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With my tax returns being on their way (the refunds should be direct deposited any day now) I decided that some of the money is going toward building me a home theater PC, including internal Blu-Ray drive. As with most of my computer purchases, I hit up the great Newegg. I made my order during a period of a couple of hours when work was slow, finally. A little while later I get an email notice saying that my credit card was declined. I went looking at my order and found that I had typed in my zip code as 14550 instead of 14450. So I contacted Newegg and had them change the data in my order and resubmit. Some time passes and I get the same email again informing me that my card was declined... again.
Alright, so I'm irritated at this point, but not pissed yet. When I got home from the gym I called the number on the back of the credit card thinking, "I'm gonna get my customer service on!". The automated message relays three purchases to me and asks if I recognize and authorize them. Two were Microsoft points purchases I had made and one was the computer. I pressed the "Authorize my fucking purchases already" button, then contacted Newegg a while later to have them run my card again.
OK, so once again the card gets declined. The email about this was received while I was in Best Buy. I just stood there incredulous in the aisle. People around me probably thought something weird was going on. Now, keep in mind that this is NOT the first time I have made a large random purchase on this card. As I was standing there trying to keep myself from breaking something I got a call from the card company. A very pleasant sounding you woman named Julie called from their fraud department. She was very sweet and apologetic about the whole thing and said that she told the system to allow my shit to go down. I thanked her and refrained from breaking Best Buy's precious merchandise. I got home, contacted Newegg AGAIN, and had them rerun the card.
Any guesses where this is going...? Declined! Fuck this shit! I went to Newegg, canceled the order and reordered with my debit card. So much for getting points on my credit card, I guess. Now I know that they've got algorithms that look at spending habits and try to spot fraud, probably some kind of genetic algorithm or a simple neural network algorithm, but haven't they seen my buy a $1400 TV, a $400 receiver, and an $1800 sound system within the last year? Honestly! They need to train the algorithms better, or get better programmers. And when you tell me that I'm authorized to make my purchases, I damn sure better be able to make my purchases! I'm probably going to fire off an angry letter to their customer (dis)service department and let them know that if that happens again I'll go to a direct competitor.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Beer Review: Koningshoeven Quad
Quad, Koningshoeven
Pour
The Quad pours with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. There is no lacing to speak of other than a thin white ring around the edge of the glass just floating on the beer.
Aroma
The nose is met initially with a moderately sweet malty aroma. There is a light, almost honey-like aroma behind the malt with a mild bitter citrus aroma. The background aroma is more like a bitter orange rind than anything, and blends beautifully with the honey-malt aroma. These aromas are all reinforced by a strongly floral set of esters from the yeast.
Appearance
This one is a dark amber color with a light haze. There are several dozen columns of carbonation bubbles rising to the surface.
Flavor
The tip of the tongue is met with a sharp sting from the traditionally high level of carbonation seen in Belgian beers. The sides of the tongue get a candy-like sweetness, while the rest of the mouth gets a combination of a syrupy sweetness, a touch of hops bitterness, some orange flavor, and a hint of bread. Initially, the alcohol blends with the rest of the flavors and not distinguishable. The aftertaste leaves a fair bit of alcohol warmth, like the last lingering warmth from a shot of whiskey.
Mouthfeel
After the initial sharpness of the carbonation, the beer has a thinner syrup-like quality akin to what 100% pure maple syrup would have.
Overall
The flavors work really well together, making it seem like someone mixed syrup with some orange rinds and some flowers. If you're looking for a quad that isn't as overly thick as some others tend to be, this is the one. None of the flavors is over powering, and they all seem to blend really well. Absolutely delicious. Highly recommended.
Pour
The Quad pours with a thin white head that dissipates quickly. There is no lacing to speak of other than a thin white ring around the edge of the glass just floating on the beer.
Aroma
The nose is met initially with a moderately sweet malty aroma. There is a light, almost honey-like aroma behind the malt with a mild bitter citrus aroma. The background aroma is more like a bitter orange rind than anything, and blends beautifully with the honey-malt aroma. These aromas are all reinforced by a strongly floral set of esters from the yeast.
Appearance
This one is a dark amber color with a light haze. There are several dozen columns of carbonation bubbles rising to the surface.
Flavor
The tip of the tongue is met with a sharp sting from the traditionally high level of carbonation seen in Belgian beers. The sides of the tongue get a candy-like sweetness, while the rest of the mouth gets a combination of a syrupy sweetness, a touch of hops bitterness, some orange flavor, and a hint of bread. Initially, the alcohol blends with the rest of the flavors and not distinguishable. The aftertaste leaves a fair bit of alcohol warmth, like the last lingering warmth from a shot of whiskey.
Mouthfeel
After the initial sharpness of the carbonation, the beer has a thinner syrup-like quality akin to what 100% pure maple syrup would have.
Overall
The flavors work really well together, making it seem like someone mixed syrup with some orange rinds and some flowers. If you're looking for a quad that isn't as overly thick as some others tend to be, this is the one. None of the flavors is over powering, and they all seem to blend really well. Absolutely delicious. Highly recommended.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Brewing Series
I really liked doing a series of brews using the same yeast cake. The fermentations were excellent and quick, so I'm already planning on my next series. I haven't brewed anything Belgian in a long time, and they really like to have lots of yeast pitched into them, so I think it's about time.
I'm thinking something along the lines of doing a relatively weaker beer, then a mid-strength beer, then something uber. Maybe do: Belgian brown (5%-ish), a dubbel (7%-ish), and finish with a quad or a dark strong or something similar (9-12%-ish). Style, yeast and recipe suggestions are always welcome. Obviously I'm going for a series of dark beers, but I could just as easily go light (pale - blonde - tripel?).
I'm thinking something along the lines of doing a relatively weaker beer, then a mid-strength beer, then something uber. Maybe do: Belgian brown (5%-ish), a dubbel (7%-ish), and finish with a quad or a dark strong or something similar (9-12%-ish). Style, yeast and recipe suggestions are always welcome. Obviously I'm going for a series of dark beers, but I could just as easily go light (pale - blonde - tripel?).
Gravity Sample: Mocha Porter
The fermentation of the coffee-chocolate porter was minimal yesterday and today, so I checked its gravity this evening. It went from 1.074 to 1.018 in 4 days! Nice. That puts it over 7%. The coffee flavor came through beautifully (making it worthy of the name Mocha Porter) with the chocolate actually being fairly subtle, but still providing a good base flavor. It had the silkiness in the mouthfeel from the flaked oats, too. It smelled... roasty. As in a mix of roasted flavors. Definitely something that is waaay young and needs a decent amount of maturation, not to mention it needs to completely finish fermenting, but it's looking gooooood. :) I may rack it to secondary on Sunday (provided it's done bubbling) and just stick it in a closet to condition for a number of weeks.
The brown porter that I kegged on Sunday should be carbonated soon, so I'll probably hook up a tap to it tomorrow or Saturday and give it a taste. It's good to see multiple kegs in my chest freezer. :)
The brown porter that I kegged on Sunday should be carbonated soon, so I'll probably hook up a tap to it tomorrow or Saturday and give it a taste. It's good to see multiple kegs in my chest freezer. :)
Update: Chocolate Porter
I'm going to refer to this one as just a chocolate porter until I taste it and see how well the coffee came through.
So, the fermentation was really vigorous on this beer starting about an hour after pitching and lasting two solid days. It was tailing off on Tuesday and looked to be pretty minimal this morning. If I don't have to work really late, I intend to take a gravity sample tonight to see where it stands. Here's hoping nothing got seriously messed up (i.e. infected) along the way. Also hoping that it attenuates enough to get under 1.020.
So, the fermentation was really vigorous on this beer starting about an hour after pitching and lasting two solid days. It was tailing off on Tuesday and looked to be pretty minimal this morning. If I don't have to work really late, I intend to take a gravity sample tonight to see where it stands. Here's hoping nothing got seriously messed up (i.e. infected) along the way. Also hoping that it attenuates enough to get under 1.020.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Beer Review: Southern Tier Gemini
Gemini, Southern Tier Brewing Company
Pour
Poured really foamy, starting with about three fingers worth of bright white head. The head receded slowly leaving thick, porous looking lacing on the sides.
Aroma
Sitting back in my chair I can smell the sharp citrus aroma of the American hops. There seems to be a sweet, almost tangerine base to the aroma. There is a hint of malt character in the nose, but the dry hopping is too assertive for much to show through. This is definitely and IPA.
Appearance
Light amber in color, almost like it was straw colored with a twinge of orange. Though the bottle states that it is unfiltered, the beer looks almost crystal clear. There is a small amount of haze, but it is barely noticeable.
Flavor
Strong acidity on the front of the tongue from a higher carbonation level quickly gives way to a mild crystal sweetness. There is a wonderful hop flavor that spreads quickly across the tongue, but is much less sharp than the aroma would suggest. There is a strong, distinctive citrus flavor from the high alpha American hops with bitterness levels that are balanced just enough by a surprisingly robust malt base. The beer has a hint of a medicinal syrup-like quality that works perfectly with the hop choice. The hop flavors linger on the back of the tongue with only a small amount of bitterness.
Mouthfeel
Gemini has a thicker and heavier malt backbone than is suggested by its appearance and aroma. It is almost able to hide the 10.5%ABV. There is a mild chewy feeling left in the mouth after each sip which gets stronger as the sips continue.
Overall
This is a really good Imperial IPA. The malt backbone is a little less robust than I would like, but it was surprising given how it looks through the glass. This is a very tasty beer that is a blend of two of Southern Tier's other brews: Hoppe and Unearthly.
Pour
Poured really foamy, starting with about three fingers worth of bright white head. The head receded slowly leaving thick, porous looking lacing on the sides.
Aroma
Sitting back in my chair I can smell the sharp citrus aroma of the American hops. There seems to be a sweet, almost tangerine base to the aroma. There is a hint of malt character in the nose, but the dry hopping is too assertive for much to show through. This is definitely and IPA.
Appearance
Light amber in color, almost like it was straw colored with a twinge of orange. Though the bottle states that it is unfiltered, the beer looks almost crystal clear. There is a small amount of haze, but it is barely noticeable.
Flavor
Strong acidity on the front of the tongue from a higher carbonation level quickly gives way to a mild crystal sweetness. There is a wonderful hop flavor that spreads quickly across the tongue, but is much less sharp than the aroma would suggest. There is a strong, distinctive citrus flavor from the high alpha American hops with bitterness levels that are balanced just enough by a surprisingly robust malt base. The beer has a hint of a medicinal syrup-like quality that works perfectly with the hop choice. The hop flavors linger on the back of the tongue with only a small amount of bitterness.
Mouthfeel
Gemini has a thicker and heavier malt backbone than is suggested by its appearance and aroma. It is almost able to hide the 10.5%ABV. There is a mild chewy feeling left in the mouth after each sip which gets stronger as the sips continue.
Overall
This is a really good Imperial IPA. The malt backbone is a little less robust than I would like, but it was surprising given how it looks through the glass. This is a very tasty beer that is a blend of two of Southern Tier's other brews: Hoppe and Unearthly.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Brew Day: Chocolate-Coffee Porter
Today was brew day for my porter. I wanted to reuse the yeast cake from the previous Brown Porter, so I figured that some sort of porter or stout would be a good idea. The yeast cake is Wyeast #1098 British Ale Yeast. It does a pretty good job, leaving a bit of sweetness behind. The decision was made to brew a chocolate stout like I've done a couple times in the past, but leaving the door open for adding coffee as well.
The decision was made this afternoon to make it a chocolate-coffee porter.
Chocolate-Coffee Porter
Ingredients:
Malt
-2.00 lbs X-Light DME
-7.00 lbs British 2-row
-2.00 lbs Flaked Oats
-0.50 lbs Crystal 60L
-0.50 lbs Crystal 120L
-0.50 lbs Chocolate Malt
-0.50 lbs Roasted Barley
Hops
-1.00 oz Northern Brewer (7.7% AA, 60 minutes)
-1.00 oz Fuggles (4% AA, 60 minutes)
-1.00 oz Mt Hood (3.8% AA, 2 minutes)
Misc
-10 oz Ghirardelli Unsweetened Baker's Cocoa
-12 cup pot of Kona Blend coffee from Wegmans
-1 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrients
Procedure:
-Filled mash tun with all grains except the roasted ones
-Used 3.5 gallons of strike water at ~170F
-Mash settled to 150F, which was a couple degrees cooler than I had intended
-Added the roasted grains with 15 minutes left in the mash to avoid astringency they can produce (based on advice from some homebrewing forums)
-Sparged with 4 gallons of 170F water
-Added the DME then brought to a boil
-Added the Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops
-Boiled for 45 minutes, then added the yeast nutrient
-With 2 minutes left in the boil, added the Mt Hood hops.
-Once the burners were off and the chiller was ready, the coffee and cocoa powder were added
-Chilled, took hydrometer sample, transferred to fermenter, aerated-pitched-aerated, slapped the airlock on
Starting gravity at 70F is 1.074 (adjusted). This is going to be solid.
UPDATE: It's only an hour after pitching the yeast cake, and the airlock is bubbling pretty steadily. This should bode well for some healthy fermentation.
The decision was made this afternoon to make it a chocolate-coffee porter.
Chocolate-Coffee Porter
Ingredients:
Malt
-2.00 lbs X-Light DME
-7.00 lbs British 2-row
-2.00 lbs Flaked Oats
-0.50 lbs Crystal 60L
-0.50 lbs Crystal 120L
-0.50 lbs Chocolate Malt
-0.50 lbs Roasted Barley
Hops
-1.00 oz Northern Brewer (7.7% AA, 60 minutes)
-1.00 oz Fuggles (4% AA, 60 minutes)
-1.00 oz Mt Hood (3.8% AA, 2 minutes)
Misc
-10 oz Ghirardelli Unsweetened Baker's Cocoa
-12 cup pot of Kona Blend coffee from Wegmans
-1 tsp Wyeast yeast nutrients
Procedure:
-Filled mash tun with all grains except the roasted ones
-Used 3.5 gallons of strike water at ~170F
-Mash settled to 150F, which was a couple degrees cooler than I had intended
-Added the roasted grains with 15 minutes left in the mash to avoid astringency they can produce (based on advice from some homebrewing forums)
-Sparged with 4 gallons of 170F water
-Added the DME then brought to a boil
-Added the Northern Brewer and Fuggles hops
-Boiled for 45 minutes, then added the yeast nutrient
-With 2 minutes left in the boil, added the Mt Hood hops.
-Once the burners were off and the chiller was ready, the coffee and cocoa powder were added
-Chilled, took hydrometer sample, transferred to fermenter, aerated-pitched-aerated, slapped the airlock on
Starting gravity at 70F is 1.074 (adjusted). This is going to be solid.
UPDATE: It's only an hour after pitching the yeast cake, and the airlock is bubbling pretty steadily. This should bode well for some healthy fermentation.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Beer Review: Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Double Simcoe IPA, Weyerbacher
Pour
Poured moderately foamy with a decent amount of carbonation being released.
Aroma
The nose on this beer is definitely aggressive. There are strong pine notes with some hints of citrus. These aromas blend nicely and, while assertive, are not overpowering as some double IPAs are.
Appearance
A dark orange-amber color with a light amount of haze. It settled to about 2/3 of a finger's width of head which left moderate lacing while it receded. The head receded fairly quickly.
Flavor
Pine. A very assertive pine flavor from the hops with a moderate amount of hop bitterness on the tongue. There is a light amount of lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue after swallowing. Just enough malt shows through to keep it balanced enough to drink. There is a slight sweetness from the malt that is critical in keeping the beer drinkable. After a few sips, an alcohol warmth slowly builds up in the throat, but the alcohol is otherwise undetectable.
Mouthfeel
An initially sharp bite from a relatively higher level of carbonation gives way to a chewy feeling, leaving the mouth slightly dry after the swallow. The beer is moderately thick, but easily drinkable.
Overall
The hop bitterness, while strong, is not overpowering. The Double Simcoe IPA is a very nice showcase for a delicious American hop variety, and goes just far enough with the malt to make it drinkable. If there was a small increase in the malt base, this beer would be a great example of what a double IPA should be. As it stands, though, this beer is really good and very enjoyable for someone who likes American hops.
Pour
Poured moderately foamy with a decent amount of carbonation being released.
Aroma
The nose on this beer is definitely aggressive. There are strong pine notes with some hints of citrus. These aromas blend nicely and, while assertive, are not overpowering as some double IPAs are.
Appearance
A dark orange-amber color with a light amount of haze. It settled to about 2/3 of a finger's width of head which left moderate lacing while it receded. The head receded fairly quickly.
Flavor
Pine. A very assertive pine flavor from the hops with a moderate amount of hop bitterness on the tongue. There is a light amount of lingering bitterness on the back of the tongue after swallowing. Just enough malt shows through to keep it balanced enough to drink. There is a slight sweetness from the malt that is critical in keeping the beer drinkable. After a few sips, an alcohol warmth slowly builds up in the throat, but the alcohol is otherwise undetectable.
Mouthfeel
An initially sharp bite from a relatively higher level of carbonation gives way to a chewy feeling, leaving the mouth slightly dry after the swallow. The beer is moderately thick, but easily drinkable.
Overall
The hop bitterness, while strong, is not overpowering. The Double Simcoe IPA is a very nice showcase for a delicious American hop variety, and goes just far enough with the malt to make it drinkable. If there was a small increase in the malt base, this beer would be a great example of what a double IPA should be. As it stands, though, this beer is really good and very enjoyable for someone who likes American hops.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Brown Porter... THE UPDATE!
Tonight I decided to check the gravity on the brown porter and give it a taste test. It's definitely done fermenting, with a final gravity of: 1.010. This puts it at an alcohol content of around 3%ABV. Yes, I know, that's not nearly as strong as most of my brews have been, but it's not really a high alcohol style. Either way, it tastes interesting. The malt flavor has a complex mix of things like toast, biscuits, and cookies as a result of the weird grain toasting I did. The hops come through pretty well but don't overpower the malt. I have a feeling it'll be pretty good once it's chilled and carbonated. That'll be sometime this weekend, I think.
I'll be using the yeast from this batch one final time in a new batch, just not sure what that batch will be. A much stronger porter could be in order considering just how many damn yeast cells I have living in the fermenter. Chocolate porter? Coffee porter? Choco-coffee porter? Something else? Maybe a basic robust porter. Not sure yet. Suggestions are always encouraged.
I'll be using the yeast from this batch one final time in a new batch, just not sure what that batch will be. A much stronger porter could be in order considering just how many damn yeast cells I have living in the fermenter. Chocolate porter? Coffee porter? Choco-coffee porter? Something else? Maybe a basic robust porter. Not sure yet. Suggestions are always encouraged.
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