Utopia Clone #3 Perfecting Nirvanha

eriktlupus said:

i guess my only ???? is did the michigan "U" pass muster?

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Since the "Michigan U" gave us Tom Brady you'll always get a free pass with us.

Actually, it was quite good. Yours is sweeter than ours, with a soy sauce twang that ours does not have. You have more of a dark fruit rummyness while ours is more of a malty port. Like ours, yours has no higher alcohol note and the alcohol is quite well incorporated into the solid body of the brew.


I said that day, I'd drink it, I'd pay for a bottle and I'd buy a second after having the first.

PTN

yeah, I agree with Paul...

We actually did the tasting of it on the webcast and Paul's comments above are pretty consistant with what everyone's impression was. Bottom line is it was very good. I thought it was still a bit too sweet but that is really a fine tuning thing more than a knock on beer because again, it was really good.

I kinda disagree with Paul's "malty port" words... I think Paul and Yeager's U1 has the hint of bourbon, a tiny hinty of sweet and the malt is there but I think the whole thing is balanced really well. I don't think of it as overly malty. The Michigan U was just a bit more on the sweet side.

I totally agree on the alcohol... it's amazing not to get any hot off a beer like that and I wasn't getting any at all.

I think Bird said it best... the Michigan U was better than the Sam's original but not quite as good as PTN's and Yeager's U1.

... now... U2... yeah, you guys smoked the U2 (or as I like to call it... the "Utopia IPA")

Yeah. The "Michigan U" is >>>>>>>>>>>> Sam Adams U. It's also a little better than U2, I think (although I'm still convinced U2 will be great in 18 months). Not as good as U1, because it's not as well-attenuated.

A lot of soy on the nose (we were all worried it was going to be like the god-awful Triple Bock), but very little, if any, of that carried through to the flavor. Didn't seem to be as maple-front as U1.

Really, just need the sweetness to be cut a bit, somehow. Good luck with that!

Still, an outstanding brew, particularly the complete lack of hot-alcohol. Amazed that you guys can make a beer this big not be hot, yet Sammy's tastes like you could use it for sanitizing your brew gear.

... maybe if you guys had done a barleywine starter.

Uhhh, Brian?

We're all waiting....

Still waiting....

paulthenurse said:

Still waiting....

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I've been reading this thread religiously, and his silence is deafening!

Come on Cape, we're waiting!!!

Actually, I find his silence refreshing.

It also speaks to the fine job his mother did in raising him. Think about it. How often have you turned to your child at rhe table and said, "Don't talk with your mouth full!"

Cape has such a mouth full of crow we may enjoy this blessed silence for weeks.

Remember that crack he made about proof that God exists? I think we have a winner!

PTN

whatta ya mean?

All I gotta say is... keep focused on making sure my share is perfect.

Hey, change your avatar sig to read, "There's no need to fear, Mega Tun is here!"

Fiiiiiiiiiiine...

I admit it... the ridiculous tun that Paul cobbled together freakin' worked... to EVERYONE's complete and total SHOCK. I was wrong THIS time and Paul was right. I gotta admit it. What else can I do here? The thing freakin' worked. What more can ya say?

Well.... I guess I can say I still think it was stupid. There was zero reason to mess with success just for the "wow I made a really big mash tun" aspect of it all.... which is 100% of what Paul was going for. I also think it was stupid to not even test the thing with grain. BUT... it worked.

From a selfish standpoint, as much as I gotta eat crow... sweet... now I know someone with a tun that'll handle 120 +lbs of grain. That's not a bad thing. The only thing that sucks about it is that if I'm looking to mash that much grain... I gotta do it with Paul... sooooo... maybe it's not such a great thing after all.

And what the f are you talking about??? I gave you credit about 40 times on the freakin' Webcast Paul... Now you're just being a gluton (shockingly)

Well, some of the "Get-a-lifers" who have been following this thread and listening to the unholy chorus of you, the-dope, Dakota, and DrinksAloneAtNight might not have had the good fortune to be able to devote the whole day to this.

We know your boy motobrew got to watch some but thats only cause he did a half assed job with the pumice on his mothers bunions. Then it was right back down to his bedroom in her basement.

And we know Hippie, KappClark and Stratocaster tuned in. But what about the rest? You don't want to deprive them of the joy of watching you open your own dead puppy, do you?

I certainly qualify as a get-a-lifer but as usual totally forgot about the webcast. And I was just bottling/kegging/cleaning on Saturday morning so I easily could have.

Very cool that it worked, all Utopias can now be referred to as BMT or AMT.

Best quote of the brew day (that I heard anyways): "Seriously guys, I'm not putting anymore meat on the smoker until you eat my sausage."

Thanks again for all the entertainment. Wish I could have been there in real life.

paulthenurse said:

We know your boy motobrew got to watch some but thats only cause he did a half assed job with the pumice on his mothers bunions. Then it was right back down to his bedroom in her basement.

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Dorthy Mantooth is a saint!!

wait what? Hey i've been on your side - a pissed off cape is a happy moto.

also, the feds have been informed that you've gone over your brewing quota for the year in one day.

Two sacks of grain and still plenty of room.



Go big or go home, Biatch.



A real man's mash tun calls for a real man's mash paddle.



The mash in went so smoothly I haven't even finished my morning coffee yet!

The moment of truth. Is it gonna work?



Duh!!!!! Of course it is!!!! Bite me, Cape!



I kept checking temps. 148*F top of the mash tun, 158*F coming back from the HERMS system. Used my plaster mixing paddle (aka mash paddle) to keep a consisntant temp throughout. Look at how nice and clean that mash is going mack into the Mega Tun. "Oh really, Brian? It's going to set up like concrete? Really? How interesting!"



Here is the_dope when he arrived to find the Mega Tun performing flawlessly. (Either that or he is telling us all how many friends he really has.



Meanwhile, out in the back yard, the Steinbrew kept pace. From the left SmurfJuice, Steve A from The Witches Brew in Foxboro, PTO and ComcastWineRookie.

nice hat... What were you doing afterwards? Grabbing Bogey, hopping in your Caddy and going off to fight crime?

The firepit for the steinbrew.



As a food group, pork fat was well represented.



Cape arriving fashionably late. What's with the pants tucked into the boots? Did someone say Richard Gere was coming?



PTN making up some ABT's



Atomic Buffalo Turds. Gone as soon as they came off the heat.



Making up the Fatty. First you weave the bacon...



Then you spread out a few pounds of ground pork...



the_dope standing there in awe, watching me make the Fatty.

Does Vince Wilfork know you stole his sweatshirt?

cape WOULD drive an H2.

(for the record, i don't care if that is or isn't cape's H2, i will continue to believe it is)

Definitely need to boost up the cholesterol factor a bit. How about a couple pounds of Jalapeño Jack cheese, topped off with a jar of Major Grays Chutney.




Roll it, and pat it, and mark it with a P, and put it on the smoker for PTN and .... Nobody. Screw you, infidel unbelievers.



Meanwhile, back at the Steinbrew...



Lowering the hot rocks into the pot...



Ya Baby!!!



The_dope, Bulls Beers, Cape, and Yeager



Yeager. (And he wonders why we all believe he's a pedophile...)

motobrewer said:

cape WOULD drive an H2.

(for the record, i don't care if that is or isn't cape's H2, i will continue to believe it is)

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of course it is... and its a 3, not a 2

even better

A$$hole

motobrewer said:

even better

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We have a Jeep infestation out this way... I like the 3 cause I can just run 'em over if they get in my way.

Matt, the new (and much improved from the old) El Presedente' of the South Shore Brew Club.



Spawn #2's boyfriend Tim (Or as he became known later in the day, Sargent Spanker.)



Bull's buddy Brian. For a non-brewer he sure makes it to a lot of these events.



Bull telling us all how many friends both he and Cape have.



I think Yeager just goosed Dakota.



ComcastWineRookie got his paws on the camera and felt unloved, I guess...



Sargent Spanky and Road Kill sampling Capes VERY subtle IIIIIIIPA. Go ahead and add 10 pounds of hops to your brew, that ass flavor will still come through.

LOL!!!!! That's quality work with the Dakota pic.


... and it funny how much everyone hated that IIIPA... apparently someone must have opened that cobra tap and just let it run down the driveway cause that sucker kicked nuthin' but fumes before it got too late.


and just for the record, those guys are drinking Bird's Belgian in that pic. My Cobra tap had a black hose

PaulTheOriginal and Ned the Maple Syrup Guy




Matt, Joos and yeager



Dakota, looking so sad without Yeager grabbing his arse.




Joos, Dakota, Bird, Yeager, Matt, PTN, Cape, BrewMonk, Sargent Spanky, Bulls Beers, NedL, PTO, Smurf and TheOtherBrian




Joos.



DrinksAloneInStrangeHotelRooms



DrinksWell, Joos and the Sergeant.



And the real star of the show. 25 gallons of Utopian goodness...

And now, here to accept his Academy award for Worst Directorial Debut... Cape Brewing



"I'm just going to sit here and drink till I forget that the SOB pulled it off without a hitch..."

Damn... that's a good lookin' guy... drinking The Awesomeness... probably the greatest home brewed beer in the history of the universe.

And my own personal favorite pictures from the day...
















Are you ready?






















Here they come....


















Honest to God, these are real.........

Look Ma!!!!! NO HANDS!!!!!!!!!!





You can't photoshop something this good.



PTN

Outstanding work. If you keep this an annual event, I might have to get down there. Next to you guys I would be considered good-looking.

I was carrying stuff... a freakin' knife and a platter of damn good meat products.

Gimme a break... what did you want me to do??? Leave my beer behind?

You have more excuses and explanations than anyone I've ever met.

PTN

Cape Brewing said:

Damn... that's a good lookin' guy... drinking The Awesomeness... probably the greatest home brewed beer in the history of the universe.

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Ya, that would be the Awesomeness that you used to scream at me about because I modified the recipe, right? That Awesomeness? The beer you are now calling the best homebrewed beer on the planet. And before you go denying it, remember, you broadcast the entire event. Don't make me pull a '60 Minutes' on you and play your confession back to you.

PTN

paulthenurse said:

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My favorite pick. You still haven't told us how many rolls of solder you used on this damn contraption. That's some QUALITY workmanship.

paulthenurse said:

Ya, that would be the Awesomeness that you used to scream at me about because I modified the recipe, right? That Awesomeness? The beer you are now calling the best homebrewed beer on the planet. And before you go denying it, remember, you broadcast the entire event. Don't make me pull a '60 Minutes' on you and play your confession back to you.

PTN

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PFFT!!! Please... your "modification" was two collosal acts of shear stupidity...

recipe, straight from Vinny at Russian River calls for Carafa II... so you figured... "Meh... Caravienne... same thing". Nice call!

Luckily, when I did the top off on the barrel I brewed the top-off batch with a huge percentage of carafa to try to fix your eff-up.

Oh... that and the overshooting the grain bill by about 30 lbs of two-row 'cause you were your normal Brew-Hitler "I'm Paul, I'm always right" self during the session and got caught with your head up your a$$.

Thanks for your "modifications".

the_bird said:

My favorite pick. You still haven't told us how many rolls of solder you used on this damn contraption. That's some QUALITY workmanship.

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LOL! Oh man... that's right... that lead to my favorite discussion of the day...

"Ehhh... Paul... you used lead free solder on that I hope cause, Christ... you've got enough on there"

(confused expression on his face)

"I'm a nurse, not a plumber".



Mmmmmm... chock full of leady goodness!

Now THAT's a sweetness that won't attenuate away!