Orange Salamander

Driving in late on a Wednesday, we stopped at the Libation Station in Johnson City, TN to fuel up at least for the first day.  Looking for something different, I was drawn to the words “Southern Pecan”.   This offering is from Mississippi’s Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co. and the beer is Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale.   Our second choice was Nashville’s Yazoo Brewing Co’s Hop Project a rotating IPA.

The Lazy Magnolia is the big winner here :  the flavor has notes of candy sugar, caramel, and bananana with the nutty finish.  All of these flavors are balanced well with a malt bill that is not overwhelming.  Serve at room temperature to really bring out the pecan flavor.

Bartram Trail Ridgeline View

Thursday, we hiked 14 miles along the ridge line of the Bartram trail near Highlands, N.C..  As the mist rolled away in the early afternoon, we were lucky enough to catch beautiful glimpses of the new spring greenery in the valleys of the Nantahala.  Just in time for lunch, we got some some fly-bys from the local hawk population.

Friday and Saturday we enjoyed many shorter hikes among the waterfalls and relaxing in our cabin’s hot tub.  We were lucky enough to come across several 6 packs of Abita Strawberry Harvest Ale.  Devotees of TDY, may be familiar with this brew even though it’s nearly impossible to get here in Pennsylvania.  It is quite possibly one of the best fruit beers in existence.  Not nearly as over top as most entries in the genre.  It has a slight hint of strawberry that still manages to taste like beer, perfect for the summertime.

A North Carolina Waterfall

We finally made it to Asheville late Saturday afternoon in time for the 4 PM brewery tour at Highland Brewing Co.  Anymore, I skip the brewery tours because most of them are the same and not too informative.  The Highland Brewery’s tour was probably the best tour I have ever been on.   There was a good amount of free samples, but they didn’t just rush us through the brewing process.  The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about the brewing process and just general beer knowledge (and she wasn’t even a brewer).   I learned several little tidbits and we got excellent access to the actual brewery’s equipment.  We were able to try all of Highland’s year-round brews:  Terese’s Pale Ale, Gaelic Ale, Kashmir IPA, Oatmeal Porter, and Mocha Stout.

The South's Third Largest Regional Brewery

The Gaelic Ale is Highland’s best seller.  A balanced beer that leans a bit more to the malty side but with some nice cascade hop character.  I was pleasantly surprised by the pale ale.  St Terese’s does not have a tone of flavorful but is a light, drinkable pale with just a touch of dryness and hop bitterness.  The Kashmir IPA is a British style IPA (read as light on the hops) and not really worth the effort for hopheads.  My wife thoroughly enjoyed the Oatmeal porter which mixes the roasted oat flavor on top of  sweet, malty base.

Asheville's Answer to the Lucky Lab

We made our way towards downtown Asheville and Green Man Brewery : a small craft brewery that fits entirely in an old gas station.  On this early spring day, the garage doors are up and the pretzels are free.  Green Man has a bit of an irreverent vibe and reminds me of the Lucky Lab in Portland.  We went through a sampler of 4 beers : IPA, ESB, Porter, and a cask IPA.  The IPA was crisp and bitter but somewhat light; a less bitter version of 60 min. IPA   The scene stealer at Green Man is the Cask IPA which brings out flowery aroma and flavor of the hops.  The oak aging really softens the bitterness of the IPA and makes for a much more complex flavor profile.

We wrapped up the night with pizza and a sampler at the Asheville Brewing Co.  The pizza was fantastic although the beer did not blow us away.  The highlights were Red Light Ale and Shiva’s IPA.  On the way out of town, we stopped at Bruisin Ales to pick up several special bottles to bring back home.

Bruisin' Ales Bottle Shop

A Cold Kwak on a Snowy Pittsburgh Afternoon

Pauwel Kwak (8.1% Alcohol)

Appearance :  The head is impressive helped by the unique shape of the glass, clings all along to the glass.  Color is a deep orange-brown.

Aroma:  Slightly sweet aroma with notes of caramel.

Taste :   Slight citrus and banana flavors with a decidedly sweet finish.  The initial taste is not overwhelming in any flavor.

Mouthfeel :  Somewhat thick but good amount of carbonation does lighten this beer in the mouth.

Overall :  If you get the chance to try this beer at a reasonable price and in the correct glass, seize the opportunity.  However, there is nothing that makes this beer really stand out.  It lacks the depth of flavor profile that you would find in a great Belgian Dubbel or Quadrupel.  It lacks the malt character and bitterness to be a Belgian Pale.  Overall, It’s a beer that can’t really decide what it wants to be.

Malt Bill:

• Roasted Malt
• Chocolate Malt
• Crystal Malt
• Dry and Liquid Extract Malt

Hop Bill:

• Nugget
• Cascade
• Tettnanger

Yeast:

• Ale yeast

OG = 1.060

FG = 1.020

%Alc by Vol = 6%

The fun part was taking a growler sized sample of the chocolate porter and transforming it into the Bourbon Barrel Chocolate Porter.  This was all done without harming any bourbon barrels.  I used oak chips that had been soaked in bourbon for several weeks.  The bourbon soaked oak chips were added to the growler of chocolate porter and maybe a little extra bourbon made it’s way into the growler, but not much.  The growler was then left in the basement at about 35-45F for 2 months.

After 2 months it’s time to tap into the growler and test it.  The taste test was done in parallel with the chocolate porter.

Appearance: Both brews were very dark with little to no transparency.  The bourbon porter had little to no head with no lacing.  The porter had a dark brown head and slight lacing.

Aroma: The porter had significant more aroma.  It’s aroma was full of chocolate and roasty malt.  The bourbon porter was dull to the nose.  Thinking this is related to the poor head retention and carbonation.

Taste: The porter again was much more flavorful.  The bourbon porter was a let down.  It was a dull, muted, chocolate taste with a very very very fine hint of bourbon booze.

Mouthfeel: Both brews went down easy and had a nice feel.  The bourbon porter had little carbonation and could stand to use more for a better feel and taste and aroma.

Overall:  The chocolate porter turned out ok, still not a fan of coca powder and plan to change that in the new brew.  The bourbon porter will also under go some updates.  One of which will be the conditioning of the oak chips and the aging process in the ‘bourbon barrel’.  I hope to use a different container where the beer and can have better surface contact with the oak chips and the bourbon.  Thinking of using a keg and laying on its side or stealing a bourbon barrel.  Know where I can find a bourbon barrel in Pittsburgh?  Another change will be to do more homework and reference the Radical Brewing book.

This was a disappointment, but still fun and enjoyable.  I’m excited to try out the new ideas and see how it impacts the final brew.

8am Piper’s – Southside

• Here we meet up for a hearty breakfast of boxty, whiskey/good beer (not green triple hopped shamrock beer) and some soccer.  We’ll spend a few hours here till we need to get out and stretch the legs.  If you have never been, then you need to stop by Piper’s and enjoy some of their fine whiskey, scotch, craft beer (both on tap and cask) and great food.  It is a warm friendly environment with great service and very knowledgeable bartenders.  Plus you may just run into all 3 members of TDY.

Next…??? – Southside

• The middle part of the day is a grab bag.  In past years we have stopped at Fat Heads, Smokin Joes, The Library and a few places I can’t remember.  Some more food will follow with more beer (again not green triple hopped shamrock beer).  Let’s not forget the Pens play at 1pm tomorrow too.  So this bar will have to have good TV setup to watch the game.

The Claddagh – Southside

• We always make our way to the Claddagh to hang out and listen to Irish music while enjoying some Guinness or Harp.  They have a nice tent outside and are usually pretty packed.  So get there early, anticipate long lines for beer (which tend to move pretty well) and longer lines for the restroom.

A few tricks of the trade to prepare for St Patrick’s Day.

1. Eat a good dinner Friday night.
2. Hydrate Friday night and before drinking Saturday.
3. Draw straws for a DD or just walk or use public transportation.
4. Make sure you are stocked up on hangover remedies.  For example; Advil, Pedialyte, Gatorade, peanut butter, beer, Super Troopers, cold left over pizza, Coke, fried chicken, pennies, brussel sprouts, etc…
5. Eat a good breakfast
6. Wear green or a Steelers jersey…Pens jersey will do also.
7. Drink a little booze Friday night, no wine though.  Wine = bad news bears
8. Limit your intake of green beer.  Do you REALLY know how they make green beer?
9. Double check your hangover supplies again. For example; chocolate, Spaceballs, Snatch, favorite terrible towel, pepto, delivery numbers for Chinese, TP, three 2.5 gal jugs of water, fire wood, Shawn of the Dead, etc…
10. No matter what you think, there are no Leprechauns hiding gold on the hillside up Mt Washington.

Lastly, be safe and enjoy.

Slainte!

Appearance:  Straw colored, nice head (especially from a bottle pour), transparent, with minimal lacing.

Aroma:  A mostly malty aroma.  Appears this brew was not dry hopped or heavily dry hopped, due to the lack of a hop/flowery aroma.

Taste:  A well balanced mid ranged IBU beer.  I call mid range anywhere from 40-60, only because I’m a hop head.  This is a good example of an American IPA.  There is a presence of citrus and earthy hop usage. The bitterness level is mild in my opinion.

Mouthfeel:  Very smooth, very drinkable.  The bittnerness comes in late and hits on the back sides of your tongue.  The carbonation is decent for a bottle.

If you are new to IPAs or enjoy a classic American IPA this is a good brew.  New to IPAs give this one a try.  The low bitterness level should make it enjoyable for you.  Give this brew a try with seafood, pizza or Mexican food. 

And as always, let us know what you think of it.  I’ve never paired this beer with seafood, so would be interested in hearing how that goes.

• Cost of gasoline $2.62/gal
• Borat, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead man’s chest, The Da Vinci Code, Casino Royale, Ice Age, Night at the Museum and Cars all hit the big screen
• Steelers win Superbowl, Ben makes tackle against Colts
• Italy defeats France to win the World Cup
• Malkin defected from Russia; Pens may leave town.  Still playing in the Igloo
• Fall Out Boy, Nelly, Jamie Fox, Eminem, Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Shakira, Luda, etc were all on the radio
• Sleater-Kinney and The Suicide Machines debanded while Alice in Chains, Genesis (w/ Phil Collins), Buckcherry, Blind Mellon and Bone Thugs N Harmony Reformed.
• 1,389 Craft, Micro-breweries in operation (~1,927 in operation in 2011)

Now that I have reminisced and realize how much I pay for gas today, I’m ready to brew St Arnou again this weekend.  St Arnou Hefe is my version of a German Hefe; think of Paulaner’s hefeweizen.  No orange peel, no coriander, no added spices; just malt, hops and yeast. Below is the blueprint for the hefe.

**Note: Temps, times and weights are the challenge. Happy Brewing!

Malt Bill:

• Wheat Malt
• Flaked Wheat
• Light Dry malt powder
• Wheat Beer Extract

Hop Bill:

• Tettnanger

Yeast:

• German type

OG = 1.055

FG = 1.015

% Alc by Vol = 4%

This batch was bottled and some were conditioned at room temp while others in the fridge while other split time between the closet and the fridge.  Imagine a huge nerdy science experiment with control groups and spreadsheets.  The final product was what some call one of my finest brew all time.  I was not 100% pleased, but did enjoy it and could draw parallels to other German hefes.

Enjoy and if you brew it, let me know how it turned out.  I’ll give an update on my batch this weekend and see how kegging changes the flavor profile.

Cheers!

• 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 4% Malbec, 4% Syrah and 2% Petit Verdot
• Produced and bottled by The Magnificent Wine Company, Walla Walla Washington USA

Here is a great example of a solid red table wine that is less that $15.  I have seen it on sale a few places around town for even less.  The wine was paired with a pasta and red sauce.  Not a fancy dinner by any means.  More like it’s Tuesday night and I don’t feel like cooking type of dinner.

The grapes come from the Columbia Valley, WA.  The website notes that the success with vinifera grapes is due in large measure to the state’s unique geography.  The vineyards are planeted on the east side of the mountains to protect the plants from the very wet climate of the NW.  Here the plants only see 6-8 inches of rain per year.  Having less rain allows the vineyard managers to control vine vigor to promote full grape development.

This is a 2009 vintage.  The plants budded a little later than normal.  This did not affect the grapes due to the long hot summer that followed.  This kind of summer weather allowed the grapes to have accelerated growth.  Due to the accelerated growth the grapes were harvested prior to a fall October frost.

This wine has a great balance of traditional red wine grapes.  Combined with the summer weather these grapes provide a fruit flavor of cherry and strawberry.  Yet the wine had a long lingering fruit finish with a dry finish.  I would compare this to a Pinot Noir.  Very fruitful, yet finishes a little dry.  This is  not sweet wine by any stretch.  Lastly, the legs on this wine were awesome.

Give the wine a try and pair it with lasagna, pizza, grilled salmon or even roasted root vegetables.