It's probably about time that I post a walk through of my brew day. Today Greg and I are brewing my Furry Penguin DIPA.

Brew stand all setup

Foreign Extra Stout and Robust Porter

So the Foreign Extra Stout and Robust Porter I brewed awhile back are both finally reaching their peak. Here are some brief tasting notes for anyone considering brewing them.


Foreign Extra Stout:

Clarity is excellent for a beer this dark, but it isn't quite dark enough. It's black, but not the jet black I was shooting for. Aroma is roasty, sweet, and there's definitely a caramelized sugar, burnt raisin character from the dark crystals. Flavor is roasty, raisiny, with some esters from the yeast. Probably a little too much, but that's a yeast-management issue, not a recipe issue.

Overall a very nice beer. Only recipe tweak would be an additional 4oz of roasted barley for color and more roast.

Robust Porter:

This beer is definitely on the dark end of a robust porter. Aroma is pleasant with some chocolate and floral notes from the hops. Flavor is more chocolate, and some sweetness from the crystal malt. Very well balanced beer and overall, very nice. I'm extremely excited to submit this beer to the upcoming Great Arizona Homebrew Competition, as I think it will do really well.

It's been a slow last two weeks for me, but there are lots of updates coming soon. I dry hopped my Amber Ale yesterday, tomorrow I'm brewing the Furry Penguin, and I've got a few other fun things going on that I'll post.

We are only 5 days away from the start of the 2nd Annual Arizona Beer Week, and I couldn't be more excited. Every single day from Saturday to Saturday there are dozens of beer events around town; beer dinners, beer-food pairings, keg tappings, brewer meet & greets, etc etc.

There's so many events going on each day, that it will make your head spin, but here are a few that I have ear-marked that interest me:
Saturday: Arizona Strong Beer Festival
Sunday: Bell's Tasting @ Total Wine Tempe
Monday: Teakwoods and Flanny's are tapping Four Peaks Robust Porter
Tuesday: Sierra Nevada is tapping three kegs at Taste of Tops
Wednesday: Ballast Point is tapping kegs at Boulders, Firestone Walker, Lagunitas, and Sierra Nevada will be at Flanny's
Thursday: Firestone Walker Tasting at Whole Foods Chandler
Friday: Fox Cigar and Beer Festival

I highly doubt I'll make it to all these, but I'm certainly going to try to attend most. If you haven't checked out the website, and you live in AZ, you should! http://arizonabeerweek.com

Anyone else planning on attending any of these?

I'm sure you've heard it before: Beer is over 90% water. That little adage would lead you to believe that quality water is the most important factor in good beer. I won't go that far, but quality water does help. Aside from temperature controlled fermentations, starting with reverse osmosis water and building back minerals has made the biggest difference in the quality and consistency of my brews. The best part is, it's really not that difficult or confusing. It's easier for me to do this in a Q&A format, so i'll be asking my self questions =)

Today was an absolutely perfect day in Phoenix, 70* and sunny; hard to beat that for February. With the Super Bowl tomorrow, today was also a great day to squeeze in a brew day.

No one likes hazy beer. Other than styles like hefeweizens and wits that are supposed to be turbid, haze is a put-off to most people. Most haze in beer has no taste or flavor, but let's face it, we drink with our eyes first. There's nothing more inviting than a sparkling clear beer just begging to be drank. Unfortunately, without filtration, bright beer can be difficult to achieve for many home brewers, but I'm here to help.

Sam Adams glass for reference

Lots of people will tell you that specific glassware can enhance the beer drinking experience. I'm not a beer snob, but I will admit that a snifter really does help capture the aroma of a beer. And considering I drink a boat load of hoppy beers, this is a good thing.

Most nights, I often don't want a full pint of beer, rather I just want to taste one of my beer to see how it's coming along. The snifters I've seen online hold 12oz or more, and just aren't practical for me. Many breweries use little 4-5oz snifters for tastings, but I couldn't seem to find them for sale indivudually. They sell online for around $30 shipped for a case of 12 (not a bad deal), but I don't exactly need 12. So last night after dinner, my girlfriend and I were perusing a little glass shop in downtown Chandler, and low-and-behold they had the perfect little glasses! Then I saw the price - 4 glasses for $5. Sold!

While I'll admit, they do look a little snobby and douchey, these are still pretty freaking sweet glasses, and the perfect size too!