Holy crap, where did 2009 go? It feels like the year just began, and now it has come full circle.

Last January we made some brewing resolutions. I resolved to brew new styles, which we definitely accomplished: Dry Irish Stout, dry-hopped Dubbel, Kölsch, hybrid Pale Ale (the Bee Sting!), hybrid Belgian Hefe, Barleywine, IPA, Tripel and Oatmeal Stout. The only overlaps from 2008 would be the tripel (or Ginpel), which uses our original Tripel recipe, but adds classic gin aromatics.

We also kept to a fairly regular brew schedule, and essentially kicked fruit extract to the curb—simply because we didn’t brew with fruit this year, unless you count dried cranberries and raisins. Ray kept to his resolution of being adventurous—his recipe for Hefe the ORC was bold and playful, which came out in the beer’s flavor, aroma, and of course, its name.

In 2009 we went back to the Brandywine Craft Brewers’ Festival, glad to be back after missing it in 2008. We also attended the Philly Beer Fest at the Navy Yard, which was mammoth but good, and a Winterfest at Stoudts in late February. Hopefully in 2010 we’ll make it back to Savor, and possibly GABF for the first time.

Maybe most important, we got married in 2009. In a brewery. Stoudts Brewery to be exact. It’s pretty hard to top that, and we were told by a number of our guests that it was one of the best weddings they had been to. We loved the fact that we had over 11 beers on tap to choose from, including Smooth Hoperator, Stoudts’ Winter Ale (this year it was a hoppy red), Gold (a Munich-style Helles), Pils, Double IPA, Scarlet Lady (an ESB), a robust porter, Stoudt’s Pale Ale, Peppercorn Pumpkin Ale (aka Peppercornhole), Oktoberfest, and for our wedding toast: Old Fat Dog Imperial Oatmeal Stout (for me) and Stoudts’ Tripel (for Ray). Then we honeymooned in Denver, one of the other great beer cities in the US.

Also in November, I was selected to be the Philadelphia Homebrewing Examiner for Examiner.com. It’s an exciting experience that’s providing me with the tools and initiative to dig deeper into our local homebrewing community. Next stop: writing for the BA’s publications—someday, hopefully.

2009 has been great, but I’ve got a feeling that 2010 has a lot of great things pushed up its sleeves. Until then, Happy New Year!

Homebrewing, Miscellany 2 Comments »

Long time, no write … I know, I know. We’ve been bad. The Ginpel (Ray’s Belgian tripel with rosemary, juniper berries, and other traditional spices) we brewed back in August — it’s in the secondary, waiting patiently for the herbs and spices to be added. Boris the Spider Chai Oatmeal Stout that we concocted in late September — it’s hanging out in the bathtub in its secondary as well, waiting for me to finally wade through all my various chai recipes I’ve worked on.

We’ll get to them. I mean, heck, the culmination of 14 months of wedding planning and DIY projects finally hit on Saturday, Nov. 7. Ray and I tied the knot and shared a pint (or four). But that will be for another post where we can regale you with stories of what it’s like to bring together 75 people into the brewery that Carol and Ed Stoudt built and how the best open bar is the one with more than 10 local craft beers on tap.

Until then, here are couple more photos from our amazingly talented photographer, Georgi Anastasov.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Miscellany 2 Comments »

During the 60s and early 70s, my Uncle Larry was in a real rockin’ band called Snake that was active during the anti-war movement. In 1970 they played to a packed crowd in Cornell University’s Barton Hall at the America Is Hard to Find Peace Festival.

According to whichever bandmate who does the most posting to the Snake Facebook fan page, “… this festival promised a venue for the Berrigan Brothers … Catholic priests who were wanted by the FBI for counseling draft dodgers. They actually showed up in biker attire with helmets and managed to make it on stage and off without getting caught.” Snake even was adopted by the East Coast motorcycle gang BREED and opened for a number of great artists like Janis Joplin.

Yeah. My Uncle was in a freakin’ kick-ass band (and still is, just a different one).

So, um, what does this have to do with beer? Well, one bandmate’s name was Simmi Slovacek, and I remember hearing that name on and off as a teenager. And you know what? Simmi sounds a lot like “Simcoe” … so in naming this brew, I pay tribute to my Uncle’s band with “Simie the SNAKE.”

14 June 2009
Simie the Snake Simcoe IPA
5 gallons, 60 minute boil

7.0 lbs Pilsen Light Liquid Malt Extract (60 min)
1.0 lb Wildflower Honey (15 min)

Specialty Grains:
1.5 lbs Crystal 15L
0.5 lbs Caravienne
0.5 lbs Special Roast

1.50 oz Simcoe Hops [11.9% AA] (60 min)
1.00 oz Simcoe Hops [11.9% AA] (15 min)
1.00 oz Simcoe Hops [11.9% AA] (5 min)
1.50 oz Simcoe Hops [11.9% AA] (dry hop)

1 tablet Whirlfloc (20 min – clarifier)

White Labs California Ale yeast (WLP001)

4 oz corn sugar (bottling)

—

Create a yeast starter 2-3 days in advance.

Add 3 gallons of water to kettle. Bring to boil.

Steep grains at 155°F for 30 minutes.

Remove grains, turn off heat and add malt extract. Bring back to a boil. Add 60 minute hops.

At 20 minutes, add Whirlfloc tablet.

At 15 minutes, turn off heat. Add wildflower honey. Stir until dissolved. Return to boil. Add 15 minute hops.

At 5 minute, add 5 minute hops.

At end of boil, remove all hops. Chill wort to 75°F. Rack to fermenter and dilute to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast starter and aerate thoroughly. Allow to ferment to completion at 60-65°F in bathtub full of cold water with a wet-towel wrap.

Rack fermented beer to secondary fermenter. Add dry hops. Age for 1 – 2 weeks.

Rack to bottling bucket. Boil corn sugar with 1 c filtered water and add to beer. Mix well.

Bottle. Age for 2 weeks.

Though we were a bit off with our gravity (it’s been a reoccurring issue that is quite frankly pissing us off), the wort tasted great, and the other samples we’ve taken have also been delicious. I’m excited to get this brew into the bottle, and most definitely into my uncle’s hands.

Homebrewing, Miscellany, Our Brew Days, Recipes 2 Comments »

By May 27, Ray had finally finished digesting and recovering from the Rohrbach Plate, so we were off to see my good friends Rach and Dave in the B’flo, or Buffalo to you normal folks.

We arrived just in time for lunch and happily stocked their fridge with homebrews. Then it was off to Flying Bison Brewery, tucked away in the city, but not too hard to find. We were greeted by hop bines growing off the loading dock, which is always a good sign. Rach was a little skeeved out by the location (not the best in town) but we knew what would await us beyond the loading dock.

Once inside, we got right to business, sampling Flying Bison’s selections, which were diverse. We were impressed with the Blackbird Stout and Aviator Red, as well as a number of pilot brews. Even their lager was impressive! It was great to find out that Flying Bison’s brews are in high-demand throughout the region as well.

We got a nice, indepth tour, where our guide explained Flying Bison’s specific process, as opposed to the more high-level “beer is made of four ingredients” talks we usually get on brewery tours. We even got to climb up and look into the mash tun! Rach was an excellent sport, often not understanding  exactly what was being discussed — it was her first tour — but enjoying our reactions to what we were learning.

Flying Bison employs four people — including the owner Tim — which is pretty damn impressive considering everything they have going on. All in all we walked away with a growler of Blackbird stout for Rach’s husband and a mixed six-pack of the Buffalo Lager, Blizzard Bock and The “Herc”, a “C-130 Barleywine ale” (PUN!) that Ray found simply divine.

After our tour we headed back to Rach’s beautiful home where we lazed about and ate chips and Bison-brand French onion dip. It was here that I was reminded of my years in college where Rach and I would debate “pop” vs. “soda” and Helluva Good brand chip dip vs. Buffalo-based Bison brand. For the record, Bison chip dip is excellent, but don’t pronounce it wrong — you say it bi-zon, not bi-son. Though if you’re me, you sound like an ESL student trying to wrap her mouth around the word “specific.” (Watch it in person some time. It’s hilarious.)

For dinner we headed to Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, where I tried a couple of their fruit brews: the Blue-eyed Blueberry Blonde and the Don Cherry Wheat. Both were smooth, subtle, and refreshing. Definitely an interesting brewpub.

We ended our evening in Buffalo on Rach and Dave’s back porch, pouring selections of the homebrews we brought them and watching a tumultuous thunder storm. They were both impressed with our beers, and we’re hoping the homebrew bug might bite them right in the ass.

For the remainder of our trip we were in southwestern Ohio, celebrating my cousin Kerry’s liberation from the confines of high school and on to higher learning at Kent State. Here Ray got to meet the rest of my family and earned the approval of my 5 uncles — I think the fact that he got their niece into homebrewing might have a lot to do with that. We served a few of our homebrews throughout our stay and were met with astonishment and delight: “You MADE this?!” was the most often heard comment, to which we replied, “Yes. Yes we did.”

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Miscellany, Restaurants 1 Comment »

On Sunday, May 24, we were in the `Cuse visiting my parents. Dad wanted to treat us to a night out — first we were going to go to Dinosaur BBQ, but the wait was an hour. Then on to the Clam Bar, which was closed. Then we went back to the city, in search of salvation from Empire Brewing Co. No dice…they were also closed the day before Memorial Day. So what to do? We checked out Syracuse Suds Factory, on the corner of Walton and Clinton!

I started my evening with the Black Cherry Lambic, which was as black as my soul and just as delicious. According to the brewpub’s Web site:

Based on a wheat ale, our variation of this unsual product of Belgin origins is made with pale and wheat malts, fuggles and cascade hops. It is fermented with a mixed strain yeast culture and abundance of black Bing cherries to produce a slightly tart and refreshing fruit character. Unfined, unfiltered and naturally aged for at least 1 1/2 months.

I can’t remember what Ray ordered first, but he finished the evening with the Sweet Stout, which he was immensely impressed with. My mom ordered a club sandwich, while the rest of us got an over-the-top rib melt. Definitely good pub food.

The next day, Memorial Day, we bid CNY adieu, packed up the car and trekked along I-90 towards my beloved Ra-cha-cha (or Rochester to you normal folks). I spent 4 years in the greater Rochester area, going to school at my dad’s alma mater, SUNY Brockport. So, quite frankly, I know the Thruway like the back of my hand and chose to drive, that way Ray could enjoy the scenery.

Though it’s not beer related, we went to Aladdin’s for dinner (I spent many an evening here in undergrad), where Ray paired an Anchor Steam with his pasta, and I enjoyed my first glass of Beaujolais. Then on to my favorite coffee shops of all time, Java’s and Spot Coffee. Located roughly a block or so from each other, they make for a great evening of coffee-sipping, dessert-eating, people-watching.

On Tuesday we headed out to Rohrbach Brewing Company’s restaurant/brewery location (they have a commercial brewery in Rochester as well). Starting off, we ordered a sampler of beers. Unfortunately, we weren’t very impressed with the Belgian Tripel, and the South Wedge Summer Wheat was so-so. The Magnum 44 double IPA was pretty good, but not what we thought a DIPA should really taste like. We did, however, thoroughly enjoy the Bluebeary Ale, which got the blueberry right on aroma and flavor. It was quite refreshing.

I also had a Vanilla Porter, but I think the beer that took the cake (or perhaps took the keg) for both of us was Rohrbach’s Red Wing Red Ale. This beer is brewed specially for the Triple A baseball farm team of the Minnesota Twins, the Rochester Red Wings. Ray and I were completely taken aback at how good this red ale was!

Brewery tours were not available at either location that day, but we did get a chance to talk to brewer Mitch LaGoy after we finished lunch. Mitch was plenty willing to talk about his brews, give his opinions on some of the beers brewed before he came on, and talk about some of his ideas for beers down the road — can we say watermelon wheat?

Mitch also told us about the Rye Pilsner he brewed recently and was kind enough to get us a sample. The both of us were very impressed … the rye was prominent, but it was most definitely a pilsner. He used Saaz hops, and brewed in the Czechoslovakian style — think Pilsner Urquell, but better.

Mitch was a very friendly guy, but there was just something about him that we wouldn’t put our finger on. And then Ray asked how old he was.

“I’m 21,” he said with a grin, making us both feel positively ancient.

Mitch got his start homebrewing at age 19, and 2 years later it’s his passion and career. On top of brewing for Rohrbach, Mitch is also getting his degree AND looking to get some brewing certification. Nice work kid!

Unfortunately, Ray decided to order the “Rohrbach Plate” for lunch. For those of you from Western NY (WNY), you know this as the “garbage plate.” The menu describes it as “our juicy 1/2 pound cheesburger … cooked to your liking, placed on a bed of mac salad and beer battered fried topped with raw onion and our house hot sauce…”

I would describe it as cardiac arrest.

To see how Ray fared, come back next week as we make our way down to B’flo where bison roam and “pop” is king.

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Miscellany 1 Comment »

On Saturday, May 23, Ray and I headed out bright and early with a cup of coffee and a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich from the Delran Coffee Shop. We were on a mission: 4 breweries in 9 days, culminating in a graduation party/Ward family reunion. This would also be the first time Ray met most of my family, which consists of about 20 people. Needless to say, Ray did survive the Ward-Wilson-McDonald meet-up, and enjoyed himself. But he can tell you more about that.

Our trip began in Ithaca, where we first stopped at Ithaca Beer Company. On the outskirts of Ithaca, the brewery is easy to find and greets beer-seekers with a good-sized tasting room, complete with a corner dedicated to homebrewing equipment (go you, Dan Mitchell, for encouraging folks to brew their own!)

After inquiring about a brewery tour and grabbing a sample, Ithaca Beer’s Gina Lola (Gina, if I spelled this incorrectly, please leave me a comment or e-mail and I’ll get it fixed!) gave us an excellent tour, not only explaining about Ithaca’s specific equipment, but also including information about how beer is actually made — this was beneficial to some of the folks who were not familiar with the process, and allowed Ray and me to look like know-it-alls.

Ithaca Beer Company employs 12 people, and distributes in 10 states. Much like Dogfish Head, Ithaca also provides its spent grains to farmers. We got to take a peek at the oak barrels the brewery has, some of which had chalk-writing indicating what beer was residing inside.

Gina Lola wrapped the tour up after showing us the bottling line, and we ventured back into the tasting room. Standing alongside other Ithaca natives and Cornell and Ithaca College kids, we tried a few more samples of beers such as Partly Sunny, a wheat beer brewed with coriander and lemon zest, and Willard’s Stash, which I think was a really bold saison. We also revisited some of the flagship beers — Ray discovered that he actually really likes CascaZilla, and award-winning Flower Power was pure liquid refreshment.

After purchasing a 6-pack of Partly Sunny, 4-packs of Ithaca’s Root Beer and Ginger Beer, and two of its Excelsior! beer series: alpHalpHa and TEN, we had the chance to chat with Gina Lola and give her our blog card. It was great to talk with someone so passionate about beer, and it sounds like she’s interested in homebrewing (do it!).

Next, we headed to my Uncle Larry and Aunt Susan’s house. First off, they’re two of my favorite people, and second, the moment you meet them they’ll become your favorite people, too! We planned to have a BBQ with them, and my folks drove down from Syracuse to join. We shared some of our homebrews and got good reviews — my dad, a light-lager kind of guy, even told me that he really liked the Kölsch.

Ray managed to survive a discussion of politics with my dad and uncle, and there was enough steak, chicken and grilled veggies to feed an army. Typical Ward gathering.

Next up, I’ll tell you all about the brewpub on the corner of Clinton and Walton in Syracuse’s Armory Square, as well as the 21-year-old brewer we met in Rochester.

Breweries, Craft Beer, Miscellany 1 Comment »

Just checked into our room at Motel 6 in Rochester. We’re postponing our Rohrbach visit until tomorrow, but here are our notes for the motel room:

Appearance: Hazy, golden yellow, with evidence of recent head.

Nose: Earthy with notes of sulfur and urea.

Taste: Also earthy. Very salty.

Mouthfeel: Okay, I’ll stop being gross now.

Overall: Smooth and chewy okay I am done.

Miscellany Add Comment »

Time for an update from my phone while Mel takes a shift driving.

We made our first brewery stop Saturday afternoon at Ithaca Beer Co. for a tour (expertly led by Gina Lola — I hope I’m getting her name right) and tasting. Great beer, and a surprisingly small operation for a five state distribution: There are only 12 employees in the whole company and the bottling line could fit in a large van.

Last night, we had a delicious, greasy dinner at Syracuse Suds Factory. Their house brews were surprisingly tasty for how straightforward most of the lineup was. The sweet stout and cherry lambic in particular were a good time.

Today we’re making our way to Rochester to visit Rohrbach Brewing Co.

We’ve both been tweeting throughout the trip. If you want to keep up, follow @ElBueno (me) and @melomel (Mel) on Twitter. Fair warning: I have a potty mouth on Twitter due to the fact that I have a potty mouth normally.

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This coming week, Ray and I are dusting off our suitcases and taking a bit of a roadtrip — a mini vacation before all the wedding tasks really pile up.

We’re heading north, to central and western NY, where I spent my early adulthood. We’ll be in Ithaca, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo, before heading down to Miamisburg, OH (near Dayton) for my cousin Kerry’s high school graduation.

I figured since we’d already be on the road for the graduation and we would only have had a 4-day week at work (even less with leaving early for the graduation in Ohio), we might as well take some time to see some of my favorite places in NY.

Now, I wouldn’t be mentioning ANY of this if it weren’t for the fact that we have approximately four brewery/brewpub visits lined up for the NY leg of our trip:

Ithaca Beer Co.
Rohrbach Brewing Co.
Flying Bison Brewing Co.
Pearl Street Grill & Brewery

There’s also the possibility of checking out some Ohio beer, thanks to my Uncle Steve, who has become a proud member of the craft beer drinking community.

Ray will be bringing his precious Mac Book Pro, so we’ll try to give you updates while we’re on the road. And of course we’ll have a trunk full of homebrews to share with friends and family!

Breweries, Brewpubs, Craft Beer, Miscellany 2 Comments »

On Saturday, Ray and I participated in The Parkinson Council’s 8th Annual Walk for Parkinson’s in Philadelphia, along scenic Kelly Drive. As Team Betty—in honor of my grandmother Betty Ward who battled Parkinson’s for probably close to 20+ years—we raised $725 through the donations of friends and family, which will help with Parkinson’s research and education. We also were walking in support of our friend Alex Forte’s father, Michael Forte, who also has Parkinson Disease. According to the Council, a total of $131,902 was raised, which is more than 2008’s total. [Note: As of 6:30 AM 4/22, the total has climbed to $134,345.]

It was a beautiful morning, and Ray and I got to see Boathouse Row, as well as some sort of rowing competition—we even spotted the UD and Cornell women’s crews. We completed the 10 miles in 2.5 hours, and by the end we were seriously feeling it. All in all, we walked probably closer to 12 miles, because we spent the afternoon in the Fairmount neighborhood at The Belgian Cafe.

The Belgian Cafe is the brainchild of beer great Tom Peters, of Monk’s Cafe fame. As a treat for our hard work we had a leisurely lunch, beginning with a pint of Avery’s IPA for myself and Kira Wit for Ray. Both were wonderfully refreshing, and exactly what we needed after all that walking.

Since we weren’t quite ready to dig into lunch, we began with the pommes frites. It would be criminal to enter either The Belgian Cafe OR Monk’s Cafe and not order a basket of their frites, which are double fried, fresh cut fries served with Monk’s Cafe’s famous bourbon mayonnaise and The Belgian Cafe’s smoked ketchup for dipping. They were wondrous, and hit the spot.

We then placed our lunch order, which was the Brouwer burger for me (sauteed onions, mushrooms, and goat cheese) and the Delvaux burger for Ray (beer brined cheese and spicy sprouts). I ordered a bottle of Dr. Fritz’s 1809 Berliner Weiss, which was tart and refreshing, and Ray went a little more local with a pint of Philadelphia Brewing Co.’s Rowhouse Red. The burgers were delicious, and our beer selections provided to further pump the live back into us.

Since we just couldn’t resist one more round, I ordered a glass (most likely a 12 oz serving) of Dogfish Head’s Aprihop, a strong IPA brewed with apricots, and Ray had a glass of Avery’s IPA. Both were an excellent way to end our meal.

After paying the check, we limped down the street to the car and headed home. Though we were both sore as all hell, it was an accomplished soreness. I look forward to the walk next year, and hopefully by then I’ll have some better sneakers (and won’t be tromping about in my Doc Martens).

Craft Beer, Miscellany, Pubs Add Comment »