The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 7

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - #7

Tröegs, Mad Elf

A true Christmas beer.  This brew packs a punch at 11% ABV with cherries and honey.  Sweet and warming with a pleasant fruity and spiced aroma.  Pared with one of the best holiday albums ever, James Brown Funky Christmas, you can't go wrong. A few of these and you too can be a funky mad elf; get down with your bad self, Aaaaawwww.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas. 

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 8

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - # 8

Stone, Arrogant Bastard Ale

This bottle epitomizes what so many craft beer drinkers think, "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it." And many would not, so the label continues with its bold assertiveness and tells the reader that maybe they should just stick to their, "tasteless yellow fizzy beer."

Arrogant Bastard is a strong beer with bold and complex flavors.  It has a solid malty base with  blasts of hops from all directions; aroma, bittering and flavor.  It sets the bar high by being so conceited a beer, but in the end we all know that it's only arrogant if you can't back it up.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas.

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 9

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - # 9

Schoolmaster Brewing, Nierra Sevada

Sierra Nevada is one of my favorite beers, so I decided to brew a clone of it.  My beer, Nierra Sevada is a close match.  It has a very similar malt profile and while the hops taste correct, there need to be more of them.  I'm happy with my first attempt at a clone brew and already have my second attempt fermenting in the secondary.  I submitted this beer to competition and used the BJCP score sheet to modify the recipe.   It is a great beer and very drinkable.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas. 

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 10

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - # 10

Sierra Nevada, Pale Ale

A true American Classic, beautifully brewed and bottle conditioned.  The hops just scream West coast and help to transport you from your cold and snowy home to warmer Northern California.  So show some holiday cheer and hoist a pint to Ken Grossman, brewery founder and craft beer revolutionary, this holiday season.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas.

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 11

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - #11

Southern Tier - Old Man, Winter Ale, Seasonal

With its nice malty base this beer has winter written all over it, but its followed up by an impressive amount of hops.  The bottle advertises only two types of malt and three types of hops go into this beer.  A great brew to sip on if you want the sweet warmth of malt but still can't part with your addiction love of hops.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas.

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - 12

The Twelve Beers to Christmas - #12

Professor Fritz Brien, 1809 Berliner Weisse

This light bodied wheat based sour beer is the perfect choice after setting up the Christmas tree.  Crisp and citrusy with a light sourness, this low hopped, unboiled beer hits the spot.  It is brewed with a traditional sour mash as well as lactobacillous fermentation, giving it a wonderful tart flavor, not over powering, but rather balanced for this small a beer.

In this segment, "The Twelve Beers to Christmas" I will be sharing a beer each day leading up to Christmas.

Not by Beer Alone - Boswell Pipes

Man can not live on beer alone, try as we may.  There are few things that compliment a fine beer better than a good smoke.  A quality briar pipe will give you years of smoking pleasure for what you would spend on two or three cases of craft beer.

I have a collection of more than a dozen pipes from a variety of carvers; Savinelli, Peterson and Nording to name a few.  I've even tried my hand at caring a couple myself with enjoyable results.  But my favorite pipes are made in Chambersburg, Pa by J.M. Boswell & Son.  To say that they are the best pipes in the world would likely be an understatement.  Buying a Boswell pipe is like "coming home".  It's not just that they are locally produced, smoke great and are one of a kind, but Jim Boswell is possibly the nicest person you will ever meet, definitely the nicest person who you'll ever have carve you a pipe.
My first trip to Boswell's was in the spring of 2009.  I was greeted by Jim's son, Dan, and offered a cup of coffee and told to pack a bowl of any of their custom blend tobaccos; I chose their Northwoods blend.  Several trips and four pipes later I have to say I'm hooked.  I doubt that I will ever buy a pipe from anyone else.

Homebrew Competition

I decided to enter my first homebrew.  It was mainly because I had to stop at my local homebrew supply shop and they just happened to be a drop off point for the competition.

I entered two beers into the Stoney Creek Homebrewers Amateur Brewing Championship.  The first was in category 10a, American Pale Ale.  I entered "Nierra Sevada" a Sierra Nevada session clone.  It is hopped with Pearl and Cascade hops, but is slightly lower in ABV than its namesake.  The second beer was a Chocolate Hazelnut Porter, this is a Jamil Zainasheff recipe.  This beer has cocoa nibs added at the end of the boil and hazelnut extract added at kegging.

I ended up taking 3rd for the Chocolate Hazelnut Porter in category 23, Specialty Beer.  This, being the first competition I've entered, is also my first prize I've taken for a beer.  I received a bronze metal for the porter, a t-shirt and got my score sheets back.

The score sheets are great!  The judges give you feedback on each of your entries.  I was very glad to hear the recommendations to add more late hop additions to my Nierra Sevada and that the Choc. Hazelnut Porter could be improved by cutting back on the hazelnut extract.  The positive feedback alone is worth entering... the metal is pretty cool too.

Bulk Grain Storage

What do you do with over 100 lbs of Maris Otter?  Well, you could brew about ten session beers, maybe 8 average beers or 5 high gravity, but until I decide what to brew and when I'm just gonna find a nice place to store it.

I purchased air-tight plastic bins, available at Tractor Supply or Pet Smart, that have casters.  I got two 56 quart bins which each hold a 55lb bag perfectly as well as a 32 quart bin from lesser amounts of grain.

Mash Tun

Summer is over and that means its time to start brewing again.  What better way to jump back into things than by making a new mash tun.

 I've had the 10-gallon cooler for months; I bought it on clearance over the winter at The Home Depot for $32.00.  I waited a few more months to sort out and purchase the stainless steel hardware, mostly from McMaster Carr.  Just last week I purchased the last parts, a mash paddle and a false bottom, both from Keystone Homebrew.