Homebrew X: Belgian Stout

At long last, another post: This spring I brewed Northern Brewer's limited edition Mustache Envy Belgian Stout, concocted for Men's Health Month (Mo-vember). I brewed the week before hernia surgery, so the wort spent a little extra time in the primary fermenter and a lot of extra time in the secondary. About halfway through the time in the secondary, I realized I had forgotten the oak cube, so I threw them in and gave it a little more.

This past Sunday I transferred it to the keg. I had planned to bottle this batch and keg a summery brew, but since I'm hosting a brew session this weekend and wanted something to sample, I changed my mind. Worse comes to worse, I'll use the homemade counter-pressure bottle filler Dad and I built to bottle off the keg.

After three days in the keg I dropped the pressure and pulled the pint pictured here. It pours a murky chocolate brown, with about a half inch of creamy head. The aroma is dark malt and oak. The taste is dark fruits, oak, Guinness and sweet red wine -- balanced, but with little discernible hop aroma or flavor. It is murky brown from top to bottom, like the Tahquamenon when it's running high with spring runoff, and it strikes me that it will get better with age. That's a happy thought, since it's pretty solid to start with!

If you're reading this and in the greater St. Michael-Albertville area, a couple of us will be brewing on Sunday from noon to 4 or so at the Thorp garage. Next up for me is Northern's California Common kit -- a hybrid brew (a lager brewed at ale temps) based on the authentic American beer style known as steam. (Anchor Steam is a long time favorite of mine, though whether it taste anything like historic steam beer I do not know.) Feel free to stop by and sample some Mustache Envy -- and if you'd like to brew, you're welcome to do so. Cheers!

Homebrew IX: Dunkelweizen

Dunkelweizen.

Most of you locals know that the local hobby shop, Kremer's Toy and Hobby, sells Brewer's Best homebrewing kits and supplies, and they often run specials. So a while back I went in with a few extra bucks and a coupon, and decided to brew my first wheat beer -- not some lemony summer brew, either, but a dunkelweizen, a relative rarity among the imports and craft brews crowding local beer shelves. My dad likes a dunkel when he can get it, and Weihenstephaner seems the most frequently available to me (and a world-class example, apparently). Both Beer Advocate and Rate Beer describe dunkels as what I would call "swampy" beers: dark, murky, yeasty, unfiltered beers, brown in color, earthy in flavor.

This dunkel brings the fruit and the funk of wheat beers, big time. Both websites above mention banana and clove notes, but I tend to taste pear undertones in mine. It is same murky brown of the Tahquamenon River when it's swollen with runoff, with a sour yeastiness that is far more enjoyable that it sounds and serves in the place of hops to balance the sweetness of the grain. It comes off the keg with a thick, creamy head and invites sip after sip. A good fall brew that's a big change of pace for me -- hope you like it, too!

Homebrew VIII, Part II: Brunch Stout Revisited

Just checking back in to say what a difference a month (or two) makes! Another few weeks in the keg (as Butch suggested), and Northern Brewer's Brunch Stout kit took on a smoother, deeper, more flavorful persona, with a thicker, creamier head and that appearance at the pour that I describe as "fallout," in which the bottom of the head appears to settle toward the bottom of the glass. (You seen this before if you've ever seen pint of Guinness fresh from the tap; sorry for the lame description.)

Karl came over with his counter-pressure bottle filler to help me fill some canister-top brown bottles for a family function in Wisconsin -- my uncle was celebrating his 70th birthday and 30th anniversary, and requested that I bring beer. I didn't want to bring the keg, partly for logistical reasons, and partly because this is not a beer for everyone and not a beer for a binge. (It would've broken my heart to see half-consumed plastic cups of brunch stout warming in the morning son after the celebration.) The bottles went over very well, however: Uncle Mel enjoyed it; Aunt Sandy turned green; my dad, my cousin's husband, and a local microbrew enthusiast all loved it. All good signs.

I recommend the kit whole-heartedly now, only give it time to mature. I'd love to taste it six months from now, but I'm afraid this keg is almost kicked. Cheers!

New Friends, New Beers: The Not-So-Big Brew Day Update

 Transferring John's wort to his primary...

National Homebrewing Day dawned damp and gray in Minnesota -- and the Bottomless Pint crew was torn between brewing and celebrating the ordination of local seminarian Paul Shovelain to the transitional deaconate -- one step away from the Catholic priesthood, God willing. Turnout for our brewing day was consequently light.

I opted for a bit of both events: I slipped down to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis for Deacon Paul's ordination, then home and to our president's garage for brewing and sampling. I brewed Northern Brewer's Brunch Stout kit -- another delicious-sounding ale made with Maris-Otter malt (along with Belgian candi syrup and French roast coffee). Butch helped first-time brewer John, who came with his father Ron and the Hank's Hefeweizen kit from Midwest Supplies. I'm fairly certain this is the first time any of our men has brewed either of these kits, so we'll have to schedule a tasting later this spring!

We were also joined by two other Rons -- Ron from Albertville, whom Fr. Richards recommended to our ranks, and Ron from Rogers, who found us online. Both brought beers to sample: a easy-drinking Pilsner Urquell clone and a nicely peaty Scottish Export ale, respectively, to complement the Irish Draught Ale that I brought. Those brews, some sourdough pretzels, and some delectable pepper-jack beef sticks supplied by the Rogers contingent, made for an enjoyably warm afternoon, despite the weather. Wish you were there!

Homebrew VII: Irish Draught Ale

Spring has been slow in coming this year; as I write, the trees outside are being plastered white by an April snowstorm, and the cold of the basement concrete is seeping through my wool socks to the soles of my feet. Inside, however, I am warmed by my latest homebrew: Northern Brewer's Irish Draught Ale extract kit.

I had intended to brew this in time for the Feast of St. Patrick, but A) I got a late start, and B) I had given up beer for Lent. I had the right idea, though -- this is a beer for a blustery spring day, with just enough malt heft to hold its own against that last winter ale in the back of the fridge, and enough oat-n-honey smoothness to make it an easy drinker and thirst-quencher. The color is a ruddy, beer-bottle brown (depending on the light); the head pours thick and dissipates quickly. The flavor isn't like any other beer I recall -- I expected something like a Smithwick's or a creamier English pale ale, I guess, and that's not wrong, but not quite right either. The aroma is fruity, leaning almost to cider; the taste is roasted malt sweetness, but with enough hop bite to let you know that this is real, good ale.

I like it -- but more than that, I'm intrigued. Here's a beer recipe with a single ounce of Cluster hops to balance five-plus pounds of malt extract and a pound of honey. Here's a brew with a malty flavor unlike any I recall, that makes use of Maris-Otter malt, a long-time favorite of traditional English ale brewers that (I believe) only recently has become widely available to budding brewers like me. And as I drink it, I can't help but think this is a beer meant for kegging -- or maybe even nitrogen.

I'll brew this again. I joked with a friend that, in honor of the Virgin Mary, I was going to serve this at our Big Brew Day on Saturday, May 4, as Crown of Creation Irish Draught Ale. It may not be quite that immaculate, but this is a solid homebrew and a Real. Good. Ale.

Drink Globally, Brew Locally:Hanover Wine, Spirits, and Brew Supply

Hanover Wine - Spirits - Brew Supply

On the west side of Highway 19, just past the sign that marks the Hanover city limits, sits the new destination for local homebrewers and craft beer lovers:  Hanover Wine, Spirits and Brew Supply. I've stopped by twice in the past two weeks -- first, to pick up some priming sugar after I started sanitizing bottles, then I realized my St. Paul Porter kit from Northern Brewer didn't come with any, and later to pick up some sanitizer, check out their beer selection and try pick up one their Brewer's Best kits to compare to Northern and Midwest Supplies. The Hanover shop has everything an extract brewer needs to get started and is certainly convenient for emergencies or last-minute brew sessions -- but after purchasing and brewing their Brewer's Best English Pale Ale kit today, I think I'll be a regular.

During my first visit, one of the partners who opened the shop assured me that they want to grow their brew supply business and could get anything that area homebrewers needed, including bulk all-grain supplies, at a reasonable price -- and would be happy to work with us on special orders. So as not to put them on the spot with other customers in the shop, I sent them an email afterward asking if they offered a 10% discount for members of AHA-registered clubs, like Midwest and Northern. Dan and Chadd quickly replied that they do; just bring your membership card. 

So on Friday, I picked up 32 ounces of Star San sanitizer, a Brewer's Best English Pale Ale Kit, and a six-pack of Furthermore Beer's limited-offer fall brew Fallen Apple. The down side? The prices are a little higher for ingredients and noticeably so for the sanitizer. The 32-oz bottle of Star San cost $22 after the club discount -- compared to the Northern and Midwest price of $16 before the club discount. The pale ale kit cost $39.99 ($35.99 after the discount), compared to $34.99 for a comparable beer kit from Northern and $27.49 from Midwest before the discount. 

On the flip side, gas and diesel ain't cheap, and neither is time spent in traffic. Drink globally, brew locally!

Brewer's Best English Pale Ale kit ingredients

The Brewer's Best kit from Hanover included the following:

• 8 oz of Brewer's Best crushed caramel specialty grains, vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag;
• 3.3 lbs of Muntons Light LME (liquid malt extract) in a can;
• 2 lbs of Brewer's Best Light DME (dry malt extract), vacuum-sealed in plastic bags
• 1 oz Brewer's Best Fuggle Bittering hops, vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag;
• 3/4 oz Brewer's Best Tettnang Flavoring hops, vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag;
• 1 oz of Brewer's Best/Hop Union aroma hops, vacuum-sealed in a plastic bag;
• 1 packet DanStar Nottingham Ale Yeast;
• Brewer's Best priming sugar;
• a mesh grain bag;
• thorough and clear brewing instructions, including tips and cautions for each step and a customizable hop/boil schedule;
• and 60 Brewer's Best bottle caps.

With the exception of the crushed and vacuum-sealed specialty grains, these are, by and large, the same or similar ingredients you get from the other suppliers -- and the kit I received was completely self-contained, including yeast, priming sugar, and caps. Nothing missing; nothing extra to remember. Brewing this morning went relatively smoothly; if anything, I found it easier to get the LME out of a can than a jug, and the single packet of dry yeast, rehydrated, has already produced a more robust fermentation in the first several hours that any Wyeast "smack-pack" I've used. (Hanover does not yet stock Wyeast or White Labs yeast for homebrewers -- but I'm not sure I missed them today!)

If you're interested in tasting the results of my morning brew session, I'll be sharing samples in early November at Catholic Man Night. In the meantime, as I mentioned, I picked up Furthermore's Fallen Apple (a cream ale/hard cider concoction from Wisconsin that started out apply and underwhelming for me, but quickly rallied -- I wound up enjoying it very much!) and scoped out the other Furthermore brews and autumn seasonals. I used to always shop Westside in Albertville for craft beers and imports, then switched to the massive wall o' brew available at Cash Wise in St. Michael -- but Hanover has stuff (like Furthermore) that I have yet to see anyplace else. The best of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois brews, plus great beers from across the country and around the world -- check 'em out, and
support our local brew store!