The kolsch yeast I used for that Cow clone are fucking stealth bombers. They work quickly and quietly, when no one is looking, without making much of a fuss. In the starter jar I gave them a pinch of sugar and some dried extract to get 'em going. Never saw a head form, no froth, etc, so I got worried and sprinkled in a tiny bit more sugar after 3 hours. And WHOOSH, metabolism, there were bubbles and yeast clumps swirling all over the place for like 5 seconds, then stillness. When I pitched them into the fermenter, I saw nothing after 4 or 5 hours. Then after 7 hours, there was a perfect kreuzen (the foamy head layer that shows the yeast have been gettin' busy), but nothing moving in the air lock. It's like they're shy. Germans are weird.

Stoudt's - Smooth Hoperator

I'd seen this before but never pulled the trigger due to the $15 for a sixer price tag. I figured it was their big IPA but it's described online at their version of a Doppelbock. To me, it tasted like a more malty IPA. One of the better beers I've had by them but not enough to warrant the ridiculous price tag.

Just think, you could brew that at home for about a dollar a bottle.

Step 1: Wedding
Step 2: House
Step 3: Homebrew

I predict a built-in tap on a wall.

So I finally got around to having this awhile back and I've got to say I agree with you that it's rather dull in flavor. The last three milds including this one have been pretty dull and disappointing. I really loved the first one which was on a nitro tap with vanilla bean added. I think just a plain old mild is just lacking something on it's own but provided a pretty interesting base with the vanilla bean added.

Went to a beer tasting last night and tried the following:

Telegraph Brewing Company "Cerveza de Fiesta" Pilsner, California

Pretty good czech style pilsner. Cloudy with a nice flavor. First thing I've had from Telegraph Brewing Company and it definitely peaked my interest to try more. It's over $9 for a 750ml bottle though which to me is just too much for a pilsner. I'd buy a sixer of Czechvar or Victory Prima Pils instead for almost the same price.

Mikkeller "Green Gold" IPA, Denmark

Not bad and a bit more malty than the average IPA. It's so easy to find a great IPA out here though that I wouldn't buy this either.

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales "Seizoen Bretta" Saison, Oregon

This on the other hand was really great. Again, my first exposure to them. I wonder if Rogneeb knows more about them. Apparently they brew out a farmhouse located right on the Hood River and they organically grow their own hops. This has Brettamyces added for dry crisp complexity and is bottle conditioned with pear juice for natural carbonation. Really lovely. I left with a bottle and can definitely see this being a regular buy. I haven't researched them yet but it looks like what my store carries from them is a couple of Saisons and a White beer.

Brouwerij De Ranke "Cuvee de Ranke" Belgium

Another really strong beer. 70% sour, 30% saison blend. Good, sour funk upfront with tart citrust on the palate and a bit of bitterness on the finish. I love styles like this. It's very refreshing without losing the complexity of a much heavier beer. It was many people's favorite at the tasting. I'm sure I'll end up buying some of this but didn't leave the store with any. A tad bit expensive at $15.99/750ml.

Brouwerij West Blonde, California

Not a bad blonde at all but probably my least favorite beer of the tasting.

Lost Abbey "10 Commandments" Dark Ale

A very good, strong dark ale (9% ABV) spiced with raisins and rosemary. I definitely liked it but it didn't blow me away and its not really something I'd look to drink much of this time of the year.

The Bruery "Tart of Darkness" Sour Stout aged in Oak Barrels

This was my first exposure to a sour stout. Sours and Stouts are probably my two favorite types of beers but I was having a hard time wrapping my head around what a sour stout would taste like. Really great was the answer. Roasty Stout flavors with rich sour funk complexity added from souring yeasts and bacteria. Packed tons of flavor but not nearly as heavy as most stouts. Expensive at $23/750 ml bottle but worth it.

I also picked up a Jolly Pumpkin "Madrugada Obscura" Dark Dawn Stout which I was told was similar and maybe even better.

Holy shit that sounds awesome. Also, perfect choices for alternate pilsners - I love Czechvar.

Been thinking about making a czech-themed ale, somehow. Wanna have something with lots of saaz, a clean body, and different. May just make something up.

I don't ever worry about my yeast in the first four or five hours. I just wake up the next morning and usually hear the air lock bubbling nicely.

Damn Billy, a couple of those sound awesome.

Turns out I had a leak in the airlock seal. Wouldve been bubbling otherwise. All's well.

The home brew club I belong to was invited to serve beer at a Brew and Blues event at the local children's zoo last night. We went through seven 5gal kegs in three hours and about twelve bombers of beer as well. I was amazed by how many people asked where they could buy our beer in town, and the depressed looks on their faces when we told them it was illegal to sale home brew.
I could only pour sampler sizes of my beer to make it last, and had people begging for full bottles of my doppelsticke. It was nice to have that sort of ego stroke. I can't wait to see the reaction the Lincoln and Omaha Homebrew clubs get at the Great Nebraska Beer Festival this year with heavy hitters like Schafly, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Green Flash, Victory, Cigar City, Firestone Walker, etc in attendance.

whoa

I'm brewing a Rye Ale tomorrow. I'm adding a pound of Fawcett Crystal rye to the recipe and using German Opal as my single hop.

Lemme know how that works out - I had a crazy good rye imperial IPA last night, and it reminded me that I always like rye beers.

The brewing session went pretty smooth today, and there were no near panic attacks for possibly rushing a late step. I pitched two packs of Wyeast 1272 at 62 degrees and got an OG reading of 1040, which is spot on for the BJCP style guideline. The wort was incredibly dry and zesty, and the Crystal Rye added a subtle herbal quality to the beer. I hope it stands out a bit more as the beer mellows, but the low hoppiness and incredibly low ABV should make it a damn fine session beer, even if it doesn't reach competition quality.

So does rye get mashed alongside the malt, like any normal grain, or is it just for the boil?

It can account for up to 50% of the malt in a beer like a Roggenbier in an all-grain recipe. I used the Fawcett Crystal Rye Malt as a specialty malt before the full boil of an extract kit.

Ah, I somehow missed the "crystal" prefix. That should mean it required no mashing to convert, and just needed a good boil.

I've mentioned Red Hare brewing before. Still haven't tried any of their beer though now I'm guessing I will; First GA brewer to brew in cans:

Brewed In Marietta.

That's awesome. Hope it's good.

While we're on rye beers (which I've previously mentioned I like), last night I had an incredible Dark Rye Ale from The Bruery. I'm going to try to grab a few more bottles while I'm in FL as Bruery doesn't distribute to TN.
http://www.thebruery.com/beers/YearRound/rugbrod.html



And because I'm at the beach where glass isn't allowed, I picked up a sixer of Crazy Mountain Brewing's Lava Lake Wit. It's brewed with chamomile, grains of paradise, orange peel and coriander. Unfortunatley the chamomile over powers the entire taste. I'd only recommend this for drinkers who can't get enough chamomile in their beer, which is to say no one.

I went to a tapping party for Weyerbacher Seventeen tonight.
Here is the COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Seventeen is a Saison Ale brewed with pink peppercorns, orange zest, lemon zest, and grapefruit zest. Brewed to the classic “Weyerbacher anniversary requirement” of a strength of 10% abv or more, Seventeen weighs in at a style-obliterating 10.5% abv. Seventeen releases subtle notes of fruit, berry and pepper upon pouring. You’ll notice a balanced sweetness with a touch of citrus and spice with a dry and peppery finish. Seventeen is a once-and-done release only and will not be here for long! This style of beer should age very, very well. Be sure to get some before it’s gone!

I also had the Crabtree Peach tree cherry wheat. I didn't taste much cherry, it was almost all peach. It isn't a bad session or fruit beer, but definitely not a quality wheat beer.

Opened one of these last night:



Russian River - Row 2, Hill 56

It's an American Pale Ale with 100% Simcoe Hops named after the spot where Simcoe was first grown in Yakima, WA. It's the first release in their Hop Grower's Series which are essentially single hop beers and holy hell is it spectacular. Incredibly balanced with great citrus notes and pine but incredibly refreshing. These guys can do no wrong. Hell, I'd say I like this better than Pliny. Thankfully, I have two more but I wish I had found away to buy more. Curious to see what is next in that series.

Damn you billy. Damn you.