Monthly Archives: August 2009

Shock Top Belgian White

Posted on by
1

Beer-a-Day #235

© Christopher Vigliotti

Shock Top Belgian White (Image © Christopher Vigliotti)

Shock Top is an unfiltered Belgian-style wheat ale (also known as a “White” or “Wit” beer due to its appearance) that is naturally cloudy with a billowy white foam head, light golden hue and slight taste of orange peel and coriander.

Yes, this is a faux-craft beer. I suppose it’s Anheuser-Busch’s response to Blue Moon (which is Coors’ faux-craft Belgian White). But I’m all for being open-minded about my beer and not getting hung up on its roots.

Pale hazy yellow. Head drops quickly. A little lemon and spice in the aroma. Taste is a little bland. It’s okay, and it’s not my favorite style, but I’ve had better.

Shock Top Belgian White

Who is this guy, and why is he brewing beer in my kitchen?

Posted on by
2
Christopher Vigliotti says "Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

This is Chris. He seems to know everyone in Brunswick, Maryland. He’s our preferred portrait photographer. He’s a ColdFusion developer (like me) and started working with me a few months ago so we occasionally commute together. It seems like every time I turn around he’s there.

He’s either becoming a good friend or he’s a stalker.

Of course, it seems that very often the conversation turns to beer. Chris is a curious guy and likes to ask questions. And me, I’m not much of a conversationalist unless the topic is something I’m passionate about.

Beer would qualify as one of those topics.

So, I’ve been lax in my efforts to brew at home, and Chris expressed (multiple times) that he’d be interested in trying it out. We found some compatible open slots on our calendars (not an easy task)  and today we brewed.

I’d forgotten how fun it is. I had an old pale ale recipe that I’d done as my second-ever batch several years ago, so I tried to copy that. We went shopping for supplies this morning (the Flying Barrel opens at 10 AM on Saturday, by the way)  and spend the rest of the morning and the early afternoon brewing. Chris also brought over a bunch of his photography equipment and took some pretty cool photos. (I’ll be sharing them in the next weeks and months.)

And, of course, while you’re brewing beer you should be drinking beer. Chris and I sampled a Tripel and a Dubbel, and boy were they tasty. A good time was had by all. I’m looking forward to transferring to the secondary fermenter next week. And sampling more beer.

Homebrewed Dubbel

Posted on by
Reply

Beer-a-Day #234

I helped Chris brew his first batch of beer today (more on that later). As I was digging around in the storeroom for my brewing equipment I came across a whole slew of homebrew from last summer that I never got around to drinking. It’s all pretty high gravity stuff, so I’m hopeful it has aged well.

One of those I pulled out is labeled as a dubbel. It’s a deep mahogany brown with a nice cream-colored head. Big malty nose, with a bit of spice and dried fruit. The taste follows the aroma, and frankly it’s delicious. I look forward to enjoying the rest.

Backfin Pale Ale

Posted on by
Reply

Backfin Pale AleBeer-a-Day #233

- Original Gravity: 12.0 B (1.048 s.g.)
- Alcohol: 5.5 % v/v Color: Amber (~8.0 SRM)
- Ingredients: 2-Row Malted Barley, 20 lovibond Caramel Malt, 60 lovibond Caramel Malt, Filtered Water, American, English & Czech Hops, Ale Yeast.
- Brewmaster’s Taste Notes: The aroma of the Backfin Pale Ale is of mild autumn fruit surrounded by the pleasant sweetness of the caramel malts that give the beer its richness in color and mouth feel. As you drink the beer, balance of flavor is what is most evident. The malt, the hops, and the yeast each contribute, as you taste the perfect fusion of a complicated blend of carefully chosen ingredients and brewing process expertise. The beer finishes very clean, with a fresh hop spiciness. As with most Clay Pipe products, Backfin is not heavy as it goes down. Its fast mellow finish will easily allow room for the consumer to enjoy another one.

Coppery color with a finger of head. Light aroma with a bit of fruit. Malty, with a pleasant nutty bitterness. This is a quaffable beer. I like it.

Clay Pipe Backfin Pale Ale

Blue Point Toasted Lager

Posted on by
1

Beer-a-Day #232blue-point-logo.jpg

Blue Point Brewing’s award-winning Toasted Lager is our flagship product. Copper in color this brew is made from six different malts including: English Pale, Crystal, Munich, Carapils, Wheat and Belgian Caravienna. Toasted Lager displays a balanced flavor of malt and hop which makes for easy drinking. Special lager yeast is used to produce that long lasting, smooth finish. The “toasted” part of the name refers to our direct-fire brew kettle’s hot flames that impart a toasted flavor to our most popular microbrew.

Caramel in color with a lovely off-white head. Aroma is light. Definitely a lager, but has more complexity and weight than one would expect from such. It’s good.

Blue Point Brewing

Old Peculier

Posted on by
1

Beer-a-Day #229

The power of Old Peculier should never be under-estimated! A dark, strong beer Old Peculier is justifiably famous for its rich and complete character, its sheer strength – and for being a beer with a long history.

Deep, golden brown with some red highlights. Big malty character in the aroma, as well as some dried fruit. Cherry, perhaps? The taste is unusual, as befits the name. It tastes “old”, but not “stale”; I imagine this is what ale tasted like a thousand years ago. Complex, to be sure. More dried fruit, some bourbon, some burnt toffee. A pleasant change of pace.

Theakston Old Peculier

This bottle was thoughtfully donated by Chris. Chris is, among other things, our family portrait photographer. We have never been less than delighted with his work, and I would say that even if he hadn’t brought me some beer. If you’re looking for portraits, wedding photos, and so on, I highly recommend him.

Christopher Vigliotti – Visionary Photographic Services

Beck’s Pilsner

Posted on by
2

Beer-a-Day #228Beck's Pilsner

Made from the original 1873 recipe, our signature brew has a full-bodied taste, hoppy bouquet, golden color and rich full head. Your tasting notes might say something like “a slightly fruity but crisp firmness – ends with a clean dry finish,” but most people simply say, “Now that’s a Beck’s.”

I am a glutton for punishment. If it’s not an American industrial light lager lately, it’s a European pilsner in a green bottle.

Light gold and clear. White head drops quickly. Smells slightly fruity, just like they promised. Pineapple, perhaps? Taste is clean with a slight toastiness to it. By golly, this is pretty good!

Beck’s Beer

Magic Hat hI.P.A.

Posted on by
2

Magic Hat hI.P.A.Beer-a-Day #227

hI.P.A. is a highly hopped India Pale Ale and the Spring SeasonAle. A medium-bodied beer with a fresh and fruitful nose of vernal vitality. It begins and ends with a big hop bite that is itself forever balanced on the brink by a steady rhythm of malt. Dry-hopped for extra quenching in the face of heat and beat, it’s an ideal accompaniment to chilling out, turning inward or sailing onward through the music of the night toward the dawn of the mind. It’s the liquid way to say be here now lest you never come this way again.

Medium amber with some orange highlights. A little perfume-y. Nicely bitter, but I’m getting a bit of soap in the flavor. I think it might be a little old; there is some unusual sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

Magic Hat