I flew to Texas in late March, and Win and I visited Ward in Houston on the weekend of the 26th. I had several new beers while there
1157. Phoenixx Double ESB
After we arrived at Ward's we went to Anvil, a bar that focuses on cocktails, but with a respectable beer list. I started off with a cask beer, but then switched to cocktails.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Real Ale Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.20%
Serving: Cask
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.5
Overall: 4.25
This ESB pours a lightly hazed, copper-amber color, and is topped by a thick, creamy, beige head. The aroma is citric and malty, which gives an impression of orange cream. There are caramel and bready notes, grassy hops, and an almost cinnamon-like spice.
Mildly sweet, bready and toasty malts upfront move into a lightly-citric center. The finish has a rough, hoppy bitterness and a slight spiciness. This beer is smooth and creamy upfront, but moves into a rough, coarse finish.
I thought that this was an amazingly balanced beer.
1158. Hop Czar
I split a bottle of this beer with Ward at his apartment after we got back on Friday night.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: BridgePort Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.00%
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Hop Czar pours a clear copper color, and is topped by a wispy, white head. The aroma is disappointingly mild for a Double IPA. It's toasty with mild, citric, and resiny hop notes.
Toasty malts upfront move into citric and resiny hop flavors and bitterness in the finish. Medium-bodied, and moderately-carbonated.
This beer is decently hoppy, but it pretty mild for a DIPA.
1159. Modus Hoperandi
Ward had a birthday party for a friend at his apartment on Saturday. I'd picked up a six-pack of Modus Hoperandi at Spec's earlier in the day, and had this while I was grilling.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ska Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.80%
Serving: Can., 12 oz.
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
I didn't take notes on this beer, but it was a pleasing, straightforward IPA. I'd definitely try it again.
1160. Shiner Kosmos Reserve
I had a few ounces of Ward's bottle of this beer later in the evening on Saturday.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Spoetzl Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Kosmos Reserve pours a clear copper color, and is topped by a thin, white head. The aroma is pils-like: mildly sweet malts, grainy, and grassy hops.
Sweet bready and grainy malts upfront move through to a subtle, earthy hop flavor in the finish with a mild bitterness. It's crisp and medium-bodied.
I thought this beer was pretty good, but as with most lagers, I thought it could use a touch more hops.
1161. Transatlantique Kriek
At Spec's they had several of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series so I bought a bottle of each. We split this bottle at the end of the Party on Saturday night.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: New Belgium Brewing
Alcohol: 6.30%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Fruit Lambic, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.5
Overall: 3.75
Transatlantique Kriek pours a clear, ruby-red color with copper tints. It's topped by a thick, pink head that fades to a fluffy, sudsy film, leaving patchy lace. The aroma is mild with notes of cherries, buttery diacetyl, and mild funkiness.
Sweet cherry flavors greet the palate, but are quickly tempered by an acidic sourness that's strong enough to cut the sweetness, but isn't mouth puckering. The finish has a mildly earthy, funkiness. This beer is medium-to-light-bodied, has low carbonation, and a dry finish.
A decent sour. It's blended, so the sourness is attenuated, but it could be stronger.
1162. Le Fleur Misseur
This was purchased at Spec's. We split this beer on Sunday afternoon.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: New Belgium Brewing
Alcohol: 6.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0| Drinkability: 5.0
Overall: 4.3
Le Fleur Misseur pours a cloudy, straw-golden color, and is topped by a very nice, bright white head that fades to a sudsy film. The aroma is mildly malty with notes of grainy and sweet malts. There's a fruity citrus kick that mingles with banana notes. To top it off there's a mild note of Brettanomyces. Overall this smells like an inviting beer.
A neytral graininess upfront gives way to fruity notes of banana and citrus in the center. The finish is dry, mildly bitter, and Brett-tinged. This beer is light-bodied, dry and has a good dose of carbonation.
I thought that this was an excellent beer. The wild yeasts really add to the style.
1157. Phoenixx Double ESB
After we arrived at Ward's we went to Anvil, a bar that focuses on cocktails, but with a respectable beer list. I started off with a cask beer, but then switched to cocktails.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Real Ale Brewing Company
Alcohol: 7.20%
Serving: Cask
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter (ESB), BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 4.0 | Taste: 4.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.5
Overall: 4.25
This ESB pours a lightly hazed, copper-amber color, and is topped by a thick, creamy, beige head. The aroma is citric and malty, which gives an impression of orange cream. There are caramel and bready notes, grassy hops, and an almost cinnamon-like spice.
Mildly sweet, bready and toasty malts upfront move into a lightly-citric center. The finish has a rough, hoppy bitterness and a slight spiciness. This beer is smooth and creamy upfront, but moves into a rough, coarse finish.
I thought that this was an amazingly balanced beer.
1158. Hop Czar
I split a bottle of this beer with Ward at his apartment after we got back on Friday night.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: BridgePort Brewing Company
Alcohol: 8.00%
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Double IPA, BJCP Style Guide
Hop Czar pours a clear copper color, and is topped by a wispy, white head. The aroma is disappointingly mild for a Double IPA. It's toasty with mild, citric, and resiny hop notes.
Toasty malts upfront move into citric and resiny hop flavors and bitterness in the finish. Medium-bodied, and moderately-carbonated.
This beer is decently hoppy, but it pretty mild for a DIPA.
1159. Modus Hoperandi
Ward had a birthday party for a friend at his apartment on Saturday. I'd picked up a six-pack of Modus Hoperandi at Spec's earlier in the day, and had this while I was grilling.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Ska Brewing Co.
Alcohol: 6.80%
Serving: Can., 12 oz.
Style: American IPA, BJCP Style Guide
I didn't take notes on this beer, but it was a pleasing, straightforward IPA. I'd definitely try it again.
1160. Shiner Kosmos Reserve
I had a few ounces of Ward's bottle of this beer later in the evening on Saturday.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Spoetzl Brewery
Alcohol: ?
Serving: Bottle
Style: American Pale Lager, BJCP Style Guide
Kosmos Reserve pours a clear copper color, and is topped by a thin, white head. The aroma is pils-like: mildly sweet malts, grainy, and grassy hops.
Sweet bready and grainy malts upfront move through to a subtle, earthy hop flavor in the finish with a mild bitterness. It's crisp and medium-bodied.
I thought this beer was pretty good, but as with most lagers, I thought it could use a touch more hops.
1161. Transatlantique Kriek
At Spec's they had several of New Belgium's Lips of Faith series so I bought a bottle of each. We split this bottle at the end of the Party on Saturday night.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: New Belgium Brewing
Alcohol: 6.30%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Fruit Lambic, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.0 | Smell: 3.5 | Taste: 3.5 | Mouthfeel: 4.0 | Drinkability: 4.5
Overall: 3.75
Transatlantique Kriek pours a clear, ruby-red color with copper tints. It's topped by a thick, pink head that fades to a fluffy, sudsy film, leaving patchy lace. The aroma is mild with notes of cherries, buttery diacetyl, and mild funkiness.
Sweet cherry flavors greet the palate, but are quickly tempered by an acidic sourness that's strong enough to cut the sweetness, but isn't mouth puckering. The finish has a mildly earthy, funkiness. This beer is medium-to-light-bodied, has low carbonation, and a dry finish.
A decent sour. It's blended, so the sourness is attenuated, but it could be stronger.
1162. Le Fleur Misseur
This was purchased at Spec's. We split this beer on Sunday afternoon.
Beer Stats:
Brewery: New Belgium Brewing
Alcohol: 6.50%
Serving: Bottle, 22 oz.
Style: Belgian Pale Ale, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance: 4.5 | Smell: 4.5 | Taste: 4.0 | Mouthfeel: 4.0| Drinkability: 5.0
Overall: 4.3
Le Fleur Misseur pours a cloudy, straw-golden color, and is topped by a very nice, bright white head that fades to a sudsy film. The aroma is mildly malty with notes of grainy and sweet malts. There's a fruity citrus kick that mingles with banana notes. To top it off there's a mild note of Brettanomyces. Overall this smells like an inviting beer.
A neytral graininess upfront gives way to fruity notes of banana and citrus in the center. The finish is dry, mildly bitter, and Brett-tinged. This beer is light-bodied, dry and has a good dose of carbonation.
I thought that this was an excellent beer. The wild yeasts really add to the style.
Labels: American Double IPA, American IPA, American Pale Lager, Belgian Pale Ale, ESB, Fruit Lambic
I've been wanting to homebrew for awhile, but my lack of experience and lack of equipment made the activation energy insurmountably high. Matt, who joined the lab last May, has acted as a homebrew catalyst, lowering the activation energy with his experience and equipment.
We've been planning on brewing for awhile, but haven't gotten around to it until now. Since we work in a yeast lab we thought it only fitting that we brew in lab and use any useful equipment in brewing. We decided to go with an extract based ESB recipe that Matt had brewed before, with a few hop modifications. I'll give the basic protocol in the recipe, then I'll talk about the lab equipment we used later. On Wednesday Matt, Gloria and I went to Modern Homebrew Emporium in Davis Square after lunch at Chipotle. We bought the grains, malt extract, hops and yeast then.
E.S.B.
7 February 2008
On Thursday we added 50 grams of malt extract to 250 mLs hot Poland Springs Water and boiled on a hot plate for 10 minutes.
8 February 2008
The starting malt extract was reboiled for 10 minutes was allowed to cool and was inoculated with the entire volume of WLP002. The starter was placed on a 220 rpm shaker and grown overnight.
9 February 2008
Our original plan was to use Bunsen Burners for the boil. We found a metal grate in lab that we placed on some glass dishes for elevation. Unfortunately about three minutes after we lit the burners the metal on the grate was red hot and had started to bend. Either we need a more heat resistant grate, or we need to elevate it more so it contacts a cooler part of the flame.
The original setup (all photos can be clicked for full-size).
Since we didn't have another suitable surface to place the pot on we decided to use hotplates for the boil. It fit nicely ontop of two large hotplates with a smaller one behind. We put about 3.5 gallons of Poland Springs water into the pot to boil.
The bitchin' hotplate setup!
Lakefront ESB Chilling in the ice machine.
They have a grain mill at the homebrew shop so we didn't have to worry about having to mill our own grain. Matt had a large bag that we used to steep the grains.
Matt shaking out of the grains.
I was initially a bit skeptical of the ability of the hot plates to do the job, but after this round of brewing I'm sold. They got the wort up to 70ºC pretty easily, and the dials on the front made keeping the wort at 62ºC for 30 minutes extremely easy. I think they'll be nice if we decide to do an all grain batch.
Steeping the grains.
After we were done steeping the grains we added 6 lbs of malt extract, and cranked up the temperature to get it to a boil.
The wort after the extract was added.
After 70ºC the hotplates were pretty slow in getting the wort up to boiling temperature, so we used two Bunsen burners on the side of the pot to help things along. The Bunsen burners helped a lot, and got the wort up to a boil pretty quickly.
Jeremy and Matt heating the wort with Bunsen burners.
Once the wort started boiling the hotplates easily held the boil for the entire hour.
The boiling wort.
We have all sorts of neat toys for everyday yeast work in lab. So before we pitched the yeast we decided to get some info about what we were pitching. I took the optical density (OD) of the culture using a spectrophotometer. Our reading for a 1 to 20 dilution of the starter was 0.687, meaning our final OD was 13.74. For reference, a culture that's grown overnight to saturation in YPD (yeast media) is usually at OD 7 or 8.
Me taking an OD reading on the spec.
We also have a Coulter Counter, which can be used to determine the number of cells in a volume of sample. In 1 mL of a 1 to 10,000 dilution of our starter culture there were 12, 078 cells, meaning that there were about 120 million cells per 1 mL of our starter culture. We pitched our entire starter, 285 mLs, for a total of approximately 34.4 billion yeast.
Matt using the Coulter Counter.
We cooled the wort in an ice bath in the 4ºC room. It ended up taking about 15 minutes to cool sufficiently, and when we mixed in the rest of the cold water the wort was at a perfect 78ºF.
The wort cooling.
Matt pouring the cold water into the primary fermenter.
Me pouring the wort into the primary fermenter.
34.4 billion cells ready to be pitched.
Me pitching the yeast.
WLP002 on a plate for future brewing.
We also took some of the wort aside and pitched SK1 and W303, two lab strains, in about 350 mLs each. By that night there was significant bubbling in the airlock, and on Sunday the yeast were going crazy, we had to refill the airlock several times. On Monday the airlock was bubbling every 5 seconds or so. By Sunday SK1 had also started fermenting, but the W303 fermentation seemed to be stalled. W303 is auxotrophic for adenine, so we added some on Monday. We'll see if that's rescued the fermentation in the morning.
The original specific gravity was 1.050.
We're planning transferring to secondary on Friday or Saturday, and dry hopping with the remaining 0.5 oz. of Cascade hops then.
We've been planning on brewing for awhile, but haven't gotten around to it until now. Since we work in a yeast lab we thought it only fitting that we brew in lab and use any useful equipment in brewing. We decided to go with an extract based ESB recipe that Matt had brewed before, with a few hop modifications. I'll give the basic protocol in the recipe, then I'll talk about the lab equipment we used later. On Wednesday Matt, Gloria and I went to Modern Homebrew Emporium in Davis Square after lunch at Chipotle. We bought the grains, malt extract, hops and yeast then.
E.S.B.
- 6 lbs Plain Light Malt Extract (Munton's)
- 4 oz. crystal 40
- 4 oz. chocolate malt
- 4 oz. roasted barley
- 1.5 oz. Brambling Cross for bittering
- 1 oz. Cascade for finishing
- 0.5 oz. Cascade for dry hopping.
- White Labs WLP002, English Ale Yeast
7 February 2008
On Thursday we added 50 grams of malt extract to 250 mLs hot Poland Springs Water and boiled on a hot plate for 10 minutes.
8 February 2008
The starting malt extract was reboiled for 10 minutes was allowed to cool and was inoculated with the entire volume of WLP002. The starter was placed on a 220 rpm shaker and grown overnight.
9 February 2008
Our original plan was to use Bunsen Burners for the boil. We found a metal grate in lab that we placed on some glass dishes for elevation. Unfortunately about three minutes after we lit the burners the metal on the grate was red hot and had started to bend. Either we need a more heat resistant grate, or we need to elevate it more so it contacts a cooler part of the flame.
The original setup (all photos can be clicked for full-size).
Since we didn't have another suitable surface to place the pot on we decided to use hotplates for the boil. It fit nicely ontop of two large hotplates with a smaller one behind. We put about 3.5 gallons of Poland Springs water into the pot to boil.
The bitchin' hotplate setup!
Lakefront ESB Chilling in the ice machine.
They have a grain mill at the homebrew shop so we didn't have to worry about having to mill our own grain. Matt had a large bag that we used to steep the grains.
Matt shaking out of the grains.
I was initially a bit skeptical of the ability of the hot plates to do the job, but after this round of brewing I'm sold. They got the wort up to 70ºC pretty easily, and the dials on the front made keeping the wort at 62ºC for 30 minutes extremely easy. I think they'll be nice if we decide to do an all grain batch.
Steeping the grains.
After we were done steeping the grains we added 6 lbs of malt extract, and cranked up the temperature to get it to a boil.
The wort after the extract was added.
After 70ºC the hotplates were pretty slow in getting the wort up to boiling temperature, so we used two Bunsen burners on the side of the pot to help things along. The Bunsen burners helped a lot, and got the wort up to a boil pretty quickly.
Jeremy and Matt heating the wort with Bunsen burners.
Once the wort started boiling the hotplates easily held the boil for the entire hour.
The boiling wort.
We have all sorts of neat toys for everyday yeast work in lab. So before we pitched the yeast we decided to get some info about what we were pitching. I took the optical density (OD) of the culture using a spectrophotometer. Our reading for a 1 to 20 dilution of the starter was 0.687, meaning our final OD was 13.74. For reference, a culture that's grown overnight to saturation in YPD (yeast media) is usually at OD 7 or 8.
Me taking an OD reading on the spec.
We also have a Coulter Counter, which can be used to determine the number of cells in a volume of sample. In 1 mL of a 1 to 10,000 dilution of our starter culture there were 12, 078 cells, meaning that there were about 120 million cells per 1 mL of our starter culture. We pitched our entire starter, 285 mLs, for a total of approximately 34.4 billion yeast.
Matt using the Coulter Counter.
We cooled the wort in an ice bath in the 4ºC room. It ended up taking about 15 minutes to cool sufficiently, and when we mixed in the rest of the cold water the wort was at a perfect 78ºF.
The wort cooling.
Matt pouring the cold water into the primary fermenter.
Me pouring the wort into the primary fermenter.
34.4 billion cells ready to be pitched.
Me pitching the yeast.
WLP002 on a plate for future brewing.
We also took some of the wort aside and pitched SK1 and W303, two lab strains, in about 350 mLs each. By that night there was significant bubbling in the airlock, and on Sunday the yeast were going crazy, we had to refill the airlock several times. On Monday the airlock was bubbling every 5 seconds or so. By Sunday SK1 had also started fermenting, but the W303 fermentation seemed to be stalled. W303 is auxotrophic for adenine, so we added some on Monday. We'll see if that's rescued the fermentation in the morning.
The original specific gravity was 1.050.
We're planning transferring to secondary on Friday or Saturday, and dry hopping with the remaining 0.5 oz. of Cascade hops then.
It's been time to get out of Boston for awhile now. Jadyn and I took a daytrip up to Portland, Maine last weekend. Gritty McDuff's was one of the first things we walked by in town. Jadyn was kind enough to humor me, so we stopped in for some beer. I had the Best Bitter, and had enough of Jadyn's Halloween Ale to review.
708. Gritty McDuff's Best Bitter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.0%
Serving: Tap
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy copper. Topped by a fluffy beige head with good retention.
Smell (4.0): Mild bready malts, light citrus, herbal, grassy hops.
Taste (4.0): Mild, toasty, biscuity malts upfront. Moves into a light, fruity sweetness. Notes of citrus. Light bitterness in the finish that strengthens in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Low carbonation, smooth, light-bodied.
Drinkability (4.5): A classic session beer.
Overall (3.9)
709. Gritty McDuff's Halloween Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a very slightly hazed amber. Topped by a beige head that fades to a ring.
Smell (3.5): Mostly malty, some caramel and fruits. A little bit of spicy alcohol.
Taste (3.5): Malty and sweet, caramel is most evident. It evokes pumpkin-spice notes, but only slightly, so I'm not convinced that they were used. Nice bitterness in the finish followed by a light spiciness. A little bit sweet for me.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation. Leaves a light graininess on the back of the palate.
Drinkability (3.5): A little too sweet for me.
Overall (3.5)
708. Gritty McDuff's Best Bitter
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 5.0%
Serving: Tap
Style: English Bitter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a lightly hazy copper. Topped by a fluffy beige head with good retention.
Smell (4.0): Mild bready malts, light citrus, herbal, grassy hops.
Taste (4.0): Mild, toasty, biscuity malts upfront. Moves into a light, fruity sweetness. Notes of citrus. Light bitterness in the finish that strengthens in the aftertaste.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Low carbonation, smooth, light-bodied.
Drinkability (4.5): A classic session beer.
Overall (3.9)
709. Gritty McDuff's Halloween Ale
Beer Stats:
Brewery: Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
Alcohol: 6.00%
Serving: Tap
Style: Extra Special/Strong Bitter, BJCP Style Guide
Appearance (3.5): Pours a very slightly hazed amber. Topped by a beige head that fades to a ring.
Smell (3.5): Mostly malty, some caramel and fruits. A little bit of spicy alcohol.
Taste (3.5): Malty and sweet, caramel is most evident. It evokes pumpkin-spice notes, but only slightly, so I'm not convinced that they were used. Nice bitterness in the finish followed by a light spiciness. A little bit sweet for me.
Mouthfeel (3.5): Medium-bodied, moderate carbonation. Leaves a light graininess on the back of the palate.
Drinkability (3.5): A little too sweet for me.
Overall (3.5)
Labels: English Bitter, ESB, Gritty McDuff's Brewing Company
