My Latest Brew

I'm waiting for my IPA to be ready to drink. I bottled it on September 11, and was expecting to wait four weeks for it to be ready to drink. Meanwhile, I am not self beerficient. I am drinking commercial brews, and waiting for the weather to cool down so I can start another batch of ale.

A friend of mine introduced me to a new commercial craft brew, actually an assortment of craft brews, from CostCo. They had a Pale Ale, an Amber Ale, a Heffeweizen, and a German-Style Lager. The label is called Kirkland Signature brand. The price was ridiculously low, around 18 dollars for a case. Quick math in my head, hmmmm... A case costs me 16 dollars just for the kit, and never mind the hours of work needed to brew a batch... I was scared! If Costco can sell craft beers for the cost of brewing them yourself, it makes it hard to justify the cost of doing it yourself.

I tried the Pale Ale first. I was hot and somewhat dehydrated after a ten-mile hike, and the beer was cold and wet and refreshing. I smelled, tasted, and then drank most of the bottle at once. I was surprised by the aftertaste, which was sort of metallic and really quite nasty. I have been warned about the chemical reactions that can occur at the end of cooking, specifically the formation of sulfites and sulfides. I think it was sulfites that made this beer taste poorly. They are produced while the beer is cooling off after cooking. Sometimes, the beer is cooled too slowly, allowing sulfites to form. My reaction was twofold: One, this stuff is awful, and two, I don't have to worry about price competition at the home-brew level.

My second bottle was the German-Style Lager. I sipped it carefully, and was not overly pleased at the fact that it was not better than the pale ale. I drank about two-thirds of the bottle, and then poured the rest on the ground, being careful that nobody could see it. I couldn't wait to get to a real beer after that.

Lately, I have tried Lagunitas IPA, which reminded me of the Mickey's Wide Mouth Ale that I drank as a wee lad because it gave a good buzz. Not that good, in my opinion, without going through all of the taste analysis. It is sufficient to say I didn't get too excited with it. I went back to the store and got the Ranger IPA from New Belgium Brewing Company, the people that make Fat Tire. I am very happy with it, and I'm on my fourth six-pack. I also bought a couple of their assortments which included Fat Tire and Ranger, but also a fresh-tasting and very smooth lager, and Hoptober, which is a Pale Ale with a nice hop taste, which reminds one of IPA without being overpowering.

I am right now about 2 weeks away from my own Yosemite IPA. I probably will begin a new batch on the weekend when I taste it, because I like to drink a couple of beers while I am brewing.