My Year in Beer

July 29, 2012 - Brew Day in the Third Bay (House IPA) - HB Double IPA

July 30, 2012 - At home post toil - Lucky 13 (8.5% ABV), Lagunitas Brewing

Lucky 13 is one of my favorites from Lagunitas!

August 1, 2012 - Flip Chicken for dinner - HB Helles

August 2, 2012 - Celebrating IPA Day, The Sports Grill - Southern Tier IPA

August 2, 2012 - Celebrating IPA Day, Swifty's - Harpoon IPA

August 3, 2012 - Mary & her birthday boot, Wolff's Biergarten - Franziskaner Dunkle

Helles is a style I'd sure like to try to get familiar with lagering next fall. How did yours turn out? If you're happy with it, would you mind posting your recipe?

August 4, 2012 - Saturday Afternoon Pub Crawl, Downtown Troy & Albany

Flower Power, Ithaca Brewing - Broadway Brew in Troy
D'Hougoumont, Ommegang Brewery - The City Beer Hall in Albany
Goudenband, Liefman's Brewing - The City Beer Hall
Double Simcoe IPA, Weyerbacher Brewing -The City Beer Hall
UBU Ale, Lake Placid Brewing - The Washington Tavern in Albany

It's been awhile since I've had a saturday with nothing to do.

When I was in my twenties, saturday afternoons were almost always wide open, existing solely as a breather between going out with the lads on friday night and going out with the lads on saturday night. Since I've been married it seems like saturday afternoons have become increasingly populated by baby showers, co-worker cookouts and fifth cousin's fifth grade graduations. Throw kids and a house on the pile, and saturdays seem to magically schedule themselves innumerably into the future.

This past saturday, with the wife and kids out of town and a noontime airport drop off completed, I found myself with an afternoon wide open. It was too hot to brew and though there were a million and two projects waiting for me at home, I decided to have myself a good old fashioned random saturday. No plans and time on my hands.

I started off in downtown Troy. I wandered through a farmer's market. I picked through used books for sale on the sidewalk. I referee'd an argument between two homeless guys (toothless guy won but shirtless guy made a few solid points). I stopped in a couple of joints (one an old favorite and one a new find). I sat on the sidewalk, drank beer, shucked peanuts and people watched. I walked aimlessly around downtown, noticing all the strange and wonderful stuff I usually drive by (fixated as I usually am on stop signs and traffic lights). It was grand.

A fleeting glimpse of a tattered album cover in the oversized handbag of an emo chick spurred an impromptu phase two. I headed back across the river to Albany and my favorite used record store. There I spent an inordinate amount of time riffling through stacks of used vinyl (eventually unearthing a near mint copy of REO Speedwagon's High Infidelity - score!). Afterwards I wandered around the downtown neighborhoods where I used to live before being banished to the suburbs for a crime of passion (two actually). I stopped into an old haunt for a couple of pints and some chicken wings. I challenged the bartender to a competition on the bar's Punching Bag arcade game (she beat me soundly). I got to argue with an octogenarian barfly about the proper name for 'that cold soup'. I said it was spanish and called 'Gazpacho' - he was adamant that it originated in Germany and was called 'Gestapo'. I bonded with a couple at the bar (Syracuse to Albany transplants like myself) over how much we missed Wegman's and how the world stopped turning when the Orangeman decided to leave the Big East for the ACC. I had to ask for change for the jukebox - three separate times.

I don't long for my misspent youth (it was misspent after all) but this mindless saturday was a pleasant reminder of times past. Of a time when unplanned adventures happened (mostly because nothing was planned). When I was young and stupid and spending my time as if there was all the time in the world (mostly because there was).

August 6, 2012 - Home Post Toil - Catamount Maple Wheat, Harpoon 100 Barrel Series (6.8% ABV)

Chuginator said:

Helles is a style I'd sure like to try to get familiar with lagering next fall. How did yours turn out? If you're happy with it, would you mind posting your recipe?

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I like the Helles. I've made a couple of batches for this summer and it's a nice alternative to the lower ABV 'lawnmower' beers.

Recipe is simple - biggest challenge is maintaining the fermentation temps:

• 9lbs German 2-row
• 1lb Munich Malt
• .5lb Cara-Pils
• 1oz Hallertauer at 60 mins
• 1oz Hallertauer at 15 mins
• Munich Lager Yeast
• Lager at 50 for six weeks

Good luck!

Got it! Thank you!

"Gistapo" soup - I got a good chuckle out of that.

Your entries here somewhat remind me of a book I'm currently reading - Charlie Papazian's "Microbrewed Adventures." You might enjoy it. I just finished a chapter where he talked about sampling 50+ year old mead from the basement of a Scottish castle. Wild!

Keep up the good work.

Chuginator said:

Got it! Thank you!

"Gistapo" soup - I got a good chuckle out of that.

Your entries here somewhat remind me of a book I'm currently reading - Charlie Papazian's "Microbrewed Adventures." You might enjoy it. I just finished a chapter where he talked about sampling 50+ year old mead from the basement of a Scottish castle. Wild!

Keep up the good work.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a great book - I'll definitely check it out. Thanks.

August 7, 2012 - Angelo's 677 Prime, Albany - Three Philosophers, Brewery Ommegang

Great beer!

August 8, 2012 - Monthly Homebrew Club Meeting, The City Beer Hall - Centennial IPA (7.6% ABV), Founders Brewing

August 9, 2012 - The Bier Abbey, Schenectady, NY - Storm King Russian Imperial Stout, Victory Brewing Company

August 10, 2012 - Wolff's Biergarten - Franziskaner Dunkle

August 11, 2012 - Camp McGuigan, Lake Ontario - Summer Shandy, Leinenkugel Brewing

August 11, 2012 - The Boathouse, Sackett's Harbor- 1812 Amber, Sackett's Harbor Brewing

August 12, 2012 - BBQ at Camp McGuigan- Lagunitas IPA

August 13, 2012 - Fire Pit Post Toil- Foamy HB Cream Ale

Wow. Fantastic and very enjoyable read. Makes me think about starting my own year in beer. Subscribed.

opus345 said:

Wow. Fantastic and very enjoyable read. Makes me think about starting my own year in beer. Subscribed.

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You should definitely try it. It's a lot of fun to look back and remember beers past.

August 14, 2012 - Brew Day in the Third Bay (Sweet Potato Stout) - HB Pale Mild

August 15, 2012 - The Epicurean - Red Seal Ale, Northcoast Brewing

Do you find yourself trying different beers more often this year, as a result of this thread? While I love to try different beers, I do tend to just drink the same beer in the same barstool.

swstim said:

Do you find yourself trying different beers more often this year, as a result of this thread? While I love to try different beers, I do tend to just drink the same beer in the same barstool.

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Since I started the project I've definitely been seeking out new beers to try. It's been great fun.

August 16, 2012 - Swaby's Kangaroo Court, Auburn - Nut Brown Ale, Ithaca Brewing

August 16, 2012 - Sunset over Owasco Lake, White o'Morn - Genny 12 Horse Ale

August 18, 2012 - Brew Day in the Third Bay (Farmhouse Saison) - HB Cream Ale

August 19, 2012 - Swifty's, Delmar - Red's Rye Pale Ale, Founders

August 20, 2012 - Lowell Fulson on LP - HB Cream Ale

LP's. Nice. Damn kids and their mp3's!

sfrisby said:

LP's. Nice. Damn kids and their mp3's!

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Yeah, there's nothing like vinyl.

Kids (and their MP3s) will never get it. I can't even get my kids to stop jumping in front of the turntable. 'Skipping' the record is a completely foreign concept to them.

August 22, 2012 - Out Front with Flip - HB Cream Ale

August 23, 2012 - Picking up Cornys, Brown's Brewing - Tomhannock Pilsner

August 23, 2012 - Pre- Camping, The Longhorn, Lake Luzerne - Uncle Charlie

August 23, 2012 - NYS Campground, Lake Luzerne - Genny Light

August 24, 2012 - Ciro's, Lake Luzerne - Davidson Brothers Brown