Thoughts
I continue to lack brewing energy. I've got two beers ready to go in kegs but I've actually only got about two glasses of porter on draft. Better get it together.
A few notes before I forget:
Last week Randy and I shared the last bottle of 533 P.R., the private reserve stock of my first Belgian pale ale. This was really old for that kind of beer--would have to check on how old exactly, but it somehow developed this lovely perfumey nose. Quite a fascinating beer, and one that encourages me to buy some Ardennes yeast and do some more with it. The other beer I made with that yeast sucked, but the 533 is enough of an endorsement to suggest that I would do well to employ that yeast for something or other soon, building up to a yeast cake for an "Houblon" triple-IPA type project.
Right now I'm sipping a Smuttynose barley wine which is a strong reminder that I should get off my ass and brew another barley wine. This is lovely, subtle, balanced stuff--an elegant dance of malt and hops. The beer I brewed with this grain bill is similarly subtle--as barley wines go--and worth recapitulating with one or another creative hop bills. Dave Yarrington shared the grain bill with me, which I really appreciated. I've done this a couple of times: steal a pro grain bill and then wing the hops. It works.
On another note, I enjoyed a beer so much the other night that I called myself, lacking a note pad... Here's a transcript of the messages.
Message 1: "Oh, Christ. Dude. Notes on 1992 Courage Russian Imperial Stout: (Other drunk people in background throughout) The nose is a huge huge belt that combines burnt, burnt dried fruit, and some almond extract, and other nut liquers. And a kind of, bourbon whiskey, burnt-wood-like quality. In the mouth it's ab-sol-ute silk and velvet. There's not an edge anywhere in the beer. It reminds me of the 1856 Imperial stout that you/I brewed. The finish keeps going for, like, a couple minutes. Mmmm. So this is 15 years old. Oh my god! Put that in your blog That's gorgeous. How do I shut this off?"
Message 2: "Add extraordinarily sherry-ish. Lisa said that and it's incredibly correct. It's like an oxidized old wine."
Message 3: "Dude, you gotta brew the old Courage recipe in Old British Beers. It may in fact reflect the beer you just called yourself about."
And it really was that good.
A few notes before I forget:
Last week Randy and I shared the last bottle of 533 P.R., the private reserve stock of my first Belgian pale ale. This was really old for that kind of beer--would have to check on how old exactly, but it somehow developed this lovely perfumey nose. Quite a fascinating beer, and one that encourages me to buy some Ardennes yeast and do some more with it. The other beer I made with that yeast sucked, but the 533 is enough of an endorsement to suggest that I would do well to employ that yeast for something or other soon, building up to a yeast cake for an "Houblon" triple-IPA type project.
Right now I'm sipping a Smuttynose barley wine which is a strong reminder that I should get off my ass and brew another barley wine. This is lovely, subtle, balanced stuff--an elegant dance of malt and hops. The beer I brewed with this grain bill is similarly subtle--as barley wines go--and worth recapitulating with one or another creative hop bills. Dave Yarrington shared the grain bill with me, which I really appreciated. I've done this a couple of times: steal a pro grain bill and then wing the hops. It works.
On another note, I enjoyed a beer so much the other night that I called myself, lacking a note pad... Here's a transcript of the messages.
Message 1: "Oh, Christ. Dude. Notes on 1992 Courage Russian Imperial Stout: (Other drunk people in background throughout) The nose is a huge huge belt that combines burnt, burnt dried fruit, and some almond extract, and other nut liquers. And a kind of, bourbon whiskey, burnt-wood-like quality. In the mouth it's ab-sol-ute silk and velvet. There's not an edge anywhere in the beer. It reminds me of the 1856 Imperial stout that you/I brewed. The finish keeps going for, like, a couple minutes. Mmmm. So this is 15 years old. Oh my god! Put that in your blog That's gorgeous. How do I shut this off?"
Message 2: "Add extraordinarily sherry-ish. Lisa said that and it's incredibly correct. It's like an oxidized old wine."
Message 3: "Dude, you gotta brew the old Courage recipe in Old British Beers. It may in fact reflect the beer you just called yourself about."
And it really was that good.
posted by Jason | 9:41 PM
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