Blonde Ale-ment

I have decided to bring my affliction to light and air it out for all to see. As of late I have been possessed with the free time and distinct need to brew my own beer. Unfortunately as this cannot be done in a single sunny afternoon I have been forced to wait. Waiting as we all know creates anticipation, the loose, but not that bad looking if you've had a few sister, of lust. Yes I've said it, I lust after my sultry brew, but don't
tell anticipation, she probably wouldn't understand. That being said, I am waiting for my Canadian Blonde to clarify a bit before I bottle her and the long days are taking their toll. Last night I laid awake and restless in the twilight hours counting vacant bottles in my head, wondering desperately what I would do with 6 gallons of liquid gold. I fear I am sick and the only cure my
dear friends will be the reckless and gleeful consumption of my baby...and more cowbell.

Deep thoughts with Jack Handy...

Just got home from work where I had my "Employee Evaluation" by my supervisor ( a former 10 year navel officer). Here is my evaluation of a supervisor at my job... Supervisor: Someone too incompetent to do any real work but who now has the authority to bollocks up the work of those who aren't!

Well since I am in evaluation mode here is my evaluation of Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot: First off if you are gonna name a beer with the acronym WTF, why not just print that on the bottle instead of your pseudo phonetic alphabet name? I mean really, it's just plain annoying! OK enough slamming these guys for there lack of labeling wit, lets get to the beer! Pours a reddish brown with a faint creamy head and nice lasting laceing . Smells piney with a bit of orange and maple. Taste almost like an IPA at first or was it a strong ale? Has a good malt - hop balance with the hops winning in the end. Also chocolate. Overall a very smooth drinker, hides that 7.83% Abv very well! I would encourage those used to drinking lighter lagers or ales to try this beer. I think I paid around $3.50 for a 22oz. at my local Fred Meyer. Very worth it! I shoud have got 2. WTF was I thinking?

In pursuit of 100-Boise

Due to the suggestion of a good friend I am now going to document my findings while pursuing my quest to reach 100 breweries by the age of 40.  This entry will be on number 28 with 29 and 30 to follow in the next day or two, sorry to Justin for my miscalculation earlier.  I am posting this for all of us brewheads that like good beer and hope everyone would post in kind with their findings to either save a trip or begin one for the rest of us.  This last week the wife and I traveled to Boise to stay with our good friends Aaron and Lindsey, who so graciously carted our butts around to these three breweries, one such venture the day after St. Patty's.

# 28-Sockeye Grill and Brewery
http://www.sockeyebrew.com/index.htm

This brewery was set up very well and had a good pub feel to it.  Unfortunately the beer was not quite up to par in comparison to the other two breweries.   During this venture we partook in the Purple Haze Espresso Stout, Powerhouse Porter, Wooly Bugger Wheat, and sampled the Dagger Falls IPA.

 The Purple Haze, in my humble opinion, did not produce.  In terms of a stout it was decent, in terms of an espresso stout it lacked.  Good malty flavor, lacking the roasted notes that you would expect to find, and finished dry.  Although I could have downed a pint or two on a good night the longevity was not there that I expected.

The Powerhouse Porter by far was the strongest beer that we sampled.  Its color was a rich dark brown that was crowned by a tan head, that mirrored more of an American style stout than a porter.  Malt sweetness was present but was balanced with a hop aroma and a chocolate finish.  Aaron and I both agreed that this was a beer to drink throughout a good night and would not get old.

The Woolybugger Wheat was by far my least favorite, not due to the beer lacking in any respect, but more it did not push the envelope.  This is expected with a lighter grained beer that is sparingly hopped and produced with the mindset of  being a "thirst quencher."  My wife and Lindsey tried it, let it be said that neither are beer "drinkers", and Lindsey described the flavor as "dirty water", which could easily explain its lack-luster flavor.  Would I drink this....no, but I know many like this light wheat ale style.

Lastly we have the Dagger Falls IPA that boasts a silver medal in the North American Brewers Festival in 2003 and 2008.  This beer totally produced as an IPA and I found that quite enjoyed the flavor.  The hops used produced both floral and citrus undertones that were not overpowered by an overly sweet malt flavor.  Very well balanced .


Overall it was a decent enough brewery that I could have gone to and been reasonably happy with my night.  The menu was chocked full of options and the service was quite good.  Unfortunately the beer, although good, was not stupendous enough to lend to a Friday night growler run.

X  3  out of 5

Imperial Stout has been Secondaried

So i pulled that son-of-a-biscuit outta the primary today and racked it to the secondary.  It was black as night and was a crazy 11.4 % ABV already.  Threw in the Champagne yeast after I racked it so we shall see what happens over the next 4 months-more to come.

Willy Blanks

Girly drinks?

I was at a concert last night and was very disappointed to see the abundance of tattooed, young wanna-be types sporting a foo foo drink in their hand.  Whether this is an attempt at getting in touch with their feminine side or just trying to be supportive of their female companion I do not know.  What I do know is that it is very sad to see individuals choose this form of beverage over a well crafted brew.

I really am hoping that this is a one time occurrence that will not be repeated.  The question I propose to you all is why? Why the need to drink something that has an umbrella in it?  Who is to blame for this atrocity?

Willy Blanks

suggestions

alright so i'm working on putting together anothe recipe and i'm getting close to having some free time as my last quarter UW comes to a close on the 16th. my celebration brew i wanted to venture out and create my own recipe (kinda) obviously stole ideas from multiple of recipes but i wanted some suggestions and ideas on this batch from the more experience brewers here. i haven't been brewing for too long and have really yet to step out and create my own recipe so here it is let me know what you think , the idea here is for an oaky vanilla stout, suggested changes are more than welcome:

6.0 lbs. Dark malt extract
1 lb. Brown Sugar
3/4 lb. Crystal 50L
1/4 lb. Chocolate malt
1 oz. Northern Brewer bittering hops
Wyeast 1318 London Ale III yeast---suggestions please?
3/4 cup priming sugar

2 Vanilla beans added to secondary--should i use more or less?
***Oak Wood Chips***secondary/primary?--is this a good idea?

thanks in advance.....
altona's brew juice

Imperial Stout

So it has been brewed-Descent Imperial Stout.  Ended up with an O.G. of 1.105 so we shall see how low she gets.  Used Dry English Ale by White Labs for the yeast, and utilized the extra day or two before brewing to do a yeast starter to help handle that high gravity.  Looking for a alcohol content of 11-13% and should be obtainable, gonna be a heavy one.  Got two weeks and gonna throw it into a secondary with some White Labs Champagne yeast for about 3-4 months.  Will keep ya updated on tasting dates.

Willy Blanks