New Albion Ale Clone by Wood Shoe Brew House

New Albion bubbling on the left

On Basic Brewing Radio, Jack McAuliffe joined James, Steve and Andy to brew up a clone of the original New Albion Ale. It was very interesting to hear a first hand perspective from the originator of New Albion brewing, the first brewpub of the modern era that proved the possibility of craft beer.

One of my initial allures of homebrewing was the chance to brew historical recreations. To date, I've done one previously, a clone of the original 1983 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale recipe from Charlie Papazian's book Microbrewed Adventures. I don't have notes but remember the comparison of the old to the modern standard being enjoyable and enlightening. Following the recipe from Brew Your Own, I've taken on my second historical beer, in part because I didn't have enough sense to pick up a six pack of the Sam Adams version earlier this year.

New Albion Ale by Wooden Shoe Brew House: off white head lingers a bit with a light lace; color is brown to caramel with gold highlights; floral and citrus of the Cascade comes through very lightly over sweet caramel; body is light without being thin, letting the sweet and spice wash over the tongue.

My version of New Albion Ale

Vaguely reminiscent of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Summit EPA. Not as a direct comparison, but more in that New Albion Ale tastes old school: heavy sweet malt with a light, barely-there hop nose and tingle on the tongue. Similar to the above named pale ales that are a part of the origin story of craft beer, it actually felt like drinking a time warp; an American pale ale today generally won't be this malty with a singular in the hop note. Many BA reviews alluded to the ale tasting more like an English bitter than an APA, which makes sense based on the London Ale yeast used in the recipe and the history of Jack McAuliffe's European models that inspired the brewery.

I reviewed the Basic Brewing Video tasting notes that compared the same recipe I brewed to the Sam Adams version. Based on their description and color comparison, I feel pretty confident that my version is close to the intended brew. In spite of my enjoymetn, the overall rating on BA and Ratebeer are relatively low. However it seems to me that many of the beer geeks are disappointed by drinking with a poor paradigm.

Each site lists New Albion Ale as an American Pale Ale, which it rightly falls short of when contrasted with highly hopped APAs that approach or surpass bitterness levels of my first India Pale Ales a decade ago. Just like reading literature, the standards of the time period must be considered to full understand a work. While I was 11 when New Albion opened, I still remember the wasteland of my father's beer drinking world of the 1970s and early 80s. Drinking New Albion Ale with that frame of mind greatly enhances the experience and let's me see how this beer must have been a revelation to early beer geeks. With adjusted expectations, this beer is growing on me as I work my way through my bottles. For me, this has been a very worthy experiment to be able to taste a reincarnation of the birth of craft beer. I recommend brewing up a batch of history to anyone wanting this unique experience.

Review of Beginning Homebrew DVD

Beginning Homebrew pics from their website

A few days I ago, an email for Beginning Homebrew DVD was in my inbox.  I'm on innumerable email lists and other beer related sites, so I didn't think anything of it.  Reading closer, it was a request to review the DVD as a beer blogger.  First time I've had such a request, so it was pretty cool when I realized what it meant. The video is posted for free online temporarily at their website in honor of AHA Big Brew for National Homebrew Day.  So (with full disclosure that this is a prompted request), here we go.

In short, I found the advice to be sound and easy to digest, filled with pretty much all of the standard necessary advice for a novice homebrewer.  Plus, it fulfills one of the major requirements of learning how to brew: watch someone else brew.  Plus, on the website there's a brewing flowchart and a free E-book download that's a supplement to the video. Between the video and the online support, I'm quite convinced that a perfectly good batch of brew will be had with these directions. Probably the strongest part of the video is that it takes into consideration that different levels of commitment and resources available to a new brewer, and offers multiple suggestions for various parts of the brewing process.

I had a few minor issues with the video that I think could be improved upon to help neophytes.  First, some of the directions lacked clarity on brew day realities.  One thing, I'd consider moving the yeast section further up in the video to highlight the preparation.  Or, at least make a note in the flow chart that the yeast preparation can/should start earlier in the brew day so that it is ready for pitching when the wort is cooled.  Also, while the video shows how to pour in extract properly and gave examples of various types, using a bulk container for the actual demonstration rather than a more standard bottle or can seemed like an error to me.

Next, the video portion of the Getting Started section seemed to undercover what would be involved.  I can see where this would be a writing choice to not overwhelm a new brewer.  More information is listed in the E-Book, but it's not really explained in the video.  It feels to me that the clarity of what would be needed to actually get started is somewhat murky.

Finally, when I starting homebrewing, I found that the devil was in the details and that my anxiety came from those steps in the process that are rarely discussed in materials I've seen.  These would include how to pick and make sanitizer, and how to properly apply it to difficult objects like the bottom of the kettle lid (a use a spray bottle to coat it).  Plus, while covered, I think preparation and handling of the brew water could use more information; however, this may be more of a personal obsession since I am trying to gain more control over my brew water as an intermediate brewer.

Overall, Beginning Homebrewing does a good job for the novice brewer to get started and complete a batch or five.  My review above seems overly critical, but the video really has sound advice that is well written, delivered and easy to follow.  I suspect that a brewer who moves beyond those initial batches and needs some intermediate help will quickly need more advanced information for sources like Basic Brewing, which is inevitable regardless of where one starts.  But, this video will definitely get a new brewer started just fine.

Smashed Shoulder Stout (Scott Lyke, homebrewer)

I'm not an award winning homebrewer.  But the next best thing is to have a friend who is.  To the left is Scott Lyke's Smashed Shoulder Stout, state fair blue ribbon winner in the stout category this past summer.

The name alludes to a rather nasty bicycle accident that tore up Scott's shoulder.  As a result, he was unable to brew for a while because of lifting restrictions.  Recently back to brewing, congrats to Scott for a prize brew.

Taking the first sip, I can see why it's a winner.  Fluffy head the color of malted milk ball center; it floats fully until it falls with to a thin lace.  Great nose that's thick with chocolate, oak and bourbon and a bit of citrus spice underneath.  Creamy smooth taste that brings up a little roast to compliment the nose.  Slightly acrid taste on the back side that lingers pleasantly with the chocolate and oak.  Overall, a fun, full sensory stout that would be warming on a cold night.

Chatting with the brewer, no oak or bourbon in the recipe, but a secret ingredient pushed the alcohol high.  I surmise the yummy added tastes were from the combination of higher fermentation blended with the stoutish flavors.  Beer is always interesting.

Woodenville Whiskey 8 gallon barrels

While I'm not ready for this at the moment, the idea of aging homebrew in a barrel like the big boys has always sounded fun.  My homebrew club has done a club brew to fill a full sized barrel, but I'm no where good enough to make the short list of brewers needed to fill it.

Woodinville Whiskey comes to the rescue by selling 8 gallon barrels made from American Oak and used once to age whiskey.  Not cheap, but the option to barrel age your own beers by yourself in your own way in a manageable size may be worth it.  In the April 7, 2012 Barrel Stand video Andy Sparks of Basic Brewing has one already and gives some advice for set up.

I'm not familiar with Woodinville Whiskey, but I applaud their business sense and support of more barrel aged brew in the world.

LongShot 2011 American Homebrew Contest (Boston Beer, Boston, MA)

I love the idea of Sam Adams LongShot contest.  Homebrewers duke it out for a major brewery to distribute their winning beer.  Sadly, I've never actually acquired any LongShot beers in the past.  Found the 2011 winners at MGM recently and finally getting to try them.  I've never entered the contest because, well, I'm not a very good brewer.  If I improve some day, I hope to develop the confidence to enter for my long shot chance.

Derf's Secret Alt: Dirty white head on a top of a dark copper alt bier.  Nose is not assertive, but I find it with a swirl: heavy dark malt and fruit, a bit of alcohol hotness from the 9.3% ABV and a hint of spice.  Luscious mouthfeel, silky malt, and dark fruit fill the palette that ends sweet.  A strong beer in a style that normally doesn't excite me.  Strong beer that I'm enjoying a lot.

A Dark Night in Munch:  Light brown head over an almost brown ale with ruby highlights.  Biscuit and toffee in the nose with a hint of spice underneath.  Very smooth dark lager in the mouth with a full nutty flavor with toffee.

Five Crown Imperial Stout: Brown head piled with vacuous bubbles and a heavy lace.  Chocolate and roast in the nose with strong malt, light fig, cherry and spice.  Opaque black body is velvety and thick on the tongue with an hint of acrid roast of the back end that counterpoints the slight slickness from the alcohol.

Nice assortment with Five Crown and Derf's in a virtual tie for me.  Glad that I was finally able to get a set of LongShot beers.

My "It's Complicated" relationship with homebrewing

Furious clone homebrew from
Wooden Shoe Brew House

I really would like to be a great homebrewer.  However, I fear that I'm never going to be better than mediocre.  The evidence presented to the left is a glass of my Furious clone from the Northern Brewer kit.  The brew kit was good, and even a bit of fun to brew.  My main mistake (besides too much bottling sugar that caused the excessive head) was that the large amount of dry hops caused a lot of sediment that I wasn't able to clarify.  As result, the beer must be poured very carefully to avoid a cloudy beer with an off flavor.  Smells like Furious, tastes like Furious, more or less.  Not bad.  Not great, either.

My main issue is that I don't brew for the love of it and I don't brew often.  I starting homebrewing because I thought my learning had topped out from tasting beer only.  The brewery tours only made so much sense, and I needed to play with the ingredients and make my own beer to move to the next level of  beer knowledge.  I feel like I've learned what I wanted after nineteen batches, and, now, I'm looking for a new reason to homebrew.

Reason #1.  Cost.  Right now the main motivation for me is to create beers that are expensive and that I could make for a much cheaper price for weekday drinking.  This generally means high gravity beers like double IPAs or barleywine.  High gravity means more fermentation issues, which I've had in a cold house.

Reason #2.  Unique beers.  One thing I liked brewing and that's turned out well was a fresh hop ale.  I have a simple recipe that works well (twice now), and I really enjoy opening a fresh hop beer that smells like summer when I open it in January.  Also, I have some historical recipes that I would like to brew for the perspective.  Batch #7 was a recipe for the original 1982 bottle conditioned Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  After brewing it, I bought a six pack of the present Sierra Nevada to taste side by side.  I would like to do more batches along that line.

Reason #3.  Homebrew media is among my favorites.  I like listening to Basic Brewing Radio and watching Brew TV podcasts.  Granted, I mostly prefer their interviews and interactions at GABF, brewpubs or pro brewers, but the homebrewing is interesting as well.  But, I feel like a lurker since I like the information, but not really motivated to brew more myself.

However, as I often say (half) jokingly, I'm more of a taster than a maker.  Issues I have with homebrewing include:

• 5 gallons of one beer.  I struggle buying a six pack at times since I like new beers.  To practice more, I would have more beer around, which cuts into my ability to try new beers in the exploding Minnesota craft beer industry.  
• I've noticed homebrewers are often good cooks, handy mechanical types and/or freewheeling experimenters. While I admire this qualities, I possess none of them.  
• Cold house and stuck fermentations, and temperature control in general. 
• Bottling is a lot of work, but I don't want a draft line in the house.  
• Presently, my beer quality doesn't match what I can buy.  
• It's less work to go to the Four Firkins. 
• I secretly fear that, even with extensive practice, I will never be that good at it.  

So, that's my complicated relationship with homebrewing.   At the heart of my problem is that I like calling myself a homebrewer and being a part of the club.  I have plans for my next batches of brew, but don't know when the spark will happen that will get me to pull out the brew kettle for a day of boiling.   In the meantime, I'll drink up my own beer and save the last one to drink with my next batch--someday.  

Von Kopp Brew Shop (Pine Island, MN)

I've been driving by Von Klopp for years since the sign along Hwy 52 says wine kits and cheese curds, I've never stopped. Only when a fellow homebrewer pointed it out as where he gets all of his supplies did I realize that it's a brew shop.

I needed a few incidentals and didn't want to drive the 10 mi to my own brew shop, so stopped here on the way back to the Twin Cities from Rochester. Not bad. A very eclectic shop, but a good supply of beer making materials, and so far, all of my friend's beer has been good and he's received sound advice from the shop.

The kits are commercial, which was interesting since I had never seen one—my shop makes its own. It seems to be a much better wine store, including a small field of grape vines planted to the north of the shop. Also, it has lots of specialty cheese, nic nacs, touristy trinkets, etc. And, a lot of traditional German beer steins, including the "world's largest" which held 9 gallons or something and an inscription that read (in German) that "he who can drink all of this is a real man." Sorry, that was the only one not for sale, but lots of very nicely crafted drinking vessels if you're into that sort of thing.

Friendly help, but not pushy. I rated selection low for beer; however, if you're looking for wine-like things for beer—like french oak wood chips—this might be a good place if you're having trouble elsewhere.