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.

EXTREME BEER!

Boston Beer Company, maker of the ubiquitous Sam Adams line of beers (not my personal fave, but to each his own) is releasing its $150 per bottle, 27% ABV Utopias—EXTREME BEERS! Note that one of my favorite brewers, Dogfish Head, is also mentioned in the article for its 22% offerings (which I would definitely try), and that the founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is okay with it, "as long as it isn't marketed to minors." Hey, kids: why buy 12 cases of Natural Light when you could be passing one of THESE back and forth between you, your buddy and your prom dates? Come on, MADD. Anyway, the process is interesting, and the fact that it's cask-aged for 20 years suggests why they can charge beaucoup bucks for it. If anyone out there has tried it, give a holler (and lend me a few bucks, old pal?). (Hat tip: Ashley Bowles)

An excellent use for $7

The best thing about this is that you can drink beer out of it. Merry Christmas!

Beer for Thanksgiving dinner? You betcha!

Looking to try something a little different this year for the turkey feast? Try offering some different pairings of beer instead of wine with the traditional yams and cranberries. Check out the following article from Beer Advocate to get some ideas on how to bring out the full flavors of your bird and see that beer can be sophisticated too. Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

http://beeradvocate.com/articles/240

Brew Notes from the Great White North

This article from the Toronto Star iterates something I've been saying for years: home brewers can make beer as good (and often better) than the big boys. A more meaningful insight (to home brewers) is to say that home brewers can make beer that's every bit as good as commercial craft brewers; many times I've enjoyed a Big Sky IPA and thought, our Bearded Man IPA is every bit as good as this, if not better (and I like Big Sky).

Anyway, this sounded like fun: 17 home brewers took over a brewery for a day and showed nearly 200 people how they ply their craft. Maybe Boulevard or Pony Express would be willing to open their doors to the KC homebrew community in such a manner—I'd show up, for sure.

Success from Albany, NY.

So I returned home from a week in Albany, NY this last Friday night having some moderate success finding good beer in between conference meetings. Difficult to do when you have no transportation and are staying at a hotel out by the airport. However, that being said, no trip to the Northeast would be complete without sampling beer from the oldest brewery in the U.S. - of course I am talking about Yuengling. The Traditional Lager to be exact. A nice rich-amber colored classic watered down American lager made for the masses. Still, it was beer and the atmosphere of Maxie's - the local bar along the airport strip - made up for any shortfalls (karaoke was an added bonus too).

Beyond Yuengling, the choices were few - typical domestics and even the International brews weren't too promising. Although when so close to Canada, how can you turn down a Labatt Blue or Molson's Gold? I was able to salvage the trip by paying a nice taxi driver obscene amounts of money to drive me to downtown Albany so that I could sample the fine beers made by C.H. Evan's Brewing Company at the Albany Pump Station.

And fine beers they were I might add. From the copper colored and light bodied Scottish Light, a 70-shilling Scottish ale, to the very good traditional hoppy Pump Station Pale, and a nice fruity Bavarian Hefewiezen. But their best beer hands down is their Kick Ass Brown. Now I know what you are thinking, "Seriously Ben? A brown ale? You know...you are starting to sound a lot like Higgason. What are you going to start drinking next? A Raspberry Wheat at McCoy's?!" But in all truthfulness, this is a really, really, really good beer. Think a Brown with an IPA twist. So good in fact, this beer won Gold at the Great American Beer Festival not only in 2002, but also in 2003 AND 2008. Throw in a Gold medal for Brown in the World Beer Cup in 2008 and I think you start seeing this is not your typical Higgason Brown. A nice dark amber color with strong hoppy nose, with Crystal and Amarillo hops dominate but enough maltiness of a Brown. The only regret I have is the beers were so good, I stayed later than I should have and the local liquor stores had closed by the time I went off in search of Dogfish Head IPA. I quickly overcame my depression however when I opened the latest batch of M&B beers when I got home. More on those later.

Prelude to a Hoppy Thanksgiving

Sometimes I love surprises. For instance, today we're having the neighbors over for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, which is delightful in and of itself, doubly so because I got to cook a turkey (and enjoy leftovers, assuming there are any), triply so because it provided me with an excuse to visit the liquor store. But wait, the lovely wife said, don't you have a fridge downstairs stocked with delicious M&B beer? And I said yes, but it's SO good I don't want to drink it all at once; it's like M&Ms—you like them, but you don't eat a whole bag at one sitting. So then she said, okay, so you're only going to have one beer? So I said I don't like where this is going, see you in a few.

Long story short, I noticed something at Top Cellars that I'd never seen before: Lagunitas Brewing Company's Hop Stoopid, a name so stoopid it might offend me except that the beer is so hoptastically good. Apparently the owner at Top Cellars tried it and liked this insanely hoppy beer so much he decided to stock it. So if you're in the Olathe area and want to tantalize your taste buds with a fantastic hoppy California treat, check out Hop Stoopid. Next on my list: getting them to stock Green Flash. Stay tuned!

Steven's Point Cascade Pale Ale

Okay, so I have been a little lax in reviewing a few beers I've had lately to let's remedy that now. Last night I had Steven's Point Brewery's Cascade Pale Ale. It actually was the last of a six pack that has taken me about 5 months to finish. That should be an early indication of exactly how good (or not so good) this beer is. According to the Point's description, Point Cascade Pale Ale is handcrafted combining special top-fermenting yeast and a dry hopping process to create this truly classic American Pale Ale. The intriguing character is derived from generous quantities of the choicest Yakima Valley Cascade hops and the finest crystal, 2-row pale, and Munich malts. The result is a delicious American Pale Ale with a signature fragrant hop bouquet and soft malt palate. They even won a gold medal for this beer from the World Beer Championships in 1997 and 1998, a silver medal in 2008, won best pale ale of the midwest from the U.S. Beer Tasting Championships in 2008, and a bronze award from the World Beer Cup in 1996. Some pretty good accolades one would think.

This is the Point's attempt to garner some business from the hop heads of craft beer drinking, but American Pale Ales have come a long way since the late 1990s and this one falls far short in my humble opinion. First, the beer does have a nice color and holds a head well. It has a faint hop aroma, and some maltiness but falls far short on a hop flavor that is typical of beers in this category. It seems watered down to me and the bitterness is more fitting an audience of the masses - catering to the occasional adventurous Bud drinker. Point Brewery is one of the few larger brewers to make it through Prohibition years and has always brewed the classic American water down Pils. This is their attempt to re-invent themselves as a "craft" brewery. But to me this beer is far short from the golden standard of this category. I won't waste my money on this brew next time and instead if I am feeling the need for a good hoppy ale will go straight to the case with Sierra Nevada (or even better - open our Bearded Man APA!).

What does your beer say about YOU?

This interesting piece in Ad Age spotlights a study by a noted psychographic research company ties personality traits to beer choice. Key results: people who drink Blue Moon are socially liberal, sarcastic and snide; people who are socially conservative don't drink beer at all. Since I am a. socially conservative and b. known to hoist a pint now and again, I take these findings with a grain of salt, but still, interesting. Also: Bud drinkers use breath strips; Bud Light drinkers play the lottery; Michelob Ultra drinkers are narcissistic jerks; Corona drinkers like to party; and Heineken drinkers are also narcissistic jerks. Craft beer drinkers were difficult to pin down (fewer individuals=less statistically significant data) but apparently have lower levels of personal responsibility, don't stress about deadlines, etc. I meant to prepare an in-depth analysis of this category, but I started watching tv and then figured screw it. What is your type? What does it say about you? Chime in, y'all.

Stone Pillar Vineyard

So since moving into our new house a year ago this month, I have been steadily watching and admiring the small vineyard and winery expanding across the street from our subdivision. Stone Pillar Vineyard has been steadily expanding the number of grape vines on the approximately 3 acre plot of land and look to be adding several more next spring. I finally decided to google them to learn more of their operation. Looks like someone is living the dream. I wonder if they would be willing to start a side operation of brewing - perhaps a partnership with M&B?...hmmm...

The "Why Haven't I Tried This Before" Beer Review

I was downtown in KC last week, sitting at the impressively-endowed (with beer) Flying Saucer in the P&L district, trying to decide which of their dozens of beers on-tap I wanted to try—I was (as is so often the case) in the mood for something hoppy, and the gal behind the bar suggested a Bell's Two Hearted Ale. I thought, I've never had a Two Hearted, and I've always wanted to—why have I overlooked this for so long? I ordered one up and didn't suffer a moment's remorse—hoppy, crisp, perfect for Fall in KC. Check out Bell's story: they started in Kalamazoo, MI in 1985 with a 15-gallon stock pot! I can see into my future…

New Belgium in Entrepreneur Mag

My brother-in-law Chris informed me that Entrepreneur had a piece on micro-brewing this month, and he was right—it's all about New Belgium and its co-founder, Kim Jordan (who apparently just split with her husband, the other co-founder, if anyone's, you know, interested). The gist is that it's a near-$100 million brewery with the soul of a micro-brewery, because she bikes to work and wears jeans and thinks conservation is "sexy." Whatever. My take is, she created something she was passionate about and people really like—the culture doesn't make the product successful, it's the reverse: a successful product allows that culture to exist. If New Belgium weren't making insane money, they'd be spending a lot more time trying to be profitable and a lot less time watching "An Inconvenient Truth" in the breakroom and listening to Phish. Anyway, good for the smallest macro-craft brewer in America.

San Antonio's Freetail Brewing Company

My bro-in-law David had said if possible, we should visit Freetail, a nearby brewpub. The requisite amount of wheedling and complaining made this happen, as the wife and sister practically insisted we get out of their hair for a few hours. So we headed down to the road to the Freetail Brewing Company, a modest-sized place but very nice--one wall slides up like a garage door to open entirely, so you can look out over a huge area, a quarry or something. The weather was great, and the beer selection was awesome: a few different varieties of IPA, a brown, a standard pale, a Belgian Wit, a saison—in all, probably a dozen or more, but only 3 that appear to be year-rounders. Most of the beers there seem to be made in small batches and sold until they're gone. I enjoyed the Hop Brutality IPA and it was okay; the Hopasaurus Rex was better, and the Hopothesis (available for the first time that day) at an insane 12.5% ABV and 125 IBU was ambrosia.

The service was spotty, and the brewmaster seemed a little too cool for school, for some reason. That said, the beer was awesome, the pizza was very good and the atmosphere was ideal. Thanks to David for taking me, and to anyone, check out Freetail when you're in San Antonio!

More Texas Craft Beers

As I'd hoped, the need to feed my family happily coincided with an opportunity to sample more Texas beers. I visited the awesome Gabriel's Liquor Superstore on Blanco Rd. and received excellent advice from the resident beer aficionado; after recommending Real Ale (which I'd tried the day before) and Shiner (meh), he suggested I try either Houston-based Saint Arnold or Austin-based Independence Brewing Company. Not knowing when I'd be in Texas again, I did the responsible thing and picked up six of each.

I started with the Saint Arnold Elissa IPA, and I had high hopes. I was decently satisfied—only Cascade hops are used, and the body was malty enough, but there was a slight metallic tang at the finish that didn't thrill me. Maybe my expectations were too high, because it wasn't a bad beer at all.

That said, my expectations were suitably dampened enough that I found the Independence Pale Ale to be a delightful session beer, dry-hopped with Cascade and Saaz hops to provide a subtle hoppiness—it is, after all, a pale, less hoppy than my standard go-to faves Odell 5-Barrel Pale Ale or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but a nice effort nonetheless. I look forward to sampling more of Independence Brewing Company's offerings (especially their seasonal Stash IPA, hopped FIVE TIMES. Ay caramba!) in the future.

Sampling Beer from the Texas Hill Country

Greetings from San Antonio! A 5-day visit to the sister's house to visit our new baby nephew has, unsurprisingly, proven an opportunity to enjoy beer I can't get in Kansas City. After a 2-leg flight on delightful Southwest airlines (seriously, they're great) and a brief ride in our rented Chevy Aveo (seriously, it's a clown car) we arrived at my sister's place just before a flash flood hit. It wasn't long before I realized the only beer in the house, an 18-pack of Bud Light, wasn't beer at all—just an empty box in the fridge. Cruel fate! But an opportunity to venture out into the heart of the tempest in my tiny Aveo, to the H-E-B supermarket just down the street.

I was anticipating a poor selection, and I couldn't have been more wrong: this place had a GREAT selection of beers, including my favorite: Dogfish Head 90-Minute IPA. However, in the interest of budgeting, I ended up purchasing my second favorite, Dogfish Head 60-minute IPA. I also picked up a sampler six-pack from the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco, TX—something local, and a variety to boot. Upon returning, I immediately cracked open a Dogfish Head 60-Minute, and it was good. Not 90-minute good, but still damned good. I followed it with the Full Moon Pale Rye Ale, and I was underwhelmed. I tried the Rio Blanco Pale Ale, and it was better, but not great. The Brewhouse Brown Ale was the best of the lot, but it was a Brown (i.e. relatively boring). That was yesterday.

Today we took the kids to the children's museum in New Braunfels, which was very nice. We came home, the kids played, I watched Doctor Who on my laptop, and at 5 I finally cracked today's first beer: another Dogfish Head 60-Minute IPA. And I thought, you know, this is really good, so NATURALLY whatever comes after is going to pale by comparison. And trying the Real Ale Pale again, I thought, this isn't too bad. Not remarkable, a bit thin, not terribly memorable, but not bad. So kudos to Real Ale, a brewery that is not as good as Dogfish Head, but that doesn't make them a bad brewery.

Expect more reviews—I'm here 3 more nights.

The fastest growing segment of alcoholic beverage is…wait for it…

Cider! Interesting to know, especially since there's a presumably delicious M&B hard cider doing its thing in the carboy as we speak (hat-tip to Tom Cizauskas).

Scottish Ale

Tried one of our Scottish ales the other night. Paired it with homemade pizza - a nice choice. Have to say, this beer is one of my favorites we make. I would rank it second behind our APA. A nice dark brown to mahogany color. No hop aroma which is appropriate for this style. Could do a better job of holding a head but just the right amount of carbonation (Matt, I know would say it is undercarbonated but for this style it actually is right on target). Smokiness upfront upon tasting but not overpowering. Fades to a nice maltiness and just the right amount of bittering. Slight astringency at the finish. A slightly weaker body - on par with an English pale ale. A good session beer and would probably be great on draft. I would say it is a perfect Fall beer and good for an afternoon of drinking and watching college football (which is the plan for tomorrow).

Carboy Watch, Day 4

As our good friend Professor Higgason would say, huzzah! Three carboys bubbling away; that is, the stout (at right, obviously) is bubbling away, whereas the APA appear to have seen a lot of action right away and now are just churning. Probably could have used more head space in the first carboy, but what the heck. Looking forward to bottling day a few weeks hence, and with luck, Ben's cider will be done as well. Updates to come.

Moonshine Over My Hammy

North Carolina: 929 gallons of moonshine seized by ATF agents. Give the man credit for making the best of a rough economy.

Summit Beer Review…and BREW DAY!

There's a special feeling in the air…the wife and kids are getting out of the house…it all adds up to one thing: BREW DAY! Like the proverbial ant, toiling away to prepare for a long winter, we're brewing 10 gallons of our flagship Bearded Man APA today, and 5 gallons of Christmas Milk Stout (a first for us). Cross your fingers.

And Ben is back from the land of cheese (congratulations, Sean and Holly Kitchell) and brought the family over last night, bearing gifts from New Glarus and Summit Brewery. Here's my takedown:

• Summit Octoberfest: Good. A little hoppy, bouncy with a fruit flavor I couldn't quite identify (citrusy, I guess). Good for a fall session beer.
• Summit Kolsh: Nice, but not crazy good–the Guild's kolsh is better, in my humble opinion. But not bad, light with a slightly spicy finish. Reminds me a lot of Schlafly's Kolsh.
• New Glarus Pils: Very good Pilsner, smooth and full-bodied enough that you know you're not drinking light beer. Superior to Boulevard's Pils in terms of flavor and body, and that's saying something.

Follow-up to last weekend: The Scottish Ale is much improved, keeps a head and has a very nice smoky taste, though I still think it could be a bit more substantial. The Stout is as good as it's going to get, which isn't to say it's not good, but it came out more like a porter than a stout, IMO (but drinkable, certainly). And the Hefe–you'll recall it was split into two batches–drew mixed reactions. Batch 1 is perfect, exactly what a hefeweizen should be, and Batch 2 is potentially contaminated, so if you hear the sounds of a man crying when you pass my house, it's me pouring a case of bad hefeweizen down the drain.

All told, it's nice to have Ben back, nice to be brewing again, and nice that I still have a six-pack of New Glarus offerings in my fridge. Next review will discuss NG Spotted Cow and Alt Bier.

Wisconsin Pilgrimage

So I returned from the promised land Sunday. Have to say Wisconsin is a wonderful place. Beautiful trees, cheese curds, sausage and sour kraut, polka, and most importantly beer! Was able to pick up a six pack or five of New Glarus beer which we hope to enjoy this Saturday at our next brew session.

I do have to say though that the Leinenkugal's visit was a dud. Not only did they divulge that their beer is made with corn as a significant portion of the gain bill (to smooth out the flavor we were told - what a load of hooey) but all their "flavoring" from coriander, orange peel, berries, and lemon are extract added to the bottle post fermentation. Throw in the fact that the free samples are limited to two (2!!) 7 oz. sample glasses makes for a disappointing afternoon. They bill themselves as a "craft" brewery since they still do some things "by hand" and then proceeded to show us on the tour the entire automated brewing process. The only "hand" added ingredient was a 5 gallon bucket of hops. The old brewery building was cool and the two copper kettles were pretty neat. But overall I would have to say the tour was a bust. Think I will pass on the Leinie's the next time I am at the liquor store.

Did stop at a pretty cool microbrew in downtown Minneapolis - Town Hall Brewery - on the way to Wisconsin for lunch. Enjoyed their West Bank Chicken Club and their Smoked Porter seasonal. Very good. Especially since the weather was 40 degrees and drizzle. Set the mood nicely. Picked up a growler of their IPA and Tripel that were enjoyed later in the motel room. After lunch visited the Mecca of liquor stores - Surdyk's in Minneapolis. At some point, any passionate beer and wine aficionado must come here. Was able to pick up several sixers of Summit beer out of Minneapolis - again will be enjoying some of these this weekend with Matt.

To top it off, what would a trip to Wisconsin be if not for the champagne of beers - Miller High Life?! Was able to enjoy many of these at the wedding - which, yes we did make it to. All in all, I would count this as a successful trip.

Home Brewing for the Adventurous and/or Lazy

God bless the blogosphere, without which we would never know that inside of a week, you can turn Welch's frozen grape juice from concentrate into something that will get you drunk (scroll all the way down). We're cooking up some hard cider as we speak, so I can't be too snobbish; anything that encourages the average Joe to be more adventurous is a good thing, in my book.

M&B Brew Review—Late Summer Brewing Session

Once again, I've jumped the gun. After bottling on the 24th and 25th, I pulled out one each from our batches of Stout, Scottish Ale, Hefeweizen (carboy 1) and super-Hefeweizen (carboy 2)*. The results are as follows:

1. Stout: Not ready
2. Scottish Ale: Shows promise, but not ready
3. Hefe: Ready enough, but I think it will improve
4. Super-Hefe: Not ready.

I told wifey I'd had enough—I was just going to forget all about this beer for about three months. She took that to mean I wouldn't be drinking ANY beer for three months. We had a good laugh sorting all THAT out (by which I mean, I laughed and she did not). Patience is critical to good brewing, and that's always been a challenge for me. So I'm finding comfort in the knowledge that in several weeks, I'll have a lot of REALLY good beer to enjoy.

* We split the hefeweizen between two carboys, and carboy 2 had more yeast in it, so it carbonated a lot faster, seems to have some subtle flavor differences, etc. Hence "hefe" and "super-hefe."

Four Peaks Brewery

While Ben is enjoying his liquor store tour in the land of cheese—possibly attending a wedding, if there's time—I've just returned from a two-day trip to Scottsdale, Arizona, where I was doubly-delighted: first, because I had a fantastic meal at Oregano's (N. Scottsdale Road and Shea location)—salad, flatbread & artichoke dip, scampi with HUGE shrimp, excellent rigatoni, deep-dish pizza and pizookie for dessert*; and second, because I was able to enjoy beer from Tempe's Four Peaks Brewery. I still maintain that you can't fairly judge beer on tap outside the brewery—too many variables—but the Kilt Lifter Scottish Ale (their flagship) was very good. Subtly smoky, very drinkable, and better at colder temperatures than fuller-bodied Scottish Ales, so for me it was refreshing (and allowed me to enjoy a couple of them). The Hefeweizen was good as well, if unremarkable—a solid hefe. So, nice to know I'll have something to look forward to when next I visit the Phoenix area.

* I was with two other people, so no, I didn't eat all this food myself.

Wisconsin here I come!

So tomorrow I (Ben) am off to Wisconsin for a good friend's wedding - but looking more forward to the chance to pick up some really, really, REALLY good Wisconsin beers. Namely New Glarus beers. If you've never had the chance to try any of their brews - I would HIGHLY suggest you find a way. Spotted Cow, Dancing Man, and you can never go wrong with their special brews. Also looking forward to touring the Liny's brewery tomorrow. Not as good as they once were pre-take over from Miller but still worth a good stop. Between stopping at some microbrews, liquor stores, and Liny's I think we may make it in time for the wedding. Plan to bring many brews back for Matt and I to enjoy over our next brewing session this coming week!

Hoptober Fest

Here I am, finally posting to our blog. A good way to start I suppose is to evaluate a lovely hoppy beer - New Belgium's Hoptober Seasonal. As Matt posted below - many brewers are incorporating rye in the grain bill including this seasonal brew. This beer is a nice gloden, slighly copper color - perfect for autumn enjoyment. The label boasts a grain bill of pale malt, wheat malt and rye along with the use of five different varieties of hops including cascade, willamet, and centennial. The hop aroma is strong but not overpowering. Good cream color head that lasts. Upon first taste the hops continue to play center stage - a good strong citrus flavor to the beer. Slightly malty. Nicely carbonated which brings the hop aroma to the nose. A slight bitter aftertaste. Overall a good brew to enjoy on a crisp fall evening.

Rye…P.A.?

Interesting piece in the Washington Post about brewers incorporating rye into their IPA recipes to create "Rye P.A.s." Evidently the rye imparts a peppery flavor, described as adding "extra oomph to hoppy beers." Intrigued? I know I am! Give a shout if you've tried one of these (or better, if you've brewed one).

Olde Main Brewing Company

I went back to Ames, Iowa this weekend to enjoy a football game (we won!) and catch up with some old friends. I was especially pleased to see that a brewery and brew pub has been built in downtown Ames. I didn't have the opportunity to visit Olde Main Brewing Co. on this trip, but I did sample the Olde Main Scottish Ale over pizza at Welch Avenue Station, where a few varieties were on tap. And the Scottish was…well, it wasn't great. It was a Scottish, for sure—a hint of smoky flavor, but pretty thin and a bit sour (cleaner in the tap lines, I'd wager). Anyway, it was encouraging to see a genuine brewery in Ames. Kudos, Olde Main!

Huzzah! It's the Renaissance Fes—I mean, OKTOBERFEST!

The 176th annual Oktoberfest began yesterday, September 22, in Munich. Meanwhile, I was at home watching the season kick-off of CSI: Miami on DVR in suburban Kansas. Look at these pictures of healthy-looking German lasses hoisting mugs of Hofbrau and tell me who got the better deal.

250 Years Young

Here's a birthday celebration we can ALL get excited about: Guinness Stout celebrated its 250th birthday this year. First brewed in Dublin in 1759, Guinness has done as much as any beer to perpetuate the stereotype of Irishmen (like me) as drunken roustabouts. Let's celebrate with a Guinness–who's with me?

Mark Your Calendars

October 17 marks the 3rd annual Kansas City Beerfest, being held at the Legends. Have I ever been to Beerfest? Alas, no. But how bad can it be, since a. IT'S BEERFEST, and b. lots of fantastic breweries will be represented, including personal faves Odell, Schlafly and Great Divide. So I'm psyched—tix are $25 in advance and $30 at the door. Of course, M&B will be there to determine if it's in our interests to get a booth for next year, or just skip it and make arrangements for Denver in '10.

Welcome!

Now that our M&B Brewing site is up and running, we wanted to establish a forum for updates, news and feedback from our customers. Apparently this "blogging" is popular, so we're giving it a go. Founders Ben and Matt will weigh in on M&B beer, brewing, and beer-related issues in general. Bookmark us, and stop in often!