Holiday Goodness
Well, it certainly is about time I get a new blog out to you folks. For the last three days my house has been full of flu ridden people with 102` fevers, good stuff…
The first of several stouts is now on tap. Brecky, our first oatmeal stout is flying out of the taps. Last week I brewed a batch of Beelzebub, a very hoppy and very roasty American stout. It really is a labor of love to brew that beer. All of the roasted malts make for a VERY difficult mash. It will come in at about 8% A.B.V. and has 80 I.B.U.’s of hoppy goodness. I will be brewing a batch of Blackout tomorrow whether my fever is gone or not. Our friend Stacy has been busy making the coffee for this coffee stout and it will be on tap the same time Beelzebub is on tap.
This year’s batch of El Jefe will be racked and carbonated on Wednesday for a release on the Friday after Thanksgiving. For those of you unfortunate enough to have never tried El Jefe, it is an American dark IPA, or as we like to call it, an India Dark Ale, IDA. I brew this beer with only Simcoe hops which give it a distinct aroma of spruce. It certainly lives up to its motto, “ Bold, Black, and bitter as hell”. At 6.5% A.B.V., it is a very sessionable and drinkable. It goes VERY quickly, so don’t bet on it lasting into January.
On December 10th, I will be brewing the beer for release on 10/10/10. I had been back and forth as to what this beer should be, but with the death of my dear friend, Greg Noonan, I decided it would be a Wee Heavy. My head chef, Jeff Lang, will be helping me during a very long brew day. It will be brewed by using the first runnings of two mashes, and will also produce a “small” beer from the second runnings. The working title for the Wee Heavy will be Wee Wittle Wabbit. I know it’s silly, but I think it will be incredibly funny to hear people order it and sound like they are talking baby talk. If anyone would have laughed at the idea, it would have been Greg. The small beer has no name yet, but it will be along the lines of Shut The Hell Up, hoppy and low alcohol content.
The next stout to be brewed this winter will be a batch of Knuckle Dragger, a Belgian-inspired milk stout. When I bring in the Belgian yeast, I will do a string of beers with it. Definitely a batch of Sterk Wit, maybe some Menage a Trois, maybe a batch of Honky as well. If you have any requests, let me know. I will be sure to ignore every one of them… (j/k)
Until my next update, have a safe and happy holiday season. Don’t drink and drive.
John
