Archive for April, 2009

• The Sierra Nevada Torpedo is amazing. VERY hoppy – almost arid in its dryness. Citrusy then drains the palate of moisture. Excellent #
• Wort Chiller plans I used: http://www.olderascal.com/brewing/wortchiller/index.html It’s not pretty but boiling to 70 in 6 min works for me #

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• @elmachuca bomb-bar-deer in reply to elmachuca #
• @DrinkCraftBeer I do have VERY cold well water. Google “build a wort chiller”-2nd result from olderascal.com-worked perfect. in reply to DrinkCraftBeer #
• @beerbabe just picked up a Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous. Hoping it is as good as Arrogant Bastard. in reply to beerbabe #
• @beerbabe have a bottle in the cellar. Going to drink it tomorrow. Will let you know. Fear it is “dumbed down for the U.S.” in reply to beerbabe #
• Having a Sierra Nevada Torpedo to celebrate chiller success. Review to follow. #
• New home made wort chiller took 3.5 gal from 212 to 70 degrees in 6 min. I have very cold well water. #
• @TheBeerWench very cute and better than the OSU visor you rocked Sun. in reply to TheBeerWench #
• @DrinkCraftBeer the SS Minnow Mild Ale. Hennessey’s in Albany,NY giving free ingredients if you brew at the store. Will be my 1st outdoor. in reply to DrinkCraftBeer #
• Making Smokey Pork Chili Verde and cleaning the new wort chiller prepping for #bigbrew this Sat. in Albany. 1st time 4 the smoker in ‘09. #
• NYC reminder: Ommegang+Duvel @ Blind Tiger Alehouse 4pm today: http://tinyurl.com/d2m9sh #
• Killed the compression fitting from home made wort chiller. Replaced with washer hoses and clamps. Works prefectly now. ready for #bigbrew #

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After a recent sweltering Sunday in New Paltz, NY chilling at the Gilded Otter (great beer – bad website) with The Beer Wench (as much fun to drink with as she is on Twitter) and some other fine folks, we swung by K & E Discount Beverage to do a little stock up since we were in the area.

Bombers
Brooklyn Brewery Local No. 2
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
Rock Art Brewery Ridge Runner Barley Wine
Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale
The Bruery Orchard White
Troegs Flying Mouflan

Six packs
Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA
Sherwood Forest Friar’s Belgian-style White Ale

Promo bottle (yes! free beer!)
Guinness 250th Anniversary Stout

We bought the Troegs Flying Mouflan in order to cellar two more. We already had one in the cellar. Troegs claims this ages nicely – turning into a whole new beer. We’re looking forward to seeing if that is true. I am also a bit curious about the anniversary Guinness. It is not out yet, but – when I asked about it – the clerk gave me a free bottle from a promo pack. Given some of the press – and being a huge traditional Guinness fan – I’m a bit dubious about this one. Claims of it being “fizzier…maltier…made for the U.S. market” makes me think “Guinness dumbed down” but the 5% ABV (up from the 4.2 ABV of traditional Guinness) is intriguing. Then again – at $10/six pack – I’m betting this promo bottle is all I’ll have of the anniversary Guinness.

• Anyone know why I’m getting a kick back spray on the input hose of my wort chiller? Like the hose leaking/spraying. Going into 3/8″. #
• Sitting down to make a wort chiller for #bigbrew in Albany. Just back from Cave Mtn in Windham. Double IPA is hoppy goodness. #
• @ChristinasBeer definitely worth it. A little pricey ($9 for a 6) but a lovely beer. in reply to ChristinasBeer #

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Brewery: Troegs Brewing Co.
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Style: Amber ale

I’m finishing off the recent Troegs Fest with one of my new favorite beers: Troegs HopBack Amber Ale.

The Summer of 2009 has been declared my summer to embrace the hops. Up until this point, most of my ale tastes have stayed firmly in the malt realm. It’s true that perhaps the hop bomb revolution is a bit played out, but I’ve got a bit of catching up to do and plan to continue exploring the big hop beers. What I’ve come to love about Troegs HopBack Amber is its big hoppiness without being an extreme beer.

This has a great deep amber color with a foamy head that falls rather quickly. the scent combines a strong hop front with a nice malt back. Taste follows suit starting with a citrusy earthy hop flavor and ending with a mellow malt sweetness. The balance between the hop and malt makes this an extremely enjoyable drink. A medium body ale with a reasonable 6% ABV allows for a couple of these while hanging out on the deck and grilling.

This is certainly detined to be a fixture in the OAB cellar – especially during the outdorr drinking months.

My favorite alehouse in New York City – Blind Tiger Alehouse – is having another event that makes me regret ever leaving NYC in the first place. (Not that the OAB HQ in the mountains isn’t pleasant and all…)

While I am not a massive Belgian fan (Mrs. Ohabeer loves them), I nonetheless like the Belgian style. I’ve had my fair share of Duvel over the years and – because Iive in the Catskills – am required by law to have all of the Ommegangs. So, this would not be the biggest event for me other than the fact there are – as usual – several rare selections.

Duvel/Ommegang @ Blind Tiger Alehouse NYC
Date: April 29, 2009
Time: 4pm

The List:
Duvel Green
Maredsous Blonde
Maredsous Brune
Maredsous Triple
La Chouffe
Mc Chouffe
Houblon Chouffe
Ommegang Rouge
Ommegang Witte
Ommegang Hennepin
Ommegang Rare Vos
Ommegang Three Philosophers
Ommegang Abbey
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
Ommegang Biere de Mars in 25oz Bottles

As always, there will be free cheese from our friends at Murray’s Cheese…

For all you true loyal Tigerites, they are working very hard on getting some new (stronger) ACs, ASAP…

(If anyone happens to go to this, please drop back by Oh…a beer and leave a review in the comments.)

• @BSimi @thebeerwench and OAB after a couple rounds of local beers! Great peeps! http://twitpic.com/422rd (via @TheBeerWench) #
• @thebeerwench @BSimi excellent time at Gilded Otter. Hope to do it again sometime. Perhaps on a cooler day. #

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Brewery: Saranac Brewing
Location: Utica, NY
Style: Ale

Saranac is a staple of upstate grocery and convenience stores. If there are no other crafts to be found in a store, one can almost always expect to find some Saranac in this neck of the NY woods. I’ve been drawn to their 12 packs since moving upstate as I consider them simple beers for when you just want something refreshing. Saranac makes solid beers – nothing amazing but definitely worth drinking.

The “What Ales You?” is a seasonal 12 featuring 2 beers each of 6 ales. Why exactly they chose to waste one of those beers on the minorly disappointing Saranac Stout is beyond me. Unless – like I do – Saranac doesn’t actually consider it a stout but more a dark ale. In any case, I would rather have had another ale choice.

The other five selections carry on the simple beer tradition I’ve come to expect from Saranac. All are fine beers that are easy to drink. Sure, nothing here will shake the beer world to its very core – but sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes – you just want a cold beer.

Saranac Pomegranate Wheat
As has been stated in the past, Mrs. Ohabeer is quite the fruit beer fan. She started out drinking Lambics, moved to ciders and finally broke through the beer barrier with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat and Saranac Pomegranate Wheat. What I like about the Saranac is the subtleness of the fruit. This is not a massively fruited beer. Just enough Pom juice – and it actually tastes like real juice not extract – adds a tartness to a simple wheat. Fairly light body and low alcohol (4.7% ABV) makes this an excellent deck beer.

Saranac Brown Ale
My first homebrewed beer was a brown ale. I chose that because it was a simple all extract beer, easy to make and a good way to get started in brewing. Thing is – I do not really like brown ales that much. They generally fall into a darkish beer without much of an opinion category. Saranac’s Brown Ale is pretty much like all other brown ales I’ve had. A tad thinnish with not much in the way of a discernible flavor. It certainly has maltiness – but without any sort of malt complexity. It is – however – a great cooking beer.

Saranac Irish Red Ale
This is the newest in the Saranac line and the only beer in the set I have not had previously. The color is a beautiful deep red and there is a slight head. Very nice malty aroma. While Saranac asserts “caramel and toffee notes”, I just get a solid malty sweetness. Again, a solid drinkable medium body ale. The 6% ABV gives is a bit of a nice edge but nothing an experienced brew fan will find daunting.

Saranac Pale Ale
This is a core Saranac beer and one you’re most likely to find in 6 packs at the local store. Great copper colored ale with a quick falling foamy head. The taste nicely balances a fruity hoppiness with a sweet maltiness. Light on the body side of things, it is extremely drinkable and a perfect hot day refreshment. 5.5% ABV keeps this low enough to enjoy a couple.

Saranac India Pale Ale
Finally, we head back toward the my 2009 Hopfest with Saranac’s hopped up version of their Pale Ale. By “hopped up” here I mean noticeable hops – not a massive hop bomb. As I’ve said – Saranac is not about extreme beers, just good simple beer. This India Pale Ale has a crisp light gold color with an pale white head. It gives off a decent hop scent. The taste is definitely a hopped up Pale Ale but still very balanced and nothing extreme. A good refreshing ale with an extra zip.

• @TheBeerWench looking forward to it. Mrsohabeer and I will be there. You can call us Frank and Cherie. Me = beard longish hair glasses. in reply to TheBeerWench #
• @craftbeerlocatr 20 ABV?!?! Wow that is incredible! in reply to craftbeerlocatr #
• @ChristinasBeer which troegs? in reply to ChristinasBeer #
• @KPB oh wow! Haven’t thought of Doug in years. A classic Nick toon. in reply to KPB #
• @StoneBrewingCo Arrogant Bastard on the deck. Not as good as the Oaked A.B. #
• Heating the grill to make Brick Chicken. Now to finding something in the cellar to drink on the deck. #
• @MikeBGP so a final gravity measures how much sugar was consumed in fernentation. in reply to MikeBGP #
• @MikeBGP gravity measures the amount of sugar in the brew. Water has a gravity of 1. The more sugar in the brew the higher the gravity. in reply to MikeBGP #
• @smashtransistor I am luckiest man on earth. Mrsohabeer does the mowing as she loves driving the Husqvarna. in reply to smashtransistor #
• Having a @foamybeer Itsa Stout to celebrate bottling the wheat. Next brew up #bigbrew dark ale at Hennessey’s in Albany next Sat. #
• @foamybeer My Cherry Amore Wheat ended with a F.G. 1.018. Would’ve liked 1.015 but think it will work. 2wks to 1st tasting. #
• @blogobeer dragon stout is a strange one. A fave of mine tho it is an acquired taste. Like no other stout around. in reply to blogobeer #
• Drying bottles to bottle @foamybeer My Cherry Amore Wheat. Color looks good. Hope gravity dropped a little. #

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Brewery: Cave Mountain Brewing Co.
Location: Windham, NY
Style: Ales – Java Cream & Nut Brown

A Saturday afternoon double header featuring two from my friends over at Cave Mountain. It’s great to have an excellent brewpub semi-close (well if you consider a 40 minute drive close). The added bonus is they brew pretty great beer

First up is what I have described as a “beer latte”. I am definitely not a cream ale fan. Usually they are way too cloyingly sweet for my tastes. Cave Mountain solves that problem by adding coffee to the mix. The result – Cave Mountain Java Cream Ale – is a nice medium brown ale with a creamy head. You get a quick hit of cream sweetness in the scent but that gets mixed with the coffee for the perfect beer latte smell. The taste carries on the coffee with cream theme by downplaying the usual sweetness with a rich coffee bitterness. The play between these two elements makes for a great balanced ale perfect for an evening by the fire or at breakfast in the morning.

The Cave Mountain Nut Brown Ale is what I call a utility ale. It is the perfect drinking beer for when you simply want a good quality beer with anything extreme, major or otherwise distracting going on. Great creamy head and a deep nut brown color. It’s a little on the thin side body-wise but has a great malty nutty taste. Just an all around excellent simple ale for an afternoon of drinking and watching the telly.