Mac’s Brew News – January 26, 2019

Greetings All.  You’re on this blog site because you’re interested in good beer, and especially good beer from Mac’s Brew.  To satisfy your demand for beer knowledge, here’s all the news you need to know (for now).  Please read responsibly!

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I’ve been so busy that brewing here has slowed down to the point that I currently have only three beers on tap (in 2018 I only brewed 8 batches/85 gallons of beer).  I know, that’s just not right, but I’m taking steps to correct that problem.

We had a Thanksgiving celebration here, with extended family present.  Then on December 15thRosie graduated from Art Center College of Design (in Pasadena).  We had a graduation party that night with family and friends in attendance.  With these two parties, we emptied 3 out of 6 kegs, which is why we currently have only 3 beers on tap.  But, the 3 beers are very good.  I brewed an IPA three weeks ago, but it won’t be on tap until February.

In early February Sheila and I are leaving for Santa Rosa.  Yes, for the second year in a row, I will be going to Russian River Brewing on a Pliny the Younger quest.  Last year there were four people (including me) in our party and we had a great time. This year our party has grown to nine people, and we plan to trek over to another Santa Rosa brewery after having our ration of PTY at Russian River.

I was fortunate to meet three young fellows on Black Tuesday at The Bruery this past October.  These men were from Santa Rosa and suggested that I visit three small breweries in town – Plow Brewing, Cooperage Brewing, and Moonlight Brewing. It just so happens that all three of these breweries are close to each other, and just a few miles away from RR. Unfortunately we won’t have time to visit all three, so we’ve chosen to visit Cooperage Brewing.

If you were not aware, Russian River Brewing has opened another facility (brewery and bistro) a few miles up the road from their Santa Rosa location.  We are hoping that the new facility (much larger than their SR brewpub) will draw off a significant portion of the crowd from Santa Rosa, resulting in shorter wait times.  I’ll let you know how that works out for us.  And, by the way, this year Sheila is attending the PTY madness with us at Russian River (last year she went wine tasting while I was beer tasting).  She will be the sole female in our group that day, but I have no doubt she will be able to hold her own (and she loves IPAs).

I’m sure you’re all anxious to know what is currently being offered at Mac’s.  Here is the current and soon-to-be available beer list.

Maktoberfest: Brewed June 22, 2018.  5.5 ABV, 26 IBU
This is one of my most requested and sought after brews, second only to Goldihops (Honey Blonde Ale).  It’s really easy drinking with the low alcohol and bitterness, and Oktoberfest style beers are very popular.  I brewed this alone, so I had 10 gallons for consumption at Mac’s Brew Pub, and that’s why it’s still on tap (since the beginning of September 2018). For additional description, see my newsletter of September 17, 2018.

San Andreas Malt: Brewed September 19, 2018.  5.4 on the Richter Scale, 43 IBU.
This is a California Common style lager brewed in collaboration with my friend, Jeff Nash (see Newsletter of September 17, 2018, for additional information on this beer style).  This was a new recipe and first time brewed.  That usually means tweaking the recipe and process for subsequent batches in order to get the beer I envision.  However, this turned out fantastic and I don’t plan on changing anything with future batches.  It’s a medium amber color with a slightly malty aroma, but not sweet.  The flavor is clean, crisp and hoppy, but with a nice moderately rich malt foundation (bread, toast, caramel and grainy) and dry finish that makes it well balanced (but definitely on the hoppy side).  It’s very similar to (but not a clone of) the standard bearer in this style category – Anchor “Steam Beer”.  San Andreas Malt is so good it’s shaking my world!

Wide Awake Drunk: Brewed November 7, 2018.  5.0% ABV, 45 IBU.
This is an annual fall brew at Mac’s.  It’s an English style oatmeal stout with cold brewed coffee and conditioned with cacao nibs for a nice mocha flavor.  It’s dispensed on nitrogen, so it’s creamy smooth with very little carbonation bite. It really tastes like a big stout, even though it’s only 5% ABV.  This brew was a collaboration with my young brewing friend, Dave Hollandbeck.  [Note: Dave, I need to get you over here to have WAD on nitrogen.]

Reefer Nearness: Brewed January 6, 2019.  7.1% ABV (so far), 127 IBU.
Designed and brewed in collaboration with another young brewing friend, Bryce Lowrance, this is a West Coast style IPA using Nugget hops for bittering, and Azacca and Idaho 7 hops for aroma and flavor.  It’s currently dry hopping and in the final stages of conditioning.  When I last checked (11 days ago) it was 7.1% ABV, but could possibly go just a bit higher – I’ll know when I keg it on January 31st.

I’m sure you all want to know where the name of this beer (“Reefer Nearness”) comes from, so here’s the story.  Is there anyone in this country who hasn’t seen, or at least heard of the movie, “Reefer Madness” (a 1936 propaganda film)?  Of course not.  What is not so widely known, however, is that hops (Humulus Lupulus) are a close cousin of cannabis.  Yes, it’s true (next time you have a chance to smell some hops, note the pungent “skunky” aroma), but of course hops have no THC, the psycho-active component of marijuana.  My point is this: hops are very NEAR TO MARIJUANA.  Because of this close relationship I’ve always wanted to name an IPA something along the lines of “Reefer Madness”, but of course it’s not actually reefer.  Thus, “Reefer Nearness– The Bitter Pill That Makes Life Sweet” was born.

Reefer Nearness is still conditioning, so I have not yet tasted it.  I only hope it’s good enough to cause as much of a stir as its namesake (“Reefer Madness”).

I think my next brew will be Goldihops.  I plan to brew it in mid-February after returning from Santa Rosa.  I need to start looking for a brewing partner for this one.

In 2018 I did not enter any brewing competiions – we were too busy travelling.  I plan to enter some of my brews into a couple of competitions this year. The American Homebrewers Association national competition is coming up soon and I think I will enter San Andreas Malt and Maktoberfest.  I’m considering Wide Awake Drunk, and I may enter Reefer Nearness, depending on how it turns out.  If I can get Goldihops brewed in time, I will also enter that into the national.  The Orange County Fair competition is coming up in May, so I have to start thinking about entries for that competition as well.

Well, that’s all I have time for now, and of course, that’s about all you have time to read today (sorry this got so lengthy). Check in again soon, or subscribe to macsbrew.com to get all the latest news and beer reviews.

Sláinte!

Mac’s Brew News – July 5, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

Well, it’s been way too long since I posted a newsletter.  I was kept busy with the Vendome Beer Panel, and couldn’t seem to find the time to compose a newsletter.  I don’t know what happened with Vendome, but they haven’t had a beer panel in a couple of months.  During that time I’ve kept busy brewing . . .

I provided the beer for Nathan Roberts’ wedding reception on May 13, 2017.  I brewed a Pale Ale (I originally called it “Prothalamion Pale Ale”, but eventually settled on “Hoppy Wedding Day”) and a Honey Blonde Ale (“Honeymoon Sweet”).  I was honored to brew the Beer for Nathan and Nicole’s wedding, and received nothing but positive feedback.  Unfortunately, I ended up with very little beer at Mac’s because it all went to the event. The good news is I brewed two wheat beers a few weeks before the wedding, and  I have brewed three batches since then (see below).  It’s good to have lots of beer at MBP again.

I recently bought a counterflow wort chiller, hoping to speed up and simplify the wort cooling process.  So far it has done just the opposite of what I wanted.  It’s more time consuming and complicated, and uses more cooling water than the immersion chiller system I was previously using.  So far it’s proving to be a costly mistake, but I’m hoping I can figure out some way to make it more efficient.

I entered three beers in the American Homebrewers Association national competition – Fat Ass in a Glass, Wide Awake Drunk and Paper Ass Pale Ale.  This competition is so large (just under 9000 entires this year) that I did not expect any of my beers to progress past the first round, but was hoping to score well and get judges comments to help me improve my brews.

All three scored quite well, but Wide Awake Drunk and FAIG scored extremely well.  In fact, Wide Awake Drunk scored higher than any beer I’ve ever entered into competition (including two second place winners at the OC Fair in years past), but it was entered into the most crowded category of the competition.  FAIG scored just two points lower than WAD.  I received very positive feed back on both entries.

I decided to enter those two beers into the OC Fair Homebrew Competition as well.  I haven’t received my score sheets yet, but I was notified that Fat Ass in a Glass won first place in it’s category (same category entered in the national competition, Strong English Ale).  So my uncle, Kevin McCaffrey, was apparently right – after consuming a glass of Fat Ass, he commented it could very well be called, “Fine Ass in a Glass.”  Thanks for the kind words, and vote of confidence, Kevin!  The blue ribbon validates your observations and opinion, and I’ve been gloating for several days now.

So what am I serving at Mac’s Brew Pub these days?  I’m glad you asked.  It’s summertime, and we have summertime beers available right now

Anchor Steam Beer – When I had only two of four taps dispensing beer (because of the wedding), I had to buy a commercial keg to increase the selections.  Anchor Steam Beer is a “no brainer” when it comes to deciding what to put on tap.  Although not technically a summertime beer, it’s a light and refreshing lager, the beer that launched the craft beer revolution in the mid 1960’s.  It’s been on tap here since June 1st, and is running low.  Fortunately I have something to take it’s place when it runs out later this month.

Mak’s Bavarian Hefeweizen – My go-to refreshing “lawn mowing” beer.  I never get tired of this one.

Mac’s Cherry Wheat – I alternate cherry wheat and apricot wheat for my fruit beer selection each summer.  This year it’s cherry.  This beer and the hefeweizen listed above, were brewed in the same batch, but fermented separately with different yeast in order to get drastically different flavors (then cherry was added to the one to get cherry wheat).  This is really thirst quenching and refreshing.

Aeronautical Amber Ale – As the name implies, you’ll be soaring with pleasure when you drink this one.  I haven’t brewed this recipe in at least two years, but on May 26, I brewed this with Rick Pullen, Reid Pulled and Mike Pierson.  I changed the recipe just a little because they don’t like their beer as hoppy as I do.  It tastes just a bit more malty, and not as bitter as previous renditions, BUT I think I actually like it better this way.  It’s more true to the American Amber Ale style, and is really delicious.

Chocolate Coconut Imperial Oatmeal Stout – I brewed this on June 3; it’s still in the secondary fermenter with cacao.  Last time I checked, it was 9.6% ABV.  I plan to age this for a few months before kegging and adding the coconut.  It should be on tap in September.

Maktoberfest – Ah yes, my annual Oktoberfest lager.  I brewed this on June 23.  It’s still in the fermenter, where it will stay for another couple of weeks.  This will be on tap late August or early September.

Goldihops (and the Free Beers) – To be brewed in a few weeks.  Half of the batch (5 gal) will go to our annual neighborhood block party.  The other half will be on tap here.

I’m not sure what’s going on with Vendome.  There hasn’t been a beer panel since late April.  I’m not sure if they plan to resume the beer panel, or if it’s run it’s course and is finished.  I enjoyed the opportunity to serve on the panel and assess the many fine beers they provided.  A huge THANK YOU to Vikki Dawson at Vendome Wine and Spirits!

Well folks, that’s it for now.  Fat Ass in a Glass is nearly gone, so you better get over to Mac’s Brew Pub real soon if you want a bottle.

Cheers!