New reviews in the New Year!

I know I have been slacking on keeping the blog up and running but it has been a mad house!  So be on notice, new reviews will be coming in 2012!

Cheers hop heads and malt maniacs!!!

Three Philosophers Belgian Quad

First I would like to apologize it has been a few weeks since my last post, I have been feeling under the weather.  Summer time colds should be against the laws of nature! 

One of the last beers I was able to sample before my sickness and hiatus from beer for while I was beating this.  I was able to experience Brewery Ommegang's Three Philosophers Belgian style blended quadruple.

 
I pour the ale slowly into my goblet so that I do not disturb the sediment in the bottle from the natural carbonation.  The ale pour brownish/slightly red with a khaki colored head about 1/2" thick.  The foam is stick and creamy.  The aroma of this ale exploded from the glass with notes of dried fruit, raisins, dark malts, and hot alcohol.

The first sip I notice the typical Beglian bready yeast flavors, followed by the dark, dried fruit flavors from the dark malts.  There seems to be a sort of soft spice that I could not put my finger on exactly what it could be, but wonderful none the less.  There are also hints of cherries, that are not over powering.  This is from the ale being blended with Kriek (Cherry Lambic).  The ale finishes dry with a slight taste of what could be cocoa.  Strange I know but I swear it's there!

The mouth feel is thick and creamy, highly carbonated and almost tingles the tongue.  Do not make the mistake I did and over chill this ale.  On the bottle the recommended serving temperature is 50 degrees do not sell your self short by drinking it colder.  I had to let mine warm up to full experience the greatness this complex beer has to offer!

Wonderful Belgian Ale, head out and pick one up!  You wont regreat it!

Cheers!

Sweetwater Blue

One of my favorite places in Atlanta is the Sweetwater Brewery.  I've toured it, i've drank from their 'dank tank' and it was everything a beer nut could imagine!  Sweetwater Blue has a special place in my heart because I have been able to turn quite a few people away from Anheuser Busch with it.  It is my "Oh you've never had a craft beer before?  Try This" Beer typically their eyes bulge and they look at the glass take another drink look back at the glass and go WOW! 

Sweetwater Blue, is one of the flagship ales from Sweetwater (the other being their 420 Pale Ale).  The beer can be found primary in the Southeastern United States.    I mean why not?  The best NCAA teams are in the SEC any way! 

The ale pours smoothly into my pint glass leaving a quarter inch of head that dissipates quickly.  The ale is just a shade darker then gold.  The aroma instantly clues you in, it's called "Blue" for a reason.  The Blueberry aroma pairs nicely with the slight twang of the floral  hops.  The first sip is smooth, the malt sweetness is smooth and refreshing.  The Blueberry is not over powering or to sweet.  This is a beer with a bit of fruit, not a fruit beer.  I am not a fan of fruite beers I find them to be far to sweet, but the Blue does it for me.  It's great on a summer day!  This is by no means an 'earth shattering' beer.  But, it is a good beer and worth picking up a 6 pack of.  This is a 'Gateway' beer, it will lure you over to the dark side away from fizzy yellow water!

Cheers!

Ayinger Brau-Weisse and Brewing a Hefeweizen

We have been having fun around the brewery!  Style of the month at my local homebrew club was wheat and rye beers.  So why not brew a Hefeweizen?  After all it is hot as hell and Hefe's are great on a warm day!  So that is exactly what we did!

 
As my strick water was pre heating to attain my 152*F 60 minute mash, I decided to enjoy a beer and offer a review.  Ayinger Brau-Weisse which is one of the most authictic Hefeweizen's you can get.  This comes strait from Aying Germany thanks to Privatbrauerei Franz Inselkammer Brewery.

Got a bit excited on my pour!

The Hefeweizen pours smoothly into my pint glass, with about 3" of fluffy white head, due to my pouring to fast! [eerrr Rookie mistake, oh well]  The appearance of this ale is honey, slightly light copper in color, and hazy/cloudy.  The aroma is dominated by wonderful aromas of bananas and clove.  The flavor is smooth, the yeasty charactor compliments the banannas and clove perfectly.  The carbonation is crisp, and wonderful!  The finish has some slight spice, and leaves you wanting another sip!  This personifies authentic Hefeweizen.

If you are interested in what a truly refreshing, true to style, authentic wheat beer tastes like this one is for you!


Drink like a GERMAN!!! CHEERS!!!



 

Life on the Brew Front

Life on the brew front has been exciting.  Things are changing, equipment is being upgraded, and now toys are being added. 

So, lets start with the addition of a vintage 1939 General Electric Kerorator to the brew house.  This was a true rags to riches story for the refrigerator.  I'm sure in it's hayday of the 40's and 50's this piece of history hummed along in someones well-to-do kitchen of the time.  Never creating an issue, until it was no longer the lastest and greatest so it was sold.  The GE has probably changed hand 10-20 times in the past 72 years, until it looked like this.

Just in terrible, cosmetic shape, but no worse for the ware in the mechanics of the machine.  Also, a testimonial for true craftsmanship, still working fine 72 years later.  Despite a frayed electrical cabel (the cloth cover was looking ratty) still running like a brand new one.  So, my wife and I went to work, countless hours with an angle grinder, digging through what we could tell was 3 different coats of paint.  With some work, love, and a few curse words.  She is now the work of art that resides in the brewery!  The second tap will be added this weekend.

GO BIG BLUE!!!!!

Now that the "Beer Dispensing System" is almost complete, lets move to the actual brewing side.  Steps have been made to finally convert to an all grain system.  Without utilizing a MLT (mash lauter tun), I am going to utilize the BIAB (Brew In a Bag Method).  It is a relatively new brewing procedure were your mash is actually done inside the brew kettle, with the grains in a grain bag, inside a steel basket to support weight.  This allows for all-grain brewing without any more then a pot big enough to hold your full biol volume, and your extra sparge water, and a burner.   I have the pot under control a converted 15.5 gallon keg, and a brand new Blichmann Engineering Burner.

Blichmann products are supposed to be top of the line.  This thing is supposed to make 10 gallons of water boil in 13-30 minutes (I currently wait an hour for 7 gallons to boil), and be remarkably fuel efficient.  It will get it's inaugural run this weekend, with a summer time style of wheat beer an "American Hefeweizen".

So as I move into a new phase of my brewing, now I can better perfect recipes of my own Ales by controlling the amount of grains in the mash.  I also should be able to perfect fermentation temperatures with my small chamber.

We getting serious around here, come by and check us out some time!

Cheers!

Damn you Samuel Smith glass....

I had no intention of reviewing a beer today, but the slice in my hand has driven me to drink.  While washing dishes after dinner tonight I was washing my Samuel Smith English pint glass, and just when my hand was stuck inside it -chink.  A lovely razor shard snaps off and lances the palm of my hand open...spectacular.  After alcohol wipes, antibiotic ointment, and a band aid I know sit here minus a few drops of blood.

Lesson learned today, no more thin, cheap glasses!  Shame on you Samuel Smith for giving me such crap in your sampler!  Moving on, to another Samuel, Samuel Adams Rustic Saison.

This Belgian styled ale pour smoothly into my REAL pint glass!  With very little head, about 1/4" of bright white foam that dissipates quickly.  The straw colored ale is slightly sour yet floral notes come through in the aroma.  You can really notice the coriander in the aroma.  The first sip of this golden liquid is refreshing and clean.  The flavor is slightly sour, with hints of lemon and grass.  This ale finishes smooth and refreshing.  I have tasted better saisons, but this is a good example of the style by a big commercial brewery.  Solid B+ beer, great on a summer day!

Check it out!

Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA

Well, one of the first weekends I've been able to relax, no plane to catch, no trip to go on, finally peace.  So I decided to unwind and watch it rain with a nice cigar and an exceptional beer, Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA.

The ale pours smoothly from the bottle into my glass with a 1/4" white head.  The beer is a copper color. The aroma is floral and earthy, with a touch of grape fruit wafting from the glass.  The flavor however slightly more complex then the traditional IPA.  There is a nice malt backbone in this ale, probably some biscuit or caramel malts.  The hop bitterness is not at all overpowering as some IPA's can be.  It is very smooth, citrus notes and hints of pine shine through.  The mouth feel is smooth and crisp.  In my opinion a perfect compliment to a relaxing rainy Saturday.

Pick one up....I think you will enjoy.

Bell's Brewing HopSlam ALE!

So after a typical Tuesday at the office it was time for a beer.  I raided my stash fridge, which typically houses my favorite, off the wall, and special beers.  Today was the day to try one of the beers I won at the last NFBL (North Florida Brewers League) meeting.

First off, I love the label on this beer, man being smashed by a giant hop, that is only a premonition of what is to come.  The beer pour smoothly into my pint glass, gold to light amber in color with a 1/2" white head and the kitchen begins to smell like a hop farm....I'm falling in love and I have not even tasted it yet.  The aroma of Hopslam is floral, earthy, fruity and citrusy.  The flavor is malty sweet at first with slight hints of toffee for a split second, then like a platoon of warrior hops (no pun intended) the citrus, and pine take over and the taste of bitter hops over take your mouth.  This is a hop heads delight!  It packs quite a punch at 10%abv!  Pick one up and try it!  Hop Heads REJOICE!

Excessive HoppYness IPA

Today was the the day my small batch of IPA was supposed to be finished.  So needless to say I have been looking forward to this all day.  This morning I took a 22oz bomber that had been conditioning for the past 2 weeks from the bar and let it chill in the fridge all day.

When the popped the cap off, I heard the psst and saw the waft of co2 ease from the neck of the bottle.  That is always a good sign for a brewer!  The ale pours smoothly into my English pint glass and the wonderful aroma of citrus hops begin to tickle my nose.  This wonderful IPA is light brown or Amber in color and has about a 1 inch off white head.  The aroma is slightly citrusy, floral, and slightly piney. My first sip is smooth and creamy on my palate, carbonation is perfect.  The citrus hops come through in the flavor but a strong malt backbone drop kicks it and the flavors compete nicely.  I can say this IPA is NOT just about the hops!  I am very proud of this IPA, and will be making a full batch as soon as possible!  Hop heads will love it!

Ahh, I almost forgot, for those of your that are interested this beer is 80IBU and 7.5% ABV (according to the beer calculator and my OG.)

I am going to rate it A+ but I'm bias since it's my own! =)

Cheers!

Please forgive!

Please forgive me for being a slacker....Work has been nutty, we have been working on the brewery.  Excessive HoppYness is now climate controlled! We have Maya's Maple Ale still on tap, Kickback Chocolate Stout in bottles getting lovly, and a very limited edition brewers special IIPA that will be ready this week.  The IIPA is something in the neighborhood of 80-90IBU's and 7% ABV, but don't worry it's not for you! You can't handle it!

Also I have Bluescreen Ale fermenting away getting ready for P4P (Pints 4 Paws) on May 21st.  Swing by and check us out at the Market Square Pavilion with the North Florida Brewers League in Tallahassee and have a beer!

I plan on getting some more beer reviews up!  With the first one being my IIPA! 

Sign up for email updates and dont miss a word of my ramblings..... =)

Cheers!

Hoppin Frog's D.O.R.I.S The Destroyer

My Friday nights generally are the same, most of them are spent unwinding after a long week in a cubical in an Adirondack chair with a cigar, and a exceptional beer.  This past Friday was no different I was able to experience Hoppin Frog's D.O.R.I.S The Destroyer.  You may be curious to know what does D.O.R.I.S mean?  Well it is...Double Oatmeal Russian Imperial Stout.

This Stout did not pour from the bottle, it seemed to roll out of it.  The beer flowed into my snifter ink black and syrupy thick, with a thin 1/4" dark milk chocolate brown head.  The aroma has wonderful notes of dark malts, chocolate, raisins, slight piny hop aroma also.  The first taste is nothing short of profound! The Stout fills your mouth and almost sends your taste buds into over load as the syrupy liquid coats your tongue.  The dark malts, and chocolate are the most noticeable but hints of plums, raisins, grapes and brown sugar sweetness are left in your mouth after the sip.  The mouth feel is thick and creamy, almost no carbonation.  I was also very surprised to detect ZERO alcohol flavor. I was amazed after reading the bottle to discover DORIS IS A DESTROYER at 10.5% ABV!

The magnificent beer paired magically with my Oliva Master Blend No. 3 Robusto complimenting each other, as both fought for dominance on my palate!

Please do your self a favor and pick one of these up!  It is available locally in Tallahassee at the Fermintation Market!

I rate this beer A+ as one of the best Stouts I have ever had the honor of tasting!

Left Hand Brewing Co. - Chainsaw Ale Double Sawoth

On a warm March afternoon the NCAA Championship is in full swing and Kentucky barely pulled out of the 2nd round against Princeton.  Close call time for a beer. Out comes a bomber with one of the coolest labels i've ever saw, Left Hand Brewing Co. Chainsaw Ale Double Sawtooth. 

The Double Sawtooth pours dark Amber in color smoothly into my snifter.  Producing a slightly off white color head, with lacing that remained for the entire glass.  The aroma of the Double Chainsaw is slightly malty sweet with notes of pine and citrus.

I should have washed my glass better, bubbles are not supposed to sit on your glass like that.

The flavor is light on your tongue, smooth and flavorful.  I first notice large amounts of citrus hop bitterness that lasts well after my first sip on the edges of my tongue.  This ASA (American Strong Ale) also has a wonderful malt profile that stands up nicely to the powerful hop flavors present.  I did notice some heat from the alcohol present in the ale.  Which is understandable, this ale tips the scales at 9.4% ABV.  One bomber of this and your feeling fine.

I will defenatly be picking this up again!  I must thank my wife for this since she picked it out!  A wonderful beer I will give it an A-.

This beer can be purchased locally in Tallahassee at The Fermintation Market.

Please feel free to comment!

ExcessiveHoppYness

10 gallons to 10 bbls

I found this today, from "Grim Brother's Brewhouse" located in Loveland CO.  I found this to be inspiring and motivational:

My last home brew batch was about 8 months ago; I had decided to brew as much beer as I could in one weekend so it would last while we were opening the brewery.  One of the batches brewed that weekend was a 10 Gallon batch of what has now become “Snow Drop”.  As I look back at the differences between that 10 Gallon system and our current 10 BBL system I am amused at the results. Most of the things that would keep me up at night, and I thought would be a huge adjustment turned out to be minimal to nothing at all. On the other hand, some of the menial tasks we do now, turned out to require much more thought than I had anticipated.
Probably the biggest change on our commercial system is getting the malt into the grist case. As a home brewer, this was as simple as loading up a bucket with the malt, milling it and pouring it into the mash tun.  Now, we have to hoist all 800 pounds of malt up to a grist case using a glorified bucket and pulley.  This does give us the desired results, but the effort and time that goes into this makes me look forward to the day we get an auger.
A typical brew day at the brewery takes about as long as a brew day on my home brew system.  From start to clean up, we are running about 6 hours. Our mash, sparge, and boil all take just as long now as they did then.  When I counter flow now, it is a jet of wort emptying 310 gallons in 30 minutes, compared to 10 gallons in 30 minutes on my home system.  And most importantly our fermentations take just as long, the yeast will make the beer, just let it do its thing.
As I think about the old home brewer’s mantra, “Relax, Don’t Worry, Have a Home Brew”. I have to remind myself, to have patience. This is my dream, and while I may hit stumbling stones along the way, I need to be flexible and adapt. Most importantly, at the end of a brew day, I just need to relax, don’t worry, and have a Snow Drop.

Some day I will get there.  Until I do I must RDWHAHB!  We will get there, and in the mean time, I am kegging 5 gal of Maya's Maple Ale Friday.  Will be available in a few days!  Be sure to come have a pint!

Cheers!

Abita Andygator

On a cool, lazy Sunday afternoon I sat on the porch watching the grass grow and drank an excellent beer!  This different beer came from Abita Brewing Co. in Louisiana.  This is a style of beer I have had not experienced before, a Helles Dobblebock.  Bock beer is traditionally used to described strong German style lager beers, Dobblebock (think even stronger), then add Helles and you have a strong (8%ABV) German Style Lager that is light in color!

The beer pours the color of golden honey, with a white one inch head.  The aroma is yeasty sour, with hints of fruit.  The nose of this beer reminded me of a Belgian ale.  The flavor is light, the malts are not immediately noticeable.  Bready yeast flavors fill your mouth, with a slight sweetness and fruit flavors in the end.  This is a big beer better enjoyed slowly, dont get in a hurry to finish the bomber or the Andygator will bite you!

Cheers!

Jacksonville Beer Tour

Well, we recently went to Jacksonville for some training for work until I can brew full time!  In the down time inadaze and I gulped down some most excellent beer from local micro-brewerys.  First stop was Seven Bridges Brew Pub.

This is a local brewery in Jacksonville, the biggest that we attended.  Seven Bridges has 3 locations (2 in FL, 1 in GA).  The wait staff was wonderful, they started us of with 'sampler' which contained their 5 major beers and the one seasonal brew. 

The Southern Flier Light Lager (far right) and Southside Pils Lager (second from right) where not to my liking...they tried to hard to cater to the Bud Light crowd.  However, The Toll Tender IPA, and Rye IPA (third from right, and the one that isn't in line) were fantastic with the Rye IPA winning by a hop!  Both had wonderful malt sweetness that was not over powering and hop flavor to die for!  The Rye IPA has a citrusy hop aroma, and is silky smooth in your mouth with a drop kick of hoppy goodness!   Both were magnificent and classic examples of the style!  Toll Tender B- Rye IPA B+.  Moving on, (4th from the right) Sweet Magnolia Brown, this brown had a sweet caramel malty aroma.  The flavor was nutty and sweet, with a med/full mouth feel, with light hop bitterness and slight pecans in the aftertaste (this was the inadaze0 favorite).  Lastly we have the Iron Horse Stout, black as coal, tan head, smelled of coffee, chocolate, and molasses.  Chocolate and raisins swirl in your mouth, with slight hop bitterness on the back end.  A classic example of a very drinkable stout!  Seven Bridges knows what they are doing, they have won several medals at contests such as The Great American Beer Festival!  

Moving on to Bold CITY!!!

Unfortunately we did not get to tour Bold City, but thanks to the Aloft in Tapistry Park and the WXYZ Lounge we were able to enjoy several pints of Duke's Cold Nose Brown and Killer Whale Cream Ale

Duke's Brown is a smooth aromatic brown ale, caramel, sweet maltyness and nuts are present.  This ale is a light bodied and smooth.  Easy to sit at the bar and throw back pint after pint!  Wonderful Brown by any one's standards!  Killer Whale is a lighter, less hoppy ale that would be better suited for some one new to the craft beer world.  Very smooth, not much aroma, but did have some nice malt and hop flavors. 

Now onto my favorite place of the trip!  Intuition Ale Works!  Down in one of the not so savory parts of Jacksonville, King street.  Please do not let that deter you from checking this place out if ever in Jacksonville.  Just look for:

Upon entering the tap room, the room is nice rough cut lumber is used for the walls.  I instantly felt right at home, I've been waiting to get here since November when I found out about IAW.  I had my eyes dead set on the I-10 IPA.

The aroma of has a slight pungent hop aroma, but not over powering.  The flavor is all hops!  Piney, citrus wonderful hops, smooth and wonderful.  The IPA also has a  slightly sweet malt backbone that battles the hops on every sip! A-...

The King Street Stout, was hands down the best stout that has ever passed my lips.  Smooth, malty, sweet, chocolaty.  WOW...8% ABV it packs a punch, but you wont know it until it's got you!  I loved this place because it's nice to go into a bar and the bartender knows what Special B, Citra, 2Row, and Columbus are.  They take pride in their product and it show!  Service, A++ and the beer was impressive! I10 IPA A, and the KSS A+!!!

We had so much fun in Jacksonville.  I almost can't wait to have to go to training again!

Cheers!

Maredsous 10

Last night while attempting a re-brew of a failed beer from last year [Maya's Maple Ale] I thought it would be nice to have a beer.  The ale was selected by inadaze0 the last time we went to Earth Fare here in Tallahassee. 

Maredsous 10 is a Belgian Triple that is fermented twice at the brewery, then once more in the bottle over a two month aging period.  Maredsous is brewed under the supervision of the Brouwerij Duvel Moorgat brewery.  Now any beer snob or connoisseur should notice the middle name 'Duvel' yes, this is from the same place that brings us Duvel Ale!

This ale pours smooth with a one inch head into my chalice.  Appearance is orange/copper with it's bright white foam lacing down the sides of my glass.  The aroma is slightly sour, almost like fermented grapes think wine.  The malt slightly comes through followed by yeast aromas.  The flavor of this triple is smooth and crisp.  The triple fills your mouth with malt and yeast goodness, a slight sourness, and pears on the back end.  There is a slight warming sensation that can be felt a few moments after each sip, which is nice since there is no alcohol flavor or burn.  For a 10% ABV brew, that is incredible.

I would rank this a A- beer, and go as far as to say this to me is in the same area as Westmalle Triple, La Fin Du Monde, and Chimay.

and if you were wondering Maya's Maple Ale brew session went good, if the beer gods see fit it will be on tap in about a month in the Excessive HoppYness Brew House!

Rouge Hazelnut Brown Nectar and more progress!!!

Excessive HoppYness Brew Co. is now a living breathing, operating, brew house.  Beer is on tap!  Soon my 1/3 bbl all grain system will be operational, exciting!  Over the weekend inadaze and I built some shelves, moved in the bar, and re-arranged furniture, and rearranged furniture again, and rearranged furniture again!  So to toast the progress we sunk down into the couch on Saturday night and had a Rouge Hazelnut Brown Nectar Ale.

This beer pours a dark and wonderful brown, with a slight off white 1" head.  The aroma of this ale is sweet and nutty with notes of brown sugar, slightly smoky and hazel nuts take over your nose and make your mouth water! 

I often find myself getting board with brown ales.  They tend to all taste alike, but I was proven wrong by the boys from Oregon!  This ale is wonderful.  The flavor is malty sweet, brown sugar flavors pair nicely with slight chocolatey flavors and smoky hazel nuts on the back end.  If your a fan of hazelnut, like inadaze and I you will want to smack you lips on a pint of this!  By far hands down one of the best browns i've ever tasted!

I will rate this a solid A- Brown! I will be picking up a few more of these in the future!

Oh and if your interested, the lounge inside Excessive HoppYness Brew Co.  Johnny Cash Live at FOLSOM Prison was playing Saturday.

My co-brewer and bad ass wife standing behind the bar.

Super Bowl XLV and Arrogant Bastard

Super Bowl Sunday that special day every February where modern day titans throw down.  For the special day a special ale from Stone Brewing Co. in California, Arrogant Bastard Ale.

The ale pours with about 1 inch of bright white head, and is the color of dark amber or copper.  The aroma is faint, I detect a slight citrus hop aroma, but malt controls the aroma here.  The flavor is a hop heads delight, piny, grapefruity hops  fill your mouth at the beginning followed by a nice malt backbone.  The mouth feel is slightly thick, bubbly and creamy.  This is one of the more powerful IPA's I have ever tasted...It's probably not for you, this ale is for true Arrogant Bastards!! I'm going to give this wonderful ale a A-....I will be drinking this again.

Also, GO PACKERS!!!

1,000 VIEWS!!!

I am sorry the posts have been slow.  I have been ill for the past week and didn't do any beer drinking!  But I am feeling better day by day, and will get back to business in the next few days when I finally shake this virus.

Cheers and Stay Tuned!


Thanks for the support!!! Lets try and hit 2,000 posts by MARCH!

Live from Excessive HoppYness!!!!

Lots are going on here at Excessive HoppYness Brew Co.  The power is on and the brewery now has water.  Progress has been phenomenal, things are moving faster then I could have ever imagined.

The sink is plumbed and the water is flowing.  Only a few more small details and we will be off and running.  We still need a freezer to convert into a bar, a plate chiller, pump, and a few other pieces of hardware.

Although I do not condone the consumption of Busch Beer I got a good deal on this sign.

So in celebration of our most recent achievements I bring you another beer review from Brouwerij Van Steenberge, Belgium (can you tell I'm a fan of beer from Belgium?).  Called "Witches' Brew Golden Ale"  it is also another Belgian Triple.

 

This ale pours with a half inch bright white head.  The ale is a Golden Honey in color, The aroma is spicy and fruity, aroma has hints of yeast and cloves all tied up with stinging wafts of alcohol.

 Flavor is slightly sweet, paired with dark fruit and cloves.  The malt backbone is magnificent, hop bitterness is minimal.  The mouth feel is thick almost like velvet in your mouth.  Carbonation is intense, bubbles dance on your tongue.  This is a very great example of a Belgian Triple, I was highly impressed with this.  I will rank it a solid B+ I would definitely pick this up again.  

The can be purchased locally in Tallahassee at the World Market.

Disagree with my review?  Please leave a review in the comments. 

Cheers, STAY TUNED!!!! 

Excessive HoppYness.

   

Let there be light......

Today at the brewery we had some fun.  The EZ Trencher was in fact just that, easy!!!

The reason for the trench was for much needed electrical lines.  The brewery/bar now has power.  Think ice cold ale on tap and basketball games, and lets not forget lights!  Now the party can go on well into the night! 

So today at almost dark we were able to throw the switch and the flouresent bulbs came to life for the first time.

And on a Saturday afternoon Excessive HoppYness lit up, let the beer flow.  So, in celebration I will bring to you a couple of reviews.

Both beers tonight are from the same location, Portsmouth New Hampshire, thanks to Smuttynose Brewing Company.  The first beer tonight after power the Smuttynose IPA. 

 

This IPA pours smooth with a half inch of bright white head.  The aroma is pleasant and fresh not pungent like other IPAs.  Slightly grassy aroma, with notes of citrus.  The flavor is has a slight pine, grassy taste.  Citrusy hop flavor is smooth and light on the tongue followed by smooth sweet malt.  This is a light tasting ale, but not for newbies to the world of hops, around 65-70IBU I would guess.  This is an exceptional IPA.  I rate this a A-. 

As smoothly as the wonderful Smuttynose IPA filled my glass it has vanished.  Moving on to another offering from Smuttynose, Old Brown Dog Ale. 

This ale also pours smooth with a 1/2 off white head and is a dark amber in color.  The lacing on the sides of the glass remain for almost the entire pint.  The aroma is thick with sweet malt, but light on hops.

The flavor is slightly sweet with flavors of slight caramel, I would guess Crystal Malts, also some sweet brown sugar.  Also mild hop bitterness.  The flavor is smooth on your tongue and easy to drink.  This is a exceptional brown ale that I will be drinking again!  I will rate this as one of the better more flavorful browns I have tasted, A-.

Both of the beers featured tonight can be purchased locally in Tallahassee from the Earth Fare Market.
 

Disagree with my review, Please leave your own in the comments!

Cheers!
Excessive HoppYness 

Lindemans' Pomme Lambic

Last night inadaze and I wanted to do a review.  So, inadaze has been a fan of Lindemans' Lambic since 2007 when she first discovered Framboise (Raspberry Lambic).  A quick history lesson, long before hops where used to season beer, various fruits and herbs were used, to create Fruit beer or Lambic.  But different from Ales and Lagers of today that use cultivated strains of brewers yeast, Lambic beer instead produced by spontaneous fermentation: it is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne valley, in which Brussels lies. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, with a slightly sour aftertaste.

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 As I pour the smooth light gold, almost honey Lambic into inadaze's flute glass I notice 1/4" of bright white head atop the beer.  The aroma of the Lambic is very tart with green apple.  The first sip delivers an explosion of "Granny Smith" tart apple into your mouth.  On the back end of the lambic there are slight Belgian malts, and yeasty notes that can be detected.  Mouth feel is light, and this lambic is highly carbonated to almost champagne levels. 

Inadaze found herself a new Lambic to enjoy with this one, she found this easier to enjoy then Framboise.  She rated this a solid B+

Feel free to check it out! Is available several places in Tallahassee: Almsot all of the ABC Liquors store carry it, along with World Market.

Trappist Triple Threat - Chimay

Tonight my friends is a very special night.  Tonight is the Trappist Triple Threat.  For those of you that do not know, a Trappist beer is rare, only 7 breweries on the planet are aloud to call themselves "true trappist ale."    Trappist Ale is brewed under the watchful eye of trappist monks, they are "not for profit" and highly spiritual.  These ales are for a trained and matured palette.  Their craft has been refined over centurys.  The monks at Chimay have been brewing for over 100 years.

My first offering in this trip of ages, is the Blue label.  What could be considered the "original."  This ale pour dark brown with 1.5" of off white head into my goblet.  The aroma is thick with chocolate malt, and raisin tones.  The sticky lacing remains for the entire glass.  This is nothing short of a spiritual moment.  One can taste the Godly amount of care that was taken to craft such an ale.  The mouth feel is thick and delicious.  Raisin and Chocolate dominate this ale, followed by bready yeast flavors that are so popular in Belgian ales.  I am highly impressed with this wonderful beer.  This ale almost feels like velvet on your tongue, surprisingly I taste no alcohol on this 9% glass of perfection.  This is an A+ ale....I am excited to move on to The Red.

Chimay Red pours much lighter then the Blue.  A dark red, copper, with a thick creamy 1 1/2 inch head.  The bouquet of this offering is rich with raisin and spice with delicate hints of chocolate.  The red is lighter on your tongue then the Blue.  The flavor is that of bready yeast, and tasty raisin paired with dark fruit.  This offering is far lighter then the Blue which preceded it coming in at 7%ABV.  This ale is also nothing short of magnificent.  Not be drank, but enjoyed slowly, allowing the flavors to dance around your mouth to be fully appreciated.  Again, another A+ ale.  Now as we move on to our third and final offering the Triple.

This ale is lighter then the two preceding it, do not let that fool you.  The dark honey color pours smoothly into my glass with about 1 inch of bright white head.  The aroma is slightly sour, malty, and yeasty.  As I indulge in the first taste, of only my second true trappist triple I am pleasantly surprised.  This triple is light on the tongue.  Flavors of Apple, and light pear come through followed by slight spicyness, and bready yeast.  The carbonation is like that of champagne, the bubbles seems to dance in your mouth.

I feel truly blessed to be able to have done what I have done tonight.  Only a select group of individuals of done what I have done tonight.  I feel as I have grown as a connoisseur.

If you are ever presented with the chance to purchase any of these fine ales please do not hesitate.

Cheers and Good Night!

Excessive HoppYness