Groovin' in the Grove at Sprung!

Sprung!  The spring time beer Festival in Coconut Grove in Miami ended up being one of the better spring festivals that I have been to. Right on the water in Biscayne Bay, it was a great place for beer Festival. The weather was great, the temperature was just right, and the beer was flowing like a waterfall. There were beer pong games, cornhole games, and you can even  ride a bull  if you so desired. There were all of the usual breweries, and a few local ones that are just starting out.

I found this car sitting in he middle of the beer fest but you could not get a beer from it. Kind of a waste at a beer fest but you know InBev, anything for advertising. Then there were the people. Folks were just glad to be here in Miami and not up north somewhere freezing our asses off!

There were two Czech beers that caught my eye and some of the best Lagers that I have had in a long time. The first is Staropramen Beer. This beer has a great rich Lager flavor with just enough hops to balance it out. I can see myself having a few of these to wet my whistle.

The next is Czechvar Beer. This Lager is  a bit bolder on the palate but with a creamy rich mouthfeel. This will pair well with meats and fowl dishes. You can take a look at both breweries by clicking on the names and it will take you to their websites.

Magic Hat came out with another addition to the Humdinger series called Burnpile. A smoked porter with bacon flavor and something else that I could not quite put my finger on. A great porter with awesome flavors that will age well if you let it. Me, I always get two, one to drink and one to age. 

Then there was the Green Flash Brewery, Palate Wrecker. A super hoppy beer that will leave a hop taste in your mouth for a long time. Right up there with the top Hoppy beers that I have had. This is more like an Imperial IPA but with hops that will....... well, wreck your palate.

 Of course, there were the participants of the event. It seemed like more women are attending these event than ever before. The guys were pouring and the women were drinking. What a concept. I'm looking forward to next years event to see if it is all women. There is one more Beer Festival this spring and that is the NewTimes Beer Fest in Ft. Lauderdale. Let's see if I make it through that one......

Where there is beer, there should be.......a bathroom.

Last month at the Jupiter craft beer Festival, it was a great time had by all. A very good friend of mine Al Moyer accompanied me to the festival. This was the seventh year of this festival and  was held at Roger Dean Stadium in Abacoa. There are over 50 craft brewers from all over the country and of course I have my favorites.

One of my favorite breweries, Green Man Brewery was there representing from Asheville, NC with another close favorite Highland Brewery. Asheville in the next few years will be a place you will want to visit if you are a craft beer geek.

Highland's Devil's Britches IPA was nice and hoppy with grass and floral flavors. The hops complemented the beer and did not over run it like some others that I have had.

I also had the pleasure of having some Stone Vertical Epic 11-11-11. I do believe that was the last of it but don't quote me on it. One of the finer robust stouts out there in my opinion.

Then there were these Guys from Cisco Brewery out of Nantucket serving beer out of a VW micro bus. Totally cool if you ask me. They had taps right out of the side and was using the pitcher to pour the brew. Rather tasty I might add so if you can get it, get yourself a growler or two before its gone.

Each year this festival just keeps getting better and better. In March, I will be heading down to Miami and Coconut Grove for the Sprung! Beer Festival. More pics and epic beers with friends......again. Hope to see you there!

What will happen with Parkerization?

 Robert Parker has decided to step down after three decades of service at Wine Advocate magazine.  who will be the person to take his place, after all these years of service to the wine industry. I for one, look forward to seeing who will be the one that steps up, and becomes the leader in rating the world's finest wines.  Parkerization is a term used  of the influence that Robert Parker has had over Bordeaux wines. Robert Parker helped create 100 point rating scale that is used today to rate winds around the  world. This scale, although slightly flawed, is used by all wine critics around the world. Major wine producers around the world, paying close attention to this rating scale, and try and craft their wines to reach the highest number they possibly can.

I don't want this to be about Robert Parker, I want this to be about who will be the next wine critic that stands out and helps influence the wine world. There are many wine critics out there today. Some are more influential than others. The jockeying to see who will be the front runner has begun. I for one, I'm going to sit back and watch how the game is played out. I will use the 100 point rating scale, for all the ones I taste from now on.  

A Hiatus for gathering information... and that's my story.

So, I know, it's been a while. But I needed to take a break and stockpile more information so I can continue on this journey of discovery. This time I will put snippets of video in with the blog (got a new go pro hero) to give it a more realistic point of view. Sort of like catching the drunk at a party doing something stupid and putting it on youtube. You know what I mean.

Retirement sucks
First thing I want to say about this is that I am way to young to retire. I need to be busy all day and there is so much golf you can play and so much beer you can brew to stay busy. So, I went back to work for a major liquor store chain and feel like I'm in my element. Plus, I know when all of the good shit is coming out and can be the first one to get it. My next batch of beer will be a Barleywine and I'll video the process to give you an idea on how the process works. So on to some pictures.

 1st ANNUAL WEST PALM BEACH BEER FESTIVAL!

This is probably one of the best beer festivals I have been to in a long time. I am really looking forward to next year to see how they are going to top this pat one.Here's a few photos from the festival.

And this is how you serve beer to a crowd!

Due South Brewery

Tents, Tents and more tents full of beer and stuff!

In the VIP tent with Air Conditioning!

Here is a few of the Dogfish head beers that I tried along the way also.

Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron

Dogfish Head Burton Barton

This was a great time and an enormous amount of beers were served. Many of the local brewers were there and had a chance to strut their beers for the crowd. I encourage you to visit your local craft brewers to support them and get some of the best and the freshest beer around! Cheers and go have a beer!

So It's been a While....

Well I know its been a while but there has been lots of things that has been going on. Back to work and brewing lots of beer. I have a crap load of reviews of Octoberfest and Pumpkin beers to review and look forward to the winter beers. And for my wine friends, I have been tasting the wines of the Rhone Valley and will post my favorites for you. For the Whiskey folks, there are a few new whiskies on the market and some old friends that will be revisited over the holidays so back to blogging and get some good stuff out there!

LIFE IS AWESOME!

Summer is Here!!!

I think it's time to review the summer beer out there so you know what your choices are for the hot, sweaty, brutal summer. You need a beer thats not heavy, not filling and that will quench your thirst. So let's get started!

SHINER RUBY REDBIRD

This is a wonderful beer with ginger and ruby red grapefruit. It has a clean and crisp flavor that leaves you wanting more. Brewed by Shiner out of Texas, this is a great seasonal beer. When you are by the pool or at the beach, don't forget the Ruby Redbird in your cooler!








VICTORY SUMMER OF LOVE

 This is a light crisp ale with a nice hoppy flavor to satisfy your thirst on a warm summer day. Great for picnics, Bar B Ques, and of course beach days! The hops are light and floral and just the right amount of bitterness to balance this ale.










BLUE POINT SUMMER ALE

Another fine brew from Blue Point which is a great ale that has a smooth flavor. They have added a bit of wheat to the mixture to give it that smooth flavor and I can tell you that it is a bit different that other summer ales. A six-pack or two on a summer day should do the trick!








SAMUEL ADAMS SUMMER ALE

 This is a wheat ale with a hint of citrus and a light floral hop finish. I usually keep a six pack of this in the fridge just to break up the monotony of drinking the same beer. I like it because of the different flavor and I think it's because of the grains of paradise that they use. Keep this beer on hand for the guest thats not sure what they want to drink. Give them a Sam Adams!







LEFT HAND GOOD JUJU

Known for one of the finest milk stouts around, Left Hand now gives you one of the finest summer beers around. Good Juju is a fine malty pale ale with ginger added to smooth out and balance the hops. Grass and floral on the nose you can't help but taste the ginger in this beer. I put this on my summer list because it has that clean crisp flavor with that little something extra. I raise my left hand to the brewers on this one well basically because I'm left handed. The ladies will love this beer because of the ginger and the guys will love it because of the pale ale hops.





Well I have two or three more to review to round out my summer beer list. these are my "gotta have" beers for the summer. So it's back to the pool for me with beers in hand and I'll give you my tale on the next batch!

I CAN'T MAKE UP MY MIND?!?!?!

The dilemma that some of have is..... what do I want to drink? Wine, beer, whiskey, rum, vodka, bourbon? I know, it's a cross I must bear but sometimes it becomes a problem. It takes me longer to figure out what I want to drink than it does to know what I want to eat. After a couple of business trips in the past 6 weeks (in Las Vegas of course), I know I like food cooked at home but my taste for the right drink for the right food has become more refined. Refined means that I'm getting picky about what I want. So let's start with a few choices that I paired up with my food lately.

SILVER OAK CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2006
Alexander Valley

I drank most of it myself...

I only paid 40 dollars for this bottle and let me tell you that it was worth a lot more than that. This wine has a bold elegant body with a velvety feel on the tongue with a nice tannin finish but not too much. The steak that I paired this with was a nice New York strip with broccoli and a salad (sorry no potato) and I left room for a chocolate dessert which, as all of the women that I know will tell you, Is the only thing you need with a big bold Cab. I would even pair this wine with lamb, beef bourguignon or a bold pasta dish with meat. Silver Oak is a fine winery that creates some of the finest American wine around. Have a bottle and you will not go wrong!








OMMEGANG HENNEPIN

This beer is bold enough to pair perfectly with this dish. This is from Sage in the Aria hotel in Las Vegas. It's Shelton's Farm organic chicken with farmhouse sausage, braised lentils and alfalfa hay smoke. Sounds like a lot but it's a very rich dish.  They paired it with a Anchor Steam Breckle's brown ale. I thought it needed something a little more. I think that the Hennepin would work better with this dish. The sausage and braised lentils in the smoke reduction was rich in flavor and the beer would complement that. This would be the perfect dinner for me!

So for those of you that can't make up your mind on what you want with your meal, just remember that you can your cake and eat it too by having either a wonderful wine or an awesome beer that will complement your meal. I love both and cannot tell you which one to choose because I love the variety that this life gives! Cheers!

Hey Frenchie, got any wine?

I now have a need to go back a visit some of my favorite french wines. If you are one of those folks that hate the French and will not drink their wines, I thank you. It leaves more for me. 2009 was a banner year for Bordeaux wines and it has rubbed of on the Rhone valley also. These are wonderful, complex, elegant wines that sometimes leave you speechless. But what you do not know is that some of these wines are at a very reasonable price. What is reasonable you say? Anywhere between 10 and 30 dollars will get you a fine wine. I have herd people tell me that I'm full of crap and a few other choice words but when I show them the bottles and they taste the wine, their hooked. So without further ado, I will give you my choices of French wines that will complement you cellar.


WHITES

CHATEAU GUIBON ENTRE-DEUX-MERS 2010

It goes great with chicken or fish!

This is a wonderful blend of Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle. The Entre Deux Mers region is located between the Dordogne and Garonne rivers in the southeastern area of France in Bordeaux Region. This is a dry white wine with a citrus, peach and mineral flavor that leaves you with a crisp clean taste and a slight grapefruit finish. I love this wine and I always have a bottle in my wine cooler ready to go when the mood strikes me.




LES MARTINIERES SPECIAL FRUITS DE MER 2010

This is a Muscadet wine from Loir et Cher the Loire Valley. A grapefruit flavor with a clean mineral taste (those little bubbles on the back of your tongue) and light  body. A great summer wine between 7 and 12 dollars it's very affordable to keep a half a case on hand. Another great wine that goes with mussels, clams and oysters and will be a great compliment with a light bodied fish. I can't wait to visit France and have this wonderful wine at the wineries. 
















REDS


CHATEAU LOUISTEAUNEUF 2009

Chateau Louisteauneuf is from Mendoc of Bordeaux Region and has a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. A very elegant wine with a meld of complex flavors that work together. The tannins are not overbearing but gives it a wonderful finish. This wine will go with beef, lamb and a nice red pasta sauce. Don't be afraid of the prices of Bordeaux wines. Many of these prices are very reasonable under 30 dollars a bottle which is great for Bordeaux wines. You will just have to do a little shopping to find the one you want.

CHATEAU LANESSAN DELBOS BOUTEILLER 2000

Chateau Lanessan is in the Haut-Mendoc area of the Bordeaux Region. The wine is made up of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 35 percent Merlot, 4 percent Petit Verdot and 1 percent Cabernet Franc. This reticular wine is an awesome wine for right around 30 dollars. Not 50, not 100, and not 1000 dollars, 30 dollars. If you are having a special night, trying to impress someone and not wanting to break the bank or just wanting to have a great wine this is the one you want to buy. The elegant plum and black cherry flavor and a balanced tannin will make you sit back and go aaaaahhhhhhhh. A full bodied wine for those cab junkies this will give you that extra layer of velvet elegance to make you want more. Shop around a little for this wine and you might find it on sale for a great price. 










To sum up, do not be afraid of French wines they might surprise you. And if you are a Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon fan, give some of these wines a try and you might be surprised! Enjoy and let me know what you think.

It's a local thing....

I love going to my local breweries. There is nothing better than having a fresh and crafted beer and a little conversation with the brewer. Not to mention the wonderful men and women that serve me the beer. (mostly the women)

TEQUESTA BREWING COMPANY

The first place that I love to go to is the Tequesta Brewing Company. It's located in Tequesta, FL which is right next to Jupiter, FL. I love the Gnarly Barley it's a great pale ale with the right

Awesome looking taps.

amount of hops to balance the flavor. They have several beers on tap and a couple of seasonals. They have a small cafe attached to the bar and a full restaurant with the brewery. The Corner Cafe has some great food and they pair the food with the beer. The Tequesta Brewing Company beer list has everything the beer nerd needs to quench their thirst. Just follow the link and you will not go wrong.

Haydee.

BB Kings Blues Brew

BB KINGS BLUES CLUB

If you have never been to BB kings then you don't know what you are missing. Most folks think that it's a great place for drinks and down home blues, but there is more to this club. BB Kings blues brew is a great pale ale that has a great flavor with a clean finish. Light on the hops but enough to balance the flavor to give you a nice flavor. Check out the bartender, Haydee when you get there (she is as nice as she is pretty) and tell her that Toby sent you..

 GUANABANAS
This is one of my favorite places to go. It's right on the intercostal in Jupiter and has that funky island local hang out feel to it. Speaking of funky island local, St. John Brewers has a great ale called tropical mango. It's a light pale ale with a balance of malt and hops with a great mango flavor. A one of a kind ale that is a must very if you can get your hands on one. If you can't find one, just come on over to Guanabanas and  get the tropical atmosphere with all of the mango ale you can drink. It's not a bad way to spend your Saturday afternoon.

St. John Brewers Tropical Mango Ale.

To sum up Support you local brewers and have a pint...or two... or three or whatever you feel like. Craft beer is here to stay and I for one am happy as all get out!

All bottled up and no place to go for two weeks!

Sanitizing the bottles and filling
them with the elixir of life.

It's bottling time and I was more than ready to get this beer into bottles and then wait..........again. Sanitizing is the most important thing in brewing beer. If it ain't clean, it ain't good beer. I sanitized 48 bottles and had to sanitize two more at the end of the bottle filling because, there was more beer! As I was filling the bottles, I was capping them also. I did pretty good, only screwed up two of them. The extra two bottled were the ceramic flip top lids (you know the green bottle ones) so it was pretty hard to mess those up. 

Sanitized caps on the bottles and ready for the capper.

Once all of the bottles were capped. I stored them away and cleaned all of my equipment. Cleaning the fermenter was a pain in the ass but it is one of the chores of brewing beer. So after everything was cleaned and put away, I had a beer to celebrate! My first batch in the bottle and on the path to conditioning and ready for drinking. Waiting two weeks to let the bottles condition allows the beer to settle and mature for the right taste. When moving the finished beer from the fermenter to the bottling container, a sugar water mixture was added to pressurize and add CO2 to the beer for the bubbles.

Capping the bottles.

I have a smashing pumpkin ale that will be my next batch and that I will let sit in bottles until October. Nothing like having a great pumpkin ale for the fall. 

Hey Dude, I'm Making Beer!

So I have ventured in to the world of home brewing. I figure if I can make it for .50 to .75 cents a bottle instead of going out and spending around 5 or 6 bucks for a bottle, I'll have enough money to buy a bar in about 30 or 40 years..... that's if everything works out of course.

So for those of you that don't know the process of making beer, I'll give you lesson in home brewing.

STEP ONE.


Get yourself a home brewers kit. There are several places on the internet to purchase such kit from several places. I will not recommend any at this point but the kits are basic and cost anywhere between 30 bucks to a couple of hundred dollars. Depending on what you want to brew, you may need a secondary brewing kit which includes a carboy (it looks like a 5 gallon water bottle that you get at the grocery store.). With your kit you need to order you beer recipe kit. These kits range from porters to ales to Belgian abbeys to lagers to wheat beers. It's just a preference on what you want to start with. I started with a red irish ale which I think is the best everyday drinking beer.....just me.


STEP TWO.
BREWING PROCESS.


Your kit will complete with malts, yeast, malt extract, hops and other ingredients that it takes to make the beer for the kit you ordered. I ordered the 5 gallon kit so you need a bigger pot to make the beer with. Preferably a 6 gallon pot to start the boil with. I added 2 1/2 gallons of water to the pot and started to soak my malts for 20 minutes. This is what gives the beer its color and flavor. My kit called to soak the malts for 20 minutes or to 170 degrees. I let it soak for a bit longer to give it a bit more flavor. After the soak time for the malts, I brought the water to a boil and was ready to add the malt extract. The extract is very thick and comes in a half gallon bottle. (for other kits it may be different) Once it was at a boil, I took the pot off the fire and added the extract stirring as I added it. Once the extract was added, I put the pot back on the burner to bring it to a boil. Depending on the recipe, you may add hops at this time. This is a low boil and will happen for about 60 minutes. during this time depending on the recipe, you may add different ingredients to the recipe according to what is needed.

I had to switch from inside to outside because I could not get a boil going so I switched to my gas grill with a side burner to finally get the boil going. IN THE MEAN TIME........
I decided to have an Old Pecilier to pass the time. It would be a good thing to set timers to add your ingredients at specific times. If you are like me, a person who drinks beer, you will need timers to let you know when you need to add ingredients. For us who have CRS syndrome (can't remember shit) a timer is the way to go.





STEP TWO. 
SANITIZE.

It is a necessity to sanitize you equipment. It keeps the outside bacteria and wild yeast from fermenting your beer by mistake. It sucks when the beer taste like Natty light. So you must sanitize everything that comes into contact with the beer for at least 2 minutes in the sanitizer. DO NOT rinse the equipment out. Use it fresh from the sanitizer and go to the next step. SANITIZE EVERYTHING! NO QUESTIONS!

STEP THREE.
WORT.
The boil mix when you are finished is called wort or unfermented beer. This is a very critical stage in the life of beer because it is very vulnerable to outside influences. This is a very sterile mix and is ready for fermentation.  You must cool the wort to between 100 and 76 degrees to add the brewers yeast to start the fermentation. I cooled mine with the lid on to about 78 degrees and added my yeast at that time. When the wort is cooled, it must be transferred to the fermentation container and water added to reach 5 gallons. REFERENCE: the cleaner the water, the better the beer. If your tap water taste like shit, so will your beer. Use filtered or spring water for your beer. It makes better beer.


STEP FOUR.
FERMENTATION.

When you fill the fermentation container with the wort and water to make 5 gallons, you roll the container to mix the water and wort. Allow to settle and add the yeast. I had a dry yeast and during my water and wort process I kept my container covered. I added the yeast, filled the air lock with sanitizer and sealed the fermentation container. DEEP BREATH. The major process is finished. Now it is time to let the yeast do all of the work and FERMENT THE DAMN BEER! Sorry, in a bit of a hurry. I'll get in line and let the mix do it's job. IDEA! I'll go and drink different kinds of beer, and get ideas on how to make better beer! Well, it was a good idea to begin with but going to World of Beer on a Friday night with a band was great for the moment, but I never remember what I did the next day. CRS Syndrome.

So I am now a week into my fermentation process and I used the beer thief ( check you kit for this item)
to check my hydrometer reading and taste the beer. Understand that the beer is flat and is incomplete in the process but I think that my beer has potential. Another week or so in fermentation and I'll be ready to bottle. So much for this step and I hope I have given you the idea that anybody can make their own beer.As one of the instructions told me, it's like making mac and cheese!. OKAY! I'll give you the bottling part next time!