Hops and Grain Beers Preview
This is what it’s all about, folks. Blogging=free beer.
Mr. Josh Hare of Hops and Grain fame had us out to try his newest brews a few weeks ago.
We drank his beers, chilled on his south side patio, then moseyed over to Red’s Porch for more patio and beer action.
This jerk was there too.
I took notes on my iPhone whilst drinking, and I think it would be most honest (seeing how I already lost all objectivity and integrity wt my lead in) to present the notes as is:
Pleaz excuse the spelling…
Hops and grain
Alt- American yeast. Abv 5.3 halertau dry hopped wt saaz. Hops more accentuated. Hoppy crisp finish. Clear finish. Good mouth feel.
Schwartz- super dark. California lager yeast. “like a porter but no residual taste” rich but drinkable. Smooth. Josh thinking of barrel aging. 5.5 abv. Smokey.
Pale- simcoe Amarillo columbus dry hopped simcoe Cascade. Crisp. 5.9 abv. Citrus nose. Spicy finish. Solid pale ale. Good mouth feel. Refreshing. Tasty.
Red- hoppy hazzy. Dry hopped in keg wt simcoe and amarillo. 3 different crystal malts. Cara pilz and Munich. fuggle simcoe Amarillo. 6.2 abv
Hoppy brown- oh shit. Chocolate malt black patent two row crystal malt. All Columbus. Super smooth drinkable yet crisp refreshing. 8.0 abv. Super dark. Favorite.
August one deadline to get into space. Very confident to be in production by end of yr.
There you have it.
I think I liked the Alt better with the German yeast, but this one was not bad, just not as biscuity as I’d like. The schwartz (be with you) is impressive. Super rich with an exciting dry finish. The pale was not bad, but didn’t really stand out to me. Besides, there are already lots of pales in this town already. I liked the red. I liked the red last time. Hopefully we’ll see this one in production.
And finally, the hoppy brown. I loved this beer. I think the only one I had seconds on. Josh told us we were the first people besides himself to taste his new recipe. It’s amazing. Recently I’ve been a big fan of the Lagunitas WTF, and Josh’s beer is along the same lines, only a bit maltier. I am really looking forward to drinking more of this one.
And that last little bit about him hoping to be in his space by early August and brewing by the end of 2010, sounds good to me. Josh said he is ditching the 5 barrel pilot system quick start, and going for full funding for a complete brewhouse. Cans are still in his future, as are brew biscuits (yum!)
Josh, here’s to your success and thanks for the beers, cheers!
Here are some photos Shawn took of us being nerds and taking ourselves too serious.
Hoppy Brown sounds nice. Austin needs more IPA’s!!