The Return of The Daily Pint

Well, it has been a while, my friends. I have been gone for some time, but now I am back. New brews, new reviews, and my take on all things happening in the beer world.

Though I havn’t been around much, I have been brewing quite often as well has having my daily pint of craft beer (or two on some days). Right now I have a nice Impy Stout aging, English Summer Ale ready to keg, an Amber Ale carbing up, and a Burton Ale planned for tommorow.

The biggest news though is my decision to take the leap into the ranks of professional brewers in the next year. I have started the planning and development of a nanobrewery that, I hope, will start selling late summer or early fall of next year. Stay tuned for more information.

Tonight for your reading pleasure and to kick of my return, I will be reviewing the special release from Two Brothers Brewery, Hop Juice. A Double India Pale Ale that cracks the triple digit IBU threshold.

Prost!

Beers I am Enjoying Right Now

It has been a fairly busy week and I have not gotten a lot of time to give much thought to what to post. I figured I would just give a recap of some of the beers that I personally am drink/enjoying right now.

• Bell’s Pale Ale – Technically a Blonde Ale, but still very nice none the less. Very crisp and refreshing, definitely a good beer come spring and summer.
• Red Hook Long Hammer IPA – Citrus hop aroma and flavor predominate. Not my favorite IPA, but still a good example of the style.
• Left Hand Undercover Brown Ale – A nice brown ale, but a little disappointing. Lackluster aroma and almost watered down taste disappointed me. I loved the flavors I found in it, but was just left wishing for more.
• Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout – Strong full bodied stout…from a can. I picked it up because I wanted to drink canned Craft Beer and I was not disappointed in the least.
• Guinness Extra Stout – Still had a couple left over from St. Paddy’s Day. I like the Extra Stout over the cans and bottles with that stupid “widget” thing.
• Homebrew – I have a Cali Common, MO/WGV SMaSH, Munich/Fuggles SMaSH, Burton Ale, and India Brown Ale in bottles that I am drinking. Next week my RoggenBock should be ready to drink and I can’t wait.

So that is what I am drinking right now. I’ll be heading home for the weekend and starting tonight I get to work on kegs of my dad’s homebrewed American Brown Ale and Brown Porter.

I am always open to suggestions on what to drink next. Hit me up here or on Twitter and send me suggestions on what to pick up next time I am out.

Cheers!

Brewday: India Brown Ale

Today’s brew day was a improved version of an English India Brown Ale that I did late last year. My malt bill stayed the same, but I changed the hops and the hop schedule for this new one. The original, while good, was a bit harsh on the bitterness and the aroma was not where I wanted it. To adjust this I used first wort hopping (FWH) to hopefully this will lead to a smoother perceived bitterness. I am also leaving out the dry-hop addition.

Recipe after the pictures.

Row 1: Mash, EKG First Wort Hops, Beginning the First Runnings

Row 2: Final Volume, Bringing to a Boil, Cooling Down

Row 3: Draining to Better Bottle

Recipe (Provided by Beersmith)

India Brown Ale

India Brown Ale

English IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 3/20/2010
Batch Size: 3.00 gal	Brewer: Ryan Murphy
Boil Size: 3.75 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Stove Top
Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00
Taste Notes:
Ingredients
Amount Item Type % or IBU 4.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 73.41 % 0.50 lb Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 % 0.50 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt – 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 % 0.13 lb Pale Chocolate (250.0 SRM) Grain 2.12 % 0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (60 min) (First Wort Hop) Hops 15.2 IBU 1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (20 min) Hops 16.8 IBU 0.50 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (15 min) Hops 10.7 IBU 0.50 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (10 min) Hops 7.8 IBU 0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.50 %] (5 min) Hops 2.8 IBU 1 Pkgs Dry English Ale (White Labs #WLP007) [Starter 1000 ml] Yeast-Ale
Beer Profile
Est Original Gravity: 1.053 SG	Measured Original Gravity: 1.052 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG	Measured Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.21 %	Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.08 %
Bitterness: 53.3 IBU	Calories: 231 cal/pint
Est Color: 19.6 SRM

The Beginning

Where to start?

I guess you might want to know who I am and what to expect reading this blog. Sounds reasonable, so here we go.

My name is Ryan and I am a beer geek (snob, nerd, etc.). I enjoy all things beer, from brewing to drinking, as well as the history, sociocultural, and economic aspects. If it is beer then I like it. My love affair with beer started young watching and helping my dad homebrew on our stove. I was fascinated by the dark boil concoction on our stove and though I was too young to drink it, I was hooked. Fast-forward to the summer between my sophomore and junior years at the University of Dayton. I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in the wonderful beer countries that are Germany, England, and Ireland. I got to experience not only the wonderful Helles, Dunkels, Bocks, Hefewiezens, Bitters, Porters, Stouts, and so many other beers, but what stood out to me the most was the atmosphere of the Biergartens and Pubs that I visited. Now as a senior (for 2 months at least) I am an avid homebrewer and craft beer enthusiast. My goal at some point is to become a brewer and own my own brewery.

As for what you will find in this blog, who know? I don’t really want to put a specific direction on it as of right now. There are just too many facets of beer that to focus on any one would be a disservice to the others. Thus topics here you mind find include beer reviews, current industry news, homebrewing, discussions of the ingredients or process that make beer, and other general ramblings. I am more than open to suggestions, so if you think of anything let me know.

So sit back, grab a pint, and enjoy the ride.

Prost!