Staff Pics: The Best of 2012!

Welcome to our first installment of Staff Pics.  For this one I thought we would recap the best beers and breweries from near and far that we here at Beerploma.com have found in 2012:

Best Beer of 2012:  Grand Cru by Titletown Brewing.  For those of you who have been following my personal beer journals on the Beer Aficionados Sight know that I rate beer from 1 to 3, but I keep a 4 to 5 rating for the most memorable and perfect beers.  This was the first beer to garner a 5 star rating.  This Oak Barrel aged Belgian started in 2010 and took nearly two years to make.  A smooth oak taste with a light sour finish.  This beer is THE perfect beer.  Unfortunately this was an extremely limited release.  So for those few of you lucky enough to taste this then congratulations, you have tasted perfection.

Best New Beer of 2012:  Rise To the Top by Third Street Brewhouse.  When I went to St. Paul Summer Craft Brew Festival this year I remember walking to the back section and seeing a long line. I asked someone what the big deal was and that was when I heard the name "Third Street Brewhouse" for the first time.  I quickly fell in love with their Cream Ale during the hot summer days of 2012.  Light, crisp, just the right amount of bitterness.  This is one of the most balanced and perfect beets, best enjoyed ice cold on a hot summer day.

Best Seasonal of 2012 (Overall/Winter):  Sugarshack by Third Street Brewhouse.   This one snuck onto the list last second, but it is worth it!  Made with maple syrup from St. John's abbey I recommend drinking the beer ice cold and sipping it as it warms up.  It changes flavor profile as it warms up.  It's like drinking three different beers.  Awesome balance and perfected flavor in a bottle!

Best Seasonal of 2012 (Summer):  Hep Cat by Flat Earth Brewing.  This light refreshing wheat ale is the perfect balance of crisp and fruitiness. With a refreshing apricot flavor, and subtle breadth wheat notes, this beer will help you beat the heat. Of even the honest Minnesota days.

Best Crazy Beer of 2012: Blueberry Basil Farm Girl Saison by Lift Bridge Brewing. I would have never thought to pair these two beers together, but there you are. This limited run of Farmgirl was available at the St. Paul Summer Craft Beer Festival. It reminded me of a blueberry muffin with basil. Sweet and just a little bit savory. Well blended and highly drinkable, this one left you pining for more.

Best Blended Beer of 2012: South African by Leech Lake Brewing. I was never a big fan of mixing two beer styles until I met Greg, could-owner of Leech Lake Brewing in Walker. He introduced me to a little concoction that was two-thirds porter and one-third IPA. Smooth, yet with a happy punch, this beer was smooth and refreshing to taste. Stop by Leech Lake to mix your own if you are ever in the area!

Best Brewery Tour of 2012:  Mankato Brewing, Titletown Brewing, Third Street Brewhouse, and Leech Lake Brewing.  Sorry, I just can't decide, so they are all winners today.  I love each one of these experiences for different reasons and all four breweries deserve your attention.

Best Beer Related Group of 2012:  Minnesota Beer Activists.  These are the guys who are out there defending your right to drink great craft brews.  They throw some pretty cool events and are a great source for beer news.  Look these guys up, they are you Beer Guardian Angels.

Adventures of a Beginning Home Brewer

The Christmas Beer Miracle and the Gift of Easier Bottling

To me, the most tedious part of brewing is bottling. You have to sanitize bottles, the bottling bucket, all its parts, the siphon, the caps… And that is just the first step. Then you have to boil the priming sugar, rack the beer, fill the bottles, and cap each one of them individually.

The boil process in the beginning takes a bit longer, but that is inactive time while the stove does the work. In bottling it is all you, all the time. But there is some hope. You can make the process go by a bit faster. The trick? It’s all in the bottles.

When I made my first beer, my Ragin’ Red, I stupidly sanitized, filled, and capped 48 12 oz. beer bottles. It took forever! I did the same thing for my second beer. Then came the Christmas Beer Miracle and my home brewing life was changed forever.

When I brewed my first Merry Cherry Christmas Stout I had an idea. I wanted to have a beer with all of my friends and family for Christmas. Obviously this is impossible with the hustle and bustle of the holidays. My solution was to give everyone a Merry Cherry Christmas Stout that we would all crack open at exactly 5:00 pm CST on Christmas day so that no matter the distance between us, we would all have a beer together for Christmas. This is known in my circle as the Christmas Beer Miracle!

I decided it would be a nice touch to use 22 oz bottles so that everyone could not only have a beer together no matter where we all were, but also everyone could share the Christmas Beer Miracle with someone special they were actually spending the holidays with in person. That is when I realized the math.

 

(22 oz Merry Cherry Christmas Stout bottle vs 12 oz Ragin' Red Ale bottle)

Here is the deal; bottles come in all shapes and sizes. You can sanitize, fill, and cap about 48 12 oz. bottles, about 24 22 oz. bottles, or heck, you could even just fill a few half gallon jugs I suppose. I use nothing but 22 oz. bottles now. I basically cut my bottling work in half by only needing to sanitize, fill, and cap half as many bottles!

One quick tip: I have noticed that sometimes the bigger bottles may need a little extra bottle conditioning time to get the desired amount of carbonation. But we are just talking a couple days if it is needed.

 
Let’s face it; if your beer is tasty there is no one who will complain about their bottle having an extra 10 oz. in it!

Tis the Season Pt 2: Fine Beers, Fine Books

Need some holiday gift ideas for that Beer Geek in your life?  Well take a look because your answer might be in a book!

I have spent the better part of the last two years building my library of beer books.  Some books were worth there weight in Pilsner, others not so much.

Before we dive into the best, let's start with what I personally avoid.  I like to avoid books that talk about specific beers.  First off most of these books talk about beers that I will never drink.  Second, these books don't stand the test of time and breweries come and go.  I prefer books that talk about beers in general.  That way when I go to a store and by a "Eis Bock", I know what I am getting into.

So without further ado here are some of my favorites (Link to Amazon provided):

Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher: This book has it all.  The history of beer, beer/food pairings, the science of beer, beer styles and much much more.  This is my favorite book on beer and you will find no better.

 

Amber Waters:  The History of Brewing in Minnesota by Doug Hoverson:  This book was given to me by a former boss and it was the inspiration that started my love affair with beer.  This is a great history book about the brewing industry in our great state!

 

The Oxford Companion to Beer by Garret Oliver:  Let me begin by saying that this is not a book for reading.  This is an encyclopedia for beer.  This book is great for those Beer Geeks that see a new term and need a resource to look it up.  This is the ultimate resource for all things Beer.

The Brewmaster's Table by Garret Oliver:  Want the ultimate book about beer with food?  Look no further.  Not only does it give great pairings and recipes but comes with a great story

 

He Said Beer She Said Wine by Sam Calagione and Marnie Old:  Got a partner that like wine?  Maybe this is the book for you.  I found this book to by funny and informative as two experts in their field go back and forth about the differences and similarities between wine and beer.

   

The Brewmaster's Bible by Stephen Snyder: Finally one for the homebrewers.  I haven't found a question about homebrewing that this book couldn't answer.  The ultimate resource about my favorite hobby.  This book goes into detailed depth about a variety of hops, wheat, and everything else that goes into beer.

There are plenty of other great Beer Books out there, these are just a handful of my favorites reads.  So if you are looking for a great beer related gift for the Beer Geek in your life crack open one of these!

Adventures of a Home Brewer

Don't Fruit the Beer? Forget That!

 

Remember those Man Law commercials for Miller Lite? One was “Don’t fruit the beer!” I broke that law yesterday. Send the beer police if you need to, but if anyone should be arrested it’s the brewers of Miller Lite for trying to make us think carbonated water is beer.

Yesterday I started making my annual Merry Cherry Christmas Stout. I make this every year in order to facilitate the Christmas Beer Miracle… I will explain that a bit closer to Christmas.

Merry Cherry Christmas Stout was the first beer that I brewed with other types of additives. When I brewed my first one it was just a recipe kit from the beer supply store. It was a cherry stout that used cherry extract during bottling. It was good, but I knew I could do better.

Year two I decided to step things up. I wanted that cherry to really sing! So, I decided to, “fruit the beer,” and add some actual cherries in addition to the extract. I did a bunch of searching for info on beer forums and Yahoo! as I had no clue where to start. Here is what I learned.

The biggest thing in brewing is that anything that goes in the bucket needs to be sanitary. This applies to fruit as well. You can’t just grab a bunch of cherries from the produce section of your local grocery store and chuck them in there. You will more than likely infect your beer… I did that once with a nut brown and it is a headache.

Some home brewers on forums indicated that you should put the berries in with your beer at the secondary fermentation stage. This seems illogical to me on two fronts. One, you have to boil the berries separately to basically sterilize them. Some people are fine with throwing frozen berries straight into the secondary, but I am not willing to gamble on 5 gallons of beer getting infected. And two, you will lose some of the clarity of your beer, which is kind of the whole point of secondary fermentation.

So what do I do? I throw them in the boil. I am not saying its the end all correct way, but its how I do it. And it works! I mash up the berries to release more of the juices and then just chuck ‘em in during the last 15 minutes or so of the boil. This makes them sterile, saves me a whole separate boil later on, and helps my beer keep its clarity as I don’t bring the cherries along for the party when I rack the beer into the secondary fermenter.

 (Cherries in the Boil)

With most fruits you will want to use approximately one pound of fruit for each gallon of beer you are making. I have played with that a bit for my Merry Cherry Christmas Stout though because I still like to throw that extract in during bottling for a final kick. I try to make this beer palatable to my friends and family who are not into thick dark beers. The extra cherry taste and sweetness helps to accomplish this. No complaints yet!

Here is another tip; use frozen fruit. Using frozen fruit works the best because the freezing process breaks down the fruit. This helps release the juices into your beer to give you more of the fruit flavor. I found this tip online when I first decided to use cherries in my stout. Admittedly I have never used fresh fruit, so I can’t swear by this. But, it makes sense to me and I am happy with the end result. Why fix what ain’t broke, right?

Anybody else out there ever break this unjust man law and, “fruit the beer?” If so, leave a comment below with any tips you might have for the rest of us!

Adventures of a Beginning Home Brewer

Starter Kits: Single Stage vs Secondary Fermentation

Let me start by saying I am a beginning home brewer. I have only been brewing a few years, so I’m not here to be your “expert” on home brewing. But, since I am still basically a beginner, I suppose I am an expert beginner home brewer! Adventures of a Beginning Home Brewer will be a place where I will offer guidance, share my successes, laugh off failures and struggles, and heck, maybe occasionally go off topic and just talk about beer stuff in general. So, crack open a bottle of your favorite craft beer and let’s get started!

So, you want to be a home brewer… Well, let’s start things off by talking about starter equipment as this is where any new home brewer needs to start. There are many pieces of equipment you will need to brew your own beer. The add-ons and upgrades are endless! But let’s not get confused with all that yet; we are beginners after all.

Here is what I suggest; buy a starter kit! Why confuse yourself with trying to get a pro kit put together with countless trips to the supply store? Depending on a couple factors, you could be set up and brewing beer for around 125 - 200 bucks. That is including the ingredients for your first batch, bottles, caps, everything! Most even come with an instructional DVD.

When buying your starter kit you basically have to make one choice; do you want a single stage fermentation set up or do you want to have secondary fermentation in your rig. So, what’s the difference?

 

(Single Stage Fermentation Start Up Kit)

 

 

 

(Start Up Kit with Secondary Fermentation)

 

 



In a single stage fermentation set up, you have one bucket that your beer ferments in. Like the name says, a SINGLE stage. In a set up with secondary fermentation you will do everything the same as in a single stage, but after the beer is done with the primary fermentation you transfer the beer into a glass vessel called a carboy for the secondary fermentation. Secondary fermentation is kind of a misleading name as the beer is pretty much fermented after the primary fermentation is done. The secondary fermentation is basically a place where sediment is removed to give your beer clarity and where your beer can age some. This is also where you would add hops for dry hopping when or if you eventually decide to do that.

My vote; go with the secondary fermentation. The whole brewing process takes weeks (mostly inactive time on your part though) and you have used quality ingredients. Not having the best beer you can in the end seems silly to me. It really doesn’t add much time as the only additional work is a little bit of equipment sanitizing and about 10 minutes of transferring your beer to another container. So pop for the kit with the extra equipment to make your beer as good as you can.

Here are a couple of kits you can buy that will have you set up and ready to go!   

 

Single fermentation kits:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-starter-plus-kit.html

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/brewing/beer-equipment-starter-kits/essential-brewing-starter-kit.html (Does not include bottles.)

Kits with secondary fermentation:

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/brewing-starter-plus-kit.html (This is the set up that I started with and still use today.)

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/deluxe-brewing-starter-kit.html (Does not include bottles.)

 

There are additional components that you can purchase to add to your starter kit to make things a bit easier, but for now I would say you should just start with a starter kit and brew a few batches to see if you like home brewing. After that you can start dumping money into pimpin’ out your home brewery with fancy add-ons… We will address those add-ons down the road.

 

Tis The Season: Your Guide to Great Holiday Beers!

Looking for the perfect Holiday Gift for that Beer Geek in your life?  Or are you the Beer Geek looking for a little gift to put for yourself under the tree?  Here are some great ideas for the Holidays with links for your convenience.

Local:

• A Growler of Porter Fest from Flat Earth:  There was a point in my life where I only drank to gold stuff.  Then I found a brewery in St. Paul called Flat Earth and all that changed.  Thy are the masters of the Porter making it a blank canvas for over 20 different flavors from hot peppers to S'mores.  Available in Growlers only at the Brewery they release three flavors per week up through the holiday season.  

• Mankato Brewery Sampler Pack:  New on the shelves grab from one of my favorite new breweries of Minnesota.  This pack includes their standards Mankato Original and Stickum Alt as well as their first two Center Street Series, and IPA and Red Ale.

• Happy Holiday Ale Home Brew Kit from Midwest Supplies:  For the home brewer in your life!

 

National:

• 2012 Anchor Christmas Ale:  Every year  Anchor brews this ale but the Tree on the label and the recipe change every year.  I have know had this beer in 2010 and 2011 and each year it is further proof that Anchor has discovered how to bottle Christmas!

• He'Brew Holiday Gift Pack:  I got to give props to this Brewery for this great idea.  You get eight of the He'Brew line of beer, but that's not all!  Save the bottles as you drink them because this pack also comes with candles to turn your empties into a Menorah!  Also comes with a collector's glass to boot.

For more Holiday Beers I recommend that you check out the Four Firkins!

Stay tuned for more great holiday gift ideas for the Beer Geek in your life!

Welcome To The Dark Side...Of Lagers

Last week August Schell's Brewing Company was kind enough to share with us their upcoming new beer:

Now I know for a fact that some of my readers are already "Wow, that's a dark beer, I'm not really interested".  But hold on, this one is different, and maybe you should think about giving this one a try!  For starters most dark beers you have probably had before are Ales, meaning it was brewed with top fermenting yeast and brewed at warmer temps.  This here is a Lager brewed at colder temps with a bottom fermenting yeast.  

Still not interested, wait there is more…

As a lager it will carry a nice robust taste, but won’t leave you with that heavy feeling you would get from a stout. And according to The Oxford Companion To Beer dark lagers can sometime lean towards a coffee or chocolate flavor more often than not they have a clean matiness to them with hints of caramel or toffee (Oliver, 2012).  Also the hops are going to be more moderate and forward in this beer then with others.  This will make this beer more familiar to those who like beers like Newcastle.  A lot of stouts and porters like to push past the 6% ABV barrier.  Not so with Dark Lagers which tend to be down around the 5% ABV, the Chimney Sweep above carries a 5.2% ABV.  This make Dark Lagers less heavy to consume and you can enjoy a couple without feeling the effects as much (but still, make sure you are drinking responsibly and not driving!)  These things combined make a beer, like Chimney Sweep, more in line with a pilsner then with a stout.  So if you are one of those out there seeking to increase their beer horizon and start adding darker beer, then this is my recommendation of a place to start!

Can’t find Chimney Sweep in your area? Then try one of these other great Dark Lagers:

Midwest:

• Chimney Sweep –August Schell’s Brewing Co. (Seasonal)
• Black Bavarian –Sprecher Brewery
• Dark Helmet Schwartzbier –Titletown Brewing Co.

National:

•  Black Lager –Boston Brewing Co.

Bibliography

Oliver, G. (2012). The Oxfor Companion To Beer. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kölsch: A Clear Choice to Start A Beer Blog

Winter is upon us, but to be honest I am not quite ready to give up the Summer Beers yet.  Among my favorite are the misunderstood hybrids from Cologne, Germany, or Köln for our German readers. 

The let’s start with the basics of what is a Kölsch.  According to the Oxford Companion to Beer uses the following definition:

“A Kölsch is a top-fermented local beer style from Köln, Germany.  Kölsch beers are characterized by a lightly fruity yeast note in the aroma and taste, as well as a pleasant hoppy bitterness” (Oliver, 2012)

The first thing to note in this description is the fact that this is a top-fermenting yeast making it technically an ale.  Kölsch came into popularity during the 1800s in response light colored Pilsners coming out of Bohemia, though it has been brewed as early as the 13^th century (Oliver, 2012).  To be a true traditional Kölsch it must be brewed within sight of the Cathedral of Köln, anything else is considered “Kölsch-style”.  In my experience drinking Kölsch beers they are the palest of the pale beers often appearing straw gold in color.  They should have a good head with small bubbles, and should have the aroma of white grapes or subtle fruity tones.  The taste should be clear, crisp with a thin mouth feel, notable hops taste, and fruity notes.  They should leave no lingering after taste in the long run.  Kölsch beers are also served in a special glass that looks like the below picture:

For those of you fortunate enough to get to drink a Kölsch in Germany the most recognizable is Früh or Gaffel.  These are the gold standard for Kölsch beers.  Now for those of you state side, fret not for there are plenty of good Kölsch-style beer available:

Midwest Locals:

• ·         Mankato Original –Mankato Brewery
• ·         Kayak Kölsch –Lake Superior Brewing Company
• ·         Zommerfest –August Schell’s (Seasonal)

National:

• ·         East-West Kölsch –Boston Beer Company (Seasonal)
• ·         Summertime –Goose Island Brewing

Recently we got to tour Mankato Brewery; you can see the video here:  http://youtu.be/LDRZhslDt78

Bibliography

Oliver, G. (2012). The Oxford Companion To Beer. New York: Oxford University Press.

Coming This Fall!

Hey gang. Time to dust off the old blog and get us rolling again. New content is coming and we will be focusing on beer styles and what makes them awesome.

Weekend Brew Review: 8/4/12

We are off to a great start for the weekend.  We have some German guests in town.  It is always fun to introduce them to beer.  Yes, I know what your thinking, and Germany does produce some GREAT beers, BUT they only produce about 6 styles of beers.  For sheer variety nobody can even touch what we have here in the States:

Brau Bros (Lucan, MN) Hop Session:  I must be growing my IPA legs because these beers are starting to taste better with each one I have, or maybe we are finally getting over our need to over hop mediocre beers.  Hop Session is a great IPA with the right color, crisp and bitter.  A little thick on the mouthfeel for an IPA, but is nice and balanced leave a pleasant peppery aftertaste.  Rating:  ** 1/2 (Great)

Deschutes (Bend, OR) Twilight Summer Ale:  Faint apricot aroma, nice thick foamy head.  This beer was extremely muddled.  Light sweetness followed by an empty bitterness.  Hard to tell the style of this beer or where the brewers wanted to go with it.  Not very well done.  Rating:  1/2 (Bad)

Anchor (San Fransisco , CA) Old Foghorn Barleywine:  I have had a few barley wines in the past and I was amazed how hoppy they were.  This barleywine met with my old expectations of what a barleywine should be.  Yes I know I am drinking this out of season, but I really wanted to add this one to the list of beers I have tried.  Dark amber color, light brown foamy head.  Thick sweet aroma, accompanied with a strong alcohol flavor.  Warm caramel flavors even when served cold.  Light hops, with a banana after taste.  Very well done, if you like thick strong beers.  Rating *1/2 (Good)

Lucid (Minnetonka, MN) Surfside 2012:  Dark straw color, nice white foamy head.  Great cascade hops flavors.  Thicker mouthfeel, great overall profile.  The flavors change as they draw across the palate in a pleasant way.  Bitterness is well balanced.  Rating *** (Excellent)

Tyranena (Lake Mills, WI)  Dirty Old Man Imperial Porter (Brewers Gone Wild Series):  Very dark, with a dark brown head.  Very strong alcohol aroma.  Taste have nice coffee tones, very thick mouthfeel but leaves you with a feathery aftertaste.  Very well put together beer.  Rating ***1/2 (Excellent).

Brew Review: Cabin Time in Aitkin, MN

Happy Monday!  The weather has finally started colling down here after a VERY warm summer here in Minnesota.  So what better way to celebrate then head out doors for a little pontooning, sitting on the deck, and of course drinking some GREAT beers.

Lake Superior (Duluth, MN) Kayak Kolsch:  Very few breweries make Kolsch style beers, and even fewer do them right.  Lake Superior is one of the group that does them right.  This light straw colored beer has the perfect carbonation, slight fruity, but crisp flavor it is a perfect summer brew.  Rating:  **** (Favorite)

Flat Earth (St. Paul, MN) Angry Planet Pale Ale:  Dark red with a thick foamy head.  Great citrus aroma.  Has a medium mouth fell and a great bitter hoppy taste.  Very clean and tasty beer.  Rating: ** (Very Good)

Lucid (Minnetonka, MN) Camo Double IPA:  Aroma of green apples with a hint of caramel.Deep golden color with a hint of redness.  Very thick mouth feel.  At first this beer was really heavy with a strong alcohol flavor, but as it warmed up this beer started taking on a lot of interesting flavors, including a great IPA "spicyness"  to it.  Rating: *1/2 (Good)

He'Brew (San Fransico, CA) Genesis Dry Hopped Session Ale (American Pale Ale):  Light red in color with a fast dissapating head.  Sweet malty aroma, very carbonated and sweet with what felt like a pilsner like hops finish to the aftertaste.  This beer was like drinking to seperate beers (one sweet and one hoppy) and the same time.  Interesting brew, but won't be a regular for me.  Rating:  * (OK)

Welcome to Beerploma.com

Learn, Brew, Beer!

Welcome to Beerploma.com.  Our mission:

We are here to support the growth of local craft breweries and craft beer establishments. We aim to achieve this through offering a variety of educational opportunities online and in partnership with local establishments.

 More to come so stay tuned!