Slam Dunkel in Secondary

I transferred the Slam Dunkel-weizen into a secondary fermenter on Sunday. Primary fermentation finished up with a gravity of 1.010. The beer was not as dark as anticipated. All the feedback I found from other dunkels said that 1lb of chocolate malt was too much, so I went with 1/2 lb. To attempt and remedy this, I added cocoa powder (mixed and heated with water) to the secondary fermenter. The beer should get some additional color and flavor from aging it with the cocoa, so hopefully it will actually look like a dunkel.

NC Cask Ale Fest - 3 Boys and Beers

Being as big a proponent of cask ale as I am, I had to post this event. The breweries to be featured include Highland, Triangle, Duck Rabbit, Foothills, Aviator, Top of the Hill, French Broad, and Lone Rider. There is also one cask from outside of NC, from Rogue Brewery. Hit the link below for more details. The event is this coming Saturday, August 29th, at 6:30 at Rigsbee Hall in Durham.

http://www.durhamcentralpark.org/events/meals-from-the-market/2009-meals-calendar/

Brier Creek Brixx Oktoberfest Tasting

Thursday October 15th, Brixx Brier Creek will be hosting an Oktoberfest themed tasting, with 8 different Oktoberfest style beers. Four will be on draft, and four additional bottles will be available as well. The price will be $5 for four tasters. Additionally they will have "Oktoberfest themed food" available to pair with the beers.

This will be a great chance to do some side by side tasting with a traditional German style lager. You can compare the German brewed ones with American interpretations. Which one will you like better?

We'll let them have a pass on the fact that Oktoberfest is actually in the weeks leading up to Oktober, not actually in the middle of Oktober.

Events "On Tap" for this week

Currently this is all we have for this upcoming week, but stay tuned, as i will be updating this as more becomes available:

Tuesday, 8/25:
This month's tasting at the Saucer will be a battle of East Coast IPAs vs. West Coast IPAs. All 9 beers count towards a saucer. There will be meats and cheeses for your pairing pleasure and the cost is $20. Tasting starts at 6:30. Here's the lineup:Reception Beer: Sunner KolschStone IPA vs. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA; Avery Maharaja vs. Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA; Great Divide Hercules IPA vs. Foothills Seeing Double IPA; Moylan's Hopsickle vs. Founder's Devil Dancer**Before everyone starts weighing in on Michigan not being on the east coast, it's close enough. I just wanted to add this to the lineup, because it's the only IPA they have that I haven't had a chance to try. I'm also aware that Colorado is not technically on the west coast, but work with me.For all the details go to http://www.meetup.com/TriBeer/calendar/11158701/

Big Boss Casks

Two special treats from the Big Boss guys this week:

Tuesday August 18th hit the Raleigh Times at 6 pm for "Kentucky Colonel" Woodford Reserve barrel aged Bad Penny brown ale

Thursday August 19th check out the Flying Saucer for a dry hopped cask of Angry Angel at 7pm

More cask ale please?!

Brewdog NC Release

Brewdog, a highly acclaimed Scottish brewery, will begin distributing their creations in NC. A release party is being held at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh and Charlotte. Riptide and Hardcore will be available in bottles, Dogma and Punk IPA will be available on draft. I've been reading great things about these guys, and I'm really excited to have the opportunity to try their brews. More info can be found at:

http://www.brewdog.com/beer.php

Bottles should be available soon at Sam's in Durham, and Carrboro Beverage Co.

The release parties are tonight, August 18th at 7 pm.

Next Batch in the fermenter: Wolfpack Basketball Slam-Dunkelweizen

The next in our line of Wolfpack themed brews, this one will be in place for the beginning of basketball season. After reusing our yeast from the Wolfpack Weizen, and adding a bit of chocolate malt, we are in the beginning stages of this tasty liquid. Interestingly, our beginning gravity was a bit lower than expected, and the color was a bit paler than we thought it would be. We may end up wishing we had used a bit more chocolate malt, but no doubt this one will be tasty. We will know more when we bottle later this week.

Also, thanks for the shout-out to the Raleigh Philosophical Society . Raleigh and the Triangle in general is really coming along in terms of "good beer" and its nice to see folks taking notice.

Wolfpack Weizen is Bottled

After a week of primary and a week of secondary fermentation on cherries, our Wolfpack Weizen is now in bottles slowly carbonating. The uncarbonated beer was tasty, we can't wait to try the finished version in a month.

Name That Beer!

No, this is not a quiz, or even beer trivia, instead it's a contest, from the Grove Park Inn. It is being run on Twitter, and all you have to do is submit names for their new beer, a Belgian Abbey style. The prize is a 2 night beer dinner for 4 package, including accommodations at the Grove Park! See the link for more information.

http://www.groveparkinn.com/twitterbrew/