FREE BEER

No, for real. Free beer @ the DRB. :)

I never thought I'd have 10 gallons of beer that I just don't think I'll drink. The DRB PBR experimentation..well, didn't go so well. It's not that the beer is rotten, infected or anything like that. It just doesn't taste all that great. Most of the beers I've had out there have been pretty good, and I would wrestle with the thought of.. "well, should I put my slippers on and trudge through the snow for another pint?!".. (usually I did). But, most of my beers have been beers that have been really tasty, and you crave another after the first. I'm going to let my friends try it and see what they think. Maybe someone will absolutely love it, and go nuts on it - more power to you whoever that may be! In the mean time, I've been doing a pint or two here and there, just to help put a dent in it. I think I'm going to stay away from straight up extracts until someone can prove me otherwise on the taste.. worth a try I guess. I'm only out $24.00 and time.

The second keg is a Munich. I inherited the wort from the homebrew shop in Dundee to make up for the Imperial Stout that they ran out of - this Munich was free to make up for it (which, by the way, those guys rule for doing that - they could of just given me my $ back, but instead they gave me a free 5 gallons of wort). This was my first lager I ever fermented, it sat in the garage bubbling away for quite sometime.. 4 weeks I'd say. I ran it straight to the keg, there was a very small yeast cake on the bottom. The beer is an amberish color and smells just like a german style lager. I remembered after sipping my first pint, that I'm just not fond of this style of beer. It's o.k., but I'm just not a huge fan of it. I had a few pints last night, and that was about all I could handle.

To make up for these two odd selections at the DRB, I'm brewing an Amarillo Pale Ale - complete with 4 oz. of Amarillo Hops tomorrow night (wednesday). If you're in the hood -swing on by and help yourself to a pint, or three.

p.s. I think I'm on to something.. this DRB Pale Blue Ribbon isn't so bad with salted sesame sticks. Maybe it'll go quicker than I thought. :)

Dayton Road Brewing Pale Blue Ribbon

The past couple times I've picked up batches from the homebrew shop, the price has been more than I expected. Hop prices have gone up, as well as grain. Since I started brewing partial extract, I decided maybe it's time I brew up an all extract session beer. I'm going for a light pale ale. These two cans of extract cost me a total of $24 bucks. The yeast is a dry one. I'm not expecting much, but, who knows, maybe I'll be surprised. This is going to be my lawn mower beer, my "PBR".. I was talking with some friends about it, and they said I ought to call it DRB PBR, I changed it up a bit to "pale blue ribbon." I'm almost thinking of trying this again, yet with some hops, but we'll see. Maybe this'll be a one time experiment, and i'll go back to partial..or, if all goes well, my George Bush tax refund All Grain set up :)

I'll post back later on how this turns out.

St. Patrick's Day done right.

This year, a few of us are taking a vacation day on St. Pat's day to celebrate good beer. We'll start off the morning with a hardy DRB breakfast (corned beef hash, eggs, hashbrowns, toast and lots of hot sauce) and two special brews I've been aging for a while.

Tonight I pulled out both carboys that have been stuffed away resting. The first: my 80 shilling Scottish Ale. I siphoned it to the keg, and I always like to pull a sample that I try and make Jen try. I was really surprised. It turned out amazing. A lighter beer with a smooth crisp finish. There's even some slight carbonation already forming in the beer. Jen said she tasted a slight hop bite, but I couldn't. Probably one of the lighter beers I've made, but definitely one of my best.
Next up, the oatmeal stout. This is the first stout I've ever made, and to be honest, I was more nervous about this than any other beer style I've brewed. Well, it turned out just as good as the 80 shilling. It's amazing. A nice nutty full bodied stout. I can't believe I made it, but then again, once you start brewing, you'll surprise yourself, because there really isn't much to it. And my results have been excellent each time.

After breakfast, we're heading to Corner Brewery in Ypsi. Corner has a bus traveling back and forth to Arbor Brewing all day, so we're going to hike around town and enjoy some good beer. On my list: Arbor Brewing, Grizzly Peaks, Ashley's and maybe Conner O'Neal's. Should be a great day. I'm sure I'll be posting some pictures after, so keep an eye on the blog. :)

Tasting picture..

Last night was probably a bit too many beers to taste, but we did have fun. Here's us trying out one of the beers.

Thursday night beer tasting in the DRB

Me and the dudes are going to do a beer tasting tonight in the DRB.. Here's the line up!

Beer Tasting @ Dayton Road Brewing
February 28, 2008

1. Old Boys' Brewhouse - Brewhouse Bock
Style: German style bock
ABV: 5.5-7.0% ?
Description: Bock Beer was originally brewed in Germany to herald the coming of Spring or, a sign of better things to come. Bock beer in general is stronger than your typical lager, more of a robust malt character with a dark amber to brown hue. Hop bitterness can be assertive enough to balance though must not get in the way of the malt flavor, most are only lightly hopped.

2. Old Boys' Brewhouse - Brewhouse Brown
Style: American Brown Ale
ABV: 5.2%
Description: Medium in body and unique in its flavor complexity. We use a combination of caramel, victory and chocolate malts to give this tasty brew a toasted, nutty flavor which would have made Old Boy himself howl in approval.

3. Bells Best Brown
Style: English Brown Ale
ABV: 6.60%
Description: Rich brown ale perfect for the fall and winter. Plenty of malt character and smooth sweet finish give this brown ale its distinct character.

4. Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire
Style: Saison / Farmhouse Ale
ABV: 4.3%
Description: Dark, smooth, delicious. Aromas of worn leather and cool autumn nights. Notes of sweet plum and toasted raisin, hints of coffee and cacao. Lingering tart and refreshing finish. Only available for a few short months. Not to be missed.
(Open or Wild fermentation - re-usage of yeasts - aged in oak casks)

5. Great Lakes Conways Irish Ale
Style: Irish Red Ale
ABV: 6.5%
Description: A malty Irish Ale with a notable toasty flavor derived from lightly roasted malt. Second to Dry Stout, this style of ale is Ireland's other most distinctive brew. Named after Patrick Conway, the grandfather of co-owners Patrick and Daniel Conway and a Cleveland policeman who directed traffic for 25 years near the brewery.

6. Goose Island Demolition 2007
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 8.0%
Description: Brewed with Saaz and Styrian Golding Hops for a grassy citrus aroma and lots of the finest pale malt for a "honey" malt middle and intense flavor.

7. Michigan Brewing Company Celis Grand Cru
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV: 8.0%
Description: Brewed according to a traditional recipe and uses pale barley malts, Saaz, and Cascade hops, Curacao orange peel and select spices. The combination produces an ale strong in character with a subtle fruitiness and complex flavors.

8. Sierra Nevada 2008 ESB
Style: Extra Special / Strong Bitter
ABV: 5.9%
Description: Combines the best of English tradition with West Coast style. A blend of malts featuring British-grown Maris Otter is balanced with the earthy spiciness of hand-selected English and US hops. The ale is left unfiltered, which enhances mouthfeel and hop aroma creating a slightly reddish-copper hue.

9. Bells Lager
Style: American All-Malt Lager
ABV: 4.5%
Description: As refreshingly crisp as a morning swim in a Great Lake, this brew is crafted with Pils and Munich malts. The pronounced hop character of this golden lager sparks thoughts of sandy beaches and rocky islands.

10. Siera Nevada Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 5.6%
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a delightful example of the classic pale ale style. It has a deep amber color and a exceptionally full-bodied, complex character. The fragrant bouquet and spicy flavor are the results of the generous use of the best Cascade hops. Bittering Hops: Magnum & Perle. Finishing Hops: Cascade

11. Michigan Brewing Company High Seas India Pale Ale
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.2%
Description: Assertively hoppy and dangerously seductive. A skillful blend of three premium barley malts with generous amounts of Northern Brewer and Cascade Hops creates a special ale to satisfy even the most demanding palate.

12. Sierra Nevada 2008 Bigfoot
Style: American Barley Wine
ABV: 9.6%
Description: Our award-winning barleywine boasts a dense, fruity bouquet, an intense flavor palate and a deep reddish-brown color. Its big maltiness is superbly balanced by a wonderfully bittersweet hoppiness. Chinook Hops with Cascade and Centennial finishing hops.

13. Stone Brewing Co. Ruination
Style: India Pale Ale
ABV: 7.7%
Description: This massive hop monster has a wonderfully delicious and intensely bitter flavor on a refreshing malt base. ONe taste and you can esily see why we call this brew "a liquid poem to the glory of hop!"

14. Stoudts Double IPA
Style: American Double (Imperial) IPA
ABV: 10%
Stoudt's Double IPA is a strong, full-bodied ale with an intense hop character and deep golden color. This unusual brew is characteristic of the newly recognized style of extremely hoppy and malty ales of American origin. The Double IPA is our strongest beer with an alcohol of over 10% abv and bitterness of more than 75 IBU's. Multiple kettle hop additions and generous dry hopping contribute to the powerful yet smooth and fragrant hop character of this beer.

15. Bells Hopslam
Style: American Double (Imperial) IPA
ABV: 10%
Description: A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect? A great example of what it might be like to eat a handful of hops with a big alcohol warming finish.

DRB events!

For some reason, it didn't cross my mind that I should post events on the DRB page. We have something happening every month, mostly low key hang out parties, but we have a lot of fun. There's usually a chess match that breaks out mid-way through the night, and the broom is always handy if an empty pint hits the floor. We always have good snacks on hand too, from pirogi's, chips and salsa, taco's and always peanuts (shells on the floor!).
Anyhow, I'll start posting pictures of the events.. here are a couple of recent ones.

Bryan and Aaron are making me a frame with a mirror in it, to go behind the bar. I acquired a 5 gal. korny of bells best brown, so we're going to enjoy some of that after the mirror is hung.



Cow tongue provided by Nick from work. It was awesome. The pico salsa was amazing.


Cow tongue night - the gang.

The Two Hearted Challenge

My favorite beer is an India Pale Ale. I can't get enough of them. I brewed several batches before trying one. The batch I picked up was a Bells Two Hearted clone. I had heard that it's a pretty close comparison. I like Two Hearted, so I figured I would give it a shot. The beer turned out fabulous.
I was at 129 in Monroe the other night, drinking a Two Hearted, and thought, wow, this kind of tastes like my beer.. kind of forgetting that mine was a clone. Gave me an idea.. next time I'm at the grocery store, I'll pick up a sixer of Two Hearted, and put them up against each other. This is live blogging at it's finest.. here goes:

Both beers poured at the same time. DRB IPA - Keg / Two Hearted - Bottle

Appearance:
DRB IPA - More amber in color, yet really close to the bells. A little thicker too. A small white head sits on the top, maybe an 1/8th inch.
Two Hearted - Orange in color and clear. A creamy color head, not as big as the DRB's.

Aroma:
DRB IPA - A definite malt smell comes through with a slight hop smell.
Two Hearted - Larger hop smell, malt is definitely in the background of this. The hops really shine in this beer.

Palate:
DRB IPA - Smooth creamy mouth feel. Medium body. Finishes smooth.
Two Hearted - Crisp thin mouth feel. Medium to light body. Finishes smooth.

Taste:
DRB IPA - A creamy malty flavor starts out with a big mild hop bite. Grapefruit like flavors really come out in this beer. Very well balanced flavor.
Two Hearted - Thinner in comparison, lighter. Much less malt flavor and more immediate hoppiness.

Overall: Boy. Let me have another sip of each.. I'd definitely have to vote for mine. Maybe that's just me being partial to my own beer, but I think if I was blind tasting this, I'd go for the fuller bodied creamy IPA. I can totally see the similarities between the two, which explains why whoever made this recipe up, would call it a clone. But yeah, I'll take the DRB IPA!