Flying Saucer 3rd Anniversary Tapping Schedule

Flying Saucer Kansas City is celebrating their 3rd anniversary!  Sunday May 1st they are offering up a collection of crazy hard to find brews.  A rare beer will be tapped every hour from 12pm-9pm.  What a way to celebrate!  There will also be rare bottles available. 

There will be a beer schwag raffle.  5 canned goods or $5 = 5 raffle tickets.  All proceeds of the raffle benefits Harvesters.

Noon - Sierra Nevada Ovila Double

1pm - Founders KBS
2pm - Bell's Batch 10,000
3pm - Mikkeller Koppi IPA
4pm - Struise Black Damnation III (Black Mes)
5pm - 2007 Cantillon Iris
6pm - Firestone Abacus
7pm - Moylan's Hopsickle
8pm - Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura
9pm - Struise Black Damnation IV (Coffee Club)

They also have a keg of Schlafly Hop Toddy that they will be tapping before 5pm.

....and here is the bottle list.


Jolly Pumpkin Bam Noire (750ml)
Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere (750ml)
Jolly Pumpkin Madrugada Obscura (750ml)
Cantillon Gueze (750ml)
Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek (750ml)
Fantome Dark White (750ml)
Fantome Saison (750ml)
Dieu du Ciel! Corne du Diable American IPA (12oz)
Dieu du Ciel! Derniere Volonte Abbey Ale (12oz)
Mikkeller Big WorsT Barley Wine (Even worse than Worse) (375ml)
Mikkeller Black Tie (500ml)
Mikkeller I Beat yoU (Brewdog collab) (12oz)
Mikkeller Green Gold IPA (330ml)
De Dochter Van De Korenaar Embrasse (22oz)
Emelisse Double IPA (12oz)
Xbeeriment Black Force One (500ml)

See you Sunday!

A review of the worst beer and best beer ranked on Beer Advocate

I came across this blog entry today that made me legitimately laugh out loud.  For anyone who doesn't know, Beer Advocate is one of the best sources to find out what everyone in the country thinks about almost any particular brew.  This article comes from lagerheads.blogspot.com and states 10 reasons why Old Milwaukee (one of the worst reviewed) is better than Pliny the Elder (one of the best reviewed).  Regardless of your opinion of either of these brews or if you could care less, check it out it is very funny.  The link is below.

10 reasons Old Milwaukee is better then Pliny the Elder

The Great Boulevard Imperial Stout Return of 2011

There has been an announcement by Boulevard Brewing Company that they will be accepting returns of their Imperial Stout from batch #2.  The reason for the return is due to a bacteria "character" that made it's way into the beer.  This bacteria imparts a taste in which Boulevard did not intend into the brew.  The bacteria is not dangerous and there is no reason to be alarmed.  To read the full release of the letter from Boulevard visit kcbeerblog.

Gomer's South Beer Tasting

Friday 4/29/11      4-6 pm

Goose Island Belgian Style:

Sofie Farmhouse
Fleur Pale Ale
Demolition Golden Ale
Matilda Pale Ale
Pere Jacques Abbey Ale

Useless beer fact of the day!

Pennsylvania has had more breweries in it's history than any other state. That one's for you uncle Chuck.

Stone Brewery availability in KC

Some of you may have followed all of the exciting events that accompanied the introduction of Stone Brewery in Missouri last week.  Here are a list of stores you can find them.  This list and a list of stores all over Missouri can be found at StlHops blog.

Allstar Pizza & Pub
Blanc Burgers & Bottles
Boomer’s Bar Grill
Cellar Rat Wine Merchants
Drop, The
Flying Saucer
Gomer’s Holmes Rd
Gomer’s Lee’s Summit
Gomer’s Midtown
Gomer’s Northland
Harry Murphys Ctry Cl
Hy Vee #1321 Englewood
Hy Vee Belton
Hy Vee Gladstone
Hy Vee Independence
Hy Vee Noland
Hy Vee Raytown
Hy Vee Rice
Hy Vee State
Hy Vee Ward
Lukas Liquor Superstore
Mccoy’s Public House
Mikes Cut Rate
New Bubbles
Pizza Bar
Red-X Liquor
Riot Room, The
Royal Liquors #3
Royal Liquors 63rd St
Samples KC
Smokehouse Bbq
Swagger
Vino Bello
Waldo Pizza
Westport Bar Cafe

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

6.9% ABV

77 IBUs

When I bought this beer I had several predictions about what it might be.  I thought one of two scenarios would play out.  Number one, intense Belgian yeast character would be present and dominate the flavor profile of the brew.  Number two, the hop character would be overwhelming and dominate the flavor the brew.  Which one was correct?

Neither!

The beer is a hybrid style beer which combines a Belgian style (yeast) and an American India Pale Ale (hoppy/bitter).  The beer poured out golden in color with a big off-white head.  The brew had good hop aroma with some fruit and spice from the yeast.  This beer was very very balanced for an IPA (India Pale Ale).  The hop flavor and bitterness was perfectly balanced with the malt sweetness.  So as an IPA it's not super duper hoppy but beautifully balanced.  Then there is the Belgian yeast character of which is perfectly added in.  It does not get lost nor does it dominate the beer.  Overall (I will say it again) this brew is beautifully balance in all aspects.  Very good beer and would recommend to anyone.  I got mine from Gomer's Midtown but is is available at many Missouri stores.

P.S. sorry for the worn out Sam Adams' Sensory glass in the picture.  I love the damn thing though.

Gomer's Midtown
Weston Brewing Co. tasting

Friday 4/29/11

Drop Kick Ale
Sun Ryes
Brew Labs #2
Prototype Stout

So what is a craft brewery anyway?

According to the Brewers Association craft breweries are defined by three characteristics:

1.  Craft brewers are small enterprises based on annual production of 6 million barrels or less. A barrel of beer  is 31 gallons.

2.  They must be independent.  This means that no more than 25% of the brewery can be owned by someone other than the craft brewer.

3.  The most important factor that makes a brewery a craft brewery is the ingredients they use.  Their best selling brew must be all malt or at least 50% of their beer lineup is all malt.  The reason this is signifcant is that the pale lagers most people see advertised on TV are made with adjuncts.  Adjuncts are things added to beer which are not malt, typically rice and corn.  These adjuncts are used to make the beers lighter in body and also add to the blandness of the beer.  When using all malt, the resulting craft brew will have much more flavor and taste.  And you don't even have to drink craft brew ice cold just to choke it down!  Craft brew will actually have more flavor as it gets warmer but that will be another discussion.

See everyone craft brews aren't some mysterious concoctions that should be feared.  Craft brews are how beer was made centuries before the big beer companies developed the "American Lager".  Put down your pale lifeless american lager and pick up some quality American craft brew.  It's worth it I promise.

Cheers

America's Outlaw Beer Reviewed

It's the breakfast of champions! 

If you're a fan of 98.9 The Rock, Jackyl, or went to Sturgis this year you most likely have heard of this beer.  This beer is contract brewed locally by Weston Brewing Company and was only available in Sturgis for the biker rally this year.  Now the outlaw if available right here in Kansas City!  This beer is a wheat beer meant to be easy drinking and to finish cleanly.  It poured with a nice head and was well carbonated.  The smell included a heavy dose of wheat and wheat only.  Nothing else was notable in the smell of the brew.  Now on to the taste, it was you guessed it wheat.  The taste reminded me of a giant bite of wheaties which in my book makes it the breakfast of champions.  The brew finishes very clean with a very slight hint of yeast flavor.  All and all there is not much flavor other than the dominating wheat taste.  If you're looking for a wheat beer to try this summer you might give this a shot for something different.  Gomer's Midtown and Gomer's South both said they had the American Outlaw, but it seems to be fairly limited at this time.

And another milestone to the list today!

I received my first suggestion for a beer review Estrella Damm Inedit!  I'm on the hunt now and will hopefully have a review up in the next week.  Thanks Adam for the Suggestion.  High five Adam!

We've reached over 100 views! Thanks everyone and here's your reward!

Your reward is the useless beer fact of the day:

Back in the old days of England, pub frequenters had a whistle  baked into the the rim of their ceramic beer mugs.  The whistle was used to inform the server they needed another drink.  And that's where we get the phrase "wet your whistle".

How does Boulevard stack up against the nation's best crafter breweries?

You may be surprised.  The Brewers Association released the top 2010 list for craft breweries based on beer sales volume.  Boulevard came in impressively at number 10.  Check out the top ten craft breweries below.  I've also listed the top 10 breweries without consideration of whether they are a craft brewery or not.  I would like to think Chad for bringing this article to my attention.  High five Chad!

   

The Top 10 Craft Breweries:


1 Boston Beer Co.                         Boston MA

2 Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.        Chico CA

3 New Belgium Brewing Co.         Fort Collins CO

4 Spoetzl Brewery*                       Shiner TX

5 Deschutes Brewery                    Bend OR

6 Independent Brewers United     Burlington VT
   (IBU)

7 Matt Brewing Co.                    Utica NY

8 Bell's Brewery, Inc.                 Galesburg MI

9 Harpoon Brewery                   Boston MA

10 Boulevard Brewing Co.        Kansas City MO

See the next 40
 
 
 
Top Ten Breweries (All):
1 Anheuser-Busch Inc.              St. Louis MO

2 MillerCoors Brewing Co.       Chicago IL

3 Pabst                                    Woodbridge IL

4 D. G. Yuengling and Son       Pottsville PA

5 Boston Beer Co.                   Boston MA

6 Sierra Nevada Brewing         Chico CA

7 New Belgium Brewing Co.    Fort Collins CO

8 North American Breweries    Rochester NY

9 Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc.* Portland OR

10 Spoetzl Brewery* Shiner TX

See the next 40

Zombie Apocalypse Imperial Stout Update!

It's ALIIIIIIIIVVVVVEEE!  The Zombie Apocalypse is rising from depths and will soon be upon us.  Run for your lives!  Save the women and children and prepare for war!  Perhaps a blowoff tube would have been in order since my air lock just shot across my kitchen.

Goose Island Big John reviewed

I have been really excited to try this brew!  This beer is part of Goose Island's special release and was released on a limited basis in the metro area.  Big John is an Imperial Stout aged on cocoa nibs at 11.5% abv and 60 ibus.  I let the bottle set out a while to get the beer warmed up a bit.  Big John poured very dark black with little head initially but after subsequent pours gained additional head.  The smell was dominated by the cocoa with no real discernable hop presence.  The mouthfeel was very thick and fulfilling.  The taste was completely dominated by the cocoa.  I hunted for other characteristics (hop flavor/malt) but was brought back to the overwhelming cocoa flavor.  I believe this beer would benefit from additional aging in hopes the cocoa flavor would mellow and allow some other characteristics of the beer to come through.  Luckily I have another bottle that I will age and review it again later.  My advice if you are lucky enough to have scored a bottle of Big John is to let it age at least 6 months before drinking.  If you're like me this will be torture but hopefully you will be rewarded with a more mellow and enjoyable brew.  I got my Big John from Gomer's midtown and as of Friday evening they said they still had a few in the back. 

Cheers

Rare Beers at the Riot Room

Monday April 25, 2011 at 5pm the riot room is having their beer cellar spring cleaning.

Firestone Walker Abacus
Firestone Walker 14th Anniversary Ale
Bell's Hopslam
Goose Island Night Stalker
Goose Island Big John
Boulevard Chocolate Ale
Boulevard Imperial Stout
Avery Beast 2009
Bell's 25th Anniversary
Founder's KBS 2009
Founder's KBS 2011
Avery Sixteen Saison
Avery Seventeen Dry Hopped Black Lager
Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout 2009
Sierra Nevada Hoptimum
Sierra Nevada Northern Hemisphere Harvest
Odell Friek

Ever Wonder How to Homebrew?

It's easier than you think!  It's basically like making tea, you can make tea can't you?

First Step:

Visit http://www.howtobrew.com/.  Author John Palmer has put his entire book on the internet to teach us how to brew.  It walks you through all aspects of brewing from simple extract brews to more complicated all grain brews.  Awesome website and thanks to Mr. Palmer it is free. 

Step Two:

Visit http://www.bacchus-barleycorn.com/ which is the local homebrew shop here in the KC area.  It is off of 67th and Nieman.  They have all the ingredients and supplies you will need to get started.  There is also a homebrew shop in Olathe http://www.brewcat.com/.  You can search the internet for online homebrew shops which will have everything you need as well.  The local shops are usually even in price when you factor in shipping so it's better to support local folks.  Bacchus has a rewards program where you get $20.00 back after you spend $200.00 so that's a bonus savings.

Step Three:

If you bought a recipe kit, that's it.  Get to brewing! 

If you are going to go your own route and concoct your own recipe then http://www.beercalculus.com/ has a great free recipe calculator if you are going to go the all grain route.

 I also recommend Gregory Noonan's book, Designing Great Beers.  It is great recipe starting place for several styles outlined in the book.  It also has all the calculations you may use for recipe calculations. 

The BJCP guideline app for android is a great resource for beer style information.  You can get the online version at http://www.bjcp.org/.


See easy as tea.

Cheers

Fat Cat Brew Day - Zombie Apocalypse Imperial Stout

You'll need something to tide you over while you endure the Zombie Apocalypse.   What else better than an Imperial Stout?

Target gravity: 1.107
IBU:  63.2
ABV: 10.4%

Current homebrew inventory:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale 10% ABV in bottles - 5gal
Amercican Brown Ale in keg - 5gal
Dry Stout - in keg - 3gal
Cream Stout - limited in bottles
British Pale Ale - in primary fermentor - 5gal
Maibock - in secondary fermentor - 5gal

On Deck: Roggenbier, IPA

Beer, Homebrew, and Bourbon in and around Kansas City

The purpose of this blog is to provide information, reviews, and current happenings in the Kansas City area.  I'm a homebrewer and an avid beer tester.  My plan is to provide reviews on different beers and answer questions about homebrew or beer tasting.  The craft brew movement is growing and there are so many choices now that it's difficult to make decisions at the liquor store.  I want to help people in joining in the craft brew/homebrew movement and in expanding their beer horizons beyond what they see advertised on TV.  I will be taking requests for beers to review.  Shoot me an email fatcatkcblog@gmail.com and I will give you my opinion if I've had the beer before or try and find it locally and review it. Onward fellow (and future) beer testers!

Cheers

Dillweed blogging