Oktoberfest

[Coquito]

What's on the menu ladies?

Brats & beer of course.

Surely some of you must celebrate. I know some of you have your secret hunter's wine recipes, & that hidden bottle of scotch in your desk , but take the time to envelop yourselves in the season.

I'm pouring myself a few Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfests, & by this time next week well be hardcore into the genuine spicy Pumpkin Ale(in moderation of course). Heck, might even bake a sweet potato pie to go along with it.

Anyone going to any festivals? I find them to be more expensive & less personal then just getting together with friends. I have my beer & I have my dog, but Spacehead is just too far away to drink with. awww

Live it up & support your local breweries. Put down that limoncello or that frapachino your wife likes & grab a quality microbrew. Oh, & if anyone is within walking distance of some Goose Island brews, you simply must have some shipped over to me. This applies to anyone with anything of interest. I always enjoy any good unique beverage, so keep that in mind when you're doing you Christmas shopping for little old Coquito.

Monday Night Football! :beer::beer:


Oh & just ignore all my private messages, as the beer can get quite enjoyable this time of year. I barely have time to read my own in my free time. Let the crunchers work their magic while you indulge.

Just one more... :beer:

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

Mmmmmm........


Beer good.......

:beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer::beer:

 

[CupCak3]

Mein Hut der hat drei Ecken, drei Ecken hat mein Hut....




PROST!!!

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: CupCak3
Mein Hut der hat drei Ecken, drei Ecken hat mein Hut....




PROST!!!

My hat that has three corners, three corners has my hat

Does not compute!

One last brown while I watch the Falcons die.

 

[networkman]

When it comes to beer, I'm usually a Samuel Adams man - Boston Lager is my first choice. But if you have a few others you'd like to suggest that I'm likely to find in Michigan, I'll give 'em a try.

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: networkman
When it comes to beer, I'm usually a Samuel Adams man - Boston Lager is my first choice. But if you have a few others you'd like to suggest that I'm likely to find in Michigan, I'll give 'em a try.

Well they spell theirs Octoberfest, so I don't know if I can trust them.

I won't get into specific places in this thread, but Michigan is home to some real nice little breweries. To stay on Oktoberfest:

Try this
And this
I like this brewery(close enough)

...and of course you have the widely availably German imports from Paulaner(semi-offical brewery for Oktoberfest), Spaten, & Ayinger.

You have my address. I fully expect tidings this holiday season.

 

[BlackMountainCow]

Hehe, now guess where I'll be on Saturday and Sunday ... :beer::beer:

Heck, sometimes it just feels so darn good to live in Bavaria!

 

[Bateluer]

. . . Wrong Forum?

To my knowledge there isn't a DC project to research the perfect brew of beer.

 

[BlackMountainCow]

True, but I don't think there needs to be one.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
. . . Wrong Forum?

To my knowledge there isn't a DC project to research the perfect brew of beer.

Are you just dropping in the DC side? You are obviously new, and not accustomed to the Vodkow.

Read around a bit...

And to the OP and others: EINS, ZWEI, GSUFFA

We will be going to Ren Fair for Oktoberfest this year, I believe. I have a friend who brews her own stuff, and she brews a lot for Ren Fair. I'm going to be taking a full batch of limoncello as well. Good times to be had...

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: Coquito

Put down that limoncello or that frapachino your wife likes & grab a quality microbrew.

But the limoncello is good! And I brew it myself! Doesn't that count for anything?

 

[CupCak3]

Originally posted by: Coquito

Originally posted by: CupCak3
Mein Hut der hat drei Ecken, drei Ecken hat mein Hut....




PROST!!!

My hat that has three corners, three corners has my hat

Does not compute!

One last brown while I watch the Falcons die.

oh indeed it does.... its actually more of a kids song than of a drinking song


ein Prosit, ein Prosit der Gemutlichkeit....











Ich bin so schoen... Ich bin so toll.... Ich be der Anton aus Tirolllllllllllllllllllllll!!!





:beer:

 

[BlackMountainCow]

Holy cow, where do you guys know these songs from? I mean, they're about the worst there is to listen to in the whole of German music, even during the special Oktoberfest season!

 

[Wiz]

This place is about 500 feet from my back door...

http://www.fallsbrew.com/

They produce some very good beers.
Right now I am outfitted with 2 five gallon cornelius kegs, a 20 pound CO2 tank and a home made keg cooler.
In it I have about 4 gallons (presently) of the Harvest Moon Festbier.
It's a fine red ale, smooth and sweet with nice but not too much hops.

Soon they will be selling the Avalanch Ale, a winter beer.
Oddly enough I had a keg of it at the 4th of July several years ago.
Not recommended - fireworks and strong beer.
The wife still reminds me of it, every 4th of July it's: "You wont be drinking that stuff this year will you?"

Harvest Moon

Reddish-orange color, reminiscent of a turning leaf, mellow malt aromas and flavors, soft and medium bodied, Brewmaster Rande Reed has created this German-style Festbier to ease the way from lazy summer days into the more bracing days of autumn!

Highly kilned Munich malt, German Tettnanger hops, cold fermentation, and long, cold aging yield unrivalled smoothness and flavors not found in ordinary beers. Exceptionally clean and satisfying, Harvest Moon is a perfect complement for sauerkraut and wurst or wild boar - or enjoy a stein all by itself!

Technical Information

Alcohol, by Volume
5.3%
International Bittering Units
24 IBUs
Original Gravity
1.056

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: Wiz
This place is about 500 feet from my back door...

http://www.fallsbrew.com/

They produce some very good beers.
Right now I am outfitted with 2 five gallon cornelius kegs, a 20 pound CO2 tank and a home made keg cooler.
In it I have about 4 gallons (presently) of the Harvest Moon Festbier.
It's a fine red ale, smooth and sweet with nice but not too much hops.

Soon they will be selling the Avalanch Ale, a winter beer.
Oddly enough I had a keg of it at the 4th of July several years ago.
Not recommended - fireworks and strong beer.
The wife still reminds me of it, every 4th of July it's: "You wont be drinking that stuff this year will you?"

Wiz will be my new best pal if he can find a way to send me a few growlers. I don't have room for the 5gal keg, but $35 sounds decent.

 

[Spacehead]

This just officially opened a few months ago

I was at a party for the local radio staion this past summer & they had donated 2 kegs. Ale Mary & i think Rust Belt. I wish i had known it was there before i had already had a few of my regular brand. Hard to get an idea of the taste after a 6 pack of something else.


No Oktoberfest plans here though.

 

[Wiz]

Wiz will be my new best pal if he can find a way to send me a few growlers.

Shipping would be a killer - maybe 20 pounds, lots of bubble wrap, double boxed...

Anybody driving Seattle - NY? Want to take a package along for the trip?

 

[Slatzman]

hmmm...beeer...my favorite topic. I know I am not the only AT homebrewer around here.

I currently have a Belgiun Dubbel on tap and a wonderful IPA!!! Both my own of course. When not drinking my own beer, I am a fan of most of these more partial to their brown and bock, although their oktoberfest is quite good too.

Oh and I just got a few of these smuggled in to the country in the suitcase of a former colleague, generally regarded as the best beer in the world (everyone has their own opinion though)

Man my mouth is watering just thinking about them

Slatz

 

[Coquito]

Originally posted by: Slatzman
hmmm...beeer...my favorite topic. I know I am not the only AT homebrewer around here.

I currently have a Belgiun Dubbel on tap and a wonderful IPA!!! Both my own of course. When not drinking my own beer, I am a fan of most of these more partial to their brown and bock, although their oktoberfest is quite good too.

Oh and I just got a few of these smuggled in to the country in the suitcase of a former colleague, generally regarded as the best beer in the world (everyone has their own opinion though)

Man my mouth is watering just thinking about them

Slatz

Too many boxes of holiday decorations to find the room. When I can find a better place, maybe it'll become a new hobby. For now, I will have to venture out in search of bottled brew.

I don't want to sound pretentious, but I feel I need to still work up to something like Trappist.

Christmas is only three months away!

 

[Wiz]

I started homebrewing back in 1978.
My first batch was fermented in a large open top crock, a top fermenting lager.
As lame as my equipment was, it beat any other beer I could buy at the time in the flavor category. I was a microbrew guy from that day on.

Over labor day weekend we had friends stay and I opened up my last bottles of strawberry mead. I brewed it back in 1995. It was the very best thing I ever did.

With the micro brewery only a block away I don't homebrew much any more. I can buy 5 gallons of their best for about what it would cost to brew up a really good batch.
I'll definitely do it again, but I need to decide on a recipe that I really want but can't get "locally". Another mead should definitely be done, but it really needs to age to come to perfection.

 

[JonB]

mmm, homebrew.

I'll be bottling tomorrow with my son. 5 gallons each of Cream Ale, Nut Brown Ale and a Sweet Stout. All destined for a wedding reception in Austin, TX on October 28th. This is NOT an invitation!

I still do partial grain/extract brewing because I don't have the space for all grain, but I'm content. Recently scored four more 7 gallon (30 liter) glass carboys for free, so that will help.

Wiz, I haven't done a strawberry mead yet but have done Prickly Pear Mead (it's cactus fruit), a Raspberry Mead and a small test batch of Milk Mead. My first Prickly Pear is now 4 years old and gets better and better each year (of course, there are fewer and fewer left ).

I like Spaten better than Paulaner. Drink 3 Optimators and drunk dial a friend. (don't drink more than 4 unless you have someone dial for you)

 

[Wiz]

JonB, that reminds me of a honey lager I made back in '93.
I used some kind of outstanding yeast (can't remember what it was now) but that lager hit about 12%. Truly a lawn mowing beer - after one beer you felt like mowing and mowing and mowing...
I believe it was a partial mash, several pounds of grain and a few pounds of malt extract and about 10lbs clover honey.
Unfortunately it never got to age more than about 2 months.

Now that I'm getting older (mid to upper 40's) I'm seeing the value in stocking some good stuff away and not touching it for a decade. I think that's what I'll work on next.

Also getting some larger containers to store it in. Any suggestions about that?
I have a lot of 24 ounce brown glass bottles, but it would be nice to use something like half gallon or gallon sized.
I know some people use 2 liter soda bottles, but I'm afraid to use plastic - it just doesn't seem like it would be good, especially for the long haul.

 

[Coquito]

Mmm... mead. Makes me want to go & shovel snow. I love all this talk. The homebrew chain now goes from Seattle to Texas. If we get enough people on the roster, we'll only have to walk the stuff over.

I'm picking up the pumpkin ale on friday. I'll let you all know how bad it is.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Who knew the Vodkow had so much competition.

 

[JonB]

Coquito, I'm only a few weeks from breaking open a case of Pumpkin Ale. I am not a believer in Born On Dates, so when Majestik Liquors put the Pumpkin Ale on sale CHEAP last year ($11.55US in December 05) I bought a case for this year, tucked it away in a temp controlled closet, and await my first Halloween related party. While I don't want a steady supply, it is a nice seasonal change.

Wiz, I made a brew a few years back that was near 12%. I put the recipe required amount of malt in but had about 4.5lbs of dry malt sitting around, so I stirred it in also. The yeast handled it just fine (Danstar Windsor dry pack) and it packed quite a wallop. Took an extra month to finish in secondary, but it was worth it. Smooth, very slightly sweet, malty taste and aroma. Mmmmmmmm. Long gone, though. And I didn't keep good enough records to duplicate it. Very similar to the Spaten Optimator. Don't drink Optimators and play poker for money at the same time. Trust me.

As far as 2 liter soda bottles go - been there, would do it again. Since I don't keg (yet), it is the best choice if you are brewing for an upcoming party. Buy a couple of plastic beer pitchers, take them to the party and empty the 2 liters into the pitchers. You can avoid the "sediment" whiney babies that way, plus just pitch the bottles when done. They will hold well over 100psi of pressure and beer only reaches 20 to 30psi. Safer than glass, but you have to keep them out of any sunlight of the beer will skunk on you quick.

And, while I'm passing on tips, I put my Raspberry Mead into a 5 liter wine box. You can buy new mylar bags with spigots, but I just sanitized a recently emptied bag and refilled. It was easy to "burp" out any nasty oxygen containing air and it sits on my pantry shelf, drinkable on a whim, but also still aging and improving.