Cool. Their DIPA is obviously better on tap. So ridiculously good.
But they have so much more good stuff.
Obscur Desir - Imperial Stout
Trois Portages - Tripel
Magna Mea Culpa - Barley Wine
Corne et la Muse - Scotch Ale
Saison Haute - Saison (I sent this to you though right)
Dumduminator - Dunkelweizen
La Scie Trouillarde - Pumpkin that's getting bottled right now I think.
I think that's all they bottle
Do you get the Muskoka specials? Harvest Ale, Summer Weiss?
Yeah you sent me 3 BDT's. You sent the Saison and the Imperial Stout as well. Really looking forward to trying these. I've always loved the thought of the Dunkelweizen beer since I like darker beers but I also love wheat beers. Problem is so far I've yet to taste a good one.
As for Muskoka yeah they've just recently taken off here and are starting to appear everywhere. But yeah I tried a Summer Weiss back in the summer and then also picked up a Harvest Ale yesterday as well. My cousin happened to find a Spring oddity too. So we are looking forward to trying those two. I thought the Summer Weiss was decent but nothing special.
So did you feel better before or after the 10% kick?
And what is with the fancy french names of some of these beers? What ever happened to something simple...like "beer" beer?
Well the anticipation of trying it was pretty solid, but it was far more satisfying once it was down the hatch. The biggest beer I've had to date was 18.5%, a Glenda Sherbrooke(Alley Kats Olde Deuternomy Barley Wine barrel aged in Glen Breton barrels).
That's the thing with beer, good beer that is, is that it's anything but simple.
Yeah you sent me 3 BDT's. You sent the Saison and the Imperial Stout as well. Really looking forward to trying these. I've always loved the thought of the Dunkelweizen beer since I like darker beers but I also love wheat beers. Problem is so far I've yet to taste a good one.
As for Muskoka yeah they've just recently taken off here and are starting to appear everywhere. But yeah I tried a Summer Weiss back in the summer and then also picked up a Harvest Ale yesterday as well. My cousin happened to find a Spring oddity too. So we are looking forward to trying those two. I thought the Summer Weiss was decent but nothing special.
I'll pick up a Dumdum for you. I really like Muskoka Harvest Ale. I find their specials a tad pricey but they are all solid. The Harvest is the stand out. I need to find it myself.
I'll pick up a Dumdum for you. I really like Muskoka Harvest Ale. I find their specials a tad pricey but they are all solid. The Harvest is the stand out. I need to find it myself.
The place I bought it from was selling it for 15% off so I have a feeling it was last years stock. I don't think this years stock would have made it out here yet.
I'll pick up a Dumdum for you. I really like Muskoka Harvest Ale. I find their specials a tad pricey but they are all solid. The Harvest is the stand out. I need to find it myself.
That would be awesome. I'll also grab you a bottle of the 2011 Olde Deuteronomy by Alley Kat before they are gone and before they release the 2012's.
Was at Alley Kat's release party last night for their Pumpkin Pie spiced ale and the return of their Oktoberfest beer.
I haven't had a lot of pumpkin beers but I think this is by far the best one I've tasted. Very smooth and loaded with spices and natural pumpkin flavor. I find the other ones I've tried(Shipyard brewing and Brooklyn Brewery) tend to have too much pumpkin flavor and it ends up burning your throat by the end of the bottle.
SHABAM festival is returning for a 3rd year and this will be it's best year yet. Many more area brewers are hopping on board and will be sending their stuff to the event. The location on this one isn't the greatest but I still encourage everyone to come out and support the kidney foundation.
Second was that Alley Kat's next Dragon series beer will be Orange Dragon hopped with Chinook hopps.
The 3rd was well..there was some great beer to try last night as well as Alley Kat brewed a special cask of Full Moon for us and dry hopped it with the experimental hopps that were used in the Yellow Dragon, that is one beer that is great and then gets even better on cask.
Was at Alley Kat's release party last night for their Pumpkin Pie spiced ale and the return of their Oktoberfest beer.
I haven't had a lot of pumpkin beers but I think this is by far the best one I've tasted. Very smooth and loaded with spices and natural pumpkin flavor. I find the other ones I've tried(Shipyard brewing and Brooklyn Brewery) tend to have too much pumpkin flavor and it ends up burning your throat by the end of the bottle.
Was drinking this last night- the more I think about it- I think its just the their Amber with spice and artificial pumpkin flavor. Still good either way. Brewing my first Pumpkin Ale this weekend: Marris Otter base malt, roasting the pumpkin for 50 mins in the oven before it goes into the mash, 1lb of dark brown sugar and 1.5tblsp of pumpkin spice. Should be interesting.
Was drinking this last night- the more I think about it- I think its just the their Amber with spice and artificial pumpkin flavor. Still good either way. Brewing my first Pumpkin Ale this weekend: Marris Otter base malt, roasting the pumpkin for 50 mins in the oven before it goes into the mash, 1lb of dark brown sugar and 1.5tblsp of pumpkin spice. Should be interesting.
What exactly is pumpkin spice? Is it a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardomon?
As for their pumpkin beer I think you are right I believe I heard somewherer that the base recipe is the Amber. I was very pleased that my girlfriend liked the beer too.
As for homebrewing what kind of set-up do you have? We are just moving from kits to all grain and we sold a bunch of the stuff we were using for kits to upgrade before we get into all grain. Just curious on some tips and pointers on what you think and where you would be looking for equipment. Biggest thing we are debating over is what kind of set-up we should get to boil our pot we are currently looking at getting a 15 gallon pot so that we are able to do double bathces in the future. What would you reccomend?
I use old 15 gallon beer kegs with the tops cut off and bung and spear removed, so it's just a giant stainless steel pot with wicked handles. One for hot liquor, the other as a kettle. Then I use an outdoor propane burner for heating.
I use old 15 gallon beer kegs with the tops cut off and bung and spear removed, so it's just a giant stainless steel pot with wicked handles. One for hot liquor, the other as a kettle. Then I use an outdoor propane burner for heating.
Yeah I'd love to do that but as of right now on the market there isn't much in terms of 50L kegs available unless I get one from Alley Kat or Brewsters and just keep them.
As for using an outdoor propane burner I first thought of doing that but then what do you do in the winter? Do you have a heated garage?
What exactly is pumpkin spice? Is it a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cardomon?
As for their pumpkin beer I think you are right I believe I heard somewherer that the base recipe is the Amber. I was very pleased that my girlfriend liked the beer too.
As for homebrewing what kind of set-up do you have? We are just moving from kits to all grain and we sold a bunch of the stuff we were using for kits to upgrade before we get into all grain. Just curious on some tips and pointers on what you think and where you would be looking for equipment. Biggest thing we are debating over is what kind of set-up we should get to boil our pot we are currently looking at getting a 15 gallon pot so that we are able to do double bathces in the future. What would you reccomend?
Also are you in the EHBG?
Yes im a member- didnt go to last meeting. Its becoming too packed sometimes and im busy doing renos when not brewing. I should be at the next one though.
As for equipment: Heat source is the biggest concern, nat gas, propane or stove top. In a house or in a garage?. Smokersarejokers' set up would work great and would be inexpensive if you are outside. I have a 10gal Blichman and a 10gal heavy duty pot that I had a valve welded onto. I'm using a pump to recirculate everything back and forth on the stove top- but will soon have nat gas in my brew room in my basement. I'm hoping to have a brew sculpture welded up this winter as well.
Use these calculators to figure out what size of pots you will need http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml You could fit a double batch of a average size grain bill in a 10gal pot- but you might have to top up the carboys a little, which isnt a huge problem. The Blichmann products are unreal (beergun, hop blocker, auto sparge) I've never regretted the $$ spent. I have a gatorade cooler for sale if you want to go that way for a mash tun- just needs the bazooka tube/screen. But you have to decide if you want to mash in a pot or cooler first and it wouldn't fit a double batch.
Yeah I'd love to do that but as of right now on the market there isn't much in terms of 50L kegs available unless I get one from Alley Kat or Brewsters and just keep them.
As for using an outdoor propane burner I first thought of doing that but then what do you do in the winter? Do you have a heated garage?
Talk to someone at Alleykat, most times brewers have old kegs that won't hold the pressure anymore and they just want to get rid of them. Explain what you want to do and if they don't have any available, chances are they will take your name and give you a shout when they come available. I know breweries around here will do that.
Yeah I'd love to do that but as of right now on the market there isn't much in terms of 50L kegs available unless I get one from Alley Kat or Brewsters and just keep them.
As for using an outdoor propane burner I first thought of doing that but then what do you do in the winter? Do you have a heated garage?
Yeah, I don't much brewing in the winter, unless we get some warm weather. It's pretty tough to maintain temps in the cold.
I still manage to get one or two done in the winter. Like I said, I just have to wait for a nice, warm day on a Saturday or Sunday.
I got my kegs from Labatt. A friend of mine used to work there and managed to score me a couple of kegs with bungs that were in incredibly rough shape.
Yes im a member- didnt go to last meeting. Its becoming too packed sometimes and im busy doing renos when not brewing. I should be at the next one though.
As for equipment: Heat source is the biggest concern, nat gas, propane or stove top. In a house or in a garage?. Smokersarejokers' set up would work great and would be inexpensive if you are outside. I have a 10gal Blichman and a 10gal heavy duty pot that I had a valve welded onto. I'm using a pump to recirculate everything back and forth on the stove top- but will soon have nat gas in my brew room in my basement. I'm hoping to have a brew sculpture welded up this winter as well.
Use these calculators to figure out what size of pots you will need http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml You could fit a double batch of a average size grain bill in a 10gal pot- but you might have to top up the carboys a little, which isnt a huge problem. The Blichmann products are unreal (beergun, hop blocker, auto sparge) I've never regretted the $$ spent. I have a gatorade cooler for sale if you want to go that way for a mash tun- just needs the bazooka tube/screen. But you have to decide if you want to mash in a pot or cooler first and it wouldn't fit a double batch.
Yes im a member- didnt go to last meeting. Its becoming too packed sometimes and im busy doing renos when not brewing. I should be at the next one though.
As for equipment: Heat source is the biggest concern, nat gas, propane or stove top. In a house or in a garage?. Smokersarejokers' set up would work great and would be inexpensive if you are outside. I have a 10gal Blichman and a 10gal heavy duty pot that I had a valve welded onto. I'm using a pump to recirculate everything back and forth on the stove top- but will soon have nat gas in my brew room in my basement. I'm hoping to have a brew sculpture welded up this winter as well.
Use these calculators to figure out what size of pots you will need http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml You could fit a double batch of a average size grain bill in a 10gal pot- but you might have to top up the carboys a little, which isnt a huge problem. The Blichmann products are unreal (beergun, hop blocker, auto sparge) I've never regretted the $$ spent. I have a gatorade cooler for sale if you want to go that way for a mash tun- just needs the bazooka tube/screen. But you have to decide if you want to mash in a pot or cooler first and it wouldn't fit a double batch.
Cheers.
Yeah since we bought our start up package from Southside Winning Wines we got a 20% off equipment coupon for there and we are planning at this point to buy the 15 gallon blichman pot from Andrew. It really makes most sense as it is only $20 more than the 10 gallon and then $50 cheaper than the 20 gallon and then the 20% off will come in handy. Only thing is that the blichman pot seems better suited as mash tun rather than the boil kettle since it has the thermometer on it and everything.
However I've been given one of those home made cooler mash tuns from a brewer at Alley Kat so for right now we will use that as our mash tun and the blichman as our boil kettle with our old boil pot as our hot liquor tank. I guess the nice thing of the blichman is that we can easily turn that into our mash tun in the future.
So mainly our problem right now is heat source now that we are planning on using bigger pots. I will still likely use the stove top for our hot liquor tank as I can start heating water while we are getting everything else ready. So mainly it's just heat for the boil kettle and our three options are propane, natural gas or electric heater.
edit: Also how does the auto sparge work on the blichman pot? Does the pot come with it or is it something extra you gotta buy for it?
Yeah, I might have had a good night and am polishing off my, good lord I have no idea how many beers.
Tomorrow night is Oktoberfest night, put on by a bunch of co workers here in Germany for me. Going to be a boatload of Oktoberfest beers and a crap load of meat. My two favourite things!!
Yeah, I might have had a good night and am polishing off my, good lord I have no idea how many beers.
Tomorrow night is Oktoberfest night, put on by a bunch of co workers here in Germany for me. Going to be a boatload of Oktoberfest beers and a crap load of meat. My two favourite things!!
For those of you still thinking about getting some Westvleteran, the new Co-Op in Terwilleger is selling the pack for $65 which is a phenomenal price. Not sure if they have any left but their sale goes until tomorrow if they do.
Also if you guys like beer you should really look into the SHABAM craft beer festival on October 6th at the Mayfeild trade center. It is hands down the best beer festival in the city and all proceeds go to support the Kidney Foundation.
Come out and support them!
Plus I'll be serving, swing by and chat about beer.
I was there tonight. They actually had 48 casks. Dude Where's My Czar, Muskoka Cabin Fever #3, and Flying Monkeys Rose Hopped Hoptical stood out from what I had. Peche Mortel is always quality as well, obviously. I didn't try any of the Beau's stuff, stopped at the brewery beforehand to pick all that up to bring home. Food wise the schnitzel from Schnitzel's Catering was great. I should have bought tickets for Meet The Brewers when I got there as that sold out quickly.
