And now for your irregularly scheduled beer post…
I think I may actually get some entries to the Upper Mississippi Mash-out this year. More entries than ever before, in fact. I almost feel like I have a hobby again!
Of course, competitions means bottling (with the exception of Beer and Sweat keg-only competition, with two drawbacks: location, and insanity), and I keg. Enter the Beer Gun. Quite cool, very easy to use. I’ll be sold on the concept unless/until all the beers I sent to the mash-out get dinged for oxidation.
So, I’m planning to send:
- The steam beer and pale ale I brewed two posts ago. They aged well….
- My 2005 wild-yeast-fermented cider. I tried both the natural and the pitched yeast versions side-by-side before deciding. The natural cider basically screamed apple!, while the pitched version was much more subtle with honey notes and a crisp, dry finish. In beer, at least, subtlety does not seem to do well at competitions, so the natural cider goes.
- The Dubbel I tossed together last summer. This is turning out to be a wonderful beer. Unfortunately, not the beer I’m in the mood for most of the time. I may have to work my way back into liking the Belgian styles again…
- The Rochefort 8° clone I brewed two summers ago with a friend. Since I haven’t been in a Belgian mood, and when I am, I want to save this stuff rather than drink it, I have most of my case left. It’s quite excellent, and I’m sending some.
The Rochefort 8° clone was a tough choice to send vs. keep all to myself. I’m currently drinking another tough choice, an Imperial Stout I brewed back in 2004 (<boggle>, was it really that long ago?), and is developing very nicely. I have somewhat more than a case left, and it did really well in the 2005 State fair competition (high score, no medal — Imperial stouts are a popular style among homebrewers). This one will be a gametime decision….
… and I still need to work tomorrow. Feh. Me sleep now.
