Beer Wisdom

My best friend Jack Dayley pointed me to this link of beer wisdom and one liners. Jack had an epiphany of his own on Saturday night, and it now appears atop this blog...

BTW - my buddy Jack is quite an accomplished movie producer when he's not being the best and highest paid safety professional on the planet. Jack made a video of he and I and our beer bond that we established while working together in Maryland that is a classic. Check it out here. Another fav is Leesburg, Friends, Food and BEER , as well as Virginia Wine Festival. Check out the other movies while you are there also; there are some awesome flicks Jack made of kayakers in the rivers of the northwest.

I miss Jack. I can't wait until our next movie...

A Little More New Orleans

Here's what the old Jax Brewery looks like now; it has been converted into a shopping mall. This makes me sad.

A typical New Orleans Porch

Roddy and the Tuba Man

The old and the new

A typical New Orleams street jazz band; check out grandma on the clarinet!

It Will Be…Two Hearted Ale

After considering your very limited input, I have decided to brew a pale ale next weekend from Bell’s Brewery in Kalamazoo Michigan; Bell's Two Hearted Ale. My son-in-law, aka Big Blue’s Driver, turned me on to this excellent American craft brew when we were visiting in Chicago many years ago. It is a very well balanced beer, abundantly hopped with 100% Centennial hops. You can taste them and smell them from the first sip to the last. I ordered my ingredients today from Austin Homebrew (where shipping never costs more than $6.99) and expect to have everything ready for an early Saturday morning brew while the temperature is still in the 80s. I’m going to name the creation Unclean Spirits, in honor of my granddaughter Claire’s baptism today. It was more like an exorcism; I think the unsuspecting priest got ‘em all out of her, one unclean spirit at a time. Never wait until your children are two to have them baptized…

Until Saturday…cheers!

Babs and Rik in the Big Easy, Part II

The 1st Afternoon

The women started shopping right after the beignets. Rod and I made a break for it. We went by the Tourist Bureau and discovered that the Crescent City Brewhouse was within walking distance; six blocks away on Decatur and Toulouse. We went for it.

When we got there, Heath was applying lacquer to the exterior wooden doors. Heath is one of the brewers there. When he heard me mention my membership in the American Homebrewers Association, we immediately struck up a conversation (I didn't tell him the bumper sticker secret; I don't know him well enough for that yet). Anyway, when Heath isn't brewing he's doing maintenance work. Makes sense to me if you are trying to control your costs. Heath told us that they pretty much brew only lagers, and one wheat ale. They have a 17 barrel system and will probably brew 60 times this year (that’s about 2000 gallons). The facility is four stories tall, and they have a lot of cold conditioning tanks and equipment on the 3rd floor.

Then he told us the bad news – they didn’t open for another hour. What’s going on here; no beer in the big easy at any hour? Oh well, that meant we had to find a ‘tween place to sip some suds and wait for the noon opening. We walked up the block and discovered The Beer Fest International Beer House.

They boast 48 taps, but most of them were out of order due to pressure problems. The bartender had hot pink hair and didn’t seem mechanically inclined, so we had to deal with the limited selection. They had a Longhammer IPA from Redhook that I’ve had in bottles but never on draught, so we tried that. It’s a moderately hopped pale ale with a great citrusy flavor and a nice hoppy nose and finish. It was served at the perfect temperature, which means they were also having problems with their refrigeration system, as these Cajuns like their Coors Light very cold. Their loss; my gain. We finished our beers, went and gathered the women, then went back to Crescent City for lunch.

What's wrong with this picture?

We ordered lunch and I had the sampler; a collection of their four beers. I had some food too. They make a Pilsner, a Red Stallion, a Black Forest, and a Hefeweizen. The pilsner was probably the best beer; it had a nice balance and a clean finish that was not too bitter. The Red Stallion did not have a very rich color, and the Black Forest was more red than black. Shiner Black Lager is a better beer than theirs, if you ask me. The Hefeweizen was interesting; I think I detected Belgian yeast undertones, but all-in-all they were just average beers. I’d rate the beers a 6 on a scale of 10. If they would have had an IPA I would probably have bumped them up to a 7. The food was good, and the prices were reasonable.

The Sampler

Behind the Bar is the Brewing Equipment

We spent the rest of the day touring and taking in the local culture. We had dinner at Emeril's that night, the one on Tchoupitoulas St., which I would highly recommend to anyone. Bring your big checkbook. I’ve never had four servers put dinner out simultaneously to four people before; it was like each course just appeared before everybody at once. Then our main waiter would explain in detail what each dish was comprised of. We actually had three waiters attending to us all night, and the four course meal that we had was magnificent. I also had an Abita Jockamo IPA to sate my IPA urge for the evening. Be sure and check out the link for some very interesting reading on the origins of the name.

We ended the night with a walk down a very loud and bustling Bourbon Street. Painted, bare breasted and rather oversized maidens were throwing beads at us from balconies above. There was loud music coming from every direction, and more tattoos and body piercings than you could count. I picked up the beads for my granddaughters as Babs ran away from the madness and the crowds. We ultimately made our way to Antoine’s for yet another dessert and coffee. Antoine’s is the oldest family owned restaurant in America (circa 1840) and is the home of Oysters Rockefeller. Again, check the link for some great history reading.

On Saturday, we went to Commander’s Palace for brunch. Hey, I told you I went for the food! I finally got my turtle there, but that will have to wait for another day. Check the link for a preview

Until then, cheers!

There's always this for beer too...

Babs and Rik Travel to the Big Easy

New Orleans – The 1st Night

Babs and I went to New Orleans this weekend with some old friends of ours, Rod and Christine Holcombe. Babs went for the shopping. I went for the food and in search of that elusive Louisiana brewbub. The first night we went to Preservation Hall and listened to a brass jazz band. Two saxophones, a trumpet, a trombone, a tuba, some snare drums and a bass drum. It was awesome music. It was musty and dark and hot and must have been just like it used to be "in the day". That's why they call it Preservation Hall; it is the effort of many people to maintain the original style of jazz that was slowly disappearing that made New Orleans famous. They played great songs like "I Got a Hole in my Bucket" and "Hold that Tiger" and "When the Saints Come Marching In". Lots of Tiger Rag, too. I got there in time for the last set that started after 10:00; Rod had been standing in line since 6:00PM to make sure we got good tickets. We had a great time, and afterwards went for refreshments next door at Pat Obrien’s. I had a Hurricane, consummating once again my love affair with rum, followed by an Abita Amber Ale, made in one of Louisiana's few craft breweries. Babs had a mint julep. Being true tourists, we bought the glasses and brought them home. We made it back to our hotel, The Provincial, a hotel I would highly recommend in the heart of the French Quarter, after 1:00AM.

The 1st Morning

I knew that if I was to go searching for the elusive microbrew, I would need to start my long day with some good New Orleans coffee, complete with chicory. Babs would want some beignets with hers. Café Du Monde is the place for that. I think I paid $1.50 for a cup of black coffee that is "seared black". It was great. While sitting there, I watched people eat their beignets. They were buried in confectioner's sugar. I mean buried! I've never seen so much sugar. You get about a half dozen beignets on a plate and then they throw what looks like a shovel full of sugar on them. The sugar covers your lap, the table, and the floor. It is impossible to eat them without making a powdery mess. While we were there, the sugar truck pulled up. I watched them load 50 lb bags of confectioner’s sugar onto their cart. Five bags. Ten bags. Thirteen bags. Another cart. They brought 16 – fifty lb bags of sugar inside. I asked the guy if that was a normal order. He said no; today was a light day. They usually get 20 bags per day. That's 1000 lbs of confectioner's sugar every day! And most of it winds up in your lap and on the floor. Oh well, they do grow a lot of cane sugar around these parts. I guess that's how you support your local farmers.


Have some beignets with your sugar


Have some sugar with your cafe


Seen on a street in the Garden District

Stay tuned for the first afternoon and the beer saga...

It's a Done Deal!

You too, can become the world's largest brewer if you only have $52 BILLION!
That's 52 followed by NINE zeroes!
How much beer would I have to brew and sell to gather that many zeroes?
The King is now a prince...
Check it out here.

August 2nd is Brew Day

I haven't brewed since June 8th. I have the date circled on the calendar in my brewshop. I haven't even changed the calendar to July yet. It's there to remind me that I'm behind schedule again; I normally like to brew once per month. I'm so far behind on brewing that my brewshop has become home to my new zero-turn Gravely mower. She's a beaut, and can do in 45 minutes what used to take me 2 hours of pushing. I love her, but I love beer more. She'll be motored outside on August 2nd and beer will be brewed in her space!



The Gravely and the Kegerator sharing space (notice the cool boot on the wall)

It will probably be 100 degrees outside, which makes for a tough heat exchange from boiling to pitch temperature, but I must do this for America's real beer drinkers. Besides, there's always the pool, which will be a cool 92 degrees by then. I also have to get it done before the Plecia nearctica show up again in September. They come every May and September. Last year they kept dive bombing my wort. I figure they provide interesting flavor that you can't get in the Northwest, though.

Anyway, back to brew day. Since this is an interactive format, I'm looking for suggestions on what style of beer to brew. Please pass along your wishes. Remember that what I brew in August will be ready to drink in early fall, when the temperatures cool back down to the mid 90s and the leaves start to turn color (brown). I like to brew my beer in season. For instance, you'll never catch me drinking a stout in the summertime – never! I still have a bottle of Cappuccino Stout in my beer fridge that my son-law bought me last December that I'm saving for a cold Louisiana winter night. I can't wait for that night to get here! Anyway, summer is for wheat beer and weizens...nectars of the gods. I'll consider your responses and let you know what I decide.

Be expeditious with your advice; I'll probably be buying ingredients next weekend on my way back from New Orleans. The wife says I have to take her to Preservation Hall to listen to jazz, and we have reservations at Emeril's on Friday night at 1900. Reckon Emeril has some decent beer on draught? I'm for sure gonna eat a turtle in one fashion or another. What beer goes with turtle?

Surely there's another homebrewer with a shop between here and New Orleans...

Until I hear back from you...cheers!

The Unpublished Benefits of Being an American Hombrewer Association Member

I am a dues paying member of the American Hombrewers Association (AHA). It is a great venue for homebrewers to learn about making great beer. As part of my membership I get several magazines per year, daily newsletters, discounted beer at participating microbreweries, and plenty of educational material related to the hobby. I also received a free bumper sticker that says "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew...". I put it on the back of my truck, much to the wife's dismay. I'm very proud of my little truck decoration. Little did I know that it carried an extra benefit that isn't published in the AHA material.



While driving through one of my local Louisiana towns, trying to learn to sing Panis Angelicus (almost like Pavarotti) with my head in the clouds, there I spied one of the local law enforcement officials, cleverly concealed behind a tree, clocking me at 45 in a 30 mph zone. I gripped the wheel and assumed my best driving position, immediately slowing down (as if that ever does any good) and looking forward, hoping that perhaps he was looking for someone younger and faster. It was not to be; he pulled out, got behind me, and flipped on his party lights. I pulled over and did some quick housekeeping so as not to reveal any past and recently empty indiscretions from the weekend's camping trip. I gave him my license and insurance card and waited patiently for my sentence while he walked back to his cruiser. He returned shortly.

That's when it happened; when I realized what the unwritten rules of membership. "Are you a homebrewer?" he asked. I replied to the affirmative, of course. He said "So am I". I was shocked; I thought that I was the only human being stuck in homebrew limbo around this Coors Light culture. That began a wonderful 10 minute dialogue on the benefits and wonders of homebrewing. We talked about who we buy our materials from, the differences between all-grain and partial grain brewing, how to best cool wort in these hot climes, the hop shortage, our favorite styles of beer, kegging versus bottling, various types of equipment and expenses, and so on. I got his name and told him where I lived (as if he couldn't have figured that out) and he told me to come by the station to visit anytime. I told him that I'd give him a shout the next time I brewed. When it was over, he handed me my cards and told me to have a nice day. Not even a warning ticket or lecture! I figure I avoided $100 in fines, and I met a fellow homebrewer.

I can't wait until my membership expires and I get a nice new bumper sticker for the wife's car. I hope she doesn't get pulled over by a tee-totaling recovering alcoholic cop with an attitude...

And Now...The Link

Alas, I have been a blog slacker and not paying attention to your posts. The link, you dummy, where is the link?! Here it is; mea culpa, mea culpa. Thanks for taking the time to read my material.

As an added bonus, for your patience, here is yet another article mentioning Garrett Oliver. He is quite the quoted brewmaster these days.