Twinsburg’s January 2103 Picks (kicking off the new year)
The newer member of Geology Row provided Porters to sample and snacks to supplement.  So much excitement surrounded this meeting that an ecologist decided a road trip from Memphis to good ole Northeast Ohio was necessary.  It was a neck and neck competition between two Michigan breweries.  In the end, the brewery with the best imitation of flavor from across the big pond to our right won. Results below, with description provided.

1st – Arcadia Ales - London-Style Porter
This 18th Century-style Smoked Porter has subtle accent of peat-like Bamberg smoked malt, which is apparent in both the aroma and flavor. It is brewed with seven varieties of premium European malted barley, resulting in note of bittersweet chocolate and coffee that are counter-balanced by a long-sustaining finish of Goldings hops

2nd - Founders Brewing Company - Porter
Pours silky black with a creamy tan head. The nose is sweet with strong chocolate and caramel malt presence. No absence of hops gives Founders’ robust porter the full flavor you deserve and expect. Cozy like velvet. It’s a lover, not a fighter.

3rd - Horny Goat Brewing Company - Brownie Porter

Brewed with 8 different types of malt, this thick, sweet, and nutty brew has slight notes of vanilla and hazelnut to complement the cinnamon and chocolate flavors, just like a delicious warm brownie.

McLean DRS Tournament III

We concluded another fun year last night with the Third Annual McLean DRS Tournament.  The rules are as follows:

Two brackets, four beers in each bracket.
Round 1 – taste and rate the four beers in each bracket (1-4, 1 being the best).  The two most enjoyed beers in each bracket will move on.
Round 2 – taste and rate the two remaining beers in each bracket (1-2, 1 being the best).  The most enjoyed beer in each bracket will move on.
Round 3 – taste and rate the final two beers, deciding the 2012 Champion.

The beers were randomly grouped by pulling numbers out of a hat.  The groups were:

Group Pretzel

1) Uinta Hop Notch IPA (Stand in for Appalachian Brewing Hoppy Trails IPA)

2) Morland Old Speckled Hen

3) Devil’s Backbone Vienna Lager

4) Ice Cave Nanobrewery's Unknown:  Sassy Giraffe, Vintage 2012

Group Potato Chip

1) Anchor Breckle’s Brown 

2) Weyerbacher Winter Ale 

3) Flying Dog Dogtoberfest

4) Anderson Valley Amber (Stand in for Anderson Valley Summer Solstice)

Uinta Hop Notch IPA and Morland Old Speckled Hen made it out of Group Pretzl and Anchor Breckle’s Brown and Weyerbacher Winter Ale made it out of Group Potato Chip.  Uinta Hop Notch IPA then met Anchor Breckle’s Brown in the Championship.  Uinta Hop Notch IPA won a 4-2 vote.  Very close.  

All the beers were good.  Below are the condensed results.

Last Place: Flying Dog Dogtoberfest; Anderson Valley Amber; Devil's Backbone Vienna Lager

Fifth Place: Ice Cave Nanobrewery's Unknown:  Sassy Giraffe, Vintage 2012

Tied for Third: Weyerbacher Winter Ale; Morland Old Speckled Hen

Second Place: Anchor Breckle's Brown

Winner: Uinta Hop Notch IPA

I picked up three new Bavarian Brews this weekend at Total Wine (Weissbierpils, German Pilsner, and Zwickel Bier); these were all they had from the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein.  I tried the Weissbierpils; it had a classic German taste, very nice aroma, and was tasty.  The bonus is that the Pilsner and Zwickel have the locking top and will become part of the home-brew bottle arsenal.

Prost.

The prestigious House of Oettingen-Wallerstein is bringing their beers to the U.S. for the first time! A family-owned brewery in Bavaria stemming from noble Germany lineage, Fürst-Wallerstein was founded during the late 1500s and, to this day, uses only the best regional hops and malts to create timeless and unique, high-quality beers.

http://www.totalwine.com/eng/search/furst-wallerstein?utm_source=01_10_item&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=furst_wallerstein

VA Brew Ridge Trail

Went down to Nelson County over the weekend and stopped by Devils Backbone and Wild Wolf breweries.  We went to Devils Backbone first.  Started with the Session Rye Ale.  I enjoyed it.  Easy to drink with a fair amount of hoppiness.  Plus I'm a sucker for rye.  For dinner, I had the bacon burger with beer cheese spread.  That was good, too.  I had the Morana Twave, a dark Czech-style beer, with dinner.  It was really good.  Malty.  Others in my party had the Six Point Pale Ale, Wee Dream, and a well aged Skull Crushing Ape.  All were good but not as good at the Morana Twave.

We then moved on Wild Wolf about five minutes down the road.  While waiting for our table, we went to the bar.  The wait was supposed to be 20 minutes but it ended up being over an hour.  I started with the pilsner.  It was fine.  Once we got a table, I went with a flight of their seasonals.  There were six; Ginger Lager, WolfNStein Imperial Stout, Honey Saison, Wit Wolf IPA, Double IPA, and American Stout.  The Honey Saison and Imperial Stout were the highlights.  The Ginger Lager is very interesting but not quite to my liking.  The food was good.  We were all disappointed that no one got the brisket/nacho melt.

If you're in the area, stop by either of these places.  Blue Mountain is a good choice in the area, too.

Freshman Brewer...

The following comes from a young novice brewer working his way through his first batch of homebrew.  As a colleague pointed out, this is "proof once more that beer provides important life experiences that teach us critical thinking and problem-solving skills…"  Please continue supporting your local home brewer!!


"So last night before I went to bed I was a little worried... The krausen (foam) from my happy farting yeast was starting to creep up towards the top of the carboy. I laid in bed for over an hour terrified of what I might wake up to in the morning, then finally fell asleep. Due to the extreme anxiety of a messy situation or even worse, ruined beer, I woke up WIDE awake at 4:30 am to find this situation! AHHHHHH! The horror. The anguish. The farting yeast. Fortunatley, Northern Brewer had thoroughly prepared me with their handy dandy Home Brewing 101 DVD that came with my starter kit (Thank you Ashley!). The beer gods had woken me, literally, in plenty of time to avoid a bad situation. The airlock had not clogged, and the yeast was still active. Praise be to god (that is, the beer god of course). I quickly assembled the krausen-ator (not a real term, but that's what everyone should call it) and the beer and yeast just kept on doing their business."

Brett Is Your Friend

Good NYT article on Brettanomyces yeast strain that's been around for centuries.