A Fan's Review (although he means "brickhead blonde"

"Had the brick house blond tonight w/ an asiago cheeseburger decked out w/ red onion and horseradish i'm hooked
where can i buy a case or two?
not too hoppy or malty 
a little fruity nose/flavor
nice long finish
blond/cloudy colors
nice carbonation
and after one
i'm seriously buzzin'
thanks
japjr"

I wish I could get rid of the chill haze...as I said after my first post, the blonde packs a punch.

I cracked and I cracked

Okay, so just about every homebrewer says that brews need at least two weeks of conditioning in the bottle, preferably three....well, not every one. One proprietor of a homebrew store says that she starts cracking them 3-4 days after bottling. After having caved to the pressure of impatience, I know why you should wait.

Homebrewing is effectively a massive test of patience. Patience for your wort to cool to an appropriate temperature, patience for your yeast to be ready to pitch, patience for your primary ferment to finish, patience, well...for your brew to bottle-condition properly.

Unlike most commercial breweries, which essentially use CO2 cartridges to carbonate their beer (after filtering out most remaining yeast cells), homebrewers are at the mercy of a simple syrup solution, made of a highly-refined sugar (corn, cane, maple, etc.) and water. This is added to the brew just before bottling, and the remaining yeast cells chow on this and produce a little more alcohol, and, most importantly, CO2 that is suspended in the brew due to the capped bottles which trap it.

So, after a measly 5 days in bottles, I cracked under the pressure of patience and after sticking a bottle in the freezer for 20 minutes, I cracked my first Brickhead Blonde. There was a bit of apprehension, but when applying pressure from one of my favorite simple machines (the lever) to the bottlehead, I had a pleasant surprise: a quiet yet unmistakable "tssst" that was emitted as the seal broke...carbonation had happened!

When I poured into the gorgeous hand-blown glass mug (one of several of its kind that were Valentine's Day gifts from my gorgeous hand-crafted-by-God girlfriend), I did notice that it did not develop the monster 1/2-1 inch head that a typical commercial/micro brew does. However, on first taste, I did notice that it was far less carbonated that I prefer. (A quick aside, I prefer beers to be nicely carbonated...even stouts. I have tasted a fair share of hand-drawn British Bitters and IMHO, the tradition of drinking flat, warm beer can stay right where it originated: Britain and Medieval times...like many traditions, this was borne of necessity, and frankly, it is not necessary to drink brews like this anymore).

Maybe this is akin to the father who convinces himself that his son is a great shortstop, when, in fact, the kid should maaaaaybe be playing second-string left field, but even with 25-40% of the carbonation I prefer, this beer was still excellent. The closest commercial comparison I can think of is a Sam Adams Summer Brew without the citrus notes. It had a nice alcoholic bite and a minimal hop aroma, but very refreshing...it also, might i say, packs a pretty solid punch even at a not-overpowering 7.38% ABV. I decided to brew an Imperial Blonde because unlike many homebrewers and brewphiles in general, I am not (at least, not yet) a 'hophead' as it were. This brew has a nice hop bite to it, yet is balanced with the sweetness of the malt, and, even though it is not fully carbonated, is very drinkable, to use the parlance of Miller-Coors.





As much as I do dig this beer, I am beginning to understand the obsession with hops. As I am not trying to brew for a beer pong tournament, I really enjoy savoring the complexities of taste with this brew, and frankly, that enjoyment will only be enhanced by additional (yet in-balance) hopping. Since my next brew is an Irish Stout, I will not be able to confirm this for a few months.

Next on tap: I am thinking Belgian Brown or Belgian Pale Ale....maybe with some extra aromatic/bittering hops.

More on the Brickhead Blonde in 7-8 more days.

To Your Health-
mp

Bottled the Imperial Blonde and Started Irish Stout

With the help of my good friend Val, I bottled the Imperial Blonde on Monday into 22 oz bottles, after adding the priming sugar solution that will give the few remaining yeast cells enough food to produce some CO2, and thus, carbonate this brew...hopefully in 2 weeks or so.

Also began the brew process for an Irish Stout, purchased from Annapolis Homebrew. Similar to the Brewer's Best Imperial Blonde kit, this included every ingredient necessary for making the wort, along with a starter pack of live yeast. The main difference is, the proprietor of AHB makes his own malt extract, which, according to John Palmer, author of "How to Brew", makes all the difference.

Fermentation didn't start quite as early, it took close for 24 hours for the magic bubbles to start coming out of the airlock. Likely going to rack the stout to a secondary after 5-7 days as I didn't separate the trub when transferring the wort to the fermenter.

I am hoping that I can get a nice carbonation on the stout, as my personal favorite stout is Guiness Extra Cold, which I have only seen in the British Isles. Essentially it is a separate tap than Guiness Stout, and is served just about freezing, but has the same cascade pour, thick head retention, and of course, the body of Guiness. It also always seemed to have a nice carbonation to it, which, combined with the serving temperature, gave it a crisp mouthfeel and enhanced the (I can't believe I am about to use this word) drinkability.

Hopefully it will be ready for a sneak-taste by St. Patty's.

To Your Health-
mp

Transfer to the Carboy

Transferred the brew to the carboy (brewphile way of saying Mad-Men-style water cooler) for a secondary fermentation, where the brew will sit for 1-2 weeks (likely only 1, as I want to age in bottles for two weeks, then have time to drink before we go on a trip). Homebrewers bicker back and forth as to whether a secondary fermentation is necessary or beneficial, unless it is to add spices, additional hops, or other tertiary flavors. Proponents say that it lets the flavors of the brew macerate and 'condition'. Opponents say that taking the beer away from the yeast (as it is left behind in the primary fermenter) is unnecessary and ceases fermentation prematurely.

In any event, I chose to do it. Once this is complete, you transfer the brew back to a spigoted fermenter, and hose it into bottles (with the use of a bottling wand, which is a nifty, yet simple little device, only slightly less magical than a real wand).

Also took a preliminary taste of the brew, from the sample I took for a gravity reading. The gravity of the brew after boiling then after fermenting determines the potential alcohol by volume, or ABV. In this case, my potential ABV will be 6.9%. The brew tasted good, I have to say. There was a little bit of 'heat' from the alcohol, but all-in-all, the flavors were clean and malty.

Bottling comes next...likely in about 10 days...actually am going to start a dry (or imperial, I haven't decided) stout next...so its ready in time for St. Patty's day.

To Your Health