Happy holidays from Darkside Brewing!

We'll be taking a short break over the holidays to spend time with family and friends (and, of course, beer), but will be back soon with updates on our condo brewing exploits, local beer news and reviews, and more. Thanks very much to all who have checked out the blog and followed us on Twitter, and all the best to you and yours this holiday season!

'Tis the season... to illuminate your kegerator.

Local Beer Review: Garrison Spruce Beer

One thing we definitely have in abundance here in Nova Scotia is trees. While trees aren’t usually something you’d think about drinking these days, this wasn't always the case. Spruce beer has a long history in the Maritimes, dating back hundreds of years. Garrison Brewing Company revived this tradition in 2010, to great acclaim from local beer drinkers. As last years batch sold out within two days, it’s no surprise that they’re back with a 2011 offering. 

Officially released on Friday, Dec 16th, this batch also sold out in less than two days. While not amongst the diehards who stood in line, thanks to Earl, we were able to get our hands on a few bottles. As I had missed the boat last year, I was very much looking forward to trying it.

Just like drinking a Christmas tree!

The first thing I noticed upon pouring was the lack of strong spruce on the nose. I had somewhat expected it would be similar to being hit in the face with a tree branch. Instead, it was more subdued, with molasses shining through. As one of the ingredients, it's probably the molasses that gives this beer its beautiful dark red colour.  

Upon taking a long drink, the spruce definitely comes on strong at the start, but finishes with a good balance of hoppy bitterness. The beer has some body to it, but it's expected when packing 7.5% ABV. Despite the higher alcohol content, it remains fairly easy to drink, so consider yourself warned. One too many of these and the spruce trees might try to take revenge. 

All in all, Garrison's Spruce Beer is excellent, and has quickly become a new holiday tradition for Halifax beer drinkers. If you weren't lucky enough to get your hands on some last week, you might still be in luck... Garrison has announced that they will release another smaller batch after Christmas. I'll probably see you in line.

Garrison PiLs released today!

Just a reminder that the Garrison Brewing Company released their seasonal pilsner today!  We loved their offering last year, and look forward to getting our hands on more as soon as possible.  Once we do, a review will be in the works.  Until then, it's probably safe to say a bottle or two would be worth your time.

Local beer review: Propeller/Hart & Thistle Imperial ESB Collaboration Ale

We're huge fans of local beer, and follow closely any developments related to new releases, especially limited releases. When one such limited release featured a collaboration between two of our favourite local breweries, Propeller Brewing Co. and the Hart & Thistle Gastropub and Brewery, well, it was on like a certain barrel-tossing simian.

Ever since embracing local growler culture (a transformative event in one's life), we've enjoyed trips to the Propeller brewery on Gottingen St. It's just over the bridge, and pretty much all of their offerings have been a 'go-to' at one point or another (the only downside is parking in the neighbouring Staples lot, then feeling guilty and ending up buying some new pens or something... which I suppose is also positive if one values having a broad selection of stationery). The Hart & Thistle is only a 12-minute ferry ride from Downtown Dartmouth, which makes it an ideal destination for post-work beer and nachos (is that a hint of cinnamon?). Their selection of craft-brewed beers varies over time, with many hop-centric offerings that are the calling-card of their resident brew master, Greg Nash.

Stay classy, empty bottle.

Which brings us to their collaborative product - the Imperial Extra Special Bitter (ESB) Collaboration Ale. First off, the bottle is amazing, with an etched, rather than paper, label. I think we actually creeped out guests at my wife's Christmas cookie exchange with our vocal admiration. Not to be outdone, the beer itself uses Propeller's excellent ESB as a foundation, then ups the malt content, increasing also the alcohol content (8.5% ABV). A balance between this increased maltiness is attained with brisk and bitter hopiness, which hits strong on the nose, and lingers pleasantly after a swig. The body is surprisingly smooth for such a strong beer, making it exceedingly drinkable. To be honest, we both had high expectations for this beer, and were still blown away.  I've heard the term 'awesome sauce' used as a verb; the Imperial ESB warrants its use as a noun.

Now the sad news - it's limited run of (badass) bottles is sold out. I believe, however, that you may still be able to find it on tap at the Hart and Thistle. And find it you should - it's awesome sauce.

(St)out of this world!

Riding high from finally producing a beer that an independent observer would actually recognize as such, we turned our sights on something more seasonal. It was getting colder outside, so having a stout on tap in the condo seemed appropriate. We decided to go with something fairly straightforward, using mainly two-row malt, rounded out with some cara-pils, roasted barley and flaked oats. For hops we went with Northern Brewer.

Originally we decided to go with Irish Ale yeast; seemed like a good first choice, and I'm a pretty big fan of Guinness. Unfortunately Noble Grape was fresh out, so we went with a London ESB yeast instead. We're still pretty new to this, so aren't familiar with how big a difference the various yeasts can actually make. Thoughts from anyone with more experience?

As this was the first time we'd made a stout, we were amazed at how dark the wort was with what seemed like a small amount of roasted barley. This would definitely be a good time to thank the guys at Noble Grape in Burnside, as they helped us with the recipe. Thank you; if we had gone with our own ideas, it probably would have turned out more like liquid coal.  

Anyway, everything went well on brew day. We did notice that we need to keep a closer eye on the temperature of the water during the lautering process, as it was dropping from the target of 170 degrees F quickly. Good to know for future batches. Also, we tried to limit the lautering process to approximately 45 minutes. We pushed well over an hour on the IPA, and that might have been the cause of the noticeable astringency.

Seeing this makes me want to pour another.

Two weeks in the primary fermenter, followed by a week in secondary and forced carbonation resulted in the first beer we've made that I'm actually proud of. It's roasty, has good body and a moderate hop finish while still being super smooth. For the first time it seemed like guests were actually drinking our beer because they liked it and not just to be polite!

Still humble, and in need of a win

With morale slightly down, we started our fourth all-grain batch. The recipe was very similar to our first failed attempt, mostly 2-row with some medium crystal for the grain bill; a good dose of Simcoe as the bittering hop with Cascade for aroma and finishing. The goal was an IPA with some kick... and some carbonation.

With the modified mash tun working wonderfully, the brew day went very smoothly. We also got to try our new immersion wort cooling system for the first time! While somewhat of a pain to clean properly, it works great for chilling the wort after the boil. We've never really seen the cold break (unlike the hot break, which causes major goo creation), but should be getting it due to this great piece of equipment.

I heart cooper coils... also Kate Beckinsale.

Fermentation appeared to go as it was supposed to. We left it in the primary fermenter (plastic bucket) for a week, and then moved it to a secondary (glass carboy) for two weeks. It foamed and bubbled, and a solid sediment level built up at the bottom of the carboy. All good signs, as far as we know.  At the end of the two weeks, we got to try out our second set of new equipment (and the solution to our inability to achieve carbonation)... the kegging gear!

Kegging went very smoothly, and I'd definitely recommend it for others who brew at home. We might have a few cases of empty bottles that we'll never use again, but the time savings are well worth it. Oh, and I'm pretty sure we would have given up if another batch came out uncarbonated. Anyway, after a few hours of chilling and settling, we poured off the first pint and finally got the win we needed!

Foam!  YES!

It was a win, but after the initial joy passed we definitely noted some problems. It was really cloudy and had an underlying astringent taste that, while partially masked by the hops, was still very noticeable. That said, it was drinkable! And drink it we did.

Humble beginnings

Brewing beer didn't seem like it would be a big deal, in the beginning. I'd been making wine for years, and I was sure that between the two of us, we could figure it out. Plus, beer kits cost only a fraction of the wine kits I was using. So, in August 2011, we picked up a $15 kit in a can (wort concentrate) and tried our hand at it. Supposedly it was a Czech Pilsner, but it tasted pretty flat. But it was carbonated and had alcohol in it, so it was something. I drank the lion's share of that, but my tastes are slightly less discerning then Earl's.

At the time, we deemed the first batch a failure. It resembled beer, but it wasn't something we really wanted to drink. Should we try another kit? No... that wasn't going to cut it. After watching a few videos on YouTube, we scheduled a day off and starting piecing together a water cooler mash tun. The next batch was going to be all-grain or nothing!

After sampling the first all grain batch, a rational outsider would easily conclude that we should have gone with 'nothing.' A huge hop blast covered up some of the off flavours, but the beer was totally flat. The second batch was even worse; it tasted awful AND was dead flat. The third batch ended up on the floor, after a hardware failure on our mash tun just prior to lautering. At this point, our first batch didn't seem like such a failure.

Despite the setbacks, we kept at it. With some friendly help, we vastly improved our mash tun and lautering setup. One problem remained though; why didn't our last two (non-floor) batches carbonate?  Neither Earl nor I wanted to run the risk of another flat batch, so we did the only thing we could do... we upgraded to a kegging system!  (Thanks boys, kegging stuff was one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten!)  Also, who wants a warm keg of beer?  Europeans!  As we don't live in Europe, a kegerator was necessary.

Apparently my phone camera is equally bad.

Our fourth batch might taste terrible, but at least it would be cold and fizzy!

Deadliest Brew: English Ale vs. Spruce Beer

I always enjoy trying new beers. Some are excellent; some make me sad (nothing like buying a six-pack, cracking the first one, and being disgusted... then grudgingly drinking the remaining five). This got me thinking - how can I objectively compare beers, so that you, dear reader (is that crickets chirping?), can avoid similar anguish?

Naturally, this line of thought lead me to the Spike TV show Deadliest Warrior, in which combatants from all eras of history face off in a scientifically-invalid fight to the death. Could this approach be applied to... beer?

I hereby present Deadliest Brew, a one-on-one deathmatch between potable combatants. In this first installment, we feature Hell Bay Brewing Co.'s English Ale against Garrison Brewing's much-ballyhooed Spruce Beer.

The combatants.

MEET THE COMBATANTS

Hell Bay English Ale - the pride of Cherry Hill, NS, this brew has only recently become available in Halifax. I've wanted to get my hands on a bottle for a while, but was thwarted by high demand (and hence limited availability) over the summer, and general laziness to travel outside of HRM.

Garrison Spruce Beer - a strong ale infused with tips of spruce trees, this beer is a hot commodity in Halifax, selling out rapidly and prompting an associated 'Spruce Beer Frenzy.' I wasn't able to get a bottle last year, and so was hell-bent on getting one this year. I was successful.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

English Ale - (GOOD) smooth, pleasantly bitter without overdoing it, and easy to drink; (LESS GOOD) strangely tangy.

Spruce Beer - (GOOD) tastes and smells like Christmas trees, makes you feel manly; (LESS GOOD) tastes and smells like Christmas trees, kind of rough on the stomach. I'm not sure if it's me, or the fact that humans aren't really designed to digest trees, but it kind of felt like it was eroding my stomach lining. 

IF THEY HAD POP-CULTURE AVATARS, THEY WOULD BE...

English Ale - James Bond.

Spruce Beer - Sasquatch.

THE VICTOR

Hell Bay English Ale. Manlier men than I may prefer the Spruce Beer, and I certainly applaud Garrison for bringing this to market and recommend that everyone give it a try; but in terms of flavour and overall enjoyability, I've got to give it to the English Ale. Considered in other terms, there's no denying that sasquatch is a furry juggernaut of awesome, but James Bond is James Bond. I mean, the guy has done it on the moon. Hard to compete with that.

Das transfer

So today we transferred our Kolsch-style beer (which I understand to be a pretty standard ale with a German accent) to a secondary fermenter. From the start, we engineered this brew more toward mass consumption over the holiday break. Pretty light, not too hoppy - the kind of thing that you can drink a lot of. Or at least that we're hoping people will drink a lot of.

Wow, the camera on my phone isn't great.

Welcome!

Do you like beer? We do! So we started brewing our own, using only the finest ingredients (that are available at the local brewing supply store) and magical Dartmouth, NS, tap water. After some initial disappointments and dismal failures (more on those later), we've managed to start brewing passable beer. We're hoping to one day make GREAT beer, but it's going to be a process. A process that we hope to capture in blog form. So thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for further updates from the smallest brewery in Nova Scotia!