Whole Hog Russian Imperial Stout.

Nose is stopped up so I can't get a good whiff. Fine, fluid bubbles, low carb, no lacing. Body is more like a standard stout. Smooth and filling mouthfeel, hints of chocolate. First taste had a hollow, metallic finish but subsided with time.

Nothing interesting, but it was on sale.

After having cheated and read some BA on it, I would say it's like an overexposed wine. I don't get the feeling of a doppelbock as much as some others did. It's still very much stout in my taste. Some dark fruit and typical rich stout tones. But still, at the end of the day, not much to write home about.

Single Hop Best Bitter Tasting.

When I had a taste at bottling, I was a little worried that it was too watery. I pulled a draft from a forced carbed (one week) tap-a-draft. Still kind of watery. It's mellowed a bit and the malt comes in, but I'm used to more full-bodied and hoppier beers. Maybe I was just expecting too much from a straight bitter, which what this is, presumably, as opposed to an ESB, which is what I normally get. The carbing is a little low, though I did tap it a day early.

It's not terrible, but I wouldn't really want to show it off to anyone. It's sessionable in that it has relatively no weight. It's a little like Newcastle, only more unremarkable.

I am undeterred though. I will have to watch my water volume more carefully next time. I had added a little extra in the boil thinking that I would lose some to evaporation and steam, but perhaps that was a bad idea. Also, way more hops. There is also the issue of not letting it condition for very long. Two weeks is the standard, some said 3 weeks. Since beer has to condition anyway, natural carbing is probably the better way to go.

Things to keep in mind for next time. I have a breakfast stout kit already, but I'm planning on picking up a nut brown (always on the search), an IPA that is said to do well with a dry hopping, and a double IPA.

ADDENDUM: It is definitely a session beer. I knocked back 6 pints one night and still felt pretty good.

Spinach Pesto.

From Kevin. He also calls it spanakopita pasta. It is basically spanakopita filling turned into a pesto. It's pretty good. I used frozen spinach, but it might be better with fresh spinach and it would definitely be better with fresh herbs.

Spinach and Feta Quesadilla.

From Kevin. Corn tortillas are bad for quesadillas.

Mead: Experimental Batches.

Set up 4 of 5 experimental batches (1 gallon jugs) of mead the other weekend. 3# of clover honey apiece. All measured OG in the mid 1.080s, but I didn't do a very good job of getting the honey dissolved. I supposed typical OG for mead is 1.120. Clockwise from the back left: Leap Year mead, Liquid Sex chocolate mead, Chocolate mead, Orange Chocolate mead. I used my champagne yeast starter to seed all four jugs.

• Leap Year: To be racked onto a vanilla bean. Slow start, maybe even slower than the AOCC mead I made last year.
• Liquid Sex: Original recipe calls for 1# cocoa for a 5 gallon batch. Another thread used 6 oz for 1 gallon and it came out too bitter at tastings. I used 3 oz. Took off surprisingly pretty quickly.
• Chocolate mead: Used 6 oz of Nesquick. Took off fast (extra sugar in the powder) and busted into the airlock. Attached blowoff but doesn't seem to need it now.
• Orange Chocolate: Standard JOAM recipe with 6 oz of Nesquick. Also a quick take-off.
• Orange Vanilla: After racking the Leap Year, I'll reuse the jug for a JOAM+vanilla bean. Thinking about splitting this at racking and adding lactose to half to get an Orange Creamsicle mead.

Also interested in trying this caramel apple mead.

Bean Salad.

From Elise. I don't eat celery often. I only take it in Cajun food and in stews and even then, not often. Like carrots, I basically only eat it if it is soft enough to mush. I do realize celery can be used like a spice. I just don't like it, generally.

So having a cold dish that uses celery is nice to have around. The dressing is vinegar and a surprising amount of sugar (equal parts) and a little less of a part olive oil. I used much less olive oil since it sounded like a lot to me, and I like my bean salads tart.

Indian Pudding.

From Elise. I had some small amount of cornmeal I wanted to use up, and this looked interesting. It's basically sugar and molasses spiced milk porridge heated at low in the over for a couple hours until it sets. Almost pumpkin pie-ish and pretty good with ice cream.

Doritos 1st Degree Burn: Blazin' Jalapeno.

This is probably the best jalapeno chip I've ever had. The jalapeno is savory and not bitter. The burn is good with a delayed onset and a long finish. For 1st degree, it's spicier than I would have guessed.

Porterhouse Oyster Stout.

A nice bitter, burnt malt taste. Slightly salty but not strongly so. Drier (it is an Irish dry) and more robust than other stouts and oyster stouts. Would like to taste side-by-side a Harpoon Oyster Creek as well as other Irish dry stouts.

St. Bernardus Prior 8.

Pours dark, nearly opaque, caramel color. Luxurious head but small, not fine, bubbles. Taste is less malty and more creme brulee but without so much sweetness, maybe golden raisin. Less carb that I would expect. I might reckon that I prefer the Pater 6 to this. Read on BA that some dude got this in a mixed 4-pack that came with a chalice. I want the chalice.

Single Hop Best Bitter.

Brewing my first homebrew beer, a single hop (Fuggle) bitter kit from NB. Steeped some grain.

Wort. The Fuggle pellet hops had a great smell. If this batch turns out well, I might try to use this recipe as a vehicle to try more single-hop beers.

Fermenting. Had trouble bringing my fermenting temperature down so now it's sitting in a kettle of water where I rotate ice packs. Still measuring mid 70's and would like to bring down to high 60's.

Also, here is some champagne yeast starter. I was intending on trying to revive and multiply some dry champagne yeast I had had in my fridge since last year for a set of 4+1 (delayed start) experimental meads I'm planning. Champagne yeast apparently has low flocculation so we'll see how well this actually pans out. In any case, I have an extra pack of dry yeast so I'm covered, and this will just have been practice.

St. Bernardus Pater 6.

Been a while since I've had a dubbel. Pretty tasty, not as malty as some other dubbels I've had. Banana, raisin, dry. Good carbonation and relatively light mouthfeel overall. Very drinkable.

St. Bernardus Wit.

Soft, translucent golden straw color, thinner head. Carbonation is medium and even. Clean, unadulterated wheat taste, but carbonation keeps the mouthfeel light, crisp finish. I think this is a great summer beer. If only it weren't so pricey.

I did gt to pick it up in this little variety box, which I hadn't seen before. While my local shop would sell the bottles individually, I figured this would be cheaper (or at least no more expensive) and I get this box too.

Chicken Breast with Mushroom Sage Sauce.

From Elise. Sauteing in butter always smells great. Cremini mushrooms are actually baby bellas? Deglaze with white wine or dry vermouth; I used vermouth. I used the half cup of heavy creme from my freezer and reduced. I got the chicken breasts from some split chicken breasts I bought for a good price per pound but not worth the hassle of the skin and bones.

Cooks reasonably quickly which is nice. And of course it tastes good with all that butter and heavy creme.

Enfrijoladas de Espinica

From Herbivoracious. Basically spinach enchiladas with refried black bean sauce. Pretty tasty. It didn't come together as quickly as I thought, probably left too much water in the spinach. But it's a simple, hearty meal.

The tortillas were supposed to be dipped but they were falling apart. I might try it again will lightly fried tortillas.

Pasta alla Formiana.

From Cinnamon & Spice. It's convenient since there's no cooking the pasta beforehand. Simmered in a can of crushed tomatoes, a lot more oregano than would seem right (1/4 cup). I didn't have the fresh tomatoes to line the pan.

The result is pretty good. All the oregano gives it a nice earthy, rich flavor. The strong, reduced tomato taste really covers for the lack of any other heavy seasoning. I didn't even use salt, nor did I think it needed it.

Jalapeno Popper Dip Redux.

Rehashed this recipe using fresh jalapenos (via friend) instead of canned and pickled. The heat is better and more uniform. Generally, it just has a fresher taste.

Harpoon Leviathan Imperial IPA.

Dark, golden honey color. Fluffy head, died down into thin but dense head, heavy lacing. Smell was only mildly hoppy, floral leaning towards herbal, almost medicinal and astringent. Viscous but smooth and medium-bodied. Mouthfeel seems ok but leaves it feeling a little foamy.

I was expecting more hops in an imperial IPA, but for how mild it is, it covers pretty well for the 10%ABV. It's all light enough that, a few beers in, I might not be able to tell that it is an imperial so I guess you could chalk that up as a win for drinkability. It's not so heavy that it's a sipper and not so thin that you'd knock out pints too quickly but somewhere in the middle. Overall, it's pretty good. I'm not going to go out of my way to find it in the store, but I'd order at the bar if it's on tap.