Most Recent Featured Review
I arrived at Old Town Beer Exchange in downtown Huntsville eager to find a good beer to review. My malty sweet tooth was in control, so when I saw Florence's Singin' River had a doppelbock out, I immediately knew I would be taking a crowler of Orchestrator home with me.
The Experience
Shortly after getting home, the crowler was popped open and the clear copper brew was poured into a glass. I may have been a bit timid with the pour but I expected a little bit more than the very thin cap which never quite melted away. It seemed to be mostly made up for the fact that it left plenty of white lacing on the glass.
I got a general sweet smell when I first brought the pint glass to my face. As I drank more, I could discern caramel and a bit of booze. I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of aroma. I decide to leave the crowler on the counter to warm up in hopes of eliciting a stronger aroma on my second glass. Sure enough, the aroma bloomed as it warmed. The caramel still dominated, but I started to pick up some vague dark fruit aromas (kinda plum-ish) along with a char affectation to the caramel sweetness. The warming definitely helped. It wasn't a night and day difference, though. The second glass seemed like a more fuller experience.
Most Recent Blog Entry
Beer is made of these core ingredients: barley/malt, hops, water, and yeast. In this blog post, I'll be writing about malt and some of what I've been reading in Robert Moser's Tasting Beer. First off, barley is the grain of choice for making beer, although other options exist. But regular old barley isn't in a good condition for releasing starches for making alcohol. Barley first needs to be malted.
Making Malt
First, barley is soaked in water for about 24 hours, or until it reaches 45% water content. The grain is pulled from the water and allowed to cool and dry. During this process, the grains will start to sprout. This growth and cracking of the shell is vital to getting what brewers want from the malted barley. The grain is then kilned to complete the drying process and to roast the grain to the desired darkness. It is possible to create two different malts of similar color but different flavors by varying the moisture content during kilning. If roasted dry, there will be a sharp, biscuit-like toastiness. If roasted moist, there is more of a toffee-like richness.
Latest Beers Added
Gift of the Magi
It seems that everyone knows the story of the Three Kings. Sent to follow the star in the sky each brought a gift for the baby they sought. One King brought Gold, the other Frankincense and the other Myrrh.
Infinium
As crisp champagne-like brew with fine bubbles and a fruity, spicy aroma, this beer is truly one of a kind. (Description provided by company)
Duvel
Duvel is a natural beer with a subtle bitterness, a refined flavour and a distinctive hop character. The unique brewing process, which takes about 90 days, guarantees a pure character, delicate effervescence and a pleasant sweet taste of alcohol.
Trois Pistoles
Strong malt flavor, roasted aromas with chocolate, brown rum, and spice.
Slightly sweet. Enhanced by accents of roasted malt, cocoa, ripe fruit and dark spices with a smooth finish like an old port. (Description provided by company)
Rare Vos
(Description provided by company)
Stone Cali-Belgique
This beer is indeed a complex and surprising combination of flavors, but behind the fancy title is simply delicious Stone IPA dressed up in new Belgian duds.
1554 Enlightened Black Ale
Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library.
White Oak
White Oak is an equal blend of two beers. A wheat-wine aged in Bourbon barrels (we call it "White Oak Sap") and our Belgian-style Golden Strong Ale (Mischief) join eachother in a delicate dance of flavor and character before we package the final product.
Blue Moon Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale
In 1995, we crafted our first autumn seasonal—Pumpkin Ale. At the time, Oktoberfest beers were in high demand.
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