Boulevard's Seeyoulator Dopplebock

From Boulevard's Facebook Page:

"The first batch of our new fall Smokestack Series Seasonal, Seeyoulator Doppelbock, is bottling this morning. A Doppelbock aged on cedar, it will be released along with Bob’s ‘47 Oktoberfest near the end of August.
Medium amber in color, Seeyoulator offers a heady, estery banana aroma. A luscious maltiness predominates, with balancing notes from Hallertau hops. Cedar aging lends just a hint of spice to the finish."

A good beer to match this side-by-side with is Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock that I have seen at Hy-Vee in the singles for $2.

Biden wasted on Buckler!

Short and sweet here...

Obama - Bud Light (Cha Ching)

Gates - Samuel Jackson Light (mmm mmm)

Crowley - Blue Moon (poser)

Biden - Buckler (see picture)

Happy Hour at the White House

Wit so much drama in the W-DC, it's kinda hard bein P.R.E.S.I.D.E.N.T.

President Obama says Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley need to stop by the white house and smooth things over with a beer. Now I wouldn't normally get involved in something so controversial on my fun website but a great American and KC Hophead follower, Kyle, asked Bull and I our take on the matter. I had already been reading about it and it is great news to the beer community that the top of the headlines on world news had the word "beer" in it. I have heard Blue Moon and Budweiser being the top two choices but I found this poll interesting from SFGate where most people want them to drink a non-traditional beer:

Most interesting are the posts on BeerAdvocate. Some suggestions have been "Buried Hatchet Stout", "Ale to the Chief" and "Collaboration Not Litigation" (which is REALLY good). My favorite is Bock Obama, which I drank at Parkville Microfest.

My personal opinion on the matter (at least towards the beer) is that they should drink 5 bottles of Russian Imperial Stout and play washers.

Beer Porn, Pliny and the Lake

Calm down it's not what you think. Beer Porn is typically pictures of your latest beer haul. Maybe because it turns us beer geeks on, I don't know. Regardless, this is my latest haul via San Diego.

This weekend I brewed up a clone of Schlafly's Tripel. I was pretty upset because I wasn't able to get a gravity reading. Once again I learned my lesson on not drinking while brewing. We started off slow and wound up drinking several Smokestacks and other beers that I should have saved for sipping on. One of the many casualties was Pliny the Elder by Russian River (bottled on my birthday just a couple weeks ago). This beer continues to be rated in the top 10 on several websites. According to BeerAdvocate this is rated No. 7. I have two more that will probably be gone soon.

Later that night we hit up one of my favorite spots to hang out, Castaways at Smithville Lake. This bar and grill sits on one of the Marinas at the lake. They have bands that play Blues or Classic Rock while you grab a bucket of beer and have some good food. The service is usually not good but that just gives you more time to sit out on the lake and watch the big boats roll in. Yes it's probably going to be 30 mins to an hour drive for most of KC but it is worth the drive to check it out once, and it makes you feel like you're on vacation. Apparently we came back to my place and kept drinking.

Boulevard Pilsner & Random Wednesday Night

I have to revise my thoughts from my last post about the new Pilsner. I was ranting about how I wish your local craft brewery would make a "light" beer to compete with the big dogs. I actually think they are making a small dent in that area with the Pilsner. Now if they would put their pilsner in the aluminum bottles and sell it at the games and golf courses I think we're getting somewhere. The taste isn't going to rock your world but it is a nice refreshing brew for the summer. They are able to compete with BMC by charging $5.69/6 pack (at least that's what Gomers was charging). I had my 5th one with a nice family meal. This picture represents just how American we are :)

After putting baby hophead to bed I was off to see my friend before he travels the world. He wanted to hit up the Republic Tigers in a free concert at Power and Light. Pretty crowded for a Wednesday. We hit up Raglan Road for a Boulevard Tank 7 on tap and then over to Flying Saucer where I had New Belgium's Lips of Faith on tap.

Purple Brew & Red Goatee

Our second brew day hosted by Sara was quite fun and I think we'll continue to do a monthly brew day. Let me know if you're interested in joining us. Depending on where and who hosts it many are welcome who want to learn or who brew or who just want an excuse to drink the good stuff.
So the Worthog brewed up a Kölsch while I was gearing up for the KC Irish Fest Stout competition with an Oatmeal 'Raisin' Stout. That's right, get ready KC. Check out that Oatmealy froth on the mash! For strictly fun and show I threw in a dozen raisins in the mash. I'm not kidding when I say the wort that was transferred was PURPLE! Of course in the carboy it looks pure black but if you thin the brew out you can clearly see the dissolved raisin skin purple in the brew. Pretty cool. It smelled delicious and I can't wait to try that and the Kölsch.

Only one and half injuries during the whole event. Sara was being the good host by patching up my leg and since there were no Scooby Doo band-aids then we had to make do with a smiley face with a red beard. The other half of an injury was everyone who was trying to help me squeeze the wort out of my Macgruber Mash Bag. Sorry for the scalding liquid everyone.

Birthday Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad

That's right Quad B's for my bday. I took this Thursday off of work and it was worth it. After a while I went up to Smithville Lake with my waverunner and headed for a nice quiet cove where I could get my drink on and read some of Brewing Like a Monk. I popped No. 8000 of Boulevard's Bourbon Barrel Quad from last year. I'm not going to lie, I like it WAY better than Saison-Brett and it still remains in my top 5 all time (which includes situations where I've drank). What are the top 5? Wouldn't you like to know. Email me...

Right before I went to the lake I stopped off at Oxbrow Brewing to pick up some chocolate malt for my next brew. I've got to say that I was very impressed. I don't think Tim will mind me pimping out his side business, but if you look at Kansas City's home brew shops in Olathe and Shawnee, then you've got to wonder where you can get local supplies on the MO side or North of the river for that matter. Oxbrow is very small but can get just about whatever you want at a competitive price and has bulk grains. He meets by appointment. Just email Tim.