26 January 2014

460. Goose Island Ten Hills Pale Ale

Second new beer of the day, thanks to Jae!

A fairly dry and hoppy Pale Ale that I don't remember having much flavor aside from lingering hops. Not my favorite from Goose Island. 


459. Upland Komodo Dragonfly Black IPA

I helped my friend Jae move today, and he had a great selection of beers to offer as thanks. 

So, I was able to add two beers today thanks to Jae. The Komodo Dragon was full flavored, a little too bitter and dry for me, but did have some serious flavor. 


20 January 2014

458. Weiß Brüder Sudhaus HefeEINS

Here we go!!!
My first beer brewed by my brother and myself on Christmas Day. 

I'm very pleased with it. I enjoy it. And I've gotten positive feedback. All I wanted to hear was, "It doesn't suck" - and I actually got a few compliments, so no matter fake they were, it was nice to hear. 


On Friday, I took some bottles to some industry friends for us to share...



457. KCCO Black Lager

Recently, there was a Chive Party here in Indy. And while I didn't go, my buddy Matty did, and he grabbed one of these for me.

A joint brew between Resignation Brewery and Red Hook Brewing, this beer is made specifically for Chive parties. 

A pretty smooth and mellow lager, but lacks much flavor. Goes down easy, gives a short burst of mild bitters, and leaves my mouth dry. 

Oddly, that's kind of a metaphor for how I view their website. 


456. Cori & Ryan's Black Hops NOYFB

My friend Claire was in a wedding recently, where the bride and groom did something really awesome: They brewed two beers together and handed them out to guests as favors. Claire was kind enough to grab me a few for this site!!!

I can taste the quality - and it's definitely there. The caramel and chocolate flavors are amazing in the aftertaste. The bitterness up front is more than I prefer, but I know there's lots of people who would love it. Very well done beer, for an awesome reason!

Oh yeah...  There's that delicious aftertaste again!




18 January 2014

BREW DAY 3: Weiß Brüder Sudhaus DREI-PA

Once again, Michael Maier came over to help me brew my third beer.

Half kit, half ingredients I bought to replace the ones in the kit.

I replaced the dry yeast with a liquid French Saison yeast. I used the three hops included in the kit - then in secondary will be adding three hops that I selected: Citra, Chinook, and Galaxy. Going for some very fruity/citrus notes to be added. 


07 January 2014

455. Victory Headwaters Pale Ale

Very good smelling, with a very full burst of bitter as you start to drink it, then it goes down really smooth, and then some serious bitters re-emerges in the aftertaste. It's interesting, it's good, but not anything I really enjoy.


04 January 2014

BREW DAY 2: Weiß Brüder Sudhaus DunkelZWEIzen

Big day today!!!

Started with the bottling of HefeEINS - two more weeks and it will be ready to drink!  Since hefeweizens are supposed to be cloudy with active yeast, there was no reason to secondary ferment it.  I was very happy to use the hydrometer and learn the gravity was exactly where it was supposed to be - makes me feel like I did everything right!


After that, it was time to step up my brewing with a little more complicated beer, a dunkelweizen.  It involved steeping Munich and Chocolate Malts.  I also replaced the Munich Yeast with Weihenstephan Yeast.  Looking forward to seeing how that all plays out. 




454. Sam Adams Cold Snap

Good aromas that lead to a confusing taste. It's kind of tart and fruity, but also bitter and dry at the same time.  The flavor is powerful, it's just odd. Not sure I really like it.


01 January 2014

2013 Beer Total

232 NEW beers, drank by my for the first time in 2013.

That's an average of one new beer every 1.4 days. 

I'd say that's a fairly productive 2013!!!

However, even at that same rate, I'm a little over two years away from reaching my goal. 

Looking forward to seeing how many new beers I can try in 2014!!!  Including, some of my own home brews!!!