Lug Wrench Brewing Company

Visual Brewing Charts by Lug Wrench

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:19:00 +0000

Ever since I posted the very first brewing chart I did, we've been getting lots of positive feedback and praise from the readers. About once every other week, I get an email from someone asking for the PDF versions of the charts, which is great. However, navigating through the site to get at all of the charts has been a mild complaint which I wanted to rectify.

Eventually, Tom and I will create a static page that contains similar information to what is below, but in the meantime, I wanted to list out all the current charts in a single post that can be used for everyone's reference.

BJCP Beer Style Visual Regerence Charts

White Labs Yeast Visual Reference Charts

Wyeast Labs Yeast Visual Reference Charts

Hop Union Hop Variety Visual Reference Charts

In addition, I have uploaded PDFs of each collection to a public folder on DropBox, which should give access to anyone who wants the higher resolution PDFs of the charts. If the link below do not work, please leave us a comment and I'll try to fix them again.

PDF Versions of the Above Collections

If you have any suggestions for future chart topics or have any feedback on the above, please let us know - we love to hear it!

Slainte!

-JW

"Mmmmm....Beer."
-Homer Simpson

Ovila Dubbel

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:03:00 +0000

I first heard about the Ovila range of beers on Craft Beer Radio, as part of their coverage of SAVOR 2011. In one of the private tasting salons, Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company and Father Thomas of the Abbey of New Clairvaux discussed their release of the Ovila beer series. The Ovila project is a collaboration between the brewery and the Abbey, which is located in Vina, California. The project's goal is to develop a series of beers that follow the traditions established by centuries of monastic brewing. Many monasteries traditionally brewed beer, both a a mechanism of self-sustainment and to allow them to trade or earn money for other supplies. These traditions exist today, most notably in the Trappist breweries of Belgium, which we briefly discussed in a previous post.

In addition, the proceeds of the Ovila project will benefit the Abbey's attempts to rebuild the 12th century Spanish medieval Santa Maria de Ovila chapter house. The chapter house was built in 1190 was originally located in Spain, near the village of Trillo. In 1931, a wealthy California newspaper owner named William Randolph Hearst found the chapter house in disarray and purchased it for transport to the United States, stone by stone. It was never reassembled and was eventually given to the city of San Francisco, where the pieces were subjected to vandalism and fire. In 1994, the Abbey of New Clairvaux gained possession of what was left and began restoring the chapter house.

The Ovila series of beers include a dubbel, saison, and quad. The tasting notes for the dubbel, which I managed to obtain, include:

"Clear and deep copper in color, this Abbey Dubbel has a complex and rich malty sweetness with hints of caramelized sugar. The aroma is a heady and layered mix of fruit and spice with hints of clove, raisin, and black pepper from the user of an abbey-style yeast."

For my tasting of the beer, I found it to pour a rich amber, almost garnet color. The beer was topped by a thick layer of course bubbles that almost exploded into the glass with carbonation. The head quickly faded, but left a nice Belgian lace down the glass through the tasting. The dubbel has a rich aroma, loaded with dark caramel, figs and spices. The complexity of aroma is consistent with some other dubbels I have tasted and is one of the elements I like best about the style.

The first impressions of flavor I experienced were mostly around mouthfeel. The beer has a thick and rich texture that is counterbalanced nicely with its carbonation. The mid-palate has a significant caramel character, along with some hints of black pepper that come through more in the finish. The pepper is character is subdued, though, and does not approach levels that throw me off of some other Belgian beers. The finish has a nice alcohol warming (7.5% ABV), but finishes surprisingly dry for the rich flavor characteristics.

I was very pleased with the beer, both because of its flavor and its backstory. In fact, I would argue that the backstory, the very uniqueness of the beer's origin, increased my enjoyment of the beer. The visceral act of tasting food and beverages is such a subjective experience, that the environment and setting in which it is done plays a big part of the overall effect. Identifying with the product being tasted plays a significant role, which is perhaps why I seem to enjoy beer from breweries I know more than those that I do not.

Cheers,

TW

Bourbon Barrel Project - Group Brew Day

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

My local homebrewing club, the Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale (CAMRA), is currently in the middle of a group bourbon barrel project. The general idea is that purchasing and filling a large bourbon barrel is daunting for an individual, but a great group project for a homebrewing club. Our club planned this purchase for over a year and is now preparing to fill the barrel. An overview of the process, along with some ideas for other clubs to consider when buying and using a barrel, can be found in a previous post.

One of the goals of the CAMRA barrel project was to truly make it a group experience. Once the brewers were selected to participate in the project, we debated what recipe to use. The general parameters of recipe choice focused primarily on beer styles that would age well in a barrel. In particular, the selected recipe would have to handle a substantial bourbon character. The barrel we purchased came straight from the distillery and still had a small amount of bourbon in it. As such, the wood was still saturated with bourbon and will add a decent amount of bourbon and oak flavor, even with a short aging time. As the barrel experiences subsequent fillings, less bourbon and oak flavor will come out of the wood and require longer aging times. Initial recipes all focused on darker stronger beers, particularly porters and stouts. Several brewers suggested Denny Conn's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter, which they had brewed and loved. The group decided on that recipe and moved forward with planning a group brew day.

In early January, a number of us gathered a club member's house for the group brew session. The brewer turn-out was less than originally expected because of the weather. While Central Virginia has experienced a mild winter this year, the early morning of brew day saw a minor ice storm that made some roads difficult traverse (I barely made it up the hill near our house). The weather and cold temperatures made several members brew at their own houses, but we still had three brewers and two helpers gather together for the brew day. We enjoyed the warm welcome and fantastic brews of our host and had a great time (thanks, Evan!). The cold weather even dramatically increased the efficiency of our wort chillers.

Group brew days are one of my favorite parts of the homebrewing hobby. They allow brewers to socialize and enjoy each others company and homebrews. Given that homebrewing equipment and processes vary dramatically, group brew days also provide people the opportunity to see how others brew and take ideas to improve their own processes. These benefits, in my opinion, make group brew days worth the inconvenience of lugging equipment around and operating in different environments and difficult circumstances.

Personally, I was low on my original gravity on brew day. But, the beer has fermented out well and is tasting clean and smooth. I am looking forward to filling the barrel with the group's efforts and seeing what comes out on the other side.

Cheers,

TW

Nanobrewery Interviews: Night Shift Brewing (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:07:00 +0000

While many of us have toyed with the thought of starting up our own nanobrewery, there are others who have taken the plunge. To find out who these people are and what makes them do what they do, Tom and I embarked on a series of interviews with regional nanobreweris to get their stories.

Night Shift Brewing

Everett, MA

http://www.nightshiftbrewing.com/

I recently had the opportunity to chat with the three owners (Michael Oxton, Robert Burns, and Michael O'Mara) of a new Boston nanobrewery that is on the verge of opening its doors. Night Shift Brewing is setting up shop in an old WWII parts manufacturing facility in Everett, MA. After signing the lease back in July 2011, the trio have been pushing hard to get their space in shape. And with all the pieces finally coming together, the company was awarded their Farmer Brewery License just last month. Brewing on a custom-built 3.5 bbl system, the brewery is planning to self-distribute to the Metro Boston area with targeted spots in the North and Southshore regions.

If Everett, MA sounds familiar, it might be because Night Shift Brewing is also the physical neighbor to one of our prior interviewees, Idle Hand Craft Ales. With Night Shift tasting room almost complete and beer targeted to be ready to served toward the end of this month, a visit to the 3 Charlton Street facility in Everett to check out the two breweries should certainly be a worthwhile venture.

Below is the first part of our multi-part Q & A interview with Night Shift Brewing.

* * *

Lug Wrench (LW): How long have you been planning the Night Shift nanobrewery?

Night Shift Brewing (NSB): Starting a brewery has been on our minds since we graduated college. Two of our three founders – Rob Burns and Michael Oxton – went to Bowdoin College in Maine, and were exposed to a lot of great craft beer from Allagash, Geary’s, Shipyard, etc. Rob actually brewed his first beer in college, looking to get deeper understanding of beer and its ingredients. After graduation, Rob and Michael. both moved to Boston, and began brewing more and more often. Honestly, it only took a few batches until the hobby of brewing became a total obsession.

During this time, our third founder and childhood friend of Rob, Mike O’Mara, had graduated from Philadelphia University and began brewing beer himself down in Philly. His exposure to some of the great PA/NJ breweries like Weyerbacher and Flying Fish definitely helped influence his perception of craft beer. In the summer of 2010, Mike moved to Boston when Rob and Michael (different person) began exploring the possibility of starting a nanobrewery.

Now homebrewing 1-2 times a week on our 15-gallon system, we also started developing this idea of Night Shift Brewing, a name we had given to our nocturnal brewing efforts. After some serious planning and organization, we incorporated Night Shift Brewing in January of 2011. Our business plan took shape soon after that, and it all escalated from there. About sixteen months of hard work and serious planning has led us to where we are now, on the verge brewing our very first official batch.

LW: When did you know this was something you were going to go for, as opposed to just just daydream material?

NSB: In our six-bedroom Somerville apartment, we began holding weekly beer tastings. Quite often, we’d have 10+ friends show up, each with 1-2 beers that would all get sampled, discussed and rated over the course of the night. Over the years, we tasted and documented over 400 different beers this way, which became invaluable market research. At the same time, we were just beginning our foray into homebrewing. Drawing inspiration from our many tastings, we experimented with our own recipes in an attempt to create beers that were equally unique, interesting and delicious. We often played with unorthodox ingredients and many strains of yeast, looking for flavors that were great, but also memorable.

Eventually, we began slipping homebrews into our weekly tastings, just to see how they stacked up. It wasn’t all positive at first, but after some improvements in our equipment, techniques and recipes, ratings for our homebrews went up. When they began tasting on par with certain commercial beers, the realization hit: we could actually do this professionally.

Fueled by this possibility, our brewing efforts increased even more. We bought better equipment and put as much time into brewing as we had available. With beer piling up around the apartment, we decided to start throwing tasting parties. These were a huge success – we’d usually have close too 100 guests show, all sampling 6-8 of our different beers on tap. We handed out rating cards to everyone, and collected feedback that way, and through conversation. When it became clear that many types of people with many different tastes thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated our product, we began developing serious ideas for the business.

LW: How did you gather the required capital to start the brewery?

NSB: Our start-up capital came from our friends, our family, and ourselves. As a business with no credit history, banks or traditional lenders would never have given us the necessary loans. So, we wrote a strong business plan and convinced friends and family members that our strategy and product had real potential for success. The business plan itself took a lot of work and many, many drafts, but it was hugely helpful and ultimately quite successful.

LW: As you began to plan the nanobrewery, what resources did you use to gather information?

NSB: Starting the brewery has been a long and painfully slow process. Everything has taken longer than expected. Perhaps most helpful to us were conversations we had with other brewers and breweries - we tried to learn as much as we could from them. We were also lucky to have Idle Hands Craft Ales directly next door to us, and 6 months ahead of us in terms of licensing and build out. Chris Tkach, the owner of Idle Hands, was a fantastic resource.

We also read a number of beer blogs to help us navigate the mess. The Bruery’s blog was one of our best resources, as they fully documented a large part of their start-up. Another great site is Probrewer.com. There are a lot of active discussions on there, and many people who will answer your questions.

LW: Night Shifts initial plan is to self-distribute. Why is that?

NSB: We chose self-distribution because (a) we simply cannot afford a distributor right now (b) we don’t really need one until our production increases, but also (c) we’d much rather become familiar with our accounts as we start. Being able to speak personally with the beer buyer or restaurant manager about our own product is really important to us, and that relationship is something we want to cultivate before we grow too big.

Eventually, we would like to expand to other New England states, as well as more of the east coast (especially Pennsylvania, where two of our founders are from). For now, though, given our small size, our focus is on Massachusetts.

LW: How are you planning to differentiate your beer from all the other offerings that are out there?

NSB: Night Shift Brewing is really trying to be an innovative brewery. Each of our beers will incorporate unusual ingredients, processes, or inspiration from rare styles. Our goal is to fuse these ideas into beers that are truly memorable and interesting. But we’re not looking to make gimmicky beers or put out extreme flavors. Rather, we want to build unique, complex flavor profiles that create a product that, above everything else, is simply great beer. People will hopefully find intricacies in our beer, but the focus is a drink that people will enjoy, and remember.

When possible, we also plan to source ingredients from local businesses. Two of our three initial offerings use a locally sourced product – our Bee Tea uses organic green tea from Somerville’s Mem Tea, and our Taza Stout uses organic roasted cacao nibs from Somerville’s Taza Chocolate.

Finally, it is our belief that beer and food are a natural combination. While our beers should be worth appreciating on their own, they should also pair well with the right complementary dish. Our labels will details “Suggested Food Pairings” for each beer, and our blog will have an ongoing focus on both eating and cooking with beer. We also plan to work with various restaurants in and around Boston in hopes of uniting great craft beer with great food.

* * *

Part 2 of our interview with Night Shift Brewing will be posted shortly.

If you want to find out more about Night Shift Brewing, check out their website, or better yet, if you are in Boston, stop by the brewery.

Slainte!

-JW

"Work is the curse of the drinking class."
-Oscar Wilde

Westmalle Trappist Dubbel

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

I am extremely fortunate to have kind co-workers who travel to far away places and bring me back beer and beer-related items. One of them recently returned from a trip to Belgium and left a bottle of Westmalle Trappist Dubbel on my desk.

Westmalle is one of six Trappist monasteries that still brew beer in Belgium. The others include Achel, Chimay, Orval, Rochefort, and Westvleteren. Westmalle is located in the central Northern part of Belgium and started brewing in 1836. According to Hieronymus' Brew Like a Monk, Westmalle was founded by monks who fled France in 1802. The brewery has expanded several times since 1836, mostly to finance different Trappist ventures. However, unlike older days, Westmalle monks no longer actively participate in daily brewing, which is done by lay employees. The monks do sit on the brewery's board and set the rules for its output, capped at 120,000 hetoliters annually, and its recipes, which remain unchanged over the years. The brewery produces a dubbel and a tripel and is the only Trappist brewery to label its beers with those traditional names.

The following statistics on the Westmalle dubbel come from Brew Like a Monk:

Original Gravity: 1.063
ABV: 7.3%
Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 87%
IBU: 24
Malts: Pilsner, caramel, and dark malt
Adjuncts: Dark candi sugar
Hops: Tettnang, Styrian Goldings, Saaz
Yeast: Westmalle, which is also used for bottle conditioning (commercially, WLP 530 Abbey Ale or Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity)

The beer pours a deep amber red color with high amount of carbonation and makes a distinctive hiss as it hits the bottom of the glass. The carbonation supports a off-white colored head with coarse bubbles that fade after two or three minutes. The foam does leave a nice Belgian lacing as the beer moves down the glass. The dubbel's aroma has hints of dark fruit, perhaps raisin or prunes. It also smells of dark caramel sweetness, with a slight herbal/basil note.

The first taste of the dubbel reveals the prickle of carbonation evident during the pour. This subsides into dark caramel flavors, but without the sweetness. The mid-palate includes evidence of the dark fruit flavors hinted at in the aroma, but again without any sweetness. The flavors finish very dry and almost evaporate off the tongue within seconds. The 7 percent ABV is completely hidden in the beer, without any burning or harsh characteristics.

I brought a lot of expectations to this tasting, based on my experiences with other, mainly American, dubbels. I anticipated a beer with large flavor components, featuring layered sugar and caramel characteristics. I certainly expected some degree of sweetness and a lingering palate that encouraged slow sipping. What I experienced, instead, was a very dry beer with subdued flavors that appeared almost flat compared with my expectations. Even after knocking out a good amount of the carbonation, I still did not find more complex flavors.

In an ideal dubbel, I would like something between my expectations and what I tasted in the Westmalle dubbel. The beer I tasted was very well brewed, without any apparent faults or mishandling, but I would like some more robust and interesting flavors. On the other hand, I found the Westmalle example more drinkable than many American dubbels, which often end sweet and are too big to truly want more than one glass.

Thanks to my co-worker, John, for bringing me a Trappist beer direct from Belgian. I truly appreciate his generosity.

Cheers,

RFP - Jeff's Initial Recipe and Brewing

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:18:00 +0000

I realize that it has been over a year since we initially announced our Recipe Formulation Project (RFP) and while there was a lot of energy around it, the chatter died off after Tom completed his first beer for the project. While I had every intention of brewing my beer, 2011 did me in with very few brew days, which caused my contribution to the project to get procrastinated.... seriously procrastinated. However, with a new head of steam for brewing in 2012, I got back on the horse, compiled my recipe, and brewed the beer this past weekend.

As a quick synopsis, the RFP idea was a way for Tom and I to explore new ingredients that were outside our comfort zones. Each of of us selected three randomly generated ingredients and had to brew a beer with two of the three. For my beer, I was allotted rye malt, cardamom, and extra special malt (see the Beer Concept post for all the details). My ingredients took me down the path of Danish dark rye bread, which was the inspiration for the recipe below.

The final recipe that was brewed is very similar to what was discussed in the beer's concept phase. However, I did make a few modifications that should be noted:

Rice hulls were added because of all the rye and oats in the recipe.
Cardamom was kept out of the boil as I decided I'll add it at bottling/kegging. I'll be using a a manner akin to the method Tom described, which will give me the ability to dial in the cardamom flavor and potency.
The late addition of centenial hops was increased but pushed closer to flame out.
WLP001 was used as the yeast in lieu of the English or lager strains I initially contemplated. This yeast would be easy and have a clean character that would allow the other ingredients to take center stage.

Other than a slow sparging process and letting the wort get too cold during chilling (~45 F) which slowed the initial yeast activity, the brew day was a success. In about 2-3 weeks, the beer should be ready for cardamom dosing. I should be able to do a side by side with the spiced and non-spiced version to really understand how the spicing is complementing the end result.

Dark Side of Danish Rye
Style: Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Recipe Specifications
---------------------
Batch Size: 6.00 gal
Boil Size: 7.0 gal
Measured OG: 1.046
Estimated FG: ?
Estimated SRM: 17.5
Estimated IBU: 24.8 (Rager)
ABV: ?
Brewhouse Efficiency: 73%
Boil Time: 60 Min

Grain / Extract / Sugar
----------------------
5.50 lb GlobalMalt Light Munich Malt (53.66%)
1.56 lb Weyerman Rye Malt (15.22%)
1.50 lb Rahr US 2-Row Malt (14.63%)
0.56 lb Flaked Oats (5.46%)
0.50 lb Crisp Crystal 45 Malt (4.88%)
0.38 lb Chocolate Rye Malt (3.71%)
0.25 lb Rice Hulls (2.44%)

Hops
-------
0.70 oz Sterling (6.0% alpha) at 60 minutes
0.80 oz Centennial (8.4% alpha) at 20 minutes

Extras
-------
40 drops of Foam Control in the boil

Yeast
------
1 vial of WLP001 (Cal Ale yeast) in a 1000 ml starter

Mash Schedule
---------------
60 min at 151 F

Notes
------
Brewed on 2/3/2012 by JW

Whirlfloc was left out of the brew by accident as I found out I had no more tablets when it came time to add it.

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

Yeast was pitched into cold wort (45 F) and allowed to ramp up to the targetted 67 F fermentation temperature. The low initial temperature caused a delay in the first signs of fermentation activity.

Cadamom, one of the required ingredients, will be added after fermentation at the type of packaging.

* * *

Slainte!

-JW

"Beer is the Danish national drink, and the Danish nation weakness is another beer"
-Clementine Paddleford

Recipe Formulation Project - Reference Guide
Project Introduction, Ingredient Pool, and Kick Off
Tom's Recipe: Beer Concept Initial Recipe and Brewing Initial Tasting Revision and Rebrew Follow-up Tasting	Jeff's Recipe: Beer Concept Initial Recipe and Brewing Initial Tasting Revision and Rebrew Follow-up Tasting

Poll: New Year's Beer-Related Resolution?

noreply@blogger.com (Jeff) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:46:00 +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 "What Beer-Related New Year's Resolution Is Most Appealing To You?" are presented below.

Total Votes: 23

Bring on the new kettle, march pump, temp control, etc .... it seems everyone is looking to improve their homebreweries this coming year. I'll have to admit that I fell into this category too. With any homebrew mail order, I find myself always trying to add one or two items that will improve my process. Whether its an oxygenation kit, a diffusion stone, or a refractometer, I can never pick up just a few ingredients. However, as I mentioned in my 2011 wrap-up, my next homebrewery improvement needs to be a second chest freezer so I can keep beer on tap when I'm fermenting a new one.

One of the categories I was hopeing to see get a bigger turn out was for "Take a beer-related trip", as this was a close second for me. I am sure most beernuts are like me and unconsciously do this anyways (heading to city X? What breweries/brewpubs/beer bars are there?), but taking a serious trip to beer-meccas like Belgium or Germany have always been on the short list. I've got to move that up on the priority list for sure.

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

"If God intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs."
-David Daye

New Lug Wrench Website Look and Feel

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:23:00 +0000

We would like to introduce the new appearance of the Lug Wrench site. It has been over two years since Jeff and I first started this side project. We felt that it was time to overhaul the look and feel of the site to make it a bit more modern and just try something different.

The new look features the following:

A great Lug Wrench logo that was designed for us by Jeff's friend Rob (Thank you!)
Wider main column to allow for easier positioning of images within the blog posts themselves
Wider side column to prevent the blog polls from requiring scroll bars
Inclusion of social icons for Twitter and our RSS feeds at the top
Making the search box more prominently available at the top right
Changing the color scheme to relate more to beer (golden) rather than green (St. Patty's Day?)

The new look also features tabs at the top left of the screen. At this time, there is only one tab for "Home," but we plan to add some additional content going forward. The tabs will link to static pages that include more information about each of us, the collaborative beers we have brewed, and our more prominent blog post series (brewing charts, nanobrewery interview, etc.).

We call this change our new BETA look and feel. While we like it, in general, and felt it was good enough to release, there will be some adjustments moving forward. Jeff is currently fine-tuning colors and textures and I am working on adjusting some of the content placement, eliminating duplicate Blogger widgets and playing with item page placement.

So, stay tuned to Lug Wrench because there is more to come, both in website appearance and great new content.

Cheers,

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