Ballast Point Brewing Company Pale Ale : The Original

Hello!

I went to my local corner store and got this beauty! I've supported this brewery in the past and enjoyed it, so, I wanted to try out another one of their wares.I needed another beer to drink for the San Diego Chargers v. Tennessee Titans game, since I guzzled all  MY beer.What a game, Chargers were up and then at damn near the last minutes, the Titans pull off a touchdown pass.Wow!

Here's the Game Set Up:

Are YOU ready for some football?

It was a great day....

The beer is light in color, with loads of bubbles.I don't know why a bubbling beer amuses me, but it does.It has a crisp taste, too. It reminds me of Budweiser or a Coors. You know how I feel about Budweiser! It went VERY well with the food you see above. Gave me a nice enough "buzz" to get a nap in, as well. I'm surprised at that given that the ABV is 5.2%! I've supported this beer since going to an event that they were co-sponsoring. It was local music with local brewing company beers on display.

For more info, check out their site here.

Until next week...

Cheers!

Brooklyn BrewShop's Everyday IPA: Bottling my brew

Finally..

After all that procrastination I bottled my beer. I actually bottled 10 bottles!

I had to sterilize the bottles:

Sanitizing 

Let air dry:

A Six pack of Air Dry

Get the beer in the bottles, by way of siphoning:

Can you see the beer inside?

Cap the bottles:

Yeah, boy!

..then I stored them in a dark place.Now if you remember, when I brewed beer my first time, I was drinking some of the beers, BEFORE it was time. My excuse was I wanted to see what the taste was like...well, like the great Peter Griffin says:

I'm guilty of doing it again..I've already had 2 bottles to date.Knowing damn well I should wait until TODAY! It's MY beer,right? Why not?

Anyway, I have some friends who wanna try what I've come up with. I can't have them tasting shitty beer! I think it tastes pretty good! I'll see what they say..

I started this batch a while back and it should already be done, but "procrastination is a hell of a drug"...

Damn....Cheers!

New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale

Howdy!

I'm still in the process of getting a reliable camera. Please bear with me.

This week I decided to review New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire Amber Ale.

The first time I ever heard of this beer was at a pizza joint out here called Killer Pizza From Mars. They not only have "killer" pizza that's outta this world, but they serve craft beers, as well. I was with a buddy of mine and he ordered it. I wasn't into craft beers yet, so, I know for a fact I was guzzling a Heineken.

Fast forward a few years and here we are. I'm tasting and reviewing it.

 I like this beer (there's really NOT that many I don't like)!This one has a nice, light, smooth taste. Not really bitter, just goes down smoothly. No "beer face" for me ( although, that's why I usually record myself, so, you can see my reaction to the tastes)!

It has a light orange brown coloring to it..Like so..

Yummy-ness!

What amazed me was the consistent bubbling that was going on THE ENTIRE TIME it was sitting in my glass.I don't know why this was so amazing, but it was to me.

It definitely captures that Belgium-esque taste.Didn't have that "bologna" smell, though. which is okay with me. I can see pairing this with some kielbasa, or maybe even some smoked sausage, with some sauerkraut.I'm getting hungry as I type this sentence.

Gave me a nice comfortable buzz with the one bottle.A "plus" for me.Spirits MUST have "spirit" to it, as far as I'm concerned.

My suggestion: Light up the grill and put some bratwurst, kielbasa, smoke sausage on the grill and crack one of these while you burn.Finish burning and crack another one while eating your grilled fare.Highly recommended!

Until next time... Cheers!

Firestone Walker's Reserve Porter

Heyyy!

It's been a minute and I do apologize for that....Let's get into it!

This past August I did some volunteer work for Stone Brewing Company's 17th Anniversary.This will make my 3rd time working with them.Basically, the volunteer work is pouring and helping clean at the end of the sessions they have.This event got me into home brewing, craft beers and doing this blog!

The first year, I was assigned to AleSmith. The second year was Oskar Blues Brewery. This year it was Mike Hess.After the event the Wife and I went to an after party and I met a local Master Brewer (I need to get back in touch with him.He told me a lot.he's willing to train me, too) Great fun!



Yep!

I've been home brewing an Everyday IPA from The Brooklyn BrewShop Beer Making Kit. Problem is I haven't been staying on top of it..so it looks like shit!

UPDATE: Right after I typed that last sentence, I went and tasted it ( I still have it fermenting, have been for more than a month, maybe two). It wasn't bad.Had an oatmeal taste to it and sediment floating through it, though. I think I'll still bottle it and see what's up.Chalk it up to learning.

MMM..I think I'll bottle it!

See the sediment?

On to the review...Sorry, no video for this one.

Yummy!

I went to the local corner store and picked up this beauty. I'm a big fan of Stouts and Porters. I love the nutty, chocolate tastes. In this case, It had that chocolate, nutty taste.Roasted nutty taste.Reminds me of Oskar Blues Brewery's Ten Fidy. Also has a roasted nut smell.Yummy! I shared some with the Wife and then I took the rest.Sipping it.After about 4 sips I started to feel the buzz (which is a surprise, since the ABV is only 5.8% !!).

Nice mellow feeling, though.I paired it with a Subway Club sandwich.Pretty good.

On a side note, I met Dave Kachorek ,of Firestone Walker Brewing, their "San Diego Padre of Pale" at the Anniversary and he was a real cool guy.I introduced myself to him and asked him how to pronounce " Wookey Jack", one of their flavors. Not only did he tell me how to spell it, he gave me the history of the name, the meaning of their logo and more! He also invited me to the brewery (which I have to take him up on) to taste their other flavors.

Classic!

Anyway, I highly recommend this beer to those who are lovers of Stouts and Porters.Pair this with some grilled meat.Burgers, steak, maybe.To me you have to have an acquired taste for this.Don't go from Budweiser to this unless you plan on changing your thoughts on Commercial beers v. Craft Beers ( see how I differentiated the "beers" between the two?..lower case for "Commercial " vs Craft..almost like royalty)

Cheers, my people!

PS Follow me at Untapp'd...inkymann...Let's become drinking buddies!