<p>Get your shilly hops out of my liquid funtime.</p>

 

 

Had a Stone IPA last night, because cheap. Amazing what food pairing can do for beer. It went from from overly bitter to just right once some pizza came to save the day.

 

I think there's already a thread for girlie drinks and other fgt stuff
go post there aidan

 

Sometimes. This isn't anything like a porter. It's very american/red ale style but with more roasty maltness. Big difference: you don't have to think about what you're having with it like you do with porters.

Think more Founders Red's Rye or something. I can't recall the other one like this that I was into.

 

I'll have to see if it's available locally. Sounds pretty decent

 

I love reds made with rye. It gives a super interesting spicy malt character and pairs well with earthy hops like Willamette or Kent Goldings but can work equally well with west coast hops like Cascade and Centennial, in moderation. As long as its not so bitter than it overwhelms the rye. One of my favorite homebrew recipes is full of chocolate rye and Willamette.

I've always wanted to brew a California Common with rye and Northern Brewer & Willamette. If/when I get back into brewing this is on my list.

Bulleit Rye Whiskey is also one of my favorites, for the same reasons

 

I love rye whisky. I have been going through the store's supply of inexpensive yet highly rated ryes over the last year or so. I found Dickel and Old Overholt to be very tasty for the price.

But yes, rye beers are the stuff of win.

Not sure about a common though, I still like them with more aley bite.

 

Smells really sour, but isn't that sour to taste. Really oaky finish.

It was pretty tastey, but not really worth what it cost. /shrug

 

I love the taste of rye, but it's a huge pain in the *** to brew with since it turns into cement by the end of the mash.

 

I've never had a wine barrel beer that didn't taste like rotten grapes.

To be fari, though, I really don't like bourbon barrel aged beers, either.

 

Well, I was out in MA yesterday, checking out the progress of Space Simulation Chamber i'm having built for work. On the way home, it just so happened that Tree House Brewing was nearby, so I stopped in and grabbed a mixed 12-pack of their Julius IPA and Haze Double IPA.

First of all, this place was bananas. 300 or so people waiting in line for beer. I guess that's what happens when your IPA is rated #1 in the world (I blame Beer Advocate..).

Anyhow, I've said before that I'm not an IPA guy by any means, but found Julius to be very drinkable. Very fruity; well beyond the typical citrus notes you get from some IPAs. Still, it was extremely hoppy without being at all bitter, and had a great mouth feel. Some IPA's feel too dry, but this was quite the opposite. Overall, probably my favorite IPA yet. I really wanted to try their Mosaic, but the growler line was hilarious.

 

Same, I've had very few (like maybe 2-3) barrel aged beers that I enjoyed. The rest were finished because I had spent my own hard earned dollars on them.

 

Last night my fembot and I went to the micro brew tap room around the corner from our place. I had a Stone Ruin Ten Double IPA that was good, but not spectaular. Middle of the road DIPA. Strong, hoppy, slightly too bitter for my taste. I prefer a fruity/ floral IPA. It wasn't a bag of grass clippings and pine tree sap, but it wasn't my favorite.

After that I had an Evil Twin Molotov Cocktail Imperial IPA that was phenomenal. Very flavorful and rich. Lots of fruity/ floral flavor, and lots of sweet malt. It has a very full mouth feel more like a stout than an IPA. Overall I was very pleased with my little $8 glass of water and cereal.

My fembot had a Steigl Radler, which would be a righteous boat/ beach/ drink all day beer.

 

Came home to this:



Fermenter blew the lid across the room.

 

^I'm so worried of that. I'm going to be using a blowoff tube for my first 5 gallon batch.

Two new favorites. Bell's 30th Anniversary Ale and Witch's Hat Rez get's SMASHED. The Bell's is a really really dark and heavy Imperial Stout. It's 11% of wonderful flavors, and doesn't hint at the high ABV as much as other high ABV beers. The SMASHED is an Imperial IPA that's sooooo smooth compared to the average hoppy IPA. That one is 10%.

 

This is a yeast with a reputation for misbehavior (wyeast trappist high gravity) and I'm fermentating a nearly 1.1 OG beer. I woke up this morning, saw it was furiously bubbling but with no sign of yeast clogs. Said to myself "oh this isn't really that bad, maybe it's only bad at high temperatures." Put the cap back on the airlock and boom, it exploded this afternoon.

With the cap off the airlock, the yeast just flows out the airlock and pools on the lid of the fermenter. It's really atrocious. There must be at least a gallon or two of solid yeast on top of the beer slowly pushing its way out of the fermenter right now.

Really, I need to buy a bigger fermenter if I'm going to keep making these monster beers.

So what are you making?

 

Damn, I wish they shipped their goodness out my way.

 

I currently have a one gallon batch of Brewers Best Imperial Stout carbonating in bottles right now, and I have an ingredient kit for 5 gallons of Keystone American IPA that I should be brewing this weekend.

 

Always cool to see more people taking up brewing. There are now three people actively brewing at my job with a bunch more on the verge of taking it up.