What are you drinking RIGHT NOW?

[Pagey]

Employer-sponsored water from the cooler (WFTC) FTW!

[Forge]

What's a 'theets'?

[thegleek]

What's a 'theets'?

A redneck way of saying "teeth".

[Inkling]

Freshly roasted & ground Papua New Guinea Kimel Estate with 20% Indonesian Sumatra Banda Aceh. Mmmm-mmm...

[mattsteg]

Freshly roasted & ground Papua New Guinea Kimel Estate with 20% Indonesian Sumatra Banda Aceh. Mmmm-mmm...

Heh. I just finished roasting up some Sumatra Lintong, Colombia Huila-Opora micro region, and Yemen Mokha Ismaili. Now you're making me crave some PNG Kimel. I might have to order some with my next order.

[FireGryphon]

Tried some Red Hook ESB yesterday. Damn, was it awful! Way too bitter for my taste.

[axeman]

McDonald's coffee. Tastes burnt.

[mattsteg]

Tried some Red Hook ESB yesterday. Damn, was it awful! Way too bitter for my taste.

Redhook ESB is tasty iirc, at least a decent ESB. I'm guessing you're just not a fan of the Extra Special Bitter style, which emphasizes bittering hops a bit.

[FireGryphon]

I'm guessing you're just not a fan of the Extra Special Bitter style, which emphasizes bittering hops a bit.

Ah, so that's what ESB means. Thanks for the info.

While we're on the subject of abbreviations, what does IPA stand for?

[thegleek]

While we're on the subject of abbreviations, what does IPA stand for?

India Pale Ale, also a very bitter style of beer.

[mattsteg]

I'm guessing you're just not a fan of the Extra Special Bitter style, which emphasizes bittering hops a bit.

Ah, so that's what ESB means. Thanks for the info.

While we're on the subject of abbreviations, what does IPA stand for?

India Pale Ale. It was originally brewed in England and sent to colonial troops in England. Large amounts of hops were added to act as a preservative so it would survive the long trip in drinkable condition. Hops are what add bitterness to beer, so IPA is quite bitter.

Here are a couple of descriptions of ESB btw (bitter doesn't really mean bitter, as there are plenty of more bitter styles out there):
http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category8.html#style8C
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/66

[axeman]

I was googling India Pale Ale a while back, because I was wondering what the story was. Besides what Mattsteg mentioned, it seems some of the stuff being hawked as IPA isn't even ale at all. Any how, I would like to try some "genuine" IPA.

[mattsteg]

I was googling India Pale Ale a while back, because I was wondering what the story was. Besides what Mattsteg mentioned, it seems some of the stuff being hawked as IPA isn't even ale at all. Any how, I would like to try some "genuine" IPA.

What IPA isn't an ale? That just doesn't make sense to me.

How genuine do you want? IPA sailed halfway around the world as is ages, or just a brew that's authentic to the style? It's not all that hard to find a relatively authentic example of the style if you've got a place with a halfway decent beer selection around.

[axeman]

I was googling India Pale Ale a while back, because I was wondering what the story was. Besides what Mattsteg mentioned, it seems some of the stuff being hawked as IPA isn't even ale at all. Any how, I would like to try some "genuine" IPA.

What IPA isn't an ale? That just doesn't make sense to me.

How genuine do you want? IPA sailed halfway around the world as is ages, or just a brew that's authentic to the style? It's not all that hard to find a relatively authentic example of the style if you've got a place with a halfway decent beer selection around.

This is what I mean:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/alexander- ... -ale/1518/
My earlier statement was wrong, I guess my memory sucks. The point is some stuff labelled "India Pale Ale" is just some generic swill. For some reason I was thinking Keith's wasn't even an ale, it was a lager, but I don't know where I got that idea.

[just brew it!]

Redhook's a reasonable American interpretation of the ESB style. Some people find the elevated levels of diacetyl objectionable though.

If you thought Redhook was too bitter, you'll definitely want to avoid IPAs and Imperial IPAs.

You can get a pretty good idea of the relative bitterness of different styles of beer by looking at the chart at the end of this document. The IBU column gives the amount of bitter hop compounds (in parts-per-million), as a range for each style of beer. From the chart, you can see that even the least bitter ESB is more bitter than the most bitter American Lager.

[just brew it!]

Regarding IPAs...

Due to market pressures and British tax regulations over the years, contemporary English IPAs tend to be somewhat watered down. It is believed by some beer historians that current American microbrewery interpretations of IPA (and even Imperial IPA) are probably closer in strength and bitterness to "historical" IPAs. The American preference for the use of sharp, "citrusy" hops is, however, most likely not historically accurate.

[mattsteg]

Redhook's a reasonable American interpretation of the ESB style. Some people find the elevated levels of diacetyl objectionable though.

If you thought Redhook was too bitter, you'll definitely want to avoid IPAs and Imperial IPAs.

You can get a pretty good idea of the relative bitterness of different styles of beer by looking at the chart at the end of this document. The IBU column gives the amount of bitter hop compounds (in parts-per-million), as a range for each style of beer. From the chart, you can see that even the least bitter ESB is more bitter than the most bitter American Lager.

Well, that's true for pretty much anything that's not either a very light style or malt-dominated.

[just brew it!]

Well, that's true for pretty much anything that's not either a very light style or malt-dominated.

True. I was just trying to put things in perspective for the less adventurous beer drinkers.

[FireGryphon]

The pub I frequent has a beer that they claim is only served at their pub: Dogfishhead 60 minute IPA. Is this claim valid?

[just brew it!]

The pub I frequent has a beer that they claim is only served at their pub: Dogfishhead 60 minute IPA. Is this claim valid?

Not even close.

While it can be somewhat hard to find, several local beer stores here (Chicago area) carry it in 6-packs. I had some last week.

Dogfish Head also makes a 90 Minute IPA (stronger and hoppier than the 60 Minute IPA).

[FireGryphon]

The place has it on tap -- perhaps you can't get it elsewhere on tap?

Also, what's the deal with 60 and 90 minute IPAs? What's the minute rating for?

[just brew it!]

The place has it on tap -- perhaps you can't get it elsewhere on tap?

The bar where we have the local homebrew club meetings has it on tap sometimes. Maybe it is the only place in your town where you can get it?

Also, what's the deal with 60 and 90 minute IPAs? What's the minute rating for?

They add hops to the brew kettle continuously for that number of minutes during the brewing process. Most beers only get a few discrete additions of hops, at specific times during the brew.

[BuddhistFish]

All this talk of IPAs is making me thirsty. I'm a big fan of American IPA's. The Dogfish ones are excellent. I've had a Double IPA by Stoudts, it's decent, but all the bottles I've had have had quite a lot of trub and hop material floating around in them. I'm use to some sediment in my homebrew, but the amount in the Stoudt's Double IPA is ridiculous.

The only IPA I didn't much care for is the Samuel Smith's one. The beer was good, don't get me wrong, but the hop profile just wasn't one I liked. It was kind of weak on the hop flavor and aroma too.

I'm currently in a dark beer mode. All I've been drinking lately, other my homebrewed honey-weizen, is porter and stouts. I recently picked up a pack of Flying Dog's Road Dog Porter. It's a Scottish style ale. Intensely malty with lots of coffee and chocolate notes. I'd consider it the light version of their Gonzo Imperial Porter, which is quite simply the best porter I've ever had.

Oddly, I also found I like the Sam Adam's Black Lager. I saw a six-pack of it the other day, and picked it up because I'd never heard of a black lager before. It's an impressive for a macro-brew. A dark, medium bodied, stout like beer. Very crisp and clean because of it's lager style, but stout like in flavour. Sam Adams surprised me with this one.

I'm still searching the Augusta area, in vain I might add, for a Gueze, anything from Rochefort, and a lambic other than the Lindemans Kriek, Peche, and Framboise. I can get Chimay and Orval without any work, but these other Belgians seem out of reach. Looks like I may have to order online.

Oh, tasted my mead today. I took a gravity sample to decide if it was time to secondary it. It's moved from 1.104 to 1.004. It tasted bad. Not infected bad, just bad. All alcohol, very hot, terribly terribly dry. I know it won't taste good until it ages, but I was still kind of shocked at how it tasted.

[just brew it!]

The only IPA I didn't much care for is the Samuel Smith's one. The beer was good, don't get me wrong, but the hop profile just wasn't one I liked. It was kind of weak on the hop flavor and aroma too.

As I noted a few posts back, most English IPAs are kind of watered down. They're really not much different from a standard Pale Ale; sometimes even weaker!

I'm currently in a dark beer mode. All I've been drinking lately, other my homebrewed honey-weizen, is porter and stouts. I recently picked up a pack of Flying Dog's Road Dog Porter. It's a Scottish style ale. Intensely malty with lots of coffee and chocolate notes. I'd consider it the light version of their Gonzo Imperial Porter, which is quite simply the best porter I've ever had.

I've been quite impressed with Flying Dog lately as well. It seems to have become more available lately; they must be expanding distribution.

Oddly, I also found I like the Sam Adam's Black Lager. I saw a six-pack of it the other day, and picked it up because I'd never heard of a black lager before. It's an impressive for a macro-brew. A dark, medium bodied, stout like beer. Very crisp and clean because of it's lager style, but stout like in flavour. Sam Adams surprised me with this one.

It's nominally a German-style Schwarzbier. Sam Adams Black Lager is probably the only one in the US which is widely distributed; it's fairly unusual to find Schwarzbier even at small specialty craft breweries and brewpubs.

I'm still searching the Augusta area, in vain I might add, for a Gueze, anything from Rochefort, and a lambic other than the Lindemans Kriek, Peche, and Framboise. I can get Chimay and Orval without any work, but these other Belgians seem out of reach. Looks like I may have to order online.

Personally I find most of the Lindemans Lambics a bit too sweet. If you can find Unibroue or Ommegang, they're fairly authentic Belgian-style ales even though they're not actually from Belgium (Unibroue is from Quebec, Ommegang is from New York). But yeah it sounds like ordering online may be your only viable option if you want some other authentic Belgians.

Oh, tasted my mead today. I took a gravity sample to decide if it was time to secondary it. It's moved from 1.104 to 1.004. It tasted bad. Not infected bad, just bad. All alcohol, very hot, terribly terribly dry. I know it won't taste good until it ages, but I was still kind of shocked at how it tasted.

How warm did you ferment?

If it is too dry, the recommended procedure for sweetening Mead is to dose it with potassium sorbate to inhibit further fermentation, then add more honey.

The book "The Compleat Meadmaker" by Ken Schramm is highly recommended if you're really serious about Mead...

[BuddhistFish]

How warm did you ferment?

If it is too dry, the recommended procedure for sweetening Mead is to dose it with potassium sorbate to inhibit further fermentation, then add more honey.

The book "The Compleat Meadmaker" by Ken Schramm is highly recommended if you're really serious about Mead...

I kept my temp at 70F through the entirety of the fermentation. There may have been a 1 to 2 degree variance, but the temperature in my house never goes above 74 and the carboy is kept in a very cool place.

I'd been thinking from the beginning that I would sorbate and back end sweeten this mead come bottling time. My wife requested a sweet mead, so a sweet mead she shall have. The only problem I can forsee, and it's not really an issue, is that I don't think I'll be able to get the same honey this time around. I believe I bought the last of the honey the seller had. It's a shame too, it was very dark and flavorful stuff.

I read "The Compleat Meadmaker" cover to cover about 2 months ago. It's been my mead bible ever since. I adopted a no-boil process and a staggered nutrient additions to my mead making steps. The nutrient additions really seem to have helped the fermentation along, as I've fermented pretty much to completion in a little under 12 days. Now comes the waiting.

[thegleek]

I've been quite impressed with Flying Dog lately as well. It seems to have become more available lately; they must be expanding distribution.

The company, Flying Dog, reminds me of the exact company you could/can have JBI. Your beer that I have tasted are of the same caliber. So keep your dream alive and start a company! Please!

On the mead-tip.. Is the choice of honey a strong factor in the outcome? Tupelo is rated #1 and never crystalizes. Then you have your local honeys that use all sorts of wildflowers. And then you have your basic honeys; orange clover, buckwheat, etc...

[just brew it!]

The company, Flying Dog, reminds me of the exact company you could/can have JBI. Your beer that I have tasted are of the same caliber. So keep your dream alive and start a company! Please!

Believe me, if I didn't have a family to support I'd consider giving it a shot. But for every small brewery like Flying Dog which has "made it", there are a half dozen others who are struggling, or have folded. Knowing how to make a good product is only part of the success equation; it also takes startup capital (something I don't have), business savvy (something else I'm pretty sure I don't have), and fair bit of luck.

It's just too damn risky.

On the mead-tip.. Is the choice of honey a strong factor in the outcome? Tupelo is rated #1 and never crystalizes. Then you have your local honeys that use all sorts of wildflowers. And then you have your basic honeys; orange clover, buckwheat, etc...

Yes, both quality and blossom source of the honey will have a significant effect on the final product.

[flip-mode]

Carlo Rossi . . . Burgundy

[redeye]

Leinenkugels Sunset Wheat

[idchafee]

A&W Cream soda