April's Beer Tasting: Belgian Beers

We announced around Christmas-time that we had joined Wine Gourmet's Beer of the Month club, with promises of reviewing the beers for you here. Well .. that didn't happen for a couple reasons, and effective April 1st, we left the Beer of the Month club. We still think very highly of Wine Gourmet, we just personally wanted to go a different direction.
We still plan to do our own "Beer of the Month" though it may be more of a style focus rather than a "from ________ brewery" focus. For April we decided to try out some Belgian Ales.
To keep things simple, we went with two breweries: Chimay & Brasserie Caracole. These are two we already think pretty highly of, or have at least heard lots of good things about.
There were clear "winners" here. Brasserie Caracole just can not be beat. The complexities of their beers are amazing. Seriously, Carrie was determined (a couple years ago now) to name one of our kids Caracole, or some version of that.



First, we tasted SAXO from Caracole. Here is the description from http://www.specialtybeer.com ~
SAXO from Brasserie Caracole is a very complex artisanal Wallonian blond ale with an unusual hoppiness, bitterness and a touch of spice. Bizzare grainy punch of taste preceding hops and waves of flavors whizzing over the tongue.
Couldn't have said it much better ourselves. We did pick up the scent of cloves, and there was also a nice banana taste to it. A great Belgian, summer-time beer.



Next, we tried Chimay's Triple, aka Cinq Cents when bought in the larger bottles. Here is the description from Chimay's website, www.chimay.com ~
Named Cinq Cents in 75 cl (25.4 fl.oz.) bottles, this beer with its typical golden colour, its slightly hazy appearance and its fine head is especially characterised by its aroma which results from an agreeable combination of fresh hops and yeast. The beer's flavour, as sensed in the mouth, comes from the smell of hops: above all it is the fruity notes of muscat and raisins that give this beer a particularly attractive aroma. The aroma complements the touch of bitterness. There is no acidity, but an after-bitterness which melts in the mouth. This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurised.
Chimay beers are really popular around here, but we were kinda disappointed. Justin thought it was "alright", Carrie gave it "meh" vote .. bordering on ugh, and not wanting to drink it again.



We decided to stick with Chimay, and next tried their Red, which is a dubbel. Again, the description from Chimay's website:
First sold in 75 cl (25.4 fl.oz.) bottles, it is noted for its coppery colour which makes it particularly attractive. Topped with a creamy head, it gives off a light, fruity apricot aroma produced by the fermentation. The taste perceived in the mouth is a balance confirming the fruity nuances noticed in the fragrance. Its taste, which imparts a silky sensation to the tongue, is made refreshing by a light touch of bitterness. To the palate, the taster perceives a pleasant astringency which complements the flavour qualities of this beer very harmoniously. This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurised.
This one we liked much better, and we think that this is probably the Chimay that most people are going for around here. We both thought it was good, though questioned whether it was really worth the over-all price tag. It brings to mind a nice Belgian version of a brown ale, pretty much anyway.



We finished off our tasting with Caracole's NOSTRADAMUS, a Belgian Dark Strong. Here is the description from http://www.specialtybeer.com ~
NOSTRADAMUS from Brasserie Caracole is a very complex artisanal Wallonian brown ale, rich, warming, little piquant in the mouth with liquorice, mocha flavors, pear and toasted bread background notes, perfect after-dinner drink or night cap.
Again, Brasserie Caracole's beers just whoopped Chimay's butt. Justin liked this beer, noting that it was "very interesting. Carrie also really liked it and noted that it was fairly fruity.

And those were our beers for April's Belgian Beer Tasting. Chimay isn't bad, it deserves a lot of the attention it gets, though it does seem a little on the pricey end for what you're getting. Brasserie Caracole continuously impresses with it's complexity. Maybe it wasn't fair judging them side by side. One is a Trappist brewery (brewed by monks), one is just a good, old Belgian brewery. Chimay has been brewing beers since 1862, Brasserie Caracole has been brewing since 1766, though the name has changed twice since then. I guess that extra century of brewing has proven invaluable as far as knowledge and talent goes. Fun Fact - Brasserie Caracole is known for a couple things: 1)heating their water via a wood heated oven, and 2)bottling and labeling all their beers by hand.

What do you think?? What is your favorite Belgian beer??

Homebrew on Tap

Every year we set a goal for ourselves, brew-wise. There are other goals that can be achieved, we don't just limit ourselves to one, but we do always have one in mind as "the next step." Last year we went from extract brewing to all-grain brewing. We also began growing, and using, our own hops. This year, the goal was to start kegging beer. Above is a photo of one of our 5 gallon kegs with our own label on it.

Here is Justin filling up the keg. Right now part of our ultra-elaborate brew set-up takes place in the kitchen. At least the bottling and kegging does. Here is what Justin had to say about kegging for the first time:
The kegging went really well. Setup went about as I expected…I had been reading different posts online about it and stuff so I pretty much knew what to expect. It was A LOT easier than bottling and it feels really nice to be able to have draft beer now. Clean up was pretty much the same as bottling...a little less since I didn’t have to clean a bottling bucket and the carboy. It was really foamy at first but like I said that’s to be expected after rocking and rolling the thing around while it’s being injected with C02….it’s like shaking up a soda can…you have to wait for it to calm back down. So I’m looking forward to pulling off a pint and seeing how it is. With this being the first keg and wanting to be able to try it last night I went the impatient route of force carbing so next time or maybe even with the IPA I will do the slower way of just hooking it up at a lower pressure (between 10 and 15 PSI) and letting it sit for a 3 – 5 days before trying to drink it.

Here he is, pouring a beer. It had been in the fridge to cool down, but he took it out so that he could do the rolling & shaking. As he noted above, pouring the beer immediately pretty much resulted in all head.

Finally, here is a shot of the keg & CO2 tank, where they belong, in the cooler. We got the cooler from Sear's, as it had the best deal going on at the time. We chose black in color since the cooler sits inside - we wanted it to look as little like a chest freezer kept inside as possible.
A couple other things that we've decided on regarding the cooler: 1) We decided NOT to put taps on the outside of it. Originally we had wanted to do this, and had planned on it - but we have two little kids. Shannon, who is 5, already knows a lot about beer, and Carrie could pour beer from a keg when she was 4 ... we figured it wasn't a wise parenting decision given the circumstances. 2) We chose a cooler that has a lock on the front. This, we felt, was another wise parenting decision. There will come a time when the boys are more curious about and interested in the beer inside the cooler, and we'll want to keep them out. Until then, it serves the easy purpose of cutting off someone (he knows who he is) who may have already had enough to drink.
So here is a "Cheers" to our "next step" completed. In the above photos we're kegging our Back Porch Brown Ale. Last night we also kegged 5 gallons of our JedHead IPA. Having two kegs on hand, ready to drink, feels good. The other beers seen in the photos are also all homebrews. That feels good too. Pretty damn good actually.

3/22/09 - Brewday review

Although yesterday morning when we started brewing it was barely 40 degrees out, it warmed up quickly and turned out to be a very beautiful day. Here is a review of the day for those who couldn't make it over:

~Justin, starting things off nice and properly by apparently taking a moment to say the "Beer Prayer"

~Justin checking the temperature of the water for the Brown Ale. You can see the IPA in the keg-kettle in the foreground.
This was our first time brewing our Jedhead IPA all-grain, up until now it has always been brewed as an extract. How we haven't brewed this as an all-grain yet is beyond us. The recipe we did yesterday will be completely different from our previous one: it should be a lot hoppier, with more citrus, and be more copper in color. When we brewed our All Right Then Pale Ale, the recipe ended up being similar to the extract recipe, so the new Jedhead IPA should definitely satisfy the hop-heads.
We brewed our Back Porch Brown Ale last time we brewed as well as yesterday. We're still working on our recipe, trying to get it just right. For this batch we changed up the hops used and also added some molasses to it (Shannon got to add that, along with the hops ~ he knew exactly what Justin was getting ready to do, and made sure he got to help!).

~John Merkwan, the current President of the Star City Brewer's Guild. John brought with him for sampling a nice beer from Brooklyn Brewery, Local #2. A very nice beer. We also sampled some of our stouts, our brown ale, and March's Beer of the Month from Wine Gourmet, from Avery Brewing Co.: 14'er ESB, which everyone seemed to enjoy, and Ellie's Brown Ale, which was pretty decent.

~Harry Montoro, a new member but already proving to be a very enthusiastic member & all around pretty cool guy. When we came inside to show them our new keg-freezer, Harry spotted Justin's guitar and took it back outside with him. You can see Jomo "standing guard" - Jomo has become a little hesitant about new people, but found an instant friend in Harry .. who brought over meatloaf & immediately gave some to him! The smoke in the background is from the smoker -- the food came out utterly fantastic, but not until everyone had left. Better planning required for next time!!

~This is Justin's brother Matt, holding up the skirt I had been wearing. Here is the excitement for the day ---- I caught on fire! *NOTE - I told Matt to smile when I took this photo, as he had just saved my life ... so, know, he isn't just looking pleased with himself for burning my skirt or something like that.
I'm not sure how it happened, and all anyone can come up with is that it was one of those flukes - me walking past the burner, wind catching my skirt and/or the flame just right. All I know is that I was standing several feet away from the burner, facing back towards the house when I thought "do I smell something burning", I looked down and my skirt (at about my right calf) was on fire. I hollered about being on fire, swatted at the flame, and thankfully, Matt sprung into action. He quickly smothered out the flames and saved me from being burnt to a crisp.

~This is Matt sticking his arm through the hole, to show the damage done.
I did get slightly burned on my fingers and on the back of my right knee, but no worse than grabbing something hot out of the oven. No blisters, at least not on my fingers, I can't really get a good look at the back of my knee. No harm done though, except to my skirt ~ which I had specially made for me many years ago. I'm thinking about patching the hole from inside, with some fabric that has flames on it. Might as well have a good story and run with it.
A lesson was learned though. From now on, JUST IN CASE, we will be always keeping stuff outside for putting out a fire while brewing (or smoking food). Thankfully no-one was hurt, thankfully it wasn't a guest or one of our kids that caught on fire. Thankfully Matt was there to swiftly put me out, as Justin merely thought we were joking around and didn't believe I had caught on fire. Only Justin can find a way to get himself in trouble when I catch on fire!!! (He did come back to the bedroom as I was changing to make sure I was ok though).

We will be getting to keg some of the beer brewed yesterday, another first for us. So, expect another post for when that happens.

Bull & Bones ~ a review

A quick bit of background info: we got married on St. Patrick's Day. One year, for our anniversary, we decided to venture into the world on homebrewing which has now put us on the path of opening our own microbrewery. Now, we've begun a new tradition of sorts: either taking a "brew-tour" (road trip to breweries) or just visiting a brewery nearby. This year we chose the latter.
Southwestern Virginia has gone from having absolutely NADA in the form of brewpubs and breweries to having a rapid string of them pop up. A blessing indeed. So, yesterday we traveled up to Hokie Country (Blacksburg, Va for you non-Hokies ... and if you aren't a Hokie, why are you reading this?) to check out Bull & Bones.
Location: It is located on S. Main in a new development, just off of 460. Good for driving up from Salem. It is in one of those new "outdoor centers" - a wonderful, revamped, and MUCH better version of the old strip mall. Being the luddite and conservationsist that I am, new developement immediately makes me approach with caution, this I liked. There was parking in the rear, easy to get back through to the front, very nice.
Atmosphere: We got up there about 5:30 on Saturday evening, before dinner rush had begun. Interior was very nicely done. Ok - here is where luddite opinion will vary from "the way things are": It was too noisy!! Though the bar is to the left and dining to the right, the ceilings are cavernous and the sound echos .. something not helped by my migraine, I'll admit. However, Bull & Bones is in a COLLEGE town!! It's Blacksburg baby & PROUD OF IT!! So, take it for what it is .. if you want quiet & romantic, this might not be the best spot, but over-all the place is nice.
Food: Now this is where they get a BIG A+! We got their Shrimp & Crab dip appetizer & were REALLY impressed. Normally this dish is pretty greasy and gooey when served at other restaraunts, but this one was awesome!! Justin had the wings for dinner and thought they were good as well. I (Carrie) had the Smokehaus Chicken sandwich - very tasty, though I didn't eat much because of my migraine; their homemade potato chips were also pretty good.
BEER: (Why you're really reading this after-all, right?) We got the sampler to try, just one for both of us, which honestly we thought was enough to know what we liked or didn't ... these are good size samplers (we've gotten WAY less beers at almost every tasting we've gone to .. aside from Starr Hill, so a nice plus here for Bull & Bones). So, here is our take on their beers to date:
*Sun Lit Wit ~ We liked this one. Justin thought Awful Arthur's was a little bit better, Carrie doesn't remember AA's that well, so this was her #2 beer from B&B. Lots of orange present. VOTE: Justin - yes, Carrie - yes
*All Night Light ~ This one was dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. According to Justin "just call it a Miller Lite." Carrie is NOT a fan of American Lagers, and this was no exception!!! VOTE: Justin - meh, Carrie - NO!!!!!!
*Lunch Pale Ale ~ We both liked this one. According to the resident hophead, it could use more aroma, but the non-hophead thought it was ok. I mean, it is Bud Foster approved, and our Lunch Pail Defense is strong, so I'll trust it. VOTE: Justin - yes, Carrie - yes
*IPA (their Seasonal, doesn't have a special name) ~ This one we thought could use some more aroma since it was an IPA. It does have more hops than the Lunch Pale Ale, but it ought to since it is an IPA! VOTE: Justin - yes (and this is what he ordered a pint of), Carrie - yes
*Stricks Dark Lager ~ This one started off nice, and had a nice flavor, but as it rolled around in your mouth it suddenly took on what can only be described as "armpit flavor." A weird combo. VOTE: Justin - meh, Carrie - meh
*Maroon Effect Ale ~ At first we thought it needed some more aroma, but the longer we let it sit out the more the aroma came out, so not too bad. We found it to be a fairly typical brown ale, nothing terribly special, but not bad either. VOTE: Justin - ok, Carrie - ok
*St. Maeve's Stout ~ Great flavor, nice aroma, definitely an Irish stout. We did think it was a little thin, but still a good beer. VOTE: Justin - too thin but ok, Carrie - yes (and this the one that Carrie got a pint of).

Over-all, would definitely go there again. Would be a great place to go and watch the Hokies play while shooting some pool. Their prices can't compare with Awful Arthur's $2.50 - $3 for a pint, but where can? Definitely a good place to go for a night out.

~ A quick side note we found amusing: Another table was being seated nearby and as they walked past our table the girl said "there's a sampler" (referring to the sampler we had on our table) .... one of the guys in the group immediately replied "a sampler of what?" -- Yea. Then, you have us, beer snobs & wanna-be alcoholics (haha). The waiter came up to our table which was full of the beer samples, our pints, and our food. He asked me "have you had a chance to try everything?," to which I replied "... you mean the beer?" -- He was referring to the food. Oops. Justin admitted he thought he was inquiring about the beer as well. -- Yea.

Get your booty movin'

We love Bebop Hoedown. It is really about as simple as that. So, we felt it imperative to share this with everyone. Both Justin and Carrie have known Sonny for many years now, and think it is impossible to know a nicer guy. We can tell you one thing, when we actually get to open our brewery .. plan on hearing some good music ~ they don't know it yet, but they will be playing there!
Just click on this link, turn the sound WAY UP and get ready to boogy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJpCA7ffJJY

First Brews of 2009

Saturday turned out to be a very gorgeous day, so like many homebrewers across the valley, we headed outside to brew. We got started at 8:45 am, while it was about 45 degrees out. It quickly warmed up to 62 degrees though, which was quite nice.
We were especially fortunate today because of the amount that we were able to brew. We brewed two 10 gallon batches of all-grain beer: our stout, "Ruby's Deep Winter," and our brown ale "Back Porch Brown." In the top photo you can see the Back Porch Brown still finishing sparging, with the wort being collected in the bottom kettle. In the right side of the photo is our stout in it's final boil. We had decided to brew the stout, as St. Patrick's Day will be upon us soon and it just seems quite wrong to celebrate without a stout. St. Patrick's Day is not only special to us because of our love for beer but also because we were married that day ~ 2009 will be our 4th anniversary!

Here is another shot of the brown ale, March's competition beer for Star City Brewer's Guild, finishing sparging with the wort being collected in the bottom kettle.

One of the really great things about this particular brewing day was the reaction of our boys. They were both not only very interested in it all, but very excited about getting to help. In the above photo you can see Shannon helping add hops to the brown ale, in the bottom photo you can see Tristan getting his turn adding hops. Shannon has been very proud of the fact that he gets to help brew beer. And while we certainly don't condone underage drinking, teaching them about brewing beer is another matter.

We believe in being self-sufficeint and sustainable, and we practice urban-homesteading. Brewing our own beer is part of that. Since we're also homeschooling the boys, we like that in learning how to brew beer they are also learning stuff like volume measurements, some basic math skills, along with the processes of how things come to be. Shannon helps measure, weigh, and grind out the grain. In the summer we grow hops, so they learn about horticulture and caring for the land, as well as the plant. In the fall they get to see how the hops are harvested and stored. They also learn about safety, something that is every parents' concern, since there is boiling water and wort and flames on burners. So far they've managed to learn this lesson very well .. much better than the dogs who keep getting their fur singed!
All in all yesterday's brewing went pretty smoothly and much quicker than we had anticipated. Wind was a little bit of an issue, as it kept blowing out the burner. We were much luckier than some others who had not only burners being blown out, but lids being blown off, and even glasses being blown over! Both beers are now in the fermenters, chugging away like they ought to be. Our only dilemma of the day was using the "new" keg and having to pour some beer over the edge of it, into a fermenter. Hopefully this won't pose a major contamination threat. We will plan to drink that stout first though, just in case. Not like any beer, much less Ruby's Deep Winter Stout, sits around waiting to be drunk for very long here anyway!!

Frustration, Envy, & Luddites

Labels are a bitch! Our friend Kevin (http://revolutionisbrewing.blogspot.com/ ) always has rockin' labels on his beers, I'm quite envious. His girlfriend recently called me a Luddite: one who opposes and dislikes technological advancements. She has a point.
We've been working on designing our logo, which we've got down in one format but can't seem to get it transfered from that format so that we can use it wherever we want. Hence why you don't see it on here yet. Believe me, it is something we're working on!
For our labels, we're in a dilemma of sorts. So far I've been drawing some of the characters, but again, trying to get them looking nice and onto labels is proving to be quite tricky for me. There are many programs you can use, and while we've had a good one, it is the one that won't allow things to be transfered out.

Today, at Kevin's suggestion, we downloaded paint.net. Justin has used it before as well and likes it. But, the Luddite in me is having troubles figuring out how to use it. I can't just tell it what I want and have it magically appear. One solution would be to just hire someone to do this all for us, but right now that would be quite silly, and besides we are DIY people, so that would feel like cheating or failing. It just wouldn't work out to well. It looks like we're going to have a couple long nights of trying to explain things to Carrie ahead of us.