It is time if not past time to start brewing those Oktoberfest Ales/Lagers. If you start a batch now it will finish up just in time to crack one open at the end of September (if you just do an German Ale version). This year I chose to brew a Imperial Oktoberfest with basic Munich malts and Hallertau hops. It should clock in around 8.5 percent while still going down nice a smooth. While I am waiting slightly less than patiently for this beer to finish I have been drinking a whole slew of pilsners. Last night I had a can to can comparison of the Avery's Joe's Pilsner and Sante Fe's Freestyle Pilsner, and was pleasantly surprised with both. Saying this next sentence is painful for me... But I think that the Freestyle Pilsner was slightly better. I cant put a finger on why I enjoyed it more, maybe it was because it was a more recent purchase and hadnt been sitting in the back of my fridge for a month or more as Averys was. But I think that the freestyle should really be given some credit for being a wonderful Pilsner.
On anther note, I recently had a bottle of the Chatoe Rogue Good Chit Pilsner (also yesterday) and found it pleasantly delicious. This beer has a very interesting upbringing. The good people at Rogue who brewed it added there own malted barely to the beer. Yeah you heard me right they actually malted their own type of barely in order to create a beer that has more character and work behind it than most beers today. The malting process is the process of taking the barely and germinating it (letting it start to grow) in order for the most possible sugars to be formed within each barely kernel. The barely is then kilned and dried usually to less than 4% water. This process can take days to complete and involves either large machines or hard labor (work for your beer!). This beer is awesome because of the dedication to brewing and inspiration to create something more and more uniquely exciting.
Cheers!
May the blog posts continue in a more frequent fashion soon!
