A story to inspire.

brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue5.4/stevens.html
maybe outdated, This gives some great ideas how we could make that transition.

Review of Straffe Hendrik Triple

Purchased from Plaza liquor (far and away the best shop for beer Tucson) and poured into a snifter.

Pours a golden orangish with a pillowy 1/2" head that retains fairly well with some nice lacing.

The aroma is what you expect for a triple: some citrus, spice, and notes with sweeter hints of candied sugar as well.

The aroma is just a glimpse at the complexity of this brew. There are hints of banana, coriander, honey, and some bitter hops in the finish (possibly saaz).

Lots of champagne bubbliness in the mouthfeel, almost pilsner-esque. This is a very delicious and well balanced ale.

Drinkibility is scary high for this 9.00% triple. If you guys are into the style at all you need to check this one out.

Beer Podcasts!

Mr. All-Grain Evangelist listed beer podcasts that he tunes into and if we truly want to start geeking out about beer, we'd better do the same. Short and sweet. Check the links.

All-Grain Evangelist's Beer Podcasts

Review of St. Feuillien Cuveé de Noel

This beer I found on tap at 1702 here in Tucson. If you guys come down here you need to check this place out. It might not be very special in Seattle but kind of a diamond in the rough down here considering the lack of good beer bars.

Served in a tulip glass. Pours a deep mahogany rubyish. The beer had a 3/4" off-white head that faded rapidly with some lacing.

The nose was sweet with brown sugar some dark fruitiness and possibly some oak notes. It had a fairly complex taste of apples, carmel, raisans, seasonal spices and some hop presence in the long finish. There was a medium body and a suprising amount of carbonation liveliness for a winter ale. There was a warming effect from the first sip with the 9.00% ABV but the alcohol esters are hidden very well under the complex flavors.

Although the drinkability was high, I couldn't see myself drinking more than a couple of these. Definitely not a session beer but overall a solid winter seasonal. I would drink it again.

In review.

Garrett and I went to duck island...pretty cool bar. Too many hipsters. I prefer the Dray. Started out with the Blonde Troubador(6.5 %). Incredibly wheaty but really easy to drink. The nose and first taste reminded me of a cider until the typical Belgian wheat taste came through. In a nutshell...started like magners ended like a Leffe. Beer segundo...Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout (69 IBU). Great body, but it was on a nitro tap. As of now the only Rogue beer I have enjoyed finishing. Really malty but my pallette was already saturated with other tastes. There was supposed to be a chocolate finish, but again the beer and/or conversation had already gotten in the way of me paying attention.

Annals of Drinking: A Better Brew: newyorker.com

I was cleaning out the garage and came across an old edition of the New Yorker with an article about a craft brewery deity, Mr. Calagione, the owner of Dogfish Head. A lengthy article but it reveals how Mr. Calagione decided to build a barrel entirely of Palo Santo, one of the world's hardest woods. "A Better Brew" was published two years ago but comments on the changing climate of American Beer and is a great read for that insight.

Annals of Drinking: A Better Brew: newyorker.com

Licensing Resources

Resource for brewery licensing. Obtaining A microbrewery license costs $100 according to this site.

Under the "Beer and Wine Gift Delivery" it says we need the delivery license, $75, in order to conduct a delivery based company. Check the source here.

Souther Tier: Choklat Stout, 9.1 abv

Choklat Stout

Last night Bryan and I made it out to the Dray (Ryan, you must check this place out when you move back up here) to sample a couple brews. Bryan had the Black Raven IPA and I sampled the Choklat Stout. I was curious to see how Southern Tier interprets the Chocolate style compared to Muddy Boots, (the chocolate stout that I brewed). Upon receiving the stemmed goblet I immediately noticed the pleasant chocolate aroma. Seriously, it smelled like a dark swiss miss hot cocoa. It tasted great, super drinkable despite the 9.1% abv. For the most part Southern Tier let the chocolate do the talking. The hops were there, tho only for bittering and it had a nice smooth body with a hint of chocolate malts for support. I fully endorse anybody trying this beer. Thinking about Muddy Boots after draining the goblet, I can see upping the chocolate presence could be a good revision to the recipe.

Cheers,

Garrett