Basement Breweries

Ale of Olympus Belgian Tripel

2012-02-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

I may have finally gone too far. Several months ago when I suggested the idea to a few people of making a Belgian beer with saffron threads and chantrelle mushrooms, they were sceptical to say the least. But this idea wouldn't go away, and neither would the belief that it could be amazing, so after testing the waters with my first tripel The Unbeliever, I decided to go for broke.

The idea came from Randy Mosher's Radical Brewing, a fantastic book if you haven't read it, full of a lifetime worth of loose cannon home brewing. I love it. Anyways, inside Mosher has a recipe for Chantrelle Ale, which he describes as one of his most popular beers, despite its extreme weirdness. It was with this recipe that the idea got started. I figured if you could use chantrelles, why not add saffron? Although my recipe bears no relation to Randy's apart from the mushrooms, it was here the idea was born.

The first step was to soak the chopped chantrelles in vodka for a couple weeks, a process that produced a vivid orange liquid with an aroma both earthy and reminiscent of apricots. Once this was done, it was time to brew.

The tripel itself I made similar to my last recipe, but reduced the alcohol content to around 9% abv, and cut the hops way back to allow the special ingredients to be better displayed. The brew went off well and after primary fermentation I added in the saffron to the secondary, turning the beer a vivid orange.

The day before bottling I did a tasting to see how much of the chantrelle vodka to add. The tasting was similar to the blending of my Belgian IPA, but way less chaotic. In the end I decided the right amount to add was... well, I can't give away everything. I was amazed however at the way the chantrelles interacted with the saffron making the beer's flavour much more complex, and really turning this into an interesting and surprisingly drinkable beer, even at the bottling stage. We will see what time and carbonation do to this strangest of beers from Basement Breweries.

Ingredients: Belgian pilsner malt, wheat malt, aromatic malt, white sugar, Styrian goldings, Czech saaz, saffron threads, chantrelle mushrooms

Brewday - West Coast Belgian Pale Ale

2012-01-22T15:33:00.000-08:00

My last Belgian pale ale was a traditional, to-style, by-the-numbers kind of beer. I was definitely happy with the finished beer that was clean and easy drinking with a restrained Belgian character and a sweet maltiness that was enhanced by the yeast and the low hopping rate. With that beer behind me I wanted to try and experiment with the style a little, brewing something similar to the beer I made with Ron Bradley at Moon Under Water.

For this beer I wanted to keep the malt bill traditional but adding a little sugar to boost the gravity. The hops was where the West Coast would come in as I planned on using Cascade and Amarillos to give it a fruity Cascadian character. I was surprised how well the fruitiness of the yeast went with the citrusy hops in the Moon brew, so that was something I wanted to try to replicate.

As I side note, I can't really decide whether this should be bottle fermented or kegged. Many Belgian beers are refermented in the bottle and Cascadian beers are generally force carbonated. Any suggestions?

Ingredients
Locally malted pilsner malt
Caramunich malt
Biscuit malt
Wheat malt
Amarillo hops
Cascade hops
White Sugar

Brewday - Return of the Harvester

2012-01-18T22:35:00.000-08:00

It's been some time since I've gone back to an old recipe. I've been experimenting with new styles and techniques a fair bit lately so it's been awhile since I tried to reproduce an old beer. But as I'm preparing to brew a few different saisons soon, including a high gravity version, and my first 10 gallon batch of my saison du Sam, I would need an ample amount of yeast. One way to do this would be to make a starter, but a much more interesting way would be to brew a lower alcohol drinking saison and collect the yeast for the subsequent batches. And thus the way was paved for the return of the Harvester.

The Harvester is a golden beer that is very dry, highly carbonated, and refreshing, but with enough fruity/spicy character to keep the drinker interested. It would also present a great opportunity to use my newly upgraded fermentation chamber that is now wired into an electric blanket for heating, as well for cooling from the freezer. One of the tricks for ensuring a saison finishes dry is ramping up the temperature towards the end of fermentation. Now that I can easily keep temperatures down early in the beer's life and increase it later on it seemed the natural time to brew a saison. Okay, maybe brewing saison in winter is not exactly natural, but to hell with it.

Stumbling Kiwi India Red Ale

2012-01-09T23:48:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure exactly what to say about this beer. I wanted to make an IPA that featured some of the New Zealand hops my girlfriend brought back from a recent trip to the southern hemisphere. I also wanted it to be different from my other IPAs, something unlike most beers brewed in these parts. I figured a beer that said something about New Zealand would be the goal, a place with a great emerging beer scene. To me New Zealand is a land of stark contrast, of bold landscapes, tumbling seas and laid back inhabitants. It combines stunning beauty with a calm and relaxed pace of life to be envied, even here on our own little island paradise.

The beer to shoot for would also be one of contrast, with unusual yet inviting flavours, having a hefty punch yet an easy drinking character. I started with colour, going for red, a bit different for an IPA, but one which would allow me to use darker more flavourful malts without getting into the harshness of the dark roasted malts. I settled on Belgian special B to add colour and hints of dark fruit and raisins. I also used wild flower honey, to make this potent brew more quaffable and add a sweet, floral character. Added to all this would be the Riwaka and Motueka hops that would hopefully impart the character of tropical fruits and passion fruit that they are famed for. I used these mostly in late additions for a smoother, reduced bitterness, in addition to an intense hop flavour and aroma. This beer is already racing towards completion and should be ready for tasting very soon.

The Unbeliever Belgian Tripel

2012-01-05T00:29:00.000-08:00

This is it. The big one. This is the beer I've been working up to for a while. I had a couple beers brewed on my new system, one of them a Belgian, my fermentation chamber was up and running, and now I felt ready to take on this beer that had been on my mind for ages. A lot of thought has gone into this, my notes on my goals for this beer are about three times longer than usual. A golden coloured beer around 9% but drinkable with a reasonably light body. Well attenuated without too much residual sweetness. High carbonation from bottle fermentation, with a dense white head. Clean flavour, not too bitter, low banana flavour, no fusels. We will see how close I get.

My first tripel I brewed for one of the components of my blended Belgian IPA. I was able to bottle some on its own, and it was good, but too dark and a bit too sweet, perhaps from the partially unrefined sugars. This time I used almost strictly Pilsner malt with just a touch of aromatic for complexity and wheat for head retention. I also changed from turbinado to plain old table sugar to ensure the high gravity, high attenuation, and drinkability that should be the mark of a good tripel. My first tripel also had a hot alcohol character to it that became more apparent as it warmed in the glass. This was something I wanted to prevent, and careful temperature control in my fermentation chamber would hopefully see to this. It was chilled to 18 degrees before the yeast was pitched and over the course of its first week of fermentation I allowed it to rise up to 21, to hopefully get enough attenuation as well as flavour from the Trappist yeast I used. I trust I will get some volunteers out there to sample this one with me in a month or two.

Belgian Pale Ale

2011-12-27T23:06:00.000-08:00

Now that I had brewed a beer at my new location with my new system, a citra amarillo IPA, I wanted to shift back to Belgian brewing. The problems with my first brew were small and I felt ready, as well as excited, to get more experience with brewing Belgians. I figured I would start by trying to make an easy drinking Belgian pale ale, similar to the one I brewed with Ron Bradley at Moon Under Water, but with more traditional ingredients, and a lower, more traditional hopping rate. After that was done I would move on to brewing a Belgian tripel, a style I've been thinking about a lot recently. Both these beers would also benefit from controlled fermentations to keep the flavours of the Belgian yeast in check as well as reducing potential off-tastes, so it would be a great opportunity to try out my newly wired fermentation chamber.

A fermentation chamber is something I've wanted to make for some time. It is one thing to monitor the ambient temperature of a room, but beer will generally ferment warmer than this, which may cause an overly-active fermentation resulting in unwanted properties like fusel alcohols in your beer. This is where the chamber comes in, usually a fridge or freezer that is wired into a temperature controller that monitors the temperature of the beer itself, and adjusts the temperature to whatever level is desired. The importance of controlling temperatures is doubly important with Belgians, as the signature fruity, spicy character of these beers is primarily derived from yeast, and the character yeast creates in beer changes with fermentation temperature. A Belgian pale ale, for instance, should have a restrained "Belgian" character, and thus is usually fermented around 19 degrees Celsius, whereas a saison can finish fermenting as high as 28 degrees Celsius or warmer.

To create my chamber I took a feezer, and with the help of a brewing buddy, wired-up a temperature controller that I ordered from China. Controllers that require no wiring are available from homebrewing supply stores, but are generally quite expensive; the Chinese unit was about the quarter the cost so I decided to go for the cheap DIY option. That's the spirit of homebrewing anyway isn't it? On our first wiring attempt we mixed up the hot wire and the ground, but we realised our mistake and didn't electrocute anyone, so no harm, no foul (Honestly, ma there was no danger). After a few tests all seemed to be working well, so it was time for the beer.

As I mentioned before, I wanted to make this beer a bit different to the Belgian pale ale I brewed at Moon. Specifically, I wanted to use traditional hop varieties and a lighter hopping rate to create a fairly malty, easy drinking beer. As I alluded to before I would ferment it at 19 degrees Celsius to keep the Belgian character restrained. I was especially interested if this controlled fermentation would improve the quality of my beer, but perhaps I would have to wait for a high gravity beer where the potential for an over-active fermentation is greater. The upcoming tripel should work nicely.

As an added note this was my first time using the Ardennes yeast, which has the unusual property of maintaining a krausen layer all the way to terminal gravity. Fortunately I knew about this as I had read about it in a recent post on Upright Brewing's Blog, otherwise I would have been stressed out as to why it was taking so long to drop. It never ceases to amaze me how no two yeasts seem to behave exactly the same.

Belgian Pale Ale
Pilsner malt
Locally malted British style pale malt
Caramunich
Wheat malt
Biscuit malt

East Kent Golding hops

Wyeast 3522 Belgian Ardennes

Citra Amarillo IPA

2011-12-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

I've been away from this blog for ages, due to a move to a new "basement" breweries and a broken internet connection at the new locale, but no more excuses, I'm back. Although this blog has been quiet I have been brewing some over the past couple weeks, and I've been busy upgrading some of my brew equipment, so I'll have to play catch up with my posting.

The first piece of equipment I've been working on is a new mash-tun, as I wanted something that had the capability to do 10 gallon batches as well as something with better heat retention than my previous false-bottom, plastic bucket setup. I pondered a few different designs such as braided hose and soldered manifolds, but in the end I figured I'd stick with the false-bottom, as I've always found it easy to use and reliable. In home-brewing as in life, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Despite the hefty cost, I ordered a 10 gallon upright-style water cooler and set to work. The ball valve for lautering the mash was easy to fit together after a few visits to the local plumbing and hardware stores, but the false bottom was a bit more tricky. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a piece of perforated stainless sheeting in the scrap pile at the brewery and after making a handle out of the end of an old pipe and a bit of welding and polishing, I was in business.

For my first brew in the new house with the new equipment I figured I'd try something fairly easy, so I settled on my old favourite: the India Pale Ale. I recently got my hands on some Amarillo and Citra hops, two varieties that everyone seems to be drooling over these days, so I decided to make an IPA featuring these super-varieties. I wanted it to be a bit less bitter than some of the bombs I had made in the past, as well as lighter in colour, closer to a golden shade, and featuring less crystal malt than usual. With these goals in mind I set out on the maiden-brew in the new premises; it felt like old times using the good old Chico yeast and throwing copious amounts of hops into the pot. Considering the amount of new factors involved the brew went well, with only a few minor issues that I was sure I could resolve in subsequent brew-days. Stay tuned in the next week as I get you up to speed on my new kegging setup, my first Belgian pale ale, and my jerry-rigged, but fully operational fermentation chamber.

Amarillo Citra IPA

Locally malted British syle pale malt
Crystal 40
Wheat malt
Locally malted oats

Amarillo and Citra hops (first wort hopping, bittering, flavour, aroma, flameout, dry hopping)

Basement Brewing at Moon Under Water

2011-11-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I spent a great day brewing at Victoria's newest brewpub, Moon Under Water. Don, Ron, and Bonnie Bradley, the proprietors of Moon, were good enough to allow me into the inner sanctum of the pub to help out with a bit of brewing. Ron and myself spent the day labouring over the incredible nano-brew rig (55L batches) constructed in entirety by Don (the elder Bradley), a contraption that just about any homebrewer would kill for.
We hatched a plan to do a double brew of one of the most popular styles of beer: pale ale. First we would brew a Belgian Pale Ale, and then an American Pale Ale. The twist was that both beers would have nearly identical ingredients, the malt bill would be Belgian-styled, and the hops would be Cascadian. The only difference was the yeast; we used Moon's house strain for the American and a Belgian strain for the Belgian. This should be a great example of what a difference Belgian yeast reallly makes. Hopefully both these beers will be available to sample some time in the near future at Moon (if I didn't stuff it up that is). If you haven't made it out to Moon Under Water yet you really should, they have a new stout on tap that is aged on sour cherries, and their food and regular beers are great as well. It's located at 350 Bay Street, right by the Bay Street Bridge, on the downtown side.

Review - Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam

2011-11-11T18:38:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile since I've posted a beer review, but during a quick trip to the Cook St. Liquor Village to buy my roommate a replacement beer after a recent party, I found myself walking out with Weizen Bam, from Jolly Pumpkin. For myself, of course.

Jolly Pumpkin is a brewery that Im pretty stoked on. Specialising in Belgian-style brews, they label their bottles with the batch number and brew date, use unique 750 ml bottles, and are into bottle fermenting. I love these guys. I haven't seen their products in Canada before, so when I saw this one on the shelf, I jumped at the opportunity.

Weizen Bam is a German style hefeweizen that has had wild and sour yeasts added to it. It pours a light straw-like gold, with an intensely thick, white head that only bottle refermenting can achieve. It has a nicely spicy, phenolic nose with hints of lemon citrus. It enters tart, and quickly becomes very refreshing with more flavours of mildly tart lemon. The saison lover in me was hungering for a bit more substance but once I got into the refreshing nature of the wheat I started loving this beer. For a sour beer it is pretty mild, more tart than sour really, and intensely drinkable. It really reminded me of the beer that the fantastic Portland brewery Upright is producing. Weizen Bam is a refreshing brew that is interesting but also very drinkable and I would recommend it to anyone who wasn't offended by tart flavours.
Rating: Very Good

Home Brewing at Hoyne - First BrewVic Meeting in the Books

2011-11-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

The past weekend's inaugural meeting of BrewVic is all done and was a great success. Thanks to the hospitality of Sean Hoyne we were able to conduct the meeting at the brand-new, soon-to-be-pumping-out-stellar-beer Hoyne Brewing in Rock Bay. My brew system, as well as that of Dave and Dan from Beer On The Rock were in action for all to see. My brew system is somewhat ghetto compared to the boys' rig, so people could see a couple different takes on home brewing.
We were both brewing American Pale Ale's mine being a bit hoppier and more caramelly and the boys' beer being a touch more malty and biscuity. Hopefully we will be able to try both brews at the next BrewVic meeting. The day went off better than any of us expected, with around 30 new people coming through the brewery during the day. A few people even stuck around for the entire brew session to see the whole brewing process unfold. It was awesome to see people so interested in brewing and a real statement about the viability of a home brew club on the Island. Stay tuned for details on when we will be meeting again or check into the club's new website.Check out the pics below to see some of the day's action.

Brewday - Russian Imperial Stout

2011-11-06T20:30:00.000-08:00

After making an oatmeal stout I wanted to up the ante a little and brew a new Russian Imperial stout. Last year's RIS the Beard of Zeus was well received, although it didn't do as well in competition as I had hoped. I have, however, noticed that in recent months it seems to have improved and perhaps it merely needed some aging to improve its standing. Whatever the case, I wanted to move in a different direction with my newest Imperial. I wanted to scale back the raisiny, plum-like flavours of the Beard and emphasise more rum and chocloate. I also wanted a bigger hop presence and a bigger beer in general, something that cracked the 10% abv mark at a bare minimum.

The brew was made more interesting by local malting master Mike Doehnel being in attendance. This made for a day of awesome beer conversation as we were able to discuss brewing at length as the day progressed. In this brew we tried hot steeping the dark grains, steeping them for 5 minutes and then straining and adding the liquid in at the end of the boil. Similar to the cold steep I tried with my oatmeal stout, this produced a wort of moderate gravity without any mashing at all. Part of the reason I tried this was simply due to lack of room in my mash tun, but we discovered that after the mash the grain bed settles enough that these grains could easily be added to the tun at recirculation. I will definitely try this next time.

The brew went well and passed Mike's seal of approval I think (although I used more hops than he expected, surprise, surprise). He left me with a year's worth of brew reading material that I am now starting to work my way through. I'm looking forward to making it up to his property on the Saanich peninsula to see his brew system in action some day soon. There is also word he may be brewing a beer for a guest brew at my next tasting party in January, let's hope that pans out.

BrewVic Homebrewing Club - Inaugural Meeting

2011-10-31T20:56:00.000-07:00

The first meeting of the new (and to my knowledge only) homebrew group in Victoria, BrewVic, is on the horizon, kicking off this Saturday, November 5th at 10 am. BrewVic is centred in the beer capital of Canada, Victoria, BC, but the VIC in the name stands for Vancouver Island, Cascadia, showing its close connection to the Island as a whole and to the region of Cascadia.
The meeting will be held outside Victoria's newest brewery, Hoyne Brewing, located at 101-2740 Bridge St. in the Rock Bay industrial area near the Bay Street Bridge. Myself and two of my illustrious comrades in beer will be conducting brews for all to see as the 5th happens to be Learn to Homebrew Day. For all those beer geeks out there we will be brewing American Pale Ales, and Im getting pretty excited about my recipe as I'll be trying out some new hopping techniques. Come on down and check out the action, there will be burgers by donation, and there will be a couple short presentations on homebrewing and the style we will be brewing. Whether you've never brewed before or are an award winning brewmaster we'd love to see you out to support the new group. For more information on BrewVic check out the fancy new website.

Brewday - Oatmeal Stout

2011-10-26T19:24:00.000-07:00

I've been away from brewing now for a few weeks and thats allowed me to catch up on bottling and think about what direction I want to move in next. Overall I think I want to focus on improving my techniques and methods in order to have greater control over the brewing process, which will hopefully allow me to make better beer. I decided I wanted to make an oatmeal stout (to be followed by a Russian Imperial stout) and I discussed in one of my last posts the new method I wanted to try involving steeping, as opposed to mashing, the dark grains. I also decided to try a mashout, as my efficiency has been less than expected in my last few batches, something I mainly blame on the temperature in the grain bed dropping too low during the sparge.

The cold-steeping method I used requires a 24 hour steep at room temperature so I made this several days before I brewed. I was intrigued that, similar to crystal malts, it is not necessary to mash dark malts, and sure enough when I tested the gravity on the steep it was 1.047, barely below my overall target gravity of 1.055. No enzyme activity necessary, just steeped and ready to go.

The brewday itself involved more steps than I was used to, and this led to a more challenging and incredibly fun brew. I started by using reverse osmosis water from the supermarket as I have read about the bad effects of chlorine and chloramines that are present in our tapwater. I then added gypsum to provide some calcium, which would normally be present in our tapwater, but is stripped out by the RO process. Small amounts of calcium is apparently important for various aspects of mash chemistry.

The mash was an increased challenge as I had to account for the later addition of the steeped grains as well as the mashout addition. A mashout is not something I've ever really bothered with. The idea is to heat the mash to the point that the enzymes in the malt become denatured, fixing the ration of fermentables to non-fermntables in the wort. It also has the added benefit of raising the temperature for effective sparging right from the beginning of the sparge. Since I wanted to try to improve my efficiency and also keep a high amount of unfermentables in the wort for added body this seemed the perfect time to try it. I wasn't able to raise the temp as much as I hoped, but it was a good learning experience for next time and my overall efficiency was largely improved.

I even got the chance to try out a friend's refractometer, a device that can read gravity with only a few drops of sample, and even account for temperature without annoying conversion calculators. Its was incredibly easy to use and tested against my hydrometer in both pre and post-boil samples the reading were within .001. The only problem I had was the occasional highly innaccurate reading, possibly caused by some water getting into the sample. It is also apparently quite difficult to use on beer once fermentation has begun, so for these reasons I would not abandon the hydrometer completely, but rather use the two in conjunction. I'm definitely getting one of my own just for its ease of use and for the minuscule samples required to operate it.

This brew went great with only some minor hiccups and I'm now really looking forward to refining some of what I learned and applying it to a Russian Imperial Stout. Until then...

Belgian IPA Step Three - The Blend

2011-10-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

Probably one of the best ever brew days today, and no brewing was actually done, blending rather was the order of the day. With the help of my two somewhat capable assistants Arlo and Dave, my Belgian Tripel and India Pale Ale were blended to create a Belgian IPA.

Before we could blend I wanted to taste mixtures based on different proportions of the two beers. Before we could do that there were infinite calculations to be made (In a rigorous and scientific manner of course). We had to figure out what the proportions would be, how we would mix them, how we would sample them, etc. With the help of Dave's impressive coding technique (which Im fairly sure didn't mix up the samples) we were able to try the mixtures without knowing which we were tasting. Then with the help of Arlo's tastebuds we tried each of the beers, eliminating them one by one before deciding on the right mixture to bottle with. With the IPA over 7% and the Tripel over 10%, it was fairly grueling work, but I am confident we picked the right blend that ended up being heavier on the Belgian component. Not to be left out Dave was given all the sample leftovers, mixed together in a pint glass for his own refreshment. He seemed very satisfied. Check out the photo gallery below of all our blending exploits.

New Process - Steeping Dark Grains

2011-10-18T22:35:00.000-07:00

Just looking at my page views and I just hit the ten thousand mark... maybe someone other than my mum actually reads what I write? Anyways, I digress. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how to improve my beer. I definitely believe that there is no substitute for experience. Resources like books, the internet, and other brewers can teach you a lot, but there is nothing like rolling up your sleeves and doin' some brewin' for becoming a better brewer. Nonetheless, I feel that now the way to continue to progress my brewing is not so much through increasingly outlandish recipes (although those will be coming), as through looking at my procedures, trying new techniques, and likely adding more complexity to what I am doing.

One new technique I want to try is steeping dark grains. I've been reading the excellent book Brewing Better Beer by Gordon Strong, and he talks about how, similar to crystal malts, it is unnecessary to mash dark grains. The high roasting temperatures they are subject to denature the enzymes and break down the proteins and starches. There is nothing left to convert in these grains so the mash effectively becomes a long, hot steep. Similar to coffee, long exposure to hot temperatures can bring out acidity, bitterness, and a certain harshness in beer. Certain styles of beer, such as sweeter stouts and black IPA's really seem to suffer when they have a strong element of this bitter roasted flavour. One option for still incorporating these dark grains is to steep them and then add them in to the end of the boil. I've been thinking about making an oatmeal stout, and it seems like the perfect opportunity to give this method a go as Oatmeal stout is at its best with a touch of sweetness and not too much roasted character to overwhelm the hint of oatmeal in the beer. Check out my next post and read about how well it all goes in my next brewday.

Saison du Sam (Blackberry Saison)

2011-10-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

Its good to bet back to brewing what might be my favourite style of beer, the saison. The saison is a beer traditionally made in the french-speaking region of Belgium for the workers bringing in the harvest.
I've brewed it a few times before, making both a basic, traditional version and an off the wall version made with parsley, rosemary, thyme, and sage. Both beers went over well and both won ribbons in local homebrewing competitions. This time on the suggestion of my girlfriend I decided to add some fruit to the brew (hence the name). The tartness of blackberries seemed like they would go well with the tart, refreshing nature of saison, so Sam and I made a mission down to Elk Lake a couple weeks back to hit up the berry patches growing around the lake. The berries were ripping if you could find the spots and 2 hours, 8 pounds of berries, and half a dozen wasp stings later we were in business. On the recommendation of the head brewer at Phillips I froze the berries to break down the cell walls, then warmed them back to near room temperature to avoid shocking the yeast, and added them into the secondary. The beer itself I decided to make a little bit on the darker side of the style as a fellow beer blogger suggested this might go better with the berries. I wasn't sure how to achieve this as I didn't want to have toasted or bunt flavours in the beer, so after consultation with a local brewer I decided on Belgian Special B malt, as the raisin-like character it imparts should go well with the flavour from the berries. As an added twist I decided I would split the batch, adding blackberries to one and keeping the other as a control batch of sorts. It should be interesting down the road to try the two beers and compare the effect the fruit has had on the beer.

Blackberries ready to go

Transferring one...

...and then the other

Build Day - Immersion Chiller

2011-10-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

This one has been a ridiculously long time coming. After nearly destroying my tub and spending countless hours swirling the brewpot around and recirculating cold water, I finally got down to making an immersion chiller. This turned out to be a bit of a comedy of errors requiring several additional visits to the plumbing supply store, but in the end I got 'er done and am so far pretty happy with the results. But, first things first.

Before I could get down to making a chiller I had to decide what kind to construct. There are various high tech chillers on the market, but most homemade versions seem to fit into two categories: immersion and counter-flow. An immersion chiller is, as the name suggests, immersed in the hot wort after the boil and cold water is run through it to bring the wort down to pitching temperature. A counterflow chiller takes the hot wort itself through a pipe and has cold water around it, usually in another tube. Immersions are easier and cheaper to build, easier to clean, but not quite as efficient. Counterflows are more complex, usually requiring soldering, but can chill hot wort more quickly. Seeing as this was my first crack at making a chiller I figured I would tackle the more simple immersion chiller. The fact that wort itself is actually run through a counterflow also worries me somewhat as thorough cleaning of the inside of the tubing could be difficult.

After buying the necessary parts at a local plumbing store I headed for home, optimistic about my new chiller-to-be. The first major challenge I would face was bending the pipe until it was small enough to fit into my brew pot, which tapers to a small diameter at the top. I got the pipe bent until it fit nicely in my pot, but when it came time to bend it back up to where the water would flow out I ran into trouble. The fellow at the shop had assured me I wouldn't need a tube bender and so trusting in his advice I took a deep breath and went for the bend... and crimped the pipe. Badly. After my attempts to fix the pipe made the crimp worse beyond any hope of repair, I knew I was beaten, and the plumbing store was closed... damn.

Next day I hurried to the store on my lunch break to buy more tubing and a freakin' bender. Now I was ready, and armed with my bender I shaped the coil to perfection, and with much care, patience, and sheer brute strength managed to bend the pipe back inside itself back to the top of the coil to allow the water to flow out. At last! I was victorious! In triumph I removed the spring bender from the last section, and saw to my horror that it had crimped... inside the bender! After a long session of tears and gnashing teeth I inspected my work in disgust, but found that the crimp was relatively minor and should allow for adequate flow. Breathing a sigh of relief, I proceeded to attach the fittings and the dishwasher hose and headed outside for a test run. Man was this going to be sweet! I picked up my garden hose ready to connect it up and saw a male end. I looked at my chiller... and saw another male end. No, this couldn't be happening, could it? Well, after a solid five minutes of deep breathing I realised that yes, it had happened. The plumbing store was closed. Again, I was screwed.

Next day and another hurried lunch break I was in possession of a female connection and set for a trial run. The first run was a huge success with great flow rate and only the smallest leak out of the inlet connection at maximum pressure. After the application of a bit more teflon tape there were no leaks to be seen and the stage was set for the first use. The first batch I used it on chilled to 20 degrees C in 20 minutes, a huge improvement from 30 to 40 minutes hunched over the tub, just to get the wort under 30. I made some minor adjustments to the coil so more tubing will be submerged in the wort and I'm confident that next time I can get this down below 15 minutes. If I can hit this target I will be one happy brewer. Check in for the next build day when I will construct (or at least attempt to construct) a new and improved mash tun. See below for parts and instructions for making a sweet immersion chiller.

PS The moral of the above story is that if you do have a narrow topped brew-pot (which hardly anyone on earth does) then maybe go easy on yourself and use 3/8" copper tubing, and remember to buy the right size fittings if you go with the smaller diameter.

What You Need

(3'-10') 5/8" dishwasher hose (depending on how long you want your discharge hose to be)
(25'-50')| of 1/2" OD soft copper tubing (the longer it is, the more surface area, the faster the chill)
(2) 1/2"x1/2" compression male pipe connections (for connecting directly to the tubing)
(1) 1/2" PXF poly adapter (for connecting from the outlet compression connection to the dishwasher hose)
(1) swivel hose adapter 3/4FH x 1/2 FIP hose connection ( for connecting a male garden hose to the inlet compression connection) *Note* for female garden hose you will need a 3/4M Hose x 1/2 FIP hose connection, don't be like me, buy the right one the first time
(1) roll 12mm x 12mm teflon tape (for waterproofing all connections)
(1) rubber hose washer (essential for preventing leaks if connecting to male hose)
(1) s/s clamp 9/16" - 1-1/16" (for keeping the dish hose from leaking around the poly adapter)
(1) 1/2" spring tube bender (buy this. trust me. it costs less than two bucks and will make your life way easier, and prevent you from crimping and wrecking the expensive copper tubing... which really sucks)

Instructions

Slowly and carefully bend the tubing into a coil to a size that will easily fit your brew pot. Using something to wrap it around (like a scuba tank or corny keg) makes this much easier. Remember to leave a piece at the top for the intake that can me bent at a a right angle and still be long enough to extend past the top of the brew pot. Now, VERY carefully and slowly and using your pipe bender (I really can't emphasise this enough) bend a section at the bottom back through the center of the coil and up and out of the coil. Again, leave enough to be bent and extend past the top of the pot. Bend the two ends at right angles (with the bender) and attach the two compression fittings to the two ends of pipe, using teflon tape on all the fittings and threads, including under and over the ring in the compression fitting. Connect the poly adapter to the outlet and the swivel hose adapter to the inlet. Connect the dishwasher hose to the poly adapter and secure it with the clamp, and put a washer in the hose connection if its female. That's all there is to it, give it a test run and then fire it up and cool down that wort. Happy Brewing!

Brewday - Fresh Hop IPA (Single Malt, Single Hop)

2011-09-29T22:19:00.000-07:00

Although I've talked about making a fresh hopped IPA for ages, I had no plans to brew this one until the day before it happened. My intention for the weekend was to brew a Belgian tripel for my blended Belgian IPA, something I had been planning for several weeks. However, after a day spent helping with the hop harvest, I was convinced by Terry the hop grower that I should brew a fresh hopped IPA while the hops were, well... fresh. It also occurred to me that local malter Mike Doehnel had given me twenty odd pounds of his Munich malt for experimentation, so this seemed the perfect opportunity to do a single malt, single hop IPA. (Apologies to local brewer Michael Lewis, I was half way through this brew before I realised this was the exact same beer he had just made. Sorry Mike.)

First Wort Hopping

I wanted to make a beer that really emphasised the flavour of the fresh Cascades but also showed something of the character of the Munich malt, so I didn't want it to be overpowered with bitterness. I decided to keep the boil hops to a minimum (for an IPA) but to do some first wort hopping, a technique where hops are added into the brew pot at the start of the sparge to seal hop flavour into the beer. I also kept the hop additions mostly late in the boil to reduce bitterness and maximise hop flavour and aroma. By the time I was done, two pounds of fresh Cascade hops had found their way into the brew pot. I've always found that making hoppy beers is incredibly satisfying. There just seems to be something about throwing tons of hops into a brew kettle that makes a hophead like myself smile. This beer should be ready to drink in a few weeks and due to the nature of fresh hopped beers will only be in its prime for a short time. I plan on drinking this one quick so if you want to try it let me know before it's all gone, I'll be happy to share.

Fresh Cascade Hops

Locally Malted Munich

Shwack o' Hops

Best to celebrate the new batch with an old one

Blended Belgian IPA - Step Two, Belgian Tripel

2011-09-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

I had planned to brew a Belgian tripel this weekend, but with the girlfriend out of town and two and an half pounds of fresh hops in my fridge from my day of hop pickin, I figured what the hell I'd brew an IPA as well. Two brews in one day was not something I'd attempted before, and despite some minor setbacks it went off smoothly over a course of about 11 hours. I actually brewed the Tripel second, but seeing as all I've talked about lately is hops and IPAs, I figured I'd mix it up a bit and save the IPA for the next post.

My interest in Belgian beers has been growing recently and I wanted to branch out from the saisons I have brewed in the past. A tripel seemed a good beer to attempt as it is a style I enjoy and would work well for my planned blended Belgian IPA. I've also wanted to try my hand at brewing a Trappist beer (beer brewed in Trappist monasteries primarily in Belgium) as I've recently been doing a fair amount of reading on these historic beverages.

Belgian brewing epitomises much that I find magical about the craft of brewing. Style certainly exists, but the emphasis is more on experimenting and pushing boundaries than staying within them. Normal rules of brewing don't apply, or are polar opposites of much held as solemn truth. Using sugar in beer? That's for hillbillies, right? Unless you're brewing Belgium style, and then its pretty much required. The most important thing in brewing is cleanliness and preventing contamination, right? Unless you're in a Belgian lambic brewery, where they never clean, spiders are sacred, and the inoculating yeast falls from the rafters. If German style is the reasonable, orderly, calculating brewer of Apollo, then Belgian style is the wild, raucous, throw caution to the wind brewer of Dionysus. Guess which one I like better.

For this brew I had ordered a yeast that produces low amounts of isoamyl acetate, the banana-like ester that tends to plague some North American brewed Belgian beers that is a particular dislike of mine. This being my first tripel I didn't want to get too wild so I kept the grain bill simple and the hops noble, but as an added twist I used some pale Turbinado in the place of white sugar. Using unrefined sugars in beer is a mainstay of Randy Mosher, author of Radical Brewing, a book that is a must read for a developing brewer. When this beer is ready I'll blend it with the IPA and see what happens. Until next time...

Belgian Tripel

Malt
Pilsner
Vienna
Malted Wheat

Hops
Styrian Goldings
Saaz

Other
Turbinado partially refined sugar

Yeast
Wyeast Trappist High Gravity

Hop Pickin' at the Boormans'

2011-09-25T18:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend I made the journey out to the Boorman's residence by Mount Doug for a session of hop picking. The Cascade hops were in full swing when I arrived and after some acrobatic vine cutting we were able to get the hops down and ready to harvest.
I was amazed at the density of the hops growing on the plants, despite our poor summer it looked like a bumper crop, which goes to show Vancouver Island is a fantastic place to grow hops and hopefully someday there will be many hop farms growing here once again. Once we had the hops on firm ground we were able to get down to the serious work of harvesting the bounty. I was blown away at the pungently citrus aroma coming from the cones, the air was permeated with the smell of unreal hops as we worked away, like hop harvesters of old. After three hours of picking and a delicous lunch our task was done, the hops were picked and ready to be dried, and I had a massive bag of fresh Cascades under my arm to take home with me. Looks like I'm finally going to get to brew that wet-hopped IPA I've been talking about, should be fun...

Cutting down the vines

Packin 'er up

Pickin' time

The hop hammock, Terry's s awesome drying technique

Blended Belgian IPA - Step One, India Pale Ale

2011-09-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

After tasting Uncharted, the Belgian IPA from Lighthouse, I decided to try my hand at a similar brew. Uncharted is a blended beer, a combination of an IPA and a Belgian tripel, and I was impressed with it enough to try my hand at a similar concoction. The first part would be an IPA, next week I will brew the tripel, and at some point in the future blend the beers before bottling them.

The IPA by itself is something I'm pretty excited about (I'll save some to bottle on its own). I wanted to brew something a bit lighter in colour than IPA's I've made in the past, so I mainly used lighter malts in the mash. I did include three pounds of Munich malt that local malter Mike Doehnel was generous enough to donate to me, so it will be cool to see what character that imparts. Look for a brew in the near future exclusively featuring his malt, including some very rare and unusual malted oats. I also managed to get some fresh cascade hops from generous homebrewer Michael Lewis, making this a kind of local creation. They would be combined with a generous amount of bravo, simcoe, and cascade hops in seven different hop additions to give this brew its hoppy kick. I wasn't sure the best way to use the fresh cascades, but decided to add them at flameout so as not to let any of the precious goodness be boiled away. As soon as the heat was off I steeped them in the hot wort for ten minutes before beginning to cool the wort. Next week its part two of this project, as I'll try my hand at making my first ever Belgian tripel.

Malt

Canadian pale

Steeping the wet hops

Munich (from Mike Doehnel's VI Malts)

Aromatic

Wheat malt

Crystal 10

Hops

Bravo

Cascade

Simcoe

Fresh Cascade

India Brown Ale

2011-09-12T19:44:00.000-07:00

Carmelising the sugar

Finally, at long last, I am back to home brewing. Between moving back to Victoria and starting the new job at Phillips, it has taken me a bit longer than I would have liked to get back in the brewing saddle, but this Sunday, after an awesome Beerfest, I was able to roll up my sleeves and get Basement Breweries back into production.

The beer was one I've been contemplating for some time, an Indian Brown Ale, inspired by Dogfish Head's version of this emerging style. No local brewery does an India Brown to my knowledge, and Dogfish Head's is no longer available in town, so it would be cool to make a beer not really accessible in Victoria. The recipe started with one from the book by Dogfish Head's founder, Sam Calagione's, and evolved from there. One of the main challenges came from carmelising the brown sugar, a task that took me two tries to achieve without burning the sugar and one that was only successful in the end thanks to the assistance of my super-chef room mate. I also decided to add star anise to the brew, to add some further complexity. I was tempted to add a lot more hops than I did, but my most recent brews have been somewhat hop heavy so I restrained myself. I am going to try a fairly aggressive dry-hopping regimen as I've read Dogfish Head heavily dry-hops their beer.

Geek Info

Method: All-Grain

Original Gravity: 1.074

Malt
13 lbs. British 2-row
10 oz. Crystal 60
10 oz. Biscuit malt
6 oz. Chocolate malt
2 oz. Roasted barley

Hops
1 oz. Bravo pellets 60 min
1.5 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets 30 min
1.5 oz. East Kent Goldings pellets Flameout
Dry hops To be decided (suggestions?)

Other
8 oz. Carmelised Brown Sugar 10 min
1 Star Anise 5 min

Yeast
Wyeast 1187 Ringwood Ale

Review - Lighthouse Uncharted Belgian IPA

2011-09-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

If I'm going to be totally honest, the beers produced by Lighthouse haven't always been my favourite. For years they produced a basic, dependable line-up with some quality offerings such as Race Rocks and Keepers Stout. But they seemed reluctant to experiment much, as they watched breweries like Phillips grab bigger and bigger shares of the market with dependable every day beers AND experimental, exciting ones. Rumour has it it was this unwillingness to experiment that led Jason Meyer and the other Driftwood boys to split from Lighthouse and start their own brewery (although the appeal of one's own operation must have been part of the siren's song). Since then Lighthouse has made an effort to try to move in new directions through its Big Flavour Series sold in 650 ml bombers, while maintaining its mainstay beers in more traditional bottles and cans. Not all of these new products have been successful in this reviewer's opinion, particularly the atrocious Shipwrecked, a 10% Triple IPA that tasted like equal parts ethanol and paint thinner. Others have been fabulous, such as Deckhand, which remains my favourite local saison to date, and that includes the quality saisons that have been brewed by Driftwood.

The newest beer in the Big Flavour series was one of the first things I heard about after rolling into town Thursday morning. I liked the sound of it right away: A Belgian IPA that wasn't simply a hopped up version of a Belgian beer, but two beers, brewed separately and blended together. One, a unique IPA brewed with Australian and New Zealand hops was served up by itself at the Beagle last week. The Belgian portion, a beer featuring an abbey-style yeast, will be poured via cask at the Beagle, starting at 5pm this Thursday, September 8th.

Together, these beers make up Uncharted Belgian IPA. Uncharted is a fascinating deep orange colour that reminded me of Spring Rite. It has a pleasant aroma with lightly spicy phenolics and hints of tropical fruit. It displays a nice thick, white head that really adds to the appeal of this beer. Uncharted has a light IPA sweetness mixed with flavours of tropical fruit and banana. It seems to have more of an emphasis on the Belgian side of things than most Belgian IPA's, and in this it reminds me of Houblon Chouffe. Its mouthfeel is also good, being refreshing and yet substantial but never cloying. Something about the aftertaste is not my favourite, a bit too much bubblegum/artificial tropical fruit, but still this is a fine beer, easily my second favourite Lighthouse beer to date, after Deckhand. Overall, this beer is great, a finely crafted brew that really displays the skill of Lighthouse brewer Dean McLeod. This beer has inspired me to create my own blended Belgian IPA, so stay tuned for details on that one soon...
Rating: Very Good

Review - Driftwood Twenty Pounder

2011-09-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be a post about my return to the world of homebrewing, chronicling my newest creation, an India Brown Ale that I have been pondering for many months. Unfortunately, my time in the bush has led me to forget many important elements of normal society, and not just those relating to personal hygiene. Indeed, the fact that homebrew shops are closed on Sunday escaped me until Brewday (Sunday) was at hand, and now the India Brown will have to wait.

This lapse had afforded me another opportunity, however. Now that I'm back in town I can start reviewing some local beers again, as opposed to those I acquired on my travels that are often not available to the local consumer anyways. This should make my reviews more pertinent to the Island beer drinker, but may also result in the odd angry letter from a brewer...although to be honest, I do sort of enjoy those. Anyways, enough yakking, lets get down to this review.

The newest beer from Driftwood, a 9% double IPA? Ya you could say I was pretty excited when I heard about this. But shortly after I heard about it, I heard what people were saying about it, and what people were saying was not good. "Too much," they remarked. "Out of Balance," they said. "Reminds me of Shipwrecked," said a particularly venomous source. My friends weren't liking it. Other beer bloggers were tearing it a new one. It wasn't going down well it seemed. The little voice inside me that tells me to run from battles and bar fights (neither of which I condone mind you) saw an opportunity. I could prove here and now that I won't do a back flip over a beer, just because its from Driftwood, a brewery I've never given a bad review to. I could show deference to the opinions of friends and not be that jerk who thinks he's right and everyone else is wrong. I could also show solidarity with the other bloggers in town who definitely don't appear to dig this beverage. Unfortunately, that other voice, the one I listen to on a pretty regular basis and who gets me into trouble almost as regularly, also had something to say: "You like this beer," he chimed in, smuggly, "bottom line."

So risking the derision and scorn of friends and colleagues alike, i'm saying it here and now, this beer is damn good stuff. Mind you it's not exactly for the faint of heart, or anyone who isn't the most die hard fan of double IPA's in all their bitter glory. But for all you hop heads out there who love nothing more than the taste of the hop and all its unadulterated bitter goodness, this beer is what the English would call "the dog's bollocks."

Twenty Pounder has a surprisingly dark orange-amber hue and sports a tan/white head, that like many Driftwood beers, quickly fades. Its aroma is all deep grapefruit and is very appealing. From the first taste this beer's strong bitterness is evident, and is interlaced with notes of orange and the dominant taste of potent grapefruit peel. The flavour is absolutely dripping with resinous hops and is almost sticky with the tang of pine. It is strongly bitter, but not past the pleasure threshold (at least not mine anyways) and its aftertaste lasts for so long that I began to believe my tastebuds would wear out before it did. If hoppy beer is not your cup of tea then steer well clear (but I guess that should be obvious), but if piney, citrusy, grapefruit bitter intensity is your idea of a good time, you really can't go wrong.
Rating: Very Good

Basement Brewer is Back with Big News

2011-09-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

At long last I am back. The summer was a little slow in stretches, with very few fires in the province to keep me occupied, but two tours to Alberta and a late deployment to Ontario managed to pass the time. Now I am back in Victoria, and ready to revive Basement Breweries once again. Look for another Homebrew Shindig in the future, once me and some of my cohorts can brew enough beer. Also I will still be posting reviews, but now my homebrew efforts will resume, so look for many future posts on all my fermentation adventures. Also, a local homebrew group is starting up, something I'm very excited to see grow into a great resource for new, veteran, and aspiring homebrewers around Victoria, so look here for info on that.

I also have some pretty big news to announce. After a couple emails and a casual interview/tour of the brewery, Matt Phillips has agreed to let me join the Phillips crew starting next week! It's been a dream of mine to work in a brewery for some time, and Im super excited that it's going to happen. The fact the job is in Victoria, and with a brewer whose products I respect and whose rags to riches story is one of industry legend, well... let's just say Im pretty stoked. I can't wait to start learning how the commercial boys get 'er done, wish me luck everyone!

Review - Russian River Redemption

2011-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

This could be my last post for awhile. I've just been told that I'll soon be headed to Ontario, to help fight the forest fires that have been raging there this summer. I'll be staying in a bush camp a long way from anywhere, so drinking new beer, never mind writing new posts, could prove difficult. I will be back however, and by the time my pull in the East is done, it will be time to head back to Victoria, and to return to my brewing equipment, the new beer group, and yes, this blog. But this is not a blog about my comings and goings as a wildfire fighter, so on to the beer.

The newest beer I sampled was Redemption Blonde Ale from Russian River Brewing. My last post was also concerning these guys, and their famous Damnation, a beer that I was surprised to find somewhat underwhelming. This was certainly not the case with Redemption, a beer I had heard little about, but one I thoroughly enjoyed. Redemption is actually a Belgian single, or a patersbier, so named as the style is mainly brewed at Trappist monasteries for consumption by the monks. It is rarely sold commercially in Belgium, and in North America it is nearly unheard of. Patersbiers can vary significantly in character, perhaps due to them being from the second runnings of other brews made by the monasteries, but as the name suggests, they are beers of somewhat weaker strength, particularly compared to other Trappist beers that tend to be quite high in alcohol.

Redemption is a light to medium gold and has a thick white head that lasts to the bottom of the glass. It is highly carbonated and has an aroma that nicely blends the mild characters of Belgian yeast and noble hop aroma. It has a slightly tart entry and a well-balanced mild bitterness. Its refreshing tartness is great and I found it to be a very enjoyable, simple, drinking beer. There is not always a lot to say about simple beers, either they work or they don't, and Redemption definitely works.
Rating: Very Good

Review - Russian River Damnation

2011-08-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

I find that sometimes when I've amassed a collection of difficult to find beers, there are often one or two that tend to sit around longer than the others, waiting to be tasted. It is not that I imagine they will be inferior, rather it is their perceived quality that persuades me to wait for that perfect moment. So it has been with the beers I collected from Russian River, a brewery in Santa Rosa, California, just north of San Francisco. Many consider Russian River to be among the very best micro-breweries in the US, a brewery that creates beers of nearly mythic reputation, such as Pliny the Elder, a beer some say is the greatest IPA ever brewed. This stellar reputation has caused me to hold off on trying Damnation, but no longer, the time is at hand.

Damnation is a highly carbonated beer that is a bright gold, and sports a beautifully thick, almost meringue-like head that only bottle fermented beer seems able to achieve. Its aroma has some sweet notes but is mostly reminiscent of champagne. The flavour is incredibly dry, again almost champagne-like in character, but does have some notes of apple and a very mild character of horse blanket. Its finish is again very dry, but not in a satisfying way, more in a bland and tasteless way that lacks complexity. I enjoyed this beer, but nowhere near as much as I had anticipated.

I was shocked by my impression of this beer, one I expected to blow me away. I suppose it goes to show the dangers involved when one has expectations about a beer before trying it (This obviously applies to much more than just beer). I was so surprised by this that I looked up the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) style guidelines for Belgian Golden Strong Ale, to see if I was missing the point. Although, I don't really like rules that govern how beer should be, firm styles do give structure and allow us to group beers into categories in order to brew and understand them better. With brewing, as with so many things in life, it is necessary to know the rules before you can learn how to break the rules, and it is from this calculated deviation that some of the world's best beers are born. But I digress... big time. In the guidelines it states that the overall impression for a beer of this style is supposed to be "A golden, complex, effervescent, strong Belgian-style ale." It was the "complex" part that seemed to be missing and this is my main reason for liking but not loving this beer. I hope I don't get any hate mail over this review.
Rating: Good

Review - Brasserie d' Achouffe McChouffe

2011-07-27T17:54:00.000-07:00

I'm having a bit of a hard time getting excited about writing yet another review. This has nothing to do with the beer in question, but more about my eagerness to get back to some homebrewing action. One more month of firefighting to go and I'll be back in the saddle, can't wait.

Today's beer in question certainly has a fine pedigree. The Brasserie d'Achouffe produces Houblon Chouffe, a beer considered by some to be the best Belgian IPA around. McChouffe is an even more unorthodox brew than Houblon, and is described as a "Scottish Abbey Ale." Get your mind around that one.

McChouffe is certainly an attractive beer, pouring a deep copper with ruby highlights that seem to beam from the glass. Its flavour is fairly complex, with notes of brown sugar and a light flavour of peat. The character of the Belgian yeast is understated but still present, adding an interesting and unusual element. For a beer of this strength and style it is incredibly drinkable, the character of the peat doesn't clobber you over the head as do so many Scottish-style beers. The peat also doesn't dominate the flavour but waits until the aftertaste to assert itself. Although maybe not as incredible as Houblon Chouffe, McChouffe is still a fine beer. I'm pretty sure this beer, along with it's cousin Houblon, can't yet be found in BC, but when it does hit the market, give it a bash.
Rating: Very Good

Review - Stone Cali-Belgie IPA

2011-07-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

A "style" of beer that has been of great interest to me lately is the Belgian-IPA. One of the most exciting things about this type of beer is that it hasn't been formalised yet into an official style with official guidelines and parameters. Because of this it is being currently defined by brewers as they continue to brew beers of this type. An interesting example of this style is Stone Brewing's Cali-Belgie IPA. It is actually the same beer as another of their offerings, the excellent Stone IPA, but fermented with a strain of Belgian yeast.

Cali-Belgie pours a gorgeous bright gold, that seems to glow out of the glass and sports a nice half-inch white head. Its aroma has a spicy Belgian character interlaced with a mild hoppiness. Its entry is somewhat sweet, almost honey-like, but quickly moves into flavours of hop bitterness. This bitterness, although fairly intense, is incredibly smooth and blended, which is characteristic of many of the hoppy beers produced by Stone. Its finish is long and satisfying as the smooth and rounded hop character is drawn-out along the taste buds. This beer is definitely an IPA first, and should satisfy any hophead, but has the added character that goes along with the Belgian yeast used in its creation. I'm not sure of this beer's local availability, but I would recommend it for all but the most puritanical of IPA drinkers.
Rating: Very Good

Review Green Flash Le Freak

2011-07-19T15:04:00.000-07:00

I first cast eyes on Le Freak from San Diego's Green Flash Brewing Co. during a recent visit to the fine Cook Street Liquor Village. It looked like everything I dream of. Described as an "American Imperial IPA meets Belgian Tripel," this sounded like a beer to satisfy the hop monster inside me as well as one to quench my cravings for fruit and spice that only a Belgian beer can conjure. When the guy behind the counter sang its praises calling it an "IPA first and a Belgian second" I was stoked for the hop tsunami that would soon be unleashed on my tastebuds.

Le Freak pours a nice orange amber and has a fine aroma of sweet fruit. It has a prominent entry of banana, a flavour which is present throughout. Mixed with this are the flavours of mulled spices, especially cinnamon, that blend with the taste of banana. Unlike how it was billed, this beer is most certainly a Belgian Tripel first, and an IPA second, something fairly unique for a beer of this sort brewed in North America. It is surprisingly malty for an Imperial IPA, and although the hop flavour and bitterness are in good balance, it is somewhat too fruity, especially with banana. Even though more hops and less banana would greatly improve this beer, it is still enjoyable, but not something I would buy again.
Rating: Good

Review - Upright Brewing Seven

2011-07-15T19:19:00.000-07:00

Over the past several months I have written a number of reviews of beers from Upright Brewing out of Portland, Oregon. Overall, I have found their beers to be interesting, unique and of high quality. The fact that their house yeast strain, Wyeast 3711, is one of my favourites, the same yeast I have used in a number of beers including Disheveled Dwarf and The Harvester, has only made me enjoy them all the more. As their beers have been such a treat in the past I was looking forward to reviewing Seven, the last of Upright's offerings I had yet to write about.

Seven is described as a "golden beer," and its deep gold hue certainly lives up to this billing. Typical of the yeast used in this beer, it has a lightly spicy, phenolic aroma. The first taste reveals flavours of pear that are recognisable throughout. It is a dry beer, but not bone dry, and it is well carbonated, but not to the extent of other beers I have sampled from Upright. Seven has a slight bite that hints at its 8% abv, and is, in my opinion, perhaps somewhat too fruity for this type of beer. The flavour of pear that predominates also makes this beer somewhat one-dimensional, and I would have to say that it is just not very special. Seven is not as spectacular a beer as I've come to expect from Upright, but it is still for the most part a good beer that is enjoyable and fairly drinkable.
Rating: Good

Book Review - Brew Like a Monk

2011-07-11T17:13:00.000-07:00

I recently finished Brew Like a Monk by Stan Hieronymus, one of the books I picked up at the amazing Powell's Books in Portland, the largest independent book store in the world. Belgian-style beers are increasingly becoming an interest of mine and I bought this book hoping to learn something about Trappist and Abbey-style beers, which are a section of the Belgian brewing tradition I know next to nothing about.

He starts his book off in interesting fashion, talking about the tendency of the consumer to put beer brewed under the direction of the Trappist monks on a pedestal, and how this high praise may be becoming less and less deserved by some of the monasteries as they become increasingly profit driven. Already I liked the critical eye displayed in the book and I had only read the introduction. Hieronymus goes on to talk about each of the original six Trappist breweries and what exactly it is that defines a Trappist beer, that is one that is brewed on the grounds of a Trappist monastery, and from which the majority of the profits go to charitable causes. These beers are distinct from Abbey Ales, which he also discusses, beers that simply have some connection to a monastery, this connection being often a very limited one.

After discussing Belgium, he turns to America, where numerous breweries are producing beer based on the Belgian Abbey tradition, but often with new twists. Great breweries are discussed such as Russian River, Ommegang, and Jolly Pumpkin, as well as the beers they produce. The quality of these products is often very high, and many of these beers regularly beat their Belgian counterparts in world beer competitions.

The final section of the book is dedicated to the homebrewer, with tips, methods and recipes for creating your own Abbey beers. Throughout the book Hieronymus includes recipes for the beers he discusses, often taken directly from talking to the brewmasters of the beers in question.

Although I would have liked some discussion of the new phenomenon of Belgian breweries making beer for the American market, overall this book is a fantastic read. It will be fasinating to anyone who has any interest in the subject, whether its homebrewing, the history of the styles, or simply the different products available. For the beer geek this is almost a must read as it really gets into the nitty-gritty of the subject, without ever becoming uninteresting. If you see this book around pick it up, or order it online, or just borrow mine, that works too.

Review - Boulevard Brewing Tank 7

2011-07-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

One of the items I brought back from my trip to Portland was Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale from Boulevard Brewing. It is so-named because when the brewery was experimenting with farmhouse beers, the right combination of ingredients came together in tank 7, a piece of equipment known for being highly tempermental.

Tank 7 has a bright golden hue and leaves a fine lacing in the glass. It has a spicy phenolic aroma that is appropriate for a saison. It is not as carbonated as most farmhouse beers, but this might be from the fact that the bottle is stopped with a cork, a method that tends to allow carbonation to escape with time. Its flavour is spicy with the barest hint of banana that lingers on the tongue. Excessive banana flavour in beer is something I tend to dislike but this is just the right amount, a bare hint that is very understated. There are also flavours of sweet fruit, as opposed to citrus fruit, and less dryness than is typical with a farmhouse beer, but this never sacrifices the satisfying quality on the palette that for me is at the heart of this style of beer.

Im not sure what the local availability is for this beer, but if the saison is your thing then I would definitely recommend Tank 7. It very impressively walks the line between uniqueness and upholding the conventions of its style.
Rating: Very Good

Beer Scene in 100 Mile - Stormriders Rookie Party

2011-07-01T13:16:00.001-07:00

As my enlightened colleagues and I had just returned from Northern Alberta and were faced with an unprecedented six days off work, we knew it was time for this year's instalment of the always legendary Stormriders Rookie Party. With eight rookies on the crew this year the possibilities for a truly epic event were staggering, so myself and the other returning members of the Stormriders sat down to plan our most ambitious rookie party to date.

Now this is a beer blog of course, and you may be wondering what any of this had to do with beer. A key element of this gathering would be the restrained, and refined sampling of some of the most exotic beverages attainable from the bargain section of the 100 Mile liquor store. From Pacific Pilsner, to Canterbury, to Cariboo Lager, there would indeed be a wide selection of sophisticated libations available. Myself and my esteemed associate Carl made a quick trip to pick up the odd item to ensure that no one's throat would become dry during the festivities.

We quickly decided a costume party would help break the ice and ensure a good time was had by all. Although the veterans would of course decide all costumes, we ensured that the new people's outfits were dignified and in good taste.

It soon dawned on us that the rookies, full of youthful vigour and enthusiasm, would need some activities to help burn off their excess energy. We thus set out to construct the Rookie Obstacle Course to build fitness, team work and competitive spirit for the new folks, and to provide a certain level of entertainment and levity to the jaded spirits of the veterans. Such events as the slip and slide, the military crawl, the beer chug/bat spin/penalty shot and silly walk all were to be navigated. Any transgressions committed along the way were met with a visit to John's Liquor Booth, were I dolled out liquid punishments in order to remind the new crew members of the importance of discipline and the chain of command. In retrospect I may have been somewhat harsh with these reminders, but spare the rod and spoil the child I always say.

After the obstacle course, we staged a mock trial where each rookie took a turn as defendent. This allowed us to gently remind the new members of mistakes made on the recent fires and point out aspects of their character that we felt could use some improvement. Interestingly, all were found guilty, and sentences were carried out that we felt would help reinforce improved behaviour in the future.

We capped off the events of the evening with a rookie dance-off, allowing the newbies to impress us with their moves and adding a light element to a highly sophisticated evening. All in all the party was a resounding success, from the sampling of the finest in cheap lagers and ales, to the various team building exercises to the good spirits of the rookies. I believe overall we proved what a mature and responsible group the Stormriders are and widely disproved the theory that fire fighters are overgrown children lacking in refinement and social graces.

Disproved indeed.

Review - Driftwood Belle Royale

2011-06-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

After spending the past month wading through swamps and being devoured by horseflies the size of hummingbirds its nice to be back in Victoria. Upon my return I was happy to see that Driftwood has again brought out their Belgian cherry ale, Belle Royale. Last year I missed its release so I was pretty excited to pick up a bottle on my first evening back on the good ol' Island. Similar to the fantastic Spring Rite that Driftwood recently released, it's difficult to categorise Belle Royale. Driftwood describes it as a "strong Belgian-inspired ale" that is made with sour Morello cherries. Reviews I read of it from last year were impressive, so I definitely had some expectations as I popped the top and poured my first glass.

Belle Royale is an intriguing light orange that is almost pink in hue, a most unusual and yet appealing colour for a beer. It has a great spicy aroma, and similar to other Driftwood beers it pours with little head to speak of. The entry is lightly sweet and leads into a nicely contrasting tart character. It has an incredibly late aftertaste of cherries that emerges almost as you're preparing to take your next sip. This beer is refreshing with a certain intangible character that is reminiscent of champagne. One of the things I like so much about it is the gentle quality of the cherries in the flavour. Too often flavours such as this can overpower a beer, but here it gently complements, taking the flavour to the next level of complexity. I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but this is yet another home run for Driftwood Brewing; In my opinion these guys are going to start winning some serious awards in the very near future. Even if you're like me and you don't tend to like fruit beers, give this one a try, it won't disappoint.

Rating: Very Good

Review - Rochefort 10

2011-06-18T20:24:00.000-07:00

Building on my last review of the abbey-style Guldenberg, I recently was able to sample and review Rochefort 10, from the Trappist brewery of the same name in Southern Belgian. Rochefort is one of the eight official Trappist monastery breweries and has been brewing beer since the end of the 16th century. They produce three beers: 6, 8, and 10. The alcoholic strength of these beers roughly corresponds to the numbers, a holdover from the days before highly accurate alcohol calculation.

10, which actually weighs in at 11.3% abv, is a deep shade of brown, with a rich, malty aroma that is biscuity and almost breadlike. It has a complex flavour with the character of raisins, caramel, and even notes of rum. For its potent strength it goes down well and isn't syrupy, and finishes with just a bare hint of alcohol. Without a doubt this is a beer to be savoured and enjoyed, I would highly recommend it for a slow-sipping after dinner brew.

If beer is liquid bread, this one proves it, as it drinks almost like a dark winter bread laced with raisins and served with a hot rum on the side. If indeed the offerings of some Trappist breweries have slipped in quality in recent years then I would venture that this beer is not among them. Perhaps the fact Rochefort has one of the lowest production levels among Trappist breweries is a factor in this. Whatever the case, if you enjoy things dark and heady and full of flavour, give Rochefort 10 a try.
Rating: Very Good

Review - De Ranke Guldenberg

2011-06-14T19:26:00.000-07:00

With the biggest Canucks game in nearly two decades looming, I find myself in the unlikely location of Fort McMurray, fighting one of the biggest wildfires in Canadian history. It's a funny world sometimes. Unfortunately for me, the rig camp I'm staying in that houses 6000 workers is completely dry on penalty of expulsion. Fortunately for the reader I have a couple of reviews saved up for such an occasion.

I recently got the chance to try Guldenberg, an abbey-style beer from the always amazing Belgian Brouwerij De Ranke. The last beer of their's I reviewed, the Saison de Dottignies, is still an absolute favourite of mine. There are a number of beers they produce that I haven't been able to try yet so I was pretty excited when I picked up a tall bottle of Guldenberg from the excellent Strath liquor store.

Guldenberg is probably best described as an abbey-style tripel, and is an inviting pale and cloudy gold that sports a nice inch-thick white head that lasts to the bottom of the glass. Its aroma balances the Belgian yeast and noble hop elements incredibly well. It has mild flavours of clove and spice, and a subtle hint of lemon with a light sweetness on the finish. It is hard to believe this beer is 8.5% abv, as its body is so light and refreshing. This beer is so subtle and drinkable and above all balanced; a truly incredible beer.

I think Guldenberg is an example of abbey-style beer of exceeding quality that is produced by neither an official Trappist brewery nor a certified Belgian Abbey brewery. A point Stan Hieronymus explores in his excellent book Brew Like a Monk is that many people feel that the quality of the Trappist Monastery beers have declined in recent years, partially as a result of the monasteries bowing to the pressures of technology and the marketplace, as well as the use of inferior ingredients. With this in mind it is interesting that De Ranke states their primary values as "The use of natural raw materials without using adjuncts or artificial means (and) working with traditional methods, without being blind for new technology, but only using these new technologies to improve quality and not to produce cheaper (beer)." Ironically, this sounds like the very principles the Trappist breweries were founded on and possibly have begun to stray from. Funny how things can come full circle. I would most highly reccomend Guldenberg, or any product by De Ranke for that matter, and this beer receives my highest rating.
Rating: Excellent

Victoria CAMRA home brewing competition

2011-06-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

The results for the CAMRA home brew contest in Victoria are in at last. It seems there were far more entries than expected (nearly 200) and thus judging took longer than originally planned. The results for all 14 categories are now final, but it appears the Best in Show winners and winners of the Phillips Showcase have not yet been decided, so stay tuned. The contest attracted attention from across the country and the ribbons were mostly dominated by members of some of the big homebrew clubs such as Vanbrewers, ALES, and the Cowtown Yeast Wranglers. I didn't recognise too many local names among the winners, but I did notice fellow beer blogger Ian Lloyd from left4beer won a silver in the Amber Lagers category, and local malter Mike Doehnel took the Gold for Belgian Ales. Congrats guys! It also came as a pleasant surprise that yours truly the Basement Brewer took home a pair of silver medals. The Half Pounder won for India Pale Ales and The Harvester for Belgian Ales. This is a real honour considering the amount of quality entries this contest received. Thanks to all the guys from CAMRA who worked hard to make this event happen, I promise to help out next year if I'm not fighting fire!

Review - Driftwood Spring Rite

2011-06-07T10:57:00.000-07:00

I apologise for the long delay since my last post, but all my attentions for the past couple of weeks have been focused on fighting the Slave Lake fire in Northern Alberta. I've finally got a few days off now and I'm back on the good ol' Island for a bit of r and r. One of the bonuses of getting down here is finally being able to try Driftwood's new concoction I've been hearing so much about, Spring Rite.

Spring Rite, is the second beer Driftwood has brewed using local malt, that is grown and malted right here on the Saanich Peninsula. It is a Belgian Abbey-style beer and uses candi sugar as one of its ingredients. If that isn't enough they've also added brettanomyces, a form of yeast sometimes used in Belgian and Belgian-styles ales that creates a tart character in beer. You`ve got to respect the spirit of adventure on this one.

Spring Rite pours a light, amber orange and has a peppery, floral hop bouquet that is complemented with a light Belgian yeast aroma. It has a nice peppery, spicy flavour that was reminiscent of Farmhand, Driftwood's regular saison. For it's abv of 7% it has a very light body and is quite drinkable, a quality imparted from the use of candi sugar and something very appropriate for an Abbey beer. The character imparted from the brett is still very subtle, imparting a very gentle tartness to the finish and it shouldn't scare you away from trying this beer if your taste buds are somewhat less adventurous. As I said, this beer is very drinkable.

If you haven't already tried it (and you probably have, I'm painfully behind the times on this one) give Spring Rite a go. These guys make great beer and are doing things no one else on the Island (and possibly the country) is willing to try. This beer was made using locally grown and malted grain, a fact that couldn`t have made it cheap to produce but still retails at around 7 dollars. Even better, try a couple bottles now and put a couple away to try a few months down the road to see how the brett has continued to increase its presence in the beer as time has gone on. Get out there and try Spring Rite, these guys need your support.
Rating: Very Good

Review - Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale 4.5% abv

2011-05-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales is one of an increasing number of breweries in America focusing on old world styles and old world methods with an American twist. Similar to US breweries such as Russian River, Upright, and Ommegang, Jolly Pumpkin uses brewing techniques that were almost unheard of on this side of the Atlantic not so long ago. Among these methods are open fermentation, allowing for the potential for wild yeasts to alter the character of the beer, long maturation in oak casks as opposed to stainless steel tanks to create complexity of flavour, and natural carbonation in the bottle.

Founded by Ron Jeffries (aka Captain Ron) in 2004, Jolly Pumpkin is dedicated to making "rustic country style beers", with the goal to balance the simple and the complex; the simplicity of ingredients and process, the complexity of flavour. It is this balance that for me sits at the heart of brewing as a whole. The contrast of the sweet malt and the bitter hop. The intrigue of flavour and satisfaction of mouthfeel compared with the refreshment of pure drinkability. The balance of science and art that is the essence of the brewing process itself. To my mind the beer that most embodies this balance is the farmhouse ale, or saison, which should balance all these factors into a harmonius whole.

Open Fermentation

Bam Biere Farmhouse Ale pours a brilliant and bright gold colour (despite the label that proclaims it "naturally cloudy") that is incredibly attractive, with an intense level of carbonation born from its secondary bottle fermentation (bubbles made in the bottle). Its aroma is spicy with a hint of fruit, and is subtle yet inviting. It has a light body, and a nice tartness that never becomes too intense. Balancing this is a mild hoppiness with a light floral character that carries into a long but delicate fruity aftertaste. It is a dry beer, but not as dry as some farmhouse beers, and this interacts well with its tart character, making it very enjoyable, but also easy to drink. This beer does exactly what I feel a farmhouse ale should, refreshing and satisfying, intriguing the tastebuds but never becoming hard to drink. Although I usually prefer this type of beer to be a bit more substantial, I can hardly fault it for its light body, especially considering its paltry 4.5% abv, which is almost impossible to believe considering its complexity. Bam Biere is a fantastic table beer and certainly deserves the bronze medal it won at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival, as well as its ranking as the 21st best beer in America by Men's Journal, and I would be at fault to give it anything but my top rating.
Rating: Excellent

Beer Scene in 100 Mile - Jake's Pub and Grill

2011-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

I'd like to begin my series of posts on the beer scene in 100 Mile House, where I am working for the summer, with the one and only Jake's Pub and Grill, located in the heart of downtown 100 Mile on highway 97. Jake's is a welcoming sort of place that is always
busy as the below picture of the bustling Saturday lunch rush clearly shows. Its drawn curtains that result in near perpetual darkness is nicely offset by the blinding streetlights that sit inexplicably in the centre of the bar. Adding to its ambience are the deeply stained 1970's style wall-to-wall carpeting that look like something out of a cheap hotel lobby in Las Vegas. Jake's is also a great place to watch the game as its wide-screen TV is only visible from one table in the bar, which cleverly has the lighting for the pool table placed directly in front of it.

A busy Saturday at Jake's

The great view of the TV

Accompanying its fine atmosphere is Jake's excellent cuisine that is well presented on its modern, artistically-rendered menu. With choices such as Liver, Bacon and Onions, the Big Ass burger, and Esgargots in Mushroom Caps, it is hard to go wrong.

Of course, this is a beer blog, and Jake's is not a place to be outdone when it comes to malted beverages. Their selection of taps, for starters, is superb. They have a wide selection of macro-brews for nearly all tastes; Budweiser, Canadian, Coors Light, MGD, Kokanee and Pilsner are all available. For the discerning drinker they also have the quality miro-brewed offerings of Alexander Keiths, Rickard's Red, and Rickard's Dark(which they are perpetually out of). As far as their bottle selection, when I asked the bartender, Buck, about what bottled beers they carried, he replied: "All of them, I think". I believe that says it all.

If you enjoy good food and good beer in a truly cosmopolitan atmosphere, then be sure to visit Jake's on your next trip through 100 Mile, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Buck, the friendly bartender

Vancouver Home Brewing Competition Results

2011-05-13T17:32:00.000-07:00

The results are in for the 2011 VanBrewer Awards and it looks like it was a hotly contested event. With a grand prize of $3000, plus having your beer brewed by Russell Brewing it received a lot of attention, with over 320 entries from all across the country.
Congratulations go out to Rick August from Regina Saskatchewan who took first and third overall. His Russian Imperial Stout took the Golden Stag award for Best in Show and will be brewed by Russell Brewing in the near future. Congrats also have to go out to Victoria's own Dave Shaykewich who took home a number of ribbons, including 2nd for Pilsner, 1st and 2nd for English Pale Ale, and 1st and 3rd for Scottish and Irish Ale. For his numerous top beers he received the Home Brewer of the Year award, nice work Dave! The only other person from the Island to hit the ribbons was yours truly, the Basement Brewer, with a 3rd place showing for my Saison du Cornwall in the Belgian and French Ale category. I'm definitely pleased as this was one of the most highly entered categories of the contest. Next up on the home brewing circuit is the Victoria Amateur Brewing Contest, put on by CAMRA, so stay tuned for news as this contest approaches later this month.

Review - Upright Brewing Six 6.7%abv

2011-05-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

Time for my first review from the bush. Before I get started I should probably mention there may be some limitations to my reviews now that my existence consists of working as a wildfire fighter and living in a van. It's entirely possible, for instance, that my glassware may not be as clean as would be ideal, so if I mention a beer's quickly collapsing head, take it with a grain of salt. If I start to talk about overpowering aromas of diesel fuel and wood smoke, well... it's probably not the beer's fault. With that being said, let's get onto the review.

Upright Brewing, as I've mentioned before, runs a pretty cool operation. Whether its open fermentations, highly unusual seasonals, or their great brewer's blog, I like these guys' style. Six is their rye beer which, like many of their brews, is made with saison yeast. As usual with their beers, and appropriately for a saison, this is a highly carbonated beer. The carbonation is not as extreme as I've experienced with other Upright beers I have tried, but this may be due to the yeast in this particular bottle having worked through less of the beer's fermentables, as Upright bottle conditions their beer and the yeast they use is a real monster (Non-beer geek translation - the bubbles are made in the bottle, so the carbonation can be a bit variable). The aroma has that great spicy, lightly fruity character that comes from this yeast that I've also used to brew some of my beers such as The Harvester and Saison du Cornwall. Somehow the aroma seems to anticipate the tart, dryness of beers made with it. Six pours an opaque, very dark brown that is almost muddy looking. It has a sharp, fruity entry that leads into flavours that go beyond tart, into the realm of sour. Its finish is very long with sour tastes lingering long on the palette. The high level of carbonation works well with the sour flavours contributing to a very pleasant mouthfeel. Six is somewhat less dry than many saisons, and its rye character quite understated, only detectable on the finish. This light flavour works surprisingly well with the sour notes of this beer. The extreme tartness will likely appeal to the fans of lambics, but I feel its flavour could use some more complexity, but maybe this is just my bias about how dark, relatively strong beers should taste. I also found Six somewhat hard to drink, and I had some trouble polishing off the bottle. The sourness of this beer really dominates its flavour and if this is something you enjoy, then you'll probably like this beer
Rating: Good

Basement Brewer takes a turn for the Hundred Mile

2011-05-07T14:43:00.000-07:00

100 Mile Fire Base

As much as I've enjoyed the off-season this year, all good things must come to an end. The weather is finally starting to warm and that means that time is at hand: fire season. It's time again to return to my job battling the blazes as a wildfire fighter stationed in the town of 100 Mile House, five hours north of Vancouver.

The base whiteboard. It's good to be back

Now for all of you who have never heard of 100 Mile, or have merely driven through it, (and I'm sure you're many) it's not exactly a cultural hotspot. For example, the talk of the town last summer was that a McDonald's might be opening in the near future, a rumour that sadly proved to be untrue. However, Hundo (as it is known to locals) is hardly a stagnant place, as the addition of a new traffic light this year proves, bringing the town's grand total to four. Despite this rapid progression, 100 Mile is not quite the beer town Victoria is. In part due to this, this blog will change somewhat until I return south in September. My homebrewing efforts will unfortunately be on hold until the Fall. There may also be some longer stretches without posts, especially if this fire year turns out to be as bad as the last two summers. I hope you'll stick with me through these changes, valued reader, as without you this blog would be nothing. I will continue with reviews and I have a good supply of new beers from my recent trip to Portland stashed in my van to make this happen (Did I mention I live in my van up here? Don't worry, I don't stay down by the river). For your enjoyment I will also be writing a series of "Beer Scene in 100 Mile" posts to fill the gaps, and to properly get across some of the quality of the 100 Mile experience. So until next time I hope you'll stick with me, and don't fret, Basement Breweries will be back in full brewing force before you know it.

The Van in a secret camping location.

Don't worry, I didn't forget the beer.

Beer, curry, and wasabi peas. Nice.

Review - Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout

2011-05-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

Southern Tier Brewing is not known for their mellow beers. They are purveyors of numerous "Imperial" beers, meaning usually more malt, more alcohol and more hops. Perhaps their most famous brew is their Unearthly Imperial India Pale Ale, a beer that is incredibly drinkable considering its staggering alcohol percentage. Continuing in this tradition is the Imperial Choklat Stout, made with actual bittersweet Belgian chocolate.

I was lucky enough to try a bottle after Lon, beer expert at The Strath, recommended it to me. For this one I would need a couple of confidants, so my buddies John and Kierin were good enough to sit down and help me drink it. As would be expected it is an impenetrable black colour and it pours with no head to speak of. Its aroma is of deep, rich chocolate with hints of caramel. It is filled with the scent of malted chocolate, reminiscent of a chocolate milkshake. I can't remember the last time the scent of a beer intrigued me so much, it was strong and endlessly complex. About this time Kierin piped up, "smells like maltesers!" Not to be outdone John chimed in as well, "its like the inside of a crunchy bar!"

The mouthfeel was thick, creamy and rich, almost silky in texture. Its flavour was permeated with chocolate, like drinking a chocolate malted."It tastes like toffee!" John said. "More like brownies!" Kierin replied. It's finish had a touch of higher alcohols, and a hint of sweetness, "like rum!" said Kierin. We all agreed that the only fault could be a bit of an alcohol finish that is somewhat lingering and drying, but as Kierin put it "thats being pretty damn picky!"

This beer is not exactly easy to drink, but it isn't supposed to be. Shared with two or three others, this is a perfect beer for enjoying after a meal or during a session of gentlemanly discussion, a beer to be sipped slowly and enjoyed. We all tried to guess at this beer's abv % and all guessed between 7 and 8 %. Wrong. This bad boy weighs in at 11% abv, and the only way I could have known that was from the way I felt the next morning. A fine beer.

Rating: Very Good

Trip to Portland aka "Beervana"

2011-04-27T17:28:00.000-07:00

My trip to Portland over the long weekend began with a ferry ride to Anacortes, Washington State, then a cruise south down the I-5. We stopped for diesel along the way at a place that appeared to not even be a town, just a gas station and convienience store on the side of the road. When I went inside to grab a drink I was blown away by the contents of the beer fridge. Sierra Nevada? New Belgium? Deschutes? All for under 10 bucks... in this place? Are you kidding me? Apparently not. Welcome to south of the border.

Our first night began with a stop at HUB and turned out to be a highlight of the trip. Hopworks Urban Brewing, or HUB, is a fully organic brewery that is the "dream brewpub" creation of owner and brewmaster Christian Ettinger. All the efforts he has taken to ensure it is as green as possible are definitely worth a read. Inside, it is a sight to behold. We started off the night with the impressive taster wheel making our way through all 6 regular offerings as well as 4 seasonal brews. Afterwards, I settled on a glass of the new Ace of Spades Imperial IPA. Despite its 9.5% abv and 100+ IBU's, it is incredibly easy to drink with a smooth bitterness and incredible hop flavour and aroma. Its easy to see how this beer won a gold medal at 2009's Great American Beer Festival. Incredibly, this beer is available in Victoria at the moment, as far as I know only at The Strath; get a bottle before its gone.

Ace of Spades Imperial IPA

After HUB we ventured on and found another brewpub, The Lucky Lab. Unfortunately, they were just closing, but the bartender advised we go a few blocks down to a place called The Green Dragon. "They have some beer on tap," he told us. He wasn't lying. The Green Dragon, a dark and menacing kind of joint, has two white boards hung from the ceiling, called "the front 20," and "the back 30." Ya you got that right, 50 beers on tap. They have only one keg of everything and when it runs out they switch it for something new. I love this city.

The next morning we rolled into a busy downtown breakfast spot where animated cooks shouted to one another over the general din of the restaurant. Looking over the menu I happened to glance at the drinks list, and did a double take. This place had more than 20 bottled beers! Dogfish Head 60 Minute! Are you kidding me! This is a breakfast restaurant! Despite the temptation I settled for a coffee. After breakfast we took to wandering around the city before resuming our brewpub crawl. On our way through the amazing Saturday market we came upon a stall selling beers from Rogue. There must have been 30 beers for sale right there in the market. That would never fly here, what's up with this province?

Returning to our pub crawl we managed to hit a number of spots including Bridgeport, The New Old Lompoc, and Rock Bottom Brewing. We finally tracked down Upright Brewing, one of my favourite breweries, only to find they were closed and had no brewpub to begin with. Good researching skills on my part. After a dinner of sushi we decided to mix it up by heading to a bar we had heard of called Bailey's Taproom. Located in downtown Portland, it was small and intimate and featured a mere 20 constantly rotating taps. I suppose it would have to do. You gotta love this town.

The New Old Lompoc

Tasters from Bridgeport

"The List" at Bailey's Taproom

Pliny the Elder and a good book

Before we had to sadly conclude our trip to the wellspring from which flows the beer of Cascadia, we made the trip out to a beer store we had heard of located in a suburb of east Portland. Belmont Station sounded like the stuff of legends, and it didn't

disappoint. With more than 1200 beers available it is a beer geek's wonderland. After wandering around for over an hour talking to the ridiculously knowledgeable staff and spending a ton of money I was ready for some refreshment. Convieniently, there is a small bar attached that has nearly twenty taps. As I sat down and scanned the menu I couldn't believe my eyes, they had Pliny the Elder on tap! Made by Russian River Brewing, Pliny the Elder has won multiple gold medals at both the Great American Beer Festival, and the World Beer Cup. Pliny is often credited with paving the way for the Imperial IPA, the biggest and boldest of all the hoppy beers. The rest of their beers were just as stellar, offering many one-off brews, some never made available in the bottle. As much as I would have liked to stay at Belmont all day there was a long road ahead so sadly we had to say goodbye to Portland and head north for home. Apart from spending the better part of an hour convincing the border guard the chunks in my beer were not cleverly disguised narcotics the trip back went smoothely and all my new beers made it back in one piece.

I think Victoria has some really good things going for it in the world of beer. We have 8 breweries now, 4 of them with on-site brewpubs. Although I wish Victoria's brewpubs were somewhat more experimental and willing to take risks, that is probably the topic for another post. What this trip to Portland really highlighted for me is the poverty of Victoria's bar-scene from the point of view of the beer drinker. Although a variety of local micro-brews are available in many Victoria pubs, there isn't a single bar that can approach a selection like St. Augustine's or the Alibi Room in Vancouver, never mind the taproom's of Portland. Now I've heard the arguments that we don't have the population to sustain a place like that, and I simply don't buy it. Every cask event I've attended in Victoria has been packed, the Great Canadian Beer Festival sells out now in a matter of minutes, and new events like The Vancouver Island Beer Festival have been highly succesfull. People in Victoria like beer. This is supposed to be the beer capital of Canada but if people from out of town asked me where the place was to go for a great draught beer selection, I'm not sure what I would say. Sometimes it seems like bars are afraid to take any sort of risk. Why is the beer from Surrey's Central City Brewing, Canada's 2010 Brewery of the Year, available only at the Beagle? I have talked to their beer rep and they would like to move into more bars in town but have met with opposition from local publicans. Why is Driftwood's Fat Tug, in my opinion the best IPA made on Vancouver Island, such a difficult beer to find on tap? The beer scene is exploding at the minute and Victoria does certainly not exist in a vacuum. If we want to keep our reputation as Canada's beer capital, then consumers have to demand better selection from local pubs, and publicans have to in turn be willing to serve a wider selection of beers that may be more unusual and expensive. Whoever is willing to take that risk may be rewarded by becoming the place to drink beer in Victoria, because as far as I can tell that place doesn't exist yet. Rant over.

PS Check out the list below of the beers I brought back from Portland aka "Beervana"

Three Creeks 5 Pine Porter
Houblon Chouffe Belgian IPA
Full Sail Imperial Porter
Russian River Redemption Blonde Ale
Russian River Damnation Strong Golden Ale
't Gaverhopke Extra Belgian Ale
Stone Cali-Belgie Belgian IPA
HUB Ace of Spades Imperial IPA
Upright Six
Upright Seven
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere
Laurelwood Workhorse IPA
De Ranke Hop Harvest 2010
Hair of the Dog Adam
Boulevard Tank 7 Saison
Jolly Pumpkin IO Saison
McChouffe Belgian Brown
Dupont Foret Organic Saison

Vancouver Home Brewing Competition 2011

2011-04-22T00:53:00.000-07:00

I've never entered a brewing competition before, but with both the Vancouver and Victoria competitions on the horizon I figured it was about time. The Vancouver brew-up is first with the deadline on April 27th, so I packed up some Basement Breweries beers and shipped them off to the big smoke. My main reason for entering is for the input I'll receive on my beers from qualified judges. I'm not so worried about the actual competition aspect of it, but I should probably mention the grand prize, as it is pretty sweet. The winners of each of the 23 categories will go on to compete for the Golden Stag Award. Apart from ridiculous bragging rights this award carries the honour of having your beer brewed by Russell Brewing in both bottle and on tap, as well as a $3000 cash prize! Next up is the Victoria Brewing contest where the winner gets their beer brewed by Phillips Brewing, but before I think about that, I'm off to Portland in the morning for a little "research" expedition to the beer capital of the universe. I guess life ain't so bad really.

Below is a list of the beers I entered:

The Harvester Belgian Saison
Beast of Burden Brown Porter
Disheveled Dwarf Belgian IPA
Saison du Cornwall
The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout
The Half Pounder Double IPA

Review - Elysian Bete Blanche Tripel - 7.5%abv

2011-04-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

If I owned a brewery, I'd probably want it to be a lot like Elysian Brewing. Based in Seattle, Elysian has been turning out amazing beer since 1996. The Wise ESB and The Immortal IPA are favourites of mine, and their unusual Avatar Jasmine IPA, made with actual jasmine flowers, is definitely worth a try. Not only do I love Elysian's beer, but their marketing is awesome too. Their branding revolves around mythology, the brewery's name itself referring to the Elysian Fields, an ancient Greek afterlife reserved for the heroic. Most of their beer names follow this trend, but not so with their Spring seasonal tripel, Bete Blanche. This beer's name seems to be a twist on the French expresion bete noir, meaning something dangerous or fearful.

Names aside, this beer is a brilliant bright gold, and pours with a fine, white head. It has a fruity aroma that is dominated by banana. This aroma carries straight into the flavour of spicy banana, that seems to permeate so many North American brewed Belgian-style beers. For what it is, this beer is very drinkable, especially considering it's 7.5% abv, and if you enjoy a banana dominated taste then you'll probably really like this beer. Personally, I have too many bad memories of not being able to get rid of the taste of the bubblegum/banana of a Rickard's White, to enjoy this flavour all that much, so I won't be buying it again.
Rating: Good

Brewday - Hop Treader India Red Ale

2011-04-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

The hat of the Hop Treader

When hops are processed nowadays they are kiln-dried and then stuffed into large cloth bags using hydraulic presses. It was not always so, however. A century ago hops were gathered and brought into an oast house, a multi-storied structure with a wood or coal-fired kiln at the bottom. The floors were perforated to allow the hops to dry, after which they were cooled and prepared for transportation. Enter the Hop Treader. Wearing a massive hat to keep hop particles out of his eyes, nose, and mouth, he would climb into a sack that reached above his head into which hops would be poured from above. The Hop Treader's job was to literally tread the hops into the sack, called a pocket, with his feet, pressing in as many as possible before the pocket was transported to market. It is to these hard working and little known labourers that this beer is dedicated as this is the third and last of my blue-collar series of beers.

I've never actually tried making a red ale before, but from what I've read, a small amount of roasted barley or black malt is the key to achieving the red colour. I also used a fairly large amount of Munich malt and smaller additions of crystal malts, both for colour and a bit of sweetness that is desirable in an IPA.

I went pretty hop-heavy on this beer (surprise, surprise). Bravo and Calypso hops were used for bittering, and a portion of these bittering hops I used for first wort hopping (see earlier post). For flavour I went with a combination of Calypso, Centennial, and Cascade. Hopefully this should make for great flavour between the pear, apple notes of the Calypsos, the floral character of the Centennials, and the citrusy flavour of the Cascades. I used the same hops for the aroma addition, but upped the Cascades as well as adding the zest from two Seville oranges to hopefully create a strong orangey citrus bouquet. Hopefully this will be a winner as there's nothing like a great IPA, even if it doesn't turn out red.

Geek Info

Method: All Grain
Target Original Gravity: 1.055   Actual Original Gravity: 1.053
Target Final Gravity: 1.008   Brewhouse Efficiency: 72%
Target Alcohol by Volume: 6.1%   Bitterness: 89.3 IBU
(based on actual OG)

Malt
6 lbs. Pale 2 row 48%
5 lbs. Munich 40%
12 oz. Crystal (60L) 6%
8 oz. Crystal (120L) 4%
2 oz. Black 1%

Hops (all pellets)
0.6 oz. Bravo 60 min.
0.6 oz. Calypso 60 min
0.5 oz. Cascade 20 min
0.5 oz. Calypso 20 min
0.5 oz. Centennisal 20 min
0.5 oz. Cascade 10 min
0.5 oz. Calypso 10 min

0.5 oz. Centennisal 10 min

1 oz. Cascade 5 min

0.25 oz. Calypso 5 min

0.25 oz. Centennial 5 min

1 oz. Cascade dry-hop

0.25 oz. Calypso dry-hop

0.25 oz. Centennial dry-hop

Other Ingredients
peel from 2 Seville oranges 5 min

Yeast

Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Review - Upright Brewing Four 4.5%abv

2011-04-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

The more I read about Upright Brewing, the more I like them. Its not just that they specialise in one of my favourite styles, the saison, but it certainly helps. It also helps that many of their beers are made using (home brew geek warning) Wyeast's 3711 French Saison yeast, a strain that I love, and that I've been using a lot lately. Most of all, these guys seem to be the perfect fusion of the production of the commercial brewer and the innovation and freedom of the home brewer. Their four year-round beers are all unique and hard to define. Their 8 seasonal beers feature an oyster stout made with real oysters, an obscure German wheat beer made with salt and two different bacteria-soured versions of their beer Four, one made with cherries and the other with chili peppers. If I ever was to work in a brewery, I think I would want it to be just like this one. Upright's brewpub will be a definite stop on my upcoming trip to Portland, but enough about that, onto the beer.

Four pours a bright gold colour, and soon forms a thick head of very large bubbles from its intense carbonation. One of the characteristics of the French Saison yeast is its incredible level of attenuation (ability to consume available sugars) and this process continues in the bottle, leading to inconsistent and sometimes extreme carbonation. This doesn't take away from this beer's enjoyment however, as a saison is traditionally a very bubbly beer. Four has a spicy and very yeasty aroma and has a certain brightness to its flavour that is very pleasing. It is dry and easy to drink, but remains interesting; this is a great table beer that I could drink all day. It would be the perfect beer to share with someone who's beer tastes you're unsure of or who doesn't usually drink craft beer, it is interesting and great to drink, but also sure to please just about any beer drinker.
Rating: Very Good

Brewday - The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout II

2011-04-11T18:07:00.000-07:00

She's a full!

Next up for another brew is The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout, which scored top marks at the Homebrew Shindig, along with The Half Pounder. The Beard is one of the biggest beers I've brewed, clocking in well over 9% abv last time around. I only wanted to tweak the recipe, as overall it was a damn good beer. I wouldn't mind reducing its sweetness slightly, so I went for a slightly cooler, longer mash to try to squeeze a bit more fermentable sugar out of the grain. I also upped the bittering hops slightly to bring it into better balance. It was kind of a pain cooking up the oats last time, so when I saw organic rolled oats in the new, neighbourhood hippy shop, I bought a bag. These can be used straight in the mash, without precooking.

As before, this beer really tested the limits of my equipment. Nearly 20 pounds of grain, and enough water to mash it in had to fit into my mash tun. Even though the last brew had been okay, I still wasn't sure it would all fit, but fit it did, with a couple of centimetres to spare at the top. Once all was said and done, I was blown away with my mash efficiency, my pre-boil OG (Original Gravity - a measure of the amount of sugar, effectively the potential alcohol content) was almost at my target for after the boil. Not sure if this was just from the longer mash or if my improving brew-ninja skills were a factor too (hopefully both). I ended up adding 2.5 litres of purified water to the wort and still ended up higher than my target. More Beard of Zeus is always good. I considered not adding water but with my goal of a FG (Final Gravity - the measure of the amount of sugar remaining in the beer after fermentation, this figure combined with the OG can be used to calculate final alcohol content) that is lower than the last batch, I was worried about pushing the alcohol percentage into the stratosphere and throwing off the beer's balance (plus causing blackouts somewhere down the road).

Now that this beer is behind me I've replenished my stocks of all the beers I wanted to brew again from the Homebrew Shindig and I can move onto something new. I'm thinking its time for a brand new IPA, maybe something red...

Brewday - The Harvester Belgian Saison II

2011-04-08T16:06:00.000-07:00

My mission to rebuild my homebrew stockpile after it was decimated at the Homebrew Shindig continues with a new batch of the Harvester Belgian Saison. I've pondered long and hard over how to change the recipe for this beer. (for all those of you who know me I'm sure you're shocked that I was agonising over the details of a beer recipe) At length I decided that the main thing I wanted to tweak was the aroma, so I zested a Seville orange and crushed some grains of paradise and threw these into the last few minutes of the boil. I also mashed slightly hotter to add some substance and hopefully take the edge off this beer's extreme dryness. I decided on a change to the grain bill as well, reducing the pilsner malt and upping the wheat malt. Upright Brewing's Four was the inspiration for this change, a simple saison I really enjoyed that uses a large amount of wheat to augment the barley in its recipe. I'll post my review of this fine beer in the near future.

The new Half Pounder, freshly dry-hopped

The brewday was a pretty busy affair as I had a few things happening. While the Harvester was on the go, I was able to transfer and dry-hop The Half Pounder, and I think this may be the best batch yet. It's a bit early to tell but the flavours of grapefruit and mandarin orange leapt out of this beer when I tasted it at transfer; I can't wait to try it again at bottling time. As if this wasn't enough, I decided to make my first yeast starter as well. (major beer geek warning for the remainder of this paragraph) Ya, its true, I've never made a starter before. I've always used the smack-packs for lower gravity beers (lower alcohol) and then harvested the yeast for reuse in higher grav brews. This is a great and hassle free system and I recommend it, but this time I needed a lot of yeast to make an Imperial Stout in the near future, and I was worried about the amount of yeast I had in the fridge, so I figured I'd try a starter. After consulting Ken the guru at Askim's Beer and Wine Emporium on Haultain, (go to this store by the way, Ken is the man, don't let his moustache scare you) I had a plan. I dispensed with malt extract and instead took the first cup and a half of runnings off the mash from the Harvester (the richest in sugar, and thus the most food for the yeast) to use for the starter. I boiled the runnings down to a cup to sterilise them and poured them into an opaque porcelain bottle fit with an airlock. After the yeast pack had swollen I poured it into the bottle, taking the utmost care to be sanitary as a yeast starter is one of the most susceptible things to infection that a brewer deals with. In a few hours, voila, the airlock was bubbling every few seconds and the starter was on its way, bringing the yeast population up to where I would need it for the stout. All three tasks finished, my brew day was at an end, time for dinner, hockey, and a beer. Man, I wish I didn't have to go back to work next month.

Up Next: The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout II

Seville orange and grains of paradise

Boiling up the runnings

Tad da! All done and bubbbling away

Tasting Notes from Basement Breweries

2011-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Now that the Hombrew Shindig is in the books I've had time to look at everyone's comments and general reaction toward many of my beers. In addition, I've been able to sit down with each beer available at the tasting and with the help of other people's comments, make my own decisions on how to alter, or not alter their recipes in the future. The following goes over all the beers from the Shindig and the direction I'd like to take them in.

Overcast Island Ale - I think this beer is a big improvement over its previous incarnation, much of the candy-like sweetness that plagued the original batch is gone. Indeed, of all the partial-mashes I've made (combination of grain and malt extract) this one probably has the least residual sweetness. My main problem with this beer was the amount of time it took to make, the lager yeast took months to finish and then many weeks more to finish carbonating. For the limited lager characteristics it imparted, I'd probably go with an ale yeast next time to speed up the process. As with all the other partial-mash beers I've made I'd like to see how this one came out done in an all-grain brew. Although this beer performs better than many other beers I've done with malt extract, it still has a certain one-dimensional character to its malt that could be improved. I like this beer's bitter finish and steam beer-like hops and if I made this again I wouldn't change them, just apply them to an all-grain recipe.

Rye Revival Roggenbier - More so than with the Overcast Island Ale this beer really seems to suffer from its employ of malt extract. Its residual sweetness and lack of complexity are perfect examples of why I'm moving away from this style of beer making. If I did make this beer again I would also increase the amount of rye in its recipe, maybe even doubling it, as I found the spicy character was much too subtle. In fact, if I made another rye beer I would be tempted to completely shift gears and brew a rye IPA. The success of Phillips Brewing's Krypton Rye PA, the star of the Hop Box mixer pack, goes to show how awesome a rye IPA can be.

The Harvester Belgian Saison - This beer finished a lowly 7th place at the beer tasting, the lowest of the all-grain beers available. I was surprised by this as it seemed to be received quite well and a number of people came back repeatedly for more. Much of its lowly placing I attribute to its nature as a simple easy-drinking saison; it was the extreme and the unusual that stole peoples hearts. Nonetheless, I would like to make this beer again and there are some changes I feel that could improve it. I felt this beer's dryness was too much and had planned to add some crystal malt in the next batch, but friends of mine have successfully convinced me otherwise. Crystal malt is probably not quite subtle enough for this beer anyways, although perhaps a slightly warmer mash temperature would take the edge off its dryness. I like this beer's lager like drinkability and don't want to mess with it too much, but its aroma seemed a little plain, with just a hint of frutiness. To add complexity I think some light spice additions and the zest of a Seville orange will get me right where I want to be.

Woodsplitter Espresso Stout - This beer is unusual in that I preferred its earlier incarnation to it present one. The previous batch had its beans steeped and added to the secondary, which gave it a light espresso finish that didn't interfere with the smooth, dry flavour of the stout. For the current batch the beans were put straight into the primary, which brought the coffee flavour right upfront and led to too much roasted astringency between the beans and the roasted barley. I've no plans to brew this again in the near future, but if I did I would return to the earlier recipe and possibly add some oats to improve this beer's mouthfeel.

Frontiersman Pale Ale - I already covered the changes to this beer in my previous post on the new batch of this brew. In summary, although its hoppy character made it successful as a partial-mash I thought it could be improved as an all-grain. Its newest version also has more front end hops to increase its citrusy Northwest hop character and uses more dry-hops to intensify its aroma.

Saison du Cornwall - This unusual beer featuring rosemary, thyme, parsley, and sage was a surprising hit at the tasting. Nonetheless, I would like to scale back the herbs in its recipe by half to keep them more restrained, similar to the Saison du Buff. Additionally, despite adding only the barest amount of rosemary, it was still the most prominent herb, and I would consider changing it for cilantro, as I believe this would be an excellent addition to this unique beer.

Beast of Burden Brown Porter - I'm not sure exactly what to say about this beer, another surprise hit at the party. Dave from Beer in BC said it "tastes like toasted tootsie rolls," which pretty much sums it up. An unusual beer that I'm not sure I'd brew again, but it was unlike any beer I've had before so I'm definitely glad I made it.

The Half Pounder Double IPA - I subscribe to the theory, if it ain't broke don't fix it. About the only negative comment I received was "too hoppy," which is really kind of the idea here. One friend of mine asked me if I could make an entire batch of this at his house, for him to drink this summer. Sorry John, the recipe remains a secret, you'll have to wait. I've just made a new batch of The Pounder, and the recipe stayed the same with the exception of some of the bittering hops being used for first wort hopping.

The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout - This is another beer I'm pretty happy with, and its score at the tasting reflected that, tying the Half Pounder for first place. Nonetheless, I still feel an increase in bitterness would help perfect this beer's balance and a slight reduction in carbonation would allow full enjoyment of its complex malt character. Look for a new batch of The Beard in the very near future.

Brewday - New Batch of Half Pounder

2011-04-06T00:29:00.000-07:00

The hops for The Pounder

I just wanted to throw up a quick post about my latest brew, a new batch of The Half Pounder. Im pretty happy with this beer, and its not a recipe I want to tinker with too much. Basement Breweries recent Tasting Shindig confirmed this as The Half Pounder took top spot in the voting, tied with the Beard of Zeus. The party is actually a big reason for the newest batch of The Pounder, as due to its popularity that evening, supplies are running very short. One change I did make was using some of the bittering hops for first wort hopping, a technique I used once previously where some hops are added to the brewpot just as the sparge begins, which seals the hop flavour into the finished beer. Other than that its the same recipe of yet another batch of the beer I just can't make enough of. Here's to hops everyone.

The Sparge

Guest Reviewer - Beer in BC rates Pretty Things Jack D'Or

2011-04-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce a guest reviewer today, Dave from Beer in BC, another local blogger who writes about our burgeoning craft beer scene. When I think of a beer blogger, I imagine a self-righteous prick, who likes nothing better than sticking his nose in the air and the sound of his own voice. (maybe I'm just imagining myself?) Whatever the case Dave doesn't fit this mold. A man of few words who spends much of his days demolishing buildings, the first time I met Dave he told me a can of beer is just as good as a bottle. Definitely not your typical beer geek. He was kind enough to put together the following review of Pretty Things Jack D'Or, and if you want to read my review of this unusual beer, you can read it on Beer in BC. All your's Dave.

Pretty Things is one of the few consistent breweries I've encountered. Driftwood would be a local example of this. Every beer turns to be an enjoyable experience, and you get the feeling that they're flying by the seat of their pants when they're brewing up some of these beers. It must be gypsy magic. They are self-proclaimed gypsy brewers operating without having a physical brewery of their own after all.

Jack D'Or is billed as a 'saison american.' One thing you quickly learn when you get into beer is that any time a beer is billed as "American" style it will be a hoppy beer. Usually outrageously so. You could almost say these new Belgian IPAs that are starting to prevail are just American tripels. That's another story for another time. This American saison story time.

Aromas of citrus, spicy grapefruit with a quiet undertone of earthiness and phenolic yeast. This all switches up on the taste. Hop dominance increases with very earthy hops coming in hard followed by a tangy marmalade hop flavour and to round it out a bit of general grain flavour. All of this leads to a tangy bitter finish.

Saison American for sure. Gypsy magic, most definitely.

Rating: Good

Style: American Saison

ABV: 6.4%

Serving Temp: 8-10ºC

Website: http://www.prettythingsbeertoday.com/site/

BCL: n/a

Review - Driftwood Naughty Hildegard Extra Special Bitter

2011-04-03T23:31:00.000-07:00

The latest seasonal release from Driftwood Brewing, the popular Naughty Hildegard, hit stores this week and in some cases, quickly sold out. It is named for the 12th century Benedictine nun and abbess Hildegard von Bingen, who was famous for being a herbalist, mystic, musician, and natural healer. Hildegard's connection to beer comes from her writings, which contain the earliest known reference to the use of hops in beer, "(hops) when put in beer, stops putrification and lends longer durability."

The extra special bitter, or ESB, has always been a style that has confused me. The difference between it and an English IPA seems to be small. As far as I can tell from looking at the official style guidelines, the main difference is that an English IPA tends to have more finishing hops and an ESB more of a caramel or fruity character; if anyone can further enlighten me feel free to write and let me know. Perhaps it's partially a marketing thing, the idea of an English IPA may make a hop lover think boring, (sorry Moon Under Water) an ESB (with a picture on the label of a saucy nun holding a shwack of hops in her skirt) sounds exotic, and satisfying.

Hildegard von Bingen

This version of Naughty seems to be going for a more traditional approach, that according to Driftwood Brewing's website has "a decidedly English hop character this year." In the glass it is a bright and beautiful shade of deep red amber. Its aroma is pleasing to the hop head with a distinct bouquet of floral hops. The entry is filled with the taste of very green and floral hops that blend into a grassy hop flavour. This flavour in turn blends into a nicely bitter finish. Overall, for a hop lover this is a great drinking beer with a nice malt backbone for balance and if this sounds up your alley, I would recommend it highly.
Rating: Very Good

PS If this is a beer that really does it for you, why not attend one of the upcoming cask events featuring this fine brew? The Beagle in Cook Street Village will tap their cask Friday, April 8th at 5 o'clock. On Saturday the 9th, there will be a cask at the Strath on Douglas street; she starts flowing at 3 o'clock. I'll be at the Strath on Saturday, and if you've not attended a cask event before you should check it out, it's definitely a good time.

Brewday - Frontiersman Pale Ale (All-Grain)

2011-03-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

The Frontiersman has been one of my favourite beers since the first time I brewed it and thus I've never really toyed with the recipe too much. At my recent Tasting Shindig it received a lot of good comments but only placed in a tie for fifth after the scores were tallied. I mostly chalked this up to the fact it is more of a drinking beer, the beers that placed higher were all extreme and unusual, which is the kind of thing that will probably stand out at a non-vertical tasting. (a tasting that features many different styles) Nonetheless, I still wasn't completely satisfied with this beer and this time I wanted to make some bigger changes.

I've always brewed the Frontiersman as a partial mash, a brewing technique that combines grain brewing with the use of malt extract. I've found that partial mashes seem to be the most successful when used to make hoppier beers. When it's used for beers that showcase malt it seems the extract twang and lack of complexity show through to a much greater degree, something I found in previous beers of mine. The Frontiersman is a Northwest pale ale and thus its balance leans more towards hops, a fact that contributes to its success when brewed with a partial. However, the extract flavour and residual sweetness is still definitely there and so I decided to try brewing an all-grain version. Because I have found that extract provides a slightly darker colour than pale 2-row malt, I increased the amount of crystal malt and included some dark crystal, both for colour and complexity of flavour. I also included more front end Cascade hops, as I wanted a bit more citrus hop flavour and aroma, and I will increase the amount of dry-hops used to round out its citrusy bouquet. Although I was (as usual) tempted to increase the bitterness I held off as I didn't want to start turning this into an IPA. I'm intrigued to see if this will stand up to its earlier incarnations when the time comes for a taste test.

Geek Info

Method: All-Grain
Target Original Gravity: 1.054 Actual Original Gravity: 1.056
Target Final Gravity: 1.010 Brewhouse Efficiency: 72%
Target Alcohol by Volume: 6.2% Bitterness: 43.1 IBUs
(based on actual OG)

Malt
12 lbs pale 2-row 94%

The Frontiersman

8 oz. Crystal Malt (60 L) 8%
4 oz. Crystal Malt (120 L) 4%

Hops
2 oz. Cascade (whole cone) 60 mins
0.5 oz. Perle (whole cone) 15 mins
1.5 oz. Cascade (whole cone) 3 mins
1 oz Cascade (pellets) dry-hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Other
1 tsp. Irish Moss 10 mins

Basement Breweries Homebrew Shindig

2011-03-28T16:13:00.000-07:00

Another tasting shindig at Basement Breweries is in the books and we had a great turnout this time around. After the success of last year's tasting party I was looking forward to holding another gathering and putting up my new beers for general review. This time there were nine beers to try ranging from an easy drinking saison to a heavy-duty Imperial stout. We got more organised about it and printed up scoring cards so everyone could rate the beers and leave comments on their impressions. Many thanks go out to all those who helped make this night come together.

The scores from the judging were incredibly close and the results held some surprises for me. The top spot taken by The Half Pounder and The Beard of Zeus was no surprise, but the high marks received by the Saison du Cornwall and the Beast of Burden were a bit unexpected. The extreme and unusual beers seemed to steal the show leaving the drinking beers behind. The following is the full list after all the points were tallied. Thanks to everyone who came out to this event and gave me great feedback on the beers, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone next time.

Basement Breweries Tasting Scores (ascending order)

9th Place - Overcast Island Ale 162 points
sample comments - Great all around beer. Love the "California Common"
   and hops style
   - Sweet apple
   - Tad on the sweet side

8th Place - Rye Revival Roggenbier 165 points
sample comments - Like a whisky shot, strong at 1st and then good earthy
   flavour
   - Lacking in punch and flavour. I'd go for more rye malt
   - Nice crisp finish

7th Place - The Harvester Belgian Saison 166 points
sample comments - Early pm sunny day brew, champagne like. I could
   drink a lot of this
   - Surprised (happily) Nice clean finish
   - Could drink all day

5th Place (Tie) - Woodsplitter Espresso Stout 169 points
sample comments - The roasted flavours really jump out
   - I'd go easier on the espresso, but not much.
   - Such great palette impact with not much alcohol

5th Place (Tie) - Frontiersman Pale Ale 169 points
sample comments - Great hop flavour. Totally drinkable for 6.4%. Nice body
   - Excellent Pale Ale. Not my favourite style but this is
   good, right hops/malt balance
   - Nice homage to Cascadia

4th place - Saison du Cornwall 172 points
sample comments - Peppery. I can taste the herbs, awesome refreshment
   - I like the herb/spice, but a bit less would be nice
   - Tasty, but couldn't drink a whole pint

3rd place - Beast of Burden Brown Porter 178 points
sample comments - I really love this style. Does anyone do a commercial
   offering? Bonus points for doing this style
   - Not into the licorice taste so much
   - Like rich flavours of homemade candy, carmelised
   sugar

1st place (Tie) - The Half Pounder 190 points
sample comments - Gorgeous floral nose; nice and sharp on tongue;
   wonderful colour
   - Oh my God!! Like a casked double IPA. Hoppy!
   - This is excellent. Fully competitive with commercial
   offerings

1st place (Tie) - The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout 190 points
sample comments - Zounds, I feel the thunder!
   - Big, thick n' chewy. Think it needs a tad more hops
   - Great evening beer

Check in with Basement Breweries again soon when I'll post my personal tasting notes for these beers and my plans for recipe changes based on this and all the awesome feedback from the shindig.

Brewday - Disheveled Dwarf Belgian IPA

2011-03-24T16:20:00.000-07:00

I was pretty excited as I began my preparations to brew my first Belgian IPA, the Disheveled Dwarf. This is still a developing style and has yet to be precisely defined, and this is part of the excitement of making a beer like this, you are helping to shape its future. Generally, most Belgian IPAs feature Belgian-style malt with North American hops fermented with a Belgian yeast. The result is a beer that is often dry and bitter, usually high in alcohol, and has flavours that can be earthy, floral, fruity, citrusy, and spicy. When done well it can be a cornucopia of complex, well balanced flavours; when done poorly it can be a complicated mess.

The style is very much a North American innovation, a classic example of our side of the Atlantic taking European conventions and altering them to our own purposes. Thus, most Belgian IPAs come from North America, with some notable exceptions, in particular Houblon Chouffe from the Belgian brewery La Chouffe, a beer that although I have not tried, is said by many to rule the style. The main inspiration for my beer comes from a local version, Phillips Brewing's Hoperation that I reviewed previously. This is one of my favourite beers at the moment and I planned to model much of my beer on what I liked about it. Hoperation is both bitter and dry, and although it does have an element of citrusy grapefruit to its finish, I felt that much of its success comes from the spiciness of its hops on the front end. (the flavours of the entry and mid-taste, before the aftertaste) These spicy hops seem to enhance the natural spiciness of the Belgian yeast, whereas I believe strong citrus flavours would merely cover them up. In addition the nose is not clouded by strong hops but allows the Belgian fruit aroma to come through. Searching the internet for guidance showed me that as always in brewing (and anything I suppose) the path to success is hotly debated, but it is my feeling that one of the keys to this style is using spicy and fruity hops for the late additions to enhance the natural flavours created by the Belgian yeast. At least I hope so.

First Wort Hopping

When I first drew up plans for this beer I was aiming for something in the 7% abv range but after buying my ingredients and thinking about the amount of hops I wanted to unleash I realised that it might need more malt for balance. I was waiting at the brew shop when they opened on my brewday and quickly bought two more pounds of pilsner malt to go for around an 8% abv. I would use high alpha Bravo and Columbus hops for bittering, and the late additions would involve tons of Saaz hops for spiciness and the amazing new Calypso hops to lend a fruity character. I decided not to use any hops after the last 5 minutes of the boil nor do any dry-hopping, to allow the aromas of the yeast to come through. I would also try a new technique for imparting hop flavour known as first wort hopping. This is actually an old method that was recently rediscovered, and involves throwing some of the bittering hops into the kettle as the first runnings from the mash enter it. I have read many rave reviews of this technique, as apparently this mysteriously fixes an intense hop flavour into the beer. I decided on using a saison yeast that I had left from a previous batch, my only concern was the extreme attenuation (ability of yeast to consume available sugar) of this yeast. Although I wanted a dry beer I was afraid it might make it too dry as the gravity of a beer I used it for came all the way down to 1.000! To counter this I added just over half a pound of very light crystal malt that would hopefully leave enough residual sweetness to prevent this beer from being mouth puckeringly dry. As a final addition I would use a small amount of grains of paradise to add a spicy pepper taste and help bring out the other flavours.

The brewday went smoothly, the only hitch being that my efficiency was a little better than I expected, and thus this beer could reach as high as 8.5% abv. That's not really a bad thing as it can probably use all the malt it can get to balance the intense amount of hops I added. I'll definitely be waiting with bated breath as this beer gets closer to being ready to drink.

Geek Info

Method: All Grain
Target Original Gravity: 1.065 Actual Original Gravity: 1.068
Target Final Gravity: 1.006 Brewhouse efficiency: 71%
Target Alcohol by Volume: 8.4% abv Bitterness: 84.8 IBUs
(based on actual og)

Malt
10 lbs. Pilsner Malt 64%
3 lbs. Vienna Malt 19%
1 lb. Aromatic Malt 6%
1 lb. Wheat Malt 6%
10 oz. Crystal Malt (10 L) 4%

Hops
1 oz Columbus (pellets) 12.6 aa 60 mins
(0.2 oz. of this used for first wort hopping)
0.5 oz. Bravo (pellets) 14.2 aa 60 mins
(0.1 oz. of this used for first wort hopping)
2 oz. Saaz (pellets) 5.8 aa 20 mins
0.5 oz. Calypso (pellets) 12.8 aa 20 mins
2 oz. Saaz (pellets) 5.8 aa 10 mins
0.5 oz. Calypso (pellets) 12.8 aa 10 mins
2 oz. Saaz (pellets) 5.8aa 5 mins
0.5 oz. Calypso (pellets) 12.8 aa 5 mins

Yeast
Wyeast 3711 French Saison

Other
1 tsp. Irish Moss 10 mins
1/2 tsp. Grains of Paradise 5 mins

Review - Upright Brewing Five

2011-03-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

Upright Brewing, located in Portland, Oregon, is without a doubt an unconventional brewery. It specializes in farmhouse beers that it bottles in 750 ml wine-style bottles, uses simple numerical names for its products, and employs techniques such as open fermentation in making its beer.

Five, Upright's hoppy beer, is no exception to this spirit of uniqueness. It is a farmhouse beer that uses a French saison yeast and features heavy additions of three hop varieties, creating a product almost like a saison IPA. Adding to its unique nature it also contains added xanthohumol, a compound found in hops, that studies suggest may prevent certain forms of cancer. As hoppy beers and saisons are two of my favourite types of beer I was very excited to give this a try.

This beer is the orangey-gold colour that is typical of many farmhouse beers and is ridiculously carbonated, it took ages just to settle down enough to drink. Its head is extremely thick and long-lasting and has an unusual aroma, almost sweet and yeast-like in character. Five enters with a light sweet fruitiness that perversely moves into an almost champagne-like bone dryness. A saison is typically a highly carbonated beer but this was absurd, it was so bubbly that much of the flavour was covered up. One flavour that came through was the taste of unusually potent floral hops that carried through into a strong and long lasting bitter finish that was the most enjoyable aspect of this beer.

I was really excited by this beer, a fact that made the dissapointment that much worse. I respect the creativity and spirit of adventure that led to its creation but I felt it just didn't work, it was just a bit too unusual to be pleasant to drink. However, I do look forward to trying other beers from Upright Brewing as they are likely one of the most experimental breweries out there today.
Rating: Drinkable

Spinnakers Spring Firkin Festival

2011-03-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

My last outing to a beer festival, the Island Beer Fest, was memorable for all the wrong reasons so I was hopeful the latest cask festival at Spinnakers would be a big improvement. At $35 dollars a ticket ($30 for CAMRA members) it wasn't cheap, but when it comes to beer events, I rarely take much convincing.

The festival was held in the upstairs taproom of Spinnakers' picturesque pub on the inner harbour and featured 13 cask beers from 11 different breweries located primarily on the Island and the Lower Mainland. The event was busy, but not to the point of being uncomfortable and featured a laid-back crowd of fairly serious beer drinkers. It was held between 11:30am and 5pm, which helped promote an atmosphere more centered on beer tasting than quaffing huge quantities (not that I'm against this of course). Unfortunately, few brewers themselves were present, and there was occasionally a lack of informed personnel at the tables, but overall the crew pouring the beers were happy and capable of answering questions regarding the beers.

Many of the casks offered were one-off brews that couldn't be tried anywhere else and the ones available in the liquor store were still special beers. The one major exception to this was Lighthouse Brewing's beer, that was supposed to be an Imperial Pilsner, but wasn't ready in time. Instead, they took their Riptide Pale Ale, added some flowers to it two days before (which added virtually nothing to the beer) and offered up that instead. This was by far the weakest offering of the festival. However, this was the only big disappointment and although one beer didn't stand out for me, almost all were delicious and interesting. The Big River Brewpub's Pink Grapefruit IPA worked well, Central City's IPA was a winner as always, and R & B Brewing's bizarre bacon infused Dark Snout Oatmeal Stout was surprisingly drinkable. (But didn't really taste like bacon)

My main criticism of this festival has to be its price. For your $35 you receive just 3 samples and extras cost $1. With only 13 beers to choose from this is highly expensive and seems to me to be taking advantage of the strong community of beer aficionados in Victoria who would probably pay just about anything to attend this event. Overall however, this event was great. The crowd was relaxed and social, the location was intimate and pleasant and the beers were well worth trying. If you want to try new and interesting beers in a great environment, I would definitely recommend attending one of these events in the near future as they are fortunately held several times a year.

Review - Green Flash Brewing Imperial IPA

2011-03-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

The Green Flash Brewing Co. is known for their big beers, and this one is no exception. With 101 IBU's (International Bitterness Units), 9.4% abv and the word Imperial printed in huge letters on the bottle, this is clearly not a session beer. I'm a fan of their West Coast IPA so I was excited to try this bigger, bolder brew.

This beer is somewhat cloudy with a nearly saison-like orangey gold hue and a creamy head. Its aroma is a nicely complex mixture of earthy, fruity, and citrus hops. Its has an intense flavour of pungently earthy hops with citrus notes. This quickly blends into an intensely bitter finish that showcases every bit of this beer's 101 IBU's. Although I found the finish to be somewhat harsh I definitely enjoyed this beer; its earthy hop character made for a refreshing change from the predominant grapefruit flavour of many North American IPA's. If you love hop flavour and bitterness as well as crushing amounts of alcohol (as I do), then this beer is probably for you.
Rating: Very Good

Review - Howe Sound Total Eclipse of the Hop

2011-03-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

I have fond memories surrounding the beers from Howe Sound Brewing, one of the originators of the local micro-brew movement, located in Squamish. Some of these are from visits to their fine brew-pub, but mainly they revolve around visits to the liquor store in 100 Mile House. 100 Mile is a small town in the interior of BC that many people have never heard of, and few of those who have ever found reason to stop there. It is where I have spent much of the last three summers stationed as a wildfire fighter. I'll say it now, 100 Mile is no Victoria. In regards to beer this means that domestic lager is the norm, and anything outside the norm... well, let's just say they don't much like those sorts of things up there.
Thus, when I discovered the local liquor store (which closes at 6 by the way) actually carried Howe Sound's Devil's Elbow IPA, it was like a chorus of angels had broken into song right there under the florescent lights. Now some friends of mine have said how little they like Howe Sound's brews and that the Devil's Elbow is sub-par. This may be true, I honestly can't seem to separate it from the memory of all those domestic lagers surrounding it on the shelves, and by comparison, it seemed magic.

On a recent trip to Cook Street Village Liquor I saw the new Imperial IPA from Howe Sound was available, so I took this opportunity to try it in a more competitive environment than 100 Mile can provide. This Imperial IPA, which goes by the wordy title of Total Eclipse of the Hop weighs in at a hefty 8% abv and comes in the same 1 litre swing-top bottles that all Howe Sound's beers are packaged in. It is a brilliantly clear, nearly reddish dark amber colour, and has a thick, nicely uneven head that is very long-lasting. Its aroma is surprisingly malty with only a light hop character to it. The flavour of this beer is overwhelmed by the presence of extremely grassy hops. It has a fairly bitter finish but this also carries the taste of more strong grass flavours. I really didn't enjoy this beer very much, it was too much like drinking a freshly cut lawn, but if you like that kind of thing, then you'd probably like this beer.
Rating: Drinkable

Review - Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye

2011-03-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

I normally wouldn't buy a beer from the Bear Republic, a brewery located in Healdsburg, California. Last year they filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against the Red Racer brand from the award-winning Central City Brewing located in Surrey, BC. Their claim was that Red Racer infringed on copyrights of two of their products, Racer 5 IPA and Red Rocket Ale. This highly frivolous claim, was reminiscent of the ridiculous lawsuit filed against Phillips Brewing by the unscrupulous Red Truck Brewing Co. of North Vancouver. Fortunately, a US judge denied Bear Republic's motion for an injunction last June.

As I prepared for a bottling session, however, my girlfriend arrived to help me and presented me with a bottle of the Bear Republic's Rye PA, to enjoy while bottling. I'm not one to let politics prevent me from trying a new beer, so we rolled up our sleeves and cracked the Hop Rod.

Similar to Phillip's Krypton, the Hot Rod is a Rye PA, or an IPA made with malted rye. It contains 18% rye, which is not an overly large amount of the grain to have in a beer, and I would guess this is near the same amount contained in the Krypton. Somewhat unusually for an IPA, this beer is a beautiful, dark brown colour with ruby highlights throughout. Its aroma isn't overly strong with a light bouquet of citrus hops. The flavour is of grapefruity hops balanced with rich malt that has a nice spiciness from the rye. At 8% abv this beer has a slight alcohol presence but it is not too much and actually adds a pleasing sensation in the mouth. It has a long and bitter finish that seems to lack that characteristic rye spiciness, possibly because the strong bittering hops mask this flavour.

I may not be a fan of the way Bear Brewing conducts itself, particularly in regards to small BC breweries that are the furthest thing from being a threat, but I do like this beer and would definitely recommend it.
Rating: Very Good

Brewday - Beast of Burden Brown Porter II

2011-03-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

My motive for a new brown porter came from the successes, and the failures, of my last batch. The first incarnation of the Beast of Burden was interesting and very drinkable for a darker beer, but it lacked complexity and body, likely a symptom of the malt extract in its recipe. This time I would brew an all-grain version in an effort to make up for some of these shortcomings.

My inspiration for this beer, other than my love of dark session beers, was the porters of the 18th century. During this age brown malt came into general use in London which led to the spread of many brown ales and eventually the birth of porters. Brown malt is quite old-fashioned, and fell into obscurity after the invention of black patent, which allowed brewers to achieve the dark colour necessary for porters far more cheaply. It gives beer a wonderful toasted character and can be used in quantity to achieve a complexity of flavour that a smaller amount of darker malt wont be able to. To this I would add biscuit malt to add some nutty flavour and steel-cut oats that I had toasted prior to brewing, for better mouth-feel and to expand on the theme of a deeply toasty, brown porter. Finally I would mash it quite hot, around 70 degrees Celsius, in order to give the beer some of the body that I felt was lacking in the last batch.

I'll write again once this beer is ready and hopefully will do a taste comparison between this batch and the first Beast of Burden Brown Porter. (If there's any left by then that is)

Geek Info

Method
All-grain

Malt
3.5 lbs. British 2-row
3.5 lbs. Brown malt
3.5 lbs. Biscuit malt
1 lb. Steel-cut oats (toasted for 1hr 15min at 350 F)
2 oz. Chocolate malt

Hops
2 oz. Fuggles (pellets) 60 mins - 9.6 HBU
0.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (pellets) 20 mins
0.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (pellets) 5 mins

Yeast
Wyeast 1028 London Ale

OG: 1.044
Target FG: 1.013
Target abv: 4.2%

Brewday - The Philosopher's Stone Barleywine

2011-03-08T15:54:00.000-08:00

Attempting a barleywine, an ale that is often upwards of 10% abv, is something I've long wanted to try. Until now I've always gotten sidetracked by other styles and other recipes, and truthfully, the challenge of brewing a beer of such high gravity held me back. When a friend of mine surprised me with a gift of a hefty chunk of BC homegrown "special hops" in the name of experimental brewing, I knew the time was at hand. The Philosopher's Stone Barleywine was underway.

The Philosopher's Stone would be modeled on the famous Brain Death Barleywine, and thus an extra high alcohol content would be the key to the success of this beer, as it would allow the unique character of the "special hops" to shine through. I had made high gravity beers before, but never one to the strength required for the Philospher's Stone. In order to achieve the truly epic alcohol content necessary, I would employ a technique known as the doble-doble. In use since Elizabethan times, this method has been banned periodically due to both the potency of the product it creates and the enormous amounts of grain involved. It is essentially doing two mashes to brew one beer. After the first mash is completed, the runoff is collected, heated back to striking temperature, and then used to mash a second lot of grain. This concentrates the wort into a thing of extreme potency.

The next step would be the thing that would really set The Philosopher's Stone apart from other beers. Once primary fermentation was complete (which took an incredible 7 days despite pitching an enormous amount of yeast) the "special hops" were taken and steeped in hot water and then rinsed to remove chlorophylls, tannins and other undesirable chemicals. This process would cleanse much of the unwanted flavours but leave behind the special properties that are only soluble in alcohol. This is where The Philosopher's Stone's high alcohol content comes in. After the steeping, the "special hops" were funneled into the secondary and The Stone, already sitting at a whopping 12% abv, was racked on top. Here, so the theory goes, the unique character will be absorbed by the alcohol into the brew before it is bottled some time down the road. We will have to wait and see how successful this experiment was.

Geek Info

Method
Doble-Doble (grains below divided into 2 separate mashes)

Malt
20 lbs 2-row Pale Malt
2 lbs Biscuit Malt
1 oz. Black Patent
6 lbs Liquid Malt Extract (added due to low efficiency)

Hops
2 oz East Kent Goldings (pellets) 90 mins
1.5 oz. Northern Brewer (pellets) 90 mins - 24 HBU
1.5 oz. East Kent Goldings (pellets) 30 mins
1 oz. Northen Brewer (pellets) 30 mins
8 oz. Special Hops dry-hop

Yeast
Wyeast 1056 American Ale (pitched on brewday)
Champagne Yeast (pitched 2 days before transfer)

OG: 1.120
Target FG: 1.018
Target abv: 13.8 %

The Island Beer Fest

2011-03-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

I very nearly didn't go to the Island Beer Fest, which was held at Club 9One9, downstairs from the Strathcona hotel. I figured that maybe it would just be all the beers I was used to seeing in the pubs around Victoria without much that was new or exciting. But a number of my friends were going and I figured maybe there would be some upcoming beers available for the first time, so I relented. I wish I'd gone with my first instinct.

When I arrived I was greeted by two girls wearing comically low cut beer wench tops and ridiculously short Bavarian style skirts. I guess the idea (apart from the obvious), was to imitate the outfits of the serving girls at Oktoberfest. I've been to the beer fest in Munich and these outfits looked more liked slutted-up Halloween costumes than anything else. Its not that I'm complaining, it was just kind of absurd. Once inside I saw that most of the usual suspects of Island brewing had a table so I made for Spinnakers to try a cask ale I saw they had set up. The server was not from the brewery but an employee of the Strath, and when I asked what type of beer was in the cask he replied, "honestly I don't know buddy, I just work for the building." "Uh, huh," I replied. Apparently, the deal with the Strath was that only its employees were allowed to pour beers, the breweries' employees were totally forbidden. As the representative from this brewery had wandered away from the table there was no one to field my fairly reasonable question. At the Vancouver Island Brewery table another cask was available, a coffee beer. I heard the server talking about the beer so when I got to the front I asked hopefully what the beer was made with. "Coffee," she replied, "and its got yeast in it, so theres also vitamin B." "Uh, huh," I replied.

There was very little in the way of new beer to be tried. Almost all the breweries just brought their usual offerings that can be purchased at any liquor store or bar in town. There were some highlights, such as Duncan's Craig Street Brew Pub, with their surprisingly good Hemp Ale, made with honey and hibiscus, and it was interesting to talk to the new owners of Wolf Brewing (formerly Fat Cat), but overall this festival was a giant disappointment. Some particularly dishonourable mentions stand out:

Dishonourable Mention: Swans Brew Pub - When I arrived they were already out of their coconut porter, one of the few beers I wanted to try coming in. It appeared they only brought a single tub of bottles, no draught beer, and when these were gone they just packed up and went home, well before the festival ended. Isn't your brewpub just down the street? So how can you be out of beer then, just ring them up for more? Very cheap, and very weak.
Dishonourable Mention: Lighthouse Brewing - Instead of having some of their interesting "small brewery, big flavour" series of beers they had only three of their everyday brews to try. If you decided you wanted some of their beer anyways, they just cracked a bottle and poured it in your glass, there was no draught available. I came to this beer festival to drink Lighthouse Lager from a bottle, great.
Dishonourable Mention: The Strath - For not allowing the breweries staff to pour beers and putting their serving girls in the most ridiculous outfits I have ever seen. If I wanted a titty show I'd walk down the street to Monty's, what I want at a beer festival is someone pouring the beer who knows something about it, and this was totally absent.

About the only person I would recommend going to this event in the future is an out-of-towner, someone completely unfamiliar with the beers of the Island as it is a chance to try a good proportion of the local brews in one place. If you're just looking for a piss-up, go to a bar, or a buddy's house, you won't have to fight the crowds or waste time drinking out of a very small glass. If you're a local and actually into beer, trust me, stay away, this festival offers practically nothing of interest for the serious Island beer drinker and will just waste your time and money.

Review - Hop Head Double India Pale Ale

2011-03-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a couple of posts over the last few days, one on a new and special beer I'm brewing, and another on a classic Victoria brewpub, so I was going to hold off until they were finished. But when a bottle of this year's Hophead Double IPA came into my possession just as my week of sobriety was coming to a close, I knew it must be destiny.

When I first tried Double Hop Head, as my inner hop monster was fully awakening, I remember being very impressed. But how would I react to it now? Since that first taste I have gone through countless IPA's, gotten into Imperial stouts, saisons, lambics, and countless other styles. How would my changing pallette react? How would Hop Head Double IPA have changed? As one angry Victoria brewer wrote, when I criticised the consisitency of his beer, "You will have found that throughout your life, you have changed, your tastes have changed. We also have changed and will continue to change personally and in the way we brew.... Beer does not have to be the same, what the f*** use is that, where is the creativity in brewing? Why should we have to be consistent? Are all your brews consistent? If they are, could you let the rest of us know how you did it, after nearly twenty years of brewing, I can't figure the secret out." With these poignant words foremost in my mind, I cracked this year's Double Hop Head.

This beer is pretty unconventional from the get-go. It is a cloudy orangey-red, and has none of the typical citrus or piney notes of an IPA to its aroma. Instead it has a bouquet of tropical fruit, that is intriguingly very much like pineapples. On first taste it hits hard and fast. The flavour of hops is intense and hard to describe, but sits somewhere between strong grapefruit peel and syrupy pine sap. It has quite a strong level of bitterness that is present throughout the flavour and lasts into a long finish. Throughout, the presence of alcohol is just beneath the surface, not surprising, I suppose, for a beer that sits at 8.3% abv. Although it didn't reach the heights of excellence that I remember, I did enjoy this beer, and you probably will too if you're a fan of intense, hard-hitting hops and strong alcohol, otherwise it may be a bit too much.
Rating: Good

.

Basement Breweries Beer Tasting

2011-03-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was able to sit down with three of my new beers that were now ready to drink, to see how they came out. The beers were all fairly different, an amber ale, a roggenbier (rye beer), and a brown porter, but they were all brewed using a similar method, the mini-mash. This technique lies somewhere between all-grain and extract brewing, and employs both a mash with malted grain and the use of malt extract. It allows the brewer to gain some of the enhanced character and body of brewing with grain as well as some of the ease and security that comes when using extract. But enough beer geek talk, lets get down to the beers.

Treeplanter Amber Ale - 4.75% abv

This beer has a sweet, malty aroma and is an almost brownish amber. Its emphasis on malt is evident with a caramel like malty flavour to its taste. It is medium bodied and drinkable with a nice lightly bitter finish, but the malt character is perhaps a bit one dimensional. In addition, it's sweetness, probably from the crystal malt, is perhaps a bit more than I would like.

Rye Revival Roggenbier - 5.5% abv

The aroma from this beer has a malty twang along with citrusy hop notes from the Cascades used to finish it. Its colour is a bright and attractive orange amber and it has a nice spicy entry and a dry malt finish that is characteristic of rye beers. It is possibly lacking flavour in the mid-taste but has a great mouthfeel, thick, and almost creamy in texture.

Beast of Burden Brown Porter - 4%

This brew is a dark, near black colour, with chestnut brown highlights. It has a nice head of fine bubbles from which rises the pleasant aroma of dark, roasted grains. It has a slightly tart entry, and a good roasted character is present in the flavour. It has a short and lightly bitter finish and is very refreshing and drinkable for such a dark beer. My only criticisms would be that for a porter it lacks some body, and could maybe use some complexity in its malt character, but this beer is probably the pick of the litter as it is satisfying, interesting, and drinkable.

Although I enjoyed all three of these beers, I think they have shown me some of the limitations of malt extract. The lack of compexity, tendency towards sweetness, and lack of body seem to be things that are hard to get around when using extract, and I think from now on I may stick to all-grain brewing.

Prehistoric Beer in California

2011-02-27T13:54:00.000-08:00

Fossil Fuels Brewing, a small group of breweries in northern California, is producing beer from a yeast strain that is 45 million years old. The yeast was discovered in a block of amber by Raul Cano, a biology professor, while he was doing research in Myanmar. Sometime during the Eocene epoch, or 45 million years ago, the yeast would have become trapped in the resin from a tree, where it was preserved until its discovery by Cano. Incredibly, the yeast turned out to be an ancient relative of Saccharomyces, also known as brewer's yeast.

After the lineage of the yeast was confirmed, it was first used in brewing to create an experimental batch for the casting party for 1997's thriller "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," the sequel to the original film from 1993. These films were made with the premise that dinosaurs were resurrected from history using DNA inside mosquitoes that became encased in tree sap, similar to the yeast in question. It was first used commercially in 2006 to make a batch for Stumptown Brewery in Guerneville, California. Fossil Fuels now produce a wheat beer and a pale ale using the prehistoric yeast, and have plans for an amber ale and an Oktoberfest.

The beer brewed from the ancient yeast is not only a historical novelty, but apparently delicious as well. Critics describe the beer as tasting of clove-like spice, as well as ginger and pineapple. In addition, the unique genetic makeup of the yeast produces a highly clear product due to the way the strain ferments sugars. Fossil Fuels' beers are currently only available in northern California, but hopefully they will soon expand their production, as this is a beer I would love to try some day.

Review - Driftwood Cuvee D'Hiver

2011-02-24T15:55:00.000-08:00

I'm always excited when a new beer from Driftwood comes out on the market. Driftwood's beers are always well crafted, well presented and well thought out, and even when they aren't my favourite I can respect them for being great examples of their style. When I heard their new beer would be a farmhouse ale, or saison, I was over the moon.

The saison may be my favourite style of beer. The beer historian Randy Mosher calls it the "beer of heavenly balance," the kind of beverage that would be on hand "when you get done mowing the lush green lawn that coats the cloud tops all over heaven." A fine saison has a delicate balance between all its elements, and I often find that the words to describe it escape me. With excitement I poured a tall glass of Driftwood's newest brew, the Cuvee D'Hiver.

The Cuvee D'Hiver, or winter batch, is made from grain that is grown and malted on the Saanich Peninsula. Its yeast, that Driftwood describes as "one of the most unique Belgian... strains in existence," is rumoured to be that used in the famous Saison Dupont. Its colour is of straw gold with a white head that quickly fades from the glass. I was surprised by the aroma, that carried only a faint trace of fruit with none of the European hop character common with the style. True to the saison however, it had a light to medium body and was highly effervescent. The flavour also surprised me; it was lightly fruity with little else to distinguish it. Its finish carried the signature dryness of a saison but lacked much bitterness. In general, this beer's hopping rate seemed low for a farmhouse ale. The Cuvee D'Hiver is refreshing and drinkable, and I do recommend it if that is what you are in the market for, but overall it seemed somewhat plain. I feel it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi magic that I find so captivating about a great saison.

Rating: Good

Review - The Moon Revisited, Moon Under Water's Grand Opening Week

2011-02-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Moon Under Water is the newest brew-pub on the Victoria beer scene and its philosophy around beer centres on the session beer, a beer of fairly low alcohol content that is suited to drinking in quantity over a session of long duration.This past week they had their official grand opening and I was on hand to try some of their new offerings. Every day during the week they released a new nano-brew paired with an entrée, in an effort to discover new beers as well as to see what was popular with Victoria beer drinkers.

This would be my second time writing a review for Moon and although I'm keen to move on to reviewing the city's other brew-pubs, I felt that revisiting this spot would give me a chance to see how they'd moved forward. In my previous review I found the atmosphere to be lacking, but this is something that has definitely improved, the bare walls are now adorned with artwork and the empty dining room has been filled with lively crowds. They serve unpretentious traditional pub fare that is homemade and always good. I have never been disappointed by a meal at Moon and would recommend their food to anyone. However, to my mind what is of utmost importance in a brewpub is the beer. If your beer isn't good, then you're really just another restaurant. Last time I found their beers to be good, but there was definitely room for improvement, so I was looking forward to trying their new offerings to see if they'd been stepped up a notch. The proof, as always, is in the pudding, so lets down to it.

Double Chocolate Stout - 4.9% abv
I tried the previous incarnation of this beer and found it to be good, but not great. This time it was made with twice the chocolate as this character in the previous brew was quite understated. True-to-style this beer was black in colour with a creamy head and an aroma of dark roasted barley. This beer was made with a partial-sour mash, a technique where a portion of the brew is allowed to sour and is then re-introduced in order to add tartness to the beer. When done well it can add a new layer of complexity and flavour to a beer. On tasting this beer a sourness was apparent on the entry fading into faint notes of roasted malt and finishing overly sour, with strongly acrid notes. The body was very thin, almost watery, something totally inappropriate for a style that should feature a creamy texture. This beer had very little flavour or body and the sour mash was far too strong, so I definitely cannot recommend it.
Rating: Poor

Brown Ale - 4% abv
If there is one style of beer that gets no respect, it's the brown ale. Perhaps this is because it is by definition a lightly flavoured, malty beer of low strength and thus the exact opposite of everything we have come to associate with the Cascadian: strong taste, lots of hops, and high alcohol. But Moon prides themselves on their dedication to the session beer, and so I was intrigued to try their version of this quintessential beer of the session. This beer was a deep brown with red highlights and struck a beautiful picture in a pint glass. It had a light malty aroma and a nice medium bodied mouthfeel. Its flavour was toasty and nutty mixed with the taste of roasted malts which extended into a long finish. This beer was very drinkable but also interesting; it wasn't incredibly complex but was a fine expression of its style: refreshing and flavourful and brewed to be enjoyed in quantity. It's not a beer that speaks to my heart but it did exactly what it's supposed to and so I definitely have to recommend it.
Rating: Good

India Red Ale - 5.6% abv
Although it seems in opposition to all Moon stands for the Cascadian revolution is hard to deny. With the growing trend for strong, hoppy beers so goes the liberal use of the word India to describe them. India browns, India Belgians and India reds have hit the market featuring high alcohol contents and tons and tons of hops. Despite Moon's reputation as a purveyor of the session beer they released this somewhat stronger, hoppier brew to much fanfare; it was the biggest hit of the week selling out in a matter of hours. When I arrived at Moon on Friday night it had already sold out, but Ron was good enough to share a bottle with me that he had stashed away. The IRA was a dark, almost cloudy red amber but I was somewhat surprised by its mild, malty aroma that had no hop presence. It had a nice bitter entry that moved right through the mid-taste and into the finish and lingered long and pleasant. For a beer that featured five hop additions I was surprised by its lack of hop flavour or aroma. It was a good beer and featured great bitterness, but to me it cried out for front end hops to round out the flavour. The plan is for future versions of this beer to be dry-hopped, a process that greatly enhances a beer's hop aroma, and should improve it somewhat. Nonetheless, an enjoyable brew.
Rating: Good

Tranquility IPA - 5.2% abv

Unlike the other beers in this review the Tranquility is set to be a permanent feature at Moon, their fourth regular offering. An IPA is a beer that emphasizes hop character, and the Tranquility is no exception, however it leans more towards the British end of the style, meaning less emphasis on hops and more on malt than many North American IPAs. It was an attractive beer with a brilliantly clear, bright orange amber hue and a pleasantly hoppy bouquet. It was medium bodied and had a moderately hoppy flavour that was incredibly well balanced with malt. Its finish was of mild to moderate bitterness that was very pleasant and long lasting. The finish could possibly use more bitterness, but apparently the plan for the next batch is to do just that, which could send the quality of this beer into the stratosphere. Predictably, for my taste the Tranquility could use more hops, but it was balanced, drinkable and interesting and I highly recommend it.

Rating: Very Good

Raspberry Porter - 4.7% abv
My feelings on raspberry beer are somewhat tarnished from numerous painful hangovers of years ago thanks to the sickly sweet raspberry ale made at Swan's Brewpub, but I was still willing to give this a shot. In the glass this beer was quite dark with ruby highlights and had a light aroma of raspberries. It had a great mouthfeel, creamy, and full-bodied. Its flavour was a mixture of dark malt and raspberries and it has a long aftertaste of sweet raspberry. For me, this aftertaste seemed a bit too sweet, almost like raspberry cordial, and could have used some tartness or perhaps a bit less berry flavour, but it doesn't overpower the beer and this makes for an enjoyable pint.
Rating: Good

For the most part I enjoyed the new beers at Moon Under Water, and I'm looking forward to seeing what their brewers create in the future as it cannot be questioned that they have the ability to make great beers. However, one thing that seems to be lacking with their beers is consistency. On my previous review I gave a fairly poor rating to their Lunar Pale Ale, but on trying it again it reminded me of the beer I had enjoyed on my first visit to Moon, I suppose a poor batch was responsible. I had previously rated the Blue Moon Bitter the best of their beers, but on revisiting it it seemed a totally different brew, much of its flavour and wonderful, full body were absent. Again, I suppose a bad batch was at fault. For Moon to build up a strong following of regulars that will be its key to success in its out of the way location, it will need to address this concern and produce consistently good product, batch after batch. Nonetheless, the Moon's atmosphere is much improved, a local following seems to be growing, the food continues to be great, and if you haven't tried it yet, a pint of the Tranquility IPA is an absolute must. If you haven't been down to visit them near the Bay Street Bridge yet, you should, you won't be disappointed.

Brewday - Saison du Cornwall

2011-02-21T16:24:00.000-08:00

My current craze for all things Belgian continues with this beer, the Saison du Cornwall. Named for the street where Basement Breweries is located, where several of the herbs in its recipe grow wild, it uses rosemary, sage, parsley and thyme. It is inspired by the Saison du Buff, a beer I reviewed previously that was a collaborative effort between three US microbreweries.

In contrast to my last saison, The Harvester, which was brewed to be classic and understated, the Saison du Cornwall is a much more experimental effort. I diversified the grain bill slightly, adding some Munich malt, and reduced the hops to allow the herbs to shine through. In addition, I added some grains of paradise, a spice of ancient lineage that carries a hot peppery bite and an aroma of fragrant juniper. This is by far the most experimental beer I have brewed and I'm very excited to try the finished product sometime next month.

Grains of Paradise

Geek Info

Method
All Grain

Malt
8 lbs. Pilsner Malt 64%
3 lbs. Vienna Malt 24%
1 lb. Wheat Malt 8%
8 oz. Munich Malt 4%

Hops
2 oz. Goldings (pellets) 60 mins - 8 HBU
1 oz. East Kent Goldings (pellets) 30 mins
0.5oz. East Kent Goldings (pellets) 15 mins
1 oz. Czech Saaz (pellets) 3 mins

Herbs and Spices (all herbs fresh and organic)
0.6 oz. Parsley 3 mins
0.4 oz. Thyme 3 mins
0.4 oz. Sage 3 mins
0.2 oz. Rosemary 3 mins
0.25 tsp. Grains of Paradise 3 mins

Yeast
Wyeast 3711 French Saison

OG: 1.055
Target FG: 1.007
Target abv: 6.5%

Review - Phillips Hop Box

2011-02-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

This is the last of my posts on the new beers Phillips Brewery has recently released. Hand it to Phillips, if there's one thing they understand it's that people don't just want good beer, they want new beer. It certainly worked on me anyways, as this is three posts in a row dedicated to their beer. One of their new releases is the Hop Box, a 12 bottle mixer pack, featuring 4 beers: Hop Circle IPA, Skookum Brown, Krypton Rye PA and Grow Hop Centennial IPA. The last two of these are brand spanking new and I sat down with both of them for a tasting.

Grow Hop Centennial IPA - 6% abv

This beer is part of the Grow Hop series of beers that will each feature a single hop variety, and as the name suggests, this one uses centennial hops. It is a bright gold with the predictable citrus hop aroma of Northwestern hop varieties. It has a nice mouthfeel with a medium body and high level of carbonation. The hoppy flavour and aftertaste of this beer has a certain medicinal quality that reminds me of Driftwood's Sartori, a beer that also uses only centennial hops. Possibly this is something directly connected to the use of the centennial, however I've never noticed this with my own beers. Perhaps somewhat predictably, this beer's hop character seems to lack complexity, but this is likely in the nature of a beer that only uses a single hop variety.

Rating: Good

Krypton Rye PA - 5% abv

As the name suggests, Krypton is an IPA that uses rye in addition to barley malt as part of its recipe. Similar to the Grow Hop it is a golden hue, and has a citrusy hop bouquet, but this is complimented by the aroma of pungently woodsy, earthy hops, that may come from combining Northwest and European noble hops. It has a nice medium body and enters with the flavour of earthy hops that melts into a moderately bitter finish with the hint of grapefruit. The bitter finish lasts pleasantly for ages but is not overly strong compared to the hop flavour and aroma. This may be an attempt to allow the rye to shine through, as it often lends a dry, crisp finish to a beer, but there is so much hop character that the rye is hardly noticeable. The only way I can think this beer could be improved is to increase the amount of rye, but that being said, this is one hell of a great IPA.

Rating: Very Good

Question: Is the Hoperation merely a Surly Blonde in hop's clothing?

2011-02-16T15:43:00.000-08:00

This is a post I've been looking forward to. There have been too many questions regarding the nature of recipe and name changes of Phillips Brewery's beers that I have never been able to satisfy. When I heard Phillips' old Belgian triple Surly Blonde was being replaced with the Belgian IPA Hoperation, I knew I had to act. I quickly purchased a bottle of Surly Blonde as well as a Hoperation (I had to ask specially for this, it was being withheld until Surly Blonde sold out) and promptly set up a taste test. I would discover in my highly unscientific test whether all Hoperation was was a Surly with some hops thrown on top. I couldn't allow another unanswered Phillips question to pass me by. This time when the subject came up in gentlemanly discussion over a few pints at the local, I would be ready.

Surly Blonde Big Belgian Triple
Poured into the glass the Surly is a golden colour with very light aroma of spice and banana. It has a flavour dominated by banana with hints of apple. The flavour lacks complexity but is inundated with the nearly bubblegum-like banana taste that permeates so many North American made Belgian beers. Its finish is quite sweet with more lingering banana. Its sweetness is perhaps somewhat inappropriate for the style, and could be greatly improved by more bitterness and a dryer finish. I frankly didn't enjoy this beer.

Rating: Drinkable

Hoperation Tripel Cross Belgian IPA
This beer is a mouthful to say but in the glass seems indistinguishable from the Surly Blonde. Its aroma however immediately hits with pleasant citrusy hops that dominate the bouquet. The entry starts with a mix of Belgian fruit and spice but before you can pin it down is mixed with a wonderful flavour of floral, citrusy hops. It finishes well with a great mix of hop bitterness and Belgian character that mingles so well that the two are hard to seperate. This beer has a great well-rounded flavour and complexity that is so lacking in the Surly Blonde.

Rating: Very Good

Judgement: Is the Hoperation merely a Surly Blonde with extra hops? Its appearance was eerily similar but the Hoperation's flavour and aroma wasn't riddled with the banana and sweetness of the Surly. Perhaps this is only because the hops cover up this character and it is just the same beer with hops added and rebranded an IPA. But really, who cares? The Hoperation is a big improvement over the Surly and a beer I will definitely be buying again. It makes a new and interesting addition to the Victoria beer scene and it has cemented plans in my mind to brew my own Belgian IPA. I suppose I didn't answer the question I set out to solve, but now at least I've got some verbal ammo for the next time this topic comes up in civil dialogue with the boys.

Review - Phillips Ginger Beer

2011-02-14T16:00:00.000-08:00

Phillips Brewery has never been afraid to experiment or bring out new products and they are continuing this with a number of new releases. They have a new Hop Box mixer pack out featuring four different hop heavy beers, a new Belgian IPA, Hoperation, that will be replacing Surly Blonde Belgian Triple, as well as a returning beer, Double Dragon Imperial Red Ale. For those of you who aren't hopheads they've also released a ginger beer that I recently sat down to enjoy.

I'm not exactly sure what the difference is between Phillips Ginger Beer and their old Gentleman Jim's Real Ginger Ale. Phillips is notorious for retooling recipes, renaming beers, and generally keeping Victoria's beer drinkers unsure whether their beer is the same as it used to be, or whether its now known as something else. This is not all bad, it has created some of the most enjoyable beer debates that have a tendency of coming up when Island beer drinkers come together. Is Skookum really the same recipe as Black Toque? What was the difference between the Draught Dodger and Slipstream and is it true they changed the recipe long before they changed the name? What beer is better, the old Phillips IPA or Hop Circle, and what is really the difference? The one that has been biting at me lately is the outgoing Surly Blonde Belgian Triple and the suspiciously similar Hoperation Tripel Cross Belgian IPA. Is it the same thing but with hops chucked in to cash in on the current IPA craze? Check out my next post when I'll look at both of these beers.

Back on topic, in the glass Phillips Ginger Beer is a deep gold with a light ginger aroma with notes of citrus. It has a spicy ginger taste that is strong but not overpowering. Its spiciness reminded me of having a ginger beer from the corner store when I was a kid, except this one is 5% abv. It has a rich and silky mouthfeel that is one of the most appealing aspects of this beer. It has a fairly long but mild ginger finish and is quite refreshing, however this is not a beer that would have me asking for a second. In fact, by the end of the glass I was over the novelty of its flavour and it became somewhat difficult to finish. For something a bit different this beer was pretty good, but I can't give it that high a recommendation just because I don't think it's something I would choose to go back to again.
Rating: Good

Brewday - The Beard of Zeus Imperial Stout

2011-02-12T11:01:00.000-08:00

Before we enter into springtime I wanted to get one more big time winter beer under my belt and what better way to do it than with one of the biggest of the winter beers, the Imperial stout. This version of the stout was originally made in England for export to Russia where it was said to be popular with the Czarist court. Like the India Pale Ale it had to survive a lengthy sea voyage and was thus made to a high alcohol and hop content in order to preserve it during its journey. As one can imagine, it is generally a very dark beer with a high amount of bitterness and malt.

Earlier this winter I reviewed two local versions of this style, Phillips' Hammer and Driftwood's Singularity. As has been my theme lately, after talking about and reviewing a style, I've had a go at making it myself. Thus was born The Beard of Zeus. The Beard features a seriously heavy grain bill that put the limits of my equipment to the test. I used nearly twenty pounds of grain, or roughly double that of an average batch, as well as a thwack of Fuggles hops to balance everything out. By the time it's done it should clock in well above 8% abv. I'm definitely looking forward to a frothy pint of The Beard somewhere down the track.

Geek Info

Method
All Grain

Malt
15 lbs British 2-row 79%
1 lb roasted barley 5%
1 lb steel cut oats 5%

That's a mighty full mash tun

8 oz chocolate malt 3%
8 oz brown malt 3%
8 oz biscuit malt 3%
8 oz wheat flakes 3%

Hops
4 oz Fuggles (pellets) 90 mins - 19 HBU
2 oz Fuggles (pellets) 30 mins

Yeast
Wyeast 1028 London Ale

OG: 1.085
Target FG: 1.020
Target abv: 8.8%

Arlo's First Home Brew

2011-02-10T13:17:00.000-08:00

It took me the majority of the winter but I finally convinced my buddy Arlo of the necessity of taking up home brewing. Sometimes it can be a difficult argument. Things have changed dramatically in the last thirty years and home brewing is no longer the only way to drink quality, fresh beer of an interesting nature made without preservatives or adjuncts. Now there is a selection of products both local and foreign, that meet all these requirements no further away than your local specialty liquor store. Indeed, the selection could be better at times, particularly that of quality foreign beers, but that is the topic for gentlemenly discussion of another day. My point boils down to this question: if so much great beer is available no more than a short stroll down the street, as it often is in Victoria, then why home brew?

The reason that probably jumps to mind first is cost. There are no two ways about it, home brewing is cheap. You can cruise down to your local brewing supply store and pick up pretty much everything you will ever need for home brewing, including your first batch, for around $150. If you don't want all the bells and whistles you can probably trim this down under a $100. This will make you roughly 10 six packs, which even the most ruggedly cheap commercial beer would cost around $80 to buy. From then on its 25 bucks for a new kit and another 60 beer, and if you want to get into grain brewing, things only get cheaper. However, despite the fact affordability converts many to home brewing, due to the time and effort involved only the most determined cost-cutters stay with it for this reason alone.

In the world of the home brewer anything is possible. Traditional ingredients, style guidelines, and popular opinion have no meaning, unless you say they do. You are free to experiment, to explore, to learn from your mistakes, and to glory in your triumphs. Brewing is the ultimate fusion of science and art. It will reward a mind that is logical, methodical and observant but it will equally reward one that is artistic, creative and sensitive to the surrounding world. Most of all it will reward the mind that can balance these two sides equally. There is nothing quite like the feeling after several batches that were good but not great, of finally striking pay dirt. It is a special moment when you watch someone else try your beer and see their eyes light up and speak those words of surprise that every brewer craves to hear: "You made this?" Anyways, probably time I reel myself in before I start getting emotional and tearing up. What I'm trying to say is it's the satisfaction that comes from the creation involved in home brewing and the ability to control that creation that keeps one engaged with the hobby.

With this in mind we emarked on the maiden voyage of Arlo's home brew career. There would be plenty of time in the future for using extracts and grains and learning how to sparge and mash; for now we would keep it nice and simple. We would start with a basic, but high quality India Pale Ale beer kit from Brew House that we would jazz up with an extra dose of liquid yeast I had in my fridge, and some pellet hops to give it some more bitterness and hop character. The whole process probably took us around an hour and a half, including time for malted refreshments. The following pictures should give you a sense for how the session unfolded.

Cracking open the kit

Brewing up some hop tea

Pouring in the yeast

And just like that we're done, time to let it ferment

Brewday - Making the Half Pounder'

2011-02-08T10:37:00.000-08:00

The Half Pounder' Double IPA is probably the most popular beer I've ever made. Featuring a half pound of whole cone hops it fulfills the wildest dreams of any hophead. With popularity however, goes consumption, and my 20 liter supply quickly dwindled to just a few bottles. The time was at hand for a new batch of the Pounder'.

This beer is all about the hops and to emphasize this it employs a brewing technique called continuous hopping. This technique comes from the different minute IPAs (60 minute, 90 minute, 120 minute) of the innovative Delaware brewery Dogfish Head. When these beers are made, instead of hops being added to the kettle at set intervals, they are continuously added throughout the entire boil making for a seamless transition between hop bitterness, flavour and aroma. Although labour intensive, the finished product makes it well worthwhile.

These photos should give an idea of what goes into home brewing the Half Pounder'.

The hops, weighed and ready to go

Continuously hopping

This hard work requires refreshment

Straining the hops. Thats a big bag.

Taking a gravity reading (the potential alcohol content)

And finally, adding the yeast.

Geek Info

Method
Mini Mash

Malt
9.5 lbs LME 68%
4 lbs. 2-row barley 29%
4 oz. 60L crystal malt 2%
4 oz. Munich malt 2%

Hops
Zeus
Amarillo
Simcoe
Centennial

Hop Schedule
Secret...

OG: 1.073
Target FG: 1.010
Target abv: 8.5%

Review - Vancouver Island Double Decker IPA

2011-02-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

I can remember the days when Vancouver Island Brewery ruled the Island. Feel like something dark and refreshing? Have a Hermann's Dark Lager. Want something with a bit of kick? Try a Wolf's Scottish Cream Ale. Don't know what you want? A Piper's Pale Ale is good anytime. But those days are long gone. With the emergence of more innovative local breweries, VIB has not adapted but has instead depended on its earlier successes, producing the same beers for the same customers of 2 decades ago. That is one of the reasons I was skeptical when I read they were producing a new IPA.

Double Decker is a "British Style" IPA, a style that is almost non-existent in the UK, but meaning one that has more of a malt emphasis than most highly-hopped North American IPA's. When I read that they were using Cascade hops, the quintessential North American hop, I was somewhat confused. If you're making a British IPA why not use world-renowned British hops such as Goldings, Brewer's Gold, or Northern Brewer? All these are easily available in North America. Was this whole "British IPA" claim merely a front to explain why this beer would be another dull offering, not having the superb hop character of modern IPA's? I put these concerns aside as I sat down to try the Double Decker. Prejudging beers is something I want to avoid so I gave this beer the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this could be the first great offering from VIB in years, something to bring their old fans back into the fold with a new take on the IPA that was actually a vision of IPA's of the past. As I opened the bottle I was ready to like this beer.

The Double Decker pours an attractive golden amber with a white head that immediately fades. On the back of the bottle it states "we hope you enjoy its assertive hop aroma" so I was surprised when there seemed to be virtually no hop bouquet. The aroma had some fermentation character, but almost no hops. The emphasis on this beer is definitely on the malt, it has that same malt flavour that seems common to all VIB beers. But any IPA should have some hop character and this beer has almost none. There are virtually no front-end, or flavouring hops detectable at all. It does have a mildly bitter finish, and this is really the only thing that sets it apart from pretty much every other VIB beer on the market. If I had to pick two words to sum up this beer the first one would be drinkable. The second one would be boring.
Rating: Drinkable

Book Review - The Complete Joy of Home Brewing - by Charlie Papazian

2011-02-05T10:06:00.000-08:00

If you're interested in getting into home brewing, or taking your home brew skills to the next level, I strongly recommend reading The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian. I've read a number of books on the subject and have found many to be lacking in some way. Some are filled mostly with recipes, others are overly technical or too simplistic. This book however, often referred to as "the homebrewer's bible," strikes just the right balance.

Charlie Papazian is seen by many as the father of American home brewing. He founded the Great American Beer Festival and the Association of Brewers, and has been its president, as well as president of the Brewer's Association since 1979. In The Complete Joy of Home Brewing, his comprehensive knowledge of the subject from more than thirty years of experience, is evident. He covers every topic from beer styles and history, to buying and building your own home brewing equipment, to breakdowns of beer's four main ingredients: malt, hops, water and yeast. The Complete Joy takes you from beginner through to advanced home brewing with recipes for every level along the way. He provides great beer geek information for interested parties (such as myself) but never loses his firm basis in the practical application of home brewing. The only criticism I can offer is that this book contains somewhat limited information for the advanced home brewer, but Papazian has written another book, The Home Brewer's Companion, specifically with the experienced brewer in mind. If you have any interest in taking up the brewer's spoon or advancing your home brew skills then this is definitely the book for you.
Rating: Excellent

Brewday - The Harvester Belgian Saison

2011-02-02T17:24:00.000-08:00

With all the interest I've had lately in the saison I figured it was about time I tried brewing my own. I've talked about the history of this style in other posts so I won't go on at length, but it was originally a beer brewed in Spring for consumption by farm labourers during the harvest. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but now that February is here I'd like to think the worst of the winter is behind us, (at least on the Island) and the time is at hand for springtime brewing. The Harvester is the second in my series of blue-collar beers, after the Beast of Burden Brown Porter.

My inspiration for this beer is The Saison de Dottignies from the Belgian Brouwerij De Ranke, a beer that I reviewed last month. Saisons can have a wide range of characteristics, from fruity and overpowering to refreshing and delicate, and it is this latter, more gentle end of the style that the Saison de Dottignies comes from. My goal is to make a beer that is refreshing and crisp and not overpowered by fruitiness, with a dry finish and a considerable hop character. Many saisons are made with spices such as pepper and coriander, but I want the spice character to be understated and so allow the yeast alone to provide a gentle element of Belgian spice. I used a specific saison yeast to provide this character as well as to give the beer a dry finish. Unlike many of my other beers, I did not use powerful Northwest hops, but rather milder European Noble hops in fairly high quantities to provide a moderate bitterness and hop character. The grain bill was simple featuring only Pilsner and Vienna malts, with some wheat malt for head retention. I'll write again when this beer is ready to drink and see if its been a success.

Geek Info

Method
All Grain

Malt
8 lbs. Pilsner Malt 70%
3 lbs. Vienna Malt 26%
6 ozs. Wheat Malt 3%

Hops
0.8 oz. Zeus (whole) 60 mins - 12HBU
0.5 oz. Hallertauer (pellets) 15 mins
0.5 oz. Goldings (pellets) 15 mins
0.5 oz Saaz (whole) 15mins
0.5 oz. Saaz (whole) 3 min
0.5 oz. Goldings (pellets) 3 min
1 oz Saaz (pellets) dry-hop

OG 1.045
Target FG 1.005
Target abv 5.4%

Brewing the Frontiersman Pale Ale: The Process

2011-01-31T22:09:00.000-08:00

The Frontiersman

I was facing a new challenge as I prepared to make a new batch of the Frontiersman, my popular Northwest pale ale. I have always enjoyed making new beers and new styles, and on the odd occasion I've revisited an old recipe I've always tweaked it here and there: less malt, more hops, different yeast, etc. But with the Frontiersman, one of my most popular beers, there was almost nothing I wanted to change. This time the challenge would not be improvement, but maintaining an old standard, not something I had really tried before.

The Northwest pale ale is a well balanced style of beer that emphasizes hops over malt, but to a lesser degree than that of an IPA. When made well it combines drinkability with great hop and malt flavour, and is one of my favourite styles. Few quality local examples exist, but one great one is Driftwood Ale, which has become my go-to beer. (Before I receive any angry responses I am not referring to amber ales, another type of pale ale, of which there are many fine local examples such as Phillips Blue Buck and Driftwood Crooked Coast)

The Frontiersman pours a medium orange/amber and has a thick head of fine bubbles that lasts until the bottom of the glass. It has a citrus hop aroma from being dry-hopped (I'll explain this process later) and a moderate hop flavour of earthy, citrusy hops that is balanced with a good malt backbone. It has medium body and finishes well with moderate bitterness. I went through my supply of it in a painfully quick fashion and it soon became apparent that a new batch was necessary, and so here we are.

Barley, hops, water and yeast

As I mentioned before I was keeping to my previous recipe with two small exceptions: I would be using whole cone hops instead of pellets and purified water instead of good old Victoria tap-water. The first step was getting all the equipment and ingredients together: barley, hops, water and yeast. Once everything was ready it was time to mash. The mash is a process where malted barley and sometimes other grains are steeped in hot water usually around 65 degrees Celsius. This allows the enzymes in the malt to convert the sugars to a form were the yeast can use them, and thus produce two of my favourite byproducts: carbon dioxide, and alcohol. After this is completed the grains are rinsed, a process known as sparging, to extract any remaining sugars, and the liquid, known as wort, is collected. It is from this wort that beer is made.

The barley after the mash

Boiling the wort

Wort acts as the backbone of a beer's taste, giving it its colour and contributing flavours such as sweet, roasted, or smoked depending on the type of malt used. For this brew I only used simple 2-row malted barley for body and alcohol and crystal malt for colour and some caramel flavour. These grains would provide the structure to build the beer's hop character upon.

The hops, weighed and ready to go

The amount of time the hops spend in the boiling wort determines their effect on the beer. Nearer to the start of the boil creates bitterness, towards the end imparts hop flavour, and at the very end will lend hop aroma.

The boil for this batch would last 60 minutes and as it began I put in the strong Zeus hops to give the beer its bitterness. As the boil approached its end I put in some Perle hops to give a floral and slightly spicy flavour to the beer, and at the very end I put in Cascade, the classic North American hop, to impart its signature citrusy aroma. Once the boil was finished I cooled the wort and strained it into the fermenter, and finally added the yeast, one of my favourite liquid strains.

Transferring to the Secondary

The yeast would now begin the process of transforming the sugar in the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide. The yeast I used is a bit of a beast and the airlock was steadily bubbling in a matter of a few hours. Into my warm, dark closet went the fermenter and within three short days the bubbling airlock had slowed considerably. It was time to transfer to the secondary.

Secondary fermentation is somewhat of an optional step that some experienced homebrewers declare unneccesary and it acts mainly as a clarifying stage. Apart from preventing the unlikely occurrence of autolysis, or yeast death, transferring to a secondary also allows the brewer to take readings to see how fermentation is progressing and taste the beer to see how the flavour has developed.

With the dry-hops sitting on top
the Frontiersman goes back in the closet

In the case of the Frontiersman transferring would also allow me to dry-hop my beer, a critical step to creating the finished product I was shooting for. Dry-hopping is a process where hops are added to the beer mid-fermentation, as opposed to at the start, in order to enhance hop aroma. In my opinion, for any hop-emphasizing beer, and especially for an IPA, dry-hopping is not optional but mandatory. Without it you cannot create that truly full and rich hop aroma that adds so much to a beer's character. Similar to colour, aroma makes an impact on the overall impression of a beer that is difficult to deny. I have seen the effect when someone smells the bouquet of a well dry-hopped beer and their eyes begin to shine; they already like the beer, and they haven't even tasted it yet. So as not to throw off its balance, I only added a small amount of Cascade hops to the secondary, but if all goes well it would be enough to take the Frontiersman to the next level.

The Frontiersman will probably spend around two weeks in the secondary, allowing it to finish its fermentation and letting the yeast and dry-hops settle out. Once it is crystal clear and shows no sign of fermentation It can be bottled. When carbonation is finished comes the moment of truth, when it can be tasted and see if it lives up to the reputation of its predecessor. Until then I can only wait, but if all goes well in the end we should get...

... and who can argue with that?

Review - The Saison, Beer of the Farm Labourer

2011-01-27T10:27:00.000-08:00

The saison is a beer I have little experience with, but the more I learn about it the more interested I become. It was traditionally brewed in farmhouses in the French-speaking region of Belgium for farm workers bringing in the harvest. It was made in the cooler months, and thus had to be sturdy enough to last through the summer, but refreshing enough to quench the thirst of the labourers. Beers that combine elements of both ales and lagers are a particular interest of mine and its mix of both the robust and the refreshing reminds me of steam beer and my own Overcast Island Ale. In this post I'll be reviewing three very different saisons: the Saison de Dottignies from the Brouwerij De Ranke in Belgium, The Saison du Buff, a collaborative effort of three American breweries, and Victoria's own Deckhand, from Lighthouse Brewing.

Saison de Dottignies - 5.5%
The Saison de Dottignies from the Belgian Brouwerij De Ranke is an intriguing beer. It is produced by two passionate home brewers in West Flanders, Nino Bacelle and Guido Devos. For a few hours every Friday and Saturday they take control of a local brewery and produce what many consider some of the finest beers in Belgium. Saison de Dottignies pours a deep golden, nearly orange hue, and has a pleasing bouquet of noble hops, possibly Saaz. It is refreshing and crisp, with a pleasant dry finish that is slightly bitter. It could almost be a pilsner but for the light character of Belgium yeast that just shows up on the palette. This beer is incredibly refreshing, but never boring, which is a difficult line to walk indeed, I can only imagine a farm hand's satisfaction at downing their first pint of such a brew after a hard day in the field. This beer has a delicate and yet captivating flavour whose memory, more than almost any other I can remember, has stayed with me long after the glass was empty. It is not cheap, at nearly $5 for a standard sized small bottle, but is well worth the expenditure. In Victoria it is available only at Cook Street Village Liquor.
Rating: Excellent

Saison du Buff - 6.8%
The Saison du Buff is a collaborative effort between three fine US breweries: Dogfish Head, Victory, and Stone. The Buff in the name stands for Brewers United for Freedom of Flavour, an organisation formed by the three brewery's owners "with the goal to highlight the uniqueness, passion, and camraderie of America's craft brewers." Despite this beer's pedigree I was pretty skeptical going in as it is a most unconventional beer that is brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. However, this turned out to be one of the most surprising and fascinating beers I've had in a long time. The Saison du Buff is a pale, cloudy gold with a nice head of fine bubbles and has a very light fruity aroma. As expected it has an unorthodox taste with flavours of aniseed and mint, but these flavours do not overpower but blend subtly with light fruit and spice from the Belgian yeast. It is quite effervescent, with a dry and spicy finish, and is incredibly drinkable, reshreshing, and above all fascinating. I brought this beer back from a recent trip to the States and am not aware of any local outlets selling it, but if you do see it, buy it. You will not be disappointed.
Rating: Excellent

Deckhand Belgian Saison - 8%
This beer is the third in Lighthouse's "Small Brewery - Big Flavour" series. I was skeptical about this beer as the first in the series, Shipwrecked, a so-called "Triple" IPA, was only a shade above undrinkable, a 10% abv beer absolutely dominated by the taste of alcohol. Nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised as this turned out to be one of my favourite offerings produced by Lighthouse in some time. In the glass Deckhand is golden and lightly cloudy with a faint aroma of Belgian yeast. The flavour has elements of fruit and spice with emphasis on the fruit, but this is not overpowering. It is refreshing, as a saison should be, and does not have the strong flavour of bubblegum that plagues many North American produced Belgian beers. It is quite effervescent and has a medium to light body with a mild alcohol taste on the finish, but otherwise it finishes well with fruit and spice. Deckhand lacks the subtle complexity of the Saison de Dottignies and the Saison du Buff, but this is somewhat of an unfair comparison as these were two of the best beers I have tried in a long time, and the first ones to which I have given a rating of excellent. Deckhand is a great local example of a saison and is interesting as well as drinkable, especially considering it is 8% abv. It is also fairly affordable being available at most local liquor outlets for less than $7 for a 650ml longneck. If you have any interest in this style I recommend you give Deckhand a try.
Rating: Very Good