Back from Beercation! Philadelphia and Asheville

Admit it, you guys missed me! I was away on vacation last week. I was on an epic baseball and beer road trip. If you follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Swarm, and/or Untappd I hope you enjoyed the ride with me.

You could smell the malt from the parking lot. It was intoxicating.

The first stop was Yards in Philadelphia. As we pulled into the parking lot you could smell the malt, and let me tell you it was glorious! We split a flight of their Signature Ales and Ales of the Revolution. English Mild is one of my favorite styles and I really enjoyed Brawler. In a theme that would continue throughout the trip, the IPA was a traditional East Coast IPA with plenty of nutty and bready English malt flavor to go with the American hop flavor. We enjoyed several more of these as we closed the hotel bar.

Brew Day: Blueberry Wheat Ale

A few weeks back I had an appointment in Woburn that happened to be around the corner from Beer and Wine Hobby. You know what they say, "When in Rome!"

My girlfriend has wanted to brew a fruit beer for a long time. Last year we even started to brew one, but never got around to buying the actual fruit which turned out to be something of a problem. The wort ended up sitting in the fermenter for several months before I finally got around to dumping it.

I enjoy fruit beers. I might not enjoy them as much as stouts or IPAs, but I do enjoy them. Last year I ordered an entire flight of fruit beers at Lowell Beer Works and thoroughly enjoyed it. That said, it wasn't a style I was particularly motivated to brew. Most fruit beers have a base beer that is either an American Wheat or Blonde ale that gets out of the way of the fruit flavor. It didn't feel like the type of beer I could put my own spin on.

Buy my beer! Would-be Brewmaster kits delivered to your doorstep via Kit Lab

Well, you can't exactly buy my beer. I am not a licensed commercial brewer so I can't sell my beer. A start-up called Kit Lab will be selling kits of my beer. With the click of a mouse, your favorite Would-be Brewmaster beer will arrive at your doorstep with all the ingredients and instructions you need to brew like me.

I stumbled upon this project a few months back when founder Ryan Sanders was still conducting surveys to determine the viability of the project. I then received an email when he decided to move forward with the project asking me to contribute and what recipes I would share. Initially I volunteered to share two or three recipes. I will only share recipes that meet or exceeded my exceptions like Curly's Milk Stout and Walk-off White.

Tasting Notes: Spring Training Stout

Spring Training Stout is a foreign extra stout I brewed for Saint Patrick's Day. It is not a clone of a particular beer, but it was strongly influenced by Guinness Draught.

Fair head retention and lacing. I had to have a sip before snapping the picture.

One of the things that makes Guinness Draught unique is that it is believed a small amount of soured beer is blended in after fermentation which gives the beer a slight tartness in the finish. I imagine this would replicate the stouts of old that were stored in wood barrels that may or may not have exposed the beer to other organisms that could effect the flavor.