Mother Earth Dark Cloud

Overall: 2 out of 5 steins

Good for people who like: Yuengling, Spaten, no hops

Goes well with: chicken and gravy

Stats: ?

Brewery: Mother Earth Brewing

Bought it at: Sam's Quik Shop

This is an offering from one of NC's newest breweries, Mother Earth. A Dunkel (dark) German lager, this beer is billed as a session beer.

Overall, I was dissapointed with this brew. The picture above is from the website. Notice that nice foamy head on their pour? Mine had none of that. Zero. There wasn't much nose, but that's to be expected with the style. On the website ME notes that this beer isn't heavy, overbearing, or bitter. That is 100% true. However, there's got to be some bitterness to balance all that malt. I came away with a thin sweetness that really fell flat. Do understand that the style definitely does not call for much hop presence, but in this case I think the beer could stand a bigger early hop addition for balance sake.

Mother Earth has three other beers out now and I definitely want to give them a try. I heard great things on the interwebs about their beer dinner at Dos Perros. This is another addition to the craft brew scene within the 200 mile Durham Bullseye so I'm all on board. They are located in Kinston. Who is up for a road trip?

Never as easy as it looks...

I am in the process of putting together a system to brew with grain (instead of extract), which is how the big boys do it. The homebrew community is an entrepreneurial lot and there are literally hundreds of resources on the interwebs about how to build your own system on the cheap. Basically this involves buying a big picnic cooler, replacing the drain spout with a ball valve, placing some type of straining device in the cooler, attach that to the ball valve, and away you go. If you are really interested in the process in detail, here is the basic idea that I'm using.

Oh, were it that easy. Let's just say that my very good, patient friend Colin and I spent an hour at Home Depot trying to find washers that fit. I'll leave it at that. I also spent way too much time driving around trying to find the cooler I wanted before giving up, coming home, and finding EXACTLY what I wanted on Amazon in 30 seconds. Seriously. So I ordered the cooler and a propane burner (also necessary for the setup) on Saturday. I was given the option of paying $33 for 3-5 day shipping or FREE for 5-9 day shipping. I'm trying to keep costs down, gimme the FREE! Both arrived today. You do the math...

But wait, there's more. Now I have cooler and piping sprawled all over the kitchen floor because, wait for it, the parts don't fit together. I think with some shaving here and there it will all work out, but it wasn't happening before dinner. What's the lesson here kids? Its never as easy as it looks. And go for the free shipping.

Smuttynose Wheat Wine

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 steins

Good for people who like: Barleywine, Belgian Quad, syrup

Goes well with: pork

Stats: 11.4% abv

Brewery: Smuttynose Brewing Co

Bought it at: Sam's Quik Shop

Wow. If you are looking for a beer to lay you out, this is it. The alcohol content is big and you can't miss it. As with most high abv beers, this one's alcohol presence masks some of the other great flavors going on here. To Matt's comment on the Brooklyn Chocolate Stout, I bet this one also gets better with age. That being said...

Start drinking this beer with a meal, and continue drinking through the evening. I drank this after a long day and a hastily eaten plate of tortellini, which was a mistake. There is a lot of complexity to this brew, and I think you need different flavor combinations and temperature changes to bring them all out. Plus, holy crap the alcohol is so big that it will knock you into oblivion if you drink it too fast. I think pork would be a good choice for a meal pairing.

Personally, I'm not a huge barleywine fan. But if I'm in the mood for one, I'm going to try this beer again. The wheat really helps balance out some of the harshness that barleywines usually have and there's a dose of hops that do a nice job of rounding out the flavor without slamming you in the face. Smuttynose calls them herbaceous. Sure, we'll go with that.

Bottom line, I think this wheatwine is worth a try if you are in the mood for something in the strong ale category. This is my first experience with the style. Love to hear if anyone else has tried this or another wheatwine.

Brewing it Forward...

I officially submitted a Maibock, oh so cleverly named "Who's Bock?," to LoneRider today for their Brew It Forward homebrew competition. This is an awesome event put on by the LoneRider fellas to showcase local homebrewers. The winner gets to brew their beer on the system and keep some of the profits! Come on out to LoneRider March 27 to cheer me on and have some brew. You can register at the link above.

While I was there I had to saddle up and have a brew. I chose Peacemaker, a west coast style Pale Ale. If you are out and about and see this beer, definitely give it a try. Warning: If you don't like hoppy beers leave this one be and go for another LoneRider offering. As far as Pale Ales go, this is one of the best I've had. Great hoppy nose (smells like grapefruit) and smooth finish. Its got just the right amount of pale malt to back up all that hoppy goodness and comes in at 5.7% abv. Perfect as a session beer.

You know what else makes Peacemaker a great beer? Its local, which means it is fresh. I had it in the same building where it was brewed! You just can't beat beer from the source.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout

Overall: 3.5 out of 5 steins

Good for people who like: Barleywine, Stout, Belgian Quadruple

Goes well with: Dark chocolate or a dessert unto itself

Stats: 10% abv

Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery

Bought it at: Sam's Quik Shop

I often find that when beers reach the 10% abv threshold, the alcohol overpowers the other flavors in the beer. This one is no exception. Don't get me wrong, the chocolate flavors are nice and strong. But from nose to finish, you notice the alcohol and that isn't what I'm looking for in a beer. With that said, this is a good choice if you're looking for something new to try in the strong and dark malty category. A quality bitterness balances all the malt. However for the price, and considering the other brews I've had from Brooklyn, I was left unimpressed. This beer is definitely worth a try if it's there, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go get it.

For the record, when the label claims "six varieties of black, chocolate and roasted malts" you should be skeptical. The dark malts are very intense and I'm not convinced that the average craft brew drinker can pick up the differences imparted by all those different malts. What's the real difference between 3, 4, 5, 6 dark malts? We'll all just have to drink more beers and see...

Aventinus

Overall: 5 out of 5 steins

Good for people who like: Hefeweizen, Porter, aromatic/intense beers

Goes well with: Drink this one by itself. Its that good.

Stats: 8.2% abv

Brewery: G. Schneider & Sohn

Bought it at: Sam's Quik Shop

This is one of those all around great beers. It is a big beer with lots of different flavors and an abv to match. Normally I scoff at the back label flavor profiles, but in this case they are spot on. The banana notes are prominent, typical of German ales. Now this isn't like eating a banana. It's a banana-esque flavor that is a product of yeast fermentation. If you drink enough German wheat ales you will begin to recognize it. You'll also notice a clove-like flavor, again a yeast product typical of German wheat ales. Schneider used some dark malts for Aventinus and they come through with a great chocolate finish. There are too many flavors to mention them all. What's great about this beer is that everything is balanced, no one flavor overpowering the others (including the alcohol).

Schneider labels this beer a Wheat-Doppelbock which is a bit confusing since Doppelbock is a lager style and this is definitely an ale. BeerAdvocate labels it a Weizenbock. Doesn't matter what you call it, this is a damn fine beer. Make a special effort to find this one and try it. You will not be disappointed.