We took our sweet time getting to this tasting. We’ve actually been sampling our attempt at Steph and Tim’s Tropical Foreign Extra Stout recipe every now and then for a little while. The first bottle screamed very loudly, “Age me, please,” which we obliged to do. And now here we are, several weeks later, and we’re ready to call the stout done. Here are our combined thoughts:

Appearance: Deep, dark, just barely translucent brownish black with red highlights. Huge, foamy, latte colored head that makes the beer sound like Pepsi.

Nose: Floral and roasty with some fruity esters, but nothing really jumps out.

Taste: Very sweet, almost cloying. Banana and vanilla notes. Some roastiness manages to peek out once the sweetness makes it off of the palate.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-light bodied, yet creamy. Coats the tongue and lingers on the roof of the mouth, which helps to conceal a late-game alcohol bite. Overcarbonated.

Overall: We’re kind of disappointed with this one. It came out much too sweet, and the fruity esters are out of place. It’s also not as chocolatey as we think it should have been, but the vanilla notes were a nice surprise. What surprises us the most is the fact that the recipe comes out a lot better when Steph and Tim execute it. Perhaps there is some fundamental incompatibility between their recipes and our process. Our fermentation temperature is the first thing that comes to mind — our bathroom tends to be fairly warm, leading to increased ester output by the yeast. I believe the yeast we used was English Ale; using a higher-attenuating Irish yeast instead might help the sweetness and ester problems.

Our Brew Days, Tasting Add Comment »

Mel’s idea for Session #20 seems to have been a hit! Of course, now I have to round up everyone’s posts. Hurrrrr…

Here are all of the Session #20 posts that I know of, in the order that I found out about them. Email me if I missed you, and I’ll write a secondary roundup post on Friday.

• Keith at Brainard Brewing channels some enchanted headwear as he reminisces about the early days of his home.
• Matt comes to us from A World of Brews to talk about his rugby days, and the warm, flat can of Bud Light that stood between himself and his ride home. Because he is a rugby player, I advise against hugging him.
• Steph Weber née Merkler (which is to say, she’s my sister, but I guess isn’t anymore ’cause we don’t have the same last name now) from beer.cook.pair.joy really liked the idea of moving to Malvern, PA, so much so that she and her husband drank and brewed quite a lot of beer there. PA greats Tröegs and Weyerbacher helped move them in. I helped, too. It was delicious, but the couch was awkward and heavy.
• Al from Hop Talk drank some Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest at their Octoberfest celebration. Imagine! Sorry, that came out more sarcastic than I meant it to. Actually, it’s more like just a get together. Geez, I am not flattering this guy…
• Alan has a good beer blog. He forgot his memory, though. He says he’ll get back to us, but for now, here’s some philosophical waxation.
• Beer and memories: Captain Hops chimes in his way. He wrote some haiku.
• Dan and Ethan at Beer-O-Vision had trips to Scotland and Ireland, respectively, making me painfully envious. Ethan has more to say about stuff from after he got back from Ireland, actually, but I wanted to point out that he went to Ireland because seriously guys I am very jealous by which I mean envious because jealous is technically the wrong word in this case.
• Fun fact: Bionic Laura was the name Nintendo was originally considering for the main character in Metroid. I think it’s better than Samus Aran, personally. This sounds unbelievable, but Aran is in Laura’s blog’s name. No way that’s a coincidence. Anyway, she’s been all over the freaking place, apparently. Very cool.
• Ted at Barley Vine talks about his introduction into a whole new world of beer. I think this is a dear memory for just about all of us.
• Rob DeNunzio of the onomatopoeically named Pfiff! has a peculier memory to talk about. He made a “peculier” pun in his title, too, so I guess I’m not very original.
• Jon at The Brew Site points out effectively that his brain is full.
• Brian Yaeger of Red, White, & Brew, writing in with his very first Session post, has been to Russia. He’s been a lot of places. You might say he’s been on an Odyssey.
• Bryon at Home Brew Beer has fond memories of Bass Ale. I heartily endorse his taste. I drank quite a lot of Bass in college. Mmm mmm mmm.
• Lew Bryson, award-winning brewery guidebook guy, shows us just what a prolific beer fiend he is. Kudos!
• Troy at Great Canadian Pubs and Beer takes us back to Henry House in Halifax before indulging in some well-earned name dropping.
• Mario from Brewed For Thought sips a few Belgians and transports his psyche back to his olden days. Ah, the olden days. So olden.
• E. S., whose Thirst is Relentless, has been followed through life by Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. It has been lurking in the shadows. Ooooooo.
• Stan Hieronymus (whose name I am finally capable of spelling correctly) at Appellation Beer stops off in Germany during his trek around the world for a Zoigl.
• Roger of Bottled Llama has the best name for a beer blog out there. Best, that is, unless he ever wants to form a band, because he’ll never beat Bottled Llama as far as band names go. This will make him very sad, which will affect his music. He talks about cowboys and Old Milwaukee. Cowboys and Old Milwaukee would also be an awesome name for a band.
• Over at Legal Beer, we hear of a trip through the Chunnel with Duvel. Does anyone else think Chunnel sounds like a brewing term? “Wait for the chunnel to settle before bottling.” “Boil the chunnel for ten minutes to sanitize it.” “Slightly cloying, with just a hint of chunnel.”
• Jay at Brookston Beer Bulletin reminds us that it’s the memory that counts, not the beer. His romantic stinger seals the point.
• Finally, everyone’s favorite Dublish Beer Nut talks about his trip to Belgium and his first taste of Rochefort 6.

A great big gooey thanks to everyone who participated in The Session this month!

The Session 3 Comments »

Welcome to The Session, a monthly event in which beer and brewing bloggers get together to all write about a chosen topic on the same day! This is Session #20, for which we, Ray and I of Bathtub Brewery, have chosen the topic, “Beers and Memories.”

It was March 19, 2003, in the heart of Armory Square in Syracuse, NY. I was home from SUNY Brockport for spring break, and I had met up with my friends Eric and Laura (also Brockport students) and Peggy, my awesome assistant manager from work, at Clark’s Ale House, undeniably one of the BEST bars in NY, the East Coast, the US, and yeah, everywhere.

I had been going there ever since I could drink, joining Eric and Laura for trivia night every Wednesday we were home from college. Clark’s boasts 20+ beers on tap, serves it’s own Clark’s Armory Ale on cask, and provides wine enthusiasts with an exceptional selection of NY state wines. Oh, and I almost forgot: Clark’s makes the best damn roast beef and cheddar on an onion roll sandwich in the WORLD.

We were gathered around a small table near one of the windows. Laura and Eric were undoubtedly sipping a brew from Middle Ages Brewery, I had a pint of Lindemans Framboise, and I think Peg had a diet coke. It was the eve before the US invaded Iraq, and our small group sat quietly wondering what this was going to mean.

I remember Laura telling me that we should become ex-pats and live in France, polishing off bottles of wine nightly and writing (we were both English majors). Eric was fairly quiet, and I recall Peg chiming in with her views about Bush, I, myself, laughing between sips of the framboise, a beverage that I often referred to as “liquid raspberries.” (This was still during the time that I was a novice about beer, and only got hooked on framboise due to a suggestion from Eric when I found out that Clark’s did not serve cocktails. It’s been love at first sip ever since.)

To this day, when I drink Lindemans Framboise, I remember that cold winter night, the cozy warmth of Clark’s and the uncertainty of what lay before us.

Wow, tough act to follow. I think I might have had a Yeungling on 9/11.

My beer-memory pair involves probably my favorite Dogfish Head brew: the 90 Minute IPA. This beer is especially important to both Mel and me because it’s what I was drinking the evening Mel and I began our relationship. We didn’t officially ratify said relationship until a whole freaking year later, when I finally worked up the nerve to say, “You wanna be my girlfriend?” but Dogfish Head’s 90 was there the night I was set inexorably on the path to that question by the bone-rolling hands of fate.

Mel’s gonna kill me, but I can’t remember what the date was…

It was either June 12 or 16, 2006. Wait, let me look at a calendar … ah, it was the 16th, a Friday. It was at the party I was throwing with a former room mate, which we dubbed “Halloween in June.” Ray was dressed as Homestar Runner, and I rocked a post-apocalyptic Mad Hatter outfit. I was drinking some disgusting rum and Coke cocktail, and most likely crap beer. Good thing he saved me from that life!

Craft Beer, The Session 16 Comments »

Ray’s sick with a nasty sinus infection, and I’m not feeling entirely wonderful. It’s a total bummer because originally we had planned to go to a tasting of Dogfish Head’s latest, Theobroma from 5:00-6:00 before Sam’s sold out class. Blegh.

So instead we had apple cider and soup for dinner. Exciting stuff, eh?

What is exciting is the advance copy of Red, White and Brew by Brian Yaeger showed up in our mailbox yesterday. I spent my commute to and from work thoroughly enjoying the first few chapters, and hope to get a review up ASAP before traveling to Sin City for work in a week and a half.

And remember, Session #20 is this Friday, Oct. 3. To participate, write an article on the Session topic for your blog, and then either email the permalink to me or post the link as a comment in this article.

Books, Miscellany, The Session Add Comment »