460. Great Divide Grand Cru

We’re hitting up Great Divide like Tonya Harding did Nancy Kerrigan. That’s right, I said it. In the long non-stop roller coaster ride that it is our relationship with Great Divide, I can only say this: I want more. We’ll add this to a list that includes Yeti ’08-’10, Smoked Baltic Porter, 16th Anniversary Wood Aged DIPA, Hercules DIPA, Wild Raspberry Ale, Hibernation, Samurai Rice, Hoss, Espresso Oak Aged Yeti, Fresh Hop, Double Wit, 15th Anniversary DIPA, and Denver Pale Ale. That’s 14, folks.

Grand Cru pours a clear reddish amber color—it has garnet highlights and a soft tan head that slowly reduces to a ring. The nose is toasted malt candy sweetness mixed with dark fruit esters, including cherry, fig, and a touch of raisin, and some general perfume-y juiciness. Flavors open with gentle toasted malt flavors and candy sweetness; these give way quickly to darker fruit flavors like raisin, cherry, and fig along with a touch of restrained spiciness. There is a slight taste of alcohol that balances the flavors in the middle, creating a sweet rum raisin effect that carries into the finish. Creamy and caramel malt sweetness closes out the beer, although it is rather clean—there are slight lingering astringent flavors and an alcohol warmth that emerges after the flavors have left the palate. The body is medium to heavy; Grand Cru is lightly chewy, but it hides the 11% ABV well—I expected a much younger and sharper alcohol character, when I got a smoother and rounder alcohol that helped balance the malt profile. The carbonation is a bit low; it is present in the mouthfeel, but in pretty minimal levels. This is a good but not exciting beer. While there are no obvious flaws, there is nothing to get that excited about either. I appreciate the overall balance in the beer, but nothing makes it stand out—it’s like Switzerland: neutral with sound mechanics. Potentially some age could draw out the character in this beer, but with this one I am not at all certain. Harrumph.

From the bottle: “Grand Cru is our very special Belgian-style dark ale. Imported malts give it a round malty richness, and the fruity complexity and slightly spicy character come from brewing with a proprietary Belgian yeast strain. Don’t let the name fool you: while it may be a special occasion beer, the medium-bodied, elegant incarnation is anything but snobbish.”

ABV: 11%
Bottled on: January 12, 2011

(2/28/2011)

SODZ British Beer Fest Judging

Nothing says fun on the weekends like getting up even earlier than you do during the week. But alas, such is my dedication to beer. Today’s event was the SODZ British Beer Fest at the Winking Lizard in Columbus, OH; that meant an early start from Dayton to get there for the 9 a.m. start of judging. Egads. At least I got to carpool with Jeff Fortney so I had some inspiration to stay awake for our droll commute. The competition focuses on British beer, which means that it covers BJCP categories 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, and 24-28, cutting out any of the categories that aren’t appropriately British. Indubitably.

I was assigned to judge category 9D, Irish Red Ale. Since there were 17 entries, we had two sets of judges with a queued pull. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your perspective), Sandy and I ended up judging 9 beers, while Dave and Rick, the other pair of judges, only did 8. Slackers. As well, as we found out afterwards, Irish Red Ale was the category for the Lucci Cup Informal Club Brew Challenge for 2011. The basics of the Lucci Cup are as follows: Frank Barickman chooses a style, provides both an all-grain and an extract recipe, and then taunts his fellow club mates to brew something that can beat his version of the beer. This year, he even went so far as to only brew an extract version. Those who participate have to both enter their beers in the BBF competition as well as publicly declare that they are participating in the Lucci Cup; as Frank observes on one of the SODZ club posts, “I will make my scores public regardless of how they place in the competition. So if I score 15, I will have live with it! If I score 40, you will have to live with it!”

This year’s recipe was from Jamil Zainesheff’s and John Palmer’s Brewing Classic Styles. To give you a sense of the exchanges, after the inital post above, a week later Frank offered the subsequent follow-up post:

Based on some of the comments on the board, I have revised the recipe that I will brew. I apologize for not fully disclosing what I intended to make for the Lucci Cup. I realize for some of you this will not be hard to replicate even if you do not have the exact ingredients.

Irish Red Ale

O.G. Why bother?

F.G. 1.014

IBU 27

ABV 5.2%

20 min. boil.
Boil volume: 3 gallons.
Then add unfiltered Bellefontaine water direct from the tap to get 5.5 gallons in the fermenter.

8.1 lbs Canned LME (preferably from an aged can)

6 oz Crystal Grains (40L)

6 oz Crystal Grains (120L)

6 oz Roasted Barley

23 oz Special Roast

10 oz Buster Brown Shoe Box

4.125 oz Cluster 5%AA (60 min)

Yeast: Wyeast # 1084 Irish Ale that has been contaminated with Brettanomyces andLactobacillus (or get a yeast cake from the AGB).

Process: Steep grains at whatever temperature you like for 30 min. At 15 min., add 5 oz. of cardboard to the steeping water. Wash grains with water at 212+ degrees (pour 1 qt. hot water over grain bag to extract final sugars). Add the aged LME and bring to a boil. Boil for 20 minutes (it’s not important). Make sure that the flame is on when you add the LME. This will help caramelize and burn some of the sugars. Add hops at beginning of boil (or sometime in the process if you forget). At end of boil, add 5 oz. cardboard to the wort and steep for 15 minutes before chilling (this is critical). Cool overnight preferably in an old dirty basement with no lid on the kettle or fermenter. Ferment at 87 degrees or higher for 10 to 14 days. Make sure you underpitch and only partially ferment. This will help promote diacetyl. If are lucky enough to have one, it’s highly recommended to pitch one of Sixty’s beers before bottling. This adds complexity to the depth of the brett and lacto character of the beer.

Needless to say, I had a good time at the event.

Michael Noonan won the Lucci Cup, Best of Show went to Kyle Bullock for his Robust Porter, while Frank Barickman was the Runner Up with his English IPA. Full results can be found here. After the Awards Ceremony, I also got to try a Jolly Pumpkin Bambic, which was made for the Winking Lizard’s 25th Anniversary. Dee-licious.

(2/26/2011)

459. St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition

St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition is from the Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck in Inglemunster, Belgium. I wish I had more to offer than that, but I don’t, except for this brief aside: this beer is brought to you by Darren Link. I was wandering around in Belmont Party Supply, aimlessly trying to determine the flavor of the evening. You’ve all been there, and know what I mean—you’re looking for that tasty that you’re craving, but you don’t quite know what it is. I ran into Darren, who works next door at Brewtensils—I had stopped there to grind the grain for my Gose. Our discussion led him next door to find a treat of his own (he wanted an 1809 Berliner Weisse), and as we wandered the aisles, he pointed this out to me. You’re a good man, Mr. Link.

St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition pours a hazy burnished but simultaneously iridescent gold; it has wonderful orange highlights that dance on the table after each sip. The head is a thin white covering that quickly reduces to a ring, but there are lots of tiny white bubbles constantly running along in miniscule lines inside the glass. Aromas start with citric sourness followed by lower levels of earthy and barnyard funkiness; as well, there is a slight mineral component that, along with the sourness, brightens the beer in my nose. Flavors start tart, sweet, and dry—there is that citric sourness that makes my mouth pucker and my cheeks flush—before giving way to the earthy and musty funkiness of the middle. The finish has a return of the citric bite mixed with a mineral dryness—both provide the final tart punch, and both linger pleasantly on the tongue and the sides of the mouth. Gueuze Fond Tradition mixes effervescent carbonation with a dry, puckering mouthfeel—the lightness of the body balances the brightness of the carbonation. With warmth, a bit more of the earthy funkiness emerges, both in the nose and in the body, but it is still second fiddle to the bright puckering tartness. Coupled with the reasonable price—$6.99 for a 12.7 oz. bottle—this is something we’ll be hitting up again soon. Puckery goodness aplenty!

ABV: 5.0%
Bottled on: June 20, 2008

(2/24/2011)

Gose Brewday II

Since I already had everything in place, I figured it was only appropriate to make a second batch, what with the delicious yeast cake just waiting for more scrumptious sugars to devour. The first batch was at 1.012 when I moved it the secondary; it tasted soft and bready, and the salt and coriander helped round the flavors. While it is not quite as sour as I was hoping for, it does have something of a nice salty tang to it already, so here’s hoping the sourness will continue to grow, although I’m not sure if Lactobacillus continues to sour after the initial fermentation (Jeffrey, any thoughts or advice?). I’m guessing that a larger starter of Lactobacillus, or letting it get going by itself before adding the other yeast is going to be the real solution; for now I’ll hold out illusory hope that the current yeast cake is magically all Lactobacillus so this beer is where I want it to be. And if that doesn’t work, there’s always next time. I also see what Kristen England meant when he said most people don’t put in enough salt: I followed his recipe calling for 12.4 grams of salt per gallon in Brewing With Wheat, and the salt character is far, far less noticeable than I anticipated. I might even try a third batch, and run up the salt level to see what happens. Because I’m crazy like that.

83. Gose the Gozerian II
Mash:
4 lbs. Wheat (3 lbs. Breiss Torrified Red Wheat & 1 lb. Weyerman Dark Wheat)
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Light Munich
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner
½ lb. Weyerman Acidulated Malt

Mashed w/ 3 gallons of RO water @ 150° F for 90 minutes
Batch sparged with 2 gallons RO water @ 168° F for 15 minutes

Added to brew kettle, brought to a boil (90 minute) and added:

w/90 to go: ½ oz. Hallertauer Leaf 4.1% AA

w/10 to go: .70 oz. coriander

w/2 to go: peel and juice of 1 tangerine

@ removal from heat: 62 grams Kosher salt

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched on Safale US-05 and Wyeast 5335 Lactobacillus cake from the last batch

Brewed: 2/24/2011 @ 66° F
Secondary: 3/3/2011 @ 1.011; began fermenting in under an hour; 1 ½” of krausen in 5 hours and up to 68° F—peaked at 70° F
Bottled: 3/15/2011 w/ 4.0 oz. of table sugar @ 63° F

OG: 1.034
FG: 1.010

Tasting Notes: 5/11/2011: Gose the Gozerian II is a slightly hazy straw with a soft persistent white head. The nose is cereal and lactose—or, as Elli describes it, cereal and milk—the warm milk and cereal remains that need more cereal to finish breakfast. Flavors start with a saline doughiness that is mainly wheat flavored; the middle is bright, sharp, and slightly sour, while the finish is dry, tart, and slightly acidic—although the cereal flavor never really disappears across the profile. The Fruity Pebbles flavor that initially characterized this beer is mostly gone at this point, but it is still a flickering, lingering presence—sort of a ghost of Christmas past type thing at this point, if that makes any sense. The mouthfeel has also continued to lighten and brighten—while tart and dry, there is still some substance and feel on the palate. As well, the carbonation is bright and crisp, enhancing the overall crispness of the beer. There is also a much lower salt presence in this one; even though the difference in salt between the three is pretty minimal (82 has 65 grams, 83 has 62 grams, and 84 has 70 grams). Elli gives the nod to 84 as her favorite, while this one is the one I like the best.

458. Kevin Lolli Pumpkin Stout

Somebody, it would appear, has learned how to clean bottles since his last visit. I’d actually be afraid that I’d been given the same bottle as last time if I hadn’t recycled that one on my own. That is, unless Kevin is stalking my recycling. Which is always possible. Something, however, tells me Captain LSAT has a few more pressing concerns than scavenging back alleyways looking to get his creepiness on. And the sound of inevitability he hears at the end of the tunnel signals the end of the cool, laid back days of Beardo the Clown. Sorry, but I gotta get my digs in while I can. I will note, as a means of turning this back towards the beer, that while listed as a Pumpkin Stout, the pumpkin is pretty minimal (which means the spice is pretty minimal), and that this beer is more a sweet stout than a pumpkin stout.

Photo gleefully stolen from here. Looking good, Kevin.

Pouring a rich, thick, dark chocolate brown, Kevin Lolli Pumpkin Stout has a mousse-y tan head that both hangs around and reciprocally laces the glass a decent amount. It would appear, Kevin, that you’ve mastered the art of head retention with your beers, as both have been abundant and voluminous. The nose is sweet chocolate malt laced with a low level of pumpkin—I am ever so glad the spice volume was dialed down to uber-minimal, as there is balance between the components currently, although I expected to pick up a bit more roastiness in the nose. There is also a slight touch of bubblegum phenol, although that could be from either the pumpkin or some light banana fruit esters; I am not 100% certain one way or the other. The roasted malt is more discernable in the body; flavors start with dry chocolate malt in the front before giving way to light coffee and sweet chocolate in the middle. There is also a touch of pumpkin/light spice flavor and just a touch of roastiness in the middle, which leads into the bigger roasted malt and sweet chocolate finish. If there is any bitterness, it is covered over by the chocolate sweetness, and the malt character continues to build throughout the profile. There is a touch of roastiness and a slight off-flavor that could be from the spices that lingers just a touch too long on the tongue. The mouthfeel is creamy, silky, and sweet; the medium body and medium carbonation help round the beer on the palate—it is gentle and delicious, and goes down easy. As with the last beer, the head is still omni-present as I finish the beer—what kind of deal-with-devil did you make to create the retention here, tiger? Nice work overall—I think you should run the same beer sans pumpkin and spice, and see how it works as a straight up Sweet Stout, since it is already pretty darn solid.

(2/21/2011)

457. New Belgium La Folie Falling Rock Tap House 10th Anniversary Special Edition

While we already tried La Folie, the fact that this is described on the label as “a special blend of all 10 of New Belgium’s Foedres designed to challenge your senses,” and it was bottled specially for the Falling Rock Tap House’s 10th Anniversary means that we’ve got at least a couple of reasons to consider this something slightly different. So we will. After all, we make the rules around here. I picked this up a while ago in Seattle at Bottleworks, and we’ve been saving it for an appropriate occasion. Tonight was that occasion. And no, you don’t need to know anything more than that. Previously from New Belgium, we’ve tried Mighty Arrow Pale Ale, Ranger, Le Fleur, Misseur?, Transatlantique Kriek, Biere de Mars, Fat Tire, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale and La Folie. It’s been a while, New Belgium, but we’re back.

Yo! Highlights! Highlights, yo.

La Folie Falling Rock 10th Anniversary pours an orange-ish brown with an initially foamy white head that quickly reduces to a few wispy arabesques across the top of the glass—sort of the traditional sour beer head. The nose is an interesting mix of acetic sourness, tannic oak with a touch of mustiness, and slight mineral-like aroma that is not quite fully chalky. With some warmth, dark fruit flavors like cherry and raisin start to emerge, and in the final third of the bottled we also got some slight earthy funkiness along with an increased citric sourness. The initial flavor is tart, sharp, and puckeringly sour, although there is also a candy sweetness that accompanies the tartness. As the tartness recedes, bone dry chalky and mineral flavors emerge in the middle before a return of the tartness in the finish; the mix of acetic/vinegar tartness and oak tannic flavors bite and linger pleasantly. La Folie has a light, dry, and tart mouthfeel; mixed with the bright carbonation and the drying components added by the oak, it is lively and puckering on the palate, to say the least. I ended up with a slight flush of perspiration from the tartness across my nose and cheeks about halfway through the bottle. So. Delightful. This version is also more nuanced and developed that the La Folie 2010 we had over Thanksgiving in Seattle—I am guessing the blending and additional aging of this bottle has shoved it on over into the exceptional category. Easily one of the better beers we’ve had this year; totally a Top 10 Best contender.

ABV: 6.0%
Hand Bottled #07 6729

(2/20/2011)

Gose Brewday

Salt, sour, spice, and wheat. That pretty much tickles my fancy with each tick of the list. I’ve been looking forward to making this beer since I learned about it. Besides the recipe on the Mad Fermentationist’s blog, check out Stan Hieronymus’s Brewing With Wheat and Jeff Alworth’s posts on Beervana. All interesting and worthwhile. See also here. As for my brewday? After the brewing was over, I headed down to Thai 9 for the Bell’s Hopslam firkin tapping. While talking to Jason from the Trolley, I told him I had spent the day brewing a Gose. “Gozer the Gozerian?” he immediately responded. “No,” I said, “but it is now.” [Note: the wordplay here is much more clever if you know that gose is pronounced “gose-uh.”]

82. Gose the Gozerian
Mash:
4 lbs. Weyerman Wheat (3 lbs. light/1 lb. dark)
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Light Munich
2 ¼ lbs. Weyerman Bohemian Pilsner

Mashed w/ 3 gallons of RO water @ 150° F for 90 minutes
Batch sparged with 1 ½ gallons RO water @ 168° F for 15 minutes

Added to brew kettle, brought to a boil (90 minute) and added:
w/90 to go: ½ oz. Hallertauer Leaf 4.1% AA

w/10 to go: .65 oz. coriander

@ removal from heat: 65 grams Kosher salt

Chilled, racked to carboy, and pitched 1 packet Safale US-05 and Wyeast 5335 Lactobaccilus

Gose goes in the bottle...

Brewed: 2/17/2011 @ 72° F

Secondary: 2/24/2011 @ 1.012

Bottled: 3/1/2011 w/ 5 oz. of table sugar @ 63° F

OG: 1.036

FG: 1.011

Tasting Notes: 5/10/2011: Gose the Gozerian pours a hazy straw-colored yellow—it’s not quite the lemonade color of some of the better Berliner Weisses I’ve seen, but it is on the way. The head is luscious, creamy, and white with pretty decent staying power (that’s the wheat talkin’) while the nose is salty and perfume-y with a gentle hint of wheat. Flavors start tart and bright; the front is bready with a light lactic zing, while the middle is salty and dry, with the saltiness lingering through the finish and a bright tangy burst to round out the beer. The mouthfeel is both creamy and lightly chewy—there is a bit of a breadiness to the body—while the carbonation is crisp and effervescent. This version has become tarter with some age, although it has the breadiest wheat taste and presence of the three. Still, delicious and quaffable.