Epic Brewing - Mid Mountian Mild #23

Mild Ales are not a style that I have a whole lot of experience with. There just aren't too many of them around here. Originally, the term "Mild" meant the beer was served young as opposed to other beers that were served aged, or "stale.". Generally speaking, these days the term is used to mean a beer that is lower in alcohol and lighter hopped than their Brown Ale and Bitter cousins.

This beer pours with an inch of white head and maintains between 1/4 and 1/2 inch. The carbonation sounds a lot like Rice Crispies.

The alcohol comes in at 5.1%, which is on the high side for a Mild, but is not distracting from the beer.

Base malts include: Muntons Maris Otter and Briess 2-Row Brewers. Specialty malts include: Weyermann Cara Munich 1, Weyermann Munich Malt Type 1 and Roasted Barley.

New Belgium Ranger IPA

I was not terribly impressed with this beer at first. Oh, another pine-grapefruity IPA. But over time, this beer has grown on me.

Guess its a good thing I picked up a 6-pack.

Here's a quick rundown of New Belgium's Ranger IPA statistics:  ABV = 6.5%.  IBUs = 70.  Hops consist of Chinook, Simcoe, and Cascade.  Malts are pale malt and Caramalt 120L.

Here's what I've come to enjoy about this beer:

Thanksgiving 2012 Results

Turkey Post-Brine

I'm a bit slow getting it up, but i wanted to post the results of my 2012 Thanksgiving Turkey Fry.

My wife and I had a bit of a miscommunication.  I mentioned to her that we could put some oranges and lemons in the brine if she wanted to.  She thought I said that she could stuff oranges or lemons in the cavity of the turkey for the frying. It was an understandable mistake. We've stuffed onions and garlic heads in the cavity of the bird before with great success.

When two sliced lemons hit the 350F oil, the oil started bubbling and frothing like crazy.

I was very thankful for two things: 1) the burner was off on the fryer, and 2) I was standing at the end of a long rope instead of holding an 18lb turkey with my hand.