FatCat’s 2011 Imperial IPA shootout

As if we didn’t learn our lesson last time, we’re back for more. This time lets amp up the ABV to 9% and have a full on assault of our taste buds. Yeesss! One member of the tasting party was informed of the entries of our shootout and simply said, “Someone is going to die”. Now that is a proper response for a FatCat shootout.

The suspects are:
Stone Ruination

Odell Myrcenary

Boulevard Double Wide

Founder’s Double Trouble

Avery Maharaja

Moylan’s Hopsickle

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Kansas City Craft Beer Festival on Saturday

Beer KC has partnered with Aids Walk KC for a craft beer festival this weekend. 

The festival is this Saturday June 4th from 1:00PM- 4:00PM. 

There will be around 19 craft breweries, each of which bringing a seasonal or year-round beer plus one "special beer". 

Tickets are $25.00.

Here's the line up:

75th Street Brewery

Amerisports

Avery Brewing Co.

Bell's Brewery

Boulevard Brewing Co.

Brewery Ommegang

Crispin Cider
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Free State Brewing Co.
Goose Island Beer Co.
Gordon Biersch Restaurant and Brewery
Great Divide Brewing Co.
McCoy's Public House
New Belgium Brewing Co.
Odell Brewing Co.
Schlafly Beer
Ska Brewing Co.
Tallgrass Brewing Co.
The Doodle Brewing Co.
Southern Tier

Must be 21 to enter. Rain or shine event.

See Beer KC for more details

Gomer's South Tasting

Gomer's South will be offering samples from Avery Brewing Co.

Tonight from 4-6pm


White Rascal - Belgian White Ale
Ellie's - Brown Ale
IPA
The Reverend - Belgian Quadrupel Ale

Hop University - Day 2

OK homebrewers and the brave few who have made it to day 2.  Hop history is down, on to the fun stuff, how hops are used in beer making.  We’ve discussed that hops offer bitterness to beer which balances the sweet malt.  In order to get the bitterness out of the hops, they must first be boiled in the beer (wort).  The boiling causes the hop oils to isomerize and become soluble in the beer.  The hop oils contain two types of acids, Alpha acids and Beta acids.  Alpha acids provide the bittering component.  The Beta acids do not isomerize in the boil making them insoluble and provide only hop aroma to the beer.

Hops are typically rated based on their Alpha acid percentage by weight.  This rating gives the brewer a guideline for how much bitterness can be expected from a particular hop.  For example, a Cascade hop is around 4.5 Alpha acid % and a Galena hop is around 12.5 Alpha acid %.  So the brewer will need to use a lot less of the Galena hop at 12.5 AA% then they would Cascade at 4.5 AA% hop to get the same amount of bitterness.  Brewers measure the amount of expected bitterness for their beers with IBUs (International Bitterness Units).  The higher the IBUs, the higher the expected bitterness in the final beer.  Below are some typical values for certain styles of beer.

Light Lager (Bud Light, etc) – 5-10 IBU

Dry Stout (Guinness) – 30-45 IBU

American Pale Ale (Sierra Nevada) – 30-45 IBU

American IPA (Founder’s Centennial) – 40-60 IBU

Double IPA (Stone Ruination) - 60-120 IBU

Generally speaking the higher the IBU the more bitter the beer will be.  Although the Dry Stout and the American Pale Ale have the same IBUs, the stout has sweet malts which will balance the bitterness.  So even though they could have the same IBU, the stout will seem less bitter because of its sweeter malt components.

Now that we know how hops provide bitterness to beer, we need to figure out what is it going to taste like.  There are two types of Alpha acids, Humulone and Cohumulone.  Humulone is thought to provide the softer more desirable bitterness.  Cohumulone in contrast is thought to be harsher in its bitterness and therefore less desirable.  The next consideration is the four main essential oils in hops which contribute to flavor.  They are Myrcene, Humulene, Caryophyllene, and Farnesene .  The two oils that brewers are concerned with (at least I only worry about the two) are Myrcene and Humulene.  Myrcene lends a more citrusy and tropical note to the beer while Humulene has a more spicy and floral signature.   With information regarding the Cohumulone levels and the amounts of the essential oils in particular hops, brewers can get a good idea of what hop characteristics they can expect from their finished brew.  Below are some examples of hop flavor characteristics for certain styles.

IPA – Bell’s Two Hearted – uses Centennial hops which are high in Myrcene causing big citrus and grapefruit character.

Pilsner – Pilsner Urquell  - Uses Saaz hops which are high in Humulene lending a mellow spice and floral note.

American Lager – Sam Adams Boston Lager – uses Hallertau which is high in Humulene making it spicy.  It is also low in Cohumulone so the bitter is more pleasant and less aggressive.

IPA – Bridgeport The Czarr – is brewed with Chinook hops which are high in Cohumulone and give it a very aggressive, harsh bitter character.

 References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Adlupulone#Adlupulone

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/3808775

World Beer Cup Winners available in KC

This is not breaking news, but I was perusing the winners the other day on the internet and found some surprises. These results came from the last World Beer Cup held in 2010, with the next one held in 2012.  So if you are wanting to expand your craft brew horizons, these are some of the favorites of the World Beer Cup judges.  You should be able to find these in and around KC.





Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager – Bronze

Munich Dunkles – Blind Tiger Brewpub in Topeka – Bronze

Founder’s Porter – Silver

Founder’s Dirty Bastard (Scotch Style Ale) – Silver

Founder’s Centennial IPA – Silver (see FatCatKC judges know what they are talking about)

Founder’s Imperial Stout (available in January) – Bronze

Schlafly Kolsch – Gold

Sam Adams Irish Red – Silver

Odell Red Ale – Bronze

Goose Island Nut Brown Ale – Gold

Goose Island Christmas Ale – Bronze

Gella’s Diner and LB Brewing Co. (Oatmeal Stout, out of Hays, KS) – Gold

Boulevard Brewing Co Imperial Pilsner – Gold
Boulevard beat out Mickey’s Malt Liquor (Silver) and Colt 45 (bronze). I thought that was kind of funny.

Happy hunting.

http://www.worldbeercup.org/

Beer laws are set and never change, right?

OK so you went through Hop University and are now ready for civics.  One of the main gripes in the beer industry is how every state has its own set of laws.  So Kansas has different laws then Missouri regarding the distribution of alcoholic beverages.  This creates difficulty for small breweries entering the market because they have to legally navigate different rules for each state.  So there is cost associated with expanding into different state which represents another hurdle a small brewery must overcome to compete with big beer. 

Beernews.org has a great article outlining the different issues currently being considered by different state legislators.  Check out Texas, thanks Anheuser-Busch InBev.

Beer industry activity heats up in state legislatures

Hop University - Day 1

Ever wonder how to choose hops for your homebrew? Ever think, I don’t homebrew so what the hell is a hop? Well fret no longer because I present to you over the next couple of days Hop University! In my personal quest to brew an IPA, I have conducted extensive research on hops. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale and Founder’s Centennial IPA inspired me to single hop my IPA. So I set off on a quest to pick my one magical hop that will make FatCat’s IPA the best ever. My research, coupled with the Sam Adams Deconstructed sampler, has given me great insight into which hop I will choose. If you wish to attend Hop University proceed onward and bask in the knowledge of hoppy goodness.




Day 1 – Background and History of Hops

Hops (Humulus Lupus) are used in today’s brew to provide a bitter flavor to balance the sweetness of the malt. Only the female flowers/cones are used in the brewing process. The bitter flavor was the original reason for brewers to use hops in brew, but hops had a much greater impact on the brew and those who drank it than flavor alone.

The first documented cultivation of hops was in the year 736 in the Hallertau region of present day Germany. Hops were not used in beer in that area until 1079. Before then brewers used dandelion, burdock root, marigold, horehound, ground ivy and Heather as bittering agents. When hops are used in the brewing process, it not only provides a bittering element but also provides an antibiotic effect to help ward off bacterial infections. The Discovery Channel documentary, “How Beer Saved the World”, explained how the beer and the hops used in the beer had health benefits for people in the past. Hops prevented the beer from spoiling and provided a safe alternative to water. Untreated water will eventually develop bacteria that would cause illness and even death in ancient times. Beer which had been boiled with hops was more resistant to bacteria and could be consumed with lower risk of getting sick. Beer was also prescribed to treat illnesses in ancient times. It turns out the chemicals from the hops actually have a limited medicinal effect which can help treat some illness.

Hops are a climbing plant and grow on vines. These vines can grow upward of 25ft in a single season. The main hop producing regions are Hallertau in Germany, Yakima Valley in Washington, Williamette in Oregon, Canyon County in Idaho, Kent and Worcestershire in the UK. Only female plants are allowed in the hop fields to prevent pollination. The hop cones are harvested and dried before being used for brewing. Commercially the only major use for hops is in beer with some other minor uses in other beverages. Hops are also used in herbal medicine to treat anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia. But beware hops are not all rainbows and butterfly dust, they are toxic to dogs. So don’t let Fido eat any.

The source for most of my information was http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hops.