Rockit Cup India Pilsen Ale Brewday

One last hurrah for the Rockit Cup. But that last hurrah is a tasty one. Again, this recipe was provided by Jeffrey McElfresh, brewer extraordinaire at Yellow Spring Brewery and Rockit Cup co-founder. He also came over to hang out on brew day. How awesome is that? Long live the Rockit Cup!

184. Rockit Cup India Pilsen Ale

Mash:

10 lbs. Rahr Premium Pils

1 ½ lbs. Breiss White Wheat

Mash @ 150° F for 60 minutes w/ 4 ½ gallons RO water & 10 g. gypsum; collected 3 gallons

Batch sparge @ 168° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water & 5 g. gypsum; collected 4 gallons @ 1.028

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (60 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 2 oz. U.S. Magnum 13.5% AA 

w/15 to go: 2 oz. Amarillo leaf + 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/0 to go: 2 oz. Amarillo leaf

1 oz. Centennial leaf

1 oz. Mosaic pellet

Let stand for 20 minutes; chilled, racked to carboy, & pitched WLP001

Brewed: 9/24/2014

Secondary: 10/7/2014 @ 1.008; pulled one gallon and bottled w/ .6 oz. table sugar; dry-hopped rest of beer on 11/4/2014 with 4 oz. Amarillo leaf

Bottled: 11/20/2014 w/ 2 oz. table sugar (yes, the beer sat on the hops too long)

OG: 1.054

FG: 1.008

Tasting Notes: I was the winner. I was also the only brewer, although Chris Baumann asserted he made one, but was unable to come to the meeting. So I win. Again. The initial gallon was good; light body with excellent hop flavor and aroma to balance the bitterness. All of the intended pieces of this—the light body via the pilsen malt and the big hop presence—came together wonderfully. That said, the four gallons that got dry-hopped with 4 oz. of Amarillo was even better, even with leaving the beer too long on the hops (yes, there was a fair amount of grassiness, but it went well with the beer). Certainly worth revisiting: light, bright, and drinkable. Hooray Rockit Cup!

Sour Fresh Hop Brewday

This beer was a last minute surprise; I found out from Jeffrey that Heartland Hops was holding a u-pick at YSB with their Nugget hops today, so I scrambled to make this beer happen. I will say that with the glory of hindsight, I should have used a different yeast, but the LTC blend was the best available in the brewing rotation. These hops were by far the best fresh hops I have ever gotten my hands on—the wort was actually bitter tasting prior transferring it onto the yeast, and not just a little. I hope I can score a couple more pounds again next year, and use a neutral yeast like US-05 or 1272 to let these hops shine. Don’t get me wrong—this was a fantastic beer, but the Brett started eating into the hop flavor and bitterness even before I got it bottled: the hop flavor and aroma when this went into the secondary was light years ahead of any other fresh hop beer I’ve ever made, and was still excellent when bottled. But via the Brett, it began to quickly fade. Another lesson on the fresh hop learning curve.

182. Sour Fresh Hop

Mash:

7 ¼ lbs. Best Malz Pilsen

2 lbs. Breiss White Wheat

1 lb. MFB Pale

Mash @ 152° F for 90 minutes w/ 3 ½ gallons RO water & 6 g. gypsum + 3 g. CaCl; collected 2 gallons @ 1.072

Batch sparge @ 166° F for 20 minutes w/ 4 gallons RO water; collected 4 ¼ gallons @ 1.026

Topped off to 7 gallons, brought to a boil (90 minutes), & added:

w/60 to go: 6 oz. Nugget 

w/20 to go: 6 oz. Nugget + 7 g. gypsum

w/10 to go: 6 oz. Nugget + 3 g. Wyeast yeast nutrient

w/5 to go: 7 ¼ oz. Nugget 

w/0 to go: 8 ¼ oz. Nugget 

Let stand for 20 minutes; chilled & racked onto yeast cake from 176. Smoked Sour (custersianus, Trois, and Lactobacillus)

Brewed: 9/7/2014

Secondary: 9/23/2014 @ 1.004

Bottled: 11/4/2014 w/ 2.8 oz. table sugar

OG: 1.046

FG: 1.002

Tasting Notes: For the sake of science, I’ve combined my fresh hop tasting notes for the year. As the photos attest, I did try them all at the same time. The second picture is from the 2nd Annual Fresh Hop King of Ohio competition with Brent Osborne, where my beers came in 1st (183), 2nd (178), and 3rd (182). Yes, there were only seven beers, and four of them were mine. But I’m still the Fresh Hop King of Ohio for 2014, dammit. I would add (as I note below) that 178 is probably the best beer, but 183 is the best fresh hop beer.

178. Smith Hop: made with Cascades from my neighbors; last year, it was by far the best fresh hop beer I made, and it won me the Fresh Hop King of Ohio title. This year it is the best beer in terms of quality, but I am giving the nod to the Bike Path 
Fresh Hop as the best of this year’s fresh hop beers. Smith Hop is the lightest of the four in color, and the most effervescent; it pours a hazy straw with a rocky head, and has lemon zest, lemon, and grapefruit in the nose, along with hints of pepper and orange. Flavors open with lemon and lemon zest, moving into a mineral and pepper bite in the middle, and finish with grapefruit and a slight citrus pith. The malt flavors in the beer are mainly playing a supporting role, while the bitterness is medium and clean. I expected more grassiness from dry hopping this with 4.6 oz. of fresh hops for two weeks (I left a bunch on the vine, and then picked them fresh for dry hopping); as it warms, a slight phenol gaminess comes out, but it balances well with the citrus flavors. Those Smith Hops rock!

180. Brewer’s Gold Fresh Hop: I’ll start with this: I don’t like this beer. It has some off-putting flavors, starting with the phenol band-aid of stressed/unhealthy yeast (as opposed to infection) and ending with the blandness and wood-like flavors from the hops. Others did not have as strong of a negative reaction to this beer as me, but I’m going to chalk that up to them being nice. While the beer did sit too long on the yeast, I’m still not sure how it ended up here. I got these hops from Brent Osborn at Osborn Brewing; I’m not blaming him, however, as the Brewer’s Gold fresh hops I got from him last year were phenomenal. BGFH pours a hazy gold with a thin white head that leaves some lacing; at one point, there were hints of orange marmalade in the nose and body, but currently the nose is merely “hoppy.” Flavors include a light bitterness and scratchy green grass character, but not much else worth noting. Mouthfeel and body match, but off-flavors mar this beer. Haters gonna hate. 

182. Sour Fresh Hop: made with Nuggets from Heartland Hops. This beer is straw colored and crystal clear, with a thin white head that disappears quickly. The nose is herbal and earthy, followed by sour orange and candy pilsen; going into the carboy, there was a much more intense herbal hop aroma that I wish was still here. Flavors open with candy and a slight grain-y Cheerios flavor coupled with wood and herb; the middle features a spicy hop bite—albeit low—and more wood. The herbal flavors come out in the final third, lingering with a dry cracker malt flavor and a hint of sweetness. All in all, this beer is a hot mess—it is neither fresh hop nor sour, while showcasing components of both. While I do like it—it has some intangibles that make it eminently enjoyable—it is simultaneously a pedestrian beer that borders on insulting: I would be pissed off if this was served to me at a bar, but I am glad I made it. That clarify things enough for you?

183.Bike Path Fresh Hop: I’ve been lurking and picking hops off Dayton’s bike paths long enough to note that this year was an exceptionally good year. The hops for this particular beer came from a section of the bike path that I had not utilized before; these hops had none of the ephemeral pear and apple aromas found in previous years, but they did provide more actual bitterness to the beer. BPFH poured a hazy straw with a white head that had more retention and lacing than 180 and 182. The nose was all grimy green chlorophyll and game-y grass, and flavors followed. Unlike some previous iterations of bike path beers, the wild fresh hop character came through. Malt flavors played a back fiddle to the grassiness in the front; the middle was grassy and scratchy, while the finish featured a grimy medium bitterness that was not clean but was enjoyable. The medium to low body and medium carbonation suited the beer; as a whole, this beer was easy drinking. And this beer in particular taught me a lot about how to think about and implement a good fresh hop beer.

Rockit Cup October 2014: India Pilsen Ale

Something new for all of you out there in Rockit Cup land: I am going to solicit Rockit Cup recipes from people that will continue to push our collective brewing knowledge. Up first is Jeffrey McElfresh, lead brewer at Yellow Springs Brewery. His recipe is an IPA with pilsner for the base malt, giving the beer a lighter, cleaner body with an added emphasis on hop flavor and aroma. If you have questions regarding the water treatment, feel free to ask! And for those of you scoring at home, because of my lazy, gadabout ways, there will be no Rockit Cup in August. I do humbly apologize for that egregious lack of planning. If you’re really desperate for brewing entertainment, you can always just brew this beer twice, or select one of our many fine previous Rockit Cup recipes!

Rockit Cup October 2014: India Pilsen Ale
OG: 1.059
FG: 1.009
IBU: 60-65
SRM: 3-4
ABV: approx. 6.3%

90% Pilsen malt
10% Wheat malt

Mash at 150˚ F for 60 minutes with at least 1.5 quarts of water per pound; pH is critical and should be as close to 5.3 as possible, so acidify mash and sparge water with phosphoric acid, and use 10 g. of gypsum in the mash and 5 g. in the sparge water.

50 IBU Magnum @ 60
10 IBU Amarillo @ 15
2 oz. Amarillo @ 0
1 oz. Centennial @ 0
1 oz. Mosaic @ 0

WLP001
Ferment at 70˚ F

Carbonate to 2.5 volumes

And while you’re all at it, go ride your bikes, dammit!

Yellow Springs Brewery Grand Opening

Finally. Today was the day Yellow Springs Brewery was going to officially start crafting truth to people’s mouth. And, not surprisingly, I volunteered to help. I pitched in two weeks ago for the soft opening for locals, which was crazy nuts. So I was expecting more of the same today. Let’s just say it: it got brought. Big time. From the official opening at 1:00 pm to almost 8:30 pm, there was a solid line of people waiting to be served—sometimes running as many as 20 deep out the door. Sure, at times that line became almost manageable—almost—but mainly it was the beast that needed constant care, vigilance, and attention. I haven’t had to be that helpful, well, umm, ever, and I was a bartender for five years. Maybe this will help provide perspective: we sold out of growlers.

Doors were at 1:00 pm; the first indication of the coming day was the people milling around in the parking lot when Jeff Fortney and I arrived about 12:15. Since we walked straight in, some tried to follow suit. And got denied. Once we got inside and everyone arrived, Jeffrey and Lisa ran everyone through the roles they would be playing. I was told I would taking orders and would be the face greeting them—hence my aforementioned description of the line that was my day-long nemesis. Time for that game face! In addition to the five regular beers on tap, there were also five special beers that would be tapped over the course of the day. Being that I am a wise man, I took the brief respite before the doors opened for business to try the Captain Stardust, since I knew would disappear quickly once it went up. I also tried the Smoked Brown Ale, which I’ve been harassing Jeffery to make since the last time he made it. About time, Jeffrey! Hey, you know what they say about patience, right?

Once the doors opened the tasting room was inundated with people. Everyone figured out their roles, and some semblance of détente was established, aided mainly by drafting those who showed up to work later into earlier service. Yes, it was sheer pandemonium. Which, if you have worked in the service industry before, you always come to expect. Although never quite to this degree. The question I answered the most: “when is Captain Stardust/ English Dark Mild/ German-style Hefeweizen/ Smoked Brown Ale going to be tapped?” The good thing about not being in charge: deferral is always an acceptable answer. When it was time to actually announce the tapping of one of selections, Jeffrey told me to do it using my “teacher” voice. Which I took as license to be loud. Very very loud. After all, I will admit to a certain joy in projecting my voice over that of a loud and boisterous room full of beer drinkers. Especially when that announcement brings cheers.

Besides the tapping announcements, though, most of the rest of the afternoon and evening is a blur. I recall the shock of realizing it was already 6:00 pm, and the brief respite where I wolfed down some fish tacos from the Harvest food truck. Elli showed at around 7:15 pm, and I talked to her briefly, and then it was 8:30 pm, and the first real lull in the day. There is one other thing I clearly remember: poor attempts at homonym humor. Special note to dudes: when there is a Blonde on tap—Towhead Blonde, in this case—think before you speak. I know you think comments like “I’ll have a Blonde, and then I’ll have a beer” or “I’ll have a Belgian and a Blonde, and a beer later” or any of the other numberless variations on this theme are clever. But they’re not. Not at all. If they were already lame and passé the last time I worked behind a bar in the mid-90’s—and they were—then they’re still going to be painful and tedious today. So just let it go. I may smile, and even pretend to laugh, but trust me when I say that everyone involved will be happier if you refrain.

Not surprisingly, the announcement of last call was not met with the same excitement as earlier proclamations. Still, for those behind the counter, it was time to call it a day. After the tap room was cleaned and cleared, there was a short after-hours party featuring a couple of fancy bottles in celebration of a successful day, including Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus and Lou Pepe, along with several other delights. As well, we got to sample the last remaining bottle of Jeffrey’s Orval clone, courtesy of Jeff Fortney, whose cellaring power exceeds my own—I drank the bottle I had stashed away (with both Jeff and Jeffrey, of course) like 6 months ago.

All in all, today’s Grand Opening was a smashing success. Congratulations to Lisa, Nate, and Jeffrey! Your dream is now a reality!

(4/13/13)

Yellow Springs Brewery

One of the big downsides when I first moved to Dayton was the lack of craft beer. Sure, I could find a decent selection to purchase in local stores, but finding it on tap in local bars was, when I first arrived, a much more difficult proposition. Happily, that day has passed. And even better, it appears that we are on the cusp of resolving the next dilemma, the lack of locally produced beer. Last spring saw the opening of Dayton Beer Company, and now we are on the cusp of a second opening, Yellow Springs Brewery. And I’ll be honest—I’m much more exited about the opening of this one, primarily because I know people involved with the brewery, specifically Jeffrey McElfresh, who is the head brewer. You all, of course, should remember Jeffrey: he currently ranks somewhere between England and North Carolina in the postings. Something tells me, though, that just like the Jeffersons, he’ll soon be moving on up.

So since I know Jeffrey, I’ve been lending a hand whenever I could. After all, opening a brewery requires a hell of a lot of planning and work, the vast majority of which focuses more on the thank-less drudge-like variety than on the dreamy rock-star brewer variety. Nonetheless, it has had its moments. Scrubbing the residual pepperoni smell out of the walk-in cooler was an experience: who would have thought that pepperoni had such staying power? Talk about your funk of 40,000 years! Then there was the day I spent taping insulation around glycol lines. I learned two things that day: 1) mindlessly repetitive tasks can, on occasion, be enjoyable, and 2) Chris Wyatt, while scientifically-minded and logical, can’t tape worth shit.

But all of this brings me to today. Today was the pay-off for the previous days, because today was a brew day. Just like at home with the homebrewing, but on a much, much larger scale. Much larger. I’ve provided a couple of pictures—yes, just acouple—from a day spent revelling in brewing on a professional scale: we brewed a saison using 3711 and Nelson Sauvin, which means that the beer contains everything a growing boy (or girl!) needs in saison form. Sure, I could have probably taken more photos (and I did), but we can save some of those for later. After all, I’m pretty certain there will be more on Yellow Springs Brewery in the near furture. And as the grand opening looms closer, I’m also guessing there will be more opportunities for hijinx and chicanery, and well as more of the diligence and hard work alluded to before. Which is all just a fancy way of saying both thank you and welcome to Yellow Springs Brewery.

(2/23/2013)

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.
______________
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)

455. Jeffrey McElfresh Belgian Pale Ale

This beer, sadly, marks the conclusion of another Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week. However, I would like to point out that if McElfresh was a state, it would rank above New Hampshire and below Massachusetts (and be tied with Delaware—take that Sam Calagione!) for the overall number of different beers we’ve had here at what we’re drinking. And that’s nothing to sneeze at. We’re rooting for McElfresh to challenge Oregon, Michigan, and maybe even California. Let’s get to work there, tiger. Time’s a wastin’. I’m already waiting for installment number three of JMHDW. Word!

McElfresh BPA pours a hazy copper—I’m guessing it would be a bit clearer, but since it is a tad overcarbonated, it drew the yeast up off the bottom of the bottle with the initial pour. The head is white and pretty mousse-y, but settles down given the time. McBPA has a toasted, bready malt nose along with fair amount of spicy and fruity notes—let’s just say that this beer certainly invokes Belgian with the ol’ magical sniffer. The front starts with a soft caramel and bready malt flavor before the orange/citrus fruit esters and spicy phenol flavors pick up in the middle. The middle is also leavened by a touch of bitterness before giving way to a slight touch of sweetness in the finish, followed by a dry lingering bitterness. The mouthfeel is soft and creamy with a pleasant gentle carbonation. As the beer warms, a dry chalky mineral tang develops as a lingering presence in the back of the throat after the other flavors have passed along; it also has some warmth and astringency to it. I’m not sure what to make of this other than to guess that this is the cause of the overcarbonation. It is certainly out of character with the soft malt profile and the gentle balance of the rest of the beer—I was warned that something had “turned” in this beer, and when I had the same thing two weeks ago, it was much cleaner across the entirety of the beer’s profile. Nonetheless, the basic beer itself is solid minus the developing infection. I remain undeterred—bring it on, Jeffrey, I’m already longing for more.

(2/11/2011)

454. Jeffrey McElfresh Belgian Specialty Ale Orval clone

Stop. No really. Stop. Stop right there. Cease and desist. Back it up. Back it up, I said. Little bit more. Daaaaaaamn. Jeffrey, I know you’re not gonna be able to stop drinking this beer, but I’m here to tell you, you need to sack some of it away, like right now, because it is gonna get better. A whole lot better. Sure, it is good now. Really good. Really really good. But when George Clinton puts his hands all the way into this one, it’s gonna make panties fall off. So you better listen. Because if you’re down to your last bottle, and I hear any of that “Oh, I wish I’d saved more of this,” or “Why does it only get good when it is all gone?,” I’m gonna punch you right in the stomach. Straight up. And then I’ll tell you I told you so. Yes, potential disrespect for this beer is prone to create threats of and/or actual acts of violence from yours truly. And you’re gonna need to call me when that funk drops all the way in, because I’m not sure you can handle that much funk. Because it will blow your mind. Boom. There it goes.

World’s Creepiest Mustache

So where to start. Sure, this beer has color. And yes, there is head retention and lacing and all that other whatnot. But the nose. Damn, that nose is bewitching. Slight spicy with a touch of citrus, earthiness, and just the beginnings of some barnyard funk—that minerally, hay-like, estery, tongue-drying spritziness that is just creeping into the picture at this point. But creeping in enough to whisper seductively in my ear. And to tell me of things to come. The body finishes off what the nose started. There is just a tang more funkiness in the body than in the nose—having led me down the dark path, it is making sure it is going to guide my destiny. Spicy earthy and loamy flavors at the front before moving into a drier and more minerally middle. There is still a touch of dark fruit and raisin with the dryness, and the skin flavor of the raisin lingers on into the finish—it is almost a rum raisin effect with a slight tannic bite. The finish is lightly tart and bright which, coupled with the carbonation, gives a spritzy and zesty feel to the finish. It tingles on the back of throat on the way down, for crying-out-loud. A light alcohol warmth emerges out of the zesty tingle, creating a pleasant balance between the two. After that, all I’m left with is a light lingering dry mineral funkiness in the back of my mouth—the same one that was initially offering portents of things to come. Currently, Smokey Brown gets the nod for your best beer, but in six months this beer is gonna own Smokey Brown. Own it and make it do bad illegal things. For money.

If you don’t give me another bottle of this, Jeffrey, I’m erasing all my posts about your beer.

(2/10/2011)

453. Jeffrey McElfresh Dubbel

It is day three of America’s newest and most favorite national holiday, Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week. Ahem. Part II. Today, the napkin tells me we are drinking McElfresh Dubbel, which pours a brilliant toffee with amber and garnet highlights—lush and rich with a thick creamy eggshell head that laces the glass and while still maintaining the bright carbonation in the glass. Ah, heaven. The nose is toffee and caramel malt along with some breadiness and smaller amounts of fruit including raisin and cherry—very malt forward. There might be a touch of spiciness in the nose as well, and/or a subtle perfumy character, but it low and buried in the back under a bunch of other things. Flavors in the beer match the nose; there is caramel and toffee malt in the front, lighter raisin and cherry fruit flavors in the middle, and some brown sugar sweetness before a finish that is clean and drier than I expected via the carbonation. Smooth, creamy, and rich mouthfeel with bright carbonation that balances the beer and lightens the body. There is no discernable alcohol warmth or flavor, although there might be a slight hop bitterness that emerges as the beer warms. This is a well-made beer, but the flavor profile is not as complex as I expected—for some reason it strikes as a bit of a lighter version of a dubbel, be it via the brighter carbonation or a lighter body. It may also be a bit young—three or four months may allow some of the fruit flavors to further develop across the palate. While it is my least favorite of the three thus far in this version of JMHDW, it is still a solid beer. And that creamy luscious head! It didn’t diminish the throughout the entire drinking of the whole 22 bottle. Damn!

P.S. That MGD 64 t-shirt is hot, Captain SexElfresh. Tighter! I want it tighter!

(2/9/2011)

452. Jeffrey McElfresh Table Saison

And the wonderfulness that is Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week Part II continues. As the napkin informs me, this is Jeffrey’s Table Saison, a light, bright, and eminently drinkable version of the style. It’s even circled so I know I’ll like it. Listen to the napkin: the napkin knows all. Pouring a slightly hazy straw with a rich white head—and plenty of those tiny tiny white bubbles billowing up through the beer in the glass—McElfresh Table Saison has a dry crackery and spicy nose mixed with perfume-y and juicy yeast esters along with a slight hop tang. As it warms, the juiciness turns into a more discernable fruitiness. The beer starts dry and lightly sweet with a crackery follow through before the spiciness and bitterness of the middle asserts itself, finishing sharp and lightly tart. There is a spicy bitterness that also lingers on the palate, along with a touch of alcohol warmth at the back of the throat. The soft malt character mixed with higher carbonation gives this beer a refreshing mouthfeel. My complaints here are few: the finish is not as clean as I would like—there is a slight cider flavor that is off-putting in relation to the acidic tartness, and the slight alcohol warmth stands out a bit. Both are most likely products of the well attenuated body; the lack of residual malt character is not there to round the overall profile. Nonetheless, both of these concerns are pretty minimal to the overall beer, which is classic in both its simplicity and complexity—the traditional saison characteristics are superb. Damn straight. This one got nailed.

P.S. Jeffrey, is this White Labs WLP565 or Wyeast 3724?

(2/8/2011)

451. Jeffrey McElfresh Bière de Garde

Oh snap! That moment of transcendent magic we’ve all been waiting for is finally here: Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week Part II. This is the best sequel in the history of forever, or at least since humanity emerged from caves and abandoned hunting and gathering for the joys of agrarian life. The downside, of course, is that that particular part two was also on the way to humans eating paint chips, but that’s a different story, and not so good an example of the vision of a triumphant sequel that I am trying to sell here. As well, it is possible that the next installment of JMHDW will be ever better (not to be confused with WWJD II)—it could be in the reciprocally sequel-appropriate 3D—but the possibilities are just too fantabulously awesome to even contemplate, so I’ll stick with the here and now of JMHDW II. My lord, I’m giddy with excitement, so let’s get down to brass tacks...

Highlights!

McElfresh Bière de Garde pours a delicate tannish caramel brown with delightful orange highlights that are the color of Johnny Rotten’s Public Image Ltd.-era hair. The head is made up of miniscule white bubbles that quickly reduce to a ring, while the nose is a complex mixture of toasty and caramel malt sweetness with creamy and bready components as well, but stops just short of having dark fruit notes (malt, not ester derived). Really, the nose is quite divine. Flavors open with toasty and toffee malt sweetness; the middle is creamy but also a bit drier on the palate, with no discernable hop bitterness—if it is there, it is very light. The finish features a touch of Belgian candy sweetness and smaller hints of darker fruits like plum and fig, but it is also dry with a touch of bitterness and/or alcohol flavor that lightly lingers. The medium body is slightly undercarbonated, which would be my only real complaint about the beer, leaving it a bit soft on the mouth (although it does reciprocally enhance the soft toasty malt components of the beer). While I am unsure of the exact strength of the beer, the alcohol is well hidden—it is most certainly a malt forward beer. The strength is the malt complexity coupled with the cleaner finish. As the beer warms, there is an increase in caramel flavors across the profile as well as a larger manifestation of the darker fruit flavors in the middle and end of the beer (I mean, hell, I got a 22 of this beer, so it took me some time to work through it). While certainly delicious now, I’d be interested in seeing the long-term effects of some additional garde-ing—I think the malt complexity would get richer and more complex even though this is a lighter version of a Bière de Garde. Nice work, Jeffrey. You’re in effect like alternate side of the street parking rules.

P.S. I’m officially skipping work tomorrow as part of my secret silent plan to make JMHDW an officially recognized national holiday. Who is with me? Come on, where’s your faux indignation and half-assed civil disobedience now? All y’all are a bunch of Western Marxists, aren’t you?

(2/7/2011)

409. Jeffrey McElfresh Imperial IPA

While this beer concludes Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week, I am certain that Jeffrey has many more excellent beers on the horizon. Thank again, Jeffrey, for all of the delicious beer, and for making this week better.

Jeffrey’s Imperial IPA beer pours the color of bourbon—it is a dead ringer when held up next to my bottle of Old Potrero—and is crystal clear. Like really clear. How the hell did you do that, Jeffrey? The head is eggshell (with some lacing), and the nose is hoppy goodness—I get a spicy, pine-y, and resin-y evergreen with citrus and a bit of grassiness in the back. There are probably other softer aromas, but the big fragrance of spicy pine (Simcoe?) overpowers and drowns them out. Flavors start out hoppy, transition into hoppy, and then finish hoppy. OK, not completely, but pretty damn close. There is a touch of malt sweetness in the front that is hidden by some of the slightly herbal hops flavors dancing around in the front; the middle kicks you in the teeth with the bitterness (but in a good way), as well as bringing the pine, resin, and spice hop aroma from the nose into a living presence in your mouth. There is a brief flash of creaminess and sweetness along with a bit of bite from the carbonation in the turn to the finish, which is a long slow run down bitterness lane—it both builds and lingers pleasantly on the back of the throat. The body is medium to heavy with a clean but slightly sharp mouthfeel. There is a decent amount of alcohol warmth in the back of the mouth along with small amounts of hop astringency and grassiness. While the heat is more intrusive than the astringency, the overall beer is still delicious and enjoyable, although I wouldn’t recommend housing it down—there is a slight flush forming on my cheeks as I finish this delicious tidbit. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that means this beer has a solid punch. I’d like to see what happens to this beer with some age. While the hop complexity might drop out, the lessening of the alcohol warmth and the marrying of the alcohol with the other components would further round the beer. But let’s save the philosophical meanderings, and instead offer mad kudos to Jeffrey for being the brewing dynamo that he is. I’ll make you a deal Jeffrey—you keep brewing, and I’ll gladly keep drinking your beer. That certainly sounds fair, doesn’t it?

(9/3/2010)

408. Jeffrey McElfresh Weizenbock

This beer comes in the nice, tall 16.9 oz (500 ml for those of you scoring at home) German-style beer bottle. All authentic and shit. Awesome. Pouring a rich toffee and molasses brown, this beer also has ruby and orange hints that emerge when held up to the light, even with the slight cloudiness from the yeast. The head is ivory, and slightly profuse, with a rich, lightly sweet malty nose mixed with dark fruit—raisins and possibly prunes—backed up by molasses and soft banana esters. Flavors open with bready malt coupled with wheat flavor, chewy melanoidins, and low levels of spicy clove phenol; the middle has banana yeast esters and some richer molasses sweetness that shifts into a more candy-like sweetness combined with a wheaty nuttiness in the finish. The finish also contains a small amount of hop bitterness that helps balance the light alcohol flavor, both lingering lightly on the palate to help the beer end clean, although with some residual flavors. The mouthfeel is creamy and a bit chewy, with a alcohol warmth at the back of the throat, and the carbonation is bright but does not limit the rich maltiness of the beer (although combined with the alcohol and bitterness does help dry out the beer on the palate). A good beer, but one I know less about as a whole, so I am less able to place it. The beer has good flavor; the alcohol warmth is slightly high, bordering on providing a bit too much heat. But the malt complexity and depth works well in the beer, and provides a solid body. Aging this beer could allow the flavors and alcohol to better marry, helping limit the warmth at the end while also allowing some of the fruit flavors to further develop across the middle.

You can’t hide that Grand Cru from me!

(9/2/2010)

407. Jeffrey McElfresh The McElfreshinator Dopplebock

My first official proclamation of year 2 of what we’re drinking: I am naming this beer The McElfreshinator. So it is written, so it shall be. The McElfreshinator pours a creamy toffee chocolate, and has an ivory tan head that reduces to a ring after about 45 seconds. Aromas include a maltiness, melanoidins, and dark fruit—specifically plum and raisin. Flavors start malty, with melanoidin, warm bread crust, and a rich caramel toffee framing the front. Fruit flavors and dark sugars emerge from the middle—plum and raisin mixed with brown sugar and molasses. The finish features a return of sweetness and some slight alcohol warmth, although very subtle, and more of the malty fruitiness, ending rather clean with only light lingering brown sugar and raisin sweetness. The McElfreshinator has a smooth, rich mouthfeel—the body is medium to heavy, and the carbonation is low to medium. I would like it to be a bit chewier in the mouthfeel; the flavors are good, but a bit more creamy chewiness to thicken out the mouthfeel would help push the “liquid bread” elements of the beer. Nonetheless, a delicious beer that is finally starting to come into its own—it tastes much better than the last time I tried it. That last bottle I’ve got is getting tossed in the basement to try again later. If you’re nice, I might let you try it. But probably not.

(9/1/2010)

406. Jeffrey McElfresh Smokey Brown

Here comes day 2 of my new most favorite week of the year: Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week. Tonight’s delicious victim is Jeffrey’s Smokey Brown, which, not surprisingly, pours a clear toffee brown color with some slight red highlights. The head is tan and persistent, but not abundant, and the nose has a touch of malt sweetness, although the smoky wood aroma almost completely covers it over. There is also just a touch of that alluring bacon-like wood smoke aroma you find in classic Rauchbiers. Smokey Brown opens with a mix of dark malt sweetness and smokiness—there’s some chocolate and biscuit flavors mixed with the smoke that create a toasty richness, all in pleasant harmony. There is a slight rise in sweetness in the middle, with molasses and brown sugars hints that emerge in conjunction with some of the smoked wood flavor, leading into the dry finish that contains small amounts of bitterness and lingering rich smoke flavors at the back of the throat. As the flavors disperse, there is a nutty flavor that crosses the back of the tongue. The beer has a medium body with a creamy, almost chewy carbonation—it is low to medium and soft; mixed with the smoke flavors, it has a slickness and substance that sits pleasantly on the mouth. Smokey Brown does have some smokiness and tackiness that also contributes to the mouthfeel. This beer is a study in balance between the smoked malt and beer characteristics. The overall experience and sensation of drinking this beer is wonderful—this beer is heavenly. Of all of Jeffrey’s beers that I have tried, this is hands down my favorite. Damn, that’s some tasty beer.

Guess who’s bringing sexy back like Timbaland and Timberlake?

P.S. I’ll bet you didn’t know that Smoky Brown is the name of a type of cockroach. Further, it’s also the name of outsider artist Smoky Brown. That’s what Google is for, isn’t it?

(8/31/2010)

405. Jeffrey McElfresh Hefeweizen

I am officially declaring this Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week. You couldn’t stop me if you tried. Although I don’t think anyone is really trying to stop me. Which is tragic, as it makes my ranting seem only that much more desperate. Anyway, you all remember Jeffrey from our session of playing Brewmaster, right? Well, Jeffrey is also a damn fine brewer in his own right, board game brewing master or not. And since he recently dropped me off a package ’o brews, I’m throwing him into the mix and under the bus in one quick fell swoop.

Jeffrey’s Hefeweizen pours a soft cloudy straw with a fluffy white head—it even looks soft and pillow-y in the glass, which is saying something. The nose is zesty and estery—there is breadiness from the malt, banana, and just a touch of clove in the background. The banana and malt aromas combine to create a banana bread smell that is dee-licious, fresh, and clean smelling. Flavors start lightly sweet and fruity—mostly banana, but also some fleshy fruit hints—in the front, combining to offer the banana bread flavors promised by the nose in the middle of the beer. There is a touch of graininess to the middle, and clove traces start in the middle as well, rising in the final third, along with a slight pepperiness that I thought added nicely to the beer. There is also a return of some of the sweetness of the front in the final third. The clove flavor lingers lightly in the back of the mouth, as does a slight mineral flavor and feel, finishing with just a touch of banana to close things out. Starting with a soft, gentle mouthfeel, the beer gets brighter as it sits on the palate; there is a nice bite from the carbonation as the beer heads into the final third, ending with a light clove tang on the sides and front of the tongue. A light and refreshing beer—I could drink a whole lotta this stuff. Nice job on this one, Jeffrey.

P.S. I think we should make Jeffrey McElfresh Homebrew Drinking Week an official national holiday. Who is with me?

(8/30/2010)