Name: Track 023 Date: Apr 26, 2012 11:35 am Map: View on Map Distance: 3.01 miles Elapsed Time: 29:41.2 Avg Speed: 6.1 mph Max Speed: 8.3 mph Avg Pace: 9′ [...]]]> I’m not wild about the idea of driving somewhere for the sole purpose of running somewhere else, but I suppose allowances can be made.

Name: Track 023
Date: Apr 26, 2012 11:35 am
Map: View on Map
Distance: 3.01 miles
Elapsed Time: 29:41.2
Avg Speed: 6.1 mph
Max Speed: 8.3 mph
Avg Pace: 9′ 52″ per mile
Min Altitude: 9,507 ft
Max Altitude: 9,675 ft

What I do hate is the wine industry. Bunch of namby-pamby grape gropers whose bottles collect dust and who spit instead of swallow. Which is why my interest [...]]]> Well, maybe “hate”‘s a strong word. I’ve just never had a wine that I’d prefer over a good beer. I’ll keep trying though. You know, for science.

What I do hate is the wine industry. Bunch of namby-pamby grape gropers whose bottles collect dust and who spit instead of swallow. Which is why my interest was piqued by a blog post (What the Wine Industry Can Learn from Craft Beer) suggesting that craft beer-style innovation would be a boon to the wine industry. It’s a good read; check it out.

What the article fails to address is the fundamental difference between beer and wine consumers. Beer drinkers fall into two fairly distinct categories: craft beer drinkers and non-craft beer drinkers. Wine drinkers also fall into two categories: expensive wine drinkers and inexpensive wine drinkers. The difference is that cheap wine drinkers want the same products as the expensive wine drinkers, just lower-cost versions. Economies of scale dictate that the craft wineries charge higher prices, whether their product is substantially different or not. This would be especially true for any winery bold enough to test-market a small batch of something truly innovative.

Besides, what does innovation look like in the wine industry? Fermenting Pinot with a Chardonnay yeast? Scandalous. The problem isn’t that genuine innovation is impossible, but that it’s undesirable. Of course a vintner could make a Passionfruit Pinot Grigio. It just isn’t clear that anyone would want it.

Craft brewers are innovators for the simple reason that craft beer drinkers don’t feel beholden to tradition, whereas wine – at least wine as we know it – is nothing but tradition. Demand drives supply, and the consumers who are amassing five-figure cellars full of craft wines value tradition. Seriously unconventional wines aren’t impossible, but the market is certainly unproven. The shoe is on the other foot. If craft wineries do succeed in creating this new market, it will be by emulating the brewers they’ve spent the past few centuries turning up their noses at. And that’s a thought that any beer drinker should love.

Then again, what do I know? I hate wine.

Name: Grants 5K Date: Mar 31, 2012 8:25 am Map: View on Map Distance: 3.28 miles Elapsed Time: 31:54.8 Avg Speed: 6.2 mph Max Speed: 7.9 mph Avg Pace: 9′ 45″ per mile Min Altitude: 6,451 [...]]]> Considering I haven’t run since August, I’m actually pretty pleased with myself. Descending half a mile doesn’t hurt either.

Name: Grants 5K
Date: Mar 31, 2012 8:25 am
Map: View on Map
Distance: 3.28 miles
Elapsed Time: 31:54.8
Avg Speed: 6.2 mph
Max Speed: 7.9 mph
Avg Pace: 9′ 45″ per mile
Min Altitude: 6,451 ft
Max Altitude: 6,530 ft

Anyway… Last year I started experimenting with partial boils, due to not being able to use a garden hose in the winter. And that technique has been working well for me, [...]]]>
Get it? It’s a thermodynamics pun! How many brewing blogs give you wordplay like that? None of the reputable ones, that’s for sure.

Anyway… Last year I started experimenting with partial boils, due to not being able to use a garden hose in the winter. And that technique has been working well for me, though it has some limitations. It would result in an unworkably thick mash when brewing a big beer, for example. More importantly, I anticipate brewing a lot of test batches for Two Mile in the near future, and there’s always the possibility that some unforeseen flavor impact could rear its ugly head.

But even during one of the driest winters on record, the one thing Silverton has in abundance is snow. Sticking the kettle into a snow bank isn’t going to do much (snow being one of nature’s great insulators), but melting some of that snow is going to make a hell of a heat sink. So I have a new toy, a Little Giant water pump. It’s rated 63 gallons per hour at one foot of lift, which turns out to be a little less than I’d like for a five-gallon batch – it took 60 minutes to chill 5.75 gal of wort from 92°C to 11°C. The majority of the chilling was done in the first 20 minutes, though, so I consider that acceptable. Next time around I’ll try to position the heat exchanger so that the pump is fighting a little less static head. If I can get the kinks worked out this may become my standard wort chilling technique, at least during the nine months of the year there’s snow on the ground.

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The visual appearance is really great. Deep amber with brilliant clarity, despite all the pumpkin in the mash, and an off-white head with excellent retention and lacing. The aroma is predominately of the [...]]]> Now that the holiday season is in full swing, I’m finally getting around to posting some tasting notes for the Fall Classic.

The visual appearance is really great. Deep amber with brilliant clarity, despite all the pumpkin in the mash, and an off-white head with excellent retention and lacing. The aroma is predominately of the spices, with some nice bready and toasty notes as well, although there is a hint of a green or vegetal character. I’d had the beer several times before I noticed it, but now that I know it’s there it’s frustrating. If I had to guess, I’d say you could reduce the amount of pumpkin used to eliminate the aroma impact.

The flavor is nearly perfect, if I do say so myself. The initial impression is of rich malt that manages not to be sweet, not unlike a good doppelbock. The home-toasted malt is clearly adding quite a bit of flavor. Through the middle of the palate and into the aftertaste, the spices really come into their own. The finish has a dry, graham-cracker crispness and just a hint of alcohol heat, and the spices linger, which makes each sip a lengthy and satisfying experience.

I think the overall quantity of spices is just right, although you might have to adjust the ratios to suit your own preferences. If anything, the malt complexity may be a bit overdone. I have no trouble finishing a couple pints, but that’s about it. Which is OK, because this beer is pretty much a meal in a glass. The only foods it would really pair well with would be pumpkin pie and other spiced desserts.

Does it taste like a piece of pumpkin pie? Not really. There’s next to no sugar in it, after all. Is it the best pumpkin-spice beer I’ve ever had? Yes, and by a pretty wide margin. I’ve tried every commercial example I could find (you know, for research) and the one that comes closest is Elysian Night Owl.