As my Junior year comes to a close and my first brew is half is fermenting I feel some relief and some sadness. Almost like saying goodbye to an old friend moving away. Not that I am being sentimental but I think it is a good feeling.
1) I can relax. I don't have to worry about term papers of group projects or exams for a few weeks.
2) I can pay more attention to my extracurricular activities. i.e. Brewing and Drinking oh and writing....
3) I can be more scientific and proactive in my brewing. Such as Yeast harvesting, equipment modification, more reading about different and foreign aspects of brewing that I am still unaware of. I plan to read more about brewing chemistry. I am very interested in water composition, and enzyme breakdown.
3) I get a promotion, and raise at work so I can actually afford to get more brew things. Mostly odds and ends and ingredients. I don't want to expand yet, I just want to be more efficient at what I am already doing. Maybe if I can get my hand on a hops seedling I will plant that. I do want to do a dry-hopped beer sometime and from what I understand I should have a full size plant by August ready for harvest and drying.
That's all I have for tonight. Just thought I would keep you updated.
This weekend: RIFT meeting thoughts and overview, and Brooklyn Brewing Tasting... maybe some homebrew reviews too but I don't want to push it.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Sam Adams Tasting and Brewing....
At school in the Culinary Museum we had a Sam Adams and Wisconsin Cheese tasting. I don't have much to say about any of this except that I thoroughly enjoy cheese much more then I use to.
And Two bottles of Sam Adams Wee Heavy and Artisan Bleu Cheese don't sit right with me. I thought I was going to puke... not that it wasn't delicious which it was but within a half hour of that I was in pain.
Sam Adams:
So with the Sam Adams tasting we had a selection of 6 beers.
I will review 4 of them because if your reading this blog I can assume you have had Sam Lager and Sam Light... If not, stop reading HAVE SOME NOW! I only say that because these were the two beers that got me to fully enjoy the bounty of all that is malt, hops, and yeast (I already appreciated water).
I digress. The other four beers are slightly more obscure then the first two but mainstream for the most part.
Summer Ale:
Color: Yellowish Gold... Lighter then most
Clarity: Mostly Clear
Nose: Citric, Spicy, some Floral notes
Taste: Crisp Citrus, Smooth Spicy
Recommendations: Bacon Cheddar Kobe Burger... A nice bowl of almonds... Fruit Salad. Basically anything you might want at a 4th of July BBQ
If Sam Summer was an amplifier and the volume knob was a drink-ability knob it would go to 11... because it's 1 higher and have dwarfs dancing around stone henge.
Sorry about that. I was watching Spinal Tap earlier but I am also serious too.
Black Lager:
Color: Black, Espresso
Clarity: What does that matter? It's Black
Nose: Roasted, Nutty, Coffee
Taste: Dark Chocolate, Espresso
I wasn't very interested in Black Lager. It just wasn't my cup of tea or beer, but worth a try. I have nothing negative to say but I personally wasn't a fan.
Latitude 48:
Color:Dark Amber
Clarity:Mostly Clear
Nose: Floral, Piny, Some nut notes
Taste: BITTER, piny, floral, some caramel
Many of you probably know I am an IPA nut and this was right up my alley. Great beer for tastings sharp strong cheeses with some astringent qualities.
Wee Heavy:
Color: Brown
Clarity: Translucent
Nose: Vegetative, Oaky, Nutty
Taste: Have some odd carrot tones, oaky, butter
Wee Heavy and I said before with the bleu cheese did a number on my digestion but was very good. It was actually a great pairing. If I were to use is practically with it's pair cheese I would do Crab and Macadamia Nut stuffed Crimini with blue cheese crumbles finished in a broiler or salamander to toast the cheese, but that's just me.
Now onward and upward.
Brewing:
This past Saturday I made my first brew batch. All and all I was impressed with myself. It didn't go perfect but better then I anticipated. This Thursday I plan to attend a meeting of a local brewers club and hope to pick up a tip or two for my next batch which I will hopefully start in 2 weeks. I hope to have a new batched finished and bottled every three weeks starting next week.
And Here is a standing list of equipment and ingredients I am looking into. Many are money savers and expansionary.
And Two bottles of Sam Adams Wee Heavy and Artisan Bleu Cheese don't sit right with me. I thought I was going to puke... not that it wasn't delicious which it was but within a half hour of that I was in pain.
Sam Adams:
So with the Sam Adams tasting we had a selection of 6 beers.
I will review 4 of them because if your reading this blog I can assume you have had Sam Lager and Sam Light... If not, stop reading HAVE SOME NOW! I only say that because these were the two beers that got me to fully enjoy the bounty of all that is malt, hops, and yeast (I already appreciated water).
I digress. The other four beers are slightly more obscure then the first two but mainstream for the most part.
Summer Ale:
Color: Yellowish Gold... Lighter then most
Clarity: Mostly Clear
Nose: Citric, Spicy, some Floral notes
Taste: Crisp Citrus, Smooth Spicy
Recommendations: Bacon Cheddar Kobe Burger... A nice bowl of almonds... Fruit Salad. Basically anything you might want at a 4th of July BBQ
If Sam Summer was an amplifier and the volume knob was a drink-ability knob it would go to 11... because it's 1 higher and have dwarfs dancing around stone henge.
Sorry about that. I was watching Spinal Tap earlier but I am also serious too.
Black Lager:
Color: Black, Espresso
Clarity: What does that matter? It's Black
Nose: Roasted, Nutty, Coffee
Taste: Dark Chocolate, Espresso
I wasn't very interested in Black Lager. It just wasn't my cup of tea or beer, but worth a try. I have nothing negative to say but I personally wasn't a fan.
Latitude 48:
Color:Dark Amber
Clarity:Mostly Clear
Nose: Floral, Piny, Some nut notes
Taste: BITTER, piny, floral, some caramel
Many of you probably know I am an IPA nut and this was right up my alley. Great beer for tastings sharp strong cheeses with some astringent qualities.
Color: Brown
Clarity: Translucent
Nose: Vegetative, Oaky, Nutty
Taste: Have some odd carrot tones, oaky, butter
Wee Heavy and I said before with the bleu cheese did a number on my digestion but was very good. It was actually a great pairing. If I were to use is practically with it's pair cheese I would do Crab and Macadamia Nut stuffed Crimini with blue cheese crumbles finished in a broiler or salamander to toast the cheese, but that's just me.
Now onward and upward.
Brewing:
This past Saturday I made my first brew batch. All and all I was impressed with myself. It didn't go perfect but better then I anticipated. This Thursday I plan to attend a meeting of a local brewers club and hope to pick up a tip or two for my next batch which I will hopefully start in 2 weeks. I hope to have a new batched finished and bottled every three weeks starting next week.
And Here is a standing list of equipment and ingredients I am looking into. Many are money savers and expansionary.
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