10 Beers You Should Try, Part 1

This is the first of many posts with a list of ten beers I recommend you try. I realize not everyone will like the beers I suggest, but if you enjoy beer, I guarantee you will find one you love on this post or future "10 Beers You Should Try" posts.

 

As with most homebrewers, I am sometimes called a "Beer Snob" when out at bars or at events with friends or family. Much like with food, I feel it is silly to consistently consume a lower quality item if you enjoy a higher quality item. Does that mean I only drink or eat the best food? No. My beer choice hinges on availability, the people I am with and prices.

 

On this particular list you may notice a large number of beers from the country of Belgium. Anyone that knows me, knows I love Belgian beer!

 

Support your local carry-out and buy one or all of these great beers!

 

These are listed in no particular order.

1. Great Lakes Burning River (US Pale Ale)

2. Paulaner Hefeweizen (German Hefeweizen)

3. Hacker-Pschorr Weisse (German Wheat)

4. Bell's Two Hearted Ale (US IPA)

5. Lindemans Cassis (Belgian Black Currant Lambic)

6. Sierra Nevada Celebration (US Seasonal Ale)

7. Saison Dupont (Belgian Farmhouse Ale)

8. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (Canadian Belgian Style Golden Ale)

9. Chimay Red (Belgian Trappist Beer)

10. Duvel (Belgian Golden Ale)

Review of WV Microbrews

This is the first of several beer reviews. I will typically cover microbrew beers or beers from across the ocean. Look for a post in the coming weeks, asking for beer/bar reviews by guest contributors.

 

This past weekend, I went on a skiing trip with a group of guys to West Virginia. I looked forward to this trip, not only because of the great snow base and forecasted weather, but there were a couple microbreweries that we planned to visit. We actually booked a room at a lodge beside one of the brewpubs, Blackwater Brewing Company. Our trip to West Virginia took longer than expected, due to the weather, so we were definitely ready to try some beer. Part of the group grabbed a table at Blackwater and had some beer ready for us when we arrived. My first glass was Parsons Porter. It had a good dark brown color from the roasted malt, but the flavor was a little weak. My next glass was the Blackwater IPA. I am a huge fan of pale ales so I thought this was a good choice. Again, the beer had good color, but the flavor was not as strong as I had hoped. I love hops, so I tend to prefer an IPA with a strong hop presence that creates a bitter taste and aromatic experience. Overall I was a bit disappointed with the beer. I commend the fact that this establishment is open in the small town of Davis, providing people with something other than Budweiser. I think they just need to tweak their recipes to add a little flavor. I also wonder how fresh the beer is, considering the place was practically empty on a Saturday night. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to visit Mountain State Brewing Company, in nearby Thomas, West Virginia.

On Sunday we did some cross country skiing at White Grass in Davis, West Virginia. It was a lot of fun, although my lack of experience showed as I stumbled a few times. We finished in the early afternoon and determined we would hit a restaurant on the way back. One of the guys, Mike, a fellow homebrewer, knew the area and recommended CJ Maggie's because they stock West Virginia Brewing Company (website unknown) beer. We grabbed dinner at the Buckhannon location. After a day out in the cold, I enjoyed a burger, fries and an Appalachian Ale. It was a decent brown ale that went down easy. There were hints of nut, but the beer was thin and didn't really coat the tongue. I would like to visit the brewpub in Morgantown to try their other varieties.

Brewing Equipment

Below are items you need to brew basic partial mash beer. Some homebrew shops make nice kits that will give you most of this equipment.

Large Brewpot
This pot should be 5-8 gallons and made of stainless steel or enamel.

Heating Source
A burner on your stove should work, but realize it takes a while to boil 3-4 gallons of water, especially with electric. I recommend buying a turkey fryer burner, which operates with a propane gas tank. Buy your turkey fryer burner in early December when they go on sale after Thanksgiving, or ask friends/relatives if you can borrow one. Your propane gas tank from the backyard grill will power the burner.

Sanitizing Solution
You do not need to worry about sanitizing until you are done boiling and placing the wort in the primary fermenter. The primary and secondary fermenter and bottles, along with all items used in those phases must be sanitized. Read this previous entry for my recommended sanitizers.

Primary Fermenter
Most people start out by using a 6 or 6.5 gallon food grade plastic bucket with a lid, and these usually work well. Make sure the bucket is new and be careful to prevent scratches that can occur when objects or other buckets are stored inside the bucket. Scratches can harbor microorganisms that can damage your beer. Once your budget allows, buy a 6 or 6.5 gallon glass carboy, which is a glass water jug. Glass is not porous like plastic, it is more difficult for items to grow on the walls, and glass allows you to monitor the fermentation process. The bucket/carboy must have a lid seal, and an airlock. The airlock is filled with water, which allows built up carbon dioxide to escape, but it is a one way system preventing microorganisms from entering.

Thermometers
Buy one sticker thermometer for all of you fermentation buckets/carboys. You will also need a floating thermometer, which can be placed into the boiling wort and when taking specific gravity measurements.

Hydrometer
A hydrometer looks like a floating thermometer, but it has three different scales to measure liquid density, sugar percentage, and potential alcohol. You first take a hydrometer reading after the boiled wort cools down, before the yeast is pitched. It is important to record the temperature along with the specific gravity reading. Take one more thermometer/hydrometer reading after the beer has fermented, before you add the priming sugar for bottling. With these two specific gravity readings you can determine the final alcohol content. The thermometer readings are used to scale the specific gravity readings for the standard formula. Your hydrometer should come with the proper tables and equations.

Spoon
A long stainless steel spoon is ideal for stirring the wort during the boil.

Sanitization

Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize......it can't be said too many times. Once the wort is done boiling, everything that comes into contact with beer, including containers and bottles, must be clean and sanitized. If you need to clean, I recommend using Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW), but remember it is not a sanitizer. Everything must be sanitized. One Step is an oxygen based cleaner/sanitizer that will leave no film, it sanitizes in two minutes and requires no rinsing. Another good sanitizer is BTF Iodophor, which uses iodine and requires only two minutes of contact. One other sanitizer I have used is Star San, which is a food grade acid-based sanitizer. It does not require rinsing and it only takes one minute of contact. This is good to use, because it foams and can penetrate cracks. Be sure to wear rubber gloves when handling all sanitized equipment.

Christmas Ale Recipe

Yes, it is a little late for Christmas Ale, but this is a decent winter beer that can be enjoyed in the remaining cool months. The shelf life is pretty good. I made this one in November 2005 and I was able to enjoy a few bottles in Christmas 2006. With all the spices it is pretty similar to Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Don't be tempted to up the amount of ginger, it is potent. My hydrometer meter readings were not accurate, so I can't tell you the exact readings or the potential alcohol.

Christmas Ale 2005

5 Gallons

4 lbs. light malt extract

4 lbs. amber malt extract

1/2 lb. 40L crystal malt, freshly ground

2.0 oz. black patent malt, freshly ground

1 lb. clover honey

0.5-0.75 oz. fresh ginger root

0.5 oz. dried orange

6 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp. of Irish moss

1.5 tsp. of gypsum

1.0 oz. Cascade hops 5.5% (60 min)

0.5 oz. Cascade hops 5.5% (10 min)

1 pkg. liquid ale yeast

¾ cups corn sugar

Boil 3-4 gallons in your brewpot, add 1.5 tsp of gypsum. Let the water cool to 140 degrees. Add 1 lb. crystal malt to grain sack, sit in boiling beer. Add 2 oz. black patent malt to grain sack, sit in boil at the same time as crystal malt. Heat water and grain to near boil around 155 degrees. Turn off the heat and remove the grain bags. Add 4 lbs each of both extracts directly into the water. Bring the water to a boil, dissolving the extract. Keep stirring to avoid a boil over. Add 1 oz of hops pellets. Boil for one hour, while you add 1 lb clover honey, 6 inches of cinnamon stick in a grain sack, 0.75 oz of fresh grated ginger root and 0.5 oz dried orange. In the last 10 minutes of the hour add 1 teaspoon of Irish moss and 0.5 oz of hops pellets. Remove the cinnamon grain sack. Cool the wort as usual with a wort chiller or ice bath. Then put the wort in the primary fermenter, topping off with cool water to make it five gallons. Record the hydrometer and temperature readings and pitch the yeast once it reaches 65-70 degrees. Primary should take 5-8 days. Once the bubbles stop coming out of the air lock it is time for the secondary. Secondary fermentation should take an additional week. Check the hydrometer and thermometer reading after secondary fermentation is done, to determine the final alcohol content. For bottling, boil ¾ cups corn sugar with 2 cups of water. Let the bottles sit for at least two weeks in a cool dark area. Refrigerate all bottles for at least 24 hours before drinking.

Story Time

Ok, from time to time, I will tell stories relating to beer. I encourage you to send stories to be posted, or post comments to stories as long as they are true. I don't want people to send stories making fun of another person, unless I have prior written consent of all the parties involved. I'll be the one to review the stories, and I will do my best to check and confirm stories.

 

I would post the link to the online video for this story, but unfortunately it was taken off the Adidas website months ago. I was at the 2006 Boston Marathon Expo last April. Adidas, one of the main sponsors, had a booth setup where a cameraman asked you to state to the camera why you run marathons. I decided to jump in line, even though I did not have my answer ready. I listened to people in front of me telling boring and sometimes depressing stories regarding weight loss, deceased relatives, etc. I determined my response would be original and somewhat humorous. My answer came to me as a vision, right before I walked in front of the camera. When asked why I run, I replied "There is nothing quite like a greasy burger and fries along with a Sam Adams beer after the Boston Marathon." The cameraman did a double take, as my answer clearly caught him off guard. He chuckled, looked at me and then asked, "Do you want to do another take?" I said, "No, I think that works." My dad, outside the booth laughed and a lady next to him said there was no way a Boston runner would run for beer, and my dad replied, "He does." I wrote Sam Adams regarding my online video and the suggestion of a Samuel Adams Beergarden after the race, but all I got in response was a newsletter.

How did I come up with the name?

I have been asked how I came up the name Näf-Woods Homebrew. As you can see, there are two last names separated by a hyphen. I realized that many breweries use last names, so I figured I would do the same. I wanted to honor the fact that one side of my family is a high percentage German, while the other side is a high percentage English/Scottish. Näf is one variation of my last name, which can be found in Germany and Switzerland. Woods is one of the last names used by my English ancestors. I thought both names were good clear representations of my heritage. Next time you drink one of my homebrews you can tell your buddy why the bottle label says Näf-Woods Homebrew!

Ale vs. Lager

One question that I seem to hear often is, "What is the difference between an ale and a lager?" Both beers can start with very similar ingredients, but the yeast and fermentation temperature are quite different. That in turn produces a very different tasting beer.

Ale
Ales are almost always made with a top fermenting yeast at temperatures typically between 60 and 75 degrees. The higher temperature leads to quicker fermentation. Ales tend to take on flavors not found in lagers. Most often those flavors can resemble a sweet fruit taste. Some typical types of ales are Pale Ale, India Pale Ale, Barley Wine, Belgian Ale, English/Scottish Ale, Dark Ale, and German Ales. Some common brands of ales are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Guniness Stout, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Paulaner Hefeweizen, Newcastle Brown Ale, Dogfish Head India Pale Ale and Bass Ale.

Lagers
Lagers use a bottom fermenting yeast and are stored for long periods of time during fermentation in cool temperatures typically in the range of 45-55 degrees for primary and 35-40 degrees for secondary fermentation. The beer bottles then are usually stored in a fridge for weeks or months at a temperature near 32 degrees. The lenghty cool fermentation produces a much smoother beer, free from the esthers and flavors that are found in ales. Some of the common types of lagers include Dortmund, Dunkel, Pilsner, Bock/Dopplebock, Märzen/Oktoberfest and Helles. Many of the familar brands of lager are Budweiser, Miller High Life, Samual Adams Boston Lager, Stella Artois, Warsteiner Dunkel, Löwenbräu, Spaten Oktoberfest, Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold and Pilsner Urquell.

Homebrewing Ales and Lagers
For homebrewing it is most common to make ales, due to the cold and lengthy fermentation required for lagers. Most ales can be stored in the basement and the temperature will be adequate for fermentation. Lagers were originally stored in caves, lakes or even rivers to keep the temperature low. Today you can brew a lager at home with a dedicated fridge that allows you to adjust the temperature properly.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for Näf-Woods Homebrew. I will post recipes, comments, news, opinions, etc regarding homebrewing. The discussions will also cover microbrew beer in the US and beers from around the world. I hope you keep checking back, and feel free to contact me and post your opinions. Prost!