Westbennetteren 12 b(2)ottling

That time of year for Zombies

For the most part I don't bottle condition my beers and opt instead to carbonate the beer in the keg to a volume I am happy with then BeerGun it into a bottle when I need it in a bottle. I have really only one exception to this and that is for when bottle conditioning is a very integral part of the of finished beer, such is the case for my "fancy beer with a fancy name" Westbennetteren 12. Even in these exceptions I still like to utilize the BeerGun in loo of a bottling bucket as it allows for a nice sealed O2 free environment and it's so much easy to use the controls on the Beer Gun.

So when it came time to bottle up Westbennneteren 12 b2 I moved the beer from it's long secondary to a flushed keg. I then added 5.5 oz of Candi Syrup Inc Simplicity and a fresh vial of WLP500 (I couldn't get any fresh WLP530 in time). Finally I shook and rolled the keg to get everything to blend together.

For this round I wanted to use as many genuine Belgian bottles as I could (especially Westmalle / Westveleteren trappist bottles) so I asked my friend Michael, who owns the incredible Belgian GastroPub The Globe, if I could have at some of his empty bottles. He said yes allowing me to secure just about a case of Westmalle, Rochefort, Orval and Straffe Hendrik bottles. Added to the Belgian bottles I had on hand allowed me to bottle over a case of Westbennetteren 12 in Belgian bottles.

The final key to this years batch occurred just as I was ready to order this years caps from Bottlemark.  Just as I was about to place my order for the same cap I used last year, they came out with a new line of colored crowns including a gold oxygen-barrier cap which is the perfect cap for Westbennetteren 12. I have to tell you the new caps are incredible, not only do they look great but they are incredibly durable.

Now that the beer is bottled up it has about a month or room temperature conditioning ahead of it before it's debut at Quad-Fest 2013!

À votre santé

-SNB

Town Hall Brewery - Masala Mama

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Until tonight I had issues completing the Top 5 as number 2 Masala Mama from Town Hall Brewery was draft or growler only.

I was unsuccessful in my last trip to Minnesota as it was "too late and far" to go with my brother, never mind that we ended up waiting over 40 minutes where we went.

So special thanks to chixdighops for the growler of Masala Mama for a growler of Knucklesandwich.

It arrived tonight and thanks to the cold temperatures was pretty cold. an hour in the fridge while I worked on the keezer was plenty of time to get it to IPA enjoying temperature.

Appearance: Pours a beautiful amber color with a fluffy cloud of head (I'm actually pretty impressed as it was fill on Monday) into my Squatters Imperial Pint. Solid head retention with very nice lacing.

Aroma: I'm a little stuffy but the hop aroma blasts through but in no way over powering, I would guess it is little dry hopped.

Taste: Yup this is a solid IPA, not overly bitter and well balanced. Bonnie says that is is "ooh smooth" and for the most part I agree. It reminds me a lot of Furious in taste and appearance which is not a bad thing.

Mouthfeel: Beautiful

Drinkability: Awesome, at around 6 this is a prefect multiglass IPA!

Now that I have creaked the Top 5 its time to work on both filling the top 20 and getting reviews in place for all

Serving type: growler

01-08-2011 02:34:28

Karl Strauss - Scott's Big IPL

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Had on tap multiple times at the Costa Mesa location as well as pro brewers night at the AHA Conference.

This beer was the pro version of their Pro-Am competition for

A: Nice golden orange color with a frothy white head. Lacing remains well through the glass

S: Good hop aroma, I would have excepted more with it being related to an IPA but this is a Karl Strauss beer. I'm picking up Simcoe

T: More East coast then West coast and tasted more Ale then a lager but overall I it had a very nice flavor that I enjoyed greatly

M: Solid monthfeel with good carbonation.

O: A good representation of a non existent style. On of the best Karl Strauss beers I've had in years

Serving type: on-tap

07-12-2011 15:46:40

Brasserie La Choulette - La Choulette Framboise

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

12 ounce bottle poured into a Bruery tulip, served at around 44-50. Label lists it as a French farmhouse ale brewed with raspberry juice.

Appearance: Purple-red with a slight garnet tint in head. Reflective light off the glass is a very deep red color. The frothy head clings well to side of glass with some lace lacing which barely sticks to the side of the glass

Aroma: Slight funky with tart raspberry. Bonnie detects an almost metallic smell, it’s very subtle and only something her super sniffer would pick up. I can barely detect it, it similar to the difference between stainless steel aged chardonnay and chardonnay aged in oak barrels. Somewhat of a “clean” smell in the back in my nose, by clean I mean the way a room smells after a thorough cleaning. Not as much funk as I would've hoped for in a “farmhouse” ale but the aroma is very enjoyable and improve slightly as warms. Swirling definitely helped bring out the raspberry character.

Mouthfeel: very small bubbles, some twang, bubbles pickle my upper lip. It has a very raspberry juice and champagne feel 

Taste: It’s definitely a raspberry beer, this is by far the most predominate flavor in the beer however it is not overpowering like some fruit beers. The raspberry is very much in balance in this beer not overly raspberry. It does have very little funk and is not as complex as I would've hoped

Overall: A decent beer but nothing extraordinary. Still it’s very clean very well brewed. I went in wanting a nice funky soured beer and that probably clouded my review. While I’ve stated a lot that I would have preferred more funk I am a lot happier with this beer than if it were listed as a farmhouse saison. A little too fruity of a beer for what I would like in a farmhouse but to me farmhouse means a beer with a great funky bretty character smell and taste.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2011 19:18:16

Alpine Beer Company - Ugly

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Attention brewers of Black IPAs, Cascadian Dark Ales, India Black Ales, American-Style India Black Ales or as the Brewers Association recently announced American-Style Black Ale.

This is how your beer should taste, smell and appear.

Had this on tap at the Alpine beer company 11-May-11

Appearance: Poured a dark roasty black with brown around the edge. No really head was present and I didn't see it poured but it does product very nice lacing.

Aroma: The hop aroma blasts through but in no way over powering, very nicely done, piney with some citrus

Taste: Yup this is a solid IPA, not overly bitter and well balanced. I get near zero roasty flavor, how are they getting the color

Mouthfeel: Beautiful, good carbonation, nice body, a little dry

Overall: Awesome, this is everything an American-Style Black Ale should be!

Serving type: on-tap

05-12-2011 19:20:18

Brouwerij Oud Beersel - Oud Beersel Oude Kriek Vieille

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this at a sour tasting held 7-Mar-2011 at my homebrew club

A: Ruby red, pink head, had a nice fluffy head that did quickly vanish
S: Soured cherry pie
M: Full and foamy, like soda!
T: Old cherry pie or a tart cherry pie, more of the traditional type which showcased the fruit without piling in sugar
O: Cherry pie in a glass!
Original A-
Second thought: B - Its tastes too much like cherry pie, not really interesting.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 19:38:32

HaandBryggeriet - Haandbakk

Pulled off of BA in light of the Great Banning of 2013

look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had this at a sour tasting held 7-Mar-2011 at my homebrew club

A: Brown, glossy, low carbonation
S: Earthy, it smells like dirt
M: ~ metalic, slick and dry
T: Shit! it is going crazy in my mouth, Hot, very tarty and sour, its a smack to my palate
O: It's a very nice ride, Buzzy, I could enjoy a bottle
A-

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2011 19:34:15