Monthly Archives: November 2009

Review of Dogfish Head’s Burton Baton

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Dogfish Head's Burton Baton

 

Today I have cracked open Dogfish Head’s Burton Baton, I believe this is a beer I got in a trade with simplybeer. This beer you would judge under the wood aged beer category with the base beer style being Imperial IPA.  I have been very excited to try this one because the only other notable wood-aged IPA I have had that I liked was Hinterland Brewery’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial IPA, I think you can only get it on tap when available. I don’t like that Hinterland’s website doesn’t really showcase their beer though. I think they have good stuff. They should model their site after  Titletown brewery’s site. They are also a restaurant and brewhouse, but at least the website showcases their award-winning beer. Come to think of it, I should make a trek up there to officially review some of their awesome beers. Ok, I digress, let’s get underway with the review.

Off the aroma is the distinct aroma of my favorite hop, Amarillo. I don’t know if they use large quantities of it or I’m crazy, but I would bet a paycheck on there is Amarillo in there. To me Amarillo comes across like sour pineapple with a hint of lemon. I love it and use it all my homebrewed IPA’s. So that sour pineapple and lemon comes through for me first, and it is bright and fresh. In the malt side, the dominant aroma is sweet caramel, with just a small amount of toast to it. I don’t get much in the way of traditional oak aroma, but there are some vanilla tones that you usually get from oak aging. Surprisingly, for a 10% beer I don’t get much alcohol. Overall the aroma is fruity, sticky, and sweet. I like it.  (9 points)

The beer is a thick copper color with a nice strong head to it. It is also quite clear. A very nice looking Imperial IPA. (3 points)

The flavor is quite complex and has a lot going on. Let me see if I can break it down effectively. First, up front I am tasting some sweet caramel and oak. Not much in the way of a citrus hop flavor that matches the aroma, but there is some hop bite to this beer. Mostly it is a grapefruity flavor from the hops instead of the sour pineapple, and the bitterness you get is nice and soft, not harsh. There is some toast, vanilla, and rich malty flavors right in the middle. In the end, as there is some bitterness fading you get the alcohol, and a lot of it. Here is where that 10% is hiding. As you breath, you get that boozy quality you get from a good scotch, but I like this a bit better. The sweetness cuts the alcohol just enough to make it enjoyable, but not so much as to make the beer a syrupy mess. This is a top-notch beer in my opinion. The flavor is complex and interesting, but there are enough major points sticking out so the whole experience does not become muddled. (18 points)

The mouthfeel is full and slightly chewy, as would be expected in a big beer. The hop bite gives the beer the initial feel of a medium/full or medium body but if you pay close attention you can feel the fullness of the beer. (4 points)

Overall, I feel this is an excellent meld between the wood and the Imperial IPA. This beer has become a favorite of mine. The aroma is bright and fresh as a good IPA should be, with just enough malt and other components to make the aroma interesting and draw you in. Then the flavor hits you with this almost overwhelming complexity, until you really experience the flavors. Then you can easily pick out the major flavors and play around with the more subtle underlying and supporting structures. Although I probably couldn’t drink many bottles of these, there is no way I would pass up on drinking this again. The only gripe I could muster would be that the aroma and flavor don’t seem to match up, but to me it doesn’t matter. (9 points)

I score this beer a 43, which is a solid A. I don’t score too many in te 40′s at all, and this one easily fits my 40′s criteria. It meets the style with no flaws, is bold enough but yet not over the top, and for this type of beer in particular, is complex enough to be interesting and not so overdone that you have a hard time finishing the glass. I feel this beer is easily a world-class example of an Oak Aged Imperial IPA.

Review of Capital Rustic Ale

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Rustic Ale

Rustic Ale is an American Amber Ale from Capital Brewery in Middleton, Wisconsin. I really used to like the beers from Capital, and they still have some winners, but as of late it seems they have been going the way of the middle-of-the-road brewery with less than exceptional beers. They are just a touch better than Leinenkugel’s, whose beers are always middle of the road, or overplayed up as far as adding artificial flavors to the beer. Apple Spice or Fireside Nut Brown anyone?  But regardless, I have heard some good things about Rustic Ale and decided to give it a shot. So here is the review.

The aroma dominated by toasted malts, with a slightly sweet caramel character. Some breadyness is in there as well. There is a very low citrus hop aroma, and at first I didn’t really get any hops at all. Most American ales have a bit higher hop presentation than this one, but according to the guidelines hop aroma can be moderate to low, and this one is low. Perhaps even a bit too low. Although I like the malt presentation quite a bit, the beer would be better with just a touch more hops in the aroma. If they are trying to keep that low, they may have overdone that aspect in my opinion. 8 points

The color is a bright coppery hue. Although the description on the website states that the beer is cloudy, this beer in my glass is fairly clear. It poured a decent dense 1/2 inch head. Fairly good retention.  3 points.

The flavor is a bit thin. There is some toasty malt and some light caramel in the malt presentation as well as some nice citrus hop flavor. But there is also a prickly sensation from the carbonation. It is almost seltzer water-like. There is a dry feel to the beer as well. The beer is not bad, just not what I am expecting. The malt profile and hop bitterness seem to me to be just a bit low for the style, but the overall flavor is fairly good and balanced. The only real gripe I have is that the overall flavor is too thin and not nearly big enough. If the carbonation adds flavor to this type of beer, it is my opinion that the rest of the flavors are not contributing enough to the overall presentation.10 points.

The mouthfeel is just a bit too light. The feeling in the mouth is watery and not nearly as full as it should be. The carbonation may be too high, but my money is on the rest of the beer not living up to what it should. 3 points.

Overall the beer is quite drinkable and will appeal to a lot of beer drinkers. But for hardcore craft beer lovers, this beer will just barely satisfy your lust for malt and come nowhere near killing your hop craving. The beer could use a boost in malt and a slight nudge in the hop department. Other than that, the beer is good and quite drinkable. But is this a great example of an American Amber Ale? I say no. 5 points.

My overall score for this beer is a 29 out of 50. Which could translate to a C+. For those who don’t know, I use the BCJP guidelines and the BJCP scoresheet for my reviews. If you want to see the scoresheet to relate to the scores I am giving. You can view it here. The BJCP uses a 50 point scale for beer, with a score of 45-50 being and outstanding world-class example, 38-44 is an excellent example of style, 30-37 is very good, 21-29 is a good beer, 14-20 is a fair beer, and 0-13 is a highly problematic beer.

Review of Whole Hog Six Hop IPA

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Whole Hog Six Hop IPA

     Today I will be reviewing Whole Hog Six Hop IPA, which is an American Imperial IPA. I really enjoyed Whole Hog’s Pumpkin Ale, so I picked up another four pack of a different variety. This was the beer boasting six hops.

     The dominant aroma is floral hops and sweet bready malt. There is not as much hop aroma as you would expect from a bottle boasting so many hops, but stating that a beer has six hops does not really say it contains copious amounts of those six hops, just that there are six. This marketing ploy did its job and got me to buy the bottle. There is more to the aroma than floral hops and bready malt. There is also a nice caramel presence as well as some underlying citrus notes and spicy alcohol. For my personal expectations of an IPA, the aroma seems a bit weak, but hops do dominate the aroma. It may not be the citrus hop aroma that most of us in the US have come to expect from our IPA’s, but it is hops dominant none the less. 5 points

     The beer pours a nice khaki head that grudgingly disappears. It is a solid golden color with some decent clarity. It’s not crystal clear, but most IPA’s are not. As a matter of fact, the more hops you add, the hazier the beer can be, especially if the beer is dry hopped. The color is very appealing. 3 points

      Up front the beer is slightly sweet but is quickly masked by a thick bitterness from the hops. What I find most disappointing is that the hop presence is almost all bitterness with no flavor derived from the hops. In a good IPA you can get flavor from the hops as well as the bitterness and it is this two-pronged attack that can make a bitter IPA enjoyable, because of the depth from the hops is more than just a bittering agent.   The bitterness lasts long into the finish, very long. Pulling the malt out of the thick bitter mess is a bit difficult, but what I do find I really like. There is a lot of toasted toffee In this beer which is very good, and very sad that it is masked. There is also a bit of alcohol in the flavor that you  really get as you exhale. As the beer sits and warms, more malt comes forward, the bitterness seems to even out, but the alcohol also becomes more noticeable. 10 points

     There is a drying astringent feel to the beer but I am wondering if it is from the hops. Body seems just a bit thin. Carbonation is good for the style. 3 points

Overall, the beer is lacking depth. There really is nothing interesting about this beer. The malt does not stand up to the hops in the flavor. There needs to be some balance to make a good IPA and this beer is just way too bitter. Most hopheads crave the flavor and aroma from the hops, they may not be looking for just a bitter beer. My guess if it were to come to it, is that the cascade and cluster hops were early addition hops and due to the high cohumulone levels of those hops, gives you that harsh and overpowering bitterness. Another guess may be that a bulk of the hops are early additions. From the aroma and flavor, it just doesn’t appear that much thought was given to hop flavor or aroma. Just building a bitter brew. I think the major drawback to this beer is a recipe problem, and not really a brewing technique problem.  4 points.

I give this beer a 25 which is a good beer on the scoresheet. I do think the beer is good for the taste of some, but for me is lacking any depth and balance. For me a 25 would be a C.

Recipe D.O.A. IPA Recipe

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Recipe: D.O.A.  IPA
Brewer: Jason Johnson
Style: American IPA
TYPE: All Grain

D.O.A. IPA

Recipe Specifications
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Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 6.92 gal
Estimated OG: 1.066 SG (Actual was 1.059)
Estimated Color: 12.4 SRM
Estimated IBU: 117.9 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
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Amount        Item                                      Type         % or IBU
11.00 lb      Brewers Malt 2-Row (Briess) (1.8 SRM)     Grain        70.97 %
2.00 lb       Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM)Grain        12.90 %
1.50 lb       Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM)            Grain        9.68 %
1.00 lb       Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM)     Grain        6.45 %
0.50 oz       Newport [9.30 %]  (60 min)                Hops         13.6 IBU
0.50 oz       Newport [9.30 %]  (40 min)                Hops         11.9 IBU
1.00 oz       Simcoe [11.90 %]  (25 min)                Hops         24.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Amarillo Gold [8.60 %]  (20 min)          Hops         15.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (20 min)               Hops         11.2 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (15 min)               Hops         9.1 IBU
1.00 oz       Simcoe [11.90 %]  (15 min)                Hops         17.3 IBU
1.00 oz       Amarillo Gold [8.60 %]  (10 min)          Hops         9.1 IBU
1.00 oz       Glacier [4.50 %]  (5 min)                 Hops         2.6 IBU
1.00 oz       Palisade [6.30 %]  (5 min)                Hops         3.7 IBU
1.00 oz       Glacier [4.50 %]  (0 min)                 Hops          -
1.00 items    Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min)          Misc
1 Pkgs        SafAle American Ale (DCL #US-05)          Yeast-Ale

Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 15.50 lb
—————————-
Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out
Step Time     Name               Description                                               Step Temp
60 min        Mash In            Add 9.03 gal of water at 163.3 F         154.0 F

Notes:
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This was a brew in a bag batch where all the water is added at once in the kettle while the grains are contained in a bag. The process had a few glitches, but the beer turned out awesome.

Productive Beer Weekend Part 2 (DOA IPA tasting and Brewing Roggenbier)

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The last post was getting too long so I decided to split it into two sections. This one will cover the brewing session as well as the D.O.A. IPA that was brewed in a bag as covered earlier.

D.O.A. IPA review.

D.O.A. IPA from the total brew in a bag posting.

I cracked open the D.O.A. IPA that I brewed a few weeks back, and if you recall the hop aroma at the time of bottling was pretty much nill. As I suspected, the carbonation had a huge impact in correcting this. This beer quite honestly shocked me. I have made many beers in my day, but only about 10 batches really stick out in my head as being outstanding in my opinion. This beer actually is one of them.

The aroma is thick of citrus, mostly bitter orange, pine, and some lemon. I know that palisade hops contribute a nice orangy character and this came through very well. The pine and lemon probably are coming from the combination of simcoe, amarillo, and glacier hops. The malt aroma is very nice, biscuity and toasty malt backbone with some caramel mixed in there. What is most shocking to me is how bright the hop aroma is compared to almost getting none at the time of bottling. This just shows the effect of carbonation on the finished beer.

The color is a rich light amber, and quite hazy. I suspect it is from the 10 ounces of hops used. The head poured is very nice and dense. It lasted quite a while and produced a nice lacing.

DOA IPA head

The flavor is good, mildly sweet with some toffee notes as well as biscuty crusty bread. The hop flavor is mostly piney up front then right in the middle you get a huge influx of grapefruit. This fades quickly to a sticky resinous hop flavor that lasts a while into the finish. What is nice is the bitterness is high, but never harsh. In my personal taste, this is what I am looking for in an IPA’s flavor. A nice balance between malt and hops, but with hops winning in the end.

Overall the beer turned out very nice. All I want to say is the first words coming out of my mouth when I drank it were “Wow, oh wow. Damn.” and in all honesty, I don’t do that often, especially with my own beers.

D.O.A. IPA is mine :)

Brewing A Roggenbier

Taking inspiration from the brew-in-a-bag method, I decided to use a 60 quart mash tun to try a semi- nosparge method. What I did was configure my mash as normal with 1 to 1.25 quarts per pound for the mash. Then when the mash was done, added all the remaining water at mash-out temperature to the tun. Then mixed the mash very well then ran off the wort. I have to say that although not as easy as the brew in a bag method and uses more equipment, it did work a bit more smoothly than with an full sparge.

Here is the Recipe.

He Let Me Push It Roggenbier
8.75 gallons of water
4lbs of Durst Munich
4lbs of Weyermann Rye Malt
2lbs Rhar Pale Malt
1lb of Wyermann Chocolate Rye
.25lbs of caramel wheat
1oz of Mt. Hood Hops (60)  5.1%AA
Wyeast 3638 Bavarian Wheat Yeast
1/2lb of Rice Hulls
3.83 gallons heated to 170 for mash temp of 154.
5.2 gallons heated to 198 for mash out.

Mashing

Run-off.

Boiling

Yeast is ready to go.

Just chill

Filling the bucket after fully chilled

Almost full.

Below were just some cool high speed shots.

Cool Shot 2

High speed and close up. Just pretty cool.

Productive Beer Weekend Part 1 (The Brewing Network, Northern Brewer, Build a 60 Quart Mash Tun)

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This weekend was a fun beer and brewing weekend. It all started off Friday with the Northernbrewer grand opening in Milwaukee. I then built a new mash tun, and had an epiphany related to the brew in a bag method I had tried. Finally, I brewed a Roggenbier this Sunday and tasted the completed DOA IPA which was the total Brew-in-a-Bag method. I will cover all of these in today’s blog postings.

Northernbrewer and The Brewing Network

Friday was culmination of my favorite mega-brewstore as well as my favorite podcast personalities. A friend of mine was going down for the grand opening of Northernbrewer in Milwaukee. I wanted to go, but I only had one day of vacation left. But then I learned that Justin Crossley and Jamil Zainasheff were going to be there as well. Well, that settled it. I could take a half day and tag along and not only attend the grand opening taking advantage of 10% off everything in the store, but also meet two of my favorite beer personalities. I am an avid listener to The Brewing Network since podcast 1 in 2005. Since then I have seen the conception of The Jamil Show/Can You Brew It, Brew Strong, and that other show. So this was a huge treat for me. Justing and Jamil are both great guys and easy to talk to. I would like to say we talked a lot of shop, but really it was more like talking with friends than grilling them about beer and brewing. Below are some pictures from the event.

Me with Jamil Zainasheff

Me and Justin Crossley

Heck, even Bub was there.

Building my new Mash Tun

This section will just be a series of pictures. Overall, this set up is 60 quarts (15 gallons) and cost me less than 50 dollars! I bought the cooler on sale at a local Walmart for $26. You have to wait until they want to get rid of them after summer. The hoses and hardware cost me $17 and some change at Menards. Here is the parts list.

1-30″ toilet supply line.

1 roll of 3/8″ OD vinyl tubing

1 roll of 1/2″ OD vinyl tubing

4 – 1/4″ hose clamps

1- small plastic valve (Drill out center screen).

60 quart cube.

Note, I need to add a 90 degree copper or stainless elbow to get better drainage.

All the hardware parts

The 60 Quart Cube Cooler.

You need to remove the inner hose from the toilet supply line. This can be difficult in a 30" hose.

You need to crimp and twist one end to prevent grains from going through the end.

Now you need to attach the open end to the 3/8" OD vinyl tubing. Then you wet the tubing by soaking it in hot water. This softens the hose and lubricates it. Then force it down the drainage hole in the bottom of the cooler.

Connect one end of the 3/8" tubing to the valve and if the other end is larger like mine was, attach the other end to the 1/2" vinyl tubing. If the valve sizes are the same on both ends, just use the 3/8" OD vinyl.

Inside shot. As you can see the angle of the hole leads the strainer up too high. For my first brew, I just tipped the tun, but I am going to add a 90 degree elbow to keep the stainless strainer on the bottom.

Here is the completed cooler.

A Night of Tasting: Many beers but only 2 reviews.

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A week ago I invited some friends over to sample some beers, only one showed up. This was OK because that just meant our sample size was going to be bigger. Through the night we drank five different beers, and took notes on two. The two I took notes on was The Breury’s Trade Winds, which is a Belgian style tripel with rice and Thai basil, and the other one was Stones Double Bastard, a Strong Ale. In this post I’ll smooth out my notes and relay what I thought of the beers. I did not score them, this tasting was a bit more informal than when I want to review a beer, but I did take notes.

 

Trade Winds, a Belgian Tripel with Thai Basil and Rice

 

This was Trade Winds, a beer I was very excited to try because of its unique ingredient, Thai Basil. Here is the review based on my notes from that night.

The aroma is sweet and grainy, there is a distinct herbal aroma, most likely from the Thai Basil. There is some sweet and juicy fruits in the aroma as well, mostly tangerine like.Some alcohol detected.

The flavor is sweet and corn like, with some soft grain character. The Thai basil is quite evident in the flavor along with some yeasty spiciness. I am really liked the Thai basil, it works with this beer quite well. There is also some sweet and mildly tart fruit in the flavor as well, just about as subdued as in the nose. I can picture drinking this beer with an oven roasted chicken or grilled pork chops.

 

Stone Double Bastard

 

The second beer I took notes on was Stone’s Double Bastard. An American Strong ale. I would like to start out with the note that my tasting buddy made in the book. It says, and I quote “Looks like it would have lots of floaties”. With that, lets look at what I thought.

The aroma is very rich and complex malt character. There is lots of caramel and thick toffee. The beer smells sweet. Very little hop aroma, what is there is slightly piny and citrusy. Just a bit boozy, but overall I am really liking the rich malt character.  Expected a bigger hop aroma, but all in all this smells like a younger English Barleywine.

The flavor is sweet, with a rich malt flavor. Full body with a nice smooth texture. Some minor chocolate notes along with very rich toffee flavors,  works well with the tangy hop bite. This particular beer seems to be showcasing the malts used rather than a traditional American style beer which usually showcases hops. The hop balance is just enough to prevent the beer from being cloying.

On top of these beers we had Ale Asylum’s Hopalicious, Capital Autumnal Fire, and I’ll be damned if I can’t recall the other one. Oh well, that’s not important.

 

Review of Whole Hog’s Pumpkin Ale

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Judging a beer like a pumpkin ale is very subjective and a lot of the scores go towards the judges personal taste. Personally, in competitions I don’t enjoy judging specialty, fruit, or spice/vegetable beers because those categories are so subjective. Some judges look for subtly, while others want the special ingredient to hit hard. Sometimes one may not like a particular spice and end up giving a low score based on personal taste. This is why there is normally two or more judges at each table, to try to eliminate this. But it still can happen. This is why when it comes to specialty beers, like this pumpkin ale, I like to do it alone and just give my personal opinion. Just because I like or dislike this beer, doesn’t mean that you will necessarily feel the same way about it. So lets look at Whole Hog’s Pumpkin Ale against BJCP category 21a, Spice/Herb/or Vegetable beer.

What hits you first in the aroma is the traditional pumpkin pie spice combination. Some pumpkin beers showcase the pumpkin itself, while some try to emulate pumpkin pie and the spices that give the pie it’s distinct flavor. This one obviously is going for the whole pumpkin pie vibe. If you are the type who is looking for the strictly pumpkin character, this beer will disappoint you. However, I am in the pie spice camp so this beer sits well with me. The nutmeg, cinnamon, and all spice is well showcased. There is some pumpkin aroma in there hiding behind the spice. I also get a touch of sweet and toasted malt character and……alcohol. Hmmm, I will have to go check what the ABV on this beer is I was not expecting that. (EDIT: The beer is 7.5% alcohol by volume according to this source http://beernews.org/2009/09/point-whole-hog-pumpkin-ale-debuts)(8)

The color is a light garnet and crystal clear. It poured a small dense khaki colored head that disappeared quickly. (3)

The flavor up front I get toasted and caramel malts up front. There is some pumpkin in the mix in there as well. In the middle you have the spice, mostly nutmeg and allspice, with some cinnamon bringing up the rear. There is not much in the way of hop flavor, and that is OK, this beer is showcasing the pumpkin and spices anyway. There is a touch of bitterness in the finish as well as a lingering toasty malt flavor. Some alcohol is also detectable in the beer as well. What I think would help the beer along is just a bit more pumpkin character. The pumpkin does seem to get lost a bit in the toasty malt and spices. (14)

The mouthfeel is medium and carbonation is in the medium range as well. No astringency. (5)

For a holiday beer, this one is going to be served at my house. The traditional pumpkin pie aroma and flavor will connect well with a much larger audience than just the pumpkin character. What can I say, this particular type of pumpkin beer sits well with me much better than some others. I guess my personal taste rests more with the pumpkin spices than it does the vegetable part of the beer. (8)

In the end, I gave this one a solid 38, which would be a B+ in my book and is in the “Excellent” range on a BJCP scoresheet.

Bottled D.O.A IPA, (A.K.A the total brew in a bag batch)

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Well, today I bottled DOA IPA, which is the batch from an earlier post where I tried that brew in a bag method, as well as used a hop bag. To the left is a picture of the sample I drank (keep in mind this is from the fermentor, so it is not carbonated) and the one clear bottle I filled. I normally keg now, but because I am in the process of finding a new chest freezer to build a new kegerator, I decided to bottle again until my new kegerator is built. So now that you can see what it looks like, lets give it brief taste.

So far there is not as much hop aroma as the bubbling airlock lead me to believe. However, it is also not carbonated. The carbonation is what pushes the aroma out of the beer so we will really have to see what that aspect is like in a few weeks.

The flavor is quite nice with a bit of sweet bread malt and a good citrus hop flavor. There is a bitterness that lingers long into the finish but it is not harsh. The mouthfeel feels a bit light, and there is no astringency. So far, this beer is shaping up to be a very good IPA. We will see if this holds up and improves with carbonation. Below are a few other quick shots I took.

Siphoning the beer into the bottling bucket.

The bottling bucket being filled

Two cases of DOA IPA.