Samichlaus 2006

This is a follow-on from my post last year (check out last year's post for all the delicious details) about the 2006 Samichalus that Meg and I were gifted for our wedding. This was the final one left in our wedding gift 4-pack.

Much like in the financial markets, 2009 was hard on the 2006 batch of Samichlaus. A lot of the "complexities" from last year mellowed out even futher making the beer taste like a root beer tootsie pop with a little alcohol sting on the back end. I wish there was more to describe, but that was pretty much it, a sugary brown alcohol laced perma-flavor across the palate. Great if you forgot what tootsie pops taste like, but not so great if you were expecting beer nirvana.

Oh well, the 2008 and 2009 tastings were pretty nice, so 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

-HolzBrew

PS - Stop by Norm's (in Vienna) tonight, to try some Yards beers from Philadelphia!
The brewery’s sending Chris down to pour some samples between 5-8pm.

In the Land of Beer

I labeled the Maibock this evening, now dubbed the MarzBock (translation: March Bock). Most people wonder how I make the labels and get them on the bottles. Pretty simple, I design them on Excel and then glue stick them on the bottles. Hard to screw up.

I also bought some stick on letters this weekend and emblazoned my growlers with "HolzBrew."

-Holz

PS- I got confirmation today that the beers I entered into the National Homebrew Contest arrived safely in Zanesville, OH. Judging starts next week, fingers are crossed.

Pour of the Day

What to do when you can't eat meat on a Friday? Drink beer. Specifically, The Bruery's Saison de Lente.

It's Friday Baby!

-HolzBrew

Quick Update

I don't really have time to formulate a witty and intriging post, but I thought I'd let everyone know what's up in the HolzBrew homebrew world. I brewed a Imperial Belgian Wit (the OG was 1.066, does this really qualify as Imperial? I say yes), this weekend that I am pretty jazzed about. The plan is once it gets through primary fermentation to add some french oak cubes that have been soaking in Gran Marnier, and most likely I'll add some additional Gran Marnier as well. I'm looking to accentuate the orange flavor in a Belgian Wit.

I also bottled the maibock I brewed back in December. Its really turned out well and I'm pretty sure I am going to enter it into the upcoming national homebrew competition . I am considering entering my holiday ale (tripel) as well as the Old Woodie Ale (specialty wood aged beer). This would be the first competition I've ever entered my beers in and certainly some of the steepest competition. Regardless of winning any awards I think it would be cool to get back some constructive criticism.

That's it for now.

-HolzBrew

10 Questions for a Sweet Brewer

It's been a few weeks since the last post, largely due to a busy work schedule. It's not like I stopped drinking beer, don't worry. I haven't had time in the last month to brew anything, but I've got some ideas kicking around. A few weeks back I had sent out some questions to Nick Funnell, the head brewer at Sweetwater Tavern. He was nice enough to get back to me. In case you haven't been there Sweetwater Tavern operates three locations in Northern Virginia: Merrifield, Centreville, and Sterling. It's one of the best restuarants near me in the Merrifield area, with a great food selection ranging from steak and fish to more casual offerings like sandwiches and salads (think Outback Steakhouse, but with good food and service). Also, the beer is made in-house and pretty darn good to boot. Nick has amassed some hardware from the Great American Brewfest over the years and it shows. Here goes:

Holz: First, can you give my readers an idea of how you got started in brewing? Were you originally a homebrewer?

Nick: I got started in brewing after getting a degree in Chemistry and finding an apprenticeship in a brewery. I have only ever homebrewed once, without distinction.

Holz: Did you attend any school to study brewing or did you start right out working at a brewery?

Nick: I studied brewing as part of my apprenticeship.

Holz: Sweetwater Tavern always has a nice selection of year round and seasonal offerings, how do you approach the creative process of crafting a new brew?

Nick: When we create a new beer we look for a gap in our portfolio that needs filling.

Holz: I believe Great American Restuarants (owner of Sweetwater Tavern) won two medals this year at the Great American Beer Fest, congratulations. Which beers won?

Nick: We won a Bronze medal in the Belgian Wit bier category for Wits’ End and a Gold in the Rye beer category for Crazy Jackass Ale.

Holz: Were you able to make it out to Denver this year for the festival?

Nick: I was lucky enough to be in Denver for the festival.

Holz: Occassionally, I see Great American beers available at the store, do you guys bottle your beers? Any plans to ramp up bottling production?

Nick: We do not bottle any beer for stores. We concentrate our efforts on getting people to come to us where we are able to fully guarantee the flavor and freshness of our beer. We do sell growlers of beer to go and they are filled on a counter pressure machine that ensures quality.

Holz: Which breweries and/or brewpubs inspire you?

Nick: Almost all breweries and brewpubs inspire me as there is something to be learned from each one.

Holz: Besides drinking the final product, what do you enjoy most about brewing?

Nick: The satisfaction of producing a great product that has developed a passionate following.

Holz: Which beer style do you enjoy brewing/drinking the most? The least?

Nick: All beers are equally satisfying to make as the process is essentially similar. As a brewer it is important to not favor one style over another when it comes to making the beer, or some will be better made than others. That wouldn’t be fair to the drinkers.

Holz: Is there any Sweetwater Tavern news (major or minor) that you want to share with my readers? New beers, locations, etc.?

Nick: Keep checking the website to see what we are up to.

Eat and Drink at Sweetwater. It is so ordered.

-HolzBrew

Aging Beer

You are staring at 4 years (2007-2010) of Sierra's Bigfoot Ale, a delicious American barleywine which comes out this time of year. To the uninformed, the thought of "old beer" is probably a turnoff. To the beeradvocate, properly aged (or vintage) brew can be a real treat.

Most people think that wine is the only fermented drink that should be be aged, not true. Various styles of beer benefit from aging as well. Now this isn't for all types of beer. Your typical brew only has a shelf life of about 4-5 months, before it starts to noticeably degrade. The type of beer that may benefit from aging are your big beer styles like barleywines, strong ales, imperial stouts, Belgian strong ales, old ales and etc. Aging can add a whole lot of complexity to a beer like this. A general rule of thumb is beers over 8% are good candidates for aging.

Starting to age or cellar beer is easy enough. The toughest part is the patience required. If you've got a beer you love sitting around it's real easy to pop the top and quaff that delicious brew. Make sure to buy at least two of every beer you plan to age. You'll want to try one immediately in order to have a baseline in which to compare the aged version. The "second" or remaining beer should be aged for at least a year, but sometimes for several years (some beers can be aged for 15-20 years).

Where the heck do I store this stuff? Most importantly the beer should never come into contact with heat or light. Both will punk your delicately aging hooch. Beer that is allowed to sit in direct sunlight for too long (more than a few minutes) will develop a skunky flavor. You should store your beer in a cool area, away from direct light. Ideally you should store this aging brew at a constant 50 - 60 degrees.

That being said for most people it'll be near impossible to store at those temperatures unless you've got a temperature controlled room in your house. For many people a dark and cool basement is the most practical and best environment in which to age beer.

Counter intuitively, long-term refrigerator use is not ideal. Refrigerators are designed to keep food dry, so dehydration of cork or cap can become an issue (laid-down or upright), allowing the beer to become oxidized.

Now that you know how to cellar, what should you expect a year or more from starting to age your stash. Honestly, no one knows for sure. There are lots of variables that come to play. Some beers age exceptionally well, others don't. One word of advice, big beers like double IPA's that showcase a large hop presence, usually don't get better with age. The hop characteristic tends to degrade quickly with age.

Age some beer,

HolzBrew

Blizzard 2010

Not exactly beer related, but I put together some footage from the blizzard today. I also arranged the instrumental track for the video.




I hope everyone stayed safe.

-HolzBrew