Professor Good Ales

Without intent, I have collected well over 1,000 beer bottles since the early 70s. When something finally had to be done about the cheap paneling in this old modular, I had a choice. Tear down the walls while, oh, so carefully, replacing the often rotted 1X3s. Or: cover them with… The Bottle Collection.

Written by Ken Carman

 Tanner’s Jack is a beer that, according to the label, is brewed by Moreland Brewery, Bury St. Edmunds, England. It’s actually brewed by Greene King, not Moreland which is now kind of like Buick is to GM, or Mercury to Ford, only beer, obviously. I haven’t seen it in the stores for a while but I must be honest: I haven’t been looking.
 Morland’s opened in 1711 and proceeded over the years to buy out other breweries. Then Moreland was bought many times, eventually by one of their vend-ess they used to brew for: Greene King.
Continue reading “From the Bottle Collection: Tanner’s Jack”

Written by Brandon Jones for Embrace the Funk!

I guess this is the longest lapse in updating the website I’ve had, but wow has there been a lot going on! I’ve had some questions on what pre-filling procedures we use at Yazoo and since wood barrels are readily available to home brewers nowadays I thought we would go over our techniques.

But first let’s rewind the calendar to October 2nd, 2014 in Denver for yes…The Great American Beer Festival. The first night we were in town we served up 3 different beers at What The Funk? Once again it was an awesome night put on by Crooked Stave that gathered brewers from all over serving up their finest funky beers. Continue reading “Barrel Filling Procedure and ETF Updates”

Profiled by Ken Carman for PGA

Upfront we have a wine/rum like sense. That’s the barrel. The head is off white to tan with a pillow but it fades fast to almost nothing, except edge glass. Behind that… not much at all. It’s there: just so hidden that it almost might as well not be there.

Obsidian black.

It’s an excellent barrel focused quaff. But where is the Imperial Stout? Hidden well behind the barrel, that’s where. Don’t get me wrong: the barrel is marvelous, but the stout needs to be there.Yeah, it is: very well hidden.

The nose is barrel, with the slight hint of stout behind that,.

Balance is off, basically, otherwise interesting. If this were labelled as barrel focused, would have absolutely done better. There’s a hint of Guinness like sour, or some slight infection maybe?

3.8

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

______________________Beer HERE

Ken Carman is an editor at PGA, endofthenet.org, entertainer, educational service provider, BJCP beer judge, columnist since 1972, author of Autocide and one hell of a weird dude.

Profiled by Maria Devan

Pours not completely black. It has darker brown hues and from the very middle of the glass emanating softly is a shy ruby blush. Fat mousse like head of mocha colored foam that lasts, falls to a ring and leaves lace.

Nose is deep with roasted malt scents. There’s a sweet lush caramel, a bit of weak coffee, bitter chocolate and some scent from oats in the background as well. This beer has an earthy woody scent too that is hard to pin down.

Taste is luscious. Smooth, creamy and full. The sweet caramel is first to grace the palate and then a big roasty taste follows. It has a bit of bitterness to it and it dries on the tongue leaving the coffee a bit stronger than on the nose and the bitter chocolate to come to finish. At the last moments there is that woody and earthy taste again with that sweet and very soft caramel to linger alongside all those big roasty flavors of bitter malt. I detected no hops on the nose and I can find none on the palate save for that bit of woodiness and to say this beer is well balanced and a delight to the disposition if you ask me. I like it precisely because it’s not too sweet although it has an ample sweetness. Finishes with a bit of bite from carbonation.

4.

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

___________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Profiled by Maria Devan

Pours straw gold and with pristine clarity. A white head of creamy foam that lasts to a ring and leaves a bit of lace as you drink. Serene int eh glass with no bubbles coming up from the bottom.

Nose is clean and crisp. A bit of grainy sweetness from malt and a floral backnote from the hops. it becomes herbal as it warms but it is not too much for the style. there is s slight pungency from sulfur on the nose. No fruity scents. Lovely.

Taste is dry and a bit rich with a lovely light honey to grace the malt . crisp on the palate with a good smooth mouthfeel. The bite from carbonation is perfect and does not hit until the swallow. There it resides with a moderate hop bitterness. A touch more bitterness than the usual but not offensive. The hop herbal sings on the mid palate and the light touch of sulfur adds a bit of dimension to this beer and actually accents the sweetness of the malt by contrast. Finishes dry and with a bit of noble hops to linger in the aftertaste.

Eu quero sempre mais.

4.5

Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

________________________________________Beer HERE

Maria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY and is frequent reviewer of beer and a beer lover deluxe.

Written by Tom Becham for PGA

I confess my impressions of Kauai Island Brewing were somewhat confusing, however.

Keep in mind I will make every effort to be fair here.

I had visited KIB once before when it was still called Waimea Brewing some years ago. I left unimpressed. Admittedly, I was still a newbie to craft beer at that time. Plus, where beer is concerned, I will always give it a second, or even third, chance.

The brewpub is an airy place, mere feet from a municipal fishing boat dock, so the result is the rare brewpub that specializes in fresh fish dishes. And to give you an idea of how good the food is, when I

visited, two locals were sitting behind my table having lunch. One was drinking Heineken, the other Coors Light. Yes, the food is so good that even industrial beer drinkers will come in for a meal.

The beer is kind of a mixed bag, however.

I’m not saying the beer was bad, by any means. It just seemed monotonous and without variety. Admittedly, they were out of their award-winning brown ale, and their lilikoi (passion fruit) ale. But every single other beer on their list (8 of them) were hop bombs except for the Pakala Porter. I can appreciate a hoppy beer. But I like variety, as do most beer geeks. And newbies will be absolutely turned off by this line-up.

Individually, here are my impressions: Continue reading “Let’s Go Brew Through Hawaii with Tom Becham! (Part 2)”