A little Christmas cheer!

Last evening, a few members of the Blue River Brewers Guild (sans Matt who is way too busy with year end projects at his work place and is in sore need of a pint or two for Christmas - take note Santa!) met around the dinning room table of one Dr. Todd Martin to break (liquid) bread before beginning the arduous task of bottling 10 gallons of IPA. And what was the ale of choice you may ask? As a Christmas gift to my fellow brewing brethren, I was able to return from an early Christmas celebration this past weekend with family in Nebraska with two growlers of fine seasonals from Upstream Brewing Company out of Omaha. One containing a tasty beer named Noel and the other, an equally quaffable beer named Ebenezer.

If you ever have the opportunity to be in the Omaha area, I would highly recommend Upstream Brewery, as I have yet to be disappointed with any of their beers. These two continue in that same vein. Both are a lovely dark brown to mahogany color and are very malty with the alcohol warming expected in Christmas beers. Both beers in fact seem to have the same malt profile and after much discussion and consensus by those around the table, probably are the same grain bill - the only difference being the noticeable spices added to the Noel - nutmeg and perhaps cinnamon? In either case, both are top notch beers and were wonderful for an evening of good fellowship with friends.

On a side note, after bottling the 10 gallons of IPA we rewarded ourselves with a Tank 7 from Boulevard Brewery - equally good. Check out earlier posts to see a review of Tank 7 by Matt.

This week is of course Christmas and M&B Brewing would like wish all a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. If you choose to celebrate the holidays with libation, please remember to drink responsibly - preferably M&B beers. Matt and I will be breaking the seal on the Blue River Brewers Guild's Grand Crue Belgian Strong Ale - a 10% ABV monster that has been cellaring for 6 months and is sure to warm the insides on a white Christmas night. Cheers to all!

O Come All Ye Faithful (to O'Leary's Pub)

In these cynical times, it's good to know faith in God is alive and well—in Glasgow, Scotland, anyway. According to this article in The Scotsman (hat tip: my dad, Mike), the wise elders at Greyfriars Parish Church have arranged a holiday caroling tour of local pubs, accompanied by a special beer brewed just for the occasion. To these fine men and women doing the Lord's work, I hoist my glass to you—and for the rest of you, I recommend you take the opportunity this holiday season to find spiritual enlightenment through one of God's finest creations—beer. Try something new, something different! There are wonderful seasonals out there right now, and consider that even though God's kingdom is indeed miraculous, it does have one drawback: in heaven, there is no beer (that's why we drink it here). Happy holidays and God bless.

Saturday night's all right (for reviewing six day-old craft beers)

So, we're both sitting at my house, waiting for our dutiful wives to cook dinner for us, beers in hand, and Ben says to me, he says, "We should review these." So I says "Good idea! Give me a beer!" So here goes:

I (Matt) and Robyn and friends visited Free State Brewery in Lawrence last weekend. Ben couldn't attend, though he was there in spirit, and his growler was there in reality, so I returned with two, count 'em, two full growlers. After an interminable 6 days in the fridge, we are now able to enjoy an evening of libation. I can attest that these have lost a little something since they were filled; the aroma has subsided a bit, the hops are more subdued, but still, the beer held up well. We just had a sidebar discussion with the wives, discussing the merits of our a bromance built on beer, and now we're ready to review:

Santa's Helper: Described as a "Belgian IPA," it falls a bit short of being a true IPA, lacking the necessary hoppy nose and bitter finish. Belgian yeast is very much apparent—fruity, citrusy, dry. An interesting take, not the most memorable; very malty and would be improved with more hop character. (I say it was hoppier a week ago, but it is what it is.)

Vortex Red: A red that is actually hoppier than the IPA, not too hoppy, but with more nutty bitterness. A lovely red color. Slight astringent bitterness at the finish, perhaps a bit too sweet for a red, but good with white chili and beer bread, so good enough. My decision to buy it was based on a good experience with Lagunitas' Imperial Red a few weeks back.

We've had better at Free State, but I chalk some of that up to the time it sat in the fridge—the nose was greatly diminished. I think we prefer the Red to the Belgian IPA, but in any case, this makes us want to get back to Free State to compare our experience to the fresh stuff on tap.

Incidentally, we are tenatively planning to brew on Monday, December 28. Our potential lineup has changed; we are now considering our Belgian Ale (with a Mexican twist, courtesy of Dr. Todd Martin), our take on a Saison, and our first ever lager, an M&B Pils. Watch this space, or follow us on our web site for full details. We will probably be inviting guests to serve as assistant brewers, so if you're interested in braving the cold, keep it in mind. Happy holidays!

A headline to send grandpa to spinning in his grave

My dear departed grandpa drank neither as often nor with such variety as I, but he did maintain a mini-fridge stocked with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer. Nostalgia, then, probably drives to some degree my appreciation for this brew–it's an honest beer, unpretentious, made for men who work for a living. But I also think it's a good beer; to me, it tastes good, and I'd choose it over most of today's domestic pilsners in a heartbeat.

Imagine my surprise, then, to learn that it is also the hipster's beer of choice these days. Apparently, hipsters in hip locales (like Portland, OR) have decided in a recession that PBR is, well, hip. I assume this is because they're trying to be ironic, or eschew the mainstream, or somethign stupid; I assume it's NOT because they have discriminating tastes and decided this was the best beer available in their price range. Anyway, good for PBR, though they should beware: the kids love it because nobody else is drinking it. Once everybody starts drinking it, they'll hate it, and then everyone else will STOP drinking it, and the whole vicious cycle begins anew.

Best Craft Brewery Tours

This popped up on my facebook news page from Boulevard Brewery and thought our many followers would find the article as interesting as I did. I have had the pleasure of visiting two of the breweries listed (Boulevard and Leinenkugels) and on the next trip west to Colorado can easily knock of two more. Check it out and let us know which ones you have visited!

http://vacations.com/the-best-craft-brewery-tours-in-america#more-5373

Lagunitas, I think I love you

You faithful readers–all 5 of you–will recall my excitement at finding Lagunitas Brewing Company's Hop Stoopid at my fave local liquor store, Top Cellars. Now, at the risk of being hyperbolic, my recent discovery of Lagunitas Imperial Red and better, Lagunitas "A Little Sumpin Extra" is ONE MILLION TIMES MORE EXCITING! Today was a good day.

First off: the Imperial Red was very good–a full-bodied red, but decently hopped (Amarillo hops, to be specific) in a way I wasn't expecting. Really nicely executed. This is a seasonal, so get it while you can. $8.99 per six at the awesomely-stocked Top Cellars at 119th and Quivira, no more than you'll pay for most craft beers, but an adventurous pick. You definitely won't be disappointed.

On that note, hop-lovers will be impressed with the "A Little Sumpin' Extra," which I think is a hoppy take on Lagunitas "Little Sumpin Sumpin Ale" (which I haven't tried, but I'm sure is excellent, but I digress). I loved Hop Stoopid, and I LOVE this: it's smooth, earthy, a little nutty. Definitely hoppy, but with grassy overtones, if that makes sense. It's a brew worthy of a celebration. Granted, you pay a little more–I think Hop Stoopid was $3.50 for a 24oz. bottle, and this was closer to $5, but trust me: it's worth it. I'd recommend buying 4 or 5 and keeping them on hand for special occasions.

Try them, let us know YOUR opinion.

Just released by Boulevard Brewing

As posted by Bouldevard on their Facebook page - Just in time for the holidays.

What’s your lucky number? Ours is 7 — as in Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale — which should begin arriving on retailer shelves in KC in about 7 days. Our latest year-round Smokestack Series offering, Tank 7 has been featured on draft for... well... the last 7 months. We're beginning to notice a pattern here...

Shout out to Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Brew Shop, that is. These guys have done a nice job of putting together packages for people who want to brew and don't have a sprawling acreage on which to do it. Starting to home brew can be intimidating, but it looks like the Brooklyn Brew Shop has done well in selling all-in-one packages for 1-gallon (why bother) and 5-gallon (better) batches. The holidays are approaching, people! This might be a fun, creative and affordable gift option for the beer lover in your life.