Skiing and Homebrewing on the Horizon

Season's Greetings!

With true winter three weeks away, I am gearing up for an exciting next couple months. Not only will I be spending weekends on the slopes of a couple Lake Tahoe resorts, but I will also be taking my interest in craft beer to the next level. Starting at the beginning of next year, I'll begin my adventures in homebrewing. I have some great creations in mind, and hopefully I will get a chance to see at least one of them come to fruition.

There is much to prepare for aside from getting the right kit, so to start I'm diving into John Palmer's third edition of How to Brew. This guide provides readers with a basic understanding of the ingredients and processes that go into brewing--not to mention you can learn a lot about cleaning and sanitizing solutions! What I appreciate about Palmer's third edition is that you can understand the fundamentals without reading more than 20 or 30 pages, but if you want to see the art behind the science, read on with gusto.

In recent weeks, I have engaged in much beer tasting and beer appreciation. The craft beer scene is starting to come alive a little in American society, but it is booming in cyberspace. The learning and interaction potential in sites such as BeerAdvocate and CraftBeer.com will get you buzzing in a matter of a couple minutes. So will tasting a unique spectrum of beers! I myself have picked up a couple favorites from Foam Fest as well as some unfamiliar brews, such as this fantastic smoked Rauchbier I learned about in Randy Mosher's Tasting Beer. You can read up on Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock here on BeerAdvocate. 

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on what I'm thinking about in light of homebrewing, new brews in my glass and everything else beer-related.

You Stay Hoppy California,

Pink

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Foam Fest Pt. 2

This is a continuation of Foam Fest pt. 1 for those who would like to read more!

I’d especially like to bring up how a couple breweries, by whom I was previously not impressed, dazzled me with different selections and even some “Beer 101” advice. In my previous entry, I documented my first encounter with the Tied House Brewing and the Blue Frog Brewery, reviewing their Blond Ale and Hefeweizen, respectively. However, despite not caring for either brew, I approached the breweries’ booths and struck up some good conversation. 

With Blue Frog, I learned that briefly inverting the bottle of a Bavarian hefeweizen prior to pouring will allow the yeast sediment at the bottom to disperse evenly enough to give you that great banana/clove/bubblegum flavor. Why I don’t need to do this with a Franziskaner I don’t know, but I do know that April and the rest of her posse at Blue Frog are spoiling the Northeast part of the San Francisco Bay Area with a diverse selection of beers. In short, I’ll give them thumbs up for a crisp, clean-finishing IPA and a raise of my glass for their sweet and spicy, but certainly not overwhelming, La Rana Pazzo (“the crazy frog” in Italian). “Pazzo” alone warrants a brewery tour. 

I also redeemed my experience with San Jose’s Tied House/Hermitage Brewing upon the very aroma of their oak-aged season that, for beer competition purposes, is deemed an “IPA.” With an aged hoppy pale such as TH’s Ale of the Hermit, you discover some unique hop characteristics and less of a bitterness; conversely, you get a little more of a spiced, toasted finish. In addition to Ale of the Hermit, I took my chances with TH’s Ale of the Two Tun, a rich double-porter/imperial stout. A current San Jose resident, I look forward to learning more about the Tied House/Hermitage when I visit them in the near future. A big thanks to Carolyn and her colleague (come on I can only remember so many names in a night!).

My sincere thanks to these outstanding breweries, large and small, and the people of Disabled Sports USA Far West.

You Stay Hoppy California (especially after imbibing your dankest of nectar),

Pink

Foam Fest 2010 pt. 1

Good People of Beer Nation,

I come bearing fruitful wisdom and enlightenment following last night’s Foam Fest beer tasting in Truckee, CA. This was a wonderful event put on by Disabled Sports USA Far West, the Truckee community and the top-flight craft breweries of the West Coast. At Foam Fest one can sample a plethora of beer styles from dozens of unique brewers. You’ll find your staple craft ales bursting with Cascadian hops, complex, rich Belgian varieties and awoken traditions in the form of 45 million year old yeast. Looking back on last year’s affair just across the Nevada border, I can assure you that Foam Fest has become a beer-laden farmer’s market, combining passion, education and style. Regardless of where you are in the Golden State, you should attend this event. 

I rolled up to the Truckee Recreation Center last night with my beer brethren expecting an evening with Northern California’s and Oregon’s main craft beer players—Sierra Nevada, Full Sail, Deschutes, Gordon Biersch, Anderson Valley, Lagunitas etc. Indeed they all made an appearance, showcasing a few of their year-round brews and a couple delicious seasonals and specialties; Sierra Nevada’s 30^th Anniversary Ale and Deschutes’ Jubelale immediately come to mind. However, what distinguished this year’s Foam Fest form last year’s was the innovative nature of the lesser known breweries. I had some of the best beer tasting experiences ever in sampling craft beer’s hidden gems. Brews such as Tied House Brewing’s Oak-aged “IPA,” Knee Deep’s Vanilla Bean Porter and Buckbean’s Orange Blossom (that’s right alpha males, I said ORANGE BLOSSOM) opened a new portal for me and my exploration of the versatility and endless possibilities of beer.

Some of my favorite beers from the night:

Knee Deep’s Vanilla Bean Porter: liquid ice cream!

Alaskan Brewing Company’s Winter Ale: brewed with hand-picked spruce roots!

Stone’s Self Righteous Ale: lovely dark but hoppy ale, perhaps a “Cascade Dark Ale” style

Tied House/Hermitage Ale of the Hermit: oak-aged pale that opens a new frontier

Blue Frog’s La Rana Pazzo: Belgian Wit with notes of honey, coriander and other spices

Mt. Tallac’s Konehead: fresh hop light ale that is German-inspired, grainy and very well balanced

To my personal fortune, I learned to never judge a brewery based on one beer you taste. Two breweries I’ve previously written about threw my judgments out the window and dazzled me with their Foam Fest offerings. I explain this in my pt. II entry.

Foam Fest drew a broader scope of breweries and, to the benefit of craft beer, drew far more people than it did last year. At least 300 people packed the Truckee Rec Center’s gym, going from brewer to brewer and filling their commemorative glasses with something completely different every time. The live music, beyond-the-ballpark food options and welcoming vibe from all attendees made Foam Fest a quality evening for any kind of beer drinker. And, for a beer geek in the making, Foam Fest left me starry eyed and desiring to cuddle with a bottle from each brewer as if it were a stuffed animal.

You Stay Hoppy California,

Pink

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My enthusiastic brew buddies who just couldn't get enough of Foam Fest and its...offerings!

Session Beers: like going to the beach in a thong...exactly.

What's Up Gang,

Today I'm going to write a little bit about session beers. Inspired by beer guru Jay R. Brooks who is occasionally featured in the San Jose, I decided to explore the basis behind "session beers." You may have heard this term used for a particular brew, but with the direction of craft beer, you probably have no explored the world of session beers too frequently unless you're at Oktoberfest. So this is an appropriate time to bring up session beers!

Session beers are primarily defined by their alcoholic content, which is anywhere at or under 5.0abv. As you may have assumed, it's a beer that you could consume during a "session" with your buddies or family. Session beers are crafted to be enjoyed bottle after bottle but without the intention of getting schnokered. Call up some friends during the World Series or put together a barbecue with some quality brews that will not overwhelm anyone at any point of the evening.

That said, depending on the person, a session beer can be nearly any type of beer. Many German styles of lager and hefeweizen are low in alcoholic content, and many ales from blondes, to ambers, and even dark brews (Guinness is only 4.0abv!) will work for your session as long as they are "flavorful, balanced, and reasonably priced" (Brooks "Subtle delights in session beers").

With everyone vacated from my home town of Monterey, I decided to have my own little session with a couple beers I picked up from BevMo. I turned on some baseball, watched some "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," and poured myself some hefeweizen from the Blue Frog Grog and Grill in Fairfield and Alpine Gold blond ale from the Tied House in San Jose.

Blue Frog's hefeweizen was a bit darker in color than typical German hefeweizens, resembling ecanasia juice in a glass. I got a mild citrus, sort of watery aroma that had no notes of banana/clove. Please note that I poured this into the inappropriate glass. Still, I was unable to taste any of the qualities you find in the German staple. This beer was a little on the sour side, drinking like a watered down version of citrus Airborne (the stuff you take if your immune system isn't up to speed). The bottle has its text upside down and reads that one should store the bottle upside down to let the yeast settle correctly...are they messing with me? When was the last time you drank a hefeweizen from a bottle that was stored upside down? If for some reason one of my buddies has this in his fridge, I'll say one of two things:

1. "Dude, turn it upside down!"

2. "Dude, don't waste your time with this. Drink a Franziskaner instead."

The glass is full. I'm not a fan of this beer. Perhaps Blue Frog excels at some of their other brews.

The Tied House's Alpine Gold blond ale might suit your palate a little better, especially if you plan to head up to the mountains in a couple months. I found this light ale to work as a session beer as there is a fair balance and enough flavor to keep the casual beer drinker satisfied.

Give Alpine Gold a sniff and you'll pick up a light citrus, caramel/nutty, and grainy aroma. You'll taste that same nuttiness that won't overwhelm you and possibly encourage you to get another one. I was hoping for a hoppier jolt that gave the beer a more crisp finish, but then again I'm not too much of an expert on light ales. It's not my brew of choice, but I can recommend it for a larger gathering if people have other beverage options as well.

The glass is half full. This brew has the fundamental aroma but doesn't fully deliver in flavor to make me want another one. 

Next up for Calibrew:

I plan to hit up an Oktoberfest pretty soon and may be doing so when I visit Chicago next week. There are a few events like this in the Bay Area right now, so hopefully I find an opportunity there as well. As always, feel free to keep up with CaliBrew by subscribing (like...now) or following my Twitter right here .

Oh, and check out Jay R. Brooks' sites for lots of fascinating info and insight regarding the best beverage known to man and woman.

You can check out Brooks' material at http://www.ibabuzz.com/bottomsup/.  

Prost!

Pink

Tied Hourse!

Blue Frog!