Homebrewed Wheat Apple Cider with Nottingham Yeast

I see where AB's Shocktop makes a Honeycrisp Wheat Cider, which I have not tried.  I'm not too happy with the Shocktop brand because it had the qualities of a soda when last (first) I tried it one Saturday in fall 3 years ago, or maybe more of a wine cooler.

But I plan to grab one and contrast it with little project I've been working on. 

Beeradvocate reviews of the Shocktop Wheat come in weak (73), and suggest that it's a sweat sensation that they are selling.

Hard Wheat Apple Cider, using Nottingham yeast is about the best hard cider I've ever made.  It's dry, for starters, which is my pref.   If I were to sweeten it back, I suppose it would be more in line with Shocktop, but I imagine milk sugar would need to be the route with this Notty yeast, as it would make ethanol of the plans of mice and men to sweeten the brew. 

Using a lot less wheat on this batch made a big difference.  My early error was to use way too much maleted Wheat exact, which imparted an off, vinegar flavor out of the pale.  

Ultimately, it made a nice apple vinegar. 

The flavor is tart, bubbly and bright with a fuller, not malty per se, but more weighty, with way more citrus flavor than hard cider alone.  It's ende up with an appealing champaign quality.

This blend is exactly what I was hoping would come of it-- to the bottling machine batman!


Next I'm going to try a few batches using various other yeast strains to see if it changes the flavor profile much. Stay tuned.

Half Acre Beer Company, Chicago

This small garage that could, near Lincoln Square in Chicago is Half Acre Beer Company, where those cans of highly hopped, Daisy Cutter IPA are born. 

Daisy Cutter rates about 99 on the interwebz social sites such as Ratebeer.com, but what's more is the rest of their lineup isn't at all hit or miss, as are so many other producers.  

You'll find it on Ratebeer.com here: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/half-acre-daisy-cutter/102472/#.UttYkbRyIn8.blogger

Consistently excellent is no small thing, however small or grand their space. 

To take the drama and drum roll out of it, I can say that I tried 3 and they were all outstanding and something to rave about, while Daisy Cutter was over the top.  If you're a hop head, and don't know by now, Daisy Cutter should stand tall in your fridge next to or between Zombie Dust and Heady Topper like three beer assassins or first responders, patiently waiting to coat your tongue and wipe out any residual off flavors from bad brew, beer mishaps or even hot wings.  

I


The tap room is small and comfortable and the staff attentive and professional.  The staff is great at the store too, which is bright, clean and fun.



They don't serve food, but the menu welcomes you to order in the area and bring your own in. 


This place just may be my favorite brewery. 





  

Half Acre's PONY Pilsner is bright, bold, bitter, with noble hops amped way up past 10 on the Marshall, this is not spinal tap.  It's clear and frothy, with a distinctive aroma.  You won't find many German beers, using German hops turned up this high, and it works to great effect.  

The lacing is very impressive, if you are obsessive about the way proteins paint your class. 

Gossamer and Alpenglow are both extraordinary beers as well. 

Gossamer Golden Ale is clear, crisp, bold, and bready in aroma and taste without being chewy.  It's ABV is comfortable at 4.2%

This beer would be nice to wash down about any meal. 

Alpenglow Winter Dark Ale-- the coffeest coffee stout that's not stout, ever.  It's a bright, bold, bitter black-amber, with an ABV of 5%  

I love this beer. 

Half Acre's Beer menu.

Here's where Half Acre gets down to it in the back room. 

It's a Steven's Point St. Benedict's Winter

In my experience, Steven's Point makes great, very under rated beer.  And this brown St. Benedict Winter "English Strong Ale" is no exception. St. Benedict is credited as a leading figure promoting monastic life, which is kind of the way people live in colder places in winter like this.  

And maybe it bears mentioning that he died in Monte Casino, Italy, a mountain abbey, where over 54,000 American solders died beating back the German Axis Rats, who lost 20,000 troops during World War 2. 

If you type it into the magic Google machine you'll find the unsober masses at Beeradvocate.com rate the beer an 80, whereas, the Bros-- 90, no small difference of opinion. 

The beer's won 3 medals at World Beer Championships. 

I'm inclined to back the Bros on this one. 

St. Benedict on tap has a dark appearance, a nice  frothy head, but one that doesn't remain long, and no discernible aroma.   

The taste is chocolate that's well balanced against the heat from the alcohol, like a nice spicy dry brandy.... served cold.   

Mouth feel: it has a thin and dry body with a warm finish.  It's 6.2%  ABV, so not necessarily a gulping ale as I'd define one, like say your low ABV stouts, however easy it is to mistake the look of St. Benedict for one.  Some may disagree on this point, as this kind of thin, less malty, less caloric feeling or flavor is exactly what makes for gulping for some folks, however illusory (the calories, that is).  Ethanol has calories, in addition to the other way other ways it impacts the body. 

The dryness is tongue numbing, like and injecting of by the dentist. 

The Point lists the ale as noble, "cluster" hops, but you won't notice them much, but enough to bitter the malts to avoid sweetness.  The malts include: 2 row, 6 row Pilsen, roasted, aromatic, and 2 row chocolate.  

The Point's done another bang up job on this ale, even if the reviews at Ratebeer.com rates at less than half Fuller's version, and Beeradvocate.com is less glowing than seems right.  

Here's St. Benedict's tap handle, where he looks kind of wide eyed and stunned by the way the alcohol crept up on him too.  Even during Cold Winter months when it's available, contemplation has its limits, at least in public settings, where you'll find him on tap. So go slow kids. 

Bottling DunkelweiZenGuy and Comment on The Sapes Beer Ad in the UK

So  there comes a time when bottling is in order, right.  Here's bottling day for the 5 Hop DunkelweiZenGuy I brewed for Christmas. 

Bottling amounted to recycling the bottles of a lot of different, great commercial beers we've had in 2013, as well as a little experimenting with fruit juice, just to see if we can't carbonate using Black Current rather than honey or dex-corn sugar in those corked 22oz Abbey Ale bottles.  Well, not just to see, but also in the hope we can get all Belgium and shit, with some of this batch too, if you will.  

Should be interesting to see how fermented sweet Black Current juice juice squares off with 5 varieties of hops in a bottle.  I'm guessing more bitter sweet, like seeing your girlfriend from college check into your nursing home, than confusing, like the mixed message you might expect from eating salt brine pickled cabbage with jelly donuts.










It's important to remain clean in all this, as caramel grains make a sticky mess if left unchecked, boys and girls.  And so a bottle of Alcohol stands ready to sterilize and clean up as needed.That Hop Devil was an epic beer... still recall drinking it after painting rooms all day. 

As you can see labeling is an art form, and sometimes not at all. 




















This seems like a good spot to comment about world wide, globe spanning beverage monopoly and card carrying ALEC member, Diageo and their new video advertisement about The Sapes in Congo, a very classy group of gents who dress for every occasion.  See if it doesn't have an inspirational quality, in a place where that's in very short supply.  I was going to say like lighting a candle in space or some other dark place, but no need to evoke the whole "Heart of Darkness", "dark" otherness trope when discussing Africa. 

It's got a nice bit about the stout drinker being a "Master of my fate and captain of my soul," a solid 19th Century philosophical trope, just in case you missed the point that it's possible to overcome the odds in a place where horrible outcomes are as frequent as sunrise if you just party your way out of it (with the right Diageo ammo).  Of course, they are broadcasting this commercial in Ireland and Britain not Africa. Seems like such a long way to go to promote a beer, unless your sales amount to a small nation, upon which the sun never sets. 

I find the music corny in places. 



Guinness 'Sapeurs' from Finger Music on Vimeo.




Here are the same "Sapes" in a video by Bouncy's sister Solange, shot in South Africa, far from Congo.  Not a lot of drinking in this one.



Losing You - Solange from Bresi-Ando consults on Vimeo.

JosephBrau's (Trader Joe's) Dunkelwiezen Dark Wheat

Trader Joe's does a lot of things right, and this Dunkelweizen is no exception, so don't let those Whole Foods hipsters talk you out of Trader Joe's JosephBrau brand just because they can't find their favorite Kasha bars, or [insert other funny unusual products] there.  

Dunkelweizen is made of roasted and caramel wheats, usually not more than 13%, but there's no telling here.  The balance is made with "pale malted barley" here. 

Color & Froth:  a brown color and frothy head are true to the style, if not better than most wheat beers on execution (I've had wheat beer flatten like a pancakes on me).  Tight bubbles that last awhile, and a cloudy brown, just like the over powering 5 hop DunkelweiZenGuy I made for Christmas. 

Aroma:  a nice mix of bread with bananas and clove in nearly equal measure.  Maybe a banana bread with clove powder on top if you wan't to be catchy about it.  By comparison, since I'm not particularly religious about the whole bread, banana and clove wheat beer trip, so I just over-hopped the DunkelweiZenGuy I made for Christmas, like the Chinese took Tibet. 

Favor: same same, sweet banana bread with this lingering clove flavor, with a moderately sweet, caramel concentrate flavor that reminds me of soda extract, or more to the point-- you'll find bourbon notes and tones in this beer.  It might be a good choice to wash back some locally distilled whiskey if you have a mind, and if you don't, there's always Jim Beame, or Diageo's acquired brands- Bulliet and Dickel.

Body-- medium bodied, malty feel, but a little thin vs. what might have been.  Nice balance of malt to ethanol, and nicely balanced aroma to taste. 

The pickled masses at Beeradvocate.com rate this beer at 80.  I think it's better than that, but you'll have to pour one to find out.   

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10707/39924/?ba=Ethanol4one  

Craig Reviews a Fan Boy's Brown IPA

It's amazing how the word "amazing" has grown.

I think the more you look into it, the more you'll find the word "amazing" has become a big hit, a kind of catch basin when it's more difficult or more time consuming to articulate other characteristics and qualities.   

Amazing really.  (source: Google Ngram )