Summit Horizon Red Ale

I'm sure that most people have that "fall back" beer. The brewery, or beer that they go to when they aren't feeling adventurous. For me Summit beers are those beers. I know what I'm getting, know that I will enjoy it, and can fall back on it when I'm not in the mood to try something different.
Summit holds a special place for me because Summit is the beer that made me get into craft beer. In college I did like most people, and drank whatever crap came out of a keg at a party, or whatever I could drink a lot of for cheap. After college I started getting more bold, going for such radical beers as Rolling Rock, Leinenkugals, and Grain Belt Premium.
Then I found Summit. I can't remember if it was the Hefeweizen, or the EPA that I first had, but the beer that turned me was their Maibock. Word spread amongst my friends that there was this beer that got you really drunk after two or three pints! When late Febuary, early March would roll around, we were excited for the famous blue and white checkered tap handle that said that Maibock had arrived. From there I moved into other Summits, mostly their EPA and summer offerings. It opened the door to craft beer for me. Years later, it was on a trip to the Summit brewery that I was introduced to a style I didn't like at the time but have grown to love, porters. I thought I didn't like "dark beers" until a free token at the Summit brewery resulted in a glass of Great Northern Porter (still my favorite porter) and my love for this style began.
Summit is the forgotten big brother of the craft beer industry in Minnesota. Once Surly came along, the hype followed as Surly was producing the beers that beer geeks love; hoppy, bold beers. They canned them and had a really edgy marketing theme to go with it. Surly makes great beer, and the hype as the new kid on the block was well deserved, but I think that people began to forget about Summit. Summit made very solid German and English style ales. EPA was the standard in most bars, and their Scandia was a nice Belgian Wit that became a popular summer beer. But I think that amongst a lot of beer geeks, they lacked that "umpf" or "sex appeal" for lack of a better word.
Well, Summit has answered that call with their Horizon Red Ale. This is their answer to hop heads who have been lured by the aggressive beers now available in Minnesota. Horizon is by far their hoppiest beer, and a damn good one at that!
Horizon Red pours a reddish brown with some ruby red highlights, a white head and wonderful flowery, hoppy aromas. Right away you notice some nice malt and biscut notes. At first there is some malty sweetness along with a heavy biscuit presence, those are quickly replaced by a dose of hoppy bitterness. It's well balanced, especially the more you drink. There's quite a bit of hop presence throughout, bitter, yet citrusy and floral. There's also quite a bit of maltiness and sweetness as well. There's some lingering bitterness in the finish as well as some caramel and citrusy sweetness.
A refreshing new beer for Summit. I think it's their most aggressive beer, but doesn't lose the extremely well balanced quality they have in all of their beers, and is definitely going to be added to my "fall back" options of Summit beers.
An excellent addition to the local beer scene.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

A couple random things

A couple quick things:

1. I will be reviewing the new Summit Horizon Red Ale soon. My quick thoughts: I really like this new Summit and its an encouraging sign, since its probably the most aggressive of their beers. I think this beer is Summit's answer to the hoppier, more aggressive beers in the industry, especially the growth of Surly. I will write more on this beer this week, but I really like this hoppy, bitter, red ale.

2. I bottled my Irie Stout this weekend. Its been sitting in the secondary for a month to mellow out, and hopefully blend the flavors a bit more. Granted, it needs time to bottle condition, but I'm not overly optimistic about the turn out. I think I tweaked this recipe too much and combination of treacle (too much molasses flavor) and the 10.2% abv (very present at this point), right now it's not extremely drinkable. I know I need to give it some time, but the two previous Iries were drinkable at the bottling. This might of been the case of me overthinking, and trying to hard to get the beer to fit into a category, when before it might not have been stout like, but it was damn good. We'll give it some time though.

3. Speaking of tweaking, I also will soon get to my Gringo 09 review. This is my Hoppy Mexican Lagerish beer. I don't really know how to exactly explain the Gringo in terms of style. Its made mostly from Pilsner malt, I used the Cali 2112 yeast, and lagered it for a couple weeks. It's very smooth and crystal clear in color. I used 4 ounces of Centennial hops.I also added 12 oz of Agave Nectar in the secondary. Never using Agave Nectar before, I wasn't sure how strong of a flavor it would produce...the answer...a lot! 12 oz was entirely too much. There is a great smoothness and citrusy hoppy presence to the Gringo...once you get past the honey flavor (agave nectar is essentially a light honey). Its not undrinkable by any means, its light and crisp and sweet. Too sweet though, and I just keep thinking of how much better it would be with 1/2 the Agave Nectar. I'll post an official review and the recipe soon.

4. I'm submitting my labels into the annual BYO label contest this week. I've chosen 4 labels and will post about which ones soon. I think I've improved my label designs since last year, and for that reason alone it's nice to have a contest to better yourself for.

5. One quick beer thougt...I recently got some Troeg's beers sent to me. If you have the ability to buy Hopback Amber Ale, by all means do so. Such a damn good beer!

More to come...
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

Gun to My Head List

I'm not usually one to fill out the "top five ________ lists" on Facebook, but I did fill out my top five beers. This was virtually impossible for me! I can't pick just five. I can't ever go to the store and pick out some beer, I have to look at all my options, see if there's anything new or seasonal out, it depends on what kind of beer mood I'm in, dark, light, hoppy, Belgian, etc. In fact I rarely buy a specific beer often, I'm constantly trying out new beers or taking advantage of mix your six pack deals. Ever since I made the top five list on Facebook, I keep thinking about others I would put. So I decided to come up with a list of beers I would buy with a gun to my head...just go in to the store and grab a six pack kind of moment. These are in no order of favorites, but are simply based on these two rules:
1. I have to have had bought the beer multiple times.
2. It has to be available to me either in Minnesota, or something I could get on my frequent trips to Wisconsin or in the case of Millstream, what I have people pick me up in Iowa on a regular basis.
3. Can't be seasonals, so no Hopslam or special releases.

The categories are: Pale Ales, IPAs and Ambers, Dark beers and Belgians

Pale Ales:
1. Summit EPA
2. Millstream Iowa Pale Ale
3. Left Hand Jackman's Pale Ale
4. Stone Pale Ale
5. New Belgium Mighty Arrow Pale Ale *
* technically a seasonal...

IPAs and Amber Ales:
1. Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA
2. Stone IPA
3. Lagunitas IPA
4. Bell's Two Hearted
5. Rush River Unforgiven Amber Ale
6. Rouge Dead Guy
7. Left Hand Sawtooth (Amber)
8. New Glarus IPA

Dark:
1. Surly Bender
2. Bell's Best Brown Ale
3. Left Hand Black Jack Porter
4. Left Hand Milkstout
5. New Glarus Fat Squirrel
6. Summit Great Northern Porter
7. Millstream Oatmeal Stout
8. Rogue Shakespeare Stout

Belgians:
1. Ommegang Three Philsophers
2. Ommegang Hennepin
3. Triple Karmaleit
4. Hoegaarden
5. New Belgium Triple
6. New Belgium Abbey
7. New Belgium Fat Tire
8. New Glarus Spotted Cow
9. Millstream's John's Generation White Ale
10. Surly Cynic Ale
11. Unibroue Fin Du Monde
12. Unibroue Maudite

So...there you go. So much more satisfying than the Facebook 5. There were more that I could have added, but didn't fit into my category of having them multiple times. If only I bought more of the same beers...but what would the fun be in that? I encourage people to create your own lists and post them on the comments. I'd love to see what others have...
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

IAPA

My friend Jeff and I have been best friends for over 20 years. Throughout the years we've been into a lot of the same things, starting with GI Joes, through skateboarding, Public Enemy and RUN DMC, the grunge era, punk rock, and various other phases as we've grown. For the last several years, Jeff has gotten more and more into the craft beer obsession I have. We grew up several miles apart in a small town in Iowa, and he moved to the Twin Cities about 3 years ago. Jeff has been involved with my brewing through small projects in the brewery, designing the first Beardedbrewing website, and helping out with bottling, etc.
Last year he decided to take the plunge into brewing and we brewed up a beer I originally made for him called El Jefe, a light Belgian ale. For his second beer, we decided to do a pale ale. I haven't made one in quite a while and Jeff's favorite beer is probably Summit's EPA.
Jeff and I have always collaborated well creatively and we talked about my ideas for the label and name. We bounced names back and forth for awhile trying to settle on something that represented us. Through many, many names we settled on IAPA. Not wanting to steal Iowa Pale Ale from Millstream, we decided to go with IAPA. The next fitting thing was going with a John Deere inspired label. John Deere tractors are made near our hometown and Jeff's dad worked at John Deere for a long time. It only made sense to go with a John Deere inspired label, and I was excited to find the font they use on the actual John Deere logo.
As for the beer itself, we settled on a pale ale based loosely on the Summit EPA, which means heavy on the caramel malts, and some fuggles hops at about 30 minutes. There are 2 ounces of Cascade in the end of the recipe. It's been fermenting nicely for a week and I'll be excited to see how it turns out.
In other notes, I'm going to be bottling my Irie Stout 3 soon. It's been mellowing out in the secondary for over a month. At 10% ABV, it's had a bit too harsh of an alcohol taste going on, and I've wanted it to bulk age for a bit to hopefully take care of that. Also, I created a list I want to post soon.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

Bearded Fury IPA

Last week was my spring break, and I was excited to be able to get not one, but two brews in. I have a second child arriving in June, and with a 2 year old already in the mix, I know it's going to be a busy summer. My plan is to get as much brewing in as possible (aiming for 3 more before end of May) so that I have some beer stocked up for the summer and can feed my habit before I need to take a short hiatus.
Anyway, I've been into hoppy beers lately and so I decided to brew up an IPA and a Pale Ale. I'll have more on the pale ale later in the week. As for the IPA...I've never felt like I've gotten the style down. My first IPA was made using a concoction from Northern Brewer called Hopshot. It was a decent extract IPA I called (cleverly) Hopshot IPA. Overall I liked the beer and it had some nice citrusy hops in it. My next IPA was my all organic IPA, Green Beard IPA. I got a really nice review of Green Beard from Ted @ Tedbrews, but I felt that it missed the mark on some of the bitterness. Especially compared to some excellent IPAs I've had by homebrewers like Ted and Dave @ Muckney.

So onto the Fury. Originally this beer name, and orginial label was the first from scratch beer I made. It was a pale ale that was brewed with fuggles and was a fairly tame PA. The last time I brewed it I was dissapointed in the turn out, and have not brewed it since. I'm hoping that the Pale Ale I brewed last week (and name to be revealed) will be my "house" pale ale, so I thought that the Bearded Fury needed an upgraded label and more appropriate beer to be applied to. I thought a hoppy IPA fit the bill. Enough about the name...
Bearded Fury is a little on the lower end of the IBUs, actually in the mid 40s, but I'm hoping that there will be enough bitterness to give it a backbone but really accenuate the citrusy hops. Depending on the turn out of this one, I might up the bittering hops. It's brewed with Nugget, 1 ounce of Centenial, 2 ounces of Cascade and is currently being dry hopped with 1 ounce of Cascade leaf hops. I used organic munich, organic 2-row and org Crystal 60. I'll give the full recipe when I review it. I just transferred it and it smelled great and tasted pretty good, so I'm excited for the turn out.
Later this week I'll discuss the pale ale I made with my buddy Jeff and also get to a list I've been meaning to post.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

Holy Hops!!

I haven't always been a hoppy beer fan. I've liked pale ales for a long time, but it took some time for me to learn to appreciate and even crave a good IPA. Little by little I opened up to appreciate hops, and last year took the leap into Double IPA territory with Bell's Hopslam.
I had heard the hype but figured that my adversity to super hoppy beers and the $15 six pack was enough to keep me away. Eventually, my curiosity got the best of me, and since I love every other Bell's I've had, decided I should just try Hopslam. What a beer! The honey mixed perfectly with the hops and it wasn't anywhere close to bitter. I have since tried a number of double IPAs and nothing compares. The style still tends to be hit or miss with me, so I decided to pick up several to review.

Bell's Hopslam: For Christmas this year my wife bought me a gift certificate to a local liquor/beer store with an impressive collection. I purposefully saved the last $20 for the release of Hopslam. This beer is so good, it's quite scary. At 10% you can't put down too many and be functional, yet it is surprisingly refreshing and the honey it's brewed with leaves you with a taste for another swallow! It pours a golden orange with a lacy white head. Right away the wonderful citrusy hops assert themselves but are quickly followed by the honey aroma. The beer is surprisingly smooth and not overly sticky like some double IPAs. It doesn't have much in the way of maltiness, it's all hops and honey! Very sweet with a crisp, almost dry finish. There's a lingering sweetness that entices you for another drink. This beer is outstanding! It will turn reluctant hop heads and impress any beer lover.

Sierra Nevada Torepedo Double IPA: This double IPA pours a copper orange with a thin white head. Nice citrusy west coast hop aroma nose hits you right away. Sweet at first with a grapefruit flavor, and a slight maltiness and caramel in the body. In the finish there is a strong bitterness that lingers. There's also some nice sweetness as well as some citrus and a noticeable heat from the alcohol. Much more bitter than a lot of DIPAs I've had. I liked this beer, but it wasn't as well balanced as some I've had.



Victory Hop Wallop: Most beers I've had from Victory Brewing Company have been really enjoyable and this one is no exception. It pours a cloudy golden yellow with a thin white head. Huge citrusy, grapefruity, and reisiny aromas. Sweet right away with a lingering bitterness in the finish. Throughout the beer is a lot of grapefruit flavors. It's sweet with a nice bittering finish and just massive hops throughout. A very good big, hop loaded ale.

In other notes, this week was my spring break and I brewed twice, an IPA and a Pale Ale, I'll be posting about those coming up.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer

El Muerto- FINAL RECIPE!

I feel satisfied. A rare thing in my brewing, or anything I tend to be a perfectionist about. This current batch of El Muerto, or more specifically, my recipe is the recipe I've finally settled on. About four years ago, I made my first beer that I didn't make from a kit. I got a recipe from the internet, and at the time it was a big deal. I was used to going to the store and getting the kit and that was that. My first non-kit recipe was a clone of Rogue's Dead Guy Ale and I named my version "El Muerto" and designed the label. Its the one label I haven't tinkered with and instead have been messing with the recipe over and over. What started out as clone of Dead Guy has morphed into something that doesn't resemble Dead Guy at all and is now a beer I have a hard time defining.
The last time I made this, I decided to up the amount of biscuit and to go with more of an amberish ale with a heavy emphasis on a biscuity quality. I was happy with the beer, but wanted more of a hoppy presence. Using Organic Pacific Gem hops as both the bittering agent and some at 45 has given the beer some currant flavors going on. Also, I use cascade,first gold, and saaz hops, which creates a unique combination of citrusy sweetness and some floral/fruitness. Onto my review:
El Muerto pours a clear amber-dark orange with a thin white head. Some nice aromas of malt and fruit, berries with some citrus. Sweetness right away with some nice maltiness and fruitiness, in particular currants. There is a lingering bitterness in the finish as well some biscuit, which is more toned down than the last version. Much more of a malty profile with some hoppy/citrusy sweetness that is nice on top of the bitterness and the malty body. I'm really happy with the complexity of El Muerto, it's hoppy and bitter, along with an almost Belgianish fruity aroma and berry fruitiness. Like I said...I'm satisfied and need to make sure I resist the urge to make any tweaks the next time I brew this one!

I'm on spring break this week, so I plan on brewing twice, a new IPA recipe which I'm calling Bearded Fury, and the second collaboration with my buddy Jeff, this time an ode to our home state, IAPA (Iowa Pale Ale). More to come on those beers. Also I'd like to finally get to my double IPA reviews.
Salud!
Bearded Brewer