Tempted by the Fruit of Another...

My adventure into brewing began at Midwest Supplies. It's an excellent spot for anyone looking to begin craft brewing. For starters, it's huge; wide selection of anything and everything that a rookie or veteran might need. They offer both ready-made kits and supplies for your own recipes. The prices are reasonable and the staff is cheery and helpful (I even have a high school acquaintance who works part time there). Not surprisingly, they have maintained solid customer loyalty from me.
The only complaint that I have had is location. Since returning to the Twin Cities, I have lived entirely on the east side of the River. My only reasons for venturing into the razzle-dazzle of Minneapolis has been to visit friends and get my latest recipe kit and various supplies. I knew that there was a fabled Second Brew Shop located not far from my current residence. But, as I already stated, I felt a strong sense of customer loyalty towards Midwest.
Then about a week ago I was out and about for St. Paul's Grand Old Day. Strolling down Grand Ave., braving an atypically cool June afternoon, enjoying the company of friends and loud music, I happened to sight an interesting display: [ http://www.northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/40523.jpg ]. I didn't have time to investigate right then, but a few days later I returned to check out this locale.
I really like this place. First off, obviously, the close location. Second, a very nice selection of recipe kits, including a barley wine! Third, cool merch like the above mentioned poster (I have already purchase stickers to label my latest batch, so each of my friends & family will have their own bottle). The only 'complaint' is that it is much smaller than where I usually go, but that is completely understandable since it is in a nice little commercial strip on Grand Ave.
I'm sure I will still make trips to Midwest, I have some friends who live just down the road, but I think Northern will become my regular stop.

Brewer's Log:: Noble Trappist Ale

The nice aspect about beer is that it is a pretty easy thing to match with the appropriate season. You don't have to think very hard; mostly one has to think about the types of food that match the season and apply the same criteria to beer. Summer: something light in color and density, a hint of fruit. Fall: a sharp crisp flavor, something that shouts "harvest season." Winter: anything dark and dense, the beer equivalent of a hearty stew.

But Spring is a tough one, the weather is erratic so what does one pick for a beer? Well, this year I took a gamble on a Noble Trappist Ale. Full disclosure: I am not a Trappist monk and this beer was not brewed in a Trappist monastery, so it it is not an official batch of Trappist Ale. But monks are forgiving fellows, so as long as I don't try to make a fast buck off of the stuff, I think they will live and let live.

I started the Trappist Ale on April 29th. The grains were Caramel and Carapils with Hallertau and Styrian Golding hops. But the crazy part was the special fermentable: Belgian Candi Sugar! When took the stuff out it looked like I was smuggling something illegal. It was pretty cool to add something so unique during the boil. Almost immediately I could smell the sweetness over the usual "plant" scents of the boil stage. I did make one mistake of grabbing the wrong type of liquid yeast. Instead of getting the usual pitchable yeast I grabbed a funky brand that requires it to begin fermenting seperately. So I cheated and just pitched it in.

I didn't need to worry because it started fermenting just fine. Infact it fermented a little too well. It erupted three seperate times while still in the 1st Stage. This has happened to me before, the Grand Cru was notorious for it, and usually it is a good sign that the beer will be flavorful and a decent content level. However I was surprised in early May, about a day or two after transfering it to the 2nd Stage, that it continued to overwhelm the airlock. That afternoon I went into the kitchen to release some of the pressure, and when I carefully lifted the airlock a millimeter the Trappist Ale sprayed in every direction, including directly in my eyes!! (Luckily, it did not sting and I didn't even feel the need to take out my contacts.)

By mid May it was bottled and I had begun the next batch. I've tested the Trappist Ale and passed out a couple samples. I'm mostly satisfied with it, but I have set some aside to age a bit longer to see if it sharpens some of the sweetness. As of now I probably won't repeat this batch anytime soon, but I will reserve final judgment after some of it has time to settle. Is it an ideal Spring beer? It's not bad for the season, but the hunt goes on.

[Next Batch: Java Stout]

Taste the Mountains!

Minhas Brewery seems to be a Wisconsin-centric brewery that is just getting into the Minneapolis market.  They are the brewery that took over brewing Rhinelander and have been brewing Huber and other local 'grandpa' beers since 1845, making them the second oldest brewery in America behind Yuengling.

I was interested to see their "craft" offerings hitting the market (so far only Lazy Mutt) since I drank cup upon cup of Berghoff out of the keg in college.  The brew that I HAD to try first was Mountian Crest.  It was $8.99/case.  There is no reason to pass this up.

Here's the deal.  I've had craft-brewed lagers and pilsners but most craft breweries don't make them because they're not as sexy as a triple-hopped IPA or a chocolate stout or something.  Victory makes an impressive pilsner, for example.  What separates them from Mountain Crest is the nuance.  Victory gives you a good hint of honey, Goose Island, a grassy flavor, etc.  Minhas gives us a typical lager in a can and slaps a craft brewery logo on the box.

This is totally cool with me.  $9 a case.  No other beer this cheap lets me drink it without destryoing my insides for the next day.  So something has to be said about the quality of ingredients.  I'm happy with the results, if not the process - for a cheap drunk with few side effects, try Mountain Crest!