Posted: June 13th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Duvel, Homebrew | 4 Comments »
The duvel I brewed last weekend is behaving normally, and took about 5 days to develop any fermentation activity. Whew, just as I’ve come to expect! I think that the previous batch started fermenting earlier because I pitched the yeast when the wort was at around 74 degrees. For the second batch, I pitched the yeast at 68 degrees. I used the same brand of yeast for both. What a difference pitching temperature makes! Now I’ll have to see if the flavor and quality of the beers are different.
Posted: June 5th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Duvel, Homebrew, Mead | No Comments »
On March 11, I made my first ever batch of mead. Today, June 6, I racked it to a secondary fermenter where it will dwell until it clears — which apparently means it’s ready to drink and bottle. That’s nearly four months of fermenting! Impressive. And if I’d fermented at lager temperatures there’s no telling when this would ever be done. Who even knows how long this next round of fermentation will take. Don’t forget that I accidentally used the wrong yeast in this mead and wound up adding champagne yeast along with the accidental lager yeast. While it tasted sweet and of honey when I tried a little today, it’s still not quite mead-like.
On the other end of the fermentation spectrum, the duvel is quite active which I find a little surprising and worrisome. The last few times I’ve made this recipe, the yeast takes a good 3–5 days to get active in the wort. This time, I had solid fermentation within 24 hours. Unbelievable! I’ve brewed this recipe at least five times before, and each time the fermentation was so slow to start that I thought my yeast might be dead. Because this is abnormal in my experience, I’m definitely going to make more duvel next week just in case the first batch of the season doesn’t turn out right.
This brewing endeavor will have all three of my carboys in use for who knows how long. I may have to borrow one from a friend if I’m going to make more kolsch and possibly some porter for the wedding. So much beer, so little time!
Posted: June 1st, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Duvel, Homebrew | 2 Comments »
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not an all-mash brewer, preferring in my lazy way to brew from extracts or modified kits. A few years ago I came across Great Beer from Kits, an excellent source of recipies based on modified beer kits. The results have always been delicious, and my favorite it Don’s Honey Duvel.
If you’re not familiar with the duvel style, it’s much like a Belgian golden ale with an alcohol level of around 8%. Strong, devilish stuff indeed! Starting with Brewferm’s Diabolo extract kit, the recipe calls for 2 pounds of honey to be added to the boil. Simple and delicious!
This duvel has long been a favorite in our house, and its delicate sweet spiciness and crisp flavor make it an excellent toast beer. This beer won’t be ready to drink 9-12 weeks since it ferments for 3 weeks and conditions for 6 in the bottle. Now I just have to decide if 5 gallons of it is enough or if I’ll need to make more…
Posted: April 5th, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Belgian Ale, Events & Tastings | No Comments »
I’m a bad, bad beer enthusiast. I didn’t even know the Cheers to Belgian Beers tasting was happening until last night. But at least I was there today and tasting beers by 1pm, unlike most folks! I’m that committed. It’s also only the second annual event, so it’s not exactly a long-standing tradition that’s on my radar.
I was worried that Roots was too small a location for the event, but it turns out that they’ve taken over the retail storefront and warehouse next door, so there was plenty of room. The breweries set up a long table with taps in the warehouse, and people milled about sampling beers or found tables in the main Roots dining space. We found a table just on the edge of the crowds, so we could still hear each other talking.
The way the Cheers to Belgian Beers event works is that last year’s winner (Roots) is the host of the next year’s event and gets to choose the yeast strain that all the breweries use. Neat! 15 breweries used the same yeast strain to create different Belgian-style beers. I got through 9 of the 15 beers before my taste buds tired out and all the beer started to taste the same.
Up first was Lompoc Brewing’s Le Diablesse, a Belgian Red Ale. I have to admit that I started with Lompoc because Jon, the brewer from the Fifth Quadrant, was pouring so it was a great chance to say howdy. I play soccer with his wife and get to sample Jon’s homebrews from time to time, which are pretty awesome. La Diablesse was a lovely ruby brown, with a malty flavor and clove, banana, and coriander notes. The finish had a mild coffee bitterness, and almost a dry chocolate flavor to it.
For something completely different, I tried Philadelphia’s Flemish Brown next. It was much as expected; a tart, sour beer with an increasingly sharp flavor as it warmed. While nearly true to the style, there were some strangely chocolate notes to the flavor that made it taste like a mix of of a Flemish Brown and a regular ale. I think it just wasn’t quite fruity and sour enough for my liking. It was exciting to see a local brewery trying out the style, though!
Back to the malty side of things, I had the Lucky Lab Malt Bomb. It’s just that! A very strong, sweet vanilla nose, malty flavor, and very smooth. What it wasn’t is very Belgian. It lacked any of the esters or spicy flavors and aromas I associate with Belgian-style beers. I did enjoy it, and would certainly have it again, but it wasn’t a winning brew for the event.
Lompoc Brewing brought two beers along, so I had to try their second option. Mon Cheri is a Belgian Golden ale, and it truly exemplified the style. Lovely clear, golden color, banana esters in the nose, plenty of clove and coriander flavors and aroma. Malty and sweet, but balanced, warmed nicely. It went down like smooth liquid gold and I wished I had more of it.
Since Roots was the event winner last year, I had to try their brew for this year. Sadly, the Farmhouse Bruin was pretty lackluster. Some sweetness and clove flavors, but ultimately not that exciting. It was kinda just a beer, more farmhouse than Belgian, and not even an interesting farmhouse style.
By 3pm, Hopworks had finally arrived and set up their keg of El Diablo. I hadn’t tried that last week when I went to Hopworks, so now was my chance! They served up a very generous taste (nearly a full glass) of lovely golden elixir. It had a strong cereal and malt aroma, plenty of banana and clove esters, and was quite drinkable. For an 8.9% beer it went down awfully easily. Dangerous!
Alameda Brewing’s Lucky Devil Belgian Golden Strong ale was pretty good. I don’t typically love their beers, but this one was better than most. Sweet, malty, a light citrus flavor and aroma to it. The sweetness was stronger as it warmed, which I didn’t love. It was a touch cloying.
By my 8th and 9th tastes, my taste buds were pretty fatigued. Max’s Fanno Creek Brewpub brought The Reverend’s Daughter, and it was simply thin and unimpressive after the Lucky Devil. And BJ’s Redrum Belgian ale just tasted like plain ol’ beer. That’s when I knew it was time to pack it in and ride my bike back home.
In the end, I cast my vote for Lompoc Brewing’s Mon Cheri as the winning beer of the event. It was the most authentically Belgian, enjoyable, and memorable of the bunch. I hope it wins!
Posted: March 2nd, 2008 | Author: Stacy | Filed under: Beer Reviews, Craft Brew, Organic, Tripel, What's that in your fridge? | No Comments »
Bison Brewing’s Belgian-style aleI have to admit up front that I often don’t love organic beers. While I do love many other organic things — fruit, vegetables, grains — I usually find that organic beers just taste wrong, much like “sulfite-free” wines taste wrong. So it’s with a little trepidation that I bought a bottle of
Bison Brewing’s Belgian Ale. But I persist in my search for tasty organic beer, especially since I love Belgian-style beers!
This Belgian-style “tripel” ale is brewed with coriander, though I don’t really smell or taste it much. It does have a nice golden honey color, and it’s super clear. The aroma is crisp, slightly of honey, and has a cereal aroma I associate with Belgian beers. It’s like a hint of Grape Nuts, which sounds weird but really isn’t so bad. It’s nicely carbonated; fine bubbles on the tongue, but they don’t cover the flavor of the beer.
At 8.1% alcohol, this beer has that “warming” quality I like in a Belgian tripel. It seems to add to the malty flavor, and it heightens the banana and spice flavors in the finish. Kathy said this beer tastes grapey, which I don’t taste, but there you go!
I think I’d buy this again if it were on sale. $3.29 for 22oz isn’t so bad, especially for an organic beer, but on sale it would be even better.