Hop Watch

It has been a while since I planted my hops, so I figured I would show a few little updates. Especially since the hops are starting to get a little bit of cone formation!!! Here is a look back to when I planted my Chinook and Cluster Rhizomes to begin with.



So exciting seeing the first sprouts!



My Chinook before I figured it would be a good time to add my trellis lines.



Had to train them up to begin but they started to take off pretty damn well!



Chinook in front, Cluster in back.



Look how fantastic the Chinook is doing! and how wimpy the Cluster is doing :'( I hope that it is strong enough to survive the winter... More pictures to come soon!

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Breakfast Stout

Beer Number 56: Founders Breakfast Stout

I have no idea how to ever say Thank You! to the one who gave me this beer, and quite a few others on my list but Ohh Emm Gee am I lucky to have gotten them. I will try somehow, just need to find the way.



This is a beer that I have been wanting to get my hands on for a while. It is even my first beer from Founders. Some find that hard to believe but you know, whatever. It could not have come at a better time.

At 8.3% alcohol content, this is not a beer to start off your morning with! Instead, it is the perfect drink for the end of an evening or even to go along with a rich piece of chocolate cake at the climax of a meal.

So... I totally did not read this or take their advice... This is the first thing I had in the morning and I regret it, not at all!!! A fantastic choice for breakfast. Wish I had one everyday... I guess I have to brew one of them...



This one poured with practically no head. What did appear though, was a deep brown color on top of a viscous brown liquid. You could see rising carbonation throughout, as well. The nose was roasty, chocolaty, and quite a bit of alcohol could be picked up. It had a nice sweetness to it as well.

Notes of bittersweet chocolate worked very well and it was very smooth going down. Excellent mouthfeel. A very full and bold beer with a little bit of spice. I guess this is what non-beer drinkers are referring to when they say that a beer taste, "dark". Or maybe they mean something else... Regardless, they do not know what they are missing...

945 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!

1001 Beers: Fat Tire

Beer Number 55: New Belgium Fat Tire

So, I actually knocked this one off my list in the post with my Trip To The New Belgium Brewery, but somehow I forgot to count it! Instead of changing the numbers of all the following beers, (Fat Tire was originally number 18 or something), I just decided to give it another go! Lucky for me, this beer is everywhere!



Here are my tasting notes from the first time it hit this list.

The next part of the tour brought us to Fat Tire, and 1001 Beers Number 18. This was seriously the best Fat Tire I have ever had. I am usually not a fan of this beer, and maybe being at the source had some magical voodoo over me but just every layer of this beer came through and made me remember why I first started drinking the beer from this company. The biscuit, the crystal, just everything that makes this beer what it is was very well showcased here. I should have taken some of this home with me too. I guess I can easily find it at the store though. Not sure if it can ever taste this amazing again.

I realized at that time just how good Fat Tire was. This beer was one of my first in the world of Craft and I think that it is not given much attention due to the fact that it is so tamed compared to everything else nowaday. I think it is kind of crazy New Belgium is starting to run ads for this beer, and themselves, on Youtube... Never thought I would see the day, but I guess whatever gets their beer into someones hands. It is all a business, even if others fail to see this fact.



Just as it is an amber ale, this beer poured a very nice, and bright amber color with a slightly off white head. Notes of the biscuit malt and a bit of sweetness cut across the nose and bounce off of the billowy, long lasting head.

I was surprised to once again experience the toasty, bready, and caramel flavors that I guess I lost from years of just drinking this beer as an alternative to what was around. A un-remembered maltyness, medium bodied and you know, just a straight classic.

One you don't think about when you think of your favorite beers, but when you actually break it down, it's one of the best around.

946 Bottles Of Beer To Go!

Cheers!