Redeeming my homebrew...

I'm a bit disappointed in my recent homebrewing efforts.  I picked up a Woodforde's Wherry kit from Beers of the World (it's actually a very good English Bitter, in its commercial form).  Think the kit must have been sitting on the shelf for a while, because the brew has this awful twang to the flavour - I just can't bring myself to drink the stuff.  

So, I am throwing it all out and starting afresh!  Northern Brewer has Wyeast's 1469 (West Yorkshire Ale) yeast in stock right now, which is reportedly the yeast that Timothy Taylor uses to make its Landlord bitter - one of my absolute favourite beers from old Blighty.  So, I've ordered their Innkeeper extract kit which is their Landlord clone.  It's odd because their version is very different from Graham Wheeler's recipe in 'Brew Your Own British Real Ale'; however, I'd rather buy this kit right now than have to search for obscure hop and malt varieties, then have to convert from Metric to US units, then learn Wheeler's brewing process, etc etc.  I'll get to that one eventually, I promise.  But for now, this kit will do very nicely.  

Exciting stuff!  I'm expecting to take delivery of the kit on Monday.  Will post on my exploits after it's brewed.

A few updates...

Since my last review (which was back in...JULY?!?  I really need to update this thing more), I've got a couple of updates for you.

The first thing I want to mention is that my good friends at Upstate Brewing Co. have finally found a home for their microbrewery and we can expect to see their fine beers commercially available early next year.  I've been following these guys since I first discovered their website earlier this year and it's fantastic to see their plans coming together.  These guys are particularly notable for their Common Sense Ale, which is a revival of the old Kentucky Common style popular in pre-Prohibition days.  Looking forward to trying it!

I've also gone through a whole batch of homebrewed British bitter (with a little help from my #1 fan and some friends), which was good but a little on the hoppy side for my liking.  The instructions said to dry-hop - this may have been the cause.  I have a second batch of Belgian ale (The Muscles from Brussels, Mk II) - this time I halved the bittering hops and used Wyeast 1214 (Belgian Abbey) to ferment, it worked out pretty well!  I'll have a full post on that soon.  I'm also bottle-conditioning my Winter Spiced Ale, in 22oz bottles.  that should be ready just in time for Christmas.

All in all, it's been a busy, beerful few months!  Watch this space, Upstate Brews is coming back...

Don't worry, we'll be back soon!

The past few days have been a bit quiet on the blogging front, and I do apologise - it was my birthday yesterday and I spent most of the weekend doing vital beer-related research for the blog.  I'll post my findings sometime later this week - sooner, rather than later, I hope.

In the meantime, please enjoy this picture of Custom Brewcrafters, and prepare yourselves for the awesomeness that is forthcoming!

New and Improved Beer Reviews!

Greetings, readers!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update, but a lot's been going on, particularly on the Upstate Brews front.

First of all, I've now discovered the BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program)! This is a brilliant way to get to know beer on a more intimate level. One of the most impressive aspects of the BJCP is its Style Guide, which lists (pretty accurately, if the British styles are anything to go by) tasting guidelines on all the major beer, mead, perry and cider styles in the Western world. It's available as a PDF, a booklet, or as an app on your smartphone, and it'll greatly broaden your horizons on beer appreciation.   

The BJCP also holds training and examinations for members to become Certified Beer Judges (as the name suggests).  I'm seriously considering training, I think it'll be a great thing for this blog if I can be a bit more articulate in my reviews.  One thing I've noticed about my earlier reviews is that they're a bit vague about certain details in the aroma and flavour of the brew under my beady eye.  

I had the opportunity last weekend to be involved with the UNYHA homebrewing competition.  In addition to submitting my latest homebrew, I was privileged to help out with judging some of the styles - effectively putting into practice what I've picked up from the BJCP.  It was tremendous fun, I highly recommend getting involved with local homebrewing associations and competitions - you'll learn a lot. 

So, to sum up - expect my future reviews to be a bit more specific and detailed.  I'm not going to give a full BJCP-style review, but I'll probably refer to the Style Guide and revise my scoring system.

Look out for some more reviews coming very soon!

And like a revived corpse...

..the Upstate Brews guy emerges from the blogosphere's graveyard.


Over the past month or so, I've tried several Upstate wonders, including:

• CB's Jack (a CB Scotch Ale that's been aged in bourbon barrels, giving it a lovely, smokey, whisky-like flavour)

• War of 1812 Amber Ale (brewed by Sacketts Harbor Brewing Company; I've only been able to find this at Scotch & Sirloin and Beers of the World but it's well worth the effort to find it).

• Ithaca Beer Company's CascaZilla (lots of fresh hops in a light ale which reminds me of the springtime)

• CB's Christmas Ale (served way too cold at a sports bar; given the time to acclimatise, it was actually pretty nice, kind of like a Christmassy malt loaf in a glass)

• CB's Caged Alpha Monkey (CB's brand new IPA - I know I've gone on about hating hoppy IPAs on this blog, but the hops were so fresh-tasting in this one that it may have changed my mind.  I think they must have gone light on bittering hops and heavier on the finishing hops).

I've also been busily working on my first batch of homebrew, thanks to my wonderful in-laws (who bought me all the equipment as a Christmas present).  It'll be the subject of my next post, so for now all I'll reveal is that it's a dark ale named Code: Frankenstein.  Appropriate, don't you think, given my recent reanimation?

Transmission interrupted...

I am moving house this week and so have less time to drink and review beer than usual.  I do have a review up my sleeve which I'm planning to publish tonight, and I hope to be back to running at full capacity by this weekend.

Thanks for reading and keep a look out for any brews you think I should try!

Now easier to comment!

I've now made it easier for you to comment - you don't need an OpenID anymore!

Comments will be moderated, but I'll take a pretty liberal policy with this - unless you say something truly obscene I'm going to publish it.

More beer coming soon!  In the meantime check out my links and explore some of the wonderful beers being crafted in Upstate NY - and please make suggestions for any I've missed out.