Tag Archives: tasting

LPBC 2011-02-26 Victory Golden Monkey 1-4-All

February 26, 2011 by Thomas · Leave a comment

This is an episode of the Living Proof Brew Cast.

We skip over our usual intro and get right into our tasting of the Victory Golden Monkey with our special guest, Chris Miller of The Secret Lair podcast.  While looking up the particulars of the Golden Monkey, John spots the Wild Devil a beer we are all now very curious to try. Its description puts me in mind of the wild ales available at Churchkey. Following on from some humorous jabs at John’s distinctive facial grooming, Chris mentions the charity with which he participates each year. John rewinds the conversation back to the discussion of wild ales to point out that Wyeast and White Labs offer cultivars of distinctive wild yeast strains and adjunct bacteria for home brewers. Daniel of Mountaineer Brewing Company is a friend of John’s well known to us for his taste for the funky, funky ales.

Chris poses a challenge to us and an offer of some audio for future shows in the from of trying to convert his fellow overlord, Kris Johnson, to beer drinking. I was reminded of how differently we can appreciate the same thing, that I can get chocolate out of a distinctive beer like the Harviestoun Ola Dubh 30 Year while a less experienced palate cannot get past the char. Bearing that in mind, there are certainly more accessible sweet chocolate beers like Young’s Double Chocolate Stout and Heavy Seas Siren Noire which John found on tap at Elephant and Castle.

While we don’t have a brewing update (despite having new beers in the pipe), Chris brought some weighty brewing questions. In response to his interest in wheat free beers to share with his wife, I suggest the Crispin Ciders as they use beer yeasts to carry recognizable flavors into the realm of cider. Turning Chris on to Sam Calagione’s Extreme Brewing may ultimately prove to come back and bite us if he ever makes good on his idea of a squid beer. Cthulhu pthagn.

Standard Podcast [ 50:18 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You can grab the flac encoded audio from the Internet Archive.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

Posted in Podcast. Tagged with , , , .

Of Stouts and Porters

November 15, 2010 by Thomas · Leave a comment

Jon Fleury at the DCist continues his excellent tutelage on all things beer.  This installment not only illuminates the history and differences between porters and stouts, but also explores the finer gradations within the class of styles all stemming from porters.

Back in the early 18th century, a new beer concoction was becoming very popular with the working class of London (porters…duh.). At the local pubs, tenders would combine old stale ale, new (pale) ale and mild ale in various combinations. It was a hit with street workers throughout the city who wanted a bit of the three together. This surge in popularity led to many breweries deciding to brew the combination as a style with malt combination that uses the darkest of malts, heavy on the caramel malts with roasted or chocolate malts. This created a fresh beer with the marketing push that would transcend London’s wharf rats.

Very timely for us here at Living Proof as one of the next two beers John and I will be tackling on our homebrewing adventures is an oatmeal stout, included in Fluery’s wonderful lexicon of these darker brews.  He also gives some breweries and beers as examples that shouldn’t be too hard to find to taste for yourself.

Hey Porter! Hey Porter! DCist

Posted in General. Tagged with , , , .

Oskar Blues Gordon

May 22, 2010 by Thomas · Leave a comment

IMG_0127.jpgThis beer is part of a nice episode in the on going beer quest. JTW and I spent that day at the National Archives in Adelphia, MD volunteering on a project to make archival materials available over the internet. As a reward we decided to check out Franklins, a brew pub, pourhouse, restaurant and general store about ten minutes from the archives.

We had an excellent meal with set of beers ranging from acceptable to exceptional. JTW took notes on the beers, I left my notebook in the car. Either he can post his detailed tasting thoughts on the brews we tried or, well, we have an excuse to go back.

Afterwards, for a lark, we decided to check out the general store. It reminded me of the rustic tourist trap embedded in Aunt Sarah’s and Cracker Barrel at first glance. The merch, though, was a bit more hipster chic than the rustic surroundings led on. Kicky kitchen implements and deco tchotchkes. We lucked into a treasure trove of beer hidden from view in the corner.

By quantity the cooler cases and shelves weren’t much bigger than my local wine & beer but the variety was well beyond it, even despite recent improvements in the availability of craft beers in my county. I snagged a bomber of Stone’s barley wine (still unopened as I write this) and a four pack of this beer. The labeling is enigmatic, to say the least. Some of the text on the can hints at an altogether different kind of hop as being the purpose of the beer though that was not the case on opening and tasting.

Rather, it is an homage to a well known and well liked brewer, Gordon Knight. Knight was by all account a helluva a brewer though you had to be local to have tasted his creations. He also was a vet and a helicopter pilot. He passed away flying a helicopter to help fight a forest fire back in 2002 and is still missed by those who knew him.

Vitals

Scoring

(Also in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy.)

  • Appearance: 8 – Dark gold tending towards dark amber. Thick head that laces as you drink.
  • Aroma: 7 – Strong hop note, possibly cascade. Very typical for American pale ales so a bit surprising in a red ale. The merest hint of the malts. The aroma sets the expectations for this beer.
  • Taste: 8 – Way less hop bitter than the aroma implies. Light, clean, a bit of complexity but less than I was expecting. Some fruit esters in the palate. The malt comes out in the finish which is sticky as advertised in the form of being a bit cloying over the course of the beer. The malt sweet becomes more pronounced as the beer warms.
  • Mouth Feel: 6 – Somewhat silky, sticky in the finish after a few sips rather than right away, as it sits on the tongue. Mildly effervescent despite the vigorous carbonation apparent in the pour.
  • Holistic: 8 – I haven’t had any of Gordon Knight’s beers for comparison but I did feel a bit let down. This overall was more like a double pale ale, a good one, than any red or amber I’ve had. It didn’t have as much of the characteristic malt I was expecting being overpowered by the hops. Reminded me of the Devil’s Milk on a good way but I was expecting more as with that beer, too.
  • Overall: 37 – Enjoyable but not the beer I was expecting. A distinctive but not too far from typical American pale ale or double pale ale. I would have liked more of what I’d expect from a red ale or something a bit more unusual going by the description. I have had most of the four pack, now, and will admit the beer has grown on me as I’ve had more of it.

Posted in General. Tagged with , , , , .

Southern Tier Choklat Stout

May 22, 2010 by Thomas · Leave a comment

IMG_0124.jpg This beer is further proof of why I am a very lucky man. My wife understands my passionate quest for interesting beers and whenever she sees something that she thinks I might like, she will pick me up a bottle. She found this one at one of our local organic markets, our favorite one as it happens.

In researching this beer, it appears to be part of Southern Tier’s special line of brews. That would explain why it is such a stand out beer. I love that the label has the grain bill and the hops they used. If you follow the link, below, from the beer’s name, they have a nice graphic of the label from which you can read those key elements to reproducing the recipe.

Vitals

Scoring

(Also in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy.)

  • Appearance: 8 – Opaque with a thick head of medium sized bubbles. The head has a distinct chocolate color. You can see a hint of red if you look through the corner of the bottom of the glass. The head laces nicely down the glass as you drink.
  • Aroma: 9 – Strong cocoa and definitely picking up on the willamette. A little hint of the sugar sweet from the chocolate and probably the caramel 60. Didn’t get the chocolate malt or the chinook in the aroma.
  • Taste: 8 – A nice blast of chocolate up front. You get both hops in the palate, unlike the aroma. The chocolate malt is also present in the palate, almost tending towards the taste of black or burnt malt. As I drank, the sweetness became more apparent as the beer warmed.
  • Mouth Feel: 8 – Creamy, milky; strongly reminiscent of chocolate milk.
  • Holistic: 10 – Very well integrated, the chocolate works well against an incredibly good stout as a base. Definitely a big, chewy beer.
  • Overall: 43 – Wonderful, just a hair more enjoyable than the Siren Noire. The underlying beer is bigger, though, more flavorful. Yet it doesn’t sacrifice the chocolate or the overall balance.

Posted in General. Tagged with , , , .

Living Proof Black Rum Stout is ready for Balticon

May 19, 2010 by JohnTaylorWilliams · Leave a comment

Thomas and I made a special home brew to bring with us to Balticon this coming Memorial Day weekend. We are calling it Living Proof Black Rum Stout and will gladly share it at our “Home Brewers and Aficionados Meet Up” currently scheduled for Sunday May 30th from 10 PM until Midnight at an undisclosed location at or near the Baltimore Marriott Hunt Valley Inn.

The rules of our meet up are as follows: You must be 21 or older and carrying a valid ID or Driver’s License, You must bring at least a few bottles of your home brewed beer – If you are not a home brewer as of yet, then you must bring some samples of a beer that you adore…. Lastly, you must bring a story to accompany your beer – sort of an ode to what you were aiming for, or what it inspires you to strive for.

That’s it! We call our first meet up BYOBS (short for “Bring Your Own Beer and Story) and invite you to contact us for further details.

Grain Build for 5 Gallons of Living Proof Black Rum Stout (Extract plus Grains):

1.33 lbs. Crystal Malt (until 170 degrees F)
2 lbs. Black Patten Malt (until 170 degrees F)
6 lbs. Amber Dry Malt Extract (at boil)
2 lbs. Black Strap Molasses (at boil)
1 oz. Willamette (at 90 minutes)
1 oz. Willamette (at 60 minutes)
2 oz. Styrian (at 30 minutes)
1 tsp. crushed Cardamon (at 10 minutes)
.5 tsp. crushed Allspice (at 10 minutes)
Wyeast #1098 Brit Ale II (once cooled to 68 degree F)

- Set Aside Mason Jar Containing:
1 tsp. crushed Cardamon
.5 tsp. crushed Allspice
2 Tsp. Organic Vanilla Extract
.5 cup of Dark Rum

- At Bottling Add:
Strained contents of Mason Jar
5/8′s cup of Organic Sugar (for Priming)
- After a few weeks, drink with friends!!

Slainte!, JTW

Posted in General. Tagged with , , , , , , , , .

Heavy Seas Siren Noire

March 10, 2010 by Thomas · 2 Comments

Heavy Seas Siren Noire, PouredVitals

Scoring

(Also in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy.)

  • Appearance: 8 – Noire indeed, dark almost black. No real head, what little there is fading to just a ring. Minimal lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma: 8 – Immediately picked up on the chocolate, like sticking my nose in a can of high grade, fresh cocoa. Also picked up a bit of malt sweetness hinting at things to come.
  • Taste: 9 – Wow. Up front, a blast of bitter from the cocoa, not unpleasant. Strong, pleasant cocoa flavor throughout enhanced by a roasty, chocolate malt in the middle. Maybe a bit of hop, barely there, in the finish.
  • Mouth Feel: 7 – Slightly silky, very clean. The chocolate didn’t build up or otherwise leave a residue.
  • Holistic: 10 – The cocoa is insanely well integrated resulting in a remarkable and distinctive beer. Even my wife, not a big beer fan, liked this beer.
  • Overall: 42 – I am already hugely biased towards all the other Heavy Seas I’ve enjoyed but this is just an outstanding beer. Very unique recipe backed up by a flawless execution.

Posted in General. Tagged with .

Meantime London Porter

March 10, 2010 by Thomas · Leave a comment

Meantime London Porter, PouredVitals

Scoring

(Also in solidarity with Charlie the Beer Guy.)

  • Appearance: 9 – Dark, almost black with hints of ruby, as it says on the label. Foamy head at first that fades but lingers as a thin film. No lacing on the glass.
  • Aroma: 6 – I picked up on a mild ester scent, like a typical Belgian yeast produces. I didn’t get anything from the hops or the malts.
  • Taste: 7 – The lack of contribution that I could perceive from the hops and the malts carried through to the taste. There wasn’t the expected fruitiness from the ester notes in the aroma. It was surprisingly light and clean. Also as I continued to drink, I get odd, fleeting hints of something like a Flemish sour.
  • Mouth Feel: 6 – It was more effervescent than I expected, feeling very carbonated on the tongue. A gradual warmth did build up as I drank it over time.
  • Holistic: 6 – For a dark beer without any distinctive hop or malt character, I actually found this very drinkable.
  • Overall: 34 – This beer was better than it had any right to be as it didn’t stand out in any of its particulars. It reminded me very much of the creamy, smooth taste of Guiness when fresh on tap. I could see buying this again to share and enjoy with fans of the porters.

Posted in General. Tagged with .