OT: Beer Thread II

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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You ever try the Uinta BIPA?

I don't think so. We used to stop by their brewery when we were up north I forget what I had there, it was when I was first getting into IPAs.

Looks like a couple of stores around me carry them, I know I have seen the Baba black lager but I don't think I have seen the DUBHE on shelves... Ill have to keep an eye out for the label though.
 

Reclamation Project

Cut It All Right In Two
Jul 6, 2011
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Not my cup of tea, but you'll probably like it.

Dubhe-4-Pack.png
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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Yeah, I'd like to give it a try for sure. 9.2% sounds like its a little higher than I'd prefer (for a black ipa) as it often starts effecting taste and body and what not at that point... But still very interested. Will keep on the lookout.

They have been around for a while, and I at least remember them doing pretty well so hopefully will be good.

I need to start listening to the podcast "Can you brew it". As soon as I move and get more room for a fermentation fridge and better setup for all the run off water need to get brewing again.

Apparently they did Dubhe on that podcast, and the recipe they came up with looks pretty interesting. Lots of hops, and seems like a bit more diversity then typical black ipas that are all kinda more traditional IPA hops that add bitterness but not much else. Not sure what beers I have had with falconers flight, but its not actually a hop anyways, its a blend and sounds like it could be pretty good.

I don't think I made anything with more then like 13-14lbs of grain for 5 gallons. Their recipe calls for over 21lbs of grain. god damn.
 
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Friulian Flyers

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Apr 9, 2007
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I wish I could find more good black ipas here... You would think in socal it wouldn't be too hard, but I rarely see them. Stones Enjoy By black ipa is not too bad, but they are too good at only using dark malts that add very little flavor. By taste I usually just get a little hint on the back end that its a dark beer. I like just a little more. Like someone needs to start making more hoppy porters.

The best ones I've found are actually Italian (but that's mainly due to lack of access to most American ones). Rampage imperial IPA from Black Diamond Brewing Company was one that really sucks out as being enjoyable.

I've also been reading a lot of homemaking books lately and as you alluded to, it seems quite simple. I think I will wait till my family moves back to the US at the end of the year before diving in.... But I'm so damn excited to start!
 

Fat Elvis

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The name of Black IPA isn't completely correct. The P in IPA stands for Pale, in terms of color. In truth it should be IBA for India Black Ale or IDA for India Dark Ale. The fact that they're "extra" hoppy is the India Ale brewing technique that added a large amount of hops, allowing beer to stay somewhat fresh while on a long shipping journey. Adding roasted malts removes the "Pale" color.

Dad's Little Helper Black IPA is good, Blindfold by Sierra Nevada is decent, and I also like Night Time by Lagunitas.
 

DocWest

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One of my favorites is Coronado's Señor Saison. The jalapeño notes just push it over the top for me. Sadly, it was seasonal and almost impossible to find now. Luckily I still have two bottles saved for a special occasion.


g1AxZ1d.jpg
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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The name of Black IPA isn't completely correct. The P in IPA stands for Pale, in terms of color. In truth it should be IBA for India Black Ale or IDA for India Dark Ale. The fact that they're "extra" hoppy is the India Ale brewing technique that added a large amount of hops, allowing beer to stay somewhat fresh while on a long shipping journey. Adding roasted malts removes the "Pale" color.

Dad's Little Helper Black IPA is good, Blindfold by Sierra Nevada is decent, and I also like Night Time by Lagunitas.

lol. Its a style that is popular... then made with other malts. Don't over think it. If you have problems though the popular, non ipa term is "cascadian dark ale". But really in general they taste much like an IPA, but are black... so name is fine.

Haven't had in a while but did always enjoy blind fold black. Only ever saw it in their 4 way ipa packs which is a shame as I would love to buy it on its own.
The best ones I've found are actually Italian (but that's mainly due to lack of access to most American ones). Rampage imperial IPA from Black Diamond Brewing Company was one that really sucks out as being enjoyable.

I've also been reading a lot of homemaking books lately and as you alluded to, it seems quite simple. I think I will wait till my family moves back to the US at the end of the year before diving in.... But I'm so damn excited to start!
I'm a bit of an anal guy, and I geek out on it a bit and listen to a few different brewing podcasts every week... Read a ton of stuff before I started and was overly meticulous, ect...
But really, making decent to good beer is easy. If your not trying weird **** ("I wonder If I can make a german chocolate jalapeno berliner weisse!") and pay attention to sanitation and temperatures... It will be at a minimum not a chore to drink the beer you make. If your trying, and competent, and clean you can just go online and find a recipe for a style or even better find a clone recipe for something you like... And it will be good. Good beer is actually pretty easy, its great beer thats hard.

You can start extract if you want to buy less stuff and make it easier... But all grain is cool, and really isn't harder then soaking grain in hot water for an hour. (OK, you have to guess/calculate the starting temp to account for the heat it takes to get your cooler warm, and the heat lost to the grain... but preheating cooler takes 11-12 degrees out of the water, and there are simple and accurate calculators where you just put in weight and temp of the grain.
Doing your own mash is fun, because the temp you mash at gives you control over how much the beer will ferment/how much it dries out vs residual sweetness in the final product. However extracts do have some positives in that since they are basically wort reduced to a syrup or dried to a powder, they already have the proper mineral content and you can just use distilled water... However that kind of becomes a downside if your just buying pale malt extra alone and it wasn't made for ipa or for stout or what ever style your making. Not a HUGE deal though, mineral content is more part of that good to great jump then a requirement for making good beer. It just helps the appropriate flavors pop, and can make the hops seem a little muddled or the malt not complex enough...
Definitely is a plus if you can get a small fridge/freezer that will hold what ever you ferment in and build a little temp controller so you can get it to hold a proper temp though. Temp swings are bad, and different temperature ranges will make the yeast do different stuff. Plenty of people do with out, but if you can craigslist a fridge that will hold a fermentation bucket for ~$100 and make a temp controller for ~20-30 you will be happy you did.

So in summary... yeah do it. Like $30 for 5 gallons of good beer lol
 
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Reclamation Project

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Jul 6, 2011
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One of my favorites is Coronado's Señor Saison. The jalapeño notes just push it over the top for me. Sadly, it was seasonal and almost impossible to find now. Luckily I still have two bottles saved for a special occasion.


g1AxZ1d.jpg

Damn, that sounds good.

I love their Islander IPA.
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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otravez-bottle-pint2016.png

A nice sessionable change of pace.

The cactus and grapefruit is a little interesting, but nice with the slightly tart twang it offers. Was super good with tacos.
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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Not my cup of tea, but you'll probably like it.

Dubhe-4-Pack.png

Made a mini trip to pick it up. And your right, is good.

I was right though... The 9.2% is too high. It was a 9.xx 4 pack of a dark beer... So I can't help but compare it to Old Rasputin. And with Old Rasputin I can open a bottle, pour half and close it back up... then sip on that for a while. I drink Dubhe much quicker, it doesn't last nearly as long and I end up drunker... If the beer is going to be such a high abv I'd prefer for it to be more of a sipper.
The other problem I have... Is just black IPAs. I LOVE the idea, because I love hops and dark malts, and I realy like black IPAs... But because of the hops brewers back off on the dark malts, and the malt ends up lacking complexity. Also, because of the dark malt, brewers keep the hops simple, and the hops end up lacking complexity and flavor... I still really like the style but you don't get nearly as much out of the malts as you do stouts, and you don't get nearly as much out of the hops as you do modern IPAs... So boths sides of it almost work against each other. So I keep having good examples, and am still waiting for someone to show me how it can be great...

But still, a very good beer... Not quite the standout black IPA I have been hoping for though.
I think so far I still lean towards slightly old (like near its enjoy by date) Back in Black, or Stones Enjoy By Black IPA (though I wish they let the malt show a little more)
 

sroper

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Jan 20, 2006
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I have a bit of an issue with black IPAs 1) the contradictory nature of the name and 2) the idea of cashing in on anything that's labelled "IPA". But then I remember its beer and relax. I'm also not a huge hop head so I tend ot stay away from those types of beers as a lot of brewers tend to do them a bit one-sided toward the hops.

As a side note, we did an experiment and put an imperial IPA in a neutral oak barrel, dry hopped and left it in there to mimic a voyage from the UK to India. Obviously the result was a much different beer. The hops were very subdued and the caramels in the beer took center stage as they were accentuated by the vanilla from the barrel. Those recipes of old had a purpose, but probably weren't widely consumed fresh with the full potency of the hops. /beergeek

scryan, if you'll permit me, I understand your plight and have a couple of suggestions: 1) the beer that you wish black IPAs were sounds a lot to me like a well made robust American porter. These beers usually have a decent malt complexity like stouts, but then don't forget the hops either. 2) try blending a stout and an IPA to achieve what you're looking for? Experiment with the ratios, breweries, etc., Know that this desire to find a flavor that wasn't out in the marketplace is what spawned Sierra Nevada and the like. You're not alone! Hope this helps.
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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scryan, if you'll permit me,
I WILL NOT!
:popcorn:

Honestly, the more IPAs I have, the more I agree with the idea that they should just be pale malts (or black IPAs... Just saying skip the caramel). If people don't like IPAs, OK... but they make such an awesome variety of delicious hops today that its fine/better having a beer just for those to shine. Aside from just being trendy... I think that is why IPAs are so popular... IPAs don't really have a flavor profile anymore, as they can vary a lot based on what hops are used.

Ill look out for robust american porters, but so few breweries around here with many dark beers and it seems to often be either more English style robust porters/baltic porters milk stouts and sometimes an IRS.

I think Bottle Logic had a Robust Porter last time I was there, but it wasn't hoppy. I wish stone would allow just a little dark malt character in their new Enjoy By Black IPA, maybe mix that with a small amount of stout.

As far as the whole "How can it be a Black Indian PALE ale?!", the name is a historical referance... They don't have much to do with India these days either... :sarcasm:
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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Bought a stone mixed 12 pack tonight.

God damn each and everyone one of you for not drinking enough Ruination 2.0 for it to be stocked in more places and for it to sell fast enough to be fresh when you find it.

**** is god damn tasty.
 

sroper

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Jan 20, 2006
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Tucked into five different gose beers yesterday. Interesting style of which I've had a few, but this was the first side-by-side tasting. Was only able to get ahold of 2 German examples and tried to stay away from the funky domestic examples, i.e., fruited. Liked the Anderson Valley "The Kimmie, The Yink & The Holy Gose" very much as well as Ritterguts Gose from Germany. I think AV makes a blood orange version too, but I can't recall exactly what that tastes like. Good summer session change up
 

scryan

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May 1, 2013
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The blood orange gose is supposed to be delicious.

I've been into hose and Berliner Weisse lately
 
Well, I've been on the road doing a lot of booze tasting. I was up in Sonoma a few weeks ago and did a wine tasting tour. I'm not much of a wine drinker but it was kind of cool to learn some stuff about wine from the makers themselves and then taste the product. We ended up at one place that made wine slushies and while a later vintner rolled his eyes after hearing about them, that was the highlight of the experience for me. That shows you how much I like wine or maybe how much I like a good pink slushy drink. Speaking of which, if you've never been, grab a pomegranate margarita at Rosa Mexicano next time you head into a Kings game. You'll look silly drinking it but it tastes good and will give you a nice buzz walking into the arena.

On that same trip I went to the Lagunitas facility. What an operation that is. Live music, tons of people and plenty of good beer there. I think that might've been the first time I've been to a craft beer maker. I wasn't expecting that but it was cool but I didn't get to spend a lot of time there.

Next stop was in Nashville, TN. I was there for the Kings game and to visit friends who traveled up from Atlanta. I did the Jack Daniels brewery tour for the second time and it's a really cool thing to check out if you're ever there. I'd recommend it! They also do tastings but I already know what Jack tastes like so I didn't bother with that. Plus I had to drive. On that same trip I went to a spot called Nelson's Green Briar Distillery. They had a really cool story. Two brothers with the last name Nelson happened to stop at a gas station while running an errand one day and happened to see a historical sign with information about a guy with their same last name who had founded a distillery back in the 1800's and was essentially responsible for that towns existence. It later went out of business during prohibition. Long story short, those two brothers were the great x 3 grand sons of this guy and decided to take his recipes and start making his whiskey again. And it was pretty good!

Ok, last story if you've actually read this whole thing. I went to another spot in Nashville called the Corsair Distillery and Brewery. They are about 10 years old and make all kinds of different spirits and are making them in much different ways than traditional makers. I found their products to be interesting but also a bit odd. They are making so many varieties of drinks it was hard to keep track. They did have a few relatively tasty whiskey though. While I don't like gin they actually had a pretty drinkable gin too. The last stop was their other location which is a brewery which they just started. One of the beers on tap was whiskey barrel aged and it was excellent. I find a lot of whiskey barrel beer to be overly smokey or have way too much taste of the whiskey barrel but this stuff was really subtle so I opted to get myself a full pint of it since they don't even sell it in stores yet.
 

sroper

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Jan 20, 2006
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Berliner's can be quite good as well. They usually a bit more tart, minus the salt, and traditionally served with a little shot of sweet (sometimes fruit) syrup. So, it makes sense for brewers to add the sweet (fruity) flavor beforehand. These beers make great early day or hot afternoon beers. Definitely worth trying.

My go to morning beer lately has been the "Man-mosa"; a grapefruit session ipa with about 1/3 OJ. D-Lightful
 

Fat Elvis

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Been to Lagunitas in Petaluma, that place is really cool. Great beer garden with covered picnic tables and separate grassy area. They encourage you to hang out, have some grub and listen to live music. I could vacation there! Cool people as well.

Russian River is only 20 minutes north. Small joint, great beer. Buy the case of Pliney and Blind Pig and go somewhere else to enjoy. But they do usually have good rotating taps of interesting brews.
 
Been to Lagunitas in Petaluma, that place is really cool. Great beer garden with covered picnic tables and separate grassy area. They encourage you to hang out, have some grub and listen to live music. I could vacation there! Cool people as well.

Russian River is only 20 minutes north. Small joint, great beer. Buy the case of Pliney and Blind Pig and go somewhere else to enjoy. But they do usually have good rotating taps of interesting brews.

I was up there the weekend they released pliny the younger and apparently they were multi-hour waits to get in there. I personally have a policy where I don't wait in line for anything unless I have to. I love beer but no beer is worth waiting hours to try. I didn't have time to get up there anyway. We were staying 5 minutes away from Lagunitas so it was easy to get to after the wine tour ended.

I'll definitely do another trip up through "beer country". There are plenty of breweries up there. Oh and one of the perks of the wine tour we were on was a keg full of Lagunitas IPA on tap which made the drive between wineries quite enjoyable.

I really want to do a trip to the whiskey trail in Kentucky but not sure that's on the top of my list now. I have so many places I'd like to go and only so much money and time off. At least I'm only 35 so I got plenty of time to see the world. I also have this problem where I go places, like them and decide to go back when in reality I should keep exploring. My trip to Cancun this year was one of the few trips in my life that I regretted. I was trying to decide between NOLA and Cancun (had great deals on both trips) and I think i chose the dud. Cancun sucks!
 

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