BOO!
Happy Halloween, beer lovers. Instead of actually writing something original, I encourage you to visit Pfiff! who is hosting Fermentation Friday (thanks Beer Bits 2!) this month. The topic? Homebrew horror stories. You should see ours in the yet-to-be posted recap.
Terrapin keeps it real with new beers
Terrapin, the newest of Georgia’s 3 breweries, has been a busy bee. Their most recent side project, the Terrapin Gamma Ray, is a honey wheat wine that is simply outstanding. If you haven’t had it yet, see if you can snag one before it’s gone. According to Steve at Terrapin,
Basically, its a German style wheat beer on Steroids. Gamma Ray clocks in at 11% abv and is brewed with 700lbs of Tupelo and Sourwood Honey from Savannah Bee Co. This might be the best beer that Spike has ever brewed.
I tend to agree. It was above all an interesting beer. The honey is definitely upfront but not overpowering. It’s essentially an imperial version of their Sun Ray Wheat.
But there’s more. Terrapin has also teamed up with Left Hand Brewing in Colorado (brewers of our second-favorite milk stout) to produce a new beer: Terra-Rye?Zd. This beer is a black lager brewed with rye. Oh yes? Draft Magazine has this to say about it:
The beer has the water softness of a traditional schwarzbier (black lager), but the rye imparts a distinct sharpness to the flavor and aroma that sets this apart from the German black lager. The dark grains lend a very light smokiness that settles in nicely on the back of the tongue. Hop bitterness is elevated slightly, and they contribute an earthy, floral hop flavor. This is a slightly heavy beer, but easy to enjoy.
And unfortunately I haven’t found Terra-Rye’Zd in stores anywhere yet. I’m told it’s there, but keeps getting sold out. If anyone has tried it, please let us know what you think. Kudos to Terrapin for thinking outside of the box and working to put Georgia beer on the map!
We’re not weird, we swear
We had a good crowd last night as we brewed our second batch of pumpkin ale for the year. Shout-out to Wayne at Cigar City Brewing for some help with the recipe. This time we used less spices, fewer hops and also upped the caramel malts a smidge. We’re hoping for something similar to the last batch, but not quite as clove-ridden.
In between the brewing (shot of pumpkin beer above compliments of Jeanine) and the drinking, people inevitably start talking to each other. Stuff like, “So. How’d you hear about this?” or “How do you know these guys?” And increasingly the answer is, “I found them on the internet.” Which is inherently creepy, right?
We’ve heard numerous stories now from people who wanted to come… but at the same time didn’t want to come. I mean, we brew at a residence. And they don’t know us, just our internet presence. Fortunately, those same people bit the bullet and decided to come, and many have become regulars. There’s still that initial fear to overcome though. “Will these people harvest my organs? What if they’re not people at all, but vampires?” You know the drill.
Regardless, we would like to go on record as saying that we are actually fairly normal (except for Joel). We swear.
Pumpkin is in the air tonight
Not only will be we drinking our first 2008 batch of pumpkin beer (The Headless Horseman), we’ll be brewing another batch as well! That’s 2x the pumpkin, just in time for All Hallow’s Eve. Our first batch turned out well, though a little heavy on the spices. So the only change will be to spices and hops the second go-around.
And if pumpkin isn’t your thing, we’ve also got a cherry vanilla stout and a bourbon-barrel stout (aged with bourbon-soaked oak chips, not actually in a barrel) on tap. Come on by, and contact us for directions if you need them!
MNB enters the Final Gravity Strong Beer Competition
The Final Gravity Strong Beer Competition takes place tomorrow at 5 Seasons – Prado. Entries were supposed to be in a few weeks ago. We are turning ours tonight. We’ve been bestowed the “Cloak of Leniency” for no apparent reason, except they want to drink as many beers as possible.
Beers in the competition must be over 8% ABV. And our Laissez-Faire Barleywine definitely fits the bill. This beer has been aging since we brewed it last July (over a year ago). We’ll see if the judges approve.
Better mouthfeel, better beer
So I’ll come right out and say it. I just got my braces off. Excuse the rabid hillbilly smile in the picture. Turns out it’s hard to both show all of your teeth AND not look crazy:
What does this event mean for the future of Monday Night Brewery? The benefits are two-fold:
- I’ve obviously been challenged in discerning mouthfeels in beers with big porcelain towers on my teeth. Now I’ll be a tasting champ, rivaling even Jeff in picking out weird and subtle flavors.
- The ladies. Let’s just say I’m back on the market.
Remember Zima?
Yeah. Neither do we. You better stock up while you can, Travis.