Vanilla Bourbon Porter - Christmas Ale

Thanksgiving Brew

Beer Unveiling: The Legend of Wolfboy

And the Winner for The Legend of Wolfboy Label is........

Thanks for voting everyone!

This beer may make you foam at the mouth from a reaction to the taste of perfection. The California Common ale is considered to be one of the great additions from the USA to the beer world. Discovered by accident, this beer was originally intended to be a lager, but due to poor fermentation temperatures, the beer was fermented at an ale temperature and voila, a California Common! The video unveiling for this beer will have a guest appearence by Wolfboy himself, so stay tuned. Next beer after this: American Pale Ale.

Brewing Update

Update on the brewing:

Just bottled the California Common. Takes a bit longer to bottle condition: est. 3 weeks

Gonna brew an American Pale Ale this weekend, short turn around time, 3-4 weeks.

In the next couple of weeks, I will brew my first original Ale, A Cherry Belgian Tripel. Hopefully that goes well.

I will brew my second original beer, the holiday ale, probably at the end of October. A base Stout Ale, with oak chips, vanilla beans and bourbon (Should be quite the warmer upper for the winter). I am looking forward to this beer.

Beer Unveiling: The Sheik's Surprise

“Look at me, I’m imported!”

“Look at me, I’m imported!”

That’s what they want you to think, that imported beers are somehow more superior to U.S. micro brewed or craft brewed beers. Many imported beers have achieved some level of notoriety, that their mass output is somehow viewed that they must be good beers. The truth is, they’re not.

So I challenged three highly successful imported beers, Corona, Newcastle and Heineken, to a test, comparing the taste of the beer to something else.

The first was Corona. I decided to pour myself a glass of my own urine and see if Corona tasted any better. Much to my surprise, they tasted almost exactly the same. Which led me to wonder, should I just bottle my own urine? That may be illegal…

Next was the Newcastle. When wondering what to taste this ale against, my dish washer was running. So, I decided to stop the dish washer mid cycle, scoop a cup of the dirty dishwater and give it a whirl. I wasn’t that bad. Either was the Newcastle. Comparably, about the same satisfaction level. But the dirty dishwater did have one advantage, different flavors or even chunks of last nights dinner.

Last, and definitely least, was the Heineken. I decided to ring out a crappy, pissy diaper from my 8 month old into a glass to test the Heineken against. It was truly repulsive. Then came the Heineken. Upon consumption, I grabbed the glass of diaper strained fluid and used it as a chaser to get the taste of the Heineken out of my mouth. Let go of my Heine…more like Came from my Heine.

Like many of the macro brewed lagers in the U.S. (you know who these piss water breweries are), I often wonder if some of these imported beers sacrificed the original recipe, ingredients and flavor of their beers to increase output and revenues. I would have loved to try the first batch of many beers to see what the difference is between then and now.

I know this is only one man’s opinion. Many people think that Pabst Blue Ribbon is the greatest beer ever; it all comes down to the sophistication of the pallet. Many of you may even like the above mentioned imported beers; I just enjoy a craft beer much better. So next time you’re at the store, make a change and pick up a micro brewed or craft brewed beer. More than likely, it will be a vastly superior beer. Plus, you’ll be supporting a much smaller brewery.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think of imported beers and what your favorite beer is.

Beer Unveiling: Rabid Squirrel

A little Brewing Update

It has been about 2 weeks since my last video and any activity on the blog, so I thought I would give a little update on how things are going.

Rabid Squirrel, Hefeweizen: Conditioning in bottles, should be done this weekend

The Sheik’s Surprise, Honey Brown: fermenting in primary, hopefully will bottle this weekend

Steam Beer/California Common: Hopefully will brew this weekend/early next week

Pale Ale (American): Hopefully will brew next weekend

So, stay tuned for a video this weekend for the unveiling of Rabid Squirrel.

BrewmanJack

Fourth Batch - Honey Brown Ale - Name: The Sheik's Surprise

What would happen if you augmented the slightly dry, caramelly and roasty character of a smooth, mellow English brown ale with the sweet floral flavor of clover honey? The Sheik’s Surprise, that’s what! Combining American malts and ale yeast with English hops and Minnesota honey, this will surely be a beer worth fighting for.

Talking about fighting, the story behind this beer is about how my wife (my honey, thus honey brown ale) and I met and the adventure we went on filled with danger, action and love. Looking forward to this beer and sharing the story of The Sheik’s Surprise.

Beer Unveiling: Blackbeard's Delight

Third Batch: Hefeweizen Name: Rabid Squirrel

A medium-bodied, effervescent ale practically exploding with yeast and wheat malt character – kind of like a liquid multigrain bread.

Beer Unveiling: The Chupacabran Revenge!

WPB Brewing Update

Second Batch - Scottish Ale - Name: Blackbeard's Delight

Scottish Ales traditionally go through a long boil in the kettle for a caramelization of the wort. This produces a deep copper to brown in colored brew and a higher level of unfermentable sugars which create a rich mouthfeel and malty flavors and aromas. Overall hop character is low, light floral or herbal, allowing its signature malt profile to be the highlight. Smoky characters are also common.

This stuff had some crazy fermentation action in the first 24 hours, thus the blow off tube. I think it will be a beer that Blackbeard himself would indulge in.

WPB Brewing Co.

I chose the name WPB Brewing Co. It was suggested by my brother Rob. It means With Pint & Book, thus WPB. It basically combines two great things, beer and reading.

First Batch - Red Ale - Name: The Chupacabran Revenge

A bit sweet, with a lightly hopped tea-like flavor, and an even dextrinous body, Red Ales are easy to please. Look for well-rounded and blanced flavors, and a pleasant toasted malt character in many examples. A drying finish is common.



Starting the wort



This looks strangly familiar.....



Now we wait.

BREWMAN JACK