A Single Malt Exercise

Next in line is an experiment with single malt.

As in brewing, not distilling.

(Although distilling a single malt whisky like Glenmorangie is a beguiling idea.)

Specifically we're going brew a clone of Blackfoot River Brewing Company's Singlemalt IPA.

Teeming with Simcoe® and Cascade hops, stiffened by Maris Otter, using our own mountain water straight out of Glen Summit Springs, this baby looks so dang good on paper, we just had to do it.

Do or do not. There is no try. --Yoda

Best part of every day.™

Magnolia Pub & Brewery, Haight-Ashbury

Ringing that bluebell Caught up in sunlight Come on out singing and I'll walk you in the sunshine Come on honey, come along with me Lyrics from Sugar Magnolia; Robert C. Hunter, Robert Hall Weir

Aah...

You know, it's pretty easy feelin' the vibe evoked by those lyrics--you might've felt `em yourself: mayhap feelin' the sweep of a warm October day passing over you...

Standing on your baby's porch, sunlight filtering down through the trees, moving across you, catching and warming your arm, releasing and moving across your cheek...

Then, ringing your honey's bell, there she is smilin'! You happy to be asking her to go out for a walk in the fabulously brilliant sunshine. Arm in arm.

Remember those days...

Well those lyrics were going through the `ed, and it was just like that when we got off the bus in the Haight and walked back a block or so to the Magnolia Pub & Brewery for a bite `n pint. (When you see this on a wall, you'll know you're getin' close.)

Like the dream, there it was situated on the corner of Haight and Masonic, the structure of a certain age, this superlative day the door wide-open, pleasantly beckoning to come in and have a look around.

Passing through the corner doorway crowned by a stained glass transom declarative of the building's address at 1398 Haight Street, the pub's bright and ethereal, with plenty of windows for late afternoon sunlight to beam in from two sides. Tables and chairs arranged in front and to the right and booths and semi-banquettes down the left side. A linear bar standing along the back wall with the kitchen behind that. Another lustrous wide pine bar top similar to the one over at the Monk's Kettle. We sure don't see `em like this in NEPA!

Almost all of the beers on the menu are their own, brewed below Haight Street. Look closely and you'll see a smattering of guest beers--as it should be, natch. Major styles give good account of themselves but overall there seems to be a definite English ale bent to the menu with a Stout, a Porter, a couple of Bitters, a Pale Ale and a couple of IPAs on the menu. This menu was from last week--hit their site to see what's on today!

There was only a pico-second hesitation before selecting and ordering up a flight of six of their beers: five from the casks--one depreciating sawbuck was all it took.

Don't wait: you might only get five a few minutes from now!

They arrived in approximately a pool rack, and a half hour later, after talking the ears off a fellow beer aficionado visiting from Boston, we had cleared the table of all six and could reflect on the experience. Overall, we favored the High Time Harvest Ale hopped with Simcoe®. (We assumed the hops were fresh but didn't ask. Duh.) A beautiful light amber color welcomes, glinting through the tall cylindrical glass topped by a thin head. Subtly nice aroma and hop flavor, by no means overwhelming, with a clean finish and decent lacing--very nice overall. We'd characterize this as a pretty darn good harvest ale.

Next favorite was the the Long Break. The others in the rack were more English standards, of which we're not a super-huge fan. Still, good drinkable session beers all around. Bright, fresh, crisp and clean. Very British (sans the bad teeth,) and the perfect complement to fine conversation. The ten-spot turned out to be a good investment for a chance to sample six of the brewer's best work. The flight card's a great idea as a reminder to what you're drinking--any place offering flights should have something like this.

Egggggggggggsalentttttttttttt!

`Bout this time we were feelin' it and decided to have the aforementioned bite. As it was to be, we discovered the food menu here, creative and unique. Both the food and the design of the physical menu on which it's presented.

The menu's pages are bound within a mid to heavyweight dark front and back cover. The front cover is cleanly embellished with the establishment's name and printed on the inside of the back cover is a brew house worksheet--just the sort of thing that we were pondering as the waiter returned for the third time to ask if we were ready to order!

We didn't wish to spoil our appetites too much so we chose an order of house-cut fries and chicken andouille from the bar menu.

Deeeeeeeeeeelectible!

After we finished, the press of places to go and things to do propelled us (as they often do) up and out, and we left and reentered the brilliant sunshine.

Overall, we'd have to say that the Magnolia Pub and Brewery was impressive all-around. The beers were top-quality and the savory munchies we tried were satisfying and top-notch--the likes of which you won't find just everywhere. The bar-tenders were attentive. The pub was popular, busy, and buzzing with vibrant flavors. Ladies room clean and accommodating according to S--this would most assuredly be an excellent place to meet for a first date. Not insignificant is the convenience of reaching this gastropub: several Bus and MUNI routes pass nearby: 6, 7, 37, 43, and 71.

Highly recommended.

Musings on Ales and Hop Flavor and Aroma

Being from NEPA I regularly enjoy local brews like Weyerbacher Hops Infusion and Double Simcoe IPA; Victory Hop Devil, Hop Wallop> and the seasonal Yakima Twilight; Dogfish Head 60 and 90 minute I.P.A; Troegs Nugget Nectar and more recently Stoudt's American Pale Ale.

These beers are similar with respect to the intensity of hop-forward aroma and taste, and also similar to the west cost ``hoppy'' ales like Bear Republic's Racer 5, Lagunitas Hop Stupid, Stone, Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA, and other beers of that ilk.

But after visiting Barley's and Jack of the Wood in Asheville and Foothills Brewing in Winston-Salem, and trying some let's say mid-south or Appalachian or just simply North Carolina beers, I came to the realization that there's another different and excellent take on hoppy brews bearing a pale ale or india pale ale style.

I had Hoppyum IPA, Seeing Double IPA, and a Pilot Mountain Pale Ale at Foothills; Green Man IPA at Jack of the Wood; and French Broad Brewery's Rye Hopper and Pisgah Brewing Company's Organic Pale Ale at Barley's.

And later in Memphis I had a Yazoo Pale Ale and Schlafly Dry-Hopped APA from Nashville and St. Louis respectively. These were more hop-forward and in similar in intensity to east and west coast hoppy ales.

So basically, I book-ended a few North Carolina beers with beers from the mid-west and my familiar east and west coast hoppy beers.

What did I learn?
My totally non-scientific conclusion is that if you're coming from an east or west coast hoppy ale mindset, you will find some of these styles of beers from the North Carolina area of the country, different. Wow, big revelation, no?

These beers are great in their own right however and are not to be dismissed. What makes them great are the more subtle hop-forward aroma and flavor. This makes them highly sessionable as they don't have the ``burn'' of the more hop-forward beers which sometimes, a pint is all one can handle. The bitterness is there all right, giving them that fantastic dryness that is hard to beat when it's hot.

Bravo!

2009 Christmas Variation IPA

Monday I brewed a very special beer: One containing only homegrown hops.

I may have gone a bit overboard on the exhilaration quotient when I used a total of 14 ounces of whole flower Cascade and Willamette. And I have dry hopping yet to go.

This is gonna be good.

As I stood there with a few extra ounces of Simcoe® and Amarillo pellets as the wort was boiling, I was faced with a decision. Should I toss them in too or save them for a rainy day? One of life's real quandaries, no? I decided against for the sake of science.

I have no idea how strong these hops are: They were harvested by my Dad in September and immediately vacuum sealed and frozen. They are basically fresh hops.

Hail to the New Prez American P.A.!

It appears to be a long time a comin' but it's finally here. Got to speak out to the masses on this.

Totally independent swill drinkers can vouch for this brew as being the best so far of my fledgling attempts to create the next great American P.A.

This brew rawkes!
You nailed the finish this time!
You should give this away!
You should sell this!

And my homage to the Atomic Punk I.P.A.

New Prez APA

Date: 1/4/2009
Batch Size: 5.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.25 gal
Brewer: Tazio
Boil Time: 60 min
Water: Glen Summit Springs

6.0# Munton's Light Extract
3.3# Pale Liquid Extract
1.0# Crystal Malt (steeped 20 min at 65.5 degrees C, sparged w/1 qt 65.5 degrees C)

Bittering Hops
.50 oz Cascade (60 min; pellet; 5.5%)
.50 oz Amarillo Gold (60 min; pellet; 8.5%)
1.50 oz Simcoe® (60 min; pellet 13.00%)

First Wort Hop
.75 oz Cascade (15 min; pellet; 5.5%)
.50 oz Amarillo Gold (15 min; pellet; 8.5%)
.50 oz Simcoe (15 min; pellet; 13.00%)

Irish Moss
1.00 tsp (10 min)

Aroma Hop
.25 oz Cascade (1 min; pellet; 5.5%)
.50 oz Amarillo Gold (1 min; pellet; 5.5%)
.25 oz Simcoe (1 min; pellet; 13.00%)

1 pkg Irish Ale (Wyeast Labs #1084)

Ferment
4 days at 68 degrees F

Secondary Fermentation
8 days at 68 degrees F

Dry Hop in Secondary
1.50 oz Cascade (my whole flower; est. 4%)
.50 oz Cascade (pellet; 5.5%)
.50 oz Amarillo Gold (pellet; 8.5%)
.75 oz Simcoe (pellet; 13.00%)

Bottling
1 1/4 cup extra light Munton's DME

Measured O.G.
1.070

Measured F.G.
1.020

Est. ABV
6.5

Bitterness
62.9 IBU

Cost
About $75.00

Tasting Notes
It cleared up nicely--better aroma but still not that punch in the nose I was looking for--great head--nice hop/malt balance. Very drinkable.

Bottling of the New Prez I.P.A. complete

I just finished bottling the commemorative, celebratory, paean, which I've been calling the New Prez I.P.A.

This one is loaded with hops including Simcoe®, Cascade, and Amarillo. Dry-hopped with homegrown whole Cascade hops, Amarillo, and more Simcoe®.

In a week or two it should be ready for alpha trial. Beta to follow a couple weeks after that.

This brew is one for the ages--I can just feel it.

Doo Dah Doo Dah Day

Doo Dah Day this morning when I racked into the secondary fermenter and dry hopped with 1.5 oz of whole Cascade, let's see, .25 oz of Simcoe®, .25 oz of Cascade and .25 oz of Amarillo pellets.

That's one song in the bank. Next Song. Next!

Preparations are underway for my next brew. Yet another I.P.A. variation. This time with Simcoe®, and Cascade hops. I'm shooting from the hip on this one aiming for the extremities of conscious pleasure. Stay tuned.

Nobody Rules these Taps But Me, The Atomic Punk!

I am a victim of the science age, the Simcoe® hops, whoa, yeah...

Thank heavens for genetic engineering.

Sped down to One Guy Brewing this afternoon to have a taster of the experiential Dunkel Weizen and the Atomic Punk I.P.A. just released. One Guy is a great brewer of German beers, as evidenced by the Seasons Wheatings, the Peach Wheat, Oktoberfest, et al, but with the Atomic Punk I.P.A. he shows he can kick-hop with the best of Victory, Weyerbacher, Troegs, Dogfish and the like.

This would be considered an American I.P.A. I could discern two of the hops varieties: Simcoe and Cascade. Is the bitterness due to the Amarillo hops? Anyway, it comes in at a nice 6.8% ABV which is just right in my book for a regular I.P.A. Very quaffable, indeed.

The Dunkel Weizen reminds me of root beer soda and in the fine German tradition, is a malty taste treat that goes down easy.

Ended up coming home with a few growlers of each. I'm hoping this becomes a regular.

Simcoe is a registered trademark of Select Botanicals Group LLC.

Lyrics to the discredit of Van Halen

Beer Solutions

Stopped in quickly at Beer Solutions tonight to pick up some sanitizer for bottling the `old Yuletide Brew tomorrow, and had a chance to chat a little with Curt.

The sign limiting hops purchases only with malt purchases has been taken down! When I mentioned this, he said yeah, things are easing up now, so the limitations are history. That's good news as he informed me that Simcoe® hops will be coming in shortly--this year's crop--and I intend to be one of the first in line when they do.

On the way out, I noticed a cool new get-yer-whistle-wet-to-home-brew kit, for $6.99. It comes in a 2 liter plastic soda bottle and it contains the whole kit and kaboodle for doing a small batch of beer. The bottle has water, and hopped malt syrup already mixed and on the cap is a small yeast tablet. All you gotta do is, open the bottle, pop the yeast tablet in, seal it back up, and two weeks later, voila, fresh home-brewed beer! There are three varieties: A Red Lager, and pilsner, and something else. He said that some winemakers had been in and wanted to give brewing a try but didn't want to do a whole 5 gal. batch. If you ask me this is a perfect stocking stuffer for someone who's always wondered what brewing's all about!

Simcoe is a registered trademark of Select Botanicals Group LLC.

Hey, Tazio! What's in the Beermeister?

Is it `meister or `miser?--always wondered about that...

On Saturday, with the weather decidedly proclaiming that Winter had been left behind at last, I loaded up my beer wagon and carted my two empty sixtels back to my favorite distributor, Weyerbacher Winter Ale and Blue Moon may ye rest in peace, it's been nice knowing ye, and replaced them with Sam Adams Summer Ale (one for the ladies) and Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA. I was pleasantly surprised to see the IPA and leaped (ok, white guys can't jump, let's say I hopped) at the chance to try it. For the other, I was initially attracted to the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. I like the Cherry What myself but it's not been a beer that I've seen everyone taking a liking to in the past, even with only the hint of cherries, so I avoided it and settled for the Summer. I usually try for one keg destined for easy drinking and one for a treat and/or special occasions like a new day.

I knew that in general prices have been going up, but wow was I in for sticker shock this time. Discounting the $30 per keg deposit (thanks scrap bootleggers!), my total came to $182! Surely grounds for griping and grumping but since it's for a tall cool one aka good cause, I'll forgo that for now in deference to beer.

Brought them home and, salivating salaciously, regretfully stored them in the miser until I had a chance to tap them which arrived on the day of rest and relaxation. Before tapping, I took the opportunity to clean my beer lines and taps as I am want to do on these occasions. Note to self: one supply tap gasket going, gotta get a replacement at Beer Solutions next time... Another note to self: devise a circulating beer line cleaning system with sanitary valves that can automate the whole process including cleaning, rinsing and drying, to make periodic cleaning much easier.

Then, the moments had arrived in which I would first draw samples of my Spring treats. The Sam Summer Ale I've had before and is close in taste to the Blue Moon. Hey, I like `em tasting like breakfast cereal--wait the Breakfast of Champions! Except not clear like Blue Moon or clear as a Summer day, in fact, more like a clear Spring day, but mighty fine golden color and smooth taste nonetheless. Not really that distinctive to my buds but a nice quencher if you know what I mean. I was really looking forward to the IPA as I had read about it in a NYT article on extreme beers I think it was, a few months ago. It pours with very little head an opaque apple-ciderish color with medium aroma of Hop and a hint of Apricots? Very nice hop taste, not overwhelming like Victory Hop Wallop or even Hop Devil, but somewhere in between and excellent nonetheless. Balanced malt flavor and not much Hop aftertaste. Oh, It's 9% abv. Thrilling!

Eastern PA. Beer Heaven?

Here's a fine article by Eric Asimov on extreme beers. His panel has some good things to say about Weyerbacher and their Double Simcoe I.P.A. Weyerbacher is a great brewery located in Easton and they make some of my favorite beers. Victory of Downingtown PA is mentioned for their Hop Wallop beer.

And here's another with a local slant on the Belgium styles and some places to go to have one (or two) with some good food. Specifically, Monk's Cafe in Philadelphia is mentioned.