New Beer Friday, Extract to All-Grain Edition (July 29)

Preamble by Matt Ross

Have you been extract brewing? Are you ready to make the dive into all grain? Not sure where to start?

Siciliano’s Market is hosting extract-to-all-grain transition classes! This class will include the principles of all grain brewing including mashing, sparging and recipe creation techniques to ensure your success. It will also discuss necessary equipment and alternative brewing methods.

This class is geared toward extract and new-to-all-grain brewers but any and all are welcome to join. The extract-to-all-grain transition class is $10 per person and will be held at Siciliano’s Market on Monday, August 1, at 6:30 p.m. For more details feel free to stop in or give us a ring, and be sure to keep the following homebrew classes on your radar.

• Extract Brewing 101, August 15
• Culturing Wild Yeast, August 29
• Extract Brewing 101, September 12
• Kegging Homebrew, September 26

New and Returning Beer

• Bell's Oracle, $3.09/12oz - "Our take on the West Coast-style Double India Pale Ale, The Oracle places hop intensity first and foremost, making only the slightest concession to malt and balance.The fireworks start with the aromatic punch of dry-hop sessions with hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest. Resinous, citrusy hop flavors mixed with aggressive bitterness from a massive kettle addition deliver on that aromatic promise" (source).
• Brooklyn Brewery Improved Old Fashioned, $23.79/750ml - "Barrel-aged rye ale with botanicals & bitters" (source).
• Kona Lemongrass, $1.69/12oz - "Ale brewed with ginger with lemongrass and ginger added" (source).
• ROAK Meanstreet, $1.69/12oz - "Mean Street is a cross between an American Amber and an Extra-Special Bitter. This copper-colored beer is medium bodied with some toffee and fruit in the aroma. It finishes with a citrusy American hop character that is as clean as it is mean" (source).
• Perrin / Cigar City White Noise, $11.49/22oz (1 per) - "An Imperial White IPA brewed with several unique hops and blend of spices. Unlike a normal IPA the white IPA is very pale and made with wheat, unmalted wheat, and flaked oats to give a lighter color but creamy body. Once the beer is fermented with Belgian yeast, the subtle hints of lemon grass, juniper berries, and grains of paradise will blend into a spicy (hoppy) and slightly floral White IPA" (source).
• Short's Spruce Pils, $2.39/12oz (6 per) - "Spruce Pilsner is an Imperial Pilsner, fermented with local, hand-picked blue spruce tips. The spruce presence, rooted in historical brewing practices, is enormous and gives the beer a refreshing gin quality. This beer is impressively light-bodied, considering the immense spruce flavors and the prodigious additions of hops" (source).
• Boatyard EZ pale, $2.99/16oz - "The Boatyard Brewing Company is proud to have created this special beer to honor slain Kalamazoo Public Safety Officer Eric Zapata and to raise money for the Eric Zapata Memorial Foundation. In November of 2013, we worked with Kalamazoo Public Safety officers and Eric’s friends to brew our first experimental batch of EZ Ale, an American Wheat Ale. We were very excited about the flavors of the first batch. EZ ale has since become a favorite. The beer was released to the public on April 19th, 2014 at the Kalamazoo Beer Exchange release party to honor Eric, his friends, family and the Eric Zapata Foundation. Be sure to join us in honoring Eric by raising a glass of EZ Ale" (source).
• Lagunitas 12th of Never, $1.59/12oz - "The magical, mystical 12th of Never is a blend of Old and New School hops that play bright citrus, rich coconut, and papaya-esque flavors, all on a solid stage of English puffed wheat. Tropically hoppy. Light, yet full-bodied. Bright and citrusy. The 12th of Never Ale is everything we’ve learned about making hop-forward beer expressed in a moderate voice.  Pale, cold, slightly alcoholic and bitter.  It’s all we know" (source).
• Jolly Pumpkin Saison X, $15.29/750ml - "Rich yellow gold in color, highly effervescent. Sugared spice aroma, tart and refreshing with a hint of citrus and candied ginger in the finish" (source).
• Atwater Conniption Fit Double IPA, $2.99/12oz - "An American DIPA made locally, for those who tend towards the maltier side of life" (source).
• Southern Tier Harvest, $1.69/12oz - "Harvest Ale is our celebration of the changing weather and the sowing of hops and barley that will be used in our upcoming brews. We usher in the fall with a classic English style Extra Special Bitter of the highest order. Deep ruby in color with an even deeper hop flavor… in fact, we throw fresh English hops into every brewing vessel, then dry hop after fermentation to impart a zesty kick. This beer has real hop character that mingles with fresh malted barley for an experience that will make you wish it were fall year ‘round" (source).
• Left Hand Wake Up Dead Nitro, $3.19/12oz - "Super smooth trifecta of cocoa, dried fruit and licorice notes" (source).
• Left Hand Extrovert IPA, $2.09/12oz - "A hoppy attitude and a mouthful of dynamic flavors give this IPA a big personality. Assertive, fruit-forward hops with aromas of orange blossom and pineapple mingle with flavors of wet pine and sweet malt with a dry finish" (source).
• Vander Mill Puff the Magic Cyser, $15.69 - "Puff the Magic Cyser is a collaborative barrel aged product between Vander Mill and New Holland Brewing Company. This cyser is fermented with Michigan wildflower honey to complete dryness and then aged in New Holland Dragon’s Milk barrels for 8 months. The richness from the stout, and depth of the barrel flavor make this product very complex. A hint of the honey and acidity of the cider round out the profile" (source).
• St. Ambrose John Lemmon, 8.99/16.9oz - "John Lemon is our summer seasonal draft mead. Take all the joy and relaxation of a cool lemonade on a hot day, and add a sweet sip of honey to that. That’s John Lemon. Perfect for unwinding and watching the sun go down on another beautiful day. This lemon mead is one of the first drafts that we produced here at St. Ambrose, and it’s become a perennial favorite. Get it now while the getting is good, because before you know it, the summer will be over and this little sip of sunshine is going to head back into hibernation" (source).
• St. AmbroseRazz!, 8.99/16.9oz - "Star thistle mead complimented with reverent raspberries. Stairway to Valhalla" (source).
• St. Ambrose Wild Ginger, 8.99/16.9oz - "If you're a Michigander, you know all about ginger. Now imagine taking that ginger-ale taste, adding just a touch of sour, and always-appealing star thistle honey. Sound good? We're glad it does, because that's exactly what wet n' wild Wild Ginger mead is. One of the regulars in our draft lineup, the Wild Ginger has the mead sweetness you love with a tantalizing ginger bite" (source).
• St. Ambrose Black Madonna, 8.99/16.9oz - "Black Madonna is a wholly unique, wholly delicious sour blackberry mead in a draft style. This lightly carbonated mead is a blend of honey, blackberry, and sour fermentation. The combination provides an easily recognizable taste that delights the senses and tickles the mind. Our gluten-free blackberry mead is a modern craft beverage featuring strong honey notes and a unique sour blackberry flavor. Bee One with The Universe" (source).
• St. Ambrose XR Cyser, 8.99/16.9oz - "More than just cider and honey, this cyser mead is crafted from only the finest Northern Michigan spy apples, blended with our very own Star Thistle honey and maple syrup, and spiced up with a dash of cinnamon. The result? It's a mead, but it's also “Apple Pie in a Glass”. It's as American as apple pie itself, and demands that you exercise your right to refreshment" (source).
• Genesee Pils, $1.99/12oz - "A crisp, exceptionally clean beer prominently featuring Noble German hops and the finest Pilsner malt. This medium-bodied lager releases subtle, bready malt flavors and aromas that are balanced by intense, yet pleasant, hop bitterness" (source).

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