Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Having a bomber of Dead Guy Ale from Rogue Ales.

This is a maibock/helles bock, not a style that I typically drink a lot of.  Part of that might be because there just aren’t that many examples of this style out there.  However, from reading my blog you can see more IPAs, stouts, and pale ales.  This isn’t my favorite style, but I mean to give Dead Guy its due.

Pours a really nice coppery color, mostly clear, with a very good two finger head that lasted and left pretty good lacing.

Aroma is pleasant and pretty heavy on the malt side, as expected.  There’s a good bready malt character, plenty of caramel malt, and some fruitiness.  However, there’s also a good hops presence.

The aroma carries over into the flavor, but with enhanced qualities.  I really like the way the hops are forward in this one, something that’s not typical in any way of a maibock.  The caramel malt, fruitiness, and bready characters form a solid and delicious base, from which the hoppiness just adds character.  With perle and saaz hops, they must have used a lot of hops!  Very nice!

The body is medium and a bit warming, with a lingering spicy hop aftertaste.

There’s nothing typical of this beer.  It’s pretty darn good stuff if you like the helles bock style.  And the bombers are great for re-use in homebrewing! Definitely give it a try.

Cloning Pliny The Elder – My First Double IPA

Well I’m going to attempt a Pliny the Elder clone this weekend.   Consistently rated as one of the best beers on the planet, Pliny deserves its reputation.  With ratings of 100 on BA and 100/100 on ratebeer.com, it seems the rest of the craft beer geek world agrees.  If you’ve ever had Pliny, you’ll probably agree too.  I don’t think I’ll quite do it justice, but it’s a great place to start for my first attempt at brewing a Double IPA.

Yeast is California Ale Yeast.

Fermentables:

• 13.25 lbs 2-row
• 8 oz carafoam
• 8 oz caramel-40
• 10 oz corn sugar

Hops:

• 1.5 oz millenium FWH
• 1.5 oz cascade FWH
• 2 oz cascade FO
• 1 oz belma FO
• 1 oz bravo FO
• 1 oz millenium FO

quickly cool to 170F and let stand 30 minutes

Dry Hops

• 2 oz millenium 14 days
• 1 oz cluster 14 days
• 1 oz belma 14 days
• 2 oz bravo 5 days
• 2 oz cascade 5 days

Targets:

• OG: 1.075
• FG: 1.011
• SRM: 7
• IBU: 108

Total fermentation time should be 3 weeks from boil to bottle, plus conditioning time.  I’ve gotten advice to bottle and enjoy as quickly as possible to preserve delicate hop aromas and flavors.  Makes sense to me.

This will be a unique beer for me because it’s only got first wort hops and flameout hops, and a lot of them at that.   Thanks to Barfdiggs on beer advocate for the hops schedule!

Great Divide OAK AGED Yeti!

Well I’ve already reviewed regular Yeti Imperial Stout, and now I’ve got a nice fat bomber of OAK AGED Yeti.

Rating 100/99 on ratebeer and 95 on beer advocate, this is certainly a top-dog Russian Imperial Stout.

The appearance is great, used diesel motor oil black with a massive brown, lasting head and monster lacing.

The aroma is very nice.  There’s a plentiful supply of roasted, toasted, and burnt malt flavors.  Notes of coffee, chocolate and tobacco accent the nose.  There’s a touch of woodiness from the oak too.

Taste wise this one is tremendous, and mostly follows the nose.  The roasted and burnt grain flavors are up front, followed by a nice coffee/chocolate flavor.  I still detect a little tobacco like flavor in there too, like a fine cigar.  The oak aging is more apparent in the flavor and accents the rest of this delicious beer wonderfully.

The body is tremendous!  Super thick and incredibly rich and full bodied, with pretty well hidden alcohol.

What a great beer!   I highly recommend this to anyone who loves Russian Imperial Stouts or oak aged beers.

Cheers to Great Divide!

Bleach Blonde Ale IV

Well it’s almost time for another edition of Bleach Blonde Ale.  This time I’ll be using the exact same grain bill as last time, but changing a couple of other parameters.  I like this grain bill, the last edition came out very well.

Wyeast 1332, Northwest ale yeast will be used for NEXT batch.   Wound up using Nottingham yeast.

Honestly I was thinking of trying Serebrianka hops with this one and I might still change the recipe accordingly.  EDIT: decided to go with serebrianka and try them out!  Will use cascade/willamette (belma for tiny bittering charge) next time.

• 8 lbs pale malt 2-row
• 8 oz Vienna malt
• 6 oz caraamber
• 6 oz carafoam
• 1 lb flaked corn
• 0.5 oz serebrianka hops at 60
• 1 oz serebrianka hops at 15
• 2 oz serebrianka hops at 5

Mash at 151F

Targets

• OG 1.050
• FG 1.010
• IBU 21
• SRM 5.2
• ABV 5.3%

Bravo/Munich SMaSH

This one is up next!  I’m brewing another smash, meant to showcase the bravo hop and Munich malt.

• 12 lbs Munich malt
• o.5 oz bravo at 60
• 2 oz bravo at 5
• 2 oz bravo at 0
• 2 oz bravo dry hop
• US-05 yeast

Targets:

• OG 1.064
• IBU 45.9
• SRM 12.3
• ABV 6.2%

Tasting notes: Came out GREAT!  Very hoppy, I didn’t get the “fruitiness” that a lot of people claim from bravo, but it was still quite hoppy.  I got more of a spicy flavor with fruit notes.  Definitely worth brewing again.  I think a little 2-row along with the Munich would be optimal tho, perhaps up to 50% 2-row.

Hop Stoopid NHC Challenge

Hop Stoopid Clone Challenge – NHC

I was just having a hop stoopid, one of my fav DIPAs.  We kinda drank most of the homebrew, and we’re waiting for more to be ready, so I’m having some commercial brews.  I’ve already reviewed hop stoopid here, but it’s always worthy of discussing it again.

I’ve always loved this beer from the very first time I tried it.  It’s very clean in its bitterness and is near perfection for a DIPA if you ask me.   It’s also a major bargain, well worth the price!  DIPA lovers, if you haven’t tried this one, TRY IT!

The above link is wonderful.  They give you tons of info on how they make hop stoopid.  Plus, they are asking you to bring your home brewed versions for them to taste and discuss!  I’d love to go to their suite at the NHC and submit my version to their head brewer!

The link also has recipes for both all grain and extract.  DAMN COOL of Lagunitas to do this!

I want to try a version of this for my first IIPA.  I need to come up with some simcoe hops first, but rest assured, this one will be brewed by me sooner or later!

Cheers to Lagunitas!

 

Boulevard Rye-On-Rye

Well I’ve always enjoyed Boulevard beers, especially their wonderful Smokestack Series.  Today it’s Rye-On-Rye, a deliciously spicy barrel aged creation!  This bottle is from 2013.

Auburn and mostly clear, large head that slowly went to a one finger head and lasted from there, lacing good.

Aroma is nice, spicy rye, caramel, wood, vanilla, whiskey, caramelized sugar, lots of spiciness, dark fruits, in some ways almost smells like a quadrupel.

Taste is very complex and will take a while to quantify.  That’s ok, because at 12% ABV, this bottle will take me a while to drink!   The barrel aging is immediately apparent.  Plenty of oak, whiskey, and vanilla come through right away.  There’s again a fruity presence, much like a quadrupel’s fruitiness.  Candi and brown sugar are ever-present.  The spiciness from the rye adds tons of delicious complexity.

Actually this beer is reminding me of Boulevard’s Bourbon Barrel Quad quite a lot.  It’s not the same, but there’s clearly some overlap!  The body is lighter on this beer, it’s about medium,. but smooth as can be and creamy in texture.  Each sip leaves your tongue coated with a lightly vanilla like resinous coating.  Very enjoyable!

Tremendous, as always.  Great job Boulevard!

It doesn’t take some anonymous online blogger to prove to you that Boulevard Smokestack beers are the Bomb.  It take you trying them, and finding out these truths for yourself.  I recommend this beer.  Just don’t plan on going anywhere if you drink the whole bottle to yourself!

Hats off to Avery Brewing for supporting Homebrewers!

The link says it all

Avery Brewing Homebrew Recipes

Is that friggin’ cool or what?

Next time I go to Gabriel’s I’m going to pick up some Avery and review it here.

Cheers to Avery Brewing!

I have never been so excited over Malt Liquor!

WOW!!

Full Sail Brewer’s Share Initial Pub Offering Malt Liquor

I am friggin’ amazed!   Brewed with Hallertau hops?

I picked this up from Gabriel’s in San Antonio.  I mostly have always drank malt liquor when I’ve been either po, or just in a cheep beer mood.  Ever since Dogfish Head came out with the non-gettable Malt Liquor of their own, I’ve been wanting to try some craft malt liquor (no, it’s not an oxymoron).  Today I got my chance, and WOW!

Let me just say that I am impressed.  This beer is delicious!

Very happy to have just purchased this beer from Gabriel’s in San Antonio!  I can already tell you that I am going to get more of this one just in case they run out!

22 oz bomber.

Pours a nice clear tan color with slight orange notes.  Head and lacing weren’t bad at all.

Aroma is already FAR beyond any malt liquor you’ve ever tried.  It’s incredibly complex, assuming from the (probably generous amounts of) Hallertau hops.  It’s not overpowering like an IPA, rather more delicate and subtle, but wonderful!  I get tons of herbal and grassy notes, a delicate peppery smell, and some fruitiness.  It would be impossible to categorize this as a malt liquor if this were blind and you were just going by aroma (and maybe taste, see next paragraph).

Flavor… again, WOW!  Very nice!  The peppery spiciness is more apparent now, as is the fruitiness.  Although it’s got some malt-liquor like properties (a little sweet corn, grainy notes, some light alcohol), it’s more between a strong dry pale ale and a very strong, hoppy lager.

Body is dry and light, alcohol apparent on the backside, and overall just plain delicious.  And the spirit of the American Malt Liquor is not lost either!  All it needs is a brown bag (aka poor man’s koozie).

It has the other property of malt liquors… I’m only on my second beer of the day and I’m already a bit buzzed!

Just amazing, great flavor, great aroma, great body, great job Full Sail!

This is malt liquor! Best Evah!