WOTW: Post-Mortem

We had an absolutely wonderful time on Saturday night, even though I didn’t win or place in any of the categories I entered.  There were 540 entries — way more than I expected — and judging ended up taking about an hour longer than scheduled.  Instead of the awards ceremony starting at 5:00, it started sometime after 6:00.

I entered a Belgian Pale (table 16), Irish Red (table 8), and Oatmeal Stout (table 14).  You can view the full results here but there was a lot of competition in each category, most notably 20 entries in the Oatmeal Stout table.  I’ll know more once I get my score sheets but the whole experience was really worth the trip.

Judging was held at Iron Hills North Wales and if you know anything about me, you know that I love Iron Hill.  Having had great times at both the Newark and Wilmington locations I really expected nothing less from this one, and they sure didn’t disappoint.  They must have known a bunch of homebrewers were coming because they had a bunch of seasonal on tap!

I started out with the Kryptonite Imperial IPA which was very nice, having a great hop aroma and bitterness you’d expect in a DIPA.  I followed that up with the Bourbon Porter which was heavenly, and the Oatmeal Stout which was just as good as I remember.  I’ve had their Oatmeal Stout before many, many years ago and it’s a very good representation of the style, even though it’s not as good as mine .  The Bourbon Porter was their award-winning Pigiron Porter aged in bourbon barrels, which gave it a distinct mouthfeel and mouth-watering taste.

Around this time judging was supposed to start so I nursed my Oatmeal Stout for a bit.  When the bartender told us that they were just wrapping up Best of Show, we figured it was a good time to eat so we ordered food and I got my favorite house beer there: Ironbound Ale.  I was going to bring home a growler of Ironbound but forgot to pack a growler, ugh, but man that beer is good.  Next time I’m in the area I’m going to bring home a few growlers of it and try to clone it.

This is where things got dicey .  Once the judging started I got the Belgian Tripel, which put me “over the edge.”  I couldn’t not have it, as it’s won many GABF awards, and I fully enjoyed it but this is around the time that things get hazy.  Once the judging was over I got my final beer, their Straight Lambic, and we wrapped up and left.

Christi also had the lambic and actually set a trend.  When they were putting it on tap right in front of us she asked what it was, to which they replied “straight lambic.”  This was a treat because according to the board this wasn’t coming out until March.  She promptly had one which caused everybody around her to ask what it was, and to compliment her tastes, and to cause everybody else to order one before the sign was even up.  Good job Christi, you trend setter you!

Like I said, it was a really great time.  I love good beer and at Iron Hill you get more than that: you get great beer, great service, and great food.  It really is one of my favorite things.

Congratulations to all of the WOTW winners, especially Keith Seguine of in Woodbridge, NJ who won Best of Show for his German Pilsner!

A Different Kind of Weekend

So here’s to getting ready for another weekend not at home. Yes, we’re going to visit Jason and Jess (who-hoo!) but aren’t going to do the same-old-thang when we’re there.

I’m really excited for Ryan because he entered a few beers into the War of the Worts XIV (which he’ll tell more about tomorrow). There’s high hopes for the Oatmeal Stout, but not just because it has a really good chance. But mainly because he’ll get some real honest feedback about his beers – their strengths and weaknesses – from registered judges. A great learning tool!

It’s taking place at Iron Hill Brewery, which we love, so great food and drink all night! And because her husband entered this competition, too, I might be getting together with an old friend from college. I’m so excited to see her… should be fun! Secretly, I’m hoping her husband entered different categories than Ryan – just so it won’t be awkward if one of them wins over the other

Very soon I’ll be heading to a work-sponsored bowling party. Let the weekend commence early!

Guess The Beer

Awesome, via RealBeer.com:

Cheers!

Franzie and Catbird Tail

Two new beers on tap: Franzie, a Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse clone and Catbird Tail 60, a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA clone.  They’re in the fridge carbonating and should be ready to drink by the end of the week.  I’ll be updating the Maple Tree Brewery page in the coming days once I get a picture of them, and they taste really good.  The Catbird Tail was my first dry-hopped beer and all I can say is wow: the hop aroma and flavor really came through!

The fridge is getting pretty full!

I’m hoping to move the CO2 tank (in the middle) outside the fridge in the next week or two to free up space for a fifth keg.  Also, in the near-future, I’m going to install taps on the door so I can stop being ghetto with the picnic taps.

It was a very busy weekend for us, lots of errands, and is shaping up to be a busy week as well.  Take it easy everybody!

At Least We Don’t Live In PA

Scary.

How Long Has It Been?

Too long, I know…. Ryan’s been bugging me to jump in and post to now feels like the most natural time to do so.

I’m very proud of my husband. He’s gotten so good at brewing, and I’m especially excited because he did one batch just for me! Well, for him, too, but at my request. It’s a German Hefeweisen that I know I’ll love because as he said in his latest post, I was jumping up and down after I tasted the sample – it’s gonna be good!

So he also wanted me to rate my beer faves. I’ll do so now and by type (so fancy):

Hefeweisen

1. Franziskaner

2.  Allagash White

3. St. Bernardus Wit

4. Hoegarden

5. Blue Moon

Saison

1. Saison Dupont

2. let’s hope I have a #2 soon - can’t wait to try the Brasserie La Choulette / Les Bire Des Sans Culottes that we bought this past weekend.

And I’m sure I’ll be adding to this list following SAVOR. You’ll have to wait until May 31 to hear about SAVOR!!

Brewery Update

It’s the time of week again for me to give you all an update on brewing operations!  Last night was a busy night for me and this week is going to be a busy week.

I started a new cider last night using WLP720 yeast instead of dried champagne yeast.  I’m going to sample every few days and once it reaches the dryness-to-sweetness level that Christi wants, drop in a campden tablet to stop fermentation and keg immediately.  Hopefull this will yield a more drinkable cider that Christi will actually drink!  This won’t be ready for about a month.

I also took samples of the two beers I currently have in fermentation: the DFH60 IPA Clone and the Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Clone.  The Franziskaner tastes really, really good and very close to the real deal.  Christi was literally jumping up and down after she had a taste, so I did something right (even if I did mess up the recipe, adding way too much aromatic malt ).

The Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA clone also tastes good, although not close to the real thing yet because I still have to dry hop it.  This will be my first time dry hopping and, assuming fermentation is complete (which I’ll know on Wednesday after I take another sample), it should be a lot of fun.  I’ll transfer it into a purged second carboy, drop in the hops, and let it sit for a few days.  Once it tastes like I want I’ll transfer it into the keg, carbonate, and enjoy!

In any event this IPA is going to be much, much better than my last attempt at one.

Both of these beers should be fully carbonated and ready to serve by the end of next week so if you want any of these, or any of my awesome Oatmeal Stout, stop on by!

Lastly I finally joined the BN Army as a Private First Class.  Wish me luck.

InBev’s Influence on Anheuser-Busch

Ran across this gem via Charlie Papazian’s tweet:

For years, Anheuser-Busch has been unbending when it comes to its beer’s shelf life. If A-B beer went 110 days without selling, A-B crews would sweep into bars and restaurants and hand the retailer a check for the value of the beer. They would grab the beer, break the bottles and pour the liquid out. No exceptions.

Now, the brewer says it has realized that the 110-day limit might not be necessary. Why? The company says it has improved its brewing processes and packaging –  using new fillers and bottle crowns, for example — that reduce the amount of oxygen in its beers.

The company is allowing its new and niche beers to stay on the market longer — as long as 180 days in some instances. It is also dropping its “born on” date from the small brands, although the beers will still have a code showing the packaging date.

The original article may be found here.  I never knew this about Anheuser-Busch and think it’s a wonderful idea, and a testament to what a good company they are.  I may dislike their beer but I most certainly do not hate them as a company.  InBev, on the other hand, I do dislike as a company.

While there may be a little bit of truth in this — oxygen-absorbing bottle caps do increase flavor stability and, therefore, shelf-life — it sounds eerily similar to something that Arm & Hammer pulled over the summer:

Reader Kirin says he’s suspicious of Arm & Hammer’s assertion that the same 1lb of baking soda will only deodorize for 30 days when it used to work for 3 months.

Okay Anheuser-Busch, I’ll accept that your improved brewing process and oxygen-absorbing bottle caps increase shelf-life.  Now please explain to me why you’re removing the born-on dating…

Have a good weekend everybody!

War of the Worts XIV

Wish me luck everybody, I’ve decided to enter my first competition: War of the Wortx XIV being held at Iron Hill Brewery in North Wales, PA.  I’m going to be entering three beers: the second Belgian Ale (that you all liked), my latest Irish Red Ale (my first 10g batch), and my Oatmeal Stout.  Nobody except Christi has tasted the Oatmeal Stout yet but I really think it should do well in this competition.  Obviously, having homebrewed for less than a year I’m not expecting to win any awards but I do look forward to having my beer tasted and scored by BJCP-certified judges, to see how accurate my own scores are.

I’ll be dropping off my entries this weekend and the competition itself is in two weeks: wish me luck!

Oatmeal Stout Update

So last night I drew the first (slightly undercarbonated) pint of the Oatmeal Stout that I kegged last Sunday.  You usually throw the first pint away since it contains all the “stuff” that settles out of the beer onto the bottom of the keg, mostly yeast that was in suspension and other crap from the fermentation process.  Being eager and cheap, I set it down for 30 minutes before drinking it (so it would all settle to the bottom of my glass).

All I can say is yum, this beer is going to be a hit.  There are no off-flavors (that I could taste on my just-ate-a-cadbury-cream-egg palate) and it tastes just like an oatmeal stout should: a bit velvety with a wonderful mouthfeel, and ever so slightly sweet, with a slight chocolate/coffee aftertaste.  Pure heaven.

I’m not going to taste it again until this weekend by which time it should be fully carbonated.  I picked up a four pack of Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, one of the “benchmark” bottled beers of this style, so I can compare mine to it… but we’re nowhere near that yet.  Stop on by sometime if you’re game to take a blind taste test .

On a somewhat related note, both starters are looking great.  I’m crashing the Bavarian one in the fridge right now so I can brew with it on Saturday, and it’s looking like the Ringwood one should ferment out in the next day or two, at which time I’ll crash for my Sunday brew session.  Can’t wait for this big brew weekend.

Cheers!