427. Skinny Dave Williamson Barleywine

The latest homebrew to grace my presence; this beer is based upon the Big 10/20 recipe that Dave found on the Brewers Association website. Dave gave this beer to me on National Homebrew Day (May 1) when we brewed a Dunkelweizen on his system, and I dutifully stuck it in my basement. When I came across it the other day while rooting around in the cellar, I decided it was time to pull the trigger on this bad boy. So here we go.

Pure beefcake...

Skinny Dave Barleywine pours a slightly hazy rich caramel copper with a creamy rich tan head; while it has a brilliant and active carbonation made up of very tiny bubbles, the carbonation is very light on the palate. It does, however, look awesome in the glass. The nose is equal parts creamy and rich malty caramel; as it warms, the creaminess comes to the forefront, although the rich malt is still present. Flavors start with balanced caramel malt sweetness, moving into a creamy softer middle, and finishing dry and sweet on the tongue. There is no alcohol or stickiness—just a nice even clean malt flavor across the palate. This beer has had time for the alcohol and flavor to marry together—there is an ever so slight warmth that develops in the back of my throat, but that is it. The mouthfeel is smooth and balanced; there is a slight carbonation bite in the final third, but it mostly helps to put the dry finish on the beer. While good as is, the malt character still needs further time to develop complexity and depth, although the creamy sweetness in the front and middle is delicious. This beer is on its way to someplace better; I’ve cracked it after the first stage of marrying and coordinating flavors, but prior to the second stage of the full development of complexity that comes with age. But it was such a delicious learning curve.

OG: 1.098
FG: 1.016
Malt: mostly 2-row with some crystal
Yeast: WLP002 to 1.034; champagne yeast in secondary to 1.016
Brewed: Easter weekend, 2009
Bottled: June 1, 2009

(11/16/2010)

426. Left Hand/Terrapin Oxymoron

Ah, the collaboration: creating excitement and giddiness in beer nerds coast to coast. And who doesn’t love the collabo? While I could go with the all-purpose bad guy (that would be Nazis), I’m tempted to create a more appropriate nemesis for the blog. The Amish seem a good choice, what with their hatred of technology and all (although they do love bicycles, so that does give them some bonus points), but that also seems more like beating up your little brother—far too easy. So we’ll just call my search for a new nemesis the latest of my long line of failed contests. You got an idea for an appropriate nemesis besides, well, apathy? Here’s to letting me know. Previous beers from Left Hand include 400 Pound Monkey, Fade to Black and Milk Stout, while our previous beers from Terrapin include Hopsecutioner IPA, Wake ’N’ Bake (which was a bonus beer), and Rye Pale Ale.

Oxymoron pours an orange-ish caramel with a creamy eggshell head that reduces to a thin covering after a minute or so; the nose is a creamy caramel breadiness with a touch of hop spiciness and resin rounding out the aroma. As it warms, a more prevalent lager graininess emerges. Flavors begin with caramel before shifting to an accentuated creamy lager-esque character in the front; the middle has sweetness and a decent amount of bitterness, but less specific hop flavor—there is again some spiciness and resin that almost coalesces into evergreen, but not quite. There is some tacky biscuit dryness that returns in the finish, and a pleasant lingering bitterness that has a bit of the traditional lager bite to it. Oxymoron has a medium to medium heavy body with a chewy clean mouthfeel that is also slightly sticky; the carbonation is medium with some dryness from the hops as well as some creaminess on the back of the mouth. An interesting beer, but one that strikes us a bit too much between styles—it’s not quite an IPA, but not really a lager either. While we laud the experimentation—and the collaboration—the beer is more one-hit wonder than longstanding fan favorite.

From the bottle: “Sometime around midnight in a city nobody can agree on, the idea for Left Hand and Terrapin to brew a collaboration beer was born. Oxymoron is the third in a series of one-time releases between our two breweries. A combination of contradictions embodied in liquid form, Oxymoron is an American-style IPA brewed with three German malts, six German hop varieties, and a lager yeast strain. Obnoxious yet reserved, elevated yet modest, it's the embodiment of blending two brewing philosophies together in order to achieve singularity. Consider it an expression of cruel kindness.”

ABV: 7.2%
IBU: 65
Style: Teutonic India Pale Ale
Malts: Weyermann Pale Ale, Munich I, & CaraAmber
Hops: Magnum, Northern Brewer, Perle, Tradition, Spalter Select, & Hersbrucker
Dry Hops: Tradition, Spalter Select, & Hersbrucker

(11/15/2010)

425. Dogfish Head Raison d’Extra

Today’s drinking pleasure was made possible by the kindness of Casey McAdams and Dave Williamson—Casey brought the Dogfish Head, and Dave the Russian River. Since we’ve already had Blind Pig and Consecration as part of our previous shenanigans, a careful process of elimination reveals that Raison d’Extra gets the nod for beer o’ the day. Such a delicious dilemma... Today’s drinking was part of the 3rd Annual Tomtoberfest celebration, which is just about as egregious and self-referential as it sounds. I did brew the rest of the beer involved, so I feel perfectly fine with the level of hubris expressed in the day’s designation. Previously sampled beers from Dogfish Head include the Dogfish Head/Victory/Stone Saison du Buff collabo, Immort Ale 2009, Chicory Stout, Theobroma, 120 Minute IPA, Festina Peche, Squall IPA, Burton Baton Oak Aged Imperial IPA, and Sah’tea—making ten all told.

Raison d’Extra pours a thick, rich walnut with a rich, dark fruit nose—those raisins are still doing good work, even all these years later. As well, the age on this bottle has allowed a wonderful marrying of flavors and components—I wouldn’t have guessed it was an 18% ABV beer from the smoothness and richness of fruit and malt dancing across my palate. I’d love to regale you with more detailed notes, but, well, I was consuming this in the middle of Tomtoberfest, which meant that note-taking really wasn’t an option. Rest assured that I did enjoy this beer with the appropriate level of care and concern.

Remains of the day...

From the Dogfish Head website: “A bigger, bolder version of our Raison d’Etre. This is a bulbous, brown ale brewed with a bunch of malt, brown sugar and raisins.”

ABV: 18.0%
IBU: 40
Bottled: 3/15/2007

(11/13/2010)

424. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Our Brewers Reserve Grand Cru

Our Brewers Reserve Grand Cru is the last of the four beers produced by Sierra Nevada for their 30th Anniversary; we haven’t drank the Jack and Ken’s Barleywine yet, but don’t worry—it’s a-comin’. We’ve got the trifecta, now we’ve shooting for the quad-fecta. As the bottle notes, Grand Cru is 22% ale aged in bourbon barrels, and 78% ale. Added to the rest of the Sierra Nevada beers we’ve tried, this makes ten: 30th Anniversary Charlie, Fred, & Ken’s Imperial Helles Bock, Southern Hemisphere Harvest, Bigfoot, 30th Anniversary Fritz and Ken’s Ale, Kellerweis, Celebration, Torpedo Extra IPA, Anniversary Ale 2009 and Harvest Wet Hop Ale 2008.

Grand Cru pours a hazy copperish orange with a creamy, long lasting tan head. The nose is rich caramel and dry biscuit malt that is both creamy and lightly tannic/oaky, with some hoppiness accompanying the aromas across the profile—although nothing that specifically stands out. Flavors start surprisingly restrained and light, there are dry, cracker-y malt flavors before a shift to caramel; the middle has bitterness, but with not much in the way of distinct hop flavor, although there is a touch of both pine and resin. Both Elli and I expected this to be hoppier. The finish is creamy and bitter, with the bitterness outlasting the creaminess and creating a nice drying tackiness on the back of the tongue and throat. Grand Cru has a bright but rounded carbonation—it starts off brisk, but then rolls smooth without as much of a bite as one might initially expect. There is a fair amount of creaminess to the body and mouthfeel as well; the medium to heavy body is lightened by the bitterness and the carbonation. While there might be a slight amount of alcohol warmth, the bitterness masks it almost completely, and it drinks much smoother and easier than a 9.2% ABV beer. Much smoother. As well, Grand Cru is not really what we expected—the three beers combined in this one are certainly all vintage Sierra Nevada, but the combination creates something distinctly different than Sierra Nevada’s normal modus operandi. And that, we think, says something important about Sierra Nevada. Marking this as their Grand Cru gives me hope about beer, brewing, and, more importantly, Sierra Nevada. Here’s to 30 more, my man.

From the bottle: “Brewers Reserve is a special ale highlighting our pioneering history and the innovative spirit that has carried us through all these years. It is a marriage of our three most acclaimed ales: Oak-aged Bigfoot, Celebration Ale, and fresh Pale Ale blended together and generously dry-hopped. Come join us in celebrating thirty years with this most special brew. Drink it now, or save it for a future anniversary of your own.”

ABV: 9.2%

Oh, and I drank it out of the glass I poured it into. So suck it.

(11/10/10)

423. Kevin Lolli Imperial IPA

Yes, I know it looks like I’m drinking a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, but that’s only because someone needs to learn to clean bottles. I’m looking at you, Kevin. I’m also drinking this beer out of a Knoxville Brewers’ Jam tasting glass, which, while a seemingly innocuous and by proxy super-uncool glass, was smelted by hand from the bones of my slain enemies, and then painted with their blood and viscera. So color me bad ass.

In addition to holding beers, this glass reminds me of crushing my enemies, and seeing them fall at my feet.

Pouring a tea-colored copper with a creamy, long-lasting head that provides a fair amount of lacing, Kevin’s Imperial IPA is the second version of this beer that I’ve sampled of late that is based upon the recipe in Jamil Zainasheff’s Brewing Classic Styles. The nose is big hops with a slight underlying candy caramel aroma—I get evergreen, resin, pine, and citrus, followed by a slight amount of grassiness—sort of like if they made a hoppy version of kettle corn. Flavors start bitter with a big caramel front, the former helping to keep the latter in check. The middle has a drop in sweetness, allowing the bitterness to come the forefront, along with resin and evergreen hop flavors. There is a touch of candy sweetness that comes back in the finish, as well as some grassiness, along with a nice long lingering hop bitterness. The beer has a medium to heavy body and a creamy mouthfeel mixed with a touch of astringency from the hops, although nothing overbearing. There is a slight tang of alcohol heat, but it is pretty subdued, and the carbonation gives the beer a bit of silkiness on the tongue, helping to round the beer overall. The grassiness does build a bit as the beer warms (and it tastes like pellet hops grassiness as well—the green sludge mixed with the yeast helps confirm this), especially in the lingering flavors on the back of the tongue, as does the alcohol heat, but this is overall a solid and enjoyable beer. It does have less overall hop complexity as compared to Jeffrey’s version, but this beer also has less alcohol warmth and astringency. And seriously, the head is still hanging around. Thick, too—not some of that thin covering crap. The beer is gone, but there is a layer of foam left in the bottom of the glass. Now, how about cleaning the labels off those bottles, tough guy?

(11/9/2010)

422. Smuttynose Big A IPA

Previously part of Smuttynose’s Big Beer Series, this one has been pushed into full time production to become a regular contributor to the delinquency of children. We found this on tap at South Park, where we got to watch the Seattle Seahawks get absolutely manhandled by the New York Giants. Previously from Smuttynose, we’ve tried Old Brown Dog Ale, Baltic Porter, Imperial Stout, Shoals Pale Ale, Finestkind IPA and Farmhouse Ale,

Elli’s Breakfast Stout is sneaking into the picture...

Served in the ever-ubiquitous pint glass, Big A IPA pours a hazy, dirty straw—it is not quite copper, but almost. The thin white head hangs on tenaciously, and laces the glass for at least the first third of the beer, after which I forgot to pay attention anymore. The nose features biscuit and caramel malt coupled with pine and evergreen hop aroma in the front, and an underlying herbal hoppiness in the background. There is also a slight metallic scent dancing amongst the other parts, but it disappeared as the beer warmed. Big A IPA is all caramel in the front; as it warms, more of the biscuit comes out. Bitterness takes over in the middle, with herbal hop flavors to the forefront that linger on into the finish. There is also a spicy evergreen hop flavor that marries well with the herbal flavors. In this sense, the middle is the inverse of the nose; while the nose was predominantly pine with an herbal background, here the flavors favor herbal hoppiness with pine and evergreen in the background. The finish has a slight re-assertion of sweetness, but is mostly bitterness that lingers nicely on the palate. Big A IPA has a medium to heavy body that is well disguised by both the dry biscuit malt and the big hop bitterness; both work to lighten and hide the slight stickiness of the mouthfeel. Carbonation is medium but bright, helping to round and smooth the beer. Overall, smooth and drinkable for a bigger beer—the alcohol was well-hidden, and there were no discernable alcohol flavors. Big A IPA is better balanced than many imperial size IPAs; while it is more East Coast than West Coast in terms of its IPA pedigree, it is certainly worth checking out for its smoothness and evenness. Well done!

From the Smuttynose website: “Ever since Stash Wojciechowski, the ‘Killer Kielbasa,’ created this Imperial IPA for our Big Beer Series, Big A IPA has gotten a lot of attention. Lauded by the New York Times and Men’s Journal Magazine, it’s been one of the most talked-about beers around. Brewed in very small quantities, it has also been one of the hardest-to-find. Until now. Big A IPA has everything you’d want in an India Pale Ale, only more: more hops, more malt & more flavor. Now it’s available year-round, so you can enjoy this big, flavorful beer any time you want. Na zdrowie!”

ABV: 9.7%

(11/7/2010)

Saison Brewday

I got the Breiss Cherrywood Smoked malt a while ago; since then, I have been engaged in rigorous debate in regards to the type of beer that would best showcase its attributes. The choice to run with a saison was not only because I like saisons, but with the hope that the highly attenuated beer created by the 3711 yeast would allow the subtle qualities of the cherry-smoked malt to shine through. Here’s to keeping hope alive...

Even the Ducks love Tom...

79. Saison
Mini-mash:
1 lb. Dingeman’s Pale
1 lb. Breiss Cherrywood Smoked malt
8 oz. Weyerman Smoked malt
8 oz. Breiss Caramel 20L
8 oz. Breiss Munich 6-row 10L
7.5 oz. Fawcett Halycon Pale
4 oz. Dingeman’s Cara 45

Mashed w/6 quarts water @ 140° F for 30 min. & 151° F for 50 min.
Batch sparged with 1 gallon of 180° F water for 10 minutes

Added to brew kettle, brought to a boil (70 minute) and added:
4 lbs. Breiss DME Pilsen
4 oz. Turbinado Sugar
1 oz. New Zealand Pacifica leaf 5.3% AA

w/10 min. to go:
½ oz. New Zealand Pacifica leaf 5.3% AA
1 tsp. Irish moss

@ removal from heat:
½ oz. New Zealand Pacifica leaf 5.3% AA

Chilled wort, racked to bucket, and pitched mason jar of Wyeast 3711 French Saison saved from batch 74

Brewed: 11/4/2010
Secondary: 11/20/2010 @ 1.004
Bottled: 1/15/2010 w/ 4.5 oz. table sugar @ 50° F

OG: 1.054
FG: 1.004

Tasting Notes: Cherry-Wood Smoked Saison pours a dirty hazy straw with a rather dense and prolific head. The nose combines the strengths of the two main elements; there is a soft subtle smoke component—more smoky and woody than greasy or bacon-like—that balances nicely with the fruit and floral components of the Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast. Flavors open with a slight sweetness that quickly merges with the dry smokiness. The middle is dry and slightly tannic and woodsy mixed with floral and fruit esters from the yeast. There is also a juicy roundness that I find in all 3711 beers—it is pretty much the hallmark of the yeast—before a dry and almost papery finish that allows the malt and smoke to slowly fade off of the palate with a touch of spiciness thrown in for good measure. Light, dry, and crackery mouthfeel; coupled with the smoked malt sensations, this beer sucks the moisture out of your mouth. The bright, almost sharp carbonation further enhances the dryness; given the high attenuation of the beer, there is a slight acidity from the carbonation that melds seamlessly with the smokiness. There is a small amount of alcohol warmth in the finish as well, although it mixes in well with the smoke flavors. I’ve become increasingly smitten with this beer—when I first had it, I thought it was uninteresting across the flavor profile. However, once it fully fermented and dried out, the slight drop in sweetness allowed the smoke character to round and frame the palate sensations in a way that enhanced the 3711 yeast character. In the pantheon of random experiments that marks my brewing inspiration, this beer turned out to be far more interesting than I anticipated. The combination of smoked malt with the 3711 yeast brought interesting components of both to bear on this beer. Even slightly more shocking is that I’ve gotten quite positive response from others as well; I’m not sure if it is the novelty of the beer or that it really that good. It even ended up getting 3rd place in the first leg of the Brewster’s Cup, our year-long club competition, so I guess the praise was not merely faint and convivial. I’ll certainly be experimenting with smoked malt and saisons further to see what I can create.