Homebrew at the Black Forest Inn
Yep, I'm doing it. I'm pimping out my blog to advertise an event. The Black Forest Inn on Eat Street in Minneapolis is just one of a myriad of German bars and restaurants that host an annual Oktoberfest celebration. Some reserve one day for their celebration, others do it every weekend for a number of weekends and others yet host a nightly celebration for a block of nights. Black Forest Inn does the latter. For ten days they host a different themed party each night. One night is Fake German Accent Night (you vill haf fun) and another is David Hasselhoff Night (he's kind of a big deal in Germany). But tomorrow night, Tuesday September 29th, is Home Brew Night. There will be five homebrewers (including yours truly) on hand each pouring a different home made concoction.
I would encourage you all to stop on by and check it out. If you are a fellow blogger, stop by and introduce yourself, I love meeting you guys. If you are a homebrewer, let's talk beer. If you're thinking about homebrewing, there will be a number of us on hand and we'd love to answer your questions. Have youselves some bratwurst and kraut and vote for your favorite homebrew (free samples). Details of the event can be found below. Oh and did I mention prizes? Yes, there will drawings for goodies from local home brew shops and other places.
What will I be bringing?
About the beer: "Muddhop" This beer is my take on an India Brown Ale. This all malt beer was brewed with nine pounds of malt extract. I also used various specialty grains that would put it somewhere between a Brown Ale and Porter. I then aggressively hopped it in the spirit of an India Pale Ale. Big bodied and a sweet roasty malt finish, this muddy concoction was dryhopped with Cascade for a divine aroma. She comes in at around 7% ABV.
(from Black Forest Inn website)
Tuesday September 29
Home Brew Night
Five accomplished home brewers pit their best beers against each other. And you are going to decide whose brew rules Oktoberfest! Free to all dining customers, the sampler comes with descriptions and a ballot.
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Homebrew samples available
6:30 - 9:00 p.m.
Live music!
Skeets Langley on accordion
9:00 p.m.
Votes counted and Prize for Best Home Brew awarded
Win home brew and other type prizes!
The Minnesota Home Brewers Association will be on hand to answer all your basement beer making questions.
Ya, I would argue the words 'accomplished' and 'best' above, but whatever, we'll see. Prosit!
Monday, September 28, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Perfect Trifecta
The one gripe that I have about living in Eden Prairie is the lack of good beer bars. Now you could make the argument that Old Chicago is a great beer bar and it ain’t bad, but it’s no Muddy Pig. It’s no Buster’s on 28th. It’s no Stub and Herbs. Each of which are 22 miles, 14 miles and 17 miles from my house, respectively. Old Chicago is not a bad place, in fact that’s where I enjoyed many a beers while in my transitionary stage between macros and craft beers. There was always something new and exciting on tap and rarely did I have to drink the same beer twice. But, now that I’ve graduated to full flavored craft beers I rarely find anything there on tap that I want to drink. It’s not just the tap list. I don’t like the sports bar atmosphere unless I am at happy hour with friends. Let’s face it, it’s a chain restaurant and it's obvious. Sometimes when I’m in there, I have to ask myself, “Am I in Eden Prairie or is this Plymouth or Minnetonka or Sioux Falls or Denver?” I like a little more individuality. And I like to support my local guys too. Local bar owners and local brewers. I love Summit and Schell's but where’s the Surly, Liftbridge, Flat Earth, Brau Brothers? I can't bad talk them completely. There are times when I am thankful they are here, like the recent meet and greet with Lagunitas front man Tony Magee. But come on... Micro of the month - Summer Shandy??? Seriously!
Now I think I’ve finally found a cure for my beer bar blues. When I want to go and just sit peacefully pontificating over a good beer or three, I've found that the Gold Nugget is just the place. Just over five miles away this recently (re)opened bar in Minnetonka is both close and comfortable. This little burger joint has quite the past, unfortunately I know little about it. What I do know is that for most of the last 30 years the Gold Nugget was a small greasy spoon type dive bar that was famous for its burgers and onion rings. This is how it used to look. New developments in the area at Excelsior Blvd and County Rd 4 resulted in the demise of the old shack that housed it. In its place went apartments, condos and a stripmall. How sad. As someone who is still mourning the closing of Sherlock's Home nearly seven years later I can certainly empathize with the regulars who lost their favorite burger and beer joint. I think it's really cool that they incorporated the original stained-glass windows into the new restaurant.
I'll be honest, I never made it to the original bar but I have quickly grown fond of the new one. Coincidently I found the website for the old place. It's an old antiquated website and is actually quite entertaining. As for the new place, it's got that nice polished fresh feel. The dark wood, sharp lines and soft arches compliment each other nicely and are very inviting. Photos can be found on their website. In addition to a comfortable ambiance and atmosphere, the tap beer selection is pretty darned good. Local guys like Schell, Summit, Surly, Brau, Mantorville and Lake Superior. Craft breweries like Lagunitas, Founders, Bells, New Belgium and Boulevard. And they offer flights, they will pour four 4oz samples of any of their draft beers. In fact I had one on my first visit. This time however, I knew exactly what I wanted. It was a 3-pint flight of killer IPAs. It was Friday afternoon, I had some nagging homebrew follow up waiting for me at home but I convinced myself I could stop for a few. I deserved it, I earned it. I spent the previous two days working both jobs and I was due. Besides, the better half would be working until 10:30 and I had to warm up for the Autumn Brew Review.
I started with the Centennial IPA from Founders. Not the first time I'd had this one, but never a bad choice. Huge grapefruity hop aromas, sharp bitterness rounded out nicely with a heavy malt presence. I always enjoy this one, one of the best IPAs out there. I followed that up with a Lagunitas IPA. Less malt in this guy but perhaps a bit more bitter. Again, nice hop aroma but this time different fruit. More pineapple and lemon in the nose. This one also had a nice big body. I backed those up with perhaps the grandaddy of them all, Surly Furious. But before that I needed to eat. On their menu there are a few "originals" that remain from the former place. I chose the happy hour burger and onion rings both of which were originals and both were delicious. My one knock, albeit small, was that this combination was served in a basket. Nothing wrong with that but it just didn't fit the ambiance of the restaurant. Kinda like getting chinet at Manny's. I'm sure this was how it was always done in the old place so all is forgiven. Now that I had a nice base of beef and grease I could wash it all down with that Surly. Officially a double IPA, but what a great beer. Easily the most bitter of the three and again a great aroma. It's no secret the guys at Surly like hops and this one kneels to the hop gods. One of the best smelling beers ever brewed. The flavor is fantastic as well. All that bitter yumminess anchored by a substantial malt profile.
Hard to pick a favorite, so I didn't. These are all great hop bombs in their own right. I just considered myself lucky. While not really a beer bar per se, the Gold Nugget in Glen Lake is a warm, friendly, welcoming place with great service and an exceptional tap list. But alas it was time to go home... thankfully I didn't have far to go.
Now I think I’ve finally found a cure for my beer bar blues. When I want to go and just sit peacefully pontificating over a good beer or three, I've found that the Gold Nugget is just the place. Just over five miles away this recently (re)opened bar in Minnetonka is both close and comfortable. This little burger joint has quite the past, unfortunately I know little about it. What I do know is that for most of the last 30 years the Gold Nugget was a small greasy spoon type dive bar that was famous for its burgers and onion rings. This is how it used to look. New developments in the area at Excelsior Blvd and County Rd 4 resulted in the demise of the old shack that housed it. In its place went apartments, condos and a stripmall. How sad. As someone who is still mourning the closing of Sherlock's Home nearly seven years later I can certainly empathize with the regulars who lost their favorite burger and beer joint. I think it's really cool that they incorporated the original stained-glass windows into the new restaurant.
I'll be honest, I never made it to the original bar but I have quickly grown fond of the new one. Coincidently I found the website for the old place. It's an old antiquated website and is actually quite entertaining. As for the new place, it's got that nice polished fresh feel. The dark wood, sharp lines and soft arches compliment each other nicely and are very inviting. Photos can be found on their website. In addition to a comfortable ambiance and atmosphere, the tap beer selection is pretty darned good. Local guys like Schell, Summit, Surly, Brau, Mantorville and Lake Superior. Craft breweries like Lagunitas, Founders, Bells, New Belgium and Boulevard. And they offer flights, they will pour four 4oz samples of any of their draft beers. In fact I had one on my first visit. This time however, I knew exactly what I wanted. It was a 3-pint flight of killer IPAs. It was Friday afternoon, I had some nagging homebrew follow up waiting for me at home but I convinced myself I could stop for a few. I deserved it, I earned it. I spent the previous two days working both jobs and I was due. Besides, the better half would be working until 10:30 and I had to warm up for the Autumn Brew Review.
I started with the Centennial IPA from Founders. Not the first time I'd had this one, but never a bad choice. Huge grapefruity hop aromas, sharp bitterness rounded out nicely with a heavy malt presence. I always enjoy this one, one of the best IPAs out there. I followed that up with a Lagunitas IPA. Less malt in this guy but perhaps a bit more bitter. Again, nice hop aroma but this time different fruit. More pineapple and lemon in the nose. This one also had a nice big body. I backed those up with perhaps the grandaddy of them all, Surly Furious. But before that I needed to eat. On their menu there are a few "originals" that remain from the former place. I chose the happy hour burger and onion rings both of which were originals and both were delicious. My one knock, albeit small, was that this combination was served in a basket. Nothing wrong with that but it just didn't fit the ambiance of the restaurant. Kinda like getting chinet at Manny's. I'm sure this was how it was always done in the old place so all is forgiven. Now that I had a nice base of beef and grease I could wash it all down with that Surly. Officially a double IPA, but what a great beer. Easily the most bitter of the three and again a great aroma. It's no secret the guys at Surly like hops and this one kneels to the hop gods. One of the best smelling beers ever brewed. The flavor is fantastic as well. All that bitter yumminess anchored by a substantial malt profile.
Hard to pick a favorite, so I didn't. These are all great hop bombs in their own right. I just considered myself lucky. While not really a beer bar per se, the Gold Nugget in Glen Lake is a warm, friendly, welcoming place with great service and an exceptional tap list. But alas it was time to go home... thankfully I didn't have far to go.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Viking Brewing Company
As an aspiring brewer I have been trying many angles to make myself more marketable as a prospective employee. I am currently enrolled in the American Brewers Guild but I'd like to put what I am learning into practice. I wanna get my hands dirty. Many of you know that I eventually want to open my own brewpub... but not before I know what I am doing. The best way to do this is to spend some time in both a restaurant and in a brewery. Right now I am working at Punch Pizza. As a smaller restaurant it is very easy for me to see all the different aspects of the operation. I work closely with the manager and it has really been educational. Now if I could just find a part time job or volunteer opportunity in a brewery. I have sent many letters to local and not so local breweries and brewpubs in hopes that I could at the very least join them for a day of brewing. We are learning so much in the ABG program, it would be fun to see some of the equipment and procedures in action. So far of all the letters and emails I’ve written I’ve only heard back from one. Perhaps I should try follow up calls to the others. The one that I did hear back from was Viking Brewery in Dallas, Wisconsin.
Viking started turning out beers in 1995 in a time when craft brew was just hitting the radar. Located in the old Dallas creamery building this small family owned and operated brewery has been creating beers for nearly 15 years. And they’ve been doing it all on standard dairy equipment. The mash/lauter tun? Milk tank. The kettle? Milk tank. The fermenters? You guessed it, milk tanks. The beer, mostly lagers, is then aged in refrigerated milk storage tanks. It was a great experience and I got to see a whole brew process from mash in to yeast pitching. I also got to see and participate in keg cleaning, filling and beer transferring. Oh, and there was a tour while I was there so I got to partake in that as well. As a thank you for some of the help I was able to provide, I was graciously offered one bottle of everything in the beer cooler. This included eight 12oz bottles of their current seasonals and year round beers and a bomber of Berserk their Barleywine. The barleywine is young so I will age it a few years before diving into it. The others however I will taste over the next few days or weeks and share my thoughts. Before my visit I had only tried one of their beers so most of these will be new for me. In addition to some personal reviews I will try to include some pictures and stories from my day in the brewhouse.
Viking started turning out beers in 1995 in a time when craft brew was just hitting the radar. Located in the old Dallas creamery building this small family owned and operated brewery has been creating beers for nearly 15 years. And they’ve been doing it all on standard dairy equipment. The mash/lauter tun? Milk tank. The kettle? Milk tank. The fermenters? You guessed it, milk tanks. The beer, mostly lagers, is then aged in refrigerated milk storage tanks. It was a great experience and I got to see a whole brew process from mash in to yeast pitching. I also got to see and participate in keg cleaning, filling and beer transferring. Oh, and there was a tour while I was there so I got to partake in that as well. As a thank you for some of the help I was able to provide, I was graciously offered one bottle of everything in the beer cooler. This included eight 12oz bottles of their current seasonals and year round beers and a bomber of Berserk their Barleywine. The barleywine is young so I will age it a few years before diving into it. The others however I will taste over the next few days or weeks and share my thoughts. Before my visit I had only tried one of their beers so most of these will be new for me. In addition to some personal reviews I will try to include some pictures and stories from my day in the brewhouse.
I thought I would start with their flagship beer the CopperHead Marzen style lager. This one, I hate to say was a little bit off. For a Fest style beer I was expecting big malty flavors and aromas. Instead I got papery, floral, honey, perfumey aromas and a very dry light easy drinking flavor. I really didn’t get a whole lot of malt or hop aromas or flavors. It was certainly drinkable but I would like to give it another chance. I have read many reviews much better than mine and I’d like to experience what those guys were getting. Perhaps I just got a bottle with a little oxidation. The next beer I tried was Whole Stein and this was a totally different story. Of the ones I've had so far this one is my favorite. The label calls it a Coffee Oatmeal Milk Porter and it is delicious. It reminds me a lot of a good sweet stout, something with lactose (unfermetnable milk sugar). This I am sure has some lactose because of the flavor and well, the name kinda gives it away, too. In my imperial pint glass this opaque monster sat up straight with a great tannish brown head, fluffy and light. 
Speaking of light, there would be none getting through this beast. Just check out the picture held up directly in front of the sun... nothing! Getting great aromas, like candy sweetness accompanied by espresso, dark chocolate and the like. Flavor mimmicks the aroma but much more dark coffee flavors than in the aroma. I don't believe this is brewed with coffee or has any added later, the dark roasted malts contribute to this perception. Body is big and creamy, low but appropriate carbonation and no acrid bite from the roasted malts. Despite descriptive words like monster and beast, this beer drinks criminally smooth. Must be the oatmeal. I will be looking for this one again. They no longer distribute to Minnesota but I'm sure I'll be back to Hudson before long.
Speaking of light, there would be none getting through this beast. Just check out the picture held up directly in front of the sun... nothing! Getting great aromas, like candy sweetness accompanied by espresso, dark chocolate and the like. Flavor mimmicks the aroma but much more dark coffee flavors than in the aroma. I don't believe this is brewed with coffee or has any added later, the dark roasted malts contribute to this perception. Body is big and creamy, low but appropriate carbonation and no acrid bite from the roasted malts. Despite descriptive words like monster and beast, this beer drinks criminally smooth. Must be the oatmeal. I will be looking for this one again. They no longer distribute to Minnesota but I'm sure I'll be back to Hudson before long.Many thanks to Randy Lee for letting me come and be part of his life for a day.
Cheers!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)