Cherry Schwarzbock

I know it has been a few months since I've posted anything.  Things have been a bit hectic.

Here's what I've been up to lately -> brewing a cherry schwarzbock for my sister-in-law.  Think about a schwarzbier but in a bock profile.  When doing this, its important not to use too much roasted malt.  Otherwise, it carries too much coffee/espresso flavor and ends up tasting stoutish.  Its also important not to use too much wheat, like a dunkleweizen.  It ends up tasting too wheat-stoutish.

To try to avoid these problems in this attempt, I decided to use de-bittered Carafa II and Carafa III malts.  My sister-in-law also wanted something fruity.  Cherrybock beers have been around for a while, so that's what I went with.

I made this beer back on March 10, 2013.  Its been fermenting at about 45F for four weeks now.  I have just added the cherry puree.

Epic Brewing - 825 State Stout Release #23

Epic always makes a good beer. The 825 Stout is no exception. My only complaint: the 825 Stout strikes me more as a black Porter and the Galloway Porter strikes me more as a brown Stout.

What is the difference between a Stout and a Porter? Not a whole lot really. Primarily it's marketing and shades of color and shades of roastiness.

If you blind taste test beers marketed as porters vs. those marketed as stouts, you'll be hard pressed to find a clear commercial distinction between the two.

My personal bias comes down to the level of roastiness. If more chocolate-coffee flavors come through -> porter. If more coffee-espresso flavors come through -> stout.

The 825 Stout always hits me as a chocolate-coffee beer. The Galloway Porter hits me as a coffee-espresso beer.

Deschutes Brewery Mirror Pond Pale Ale

I'm in serious danger of getting to know the bartender at Iggy's Sports Grill. My daughter has Cheer-Tumbling practice for two hours, so I make a run for dinner & a beer.

Tonight I'm having a pastrami sandwich & Deschutes' Mirror Pond Pale Ale.

What a delightfully refreshing beer. PAs aren't my favorite style but this is very nice.

Light body. Short head. Light citrusy (cascade?) hops - not over powering. Dry & crisp on the pallet. This is the kind of beer I'd like to drink after working in the yard. Orange color. Excellent lacing on the glass.

If all cascade hopped beers tasted like this, I'd be a bigger fan of APAs.

Banana – Lavender Honey Mead: An Arranged Marriage

Bananas and Lavender Honey

It isn’t often that I make something that wasn’t riotously planned out with an exact flavor in mind for the outcome.  This is one of the exceptions.

My wife and I had a couple pastele making days this winter. If you don’t know what pastels are, think of tamales but made with plantains and green bananas instead of corn.  When my wife went into the grocery store to buy the bananas, she said to the produce clerk, “I need ____ pounds of green bananas.”  The clerk told her that if she purchased a whole box of bananas, that she would get a much lower cost per pound on the bananas.

So she bought awhole box.

Pasteles are awesome.  I could eat them until I puke and then eat some more.

On New Year’sDay, we made 100 pastales.

We had 35 green bananas left over.

What do you do with 35 bananas?

Zion Canyon - Jamaican Style Lager

There is a lot going on here for a light lager. And I'm not sure what make a lager "Jamaican" besides being highly carbonated.

There is a lot going on with the flavor of this beer. It's malty and sweet. A lot of residual sweetness is not uncommon in Caribbean beers. Caribbean stouts are usually sweet stouts.

There is a light, but noticeable amount of hop flavor. IBUs = 22, but really don't seem like it. I'm getting a light fruity citrus from the hops. I'm guessing Cascade.

Uinta Brewing - Hazel Amber Wheat Ale

I'm surprised I haven't reviewed this beer before. I drink it a lot because I like to buy Uinta's variety 12-pack.

I'm a proponent of Ambers as a nice balance between hoppy and malty beers. I'm also a proponent of mixing styles. however, I find that an amber wheat ale is a odd duck.

Instead of being a strong "I am different" statement, it seems to be a beer that is unsure of what it wants to be.

The maltiness is slightly negated by the creaminess of the wheat.

The hops are there, but appropriate to the style, are not strong. I'm guessing a mild c-hop.