[BW] Beer Blog reviews my beer

I've never entered a competition. Mostly out of laziness more than anything else. I came close one time and even filled out the info and took the bottle to the home brew store, only to find out I couldn't send clear bottles. To be honest, its never something that I've ever been super concerned with because I really enjoy the beer I make and so do my friends. I have a very honest wife and friends, who will tell me if they like my beer or not. I don't consider myself a super technical brewer and definitely lean more on the artistic side of brewing than the scientific side. I brew what I think will taste good and so far have been lucky that my beers turn out well despite not always knowing all of the technical aspects of it. I have a lot of admiration for people who are that technical, its just not a strength of mine.

I've been in admiration of a blog I found early on in my blogging and that's [BW] Beer Blog, aka Bob Woodshed. This guy has some of the best beer reviews on the web and I think he just flat out knows his beer. After reading reviews of his beers for months and exchanging some comments on posts, I decided one night to email him and see if he'd be interested in reviewing a couple of my beers. He was really excited about the prospect and after a hassle with UPS two of my beers made it to him. I'm disappointed because my Morris Park Porter broke on the way, and it was a beer I really wanted him to review. Apparently when something breaks in route, they send it back and repackage it. So...for a couple weeks Rick (aka Bob Woodshed) and I have been exchanging emails trying to track down where the hell the package was.

Anyway, it finally arrived and last night I went on his site and was surprised to see the review up of the Bangy Tangy already. To say I was blown away was an understatement. I didn't expect such a positive response and was honored and humbled by it. Not that I'm not confident in my beer, but like I said before, I think he really knows his beer and didn't know how he'd react to a home brew.

You can check out the review if you want at: http://bobwoodshed.org/beer/?p=85

I'll be excited to see his response to the Northwoods (which I don't think is as good as the Bangy Tangy). I'm disappointed in the porter breaking, but I still have a couple that might make their way back to him for a review (not through UPS!). This might be something I continue to do, because its great to get another opinion on your beers. And after his response I might be entering a competition (luckily I bottled in brown bottles)!

Salud!

The Bearded Brewer

Northwoods Ale

My Northwoods Ale has been in the bottle for two weeks and thus far has really been tasting nice. I think that if I can hold off for a bit longer before drinking more of them, the flavors will really come togther even more.

This beer turned out to be much lighter than what I had intended....I used a recipe for a British bitter, but had to cut the grains in half when it came time to mash. The beer pours a very light golden color, with a very thin white head. The first aroma that hits you is the maple syrup. I put the maple syrup in during the secondary and I think that gives it the presence in the aroma more. Not much of a taste from the syrup, but a little sweetness. The wild rice gives it a little dry finish and a very distinct taste. The wild rice isn't overwhelming in my mind, but it's definitely there. Overall I'm pleased. The last time I made this beer it was more of a brown ale, and I would say this beer is closer to a lager, with very little hop presence and a smoothness to it. I'm thinking it will age well. Wild rice is fun to brew with, but time consuming because you have to boil it before hand.