Shut Up Already

I feel like for the last week or so I've been yapping on about pumpkin beer. Maybe it's because it's actually time to consume said style of beer with it being October. Here in Pittsburgh, it's starting to actually feel like fall weather at times. It's been a bit cool, but still has a tendency to heat up in the peak of the afternoon.

What the Hell Did You Put in This?

This weekend my dad and I racked over our homebrewed pumpkin ale into the secondary fermenter. Last year the ABV came in at around 7.5 percent. I tried a sample of the batch we were racking and there was this alcohol burn. I asked what the hell he put in this the week prior. So, we did another gravity test which we ended up having to do a few times. It kept coming out at around 10 percent. We finally settled that this might be a higher ABV than last year's batch. More sugar come out of the pie pumpkins we used? Very possible.

Regardless, the color seems to have taken the same copper/deep amber as it did last year. We shall see how the overall flavor develops. As it sits now, this is looking like more of a two-glass beer and done type of thing.

You've Got to try This

Behold.

October also marks the beginning of something I hope to make an annual tradition. I don't partake in a lot of beer trades between other members of the beer community online. This is mostly in part to the massive collection I have under my kitchen table.

As a matter of fact, I was told last year that there was a beer that I just had to try in Saint Arnold's Pumpkinator aka Divine Reserve No. 9. I tried it and had to get into the fetal position. It was that good. This year I'll be reciprocating with the member of the Texas branch of the Brotherhood of Brew, a group all about trying and sharing different beers. that insisted I try the beer in the first place.

The beer was as black as night and had this amazing nutmeg-like aroma to it. it was just awesome. I'm getting the shakes just thinking about it. Can't wait to try it again. I remember it also having one of the more unique bottle caps that I've ever come across as well. I plan on keeping the cap this time around. Speaking of traditions, one of my favorite drinking nights is the night before Thanksgiving. I saved the bottle for that night last year. It's possible that I make that my official Pumpkinator night.

Nice and Tart

I was helping the infamous Beer Snob Sr. move to his new and luxurious apartment Tuesday night. That's in part as to why I wasn't able to get anything posted on here yesterday. Let's be honest. There aren't many that missed me anyways.

Still, an idea for this post came out of my assistance. In gratitude, Beer Snob Sr. offered those of us that helped in said moving pizza and homebrew. His fridge was stocked with lager, white IPA and a hard cider.

In case you didn't get the reference.

I grabbed myself a cider and noticed it was quite flat. In my experience with the hard cider my dad and I have made, it takes at least six months to get any bit of carbonation present. This one had next to nothing. For the lack of carbonation, it still was nice and tart. Just the way I like my ciders.

The one my dad makes in time for Thanksgiving Day each year is a massive undertaking. He waits until nearby Trax Farms has unpasteurized apple cider and gets an "Ale Pail" full of it. We want it unpasteurized due to it having the natural yeasts already in it. We toss in the sugar to up the ABV. Then we add raisins and oak chips before letting nature take care of the rest.

The final product has a strong taste that's oak-like and boozy. Thus, we named it "Boot in the Ass." Beer Snob Sr. (not my dad if you're confused) always used Mr. Beer kits for his homebrews. Given the speed in which one is enabled to make a final product with some of those kits, I can understand why the batch of cider he had was flat.

I made a point to remind him that he had created alcohol, which in some cases is hard enough to do.  In my eyes, that's an above average cider. Obviously my palate isn't acclimated to the nuances of ciders (as I might be with beer) just yet. I've tried a a few of the local ones by Arsenal here in Lawrenceville as well as Jack's Hard Cider out near Gettysburg. All I know is that I like them nice and tart.

That's Some Useful Grain

I think one of the forgotten parts of brewing is what sometimes happens to the grains that are used in the brewing process. If you brew with grains at home you're most likely to just toss it. I found an interesting piece on what a few brewing companies do with the grain they've already used. Just head on over to CraftBeer.com to read it in its entirety.

I could understand if a few of these uses surprised you because they easily slipped your mind. Trust me, I didn't come to think of any of it either since I'm usually more concerned with the final product the grain assists in making.

A few of the interesting uses include the grain being used as fuel for a boiler to help save actual fuel costs, fertilizer (did you even know that spent grain is actually a good fertilizer for fungi? I sure didn't) as well as using it in foods such as bread.

That last one caused me to recollect something I was told during a visit to Full Pint Brewing in North Versailles. On occasion, Full Pint uses their spent grains in pizza crusts when the opportunity arises. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to actually get out there and try one. That's definitely on my list, though.

You Can Still Get Anything You Want

I posted pretty much the same thing on this day last year. Well, why not? This song is pretty much a Thanksgiving Day tradition on radio stations across the country.

As far as I know, WDVE should be playing the song at noon as it does every year. Just in case, you miss that or want to listen earlier I've once again embedded it for you.

Be sure to have a happy Thanksgiving. My family sure will. This is a special one since this is the first time that approximately 90 percent of the beer we will be drinking is homebrewed. Cheers.

 

Politics Aside: Homebrewing in the White House

I bet it's in the West Wing. (Photo credit: HarshLight)

When learning about the specific branches of government while in grade school (Judicial, Legislative and Executive or those of you that need a quick refresher!) I was always fascinated with how our teachers described secret layers of the White House as something like an underground city.

The news that our current president has added a "brewing facility" just blows my mind. According to the USA Today, there has been some homebrewing done at the nation's most famous home.

Even more fascinating, to me at least, is the fact that this hasn't been publicized before with one of our presidents. After all, Jimmy Carter made homebrewing legal in 1979. That was over 30 years ago! Many presidents have had the opportunity to craft their own brews. I'm sure George Washington and Thomas Jefferson took advantage of some extra time back in the 1700's.

I'm not trying to discuss politics, nor try to get anyone to vote or not vote.Regardless of your political affiliation and Barack Obama's, it's still awesome that he's developed what has been called White House Honey Ale during his stay in the White House.

Can you imagine if Congress did this at the United States Capitol? Just take a second and imagine the great combination of styles from different states.

Stout Paired With Cookies

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about certain pairings with wine and how I looked forward to experimenting with wine/food pairings as well as continuing to explore pairings with beer.

Not long after I had completed the post I came across a handful of chocolate chip/walnut and peanut butter/Reese's Pieces cookies. We have plenty of homebrewed stout lying around. So, I decided to crack open a bottle to see how it went with the cookies.

Believe what you are seeing. those are Reese's Pieces in cookies.

I'm sure many beer fans enjoy the chocolate-on-chocolate pairing, such as the stout with the chocolate chip cookies. It wasn't bad, but the complementary flavors I got from pairing the stout with the peanut butter cookies was fantastic.

The chocolate and peanut butter flavors bounce off of the other wonderfully. It was kind of like a peanut butter cup infused with a shot of coffee.

I don't think I'm done with pairing experimentation with this beer. Since there's plenty coffee flavor as there is chocolate and malt, one would think this would be an ideal beverage for breakfast. I'll keep you updated if I can come across a stack of chocolate chip pancakes with a side of sausage links one day soon!

Monday Rant: Homebrew Extracts

One of Beer Snob Sr.'s earlier homebrews.

I was visiting the infamous Beer Snob Sr. a few nights back to try one of his homebrews. This time it was the blueberry ale he had been working on.

Other homebrews I had the chance to try that were his included something from a kit called Cowboy Lager, which was some type of lager with a tart apple flavor, and a Honey Maibock.

His most recent creation was a blueberry ale which had a surprisingly dark tone to it. It was surprising to me since most blueberry ales I've come across in the past have had pure blonde bodies. It was his opinion that the blueberry taste wasn't as powerful as he expected.

Let it be known that he uses the Mr. Beer homebrewing set-up and that each of the kits he uses include some type of extract. (Remember that Beer Snob Sr. is not my father. In fact, he is a close friend that shares my interests in beer and great food. He's older than me and friends began to call us Beer Snob's Sr. and Jr.)

The kits that my father and I have used don't have extracts. We strive to use as many natural ingredients as possible. If any type of abstract is involved, we attempt to replace said extract with the original, and natural ingredient.

When Beer Snob Sr. complained about the lack of blueberry flavor, I pondered whether or not the flavor could have been more explosive if he had chosen to replace the extract with natural blueberries.

From experience, I know that the brewing experience gets that much harder when you decide to go the natural ingredient route. You also have to sometimes time the addition perfectly. It might benefit your beer's flavor if you wait to add the fruit during the secondary fermentation as opposed to the primary.

It does get more complex. Years ago I helped to make a cherry wheat beer with homegrown cherries only to have the top of the fermenter blow off in our coat closet. It's a tougher process when you replace the extracts, but I feel that the flavor ends up being more noticeable in the end.

Beer Review: Beer Snob Sr.'s "Wurst" Lager

Serving Type: Home-brewed

ABV: Approximately 4.5 percent

Appearance: Wurst Lager doesn't exactly have the clarity of your typical American-style light lager, but has it's own characteristic golden-glow to it. There was plenty of fizziness and bubbles in the beer's body. The head was fluffy and white. I noticed the head's liveliness increased a few minutes after the initial pour, as compared to most head's fizzing off after time expires.

Smell: I got plenty of fruitiness when I smelled this. The main scent was a favorable aroma of apples.

Taste: The apple scent translates to a pleasant taste on the front of the tongue. The carbonation also feels very active once you take a swig. The body feels very bubbly. Oddly enough, there isn't any after taste to this beer. It seems like it's there for a slight second, but just disappears. I've never came across this before.

Overall Rating: 

Not a bad beer, for being home-brewed. It's named for the day Beer Snob Sr. started the initial brewing process on which he beer-boiled bratwurst. The smell is amazing, as I'm a big fan of fruit beers. The taste is pretty favorable, but the aftertaste pulls a trick better than Harry Houdini.

Beer Review: Home-Brewed Oktoberfest

Serving Type: Home-brewed, bottle

ABV: Approx. 5.2 percent

Appearance: This beer looks like that dark, amber shade that you see in most Oktoberfest beers. The body of the brew almost glows when some light hits it. The head varies from bottle to bottle. In the 12 oz. bottle it fizzes out quickly and in most of the 32 oz. ones it's lively and foamy as in the picture I've provided.

Smell: This Oktoberfest has a very sweet scent. This might be because of the extra sugar that was added during the bottling process to help with fermentation. It's also very malty with a good bit of caramel present.

Taste: It's very sweet and malty, especially once it hits the back of the tongue. This beer makes me want to party like it's September.

Overall Rating:   

Pretty damn good beer for a home-brew. I think I should make a note that I only helped in brewing this as it was mainly my Dad's project. I'm not that knowledgeable about the entire process yet to completely take it on.

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