Mac’s Brew News – July 18, 2016

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Greetings to all you Mac’s Brew followers.  It’s time to share the latest news from Mac’s Brew Pub.  Please read responsibly.

I’ve been on vacation, and busy with exterior home remodeling.  That doesn’t mean, however, that the brewery is being neglected.  Au contraire, there is much to report and update.  Mac’s Brew is continuing to put out great beer and will soon be brewing even more great and unique beer.

Recalcitrant Redhead: Brewed 05-07-2016; 7.7% ABV / 113 IBU
This beer is an Imperial Red IPA, brewed in collaboration with Dave Hollandbeck.  The aroma is hoppy with strong flowery, citrus notes (grapefruit and orange). The flavor is surprisingly well balanced for an IPA with this much hopping. The initial sensation on the palate is bitterness, but that rapidly changes to sweet from the heavy doses of Crystal, Melanoiden and Special B malts. The sweetness fades to a bitter aftertaste that lingers for some time. The body is well developed and pleasant in the mouth.

This is a pretty complex beer. The color is right for a Red IPA, but the thickness and residual sweetness might be a little high for the style. However, there is no doubt this is an IPA – both the bitterness and hoppy aromas/flavors demand one’s full attention and acceptance of the categorization. At the end of the day, one is left with a bitter taste in the mouth that lingers forever.  There, now, doesn’t that description make you want to stop by for a pint?

Mac’s Apricot Wheat: Brewed 06-06-2016; 5.8% ABV
I’ve brewed this beer before (last time in 2014), but altered the recipe ever so slightly this time.  I added 1% Crystal 15 malt to the grist to give the beer just a little additional color, body and sweetness.  The base beer started as a 10 gallon batch on brew day, but was split into two fermenters to make two different beers – apricot wheat and Bavarian hefeweizen (see Mac’s Brew News – June 8, 2016 for further details).  I ended up with 5 gallons of apricot wheat and 5 gallons of hefeweizen.

I think I got the apricot infusions right this time.  Mac’s Apricot Wheat has just the right amount of apricot flavor. It’s a little tart from the fermented apricot puree (49 oz. per 5.75 gal). The apricot aroma is noticeable, and the apricot flavor is just right.  It’s light, refreshing, and easy to drink.  The alcohol content is low enough that you can drink a few before you feel the effects.

Mak’s Bavarian Hefeweizen: Brewed 06-06-2016; 5.8% ABV
The other half of the wheat beer brew day.  Mak’s Bavarian Hefeweizen is wonderful. The banana/clove ratio in the flavor is just right. The beer is sweet, but not overly so, and is spot on for the German style hefeweizen (try some Paulaner, Franziskaner, or Erdinger, all good weissbiers, if you’re not sure what Bavarian style wheat beer tastes like). The color is a little deeper than previous batches, due (I believe) to the small (1%) Crystal 15 addition. I don’t know if that percentage allows for any taste difference, but I will definitely keep the Crystal addition from now on.  The German yeast is not highly flocculent, so the beer is hazy as per the style guidelines.  Like its apricot brother, this beer is light and drinkable, but is even more refreshing.  This is the one I drink after mowing the lawn on a hot day – it’s a real thirst quencher!

Maktoberfest: Brewed 06-23-2016; 4.9% ABV (so far)
This is the same recipe and protocol used for the last batch of Maktoberfest I brewed last year.  It’s currently 4.9% ABV, and I don’t expect it to go any higher.  I just started the lagering process (cold conditioning) yesterday.  I will continue to lager it for another three or four weeks and then keg it.  I brewed 11 gallons, so I will end up with two 5 gallon kegs.  It should last until Thanksgiving.

I tasted a small sample a week and a half ago when I dumped the trub and took a gravity sample.  It’s very malty, as a märzen should be, with a low hop rate.  It should end up tasting the same as last year’s version.  I will update you once it’s on tap in late August or early September.

I think the next brew will be a barley wine.  I will make a 5 gallon batch and let it condition for 3 – 4 months before kegging and bottling it.  I learned a lot from my first barley wine brew (see newsletter of March 2, 2014, and review of Baby Luke’s Barleywine, November 26, 2014 on this blog).  I’m going to try again, and hope to have it on tap for the holidays this year.  After that, possibly an imperial stout, then another IPA (gotta keep IPA’s on tap at all times if I want to keep Mike as a friend).

Orange County Fair update:
The results are in – Goldihops (and the Free Beers) won a red ribbon (second place) in the Pale American Ale category (Blonde Ales and Pale Ales) at the OC Fair this year.  I’m proud that this beer won an award (I thought this one had a very good chance to score well and win an award).  The other three beers, Mac’s PAPA, SmackDown, and Nutcase, did not win any awards, but I am still awaiting the judging sheets.  I am especially curious to see how well Nutcase scored – I think it should receive fairly high marks.  I submitted Mac’s PAPA and SmackDown with no expectations (just looking for judges comments and suggestions).

Well, beer lovers, that’s it for now.  I hope you enjoyed the newsletter.  I will be posting several more beer reviews as soon as I can find the time.  If I used some terms that you are not familiar with, refer to a very early post on this blog, “Terms and Definitions” (May 4, 2012), for explanation of those terms.

Sláinte!

Mash, Bourbon Street Rye Pale Ale, and Fogcutter

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It’s been awhile since I posted a beer review, but I have been busy sampling lots of different commercial brews.  Here are my impressions on three of them.  Please read responsibly.

Mash: The Bruery, Placentia, CA12.5% ABV.
Mash is a barley wine style ale aged in bourbon barrels.  Now I like barley wines, and bourbon barrel aged beers, so this should be a “can’t miss” beer, right?  The Bruery didn’t disappoint (I have to say, they never do; although I’m not wild about Belgian style beers, their specialty, you can count on anything from The Bruery to be good, and this is just another really good beer from our friends in Placentia).

Mash pours a cloudy dark amber with a 1/4″ light cream colored head that fades to a  thin ring around the perimeter of the glass (in this case, a “Bruery” tulip glass).  The aroma is sweet, dark fruit, raisin, toffee, caramel, vanilla, coconut and bourbon (faint).

Mash has a thick, heavy body with flavors of toffee, caramel, raisin, figs, vanilla, and coconut.  It then produces a slight bitterness that fades to more coconut, vanilla, and a little bit of booze, with a tobacco like quality lingering in the aftertaste.  This beer is sweet and chewy, but not unpleasant.  The carbonation is not overwhelming, but enough to smooth out the sweetness and cleanse the palate for your next sip.

Mash is very complex.  As it warms, the alcohol becomes quite pronounced in the aroma, but the taste remains very smooth, without the booziness that is noticeable in many other high alcohol beers.  In my opinion, this is one of the best barley wines on the market.  I prefer it to Stone’s Old Guardian (which I also like) – Mash is more in the English style (it’s not a hop bomb like Old Guardian) and is similar to Firestone Walker’s Sucaba.

I sampled Mash from a 750 ml bottle given to me by my daughter, Rosie, for Father’s Day.  It’s currently available at Total Wine for $19.99.  That’s pretty expensive, but well worth it (in fact, I have another bottle in my refrigerator right now).  I HIGHLY recommend Mash!

Bourbon Street Rye Pale Ale: Abita Brewing, Abita Springs, LA.  9.5% ABV.
Bourbon Street is a Pale Ale aged in bourbon barrels.  It is very high in alcohol for a pale ale (I’m sure the bourbon barrel aging has something to do with that).  This beer is a medium to dark orange color with a creamy white 3/4″ head that remains for a couple of minutes before fading to a thin covering over the top.  The aroma is sweet, vanilla, caramel and coconut.

The flavor is sweet malt, caramel and a slight, nice vanilla sweetness.  It is not overly sweet, as the hops balance it, to keep it in the American Pale Ale category.  The balanced sweetness fades to a nice vanilla and coconut in the aftertaste, courtesy of the bourbon barrel.  The vanilla/coconut lingers for quite awhile (very pleasant).

Bourbon Street has a medium carbonation level, commensurate with the Pale Ale style, but it is higher than most bourbon barrel aged beers.  This carbonation helps to keep the sweetness under control, and gets your mouth ready for the next swallow.

I sampled this beer from a  22 oz. bomber purchased from Total Wine for $9.99.  I think this might be limited release, so I’m not sure if it’s readily available.  Overall, this is a very nice beer, and one I can recommend.  I’ve never had a bourbon barrel aged pale ale before.  This one is nicely done.  Good job, Abita!

Fogcutter Double IPA: Lost Coast Brewery, Eureka, CA.  8.7% ABV.
Fogcutter pours a murky golden yellow with a 1/2″ white head, which fades to a fairly thick ring that leaves extensive lacing.  The aroma is mild citrus and floral.  The flavor is typical DIPA – bittersweet.  The malty sweetness is balanced out by the hoppy, citrus flavor that leaves a lingering bitterness in the aftertaste.

Fogcutter is rated at 80 IBU, which is on the lower end of the Double IPA category, but I think it is more balanced than many DIPA’s.  The medium body and carbonation level help lend a balanced feel to the flavor.  The alcohol content (8.7%) is substantial, but not overwhelming and is not noticeable in the taste.  If you drink it on an empty stomach, you will definitely get the effect, but you won’t be wiped out.  Many DIPA’s tend to be out of balance (in my opinion) – too thick and sweet – but Lost Coast has this one dialed in just right!

I had never heard of Fogcutter until I received a 22 oz. bomber from Phil Colias a couple of weeks ago.  As I recall, he randomly selected this beer and had never tried it before.  Well, Phil, good choice, and thank you for the wonderful beer.  I highly recommend Fogcutter and will be buying more in the future.  It’s moderately priced at $8.99 for a 22 oz. bottle at Total Wine.

So, there you have it.  Bourbon Street and Fogcutter are moderately priced; Mash is expensive.  Each of them, however, is worth the price of admission.  I can highly recommend all three of these beers, but especially Mash.  Caveat: fizzy yellow beer drinkers and cheapskates, don’t even bother – you’re not sophisticated enough.

There’s a lot happening at Mac’s Brew Pub and I hope to have a newsletter out in the next couple of weeks.  That’s all I have time for now, but check back soon for the lowdown on Mac’s Brew, and for additional beer reviews.

Sláinte!