So beer friday is a bit different this week. While I’ve had a ton of great beers lately, especially last night at the holiday ale fest downtown, going to throw up a quick and easy recipe I brewed lately.
Up til recently I’d really only done partial mash brews, and usually just following other recipes with slight tweaks. This beer is a few firsts: my first all grain, and my first attempt at trying to semi-recreate another beer from scratch. The inspiration for this brew was the Vaporizer by Double Mountain, my post-ride beer of choice when hitting up trails in the Hood River area. To me it’s got the perfect easy drinking mix of crisp and hoppiness that slays on a hot summer day. They describe the Vaporizer as “a golden-hued Pale Ale that features a beautifully hoppy aroma and flavor. The malt is 100% Gambrinus Pilsner, our sweet and supple house malt from Gambrinus Malting in British Columbia. The hops are primarily of the Challenger variety, grown on a single farm in the Yakima Valley. We dry-hop “THE VAPORIZER” to pump up the hoppy goodness. It’s an appetizingly dry, clean and pure-tasting take on a hoppy Pale Ale.” They also tell you that it’s 50 IBUs and 6% ABV.
Using the above I started plugging numbers into Hopville until I came up with something nearing what information they provide and what I remembered Vaporizer tasting like. As my local shop was out of Challenger hops and the usual substitutes I went with ahtanum, which doesn’t seem to get used often. Came up with the below, which is damn simple.
10.5 lbs Gambrinus Pilsner
2 oz. 4% AA Ahtanum – first wort hopped
.5 oz. Ahtanum at 60, 30, 15 and 5 minute intervals in the boil
Wyeast 1272
90 minute boil due to the pilsner grain/DMS
Based on my gravity reading before primary the final stats came out as: 52 IBU and 5.6% ABV (original estimates were 50 and 6). Close enough for now, we’ll see how it tastes once it’s kegged and fresh hopped. Anyways, hope everyone has a chance to get out this weekend!
Sorry for the non-post yesterday, got caught neck deep in a Powerpoint and as this blog doesn’t make money and is but a labor of love it gets low priority over potential revenue generating opportunities (that being said if anybody wants to advertise here get at me!). I’ll continue highlighting 2011-2012 splitboards next week.
After a few false starts beer friday is BACK for real this time. This week’s beer isn’t a particular beer, but a style (well, as of right now it’s not an official GABF style and is a subcategory of experimental beers) – FRESH HOP ALES! Only available in the northern hemisphere during harvest time, a true wet hop ale uses hops picked within the past 24 hours. That’s right, instead of using dried hops or hop pellets brewers actually put the hop cone into the brew kettle. The finished product, when done properly – and properly to me for these beers means not going for an overly agggressive beer – is an AMAZING beer that really highlights the nuances of the individual hop varieties. A well done fresh hop IPA or pale is the perfect capper to a cool fall surf session or evening BBQ on an amazing PNW crisp fall evening, and are a nice sendoff of the summer beer palette.
Current favorite of the season: Breakside Brewery Fresh Hop IPA
Dog of the season: Full Sail Lupulin
So there you have it, another hard week in the books, treat yourself on your ride home to a locally brewed fresh hop ale!
A quick photo essay.
After
That is all. TGIF.
So it’s been awhile since I’ve paid homage to beer. Not for lack of drinking it as my growing gynecomastia (aka bitchtits) will attest to. Let’s turn these non-beer blogging Fridays around.
First up, the Invasive Species IPA from one of my new favorite breweries Captured by Porches out of St. Helens, OR (I mean c’mon, how many breweries show up at farmer’s markets?!). Ever since first trying their Friday Rye at my local bottle shop I’ve been hooked on their tasty brews – and the fact that they are served in reusable flip top bottles (return is optional if you’re a homebrewer since you pay a $1 deposit for it…) is a nice touch. I’ve read a lot of reviews out there on their beers where people have been getting off flavors/inconsistent flavors, likely from the flip top bottling process not being refined. I’ve been fortunate (or maybe just have unevolved tastebuds) in that every time I’ve had the rye and the IPA it’s been the same as I remember it. I >>did<< have a sour bottle of their hef, but as I’m not a hef fan in general I thought nothing of it. Worth being aware of the potential for inconsistency before you drop your ~$5 on a 22 oz. (well, technically 25.4 oz) to freedom.
So, the IPA. Hazy, coppery pour with a creamy big bubble head that dissipates quickly. Sweet, subtle citrus hops aroma (with a touch of spice?) that opens up a bit as the beer warms. Light to medium mouth feel, with early malt taste moving to hops, with just the slightest bitterness. Overall a very drinkable IPA, one that I could see stashing in the snow on the way up to enjoy post-tour, and that also lends itself well to summertime chillin’ on the porch strumming a guitar. I think what I like most about this beer is that it drinks like a homebrew, just has that ‘less refined’ texture about it. Worth picking up and giving it a go, but keep in mind the apparent inconsistency in the bottle you may want to hold out til you find it on tap.
Alrighty, it’s been a long time since I’ve written up an actual beer friday post – though as my burgeoning belt line and pepperoni moobs will attest to it’s not for a lack of drinking new beers. Figure I’ll start this out with a recent one that sticks out in my mind, though not necessarily for a good reason.
 Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop Ale So I picked up the Chatoe Rogue Wet Hop while at the Rogue garage sale they had just after Christmas. Wasn’t actually looking for the Wet Hop, was actually hoping to pick up a case of the juniper pale, but that wasn’t to be had. The bright label called to me, and as the case price was a deal relative to the price of buying their 22′s seperate, figured what the hell and picked up a case.
The beer:
The beer pours hazy orange with a thin head. Medium body with the slighest aroma of hops and warm malts. An easy drinker (you can quaff it with ease), but the taste is far less than I anticipated, just a slightly malty/hoppy taste to it. Flavor opens up a bit as it warms, but to be honest there just isn’t much to this beer in my opinion, and left me a bit disappointed. I expected a ‘brighter’ hop taste a la the wet hop ales Deschutes put out, but it wasn’t to be had from the Chatoe Rogue.
Drinkable? Yes (though outside of pilsners I rarely come across a beer I won’t drink)
Desirable? Not so much, especially if you have to pay the standard Rogue $6/22 oz. bottle.
So there it is, beer friday. Go get outdoors this weekend and chase your trips with a beer. Oh, and if you’re in California I hate you right now! You’re getting dumped on while we get the shaft end of an El Nino season.
Well, it’ll be back later today once I find a phillips screwdriver and go stretch the legs up at Meadows. I’ve done a ton of ‘research’ on local beers lately, and gotten back into brewing my own again, time to start dropping knowledge on what’s making my man boobs jiggle these days.
To be continued….
This is something my friends and I have known FOREVER, and it’s obvious based on how we pack (how many people do you know bring a case of Coors Light 7 miles into the Tuolumne backcountry?), but beer helps you rehydrate quicker than water.
Click here for a few prior rehydration suggestions courtesy of yours truly. Beer Friday FTW!
 Yosemite bear drank my Coors (btw, I will get refocused on the bc/snowboard scene this fall, but right now there’s not a lot of info on new stuff nor have I had the free time to get out there)
BEEEEEEEEEEEERRRR FRIDAY! This one is going to taste better than most as my day job has officially turned the corner from not even remotely interesting if you squint your eyes and turn your head to just plain ohmygodmakeitstop mundane. The days are a’draggin’, and combined with the fact that I probably won’t make it into the backcountry for a few weeks (looks like there will be some goods for the people get up there though) as I’m working on my exit plan (aka founding my next startup). So, to celebrate the end of the week, and eventual new beginnings, I present to you one of my favorite bottled beers evar!
PLINY THE ELDER!
 Pliny the Elder From the Russian River Brewing Company (a brewery I’ve only been to once and couldn’t drink as I was taking my MSF class that weekend!) in Santa Rosa, CA I can only describe this beer as heaven in a glass. Seriously. If there is a heaven my first day there (huge assumption…) will consist of being reunited with my childhood dog and he’ll offer me up a pint of Pliny (dogs will have opposable thumbs in heaven), or something like that. Bright white, quickly dissipating head with a crisp, citrusy hops aroma with just a touch of pine. Balanced flavor that keeps you guessing. “Was it sweet?” “Was it bitter?” At 8% it’s dangerously drinkable. Highly, highly recommended.
So there it is, another week down, chased with yet another good beer. Get out there and get’er done this weekend!
This week has been a good beer week – Bear Republic double IPA, 2008 and 2009 Avery double IPAs among others – but after Monday’s TR this week’s winner was no secret. As much as I hate doing back-to-back Sierra brews there was no choice but to feature the Sierra Harvest Wet Hop Ale this week after it’s feature spot in last weekend’s douchebaggery.
They say:
The cornerstone of our Harvest series is the beer that started the modern-day fresh hop ale phenomenon in America, our original Harvest Ale.
Created in 1996, Harvest Ale features Cascade and Centennial hops from the Yakima Valley in Eastern Washington. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops—the same day they are picked—to our brewery in Chico where our brewers eagerly wait to get them into the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.
I say:
Smells like a Sierra brew. Flavor starts slow with a ‘fuzzy’ mouthfeel, than hits you with medium sharp bitterness, fading to that classic Sierra aftertaste. A decent brew, makes a good Saturday night Gatorade.
 Wet Hop Ale
Well as it’s gone from 80s to 50s in the course of three days here, bringing with it a bit of precip and thus pow in the mountains – probably some of the last of the season unless we get another Memorial Weekend pow dump like last year. As such, it’s time for a beer Friday celebration. To help us celebrate this week is none other than Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale. A seasonal beer that has probably just about ran out at most local retailers, this beer is a medium bodied IPA with a touch of spice. A sharp hops bite upfront with just enough alcohol warmth on the finish to help relax the muscles after a long tour. Flavor seems to get a bit more pronounced as the beer warms slightly. By no means a daily drinker, but makes for a good change of pace, especially on a chilly night. So there is it, another week down, another beer downed. Pick up a bottle and get ‘er done this weekend!
 Celebration Ale vitals
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