Boulevard To Collaborate With International Brewer - Brewmasters will partner on new Smokestack Series offering

My favorite home town brewery announced it's first collaboration and in Boulevard style it's unique and innovative. Taken from the press release.


"KANSAS CITY, Mo., October 9, 2009 – Boulevard Brewing Company today announced that Jean-Marie Rock, brewmaster at Orval, the renowned Trappist brewery located in southern Belgium, will team up with Boulevard brewmaster Steven Pauwels to create a small production, limited release beer. The joint effort, a first for the Midwestern craft brewery, will take place during Rock’s late October visit to Boulevard’s Kansas City facility. The brewers, both native Belgians, will produce an Imperial Pilsner similar to a lager brewed by Rock at the start of his career. It will, according to Pauwels, be a tribute to Pilsner beers; full flavored and refreshing, brewed with 100% Pilsner malt and 100% Saaz hops, using time-honored techniques.


“The beer will be made in a very traditional way,” said Rock. “The methods by which it will be brewed, fermented, and lagered are no longer employed, though they made this beer fantastic. It is time to get a beer like this back in a glass.” For his part, Pauwels is thrilled by the chance to work with his notable colleague. “In this, Boulevard’s first collaborative effort, we are pleased to honor a brewer who has had such an enormous influence on me and on so many other craft brewers. Jean-Marie mastered dry hopping and brewing with wild yeast long before craft brewers began experimenting with the techniques here in the U.S.”


The beer, to be packaged in 750ml bottles as part of Boulevard’s Smokestack Series, is expected to be available in January, and will be distributed through Boulevard’s wholesaler network. "

Home Brewer Profile – Joseph Lemnah

New Home Brewer profile at Hop Cast. This week it is the super knowledgeable Joseph Lemnah AKA The Hopfentreader. I leverage this guy for advanced home brew tips..oh and did I mention he is a pro brewer for DFH?! Check it out.. HOPCAST

Recipe: Rye Stout

Brewed this one on Monday as part of the "Bridges Brewery" project. This recipe seems so tasty, i may have to re brew it for my self. Nothing out of the ordinary, just borrowed form a few of my favorite Stout recipe's and replaced a portion of the base grain with Rye malt. I will use a small amount of Rice Hulls next brew as the mash bed drained awfully slow.


OG: 1.061
FG: 1.016
ABV: 6%
IBU: 39
SRM: 38
EFF: 75%
BOIL: 90
(Note: Reduced the first gallon of wort down to .5 gallon. Compensated in water volume. I have not figured out how this impacts my OG/FG)

7.5 lb Marris Otter
3 lb Rye Malt (Note: Mill at the lowest gap setting to get a fine crush)
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz UK Roasted Barley
6 oz Caramel 40
6 oz Caramel 80
2 oz Caramel 120

2 oz Fuggles 90 min

Used 2 packs of Safale US-04 as I am fermenting this one cooler than normal, 60 - 62F. Aerated for 30 minutes with aeration stone.

RECIPE: Imperial American Brown Ale w/ Columbus Hops

I am real fond of Brown Ale's. In my opinion Chicago's Goose Island Clybourn location brews really strong Browns, Porters and Stouts (just enjoyed a Triple X Porter there yesterday, mmmm). They do a American Brown Ale called "Naught Goose" and recently did "Imperial Naughty Goose", my recipe is not a clone of this beer but was without a doubt inspired by many pints of it.

The first gallon of runnings were reduced by 50% to create a heavy body and mouth feel. I did not dry hop, the 2 ounce 1 minute addition gave enough hop aroma without it being overwhelming. Being that most Brown Ale's are in the lower ABV I decided to call this one Imperial.

Imperial Brown Ale with Columbus

OG: 1.069
FG: 1.016 (1.020 with Reduction)
EF: 75%
ABV: 7%
IBU: 90
SRM: 25

13 lbs 2-Row
12 oz Crystal 40
8 oz UK Chocolate Malt
8 oz Crystal 10
4 oz US Chocolate Malt

.75 oz Columbus 90 min
.50 oz Columbus 30 min
.50 oz Columbus 15 min
.25 oz Columbus 05 min
2 oz Columbus 01 min

2 packs of US-05

Mashed at 149 for 60 minutes. Spiked mash water with .75 tsp of Baking Soda. Reduced 1 gallon of first runnings by 50% to create a heavier body and mouthfeel.

I am still here..

I have been busy doing what I love, being with my Friends and Family, Home Brewing, #gents, Disc Golf and sneaking in a full work week between it all. Needless to say I have ignored the Blog. I will be posting up so new recipes and beer reviews.

It's also time for Bridges Brewery again. I have already started brewing the Scotch Ale but decided not to brew the Golden Strong Ale this year. Instead it looks like a Rye Stout will be the other beer offering.

Hop Cast Home Brewer Profile's - Andy Farley

Ken and Brad are celebrating the art of Home Brewing by featuring them on the Hop Cast site. My friend Andy Farley was featured, check him out here.. HOP CAST

Rootstock Wine & Beer Bar

Last night we decided to keep things in our area and check out a new spot. Rootstock has been getting a lot of buzz but i had heard very little about it from the perspective of a beer lover. What we intended to be a quick stop turned into a full evening at the bar sampling the menu and fine libations.

The bottle list was carefully selected. They kept a few selections from local craft brewers Three Floyds and Two Brothers, notably "Behemoth Barley Wine" but also "Gorch Fock" and "Dog Days". Domestic offerings from Allagash, Lost Abbey, North Coast, Lagunitas and Great Lakes. You will notice a leaning towards Belgian ales but dig a little deeper and they keep one good example of most styles. The imports list kept English Bitters like "Bombardier" and "Old Speckled Hen", French Canadian Belgian style ales from Unibrou, Lagers from Schlenkerla and Weihenstephan plus several Belgian and French ales. All price points on the bottles but of course it's great to pick out a pricier bottle to share with the table.

They had a two draft tower with Goose Island "Matilda" and Brooklyn "Sorachi Ace Saison". Matilda is great but what really brought me in was the Sorachi Ace Saison. Fresh grassy hop aroma and flavor. Citrus notes with grains of paradise meld well with the somewhat aggressive hopping for a Saison. I could have had this all night and will definitely be back again for another glass.

The partner who was running the bar, John, had an incredibly knowledge of the selections. You will notice the bar is not over ran by a pack of well known bottles. Like the beer selection, the spirits all were hand selected. I was impressed to see they had Templeton Rye. When He found out I was a big fan of brewing with Rye, he shared a sample of Wasmund's Rye Spirit, a small batch from Virginia. You can tell a lot of thought and love went into this bar and they were passionate about showing it off.

You can check them out at http://rootstockbar.com . They are located on the South West corner of Augusta and California in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

On a side note, please vote for "The Best Chicago Beer Venue". #Gents will be reviewing one every Tuesday in August. Voting closes Sunday at 8pm. http://www.fellowshipofgentlemanlygentlemen.com/