Quatro De Mayo

The boss and I had some business to do on May 4th in Virginia...So on the way home we made a couple stops....

I had never been to a Rock Bottom Brewery. This one in Bethesda,MD was pretty cool. We were there at an off hour so it was quiet...but, good beers.

They had beer to go....so we did.

Brewing side....

Fermenting side.

Beer...good....

Oh....and we stopped at yet another Iron Hill Brewery. This one in Newark (New Ark) Delaware. Very crowded by the time we got there.... Great beers as usual...

Southern Tier Beer Dinner

The Fylsbrewing crew headed to Nip & Tuck in Long Branch, NJ for a Southern Tier Brewing beer tasting/dinner. Great Beers and food. Fun had by all. (maybe too much)

We enjoyed a soft pretzel (or two) to go with our beers.
A good group for the tasting....

Our host Bob. Wow! Those beers are good....AND strong!

Sliders were good. Chicken, Pulled Pork and Eggplant....all good.

My Favorite. Hoppy, barrel aged and strong....mmmmmm

So, what do think of that beer?

Here is most of the line up. These 8 and two more draft beers...

The Imperials.

more beers.

Hey....what's going on???

Beer, food AND swag...what more can you ask for?

We drink responsibly. Here the taxi ride home. Our driver must have been entertained....

Another fun time at Nip & Tuck. Thanks all.....

Allentown BrewWorks

We took a trip out to Allentown BrewWorks in Allentown, PA yesterday. Great Beers and Great Food. Definitely worth the trip!

The brewery building is actually 3 buildings combined. They bought each for $1 and renovated them.

OK, I'll have a sampler. I liked them all. Saison was nice!
They have 3 bars. The main floor bar has an acrylic top with under lighting. Cool.

The food was great. Here are the Bavarian pretzels. Tons of garlic. Yum!

They had a whole bunch of their own taps.

Greg gave me a great tour of their brewery. Nice copper...and great idea to put it right in the front window....

The Labeler...HopSolutely.

It is a small brewery. This is their bottler....wish I had one of those at home...

Fermenters...with a foamy airlock bucket at the bottom...

Kettles from the street...

Definitely will come back to Allentown....

Sam Adams Longshot winners

For those who aren't as beer geeky as me.... Each year Sam Adams has a national competition. They ask homebrewers (and S.A. employees) to send in beers. They judge them and the winners get to brew their beers at Sam Adams and they put them out together in a six pack.... Here are this years Long Shot Winners.... Figured I would try them and see what is up....

The Long shot sixpack

The winners. Two homebrewers and one Sam Adams employee.

The Employee winner was a lavender Honey Ale.

Sue's first comment was..."it smells like shampoo". Not good I guess.

Honey B’s Lavender Ale – Ale brewed with lavender petals with honey added. 5.5%.
slight lavender flavor and aroma. smooth honey flavor. Pale ale. Ok beer.…not distinctive…
Let the beer warm up…more flavor and aroma comes late…

Next...A black IPA

Blackened Hops – Hoppy Black IPA. 7.0%. Good…bitter and roasty taste. Great hops aroma…..nice foamy head with lasting lace…. Nice lace all the way down! (some wheat for sure). Dry…easy to drink more than one…

Lastly....Friar Hop Ale

Friar Hop Ale – Ale brewed with spices. 9.0% Very Saisony. Favorite of the three. Nice, spicy, smooth. Can’t tell it is this high gravity. OK…I would actually drink this one. BUT…first thing I said is….Henepin. So, there you go.

First try of the Barleywine....

I tried my barleywine....it has been in the bottle for about 4 months. It is good, but needs more time... I like it, it is malty and a bit sweet....more time will balance it a bit more....and 11%...

New Pot! Not that kind....come on!

Got a new pot today! Woohooo! It's called a Penrose from Brewhemoth.com 15.5 gallons. Looking forward to brewing my first big batch in it...

New Hops Nursery

I planted 10 new hops plants at the nursery yesterday. 5 different varieties.

Look...one is up already..... Well, I planted it that way.... I now have 26 in total in 3 different locations. Last years transplants look like they are sprouting.... Fresh hops beer this year!!!

Weisenbock Test Drive....

Time for a test drive of the Weisenbock and the Raspberry Weisenbock. It is early, but they are both well carbonated. The weisenbock is smooth and tasty. The raspberry needs a bit more time to mellow, though it is still very drinkable. This beer is supposed to be a bit higher in alcohol than my version. I brainfarted during the mash... Still a good beer...and....ok, I'll have another!

The Weisenbock.

The pair. In fairness, I did pour the raspberry right before the photo. Can u tell I don't filter? Should have secondaried to clear it a bit more....

Hops Rhizomes are here

I ordered 10 rhizomes. 2 of 5 different hops varieties. They came today. OK...so a little bit of hops education. New hops plants are started from a clipping of an underground runner called a rhizome. (male plants seed, but with unknown traits.) Since the hops that we use in beer comes from the female plant we want only females. Each spring the hops farmers go to the fields and clip rhizomes from existing plants to propagate more female plants. The root below is about 6 inches long and shows signs of growth.

This root is then planted a couple inches below the surface. It takes about three years for the plant to achieve full productivity. The first year it grows a root system and a small bine (not a vine, but a bine). Second year more vegetative growth and in the third year it is at full production and can grow to 25 feet in length.

I now have about 28 plants of varying ages from rhizomes to 3 years old. (I say about, because I transplanted some and I'm not sure of their status....)

With any luck, I will be getting more and more hops as time goes by.... Now if the sun would come out and the weather warm up...that would be good.

Early test drive of the "Susanne-iweisen"

Is....MMMmmmmm....a word?

If not, we should add it to the brewers dictionary!

Weisenbock (Raspberry & Otherwise) bottled

Bottled both of the Weisenbocks tonight. This was a split batch with 2 1/2 gallons of standard weisenbock and 2 1/2 gallons of raspberry weisenbock. As you can see the yeast climbed the wall inside the carboy.

The standard...

Great color...and tastes great....

OK...the raspberry....kinda crusty...but nice color, and aroma...

A bit darker and a little bit redder....

Not sure how the raspberry will be early on, but may be better with a little age....time will tell..

Drinking my Lake Effect

After a lengthy bottle conditioning....I am now drinking the Lake Effect.... Yummy! It is malty, a bit sweet, but very drinkable.... It was supposed to be a winter brew...but, hey...I'll drink beer anytime..... :)

Hefe in the bottle

I bottled the "Susanne-eweisen" yesterday. It smelled and tasted great on the way into the bottles.

Looks a bit cruddy, but....wait for it.....!!!

Nice golden color...
Siphoning into the bottling bucket.
Mmmmm....
A mix of bottle sizes....all appropriate for different occasions....

Next up.... Gotta bottle the weisenbock......