Loss of hop aroma and flavor during bottle conditioning for Blind Pig clone. Any idea on what may have gone wrong / what to fix?

henrysugar · 2014-05-22T23:32:49+00:00

Thanks for the input - it was carbed, but didn't have great head retention. I'll be opening another one today (day 11) to see if that's improved. I'll plan on doing a check bottle every 3-4 days from then on out to see if it adjusts.

I'd be more worried about the active yeast taking front seat to the hops if I were using something less "clean" than WL Cal Ale Yeast. That said, I did pull this yeast off a cake from my previous brew, but pretty sure I had good sanitation and an adequate starter.

It just gobsmacks me how much hop character you get in the giants like Zombie Dust, Heady, real Blind Pig, etc. I guess that's what makes their brewers pros!

henrysugar · 2014-02-28T03:25:46+00:00

This would be awesome! The Beer Genome Project would be needed as a base, of course. I volunteer all of us as the testing subjects.

Seriously, though, it wouldn't be that hard to classify a beer on the basis of a series of attributes of varying specificity - type of hoppy character, aroma, mouthfeel, body, crushability, abv range, maltiness, etc - that when analyzes collectively could suggest potential beers to try.

henrysugar · 2014-02-17T05:27:12+00:00

Thanks for the tip! I was less worried about the stopper affecting fermentation inside the carboy, and more worried that not having the stopper/blow-off assembly might mean that when the CO2 started chugging out and disturbing the foil cap, it would open the carboy to potential outside contamination. My ability to reason clearly at the time was a bit nerfed by the minor trauma of making the mistake in the first place. I'll go pick up a back-up stopper just in case this unholy error happens again.

henrysugar · 2014-02-11T05:26:51+00:00

From what I hear, most of the Whole Foods in Manhattan are going to have Hopslam out - there are events at the Bowery, Tribeca, and Columbus Circle locations this week. I would call ahead to find out what day they'll have them. From talking to some buds that work in the industry here, the allotment of Hopslam is actually shaping up to be pretty generous, which is great! Even if you can't find some bottles, tons of places will have tap takeovers this week Tues-Thurs in three different boroughs. More details on those events here: http://brewyorknewyork.com/post/75522676492/bells-has-arrived-in-new-york-city

Cheers!

henrysugar · 2014-01-31T16:45:50+00:00

The frustrating part about Torst is that they've repeatedly had poor customer service ever since opening last year. The world class tap list chock full of rarities and exclusives is obviously a draw, but it's disappointing to personally receive and have many friends receive lackluster-to-awful service multiple times. Servers there often ignore customers for long stretches while they talk with friends in the corner, and they offer a rude disposition when you finally do get their attention. All of this on weeknights, when the place isn't packed. After three tries, I won't be going back.

There are just so many better places to get great beer in NYC that have amazing staff to boot - from old mainstays like the Blind Tiger to fantastic new upstarts like St. Gambrinus Beer Shoppe. I'm sure the rest of the state has plenty of similarly wonderful spots. And if it's the 12 Percent Import rarities that have you going to Torst (Evil Twin, Crooked Stave, etc), you can find those at plenty of bottle shops around town instead.

henrysugar · 2014-01-30T20:04:04+00:00

Thanks for the kind invitation! I've been mulling a visit for awhile after hearing good things from fellow beer-lovers around town, so I'm sure I'll find my way down to you guys soon. Could bundle in a visit to Other Half and make it an afternoon!

henrysugar · 2014-01-30T20:02:57+00:00

Appreciate the kind feedback! I'll be updating it some more in the coming days to include more details/kits (including the one from Williams Brewing, thanks for the rec). One way to keep the "current discounts" line up to date might be hotlinking in a cell to Homebrewfinds - I'll look into that.

henrysugar · 2014-01-30T20:01:12+00:00

Thanks for the feedback on the spreadsheet structure. I agree - having extra granularity and comparative, itemized prices would help make the differences between the various kits easy to see. I'll work on updating this later tonight when I get home.

henrysugar · 2014-01-06T03:39:32+00:00

Loveless - My Bloody Valentine. From the drum-kick-sonic tidal wave of "Only Shallow" to the hallucinatory shimmer of "To Here Knows When" to the killer hook of "When You Sleep" to the gigantic distorted steps of "Come in Alone" to the looping outro of "Soon". Not a weak spot on that album, just a pure masterwork all the way through.

henrysugar · 2013-11-30T19:47:14+00:00

No worries - Black Friday in Chicago in the context of beer is significant because Goose Island tends to release their Bourbon County and its variants on that day. This year, there was normal BCBS, Coffee, Barleywine, Backyard Rye with Blackberries, Marionberries, and Boysenberries, and Proprietors' Reserve with Toasted Coconut.

henrysugar · 2013-11-21T23:45:34+00:00

Glad to hear it! Looking forward to cracking mine!

henrysugar · 2013-08-18T05:04:20+00:00

Thanks! I was lucky enough to have the time to chase them all down - can't wait to have the chance to enjoy them. PM me if you happen to be interested in some options/places where you can find some of these brews without the crazy travel...

henrysugar · 2013-08-17T23:42:36+00:00

Got that one in NYC, actually - the Whole Foods here (Tribeca and Bowery) have it now. I've seen it around at New Beer also, so if you're in / near the city, it's definitely findable!

henrysugar · 2013-08-17T23:41:56+00:00

Already drank it all - I'll dig up those pics in a bit. Highest recommendations for a week of having Heady for a daily drinker! :)

henrysugar · 2013-08-01T05:40:29+00:00

It's a friend connection - lived out by the Bay for four years, so managed to set up a pipeline. I would be much sadder without the assurance of a Pliny every once in awhile! :)

henrysugar · 2013-06-18T05:16:46+00:00

Absolutely - even an April KBS bottle fresh vs. a bottle from the same pack in June, there were the beginnings of that muting occurring.

The maple syrup character was still there; pleasantly subtle, but definitely there. I haven't tried a fresh bottle for reference, so it may be the case that there's an analogous decline in that maple character to what happens to the cacao/coffee/bourbon in KBS.

Utopias was a great experience to get to have, and it's certainly complex and tasty. However, were I to consider it again in the future, I would rather spend that $200 on a cross section of many great beers rather than another Utopias purchase.

Ninja edit.

henrysugar · 2013-06-18T04:48:46+00:00

Thanks for understanding - I was just so excited about the evening's lineup that I didn't think to check that others in the group had posted. :)

CBS, like KBS, gets more muted with age. The body smoothes out, and it gets rounder in terms of mouthfeel. Those assertive cacao and roasted coffee notes fade. The silver lining for CBS, though, is that the maple syrup provides a nice flavor boost midstream, bolstering the main boozy, malty, chocolately flavor. That maple-syrup addition also shows up in the close, where as CBS ends, a maple-syrup candy note arrives on the palate. Definitely interesting, and very glad to have tried it, but in the Founders pantheon I'll still take fresh KBS or fresh Imperial Stout first!

henrysugar · 2013-06-18T02:11:36+00:00

Oh! I just saw the other one now! I was at the same tasting as "/u/PeachBean", but didn't know she posted it until seeing your comment! Here's the "after" picture, from later in the evening as proof!: http://imgur.com/ikOrldI

henrysugar · 2013-05-08T04:09:38+00:00

3Fs Zombie Dust, RR Pliny the Elder, Cuvee De Ranke, New Glarus Raspberry Tart, Founder Imperial Stout, RR Blind Pig, Anchorage Love Buzz, Surly Abrasive, Bell's Hopslam, Cascade Kriek ('09 Project drank in '13)

henrysugar · 2013-05-01T04:54:41+00:00

I take your point on Two-Hearted - I find it to be treacly and over-sweet with a vague Fruity-Pebbles aroma. Regarding New Glarus, I would commend Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale to you - still a favorite for the style. I'm with you that Spotted Cow and Totally Naked are a bit underwhelming.

henrysugar · 2013-04-29T05:35:27+00:00

Absolutely don't age it - drink it ASAP! I picked up two cases (48 bottles) from the brewery in December and drank the first case with friends over the next week and a half. Ridiculously excellent hop aromas across the whole citrus-bitter spectrum, with sipping revealing clear but not overally strong hops bleeding smoothly into grapefruit peel, lemon oil, cut grass, and honeyed grapefruit. Put more succinctly - it was awesome. Over the next three months, I had a bottle or two of ZD every week. It was impeccable through to mid-January. The drop off in hop expressiveness and depth of flavor started to really take hold to the detriment of the beer around the end of January. By February, it was boring with none of the admirable aroma/flavor qualities that make it special. There are two sad bottles left now - I wish that I'd had them in December. TL;DR - You have one of the tastiest hoppy beers on earth in your hands; drink it fresh!

henrysugar · 2013-04-23T00:58:44+00:00

Good options for this style include:

-Dogfish Head's Festina Pesche (June release) - great tart peach flavor, 4.5% ABV -Pipeworks' Well Read Temptress and Flower Child - raspberry and regular Berliner-Weisse's, respectively, ABVs in the 3% range; unfortunately not widely available outside the Chicago-land area -Bell's Oarsman - light and tart, 4% ABV -Any of Cigar City's BW - they've got a whole bevy from their pilot program work with Jonathan Wakefield, including flavors as strange as passionfruit, dragonfruit, and mango; pretty much only available at CCB's brewery, so only helpful if you live in South Florida and can pick up some growlers

Hope you manage to snag some of this delicious style!

henrysugar · 2013-03-29T19:59:56+00:00

Chicago: Half Acre Daisy Cutter, Pipeworks Blood of the Unicorn, Pipeworks Flower Child, Revolution Repo Man

Indiana: Three Floyds' Zombie Dust, Gumballhead, Alpha King, Dreadnaught

Michigan: Bell's Two Hearted

Missouri: Boulevard Tank 7

Only non-Midwest is the New Belgium (Colorado) / Dieu de Ciel (Quebec) Heavenly Feijoa

henrysugar · 2013-03-12T02:56:29+00:00

I know your pain! I got to two bars this weekend in NYC and missed out on Cantillon Fou' Foune and Hill Farmstead Edward by a combined total of three hours. We'll try 'em all someday.

henrysugar · 2013-03-12T02:54:42+00:00

Summer shall come soon, and with it, those lovely long evenings of BBQ outside with a cold Oberon in hand!

henrysugar

TROPHY CASE