Text 11 May 2 notes How To Spend 1/5 Of Your Tax Return On Beer

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For me: go to MA.  In fairness to myself, the majority of my return went to getting ahead on bills, but the hefty (for my income) return combined with taking on a second job meant I could splurge more than I already usually do on MA beer runs.

My first stop was Table & Vine in West Springfield, MA.  This was my first time there, a heavily anticipated trip given its 98 BeerAdvocate rating.  I was definitely impressed with beers from The Lost Abbey, Avery, and Hoppin’ Frog that I had not seen before, but could get 90%+ of their inventory between local beer stores and Spirited, so I don’t expect to go the extra distance too often.

Table & Vine grabs:

I pretty much knew I would be making the detour to Spirited in Lenox, MA on the way home, especially when I did not see Bloom at Table & Vine.  Even after a first stop at a significantly larger store, there was plenty of goodies to be had, a sign of a great beer store.

Spirited grabs:

Text 17 Feb Florida Vacation = Beer Grabs!

I’m in Florida with family, and while beer is far from the main purpose of the trip (three nephews under six + Walt Disney World = you do the math), I was able to snag a bunch of new-to-me-brews.  I could not hunt any whales - as I had to take an expensive cab ride to the beer store in the first place (no rental car) - but hey, I’m no whale hunter… hell, I’m not even a whale watcher!

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I wanted to get as much Cigar City and Terrapin as possible, and fell short of my expectations on both.  With that said, I got 27 beers for $100 (21x12oz, 4x22oz, 2x25.4oz), and 26 of 27 are new-to-me-brews.  The only one I have had is the Jai Alai IPA on the left, which I had at a bottle share, so I definitely don’t mind having a full can of it to myself.

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I struck out a bit more with Terrapin than I did with Cigar City, but got three that I haven’t had, plus another one yesterday at the resort.  I’m on my third of the three Terrapins as I type, and all have been good to great.  Great Divide isn’t new-to-me, but those two are, and Twisted Pine is new-to-me.  For better and for worse, I have heard many things of Ghost Face Killah, while the other was mostly a random grab.

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Bell’s may be coming to NY soon, but if I fall short on Cigar City and Terrapin, I may as well turn straight to a go-to back-up.  I’ve only had three Bell’s so far, so nothing wrong with another eight new-to-me-Bell’s-brews!

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This last group of beers is a bit weird, at least to me.  First of all, I did not expect to buy any Clown Shoes down here (nor Flying Fish for that matter), but the braumeister of Spirited (Sean) is not a Clown Shoes fan, so while I buy beer regularly in MA, these two MA beers are still new-to-me-brews.  The Pike’s and OBP are mostly random grabs.

We shall see!  So far the first four brews of this trip have been the new-to-me-Terrapin-brews, so it has started on a strong note.  Cheers!

Text 9 Feb 1 note VT Beer Run

It has been a while since I took a trip to Manchester Discount Beverage, but they gave me a solid reason to come up: Maine Beer Company’s Lil One:

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I grabbed the last two bottles they had, one reserved plus the last on the shelf, and am drinking one (currently) and planning to share the other.  Here are my other grabs:

As far as Lil One goes, while I’m not as bowled over as I am by their other beers, it is a quite solid hopfest that is well worth the hour and change trip each way (as it is a one-off, at least for now).

Text 27 Jan Homebrew Batch #1 - Still Fermenting

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A small update from my last post on my first homebrew batch - just over two weeks into fermentation, my gravity is reading 1.029 (adjusted for temperature), compared to a starting gravity of 1.083.  My target is 1.022 or lower, so I am not far, and I decided to rouse the yeast gently, hoping that this in addition to another week in primary should finish it off.

The nose is still amazing, full of fresh orange / tangerine, and the hops are starting to become apparent.  Unsurprisingly, given the current gravity, it is very sweet and hard to judge flat, but certainly doesn’t taste bad.  I’m still ready for my first batch to suck, but it doesn’t seem like it will…

Text 13 Jan 2 notes Homebrew Batch #1 - Brewing

I think I am starting to understand why Charlie Papazian repeatedly says “Relax. Don’t worry. Have a homebrew.”  I made what seemed like a ton of mistakes, but it at least looks like things are progressing well so far.

The beer itself is meant to be a cross between a Wit and an IPA, emphasizing citrus flavors found in both styles.  It is single-hopped with Citra and finished with a healthy amount of fresh orange and tangerine zest.

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Four ounces of Citra hops, ready for the boil!

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Most homebrew books and websites recommended avoiding the white “pith” by not zesting too deeply, as it lends an unpleasantly bitter flavor - easy enough.

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…and here’s where things started to go wrong.  I was attempting to do a full six-gallon boil by using two burners, but was not able to reach a full rolling boil.  I was able to come close (203 F), so it will be easy enough to reach by doing either partial boils or smaller batches (I am leaning towards doing 2/3 batches).  Supposedly not reaching a full boil is not a huge deal while using extract, but it does diminish hop utilization, which is fairly sucky given the goal of this beer.

After my first hop addition, I started to sanitize the equipment I would be using while transferring the wort to the fermenter.  In what was a serious FML moment for a first-time homebrewer, the floating thermometer I was planning on using broke while being sanitized.  The only other thermometer I had was a digital thermometer typically used for meat, which was harder to sanitize and seemed very off.  I used the ice bath method to chill the wort, but kept getting ~100 F readings over an hour in.  I ended up having to cover it up and leave it overnight.  The next morning, the thermometer was still reading ~100 F, even though the room was below room temperature as it does not have a heating duct and its door was closed.  I poured some out, stuck a finger in, assumed it was under 75 F, and decided to pitch the yeast.  I got a starting gravity of 1.083, much higher than the ~1.060 I was aiming for.

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I brewed on Tuesday evening, pitched the yeast Wednesday morning, and had largely given up hope by Friday.  Everything seemed to be going wrong - the risk of contamination was (and still is) very high, there may not be enough yeast for the gravity, and there was no visible signs of fermentation after 48 hours.  My co-workers asked about it and I told them I was going to dump it over the weekend and start over.

Then, on Saturday morning, I opened up my closet and saw gunk filling the airlock. This is not good in that it shows I did not have enough headspace, but is good in that it is a very clear sign of fermentation.  I took the airlock out, sanitized it, and dumped a bit down the drain, trying to keep as much yeast in by pouring slowly.  I had to do this a few times, but took care to sanitize the airlock each time, and have not had to do it in over 12 hours.

Here’s what is going to change for next time:

  • Partial boil or smaller batch size (for hop utilization)
  • Better thermometer with a decent back-up (for accuracy)
  • Wort chiller (to help avoid contamination by reaching pitching temperature more quickly)
  • Label carboy by gallon (to ensure proper headspace - I probably had more than 5 gallons given I did not achieve a rolling boil)

I’m also planning on getting a few more items, including two more carboys so I can have multiple beers fermenting at a time (hey, my closet does have plenty of room).  I am still ready to accept this first batch sucking, with everything that has gone wrong, but find a bit of optimism in how amazing it smells plus the lack of anything green.  Who knows?  I’m relaxed, not worried, and ready to start my next homebrew already.

Link 6 Jan This Post Sums Up My Feelings About the End of the Lockout»

Gary Bettman…

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…has been the commissioner of the NHL for just under 20 years.  During this time, the NHL has seen:

  • 4 work stoppages (3 lockouts + 1 strike)
  • 2,323 games cancelled
  • $1.615 billion of NHL revenue lost this (now partial) season alone, with another $765 million of player salary lost

Am I happy that the lockout is over?  Hells to the yes.  But why hasn’t this bozo been fired yet?  His first offer (57/43 split —> 43/57 split) was just plain offensive, and it has been the NHL that has had to back down on nearly every issue.  If the NHL offered this deal six months ago, we wouldn’t have lost a single game.  P.S.  Please fire Bill Daly while you’re at it, as well as anyone else corrupted by Bettman.

(Image Source)

Text 31 Dec 1 note Happy Beer Year’s Eve!

Well, maybe that isn’t the official holiday, but it certainly has been mine.  After picking up materials to wax my beer to be cellared the other day, I’ve been itching to cellar a few beers, even if I don’t have any whales to cellar at the moment.  Besides, while Founders is readily available, their stouts are pretty fan-friggin-tastic.  Extremely bootleg details to follow!

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I cut my Resin can just over the gold above the name to allow the bottles enough room to be dipped.  While I waited, I just happened to enjoy Ommegang’s Tripel Perfection, the only beer from said brewery that made my want list.  I found a cellared bottle chillin’ by the register at Westmere Bev (waxed, coincidentally) and promptly grabbed it!

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 6 Crayola crayons + 10 mini glue sticks + medium/lowish heat later…

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The molten goo, embellished by flash!

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I thought this was very easy to do, especially if one is patient and willing for medium/low heat to do its trick… I could have done 10-12 bottles with the ingredients I used, maybe more, and will be mindful to adjust next time.  Cheers!

Photo 2 Dec This pretty much sums up any time I get slightly excited about lockout talks…

This pretty much sums up any time I get slightly excited about lockout talks…

Text 30 Nov Update & Twenty+ Ticks

Updated my beer list today with v1.447 - the following breweries are represented with at least twenty ticks:

Text 12 Nov Three-Day Weekend + Three Beer Stores = -$300

Payday was Friday and, given that I work in a school, I had today off.  I honor significant days from my dad’s time by drinking good beer - we chose to bury him on Veteran’s Day seven years ago, delaying it almost two months for the significance.  This weekend, as you will see here, it was easy.  I decided to hit Spirited on Saturday, before heading down to visit friends in Jersey on Sunday night, and then hit two beer stores while in Jersey.  I found Ramsey Liquors via BeerAdvocate and didn’t plan on going to a third, but a friend recommended Gary’s Wine & Marketplace, which was less than ten minutes away from where we were having lunch, so how could I resist?  I’m going to have to budget like whoa in the remaining 11 days before my next paycheck, but there is NO chance I will run out of beer in that time.  Prost, Vati!

Spirited grabs:

Ramsey Liquors grabs:

Gary’s Wine & Marketplace grabs:

*I have a history with Pott’s Brauerei.  I did not drink beer for most of high school as most of my friends didn’t, but knew I would be going on a student exchange trip to Oelde before senior year started.  Shortly after I turned 18 in October of my senior year, my dad offered me my first beer, a Löwenbräu.  Over the next few months, I was sporadically allowed to have many quality beers, mostly pilsners and lagers of German (and to a lesser extent Czech) origin.

I spent three weeks of the spring of senior year in Oelde, which has made a permanent mark on my love of beer.  Let me be emphatic! here: there was a beer festival about half a mile away from my host’s house!  (The equivalent of) 75 cents for .5l of beer!  Brewery-sponsored sports leagues, with cheap beer at all events!  Direct recycling - bottles bought by case at the brewery and directly returned to the brewery - aided my drunk-as-hell people obediently placing empty bottles in plastic cases even six+ hours into a party!  ”Ein Topspiel” between Borussia Dortmund (the local heroes) and Bayern München, with over 80,000 ridonkulous fans going buckwild!  Drunk biking!  Drunk hitting on girls in terrible German!  Good times!!!

In any case, Pott’s was the local brewery, right in Oelde (which is probably considered a small city, but is pretty durn small, just sayin’).  While some of their styles were not my favorite, I had enough of the hefe and pils to add them to my list when I first created it, even though that was about a decade after I had them.  I still love hefes, though am not as bowled over as I used to be, and can appreciate a good pils, but for the most part have still not come around to lagers (outside of those from Jack’s Abby).  Long story short, this is an interpretation of one of their styles I did not care for, but am pretty damn excited to drink it nonetheless!

Photo 14 Oct 1 note Well, I just experienced one hell of a perk to keeping a beer list, especially one with wants - my mom accumulated 40 different types of beer (with four being in six-packs and one twelve-pack of four types) while on trips to Asheville, NC and Guelph, ON as well as a local visit to Wagner Valley.  After I got another 23 different types at Finger Lakes Beverage Center on the way home, my trunk was home to 89 bottles of beer (if you’re doing the math, it would have been 91 if I hadn’t drank two the night before).  Good times. Note: I may edit in BA links over time, but not looking to do all that tonight! Mom’s Asheville, NC grabs: Asheville Escape Artist Pale Ale Asheville Ninja Porter Asheville Shiva IPA Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale Foothills Hoppyum IPA Foothills Oktoberfest Foothills People’s Porter Foothills Torch Pilsner Founders Devil Dancer Founders Dirty Bastard French Broad 13 Rebels ESB French Broad Anvil Porter French Broad Gateway Kolsch French Broad IPA French Broad Rye Hopper French Broad Wee Heavy-er Highland Black Mocha Stout Highland Gaelic Ale Highland Great Gatsby Abbey x6 Highland Kashmir IPA Highland Oatmeal Porter Highland Razor Wit Highland St. Terese’s Pale Ale Olde Hickory Black Raven IPA Olde Hickory Hefeweizen Mom’s Wagner Valley grabs: Dockside Amber Lager Grace House Honey Wheat Mill Street Pilsner Oatmeal Stout Sled Dog Doppelbock Sled Dog Trippelbock Summer Sail Hefeweizen Mom’s Guelph, ON grabs: Okanagan Spring Pale Ale x6 Sleeman Cream Ale x3 Sleeman Honey Brown x3 Sleeman Light x3 Sleeman Original Draught x3 Wellington County Dark Ale x6 Wellington Iron Duke x6 Wellington Special Pale Ale x6 My Finger Lakes Beverage Center grabs: Anderson Valley Imperial IPA Breckenridge Christmas Ale Buffalo Bill’s Alimony Ale Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale Cortland Flight 410 (Bourbon Barrel Aged) Cortland Sunrise Coffee Stout Evil Twin The Cowboy Great Divide Hades Great Divide Hercules Great Divide Wild Raspberry Great Divide Yeti Great Lakes Commodore Perry Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster Henry Weinhard’s Woodland Pass IPA Horseheads Peach Wheat Horseheads Pumpkin Ale Kiuchi Commemorative Ale Middle Ages X Midnight Sun Monk’s Mistress Midnight Sun Panty Peeler Mikkeller Frelser Schmaltz + Terrapin Reunion Ale ‘11 Stillwater Autumnal I knew my mom was accumulating beer, but I didn’t know she had been accumulating that much beer.  As a guy living on his own, aka an owner of a sparsely populated fridge, I have never not had enough space for beer, but I don’t even have close to enough space for all this beer, especially after last weekend’s Heady Topper run.  With my birthday (and friends) coming up next weekend, this is a very, very good thing.

Well, I just experienced one hell of a perk to keeping a beer list, especially one with wants - my mom accumulated 40 different types of beer (with four being in six-packs and one twelve-pack of four types) while on trips to Asheville, NC and Guelph, ON as well as a local visit to Wagner Valley.  After I got another 23 different types at Finger Lakes Beverage Center on the way home, my trunk was home to 89 bottles of beer (if you’re doing the math, it would have been 91 if I hadn’t drank two the night before).  Good times.

Note: I may edit in BA links over time, but not looking to do all that tonight!

Mom’s Asheville, NC grabs:

  • Asheville Escape Artist Pale Ale
  • Asheville Ninja Porter
  • Asheville Shiva IPA
  • Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale
  • Foothills Hoppyum IPA
  • Foothills Oktoberfest
  • Foothills People’s Porter
  • Foothills Torch Pilsner
  • Founders Devil Dancer
  • Founders Dirty Bastard
  • French Broad 13 Rebels ESB
  • French Broad Anvil Porter
  • French Broad Gateway Kolsch
  • French Broad IPA
  • French Broad Rye Hopper
  • French Broad Wee Heavy-er
  • Highland Black Mocha Stout
  • Highland Gaelic Ale
  • Highland Great Gatsby Abbey x6
  • Highland Kashmir IPA
  • Highland Oatmeal Porter
  • Highland Razor Wit
  • Highland St. Terese’s Pale Ale
  • Olde Hickory Black Raven IPA
  • Olde Hickory Hefeweizen

Mom’s Wagner Valley grabs:

  • Dockside Amber Lager
  • Grace House Honey Wheat
  • Mill Street Pilsner
  • Oatmeal Stout
  • Sled Dog Doppelbock
  • Sled Dog Trippelbock
  • Summer Sail Hefeweizen

Mom’s Guelph, ON grabs:

  • Okanagan Spring Pale Ale x6
  • Sleeman Cream Ale x3
  • Sleeman Honey Brown x3
  • Sleeman Light x3
  • Sleeman Original Draught x3
  • Wellington County Dark Ale x6
  • Wellington Iron Duke x6
  • Wellington Special Pale Ale x6

My Finger Lakes Beverage Center grabs:

  • Anderson Valley Imperial IPA
  • Breckenridge Christmas Ale
  • Buffalo Bill’s Alimony Ale
  • Buffalo Bill’s Pumpkin Ale
  • Cortland Flight 410 (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
  • Cortland Sunrise Coffee Stout
  • Evil Twin The Cowboy
  • Great Divide Hades
  • Great Divide Hercules
  • Great Divide Wild Raspberry
  • Great Divide Yeti
  • Great Lakes Commodore Perry
  • Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster
  • Henry Weinhard’s Woodland Pass IPA
  • Horseheads Peach Wheat
  • Horseheads Pumpkin Ale
  • Kiuchi Commemorative Ale
  • Middle Ages X
  • Midnight Sun Monk’s Mistress
  • Midnight Sun Panty Peeler
  • Mikkeller Frelser
  • Schmaltz + Terrapin Reunion Ale ‘11
  • Stillwater Autumnal

I knew my mom was accumulating beer, but I didn’t know she had been accumulating that much beer.  As a guy living on his own, aka an owner of a sparsely populated fridge, I have never not had enough space for beer, but I don’t even have close to enough space for all this beer, especially after last weekend’s Heady Topper run.  With my birthday (and friends) coming up next weekend, this is a very, very good thing.

Text 6 Oct Chatham Brewing + MA Beer Run

Seeing as Chatham NY and Lenox MA are only 30-40 minutes apart, I decided to add Chatham Brewing to today’s Spirited beer run.  In hindsight, this was an absolutely brilliant idea.  The drive was still pretty nice, despite the weather being shitty, and I got all of the following beers for $135 ($20 at Chatham, $115 at Spirited):

Chatham grabs:

  • Hop Crop IPA (growler) - too new/not reviewed for link, but will edit in soon enough
  • Bourbon Barrel Brown (bomber)

Chatham samples:

  • Hop Crop IPA (first sample, to confirm growler fill) - too new/not reviewed for link, but will edit in soon enough
  • 8 Barrel Super IPA (second sample, to compare to Hop Crop - I do like 8 Barrel better, but fans of dry-hopped beers may prefer Hop Crop - both are quite solid)
  • Blueberry Wheat (fruit beers helped me get into beer, and though I am not a huge fan anymore, this was fairly solid) - too new/not reviewed for link, but will edit in soon enough
  • Oktoberfest (very solid example for the style) - too new/not reviewed for link, but will edit in soon enough

Spirited grabs:

I’m not going to do my beer geek math yet again, but, given that most of these bottles are bombers, the price tag was pretty darn good, as always.  Spirited does a flat 15% discount for six bottles or more, something I really wish local beverage stores would adopt.  Most local stores do mix-six discounts, which is quite restrictive in that it is (usually) limited to 12oz bottles in multiples of six.  In addition, I have gotten the discount when I shouldn’t have as well as not received the discount when I should have - it can be very inconsistent.  A flat discount for six or more makes way more sense, is much easier on the person ringing the order up, and is far kinder and simpler to the consumer.

Photo 19 Sep 75 notes fuckyeahhockey: Meanwhile in Soviet-Russia

fuckyeahhockey:

Meanwhile in Soviet-Russia

via FuckYeahHockey.
Text 15 Sep MA Beer Run - Take Five

16 days since my last trip to Spirited.  Why go so often?  Well, their Mikkeller selection is outstanding, they actually have Allagash (NY doesn’t), plus a ton of stuff we don’t get from Pretty Things, Clown Shoes, Backlash, Cisco, Element, and other kickass MA breweries.  About an hour door-to-door and $10ish in gas - totally worth it when getting grabs like these, especially when each “beer” averages under $3:

Photo 13 Sep 1 note One of the coolest beer labels ever

One of the coolest beer labels ever


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