I'm liking this new cartoon theme. Keep it up!

I'm on my third beer of the day. The first was a chore beer: Grolsch. I buy it for the convenient swing-top bottles. Saves me from having to buy bottle caps.

The second was a Gulden Draak, a very fine Belgian Strong Ale -- basically a barleywine.

Now, I'm halfway into a 750ml bottle of The Bruery Saison Rue. This one is mighty fine. It uses a wild yeast called brettanomyces (commonly found on fruit skins) that gives it a funky, off-buttery profile. Yummy!

I'm having a Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Ale. It's a collaboration brew between the current and founding brewer called Fritz and Ken's Stout. It's a a rich, roasty, smokey imperial stout that weighs in at 9.2% abv. It's quite wonderful and only the tiniest bit boozy. I was surprised at how adventurous this beer is, given the Sierra Nevada brewing history.

Had some Anchor Boch Last night. Very dark with a nice full flavor, not to bitter, just about right.

I'd drink it again for sure.

I probably should start another thread about my 4 day March Madness insanity trip to Vegas, but I think I'll just post here the beer-related highlights.

Arrogant Bastard, Stone IPA, and Deschutes Porter all on tap at the Monte Carlo.

Gallons of domestic and common premiums everywhere else. Kind of un-remarkable from a beer standpoint.

Now, if you want sordid tails of drunken debauchery, that's probably a more entertaining story.

BTW, pmb, I think some of that "acidic" edge could be from your use of honey and maple syrup. I also remember having that cidery-ness in young beers of high gravity.

GIVE THEM MORE TIME IN THE BOTTLE!

You're gonna end up with only a couple of bottles left when they finally mellow into a nice beer. Then you'll be pissed off at your own weakness. I speak from experience - repeated experience.

With over-carb'd homebrews, I would chill hard for at least 2 weeks in a very still part of the frig. Pour gently into an oversized decanter/pitcher and let it warm and dissipate CO2 for about 15 minutes before pouring into a glass.

You've become an inspiration.

I'll be bottling my IPA this weekend. Can't wait to try it, but I'll force myself.

Actually you should sample your brew at all stages if you can. Professional brew masters live by doing it however they are usually shooting for the same results each time while you should be doing it to learn.

At a minimum I would sample the mash before sparging, the pre-boiled wort, the boiled wort, when racking from a primary to secondary fermenter and/or when bottling. By doing this you can learn a lot about how the various processes effect the flavours and aromas and how these evolve over time. Knowing how the flavours evolve is very important for knowing when to bottle especially high gravity and very flavourful beers.

I also made a habit of sampling beer that I was leaving in a secondary fermenter for long periods of time. The “Wine & Hop Shop” in Madison WI where I first learned to brew also taught me to sample the grains even before mashing. By knowing what the grains tasted like fresh and later in the finished beer it helps when trying to tweak a recipe later on. It’s also a good way to ensure your grain hasn’t started to get moldy without any visible signs. Not that moldy grain can’t be used as long as it’s not too moldy.

Though if not doing large batches I could understand not wanting to squander the finished beer.

Cheers,
Dean

Yeah, I know I should be more scientific about the process, but at this point I'm just trying to internalize the procedure. My mashing, sparging, boiling, cooling, transfer to fermenter, and pitching all went much more smoothly the second time around. The sparge, in particular, was much improved.

I can't wait until I'm comfortable, knowledgeable, and confident enough to start really working on my own recipes. I'll probably gravitate toward higher gravity, big, belgiany beers.

I love Belgian beers, such a wild variety. Charlie Papazian described Belgium as “The Disneyland of Beers.”

I really should back off and just let you enjoy what you’re doing right now but I can’t resist butting in one more time. If you do start making Trappist/Abbey style ales then using the proper yeast is a must since that’s what gives them their distinctive flavours.

I’ve had great results using White Labs yeast

Cheers,
Dean

One of my favorite beer bloggers just visited The Bruery, who happen to make top-notch beers. The head brewer completely geeks about about his beer and definitely knows his yeast.

There are pictures here:
http://beerandnosh.com/2010/03/the-bruery/