Brewski-Bros

Rogue Dead Guy Ale

2009-09-25T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hooray!!! It's once again football season. It's that magical time of the year where I can't wait to watch my favorite teams and cheer them on to victory.... or wait 'til three weeks into the season to find myself already cursing the coaching and overpaid athletes that ruin my weekend because they suck and cause me undue stress because I am too avid of a fan.

Well anyway... more often than not I find myself having a few drinks while watching the game. But I don't like to be burdened down with high gravity, complex beers. There's a time and a place for them and, in my opinion, during a football game is not one of those times. I need a good session beer that is not lacking flavor, but isn't going to make me quit after drinking one or two of them.

Here's Dead Guy Ale from Rogue. A delightfully refreshing Maibock. The beer pours a slightly hazy, light amber color with a very creamy, yellowish head. The aroma is caramel and grassy with a tinge of yeast to it. The flavor is a lot of sweet malt with some orange, a slight fruitiness, and an excellent dry, hoppy finish. I'm not really sure this is much like a German Maibock, but it is still a refreshing, delicious beer that I tend to find myself grabbing just before the game. Give it a try.

HOMEBREW: Dayman

2009-08-03T20:15:00.000-07:00

So here we are finding ourselves in August. The air is thick, the temperature hot, and the sun is bright. In our ode to the sun, we Brewski Brothers have come up with our summertime ale. We present to you Dayman. A super hopped up, light ale that focuses on the fantastic aromas and flavors of American hops while contributing little in the way of bittering. The name is an homage to our favorite show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Dayman is fighter of the Nightman... Champion of the sun... and if you have a few too many, you may also think you are a master of karate and friendship. A quick brew to make, so enjoy.

1.) In 3 gallons of water, steep 1/2 lb of carapils, 1/2 lb belgian munich, and 1/2 lb 2 row pale ale between 155-160 degrees F for 30 min with 1 tsp of gypsum.
2.) Bing to a boil and add 3.3 lbs of pilsen LME, 1 lb of pilsen DME, 1lb of wheat DME, 1 lb of extra light DME, 1/2 oz of palisade hops (6.7%), 1/2 oz cascade (7.5%), and then start 60 minute boil.
3.) With 15 minutes left, add 1 oz amarillo (7.5%), 1 1/4 oz bitter orange peel, 1 1/4 oz lemon peel, 1/2 oz sweet orange peel, and 1 tsp irish moss.
4.) With 10 minutes left, add 1 oz centennial (9.7%).
5.) With 5 minutes left, add 1 oz cascade (6.3%) and 1 oz simcoe (12.7%).
6.) Shut off heat after 60 minutes and chill wort to 70 degrees F and then pitch White Labs WLP 008 East Coast Ale yeast.
7.) After one week, rack to a secondary fermenter and dry hop with 1/2 oz simcoe (12.7%).
8.) Five days later, dry hop with 1/2 oz of simcoe (12.7%).
9.) Bottle the next day with 1 1/4 cup DME. The beer will be ready in 2 weeks.

Homebrew: The Waffler

2009-07-08T20:03:00.000-07:00

The Brewski Brothers are proud to present to you one of our latest brews. Bored with simply brewing according to guidelines, we decided to see what would happen if we hopped the hell out of Belgian-style Trippel. Patience will be a virtue when it comes to this brew, but when our finished product was finally bottled we were left with quite a tasty delight. We were left with a very fruity, citrusy, and dry Belgian-style trippel. The beer turned out to be delightfully bitter, dry, and citrusy. The only thing we might add to this brew is more finishing hops and more dry hopping. Once again, feel free to add or take away anything from this recipe to suit your liking.

1.) Steep 1 lb 20 L crystal malt, 3 oz Belgian Munich malt, 3 oz carapils malt, and 8 oz marris otter malt at 155 degrees F for 30 minutes with 1 tsp gypsum.

2.) Add 8 lbs light DME, 3 lbs extra light DME, 1 lb light Belgian candy sugar and then bring to a boil.

3.) Add 1 oz Nugget hops (13.7%), 1 oz Magnum (14.4%), 1 oz Warrior (15.8%) and start a 60 minute boil.

4.) At 30 minutes, add 1 oz Chinook hops (11.4%), 1 oz Willamette (4.6%), and 1 oz Simcoe (11.9%).

5. At 15 minutes, add 1 tsp Irish moss and 1/2 oz sweet orange peel.

6.) At 5 minutes, add 1 oz Cascade (6.3%), 1 oz Chinook (11.4%), and 1 oz Amarillo (8.6%).

7.) Shut off heat and cool wort to below 70 degrees F. Pitch Trappist Ale yeast from White Labs WLP 500

8.) Ferment at 68-70 degrees F for 2 weeks and then rack to secondary and dry hop with 1 oz Amarillo (8.6%).

9.) 9 days later, dry hop with 1 oz sterling hops (6.0%)

10.) 5 days later, dry hp with 1/2 oz Willamette (4.6%) and 1 oz Chinook (11.4%).

11.) Leave in secondary for another month. Then, bottle with 6 oz of priming sugar and a hop tea created with 1 oz Mt. Hood (5.2%) filtered with 1 cup of water.

12.) The beer will be ready in two weeks, but will get much better with age.

Dogfish Head Sah'Tea

2009-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Dogfish Head is esoteric to say the least. "Off centered ales for off centered people." And they aren't kidding. Dogfish Head offers everything from chocolate beers, to the world's strongest fruit beer, to exotic wood aging, to the most imperial of all imperial IPAs, etc, etc, etc. Aside from the novelty of the beers they brew, they're also really, really good.

That being said. Dogfish Head has got me hooked. I will buy anything that they put on the market. They could put out a beer called "Dogshit Head... brewed with real dog shit", and I would most certainly still buy it. Here enters a new brew from Dogfish called Sah'Tea. According to Dogfish's website this is a beer that is brewed with rye, caramelized with hot river rocks, and fermented with a German Weizen yeast. On top of this, the beer has juniper berries added to it as well as a "tea" of black tea, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and black pepper.

Out of the champagne bottle, the beer pours a slightly hazy golden color with a small, very fizzy head that disappeared as soon as it had appeared. As complex as the recipe for this beer sounds, the aroma this beer offers is just as complex. I picked up a lot of cinnamon and ginger as well as some tea notes, spice, fruit, and clove-like notes. The flavor is very similar, but is also has a slight sweetness to it with a citrusy quality that is most likely due to the juniper berries. The finish on the beer is very long and is a lot of tea as well as cloves that is due to the German Weizen yeast. With all the flavors this beer offers, it's still really drinkable. I don't know how it's 9% ABV.

I liked this beer. I'm also glad I shared it with a friend. A full 750 mL of this beer would be a bit much. I probably won't buy it again because of the price tag of $11.99, but it is surely worth trying. While it is not my favorite from Dogfish Head, it is still one that satisfied. I say buy it for the sake of trying it and broadening your beer experience.

Sterkens Dubbel

2009-07-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Good God is Belgium awesome! The beers are fantastic! Visting Trappist breweries cannot be done in one day. We spent one day for each Trappist brewery... and man did we love it!

Well, now that that has been said... here we have Sterkens Dubbel. What crap. All this beer represents is a Belgian macro-style beer.

We were just about to head out of Belgium, when i stumbled across this beer at a tiny food mart. The aroma is just a simple malt profile with a tiny bit of yeast and fruit. The flavor is incredibly thin. I am overwhelmed with plastic and a sense that I am drinking a watered down beer. There is even a slight metallic sting... oxidation due to the lack of bottle conditioning. What a waste of a beer.

It saddens me that this beer is out of Belgium. Belgian beers are like no other beers you can have. However... skip this one.

Columbus Brewing Company Summerteeth

2009-07-01T21:24:00.000-07:00

This post is a bit out of place, but I felt the need to acknowledge a great local beer.

By the time we Brewski Brothers had returned from our world trek, summer time was in full swing and I felt like nothing more than sitting down and relaxing with a great local brew.

I stopped by my local carryout and grabbed a sixer of Columbus Brewing Company's Summer Teeth, which is an excellent Kellerbier. A kellerbier is basically a hoppier version of a helles style lager.

Columbus does an exceptional job with the hops on this one. The aroma offers a slight, herbal hoppiness and a tad of malty sweetness. The flavor is very dry, grassy, and crisp.

I sat around all day and enjoyed the greatness that this six pack had to offer. As I drank this, I began to ponder the great adventures that are in store for us Brewski-Bros here in the near future.

I realized that I am content and love the beer I drink. That being said... complacency is never a good thing. More is to come from our journeys around the world. We will not rest 'til we have scoured every corner possible that offers the bounties of beer.

Harpoon Summer Beer

2009-07-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

Time to do a 180!

Once we had finished our journey along the west coast, we made our way to the east and enjoyed the offerings from Harpoon.

I must admit, I haven't had too many beers from Harpoon that I thought were above par or worth noting. Call it the fever of summer time, call it my German ancestry, or simply call it the fact that this is a great beer... but, man, did I love the Harpoon Summer Beer!

Harpoon Summer Beer is a German style Kolsch and it's nice to have an American brewery nail the style down like this!

The beer pours a very pale, straw color with an aroma or grass and slight malt. The beer is very well balanced.. offering a slight bready malt with a teensy bit of grassy hops.

This beer is great for the summer time and I could have stuck around forever and had this beer, but the work of the Brewski Brothers is never done, and thus we move on...

Anchor Summer Beer

2009-07-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Sticking with our venture along the west coast, here we have Anchor Summer Beer out of San Francisco. Anchor is more well known for their Steam Beer, but what a delight is their Summer Beer! After Rob and I had had our fill of exploring the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, we decided to crash along the coast with this refreshing beer.

The beer pours a very pale yellow, but has a huge, gorgeous creamy head that stuck around forever. Normally a wheat beer that has this much clarity turns me off, but this one hit the spot. The aroma and flavor kind of lack.. the aroma is slightly grassy, malty, and has a hint of fruit and the flavor is mostly dry and crisp.

Anchor charges on the higher side for this beer ($10.99 for a six pack), but I could not think of a more enjoyable night than drinking this beer for hours on end along the San Fran coast. This is a true summer beer... it's easy to drink, thirst quenching, and delightfully dry. We'll be going on more road trips here very shortly... and this beer will surely be one that will be in my suitcase for the journey. Cheers, Anchor!

Carlsberg Elephant

2009-07-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

In a bicycle shop in Cairo, Egypt, I came across Carlsberg Elephant malt liquor. Rather than going into the details of why this skunky brew was bad, I thought I would use a visual aid of what it tastes like. My tongue hasn't forgiven me as of yet. Maybe someday...It had the flavors and aroma of elephant shit. Surprise!

Ivan Drago Russian Imperial Stout Recipe

2009-07-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Here at BB headquarters we do our fair share of beer drinking. We also do more than our fair share of brewing. Way back in August we brewed this monster of a beer (check the post). We knew we had a winner on our hands with this one... and we were right. We entered Ivan Drago in Elevator's homebrew contest in January and came away with 3rd prize. Ivan Drago is a mammoth beer with a strong coffee and malt aroma and a very thick, robust coffee flavor with a hint of maple syrup, molasses, and roasted malt. Being the generous souls that we are, we can't keep this beer to ourselves. So, here is the recipe courtesy of the Brewski Brothers. The beer turns out great as is, but feel free to add or take away anything at your discretion... and be sure how to let us know how it turns out!

1.) Steep 1lb 60L crystal malt, 1/2 lb roasted barely, and 1lb black patent malt at 160 degrees F for 20 minutes in 4 gallons of water

2.) Remove grain bag and bring water to a boil. Shut off the heat and add 9.9lbs of plain dark liquid malt extract and 3lbs plain dark DME.

3.) Stir while adding extract and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, add 1oz Columbus hops (12.2%) and start 80 minute boil.

4.) With 57 minutes left, add 5oz of corn sugar. With 34 minutes left in boil, add 1oz of cluster hops (7.9%).

5.) At the end of the boil, shut off the heat and stir the contents to create a whirlpool. Cool wort to below 80 degrees F, transfer to carboy, aerate, and pitch White Labs California Ale Yeast WLP 001.

6.) Ferment at 68-72 degrees F for 2 weeks.

7.) Rack beer to a secondary and add 1oz of french oak chips soaked in bourbon, 1oz plain, sanitized french oak chips, and one cup of organic grade B maple syrup (boiled in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes).

8.) Keep in secondary for 4 weeks. During final week, add two packs of hydrated ale yeast and 1/2 pound of fresh ground coffee beans cold pressed in 2 cups of water for 24 hours.

9.) Bottle with 1 1/4 cups of DME. The beer will be ready to drink in two weeks, but will get better with more time.

Bell's Hopslam

2009-07-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Bell's Hopslam is probably one of the most sought-after Imperial IPAs in the United States. Bell's Brewing Company started up interestingly enough, as a homebrew supply store in 1983. By 1985, they were brewing their own beer for sale. Bell's has a limited distribution territory, so demand is very high for their products, especially their seasonal beers. Hopslam is a seasonal, unfortunately, that is released in mid-Winter each year. As an Ohio State fan, it is hard to be supportive of anything from That State Up North (Michigan), so that is why I put an OSU football helmet on the bottle. It is fitting because Ohio State owns Michigan.

Hopslam pours a rich, vivid orange color with a medium off-white colored head. The head disappears within a minute or so, allowing the beer to reveal its decadant aroma. I detected notes of honey, orange, grass, grapefruit, mango and cantaloupe. The flavor started out sweet with piney hop notes and eventually turns into a cavalcade of sweet citrus fruit and orange blossom honey. It claims to be 10% abv, but I believe that is a modest estimate. The IBUs are around 70, which is balanced lovingly by the honey that is used to make it. The Simcoe and Cascade hops bring the flavors and aroma together, creating a smooth, satisfying extreme brew.

If Hopslam isn't one of the best DIPAs around, I am hard-pressed to think of another. I don't believe I could ever get tired of this beer. It is divine and deserved to be labelled as "The Nectar of the Gods" even if it is from that sinkhole, backwater state called Michigan. A+!!!

Stone Old Guardian

2009-07-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

We are glad to announce our return from our self-imposed hiatus. After Ohio State's crushing defeat at the hands of USC, we went totally 'Kung Fu' by deciding to scour the Earth to search for the meaning of life. What we found was a lot more beer and a lot more meaningful beer. Now that we are back in North America and have managed to acclimate ourselves back into society after almost 9 months of roaming from wilderness to wilderness, it's time to write about some of the beers from our travels.

First up is Stone Old Guardian, a big boy barleywine from a craft brewery in lovely San Diego (which is German for a whale's vagina.) We sure loved San Diego. Balboa Park. The Zoo. The beaches. La Jolla. Most importantly, we loved the beer, particularly the offerings from Stone and AleSmith. Stone is headquartered in Escondido (Spanish for "hidden"), however, they certainly don't hide the flavors in their extreme brews.

Old Guardian pours a hazy light orange with aromas of peaches, pine needles, apricots, caramel and alcohol. The predominant flavors are peaches, raisins, white pepper and slightly burnt caramel. The hops give the beer a nice spicy herb and lemon/grapefruit finish. At nearly 11.3% abv, this certainly is a large beer. It will cellar for at least a few years in optimal conditions, but it sure is enjoyable now. Best enjoyed with a Pacific sunset at one of San Diego's countless beautiful vistas...But that's just how we enjoyed it.

Dogfish Head Immort Ale

2008-05-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

So here is the first review of a work in progress, but I suppose it's time to stop being lazy and get a review posted. Since this is the first beer review, why not make it of Dogfish Head? The brewery rarely disappoints and is always interesting. The beer we have here is Immort Ale. According to Dogfish's website, it's a barelywine. We're not so sure we agree.
The beer poured a dark red, with a thin head. The aromas were very malty with a hint of hops, and vanilla coming through strongly. The first sip quickly brings on lots of caramel, malty sweetness with loads of vanilla and plenty of oak coming through. The maple syrup is detectable underneath the two. The finish is slightly bitter with the hops finally playing their part. This certainly is a strong ale, (coming in at 11%) which could qualify it as a barleywine. It seems like more of a malty American Strong Ale to us. Perhaps it qualifies as more of a traditional English barleywine. Either way, this brew does not disappoint.

This is a rather boring review for such a good beer, but I just wanted to get something up on the site. There will be more to come soon hopefully, as well as some info on who we are. Perhaps a mission statement next? I don't know. The Beer Baron will die.

Southern Tier Un*Earthly Imperial IPA

2008-05-20T16:50:00.001-07:00

Hello hops!

This beer is a sheer bitchslap of hop aroma after a clear, golden pour. The brew's head settled around one inch above the beer level and slowly dissipated over the next few minutes. The aroma of the hops is quite floral and citrusy, finishing with a slight dash of evergreen tree.

Upon first taste, I was in love. Much like love, it started of sweetly. Sweet pink grapefruit, blood orange other tropical fruits. Also like love, after awhile, things became bitter. The grapefruit turned into lemon zest and pine. After some rockiness, the Southern Tier Un*Earthly IPA finished smoothly with a nice malty character.

Overall, this is a brilliant effort from Southern Tier. Unlike quite a few imperial IPAs, the Un*Earthly doesn't get distracted by focusing on International Bitterness Units. It refuses to enter that pissing contest. Rather, it flaunts its rich flowery hops while rocking the suburbs at 11.0% alcohol. It is as near of an example of perfection among double India pale ales as I have come across. Three cheers for Southern Tier!

Konings hoeven Quadrupel Trappist Ale

2008-05-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

Ahhh the Trappist Beers. Monks sure know how to brew beer, don't they? With so many choices like Chimay, Rochefort, Westmalle, Orval, and others, what makes Konings hoeven special? Well, unlike the above mentioned, Konings hoven is one of the few Trappist Beers brewed outside of Belgium. It's brewed in the Netherlands. So what does that matter? Well, I guess it really doesn't, but it's just a little FYI... You're welcome.

So let's talk about the beer itself. The beer we sampled is a quadrupel. My fellow Brewski Bro-mo describes it as "birthday cake in a bottle" and that description is not that far off. The beer poured a clear red with a somewhat tan, moderate sized head. I can smell this beer as I pour it. When I get my nose down in there, the aroma is very fruity, with sweet Belgian candy sugar and a slight bit of yeast. This beer seems incredibly light and is easy drinking... Which is surprising at 10% alcohol by volume. The flavor is very sweet, with figs, candy sugar, prunes, and even the alcohol giving a nice flavor and warming feeling in this beer. This is yet another fine Trappist Beer... a bit pricey(as are the others), but still worth it with it's great drinkability and high alcohol.

There is a serious brainstorm occurring between the Brewski-Bros right now. So watch out, Beer Baron! Your reign of lame beer reviews and crappy beer selection will soon be at an end. I swear that the mission statement is coming some time soon, also. We're too busy drinking beer for your benefit... You're welcome, again.

Rochefort Trappistes 10

2008-05-27T15:42:00.001-07:00

Another Trappist Beer? Yes! Why? Because it's awesome! This beer was something special. So much so that my fellow ESB (that's Extra Special Bro) will be posting his own thoughts on it as well shortly.

This beer poured a deep burgundy/brown color that became even more intense with the sediment. The beer smells tremendous with hints of dark fruit and malts. The first sip is extremely impressive. There's loads of fruit with a wonderful sweetness that is not in the least bit over the top, and the high alcohol of the beer gives an incredible warming sensation all over. There is also a hint of grape, which I find extremely enjoyable.

Rochefort carries a hefty price tag at $5.99 for an 11.2 oz bottle, but this beer is too good to pass up. If you see it, buy it! But it now! There's nothing to lose in this investment. The Trappist Beers receive lots of praise, and for good reason... but with their high cost, how can you be sure you're not getting an over-hyped beer (coughOrvalcough)? Well take my word on this one. You will not be disappointed. This is how beer was intended.

Rochefort Trappistes 10, Redux

2008-05-27T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ahoy, my fellow honorary Brewski Brothers!

The gauntlet hath been thrown down, now I am here to giveth thy review on the Rochefort Trappistes 10.

My eyes don't lie. They tell me what I see and I what I don't see. This particular beer pours out to have a coffee-like color, with a slight mahogany tint. The carbonation was sufficient and is best described as moderate when compared to other Trappistes ales. Translated, it didn't foam over and stain my carpet...Damn you foamy Monks! I'd ask them to pay various dry cleaning bills, but when I attempt to contact them, they suddenly claim to have taken a vow of silence...Anyway. The Rochefort is full of fruit, most evident to me is something in the vain of grape/raisin/plum. Also worth noting is a good dollop of hazelnut. This may lead you to believe that it is sweet, but it is not. It has good maltiness and the finish is long, dry and crisp. At 11.3% alcohol, this is one spicy meatball. The alcohol is briefly quite warming, but it fades in synchronicity with the finish.

The Rochefort Trappistes 10 is widely regarded as one of the best beers in the world. Believe the hype. This beer has the brute force of a heavyweight boxer, but is nimble enough outpoint most other trappist ales with balance and depth. Or as Muhammad Ali would say, "It floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee."

Moylan's Hopsickle Imperial Ale

2008-06-05T14:00:00.000-07:00

Hop Heads unite!

This is the beer you crave. What a liquid ode to the glorious wonder that is the hop. There are plenty of wonderful double IPAs out there, but when it comes to going off the IBU (international bittering units) charts, this beer goes even beyond that. If I'm not mistaken, I believe the brewers at Moylan's even filter this bad boy with a siphon lined with hops!

The beer poured a very lovely burnt orange/amber color with a moderate sized head and lots of lacing. The aroma gives off nothing but floral hops with just a little bit of alcohol. The first sip is quite a punch in the mouth. I'm overwhelmed with piney hops and slight notes of citrus. This is a big beer with a syrupy kind of feel in the mouth. About 30 seconds after my third sip, I actually shuttered a little bit because there is such a long, bitter finish to this beer.

For any drinkers out there looking to get introduced to the world of IPAs, this is certainly not the beer for you. This beer will take you more off-guard than Mike Cooper was by Carl Monday. But for those hop fiends out there looking for that one beer that has a first sip reaction of,"shit", this is the beer for you. This bodaciously bitter beer may even make your existence in this world seem a little more sweet.

Unibroue La Fin Du Monde

2008-06-05T17:10:00.000-07:00

"It's the end of the world and I feel fine." -REM

La Fin Du Monde, which is French for "The End of the World," is a Abbey-style tripel from Quebec. The beer is named as such because when European explorers were crossing the Atlantic, they began to think that they were going to reach the end of the world. Then, they "discovered" the "new world." History lesson complete.

It is an "ale on lees," which means it is bottled with yeast sediment. It pours a yellow-orange color with a yeasty, crisp foam head. The palate is full of apricot, tart orange, peach and clove. Chock full of tropical fruit! The clove character borders on peppery, which is quite evident with even the slightest smell. The yeast sediment also provides a fresh baked bread aroma. La Fin Du Monde has substantial carbonation, but I didn't find it overwhelming like Duvel or many other Belgian-style tripels. It is sweet, but not cloying. At 9% alcohol, it is potent, but not overly alcohol-y on the finish. But the alcohol and yeast give this tripel a dry finish.

This brew is essential in your beer arsenel. When in doubt, this should be your go-to-beer. La Fin Du Monde is consistently enjoyable and relatively easy-to-find. If the end of the world comes, drink one of these and you'll feel fine.

P.S. I used to think La Fin Du Monde was French for "will make you fart like silly tomorrow." It is not, but it doesn't make that any less true. The perfect beer with which to Dutch Oven your significant other. Cheers!

Avery Hog Heaven

2008-06-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Hello, all... and welcome once again to the wonderful world of barleywines.

Confused by the name? Well, a barelywine is not a wine at all. The name came about because the beers have a high alcohol content that resembles that of wine. The beer is made from grain,though, not fruit... so it is indeed a beer. The confusion in the name has led to a law in America that requires breweries to put "barleywine-style ales" on the bottle. Barleywines originated in England where they are typically a brewers strongest ale and tend to have a malty sweetness to them with very little hop presence.

Now, what we have here is a barleywine from Avery Brewing Co. This is a wonderful American version of the barleywine, which typically have a lot more hoppy bitterness to them to help counterbalance the natural sweetness given by the malt. This brew is no exception. The beer pours a nice dark amber color with minimal head formation. Flowery hops fill the aroma. There is a slight sweetness at first in the flavor that is quickly followed by the hops that make this a nice, bitter barleywine. The finish stays bitter making this an incredibly well balanced barleywine with a nice bitterness to it.

Avery can tend to be a hit-or-miss brewery. I've had some questionable beers from them, but Hog Heaven is a definite winner. This is one of the best barleywines I've had. One may even be able to argue this as a double IPA as this is one of the hoppiest barleywines out there.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

2008-06-10T10:29:00.000-07:00

Beer of the year!

Well... not officially, but that's my opinion. This is a truly outstanding beer. It's an American Strong Ale from Dogfish Head and they describe it as a big brown ale, and indeed it is. This beer is aged in a very dense wood from Paraguay called palo santo, which means "holy tree". The wood has a lot of resin which allows it to lend a lot of flavor in the beer. What Dogfish Head has created is a roasty, malty delight that allows the resin of the wood to counter balance the malty sweetness and thus, has a minimal hop profile.

The beer pours a very deep brown with a small, frothy tan head. The aroma gives off very toasty malts with vanilla, caramel, and wood. The wood adds a very nice caramel and vanilla complexity to the taste. The beer is fairly sweet with hints of maple syrup, vanilla, caramel, and a resiny touch from the wood. The finish is slightly dry with lots of warming due to the 12% alcohol this beer brings to the table.

This is yet another eccentric brew from the minds at Dogfish Head, but it is incredibly delicious. This beer may not be seen again for a while, so if you are able to come across it, do not hesitate to give this beer a try. You will not be disappointed. A+

ROADTRIP: Mulholland Brewing Company

2008-06-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

It's the Summer of Love. Love=Beer. With that being said, the Brewski Brothers decided to kick the tires and hit the road. We ventured out to Reynoldsburg and a relatively new brewpub called Mulholland Brewing Company. Humpday (Wednesday) happy hour provides you with $2.00 pints of various selections from Mulholland. With a mere fistful of dollar bills, the collective We figured We could overserved ourselves on the cheap.

Here are the beers we tried:

ROUND ONE

Rob vs. Saison DuMonde
I enjoyed it. It really tasted like about 75% Belgian-style tripel and 25% French farmhouse ale. It was slightly sweet and almost had a tinge of ginger spice.
Charlie vs. Imperial Red
A lesser intense version of Stone's Arrogant Bastard. Decent.

ROUND TWO:

Charlie vs. Perfect Storm Vanilla Framboise
Somewhat pleasant at first. Alcohol burn; odd for a relatively low alcohol beer. Too much vanilla on the nose and palate. Nauseating after a while. Get me a bucket.
Rob vs. Highlander Scottish Ale
It was pale in color, bland in taste and really disappointing. It had about as much character as a "Murder She Wrote" marathon. It was thin and unlike a true Scottish Ale. I equate this to Mulholland's version of Killian's Red. Yuck. I only drank about half of it before giving up.

ROUND THREE:

Rob vs. Raider Belgian Brown
This looked as pasty as the Highlander Ale. It was drinkable, but not spectacular. In fact, it was pedestrian. Mild hoppiness. Dry. Not malty enough for my liking.

THE FINAL VERDICT:
A disappointment overall. The service was slow, and at times non-existent. The beers I had looked forward to trying were not on tap. The beers that were sampled were b-b-b-boring. I really wanted to like this place.

LAST THOUGHT:
As We walked out, I turned around to get one last look at Mulholland. I saw their faux stove smokestacks jutting skyward, looking almost like a hand giving me the ol' middle finger. Right back at ya, Mulholland.

SLOGANIZE ME:
"If you have nothing better to do. Mulholland Brewing Company."

Stone Ruination IPA

2008-06-13T15:00:00.000-07:00

Wecome to yet another installment of the wonderful Imperial IPA.

This beer is self-described as "A liquied poem to the glory of the hop!" and this description is dead on. Unlike other DIPAs, Stone doesn't get caught up in simply the IBUs... Oh yes, this beer is certainly bitter(Stone says 100+ IBUs, not revealing how many there really are), but Stone really goes all out to give the scents and flavors the hop can impart as well. What's even better is the beer is nicely balanced by the malts, making it a full body beer, but the attention is 100% to the hops.

This clear orange beer forms a moderate white head that gives off a wonderful bouquet of floral and grassy aromas. The flavor is dominated by grassy, grapefruity hops. The finish stays bitter with a slight alcohol presence.

When all is said and done, Ruination makes a great wingman beer. It's offered year round, so it's always there to rescue you from boring beer selections (i.e. spring/summer's onslaught of wheat beers) and it will certainly never let you down. Nothing new or interesting to try? Get Ruination.

Home Brew! Hopalong Hefe

2008-06-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, we've decided drinking delicious beer isn't enough. After doing our research, the Brewski Bros have decided to live the American Dream and venture into the art of home brewing. It had been an idea contemplated for a while, and we decided it's time we get into making our own delicious beer. Well what to brew first? There are plenty of delicious styles to be brewing, but an interesting beer from Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head caught our attention... a blood orange hefeweizen. Wheat beers are very refreshing on a sunny afternoon, and the blood orange adds a nice little touch to it. With that said, we got to brewing!

As the wort boiled (a wort is the liquid that contains the sugars the yeast will be munching on to produce alcohol... in other words, unfermented beer), we had ourselves a grand ol' time getting all the rinds off the oranges and orange peels. Unfortunately, we were too busy mending the cuts to our hands from trying to flay the rinds from the orange peels with steak knives to take pictures... but when the job was done, the tea of orange and orange peel was ready to go.
As you may be able to tell by the above photo, those are not blood oranges. Due to blood oranges being just out of season, we were not able to acquire any within the Columbus region. The oranges above are some Valencia oranges... we added a few orange wedges and some peels to the carboy. However, some organic blood orange juice did the job very nicely in place of actual blood oranges.
And here's an uber exciting picture of the wort getting its ice bath.
Finally, we pitched the yeast and chucked it on in to the carboy and sat back to wonder at our marvelous wort. In roughly a week this beauty will be ready to bottle.
Currently, the wort is sitting in my closet fermenting. Bottling may be coming up this weekend since the fermentation is substantially slowing down. Soon we will be enjoying our hopalong hefe.

Also, we have some events coming up on the horizon:

1.) This coming weekend, our next brew session will be coming up in which we will start brewing our paleolithic imperial pale ale.

2.) June 28th is another field trip for the Brewski Bros in which we will be going to Ale Fest! Woohoo! Look for some beer reviews and pics of the adventure.

3.) Finally, a trip to Barley's Smokehouse and Brew Pub will be coming up as well. We have high hopes for this place, and expect it to blow Mulholland away.

He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A.

2008-06-19T17:44:00.001-07:00

Yadda Yadda Yadda
A phrase that means "and so forth" or "on and on;" it usually refers to something that is a minor detail or boring and repetitive. First mentioned in a routine by comedian Lenny Bruce.

Welcome to Lenny's World and have a drink in his honor. According to He'Brew's description, Lenny's R.I.P.A. was made "Commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the death of Lenny Bruce: A Rye based double IPA. Brewed with an obscene amount of malts and hops. Shocking flavors - Far beyond contemporary community standards."

It pours a dark copper/amber color with a bone-colored head. The rye malt comes through in the nose and I could have sworn I was in a Jewish bakery with fresh baked rye bread aromas eminating from the oven. The malt gives it a slightly burnt caramel taste and the hops are clean with robust grapefruit and earthy pine. At 10% alcohol by volume, this is not a waifish beer for the faint of heart. The alcohol almost has a peppercorn tweak on the lengthy finish.

This beer is consistently good and a relatively good deal at $4.99 per 22 ounce bottle. Much like the comedian Lenny Bruce, this beer was gone too soon. Delicious and way too easy to drink. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

As legendary journalist Dick Schapp eulogized Lenny Bruce in Playboy Magazine, with the unforgettable sendoff: "One last four-letter word for Lenny: Dead. At forty. That's obscene."