Virtual Happy Hour (Brews & Spirits, Pics & Reviews)

[Zardnaar]

Back to old reliable, the he Stella was even more meh than the Phoenix IPA. Krombacher was free a thank you for feeding a cat.

Stella was free would not buy it though prefer not to drink it.

 

[Cadence]

Back to old reliable, the he Stella was even more meh than the Phoenix IPA. Krombacher was free a thank you for feeding a cat.

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Stella was free would not buy it though prefer not to drink it.

I have a friend who is a big Stella fan. I've never been able to figure out why.

 

[Zardnaar]

I have a friend who is a big Stella fan. I've never been able to figure out why.

Yeah there's better and cheaper euro macro lagers.

Here it's a "premium" beer costs a few bucks more per dozen than most.

Think it's a legacy thing when it was one of the few imported beers one could buy.

 

[Zardnaar]

At an Indian place warm summer night. Nothing kills a curry like a lager.

Took a punt on a hoppy pilsner. Not overly familiar with this brand.

Not to bad. More flavour than my underwhelming IPA the other day. Thinkihave 2 left out of that dozen.

Would give this one a 7.5. Drinkable and enjoyable would buy at the right price. Has smoother/nicer hopped pilsners but also had worse.

 

[Cadence]

Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout from Australia. I was surprised by a kind of fruit taste at first and then wasn't sure for another sip or too. I think it reminds me of one of some high percent chocolate bars that have a fruit reminiscent flavor. Was happy to see beer Advocate agrees about the taste. They gave it an 87 (Very Good) 3.86/5. Seems right. Higher if you like the fruit on the edges, lower if not. In the middle for me. 6.3% ABV.

 

[Zardnaar]

Coopers Brewery Best Extra Stout from Australia. I was surprised by a kind of fruit taste at first and then wasn't sure for another sip or too. I think it reminds me of one of some high percent chocolate bars that have a fruit reminiscent flavor. Was happy to see beer Advocate agrees about the taste. They gave it an 87 (Very Good) 3.86/5. Seems right. Higher if you like the fruit on the edges, lower if not. In the middle for me. 6.3% ABV.

Wonder if I can get that one here? I'll look for it tomorrow.

Aussie beer is terrible (worse than our traditional beers also terrible). but I haven't tried their craft beers much. Good wine though.

 

[embee]

Finished off the last of my Saint Valentine's Stout, a beer I brewed with chocolate, vanilla, rum, and raspberry. Managed to get the perfect amount of carbonation.

Paired with a nice sun-grown indica. Got me focused on organizing my collection just right.

 

[Cadence]

Finished off the last of my Saint Valentine's Stout, a beer I brewed with chocolate, vanilla, rum, and raspberry. Managed to get the perfect amount of carbonation.

Paired with a nice sun-grown indica. Got me focused on organizing my collection just right.

How.big of batches do you brew and what kind of set-up?

 

[embee]

How.big of batches do you brew and what kind of set-up?

Usually 5.5 gallon batches.

It's a simple set-up. I have two converted Igloo coolers, one for the hot liquor and the other is the mash tun, with a false bottom. I cook in a 8 gallon SS pot over a propane camping stove.

I have a couple of glass carboys, one for primary and then once that's done, I rack into the secondary. I use both a PLAATO and a Tilt to monitor the fermentation. The PLAATO does a good job of tracking the activity, while the Tilt is good for monitoring SG and temp. I have an old 7" tablet that I use as a monitor.

I keep the carboys in my basement machine room. It's a steady 67* in there and there is virtually no sunlight. That makes it the ideal controlled environment for that. I keep the primary carboy on a worktable so when it's time to rack, I'm literally just putting the autosiphon in and letting gravity do the work. The primary carboy is 6.5 gallons. It's a nice visual cue for me to know which is primary and which is secondary and I can maximize my batches. Assuming about a half gallon of trub loss, I get about 2 cases of beer from a batch.

 

[Zardnaar]

Wife's birthday 2.0.

Nickel and Dime Dark by Good George.

NZ microbrewery, stout ABV. Not to bad not much of a dark beer fan. Probably prefer a stronger porter/imperial stout in the 6.5-10% range.

Don't know until you try it's nice at least. 3.5/5 IPA next plan. Would drink again. Happy hour around $3 usd.