Pumpkin Saison Fermentation Results

The pumpkin saison is finally bottled and in the process of carbonating.  I've been kind of sick for a while, so I've fallen behind on posts.  You can compare the beer results to what my original recipe and plan was here.

Pumpkin Saison in the bucket

Grain Bill
9lb Pilsen Malt
12oz Wheat Malt
8oz Biscuit Malt
8oz Crystal 20L Malt
1lb Belgian Clear Candi Sugar (added with 10 minutes remaining in the boil)

Hops
2oz 3.8%AA Hallertau 80 minutes
1oz 13.9%AA Citra 5 minutes

Spices (at flameout)
0.5oz Coriander
0.15oz Cinnamon sticks
0.15oz Clove
0.15oz Nutmeg

Fruit/Vegetables
3.62lb (58oz) of Canned Pumpkin Purée in the mash

Wing Nutz - Wings & Beer

Wing Nutz is a local chain in Salt Lake. It's a place I like to frequent to get my hot wings fix.

These guys have quite a variety of sauces and they aren't overly vinegary, like you might get at a Chili's or a Wingers (another local chain).

Also, they strictly do not fry their wings. I've had some sauces that are really good & some that are bad. I can't remember the bad ones, I don't order them anymore.

Actually, I don't order anymore. I let my wife order the wing combinations, because I can't remember.  So I'm guessing here:  chili garlic, parmesan curry, jalapeno honey BBQ, traditional, and southern hotties.  You can also get them as either chicken or "hog" wings.  Hog wings are pork shanks.

Squatters - India Pale Ale

Finally I have gotten to another new-to-me local beer.

If you want a quality IPA that isn't trying hard to over-do-it, isn't hopped to the point the enamel peels off your teeth, and isn't so aggressive that you think you've juiced a pine tree into a grapefruit, then this might be the beer for you.

It has a simple, geometric label. It's not stretching to make a pun with the name. Hops are simple and straight forward: a little grapefruit and a little pine (yes even I can take pine when it is a complementary flavor). Even though the hops are American, it's a hopping rate I more associate with English IPAs or Bitters. Neither are overpowering on the nose or the palate. The ABV is 6.5%, which again puts it middle of the road for the style.  It pours a nice copper with a white head. 

It's a straight up classic American IPA.

Wasatch Brewing : Belgian White Ale

This is a prime example of how when you are evaluating a beer, you really need to give it two or three tries, especially if you don't like it the first time around.  Much of the experience you will have in trying a new beer depends upon things that have nothing to do with the beverage: mood, food, personal bias, palate fatigue, etc.

When I first tried this beer, two or three years ago I was not impressed. I was at a conference, I was tired, I was eating greasy pub food, and I think that all overwhelmed the subtitles of this beer.

Also since that time, I have brewed a citrus-herb saison and a hefeweizen with moteuka hops (lemon-lime flavors).  Because of that, I'm better at picking out specific citrus flavors in beer.

This beer is a 6% Belgian White Ale flavored with orange peel, coriander, and spices. It bills itself as like Blue Moon but bigger, better, and bolder.  It pours hazy straw with a creamy white head.

Spaten Optimator Dopplebock

It's nice to be drinking a dark German beer made in Germany (Yes I know it's an InBev-Lowenbrau beer -> it's the nostalgia of it). Now if I can only get the opportunity to take it one step further: drink a German beer, made in Germany, while being in Germany...

First of all, I hate foil wrapped beers. I'm always paranoid that foil crumbs will get in the bottle.  They always leave me asking, "Why? What purpose does it serve?"

I know, it is very, very pretty.  And, of course, that is why I drink beer.

No, not really.

I don't much like corked beers either. But that's another discussion for another day.

For me, drinking the Optimator reminded me of chilling with my friends at a beer tent in the late fall or early spring, when our city would have their city fests.  The aromas and the music come back to me.  Even though it is a dopplebock, the flavor reminds me of schwartzlager.

This is a dark, ruby-brown dopplebock. A lot of roasty, dark chocolate flavors come through with no bitterness and no hints of coffee.

I not sure of the hops in it. I'm guessing noble hops. Maybe Saaz, because I'm getting a little woody & spiciness.  But the hops are a complementary flavor (not dominating), as you would expect from bock.

Unibroue - Ephemere Black Currant White Ale

As John Cleese would say, "And now for something completely different."

I must admit that I am an out of the closet fruit beer fan. The second beer that I ever brewed was a peach cream ale. It turned out all right, but probably could have used different hops.

A white ale is a pretty good canvas for a fruit beer. White ales are typically subtile in flavor, so when you fruit them, the fruit flavor and color dominate.

I didn't know what to expect from this beer and I'm not sure what I think about it. The color is a pinkish red. The color does not extend to the white head.

Squatters Hop Rising – My Gateway IPA

I was at a conference two and a half years ago.  The morning of the first day of the conference was filled with a particularly long and grueling meeting.  When lunch finally rolled around, I needed a break from the conference and a beverage, so I walked from the convention center to a conveniently located bar.

While looking through the drink menu, I saw a new beer from a local brewery that I had not seen before:  Hop Rising by Squatters.  I didn’t know anything about it, so I ordered it.

When I first looked at the bottle, I was a bit skeptical on whether I would like it or not.  It was an Imperial IPA.  I wasn’t much of a fan of the IPA style genre.  My general impression at the time is that too many PAs and IPAs are over C-hopped, too citrusy, too piney, and unbalanced.

To my wonderment and surprise, I loved this beer.  The first IPA that I really liked.  It’s a 9% beer with 75 IBUs.  But the thing is, it isn’t an overpowering flavor and isn’t the same-old IPA hops that everyone uses.  It packs in Amarillo, Cascade and Chinook.

Snowbird Oktoberfest 2012

Oktoberfest always holds a special place in my heart.  I lived at Ramstein Germany from 1983 through 1988.  I was 11 to 15 years old.

I began my love of beer while living in Germany.  Now an important disclamer note here:  Germany has vastly different drinking laws than the United States.  I do not advocate changing the US drinking laws to match Germany's.  Also, some day I'll write a post about how I ended up in the emergency room after a night of binge drinking.

Not a fun memory.

Anyway... so I grew up drinking a lot of Dortmonder Exports and Schwartzlagers.  So when I get nostalgic, that's what I go for.

While living in Germany, I never made it to the actual Oktoberfest.  I don't think my mother was willing to risk having my brother an I exposed to that much drinking.  Also, the mid-1980s was a bad time for Americans living in Europe.  American military and their families were the targets of choice for Libyan sponsored terrorism.

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2012 Barleywine

I've had this review sitting in draft form for over a week. I've needed some time to reflect upon it. This is a beer that I really wanted to like and didn't.

There are two conclusions that I've come to, and both are my fault.
1) I was exhausted when I had this beer. I had been painting all day. When I drank my double hefe earlier in the day, it really hit the spot.

Why? Well, even though high in alcohol, it has a lighter body & is on the dry side. It's also citrusy and therefore, refreshing.

Barleywines are full bodied and have a residual sweetness. That combo is not "refreshing."

2) this is a drink-with-food beer. In doing my reviews, I have been waiting until after my daughter goes to bed before opening the bottle. Why? So I can focus on the beer and not have any distractions. This means, dinner was hours earlier in the day.

Lighter beers -> good on their own. Heavier beers -> need food to accompany them.

From now on, anything over 7%, I'm going to drink with dinner.