Lug Wrench Brewing Company

Rhode Island Beer and Farmer's Markets

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Over on the other side of Lug Wrench Brewing, the State of Rhode Island is trying to pass a law that would be a great boon for craft beer brewers and consumers. The bill (House Bill 7125) was introduced into the state's General Assembly last week which would allow brewpubs to sell the beer they manufacture at farmer's markets. Awesome! The bill, which is directed at economic development, is offering expanded venues for brewpubs and winegrowers to sell their products.

There is a discrepancy on how beer and wine are being handles, which irks me. The proposed bill is very cut and dry for the brewpubs - "brewpub manufacterer's license shall further authorize the sale of beverages manufactured on the (brewpub's) premises at any farmer's market". However, the winegrowers / farm wineries are getting the same with a little bit of a kicker in the language of the bill - "A wingrower may sell wine or winery products...at retail by the bottle or by the glass for consumption at a farmer's market". There is no talk about "for consumption" for the brewpub's products (which are called out as typically being sold in growlers). Could a brewpub bring in a draft system and sell beer by the glass at the farmer's market "for consumption"? The bill is silent on this, leaving it a bit grey for the beer lovers.

I could grind me teeth about the small details, but if this bill is passed into law, it would certainly bring more good to the craft beer lovers in our state. If you are a Rhode Island resident and a beer lover (and if you are reading this, you should be!!), contact your local representative and ask for their support on the bill.

Slainte!

-JW

"They who drink beer will think beer."
-Washington Irving

Bourbon Barrel Project - Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

My local homebrewing club, the Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale, have been trying to organize a bourbon barrel project for several years now (photo from Barlow Brewing). Aging beer in bourbon barrels has become a popular treatment in the craft beer industry. The general process is to take a finished beer and transfer it to a used bourbon barrel. The beer, which is often a stronger darker ale, is left in the barrel for a period of time, depending on the oak and bourbon character profile desired in the finished product. When that time arrives, based on taste testing, the beer is transferred out of the barrel and moved to packaging. At that time, a new beer is usually transferred into the barrel to keep it from drying out. As subsequent batches of beer are moved through the barrel, aging time must increase to receive similar flavor characteristics because the oak and bourbon flavors gradually leach out of the barrel into the beer. At a certain point, the barrel is deemed flavor-neutral and is either retired from service (i.e. cut in half for planters) or is used to make sour beers where the barrel is simply the place for the wild yeasts and bacteria to live.

The transfer and sale of bourbon barrels has long been a steady business in the United States. This is because, by law, bourbon can only be made in new charred-oak barrels. After the bourbon has been removed from the bottle, the barrel is usually sold to a barrel merchant, whose job is to arrange the sale of the used barrels and transport them to their new home. Historically, these barrels were only used to age other types of spirits, such as Scotch, Irish whiskey, Canadian whiskey, tequila, and rum. These beverages do not require the use of new oak barrels and their manufacturers could buy the used barrels for less and have a less aggressive oak character in the finished product. In the last 10 years or so, the American craft brewing industry has become another purchasing stream in the bourbon barrel market.

Homebrewers are also interested in using bourbon barrels, but their size and cost are usually prohibitive and the homebrewer must settle with other oak products (cubes, chips, etc.) that have been soaked in bourbon before use. New barrels are over 50 gallons in size and cost between $150 and $250 a barrel. The same problems that face the individual homebrewer make bourbon barrels attractive projects for clubs. The basic concept is that the homebrewing club can used its pooled resources to purchase a barrel and to find a place to store it. The club can also assemble a number of brewers using the same recipe that can, collectively, fill the barrel. In order to do this, the club must tackle, at least, the following issues:

Assemble enough interest to support the project and its associated costs
Collect the funds to purchase the barrel
Make arrangements with a barrel wholesaler to have the barrel delivered
Find a suitable location to store the barrel, as the barrel will not be easily movable once full
Assemble a list of brewers who will collectively fill the barrel, which can present an additional problem of winnowing down the list of interested brewers if there are too many to accommodate
Select a common recipe for the brewers to use and decide what, if any, variances are allowed in the recipe ingredients
Organize a group brew day, if desired, and a group filling day
Determine how long the beer will remain in the barrel and how to distribute it when the aging is done
Start the brewing process again to refill the barrel when the first batch is removed

Our club has been planning a bourbon barrel purchase for over a year now and things are finally coming to fruition. I plan on doing several future posts covering our plans and their implementation, including the group brew day and filling day. Stay tuned.

Cheers,

Some Of The Best Pub Names .... Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:58:00 +0000

The tradition of the Angelo-Irish pubs always carry the best names for the establishments. Several of these great names were derived from the nicknames the pubs got form their illiterate patrons who could not read the sign, but recognized its image. Many of these pubs are oozing with local lore and history. Of course modern businessmen has tried to take advantage of this with gimmicky branding efforts for new establishments (i.e. Slug and Cabbage, etc.).

Back in the begining of Lug Wrench, I started a list of of the best pub names that I found amusing and tickled my funnybone (The Hairy Lemon Pub, the Bloody Bucket Inn, etc). With a little bit of research, I was able to uncover a few more gems and expand the list. Below are a few of the standouts that I figured were worth sharing. Enjoy.

The Hog In Armour

Norwich, England

The Haunch of Venison Pub

A haunted pub, where the mumified hand of a cardplayer caught cheating can still be found.

Salisbury, England

Bag O'Nails Pub

Victoria, London, England

The Noose and Monkey

Aberdeen, England

The Only Running Footman Pub

Mayfair, London, England

The Dog's Bollocks

Toronto, Canada

The Jolly Taxpayer Pub

Portsmouth, England

Ye Old Dr. Butler's Head

Moorgate, London, England

The Murderers Cafe Bar

Norwich, England

There are plenty more out there, both abroad as well as in the US. Drop us a comment if you’ve got any good ones to share.

Slainte!

-JW

"I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted."

-George Best

Craft Beer Purchasing Styles

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 13:15:00 +0000

It is common knowledge that craft beer drinkers vary dramatically in background and reasons for loving our favorite fermented beverage. Intelligent brewing companies and marketers must learn this fact and find their niche in advertising to the growing number of craft beer drinkers, or quickly find themselves out of work. However, I am not sure how many people have devoted research to the actual purchasing styles of their consumers.

Lets take a hypothetical situation. Imagine a massive beer retailer, the size of a large grocery store. This beer store has beer from hundreds of breweries and perhaps thousands of brands on its shelves. The variety of beer is stunning and features brands from almost any country that exports beer to the United States, as well as half the store is devoted to the Unites States craft beer market. Further, this beer lover's dream allows almost any beer in the store to be purchased by the bottle, six-pack or case. As you, our stalwart reader, enter the store, you ask yourself how will you choose what beer brands to take home and enjoy.

Just this situation presents itself to my wife and I every time we visit Rochester, NY to visit my family. Rochester is home to Beers of the World, a wonderful bottle shop located 15 minutes from my parents' house. Beers of the World began when Tony Angotti purchased a small beverage company back in 1982. He envisioned a retail business that would introduce area drinkers to the enormous variety and beer flavors that existed around the world. The first Beers of the World store opened in 1987 and has expanded since to three locations in the Rochester area. The store offers a mind-boggling array of beer brands, and also sells cider, specialty sodas, wine, and even homebrewing equipment.

My wife and I have very different methods to choosing the beer we bring home when going to this store, a highlight of our trip north. Our general process is to each fill a six-pack of beer that intrigues us, and then pick a few bottles together to share or that have special interest to both of us. My wife loves IPAs and they tend to make up the bulk of her purchases. She walks around the store with her iPhone set to the Pintley app and looks at all of the beers that it recommends for her (see our post on Pintley here). She tempers its recommendations with brands that she already knows, but tries to pick some things she cannot get down here in Virginia. At the end of this particular trip, her six-pack contained four IPAs and two ciders. From the six-pack, her favorite beer was Green Flash's Hop Head Red.

I tend to enter Beers of the World with a theme in mind. The theme varies dramatically, but this time I wanted to find several Rochester-area beers. Like most cities in the past few years, a number of small craft brewing companies have opened their doors. Because many of these brewing companies do not distribute outside of the Upstate area, I thought it would be neat to truly "buy local." I have also been enjoying a fair number of Belgian-style beers lately, so I wanted to pick up a few of those as well. Winter also puts me in the mood for stouts, so I wanted to find some unique dark and roasty beer brands. I ended up with two beers from each category, and a bomber of a local Rochester beer to have with dinner that night. My favorite beer of the bunch was North Coast Brewing Company's Brother Thelonious Belgian-Style Abby Ale.

There is certainly no "correct" way to respond to the Beers of the World situation. My wife and I have had several interesting discussions on how our beer-selection methods reflect on our personalities. Have you visited a bottle shop with a similarly huge craft beer selection? If so, how did you spend your hard-earned money on wonderful beer? How do you feel this reflects on your personality or beer-drinking habits? We would love to hear from you.

Cheers,

TW

Beer Comic: Patrick and Sam

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0000

From time to time, I find my way back over to The Full Pint to check out their weekly comic entitled Trouble Brewing, which regularly pokes fun at the craft beer world. In a previous post, we shared a few installments that featured Patrick Rue of The Bruery. Below is another that features Patrick and Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head.

If you don't get it, go take a look at the beer lineup from Dogfish or the recipes they discuss on the TV show: Brew Masters.

You can find the entire collection of Trouble Brewing (both the good ones and the .... not so good ones) over at the Full Pint.

Got a link to some other good beer related comics or art? Let us know!

Slainte!

-JW

"I'm going to drink till I reboot!"
-Bender, Futurama

Selin's Grove Brewing Company

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:15:00 +0000

One of the stops that has made the trip from central Virginia up to my parent's house in Rochester, New York more pleasant is the Selin's Grove Brewing Company. I first heard about Selin's Grove Brewing Company on a Craft Beer Radio podcast, where one of the hosts did a brewery trip up Route 15 that runs through the middle of Pennsylvania. He covered a number of small breweries, but Selin's Grove was interesting because of its location in a historic building and the owners' interesting story. I remembered the interview more then a year later and suggested to my agreeable wife that we stop and eat lunch there.

Selin's Grove Brewing Company opened in 1996 in the former home of Pennsylvania's third and only three term governor, Simon Snyder, who led the state through the War of 1812. The building, a Federal-style stone mansion, remains remarkably intact and is on the National Historic Register. The pub portion of the brewery is located in the ground floor, around the back of the building. This is where the governor's kitchen would have been located and the pub preserves much of that rustic charm. It has two walk-in fireplaces and lots dark wood and open rafters. The pub has a two rooms, one with the bar and several tables, and another room full of tables. While space is slightly cramped, it has a homey and welcoming feel to it that feels historically genuine.

The Selin's Grove brewing system started out in 1996 with a tiny "frankenstein" 3 barrel system that was located in one of the basement rooms (9' x 13'). Based on the success of their early years, the system was upgraded to a 7 barrel brew house that came from Avery Brewing in Colorado. This system could not possibly fit the basement, so the owners renovated a 4 bay cement-block garage that was built in the 1930s. Now, well still cramped, the space holds several more fermenters that allow the brewery to offer more beer styles. The brewery offers the following year round beers: Captain Selin's Cream ale, a Scottish ale, an IPA, Stealth Belgian Tripel, White Horse Porter, and Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout. My favorite beer there has been the Shade Mountain Oatmeal Stout and my wife's their New Zealand Galaxy-hopped IPA. They also offer a number of seasonal beers.

My wife and I highly recommend stopping by and trying Selin's Grove Brewing Company out. Do note that the two times we have been there, both in the winter, it has been absolutely packed. But, the wait for the beer and food, along with the place's general charm, made the reward worth the wait. If you do stop, make sure to order the soft pretzels, which are made on site. I would also encourage you to order one per person, which results in less fighting at the table, particularly if kids are involved.

Cheers,

TW

Lug Wrench Brewing's Second Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:11:00 +0000

It seems like I was just writting about our first year anniversary when the reminder that our second year milestone was coming up quickly. I know it is cliche, but where does the time go?!? I thought it would be fitting to carry on the tradition of rolling up our numbers and seeing what the stats looked like for our little "pet project". (I promise this will be the last 'round-up' type post for a while.)

Since our very first post back on January 3, 2010 and in the two years that have ensued...

Number of Posts: 227
Number of Days Old: 730
Number of Blog Comments: 119
Number of Subscribers (via Feedburner): 100

Top 10 Pages Visited (via Google Analytics):

Nanobreweries - How Small Is Small (5,883 pageviews)
Brew-In-A-Bag Brewing: Something Worth Trying (2,402 pageviews)
SRM Color Ranges By Beer Style Chart (2,160 pageviews)
Wort Pump in a Toolbox #3 - Build Steps (2,081 pageviews)
IBU Bitterness Ranges By Beer Style Chart (1,970 pageviews)
Fermentation Attenuation Ranges By Beer Style Chart (1,495 pageviews)
Original and Final Gravity Ranges By Beer Style Chart (1,453 pageviews)
Single Hop Beer Experiment (1,218 pageviews)
Wort Pump in a Toolbox #2 - Parts List (1,189 pageviews)
Wort Pump in a Toolbox #1 - Concept (1,182 pageviews)

Number of Tags Used: 258
Top Ten Tages Used (as of today):

Humor (22 tags)
Poll Results (20 tags)
Homebrew Recipe (19 tags)
Nanobrewery (19 tags)
Competitions (18 tags)
Homebrewing Clubs (17 tags)
Breweries (17 tags)
Interview (16 tags)
Charts (15 tags)
Collaborative Beers (15 tags)
Nanobrewery Interviews (15 tags)

Number of Lug Wrench Collagorative Beers: 6 - no new beers :(
Number of Gallons of Collaborative Beer Brewed: 36 gallons
Number of Gallons Remaining: ?

Number of Blog Polls: 20
Number of Poll Participants: 427
Top 5 Most Popular/Active Polls:

Favorite "Summer" Beer Style (33 participants)
Ideal ABV for Favorite Beer Style (32 participants)
Homebrewing Recipe Sources (30 participants)
Consumption of 'Holiday'-styled Beers (29 participants)
Ultimate Summer-Time Beer (26 participants)

So far, the Lug Wrench BRewing experience has been very possitive for both Tom and I as we continue the blog's de facto motto: a fraternal bond over beer. However, we are very curious to know what the readers think - has any of this been interesting?, entertaining?, motivating?, etc. Please leave us a comment or shoot me an email with your thoughts. Feedback is what allows for continued improvment.

Slainte!

-JW

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine intervention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."
-Dave Barry

2011 Homebrewing Year In Review - Tom

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:25:00 +0000

Continuing with my annual tradition of reflecting on the past year in homebrewing, I have put together the following "brewing year in review" post. I believe Jeff plans to do the same, so our audience can get a feel for the 2011 Lug Wrench brewing year.

Number of Batches Made - 21
Number of Gallons Made - 132
First Brew Day - 1/8/2011
Last Brew Day - 11/20/2011
Number of Beer Batches - 17
Number of Wine Batches - 1
Number of Cider Batches - 1
Number of Mead Batches - 2
Homebrew Competitions Medals Earned - Silver, 2011 Dominion Cup, Flemish Fisherman
Batch with Highest Alcohol - ~20% - Peach Melomel (includes estimate from 20 lbs of peaches)
Batch with Lowest Alcohol - 3.8% - Mini-Midnight Wheats
Average Alcohol Across Batches (accounting for batch size) - 6.6%
Number of "Cloned" Commercial Beer Batches - 2
Favorite Brew - Thunder IPA (wonderful IPA with layered "juicy" hops that was perfect in the heat of the summer)
Honorable Mention Brew - Big Apple Cider (best cider I have ever made, without a doubt, and my wife's favorite creation from the past year)
Worst Brew - Smokin' Wet (beer seemed out of balance, with a sweet aftertaste that does not blend well with the smoke - I still have half a keg 6 months after it was brewed)
Favorite Name - 5.8 and Feeling Great Saison (I brewed this beer shortly before the 5.8 earthquake that hit Virginia in August. The saison fermented right through the earthquake and aftershocks, so it made for a truly unique brew and beer name.)
Approximate Amount of Grain used in 2011 - 276 pounds (average of 16.23 lbs/brew)
Approximate Amount of Hops used in 2011 - 67.5 ounces (average of 3.97 oz/brew)
Most Rewarding Aspect of Brewing - Continuing to maintain this blog with my brother for another year. We have not seen each other much this year, so the blog is a great excuse to keep in touch.

Happy New Year!

TW

2011 Homebrewing Year in Review - Jeff

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 13:11:00 +0000

I'll have to admit that 2011 was a huge year for me, but just not in terms of brewing. We purchased a new house back in March/April, which sapped up the lion's share of my free time. Additionally, in November I left the job I had been at for 6 years for a new opportunity at a different company. With all this going on, my brewing efforts seemed to get the short end of the stick. Compared to prior years, my numbers were down (25 and 19 batches brewed in 2009 and 2010 respectively).

The Congdon Hill Brewery

From an equipment standpoint, this year saw no real major brewery upgrades either. There was actually a bit of a downgrade to be truthful. My fermentation freezer (stand up freezer with a digital temp control) did not make the move with us. This now leaves me with only with a temp-controlled chest freezer to ferment as well as house the tap system. This poses a bit of a problem as all the kegs have to come out of the freezer for 1-2 weeks when I am fermenting a new beer.

In the same vain as roll ups from prior years, here is what my brewing operation looked like in 2011:

Number of Batched Made: 9

Number of Beer Batches: 8
Number of Cider Batches: 1

Number of Gallons Made: 53 gallons
Most popular beer style: American Ales - Cat.# 10 (n=2)
First Brew Day of the Year: January 3, 2011 (Ordinary Bitter)
Last Brew Day of the Year: December 29, 2011 (German Pilsner)
Homebrew Competition Medals Earned: 5 Medals - Silver, Boston Homebrew Comp (Belgian Golden Strong); Silver, Ocean State Homebrew Comp (Irish Red); Bronze, Boston Homebrew Comp (Midnight Wheat); Bronze, Boston Homebrew Comp (Ordinary Bitter); Bronze, Ocean State Homebrew Comp (Standard Cider).
Average ABV Across Batches: 5.7%

Highest ABV: 9.6% (Belgian Golden Strong)
Lowest ABV: 4.1% (Ordinary Bitter)

Number of 'Cloned' Beers Brewed: 1 (Timothy Taylor's Ordinary Bitter)
Favorite Brew: Ordinary Bitter - besides being a great drinking beer and winning a bronze medal, this beer was selected by my homebrew club to represent it at the AHA's battle of the bitters. What made this so special was that Tom's club sent his bitter to represent their club as well making it a Unique Situation for us.
Least Favorite Brew: American Pale Ale - not because the beer came out poorly, but this was the second beer in a double brew day resulting in a very fatigued brewer.
Approximate amount of grain used in 2011: 91 lbs

Most popular base malt: US 2-Row (40.3 lbs)
Most popular specialty malt: Munich Malt (3.25 lbs)

Approximate amount of hops used in 2011: 1.2 lbs

Most popular hop: Hallertauer (5.1 oz)

From both Tom and I, we wish everyone a wonderful New Year and many more brewing sessions to come.

Slainte!

-JW

"Let us drink for the replenishment of our strength, not for our sorrow."
-Cicero

Why Local Breweries Rock For Homebrewers

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:45:00 +0000

I have been making plans to brew a German Pils for while in order to work on my lagering process. To get the right yeast pitch, I made a starter with two vials of yeast with plans to brew at the end of the week. Then, about 1-2 days later, the starter just went bad for some reason, which deep-sixed my brewing plans.

On a whim, I sent out a message to one of the local brewers I know from an area brewpub (Coddington Brewing Co.), in the hopes that he might have some spare lager yeast. Being the accomodating guy that he is, he hooked me up with a growler full of lager yeast (Saflager S-189) from a Dopplebock he brewed a week and a half ago. Score!

And this is what I love about most crafter brewers - they love beer and they are always willing to help out others who share the same passion. I am sure there are exceptions, but as a homebrewer, there are lots of dividends for interacting with and getting to know the local brewers in your area. Whether its for information exchange, help with some materials, or just hanging out with like minded individuals, get to know your brewers. You would be missing out on a great resource and comrade if you let it pass you by.

My hat is off to you Marshall - thank you very much for saving my brew day.

Slainte!

-JW

"We brewers don't make beer, we just get all the ingredients together and the beer makes itself."
-Fritz Maytag

Poll: Ideal Beer for Holiday Feasts?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 16:21:00 +0000

Like all our prior blog polls, this post takes a moment to memorialize the results we received on the most recent blog poll. The readers' responses to the question "What Is Your Ideal Beer To Pair With Holiday Feasts?" are presented below.

Total Votes: 21

Cold weather always seems to make the taste buds yearn for something a bit stronger than the rest of the year, and that is certainly apparent here. Belgian ales, which are typically a bit more potent by nature, or Stouts were the clear winners in this poll, with the occasional barelywine coming in third. Cheers to the season for sure!

The popularity (or lack there of) for Spiced Ales was a bit of an outlier from my expectations. All the "Noel" style beers are mulled or spiced for the most part, but yet they do not seem to nake it to the tables of those who responded. As long as these offerings are not overspiced, the seasonal beers always seem to pair well with the robust and favorable foods of the holidays, in my opinion. I would have expected them to be more popular. Huh.

Let us know what your thoughts are on the topic. And if you are reading this, our next blog poll is up and awaiting your participation.

Slainte!

-JW

"A wise son brings joy to his father, but the wiser son brings beer."
-Mad Mordigan

The Brewmaster's Night Before Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:35:00 +0000

This is a reposting of the poem "The Brewmaster's Night Before Christmas", which came from the Homebrewers Association site. The poem's many homebrewing and craft beer references gave me a good chuckle.

The AHA is a great resource from homebrewers, and is definitely worth following through its RSS feed (how I saw this humorous farce in the first place).

Cheers,

TW

--------------------

"Twas the night before kegging, when all through the pub

Not a carboy was stirring, not even a blub;

The hops had been added to the wort with care,

In hopes that a 50/50 soon would be there.

I was nestled all snug in my bed,

While visions of blue ribbons danced in my head;

The spices were added, allowed nicely to steep,

And I was all settled down for a long night's sleep.

When out in the pub there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter;

Away to the brewpub I flew like a flash,

Tore open the door and tripped on a sash.

The glow of red on teh pool table so bright,

Gave me pause as I saw an unbelievable sight;

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But Santa and eight reindeer, drinking my beer.

With a belly so round and his hat all askew,

I knew in a moment, he'd had more than a few;

More rapid than eagles he lifted his mug,

And he whistled and shouted, and took a few chugs.

"More Belgian! More Porter! More Kolsch and Stout,

More Amber! More Wheat! More Bock and Alt."

His eyes, how they glazed, his dimples how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

The hair from his cap was in need of a comb,

And the beard on his chin was covered in foam;

My eyes flew to my kegger, holding eight kegs of beer,

Sipping each tap was a tiny reindeer!

The glow in the room flashed on my night clothes,

It was Rudolph, I could tell by the red of his nose!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!

I yelled, "Dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

Brewing barrels of coffee, I begged them partake,

They sipped the hot joe and they jolted awake!

Now up to the house top the coursers they flew,

Old Jolly and reindeer yelled, "Thanks for teh brew!

Warm cookies and milk await us tonight,

Your homebrew was perfect, the flavor just right!"

As I stood in stunned silence, and was shaking my head,

I thought, "Did I dream or fall out of my bed?"

My thoughts were confirmed, as I heard out in the night,

"I'm a convert this Christmas. To heck with 'beer lite'!"

Who Owns Who - A Graphical Representation

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 04:30:00 +0000

I've always had a soft spot for graphical representations of concepts - I've blogged about it a number of times (charts, maps, etc). So whenever I find a new and interesting graphic about beer, I take notice.

While reading Jay Brooke's blog, Jay turned me on to a new graphic that I found facinating enough that it was worth sharing here. Dr. Philip H. Howard, assistant professor of Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resouce Studies at Michigan State, created this great bubble chart that details the major players in the US beer market.

Click on the image or go here for a larger version of the image.

What I love about this infographic is how the clustering starts to show patterns in each of the companies business plans. When belgian beer became mainstream, AB picked up brands like Hoegaarden and Leffe. Or how Diageo has surrounded itself with "irish" brands, including Red Stripe?!?

Let us know if anything interesting pops out at you when you check out the chart. See any of your favorite brands and wished they resided under a different owner (i.e. Bass, Pilsner Urquell)? Furthermore, if you happen to bump into other beer-related infographics, please point them out to me!

Slainte!

-JW

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Soooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!"
-Brain O'Rourke

Monticello Reserve Ale

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

While perusing the beer section of a local supermarket, I stumbled upon a bottle of Starr Hill's Monticello Reserve Ale. The label displays an image of Monticello's famous facade, which was once the home of Thomas Jefferson and is a popular local historical attraction. The label also proclaims the Reserve Ale is the "Official Beer of Monticello." Intrigued, I purchased the bottle, intent on doing some research and posting tasting notes.

From the bottle label: "Beer produced on the Monticello plantation was served during dinner, with wine served after the meal. From her first arrival at Monticello in 1772, Jefferson's wife Martha oversaw the periodic brewing operations, producing fifteen gallon casks of small beer - beer with low alcohol content - about every two weeks."

"Larger scale brewing began with the appearance of a British brewer detained in Albemarle County during the War of 1812. Captain Joseph Miller improved upon the equality and quantity of Monticello beer, introducing ale, stronger beer better suited to storage. Joseph Miller trained the enslaved Peter Hemings in the arts of malting and brewing. Hemings - a brother of Sally - carried on the brewing operations, making one hundred gallons of ale every spring and fall."

Starr Hill's site lists Monticello Reserve Ale as an unfiltered American wheat beer, made solely with wheat and corn. It is moderately hopped with East Kent Goldings (27 IBUs) and weighs in at 5.5% ABV. It also won a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival, in the Indigenous Beer category. According to a blog post by Levi, one of the Starr Hill brewers, the beer was 8 years in the making, as Monticello and Starr Hill worked out the legal and other details of brewing an official Monticello beer. Levi collaborated with the Monticello staff and utilized a historical text to come up with the final recipe, including the exclusion of malted barley, which was not grown at the plantation.

The beer poured an incredibly light straw color, almost as light as a cider. The pour left very little head in the glass, which is surprising given the large wheat component in the malt bill. The carbonation of the beer appears fairly light, given the low levels of foaming and bubble formation during the pour. The beer had an extremely mild aroma, though my perceptions were dulled by the end of a head cold. I did detect a mild floral smell, perhaps similar to jasmine or honeysuckle, along with a slight herbal character along the lines of fresh mint.

The initial flavor of the Reserve Ale was strongly floral and slightly harsh. Honeysuckle and chamomile explode on the palate in an interesting manner. If I had not read information on the beer ahead of time, I might have thought it a gruit flavored with flowers. Some bitterness appeared mid-palate, but it was fairly subdued. The flavor finished fairly dry, though the floral character of the beer lingered for almost a minute afterward. I also detected a slight corn flavor at the end of the taste, which was interesting, but slightly distracting.

Overall, the beer was enjoyable and different than anything I had tasted from Starr Hill before. However, the lingering floral character continued to build throughout the pint, and it was slightly off-putting. While interesting, I do not think I would order another pint in the same sitting.

Thanks to Starr Hill for undertaking a historical beer of this nature and making it available in quantities that the local general public could taste. Have any of you had the opportunity to taste a historically-based beer? Leave a comment and let us know about your experiences.

Cheers,

TW

Fun with Art V: Drywell Art

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:43:00 +0000

It is always a pleasure to see an up-n-coming artist find their niche. That's exactly what happend to Alyson, the artist who writes the Meat Sections blog that I've posted about previously. Even though her success has caused the Meat Sections blog to be put on the backburner, she's still doing some great beer art.

Below is another great example of her work that was recently completed, wherein the Anantomy of a Beer is sectioned out (with prints available here).

While Meat Sections is on hiatus, Alyson's main blog (Drywell Art) is regularly updated with plenty of 'Food' related art and features the beer-friendly artwork from time to time. Check out out prior posts about Meat Sections to get a few more examples of why I've been a fan of Alyson's site.

Slainte!

-JW

"Beer is a wholesome liquor. It abounds with nourishment."

-Dr. Benjamin Rush

CAMRA Iron Brewer Competition

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:00:00 +0000

My local homebrewing club, the Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale, decided to host a club-only Iron Brewer, based on club member experience with the real Iron Brewer competition and general interest in the idea. We decided to adopt as many of the Iron Brewer rules as practical to make implementation of the contest easier. The brewing timeline was extended slightly to fit with our meeting schedule. The club reached out to Peter Kennedy, who runs Iron Brewer, to have him pick the three theme ingredients. He selected:

In a similar manner to Round 6 of Iron Brewer, I was well-acquainted and comfortable with two of the theme ingredients, and completely unfamiliar with the other one. The chocolate malt again guided me in the brown ale direction because to use it in any paler beer would not highlight the malt character enough to allow it to stand out. But, I did not want to repeat another American brown ale, and the Palisade hops provide a fruity, but not aggressive citrus character, that does not match American styles on its own. So, I thought I would go the Belgian Brown route, but not in the vein of an Oud Bruin. I decided to use a standard brown ale recipe, but selected Abbey Ale yeast that I hoped would provide some complementary fruit character and some light phenolics to enhance the Palisade hops. The agave nectar was an unknown factor and I decided to use it instead of simple sugar that is often found in Belgian beer recipes.

The beer is brewed and carbonated and the competition will occur at the CAMRA meeting next week. I am happy with how the flavors have melded together, though they took a while. Several flavors are in the background of the beer that I attribute to the agave syrup, which can be primarily described as melon with hints of citrus. The Belgian yeast phenolics and fruitiness are also there, and in balance with the other flavors. We will see how it does.

Have any other clubs out there tried to do an internal Iron Brewer competition? If so, leave us a comment with the details and how the event was received by your club.

Cheers,

TW

-------------------------

Boosted Belgian Brown
Brewer: Tom Wallace

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 8.0 gal
O.G.: 1.051
F.G.: 1.013
SRM: 22
IBU: 26
ABV: 5.0%
Mash: 151 F for 60 Minutes
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name
7 lbs Pale Ale Malt 2-Row (Briess) (3.5 SRM)
1 lbs 8.0 oz Vienna Malt (Briess) (3.5 SRM)
12.0 oz Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramunich I (Weyermann) (51.0 SRM)
8.0 oz Victory Malt (biscuit) (Briess) (28.0 SRM)
1 lbs Raw Blue Agave Syrup
28.00 g Palisade [6.70 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
14.00 g Palisade [6.70 %] - Boil 5.0 min
1.0 pkg Abbey Ale (White Labs #WLP530)

Notes:
------
Brewed for CAMRA internal Iron Brewer competition

11/13/2011 - Dropped to lager temps.

11/14/2011 - Added 3 tsp gelatin in 1 cup 140 F water to help clarify.

11/16/2011 - Kegged. SRM ~ 22. Beer is very dark brown with no head. Aroma is faintly yeasty, with some hints of black pepper. Initial perception of flavor is watery, with mid-palate spice and fruit, followed by a dry finish.

12/04/2011 - Flavors have melded much better together. Hints of Belgian phenolics and a strange citrus/melon character I attribute to the agave syrup.

Shower Them with Beer!

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:55:00 +0000

A recent tweet from Firestone Walker Brewing Company and TheBestCraftBeer.com gave me a chuckle and amazed me at people's creativity. Meet the Shakoozie. This magical device allows its user to enjoy a beer while in the shower. Just pause and think about that. Showers bring hot relaxation and beer brings cold relaxation. Combine the two opposites together and there must be magic, much like sweet and sour sauce. The Shakoozie allows beer to be placed away from annoying things like warm water spray and soap suds. It also insulates the beer glass (please do not drink your beer directly from the bottle) from the heat of the shower and keeps it cool. Wow!

To be honest, the idea of showering with a beer never occurred to me. I am trying to imagine the set of circumstances that led the inventor of the Shakoozie down that road. Perhaps the inventor was trying to recover from a hangover using two different methods, or perhaps the inventor loves to multi-task and just could not put that beer down. Who can say what the impetus for the invention was, but I can say that reading about the Shakoozie gave me a good laugh during a busy week, which is very appreciated. Who knows, maybe I will have to try it out some day.

Cheers,

TW

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 21:42:00 +0000

I wanted to put up a short post about my experience at BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. My family was recently on vacation at Disney World in Florida and I noticed an advertisement for BJ's Restaurant in the greater Orlando area. BJ's Director of Contract Brewing, Michael Ferguson, better known as Mufasa, has been a regular guest on The Brewing Network. His brewing knowledge, passion for drinkable beers that go well with food, and his laughter were very memorable. I made a mental note to try going to a BJ's Restaurant if the opportunity presented itself, and was able to convince my family to go there after Disney closed for the night.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was a bit similar to an Applebees, but much more modern, with an impressive bar area and the requisite television screens. There were large posters on the wall of their different label art, along with a cool mural of farmers and barley fields. The decor was tastefully done and very welcoming. The restaurant offered a full selection of the BJ's beers and we tried the Piranha Pale Ale, Nutty Brewnette, Tatonka Stout, and their triple berry cider (not sure of the name and it is not on their website). We really liked the pale ale and the brown ale for their interesting and nuanced flavors, but all of the beer went well with the food. The Orlando location also had a large number of guest taps, which is unique for most brewpubs I have experienced. The guest beers ranged from local brews from the Orlando Brewing Company, to craft beer standards. I commend the use of guest taps, and is shows a more sophisticated view of the craft beer industry than many brew pubs offer. They can make money off the other beers, and although perhaps not as much as their own pints, it should help draw a more diverse crowd to the restaurant.

The food was also excellent. The BJ's menu was huge, well over 12 pages, and was almost overwhelming. This included the normal pub fare, but also a wide range of deep dish pizzas, entrées and desserts. There were a number of items under $20 and that was a welcome change from the prices our family was paying in the Disney parks. The pizza and appetizers we shared were very good and would happily go back again.

To sum it up, the experience was all I hoped for from the information I heard in the interviews with Michael Ferguson. The meal was a memorable part of our vacation and I only wish they had a location in Virginia. If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Cheers,

Poll: How Often Do You Homebrew?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:08:00 +0000

Like all our prior blog polls, this post takes a moment to memorialize the results we recieved on the most recent blog poll. The readers' responses to the question "How Often Do You Brew Beer At Home?" are presented below.

Total Votes: 25

This past year, my brewing frequency has dropped from being in the majority (ever 2-3 weeks) to once ever 2-3 months. While the number of open kegs used to drive my brew days, it seems the new house and other life activities have moved me to the right on the above chart. Certainly more so than I would like.

In rolling up the poll results, I wanted to hear what people are doing to make their brew days more efficient, and therefore more frequent. We've all had one or two brew days that never got off the ground as the 'effort' to pull out all the equipment and dedicate ~6 hours was enough incentive to procrastinate. That seems to be happening to me more than I would like. So how do you make the brew day easier? What tips or equipment have made your brewing more efficient?

Let us know what you think. And if you are reading this, our next blog poll is up awaiting your participation.

Slainte!

-JW

"Beer, if drunk in moderation, softens the temper, cheers the spirit, and promotes health.

-Thomas Jefferson

Collaborative Beer Repeat - Wheat Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 13:38:00 +0000

One of my favorite beers from last year was Midnight Wheat, the collaborative wheat wine braggot that Jeff and I made last Thanksgiving. To my tastes, the beer has exceptional flavor complexity and aged well. It also scored the highest number of points I have ever received in a BJCP homebrew competition. For all these reasons, I was keen to repeat the beer this year. Additionally, my good friend, Kenny, owner of The Fermentation Trap, wanted to brew the beer too. So, we scheduled a double brew day and began planning. We immediately ran into some trouble.

Midnight Wheat is a big beer, with over 10 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). To get that concentration of alcohol, the recipe requires a lot of grain. The original 5 gallon recipe called for over 17 pounds of grain and 5 pounds of honey. That amount of grain barely fit into the 10 gallon mash tun, so doubling the amount would certainly exceed its volume. So, we elected to attempt to use two mash tuns and combine the runnings into one brew pot for the boil. This creates some more complicated logistics because the specialty malts need to be divided roughly evenly between the two mash tuns, especially any dark roasted grains. If all of the dark roasted grains went into one mash tun, the resulting mash could become too acidic and impact conversion rates.

Big beers also impact the efficiency a brewing system returns. By cramming as much grain as possible into the mash tun, the water to grain ratio decreases because some of the brewing water is removed to fit more grain into the tun. Additionally, the grain receives less sparge water, per pound, then it would for a lower gravity wort. My system usually gets between 70 and 75 percent efficiency for "normal" strength beers (4 to 6 percent ABV), but this decreases to 60 percent efficiency or lower for very strong beers. This lower efficiency resulted in Midnight Wheat requiring an extra 3 pounds of dried malt extract (DME) being added near the end of the boil last year to boost the gravity. For the second batch, I tried to correct this by assuming a lower efficiency and adding more base malt. We still ended up being about 7 gravity points short and did not have the DME on hand to boost it up.

All in all, it was a fun brew session and a gorgeous Fall day to be making beer on the back deck. I was glad that Kenny brought his full system along so that we two sparge tanks and a separate burner for additional heating capacity. The beer is bottled now and initial flavor samples contain the complex, layered sugar character that I love so much in the first batch. Time will tell if it is as good as the first batch that Jeff and I made, given that we did not have any of Jeff's fresh Rhode Island honey and we made some hop substitutions.

Cheers,

TW

----------------------------------

Recipe: Midnight Wheat
Brewer: Tom Wallace
Asst Brewer: Kenny Thacker
Style: Specialty Beer

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 14.28 gal
Post Boil Volume: 13.26 gal
O.G.: 1.094
F.G.: 1.014
SRM: 10
IBU: 40
ABV: 10.8%
Mash: 154 F for 60 Minutes
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name
6.00 g Baking Soda (Mash 60.0 mins)
2.00 g Calcium Chloride (Mash 60.0 mins)
2.00 g Chalk (Mash 60.0 mins)

2.00 g Calcium Chloride (Boil 60.0 mins)

2.00 g Chalk (Boil 60.0 mins)
1 lbs Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM)
17 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM)
11 lbs 8.0 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM)
3 lbs 8.0 oz Wheat, Torrified (1.7 SRM)
1 lbs 12.8 oz Caramel Wheat Malt (46.0 SRM)
9.6 oz Caramunich Malt (56.0 SRM)
56.70 g Pearle [6.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min
42.52 g Magnum [12.30 %] - Boil 60.0 min
1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)
56.70 g Hallertauer Hersbrucker [2.60 %] - Boil 15.0 min
56.70 g Williamette [4.80 %] - Boil 15.0 min
6.0 pkg Safale - US05 (Fermentis #US05)
10 lbs Honey (1.0 SRM)

Notes:
------
10/9/11 - Lowered IBUs in recipe from 60 to 40 after double check of last year's calculations showed they were incorrect and actual IBUs in beer was about 40, using Rager. Also, because of lower efficiency than planned, if we do the recipe again, make sure to have DME on hand to boost at end to hit target gravity.

11/2/11 - Beer is very cloudly and carbonated. I did not add gelatin this year, unlike the last batch. The beer smells yeasty and there are hints of the complex sugar character I like so much in the last batch. Flavor is similar to the last batch, but a bit muddled.

11/3/11 - Bottled. Used 4 carb tabs (Muntons) per bottle.

The Diminutive Belgian Golden Strong

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 01:07:00 +0000

With Thanksgiving around the corner and the fact that we will have plenty of guests visiting come Turkey day, this weekend I broke out the brew kettle so I could be ready with fresh beer on tap. In searching for what beer to brew, I kept coming back to one of my favorite recipes – a Belgian Golden Strong (BGS) which has won me several awards. However, keeping everyone’s cup full of a 9% ABV beer is wanting for trouble. So what about trying to shrink the recipe down for a more sessionable Belgian Pale Ale (BPA)? That could prove to be an entertaining experiment and (hopefully) a good beer to boot.

Using Tom’s two prior posts on making big beers smaller as reference, I went about modifying the recipe for my BGS into a BPA. If I could get the similar flavor profile and dry finish, the end result would be excellent. I was fortunate in that the recipe is fairly simple and straight forward. Tom had mentioned his trouble with modifying our Wheat Wine Braggot recipe, which had a complex list of ingredients (multiple wheat malts, two types of honey, etc). For the BGS, there were only three ingredients which I am hoping will simplify the scaling process.

For the BPA malt bill, I did not change the amount of either specialty grains (Wheat, Melanoiden) from the original BGS recipe. Only the base malt was modified. Additionally, the BGS calles for 2 lbs of sugar to be added, which was dropped. Lastly, I dropped the number of IBU's a bit to make sure the bitterness stayed in balance.

The brew day went off well with the only trouble being the gusty winds that knocked over everything except the brew kettle. Reflecting back after the brew day, there were to modifications to the recipe that I am conflicted on. The first was that the local homebrew shop did not have the yeast I wanted (WLP570), so I had to take a substitution (WLP500). Secondly, I kept going back and forth with whether to leave the beer color the golden hue that the BGS would have been, or to modify it so that it was within the color ranges of the BJCP guidelines (which makes it more of an amber beer). I’m still gritting my teeth about it, but I did add 2 oz of Weyerman’s Carafa Special II to darken the SRM color. The Carafa should add minimal flavor contributions, so I'm hoping the only effect is on the appearance.

While the beer is not an exact translation of my favored recipe, I did enjoy the recipe modification exercise and I’ve got a beer bubbling away in the fermentor to look forward to. Below is the recipe I ended up brewing – I’ll be sure to report back on how it turned out in a future post.

Belgian Not-so-Golden, Not-so-Strong Ale

Recipe Specifics
-----------------
Batch Size (Gal): 5.5
Total Grain (Lbs): 11.13
OG: 1.050
FG: ?
SRM: 9.2
IBU: 24.6 (Rager)
ABV: 5% (target)
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Grain/Extract/Sugar:
---------------------
10.0 lbs German Pilsner Malt
0.50 lbs Melanoiden Malt
0.50 lbs White Wheat Malt
2.0 oz Carafa Special II Malt

Hops
------
All hops are pellet hops
1.1 oz Sterling (6% AA) at 60 minutes

Yeast
-------
WLP500 - Trappist Ale Yeast (2L starter)

Mash Schedule
----------------
60 min at 152° F

Notes
--------
Brewed on 11/12/2011 by myself.

After the boil was complete, chilling was accomplished with an immersion chiller. Being a little lazy on brew day, I let the wort chill for 2-3 hours before racking it into the fermentor.

Aeration was accomplished via an aquarium pump and diffusion stone, run for 30 minutes.

Aerated wort was placed in the fermentation chamber at around 60° F. The beer was allowed to free rise up to 67° F, where the temp controller kicked in to maintain a 67° C fermentation temp.

Fermentation activity kicked off within 24 hours of pitching.

Slainte!

-JW

"It is not 'just beer', it is a noble and ancient beverage which, like wine, food, and television advertising, can be extraorinarily good or unmercifully bad."
-Stephan Beaumont

Cohumulone Ranges by Hop Variety (Hop Union)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:29:00 +0000

Below is the second Hop Variety Chart, which visually compares the cohumulone ranges of each hop variety from Hop Union's Hop Variety Handbook. Cohumulone, an alpha acid found in hops, in higher levels is widely believed to present a harsh, unpleasant bitterness as well as have a negative impact on head retention.

As mentioned in the first Hop Variety Chart, this project is intended to visually compare the critical parameters of each hop variety to one another.

Click on the thumbnail below to get a higher resolution image of the chart.

In addition to the above, check out the other Hop Variety chart(s) previously posted:

Alpha Acid Ranges by Hop Variety

If you would like a higher resolution PDF of this or any of the charts, just shoot me an email. I'm more than happy to share them.

Slainte!

-JW

"I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex."
-Oscar Wilde

So That's How They Get the "Super" In The Beer....

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:00 +0000

If you've spent enough time in front of the television on any given Sunday, you're bound to get bombarded with promotions and marketing from the industrial lager brewers. While the majority of the adds are playing on stereotypes or targeting their demographics weakness for scantily clad women (wait, what's wrong with that again?), there are a few that jump out as original.

The video below is not from American television, but it belongs in the "wow" category. From the Australian brewery Hahn's, the commercial explains just how they get that special something into their beer. Saturated in just about every 80s cliche, this is the brewery for T.J. Hooker, Hasselhoff, and Magnum P.I. All that is missing is the red Ferrari.

Make sure your volume is on and enjoy...

If anyone has any rhinestone Elvis Jackets, my fermentors is now seeming in need.

Thanks to J. Foley for forwarding the link several moons ago.

Slainte!

-JW

"Milk is for babies. When you grow up, you have to drink beer."
-Arnold Schwarzenegger

Session #57: Beery Confession - Clear Beer

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 02:24:00 +0000

Welcome to The Session - a collaboration of bloggers writing on a common beer-related topic. For the month of November, Steve Lamond, from Beers I've Known, chose "Beery Confessions: Guilty Secrets/Guilty Pleasure Beer" as the collective topic to explore. A round-up of all the blog posts will be posted in the near future. You can read more about Beer Blogging Friday ("The Session") over at the Brookston Beer Bulletin.

Reading this topic immediately started my mind thinking about experiences in college. I attended Allegheny College, in Meadville, PA, during four wonderful years in the mid 1990s. Like many others, my college life was enhanced by alcohol and the camaraderie of friends at parties and bars. But, my college days house a dark secret, especially given my current passion for homebrewing and beer blogging. In college, I loved Zima! That's right, Zima!

Many people do not know that Pennsylvania has an old law that requires distributors to sell beer by the case. Residents cannot purchase beer or malt-based beverages by the six-pack or bomber unless they are bought from bars or special bottle stores, both of which charge a hefty mark-up. Being a poor college student, that meant my friends and I usually stuck to bottom-shelf liquor or cheap beer like Keystone Ice ($8.00 a case at the time). However, we soon discovered that a case of Zima could be purchased for close to the same price, and that a greater number of people preferred it. More people sharing the cost means less cash outlay per person, which makes a college student quite happy.

Zima also offered excellent "mixing" opportunities. You could mix it with a number of different juices for interesting results, such as orange juice that made a screwdriver "lite." However, my all-time favorite way to drink Zima was with a Jolly Rancher chaser. By sucking on the Jolly Rancher hard candy at the same time as drinking Zima, you effectively flavored each sip. The possibilities were endless and I was particularly fond of using the grape and cinnamon flavors. Given that Jolly Ranchers were relatively cheap, they extended Zima's flavor flexibility in a manner that really stretched the dollar, which also makes a college student quite happy.

So that is my deep dark Beery Confession. I loved Zima in college. I have not had one in quite a while, and I do not really feel the pull to do so now, even if I could. But, at that time in place in my life, Zima was much more prevalent than the craft beer I enjoy today.

Cheers,

TW

Happy Halloween from Lug Wrench

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 18:04:00 +0000

With America celebrating our tribute to All Hallow's Eve today, Tom and I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween. And what better way to celebrate the ghost and ghouls out there than a pint of an old favorite: Wychwood's Hobgoblin.

And for those homebrewers out there, the Brewing Network did a great job putting together Hobgoblin clone - give it a try if your a fan.

Slainte!

-JW

"Meet me down at the bar! We'll drink breakfast together."
-W. C. Fields