kegerator tap handles

I know I haven't posted in a while, as I've been trying to finish up my PhD. I got the go ahead from my committee but I need to finish a few experiments before I can submit my final papers and graduate. So, blogging has been put on the backburner.



I thought I would share the tap handles I made for my kegerator. They are made of an old piece of driftwood I cut in half and mounted a screw on the inside so it would fit the tap bolt. I used some plexiglass I had laying around to create two label holders. They work quite well. The label sits sandwiched in between the two pieces of plexi and a single screw holds everything together. (I predrilled the screw hole in the plexi).

Last Octobers Octoberfest

New belgium fat tire

New Belgium is now in Tennessee!!!  Fat Tire has to be one of my favorite beers.  I've had new belgium beers a couple of times and really enjoyed them.  

When this beer is opened, its has a playground of flavors that meld together wonderfully.  The spicy nose tingles with clove and roasted cinnamon (if you can imagine such a thing).  Up front this beer is fruity, but that mellows into a light toasty flavor.  Then the biscuit flavor hits you and its just great.  What is great is that there is just a touch of noble hop flavor in this beer thats almost not there, but just winks at you from the corner.   "How ya doin?  Yep, I'm still here."  

One of the things I appreciate about this beer (and maybe its just this batch because I didn't recall this from previous tastings), is the soft malt flavor.  Its not over carbonated, so you don't get that massive bite in the beginning.  I appreciate this actually.  Its nice and subtle, but a little lower carbonation can go a long way.  

I tend to undercarbonate my beers when I brew them.  They're not flat, but have maybe 1.5 - 2 volumes of CO2, which for most styles of beer is on the low end.  Maybe its just my taste buds, but I feel that it lets the flavor of the beer come out more.  It seems that that acidic carbonic bite can cover alot of flavor in the beer that would otherwise be missed.  

Ah, but I digress.  Get this beer.  Mine was really FRESH too.  Its great.  9/10

Nice

While I think all beer is beer and believe that there is a place for
every beer....

This is funny.

Upstream Brewing Company

Situated in the Old town district of Omaha, Nebraska lies Upstream Brewing. Named after the indian word for Omaha, Upstream has a wonderful repitiour of great beers.

I'm in Omaha this week because my brother is swimming at the US Olympic Trials. Two nights ago, I suggested we visit this fine establishment. Our experience was well worth it. The food was amazing and our waiter was fabulous. It was quite the experience.

I was fortunate to sample three of their well crafted beers. Everything I had I really enjoyed and could tell it was very well made. Zack, the head brewer, has begun some interesting projects with lambics and barrel aged beers, but unfortunately, I didnt get a chance to sample any.

Amber Ale, Served on Cask

When it was poured from the hand pump, the bartender brought it to me with an overflowing head of rich white foam. He handed me the glass and I was pleasently surprised by the temperature. Cask ales are best served at 55 F and this felt to be in that ball park. The aroma was malty with some great earthy hop tones mixed in. Tasting was similar. Very smooth and malty up front with a great english/earthy hop tone mixed with a lingering dextrounous body. There were some flavor hints in there of toasted caramel, which accented the full body of the beer well. The cask conditioning really helped this beer and it seemed perfectly suited for this style of dispensing. The balance is to the sweet side, but that probably has a bit to do with the cask as well. Great rich finish. I would order this again in a second. Fantastic pint. 8/10

Honey Raspberry Lager.

I thought this would be a great beer for my mom, but she ended up stealing my next pint (tell you about that in a bit). This beer has a good CO2 bite up front, but becomes very smooth and leaves your mouth with hints of raspberry. The honey is there, but its much more fleeting in the finish; more of a note than a flavor. This beer is very smooth and clean. Well balanced, with a malt forward angle. The best thing about this beer is it has a great dry finish that leaves you wanting more. This would be a perfect beer for a summer afternoon sitting on your porch. Instead of an Iced Tea or lemonade, I would sip on this. 7/10 Solid.

Imperial Maple Stout.

This seasonal was the evening's winner by far. My god what a beer. I ordered it, took my first sip and was blown away. I gave a taste to my Mom, and had to fight her to get it back!! Rich roasty nose up front. Color as black as tar on a moonless night. Velvety roasted malt flavor up front with a niced balanced body. Not overly thick as some imperial stouts can get, but with a hint of sweetness that accents the style. The maple comes through in the finish but does not overpower. It lends a great note that rounds out the heat: At almost 7.5% (9% by our server's standards), this beer is strong. However, its extreemly well crafted and doesnt blast you with liquid buzz; the roasty flavor slides nicely into a maple note and finishes like a roasty red wine. Rich in flavor, high in alcohol, but not overpowering or ethanol sweet. Great Finish. One of the best. All I can say is Roasty toasty roasty toasty toasty roasty maple goodness. If you can get to Omaha before this is gone, BUY THIS BEER. 9/10

Today, between prelims and finals, I had some free time so I went to Upstream to get some reading done and have a beer.

IPA

Solid IPA, well crafted with a great citrus hop aroma. Rich creamy head with great lacework. Nice hop cloudyness to this pint. Taste is hoppy with a good malt backbone. I was surprised however to detect some munich notes in there (I could be crazy, but It might be there). There is also a hint of caramel, mabye crystal 60, but I cant be sure. I had this with a snack of toasted french bread and cheese and they went extreemly well together. The cheese cleansed the hops from my palate and the hops returned the favor. A soft overall character in this beer, with a great hop finish.

I hope before I leave tomorrow I will be able to sample more of their fine beers. However, my brother is swimming tomorrow in the 100 freestyle and that is much more exciting than any beer I could ever taste. If he wants a nap and I get some free time, I might just pop in for another pint.

How lucky the people of Omaha are to have such a great brewery. This is FANTASTIC beer. I'm really impressed.

Coronado Brewing Company

Great tap handle from Cornado Brewing Company!

I recently went to San Diego on vacation. We stayed on Coronado Island, which is one of the barrier islands that forms San Diego harbor. While I was out there, I got to sample some of the local brew.
























First, the Coronado Golden.

Great refreshing beer. Noble hop aroma, pilsner malt aroma, tastes a bit fruity like an ale, but with a great pilsner malt backbone. Good malty finish. Easy drinking beer.

This is a perfect lawnmower beer. Great for a hot afternoon working outside, or sitting by the lake. I can see this is a crowd pleaser. 7/10























Next, the CBC red.

Hoppy aroma, nice hop flavor that lingers. Great head retention. Tastes like centennial hops, but not too bitter. When this beer warms up, the flavors come out and explode. This beer would be better with a lower degree of carbonation, mabye on cask, but its still a great hoppy beer.

7-8/10

Stone IPA and Barrons Wattle Seed Ale

Oh the delicious offerings of Stone! What a great brewing company and the lupulin delivery viehicles they procure. So wonderful to sample these fine ales in their native environment!!!!!

Stone IPA

I’m in San Diego touring the city and what a wonderful way to spend my time than examining the beers that are local to this city. I’m only privy to some west coast ales in Tennessee, but not many. So I’m taking advantage of this opportunity to explore.

First up is the wonderful local san diego brewery, Stone brewing company. I love their Arogant bastard ale, and it’s a favorite of mine. Even though I can probably get their IPA back home, I haven’t reviewed it yet.

Served in a bomber 22, this beer pours a wonderful golden color with a rich hop bouquet. It screams cascade, but the wonderful thing about this beer and the hop aroma/presence is that its never overly assertive. Some hop heads might disagree with me here, but for me its nice when I have a hoppy beer that dosent leave my clothes smelling of hops after a pint. That being said, the flavor of this beer has that same character. The hops are solid, but not completely blasting you over.

I love this beer’s flavor. Great taste, without the grapefruit notes of cascade. Its also subdued a bit, but still strongly an IPA. the malt is extremely well balanced in this beer, with a smooth bitterness that’s not puckering. I had a hard time picking out the malt background of this beer. It tastes almost completely two row, with a ‘touch’ of toasted malt. The finish is quite hoppy and lingers nicely. It does not cloy with bitterness, its not sweet or dry either. Just well balanced and fantastic.

I recommend this to almost any hop head lover, although if you are a hop head, no doubt you’ve heard of stone and their fantastic beers.

9/10

Baron’s Wattle seed ale – black wattle superior.

So I’ve never heard of wattle seed before and have no earthly idea what it is. However, I must say, that this is a GREAT pint. Imported from Australia.

This pint pours dark, and looks overly aggressive on the roasted malt side, but I was pleased that it did not taste like that.

Rich aroma; very malt forward with nice chocolate notes and a hint of black licorace. Low-er corbonation which helps accent the sweetness of the malt.

Upon tasting, this beer first presents itself as a mild carbonic bite on the tounge, then it dissipates, coats, and unleashes a very full bodied flavor. I taste strong chocolate, hint of roast, and a spicyness that I cant place. Its almost tastes like the sting you get from a good cinnamon, but very, very mild. Quite rich, but not overwhelming. It must be the wattle seed or the yeast.

Very smooth beer. It is a sweet beer, but leaves your mouth dry. It may be a combination of the chocolate malt and the wattle seed that does it, but it leaves you wanting another sip.

The finish is nice with a lingering chocolate flavor. Somewhat like semi-sweet; not bitter, not sweet, but nicely in between.

Hops are very, very subtle if there at all. I love the flavor of this beer. Wish I could get it back home!!

8 out of 10.