Southern Tier Raises the Bar

Mo beer, mo words, mo nyuk nyuk nyuk.

The third meeting of the beer club highlighted selections from Southern Tier Brewery from upstate NY. They've been a perennial classic over the years and quite frankly have yet to disappoint on any levels. Despite only being an active brewery for 7 years they've made some big bold moves and have a bomber line of imperials that serve the name well. not bad for 2 former Goose Island rebel brewtechs.

Sampled last night were the Harvest (an aggressively hopped harvest pale style, odd for the time of year, but not bad by any means), Pumpking imperial pumpkin ale full of spice, hop and a metric assload of nutmeg without the crap of extra sugary sweetness. screw pumpkin pie in a bottle, just eat the effin pie. this however was quite pleasant with a flavor most distinctive.

The 2xIPA was a decent beer, though their goal was a more modest balanced IPA without the blast of a Ruination per se. Very nice aroma and moderate bitterness. The Oak Aged Unearthly however was a beast of hop power and oak sweetness. In no particular order, aromas and flavors of hop, smoke, vanilla, burbon, more hops all come out to play in a rather powerful full flavored full bodied brew.

The stock porter was as described, stock. Good roastedness but with a body a bit more thin than I prefer for Porter, yet still fits within style. doesnt try to overdo it which is nice. The Mokah however was the usual beast the dark imperials aim for. Deep and rich, belgian dark chocolate nibs, arabian coffee beans, and all the goodness that comes when brewing such things. Aftertaste is a dead on starbucks mocha flavor profile without being too sweet. Powerful alcohol warm on the backside makes for a supreme winter finishing beer.

All in all some very nice brews, friendly folk, a small child that had quite a distinguished palate and a free pint glass.

What a country!

-C

The Dogfishery Strikes Again

This past week marked the second meeting of the BBCBC, this time to sample a mighty selection of deliciousness from Dogfish Head Brewery. Straight from the mad mind of Sam Caglione to your mouth we were offered a nice spectrum of their finer craft by a very well versed rep from Atlantic Distribution.

The run began with the typical expected yet always pleasing DFH 60. There's a reason Sam can afford to make some crazy ass beers brewed with ancient mayan spice, more fruit than should be in any liquid (suck it Juicy Juice), and many more things not remotely palatable to the common quaffer because of this beer. When you brew what was, and often is termed the best stock IPA in the country, and cant even meet the demand for it, you get a bye and funding for more exploration. Back to back is the older bro, DFH 90, ranked one of the best IIPAs in the country. more good fortune abounds in its deliciousness.

Then came more of the oddities. The Indian Brown was more flavorful and less sweet then I recalled before. Likewise for Raison d'Etre, though still not a fan of that one. the raisins come in a bit heavy for the tastes. Then however, a sampling of the DFH Fort was passed around. 1 metric ton of raspberries, buckets of malt and an alcohol kiss of 22% brought together more flavor and soul than has come out of Delaware since Washington crossed through to kick British arse. Incredibly complex, warming and malt driven like a barleywine, yet without an overpowering sweet finish and the hint of tart acidic berry only present at the end of the draught. quite impressive and im certain to nab a bottle for the winter months to split with like minded alcoholics as we sip it like port and discuss the state of Parliament, how the Empire fares in the East Indies and what best to do about those dreadful Irish.

Dem's it for now, more reports from the field to come later in a month when Southern Tier takes its turn upon the seat of high judgment.

play on, gui..tar.

C

The Sages Conviene

Monday - MD emissaries Baron et Baroness attended the inaugural meeting of the British Beer Company Beer Club. Yes we have to say it like that, the "BBCBC" just sounded inane. Either way, Joe from the Fuller's Brewery came by to host a wee bit of sampling of some of their finer stock. The old standards of London Pride, ESB and the Porter were as the typical fare, though was pleasantly surprised at the malt flavor and smoothness of the ESB, definitely dont remember it being that full and good. After that though, the Vintage Ale was brought forth, quite a treat. This english malty beast had an aroma that gave off distinct notes of dry grape or even some cidery effects. The body was full as expected with heavy sweet sticky malt, yet not as buttery as a barleywine, with a bit of alcohol bite to it to counter the sugars. Quite a nice bit of beer indeed.

The Club plans to meet once a month to discuss relevant beer topics of the day, descry our passion for the brew, sample new suggested beers and to look ever pretentious with our individually assigned numbered mugs.

So till next time: Tyler Durden says: YOU ARE NOT YOUR FUCKING KHAKIS.. and enjoy good beer.

Pace

About the Authors

Building of the Mothership

more to come later, here's but a teaser of goodness to come

this is actually a big improvement

Is there no one else!?

Apparently, there is.

So a few weeks ago, emissaries from MD brewing set out to represent at the First Annual Gordon's Wine and Spirits Homebrew Competition, as part of Boston beer week 2010. There were apparently 27 entrants and over 30 brews sampled, of which i drank all. incredble stuff to see/ smell/ taste. Looks like there are some others out there that also brew with exotic spices adjuncts and specific flavor profiles in mind. they will be sought out and systematically destroyed, leaving behind only our wake and a salted earth. Such is our ways.

On a less Mad Max-esque note, the winner of the evening, (producer of both an outstanding belgian IPA and farmhouse ale, both spot on for style + and extra je ne sais quoi) took home a giant 1L Chimay gobblet from which to drink only the finest of brews. A second-place straberry saison, (while not my cup of tea) garnered a full pound of hops, while a black IPA got a golf bag (lame).

A most hearty congrats to our victors and a diatribe upon all those else who stood in our way which were deemed unworthy.

While not sure exactly how The Lawnmower IPA and Churchill's Dry Wit JPA placed, they both received good praise from the judging pannel with adjunct flavors/ aroma well noted and respected for originality. Noice. gives hope to our next arena battles. as for now its back to building of the brewery in hopes of yet greater procrastination.

until next time true believers

C

(MDBC)

The Lawnmower - IPA w/ rosemary

Stats

OG - ? SRM - 10
FG - 1.015 IBU - 70-80+

Malts

2lb - US 2-row
8oz - Belgian aromatic
6oz - Malted rye
6lb - Light DME

Hops

2.0oz Yakima Magnum 13%
3.0oz Amarillo 8.7%
2.0oz Liberty 3.0%

Yeast

Wyeast PACMAN mo-fugga, stolen from Rogue's tanks

Adjuncts

0.5oz fresh rosemary


H20 Chemistry


added dusting CaCO3 in 5 gal for good measure/ hardness to accentuate hops


Protocol

1. Add 7.5g CaCO3 pre steep
2. Steep @ 155 40 min
3. No Sparge
4. BEGIN BOIL 70 min w/o extract
@70 add 1oz Magnum + 1oz Amarillo
@60 add 3lb malt extract
@55 add 1oz magnum
@30 add rest of DME
@20 add .5oz Amarillo
@15 add 1tsp irish moss
5. Cool to 80F, strain to primary, pitch
6. Primary 1 wk @ 70-75F
7. Secondary Dry hopping 2wk @ 70F
@ 2wk add 2oz liberty + 1.5oz amarillo + rosemary
8. Prime with 3/4 cup dextrose
9. 3wk conditioning @ 70F
10. profit