Dogfish Head Red and White

Rating: 2

Dogfish Head Brewery
Milton, Delaware
Style: Belgian Wit
ABV: 10.0%
750 ml

Pours a lovely strawberry amber color; the head isn't huge, and dissipates quickly (it was quite lightly carbonated, with tiny bubbles). Given what we read on the label about the production process, there was a surprisingly faint nose (the beer is fermented with pinot noir juice, coriander, and orange peel, and is part-aged in pinot noir barrels). The taste, however, is more assertive, with plenty of fruitiness, and hints of raisin and sherry. There's a very light spiciness, but the fruit notes are very much at the forefront, even in a beer of this complexity. One drinker also found it to have a surprising malty quality. It doesn't have the heavy alcohol taste of many 10% beers: they've done a good job of achieving a balanced, drinkable final product. The label is a piece of art in itself, a departure from the usual simple style of Dogfish Head packaging.

De Ranke Père Noël

Rating: 2

Brouwerij De Ranke
Wevelgem, Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale/Seasonal
ABV: 7.0%
750 ml

Pours a rich amber color with solid, not spectacular head; the head dissipated quickly. A lightly hoppy nose, and quite a hop wallop with the first mouthful - an intense flavor that showcased the best of hops with little astringent bitterness. Even with this being a De Ranke production, we weren't quite prepared for the hoppiness: we had paired it with food better-suited to a more traditional winter beer. Once we realized that the food pairing wasn't ideal, we focused on the beer itself, and concluded that it is an exceptionally drinkable brew.

Southampton Biere de Garde

Rating: 2

Southampton Publick House
Southampton, NY
Style: Biere de Garde
ABV: 7.2%
750 ml

Massive amount of carbonation, I struggled to pour the first glass. Hazy orange color, a lot of the bubbles stuck around and hit the top of my mouth as I drank this beer. Crisp dry beer with moderate malt and hop character. Has the basics of biere de garde down really well, not a huge amount of complexity past that. Overall a quality, drinkable biere de garde.

My other Southampton review.

Redbones' Northwest Beer Dinner

After years of broken promises to attend this event, we finally got around to booking seats at the thirteenth edition of Redbones' Northwest Beer Dinner.

We're not able to compare with previous years, but this was a fun opportunity to try some unfamiliar beers from a selection of Washington and Oregon breweries. While they serve Northwest brews for several weeks around the time of the dinners, they reserve some of the best kegs for the event itself, and according to some of the speakers, we were drinking, in some cases, seasonal brews no longer available anywhere else.

The full selection of beers was as follows, roughly in order of serving:

Pyramid Broken Rake Amber
Pyramid Thunderhead IPA
Pyramid Imperial Hefeweizen
Elysian Immortal IPA
Big Time Firecracker
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Elysian Dragon's Tooth Oatmeal Stout

The event takes place downstairs in Redbones, and we were seated with strangers since we didn't have enough people for a full table; the beer inevitably made this very convivial.
The beers were served at the table, and while there were occasional hiccups as to what exactly we were drinking at any given time, in the end we did sample all seven options. The food was regular Redbones fare, or at least those items they chose to serve on the buffet line, but was generally very tasty. Interspersed with the food and beer, we had brief talks by some of the visiting brewers; these were a little dry to start, but the final two were more entertaining (though they all spent too much time talking about the wonderful Northeastern brewing tradition!).

Later in the evening, one of the owners asked trivia questions in exchange for (many) prizes, although she seemed more interested in heckling than in actually asking questions (we can't complain: we had quite a haul of loot).

As for the beers, based on my quick survey, the Amber, the Immortal IPA and the Chocolate Stout were our three picks of the night; the Amber was a great, drinkable, malty-hoppy start to the evening, while the IPA was on the drinkably hoppy side. The Chocolate Stout really had a rich chocolately aroma and taste, which made it dangerously consumable, in a good way.

By contrast, we weren't huge fans of the Imperial Hefeweizen, which might have really been a Weizenbock, though there wasn't much clarity on that point.

We were agreed that these smaller beer events are starting to become our preferred method of encountering interesting new beers, or locally unusual brews.

Smuttynose Wheat Wine Ale

Rating: 2.5

Smuttynose Brewing Co., Portsmouth, NH

Style: Barleywine

ABV: 11.0%

1 pint 6 fl oz bottle

Part of Smuttynose's "Big Beer" series, this entry is brewed with 53% wheat and 47% barley. It pours with a modest head (one finger width), and has a deep amber color. The aroma is fruity, and reminded us of Cambridge Brewing Company's Arquebus Summer Barleywine, though this one was a little sweeter-smelling. We couldn't detect any hint of wheat on the nose, and the same was true for the taste: with an 11% alcohol content, this is very solid barleywine, with a slightly syrupy quality. It's an enjoyable sipping beer, but perhaps not quite as distinctive as the label implied. Or, rather, not as distinctive on the palate as it was in the production process, but that may be our fault for expecting a beer with a hefty alcohol content to be subtle!

Cambridge Brewing Company

After taking in the Red Sox World Series victory parade (2007 vintage on a wonderful Boston autumn day), we crossed the Charles to check out what the CBC had on tap. In the spirit of the day, many of the lunch specials had a ballpark theme - an Italian sausage sandwich, a Fenway quesadilla with hot dogs, and so forth.

We tried two current specials, the Kriek du Cambridge and the Aestas Ale. The former is an intensely sour Kriek, with the wort inoculated with various kinds of wild yeast sources, including one developed using Cantillon beer. It was an excellent example of the genre, very tart, extremely drinkable, and surprisingly good with a spicy vegetarian chili. The Aestas Ale is an "American Mild", based on an English mild bitter, and hopped with English Challenger hops and American Amarillo. It had a great, hoppy nose, and a lower alcohol content perfect for a session beer - which is what it's explicitly billed as.

We were a little miffed by the service, however - a rarity for this spot. The only other guests at the bar knew the head brewer, and he brought out multiple different samples for them to try, free of charge. At a busy time of day, it might not have been so noticeable, but treating us so differently - he never even looked in our direction - was quite strange when we were the only other ones there. He even tapped a keg for the beer engine so that his friends could sample it, and when we asked the bartender what the cask ale was she didn't know, and emphasized that it wasn't available until 5 (though we knew that not to be true!). She never bothered to find out what the beer was, despite the fact that we were clearly interested. It's a shame: this is a good bar, with excellent beer and food, and the service on this occasion let them down (normally, it's top notch).

Zinnebir Crianza

Rating: 3

Brasserie de la Senne
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium
Style: Lambic
ABV: 7.0%
750 ml bottle

Imported straight from Belgium in my suitcase. Uncorked the bottle and had foam on my floor within seconds. Surprisingly the beer settled down and didn't maintain a lot of that carbonation. Light straw color. I'm used to the strong, very carboned gueze beers in the 750 bottles. This is somewhere in between that and kegged lambic.

Bare Tree Artist Series Weiss Beer 2006

Rating: 2

Two Brothers Brewing Company
Warrenville, Illinois
Style: Barleywine
ABV: ??

750 ml bottle

Clear amber pour without much carbonation. Strong fruity aroma, reminiscent of certain cambrindge brewing barleywines. Similair fruit taste with the high alchohol coming through a little. I need to try more of the Two Brothers beers.

Robust Porter

Robust Porter (based on Papazian guidelines)
(5 gallons)

10/16/2007

7 lbs liquid malt extract (John Bull amber)
1/2 lb patent black malt
1/2 lb roasted barley

2.5 oz Willamette (60 min)
0.5 oz Tettnanger (10 min)

Yeast: WLP041 Pacific Ale

1.037 OG on 10/16
1.014 FG on 10/28

At kegging, the uncarbonated beer had a great smoky taste; this one promises to be an excellent cool weather drink!

Paris Hill Pilsner

10 gal all grain

Water
Cooper Spring

Malt Bill
20 lbs Pilsner malt

Hops
5 oz Saaz 60 min
5 oz Saaz 15 min
2 oz Saaz 0 min

Yeast
Wyeast Czech Pils 2278 (2)
Smacked am and added to 1 qt of starter in pm (each)
Starter made with 3.5 oz of light DME
Started 3 days before brewing, half liquid poured off top

Mash
Strike temp 150*, stabilize at 132* 30 min
Remove 8 quarts of mash add 4 qts water bring slowly to boil, boil 15 min
Add to mash, stabilze at 153* for 1 hr
Raise to 165* by adding boiling water and sparge

Ferment (2 5 gal batches)
A. in frig at 150*
B. in cellar at 158*

Brewed 9/19/07
O.G. 1.050
Secondary fermentation 10/10/07
Diacetyl rest 3 days at 64*
To lager stage 10/11/07 at 37*

Keg 1 11/18/07
FG 1.014

Fresh Hop Ale

10 gal all grain

Water
Cooper Spring with 4 tsp gypsum

Malt Bill
24 lbs 2 row Pearle malt
1.5 lbs Crystal 60
2 lbs Carapils Malt

Hops
Sunny Croft Farm Cascade (fresh, wet weight)
20 oz 90 min
10 oz 30 min
14 oz 0 min

Yeast
Cooper dry ale (1 packet dissolved in 2 cups water)

Brewed 9/24/07
O.G.1.062 F.G. 1.010
Strike temp 175*, Mash 152*,Sparge 175*
Transfer to secondary 9/27/07
Kegged 10/10/07

Belgian Beer List - Part I

Still Under Construction!

This is the first part of our recent Belgian beer tour, taking in everything we sampled in and around Bruges: the various establishments are in bold.

Terrastje, Bruges, August 27

Mark picked out this spot, which faces on to one of Bruges's canals, for our first evening - and our first Belgian beers. They have a tiny interior, which was especially crowded than normal when we visited because of the presence of an excellent band. We sat outside, and enjoyed some of their simple bar fare while starting things off with, among other choices, a number of locally-brewed options. Their beer choice seemed, at the time, only okay, but by the end of our time in Belgium it seemed quite normal for a place that focuses equally on food.

Brugse Zot Dark (Donker) 3
Brugse Zot Blond 2
Lindemans Kriek 2
Watou's Wit 2?
Brugse Straffe Hendrik 2
Watou Tripel 3
Malheur 6 3
Hommelbier Poperings 2

Erasmus Hotel, Bruges, August 27

This is a hotel bar, so it wasn't that atmospheric, but it's close to a beautiful courtyard which faces on to one of the canals. They had very tasty desserts and an excellent beer selection, including some fine options on tap; the service was top notch, and was ultimately one of the friendliest, most helpful welcomes we experienced in Belgium.

Struisse Rosse (Struisse Brouwers) 2
Echte Kriek Verhaeghe 3
Stoute Bie 1-2 (a very unusual beer, with a "malta" quality; hard to compare to anything else and hence hard to assess accurately)
Hercule (Brasserie Ellezelloise) 2

Garre, Bruges, August 28

Tripel van de Garre (House Tripel) 2
Gulden Draak 2
De Witte Van Celis 3
Pêcheresse Lindemans 2 (but admittedly not our favorite style)
Oerbier 3
Arabier 2
De Ranke XX 3
Dulle Teve 2-3

Grand Kaffee de Passage, Bruges, August 28

Brugse Straffe Hendrik (again, by accident) 2
Palm 2 (just about)
Vieux Temps 2
Sixtus 6 3
Westmalle Tripel 2 (low 2)
Martins Pale Ale 2.5
Brigand 2
Kriek Max Jacobins Bocker te Bellegem 1?

't Brugse Beertje, Bruges, August 28

Barbär (Lefebvre te Quenast) 2+
Liefmans Kriek 2
't Smisje Blond (De Regenboog) 2
Witkap Stimulo 3
De Cam Oude Geuze 3
Boon Oude Geuze 3 (a very horsey/agricultural beer!)

Taverne 't Zin, Sluis, Netherlands, August 29

Jupiler 1

Oude Speye, Damme, August 29

Achel Blond 3
La Chouffe 3
MacChouffe 3
St Louis Kriek Premium 2

In 't Nieuw Museum, Bruges, August 29

St Feuillien Blond 2
St Feuillien Bruin 3
Orval 2-3
Grimbergen Bruin 1
Grimbergen Blond 2

Cambrinus, Bruges, August 29

Westvleteren Blond 3
Westvleteren 8 3!
Westvleteren 12 3
Cantillon Kriek 100% Lambiek 2 (challengingly sour; it's far more a Lambiek than a normal Kriek)
Bink Blond Kerkom 2-3
Guido (De Regenboog) 2 (v. fruity, with a raisin aroma)
Saison Regal 2

Belgian "Hopkoning" Pale Ale

Belgian Pale Ale
(5 gallons)

9/16/2007

7 lbs liquid malt extract (John Bull Maris Otter)
1 lb crsytal 20
1/2 lb Belgian bisquit

1 oz Amarillo (60 min)
3/4 oz Centennial (30 min)
1/4 oz Chinook (10 min)

Yeast: WLP550 Belgian Ale

1.040 OG on 9/16

The Maris Otter liquid malt extract is pretty dark stuff - it looked almost like molasses - and so it's a stretch to call this a "pale" anything. I think I may have reversed my intended hop addition order; the above reflects the actual additions rather than the plan. When first kegged, this was extremely bitter - bitter rather than "hoppy" - but after a week or two in the keg it has begun to mellow, and it definitely has a Belgian characteristic, presumably the result of using the Belgian Ale yeast. It's not quite De Ranke XX, though.

Wet Hop Pale Ale

The first annual Beacon Hill Hop Harvest. I'm going to go out on a limb here and venture that this will be the only Wet Hop Ale produced entirely with Beacon Hill hops. Get it while you can.

And the recipe I used with the harvested hops:



1 lb 40L crystal malt
1/2 lb cara pils
7 lbs John Bull Maris Otter LME
7 oz fresh Fuggles (90 min)
4 oz fresh Fuggles (30 min)
3 oz fresh Fuggles (5 min)
3 oz fresh Fuggles (secondary)

yeast:
WLP051 California V Ale

1.044 OG on 9/16
1.015 secondary on 9/22
1.012 keg on 9/30

Saison

Saison v7
(10 gallons)
9/9/2007

18.0 lbs belgian pilsner
2.5 lb munich
1.5 lb malted rye
2 t gypsum
4.7 SRM

4 oz hallertauer (60 min)
1 oz kent golding (15 min)
1 oz styrian (2 min)
34.8 IBU

Infusion mash 150 for 90 min

Yeast:
WLP565 Saison (made starter for 10 gallons)

Batch A
1.050 OG on 9/9
1.022 secondary on 9/16
1.022 keg on 9/22

Batch B
?? OG on 9/9
1.022 secondary on 9/16

Atlas Brewery

http://atlasbrewery.com/

On a recent walking tour of Scotland, our journey brought us to the front door of Atlas Brewing. After finishing our 19 mile day (day5), we were rewarded with a shorter 9 mile walk from Kingshouse over the devils staircase and the highest point on the West Highland Way, to Kinlochleven. The trail ended with a very long descent in dreary wet weather with intermittent views of the Blackwater reservoir into the former aluminum mecca of Kinlochleven. We arrived in town at 2:00. Judy had emailed ahead for our tour and we were ready to take some time off the Way and talk about beer.

Atlas Brewery is located in the former storehouse of the aluminum smelting factory. The brewery was put together and was moved into in October 2001. The first batches of Latitude and Tempest were brewed in February 2002. Norman Sinclair, a highland business man, bought the brewery in August 2006. He has since added Orkney Brewery orkneybrewery.com to form Sinclair Breweries Ltd.

We were met at Atlas by Harry, an assistant brewer, who got his job by home brewing in the right place at the right time. Some administrators of Atlas were having a barbecue next door to Harry's house and the were invited over for a brew. Apparently they liked what they tasted because he was offered a job very shortly thereafter. I was happy to hear that even with his full time job at Atlas, Harry still enjoys the rewards of home brewing. Harry gave us a wonderful, personal, in depth tour of the Brewery.

Atlas brews 36,000 pints per year, an interesting way to quantify output. Their focus is real ale. Utilizing local soft water, the "Atlas" of any beer, and western grown Maris Otter barley, the beer is top fermented 5-7 days at 20* C, cooled and keg conditioned at 9* for 4 weeks and then shipped to the pub, to be tapped as real ale and finished hopefully within one week. The majority of the ale is kegged as real ale, with only a small percent sent out for contract bottling.

After the tour, and an in depth discussion of real ales, we were treated to a glass of Three Sisters from a bottle. A keg had just been set up but not yet settled enough for consumption. Three Sisters, named after the mountain range in Glencoe, is a dark fruity refreshing ale, blended with chocolate and crystal malts as well as whole flower hops; a pleasant end to a delightful and informative tour.

Harry's favorite brew: Wayfarer IPA, a seasonal which we could not find.

Harry's favorite home brew recipe:

12 gal all grain
18 lbs Maris Otter, or Optic
1 lb Crystal
150 gm Fuggles to boil
150 gm Kent Golding to finish
65* C to mash
72* to sparge

Single Malt Tasting Notes from Scotland


Clynelish 14 yr 46%
peppery

Delwhinnie 15 yr

honey, apple light, smooth

sweet, malt, honey, fruit, fireworks (Talisker)

Edradour 10 year
caramel

Glenfarclas 105 cask, 60 %
eggy french toast, honey

Glengoyne 12 yr cask strength 57%

sherry, crisp

Glen Marangie Port

apple pie, cinnamon, sweet

Glen Morangie 10 yr

lemon bar, soft, honey

Highland Park

smooth

Highland Park Cask 1991

peat, sharp, pot roast

Jura Experimental

bacon, sharp, smokey

Longmourn 15 yr
bay side malt, butterscotch

Macallan 10 yr
cinnamon roll, raisin

Macallen 15 yr
smooth, lemon, melon

Oben 14 yr

smooth, orange peel

sea salt, orange peel (Telisker)

Old Port Cask, Double matured port finish

caramel corn popcorn, roast

* Alona favorite

Strathisla 1967

fruit cake, cherry, hint of leather

Talisker 10 yr
smokey
peppry, citrus, flower (Talisker)

Saxo

Rating: 3

Braserie Caracole
Falmignoul, Belgium

Style: Belgian strong / golden ale

ABV: 8%
750 ml bottle

Light straw color with a huge amount of carbonation. Light refreshing taste that I'd put somewhere between a white beer, golden ale, and pale ale. Has the citrus flavors of a white beer, but hops closer to a pale ale. Easy to forget its 8% ABV.

This reminds me of the Troublette we had a couple weeks ago, it would be interesting to try them side-by-side. So far I'm really liking the beers from Caracole. We also had the Nostradamus at Ebeneezers recently and that scored high on everyone's list, though it definitely was a different style of beer.

't Smisje Calva Reserva

Rating: 2

Brouwerij De Regenboog

Brougge, Belgium
Style: Quadrupel
ABV: 12%

11.2 oz bottle

Poured with little to no carbonation or head. Left a good bit of sediment at the bottom of the bottle.

Deep brown color with a strong sweet earthy type aroma. Tastes very reminiscent of the Samiclaus I recently had. Sweet, complex, dark fruit flavors with a moderate amount of oakiness coming through. Alchohol seemed to overwhelm later in the beer.

Farmhouse Ale

Rating: 2

Smuttynose Brewing Co.

Portsmouth, NH

Style: Saison

ABV: 7.4%
22 oz bottle

Classic saison fruitiness and sourness. This has to be very close to the White Labs saison yeast I've used in most of my saisons. Light body, moderate hoppiness, somewhat sweet finish. Great saison interpretation except a) it's a little sweeter than I would prefer, I like the dry finishing saison for their drinkability, and b) the alchohol content makes it less of a session beer.

As a side note, the brewers' notes on their website are great from a homebrewer perspective, with details of malt, hops, and yeast. I definitely have to try some of the other "Big Barrel" series.

Beer Dinner 07/27/07

Given that it was in the 80's and way humid we went for the lighter food. Crazy cucumber gazpacho and pasta el vegetables. We led off the drinking with some Saison v6 - can't be beaten for a summer beer.

Reissdorf Kolsch
Rating: 2
Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf
Germany
style: kolsch
notes: nice light beer, without other Kolschs for comparison we're having a hard time rating this beer

The Czar
Rating: 3
Avery Brewing Company
Colorado
style: imperial stout
notes: bang-up imperial stout...went well with our super-duper chocolate bundt cake.

Troublette
Rating: 3
Brasserie Caracole
Belgium
style: wit
notes: I swear there is a lemon meringue pie in that bottle, anyone who tells me otherwise is on crack.

Hopf Helle Weisse
Rating: 1
Weissbierbrauerei Hopf
Germany
style: hefeweizen
notes: not our favorite hefeweizen...I think we've had too many edel-weize's recently. And the comparison to Troublette is difficult.

Blanche de Namur

Rating: 2

Brasserie du Bocq
Purnode, Belgian
Style: Wit
ABV: 4.5%

750 ml corked bottle

This has to be one of the lightest beers I've ever poured, hazy straw color. Has the traditional wit coriander, lemon, orange smells. Light dry slightly acidic taste with a ton of tiny bubbles in my mouth. Very drinkable wit beer.

Hennepin

Rating: 2

Brewery Ommegang

Cooperstown, New York

Style: Saison

ABV: 7.7%

750 ml corked bottle

Ommegang's Hennepin, one of their flagship beers, pours with a huge, intense head, that dissipates very slowly, forming strange and - if you've had enough to drink - compelling shapes in the glass. The color is a surprisingly light gold, even yellow. There's an immediate spicy quality to the aroma - coriander is perhaps in here, but it's not that specific. There's also an underlying fruitiness. The flavour is a very balanced mix between the spicy notes, a floral quality, and a malty sweetness on the tongue; an extremely palatable, enjoyable beer to drink. There's also a zesty quality, like that from a lemon peel.

The beer is a perfect pairing with a rustic French cheese such as Comte Le Fort, with a mellow, earthy flavour.

Heavy Seas - Red Sky at Night

Rating: 3

Clipper City Brewing Company

Baltimore, Maryland

Style: Saison

ABV: 7.5%

12 fl oz bottle

This was an extremely pleasant surprise (though we've had other Clipper City beers recently, and enjoyed them): a saison available as a six-pack, on a seasonal (summer) basis.

The beer pours a light golden/straw colour with a small head. It has a yeasty (even bready), fruity smell, with sweet apples especially notable. The same qualities emerge in the taste, with a slight tart/sour quality on the tongue, along with the usual saison earthiness. Red Sky at Night pairs very well with good quality cheese.

Gareth's IPA v2 a

All grain IPA
20 gallons
7/1/07

This is my attempt to reproduce Gareth's IPA v 2 in an all grain recipe. I used additional hops during the final minute of boil and only had the dry yeast listed available.

Toasted malt, 1 lb, 1o min at 350*
Pale ale malt, 2 row, 20 lbs
Crystal malt, 2 lbs

Chinock hops 6 oz 75 min
Cascade hops 4 0z 5 min
Kent Golding hops 2 1/2 oz 1 min
Safale dry ale yeast S-04

Water heated to 170*
Mashed at 151-148* for 90 min
Sparge water 170*(water through sparge arm 150, mash at 136*)
Pitched 89*

OG 1048 7/1/07
Transfer to secondary fermenter 1010 7/4/07
Racked to keg 7/19/07 1010

Ebenezers Round 3

What we drank:

Unibroue Maudite
Brasserie Caracole Nostradamus - crowd favorite
St Bernadus Abt 12
Fantome La Gourmande - everything they brew is different
De Ranke XX Bitter
't Smisje BBBourgondier - reminiscent of the famous summer barleywine
Samichlaus - worth another try, I think MAF liked this more than the rest

It was a tough night...I had to get these beers blogged before they left my consciousness. Another great Ebeneezer's experience, except what's up with that intermittent sewerage smell, they seriously need to do something about that.

Allagash Brewery

It being a rainy Wednesday afternoon, we decided to pack the car a head to Portland to take the tour of Allagash Brewery. We were not the only ones bored with the weather as demonstrated by the size of the tour. We joined about 20 other beer lovers in the lobby of Allagash, off outer Forest Ave., in the very industrial Riverside Industrial Park, for our tour.

Our able tour guide started us off with a very brief history and some tasting. After some well place questions we learned that the owner Rob Tod earned his degree in beer drinking from Middlebury College and worked while there at Otter Creek Brewing. After graduating, he came to Portland and set up his first brewery in some rented space in the industrial park where they are now located. No garage brewing for young Mr. Tod. Thanks to his generous father, and his vision to create an all Belgian style brewery, and some initial lonely days brewing and tasting beer, Allagash Brewery has seen steady exponential growth since. We did have a sighting of Mr. Tod, but no verbal contact.

Once we got out of the lobby,we did weasel out some important trade secrets from our guide: Allagash's water is from Sebago Lake (Portland tap water), their yeast was a fortunate contamination, in true Belgium style, and they have been able to preserve it since, the name Hugh Malone come from the Latin name of hops, Humulus lupus ( see comment on Hugh Malone review).

Tasting which was held prior to the tour included White, Dubbel, Triple, and Hugh Malone. Beer was served in plastic glasses in the cement lobby while standing. Certainly not the ambiance, personal touch or quantity which we were fortunate to get at Redhook. I asked several time about casks, which are used for storage in the cold room, but was not invited to see them. Overall, however, the tour was interesting. The tour guide was pleasant and could not be stumped, although we tried hard. We were allowed to walk on the floor during production. I stopped a worker who was very friendly and informative. At the end of the tour we showed our appreciation by being good consumers in the gift shop, and made our way to Bray's to complete our total beer afternoon.

Chambly Noire

Rating: 3

Unibroue

Chambly, Quebec, Canada

Style: Black Ale

ABV: 6.2%

750 ml corked bottle

Chambly Noire is exactly that: it comes out of the bottle black, with an excellent foamy coffee-colored head; the head died back very fast, though. In the glass, the beer is completely opaque, like a dark stout. It has an extremely fruity aroma, with grape and prune especially noticeable. The flavor also has hints of grape, as well as a spicy maltiness. The beer had a vigorously carbonated feel in the mouth, and a slight but very pleasing sour quality.

We drank it as a dessert beer paired with some gingerbread, and the spiciness complemented the food well. At 6.2%, it's also considerably less potent than some other dessert choices (stouts aside) and as such extremely drinkable.

Tripel Karmeliet

Rating: 3

Brouwerij Bosteels
Buggenhout, Belgium
Style: Belgian Tripel
ABV: 8.1%
750 ml corked bottle

The beer pours with a deep golden color, and a solid head - though the latter dissipated fairly quickly. It has a bright, extremely fresh aroma, with a citrus scent particularly to the fore. The taste combined a maltiness with flavors of apple (especially green apples) and citrus fruits, with grapefruit emerging more strongly. The beer behaved like a champagne in the mouth, with intense carbonation. All around, an extremely drinkable, balanced, flavorful beer - top rating!

Trappistes Rochefort 6

Rating: 2

Brasserie de Rochefort

Rochefort, Belgium

Style: Belgian Strong Ale

ABV: 7.5%

33 cl bottle

Dark brown pour with a nice lacy head that quickly dissipates. Sweet complex malty aroma.

Sweet complex malty taste also. Some dry bitterness in this beer that isn't typically hoppy. People always talk about the drinkability of these abbey ales...but I'm not feeling it. Sure, it doesn't have the hops of most strong American ales, but with the aroma and flavors I can't imagine having more than one. This also is a beer that needs to be paired with something.

Don't get me wrong, I did really like the beer, I just found it closer to an after dinner digestive than the saisons I'm used to drinking.

Hugh Malone Ale

Rating: 2

Allagash Brewery

Portland, Maine
Style: Belgian IPA
ABV: 8.5%
750 ml corked bottle

Hugh Malone is an entry in the Allagash Brewery's "Tribute" Series, which mostly pays tribute to the brewery itself, as it includes things like their 10th and 11th anniversary beers; given the general quality of their beers, though, it doesn't seem unreasonable. By all accounts, Hugh Malone himself was an emigrant brewer, born in Ireland, who washed up in Portland with a fondness for hops (edit: after further research, this sounds like a hoax, for which someone at Allagash even composed a special website...).

The beer pours a rich amber color, with a serious head developing fast; the cork came out with a vigorous pop. The head died down pretty quickly, however. The aroma was quite mild, but yeasty. The taste started out fresh and bright, and in the middle became intensely yeasty on the palate. We struggled to pin down a suitable flavor comparison: we knew that it was not fruity, but weren't sure how to describe the spicy taste. It's a complex flavor, with perhaps something of the quality of a dry wine; although bitter, we didn't immediately think of hop flavors (though the beer has no shortage of hops).

The beer is extremely drinkable, and very tasty, but in the end we had to conclude that at the price - $15+ depending on location, which includes a $1 donation - it was a 2 rather than a 3.

Goudenband

Rating: 3

Liefmans Breweries
Dentergem, Belgium
Style: Flemish Sour Brown
ABV: 8%
375 ml corked bottle (2006 vintage)

In preparation for our upcoming Belgium trip I'm hitting the classics. Goudenband is billed as the classic Femish sour brown ale. Pours with a slight head that disappears quickly. Dark red color with a noticeably sour nose.

Sweet and sour taste. Lime flavor that leaves a lingering puckerness...(spell check doesn't think that's a word, but I don't care) Doesn't seem as syrupy as the Duchess, but in my opinion that makes it more enjoyable. More balanced in its sourness than a Gueze. All around a very enjoyable beer.

Lambic

Lambic v1
(10 gallons)
7/7/2007

20 lbs maris otter 3L
3/4 lbs munich
3/4 lbs wheat malt
2 t gypsum
8 oz german tettnang (120 min) - baked for 2 hours at 200 degrees to age the hops

infusion mash 150 for 90 min
120 min boil

yeast:
WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix I
WLP410 Belgian Wit Ale II primary/WLP650 Brettanomyces bruxellensis secondary

1.061 OG on 7/7

More of a lambic style beer than a true lambic. Lacking the necessary raw wheat and turbid mash, though I did attempt to use aged hops.

I'm pondering adding some wine grapes to one of the batches later in the fall.

Wostyntje

Rating: 3

Brouwerij De Regenboog
Brugge, Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
ABV: 7%
11.2 oz bottle

Pours clear amber with full white head. Doesn't look like mustard.

Very aromatic, maybe hints of mustard in there...but I'm probably just making that up because its called "mustard ale" on the label. Also some sour notes in the aroma.

Light dry body and taste for a stong ale, but definite belgian character, including some light sour flavors. I'd be hard pressed to identify mustard flavor, but there is some nice spiciness in there. The light body allows a lot of flavors to come through, I just have a hard time putting a finger on what they are.

Moat Mountain Smoke House & Brewing Co.

Just north of North Conway on Rt 16 we stumbled into Moat Mtn after a long day hiking the nearby Isolation Mtn. (As it happened we ran into some other Isolation hikers on the way in).

The restaurant is in a huge rambling white farmhouse, and we had no problem getting a table, though I was a little afraid I'd get lost on the way to the bathroom. They also have a good sized bar, where we managed to catch up on the Red Sox game on our way out.

For a brewpub the food was average, however the beers were outstanding. First the food. Given the smoke house billing, we both went with barbecue, the pulled pork sandwich and the beef brisket dinner. Maybe traditional barbecue comes this way, but we both were left wanting more sauce.

Now the beer:
Belgian Single - 2 (very drinkable belgian beer in a brewpub, I'm impressed)
Bear Peak Brown - 2
Golden Dog Pilsner - 3 (hoppy german/czech style pilsner, great crisp summer beer)

Sparge Manifold

This Sparge Manifold was made of 1/2 in copper pipe soldered together with lead free solder to fit the mash vessel. Vertical elbows were added to help stabilize it. 1/16 in holes were drilled into the tube. Smaller holes would probably be better if one could find a smaller drill. One problem I had was that the water would not reach the holes furthest away from he entry site unless the manifold was tipped up as in the picture. I can change the angle of the entry tube at a later date.

The Manifold seemed to work well, It can be manually moved to help distribute the water. Control of the flow was easy by using the valve on the water vessel. By keeping a 1/2 in head of water on the mash, I doubt any troughs were formed through the grain bed.

Hefeweizen v.2

Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Clone
5 gallons
7/1/2007

4 oz aromatic malt
2 oz acid malt

The grains were heated to 155F in 1 quart of water, and left to steep for 30 minutes. The liquid was strained into the brewpot, the total amount of liquid was brought up to 1.5 gallons, and brought to a boil. The following were then added:

5.75 lb Munton's Wheat DME
2 oz malto-dextrin
1 oz Hallertau hops

The total amount of liquid was increased to 2.5 gallons and the wort was brought to a boil. After 45 minutes of vigorous boiling, I added:

1/4 oz Perle hops
1/4 oz Spalt hops

After a final 15 minutes of boil, the wort was cooled and added to the fermenter; the total liquid was topped up to 5 gallons, and I added the yeast:

Whitelabs WLP300 Hefeweizen Ale Yeast

After 24 hours, an EXTREMELY vigorous amount of fermentation activity was visible, noisily forcing CO2 and foam out of the airlock; I brought the fermenter downstairs to regulate the temperature somewhat. After a week in the primary, all seemed well - there was much evidence of that vigorous activity when I opened the lid - and the specific gravity was down to 1.012.

Southampton 10th Anniversary Old Ale

Rating: 2

Southampton Publick House
Southampton, NY
Style: Old Ale
ABV: 8.8%
750 ml

Not much carbonation when I uncorked the bottle. Deep red color with minimal head when the beer was poured. Strong complex beer, with many flavors going on. Pick any one you want, its probably there: raisin, caramel, date, ...

Not having had too many old ales, this beer kept reminding me of a barleywine, minus some of the hops. Great to drink sitting around a fire on a cold winter night. Might also be interesting to age for a couple more years.

Bukowski's

The original Bukowski's bar is in a parking garage in Boston, and the second outpost opened in Cambridge's Inman Square a couple of years ago; both are named for the legendarily hard-drinking author Charles Bukowski.

The two bars specialize in craft beers, and usually have a fine selection of local and not-so-local beers from smaller breweries on draft, as well as a decent selection of bottled beers. On our Friday night visit, we tried eight different brews between four of us:

Berkshire Brewing Company's Gold Spike Ale (Kölsch) - 2 (we've been very impressed by the BBC offerings recently)
Boulder Beer Company's Hazed and Infused - 3 (a standout example of the big, hoppy IPA)
Brasserie Lefebvre's Blanche de Bruxelles - 3 (nicely tart, looks great with a lemony colour and white head)
Unibroue's Ephémère - 1 (possibly influenced by the fact that this was not what was ordered!)
Allagash's Hugh Malone Ale - 2/3 (not everyone agreed that this was as good as the price might have implied)
Affligem Abbey Ale Blond - 3
La Rulles Tripel - 3
Schneider Weisse - 3 (an outstanding hefeweizen, one of the very best of this style)

Unfortunately, while the beer selection was good, with the opportunity to try a number of more unusual beers on tap, the service throughout our time at the bar was unacceptably bad. The staff paid little attention to us, served us the incorrect beer a number of times, made up a story about the lack of one beer, and were generally pretty rude when we tried to correct the errors or make other requests. We were extremely unimpressed, and will give Bukowksi's a wide berth for a while: there are other local bars that have a similarly good selection and a much better attitude to their customers.

Bier aus Klebealm

After a long hike in the Austrian Alps, down from the Hochstubai Hütte, at 3174 m, nothing quenches the thirst quite like a Stiegl Lager or a Paulaner Hefeweizen. Brewed in Salzberg, Stiegl is a popular request in the Alps because of its light crisp flavor and refreshing characteristics. It does not linger on the palate or in the bottle. For those on the continuous search for their German roots, Paulaner Hefeweizen hits the mark. Straight from Munich, this light wheat beer, high in effervescence while low in calories, is what the doctor ordered for all aching muscles and tired soles. Order up some Kaiserschmarren and one may even have enough energy to get back to Sölden.

Belgian Sour Brown Ale

Rating: 2

FuzzMan Brewing
Boston, MA
Style: Wild
ABV: ?%
16 oz bottle
Bottled 5/2007

Poured with a flat head, though carbonation seemed decent. Lot of flavors at work here, port wood aging, sour brown, slight metallic taste.

I say...let this beer age. Hopefully with more time in the bottle the sour brown will come forward more and the other flavors recede. Stay tuned.

Harpoon Peche

Rating: 2

Harpoon Brewery

Boston, MA

Style: Peche

ABV: 5%

22 oz bottle

100 BBL Series Session 19

Poured with a huge head, and it smelled unbelievably like an actual fresh peach...really. Smells like a peach, tastes like a peach, and leaves you with an aftertaste that makes you think you just ate a peach, not drank a beer.

Compared to some fruit type beers that are cloyingly sweet this is a pleasant surprise. There is a definite tartness in the taste, but not enough that I would have called it a peach lambic.

I might suggest dialing back the peach just a tad, so you actually know you're drinking beer, but overall I think this is a great attempt at brewing something different. Refreshing in an American beer market that sees way too many overpriced high alcohol hop monsters. This baby only cost me $5!

Locals Night at Ebenezers

Tour of Sweden, June 20, 2007

The directors of the WMWT were called into executive session today at 5:00pm to discuss the important question ,”Can a ride count toward a patch if it does not end at a bar?” The question came to the table because it was heard that a couple of renegade riders did a tour and finished before the bar in question was open. One director suggested that because the board meeting was hastily called and we were meeting at Ebenezer's, that the decision might be biased. Another round was bought and the question was forgotten. The final decision was that because that rule was not written into the articles of incorporation that we would have to give the renegades credit, but someone at the end of the table was heard to say, “But why would they?”

Nine riders met at Ebenezer's today at 1:00 (two at 1:15) and started the tour of Sweden. Mapped by Judy, the route, which was 80% dirt roads, was a diversion from the fast-paced road trips to date. The first leg was to conquer the hills to the Sweden town office. Sunday recon paid off because there were no signs and no people at the newly constructed building. After being reassured by the recon team that we were in fact at the town office we made our way back down and up the previously summited hills to get to the dirt road cross over. Most of the roads were hard packed and smooth although there was one rough and soft section which was walked by most. Most riders stayed on the designated route, while Ann couldn’t help herself, exploring every skidder trail as well as the Gorge. She reminded me of Bailey, our dog. Despite all the meandering she was still the first to the rest stops.

When arriving at the sign, we were pleased to find that the renegades had done the trip this morning and already signed in. After the sign the group broke up. Five riders decided to go back to E. by the paved route 5, while the rest went back along the same dirt route. Judy gave Ann, Barb and me permission to blast back so that we would not be late for our reservations. Fool as I am, I thought I could keep up with them.

We all congregated back at E. within 30 min. of each other and enjoyed some fine beer and locals specials. Judy and I sampled Belgian draughts, all on sale for $5. Rogue Dead Guy, a brown ale from Oregon, was a popular choice, and Ann sipped Domaine Dupont, a 2005 French apple cider.
There was considerable discussion about the next tour, probably Denmark next week. Also the group is still trying to map out a reasonable approach to the China problem.
More to follow.

Russ

It's not just the beer...

...it's also how good you look while drinking that beer, which has a lot to do with the fine glassware used. The breweries would probably love us to be convinced that we need a different glass for every single beer, but there are some general principles that aren't bad to observe, and the Boston Globe summarizes them here. I'm a particular fan of the wheat beer glasses, which look especially good when the beer has been poured properly with a nice big head. I'm not sure, though, that I agree with the characterization of Jever as an artisanal beer; it's a big brewery that's part of a massive conglomerate.

Allagash Musette

Rating: 2

Allagash Brewery
Portland, Me
Style: Scotch Ale
ABV: 10%
750 ml bottle
12/2006 batch

From Allagash's Barrel-Aged Beer series, in their words a beer that is inspired by the scotch ale style. I normally love Allagash beers but this is admittedly not my favorite. Fair representation of the scotch style, but not the exceptional beer you'd expect after just paying $16.

Deep amber color, somewhat flat nose, medium body & sweeter taste but lacking complexity I want from a 10% scotch ale.

Gareth's Saison v1

Saison v1 (Saison Dupont clone)
(5 gallon)

.5 lb German Vienna malt
5.75 lbs Munton's extra light dry malt extract
1 lb wheat dry malt extract
1 lb Belgian clear candi sugar

1.4 oz Styrian Goldings 4.3% (60 min)
.5 oz Kent Goldings 4.2% (15 min)
.5 oz bitter orange peel (15 min)
.25 oz Kent Goldings (5 min)

60 min boil

yeast: WLP Saison Yeast

Ebenezer's Review

On a recon mission for a bike tour of Sweden, Judy and I had to stop at Ebenezer's. Actually Ebenezer's is the meeting place and destination of the tour.

I started with a Scotch De Silly. Served in correct glass, from the tap, this Belgium Scottish ale was very pleasing as a starter, slightly smoky and sweet, in a complex way, it left the palate asking for more. I followed with a dinner of sweet Italian sausages served with plain mashed potatoes and a moderately long wait, with Val Dien Tripel. Bottled in a small monastery, this Abbey Ale was light, clear, effervescent as it should be, with a wheaty after taste. Reminds me how much I will miss the Tour of Belgium.

Judy started with a Delirium Tremens Noël, from the tap in appropriate glass. This beer needs no description. I would add, however, that I would love to get my hands on one of those serving trays with the pink elephants from the wall of Ebenezer's. With her dinner of ginger pan fried shrimp, very spicy, accompanied with plain mashed potatoes and boring veggies, she had, you guessed it, Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. She is predictable. From the tap this IPA had good bitterness, and hop aroma more fruity than I expected.

Summer Barleywine

Summer Barleywine
(5 gallons)
6/17/2007

9 lbs Munton's light dry malt extract
1 lb aromatic malt

1 oz Cluster (60 min)
1/2 oz Fuggles (15 min)
1/2 oz Fuggles (5 min)

60 min boil

yeast:
Wyeast London Ale

1.062 OG on 6/17

1/2 lb farm honey (warmed and slightly diluted) added to fermenter on 6/19
another 1/2 lb honey added to fermenter on 6/20
1.25 lbs (approximately) puréed fresh apricots added to fermenter on 6/21
500 ml white wine concentrate added to fermenter on 6/22

This recipe was designed by MAF after we tried a great Summer Barleywine at the Cambridge Brewing Company, which involved an apricot purée. It was the highlight of the CBC's 18th birthday celebration. The head brewer sent us some tips for brewing our own version.

Following the suggestions of the CBC brewmaster, I added half of the honey after the fermentation had picked up, and the next morning the fermentation was, if anything, even more vigorous: I've never seen such activity through the airlock!

After the apricot purée was added, the activity tapered off quite quickly, though it then picked up again to a reasonable degree once the wine concentrate (which tasted like a grapey honey, though it was less viscous than honey) was added.

Update November 2013: Although there was a lot of sediment in this beer, caused by the apricot puree, this beer continues to age very well, with the fruit characteristics really coming out. The first glass is always excellent, since there's very little sediment, with tiny carbonation bubbles, and there's a very nice balance between the "kick" of the higher alcohol content and the complexities of the various fruit flavours.

Saison

Saison v6
(10 gallons)
6/17/2007

14 lbs german pilsner
6 lbs munich
1 lb crystal 40L
2 t gypsum
7.7 SRM

4 oz hallertauer (60 min)
1 oz kent golding (15 min)
1 oz styrian (2 min)
42.9 IBU

infusion mash 150 for 90 min

90 min boil

yeast:
Wyeast Forbidden Fruit
Wyeast Belgian Ardennes

1.054 OG on 6/17
1.016 secondary on 6/23
1.015 keg ardennes on 7/2
1.015 keg fruit on 7/7

Moan and Dove

Last year, this place, just outside Amherst, MA, came top of a Beer Advocate poll on the best places to have a beer, and since we're huge fans of the second-placed establishment, Brookline's Publick House, we thought it necessary to take an overnight trip out to the west of Boston to rate the place for ourselves.

Our first impression was slight bewilderment, partly because the bar is in the boondocks, a couple of miles south of Amherst at a nondescript crossroads, and also because it was so quiet inside, though the crowds arrived later. Our confusion was multiplied several times over when we discovered that, with the exception of a giant barrel of peanuts inside the door, the Moan and Dove doesn't serve any food, extremely unusual in the US, especially for a place that serves such a fine range of beers.

Once we figured out what to do for dinner - there are nearby pizza and sandwich places and you can bring food back to your table at the Moan and Dove - we were better able to focus on their beer menu: a large chalkboard told us what was on tap, and the card menu listed a considerable number of bottled options.

The list of beers on tap was pretty strong, ranging from the easily predicted Guinness to the far more unusual, like a Spezial Rauchbier (I don't recall ever seeing a Rauchbier on tap in the US) and Cantillon's flagship gueuze. The bottle list was also good, although a frustrating number of the bottles were unavailable: they rarely update the printed menu (they've had the same one for several years) and they signal out-of-stock items by writing them on a chalkboard. Since the chalkboard isn't visible from the bar and is pretty cluttered it was no surprise that we tried to order at least five or six items that were not in stock; it wouldn't take much thought or effort to improve that part of their system, which is unimpressive for a place serious about its beer.

Between four of us, we tried eleven beers, and our top-rated items were the aforementioned Cantillon gueuze, Cantillon's Vigneronne (a lambic with muscat grapes, very tart), Loterbol blond (from Brouwerij Duysters, again with a tart finish), and Moinette brune (from Brasserie Dupont, a maltier beer than the other three which garnered high marks).

Overall, I think we felt that while the Moan and Dove was an interesting stop, with some very fine beers, it wasn't up to the exceptionally high standard set by the Publick House, which, to our minds, should be atop more or less any list of places to have a drink (and food!); we would certainly drop back in if a journey took us near Amherst, but we're unlikely to plan another trip just for an evening at the bar.

Belgian Pale Ale

Belgian Pale Ale
(10 gallons)
5/19/2007

20 lbs german pilsner malt
16 oz caramunich
4 oz chocolate malt
4 oz crystal (60 min) (substituted Mt Hood, Liberty, or Hallertaur??)
2 oz tettnang (30 min)
2 oz tettnang (10 min)
1 oz tettnang (end of boil)
1 oz crystal (end of boil) (substituted Mt Hood, Liberty, or Hallertaur??)

yeast:
WLP540 Abbey IV Ale
WLP575 Belgian Style Ale blend

Infusion mash at 150 for 90 min
90 min boil

1.052 OG on 5/19
1.030 secondary on 5/23
1.022 keg on 6/4

Saison

Saison v5
(10 gallons)
5/6/2007

17.5 lbs german pilsner
2.5 lb munich
1 lb malted rye
2 t gypsum
4.6 SRM

4 oz hallertauer (60 min)
1 oz kent golding (15 min)
1 oz styrian (2 min)
42.7 IBU

Infusion mash 150 for 90 min

Yeast:
WLP565 Saison
WLP 570 Belgian Golden

1.055 OG on 5/6
1.021/1.020 secondary (565/570) on 5/12
1.021/1.013 keg (565/570) on 5/26

Saison

Saison v4
(5 gallons)
3/4/2007

12 lb german pilsner
2 lb wheat
2 t gypsum

1 oz kent golding (60 min)
1 oz kent golding (15 min)
1/3 oz styrian (2 min)

step mash 115 to 165 over 100 min

yeast:
WLP565 saison

1.065 OG on 3/4
1.025 secondary on 3/10
1.024 keg on 3/25

Alt

Alt
(5 gallons)
2/3/2007

6 lbs light DME
1/4 lb crystal 40L
1/4 lb munich
1/4 lb vienna

1/2 oz spalter (60 min)
1 oz hallertauer plugs (60 min)
1 oz hallertauer plugs (30 min)

yeast:
WLP029

1.051 OG on 2/3
1.015 secondary on 2/9
1.015 keg on 2/24 (cold conditioned the secondary at 45 deg)

Belgian Sour Brown Ale

Belgian Sour Brown Ale
(5 gallons)
1/20/2007

1.5 oz cara-pils
2 t gypsum
6/6 lgs light DME
1 lb amber candi sugar
8 oz molasses (added at end of boil)

1.5 oz kent golding (60 min)
1/2 oz saaz (20 min)

oak chips soaked in port for 2 weeks added to secondary

yeast:
WLP570 golden ale primary
WLP655 belgian style sour mix secondary

1.056 OG on 1/20
1.021 secondary, added WLP655 on 1/26
1.012 added oak chips on 2/11
1.009 bottles on 5/6

Gareth's IPA v2

India Pale Ale v2
(5 gallon)
1/17/07

6.6 lbs Munton's light malt extract syrup
1 lb Munton's dry light malt extract
1 lb crystal 40
1/2 lb toasted [bisquit] malt

3 oz Chinook (11.6% alpha acid) (60 min)
2 oz Cascade (5.1% alpha acid) (10 min)

60 min boil

yeast:
Whitelabs American Ale Blend

Kegged 2/7/07, 1.016 FG

Saison

Saison v3
(5 gallons)
1/6/2007

13 lbs american pale
1.5 lbs cara-munich
1 lb light candi sugar
2 t gypsum

1.5 oz hallertauer (60 min)
1/2 oz hallertauer (10 min)
1/2 oz fuggles (5 min)

2 oz crystalized ginger

infusion mash 150 for 120 min
90 min boil

yeast:
WLP565

1.070 OG on 1/6
1.042 secondary on 1/11
1.015 keg on 1/20

Dry Stout

Dry Stout v1
(5 gallon)
1/1/07

6.6 lbs Muntons dark malt extract syrup
3/4 lb Crystal 60
1/3 lb black roasted malt
1/3 lb roasted barley

2 oz Fuggles (4.2% alpha acid) (60 min)

60 min boil

yeast:
Whitelabs Irish Ale yeast

Kegged 1/27/07, 1.014 FG