Brief Update

Hiya,
I just cracked open one of the pale ales that I brewed around last Christmas and age has greatly improved this beer! It was pointed out to me the other day by a friend of mine that this very same pale ale was the 'world's worst beer,' so obviously I hoped it would taste better. When aging, the first taste to fade is the hop flavour, this is definitely true with this beer and it really helped. I had used Willimite hops and some Kent Goldings, but I think in the wrong proportion and what resulted was a kind of soapy taste that was not very pleasant. The flavour has really mellowed out and it really tastes style appropriate. I'm excited to get back behind the brew-kettle soon, but there may be a little gap with the looming of an upcoming relocation and all that is involved.
Thank you for reading!
-J

P.S. I know the glass is not perfect but at the time of this picture (about a year ago) I couldn't afford a good ale glass, I now own far too many glasses; ask my girlfriend.

I'm Distracted

One thing that home-brewing has done for my appreciation of beer is forcing me to think about the distinct process that every bottle of beer on any given shelf goes through. There is an impressive chemistry behind beer that upon further thought is well worthy of pause as well as praise. It is this very respect for the ancient process that should force any beer drinker to think more deeply about the beverage of their choice. As Garrett Oliver discusses in his essay The Beer Matrix: Reality vs Facsimile in Brewing, there is a gigantic difference between beer and beer-like beverage. Oliver draws on the example of a well-known ‘American-cheese’ brand which boasts that it is comprised of 70% milk which, as Oliver states is the problem with the extent of over-processing of food and drink in American mass industry, it should be made of 100% milk! This is the problem with the huge industry beers; they are not 100% beer. The macro-brews are comprised of only a fraction the basic ingredients that a beer should be made of, substituting instead cheap alternatives to full-grain recipes such as rice and corn which hinder flavour, colour, and body of the beer. Because these beers are not made of the correct ingredients, or at least in the correct proportion, they like the ‘American-cheese’ cannot be fully regarded as beer.
As a home-brewer one becomes more sensitive to these differences between well-made, hand-crafted beers and those created simply to sell mass quantities to unassuming drinkers.*
Slainte!

Oliver, Garrett. ‘The Beer Matrix: Reality vs Facsimile in Brewing’, from, Beer & Philosophy: The Unexamined Beer Isn’t Worth Drinking, ed. Stephen D. Hales (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2007) 31-44.

What Are We Drinking on This Election Night?

*I'm going to preface by saying that this is not very well written, it's sort of a short word explosion written on an extreme coffee high*

The purpose of this blog is to aid in my self-important narcissism. With that, I need to stroke the old ego once more by talking about one of my least favourite subjects; American politics. Back in my early days at University I was very interested in politics, but this also did correspond with the West Wing still being on regular television. I attended rallies, owned bumper stickers and candidate buttons, and even fervently listened to Air America-this is no longer the case. I chose a different path in my education and decidedly became apathetic about the process. When it came time for this election I also opted to not really pay attention until the final bout of the debates and of course the actual election. I don't think I will ever become fully apathetic and not vote, I threatened this year, but like my taste in women, it was shallow. There was also no real threat of me voting Republican, but I have toyed with the idea of voting Green or Nader Independent because if nothing else I am tired of the two party system.

After spending my last few days in one of the hearts of Republican country (Southern California-L.A. County, not Hollywood) I return to civilization full of despair and actually truly hurt by the vile hatred spewed by some of these people about Obama. My brother told me about a Daily Show bit where they were at a McCain rally and spoke to a women who was still adamant about his being Muslim, to which the Daily Show guy said, "besides not being a Muslim, what makes [Obama] a Muslim?" This is what we are dealing with as a country, a sort of fingers-in-ears and petulant nonsense denial. What hurts also is people in my own family saying that I am an idiot for my liberal beliefs, elections truly bring out the worst in many Americans on either side of the isle.

This brings me to the most important question of the day; What are you drinking tonight? Despite my loyalties to English and Irish beers, I will be drinking American tonight, most likely Samuel Adams Boston Ale. Their standard is the Boston Lager, but my favourite offering from them is the Ale primarily because of my affinity to the style.
There are loads of political blogs on the internet, so this will most likely be my only post of this nature.

It's Good!

Hiya,
I gave the Imperial Stout a try today and it was really very good! I know most people are biased towards their home brew, but I tend to be overly self-critical about my beer. I figure I'll go through a review like I do on beeradvocate.com if only for my own edification.

Serving type: Bottle poured into an Imperial pint glass. 8% ABV

Appearance: Pitch black with about two fingers head.
Smell: Malt, some herb and sugar smell.
Taste and Mouth-feel: Very malty, bitter, some coffee and chocolate. Heavy and big in the mouth (that's what she said) but without the slickness of an oatmeal stout. Some lingering sweetness in the aftertaste.
Drinkability: I limited myself to one so that I have plenty to share in the coming months, but I felt like maybe one more could be possible. There is not a lot of alcohol in the taste, but it does kick, limiting the drinkability to a degree.

Please let me know if you want some and I'll try to get it to you, I am waiting on the label though so it may take a little longer (presentation is everything is it not?).

Slainte!
-J

Jeff's Sketch!

Hiya, my good friend Jeff (http://jefflanceillustration.blogspot.com/) was kind enough to sketch this up for the Imperial Stout label and I am really excited about it! I only hope the beer is worthy of the cool label, and I feel the need to say, I am not entirely hopeful for this batch. It is looking like 26 Oct will be the first taste trial and I am a little nervous that there will not be enough carbonation. Stylistically this beer is not supposed to have loads of carbonation, but obviously should have some, and I am afraid this batch may not have any. When I was doing the primary fermentation, the conditions at home were not ideal. For starters it was about 90 degrees here in Maryland, and I could not get my room much cooler. With that, the fermentation only took about two days to stop bubbling, a bit short. I'm hoping that the yeast didn't die in the heat and were able to eat the sugar in the bottles. I'm fighting the urge to open a bottle prematurely to check the carbonation, but the urge may overpower me by the week end next!
Slainte!
-J

Imperial Stout pt. II

Well I have yet to bottle the Imperial Stout, I want to, I need to, yet time has not yet allowed me to. With luck I may be able to bottle tonight. I think, based on the advice of a good friend of mine that I will go with a geeky name having to do with the origins of this particular style of beer akin to the 1830s Pale Ale. I should also take his advice since he has graciously agreed to draw what will no doubt be a very neat label for this beer, please check out his work here: http://jefflanceillustration.blogspot.com/


The Imperial stout is, in origin an English style, but is often referred to as 'Russian Imperial Stout' because of trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with the Czars of Russia. As with the India Pale Ale, this style is named after the destination export of the beer. It is rumoured, but not proven that the reason for this style's rich and robust flavour is due to the need to fortify the beer for the cold conditions as well as the long voyage toward and in the Baltic Sea. It is said that Catherine II, the eighteenth-century empress of Russia, drank barrel after barrel of this beer, but it has also been said that she was killed whilst having sex with a horse, so believe what you will (she actually died of a stroke in 1796). Like the IPA, the Imperial Stout is much heavier on the malt content, as well as the hop bitterness than a more standard stout, but is not necessarily hoppy tasting. I used a good dose of bittering hops in this, but very little in the way of aroma, I really am trying to highlight the dark, coffee and chocolate like malt used. I have high hopes for this beer, so I can't wait until it is done.

One last bit.
I am trying to come up with a good holiday brew, thinking obviously along the lines of the traditional 'holiday spices.' I want to make something subtle and not overly spice infused, thinking mainly about doing a Nut Brown Ale with hints of nutmeg, molasses, cloves, and vanilla. I have no idea how I am going to make this taste good though. Most holiday brews over-do the spice profile, and I want to make something drinkable and warming. Maybe I'll make a variation of the Brown using Belgian yeast, giving that even spice flavour.
Slainte!
-J

Imperial Stout

Hiyeh,
Right at the moment I have an Imperial stout ready to be bottled. I am really excited about this beer, this is my favourite style outside of ESB and I cannot wait to enjoy this over the cooler months. I'm having trouble naming this beer though, any suggestions are welcome, this is what I have at the moment:

-La Grande Cathrine II Corpulent Impérial Bière
-Czar Nicholas I's Turkish Invasion Imperial Stout

Then I was thinking of some less history-nerd type names:
-None More Black Imperial Stout
-Darker Than a Thousand Midnights Imperial Stout

I have no idea which name I like yet, please if you have any ideas let me know! Either post a comment, email me or post on my Facebook. Thanks!
Slainte!
-J

Buck Mulligan's Irish Red Ale

Well with this sophomore attempt I forgot how the process of brewing worked. It was a good start, the wort boil turned out even better than with the pale ale. The hops I chose, Willamette and Fuggles smelled delicious and the darkish malt looked wonderful. Then the first mistake occurred, whilst putting the airlock on my primary fermenter, I managed to push the little rubber bung into the wort forcing me to reach my arm into the liquid to fish the tiny rubber nub out. Then mistake two, I rushed the fermentation only giving it about five days instead of the couple of weeks that it should take, dumb. The carbonation was fine, but it was not really beer as much as oat soda given that it did not get the proper fermentation. I will not make that mistake again.
Slainte!
-J

Old 1830s Pale Ale

Hiya!
This is the premier post of my status blog about my new hobby of home-brewing. I'm sure most people would not care one bit about my process in this venture, but perhaps my friends will enjoy being able to mark the progress of the beer they are about to be pushed. Anyway here is a description os the first successful beer I brewed. This is the text from the label I made:

"Sovereign people are in a beastly state"
-Sydney Smith

The Beer Act of 1830 was an important stepping stone on the way towards middle, and eventually working class enfranchisement in Parliament. This initial step lifted the steep excise duty on barrels of beer and allowed for a wider sphere of brewers and publicans. Within one year after this act passed through both houses, 40,000 new drinking establishments opened throughout Britain. There was of course strong opposition to such an opening of the tax system, mostly from stark Conservatives who feared race deterioration and nationwide drunkenness. Most opponents of this act however were more afraid of the potential loss of funds through the beer, wine and sprit duties than the effects of drink, after all, they were just as fond of having a laugh as anyone else. It is in the spirit of the 1830 Beer Act that this beer was created, so in the vein of pre-Victorian British fervor let ring a boisterous Huzzah! And drink up.
Cheers!

This beer was made from a kit that my wonderful girlfriend gave me for Christmas and was actually successful. In the end it could have been better, but for a first attempt it was rather great.
Slainte!
-J