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BEER!
Jan 10, 2015 1:21:04 GMT
nxp likes this
Post by dannusmaximus on Jan 10, 2015 1:21:04 GMT
Six pack lasts you a few weeks...  Well, you can blame work, at least a little bit. Sipping a nice brew during a 24 hour shift at the hose house is frowned upon. And by 'frowned upon', I mean grounds for immediate dismissal. Immediate dismissal = no money to buy beer = something to be avoided. Since I'm on shift roughly 3 days per week, my time for consumption becomes more limited. Ain't no thang. I rarely drink more than one drink per sitting anyway, unless I'm with buddies, and since we're all middle aged and married at this point, a huge party is two beers each. Come to think of it... |
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BEER!
Jan 15, 2015 4:15:43 GMT
Post by nxp on Jan 15, 2015 4:15:43 GMT
In an effort to not be such a lush, I tapped the first of many English Milds tonight. Love it. Malty, a little thin (coming from a 7ABV beer, 3.4ABV seems thin  ) with a wisp of chocolate on the backside. Perfectly balanced on bitterness, just enough to keep it from being sweet. At 115cal/12oz, I could drink a few of these and not feel guilty at all. Only bummer is I have to use my gas/tap setup instead of having a real pull station with a sparkler tip. Man I'd bet this beer would be amazing out of an engine warmed up. May need to bump the temp controller up to 10.0C. Cheers!  |
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BEER!
Jan 20, 2015 5:53:48 GMT
Post by RTF Squared on Jan 20, 2015 5:53:48 GMT
I've never been much of a beer guy, but doods at work were clowning on me for ordering vodka drinks during the after work social beverage......
Only beers I've come really close to liking are all wheat beers. I was trying to get one about a week ago and all they had was a Shock Top Chocolate Wheat. Holy hell that stuff is tasty, very string and delicious chocolate taste. Since it's dark as fuck the coworkers can't say shit now.
I just turned 30, and the thought of the drinking abilities I had as a younger dood make my liver cringe and hang my ass over just thinking about it.
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BEER!
Mar 10, 2015 18:16:45 GMT
Post by dannusmaximus on Mar 10, 2015 18:16:45 GMT
I've been down with some kind of cold/sinus thing for a week, so my taster and appetite are kaput. HOWEVER, I did have the presence of mind to pick up two new (to me) IPA offerings from Sam Adams. They are...
Rebel Rider (session IPA)
Rebel Rouser (Douple IPA)
I've already tried the Sam Adams Rebel IPA, and like it quite a bit. It's one of my fridge staples at this point. The Rebel IPA has a 6.5% ABV, Rebel Rider has a 4.5%, and Rebel Rouser has 8.4%. Rouser also is labeled as a 85 IBU, the others don't have IBU labeling.
At any rate, I'll try them when I get back on my feet and post a detailed review. Said review will be along the lines of "Oh boy, that's yummy!" or "Wowza!! Super Tasty!!" or "Well, it's alright..." You know, detailed reviews filled with lots of beerophile jargon.
I'm a Hoosier, folks. Gotta use small words and keep it simple, you know?
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BEER!
Mar 10, 2015 23:44:25 GMT
Post by omegaman on Mar 10, 2015 23:44:25 GMT
Can't wait for the Rouser review! Haven't seen it on the shelfs down here, yet. The Rebel is still my go-to right now (well, on payday at least, then back to PBR until next payday, lol!). Honestly, I would drink it if it were non-alcoholic--it just has that perfect IPA flavor.
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BEER!
Mar 15, 2015 19:22:11 GMT
Post by nxp on Mar 15, 2015 19:22:11 GMT
In all actuality that 85IBU will be quite tame for an 8+ABV beer.
I know a lot of folks see that number and go "awe crap this is gonna be *insert hop bomb complaint*". The thing is, with that much extra malt to bump the ABV, the whole beer goes sweet so you need more bitterness to offset the extra malt base. I'd bet that beer isn't bitter at all, but actually more toward the hoppy/balanced side instead of facepucker. Opposite thing happens with the session IPA's, less malt and higher mashes mean you need less hops to make the same perceived bitterness. 40IBU in a 4ABV beer is facepuckering if done the right way.
Session IPAS (IPAS under 5ABV) are starting to become the "in" thing right now, and that's awesome for those that like hops but don't want to have one beer.
Other great session IPA's to look for: LFB's Replay, FSW's Session Jack, New Glarus' Moon Man.
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BEER!
Mar 15, 2015 21:13:40 GMT
Post by dannusmaximus on Mar 15, 2015 21:13:40 GMT
NXP, I *heart* your explanation of these things, and based on my experience you're spot-on. A local brewery has a 90 IBU IIPA that is around 9%, and it's not harsh at all. Has a nice hoppy bite, but very little aftertaste. It's my fave local beer.
I've tried both of my new Sam Adams IPA's, and my official initial determination is Rebel Rider = meh, Rebel Rouser = OK. My taster is still not 100% up to snuff, so my opinion might change as I work my way through the respective six packs. More detailed descriptions...
Rebel Rider - watery, and just a little hint of green bottle beer aftertaste. Tastes just a little skunky. I wouldn't have wanted more than one of these at a time anyway based on the taste, so I would rather just drink a couple of standard IPA's, two beers being generally my limit anyway. The hop flavor was very mild, very along the lines of a standard American lager. Not bad, but nothing to intentionally pick if you have access to basically any other of the Sam Adams IPA offerings.
Rebel Rouser - Description on the bottle includes 'piney' and that is very apt. Tastes like you're trying to lick pine sap off your hands. Not totally unpleasant, mind you, but not something you can ignore. Huge, lingering, bitter aftertaste. The alcohol bite isn't noticeable at all. The first few drinks were pretty tasty and interesting, by the time I was finishing up the bottle I was getting tired of it.
For Sam Adams fans, Rebel and the other IPA varieties they have like Latitude 48 are better selections. If you want to try either of these and have a place you can buy singles, do that first. If you dig them, go back and grab a whole sixer.
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BEER!
Mar 16, 2015 17:14:26 GMT
Post by nxp on Mar 16, 2015 17:14:26 GMT
Dannus - A good way/option to figure out what's going on with beer when it comes to IBU's, is to look at the BU/GU ratio (this is the Bitterness Unit vs the Gravity Unit of the beer). It's hard to determine what the GU of the original beer is without knocking the CO2 out of suspension and using a hydrometer to see where it ended up then calculate backward to find it's initial starting gravity, but there are some "assumptions" that can made as most styles tend to use certain yeasts that have identifiable attenuation characteristics. Obviously there's a lot going on, but here's some fun reading that kind of breaks down what your taste buds are telling you - homebrewmanual.com/beer-bitterness-ratios/See if you can find some of Founder's All Day IPA, it's a session IPA that's available in cans (get the cans not the bottles) that doesn't have the full off body of a big IPA - and for beers under 5ABV it's a chore to get the same kind of body/mouth feel you'd find in a high ABV beer, you just don't have all of those long chain sugars in a small beer - but it still has all the hops. I always keep a 15pack in the keezer when I want something hoppy and fun over my other beers. |
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BEER!
Mar 17, 2015 18:38:16 GMT
via mobile
Post by as556 on Mar 17, 2015 18:38:16 GMT
F&L SMEs:
Nxp: beer
Rick O: TWD
GBM: ARs
Lowkey: living in really hot places
RTF: kydex
Browning/dannus: EMT shit
Redeyes: being southern
Omegaman: ducks and shit
The rest of us TBD...
Not sure if blue text needed...all in good fun of course.
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BEER!
Mar 18, 2015 4:23:37 GMT
Post by redeyes on Mar 18, 2015 4:23:37 GMT
Seems about right.
Add Mr. Dark for ultralight gear
Nameless for Mead Making
SC Brian for photography and dem Scout Leader skillz and commercial steel
AOW for bushcraft and radios/various electronics
Homerj for leadership skills
Red for carpentry
I feel like I am missing someone.
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BEER!
Mar 20, 2015 16:38:59 GMT
Post by LowKey on Mar 20, 2015 16:38:59 GMT
F&L SMEs: Nxp: beer Rick O: TWD GBM: ARs Lowkey: living in really hot places and living in really cold places. (So far I've lived and work in temps from -50F to 165F.  ) RTF: kydex Browning/dannus: EMT shit Redeyes: being southern Omegaman: ducks and shit The rest of us TBD... Not sure if blue text needed...all in good fun of course. |
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BEER!
Apr 12, 2015 22:01:16 GMT
Post by nxp on Apr 12, 2015 22:01:16 GMT
Man there's nothing like a crisp, cream ale to cool down a heat wave (okay, for us it's a heat wave - I think we're hitting 65F today, either way it sure beats the 20-30 and rain/snow we've been having).
What's a cream ale you ask? They were very popular up until the big three decided to start commercially mass producing lagers, essentially it's nearly the same base but using a clean high attenuation ale yeast (such as US05/1056/001, or better known as the Chico strain), though you can have fun with it and use a malt forward English yeast with lower attenuation (leaves it malty and slightly sweet like a Lager), or some of the Canadian variants, as long as you don't put weird esters in it. Grain bill usually has between 20-40% adjunct such as corn or rice - sometimes a combo of the two! That thin's the beer out but keeps the ABV up.
Should be very pale, light, crisp, mid-ABV(4-5), and traditionally on the malty side of the house. Your typical lawnmower beer.
Should anyone want to make one - here's a go:
Pale Malt - 70% (your choice, you can use a Pilsner, standard 2row, or even English floor malted pale, each will provide their own base flavor)
Instant/Flaked Rice OR Flaked Maize/corn - 20%
Flaked Barley - 10%
Mash LOW and slow - 145F for about 60-90min. High conversion is what you're after, lots of simple sugars.
Neutral bittering hop (Willamette, Nugget, Perl, Warrior, Magnum) at 60min, target 16ish IBU, this will leave the beer on the malty side.
Just for fun - pick a bright, flavorful hop (Centennial, Amarillo, Citra) you like and dry hop 5-7 days before bottling. If you keg, put the dry hops right in the keg when racking in.
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BEER!
Apr 16, 2015 11:45:53 GMT
Post by NamelessStain on Apr 16, 2015 11:45:53 GMT
Seems about right. Add Mr. Dark for ultralight gear Nameless for Mead Making SC Brian for photography and dem Scout Leader skillz and commercial steel AOW for bushcraft and radios/various electronics Homerj for leadership skills Red for carpentry I feel like I am missing someone. I also like making pickling products (Bread and Butter, Dill, Green beans, watermelon rind) , otherwise I'm just known as "The Beard of Wisdom" (that comes from an old ZSC45 thread). |
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BEER!
Apr 16, 2015 11:54:53 GMT
Post by scbrian on Apr 16, 2015 11:54:53 GMT
Seems about right. Add Mr. Dark for ultralight gear Nameless for Mead Making SC Brian for photography and dem Scout Leader skillz and commercial steel AOW for bushcraft and radios/various electronics Homerj for leadership skills Red for carpentry I feel like I am missing someone. I also like making pickling products (Bread and Butter, Dill, Green beans, watermelon rind) , otherwise I'm just known as "The Beard of Wisdom" (that comes from an old ZSC45 thread). Pickled garlic man, PICKLED GARLIC!! |
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BEER!
Apr 16, 2015 14:21:03 GMT
Post by NamelessStain on Apr 16, 2015 14:21:03 GMT
I also like making pickling products (Bread and Butter, Dill, Green beans, watermelon rind) , otherwise I'm just known as "The Beard of Wisdom" (that comes from an old ZSC45 thread). Pickled garlic man, PICKLED GARLIC!! I'll add that one to my "must try" list. |
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) with a wisp of chocolate on the backside. Perfectly balanced on bitterness, just enough to keep it from being sweet. At 115cal/12oz, I could drink a few of these and not feel guilty at all. 
) 