The Return of the Blog-O-Beer

I'm back like a bad case of herpes! I'm finally settled down in DC and just moved in to my newly purchased condom (umm, I mean "condo"...I'm still on the herpes subject apparently). Okay, enough about STDs! On to beer!

Along with my new home, comes a newly built kegerator. When I moved down to DC, I got a new 5.5 cubic foot chest freezer as a mini-kegerator in my temporary apartment. Now that I have my own place, I'm going to be using the chest freezer for lagering, and I moved my 14 cubic foot upright freezer down to DC from NJ. Last week I converted the upright freezer into a full blown kegerator with three taps. Despite a "small" snafu along the way, it's all setup and waiting for beer! I only need a drip tray and some tap handles to complete it, which are both on their way. Check out the pictures below!

I built the kegerator by drilling three holes through the door using a 1-inch hole saw. Shanks run through the door with faucets on the outside and 5 foot beer lines attached on the inside. The gas systems consists of a 5lb CO2 tank and a primary regulator connected to a 3-gauge secondary regulator, so I can control the individual pressure in three different kegs. My small snafu was the fact that one of the three holes I drilled cut through two wires in the door. I managed to fix the wiring by removing the back of the freezer door, digging through the insulation, and splicing the wires back together with. In a moment of stupidity though, I decided to plug the freezer in after drilling through the wires--this shorted out the circuit board in the LCD control panel on the freezer. Luckily, I was able to order a replacement control panel from Frigidaire--it arrived yesterday and everything is back to working order!

The only thing I'm missing now is beer. I'm going to be re-starting full-scale brewing operations this weekend when I brew my inaugural beer in my new home: a Munich Helles. I've setup an agressive brewing schedule for myself; I plan on brewing 3 weekends in a row in order to stock up the kegerator. The other two beers will be a Rye IPA and an Imperial Brown Ale. I'll have details plus pictures of my brew day after the weekend. Cheers!

Review: Vanilla Bourbon Porter

I'm finally down in DC and getting ready to start my new job tomorrow! I'm all moved in, and although homebrewing is going to take a break for awhile, home drinking is not! I picked up a 5 cu ft chest freezer yesterday to hold two kegs I brought with me (pumpkin ale and vanilla bourbon porter). Although my roommate may not be thrilled to have a chest freezer in the apartment, he certainly can't complain about fresh draft beer on tap! (Right JT?)

Below are some tastings notes of my homebrewed vanilla bourbon porter. I'm very happy with the way it turned it out...

Aroma: Strong chocolate aroma with notes of vanilla. Some hints of coffee. Very clean, no hop aroma.

Appearance: Dark, dark brown and almost black. There's a small tan head with decent retention. It looks almost creamy.

Flavor: Coffee and vanilla are the dominant flavors, with some dark chocolate. Medium bitterness with a very slight hot alcohol quality. The bourbon is noticeable on the finish, but is very faint otherwise. Some oakiness is detectable. No hop flavor.

Mouthfeel: Medium to medium-full bodied with a mild carbonation. A little astringent from the roasted grain

Overall Impression: For a nearly 10% ABV beer, this porter is extremely smooth. I would like the bourbon to be a little more apparent--I have a sneaking suspicion that the alcohol and water stratified in the keg, and that the last few pints are gonna be uber-bourbon flavored. However, I just took another sip now that it's warmed up a bit, and the bourbon is now noticeable. I gotta give myself some props for making an exceptionally clean and drinkable "big" beer!

Oskar Blues Ten FIDY

I'm trying to get better with updating this blog more often. I'm gonna start it off with a much overdue tasting--Ten FIDY, a Russian Imperial Stout from Oskar Blues. Oskar Blues is one of the few craft breweries that package their beer in cans, and kudos to them for doing it! Check out my post on light struck beer, and you'll understand why cans are actually the best packaging for beer.

Aroma: An initial blast of dark chocolate and coffee. After getting past the roasty notes, there's hints of dark fruits. No noticeable hop aroma.

Appearance: Almost jet black with a beautiful dark brown head (though the head retention was not great).

Flavor: Roasty flavors dominate with a background biscuity maltiness. Some fruity esters are apparent in the flavor as in the aroma. Despite having a whopping 98 IBUs (International Bittering Units), the beer is incredibly well-balanced and is even slightly sweet on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Thick and slick on the tongue. Extremely warming (it should be at 10% ABV) with a very mild carbonation level. Some astringency is noticeable, but that can be expected with so much roasted grain being used.

Overall Impression: A full bodied, well-balanced Russian Imperial Stout. Despite the high ABV and IBUs, the beer is wonderfully smooth and drinkable. Definitely a must have for the approaching winter months--this will keep you warm on a cold day! Plus it comes in a can, and we all know that everyone likes it in the can!