The hops aren't always greener

I woke up Saturday morning thinking my trip to City Steam Brewery Cafe in Hartford, CT would be like all the other brew pub and brewery tours that I've been on in the past. Welcome, guests. Here's where we brew. Enjoy your tasting, thanks for coming and be sure to purchase an over priced t-shirt on the way out. Much to my surprise, the hour and a half I spent with Brewmaster, Ron Page was far from that. I left the brewery with more industry information than I could have asked for and insight into a job that many beer people wish they had.

Ron opened the doors at City Steam in 1997 after stints at New England Brewing and Elm City Brewing here in CT. Since opening City Steam, Ron has been creating some of the best beer that Connecticut has to offer. Despite their success, I learned that beer is a tough business. Brewing isn't a story of, if you brew it they will come. Equipment is expensive, ingredients costs are on the rise, the economy is sinking, staff is unreliable, alcohol consumption is declining and food sales pay the bills.

Oh, and by the way beer people, being a brewmaster isn't a glamorous job. Sometimes you have to brew beer that you don't enjoy because it's a crowd pleaser and Saturday mornings are spent cleaning keg lines. On brew days, Ron leaves work wreaking of beer so bad that it's nauseating and rolling around in chemicals gets old pretty fast. So, what am I getting at? The old saying, "the grass is always greener" is very true.

Being a beer nut, I found it a little shocking to hear a brewmaster say he would rather be working with wood or working on a vineyard. Yes, Ron is a wine drinker. As he put it, "I warm up with beer." I can now see that is the case because my friend, Sonny and I were certainly warmed up by the end of our visit.

Sonny and I did things a little backwards and started our tasting with the dark stuff. I have been reading about Ron's Doppleldunkeldoubleweizen so I couldn't wait to give it a try. It's not a beer for everyone but it's certainly full of flavor. We joked around about what style category this beer falls into but it's a tough conversation to have when you can't even say the name. We followed the Doppleldunkeldoubleweizen with City Steam Dark Lager, Carpenter's Ale and finished up with City Steam's most popular beer, Naughty Nurse, which accounts for 30% of their beer sales. Carpenter's Ale is a hoppy IPA that measures about 75 IBU's. This hop bomb killed my taste buds and left me asking for a glass of water. Instead, Ron brought us warm, fresh baked torpedo rolls straight from their bakery oven.

Overall, it was a great trip to City Steam. Free beer is always nice but insight into the beer industry is pretty cool too. Getting home brew tips, hearing stories about people in the industry and Hartford politics is priceless. If you live in the Hartford area, pay City Steam a visit. I know, the parking is terrible. They know. Suck it up and support your local brew pub.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout (Clone)

Tomorrow is our second brew day this week. I found a recipe for Young's Double Chocolate Stout that we are going to test out. We also came across some fresh vanilla bean that we're going to add for flavor. I guess that doesn't make it a clone but it will be generally similar.

Here is what we are going for:

Tate: Dark brown, roasty, malty smooth, with a distinctive chocolaty finish. I would like the vanilla to be subtle but noticeable.

O.G. - 1.049

F.G. - 1.012

Malt/Extract:

6 lbs. dark malt extract

1 lb. domestic special pale malt

1 lb. medium crystal malt

1/2 lb. roast unmalted barley

1/4 lb. chocolate malt

Other:

1/2 lb. oatmeal

1/2 - 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (add to end of boil)

Hops:

1 oz. Northern Brewer (bittering)

1/2 oz. U.K. Fuggles (flavoring)

No finishing hops (cocoa instead)

Wyeast #1968

I'm open to suggestions so bring 'em on. Otherwise, I'll let you know how it goes after we brew.

Whisky-A-Go-Go Part Deux

This was a big week for many of us. Monday was MLK day, a day off work and Tuesday was the inauguration of the 44th president of the United States of America, our first African American president. I hope none of this comes as a surprise to you (other than my day off). If so, I honestly think you should commit yourself as soon as you are done reading this post. Actually, my day off shouldn't come as a surprise either. If it is, you need to read this blog more. Anyway, I'm all about efficiency so I decided to celebrate all three of these major life events by brewing a batch of brew. Karma, my home brew partner in crime rolled in around 1:30 and we got things going immediately. A few days earlier, I braved the snow and picked up the goods from our local home brew shop. They didn't have everything the recipe called for so our hop bill differs from the original recipe. As I write this post, Whisky-A-Go-Go Part Deux is vigorously fermenting and should be ready for the secondary this weekend. I can't wait to dry hop and add the alcohol induced coffee beans!

Here is the recipe we ended up with:

For 5.5 gallons at 1.078, 66 IBU'(approximately) Boil 60 minutes

Malt/Extract:

8.5 lbs. Pale DME

0.5 lbs. Crystal 40L

0.5 lbs. Crystal 8L (Belgian Caramel Pils)

0.25 lbs. Aromatic Malt

0.25 lbs. Honey

Sacchrification Rest - 153 degrees F for 60 minutes.

Hops:

0.5 oz. Glacier (5%) first wort hopped (plug)

0.45 oz. Millennium (15%) 60 minutes (pellet)

0.75 oz. Chinook (10.6%) 15 minutes (pellet)

0.5 oz. Centennial (9.1%) 15 minutes (pellet)

0.5 oz. Amarillo (8.0%) 15 minutes (pellet)

1.0 oz. Glacier (5%) 0 minutes (plug)

1.0 oz. Glacier(5%) Dry Hop (pellet)

Yeast: Wyeast 1056

Extra: I have been soaking 2 oz. French oak beans in Bourbon since December 20, 2008 (pictured). The beans will go in the secondary for 3-4 weeks, depending on my patience.

Overall, everything went well. Here are a few mistakes that we made:

1) Our electronic timer didn't start for the 60 minute sacchrification rest. We had to estimate the time but should only be off +/- 5 minutes. Yep, all my fault here. I'll blame this one on Smutty Old Brown Dog Ale.

2) We don't have a wort chiller so we have to go with the old fashioned ice bath. We have plenty of snow on the ground here in CT so we tossed the brew kettle in the snow for 15 minutes. Once the wort was in the carboy, we struck it with approximately 4 gallons of cold water. Yes, I know this isn't ideal but we're waiting to build the wort chiller until we get a bigger brew pot.

3) The yeast took a few days to really get going. When I left for work this morning the air lock was bubbling gently. By 6:00 tonight there were suds in the air lock and had to attach my trusty blow off hose. Looks like we'll be in good shape although, I don't know why there was such a fermentation delay. Maybe the cold water cooled the wort too much. Hopefully this doesn't affect the taste.

We should be ready to bottle by the end of February with the first carbonated sip coming soon thereafter.

Next batch: Double Chocolate Stout (Friday)

Beer Review: River Horse Tripel

Come one, come all. Here is Burr Street Brew Blog's first beer review. The plan for the night was to break into my bomber of Stone Russian Imperial Stout but things came up and I didn't have the time to polish off 22oz's of motor oil. Instead, I decided to reach into the stash and go with something a little more subtle. Ok, that's a lie because this brew is 10% and hardly subtle. Thanks to my bro and sis-in-law for picking this up. Here are my thoughts.

Overall Grade: 3.5 / 5

Brewery: River Horse Brewing Company

Location: Lambertville, New Jersey

Style: Tripel

ABV: 10%

Appearance: 12 ounce bottle poured into a pint glass. Poured light orange with a thick doughy head about an inch think. The head took over 5 minutes to dissipate with a small head lasting throughout the tasting. Particles of yeast or fruit floating in the beer. Spotty lacing down the pint glass.

Smell: Zesty orange and a faint yeast odor as expected for the style. Not very complex.

Taste: This beer is very sweet and fruity with hints of zesty orange, bananas and vanilla spice. The alcohol taste is very noticeable. No hop presence.

Mouth feel: This beer is light with with moderate carbonation on my tongue. The aftertaste is dry and sweet.

Drinkability: At 10% the alcohol taste is very noticeable. This beer is light in the mouth and easy to drink given it's high alcohol content. I feel that this is a decent interpretation for the style. I will crack open another when I'm in the mood. I still prefer Allagash Tripel Reserve, which is stiff competition for anyone brewing this style.

Whisky-A-Go-Go IPA

Finally!!! After 7 years the insurance gods finally decided to give me MLK day off and I am taking full advantage. This weekend is home brew weekend! It's been about a month since I last brewed and it ended in disaster. It brings a tear to my eye to talk about it but I'll risk a sleepless night for my loyal readers and share my story. No, I can't do it. I'll just give you a hint; it ended with broken glass and no beer. In any event, Monday will be Whisky-A-Go-Go IPA part deux. The french oak beans have been soaking in Bourbon since December 20th so I'm sure this batch will remind me of sucking on a wet board from a Bourbon barrel. Hmmm, I like the thought of that. If I weren't so splinter prone I would actually consider it.Ok, I know, enough bull shit. Here is the recipe. I think I'll alter the hop bill a little to make it my own. I"ll be brewing with the DME recipe and plan to post the results after my brew day. Stay tuned for the results.

For 5.5 gallons at 1.078, 66 IBU's, 8 SRM (8.8% abv.) Boil for 60 minutes

Malt/Extract:

15.5 lbs Pale Ale (Malt Domestic / Marris Otter or a blend) OR 10.5 lbs. Pale LME/8.5 lbs. Pale DME
0.5 lbs. Crystal 40L
0.5 lbs. Crystal 8L (Belgian Caramel Pils)
0.25 lbs. Aromatic Malt
0.25 lbs. Honey Malt

Mash: Sacchrification Rest - 153 degrees F. (5 gallons) for 60 minutes

Hops (Pellets)
0.5 oz. Cascade (6.5%) first wort hopped
0.55 oz. Warrior (17%) 60 minutes
0.25 oz. Chinook (15.9%) 15 minutes
0.5 oz. Centennial (8%) 15 minutes
0.5 oz. Amarillo (9.4%) 15 minutes
1.0 oz. Cascade (6.5%) 0 minutes
1.0 oz. (6.5%) Dry Hop

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 / WLP001 / US-05

Extra:
2 oz. French oak beans soaked in Bourbon for 2 weeks minimum added to the secondary for 2-4 weeks.

**This recipe was borrowed from Volume II, Issue II of Beer Advocate Magazine

Barleywine Festival - Thursday, January 29th

Cambridge Brewing Company just announced their 5th annual Barleywine Festival scheduled for Thursday, January 29th at 5:00. Show up with an empty stomach because Chef David Drew and Brewmaster Will Meyers are planning a kick ass tapas menu to pair with their tasty brew. Included on the beer menu, Arquebus 2008, a gold medal winner at this year's GABF. Also, if history repeats itself, show up early as their events fill up fast! One last thing, it's a Thursday and you likely have work the next day! Eh, who cares. Have a good time! I'll be thinking of you.

Farewell, Bitter Beer Face

What is your favorite style of beer? There are many styles that I enjoy, but like so many beer people out there, a good IPA quenches my thirst like no other. Thankfully, Keystone's bitter beer face ad campaign didn't stick around for long and breweries and brew pubs are regularly coming out with their own distinct bitter beer bombs. Actually, Sierra Nevada, who is often given credit for starting this micro-brew craze is finally releasing Torpedo Extra IPA in January, which is their first full production IPA to come from the brewery. Given the popularity of IPA's, I started to wonder what a top 10 list of IPA's would look like. I've had many IPA's in my day and have my favorites but I'm turning to the masses to create this list. Here is what the readers of Beer Advocate rate as the top IPA's on planet earth. Actually, all of these are ranked in the top 51 beers in the world. If you don't agree, take it up with the bros as they created the fancy formulas to come up with the list.

1) Pliny The Younger, Russian River Brewing Company. Style: American Double / Imperial
2) Pliny The Elder, Russian River Brewing Company. Style: American Double / Imperial
3) Masala Mama India Pale Ale, Minneapolis Town Hall Brewery. Style: American IPA
4) Dreadnaught IPA, Three Floyds Brewing Company. Style: American Double / Imperial
5) Sculpin India Pale Ale, Ballast Point Brewing Company. Style: American IPA
6) Bell's HopSlam Ale, Bell's Brewery, Inc. Style: American Double / Imperial
7) AleSmith IPA, AleSmith Brewing Company. Style: American IPA
8) YuleSmith, AleSmith Brewing Company. Style: American Double / Imperial
9) Furious, Surly Brewing Company. Style: American IPA
10) Pure Hoppiness, Alpine Beer Company. Style: American Double / Imperial

So, what do you think of the list IPA lovers? Is this list complete bunk or does it have merit? I haven't had the opportunity to have any of these as most of them are west coast breweries. For argument sake, I'll throw in two of my favorites, Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe IPA and Smuttynose IPA "Finest Kind."

What's on tap in January?

Here are a few January beer events for you New England beer people. Let me know if I've missed anything significant.

January 13, 2009

Allagash Night IV @ American Flatbread Burlington Hearth, Burlington, VT. 5:00 - 10:00.

Tuesday Night Tasting with Otter Creek @ Eli Cannons Tap Room, Middletown, CT. 7:00 - 9:00.

January 14, 2009

The Portsmouth Brewery Winter Warmer Social @ Portsmouth Brewery, Portsmouth, NH. 6:00 - 8:00.

January 15, 2009

Sebago Brewing Company Beer Dinner. Freedom Cafe and Pub, Naples, ME. 5:30 - 7:30.

January 16, 2009

Friday Open House @ Thomas Hooker Ales & Lagers, Bloomfield, CT. 5:00 - 8:00.

January 17, 2009

Beer Summit Winter Jubilee @ The Castle at Park Plaza, Boston, MA. 12:00 - 9:00.

January 18, 2009

1st Annual Vermont Beer Advocate Meet Up @ Outer Space Gallery & Cafe, Burlington, VT. 3:00 - 6:00.

JB Masters of Tigris Beverages Presents...beer dinner/pairing @ Julians, Providence RI. 6:00 - 10:00.

January 19, 2009

Beer Dinner with Berkshire Brewing Company @ Eli Cannons Tap Room, Middletown, CT. 7:00 - 9:00.

January 20, 2009

Hail to the Chief with Ale to the Chief @ Green Street Grill, Cambridge, MA. 5:00 - 9:00.

January 22, 2009

Beer Advocate Tours Samuel Adams with Jim Koch @ Boston Beer Company, Boston, MA. 6:00 - 8:00 with beers at Doyle's after the tour.

January 23, 2009

Tigris & Tryst meet for Drinking and Cooking @ Gordon's Culinary Center, Waltham, MA. 7:00 - 9:00.

January 24, 2009

The Art of Craft Beer with the Harpoon Brewery @ Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA. 3:00 - 5:00.

January 25, 2009

9th Annual Real Ale Festival @ Bru Room, New Haven, CT. 1:00 - 5:00 .

Long Trail Beer Dinner @ Daily Planet, Burlington, VT. 6:00 - 8:00.

January 26, 2009

Winter Beer Dinner Featuring New England Brewing @ Willimantic Brewing Company, Willimantic, CT. 6:00 - 8:30.

January 29, 2009

Thursday Night Tasting with Weyerbacher @ Eli Cannons Tap Room, Middletown, CT. 7:00 - 9:00.

Weyerbacher Release Schedule

What makes an amazing beer? Is it the taste? Some would think that's the case. Some might argue it's the ingredients that make a quality beer. Sorry beer people, that's not it either. Give up? Its the label! Just joking, but only a little. Much like a book, we can't judge a beer by its cover but, in my opinion, a cool label certainly says a lot about a beer and the people who are brewing it. Where I am going with this post? Let me tell you. Weyerbacher Brewing Company makes tasty, complex beers that are brewed with the finest ingredients while designing some of the most creative labels in the industry. If you don't believe me, pick up their new seasonal that is being shipped this week. Weyerbacher's Fireside Ale might taste a little familiar as it was released in September as Charlie, an experimental beer that got rave reviews. The response to Charlie was so positive that Weyerbacher renamed the brew and will add it as a seasonal every year. Fireside is a dark ale at 7.5%abv, brewed with 10% smoked malt to give it a hint of smokiness and complexity. Sounds like the perfect winter beer to enjoy on a cold night.

Weyerbacher's release schedule for the rest of the year is as follows:

March: Slam Dunkel

April: Blanche

May: Muse & Riserva

June: Belgian Pale Ale (new)

July: Fourteen

August: AutumnFest & Imperial Pumpkin Ale

September: Harvest Ale (wet hopped)

October: Winter Ale

November: QUAD (pictured above)

December: To be announced at a later date

One last thing, despite increasing operating costs, Weyerbacher is not raising their prices in 2009 due to your loyalty and continued support. Cheers to that!

The Social - Hartford, CT, Vol. 3

Good news Hartford beer people! Back on December 9, 2008 I dropped a post about The Social, a new establishment for craft beer and local food enthusiasts that was originally scheduled to open in the fall of 2008. Unfortunately, the doors didn't open on time due to building issues. The good news is that they have straightened out their building issues and The Social will be opening this spring! I can't imagine anything better than welcoming the warm weather with a crisp and fruity Hefeweizen from a new Hartford restaurant who promotes beer love. As always, I'll provide more information as it becomes available. 

One last thing, beer people. This restaurant group is blowing up! It appears that they are also opening a Mexican joint, Max Amigo's. I don't know if this is in partnership with Max's Restaurant Group but I can guarantee one thing, if Max Amigo's is anything like Half Door and Plan B, more quality beer is in your future. 

Cheers to the growth of quality beer in Hartford, Connecticut! Don't believe me? Well, you should! Check out this month's issue of Hartford Magazine.

Looking for some west coast assistance. Anyone out there?

My wife and I are currently planning a trip to San Francisco from March 13 - 20, 2009. We have planned very little but we're obviously interested in great food and quality beer. For those of you who don't know, my wife works in a test kitchen for a food magazine so it's important that we plan the vacation around food as well as beer. I don't want to vacation with a hungry wife! I've been down that road a time or two and it's not pretty. No worries though, she loves beer too so it shouldn't be an issue.

So far, we know we'll be hitting up Anchor and Speakeasy Ales & Lagers for breweries. We're also heading up to Napa for a night or two and eating at French Laundry, one of the best restaurants in America. So, if you have any recommendations, bring 'em on! We're looking for breweries, brew pubs, bars for beer people, quality restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner and anything else you can throw at us. If you haven't been to San Fran, but know someone who recently has, please pass this post along! Or, if you know someone who lives there, even better! We would love to experience San Fran as the local beer and food people do. I think we'll fit right in!

Happy New Year from Burr Street Brew Blog and friends!

Happy New Year, beer people. I hope 2009 brings you health, wealth and of course, good beer. If New year's eve was any indication, my 2009 is looking bright. We got together with a small group of friends, braved a snow storm and partied the night away at Willimantic Brewing Company in Willimantic, Connecticut. As usual, the nachos were amazing and the beer was even better. If you are ever in area, be sure to check out the brewery. It is near impossible to find a place that has great atmosphere, great food and some of the best beer New England has to offer all under one big roof.

All six of us are big IPA consumers. When we arrived our waiter told us that there was only one barrel of Junk Mail IPA remaining; an unfiltered, fruity and bitter IPA at 7.1%. Given our regular attendance at Willibrew, I'm convinced he just said that so we order a beer every 5 minutes. Props to him because it worked! We took it upon our stomachs to take possession of that final keg. Well done, team! After dinner we moved to the dance floor. The DJ was a little stinky (literally) but he played some good tunes and got the dance floor going, besides the time he said in to the mic, "let me give this one a try." He played some god awful song, left his station and freakishly danced around the room with his "girlfriend". I have never seen a dance floor clear so fast!  The DJ was back on track soon thereafter. The Willi Whammers must have gone straight to his head. 

The night was a blast with good beer, good food, and good people. Here are a few pictures from the night. If you want to meet the man with a pint glass body, I can introduce you. He's a good person to have around when the keg goes dry. Happy New Year!!