orange-ish tan—it is not quite clear, although less than opaque, and brightly effervescent with a white head that constantly replenishes itself. It also has some pretty ruby-red highlights. The nose contains a good dose of cherry, but there is also plenty of Belgian yeast character—the cherry melds nicely with the perfume-y qualities and fruit esters of the aroma. This is further balanced by fruit pith, a touch of sweet toasty malt (pilsner, I would guess) and some simultaneous spritz-y and mineral notes. We’ll call it candy fruity Belgian goodness. Oak character emerges as the beer warms, but when first poured, it is pretty minimal—unless it is passing itself off as the pith aroma. Flavors start sweet and slightly creamy before plunging into the cherry flavor in the middle; there is slight tacky dryness in the middle that I’ll attribute to the oak as well that gives way to a touch of bright but gentle alcohol as the beer turns to the finish. It concludes with a touch of fruit tartness and some lingering alcohol warmth, although the beer is far lighter and brighter than I initially expected. The fruit flavor is light and balances well with the body of the beer—it is both delicate and subtle. As well, Brainless on Cherries sits lightly on the palate for a 10.7% beer; there is some alcohol flavor and warmth, but far less than anticipated. The bright carbonation contributes to rounding the beer on the tongue (as does the oak); there are a few harsh alcohol hints as the beer warms, but these are minimal. The oak is present but restrained; the emphasis in on the beer and subtle fruit, with the oak playing a supporting role that contributes most to the larger character of the beer. Overall, I’d call this beer a pleasant surprise—it is well-crafted and has more character, subtlety, and nuance that I would had originally given it credit for—and this is after I had it on draft. Elli even had nice things to say—she got nice and tipsy from her share of the bottle—and was pleased with the subtle flavors and smoothness of the beer. We may have to get ourselves a couple more bottles to try...

From the bottle: “You are holding something special—one of only 1,800 bottles released and numbered. Intrigued? Visit http://www.epicbrewing.com/ to explore this limited brew’s precise details.”

From the brewery: “Release 3 we decided to add another layer of flavor to this beer by combining both Sweet and Sour Cherries in the barrel fermentation and aging process but with a higher ratio of sour cherries. We took our double gold medal winning Brainless Belgian, added cherry puree and aged it in French Chardonnay casks for a secondary fermentation in the barrels and some additional aging. Pours a beautiful deep ruby color with a medium white head to pink head. A nice nose of sweet and sourcherries, Belgian malts, and barrel aging. The flavor is dominated by white wine dryness and malt and fruit driven sweetness.”

ABV: 10.7%
Release #3

(9/20/2011)

483. Jeffrey McElfresh Barleywine

I’m back up on that Jeffrey McElfresh bandwagon. You win some medals, you get that attention. I’ve had this beer for a while—I think Jeffrey’s on like 75 or something now, and this is 39, so you can do the math—and since it won its category at Brewfest, I figured that it was time to bust it on out and see what is what. I guess that makes me the biggest winner, doesn’t it?

JM B-wine pours a rusty brown with a fair amount of orange to it—roughly the color of weak truck stop coffee that you notice is looking a bit sketchy right before the cream goes in—but this is beer, and thus not nearly as disturbing for that particular shade of tepid. It is, however, brilliantly clear—the rusty is color-based, not clarity-based. There are ruby highlights through the glass on the table (which is one difference between this beer and truck stop coffee—this is being consumed out of a glass, not a styrofoam cup), and the barest sheen of carbonation across the top of the beer, although when swirled you can see the carbonation slowly fighting through the thick fluid. This beer also has legs, but since it is around 12% ABV, is anyone really surprised by that? I let it sit for 10 minutes on the counter before opening it after pulling it out of the fridge, and I’m letting it further warm up in the glass while typing all of this. Yes, I’m typing slow. I haven’t even smelled or tasted it yet. Such due diligence.

The nose is rich and warm, with faint, bright alcohol coupled with chewy toffee malt, toasty bread dough, and caramel. There is a decided creaminess and a touch of dried fruit, although no real fruitiness discernable from the yeast. I’m not detecting much in the way of hops either, but the malt is pretty prominent. The malt character grows as it warms, getting more rounded and softer. Flavors are malt forward, at least until the smooth alcohol flavors make their presence felt in the middle and on into the finish—there is bread and toffee with hints of nuttiness running along the edges in the front, dropping into brown sugar and caramel sweetness in the middle. The alcohol flavors provide a balance to the sweetness, although they still have a slight upper hand; they come in right after the brown sugar and dance on the tongue with the caramel malt sweetness. Flavors dry up a bit into the finish, although brown sugar and caramel corn comes into play in the finish, mixed with a warmer alcohol and light hop bite. The body is slightly chewy, although not as chewy as the aroma initially indicates—the alcohol thins and lightens the mouthfeel, although this beer does strike me as still rather young. The creaminess of the nose is in the mouthfeel as well, along with a touch of slickness from the alcohol. As a whole, this is a good beer, but it has not yet achieved the depth or complexity that comes with age—I was hoping for some oxidized or vinous notes along with that malt complexity that comes with age. But all this means is that the second bottle is gonna keep sitting in the basement until it is time for its triumphant rebirth into the mouths of saints and sinners alike. B-wine goes in the B-mouth.

Smack your tweet up, Jeffrey.
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The second half of the bottle was slightly more spritzy with the carbonation—a couple skiffs of foam even suffered to hang out for a while on the top of the beer. As it approached room temperature, the body thickened on the palate, although the alcohol also increased in the finish—there was more warmth and a stronger bite that minimized the malt characteristics of the final third, but there was also more brown sugar and caramel across the entire profile.

(9/17/2011)

Dayton DRAFT Brewfest Judging

It is that time of year again. Already. DRAFT Brewfest. The name may have changed, but the sound remains the same. And like last year, I foolishly agreed to be the Cellar Master. Next year, would some one please tell me to NOT to be Mr. Happy Volunteer? Although when the time comes, I’m certain someone will be happy to throw me under the bus. Thanks in advance for that, by the way. I will say, with a year of previous experience, dealing with all of the beer was a hell of a lot easier. And I mean a lot. You know what they say about practice, don’t you? That’s right, it makes an ass out of you and me. Anyway, we had 214 beers total this year, so an increase from last year. The final results are posted here.

Highlights included watching Jeffrey McElfresh utterly destroy the competition (he won four categories and got second in three others), trying to figure out how my Rockit Cup Saison ended up getting third place (which means it did better here than in the Rockit Cup, where I was fourth out of four, although I will attempt to validate my performance there through noting the quality of the competition), and drinking all of Jule Rastikis’ leftover beers. That’s right, being Cellar Master has its perks, and drinking all the leftover 16E entries is one of them. And that man knows how to make some tasty, tasty beers. The one with service berries, blue berries, honey, orange peel, and dark candi sugar was a pure delight. So thank you, Jules—your beer was one of the highlights of my day. Sadly, however, there were no underground catacombs to tour after the competition...

And I’m still waiting for my poetic complaints from last year, dammit. Jeffrey, get to work.

Dandelion Saison Brewday

More dandelion. It’s just like more cowbell, only different. After the mixed success of the last couple of versions—74 ended up good, but it took a while—I’m here to give it another shot. I plan on splitting this batch, bottling half as is and racking half onto several pounds of frozen cherries. The first version will be a plain ol’ dandelion saison, but the other half will magically become Dr. Morgan’s Stupendous Gout-B-Gone. You heard it here first—consider gout cured by the sheer fluid potency of my fantastic elixir. You’re welcome, America.

98. Dandelion Saison
Mash:
8 lbs. MFB Pilsner
1 lb. Weyerman Light Wheat
1 lb. Weyerman Light Munich
1 lb. Weyerman Acidulated Malt

Mashed @ 150° F w/ 4 gallons of RO water for 90 minutes; collected 2 ½ gallons @ 1.064
Batch sparged @ 165° F w/ 3 ¾ gallons RO water for 20 minutes; collected 3 ¾ gallons @ 1.034

Collected 6 ¼ gallons; brought to a boil (70 minute) and added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Hallertauer leaf 4.1% AA
3 oz. dandelion leaves, coarsely chopped
2.85 oz. dandelion root, coarsely chopped

w/15 to go: 1 tsp. Irish moss
1.2 oz. dandelion leaves, coarsely chopped
1.35 oz. dandelion root, coarsely chopped

w/5 to go: 1.2 oz. dandelion leaves, coarsely chopped
1.35 oz. dandelion root, coarsely chopped
½ oz. ginger, coarsely chopped
2 g. coriander, lightly crushed
1 g. grains of paradise, lightly crushed

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched Wyeast 3711 French Saison (mason jar saved from 95)

Brewed: 9/3/2011 @ 65° F
Secondary: 10/20/2011 @ 1.000
Bottled: 10/26/2011 w/4 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.000

Tasting Notes (5/18/2012): First, a disclaimer: I never found any appropriate cherries to rack this beer onto (next time, I’ll punch that Fruit Fast Montmorency Tart Cherry concentrate ticket—yes, I've learned my lesson). So sorry, America, you’ll have to keep waiting for Dr. Morgan’s Stupendous Gout-B-Gone.

Dandelion Saison pours a crystal clear straw with a thin white head replenished by the small streaming bubbles up the side of the glass. It reminds me of champagne it the clarity and brilliancy in the glass—there are bright gold highlights on the table from the light passing through the beer. The nose is sweet candy pilsen malt coupled with a light floral earthiness and spiciness—more dandelion than hop. Flavors start bright, sweet, and dry; the dandelion earthy bitterness picks up in the middle along with some fruity and floral yeast esters—I’d describe it as classic 3711 flavor—before dropping into the dry, brut-like finish. There is a slight tartness in the finish from the acidulated malt along with some residual sweetness that lingers along with the dandelion bitterness, creating something of a bitter candy flavor on the back of the mouth and throat. The body is bone dry; the sweetness is residual flavor with no corresponding mouthfeel components, while the carbonation is medium, and slightly spritzy. A good beer, but it could be better; next time I make this, I need to increase the hop bitterness (like, say, at least two ounces of Styrian Golding, or something like that—something that will work well with the dry body), as well as the carbonation—it is lively in the glass, but not on the palate. The beer does finish dry, but the FG is 1.000. I’d like a sharper bite on the tongue from the carbonation to better match the body, and I might consider another ½ lb. of the acidulated malt to crisp it further in the finish.

Incognito Alter-ego

So we celebrated the 2-year Anniversary of the blog by disappearing for 2 months. I know, I know: the disappointment, the shame, the whole ethical bad faith thing. I could blame the disappearance of the free internet we were “borrowing” from our neighbor, or maybe the preparations for applying for tenure, or even trying to plan a wedding, or any of the other usual lame and self-serving excuses people of my ilk manufacture to rationalize their preening self-indulgences. But I won’t do that. Let’s instead pretend I was practicing my Hedonism Bot act, and claim that “I apologize for nothing!” while also noting, that if nothing else, we’re back. They’ll be a couple of things that will be back-posted, since, while incognito, I certainly didn’t stop brewing beer. Or having fun. Or being hedonistic. That would be ridiculous!

So, without further ado, on with the show!

Peculiar Wang Old Ale II & Small Wang Experiment Brewday

The basics of the last version turned out good, so although it will take some time to determine the ultimate value of the original Peculiar Wang, I figured I’d make another version to build up the backstock. The picture is from some of the bottles of the last batch I labeled for a recent family event back in Sea-town, handed out with instruction to not drink until at least December. Which means that it should all be drunk by, oh, next week? I will admit, however, that there is nothing like mocking family via the gift of booze.

96. Peculiar Wang Old Ale II
Mash:
11 lbs. Thomas Fawcett Maris Otter
1 lb. Muntons 2-row
½ lb. Franco-Belges Kiln Coffee
½ lb. Crisp Pale Chocolate
½ lb. Breiss Caramel 6-row 60° L
5 oz. Dingemans Pale Malt
¼ lb. Muntons Dark Crystal 2-row 135-165° L
3 oz. Weyerman CaraWheat
2 oz. Simpsons Roasted barley
1 oz. Weyerman Chocolate Wheat

Mashed @ 154° F for 70 minutes w/5 gallons RO water; collected 3 gallons @ 1.072
Batch sparged @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/4 gallons RO water; collected 3 ½ gallons @ 1.030

Collected 6 ½ gallons, brought to a boil (90 minutes) and added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Columbus pellet 14.4% AA
.5 oz. Mt. Hood pellet 5.2% AA
.5 oz. Chinook leaf 11.3% AA
.45 oz. Warrior pellet 15.8% AA

w/15 minutes to go: 1 tsp. Irish Moss
1 lb. Brewer’s Garden Belgian Candi Sugar Aromatic Extra Dark

w/10 to go: 1 lb. (454 g.) Lyle’s Black Treacle

Chilled and racked to carboy on 94. Chicory Coffee Mild yeast cake (Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale)

Brewed: 7/19/2011 @ 68° F; free rise to 72° F over the first 12 hours
Secondary: 9/17/2011 @ 66° F & 1.014
Bottled: 9/22/2011 w/ 2.75 oz. table sugar & re-yeasted w/ Safale US 05 (mixed packet into half a 12 oz. bottle of bottled water; used to re-yeast this and two gallon batches of 91.

OG: 1.076
FG: 1.013

Tasting Notes (10/18/2011): Jason Morgan’s Peculiar Wang pours a deep, rich chocolate brown; while generally clear, there is not a lot of light getting through. The head is a dark tan, and has good staying power—there is quite a bit of small, tiny bubble activity that creates a silky layer when the glass it tilted. The nose is a mix of creamy and chocolate malt at first, followed by a subtle fruitiness; as it warms, a touch of bitterness and alcohol emerge, and the chocolate and coffee get more prominent. Flavors start sweet and rich; there is chocolate and caramel in the front, plus smaller hints of cocoa and coffee. The middle dries out on the palate; there is a fair amount of bitterness and what I would describe as a creamy roundedness that balances the bitterness. The finish has a rise in sweetness—there is a touch of treacle and caramel—followed by a slight chalkiness, then alcohol warmth and lingering bitterness. A fair amount of lingering bitterness, in fact. The mouthfeel is rich but potentially a bit thin—the brighter carbonation may have something to do with that, but it also creates a delightful silkiness to the beer on the tongue. As well, the treacle flavor is more subdued in this version—in 91, treacle flavor was front and center, while this version contains only a touch in the finish; as it warms, it does become more pronounced in the middle, however. All and all, an interesting beer, but one that strikes me as rather young yet—the malt flavors has not come together, and the bitterness and alcohol flavors are still very pronounced. Sadly, the re-yeasting with US 05 might pose a long-term danger to the beer—I’ll need to pay attention to the carbonation in regards to the yeast’s ability to continue eating residual sugar. The FG was already rather low at 1.013, but I’d still rather be ahead of the curve on this one. This one wasn’t an issue, but I had a bottle that was significantly over-carbonated a couple of days ago—it did get transported by bike, which could have contributed to the problem. So I’ll try a bottle every couple of weeks to see where we’re at, I know, I know—you all feel so sorry for me, don’t you? Let’s hope some of this lasts long enough to become more interesting.

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97. Small Wang Experiment
Third runnings from 96. Peculiar Wang Old Ale II

Mashed @ 158° F for 45 minutes w/2 ½ gallons RO water

Collected 2 ¾ gallons, brought to a boil (30 minutes) and added:
1 lb. Bavarian Wheat DME

w/15 minutes to go: 1 tsp. Irish Moss
1 oz. Millennium leaf 16.6% AA

w/10 to go: 1 oz. Chinook leaf 11.3% AA

w/5 minutes to go: 1 oz. Amarillo leaf 10.7% AA

w/0 minutes to go: 1 tablespoon hibiscus leaves

Chilled and racked to carboy onto 92. Small Wang Pale Ale cake (Bam Biere yeast from secondary)

Brewed: 7/19/2011
Secondary: skipped
Bottled: 9/1/2011 w/ 2.75 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.044
FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes (12/12/11): Pours a rich caramel and orange color—it is very reminiscent of a Belgian dubbel or maybe an American amber (something bigger, like North Coast’s Red Seal Ale), although the resemblance ends with the color. I’m not sure what happened to the hibiscus, however. There are plenty of tiny, white streaming bubbles up the sides of the glass that allows the eggshell head to maintain a thin but complete covering across the top of the glass. The nose is bright and funky; it is very similar to 93, but there is a dry biscuit and cracker malt that wasn’t in the other beer. Flavors start with a flat, dry biscuit malt flavor that reminds me of the taste I dislike in most red ales, and is coupled with a funky wild yeast character. This beer is far less tart and sour than 93, although I’m guessing it is via the grain bill, with the bigger and darker flavors covering some of the more delicate tart components. The middle is dry—all that is left of the grain is huskiness and biscuit chalkiness. When mixed with the musty and papery funk flavors, any stray molecule of moisture is quickly banished. There is a twang of citric sourness that emerges in the finish as the beer starts to warm, but it is mostly fleeting. An interesting experiment, but not the best beer. This beer is probably more interesting than I am giving it credit, but the mix of flavors don’t quite work for me—I like the yeast character, but not the effects created by the residual malt characters, which harsh and a bit abrasive on the palate. For me, the two just don’t mesh. Thus, I plan on sticking with a lighter and gentler malt bill for subsequent wild beers (well, except for the upcoming Flanders Red)—think MFB Pilsner, think MFB Aromatic, think pale malt. Let the funk shine through, dammit.

Rockit Cup Saison Brewday

Time for another installment of the Rockit Cup. Ridiculous, I know, but what with the 3711 that I just can’t resist, I am powerless before forces greater than myself. Help me, Obi-wan, you’re my only hope.

95. Rockit Cup Saison
Mash:
3 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner
3 ¾ lbs. MFB Pilsner
1 lb. Flaked Oats, roasted @ 250° F for 20 min.
¾ lb. Torrified Red Wheat
¾ lb. Weyerman Light Munich
½ lb. table sugar

Mashed @ 148° F w/ 3 ½ gallons of RO water for 75 minutes
Batch sparged @ 158° F w/ 4 gallons RO water for 20 minutes

Collected 6 gallons; added to brew kettle and topped off to 6 ½ gallons; brought to a boil (60 minute) and added:

w/60 to go: 1 oz. Tettnanger pellet 4.8% AA

w/15 to go: ½ lb. table sugar; 1 tsp. Irish moss

w/0 to go: 1 oz. Tettnanger pellet 4.8% AA

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Brewed: 7/16/2011 @ 73°
Secondary: skipped
Bottled: 8/3/2011 @1.000 w/4 0z. table sugar

OG: 1.048
FG: 1.000

Tasting Notes (10/11/2011): Another 3711 beer...bring on the deliciousness. In the Rockit Cup competition, I ended up getting 4th out of the four beers made (smooth, I know), but, interestingly enough, got 3rd with the same beer at Beerfest. So go figure.

Rockit Cup Saison pours a clear straw color with a thick, persistent white head—light and delicate with active carbonation streaming in the glass, making it is a rather attractive beer. The nose is the delicate perfume-y and fruity yeast ester aroma I associate with 3711; there is some slight mustiness and creaminess mixed with earth and loam; the hop character is a bit indistinct in the nose. Flavors start dry and crisp, but with just a dash of residual sweetness—it is a bit crackery via the dryness, and there is a slight carbonic bite. The finish is crisp and bright with a touch of wheatiness, but not much in the way of hop bitterness—I would agree with Gordon Strong’s comments (yes, Gordon Strong judged this beer) that “bitterness is probably the most important thing to fix.” The mouthfeel has a slight silkiness along with the dry body; I might be projecting here, but that was the intention in including the pound of Flaked Oats. Good, and eminently quaffable, which was the initial goal of the Rockit Cup, but it could be tweaked a bit to improve the beer—a stronger hop bitterness and a more distinctive malt character (drop the wheat and something else like MFB Aromatic or Acidulated Malt) would bring this beer together.

Competition: Dayton Beerfest (9/10/2011): 32.5; 3rd place Saison