BrewBrain Sports Investing

I’ll tell you what’s going on.  I’m drinking some good beer, that’s what.

In my glass right now is a beer I’ll do a formal review on soon - another from Kona Brewing, the Fire Rock Pale Ale.  Spoiler:  I love this stuff.  Kona seems to think flavor belongs in beer.  I happen to agree.  Entirely possible I’ve already reviewed it and forgot, but that’s fine.  I hope I gave it a good review if so.

Stuff I’ve been enjoying recently:  Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Ale.  Buy this one immediately.  I can’t remember what I’ve reviewed and what I haven’t.  I’m getting lazy.  If I haven’t reviewed this one, I will because it means I have to drink another.  It is AWESOME!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale - an old standby, but how can you argue with perfection?  It’s one of the very best pale ales available on the open market, and it - along with the SHHA mentioned above - come in these wonderful 24 oz. bottles.  These are going to be great for bottling lower alcohol homebrews - maybe a nice stout or a little Nut Brown Ale I have in mind at about 4.5%.  These would be good candidates for a “double” bottle.  This, and they are short and squatty bottles that fit great on the shelves of the fridge.  Those taller and more common 22 oz. bottles don’t fit so well when the eight six packs of homebrew start to sag the shelf above.

I really need to purposely seek out more SN beers.  That is one quality brewery.  The Pale Ale is awesome.  The S. Hemisphere Harvest Ale is better.  And the Celebration Ale is probably the finest IPA I’ve ever tasted.  I’ll put Sierra Nevada, Stone and Anderson Valley Brewing up against any other state’s three best breweries.  Say what you want about California - and I have plenty negative to say - we do have some great brewers.

Drake’s Amber Ale - a different sort of take on the amber.  I’ve got notes taken and a review is coming.  It is roastier/nuttier than most, and I find it interesting and tasty.

Speakeasy IPA - a brew from a San Francisco brewer.  A sweet take on the IPA style focused on flavor hops additions vs. the bittering.

Hoegaarden Wit from Belgium.  I’m not huge on wheat varieties, but this one is certainly growing on me.  Plus, they are brewed by the same folks who will soon be brewing Budweiser, so how can you go wrong?

I am currently cold conditioning my latest pale ale, which I like so far.  I bottled my first real shot at an amber just this morning.  I’ll give it a try after returning from vacation.

I think I will keep the stout in the secondary carboy until I keg sometime soon after vacation.  Tomorrow, I’ll have to bottle up my first two grain school batches.  I’ll use big bottles for all of these.