Hop Rhyzomes Ordered! (#homebrew)

I just contacted Pete at Simply Homebrew and ordered two each Chinook, Centennial, and Nugget rhyzomes to go in this year.

Here's a few shots of our existing hop yard consisting of Cascade and Willamette varieties.

It is a C-H-O-R-E keeping the bines down to a reasonable number.

The new varieties will be going in apart from what you see here on a new raisable trellis mechanism.

Are you dreaming of fresh hop beer yet?









Cascade and Willamette producing well and going into their 4th year.

Here's Marley's Tire Chaser IPA

A Quick Trip to Marley's Brewery and Grille in Bloomsburg

D and I and hundreds of other like-minded beer fie...err friends froze our patoochies off last night to get into Marley's to experience what this new brewery has to offer...

Through the front door (don't mind the big Harry's sign overhead out front from when this was Harry Magee's old haunt) is a large high-ceilinged taproom. There's a big chalk board just inside on the left that welcomes and entices. Straight ahead lies a wonderful u-shaped bar with oaken-plank bar-top, perhaps 40 feet long (seating for maybe 18) and lit by some nice pendants and fronted by a slick oak Chicago bar rail. The bar overhang is supported by rugged corbels underneath. There's a unique canopied back bar with shelving holding three sizes of gleaming beer glassware to the left and right of the large center mirror etched with Marley's Brewery and Grille logo. Beaded trim used throughout--bar front, backbar trim around cabinet doors, etc.

To the right and continuing down to the back of the taproom are pub tables. Half-way down the right wall is a passageway with hostess station, that leads to a more intimate dining room with booths beyond. The neat transom over the opening to the passageway depicts the equipment and stages of the brewing process.

To the beer.

In order of preference I liked the Tire Chaser IPA the most. It tastes crisply different for these parts and it doesn't snarl at ya. It's just absolutely Deeeeeelicious! (I would like to know what hops were used in this.) The aroma on this one really opens up from a shaker pour!

The Wagging Tail Wit made me want to get out and mow the lawn it's so dang good. Nota bene: I can never get enough Belgian wheat beer.

The Guard Dog Porter is almost a stout with so much chocolate that it had me thinkin' I'd time traveled to Valentine's Day and overdosed on a box.

You know what I like about US Porters? They're all different and not beholden to some antique stylings. And now we have three fine local examples: Petey's Porter from Old Forge Brewing Company, Grumpy Bill Porter from Berwick Brewing Company and now Guard Dog Porter. Deeeeeeeelicious!

We live in great times, don't ya think?

The Kong Kolsch is, well, a kolsch which I'm not a huge fan of. Very drinkable though.

Finally the Dog Runner Red is my least favorite. Too malty for me, but I ain't no Saint Michael.

The last two beers, the Rope Tug Rye (sounds good doesn't it?) and the Droopy Ear Alt won't be on until sometime next week according to our barmaid.

I may be wrong about this, but the rye may just be the first rye produced by any of the local breweries. I count local as Danville northeast along the Susquehanna to Plains.

I can't wait to try it.

If my eyes don't deceive me (and lately they have been) the beer menu lists the sugar content of the beer pre and post-fermentation in degrees Plato: °P. °P is roughly the number of grams of sugar in a 100 gram aqueous solution. Now when's the last time you saw anyone relate Plato to beer and on a beer menu to boot?

I had to look it up, but a rough conversion is to take the °P and multiply it by 4 to obtain specific gravity. This is what I'm most familiar with in homebrewing. So I took the IPA as an example and did the multiplication. It gave me an original gravity of 1.054 and final gravity of 1.0096. That sounds about right for a 6% ABV.

Speaking of barmaids, you won't find a nicer bunch. Hi Babbling B!

The canine theme continues with the pack of growlers over there. (I brought one home filled with the Tire Chaser IPA and I can't wait until The Best Part of Every Day™ to crack it!)

Marley's is located in downtown Bloomsburg on East Main Street (also known as route 11). If you're coming from the west, it's easy to reach from the Lightstreet exit (236) of I-80 by taking 487 south into town. If you're coming from the east, take the Berwick exit (241) of I-80 onto 11 south.

There's a municipal parking lot one block behind Marley's and a block north (towards the college). There are signs on East Main St. that will lead you right in to the parking.

In short, there's lots to like about this place. The beer's cold and good and there's a Happy Hour when two of the beers (brewer's choice) are a buck off. They do serve some wines too, so even those without a lusty jonesin' for a beer goin' on can be appeased. There are beer flights which we sampled. The beer can be ordered in 12, 16, and 23 ounce pours and the prices are pretty good for these parts. The service is great: attentive and quick. Can't speak for the food, other than a wee pretzel snack we enjoyed the heck out of.

It seems the staff was ironing the kinks out of the point of sale system, but they were managing to keep it all under control.

I did not see a whole lot of college-age kids but there were some. Not that there's anything wrong with that--beer does not discriminate based on age.

I think what we have here is a worthy addition to our now on-fire beer scene. And I hope this never ends.

Good luck Marley's.

And we'll be back.

Victory Brewing Company to be Featured at Valentine's Day Prohibition Themed Beer Dinner

This just in from our roving beer reporter, contributing today from the Savannah bureau.

Victory Brewing Company beers are to be featured at a beer pairing dinner being held at The Distillery in Savannah Georgia, on February 14th 2011, starting at 6:00 pm.

The dinner will be featuring seven of Victory Brewing Company beers paired with five food courses. Beers for the dinner include: Storm King Stout, V-12, Schwartz Pils, Hop Wallop, Helios Farmhouse Ale, Old Horizontal, Prima Pils....and possibly a few other appearances.

This dinner will be a true "Prohibition" themed event. The Distillery will have paper up on the front windows and the front doors will be locked. All attendees must use the side door with a secret knock with a secret password (given at time of making reservations).....just like the ol' Speakeasies. There will be music from the 20's and 30's, and dress from that time era is encouraged. A prize will be given for the best costumes.

Cost is $60 for beer club members and $70 for non-members.

See your bartender or call The Distillery at (912)236-1772 to make a reservation and find out details of the food pairings.

The key to your baby's heart on Valentine's Day in Savannah this year, won't be found in a box of chocolates but in a glass of Victory Beer and some fine food pairings.

The Distillery is the Savannah area's only true craft beer bar and restaurant with 21 rotating craft beers on tap and over 100 bottled beers. They offer Savannah fine fresh pub food inspired by the craft beer showcased.

Pszenica-piwo.blogspot.com Spanning the Beer Globulet, so you can just sit there, drink beer, and have fun. And communicate pithy commentary from your smartphone every now and then.®

Sliding into Damenti's Ice Bar for a Quick One!

Last night S and I slid in to a crowded Damenti's Ice Bar in Mountain Top for a quick one and a good cause.

The barmaid told us that the proceeds from the $3.00 cover charge this year are going to repair a local Mountain Top man's barn that was also his home, which recently burned down.

The first thing you'll notice is that this year marks a change in the ice bar design in that it's no longer all-ice like an igloo, but instead is built under a permanent roof.

Inside the crystalline objet d'art, we found a sensational 30' ice bar where we could pick from a selection of canned beers (none of which terrifically tickled our tails), plenty of cocktails and a wicked rum punch that turned out to be deeeeeeeelicious! Careful now, anything placed on the bar is liable to slide right off.

The inside walls are adorned with sometimes stunning natural scenes depicted in sunken and Bas-relief.  The few pictures here don't do the artistry of the 500-plus man-hours of work justice.

This whimsical snail utters: "Welcome to Damenti's Ice Bar."

Every ice bar needs a throne upon which the Ice Queen's fat arse may rest!

The back bar is a wonder and it even has an ice mirror!

Hey Tazio, What's in the Beer Meister (Single malt IPA, Slimy the Imposter, #homebrew)

Aah, yes....

The Meister be filled and we be whittlin' away at some fine homebrew for the past few weeks.

The Espresso Stout is about kicked, barely holding on 1/2 way out the back door of the Meister, but, no fear: we've got a new roomie lined up. More about that later. This stout was a good beer, a fine beer--don't get us wrong: chocolaty and faintly espresso flavored, with just a wee bit of hop flavor and taste. Beautiful color and a tempting chocolate-milk head. We were a tad disappointed by the espresso flavor--didn't use anything special for the espresso, just grocery store Espresso Napolitano. Will be brewing this again but will try some other espresso.

The second keg contains our first attempt at all-grain that started out as the Blackfoot River Brewing Co.'s single malt IPA clone. But sans the correct hops (Citra substituted), it turned quite good in its own right: a grapefruity vunderkind knockout which even S enjoys the hell out of. This one's a bit foamy and never calmed down much and it too's almost kicked.

But wait: there's more...

The third keg is an all-grain repeat of Slimy the Imposter, but this time with the correct hops, but the wrong yeast. (Sidebar: our starter never, um started, and in a masterstroke (not really, more like a desperate attempt to save brew day) pitched a outdated packet of Munton's ale yeast into the starter. It did the trick and this version turned very clear (the Munton's yeast perhaps?) unlike the previous ver. Fine and dry as tinder be. D loves it but T enjoyed the previous version which had Amarillo substitution and seemed truer to the real thing. Pliny the Elder really does live up to the hype.

So, if all goes according to plan, a sensational (?) little black CDA should be taking up residence in the Meister, two weeks hence. We're calling this Zeroth Degree CDA in honor of our first zero degree brew day yesterday. We hit pre-boil gravity right on a 1.06 and starting gravity of 1.07. It's percolating nicely now.

Damenti's Ice Bar is Open!

Arrrrrrrrr!

Just passed by Damenti's ice bar on the way home from work and I see that it's now open for the year.

Here's some pics of what it looked like last year.

Gotta stop in tonight and see what Kevin and Helen have in store this year.

A scurvy dog tied to the yardarm?

Grog anyone?

Converting SS Vats to Boil/Mash/HLTs (#homebrew)

Sittin' here sippin' another Espresso Stout (Deeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious!) and considerin' whether or not the 40 gallon SS vats D and I obtained for a song (99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall) need thicker bottoms. (These are destined for our 1 BBL brew system.)

These vats are being re-purposed from who-knows-what to Boil/Mash/HLTs. Bottoms seem a might thin to me. Definitely not as thick as say, the steel used in constructing a half beer barrel (keg).

Consider: TIG welding another plate of SS to the bottom lip and optionally sandwiching a couple sheets of copper in between. Or, cut out the bottom and TIG weld in a new replacement bottom. Will need to talk to a welder to get their input on this--maybe this week.

Sides seem to be heavier gauge than the bottom. (!)

Also, need to install nipples for well thermometers and drain valves.

Don't have lids but they are available commercially and need not be fabricated.

These vats are dandy (very minimal investment so far) and even with some fabrication cost, would still be less than buying new.

Hmm....

Best part of every day.™

Rainwater Wort Cooling (#homebrew)

Sittin' here nursin' an Espresso Stout and considering the viability of collecting rainwater into underground storage tanks for the purpose of cooling wort.

Imagine the brew-house structure's rain downspouts directing rainwater into a large storage tank or tanks, with overflow optionally to a second tank or tanks. Another or other tanks are always empty, but need not be.

On brew day, to cool the wort, pump rain water from a source tank containing cold water, through the heat exchanger (chilling the wort) and into a destination tank which is initially empty or nearly so and slowly fills with the now warm water.

After a suitable time when the warm water has had a chance to cool, use that tank as the source for the cold cooling water for the next batch, pumping it through the heat exchanger to a destination empty tank. Repeat, swapping tanks.

Switching source and destination tanks could be a manual operation using valves.

There is no harm in filling all available tanks with rainwater and simply directing the downstream warm water into a pond or using it to irrigate, say, the hop yard. It could also be used for animal drinking water.

Of course, tank sizing is important and depends on the temperature of the stored cold water and the batch sizes.

Underground tanks should be buried based on the local climate, to ensure cool water for summertime brewing, although storing the water higher than the brew-house and using gravity to feed the heat exchanger should be investigated.

Underground tanks in freezing climates must be buried under the frost line to ensure liquidity.

Fiberglass or plastic tanks would be preferable so that they last a long time. The tanks don't store potable water but simply cooling water--hence clean-outs would be nice but not absolutely necessary.

There is a brewery in Georgia, 5 Seasons Brewing Company, that has a rainwater catchment system.

It would be beneficial to investigate their system for other ideas.

Best part of every day.™

Oh, was I ever a good boy this year...#homebrew

L thoughtfully considered my passion and gifted me a copy of the Homebrewer's Companion by Charlie Papazian--this completes my set of the trilogy.

But that's not all.

L also presented me a gift certificate to Simply Homebrew. With which I will endeavour to produce a Winter seasonal, superb in all ways and heretofore unseen, to brew, age and have ready for next year. Thank you!

But wait, there's more.

S, got me a set of beer-themed tee shirts--pithy and surely to spur guffaws. I'll cherish them, and wearing one, think of her every time I brew. For at least two minutes.

Boy am I lucky.

Here's to everyone having a very Merry Christmas and hoping you all realize your wishes too.

Best part of every day™

Five Pale Ales Do Not a Beer Menu Make (or: Hey Tazio, What's in the Beer Meister?)

We've been lookin' at comin' up with a beer menu that isn't overwhelmed with pale ales. (This ain't balmy `ol England: This is America and we're Americans seared in the fires of Exceptionalism! We think we can do a bit better than that.)

So we're searchin' for a beer menu that even the wimpiest women (no offense meant) and stoutest men (again, no offense) could enjoy. With the parameters that there be a maximum of five beers and that all the beers be homebrewed. A menu of beers that a real beer drinker could take with them to a deserted island to live out their days with.

So to those ends we've spent many hours contemplating the problem of constructing this perfect beer menu.

And what a problem to have.

Brewing. Tasting. Tinkering.

Brewing.

Tasting.

Tasting.

Brewing. Tasting.

Let there be no mistake: Considerable thought, energy, and effort has and continues to be expended on this task.

So, as we open the door into the nether reaches of the Beer Meister today (aka the malt vault), we find, a little beauty with nary a fancy name but Espresso Stout.

She is as smooth as 16 shots of 100% Columbian brewed espresso can be--with a middling coffee flavor, hardly any hop aroma and just a wee bit of hop flavor. Slightly creamy, but she's young yet. Even S declared upon sipping (and sipping): “Smooth!”

Pssst: “Wit's up next, Tazio?” In good time all will be revealed.

Best part of every day.™

Pennsylvania Breweries 4th Edition by Lew Bryson

Chances are if you like good beer you've heard of Lew Bryson.

But what you may not have heard, especially if you're not a beer buff, is that he has a new book entitled Pennsylvania Breweries, 4th Edition.

Lew is a Pennsylvanian hailing from the southeast (Newtown) who really knows his beer. His blog Seen Through a Glass is widely read in beer and spirit circles around the world.

He has brought his knowledge of beer along with a love for travel and takes the reader on a tour of the 73 regional breweries, microbreweries, nanobreweries, and brewpubs that call Pennsylvania home.

One chapter in the book describes the history of old established breweries spread around the state--breweries like D. G. Yuengling and Son, Straub, and the Lion Brewery. Philly and Pittsburgh, rightfully so, get their own sections. Breweries no longer with us since the last edition about five years ago, also get their own thankfully short chapter.

The remainder of the book is arranged by geographic region--a few pages or four describing each brewery.

Between chapters is a brief page or two that serve to define and explain aspects of the beer surround. Like what's the difference between an ale and a lager. Or what's all the fuss about beer festivals. Or a description of the brewing process. These short essays as well as the helpful glossary at the back, make the world of beer a bit easier to quaff for the newbie.

There are up-to-date historical descriptions of the breweries and their beers and there's always an interesting story or two that aren't very well known. (I didn't know that the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre brews tanks and tanks of the Malta soft drink!) The author clearly presents beer geek factoids like who owns the brewery, who's the brewmaster, what type of brewhouse is employed, its maximum annual capacity, and recent production numbers. Any student of the current state of brewing in the Commonwealth will surely find a treasure trove of good information here.

Following each brewery entry, the author presents a list of local area attractions that would be a boon for any visitor who wanted to set out an a beer adventure. These include places to stay, things to do, places to eat (with dishes that can't be missed), good local beer bars, and other attractions that could be dovetailed with a brewery visit. Contact information is presented for each place along with a sentence or two of description about what's here that would entice and/or make the visit special for the reader. (As an example, if you visit The Memphis Taproom in Philly, the author suggests to try the King Rarebit [Note to self: Try the King Rarebit the next time in Philly!]). Bold italic font is used for the place names, which is great for quickly finding what you're looking for.

This is not a book that intends to rate breweries or beers and the author says as much in the opening pages.

The author's language is colorful and the stories are informative, entertaining, and make reading this book fun. The partitioning of the book makes this a splendid travel companion when one is exploring afield for wider Pennsylvania beer experiences--you WILL be referring to it again and again as you wander the Pennsylvania road in search of a cool one. The in-between chapters and glossary are educational, especially for the newbie.

This book would be a super Christmas present for a beer drinking friend or loved one. Or a beer drinking love. You get the idea.

Certainly this book will be used a hundred years from now as a reference on the current renaissance period of brewing in Pennsylvania.

Highly recommended.

Title: Pennsylvania Breweries, 4th Edition
Author: Lew Bryson
Copyright 2010 by Stackpole Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 304 pages
Trim Size: 6 x 9
ISBN: 978-0-8117-3641-1
Photos: 42 logos
Maps: 50 maps
Available: September-10
Publisher: Stackpole Books

N.B. Amazon claims that this book IS available in the Kindle Edition (unverified or tested) and Barnes and Noble claims it's not available in NOOKBook format.

Credit for the photo of the book's cover design at the top of this article is due to Tessa J. Sweigert. The brewery labels and logos were used by permission of breweries.

The author of this book and its publisher (and the author of this article) encourage readers to visit the breweries and sample their beers and recommend that those who consume alcoholic beverages travel with a nondrinking driver.

Downtown Bloomsburg Becoming Beer Oasis

D and I were the proverbial curious kids peeping into a construction site recently at what will soon be Marley's Brewery and Grille in Bloomsburg.

It's right next to the old Hotel Magee in a narrow storefront that was formerly Harry's.

(Do I have a story about the Hotel Magee! Involving a six year old, a grandmother, and a Greyhound bus. But that's for another time.)

From what we could see from the sidewalk, the bar is straight away running down the left wall, long, cool, and perhaps 40 feet long! An open seating area/dining room looks to fill the right-side of the place. I don't know what they'll have on draught but the photo of their fermenters on their Facebook has me dreaming that there will be some wonderful amber nectar flowing soon in the only town in Pennsylvania!

Cool logo too.

And that's not all. There's another bar across the street that just opened in the old movie theater. Sadly, don't remember the name, but they had some nice beers on draught (perhaps 12) and in bottles (about a hundred). The Mad Elf from the tap had me thinkin', but I was drivin' and opted for a lager instead. `Keep said they would be adding a few more taps so stay tuned.

Will the college kids frequent these places or will they have a more diverse clientele?

Boston Beer Company Looking Good

This just in:

Brewery stocks are in focus today after Boston Beer (SAM 95.60, +10.85) raised its forecast for its 2010 profit to $3.30 to $3.60 per share after forecasting a profit of $2.85 to $3.15 per share on November 4th. Shares of Molson Coors (TAP 50.64, +0.90) are seeing a nice bounce on the news, while Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD 57.36, -0.53) is trading lower.

Must be all those $20 bottles of Infinium they're sellin'!

But 95 a share, SAM looks awful pricey...

I'm just wonderin': how long is it gonna be before some other craft breweries go public?