Official Alcohol Discussion Thread!

[DaMexiRican]

Can we get a sticky for this?

What do ya'll prefer to drink? Beer, Wine, Hard Liquor, Wine Coolers? All of them?

I only drink Beer and Hard Liquor. Mint Mojito is about the only thing close to a wine cooler I'll drink though LOL

 

[mobius387]

just filled my fridge with some beer. first time in way too long. got a variety pack from new belgium brews and a 6 pack of leinenkugel's classic amber. feels good to be drinking beer again out of my fridge

 

[BlueCali]

mmm beer. Can't have beer on P90X... boooo

 

[Illiciter]

My Baby!!! I dunno what I am putting in there yet but its gonna be something good thats for sure.

Can't believe I missed this! Nice!

I've got my Peach Wheat finishing up on the peach puree right now.. man it tasted so good when I sampled it, I'm going to be sad when it gets all consumed. I had some hard cider sitting for about a month and a half in the fermenter, some white fuzz formed in some spots along the wall of the fermenter, first I had ever seen on my better bottles. Being the unabashed drinker that I am I drank some, tasted fine so I racked it to the keg and put it under pressure to see what happens.


Beer is really good!

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

Fuzz or bubbles? I would have kegged it too as long as it tastes good. There is alcohol in there and that's supposed to kill bacteria, right?

I kegged 10 gallons myself this weekend. 5 gallons of a citra/centennial ipa that I made - 8 oz of hops in there, mmmmmmmmm. I also kegged an orange wheat beer that I made, I tossed the zested orange peels and the meat of 4 oranges right into the primary. Smells great so far.

I also got this beauty for sampling them this weekend. It should waiting at the door when I get home

 

[Off_contstantly]

Fuzz or bubbles? I would have kegged it too as long as it tastes good. There is alcohol in there and that's supposed to kill bacteria, right?

I kegged 10 gallons myself this weekend. 5 gallons of a citra/centennial ipa that I made - 8 oz of hops in there, mmmmmmmmm. I also kegged an orange wheat beer that I made, I tossed the zested orange peels and the meat of 4 oranges right into the primary. Smells great so far.

I also got this beauty for sampling them this weekend. It should waiting at the door when I get home

That looks awesome!

 

[Illiciter]

That is, indeed, a kickass beer stein!


It was definitely fuzz. Looked like little cotton balls about the size of a pea and smaller just dotted every so often around the sides, they easily broke off and fell to the bottom with a little shake so it wasn't hardened funk. You're right; there is no pathogen that can survive in beer or wine. So at worst it would taste bad, but it will never kill you. Hell, lambics are basically spoiled beer anyways.


Throwing the orange meat in there huh? Never would have thought to do that. I guess basically you're just adding orange juice at best. Let me know how that turns out because for some reason I just figured orange zest was a boiling addition, never considered "dry hopping" it. Makes me want to revisit my orange pale ale recipe... That doublewide orange apa was quite a kick, although I couldn't have more than 3 before my tongue started to get coated in hop resin.

 

[splax23]

So a couple things to talk about today.

1. Has anything had Voodoo Black Magick? Out of my 4 bottles of Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee stout I gave my beer guy one just for saving beer for me when he only get a few bottles and because he was not even able to get one. He is gonna give me a few bottles of that. Just wondering how tasty it is?

2. I went to a local beer store and OMG most overpriced place i have ever been too. they have some vintage stuff. They had 2007, 2008, and 2004 Bigfoot from 19.99 to 39.99 a six pack!!!! Founders Breakfast stout that usually goes for 10.99 to 12.99 a 4 pk was 5.99 a bottle. 120 min IPA about 8.99 they wanted 17.99!! unbelievable. A lot of vintage stuff they had was stuff you shouldnt age. They only beer i would think about purchasing was Unibroue 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and edition 2004 and 2005. about 14.99 a bomber for them. never tried them are they worth trying? overall tho i dont understand how these people are in business and clearly dont much about beer and just want to make a money. they had bottles laying on their side on the floor. i was so mad walking through there haha

 

[Illiciter]

So a couple things to talk about today.

1. Has anything had Voodoo Black Magick? Out of my 4 bottles of Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee stout I gave my beer guy one just for saving beer for me when he only get a few bottles and because he was not even able to get one. He is gonna give me a few bottles of that. Just wondering how tasty it is?

2. I went to a local beer store and OMG most overpriced place i have ever been too. they have some vintage stuff. They had 2007, 2008, and 2004 Bigfoot from 19.99 to 39.99 a six pack!!!! Founders Breakfast stout that usually goes for 10.99 to 12.99 a 4 pk was 5.99 a bottle. 120 min IPA about 8.99 they wanted 17.99!! unbelievable. A lot of vintage stuff they had was stuff you shouldnt age. They only beer i would think about purchasing was Unibroue 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, and edition 2004 and 2005. about 14.99 a bomber for them. never tried them are they worth trying? overall tho i dont understand how these people are in business and clearly dont much about beer and just want to make a money. they had bottles laying on their side on the floor. i was so mad walking through there haha

Most importantly: DO NOT buy beer from a store that is so beligerant about their storage i.e. laying bottles on their sides. It is absolutely clear they have NO CLUE how to properly care for beer. So anything you buy from that store is going to be on a wing and a prayer that THAT particular bottle wasn't mistreated or subjected to temperature swings or just being stored too warm. I had a local store open up and claim to have micro brews, etc.. they had it all f*cked up storing the beer under bright lights near a window. I told them flat out I'd never buy from their store because they are ruining their beer. They scoffed and I've never returned.

On to Voodoo Black Magick... big Big BIG imperial stout. I think my lasting impression of it was ALCOHOL. You can smell it very pronounced, and there's a definite bourbon kick. I don't know if it varies from batch to batch, but supposedly it's a beer you can age for up to 5 years according to the brewer to smooth it out a bit. It makes you feel f*ckin' sweet after a glass, though.

 

[Off_contstantly]

Most importantly: DO NOT buy beer from a store that is so beligerant about their storage i.e. laying bottles on their sides. It is absolutely clear they have NO CLUE how to properly care for beer. So anything you buy from that store is going to be on a wing and a prayer that THAT particular bottle wasn't mistreated or subjected to temperature swings or just being stored too warm. I had a local store open up and claim to have micro brews, etc.. they had it all f*cked up storing the beer under bright lights near a window. I told them flat out I'd never buy from their store because they are ruining their beer. They scoffed and I've never returned.

On to Voodoo Black Magick... big Big BIG imperial stout. I think my lasting impression of it was ALCOHOL. You can smell it very pronounced, and there's a definite bourbon kick. I don't know if it varies from batch to batch, but supposedly it's a beer you can age for up to 5 years according to the brewer to smooth it out a bit. It makes you feel f*ckin' sweet after a glass, though.

I need to find some of this!

 

[Illiciter]

I need to find some of this!

lol, I think it's like some insane 15% abv.. it's like having a glass of wine only better because it's beer.

 

[Off_contstantly]

lol, I think it's like some insane 15% abv.. it's like having a glass of wine only better because it's beer.

like wine but better... that's a good thing because I like wine too. I live in the heart of Missouri Wine Country, and have several good vinyards within a 30 minute drive.

 

[splax23]

Most importantly: DO NOT buy beer from a store that is so beligerant about their storage i.e. laying bottles on their sides. It is absolutely clear they have NO CLUE how to properly care for beer. So anything you buy from that store is going to be on a wing and a prayer that THAT particular bottle wasn't mistreated or subjected to temperature swings or just being stored too warm. I had a local store open up and claim to have micro brews, etc.. they had it all f*cked up storing the beer under bright lights near a window. I told them flat out I'd never buy from their store because they are ruining their beer. They scoffed and I've never returned.

On to Voodoo Black Magick... big Big BIG imperial stout. I think my lasting impression of it was ALCOHOL. You can smell it very pronounced, and there's a definite bourbon kick. I don't know if it varies from batch to batch, but supposedly it's a beer you can age for up to 5 years according to the brewer to smooth it out a bit. It makes you feel f*ckin' sweet after a glass, though.

yeah i dont think i wanna support those guys thats for sure. but im hoping i get 2 bottles of black magick we will see. he also mentioned possibly giving me a 2007 bottle of new holland dragonsmilk. I will know more when i stop in.

 

[splax23]

Awesome beer haul today. On BA this morning someone was mentioning a new beer store opening and underpricing beer. I went and picked up 5 bombers of New Holland Dragonsmilk for 3.99 each (usually 7.99) and 2 bombers of Westmalle Trippel for 5.99 each (usually 11.99). Also got my bottle of Black Magick. Tomorrow i get my other bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout. Good weekend!!

 

[Off_contstantly]

Awesome beer haul today. On BA this morning someone was mentioning a new beer store opening and underpricing beer. I went and picked up 5 bombers of New Holland Dragonsmilk for 3.99 each (usually 7.99) and 2 bombers of Westmalle Trippel for 5.99 each (usually 11.99). Also got my bottle of Black Magick. Tomorrow i get my other bottle of Goose Island Bourbon County Coffee Stout. Good weekend!!

That's awesome! Congrats!

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

Throwing the orange meat in there huh? Never would have thought to do that. I guess basically you're just adding orange juice at best. Let me know how that turns out because for some reason I just figured orange zest was a boiling addition, never considered "dry hopping" it. Makes me want to revisit my orange pale ale recipe... That doublewide orange apa was quite a kick, although I couldn't have more than 3 before my tongue started to get coated in hop resin.

Well I tapped the keg of the orange wheat on saturday. It was delicious So of course I had a few. The IPA was done as well and it was possibly the best beer I've made yet so I was quite a show by the end of the night.

I had some family members and neighbors over last night and offered them a taste. I'm affraid that my orange wheat is nearly half empty now I was worried at first that I just thought it tasted good because I had some of my own sweat put into it but it was a real hit with everyone else last night too. The initial flavor was regular ole wheat but it finished with a good orange flavor, especially as it got warmer. It wasn't quite the orange flavor I was expecting though since there is really no sweetness to it. It wasn't that bitter either though, it's kinda hard to explain

 

[Illiciter]

I transferred my peach wheat over to the keg yesterday. The sample, needless to say but I'll say it anyway, was fantastic. Just makes me sad that it won't take very long to kill the keg... The wife knows when it gets transferred and she'll get sick on the stuff if I don't keep the tap locked.

I got 12 lbs of DME sitting around and a couple pounds of hops, perhaps I should experiment with another beer soon... Get crackin' on the orange pale ale recipe.

I keep wanting to do something crazy with cherries and stout but I just can't get my hands on a good supply of fresh cherries. Also getting pretty itchy to do a belgian style

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

Cherries + 1 lb hops + 12 lb DME sounds like an awesome barleywine

Are you doing extract for all your brews?

 

[Illiciter]

Cherries + 1 lb hops + 12 lb DME sounds like an awesome barleywine

Are you doing extract for all your brews?

Nah.. My oatmeal stout, pumpkin beer, and a majority of my standard ales are mini-mashed, but I use the dry malt extract to balance the brew and boost the alcohol. Since mini-mashing isn't quite as effective as all out mashing and I'm not getting superb efficiency the extra malt extract (usually chuck 3 lbs in as standard) really helps keep the beers stable in flavor and ensure enough kick. In the case of my pumpkin beer I not only mini-mashed with 6 lbs of grain but I also threw in 9lbs of extract Needless to say at 343 calories and around 12% abv per 12 fl oz... man that beer was good!

For lighter beers I also go the extra $$$ and get about 3lbs of rice solids and about 2lbs of corn sugar and add that to 3lbs of extra light DME. Gives me almost perfect straw color if I do a late extract addition, dials in the right amount of alc:hichol and keeps the flavor about right. I've yet to clone a budmillercoors, but I've gotten some dangerously smooth light ales with this combo and a good yeast like American Ale II (wyeast 1272). I think all I'm doing "wrong" is the hop profile and not lagering, but I like to taste my beer and this combo is pretty good for my standard lawnmower ales.

 

[MacDaddyOJack]

I just made the move to all grain, my orange wheat was the first one. You can get nearly perfect color with a full boil instead of using rice or sugar, I was very pleased with the color on my wheat. I'll see if I can post a pic soon. I'm itching to use my setup again, I've got ingredients for a pale ale coming in today. Probably won't get to brew until sunday though.

Have you ever tried to actually make a lager? I don't have a spare fridge to do any lagering in so I was thinking about using a swamp cooler to ferment at about 50-55 degrees and then keg it and lager inside my kegerator for about 8 weeks. I'll be bottling this next batch in order to make due without one of my keg lines for 8 weeks *sniffle* I really want to make a dopplebock next and an oktoberfest towards the end of the summer.

Side Note: Saturday is the first US game in the world cup, beers at 1:30! After that, we are going to the "world beer fest". It's a beer festival on Brown's island here in richmond and it is going to have beers from over 200 breweries Tickets include a tasting glass, commemorative pint glass, all you and drink and a meal as well. The brew day on sunday may get delayed depending on how much "sampling" I do at the world beer fest

 

[Off_contstantly]

I just made the move to all grain, my orange wheat was the first one. You can get nearly perfect color with a full boil instead of using rice or sugar, I was very pleased with the color on my wheat. I'll see if I can post a pic soon. I'm itching to use my setup again, I've got ingredients for a pale ale coming in today. Probably won't get to brew until sunday though.

Have you ever tried to actually make a lager? I don't have a spare fridge to do any lagering in so I was thinking about using a swamp cooler to ferment at about 50-55 degrees and then keg it and lager inside my kegerator for about 8 weeks. I'll be bottling this next batch in order to make due without one of my keg lines for 8 weeks *sniffle* I really want to make a dopplebock next and an oktoberfest towards the end of the summer.

Side Note: Saturday is the first US game in the world cup, beers at 1:30! After that, we are going to the "world beer fest". It's a beer festival on Brown's island here in richmond and it is going to have beers from over 200 breweries Tickets include a tasting glass, commemorative pint glass, all you and drink and a meal as well. The brew day on sunday may get delayed depending on how much "sampling" I do at the world beer fest

Sounds like I'm getting out to VA too late. I'm going to miss out on all the beerfest fun.