@ccreel67

Yeah, I have a Twitter account, @ccreel67. I have had it about two years and usually comment about society, entertainment and beer. Usually, society and beer. 'Cause, Life is Beer and Beer is Life. Look me up on the Twitter if your interested in more of my wise-cracks.

Doing my part to preserve the history of preserved foods and beverages.

It turns out that you can't believe everything you read on t-shirts. Historian Bob Skilnik, and my Beers of the Day calendar, would like to inform us that Ben Franklin was a wine drinker. Those novelty t-shirts which claim that "Beer is proof that God loves us" are not, most likely, quoting ol' Ben correctly. According to Skilnik, this famous misquote could have been paraphrased from a letter written by Franklin in 1779;

"Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy"

Sounds to me like ol' Ben had been reading too much King James and the Greek Classics and not enough Hymn of Ninkasi. But, the Hymn of Ninkasi probably wasn't available for Mr. Franklin's reading pleasure.

Experiments in Homebrewing, part 2

The Dandelion Ale is bottled now. I think it's going to be okay. Even if it turns out sour, it may be a palatable sour ale. I was very happy with the Blonde Ale which I used as the base recipe for the Dandelion Ale. I will continue to brew it and design other beers around it.

The Dandelion Ale was bottled on Friday, June 20. I will let it age for two weeks before sampling it. But, what about the Dry Hopped Bud Light experiment?

I used Natural Light, 'cause really, what is the difference in Bud Light and Natural Light? I had, from right to left, Cascade whole hops, Willamette pellets, Cascade pellets, Hallertau pellets and Northern Brewer pellets. All the individual hops flavors here present in the Natural Light except the whole Cascade hops. This one still tasted like Natural Light and I poured it out.

Willamette: True to style, the Willamette presented very subtle, floral flavors. I got the impression this would be a good hop for wheat beers.

Cascade: This one is a bit chalky from the sediment of the hops pellets and has a pepper like heat. The alpha acids are not as pronounced as I had anticipated but it was certainly more hoppy, and full bodied, than a Natural Light. I will spike the next batch with a bit more Cascade.

Hallertau: I can smell the hops presence and it is quite unlike N.L. The Hallertau  increases the Pils credibility of the N.L. by providing European Pils flavors. There is also a hint of wheat beer flavor. Overall, it is subtle and flora.

Northern Brewer: These pellets broke up and spread all through the beer. The initial impression is very chalky with lots of alpha acids. Much more citrus alpha acid than I had expected from Northern Brewer. Obvious hops aroma and fruity, alpha acid heat flavors.

I intend to do this test again with different types of hops. Next time, I believe I will use a cheap cerveza as the base beer and spike them with Czech and German hops.

The next batch I will be brewing is Charlie P's Wise Ass Red Bitter, from the Complete Joy of Home Brewing.

Experiments in Home Brewing

I'd call this Adventures in Homebrewing but that title is taken. Home brewing, or homebrewing, is just one big experiment anyway. After enjoying a few Pistils by Magic Hat, I'm trying to put together a dandelion brew of my own. I mean, who doesn't want to pull a weed out of their yard and put it in a food product? I'm just that kind of crazy, or that kind of earthy.

I found a lot more info about Dandelion Wine on the entree-net and only one recipe for a Dandelion Saison on Home Brew Talk. I did find a reference to the book The Hombrewer's Garden which apparently contains a recipe for Dandelion Ale but, did not find the recipe. The reference, on the blog She Brews Good Ale, mentioned using the whole Dandelion plant to bitter the beer.

First Dandelion Tea Batch

I went out to my backyard and dug up a bunch of Dandelions. We just moved into this home in Dec. and the house was vacant for a while, I am not concerned about in residual chemicals existing on the plants. The whole yard is literally a field of wild flowers or weeds. Of course, I washed and rinsed the Dandelions before packing them in the freezer.

Next, since I don't have a recipe, I decided I could use a Dandelion tea to determine how much plant material I'd need in the beer. I heated eight ounces of water in the microwave and added one small Dandelion plant, about one ounce.

Third Dandelion Tea Batch

This first batch of tea just tasted dirty. There was a hint of plant bitterness but certainly nothing that could compare to hops. I increased the Dandelion addition to about two ounces, this tea had a distinct flowery tea flavor but nothing really bitter.

The third batch of tea, about three ounces of Dandelions, seemed to be just right with definite flowery tea flavors. I feel the combination of three ounces of Dandelion to eight ounces water will be the idea measurements for the ale experiment.

Since this was inspired by Magic Hat's Pistil I want to make a light beer that the Dandelions will, hopefully, accent nicely. This past Sunday, May 18th, I made a Blonde Ale which will be the base recipe for my Dandelion Ale. The Blonde should be ready, after fermentation and bottle conditioning, around June 7. So, the Dandelion Ale experiment has at least six more weeks before completion.

Last Saturday, May 17, I began this experiment but I didn't use Bud Light. I would have used PBR but they don't sale PBR bottled six packs at Publix or Wal-Mart. I will let you all know how this turned out soon.

I don't believe that I have mentioned...

home brewing? Oh yeah, I have mentioned that, at least once. Since leaving Knoxville my leisure time interest has shifted away from role playing games and toward home brewing. I really hadn't written much about role playing last year. Darn career, and company going bankrupt, getting in the way of my leisure time! I'm inching my way back into the rpgs a bit, it's hard not to enjoy writing silly stuff.

On the home brewing front, I'm brewing my way through Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Home Brewing. In fact, my batch from the first recipe in the book received a Best in Class, British Ales, award at the War of the Wort on May 3. I knew I had made a good beer but not an award winning beer? My score was 41 out of 50 points. That left plenty of room for a really great beer to win the class. Those other guys must have had some dirty bottles or something?

We don't have a reliable or convenient home brew supplier here in Muscle Shoals, Al. There's the Wine Maker Shack in Loretto, Tn. which is forty minuets away. They have all the basic supplies but their hours are 9 to 5, Mon. -- Fri, rather inconvenient hours for me. (Or for any other honest home brewer I should think.) Yesterday I visited a farm supply store in Florence, Longrider Supply. They have a mishmash of basic brewing equipment and ingredients, but no hops and no dried malt extract. As Sally says, how can you make beer without  hops?

I believe I have owned The Complete Joy of Home Brewing for twenty years. In all this time I would only describe myself as a casual home brewer. I would go for years without brewing a batch. Since I know the basics of home brewing, and I have certainly owned the book long enough, I thought I would brew my way through all the recipes in the book.

My next batch will be Wise Ass Red Bitter from page 179, the second recipe in the book. Since there is no local home brew supply store handy, I have used the resources of the entree-net to order the necessary ingredients. I plan for the brew day to be in the next seven days, possibly this weekend, I'll keep you all posted.

I should also mention; a fellow Muscle Shoals Masher, Randy Myers, who took 1st Place in the IPA category at War of the Wort. Congratulations to Randy and to all other brewers who participated in the competition.

Northern Brewer Honey Kolsch, extract kit

It's true, what they say about the best beer from any batch of homebrew is the last one. I bottled this Kolsch on Oct. 20th and in the subsequent three months all the homebrew funk has settled out.  My original notes described a vinous smell with plenty of carbonation and head retention. The initial flavor was malty with hops and cider following.

I drank one of these about a month ago and it was still too heavy, malty and hoppy, to be distinguished as a Kolsch. At that time, and all previous samplings, this brew would have qualified as an ale or pale ale style. My notes graded it as a 2 or 2.5 out of 5.

Here's the update: I smelled this before pouring it, there was some vinegar smell and I noticed some hops residue inside the bottle neck. (As for the smell, I've been smelling sour liquids all afternoon.) The pour is clear gold with good head retention.

The first sip is very light but with enough body to distinguish it from an American Pils. (Just like a Kolsch!) The hops are very subtle, becoming more assertive in the body of the beer. The finish is a bit more hoppy. The mouthfeel is light and effervescent.

I still can not grade this beer very highly. I'm not ready to self-promote my brews, but I can give it a grade of 3.5. This was not the last bottle of the Kolsch, I will be able to share some with friends and get unbiased opinions. The boss, Sally, has already said that this is my best brew in years. Let's see if time has improved my Oatmeal Stout?

Great Divide, Old Ruffian, Barleywine

On New Year's Eve I enjoyed a four year old bomber of Great Divide Old Ruffian Barleywine, it was heavenly. The carbonation was low with the thinnest layer of bubbles. The color was toasty golden brown, like a cup of hot tea.

The first sip revealed the malt body with no overwhelming hop flavors. The hop presence has mellowed over the years, now more traditional British Bitter or Pale Ale flavors are present. Up to this point I had only had fresh barleywines. There are none of the overpowering hops with which I am accustomed.

Surprisingly, the finish is very mellow. The mouthfeel is light but with a gritty, pale ale weight. This is the perfect beer for celebrating the New Year. I must buy more barleywines!

Grade: 5 of 5 possible pints. 

Happy Brew Year! Taproom 21 Copper Lager review.

The Taproom 21 brand is brewed by World Brews in Navato California and distributed in East Tennessee through Kroger grocery stores. A quick visit to Beer Advocate indicates that World Brews is a contract brewery. Regardless, Taproom 21 fills a gap in the grocery store beer shelves, between the $5.99 PBR and the $8.99 imports and craft brews. I believe it was, on sale for, $7.49 when I purchased a six pack of Copper Lager. I generally avoid these contract brews because they make me feel like I'm paying to drink someone's homebrew.  I thought I would give Taproom 21 a try and save $1.50 when I didn't want to drink PBR.

Copper Lager smells sweet and malty. The pour fills the glass with a lovely copper, golden brown beverage. The first sip is round and malty but a bit sweet. I actually detect a bit of butterscotch flavor. 

This is very light and drinkable. The hops are undetectable. 

Over all, I would purchase the Copper Lager again. There are really no outstanding qualities here, other than affordability. I'll have to grade this Copper Lager at 2.5 out of 5 possible pints.

I am curious about the other styles offered by Taproom 21, they offer a Pale Ale, Amber Ale and Wheat Beer. I will try these if I get the chance. 

Has anyone seen my Brooklyn Brewing pint glass, we seem to have lost it in the move?

Happy New Year to you all!



That's news to me...

Grand Rapids wins 2013 Beer City U.S.A. I found this news today while doing some entree-net related beer research. This is six month old news, did I mention it has been a busy year? I'm not sure what happen to Portland  in this year's poll, but Asheville came in third behind Kalamazoo Michigan. Looks like Sally and I need to add Grand Rapids to our "places to visit" list. Maybe we should visit Kalamazoo too?

Beer reviews will return soon, as soon as I quit loosing my review notes.

"Coldest Beer in U.S.A."

This sign is outside of a, now closed, bar near my current home in Strawberry Plains, Tn. The bar was named Joann's when Sally and I moved here and we visited it one afternoon. They, supposedly, had Yuengling on tap, but the cooler had "gone out." They supposedly had Heineken but it was stored in the same malfunctioning cooler. I think we both had a Miller Lite and went home. 

When Joann's closed, the bar reopened, named Knuckle Bones or Lucky Bones or some such. Then, presumably, the management changed again and the name was changed to the Wolves Den. There are a few more of these road houses out here in Straw Plains, The Oak Lounge and B&M Lounge. I intend to visit them before we move out of town.

I can't really call the local beer culture "cultural decline" because a lack of progress doesn't signal a decline. Where Sally and I are moving, the Muscle Shoals Alabama community, there's no beer culture as we are accustomed to in East Tennessee. Here's a brief outline of the discrepancy of available beers in the Shoals.

Beer Brands available in Knox Co. Tn. not available in Muscle Shoals, Al. 

Depot Street Brewing, Jonesborough, Tn.

Foothills Brewing, Winston - Salem, N.C.

Greenman Brewing, Asheville, N.C.

Highland Brewing, Asheville, N.C.

New Belgium Brewing, Ft. Collins, Co.

Old Hickory Brewing, Hickory, N.C.

Saw Works Brewing, Knoxville, Tn.

Schlafly Brewing, St. Louis, Mo.

Smokey Mnt. Brewing, Knoxville, Tn.

Thomas Creek Brewing, Greenville, S.C.

Beer Brands available in the Shoals which are not available in Knox Co, Tn.

Blue Pants Brewing, Madison, Al.

Founders Brewing, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Good People Brewing, Birmingham, Al.

Left Hand Brewing, Longmont, Co. 

Rammer Jammer Beer Co., Birmingham, Al.

This is not an exact list and there are many more brands that will not be available in the Shoals. There is some crossover between the two beer communities. Thank the beer gods for Yazoo and Oskar Blues, brands that are available in both locations. It is difficult for me to believe that New Belgium is not available in Al. But, I strongly suspect that this will change in 2014. Left Hand Brews are occasionally available in East Tn. Lastly, The Shoals is, roughly, a two hour drive to Nashville, Tn. Sally and I will be making the occasional weekend journey to this more culturally advanced community.

Revisiting Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager

When I visited Asheville recently there were still a few cans of Sierra Nevada Summerfest on the shelves at Bruisn' Ales. I was told that Sierra Nevada had sent plenty of Summerfest to Asheville in preparation for the opening of their brewery there next year. I purchased four cans of Summerfest so I can prepare for the opening of the new brewery.  

The Summerfest pour produces a clear gold, moderately carbonated brew that looks like a white wine. Summerfest simply smells like beer and the first sip tastes of traditional, American style,  Pils but with much more hops in the aftertaste.      

I now realize that Summerfest is Sierra Nevada's tribute to traditional American beers.  The subtle hops aftertaste is probably  truer to the old style beers than their watered down offspring of today. It was great to find some Summerfest in Oct. This is one of my favorite beers which, for me, is the craft brew definition of  the traditional American Pils. 

 Despite all my praise of the American Pils style, Sierra Nevada is classified as a Lager and, I would think, easily fits into the California Common style. The mouthfeel resembles a heavier Lager style rather than a light Pils style beer.

Grade:  When I wrote about Summerfest two years ago I gave it a grade of 5 out of 5 pints, it wouldn't be fair to give it any other grade this time.

Terrapin/Shmaltz ReUnion Ale 2012

This team project between Terrapin and Shmaltz was a benifit brew for the Institute for Myeloma and Bone Cancer Research. It is described as a dark ale brewed with cinnamon, cocoa nibs and vanilla and the nose knows, it smells like cocoa. As promised, it pours a dark ale with moderate carbonation.

The first sip tastes of coffee and cocoa and reminds me of a Porter. The complex flavors dominate this brew throughout. The carbonation diminishes quickly, also like a Porter style. Reunion Ale remains malty and rich with a mouth-feel of a cola.

In the end, this one is rich, bold and fruity. I sure wish I had a few more bottles of this one.
Grade: 4.95 of 5 possible pints.


And, good news, after writing this review weeks ago, I just purchased the ReUnion Ale '13 at Bruisin' Ales this past Saturday.

What is really going on at F.R.I.?

It has been a rather eventful year for us at Fanatical Recycling Inc. Back in August, our parent company filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Now, the business has been sold and the buy-out transition is complete.

During the bankruptcy close-out there was a general attitude of apathy. Even before bankruptcy was declared there were a lot of problems with production. There were problems with shipping and with our info database. The problems with the database continue and I believe, unfortunately, that these problems will not be resolved until the closing of the 2013 business year.

All these factors were mentally taxing to the point of apathy, as I have mentioned, causing very little productivity in all things F.R.I. As the business year winds down I have been able to dedicate a bit more time to F.R.I. contributions. I intend for the pattern to remain in place for this fall and winter, and beyond.



With all this in consideration, along with other issues which I have not mentioned, the F.R.I. staff, myself, Sally and Iris, have decided to break from our current parent company and move the F.R.I. corporate headquarters to the friendly confines of North Alabama, specifically the Muscle Shoals area. As they say, "this should not affect the day to day operations of the corporation."

As a symbol of our dedication to the continued productivity of the Co, we introduce the latest product, currently in production. This will be a Honey Kolsch which was racked to secondary fermentation yesterday and will be bottled in two weeks.

Blue Pants Workman Lager

Dang this craft brewing renaissance, causing me so much confusion about beer styles! The info on the bottle describes Workman as a California Common and a Lager, but the beer tastes like an IPA.



This brew has a strong citrus sent while still in the bottle. One of my drinking buddies said it smelled like a Pilsner, which shows how differently we can perceive things. The pour produces an amber liquid with ample carbonation and head. (I tried not to pour aggressively.)  


The first sip gives me the impression of a pale ale. A very well hopped pale ale too. Subsequent sips remain hoppy but easy to drink. My brain is still telling me that I am drinking a pale ale, and I am continuing to enjoy this brew, no matter what the style.  

I'm not sure I'm doing this mouth-feel part right, but I would say the mouth-feel is citrus.

Blue Pants Brewery is in Madison, Al and I found their brew at a local store, Vic's. However, I did not see any of their product available on a recent visit to North Alabama. I am planing to visit the brewery next year, if not sooner.

Grade: Certainly deserving of a high score; 4.9 out of 5 possible pints.

Magic Hat Hicu

Here is, yet another, brewing experiment from our friends at the Magic Hat Brewery. There was only one thing they could name this one because it is concocted with hibiscus and cucumber in the ingredients. They named it Hicu, I guess Haiku was  taken?

The pour produces a caramel, red, brown ale with very little carbonation. I poured it aggressively.  The first sip is dominated by the taste of cucumber. The second sip is just more cucumber and a sour ale hint.


As the beer warms I can begin to smell a brown ale. At this point, I detect the taste of ice tea, but I can't get over the the cucumber taste. If there was a bit of oil involved, I would describe the mouthfeel as salad dressing.

The label invites us to compose a Haiku about Hicu, here's mine. 


Lovely brown ale
tastes like curcurbits
I'll not have another.

Grade: 2 of 5 possible pints.

French Broad, Gateway Kolsch

Here's another craft brew from right over in North Carolina, French Broad Gateway Kolsch. Sally is very fond of the light nature of Kolsch and I am also coming to terms with the style.

Gateway K pours clear, corny gold with better than average head retention. The first sip tastes of light beer and noble hops. The lightness reminds of wheat beer. And, brings to question, how did I miss the whole wheat beer season this year?

I guess I spent the season reconciling myself with the Kolsh style? A conundrum, since it's an ale that drinks like a lager. I have gained renewed respect for our German brewing forefathers who created this light ale which imitates their lagers.

So, as predicted, the mouthfeel is the impression of a Pilsner.

Grade: 3.5 of 5 pints

Moerlein Over the Rhine Ale

Why the sudden interest in Cincinnati brews? About a month ago, Sally and I managed to take a few vacation days and visit Cincinnati. We visited the Christian Moerlein Lager House and managed to bring home a few beers.

Here I'm sampeling their Over the Rhine Ale. It smells hoppy and produces a hazy brown pour. It produced a pretty good head for a bottled beer which was purchased at a grocery store. I imagine it was pretty fresh since Cincinnati is just over 250 miles from Knoxville, Tn.

The first sip is hoppy too but subsequent sips are more balanced.  This is no IPA, it's just a good old "Ale" and an inspiration to would-be home brewers, such as; myself. The hops and malt are very well balanced but the hops remain on top of the tastes, I like this beer more with each sip.

I just got a taste impression that was, very much, mocha, similar to iced coffee. That's what I'm calling the mouthfeel, sweet and sour, like iced coffee.

Moerlien brews are available locally, I will be looking for this one again.

Grade: 4 out of 5 pints.

And, we're back, More beer on Monday!

Slowly but surely, the madness of this fiscal year has brought my blogging to a halt but I don't intend to stay down. It seems only appropriate that the relaunch of Fanatical Recycling should coincide with More Beer on Monday and Hudepohl Summer Pils.

Hudepohl, an old Cincinnati brand that has resurfaced and is available in East Tn., is a simple American pils. There's not much to smell here. It has a very neutral aroma, I feel like I am trying to smell water. Finally I get a whiff and it smells like beer.

The appearance of Hudy Summer Pils is clear and gold. There was one eighth to a quarter of an inch of head which diminished quickly. (I had to take a few pics before I found a good light source.) The taste is crisp and tart with light malt and a hint of hops. I also tasted a hint of lime but the flavor never returned after the first tease. Overall, this tastes like a classic America Pilsner.

My editors have told me that I will be required to mention "mouthfeel" when  reviewing beers. The light nature of Hudepohl Summer Pils creates a moutfeel very similar to water. Perhaps this isn't an appropriate mouthfeel analogy, but it's the one I' going with. Or, I could just say it has the mouthfeel of a light beer.

Now, I'm faced with grading Hudepohl Summer Pils with the discretionary nature of Fanatical Recycling Inc. It has come to my attention that, some times, two grades may be necessary. First, I'll provide a grade for the individual style of beer being graded.

Hudepohl Summer Pils earns 4.5 of 5 pints in the Classic American Pils style. We award it a 3 of 5 pints on the over all F.R.I. beer scale. (Meaning, what we're most likely to purchase for our enjoyment at home or abroad.)

Shiner FM 966 Farmhouse Ale

I really didn't know what to expect from this Shiner Farmhouse Ale and I'm still not certain about it. Shiner's explanation is that the style was produced by brewery workers in their spare time, or something like that?

A sniff provides a sour, vinegary smell. FM 966 pours with little carbonation and a lovely, light golden color. The first sip is light, as expected by the color, but hoppy. This might be a lawn mower beer except for all these hops, definitely reminiscent of a Belgian Farmhouse Ale.

The final sips have hints of wheat malts and banana flavors. I can not rate this one very highly at all.

2.5 our of 5 possible pints.

Bad Press for Magic Hat

While visiting the Schlafly website recently I found this article about The Brewers Association's latest attempts to distinguish legitimate craft beers from the imitators that A.B. and Miller/Coors love to put in front of us. Of course, Blue Moon and Shock Top are the two most notorious craft brew imitators. The Brewers Association seems to think we can't tell the crafty brews, as they name them, from the true craft brews. I don't understand this, my opinion is, if you can read you should be able to distinguish crafty brews from craft brews. Reading glasses may be required but the small print on the beer packaging includes who brews the beer, this is usually on the bottles.

I appreciate The Brewers Association intention to maintain some honesty in advertising. I certainly learned something about one of my favorite breweries too. It seems that Magic Hat imports most of their product. I am a bit confused about this as the report also claims that Magic Hat brews their beer with adjuncts. This implies that the ingredients include more, or less, than malted barley, hops and water, such as  barley malt or sorghum. I bet there's even some high fructose corn syrup in there! The accusation basically means, Magic Hat is making a drink or alcoholic beverage, they are not, by The Brewers Association standards, making a craft brewed beer.

However or where ever Magic Hat makes their beer, they have a very crafty brewer or head chef who knows how to turn high fructose corn syrup to into some very tasty beers. I am guessing that the drinks must be produced in Canada, that could explain the distribution difficulties in the South-east U.S. For me, a dedicated consumer, learning that Magic Hat has been sneaking around behind the brew kettles is a lot like learning there's no Santa. I don't intend to avoid Magic Hat's products but I will remain curious about their business practices.

Speaking of Santa, here's an early Merry Christmas to you all!