Chocolate Covered Candied Malt

Okay so when I said I'd be out of commission for a week I totally lied. Turns out our boy is really uninterested in cooperating and so Jo's still pregnant. Crazy. Instead of a break, I'll finally talk about the really amazing chocolate covered candied malt that I made for my birthday a couple weeks ago. I originally got this idea from the Brewer's Plate as The Bent Spoon, an ice cream place in Princeton, brought some malt ice cream with this stuff mixed into it. When I was thinking about what to do for my birthday, I decided to remake that except with a white chocolate ice cream base which meant making the chocolate covered malt. The Bent Spoon people were nice enough to respond to a twitter question and suggested some types of malts to use. They also said tuiihat they candied it before covering it in chocolate which I would never have done otherwise so double bonus.

To start, obviously you'll need to buy ingredients. If you aren't a homebrewer, first you'll go to a homebrew store and buy one pound bags of malt. I bought two bags but 2 lbs is quite a bit more than you probably want. Just use your judgment, it's not like they are expensive at $2.50 or whatever a bag. As far as the type of malt, the flavors were muted a bit in the final product so go with one that tastes reasonably good raw but that's about all that matters.

Manzanita Brewing Serenity

I don't know where Manzanita brewing is located other than California nor had I ever heard of it before getting this bottle. But, my San Diego buddy sent me this and I finally opened it this weekend. He rightfully mocked me since he sent it like 2 years ago and it took me this long to open it. I drink things slowly, what do you want. Serenity is a barrel aged barleywine.

Sweet, caramel nose, hints of vanilla, bourbon, and a little alcohol. Basically what you'd expect from the style. Body followed with more caramel, vanilla, and bourbon, but did finish with a decent amount of harsh alcohol. Like usual, the alcohol did fade quite a bit as my palate adjusted but it was still pretty present. Good up front and, if the alcohol was a bit more under control, this would be above average. As it stands, if you don't mind alcohol burn, then this is worth a try if you see it but for others it's probably a pass.

Update: Forgot to mention, I'm going to be MIA until at least next Wednesday. Possibly longer, but I don't know what my time will be like coming up since we're having our baby any day now so things may be sporadic longer than that. We'll see. Definitely nothing before Wednesday though.

First trip to Forest & Main

For my birthday last week, my very pregnant wife suggested we check out Forest & Main, a new brewpub that opened up in Ambler last year. I've been wanting to get out there forever as I've heard great things about it, but it's just a bit further than Tired Hands and not so conveniently on the way home from my wife's work. Since she's awesome or possibly crazy from the pregnancy, she drove us there even when she couldn't enjoy it. And, again, let me stress that she suggested it. This was not my idea but I was not about to turn her down.

When we got there, they had six beers available with the choice of getting a flight of four so that's what I did.

Always Going to Tired Hands but Never Often Enough

With all the happenings in my life, I don't get to Tired Hands as often as I'd like. Honestly, I'd love to go once a week which will never happen but still, I can wish. This time I planned the visit partially since it was the week of my birthday plus I had a bottle I needed to pick up and it was overstaying its welcome in their cellar.

When I got there I started with Wisdom Teeth, the fourth in their solera series.

Mellody Brewing Ryeghteous Brown Ale

Another in Sean Mellody's Tasting Jawn is his Ryeghteous Brown Ale. The style is what you'd expect (mostly) in that it's a brown ale brewed with rye along with some smoked malt (update: no smoked malt). I'll note that if Sean is interested in making this one of his flagship beers, he's going to need to change the name. Sixpoint has already sent a cease & desist letter to one brewery so they definitely won't let this stand.

Smelled of toasted nuts and roast. Not much from the rye or the smoked malt but the smokiness may have blended into the roast. Body followed with more roast and more toasted nuttiness with a bit of cherry fruitiness in the finish. The roast was aggressive but not too aggressive. If you've ever had Cigar City's Maduro Brown Ale, it's pretty similar to that. My wife is a big fan of brown ales and liked this which is a good sign. Very pretty beer too, nice clarity. It doesn't really affect the flavor but it's still nice.

Of the three beers he gave us this time, I am your Patersbier, Sour Cherry Patersbier, and Ryeghteous Brown, I liked this one the most. Not terribly surprising, though, since this is the closest to my preferred styles but still.

Mellody Brewing I Am Your Patersbier

Another beer in Sean Mellody's Tastingjawn is 'I am your Patersbier'. This is a representation of an Abbey table beer so lighter in ABV and body. Also, the name automatically makes me think of Star Wars, don't know about you.

Kind of a grassy, fruity, toasted malt nose. The fruitiness is the most obvious note but the malt in the back comes through as well. Similar flavors followed in the body with a fruity, berry like flavor being first and foremost followed by a bit of yeastiness and some sweetness. Considering this was brewed as an easy drinking dinner beer, it hits its mark for sure. Not really something I'd grab a lot of since I lean towards heavier things, but it was nice being able to try it twice.

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break

I'd been hearing a lot about this one on the interwebs and finally decided to pick up a bottle when Jo and I were in Raleigh for a wedding. It wasn't cheap but it was way cheaper than buying it here in Philly at least. But, really, that goes without saying if you've ever bought something in the area. Imperial Biscotti Break is an imperial stout brewed with coffee and some other ingredients that I can't remember. I'm so helpful I know.

Sweet molasses and brown sugar nose with some coffee in the back. Body was similar with coffee in the front mixed with molasses and a light roasty bitterness being added. Finished with some warming, but not overpowering, notes of alcohol. If you're sensitive to that flavor, you might pick it up more than I did so keep that in mind. It is a strong beer so not real suprising. Just be aware it's a bit sweet so if that's your kind of thing in a stout, this is totally for you and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

The Bruery Humulus Lager

Stopped in at Kite & Key this week and decided on a beer from The Bruery that I've seen a couple times but never ordered. I actually was deciding between the Bullfrog Edgar IPA and the Humulus Lager, but decided I liked the latter better after having a small sample of both. Also, note that The Bruery calls this a lager, more specifically a pilsener, but really it's much closer to an IPA if you are looking for a style comparison. At least in my opinion.

Nice tropical nose, a little fruity and a little citrusy. Up front, there was a burst of berry fruit which was followed by some bitterness from the hops. More berry fruitiness came out to finish things off. Pretty good beer regardless of the style. The Bruery once said they'd never brew an IPA and they are still technically correct. And you know how the saying goes, technically correct is the best kind of correct.

Stone Saison du Buff aged in Red Wine Barrels

This was sent to me forever ago by my buddy in San Diego and was a great surprise just for its uniqueness. I've never actually had the original Saison du Buff, which is kind of funny or dumb depending on who you ask considering the distribution but whatever. So this is obviously a saison aged in red wine barrels and this version was brewed by Stone. (There were versions brewed by Stone, Victory, and Dogfish Head which is why I'm specifying the brewery like that.)

Big herbal nose with a little fruitiness in the back. The barrel is really minimal there. First sip was again sharply herbal with a bit of bitterness and then some light apple and cherry fruit flavors. The latter are almost definitely from the aging and the former flavors from the base. I wonder if the saison part was brighter or even more herbal when fresh, but since I've never had it, I dunno. Still, it was tasty enough though I wish the red wine barrel had imparted a bit more flavor. Thanks Eric!

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

It's been pretty quiet over here and sorry about that. Had some stuff happen and was away from the house for a bit. But, I'm mostly back now so here's a short one, some simple thoughts on Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout. Think the bottle was around a year old but I don't know for sure.

Super roasty nose with hints of chocolate. Basically what you'd expect from a stout. Surprisingly thick body though. First sip had a mix of bitter, roasty hops and burnt, smoky roast. Basically continued that way with only real change being the bitterness lessening as my palate adjusted to it. Solid offering from Great Divide and a tasty imperial stout. They make four different variations on this, too, which are all pretty good as well.