New Brew Thursday 3rd Anniversary - Woo!

Me hanging out with Stephen (New Brew Thursday)
and Greg (OC Beer Blog) who let me use the picture

On a nice January evening the SBS crew (Scott, Steve, Ryan and Scott), Scott's wife Jennifer and I headed North to Beachwood BBQ and Brewing to celebrate the third anniversary of my favorite online show - New Brew Thursday. 

We got there just before the 7:00 pm start time to find the place already pretty packed with fellow beer geeks anxiously anticipating the bottle share and revelry that was to come. We were told the wait for a table would be about a hour, so we figured we would stash our beer filled bags and grab a drink.  I headed straight back to congratulate host Stephen Johnson on 3 growing years of NBT and was fortunate enough to score one of the last commemorative glasses.  

3rd Anniversary Glass - woo!

After grabbing a beer at the bar we hung out socializing with other party goers while we waited for our table.  As with most cultural communities you tend to run into a lot of the same people over time at various gathering.  This is actually how I got to know the SBS crew.  The first time I met the guys was at the 2011 Bruery initiation party then a few months later at another event.  Phone numbers were exchanged and we started hanging out a couple of times a month. 

It wasn't long after we got a beer that my buddies Brad (from Peace Brewing) and Greg (from OC Beer Blog) arrived with their ever lovely wives. While I was talking with them Matt Becker came up to say hi to Brad and Greg allowing me the opportunity to congratulation him on the success of the show.

About a half a hour in, just about the time we were starting to get really hungry, we scored one of the best tables in the restaurant, a big U shaped table about midway in the which also happened to be right across from the bottle share.  To make things even better within minutes of getting seated the bottle share started! We quickly ordered dinner and started to hit up the share.  I bumped into another acquaintance Chris (beachstrength49) who hooked us up with some of the best beers of the night.

He's a rundown of the fantastic beers I got to try that night

• Alpha Supreme by Beachwood Brewing <Brewed For NBT>
• Fantôme Saison D'Erezée - Printemps by Brasserie Fantôme
• DBA Unfiltered 100% Barrel Aged Cask by Firestone Walker Brewing Company
• Ode to a Russian Shipwright by Olvalde Farm and Brewing Company
• 23rd Anniversary Old Ale by Karl Strauss Brewing Company
• Melange A Trois (Reserve Series, Chardonnay Barrel Aged) by Nebraska Brewing Company
• Eclipse - Elijah Craig 12 (2012) by FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
• Eclipse - Elijah Craig 18 Year (2011) by FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
• Victory At Sea (2008) by Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits
• Bolt Cutter (15th Anniversary Barley Wine) by Founders Brewing Company
• Spring 2012 Biere De Mars by Almanac Beer Co.
• Firestone 13 Anniversary Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing Company
• Papier (2009) by The Bruery
• B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher Oatmeal-Imperial Stout by Hoppin' Frog Brewery
• Genealogy of Morals by Hill Farmstead Brewery
• Lambic by Rivertown Brewing Company
• Barrel Aged Alpha Klaus with Plum by Three Floyds Brewing Company
• Angel's Share (2009) by The Lost Abbey
• The Full Pint 5th Anniversary Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing Company
• Batch #1 by Crooked Stave Brewing Company
• Bourbon County Cherry Rye by Goose Island Beer Co. (AB-InBev)
• 2011 Rum Barrel Oil of Aphrodite by Jackie O's Pub & Brewery
• Mother of all Storms (2012) by The Pelican Pub & Brewery
• Diesel #2 by Cascade Brewing Company

Best shot I had of the party - thanks crappy phone

As luck turned out Stephen spent a good portion of the evening hanging out at our table, which given its location had also become a satellite to the main share. Just like when I hung up with him at the Stone Epic Festival: The Final Chapter I had a great time and learned a lot about various subjects.

Overall it was one of the best anniversary parties I'd been to and we ended up staying deep into the evening hours (technically when we left it was the next day!) enjoying great beer, hanging out with quality people and having a fantastic time.

Cheers to another year NBT crew - woo!

-SNB

Manfish Brewing Comes to Town Part 1 + Beachwood BBQ and Brewing Redux

Welcome to Part 1 of 3 of my Epic Manfish Brewing Comes to Town!  I've had a few other names in mind but settled on that. 

 

A couple weeks ago my buddy Ken from Manfish Brewing drove down from Washington on a business trip.  Ken and I met a while back when we were both pretty active on the Mr Beer Forum when we were starting out in brewing.  We had both received our kits as presents around the 2009 holiday season giving us a shared origin into brewing.

The "brewmasters" of Manfish and SNB Brewing
"hard" at work

That summer he took a road trip south hitting all the classic breweries on his way down.  He posted on the forum some of the big stops and I messaged him that when he was in the area we should get together for a beer.  Not knowing where to go I told him to meet me at The Shop (Addison Homebrew Provisions).   Once we met up we determined we would hit up Bootlegger’s as when I called they had Knuckle Sandwich on tap, this was back before the hype machine attacked KS. 

We had a great time, I’ve mentioned before how brewers seem to just fall into friendships easily and Ken was no exception.  Over the next year I’d send him some growlers (one of KS and one of IPL) and he’d send me the official Manfish pint glass.  When I went up to Washington for Easter we tried to get together but were unable to. Fortunately I knew he was coming down in August.

This time around I decided to schedule out a long Sunday with him and instead seize the opportunity and take him around to some of the best breweries Orange County had to offer. Of course we had to start at Beachwood BBQ and Brewing (update with more pictures) in Long Beach, hey it’s near the border…

Beachwood BBQ and Brewing

Man I love this place, they are really hitting their stride brewing wise. I was able to another complete flight of excellent beers with zero repeats from my previous visits. Ken joined me for the taster flight and this time around we tried...

From Left to Right; Reckless,
Thrill Seeker, The Equalizer and Bulldog

Reckless is a session-ish (sorry but I am pretty rigid on the definition of a session ie 4% or less) pale ale.  Beautiful piney and resiny nose from the Northwest hops Julian used on it.  Overall a really nice pale ale.

I followed that with Thrill Seeker which is clearly a "West Coast-style" IPA in the truest sense. Some of my favorite hops such as Chinook, Summit, Centennial, and Simcoe dance wonderfully together.   I don’t know where he managed to find the Simcoe but I’m glad he did. It has a great classic dry hopped IPA aroma of pine and citrus on it.   Ken and I really liked this on and I’m still on the fence with this vs Melrose.

Next up was The Equalizer, an “explosive” double (thank you for not calling it imperial) IPA. The cool thing about this beer is that the toss whole hops in the serving tank, which worked out ok.  To me I really didn’t love this beer like I have most of the others.  Double IPAs and I have a tough relationship; I either love them or find them tough to drink if they are not well balanced.

I ended my taster flight with the Bulldog a traditional Irish-style stout served on nitro. This one came out really nice, the nitro does wonders for the mouthfeel making it smooth and creamy.  The taste was nice and roasty and reminded me of several good Irish stouts I’ve had.

One of their guest boards

After that I hit the guest taps for a 10oz pour of a Session Ale w/brett from Gaverhopeke Koerseklakske or as I called it the session ale with brett from the brewery I can’t pronounce. This one was ok, it had some good earthy brett character but wasn’t blowing me away.  While Ken and Bonnie enjoyed some of the Melrose IPA.

As for food I ordered some of the tater tot casserole and the smoked buffalo wings for the table and the steak salad for lunch. Ken and Bonnie both had the barbecue chicken salad.  After lunch I grabbed a growler of the Melrose and Ken and I head back into the OC for our first stop Bootlegger’s…

Cheers,

-SNB

Imperial Rhino Stout 2011

Teaser of the Label

I think it’s about time to post my first recipe on the site.  To kick things off I’m going to start with one of the biggest beers I’ve brewed to date, the 2011 version of Imperial Rhino Stout!

The name derives from the second beer brewed way back in 08 at a brew on premise which I called Rhino Stout. It was a nice oatmeal stout that unfortunately caught to some type of infection that gave it a metallic vinegar taste.

Cold Brew Coffee
Extraction

This will be the second time I’ve brewed a stout under the name Imperial Rhino Stout but the two could not be more different. The 2010 beer was the 6th beer I ever brewed and conditioned so long that by the time I opened my first bottle I have brewed 21 more beers (about 6 months).  At this time I was still using pure Mr Beer so the recipe contained no steeped grains (thought it did use WLP001). Regardless of this after 6 months it was incredible (yes you can brew great beer with Mr Beer – I’ll post the recipe at the bottom).  I enjoyed the last bottle of the 10 version while waxing my 2010 Holiday Beer and have been planning the next version since.

I decided for the 2011 version I would hearken back to its roots and make an imperial version of an oatmeal stout.  I should note that the only I use the term Imperial is when it applies to a stout, everything else will be referred to as a double.  Given the fact that it will contain flaked oats it will require a partial mash.  I'm also going to loop in the coffee notes I got in the 2010 version using a cold brewed coffee extract at flame out and again at kegging. Essentially a cross between Founders Breakfast Stout and Surly Darkness

In the Oven at 170 to Hold Temp at 154

Imperial Rhino Stout 2011

Imperial Stout

Type: Partial Mash
Date: 5/30/2011

Batch Size: 5.00 gal

Brewer: Scott Bennett

Boil Size: 4.01 gal

Asst Brewer:  BrewDog

Measured OG of 1.100

Boil Time: 60 min E

Brewhouse Efficiency: 67.00 %

Beer Profile

Measured Original Gravity: 1.100 SG

Measured Final Gravity: 1.018 SG

Actual Alcohol by Vol: 10.9 %

Bitterness: 37.3 IBUs

Est Color: 41.7 SRM 

Malt

5 lbs 8.0 oz Light Dry Extract

3 lbs Dark Dry Extract [Late Addition]

1 lbs 8.0 oz Oats, Flaked

1 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) US

12.0 oz Chocolate Malt

4.0 oz Black (Patent) Malt

4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 6 1.9 %

4.0 oz Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 7 1.9 %

4.0 oz Victory Malt (25.0 SRM) Grain 8 1.9 %

Hops

Ready for Yeast

1.00 oz Columbus (Tomahawk) - Boil 60.0 min

0.70 oz Simcoe - Boil 20.0 min

1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent - Boil 5.0 min

Yeast

1.0 Larger Starter of Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007)

Other

1.00 tbsp PH 5.2 Stabilizer (Mash 60.0 mins)

1.00 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 mins)

4.00 tsp Yeast Nutrient (Boil 15.0 mins)

4.00 Cup Cold Brewed Coffee (Primary) (Boil 0.0 mins)

 4.00 Cup Cold Brewed Coffee (Kegging)

Mash Steps

Heat Strike water to 165F (5.63 qts)

Mashed at 155F for 60 mins. 1.5 qt/lb.

Sparge with 5.63 qts at 170F

Notes

Add the results of 1 cup of coarsely crushed coffee beans cold extracted in at Flame Out

Add the results of 1 cup of coarsely crushed coffee beans cold extracted in at Kegging

Cold brewed coffee ratio 8oz of coffee per 4 cups water

Primary Coffee = Whole Foods Extra Dark French Roast

Secondary Kegging Coffee = Whole Foods Red Sea

Imperial Rhino Stout 2011 Update Links

Creating Labels and the Imperial Rhino Stout 2011 Label

Imperial Rhino Stout 2011 Tasting Notes

BeerGunning the Imperial Rhino Stout 2011

Labeling and Waxing the Imperial Rhino Stout 2011

The 2010 Label

Imperial Rhino Stout 2010

Imperial Stout

Type: Extract

Date: 3/06/2010

Batch Size: 2.13 gal

Brewer: Scott Bennett 

Beer Profile

Recipe Gravity: 1.067 OG 

Estimated FG: 1.017 FG

Alcohol by Volume: 6.5%

Bitterness: 38 IBU

Color: 37° SRM 

Mmm... Tasty

Malt

0.22 lb Brown Sugar, Light Sugar

1.00 lb MrB. Booster Sugar

1.21 lb MrB. Creamy Brown UME

1.21 lb MrB. St. Patrick’s Irish Stout HME

Hop

1.00 oz MrB. St. Patrick’s Irish Stout Pellet 5 minutes

0.50 oz Palisade Pellet 5 minutes

0.50 oz Willamette Pellet 5 minutes

Yeast

1.00 unit California Ale yeast  Yeast  WLP001

Recipe Notes

1 cup of coffee beans in second hop sack

Let condition in the bottle for 6 months prior to consumption

Beachwood BBQ and Brewing

Outside Seating Coming Soon

Bonnie and I have been going to Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach for the last couple of years.  The food is incredible southern style BBQ and both the tap and bottle list have always been incredible.  It’s always been a place we both enjoy to go and I’ve never been let down even when trying some outside the box.  On my last birthday Bonnie took me there and I had my first Sour Stout while talking with the Owner/Head Chief Gabe Gordon about both his food and beer selection process. 

Given Gabe’s attitude on craft beer and his intense focus on preparing awesome food I was very excited when it was announced they would be opening a second location.  What made it even more exciting was the fact that they would be brewing their own house line up of beer.  It was soon announced that they had settled on a location in Long Beach and that they would be bringing in Julian Shrago as co-owner and head brewer. Julian is a well known homebrewer who has brewed at the commercial scale with several breweries including Port Brewing and Triple Rock.

Enough background let’s talk about Beachwood BBQ and Brewing Long Beach.

Bonnie and I stopped by after taking babyRaptor to the Long Beach Aquarium on Sunday the 24^th.  This was my second visit as Shawn and I had stopped by a few weeks earlier shortly after the grand opening.  On this trip they had 8 of their house beers on tap and had started doing taster flights.  Bonnie and I both selected the following flight; Punk Wheat Ale, Uno Belgian Single Ale, Breaker Pale Ale and Melrose India Pale Ale.

The House Beer  Menu

Punk Wheat -This was a dynamite American Wheat reminds me a lot of New Glarus Dancing Man Wheat

Uno Belgian Single Ale - The name is spot on, this was a very nice light Belgian

Breaker Pale Ale - Classic pale ale with the prefect amount of bitterness

Melrose India Pale Ale - This was the beer I was most excited to try and it did not let me down, absolutely brilliant!

After completing my taster I immediately ordered a full pint of the Melrose and spotted Julian who was in moving some beer around.  I’d met him a few times now and he’s a really cool guy, as most brewers are.  Most of our discussion centered on my impressions of the beers and how things were going.

Of course the beer is only half of the reason we go to Beachwood.  For lunch we had an order of the smoked chickens wings (it was like eating bacon on the bone), smothered fries (really good), Bonnie got the BBQ chicken salad (dynamite as always) and I got the steak salad (probably the best cooked steak I’ve had in a while).

We had planned on meeting a friend there for lunch but while already running late had managed to go to the Seal Beach location.  While we waited for her I ordered the Kilgore Stout.  I’d had this stout before and really enjoyed it.  I’d say it’s a bridge between a classic stout and an American pale ale or IPA.  Good amount of roastiness with some sweetness and a nice hop nose. Big thumbs up.

Much Better Shot!

Before leaving a grabbed a growler of the Melrose to go and unlike the Rockbottom growler I had, I guarantee this one will be refilled often! (of course it helps that we bought a yearlong membership to the aquarium so we could have a place to take babyRaptor)

Cheers

-SNB

Updated 14-Aug-11 with New Pictures

Guest Tap Board

Taster Flight

The Correct Pressure for Every Keg!