Back into Rochester again, so that means I went to Whistle Binkies, if you want to see original blog go back to February 23, 2011. This is a beer bar equal to some of the heavyweights The Map Room, Muddy Pig and Happy Gnome! Yes I have been to them all so I know what I am talking about. They maybe in big Cities but Whistle Binkies is their equal if not superior on the beer selection. Jonny and Julie do an excellent job taking care of customer each and every Wednesday night. Jonny informed me that they are going to have a new and bigger cooler as well Stone is coming to Minnesota! Yes I am very happy that I will be able to get Arrogant Bastard and Ruination Ale in Minnesota.
As far as my beers I had tonight, the first was New Holland Imperial Hatter. This is a double IPA that changes a bit every year and each year it is wonderful. A nice medium copper beer that pushes the malt forward versus the hops. This has the northwestern hops that you would expect for a DIPA and it is not over the top on alcohol even though it is a 9.4% ABV beer.
The second beer I had was Founders Double Trouble this as well is a DIPA checking in at 9.4% ABV. As with the Imperial Hatter this beer changes a bit every year. This beer is much more hop forward, again Northwest Hops in the aroma and taste. The malt is the backbone that carries the hops and blends nicely with the hops. Even though it is a high alcohol beer it is a beer that is easy to drink and if you drink too many you will be in trouble, correct that double trouble!
Tomorrow night La Crosse and Bodega Brewpub! I hope it is not amateur night at the Bodega since it will be St. Patrick's night. Cheers!
QC Beerguy
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
A Pet Peeve
OK I am going to rant on a pet peeve of mine. Good restaurants that do not carry good beer or have a beer list. I was reminded of this yesterday when my wife and I went to lunch at Johnny's Steakhouse in Moline, IL http://johnnysitaliansteakhouse.com/new/moline2/ . No I did not have a beer with my lunch, but walking in to Johnny's set my wheels a turning. Why do they not carry more craft beer and why do they not have a beer list. They are quite proud of their wine list, but beer seems to be the red headed step child. How hard is it to make up a beer list when the beers are never changed? They have the average macro swill and their craft selections are typical Blue Moon and Sam Adams type beers. Nothing as far as regional craft beers or really any imports above the typical Guinness and Harp. Then you ask the waitstaff what beer they have and you receive the usually we have just about anything you want. So I ask for something I know they do not have and then they rattle off the beers they do have. It is a matter of choosing the beer that is least objectionable. I am sure I am not the only person that has gone through this situation at this restaurant! Each time it is like butting my head against a wall, because there is no change. How can beer drinkers be treated like a person that actually matters? Maybe next time you go in ask for a manager when you receive the typical answer and explain what your concern is? Get up a walk out (now that is very extreme and the wife would not allow that)? Not go there and find some where that does value beer drinkers? I am unsure what is the proper answer. Maybe some how the message will get through to the management at the restaurant, but I doubt that will happen. I would be more than happy to advise them on quality beer to add to their selection that would be appropriate for steakhouse. At least they should look at a wonderful beer and food book called " The Brewmaster's Table" by Garret Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewing Co. http://www.garrettoliver.com/books.html, and they can maybe pick up some ideas there.
I hope good restaurants decide to improve their beer selections and actually act like they are proud of their beer selection. Maybe beer drinkers can change the world one restaurant at a time. Cheers!
QC Beerguy
I hope good restaurants decide to improve their beer selections and actually act like they are proud of their beer selection. Maybe beer drinkers can change the world one restaurant at a time. Cheers!
QC Beerguy
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Beer Cellar
Every Beer lover I know of has a Beer Cellar. You know where they store the good stuff. I myself have a good makings of a worthy beer cellar. Included in my cellar are some beers that I am quite proud of and I am holding on to for a special occasion. Among the beers I have are Surly's Smoke, Two and Three; Stone's Vertical Epic, Anniversary Ale and Arrogant Bastard. Also I have beers from Cantillion, Unibroque, Dog Fish Head, New Glarus and many other craft beers.
In many cellars there are some beers that are only brewed once or at a certain time of the year. These included beers like Three Flyod's Dark Lord and Surly's Darkness to give a couple examples. Many collectors go out of their way to get these special beers. Even if you can not be there to purchase that certain beer you want there are other ways to find them. There is the secondary market of beer. If you go to eBay http://www.ebay.com/ and search for a certain beer you will more than likely find that beer and can purchase the bottle and it's contents. As well there are many beer related sites that have beer trading areas like the one on Beer Advocate http://beeradvocate.com/. These are on the gray edge of the law but if is done correctly and quietly nothing other than a good trade is done for both parties.
Once you find those special beers it is important to take care of the beers, because if you do not you will have a spoiled beer that you may have paid up to several hundred dollars for. The best beer cellar is a dedicated fridge or walk in cooler to store the beers. Also a cool room in your basement would work as well. The key factors are temperature, darkness and ability to store the beer upright. Keeping a beer at 50 degrees or lower is the best. Even if a beer is in a brown bottle it can over time become light struck, so keeping a beer in a dark area helps the longevity of the shelf life. The last key is storing the bottle up right this allows any yeast that is in the bottle to settle to the bottom. Remember that a beer cellar is a means to keep your beer collection in top condition for your latter enjoyment.
QC Beerguy
In many cellars there are some beers that are only brewed once or at a certain time of the year. These included beers like Three Flyod's Dark Lord and Surly's Darkness to give a couple examples. Many collectors go out of their way to get these special beers. Even if you can not be there to purchase that certain beer you want there are other ways to find them. There is the secondary market of beer. If you go to eBay http://www.ebay.com/ and search for a certain beer you will more than likely find that beer and can purchase the bottle and it's contents. As well there are many beer related sites that have beer trading areas like the one on Beer Advocate http://beeradvocate.com/. These are on the gray edge of the law but if is done correctly and quietly nothing other than a good trade is done for both parties.
Once you find those special beers it is important to take care of the beers, because if you do not you will have a spoiled beer that you may have paid up to several hundred dollars for. The best beer cellar is a dedicated fridge or walk in cooler to store the beers. Also a cool room in your basement would work as well. The key factors are temperature, darkness and ability to store the beer upright. Keeping a beer at 50 degrees or lower is the best. Even if a beer is in a brown bottle it can over time become light struck, so keeping a beer in a dark area helps the longevity of the shelf life. The last key is storing the bottle up right this allows any yeast that is in the bottle to settle to the bottom. Remember that a beer cellar is a means to keep your beer collection in top condition for your latter enjoyment.
QC Beerguy
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Drunk Monk/ America's Brewpub
Yesterday morning four of us from MUGZ went up to UKG's Drunk Monk Challenge http://knaves.org/DMC/ to judge homebrewed beer for the day. It was a long day we left at 5AM and were back to home around 10:30 PM. Even though it was long it was a great day. I believe we all enjoyed the day of judging and the camaraderie as well. The contest had about 800 entries, needless to say that is a lot of beer. Some judging categories had 40 entries meaning that there were multiple flights within a category. So most categories had a mini- BOS for the category.
Our first session of judging began at 9 AM and was over by 11:30 AM. I first judged Scottish and Irish Ales overall the beer were average but we had some really outstanding beers. The beer that won was a Scottish 60, it was a wonderful balance beer that was malty, low in hops and being low in alcohol it would make a great session beer. After the morning session we had a lunch break and then began the second session at 1 PM. In this session I judged small stouts, Dry, Sweet and Oatmeal Stouts. We had three beers that were easily the top 3 in the mini-BOS and all quite enjoyable. After the second session was finished we then had to wait for the Best of Show (BOS) judging round. Once that was over the contest organizers drew for door prizes and the announced the medal winners. For each category the top three places were awarded medals, also the top three finishers in BOS were awarded. MUGZ had three brewers win four medals overall, unfortunately for me I was not one of them.
The returning trip home was uneventful but laugh filled. I know for myself since I awoke at 3:30 AM yesterday I found just about anything funny. It was a fun judging day and I enjoyed the opportunity to do on of the things I greatly love doing. I look forward to my next opportunity to judge which will probably be April 9th at the Midwest Regional for the first round of NHC.
America's brewpub is located in Aurora, IL http://rh34.com/ . It is in a very unique building a restored train roundhouse. The original project was spearheaded by Walter Payton, yes that Walter Payton. While he was alive he was active in ownership and is name was all over the building. Over the last year or so there has been some changes involving the removing of Walter's name and some of his memorabilia has been removed as well. Looks like there has been a parting of ways between the ownership and the Payton family, I feel this is very unfortunate.
They make some very good beers noted by the multiple awards they have won over the years. They have won my wife's biggest award her love for the chocolate blonde beer. Mike Rybinski the brewer at the brewpub is a very nice and accommodating man. He is always experimenting with beer, such as pizza beer and on he had on tap to try yesterday Bacon Beer. Yes a beer that had cooked bacon "dry hopped" in it. It definitely tasted like bacon, but not something that I would want to drink a full pint of. Also they had Sweetness Stout, Payton Pilsner, Honey Wheat, Amber Ale, and Blueberry beers on tap.
They are more than accommodating with their space and time to help make Drunk Monk a success. I thank them for their help in assisting the UKG club to pull off another successful event.
QC Beerguy
Our first session of judging began at 9 AM and was over by 11:30 AM. I first judged Scottish and Irish Ales overall the beer were average but we had some really outstanding beers. The beer that won was a Scottish 60, it was a wonderful balance beer that was malty, low in hops and being low in alcohol it would make a great session beer. After the morning session we had a lunch break and then began the second session at 1 PM. In this session I judged small stouts, Dry, Sweet and Oatmeal Stouts. We had three beers that were easily the top 3 in the mini-BOS and all quite enjoyable. After the second session was finished we then had to wait for the Best of Show (BOS) judging round. Once that was over the contest organizers drew for door prizes and the announced the medal winners. For each category the top three places were awarded medals, also the top three finishers in BOS were awarded. MUGZ had three brewers win four medals overall, unfortunately for me I was not one of them.
The returning trip home was uneventful but laugh filled. I know for myself since I awoke at 3:30 AM yesterday I found just about anything funny. It was a fun judging day and I enjoyed the opportunity to do on of the things I greatly love doing. I look forward to my next opportunity to judge which will probably be April 9th at the Midwest Regional for the first round of NHC.
America's brewpub is located in Aurora, IL http://rh34.com/ . It is in a very unique building a restored train roundhouse. The original project was spearheaded by Walter Payton, yes that Walter Payton. While he was alive he was active in ownership and is name was all over the building. Over the last year or so there has been some changes involving the removing of Walter's name and some of his memorabilia has been removed as well. Looks like there has been a parting of ways between the ownership and the Payton family, I feel this is very unfortunate.
They make some very good beers noted by the multiple awards they have won over the years. They have won my wife's biggest award her love for the chocolate blonde beer. Mike Rybinski the brewer at the brewpub is a very nice and accommodating man. He is always experimenting with beer, such as pizza beer and on he had on tap to try yesterday Bacon Beer. Yes a beer that had cooked bacon "dry hopped" in it. It definitely tasted like bacon, but not something that I would want to drink a full pint of. Also they had Sweetness Stout, Payton Pilsner, Honey Wheat, Amber Ale, and Blueberry beers on tap.
They are more than accommodating with their space and time to help make Drunk Monk a success. I thank them for their help in assisting the UKG club to pull off another successful event.
QC Beerguy
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Hello From Des Moines
Des Moines is probably the largest city I get to on a regular basis. Also it has probably the best beer scene of my regular route. Included in the beer scene are 4 brewpubs: Raccoon River http://www.raccoonbrew.com/, Court Avenue http://www.raccoonbrew.com/ and two chain brewpubs Rock Bottom http://www.rockbottom.com/ and Granite City http://www.gcfb.net/. Each has their strong points and the one I frequent the most is Rock Bottom. Also there are quite a few good beer bars as well including: The Royal Mile http://royalmilebar.com/, Hessen House http://www.hessenhaus.com/, High Life Lounge http://www.thehighlifelounge.com/ and El Bait Shop http://elbaitshop.com/ to name a few. This will give me an opportunity to have multiple places to cover these and many more places in my travels to Des Moines.
Tonight I made my way to El Bait Shop for dinner and a couple of beers. El Bait Shop has various special events during the month some are weekly events like tonight's. The event tonight was Jimmy Carter Happy Hour which is a tip of the hat to the GREATEST law that was passed during the time Jimmy Carter was President, the legalization of Homebrewing! Each Thursday night a different homebrewer or brewers bring some of their own beer to share with the people that gather at El Bait Shop. Usually it is something unusual or just fun that they bring. This is how it works the homebrewer provides the beer at no expense to anyone and the gathered crowd gets to enjoys the fruits of the brewer's labors. This is a big hit with the gathered crowd. It is also a great thing for the El Bait shop as well. I had a great discussion with a gentleman most of the evening about beer and beer travel. If I remember correctly his name was Brad, if I am incorrect my apologies.
Tonight I enjoyed two really nice beers. First one is from a great relatively new brewery in Iowa Peace Tree Brewing http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/ it was their Black River Gumbo Stout. It is a black beer with nice tan head. It is a complex beer from the malt bill as well as the twist they put on it by using Belgian yeast to ferment the beer. I have enjoyed every beer that I have had from Peace Tree, so give them a shot if you came across them.
My second beer was August Schell's Wild Rice Farmhouse Ale, it is the second beer in the Stag Series from Schell's. It is a smooth drinking beer that is punctuated with the nutty graininess from the wild rice used. It is a traditional farmhouse ale using Belgian yeast. It has a malt backbone that is complemented by the wild rice and finish dry. It does not come across as strong as the listed 7 % ABV. It is a beer that would be a wonderful session beer.
The food menu is a mix of burgers, Mexican, wings and other types of bar food. It is not complicated but does give you enough variety that you can have different foods every time you come to El Bait shop. Plus you will not go home hungry.
Thursday nights are a special night at El Bait Shop so if you are in the Des Moines area on a Thursday night it is worth a trip!
QC Beerguy
Tonight I made my way to El Bait Shop for dinner and a couple of beers. El Bait Shop has various special events during the month some are weekly events like tonight's. The event tonight was Jimmy Carter Happy Hour which is a tip of the hat to the GREATEST law that was passed during the time Jimmy Carter was President, the legalization of Homebrewing! Each Thursday night a different homebrewer or brewers bring some of their own beer to share with the people that gather at El Bait Shop. Usually it is something unusual or just fun that they bring. This is how it works the homebrewer provides the beer at no expense to anyone and the gathered crowd gets to enjoys the fruits of the brewer's labors. This is a big hit with the gathered crowd. It is also a great thing for the El Bait shop as well. I had a great discussion with a gentleman most of the evening about beer and beer travel. If I remember correctly his name was Brad, if I am incorrect my apologies.
Tonight I enjoyed two really nice beers. First one is from a great relatively new brewery in Iowa Peace Tree Brewing http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/ it was their Black River Gumbo Stout. It is a black beer with nice tan head. It is a complex beer from the malt bill as well as the twist they put on it by using Belgian yeast to ferment the beer. I have enjoyed every beer that I have had from Peace Tree, so give them a shot if you came across them.
My second beer was August Schell's Wild Rice Farmhouse Ale, it is the second beer in the Stag Series from Schell's. It is a smooth drinking beer that is punctuated with the nutty graininess from the wild rice used. It is a traditional farmhouse ale using Belgian yeast. It has a malt backbone that is complemented by the wild rice and finish dry. It does not come across as strong as the listed 7 % ABV. It is a beer that would be a wonderful session beer.
The food menu is a mix of burgers, Mexican, wings and other types of bar food. It is not complicated but does give you enough variety that you can have different foods every time you come to El Bait shop. Plus you will not go home hungry.
Thursday nights are a special night at El Bait Shop so if you are in the Des Moines area on a Thursday night it is worth a trip!
QC Beerguy
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Ottumwa, IA Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company
So this evening I am in Ottumwa, IA. Yep that is what I'm thinking too. What is exciting about Ottumwa, IA? The only thing I could come up with today as I was making my eventually way down here was there are two "famous people" from Ottumwa. Can you name them? Anyone, Anyone? Radar O'Reilly and Tom Arnold. The more I thought about these two the more I decided that the people of Ottumwa probably would want the fictional character to be real and the real person to be a fictional character.
Through research on The Beer Mapping Project http://beermapping.com/ I did find a brewpub in Ottumwa. So needless to say I found my spot to have dinner. Before I went to Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company http://www.appanooserapidsbrewingcompany.com/ I checked them out at there website. The menu had some interesting items on it and anyplace that makes their own beer is worth a try. So I arrive at the brewpub and parked in the back parking lot where there is plenty of room. I walked into a well light brewpub. As usual I proceeded to the bar and grabbed a seat. It took a moment to get a beer, which they only had 2 of their own beers on tap. In total they had 14 taps mainly craft and import beers, as well as a couple macro brews. Also they had a around 10 or so different bottles to choose from.
The two beers they had on tap where a Brown Ale and a West Coast Pale Ale, which the bartender said was actually an IPA. The Brown Ale was tart and had a definite yeast taste. Also it was cloudy, perhaps that is where some of the yeasty flavor came from. The off flavors made it impossible to taste what the Brown Ale actually did taste like. Next I ordered the West Coast Pale Ale and it was a more pleasant experience. I'm not saying it was a great beer but it was a definite improvement over the Brown Ale. The Pale Ale was coming out over carbonated, more on that later. It was a golden hue with a white head and cloudy as well. The aroma was that of hops but not west coast hops these hops where of the English kind, grassy and earthy. The beer had some malt backbone as well. The hops gave the beer a distinctive tea like flavor and aroma. As far as it being an IPA, I beg to differ.
As I said the menu had quite a few interesting items on it. I decided on the Mac and Cheese with Bacon. I liked it quite a bit and would be interested in trying some of the other dishes as well. So far the food is out pacing the beer at this brewpub.
I was able to find out some background information on the brewpub from the bartender. They opened about 5 1/2 months ago and the brewer started out as a homebrewer. The brew system is mobile and stationed in between the restrooms and went I went to the restroom I found a SABCO brew magic system sitting there. The same system that Sam Calagone used when he first started as well as the home system of my friend 1T. So I believe that the brewer is learning on the fly with the system and hopefully perfect brewing on it soon. Once he perfects the system his beers will become more consistent. I also hope that they start using some type of clarifier in the beer to make it clear and more eye appealing.
Also the bartender said that they are still learning the proper usage of their draft system. Hence the over-carbonated Pale Ale. Also they are serving their beer way too cold. They are greatly harming the enjoyment of their beers. Serve them a bit warmer and the beer's aroma will blossom. The overly cold beer is probably another byproduct of the learning of the draft system. Again hopefully they get this figured out soon.
This place has great promise. Hopefully they can continue on as they are going through their growing pains of establishing their brewpub. I would like to come back in a few months and see what they have figured out.
QC Beerguy
Through research on The Beer Mapping Project http://beermapping.com/ I did find a brewpub in Ottumwa. So needless to say I found my spot to have dinner. Before I went to Appanoose Rapids Brewing Company http://www.appanooserapidsbrewingcompany.com/ I checked them out at there website. The menu had some interesting items on it and anyplace that makes their own beer is worth a try. So I arrive at the brewpub and parked in the back parking lot where there is plenty of room. I walked into a well light brewpub. As usual I proceeded to the bar and grabbed a seat. It took a moment to get a beer, which they only had 2 of their own beers on tap. In total they had 14 taps mainly craft and import beers, as well as a couple macro brews. Also they had a around 10 or so different bottles to choose from.
The two beers they had on tap where a Brown Ale and a West Coast Pale Ale, which the bartender said was actually an IPA. The Brown Ale was tart and had a definite yeast taste. Also it was cloudy, perhaps that is where some of the yeasty flavor came from. The off flavors made it impossible to taste what the Brown Ale actually did taste like. Next I ordered the West Coast Pale Ale and it was a more pleasant experience. I'm not saying it was a great beer but it was a definite improvement over the Brown Ale. The Pale Ale was coming out over carbonated, more on that later. It was a golden hue with a white head and cloudy as well. The aroma was that of hops but not west coast hops these hops where of the English kind, grassy and earthy. The beer had some malt backbone as well. The hops gave the beer a distinctive tea like flavor and aroma. As far as it being an IPA, I beg to differ.
As I said the menu had quite a few interesting items on it. I decided on the Mac and Cheese with Bacon. I liked it quite a bit and would be interested in trying some of the other dishes as well. So far the food is out pacing the beer at this brewpub.
I was able to find out some background information on the brewpub from the bartender. They opened about 5 1/2 months ago and the brewer started out as a homebrewer. The brew system is mobile and stationed in between the restrooms and went I went to the restroom I found a SABCO brew magic system sitting there. The same system that Sam Calagone used when he first started as well as the home system of my friend 1T. So I believe that the brewer is learning on the fly with the system and hopefully perfect brewing on it soon. Once he perfects the system his beers will become more consistent. I also hope that they start using some type of clarifier in the beer to make it clear and more eye appealing.
Also the bartender said that they are still learning the proper usage of their draft system. Hence the over-carbonated Pale Ale. Also they are serving their beer way too cold. They are greatly harming the enjoyment of their beers. Serve them a bit warmer and the beer's aroma will blossom. The overly cold beer is probably another byproduct of the learning of the draft system. Again hopefully they get this figured out soon.
This place has great promise. Hopefully they can continue on as they are going through their growing pains of establishing their brewpub. I would like to come back in a few months and see what they have figured out.
QC Beerguy
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