Speaking of Beer

Prebeer Preamble: Dark beers stir their own special passion in the beer enthusiast, and it’s been a while since this show has simply reveled in the blackness. Well the wait is over, because today is all about the special magic that roasted, toasted, and even charred grains bring to the beer-drinking experience. The black style known as stout has many sub categories, promising many similar shows to come, but for now we’re going to look at the two ends of the stout spectrum.

Beer #1: I’m joined by a slimmed-down Draco Vista Review Krew (just Mike, Tim, and Brian this time) as we start off in left field with Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout (Lacto) from Japan’s Kiuchi Brewery. Brewed in a storied sake brewery yet made in the traditional milk stout style, this one starts out as a bit of a head-scratcher. Then we actually try it, and everything changes…

Interbeer Interlude: MicroBrewed. “The Royal Mile.” In his quixotic attempt to prove that Portland needs to abdicate its “beervana” status in favor of Des Moines, Iowa, Tee Morris (along with Paul and Andrew) lands at a thoroughly British pub in the heart of the Grain Belt. The night is getting long, and the slightly sloppy happiness that comes with a pub crawl is getting difficult to ignore. And that’s why we love this stuff…

Beer #2: Speaking of sloppy, the next beer really cranks up the warm-and-fuzzies, as we pole vault over the other stout categories and end up in the Imperial realm, with Great Divide’s Yeti. It’s a great big gush-fest as all the stout fans in the room find themselves with the embodiment of the style amplified on every possible axis.

Liquid Literature: “Guinness: The 250 Year Quest for the Perfect Pint by Bill Yenne” Another book review for you by our Eclectic Librarian, Anna from Washington. This time Anna examines a tome detailing the history of Ireland’s Guinness Brewery. So from the historical perspective, is Guinness truly the “perfect pint”, or simply another example of mass-produced and heavily compromised “product”?

Postbeer Postscript: After the Yeti, you know the numbers are going to be big. Just how big? Well you’ll have to tune in and find out. And what’s with Tim foisting a patented SoB quasi-scientific glassware test on the proceedings at the last minute? I mean, didn’t he listen to Show 35?

 

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I found my local Whole Foods to be a productive outlet for these two. See what you can do:

Hitachino Nest Sweet Stout (Lacto) [alternatives: Young's Double Chocolate Stout, Sam Adam's Cream Stout]

and

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout [alternatives: Three Floyds' Dark Lord Imperial Stout, Stone Imperial Russian Stout, Deschutes Brewery's The Abyss]

If you like your beer black and/or big, this will be a show for you!

Prebeer Preamble: Today’s show changes things up, as we spend the entire episode in The Build-A-Beer Workshop. Back on August 19th, 2007, my brewing compadre Shawn and I decided we would brew up two batches of beer simultaneously. This would be Shawn’s third batch of homebrew, and the first on which he’d take point. Me, I thought I’d step up the complexity a bit and do a larger-volume boil. From these slightly ambitious decisions came two interesting brews and lots of hard-knocks lessons about homebrewing. This episode delves into that day deeply, and follows the fruits of our labor through till the end.

Part 1: The Day Itself. Highlights of our brew day, including a salty interjection or two when things don’t go our way. Plus, Shawn and I try to talk ourselves into a good mood, and give a little informaiton about how we came up with the recipes. What you won’t hear is the opressive sound of triple-digit temperatures.

Interbeer Interlude: Beer As Folk: “Peter Zein, part 2.” I continue my conversation with AleSmith Brewing Company’s owner and brewmaster. We talk a little about recipes, the hop “crisis”, and the future of AleSmith. Plus, Peter lets us in on how anyone can brew up their own version of one of AleSmith’s tasty brews.

Part 2: The Fates of the Beers. After their difficult births, each beer embarks on a different path. Shawn’s hoppy IPA gets a thorough going-over (and a name) from hop-headed friend-of-SoB Evo Terra, while my freaky Imperial Stout enters a contest on Wingin’ It 3D to see if it can out-Samuel-Jackson a similar beer brewed by Thomas from Flagstaff.

Liquid Literature: “Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer”. Speaking of Thomas, he delivers this excellent review of a brewing tome that should be strongly considered for any homebrewer’s library. Thomas has even taken at least one recipe for a spin. How’d it turn out?

Part 3: Lessons Learned. We once again flash back to brew day, and find Shawn and I in a reflective mood. Just what did we take from this less-than-perfect brewing experience that will make us better brewers? Tune in and find out!

 

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The next show will be a patented “Change of Pace” episode, so the exact drink-along beers are not utterly crucial (if, indeed, they ever are). Still, to get into the swing of it, track down some Stone Ruination IPA, or other hop-o-liscious West Coast double IPA, and maybe an imperial stout like North Coast’s Old Rasputin. Next week’s all about the homebrewing, so if you haven’t yet checked out the Build-A-Beer Workshop and gotten brewing with the cool kids, you still have some time before the show drops.