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A few weeks ago I finished my latest batch of beer, this time a nice Scottish Ale.
The results were quite good, and the whole process was much smoother than the last batch. I had very willing helpers for the boil (my parents) and for bottling (my girlfriend) which helped a lot. I also switched to a “pump-style” racking cane, which eliminated the painful siphoning process I struggled through last time.
I’ve been building up a good collection of awesome local micro-brews to try out, so I’m going to make a regular feature of my “beer reviews”. Stick with me, since I’m hardly a veteran beer taster, and I’ll be kind of learning as I go.
Deschutes “Hop Trip” Pale Ale is a special-edition brew from their Bond Street series. A “Fresh Hop Pale Ale”, it is brewed with “wet” Willamette Valley hops, freshly picked and added immediately to the boil.
The resulting beer is hoppier than a normal pale ale, and the fresh hop character really shows through in the final brew, yielding a beer with a bit more “guts” than an normal IPA. Those hops are balanced with malty sweet caramel flavors to make a well-rounded, very drinkable beer. The kind of beer that makes me wish I’d bought more than one bottle of it, since the chances of me finding another bottle of this limited-edition brew next time I go back to the store aren’t good.
Overall, I’d give it an 8.5 out of 10 on my still very immature beer rating scale.
I know, I know. I’ve been bad about blogging more updates on how my homebrewing attempts have panned out.
Well, I was holding out to see how the beer turned out. I was worried I’d messed something up and would be embarassed to find out that it was ruined and my efforts were all for naut. I bottled my first batch about two weeks ago and crossed my fingers.
Well, surprise suprise, it turned out excellent. I’m very satisfied. And not just because I made it myself.
I love the Internet. Why didn’t they have this when I was in college?
I don’t normally review other websites on here, but this site is screaming for a post. Two friends from Michigan recently launched The Kegulator. Input the number of people coming to your party and how drunk you want them to be, and it tells you how much beer you need. Not only that, it does it in convenient case/pony/keg increments. And accounts for beer loss. And tells you how many cups and how much ice to buy.
Best use of AJAX ever.
Update: Has anybody else noticed that lately all I seem to be posting about is beer?
For months I’ve been talking about brewing my own beer. I bought my brewpot, I started making up beer names, deciding what styles to try, but I never bit the bullet and went for it.
Well, this weekend, I finally did. Steph and I stopped by Bob’s Homebrew Supply and picked up a homebrew kit on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon we whipped up our first batch. I can’t compliment Bob enough on his service. Every homebrew enthusiast I’ve talked to (which is starting to seem like one out of every three Seattle natives) has eschewed the virtues of Bob and his homebrew shop, and they’re all true.
For $125 you get a starter kit which includes everything but the brewpot (that kit runs $189, which is also a great deal and includes a case of bottles) along with all the ingredients for your first batch. Bob is enthusiastic, friendly, and knowledgeable. When disasters strike in the brewing process, its a comfort to know you can always call for “tech support”. His shop is clean and his selection is great, but I’m surprised to find that he doesn’t have a website.
For my first batch I decided to brew a standard IPA. Although I know it won’t be perfect, it should be a good beer to start with. The brewing process is a bit more complicated than I expected, but I’ve had a blast so far. Watching my beer grow and bubble is pretty fun.
I’ll keep posting updates as things progress, and I’ll be sure to post an update about how the beer turns out.
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