(aka - in my weird mind, at least - ”Daddoo’s Brews”)
For those of you who don’t know, I got much of my early beer love and knowledge from my Dad, whom I homebrew* with whenever the occasion allows.** Today I’m regaling you with descriptions of beer that you can only have if you’re lucky enough to score an invite to a dinner/party/viewing of made-for-tv SyFy Original movies.***
I’m beginning with the Brown Ale, being that it’s one of the most frequently brewed beers here. I’m pretty sure the Brown Ale tap will always be just that – we go through enough of it that I have a hard time picturing putting something else there. It’s an easy brew , but it’s good, and it’s because of this beer that I get pissy when breweries make inferior, tasteless browns. Made well, they’re awesome.
The Brown Ale (named “What Can Brown Do For You” on the taphandle) has a malty nose of nutty caramel and brown bread with hints of citrus running through it. Nice and slightly fall-like.
Drinking it, it begins with a hint of sweetness before filling up with a rounded, toasty malt flavor that’s backed with enough hops to create a nicely sharp bite on the tongue. There’s also a hint of fruit – a touch of apple and a touch of citrus (mostly grapefruit). It’s medium-bodied with a fantastic carbonation level that leaves a bit of foamy head during the entire pint.
The other beer that’s I’m reviewing is one I pretty much begged for: a Bourbon Barrel Porter. It is (as it should be) pitch, pitch black:
Scent-wise, this beer is dark chocolate, toasted malts, bourbon and a hint of wood. The bourbon intensifies the scent of the others at least as much as it shows up as a distinct note of its own.
Taste-wise, the bourbon-soaked wood gives it a marvelously smoky note, the type of flavor that means it’s an awesomesauce beer for any and all things that have been in contact with the grill (like, you know, the burgers we’re about to throw on). Beyond the smoky note, there’s a lot of really toasty malt, some hints of chocolate, a touch of vanilla, and a nicely clove-y spicysweet woodsy flavor. The beer has a smooth mouthfeel and a nice, heavy body. It’s one of my favorites, and I suspect it’ll be absolutely perfect when fall weather hits.****
This beer was fun because it was the standard brewing process until it wasn’t anymore: at some point during the conditioning period, we soaked a bunch of woodchips in Makers Mark and then added said woodchips to the beer. It isn’t exactly the same as aging it in a real bourbon barrel, but it worked pretty well and didn’t require us making phone calls to a bunch of whiskey stills begging for their leftovers.
So, Daddoo, thanks for being awesome, and thanks for brewing awesome beer. Love you!
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*by “homebrew,” I mean “Dad does the majority of the cleaning and stirring and watching of the clock while I chatter, drink homebrew from batches past and obsessively sniff the hops.”
**by which I mean “whenever one of the kegs is empty.” My parents’ basement features four taps of homebrew. We brew whenever we manage to kick something.
***I also got my love of bad Sci-Fi and half of my general nerdiness from my Dad.
****Fall is my favorite season bar none. I’m not particularly a fan of the heat, so much so that I’m pretty much ready for Autumn already.
