Better Drinking

It's been a while since I last posted, but that does not mean that the goal of drinking (and thinking of) better beer does not continue. It just means I am lazy when it comes to making updates on this blog. No further excuse needed.

In light of the fact that I'm currently sitting on my front porch brewing beer, I'll use this moment to report on my homebrew activities over the past few months.

My rather ambitious plans to brew 24 beers in 2008 was reduced to 15, due to both monetary and time considerations. Generally speaking it was another good year. There were a few that were less than I had hoped for, but all were drinkable and nothing went to waste. This, in itself, is an accomplishment, though credit cannot go to the brewer, but rather to God's sweet providence.

A few notable, and exceptional beers (also due to God's sweet mercy) were as follows:

Indian Brown 2008 - this was my first attempt at making a high-hopped beer, yet balanced with a malty body. Dogfish Head and Terrapin provided the inspiration, and my own version came out better than anticipated. A thorough hop flavor from start to finish, but not astringent or harsh. A very nice evening beer, comforting and relaxing.

Oktoberfest 2008 - this was my very first lager, and though I was not as pleased with the result as hoped for, it was received well and did not stick around long.

Berliner Weisse 2008 - one of the more challenging aspects of this hobby is to make it palatable, literally, to my wife. To this end, I acquired a unique yeast capable of making the Berliner Weisse, and let it age 6 months. Yes...6 months. Needless to say, it was not all she had hoped for, so I ended up adding some raspberry flavoring, creating a pseudo-fruited lambic which is tolerable to her. I did save some of the original unflavored batch, and was quite pleased with the funkiness of the brett.

Smoked Porter - this was a shot-in-the-dark without knowing what you're aiming at. Seriously...the Alaskan Smoked Porter is the defining beer for non-German smoked beers, but it is very difficult to find outside of Alaska, so after reading a BYO article about smoked beers, I put together a recipe and went for it. This was one of the best beers I made all year, and definitely am going to duplicate this one for 2009.

Imperial Stout 2008 - variation #5, this beer continues to evolve and change, this year's vintage particularly smooth since I let it age for 6 weeks before bottling. In fact, I put a few of these away and have been taking them out in small doses. Yesterday, I enjoyed one of these with a cigar on the front porch, listening to the rain hit the new metal roof. God gives simple men joy in simple pleasures.

Biere de Noel 2008 - this is the 2nd year vintage for my biere de garde Christmas recipe, and since I was able to exactly duplicate the 2007 version, this is a new holiday staple. I gave a number of these away for Christmas, and most said that one bottle was not enough. I agree.

2009 is a new year and the brewing has been good so far:

Dopplebock - another true lager, I aimed for the very high mark of Ayinger Celebrator, and was quite pleased with the result, though I will let others judge whether I hit my target.

Indian Brown 2009 - I used a different yeast, out of necessity, but the familiar powerful hop character was a welcome friend in cold weather. Particularly good with spicy dishes.

Biere de Garde 2009 - another spring staple, this one has gone rather quickly, being just good plain beer, refreshing and enjoyable.

Old Ale - Wyeast released another unique yeast strain, and I decided to go for it (this is beer #70 is my repertoire). This one takes 6 months to age, so the expected result will not be fully ready until fall 2009. Also, this one is being dry-hopped and aged with wood chips, so I have great hopes. Small sample tastings are very good. Further report to come.

At present, I've got a Munich Helles aging, a Chocolate Stout brewing, and another batch of Imperial Stout 2008, made with a friend who felt compelled to get 2 cases for himself.

Also, this Friday is the inaugural meeting of a homebrew club that I have hopes for. More news on that later.

I trust that if you are regular reader of this blog, you recognize that this writer and brewer gives all glory and success to God, since a man has nothing unless it has been given to him. The above was merely subjective reporting, not boasting. God gives us temporary gifts and the wherewithal to enjoy them. Let us continue to raise our glasses while we can, and be thankful for every success and failure knowing that He is good to us.