I find it some kind of funny when I look at the websites that the DaveDave visitors are referred from (hit the Counter Statistics at the bottom right of the mini-buzz column). The two that we get the most are, "Lagers List," which takes you here or, "Calories Per Beer," which takes you here. Click on those. Anything interesting? Well, the Lagers List is actually a pretty decent post... It points you in the direction of Beer Advocate and gives you pretty much all of the necessary list of lagers around the US - not bad overall.
But the Calories Per Beer one, is quite comical. Especially when you consider that we claim to have made a brew with 859 calories per beer (Beer Tools software said so...), and I'm 100% sure that folks just want to know how many calories is in their beer. Not their DaveDave (although they have been flying off the shelf lately), but just their regular ol' drinkin beer. Do you want my opinion? Don't worry about the calories, jerkwads. It's beer. Enjoy it or go home.
Also - funny that our Bells 8000 Review was at one point listed higher on the Google search than the link to the actual Bells 8000 website on the official Bells Brewery website as well as on top of Beer Advocates link. Weird. I'm sure it's not like that now, but odd that that would happen anyhow.
Peace ya'll - gone skiing for a long weekend. Catch you back here on Sunday.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Bleeding Hop Bucket Will Probably Kill You
I'm one big stupid idiot. Just completely irresponsible in every way possible.
I moved the Bleeding Hop Bucket to secondary today, and pitched a WYeast 1084 Irish Ale I had chilling out, just for the hell of it (OK, not really for the hell of it...), and dry hopped with 11 oz of mixed leaf hops that have been hanging out in the fridge for a while.
So here's the deal. This beer has FORTY-FIVE OUNCES of hops in it. That's it. I'm going to OD on hops. Who's with me??
I am officially making a new qualification for brews; that being, the Triple IPA. Why the hell not? Sure, we could go with Imperial, but nah.
Fuck it, dude, let's go for the Triple.
(Pics up soon)
I moved the Bleeding Hop Bucket to secondary today, and pitched a WYeast 1084 Irish Ale I had chilling out, just for the hell of it (OK, not really for the hell of it...), and dry hopped with 11 oz of mixed leaf hops that have been hanging out in the fridge for a while.
So here's the deal. This beer has FORTY-FIVE OUNCES of hops in it. That's it. I'm going to OD on hops. Who's with me??
I am officially making a new qualification for brews; that being, the Triple IPA. Why the hell not? Sure, we could go with Imperial, but nah.
Fuck it, dude, let's go for the Triple.
(Pics up soon)
Monday, March 24, 2008
Guinness Stout Brownies
Our friend Jeff at Wort's Going On Here just added a post about Guinness cupcakes, and I thought I would share with you a Guinness-based desert that I recently had the pleasure of making and of course, enjoying:
I made these for a party later in the week, so I froze them for a few days and let them thaw in the fridge the day of - they were awesome. INcredibly rich, though - you'll need a fresh brew to help finish them off, of course. The DaveDave Chocolate Raspberry Porter went great with the recipe. The raspberry flavor just squeaked through in the end, but added a very nice touch to the brownies. Also - be liberal with the chocolate; what's just a bit more going to hurt??
Check out the original recipe page here
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted room temperature butter, cut into cubes
- 8 ounces dark bittersweet chocolate, chopped
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup superfine or granulated sugar
- 1-1/4 cups (10 ounces) Guinness Extra Stout beer (see Note below) - I used a DaveDave Chocolate Raspberry Porter instead
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/8 cup (about) confectioners' sugar for dusting
PREPARATION:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick foil.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate, and white chocolate chips in a double-boiler over very low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined.
- Beat reserved flour mixture into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in Guinness stout beer. The batter will seem a bit thin. Drop semisweet chocolate chips evenly on top of batter (some will sink in).
- Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes on center rack in the oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
- Let brownies cool, uncovered, to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
- Note: The beer should be at room temperature. This recipe uses a little less than a standard 12-ounce bottle of beer. Do not include foam in the measurement. Either spoon off the foam or let it rest until the foam subsides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate, and white chocolate chips in a double-boiler over very low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add melted chocolate mixture, beating until combined.
- Beat reserved flour mixture into melted chocolate mixture. Whisk in Guinness stout beer. The batter will seem a bit thin. Drop semisweet chocolate chips evenly on top of batter (some will sink in).
- Pour into prepared baking pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes on center rack in the oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.
- Let brownies cool, uncovered, to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
- Note: The beer should be at room temperature. This recipe uses a little less than a standard 12-ounce bottle of beer. Do not include foam in the measurement. Either spoon off the foam or let it rest until the foam subsides.
I made these for a party later in the week, so I froze them for a few days and let them thaw in the fridge the day of - they were awesome. INcredibly rich, though - you'll need a fresh brew to help finish them off, of course. The DaveDave Chocolate Raspberry Porter went great with the recipe. The raspberry flavor just squeaked through in the end, but added a very nice touch to the brownies. Also - be liberal with the chocolate; what's just a bit more going to hurt??
Check out the original recipe page here
Monday, March 10, 2008
Best Place On The Web In 2007
Hey guys, the crew over at DaveDave Breweries voted our blog the "Best Place On The Web In 2007"! Congrats to everyone for a great year! Here's to an even better 2008!
Here's a link to the article.
Here's a link to the article.
Bottle Bottle Bottle
54 Spiced Orange Witbiers bottled as of last Wednesday, March5. We'll keep you posted.
Friday, March 7, 2008
UPDATE: Bockfest Parade (NOT) CANCELLED
I just received this email:
"The Bockfest parade for Friday Afternoon has been CANCELLED. All other Bockfest activities are still going on as scheduled, so you can still get your Bock beer if you need it. The Bockfest
organizers are working with the city of Cincinnati to reschedule the parade for Sunday. I will send out more information when it becomes available.
We will be making a decision regarding the Bockfest Homebrew competition tomorrow morning based on road conditions and advisories."
Look for updates on the Bockfest website or check back here for the latest info throughout the weekend with the timely weather upon us, folks.
EDIT: the parade is NOT cancelled, just the float portion of it. An updated email as follows:
"I misunderstood the scope of the Bockfest Parade cancellation that I sent out earlier. The official information can be found here. Due to the snow emergency, the City of Cincinnati cancelled the float portion of the parade where we walk down the streets. Everything else is still on. We will kick off the weekend at Arnold's at 6PM, and walk up to Bockfest Hall for the blessing of the beer. All the bars are still open and ready to keep you warm with some delicious bock beer and sausage.
If you are an adventurous Monk or Wench, then let's meet down at Arnolds. Bring your coconuts if you've got them, and I'll bring the head beating boards."
So there you have it. See everyone out and about this weekend ;)
"The Bockfest parade for Friday Afternoon has been CANCELLED. All other Bockfest activities are still going on as scheduled, so you can still get your Bock beer if you need it. The Bockfest
organizers are working with the city of Cincinnati to reschedule the parade for Sunday. I will send out more information when it becomes available.
We will be making a decision regarding the Bockfest Homebrew competition tomorrow morning based on road conditions and advisories."
Look for updates on the Bockfest website or check back here for the latest info throughout the weekend with the timely weather upon us, folks.
EDIT: the parade is NOT cancelled, just the float portion of it. An updated email as follows:
"I misunderstood the scope of the Bockfest Parade cancellation that I sent out earlier. The official information can be found here. Due to the snow emergency, the City of Cincinnati cancelled the float portion of the parade where we walk down the streets. Everything else is still on. We will kick off the weekend at Arnold's at 6PM, and walk up to Bockfest Hall for the blessing of the beer. All the bars are still open and ready to keep you warm with some delicious bock beer and sausage.
If you are an adventurous Monk or Wench, then let's meet down at Arnolds. Bring your coconuts if you've got them, and I'll bring the head beating boards."
So there you have it. See everyone out and about this weekend ;)
Craft Beer Sales Up... Again!
In the previous post, I briefly mentioned the idea of Cincinnatians getting more and more into craft beers. Maybe it's just a hunch, maybe it's because I'm noticing it more and more as I get older, maybe it's because I'm getting older, or maybe it's because I've been making my friends only drink good beer. Whatever the case, the rest of the nation seems to be following the trend, and it looks like the trend is on the rise.
According to an article in the St. Louis business journal, craft beer sale were up 16% in 2007! An interesting fact to note is that although craft brewing sales only make up for about 4% production and 6% sales in the US, out of 1,449 breweries in the United States, 1,406 of them are considered craft breweries! Incredible. That means that only around 3% of the breweries in the US control over 94% of the sales! Can you believe it!?
However, although it doesn't seem like much, the craft beer market did grow 12% in 2006, and with the 16% increase in 2007, we also saw an increase from 7.1 million barrels to 8 million barrels sold, which means a 900,000 barrel increase at 31 gallons a barrel - roughly 279,000,000 beers (figuring a modest 10 beers per gallon). Yes you read that right, Two Hundred Seventy Nine MILLION more beers in 2007! That's a hell of a lot of beer. Here's a link to the article:
Craft Beer Sales Up 16% in 2007
Keep up the good work, folks ;)
According to an article in the St. Louis business journal, craft beer sale were up 16% in 2007! An interesting fact to note is that although craft brewing sales only make up for about 4% production and 6% sales in the US, out of 1,449 breweries in the United States, 1,406 of them are considered craft breweries! Incredible. That means that only around 3% of the breweries in the US control over 94% of the sales! Can you believe it!?
However, although it doesn't seem like much, the craft beer market did grow 12% in 2006, and with the 16% increase in 2007, we also saw an increase from 7.1 million barrels to 8 million barrels sold, which means a 900,000 barrel increase at 31 gallons a barrel - roughly 279,000,000 beers (figuring a modest 10 beers per gallon). Yes you read that right, Two Hundred Seventy Nine MILLION more beers in 2007! That's a hell of a lot of beer. Here's a link to the article:
Craft Beer Sales Up 16% in 2007
Keep up the good work, folks ;)
Cincinnati's Bockfest 2008!
From the Bockfest website:"Bockfest 2008 is here! Cincinnati is the home to the world's oldest Bock festival, but many Cincinnatians are unaware of this tradition. If you are one of the unfortunate who have never attended a Bockfest (or who have but can't really remember that weekend) here's a quick primer. In the 1800s, Cincinnati was one of America's most prolific brewing cities. Cincinnatians drank more beer per capita than any city in the country, and Over-the-Rhine was at one point home to more than 50 breweries. A tradition developed among the breweries to release all of their bock beer on the same day. Bock beer is a rich, complex, robust lager that marks the end of the Winter brewing season and the beginning of Spring."
Our friend Bryon of the Cincinnati Beer Company (http://www.cincybeerco.com) is very involved in this years event, and also sent us this information about this years Prohibition Resistance Tour:
"Prohibition Resistance Tour 2008
This is a great opportunity to learn about such an integral part of Cincinnati history, and it is truly one of the most fun weekends of the year. What better way to support your city and Over-the-Rhine, while experiencing some of the untapped potential that could be unlocked by the streetcar?
On March 8-9, 2008, during the 16th annual Bockfest, you are invited to travel back to Nineteenth Century Cincinnati and explore the city's rich brewing heritage, both above and below ground. The Brewery District, in conjunction with Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal and the John Hauck House Museum, will be presenting the Prohibition Resistance Tour.
Each tour will start at Museum Center, where the tour will include an admission voucher to the Cincinnati History Museum's Beer, Breweries and Barons: A History of Cincinnati's Brewing Industry exhibit. Greg Hardman, the CEO of Christian Moerlein Brewing Company, will give a presentation on the amazing story of how Christian Moerlein left his native Germany and started one of the biggest breweries in the country, a story that mirrors the history of Cincinnati. The bus tour will include many of the remaining historic brewery buildings in Cincinnati, including the John Hauck Dayton Street Brewery, the Clyffside Brewery, the Jackson Brewery, and the Christian Moerlein Brewery. We will explore the life of another of Cincinnati's great brewers at the John Hauck House Museum, where this restored mansion on Cincinnati's original "Millionaire's Row" contains original antiques, furnishings and brewing memorabilia. Our final stop is at the Kauffmann Brewery on Vine Street, where we will journey through the sub-basements and tunnels of the brewery, spaces unused since Prohibition and never before opened to the public.
Go to www.bockfest.com for more details and to purchase tickets."
With what seems like a great weekend of beer history, beer discussions, Cincinnati brewing history and of course, beer drinking ;) , Bockfest has been generating a whole lot more publicity this year. It's hard to tell exactly why, but my gut instinct (and optimistic nature) would hopefully point to the fact that folks around the area are slowly, but surely getting back into the world of craft beers, and moving away from the stray-alley-cat-beat-up-a-skunk beers. Only time will tell, but I can definitely smell something great on the horizon for Cincinnati (and it's not the skunk).
Also, there will be shuttles running not only for the tour, but all around the area all weekend long to make sure folks stay safe, as well - check out bockfest.com for more details.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Spiced Chai Rice Extract Milk Stout
To Honor a Fool, when Caspito comes to town this coming week/end, we are making a brew unlike any seen before! The next addition to the Davedave lineup will be a Spiced Chai Rice Extract Tea Beer, currently unnamed. I have done some researching and a small bit of looking around the internet and have decided on the following as a starting batch:1/4 lb. chocolate extract
4 lbs. rice extract syrup
2 lbs. honey
2 lb. dry wheat malt extract
1 lb. dry x-lite malt extract
1 c dark brown sugar
1.5 oz. summit (60 min)
1 oz. golding (15 min)
1 oz. cascade (3 min)
1 package star anise
1 package cardamom seed
2 T freshly chopped ginger
5-6 cinnamon sticks
a good handshakes worth of peppercorn twists
15-20 cloves
darjeeling tea base
1 or 2 packages lactose
most of the spices will be brewed with the tea up front and then the rest of the boiling process will go as usual for a brew of this kind. the question is, when do we put everything in the brew, what do we add at primary, what kinds of yeast should we use (WYeast Labs Yeast List) should we substitute in any other hops? I have heard that adding a few bay leaves to the beginning of the tea brewing adds a nice flavor.
thoughts?
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