Homebrew Recipe: Sandy Toes Pale Ale

This delicious, summery, easy-to-drink Sandy Toes Pale Ale recipe was made in late spring with the goal of creating an easy drinking beer that could be enjoyed while sunning on the Wilmington beaches.  As evidences by the name, it did not disappoint!

Beer Tasting: Dogzilla Black IPA

Laughing Dog - Dogzilla Black IPA

6.8% ABV, 18.7 SRM, 69.3 IBU

Enjoyed 7.20.2014

My lovely wife came home with this one as a surprise after a particularly annoying week at work.  She’s a keeper, that one.

Recently I've noticed an uptick in the amount of black IPAs out there.  This style basically takes the dark, roasty malt character of a stout or porter and fuses it with the hop-centric flavors and aromas of an IPA. Dogzilla pours nice and dark, but not too thick, with a lovely cream-colored head, which recedes fairly quickly.  Immediately, you can detect the floral tones of the hops in the nose. There are not much of the coffee/chocolate aromas, but perhaps they are just muscled out by the hops. From the first sip, it’s clear that the crew at Laughing Dog nailed the balance on this beer.  It’s not too much of anything.  Nor do the dark malts and the hops clash in their battle for attention.  Rather, it starts out sweet and chocolately, gracefully fades to some floral hop flavors, and finally exits with just enough lingering bitterness to leave you craving another sip.  As it warmed, I noticed some dark berry type flavors shining through as well.

If you like stouts and IPAs, but are a little wary of the whole black IPA wave, I would highly recommend this one as a good starting point.  Unlike some others I’ve had, it doesn’t assault you with malt astringency and then hop bitterness.  Instead, the flavors get along like they were meant to be together.

--Jacob

Wort City Brewers - August Meeting

A grim and rainy weekend led into a rainy Monday which was finally brightened by some delicious homebrew sampling at the monthly meet up of the Wort City Brewers. This is my local homebrew club in Wilmington, NC and although I only joined a few months ago I cannot for the life of me figure out why I did not join sooner. Every meeting is like a mini-beer festival of which you not only get to try others beer, but you get to have lots of reviews of your own beer if you so choose to bring any. It is a downright paradise for homebrewers and beer nerds alike!

This was the first time the club had a meeting at local restaurant – Hops Supply Company – and although there were fewer attendees than usual, the homebrew samples and beer discussion were top notch as always. Before diving into some of the inspiring… and not so inspiring samples let me share a couple of interesting things from the meeting.

Beer Venture 2012 in The Triangle

After planning for several months, starting with a mere piece of printer paper, a marker, and the power of the inter-webs, BeerVenture 2012 finally happened as summer began.  This was our first attempt at cramming as much driving and beer-related tourism possible into one day.

Beer Tasting: Hoppyum IPA

Foothills Hoppyum IPA

6.3% ABV, 8 SRM, 70 IBU

Enjoyed 7.20.2014

Observations: This IPA from Foothills Brewery pours a wonderful deep copper color with a very thin white head. The aroma of this particular bottle was almost non-existent, although perhaps it was because it had been in my fridge for a month. The lack of aroma didn’t seem to impact the flavor as a solid clean bitterness came through. There is a hint of malt sweetness that really balances well with the bright citrus and slight pine notes. The medium mouth feel and slightly dry finish really round this beer out and leave you wanting another.

Conclusion: In a hop crazed world this IPA stands out with outstanding citrus flavor and a clean bitterness that balances well. A balanced IPA may sound like an odd term but it seems an apt description. Although a blast of hop aroma would have been nice it very well could be the longer-than-normal storage time.

--Ben

Brewery Visit: Three Brothers Brewing Company

Is it just me, or were beer and hiking made for each other?  There’s nothing quite like that first beer after a long day on the trail, and the brews from Three Brothers Brewing Company in Harrisonburg, VA were no exception.

My wife and I decided to get out of the 95 corridor for the day and head to the mountains.  Afterward, we were only 20 minutes from Three Brothers Brewing Company in Harrisonburg, so to Harrisonburg we went.  When we arrived, we ordered flights and were treated to an intense game of Jumbo Jenga on the outdoor patio. 

Homebrew Recipe: Plague of Darkness Stout

One of the first beers I brewed in my career was an Irish Stout that turned out anything but “stout”. When I set out to brew this beer I kept repeating over and over in my head that I wanted it to be STOUT! I wanted my taste buds to be hammered by roasty, toffee, coffee flavors and be overwhelmed by stoutiness. I may have gone a bit overboard with the darker malts… but learned a valuable lesson along the way.