Gordon Strong - Drinking and Staying Alive

I just finished reading Brewing Better Beer, by Gordon Strong, the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) President, and found the book enjoyable and informative.  Gordon takes a very conversational tone in explaining his beliefs and recommendations on how homebrewers can improve their craft, while maintaining their interest in this great hobby.  The books presents information on mastering techniques, equipment, ingredients, developing recipes, and other topics.  Gordon also concludes each chapter by outlining his actual brewing processes and procedures, which I found very enlightening.  I would definitely recommend Brewing Better Beer to all of our readers.

Gordon concludes the book with some very helpful tips, especially given that the American Homebrewing Association (AHA) conducts the National Homebrewers Conference this weekend in San Diego.  Gordon presents the following recommendations to help enjoy events that feature a lot of beer, so that you can enjoy yourself and not end up with a hangover.  I am quoting Gordon's notes directly below and hope that they prove helpful.

Cheers,

TW

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"Water.  Stay hydrated.  Have some water before you drink, alternate water with beer while you drink, and have two glasses of water when you're finished drinking.  Most ill effects of alcohol have to do with you being dehydrated, and your liver needs water to help break down the alcohol

Propel.  A sports drink or "vitamin-enhanced water beverage."  OK, this one may sound a little silly but it works.  It contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and water, all of which are good for you when drinking.  I get the powder so I can mix it to taste; sometimes it's a little sweet, but it seems to work well for avoiding hangovers.  Have one before you go to bed, and one when you wake up.

Vitamin B complex.  I take one multivitamin, normally labeled as a super or mega vitamin B tablet, that contains 1000 percent RDA of multiple B vitamins.  This is liver insurance, since B vitamins will get depleted when your liver is working hard.

Ibuprofen.  A pain reliever that works much better than acetaminophen (Tylenol) when drinking.  Tylenol can beat up your liver, which you don't need.  It also breaks down into chemicals that can aggravate a hangover.  Ibuprofen beats up the kidneys, so don't take high dosages for long.  This can help you avoid a headache; take at bedtime or when you get a headache.

Acid reducer.  I use Pepcid AC or the generic equivalent.  This turns off acid production in your stomach for 12 hours and can help prevent waking up with acid reflux or a sour stomach.  When I drink a lot of strong, highly hopped, or sour beers, this is an absolute must.  It doesn't help if you already have an upset stomach, so take it before drinking.  I used to use Pepto-Bismol as a preventative stomach-coater, but this works better.

Food.  The Belgians have it right; they always have food with their beer.  Food can slow the rate of absorption of alcohol, especially proteins and fats (a steak works great).  Food can also help you pace your consumption and provide some nutrients your body needs."

Oatmeal Stout Aging

Oatmeal stout has long been one of my favorite beer styles.  The roasty and chocolate notes of the darker malts pair well with the smooth mouthfeel derived from the oats.  I was first exposed to oatmeal stout years ago in a German restaurant, of all places, that had bottles of Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout.  The flavor of that commercial example drove me to try to make my own.  I tried several extract recipes and then settled on a favorite, the "McQuaker's Oatmeal Stout" recipe from Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer's book Brewing Classic Styles.  The recipe goes a bit heavier on some of the specialty grains than other recipes I have encountered, but it produces a wonderful product.

I brewed a double batch of this recipe with a friend who loves stouts back in March 2010.  My friend received half of the recipe, bottle conditioned, and I kegged the other half.  He surprised me with a gift of a bottle recently, almost a year and a half later, and stated he thought the beer aged wonderfully.  I currently have a batch of the same recipe on draft and though comparing the two would be an excellent way judge the stout's ability to age.

The most striking difference between the appearance of the two beers is the head.  The older bottled version (pictured on the left) had a thin head with very coarse bubbles.  These dissipated rapidly and left a thin film of a head within a few minutes.  The kegged version had a thick pillowy head that lasted through most of the tasting session.  The color of the beers was slightly different, with the newer version showing strong ruby highlights when back lit, while the older version being almost completely black.

The aromas also differed between the two beers.  The aged version featured less roast character than the younger beer, while they both exhibited a dark chocolate aroma.  The aged version also had a hint of oxidized alcohol in the aroma, much like sherry, but far more subtle.

The largest difference between the two was in flavor and mouthfeel.  The aged version, as suggested by the aroma, had a fair amount of oxidized alcohol character.  This flavor was complex and even featured a warming effect, which was unexpected.  The roast coffee and chocolate flavors were subdued and the mouthfeel was missing the "slickness" often found in oatmeal stout.  The newer version featured much more of the smooth roast and chocolate that characterize the style, which sometimes reminds me of what I loved about chocolate milk as a kid.

My overall impression is that the older beer presents a more complex flavor profile, with its oxidized sherry notes and warming alcohol.  The newer beer seems more in tune with what I expect in an oatmeal stout, particularly in the mouthfeel.  While I liked them both, I prefer the younger one.

If you have ever had the opportunity to taste the difference between an aged and young version of a beer, please leave a comment and let us know.

Cheers,

TW

Pleasant Surprise: Mystery Hop

For those out there that may have noticed, I've been a bit quiet while Tom has been doing the heaving lifting here at Lug Wrench for the past four to six months.  The main driver behind the reduction in participation is that the family and I purchased a new home back in April and have been moving, organizing, updating, and just about everything else you do when you get into a new house - but unfortunately not brewing or blogging.  My apologies.

With the new house, however, comes new surprises.  The new house is that it is a lot bigger and it has a lot more land than our prior residence.  And with the land comes a lot more trees, shrubs, and, well...nature.  I'm still finding new plantings around the property, but the other day I happened upon a surprise that tickled the homebrew in me.  Down at the foot of driveway, bordering between our property and the neighboring farm, I thought I saw a hop leaf amongth the overgrowth.  Clearing out the underbrush, sure enough, a mature hop plant was uncovered - or at least I am 90% sure it is a hop plant.  It has the leaf and bine structure are almost obvious to anyone who has grown or been around hop plants.  So I'm (hopefully) correct - you be the judge....

View of the overgrowth from a far...

Close up of the leaves and bines...

So I am pretty stoked if it turns out to be a new hop plant - I've already placed a stake in the ground and run some twine from the stake to the top of the wooden post that can be seen in the first image.  The real mystery (other than what varietal this plant is) will be whether the plant can produce cones or not (i.e. is it a male or female plant).  Just playing the odds, it is most likely female as there are few male plants in circulation.  But only time will tell.  And how did it get there?  Who knows.  My only guess is that someone must have purchased this plant at some point and planted it and had no idea how to care for it.  

Ultimately, my plan is to waitit out and let the bines grow skyward through the summer and hope some cones materialize (fingers crossed).  If not, then I just leave the plant as is let it do its thing.  But if it does produce cones, that's when the real fun begins - attempting to determine the varietal.

I'll report back later in the summer after the growth has progressed.  In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions or watch-outs as I investigate this little horticultural surprise, please leave a comment.

Slainte!

-JW

"A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure."

-Czech Proverb

Wild Wolf Brewing Company Tour

As reported in a previous post, my homebrewing club, the Charlottesville Area Masters of Real Ale (CAMRA), organized a tour of a couple of local brewing companies.  The second stop on the tour was the Wild Wolf Brewing Company.  Lug Wrench interviewed Wild Wolf late last year, as part of our nanobrewery series.

Wild Wolf is currently brewing out of a store-front in Nellysford, VA.  They utilize a large customized homebrewing-scaled system, that features three stainless steel vessels (I believe they were 55-gallon vessels, but I could be wrong).  The vessels are located in a single tier, so they use impeller pumps to move brewing liquor and wort around.  Beer undergoes primary fermentation in food-grade plastic fermenters, which are stored in large chest freezers for temperature control.  After finishing primary fermentation, the beer is pumped into stainless bright tanks in a cold room for aging and conditioning.  Finished beer is available for tasting at the front of the building and is sold in growlers.  In addition to selling beer, Wild Wolf also operates a homebrewing supply business and has a large supply of items for sale in their store.

Wild Wolf is currently finalizing plans to open a commercial-scale brewery and restaurant in a location nearby.  They hope to have the new location open in the next year or two.

Thanks to Wild Wolf for the tour and tasting.  It was inspiring to see how innovative nanobreweries can be to get their operations up and running.  I wish them success in their future endeavours and look forward to hearing what is in store for them next.

Cheers,

TW

Pictures from the event are below.  I apologize for their quality, as I only had my cell phone on hand to take them.

 Wild Wolf taps and tasting area

Wild Wolf brew house, which utilizes large Blichmann stainless vessels

Wild Wolf fermenters that use chest freezers for temperature control

Cold room for bright tanks and conditioning, which is powered by an air conditioner