More Red Racers

These three treasures in the picture (left to right) are: Red Racer IPA, RR White Ale, and RR Extra Special Bitter.

This is a brief follow-up post to Red Robster’s post on Red Racer IPA, which can be viewed here: https://beersforbreakfast.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/red-racer-ipa/

I happen to be residing in BC right now and Red Racer is readily available. It even seems to be a highly acclaimed, local favourite. Admittedly I’m in Powell River, BC, not Surrey where The Red Racer Brewery is located, so, it’s still not as local as can be. There is a brewery in the small town of Powell River and they do make a delicious IPA and a wheat beer, but I’ve gotta say, it’s pretty hard to beat a Red Racer. I did find myself going back to the RR shelf at the liquor store again and again.. until recently I became over-stocked so much on home-brew that I can hardly justify buying beer at all.

I completely agree with Rob’s review of the IPA. Never have I tasted such a citric, hoppy brew. It’s hard to believe that there isn’t actually any grapefruit in there! This is a very refreshing, delicious beer that can be enjoyed over and over again. At about $15 /six-pack it is more expensive than most six-packs of cans, but well worth it for the quality in my opinion.

 
The White Ale (wheat beer) and the ESB are also tasty treats. They both definitely have elements that are reminiscent of the IPA. They are not quite as hoppy of course, but there is a certain flavour that transcends them all. I would imagine they are using some of the same variety of hops to achieve a signature taste across their entire selection of beers. The White and the ESB taste pretty much as you would expect (or at least as I did). The White is light, crisp, cloudy and refreshing as wheat beers tend to be. The ESB is darker, not actually that bitter, kind of roasty and fruity. Both of these beers are worth checking out if you get a chance. They’re good but not irresistible like the IPA.

IPA            

White Ale 

ESB           

Ah yes – IPA

From left to right in this picture you see: (5 gal. jugs) Ah yes -IPA, and Yarrow Honey Mead (1 gal. jugs) Raspberry Melomel, Pear & Rhubard Melomel, and Rhubarb Melomel

Ingredients:

-3lb. Light malt extract

-4 lb. Amber malt extract

-1 lb. Crystal malt

-1/2 lb. Toasted malted barly

-7 oz. Cascade hops

-2 oz. Northern Brewer hops

-2 tsp. Gypsum

-1/2 tsp Irish moss

-1 pkg. WYEAST (Irish Ale)

-1 1/4 cup Amber malt extract (for priming)

This is another recipe from “The New Complete Joy of Home Brewing” by Charlie Papazian. I did make some modifications based both on what was available to me, and my own taste. I used liquid malt extract instead of the dry malt extract that the recipe called for. I’m not sure what the implications of this change will be. Liquid malt extract is readily and cheaply available to me in bulk from the local U-Brew establishment. (As are all the other ingredients.)

I am apparently the only customer in Powell River who uses the U-Brew for their bulk ingredient purchasing service, everyone else pays them to make the beer for them! The guy there does all the work and to make it legal, the customer has to go and pitch the yeast. That brew-master’s got pretty sweet job if you ask me. The health food stores in town also sell some beer and wine-making equipment, but only the “basic” kit-brewing supplies are available and they are more expensive. You can however find drilled bungs at the health-food store. It’s so nice to find a place that will drill your bung at a reasonable rate. Ah yes, drilled bungs.

Back to beer. This recipe was described as sweeter than a traditional IPA. I prefer a dryer beer so I upped the hops. Hop hop hops. I Added the bittering hops (Northern Brewer) several times throughout the process instead of just at the beginning. I also added the aromatic hops (Cascade) 10 minutes before the end of the boil and again during the last minute. I plan on adding 5oz of Cascade again when I transfer the beer into the secondary fermenter.

The Irish Moss was also not part of the original recipe. Irish Moss is a positive addition to almost any brew. Actually, it is a negative addition with a positive result. Irish moss is negatively charged and attracts the positively charged precipitated and coagulated proteins in the brew-pot. This causes the proteins to settle to the bottom, helping the beer to become clear and less cloudy. I also use Irish moss in mead.

I’ll keep ya’ll poster on how it goes.

Yarrow Honey Mead

For I Gallon I used:

-3 lbs. organic fireweed honey

-1/5 tbsp. gypsum

-3/4 tsp. acid blend (not as exciting as it sounds!)

-Small pinch of Irish Moss

-A handful of freshly picked yarrow leaves (I left the premature flowers alone so that they would seed more for future batches.)

-3 gr. champagne yeast, dehydrated in 1.5 oz water and 1/2 tsp. nutritional yeast

Excuse the poor quality picture, the lighting was all wrong, it’s actually more golden in colour than it appears here.

Bottled Steam Beer

“The Sun Has Left Us On Time Steam Beer” has been bottled in an array of different shapes and sizes of bottles, including a one gallon jug:

“The Sun Has Left Us On Time” Steam Beer

As Chris suggested I have moved my Imperial Stout into a secondary fermenter and am now in the process of cooling my wort from “The Sun Has Left Us On Time” Steam Beer to pitch onto the yeast from the Imperial Stout. The Stout is merrily fermenting away in its new home, where it will live for another 3 weeks or until there is next to no sign of active fermentation. Below is a picture of the Imperial Stout that was taken after I had filled the secondary fermenter and was removing the last bit of beer, leaving the yeast behind for this new beer. I thought I would have a little taste. Note the chunks of hop debris floating on top, apparently I need to use a finer strainer. This was definitely tasty, very yeasty and flat, of course, but it has got potential!

Here is the recipe I used for “The Sun Has Left Us On Time” Steam Beer:

1/2 lb. crystal malt
8 lbs. light malt extract
1 oz. Northern Brewers hops (boiling)
1/2 oz Northern Brewers hops (finishing)
1/2 oz Willianette hops (finishing)
The yeast cake from the bottom of “Honey Imperial Stout”

And I plan on using 1 1/4 cups blackstrap molasses for priming.

The finishing hops were supposed to be Cascade hops, which I thought I had, but I did not, I had Willianette hops left over from last time. I don’t think this beer will be as botanically aromatic as it would have if I did use Cascade — too bad. The Cascade hops smell GREAT, these other 2 varieties smell.. good.

This beer recipe also called for lager yeast, not ale yeast which I am using. It is not going to turn out how it is described in the book that I got it from. Also considering that there is going to be some flavour and colour from the Honey Imperial Stout that was left behind with the yeast. Hopefully it will be really good despite all this, but I am having some doubts to be honest, the lack of Cascade hops was truly disappointing.

Here is the wort coming to a boil with the crystal malt in it (no malt extract or hops at this point):

Here is the final wort coming back up to a boil (note the colour — not what you would expect from a “steam beer” recipe):

I’ll keep you updated on the progress of both of these beers.

Nosradamus

A dark brown, ruby-reddish, “worn leather jacket” coloured beer. It’s well carbonated and kind of cloudy with a thick head that dissipates to the perimeter. It smells like a lemon tree. The flavour of this warming, strong Belgian ale is very complex. It took a few sips to appreciate it. At first it seemed to be too sweet, but after a few sips I began to enjoy it more. It’s not syrupy, it is very sweet, but refreshing.  The are definite hints of molasses, liquorice, prunes, pear, sour cherry and other dark fruit, but the strongest flavour and after-taste is of lemon. It’s also quite “bready” or “yeasty”, would probably make a lovely lemon loaf (ah yes, alliteration). The after-taste definitely also leaves a warm alcoholic feeling behind.

9% ABV

Good beer, don’t know that I’ll buy it again for a while though, a little sweet for my taste. 3.5 out of 5 heads.

Honey Imperial Stout

This is my first homebrew, so I thought I’d make something that packs a punch! This is a modified recipe from the book “The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing”. Emma picked this book up for me at a rummage sale for something like 25 cents — and it’s great! It includes everything from how to make beer for beginners, to much more advanced, start-from-scratch techniques. It also includes info on growing hops, culturing yeast, beer nutrition, etcetera. Anyway here’s the recipe I came up with based on what was available to me:

1/2 lb. roasted barley
5 lb. dark malt extract
6 lb. “regular” malt extract
400 g honey
3 tsp. gypsum
2 oz. Northern Brewer hops (bittering hops)
2 oz. Willanette hops (flavouring hops)
1 oz. Cascade hops (aroma hops)
1 package liquide ale yeast
1 1/4 cups blackstrap molasses (for priming)

Here are all of my ingredients (and the oatmeal stout that I was drinking at the time):

This is how I steeped the roasted barley as I heated the water for my wort:

This is Oscar’s insulated pot and grill contraption that I used to boil the wort:

He uses that contraption to distil alcohol, not to boil wort, so he didn’t know that it wouldn’t work for my purposes. It was taking way too long to bring the water to a boil, so I switched over to this burner instead:

Here is my wort (cooling-down) and my liquid yeast with nutrient pack (warming-up):

24 hours later, the yeast buddies are going nuts!

This brew smells great! It smells like a strong Belgian ale, which isn’t what I was going for.. but I’ll take it!

Craft Beer Tasting

On Wednesday August 10th 2011 I hosted a craft beer tasting at the Royal Canadian Legion branch 232, Texada Island, B.C. In preparation for this event I learned quite a lot about beer (I had to try to sound intelligent after all.) I also had to choose 8 beers available in the Powell River area that were up to my standards for such an event. They had to be delicious, diverse in taste and style, and available locally. (In case, by some stretch of the imagination, the folks who attended this event ACTUALLY liked the beers that I chose, they could purchase some for themselves.) Next year I may order some obscure beers that attendees may never get their hot little hands on again.

Learning so much about beer was inspiring and exciting. I really, really want to make my own beer. Like Rob Nagy, I will start simple. It would be very cool, however, to eventually start from scratch. I would love to grow the cereal grains, make my own malt, use my own selection of hops/herbs for flavour, etc. There is some experimentation possible with “kit brewing”, of course, but half of the art of beer making lies in the malt – white sugar and generic cans of malt just won’t cut it!

A few points that I shared with the guests at the tasting:

-Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world, it outsells wine by 400% (It is also the 3rd most popular beverage over all, after only water and tea.)

-Brewers’ yeast is very high in trace minerals such as magnesium, selenium, potassium, phosphorus, biotin, and all of the B vitamins. (No wonder some people call it “liquid bread”) Ergo, beer may be high in calories, but clearly it has a lot of nutritional value too! There are worse things to get fat from.

-The term “beer” refers to a beverage produced by fermenting the sugars derived from cereal grains (such as barley, wheat, oats, corn, rice, etc..) and does not necessarily contain hops. In fact, before the 17th century beer rarely contained hops and was flavoured instead with various herbs that were native to the particular brewing region. Hops are popular because they give beer its iconic (and delicious) bitter flavour and also act as a natural preservative.

-Rice and corn are commonly used in commercial American beers. Many people believe this is because corn and rice are cheaper than other grains, but in reality they are added because they produce a very light tasting, easy to drink beverage. This practice became commonplace after prohibition ended in the 30’s and beer started to become mass produced. True “ale” recipes that were more traditional apparently did not suit North-Americans taste.

-Hops are often added more than once during the boiling of the wort. Similar to steeping a cup of tea, the longer the hops are in the hot liquid, the more bitter they become. Hops may be added at the beginning to achieve a bitter taste, and then again added towards the end of boiling to retain the more floral, “hoppy” flavour.

-The cooled wort (which is malt + water + hops) is then put into the fermenter with yeast for a length of time that is determined by the brewer, it can be weeks, months, or in rare circumstances years. Bottom fermenting yeasts may also be left in the beer after packaging so that fermentation can continue, or sometimes the yeast may be filtered out and new yeast added before packaging.

-When beer is put into a keg, it is normally pressurized with CO2, but to get a rich, creamy, tight head, such as Guinness or other cream stouts/ales, nitrogen is used instead of CO2, or in combination with CO2. The “beer widget” (a ping-pongesque ball found in some beer cans) was invented in the 80’s by Guinness and releases nitrogen to achieve a perfect, rich pour every time.

-Beer cans, although often associated with lower-end beers, are great in the sense that they keep out light, preventing “skunked” beer. Many people say that green beer bottles are the worst for keeping beer for any length of time.

-Glassware is of course important, with many breweries designing custom glasses to alter the perception of their beers. Glasses change the way the beer is viewed, but also the way it lands on your tongue, and the way you hold it. Glasses with stems keep your grimy bear paws from warming the beer up (if you are smart enough to hold it by the stem.) Glassware is also a great marketing gimmick, probably resulting in people buying more beer.

-Temperature also affects the way the beer tastes. One might say that the colder the beer, the more refreshing it is, but the warmer the beer, the more that the flavours and aromas become available to your pallet. According to the Wikipedia page on “Beer” a general drinking-temperature guide to beer is as follows:
7 degrees Celsius – light beers
8 degrees Celsius – wheat beers
9 degrees Celsius – dark lagers
13 degrees Celsius (cellar temperature) – British ales/stouts/Belgian Specialties
15.5degrees Celsius – strong ales/Trappist Beers

-Pouring obviously plays a role too. Rate of flow, tilt, and position are all important. I won’t go into detail, it just takes practice. Get drinking.

The beers, in order that they were tasted:

1.Grandville Island Hefenweizen (3.5 out of 5 heads)
A delicious wheat beer. Made from malted barley and wheat. Top fermented. Cloudy and translucent like most wheat beers.

2.Fraoch Heather Ale (4 out of 5 heads)
This is a delicious Scottish pale ale brewed without hops. Heather flowers are used for flavour. It is very botanical and refreshing. See Tom Nagy’s review for more info.

3.Kilkenny Cream Ale (3.5 out of 5 heads)
A delicious, smooth cream ale, brewed in Ireland by the same brewery that produces Guinness. The can contains a nitrogen filled “beer widget”. This is the only one of the 8 beers that is actually available from the liquor store here on Texada. (The rest are available in Powell River, a half-hour ferry ride away.)

4.Tree Brewing Company – Hophead IPA (3.5 out of  5 heads)
This delicious IPA is, as its name implies, very hoppy. It was not a favourite of the tasters, but here in B.C. it is a favourite of mine. It may be too bold, spicy and bitter for your average pale ale/pilsner drinker. I had originally special ordered 2 flats of Mill Street Tankhouse Ale to serve at the tasting, but instead decided on Hophead at the last minute simply because it is more accessible. (The minimum order is 2 flats, which is 48 beers.) Too bad, I had to drink all that Tankhouse myself! Hophead is comparable in price and flavour to Tankhouse. It’s also reminicent of Hoptical Illusion.

5.Leffe Blonde (4.2 out of 5 heads)
A delicious, strong Belgian Ale. Both Leffe Blonde/Brun have their very own unique flavour. The blonde is the only one available locally. It was a hit at the tasting. At about $15 per 6-pack, it’s a bit more pricey, but packs a good bang for your buck.

6.St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout (4.5 out of 5 heads)
A delicious, very dark, rich beer. Contains malted barley and oats. See my previous review for more info. I think I gave it the same rating when I reviewed it before, but I didn’t double-check just now. So glad that this one is always available here, I find myself going back to it often.

7.St. Peter’s Honey Porter (5 out of 5 heads)
Holy shit, thank-you thy heavenly Saint for creating such a beverage. See my previous review for more info. Talk about a deep, dark, rich, delicious honey/beer experience. This stuff is holy shit.

8.Chimay Blue (5+ out of 5 heads)
What can I say? This amazingly complex masterpiece of a beer was a hit. By far the definite winner of the popularity contest, even amongst beer amateurs. Those fucking monks know what they’re doing. I still have yet to gain enough will power to leave one of these bottom-fermenting beers untouched in storage someplace long enough to age to full maturity. I am curious to know if there is a noticeable difference in taste. Doesn’t matter, still the best of the best.

And that’s that.

St. Peter’s Honey Porter

Thank-you, St. Peter, for brewing this heavenly beverage. If one day, I walk with you, St. Peter, we shall savour one together. For now I will continue to purchase them for $4.67 per 500ml from my friendly neighbourhood BC liquor store. The people at this store are intense man, they ask for 2 pieces of I.D. EVERY time. Apparently at ‘ALC 4.5%’, a minor might get too krunk, so they’ve gotta cover their asses.

This beer is so tasty, that when all the bubbles that were left in the bottle after pouring it had popped (BIG, soapy looking bubbles), and turned into a tiny bit of liquid in the bottom, I made sure to pour the rest into my jar; I’m not wasting one drop. Yes, I used a jar again, and yes, I own a St. Peter’s glass. I miss my glasses. The St. Peter’s glass is actually my favourite beer mug entirely. It is very tall, handsome, manly, and wide enough to thoroughly enjoy the flavour with both aromatic senses. I would have enjoyed this honey porter even more with my St. Peter’s mug. It’s a serious mug for serious beers. There is no handle because their beers are great, even after being warmed up by your big, sweaty, ape hands. I did chill this beer in the fridge before consuming and it was as good cold as it was to the last luke-warm drop.

The aroma is of creamed honey from wild-flower meadows in Great Britain’s lush countryside. It is deep, dark, rich, creamy, and delicious. This is my first honey porter and it was exciting. I would also love to try Samuel Smith’s honey porter sometime. (Another excellent British brewery!) Any honey beers that I’ve had in the past were your average honey ales or lagers. (St. Pete’s Honey Porter is a ‘real ale’.) Not that I have never had a decent beer with honey in it, but none of them had the powerful, thick honey taste that I’ve been looking for. Look no further than St. Peter to do it right. It’s not overly sweet, nor flavoured, but the rich honey is blended perfectly with the hops and barley. As with the Winter Ale & Cream Stout, St. Peter takes the cake. Check out the website’s online shop to see their entire beer line-up: http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/store/default.asp

If you ever happen to bump into me at St. Peter’s Hall in Nr. Bungay, Suffolk in the U.K., beware: I am likely very drunk. I might have to try them all if I ever make it there. It could even be an entire weekend’s endeavour. Or a month’s.

Do not deem me an ‘easy marker’ as I rate this beer. This being only my second review and I’m giving it the same high mark as the first, does not imply that I love all beer equally. It means I have been inspired to review these two primo beverages because they are so good that I am compelled to share them with the world. Don’t buy them at the liquor store in Powell River though, cause I want them all. I’ve also seen them in the Christmas gift packs in Ontario, and probably at Chester’s in Hamilton. Drink up when you get the chance. Though on the back of the bottle, drinkaware.co.uk warns you to “know your limits”. It recommends that men only consume 3-4 units daily, and women should stick to 2-3 units. A 500 ml bottle of Honey Porter is considered 2.25 “UK units”.

4 & 1/2 Paul Heads

St-Ambroise Oatmeal Stout

Imagine the perfect stout beer. A beer to drink alone, by the wood-stove on a damp & dreary April night. Perhaps complimented by hand-rolled, filter-free Drum cigarette & an Al Purdy poem. This beer has achieved a balance between raw and smooth. It pours like fermented oil; thick, heavy, and intensely black. This is not a bottle-drinker, as this beer comes to life in the glass (or in my case a wide-mouth mason jar). The head is slow-forming, but long-lasting, and is the deep-orange colour of a rich espresso crema. Diving face-first into a jar of this bitter, delicious, 5% ABV beverage, my senses were greeted by a smoky, roasty aroma of oatmeal, roasted barley, wheat, and four different varieties of hops. The taste is deep, dark and strong with accents of black coffee & cocoa. It has a mild sweetness and leaves a nice bitter aftertaste. Brewed at the St-Ambroise Street brewery in Quebec, this masterfully perfected craft beer is surely the product of years of experience. This is the absolute finest beer that I have crossed in the small town of Powell River, B.C. (Liquor sales are privatised here, meaning the prices are high and the selection is random.) I would gladly enjoy this hardy drink first thing in the morning with scrambled eggs for breakfast, or by the fireside with roasted venison sausage under the moonlight.

French Canadians have done it again.

4 & 1/2 Paul heads, seriously.