Brewing Notes // Pussed-Out Pumpkin Ale

The name? Last year it was called Stolen Pumpkin Ale, but the hard line of morality bit me in the ass and I couldn't get myself to steal one this year. I pussed out.

So this year I decided to go a slightly different route. I purchased some actual Pie Pumpkin, sometimes called sugar pumpkins, and I guess in some circles they are known as cheese pumpkins. No, I don't know why.

This beer starts with oven-roasted pumpkins, steeped with a pound of Chrystal malt and a pound of Carapils. The Chrystal malt gives it some color and the Carapils some body. I steeped this in my giant steeping bag (no, really, a medium sized dog could be tied up and carried over your shoulder in this grain bag) for about 30 minutes. I went with an ounce of Fuggles and 1/2 ounce of Mt. Hood hops for bittering. Around 15 minutes left I added 1/2 cup each of Molasses and Brown Sugar. I scattered a few pellets of the Mt. Hood here and there over the last 15 minutes as well. They are supposed to be spicy, so we'll see if they just get in the way, or if they add another dimension. Most pumpkin beers don't get a flavor addition. But I like hops. I threw in cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ginger with about 5 minutes left. Forgot about the vanilla, so I dropped some in at blowout.

Brew Fest // Hood River Hops Fest 2011

This past Saturday we were down in the Gorge for the Myers' 30th Anniversary party.  But, before we were knees deep in decorations, we sprinted over to Hood River for Hops Fest.  We paid our entry (even the DD had to pay...LAME!) and had 4 tokens to spend among 38 beers.

38 Fresh Brews waiting to be consumed.

 Favorites of the Day?

• Meagan was a huge fan of Ninkasi's "Total Crystallization" and spent two of her four tokens on the fresh hopped version of their "Total Domination IPA." But really, that's not much of a surprise, she's a loyal fan of the Eugene, Oregon brewery. Even Kailee, not a beer drinker, enjoyed this beer's crispness.

Sidenote:  what the hell does Ninkasi mean?  She was the Sumerian matron goddess of beer and a hymn sung to her is the recipe for the malty beverage.  Now back to the beers...

•  Josh fell in love with a Belgian (surprise!) from hometown brewery, Full Sail.
• Chad...well, we're just not quite sure what Chad enjoyed.

Hood River Hops Fest 2011 from Jesse Larvick on Vimeo.

While we spent only one measly hour at the Hops Fest and, in essence, paid $10 for one full beer, it did give us the opportunity to fill up a growler of Double Mountain's fresh hopped "Killer Green." Much, much better than the Bud Light we were serving to the riffraff at the party.

Brewing Notes // Bottled: Agave Barleywine

Just busted open the first bottle of the new Agave Barleywine...and promptly moved twenty bombers to the basement. Harsh! Definitely needs some aging, I'll check again from time to time.

Next up: Blackberry Wheat.

Hop Farming Update

Utter failure.  The hop trellis finally went up after a disastrous attempt at using the jigsaw. We were starting to see some growth and then the damn deer annihilated both plants (and we thought they were deer friendly plants.)  Hopefully the plants are strong underground or else we'll have to figure something out for next spring.

Brew Fest // Pacific Northwest Brew Cup 2011

Living on the Oregon Coast, we see our fair share of rain but in a small community of 10,000 where there are two hometown breweries and an annual brew fest, rain is just about the only thing we have to complain about.

The Pacific Northwest Brew Cup is hosted by Fort George Brewery and Baked Alaska Restaurant. Last year, we showed up as fresh transplants to the area and what a welcome it was. This year, we're seasoned locals and ready for a full day of beer, music, and SUNSHINE! That's right, the sun has made a rare appearance. I guess beer really is the nectar of the gods.The 2011 10th Anniversary Brew Cup takes place along the railroad tracks and behind the abandoned train depot, (which is now under development to become a boat building facility). This year's Cup had 36 beers on tap; IPA's, a session ale, stouts, fresh hops & a maple porter, from breweries across Oregon, Washington, and California and all were pretty damn tasty, aside from that revolting chili beer.

 That asparagus guy made THE BEST street tacos EVER and tamales, too.
Man, I ate A LOT! (Canby Asparagus Farm)

So, which beers warrant mentioning? Boneyard Brewing from Bend, OR won the "Thar She Blows Award" for their "Hop Venom IPA" being the first keg emptied and the "People's Choice Award" went to hometown Astoria Brewing Co.'s "Lincoln Lager". The general populace had chosen their winners, but what did we think?

The Mas~ Ma Barley & Grand(MA) Dennielle

We were flooded with IPAs, so narrowing down a favorite was a difficult task. Josh cast his People's Choice vote for Columbia River's "Hoodoo Voodoo" double IPA; partly for the cool name and partly for its nice thick hoppy body and clean dry finish. Honorable mention deserves to go to Ninkasi's "Maiden The Shade" a nice citrusy session IPA.

Often a day's worth of beer ends up being the gift that keeps on giving (if you've ever drank multiple double IPAs you know what we're talking about). This year, though, there were actual desirable gifts, courtesy of Astoria's downtown shopkeepers, via raffle tickets gained through a downtown business crawl. Meagan threw all her chickens in one coffee tin, hoping to win a kid's gift pack, to no avail. However, Josh came away with a belly full of beer AND a sweet Viking t-shirt courtesy of Finnware (pictures forthcoming). Meagan's super-great-grandfather Odin (yes, the Norse god ~ thank you Ancestry.com for validating my grandeur) must have been looking out.

Humulus lupulus

 
If Josh were home I would have made him pose for this - I suppose Grant Wood's original will suffice.

Josh, Chad and I have been talking about growing our own hops for some time, but haven't gotten around to it. Last week I decided now's as good of time as any. Well, it turns out that April is better as it gives the plants the optimal time to grow. Oh well, July will just have to do. Besides, we're just now getting nice weather anyways!

Hops require lots of sunlight (6-8 hours minimum), so we forwent planting them in dismal Astoria and scouted out a prime location at the Myers homestead. Then online I went to HighHops to order two plants that both are used in a wide variety of beer styles - Chinook (pale ale, stout, porter) and Cascade (pale ale, IPA, porter, barleywine.) Because of the late start date, I skipped past the rhizomes and went straight to the plant starts. Hopefully, the rapid growth that is promised will make up for the 2+months not in the ground.

Starts on the left and Rhizomes on the right.

With the plants ordered I waited patiently for them to arrive and procrastinated building a proper home for the creepers. I just couldn't find the right trellis plan. With only two plants we really didn't need an elaborate contraption and finding something simple was becoming frustrating until I stumbled upon Gowanus Brewery's trellis plans. It is perfect!

 
The trellis turned out great and is as basic as can be. It consists of scrap 4×4, leftover closet rod, two six-inch plant hangers, a one-inch flange, an eye-hook, a small rope cleat, and forty pounds of cement. Total cost: $20.

And as I write, I am STILL waiting for the damn hops to arrive. I'll update with photos once we get them in the ground and as they grow. I can't wait for the first brew made from our very own hops!

Let the Bottling Begin!

That's right folks, you're looking at the flagship label for Red Beard Brewing Company and their first brews, Naked Mole Rat IPA and Prairie Doggin' Brown Ale (which still remains to be finished.)