Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008
Hey, guess what guys and gals? Yes, I found another beer. Before I begin, please let me know if I ever repeat any of my beer posts. That would be a little embarrassing.
Ok, I was up in Whole Foods this evening doing a little food shopping. I have this great vegetarian cookbook that has the most excellent recipes. Tonight, I made herb pizza. It knocked my socks off, just like my socks were knocked off in my previous post. Tomorrow night, I am making kidney bean and mushroom burgers.
You know, I have often considered writing blog posts describing the things I cook. I am just starting to get good at it, but I would tell you if what I made was bad. I’m honest like that. I will have to think about that one. The problem with taking pictures of the stuff I make is that the pictures would come out terrible. It takes a very long time to set up those real pictures for cookbooks and stuff, and I fear that my singular reputation as a master chef would be tarnished and I wouldn’t view myself as one any more. I would still cook, but it wouldn’t be as much fun as it is now.
Anyway, back to my story. I was food shopping when I passed the beer area, again. I know, I know, it’s my weakness. Don’t worry mom, I don’t drink too much. This beer area was near the bakery. for some reason, they keep the seasonal beers over in this area, while the regular beer is kept over in the beer aisle. I browsed through the bakery beer area for a while looking for something good. There were mainly ales and lagers, which don’t do it for me. I decided it wasn’t my night for beer and I moved over to the cheese area.
I did most of my shopping when I wandered over to the real beer aisle. I chatted it up with some lady who was trying to surprise her husband with a new beer that he hasn’t tried yet. She mentioned that he liked the Sam Adams Oktoberfest. I told her that I just saw some Oktoberfest in the other area, but by a different brewery. Maybe he would like that. She thanked me and hurried off. That was my good deed for the day and made me think to myself that I was an angel. Remember the last time I thought I was an angel?
As I was now looking over the entire selection all by myself (just the way I like it, hehe), I noticed a six pack glaring at me. It said “Chocolate Stout” right on the side. “Hmmm,” I thought, as I was picking it up and putting it in my cart. That’s a much as I thought…just “Hmmm.”
Fort Collins Brewery Chocolate Stout
Check ‘er out.
I finished up and left. When I got back to the house, I unpacked all the food and started up my process. The first thing I always do is crack open a beer before I start cooking. It makes things glide. I took a few sips and decided that this “Fort Collins Brewery Chocolate Stout” is exactly what my next batch is going to taste like.
Did I mention that I am making chocolate stout next? I have all the ingredients. I was thinking about adding coffee to it, but I think I better not. I like to drink my beer at night and I fear the coffee will make me lie in bed staring at the ceiling. That’s not good for my tennis game.
Speaking of tennis, today was a fantastic clinic. I truly think I am getting better. My buddy and I hit for about a half hour after the clinic and we came to the conclusion that we have both improved considerably. This dude is like a wall at the net, so I don’t mess with him there, but as for ground strokes, we are lovin’ it. Believe it or not, we are signed up for cardio-tennis on Monday mornings now. We’ll see how that goes. I think I’m more into smacking tennis balls than running around, but I’ll get back to you with the verdict.
That’s all. Good night.
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Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Oh what a sad time it is. Have four days gone by already? It seems like just yesterday.
I remember that time I walked into the local beer store and brought home my 4-pack of Celebrator Doppelbock By Ayinger Brewery. Do you remember that? If not, you can read about it right here. It was just four day ago.
It’s a very good beer. Its mood changes with whatever is on my fork. I don’t generally drink my beer while eating, but I decided to give it a shot last night. One minute it was a great beer, the next minute, not so great. Overall, I was totally happy with this beer. Farewell.
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Thursday, September 18th, 2008
I think I may be the first person on the planet to return a six-pack of beer. Oh well, they had it coming to them.
Today, I ran over to the local beer place and handed them the bad six-pack of Gritty McDuff’s Black Fly Stout and replaced it with a four-pack of Celebrator Doppelbock by Ayinger Brewery. I must say, this is a rather well tasting beer with great reviews over at the Beer Advocate. It’s pretty rich with a nice smooth finish. They even gave me little plastic rams on each beer.
Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock
It’s a pretty good beer that I would consider buying again.
I am still searching for another black, slow dripping, syrupy beer that sticks to my ribs. So far, the only two that have come close were the Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout and the Samuel Adams Double Bock. These were truly fabulous beers. I know, I know, they aren’t for everyone, but as long as you give them a good try, you’ll make me happy. It’s like telling your kid to eat his peas, just try the beer.
For my next brew, I am going custom. I am going to get on the horn with the people over at MakeBeer.net and talk recipe. I want it thick. I want it rich. No excuses and no more lazy thin beer. I will throw a few Hersey bars and coffee beans in there if I have to. By the way, MakeBeer.net has a new blog where they do talk recipe, so if you are interested, stop on by.
Cheers.
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Wednesday, February 6th, 2008
I opened up my new Coopers Home Brew kit last night and got to work. I was pretty excited to see how I should put together the ingredients. I had already watched the DVD that came with the package on YouTube, so I was a bit familiar with what to do.
There was something that came off as a bit confusing. In the can with the beer type and yeast packet, came one set of instructions. Then, in a booklet, there was another set of instructions. Then, the DVD offered very similar, but different instructions. I know that each type of beer will have it’s own instructions, but I really wasn’t sure which one to follow. Really, the only thing that was different was whether or not to stir in the yeast. One set of instructions (the one that I was following) said to sprinkle the yeast on top of the mixture (wort) and immediately seal the container. Then, the video said to sprinkle on the yeast and immediately stir it in, then seal the container. Unfortunately, I didn’t stir it in. I had to go back later and agitate the container to stir it in. I know how sensitive yeast can be, so I have my fingers crossed. When I woke up this morning, the air seal thingy up on top of the lid was bubbling, so I know there is some fermentation going on.
Here are some photos of what it looks like…
Basically, you mix together the concentrate, sugar, water and yeast and seal the container. Then, you have to keep the mixture between 21 and 27 degrees celsius. That’s the best temperature for the yeast to work. You have to keep it that way for 4-7 days, until the bubbles stop. Then, you have to check the mixture with a hydrometer to check it’s alcohol content. After that, bottle the beer and wait a little more. I will write more about that when I get to it. For now, I am just hoping that it ferments properly.
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Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Today, we took another trip up to Emmanuel’s Supermarket in Stone Ridge. The season premier of “Lost” is on tonight and that called for some Sushi. We got around seven boxes of it, along with some more beer. I also got those bagels I told you about before. Ohhh, so nice.
Today’s beer is “Smuttynose Robust Porter” from New Hampshire. It’s a nice dark beer with a dark/light taste, if that means anything. The reviewers over at Beer Advocate gave it high marks. The reason I say it has a dark/light taste is because it looks dark and does have some rich qualities, but it doesn’t get stuck in my gums. If I have to floss after drinking a beer…to me, that’s dark. For regular people, this is an excellent beer. I think this company does an excellent job brewing it.
I checked the tracking on my Coopers Brew Kit and UPS is telling my it will be here on Feb.5. That’s a while away, but I think I have enough beer in the fridge to hold me over.
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Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
I received an email today from Amazon that told me my beer kit is on its way. That makes me quite excited. I told Laura last night that we will have some heavy duty drinking to do, once my first six gallons are ready.
I saw some videos on YouTube last night about the Coopers Home Brew Kit. It’s a pretty simple process. I think it’s kind of hard to screw up with this kit. I can tell that I am going to go through the different types of beer rather quickly and then expand onto more complex brews. I just want to make my mud.
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Monday, January 28th, 2008
I am wicked excited. I just placed an order on Amazon for my soon-to-be home brewery kit. It’s the Coopers Brewery Micro Brewery Kit. My brother-in-law got me all wound up tonight when we were talking about his first batch of home brew. Do you know what kind of jealousy I have when I see a nice home brewed beer sitting on someone else’s table? For some reason, whenever I think of home brew, I always think of that nice sampler of 4oz. beers I had at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach. I had the best non-filtered raspberry beer there.
Anyway, Steve had great luck with his first batch and is now going to dive into a batch of Stout. Now, that’s what I am talking about. That’s what stout’s about, no doubt. HAHAHAHHAHA.
The home brew kit I am getting makes six gallon batches. That should be good for a while to see if I like doing this kind of stuff. Then, as soon as summer rolls around and we open the new porch back up, we can rock out to Crosby, Stills & Nash and drink beer out of the bucket all day, every day.
Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout.
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Monday, January 7th, 2008
Now this is a beer. I am very pleased to announce that Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout pleases me.
My first sip of the beer tonight put a smile on my face. Many people reviewed this beer over at “Beer Advocate” and I kind of agree with some of them. One person wrote, “Pours a syrupy black color with a lace of head. Smell is very malty with lots of chocolate aroma.” Oh, that is music to my freakin’ ears.
When I took my first taste tonight, I thought, “How thick and smooth.” Then, there was kind of a strong taste. It wasn’t as bad as the “alcohol taste” that some people described, but it is strong. Also, as I write this, I am about half-way done with one beer and am feeling the effects of the alcohol. If I were to drink three of these, I would be dancing on a table. I guess they are kind of strong. When I poured the bottle of beer into my trusty beer mug, I noticed the color of the beer…it’s almost black and I couldn’t see through it.
So, my review of this beer is a good one. I am not sure it is going to replace Guinness, but I will say it is up there with Saranac Black Forest.
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