Great Beer Night

It has been a while since I've paid much attention to this blog. With my other projects, sometimes this one gets a little neglected.  Making beer is very much a repetitive process, so sometimes I don't feel the motivation to write about it after I've done it.

However, there has been another aspect to Beer and Now that I have been neglecting. The beer experience. I have certainly had some great ones this summer.  Last month, we spent an afternoon at Highland Brewery in Asheville.  We've also been spending some times at local Atlanta bars enjoying new brews. But last night was one of the best beer nights I have had in a while.  

After work, I picked Matt up at our apartment and we drove up to our favorite beer bar, and one of Atlanta's best kept secrets.  We had a mission, so we decided that while we were enjoying some tasty craft brews, we would also work on a budget for our project in South Africa.  We ordered our first beer, the Southern Tier Harvest, and some food. This past week in Atlanta had cooled down significantly after Hurricane Lee swept through and yesterday really felt more like a gorgeous Autumn day. The Harvest Ale felt like a great kick off to an early fall.  I don't usually associate ESBs, which is one of my favorite styles, with Autumn beers, but it was a really well done brew.  The color evoked the season perfectly with the orange-amber lights and the flavors were earthy and malty with just a hint of caramel.  We got some food too and chowed down before the table was cleared and we set up our laptops to work on the budget for the shelter project.

While we researched and set up our spread sheet, we were ready for our second brew of the night.  Matt had the Rogue Love and Hoppiness. He wasn't as impressed as he was hoping to be, but he said it was all right.  I, on the other hand, tried the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. Here is the thing about pumpkin beers.  They are either hit or miss - either they blow your mind or they taste like pumpkin flavored water. I asked our waitress her opinion before ordering and she said that this was the good kind of pumpkin ale - full of spicy flavors. I went with it and seriously did not regret the decision. She was right about the spices. The flavors of clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg were prominent and a fresh pumpkin taste. 

Nearing the end of our research, it was time to try our third beer of the night.  Matt got the Stone 15th Anniversary Black IPA, which our waitress said was super hoppy and really good. He agreed and my sip did confirm it as well.  But since I had been enjoying Fall Seasonals all night, I really wanted to keep it going.  So, I did the unthinkable... I ordered a beer I have already had before!  The Sierra Nevada Tumbler has long been one of my favorites. Since I do love a good brown beer, this one is a great Autumn offering and it was exactly what I was looking for.  It is just a solid brown beer with some nutty flavors.

We had already packed up our laptops and were finishing our beers when we asked for the check.  While that is normally the end of a great evening out, that was actually when the fun began.  Two guys who had been standing at the bar came over and said "Hey, we saw you were paying and we wanted to know if we could be vultures and get your table?" So told them they certainly could and they sat down in the other two chairs. They introduced themselves and we started talking. We started talking about beer, of course, because we were all enjoying fancy beers at a fancy beer bar. Then, it turns out, one of the guys is This Guy. Now, we went from talking about enjoying beer to brewing beer.  Matt and I told him we were home brewers and that we had a pomegranate wheat in the carboy. He told us that he started homebrewing and now he does contract brewing with Thomas Creek in South Carolina.  Then his friend asked us if any of us were musicians and Matt told them he had been a drummer since he was a kid and recently took up the guitar and singing. Both guys were also musicians so then we talked about music for a while.  And finally, somehow, the conversation got around to building and we talked to them about our cabin in North Carolina and about or project in South Africa. 

It was such a great night.  We got a lot of work done, drank some fantastic beers and met some folks who seem pretty cool.  That is one of the things I like about the "Culture of Beer".  There is something about this shared interest that can really open up those spontaneous social situations. Seriously, hanging out at the bar and talking to strangers is truly one of my favorite hobbies.  You just never know who you'll meet.

Beerthday Weekend

This past weekend, Matt and I had a Beerthday party.  Since our Birthdays are only a couple of days apart, it is easy to combine the celebration. We sent out the invites to a few friends to attend our Beerthday party at local brewery 5 Seasons. We had a great time and even got some beer related gifts (which weren't required, but our friends are awesome that way).  I enjoyed three of their beers. First, I had the Brave Sir Robin Brown, a slightly hopped roasty brown beer.  The I had their Red, which I don't see on their website but I found it very crisp and tasty.  Lastly, I tried their Stout, which also is missing from the website. I think everyone had a great time, which you can see in the photo because both Emily and Bill think it "rocks!"  Afterward we came back to our apartment and hung out, drank more beer and listened to Matt play guitar. 

On Sunday, we bottled our second batch of beer ever.  This one was the ESB we brewed a month ago.  The process went smoothly.  We even used my birthday present from Matt this year, the Party Pig.  He bought it on the recommendation from some friends who also home brew and the first use so far seems pretty cool.  It is kegging without all the hassle of kegging.  We also used the bottles that And and Emily gave us at our Beerthday Party.  The beer is conditioning in the closet as we speak and we should be able to enjoy it in about three weeks. 

The taste test of the beer was seemingly successful.  I liked the golden color of the ESB, the hops seems to be well balanced.  Even without being carbonated, I thought it was pretty good.

I have also been pleased with the clarity of our beers so far without going through a secondary fermentation process (also known as a clarification). It might just be beginners luck or the fact that we like to use a filter when pouring the beer in the carboy and again when we put it in the bottling bucket.

I have another brown recipe ready to go.  This time, I bought a "kit" from Austin Homebrew but added some additional malts to modify it a little.  I expect to be brewing that in a few weeks and we'll see how it goes.  Expect more updates from Beer and Now soon.

Beer Brew II: ESB

After the most successful outcome of my first brewing attempt, I wanted to dive right into the second batch of beer.  This time I wanted to brew another favorite style - an ESB or Extra Special Bitter (or Extra Strong Bitter depending on who you ask).

I started by purchasing a recipe from a great website called Austin Homebrew Supply. Like the pre-made kit I bought at the local homebrew store, this included all that I would need to brew this beer. The difference was in the presentation.  Austin Homebrew puts together recipes and when you select them the website gives you options with different ways to put that particular recipe together.  It was a great option for my second brew.  (And my third since I already bought the ingredients but I'm getting ahead of myself).

Like my first brewing day, we decided it would be fun to invite a friend.  Andrew, who has brewed himself, came and spent the day with us.  We each enjoyed a Bare Kitty Brown as well as the brand new Wheaton Wheat that my Beer Yoda Bill brewed on the day we went to learn the art of home brewing.  As a side note, his beer was excellent as well. I began my second brewing with the typical process of cleaning and sanitizing and then I just followed the recipe.  This kit included a bag of grains for steeping, which the other kit did not include.  It was as easy as making tea. Once that was done per instruction, it was time to add the malt extracts and bring everything to a boil.  It boiled for 60 minutes with a bittering Nugget hops added at the beginning and then an aroma Kent Golding hops added in the last 5 minutes of the boil.  After this process was complete it was time to pour it into the carboy, take the original gravity reading and add the yeast. I don't think I still have quite the hang of the gravity readings down.  I recently broke my first hydrometer so Matt went and bought me a new one that included a tube with stand. 

Here is the beer boiling process.  

Here are Andrew and Matt helping pour the wort into the carboy.

Even Piglet joined in on the fun.

Here is Matt considering the Hydrometer reading.  It was 1.041 this time, which was lower than the recipe called for.  We figure that has to do with the amount of water we may have added.  I'm not terribly worried about it.  We still have no idea what the alcohol content is of the Brown and it hasn't affected the taste at all.  I suppose this is a skill I will need to perfect over time, but for now I'll just keep brewing. 

And the tasting of the wort, with the kitty timer looking on with judgment. It tasted like bread, which is precisely what it should taste like. 

Now the airlock on the carboy is bloop blooping away happily.  The house smells pleasantly like hops and in about two to four weeks we can bottle this batch and see what we have.  

Matt asked me yesterday if there was anything I found specifically difficult in the brewing process.  I don't, actually. I have always been good at following recipe directions. The cleaning process isn't too bad either, even though it isn't my favorite part.  

I have another kit from Austin Homebrew Supply in my pantry ready to be brewed. It is another brown - a recipe from their selections with a slight modification (extra dark malt to add to the recipe).  It will be my second brown and I am interested in understanding the differences. Once I get that one under my belt I want to get a couple books to help me design my own recipes. I just want to understand the basics that go into beer styles and from there I can make my own modifications.  I am excited about that.