Jamie from Given2Fly had a brewing session for a few of us that are interesting in brewing. I have never brewed before, so the whole process was new to me. Some of those in attendence have brewed, but I think Jamie is the only one of us doing whole grain brewing. We all had a good time. I could see this becoming a hobby (once the house work is finished, Myra). As far as the beers we brewed, the Imperial Rye IPA is now bottled, and the Imperial Stout is still fermenting. I can’t wait to try them!
My first brew session
December 5th, 2008Summit Brewing Winter Ale
November 11th, 2008I’ve been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Christmas season beers, especially the Anchor Christmas. Since I have yet to see it in stores here in Columbia, I decided to pop open a Summit Brewing Winter Ale from last year that I had been storing.
This beer pours a very dark brown/carmel color with a thick tan head. The beer has a sweet nose, and tastes a bit like a porter. It is tart, and there is a definite burnt characteristic to it. On first taste I wasn’t sure what to think, but the more I drink of it, the better I like it.
I’m not sure that this beer was intented to be aged, but it aged pretty well in my opinion.
Tasting notes from Monday.
November 11th, 2008Monday was another great night of tasting. While Belgians aren’t my favorite beers, I was once again struck by how diverse the beers in a particular style can be. Some had that overpowering Belgian funky sweetness, while others were sour. Some were highly carbonated, others were not. I can’t say that I had a distinct favorite last night (I left before the Beast was passed around) but if I had to choose from the ones I tried it would be the Vapeur Cochonne. As always a good time was had by all.
The next tasting is scheduled for Monday, December 15th. Styles will be stouts and Christmas beers.
Columbia Beer Enthusiasts meeting on 11-10-08
November 9th, 2008Don’t forget the next meeting of the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts at Sycamore on November 10th at 9PM. Details at the Columbia Beer Enthusiasts site.
Sycamore Beer Dinner on October 27th.
October 20th, 2008Just a reminder that Sycamore will be hosting another beer dinner on October 27th, one week from today. Here are the details: http://www.sycamorerestaurant.com/events.htm. This dinner looks a bit different, in that no single brewer is featured. A bit more like a tasting that the traditional beer dinner at Sycamore. I’m really looking forward to it!
Russian River Pliny the Elder
October 15th, 2008My first ever bottle of Pliny the Elder. This is a year round offering from Russian River. It came in a 500mL bottle allowing me to use an imperial pint glass and not feel cheated. I’ve been wanting to try this DIPA for quite a while. Thanks to Jason and Jeremy for picking me up a bottle while they were in Denver at GABF. Now if I could have just convinced them to blog GABF I would have been happy. Maybe next year…
Pliny pours golden yellow with a thick, firm head that has some retention. The head also leaves lots of lacing on the glass. Lots of citrusy sweetness on the nose, and bitter pine in the mouth. While bitter, the beer doesn’t have a heavy or overly bitter finish, and is quite drinkable. The finish actually reminds me of peeling and eating a fresh grapefruit.
It is 8% ABV so I don’t know how many I would want in a row, but it is really tasty. And actually, that 8% is hidden well, so I could see this beer sneaking up on me (like Jamie’s Centennial IPA). I will definitely have this one again. Maybe someday we’ll be able to get Russian River here in Columbia, but I don’t expect it anytime soon. Outside of California, Russian River only distributes to Oregon, Colorado, and Pennsylvania.
Columbia Beer Enthusiasts in the Tribune
October 4th, 2008The Tribune had a nice article about our group in the Wednesday food section. Be sure to check it out.
Sycamore Beer Dinner
October 4th, 2008Another beer dinner is coming up at Sycamore. The tentative beer list looks pretty good. Check the Sycamore events page for more details.
Three Floyds Pride & Joy Mild Ale
October 4th, 2008I picked this up in Chicago at the beginning of August. I enjoy Three Floyds beers, but this is the first time I’ve had Pride & Joy. It is called a mild ale by Three Floyds, but all the beers I’ve had from Three Floyds have been anything but mild, so I was curious how this would taste.
The beer pours a light orange amber color. It has a sweet malty nose with a hint of citrus from the hops. The beer doesn’t pour with a lot of head, but it does leave some lacing on the glass. The beer has lots of malty flavor and a mild bitter hoppy finish. All in all a well balanced beer.
It is labeled a session beer, and I can certainly see that. The beer reminds me of Alpha King, without being quite so over-the-top. I’ll definitely picking more of this up next time I make it across the Mississippi River to Illinois.
Double Dead Guy is tapped at Sycamore
September 30th, 2008For those of you that don’t check Beeradvocate.com, Sanford posted this today:
Double Dead Guy is tapped
If you are interested, we tapped a keg of Rogue Double Dead Guy tonight here at Sycamore
cheers, Sanford
Now I just have to figure out when I can get down there to try it!