Beer Beginnings

What follows is a very loosely regulated description of the events that I hope will successfully lead me to my first batch of beer.

Sunday, March 4, 2012
Cooking Beer











I used the Around the Horn IPA recipe from Cellar Brewing Supply to kick off my maiden brewing voyage, and in deference to the folks at Cellar I'll leave the recipe details on my sheet of paper.

Audibles:
I added an extra 3/4 oz. of the flavoring hops halfway through the wort boil (roughly 25 minutes remained) in hopes of giving it a little extra hop flavor. Slightly worried that I never reached the boiling break point. I left the pot uncovered, which in hindsight may have been a mistake. We'll see.















Wort Up

Cooled the wort in my sink with cold water and a little bit of ice, refreshing the water trough every 7-10 minutes or so, and when it came time to transfer the wort into the bucket I had a slight panic moment because it felt like it had cooled so drastically. I thought it might be a good idea to put the half of the wort which hadn't been dumped into the bucket on the stove to heat it up before realizing that was a stupid decision and poured the rest of it into the bucket.

Feelings:
I really struggled to sleep that night, doubting my every instinct, and assuming that wherever there wasn't a photo of the brew equipment in my sources and instructions, that I had used the wrong equipment. Legitimate night terrors, folks.

Over time my fear subsided. Brewing Is Fun and Easy, according to all my books, right?

March 7, 2012
Fermentation Transfer

This was pretty easy, and it was a lot of fun to hook up the rubber tube to the bucket spout and watch her rip down the water slide into the carboy. Because I'm so bush league, I sanitized the carboy in the shower with me, down a double duty of scrubbin and rinsin. Sexy.

Audibles:
I added a sleeve of hops to the carboy. I think I was supposed to do this, but I'm not sure. Hoping for no spoilage.
















Chillin in the Carboy

And there she still chills today. Next up: bottling

Beer Beginnings, False Start

Olympia, WA - Greetings from the Skep and Skein, a beer bar in West Olympia and the only place this side of Budd Bay that serves much beyond Coors Light and Manny's. I came out tonight to read a few chapters from my latest homebrew book, John Palmer's How to Brew, an amazingly free of charge book available online or, if you feel so inclined, in the bookstore for pay.

This past Sunday afternoon I found myself in Seattle where I took care of some longstanding unfinished business of buying a homebrew kit. A big white bucket, brew kettle, glass jug and $200 later, I'm finally ready to create a new palate for my life artistry - cooking booze.

2/28/12
Bar closed, to be continued...

Boneyard Brewing

Boneyard Brewery already exists, and my dreams die.

Laughing Dog Imp IPA

I've skimped, as usual on any beer news of late. Shame on me.

Still, wanted to make it known that I had a Laughing Dog Imperial IPA at the Parkway Wednesday night, and it was delicious. Didn't have that super boozy taste that usually ruins the imperials for me. Solidly hoppy, pretty smooth and a good aftertaste. What more could you want?

Plus, it is an Idaho brewery. Much respect for the underdogs.

In other, better news, I stopped by the beer supply store in Lakewood earlier that day, priced out some gear, and I can confidently say that I will be enjoying some fly ass homebrew IPAs by mid-August. Boo ya.

Friday Night Beer

Olympia, WA - Because it is Friday, and even though I am not working, I decided to make it beer night.

Honestly, it came about because I walked home for the last half mile of my run tonight, and my lower back has been twisted and sore ever since, so I figured I would forget about life for a while.

To begin with, I had a 10^2 ale on cask from the Fishbowl. They don't have any info on it from their website, but it resembles an imperial IPA, only it seems a tad darker than that. Rumor around the barstool was that the beer is so named because it is ten percent alcohol served in a ten ounce schooner glass.

After two of them, served in a perfectly by my neighbor Mel, I'd believe it.

Despite my usual aversion to strong beers, I'd give it my top rating as far as Fish Brewing beer goes, ahead of even the Hodgson's IPA.

Unfortunately, the Fishbowl was too crowded for me to do my usual double duty of drinking and internetting, so I had to bounce after my beer and head over to the Eastside.

So here I am, drinking a Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, which they usually have on sale at a special-proof $3.50 (by which I mean, even on Mondays and Thursdays the price, regrettably, doesn't budge).

I got my first taste of the Hop Rod at the Moan and Dove, where it was a pretty frequent guest tap. Then, as now, it doesn't disappoint.

Reds, like suspected bisexuals, usually go both ways.

I've had both delicious and cringe-inducing reds, leading me to believe that they are the most questionable of all beer styles, only because they are so different from one brewery to the next.

Plus, they aren't really red.

Anyway, Hop Rod is a game changer. I'll go out on a limb and rank it as the top red on the market. Nice and hoppy, bitter with flavor, and smooth as a summer sunset.

From the website, "Essentially a bold American IPA made with 20% rye malt. Darker in coler, Hop Rod Rye boasts a huge hop aroma and flavor accompanied by a slightly sweet, malty finish.

In other words, its like Wild Turkey Rye. A delicious drink slightly modified by the use of some rye in addition to the normal ingredients.

Plus, its 8 percent, so it don't muck around.

Bear Republic, it should be noted, also makes Racer 5.

Big Time

Seattle, WA -

Thanks to a perfectly planned 5:30 PM departure from foggy Olympia, I was able to make it up Seattle with only minimal traffic congestion, which gives me the chance to do a quick beer review from the Big Time Brewpub in the U-District.

Big Time is one of my favorites in Seattle, and someplace I invariably find myself when I am near the UW with some time to kill.

Tonight I had two firsts with the Perspective IPA on cask, and a sample of The Maine Thing East Coast Pale Ale.

It was the first time I had ever seen a beer classified as an "East Coast Pale", and true to its name it felt like I was back in New Hampshire. The bartender wasn't certain of the hops origin, but it was clear they weren't Cascade or Chinook, though at the same time they weren't some shitty British kind, either. Mildly hoppy, not too bitter or bland. I always consider Pale Ales sort of a bastardized version of an IPA - why go for the silver when you can get the gold? But if hops bite you too hard, or if you are just looking to mix it up, I give this one a strong recommendation if only because when else do you see an East Coast Pale Ale?

One of the great things about Big Time, besides their weathered wood floors and walls full of old school beer memorabilia, is the fact that they offer a number of IPAs. Still, I had never seen the Perspective on tap, and was thrilled to have the chance to try it on cask. Maybe that tainted my introduction, but at a glance I can confidently say it is their best. Smooth, good scent, solidly bitter with a hit of florality. Shit, if I wasn't off to Drinking Liberally in five minutes (or unemployed), I'd stay for a few more.

Once again, well done, Big Time.

End of an Error

Olympia, WA -

5:09 PM
The Fish Bowl has Hodgson's IPA on cask again for the first time in ages, and twelve ounces in I have to admit I'm not as happy about it as I thought I would be. The cask brings out more sweetness than I want, and far fewer hops.

I'm a man of simple needs, but bitter hops is one of them. Damn you, cask o' Hodgsons.

But the real question, as far as hops go, comes down to whether or not I'll have the balls to turn down the waitress when she comes by and, seeing my nearly empty glass, asks me if I'd like another. Lord knows I should hit pause right now and try to get a 25-minute run in before the night gets ugly.
---
5:25 PM

I failed. If it had been any one besides the Pittsburgh Steelers waitress in a lovely layered skirt I might have had the strength, but tonight she's a beauty and, like she said, "you might as well."

"Fuck it," I replied.

That combination of phrases could turn out to be the death of me.
----
5:31 PM

Otherwise today has been somewhat of an epic day, as far as this week is concerned.

Back on Sunday night, my abs, sides and lower back became sore, and only increased in intensity as the week went on. I first thought it was just been fallout from Sunday afternoon's clam digging session, but as the intensity increased and drifted away from my stomach and into my back, I became worried that the logical answer pointed either to liver damage or cancer.

Adding insult to injury, I spent the entirety of Monday night in an insomniacal stupor, existing in a state of pure consciousness from noon Monday all the way through until 1 PM on Tuesday, lacking the wherewithal to fall asleep, though certainly not the desire.

I took a three and a half hour nap on Tuesday afternoon in order to avoid full zombie status before heading down to Centralia for an amazing bluegrass show with a band called Greensky, followed by an ill-advised stop along 4th Avenue once I returned to Olympia.

By late Wednesday night, when the internal soreness was at its peak, I was legitimately worried about these things and had even begun announcing my disease worries to whomever would listen.

Luckily I awoke Thursday morning to find the soreness had receded.

By Friday the soreness was completely gone, giving me the base of ecstasy that I had touched upon earlier, add a bit of good news on the job front, as well as an unanticipated gift in the mail from Solley, a pair of middle distance spikes that I promise to wear in as many beer miles and mile time trials as possible going forward, sprinkle in the goodwill that my beard has received around the coffee shops and hippie bars these last two weeks, and next thing you know I'll be back to sleeping twelve hours a day in no time.

Cheers to that.