Featured Articles

Click on the slide!

How to Home Brew Beer in Your Kitchen

Editorial >> Articles

Want to homebrew? Let us show you how easy it is!

More...
Click on the slide!

How Long Will An Open Bottle of Beer Last?

Editorial >> Articles

How long will an open bomber of beer last? We find out!

More...
Click on the slide!

Beer of the Month Club Comparison, Which Should You Join

Beer of the Month Clubs >> Comparison

We review some tasty craft beers from our beer of the month club.

More...
Click on the slide!

Great Divide Oak Aged Chocolate Yeti Ice Cream Recipe

Editorial >> Recipes

We take Great Divide's Oak Aged Chocolate Yeti turn it into ice cream...and spice it up.

More...
Frontpage Slideshow (version 2.0.0) - Copyright © 2006-2008 by JoomlaWorks

If you drink enough craft beer, you have definitely come across one of the large format, 22oz bottles of brew known as a "bomber." In fact, there are many beers you can't try without buying it in the bomber format. The good aspect of this? You get a single bottle with 22oz of beer in it... that's almost two beers! The bad aspect? You get a single bottle with 22oz of beer in it... that's almost two beers!

We say this can be good or bad because, at times, you may want more beer. Maybe you have nothing to do that night... Or, perhaps, you have someone to share the extra beer with. These are the good scenarios. The bad scenario is when you find yourself without a buddy to drink your craft beer with and you don't want to ingest 2 beers worth of alcohol. To compound this problem, oftentimes these beers are the stronger brews that a brewery creates. It's the Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs, Strong Belgian Ales and the like that come in 22oz bottles. So, what is a craft beer drinker to do when he or she wants to drink a single serving of Double IPA but only has a bomber of said Double IPA? There are those who would tell you to, and we quote, "man up." The point of drinking craft beer is to enjoy the libation, though, not to get drunk... sometimes that's a pleasant side effect, but sometimes people have other things to do (like go down to the bar to drink other craft beer...).

I (Jeff from DrinkCraftBeer.com) found myself in this position a little while back, and ended up leaving half a bomber of Smuttynose Big A Double IPA in the refrigerator for 3 nights. Upon finishing the beer on the 4th day of it being open, it was still hoppy, carbonated and delicious. Rather than leave this as a fluke, I figured this would be an interesting beer experiment (beerxperiment?)... Just how long will an open bottle of beer last in the refigerator?


(Five Days of Lagunitas Hop Stoopid. From Left: 4 Day Old, 3 Day Old, 2 Day Old, 1 Day Old & Fresh)

The Experiment

I went to Cambridge Wine and Spirits Mall Discount Wine & Spirits at 202 Alewife Brook Parkway in Cambridge, MA and picked up five bombers of Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, a Double IPA from Southern California. I wanted the beer to all be from the same place and bought at the same time to ensure that the how the beer was handled before I got it wouldn't be a variable. Each night at about the same time (give or take an hour or two) I opened one bottle and poured a single glass. I then recapped the bottle by putting the cap back on top, but I didn't use a homebrewing bottle-capper. The beer then when back into the refrigerator. Each night for five nights this went on, culminating on Night 5 when I tried all the beers side-by-side: four days open, three days open, two days, one day and fresh. (See the above video for a shot of all 5 beers being poured, which will give a good idea as to how carbonation was effected)

The Results

Fresh Lagunitas Hop Stoopid

To get a baseline for this beer, I'll start with the fresh Hop Stoopid. The beer poured with a solid white head about an inch or so tall (as you can see in the above video). As soon as I poured I could smell lots of hops! Grapefruit and citrus stuck out. It smelled pretty dry, but you could get a mild hint of malt sweetness or some breadyness in there. It was a clear golden color, as all of the bottles were. The taste was super crisp and hoppy! Solid bitterness and bright hop flavor when wonderfully with the tingle of carbonation on the palette. This is one tasty beer if you like the hops!

One Day Old

The one day old Hop Stoopid tasted almost identical to the fresh version. There was much less head when poured (again, check out the video), but the hop flavors were all there as was almost 100% of the carbonation. In the end, when pressed you may be able to tell this one apart from the fresh version if they were side by side... but apart? Good luck.

Two Day Old

After 48 hours of being opened, I could start to notice that this beer wasn't the freshest, especially side by side with the other versions. It still had some solid carbonation on the tongue, but not much head to speak of. The flavor was still very good, but the hops just had a hint of staleness to them and the flavors were ever so lightly muted. If you were looking for it you'd notice it, but I think most people wouldn't be able to tell the difference at this point yet without a side-by-side comparison. It still had a solid hop aftertaste, but the fresh version just has a fuller and richer hop and malt profile. It's still quite drinkable at this point, though.

Three Day Old

As the video shows, the three day old poured with no head either and only mild carbonation on the tongue. This is the first one that really started to be noticeably flatter. I still got some good bitterness and hop flavor, but oxidation (which expresses itself in beer most often by tasting like wet cardboard) had just started to rear it's head. It's a little stale with less aroma then any of the beers so far.

Four Day Old

The four day old bottle had minimal to no head, as you can see in the video, but it did bubble while being poured with some foam floating on top. While this version has the least carbonation, it's still crisp and bitter and seems to have less oxidation than the three day old bottle (which I would chalk up to variance). You really need to look for the cardboard to get it. Some of the grapefruit and citrus hop aroma and flavor are starting to turn sweeter and more orangey. Even after being open for 96 hours, this beer still tastes quite good, although it's definitely a little flat.

Conclusion

It appears that an open bomber, with the cap just pressed over the top and refrigerated, can last quite OK up to 4 days before being finished. As would be expected, the sooner you can drink it the better. But, if you're really pressed, you can come back and still find a beer quite worth drinking after 96 hours. It does appear, though, that towards the end you have to worry more about variance as we saw the three day old beer with a bit more wear on it than the four day old beer.

Furthermore, there are craft beers in bombers that definitely have a higher alcohol content than Hop Stoopid, which clocks in around 8%abv. Also, Hop Stoopid is very dry and hop forward. I would think that this makes it more susceptible to aging faster under these conditions. A beer in the same style with a higher alcohol content or some more sweetness would probably last longer and retain more of the original intent of the beer. Also, a different style  that relies less on hops, such as an Imperial Stout, a Barley Wine or a Belgian Strong Ale, would probably fare better. As a result, look out for further beerxperiments. Or, do your own and let us know how they turn out!

Got an idea for a beerxperiment? Leave a comment below or Contact Us!

We may have created an ice cream with the longest name ever, but it's delicious. Despite the cold of Winter this is a recipe we've been meaning to try for a while and we've finally gotten around to trying it out. Fortunately for all of you, the test worked, and it's awesome. The beer gives this ice cream a nice depth of flavor that regular maple ice cream just doesn't have. The added maltiness makes this a simply spectacular dessert. 

 

Ingredients

  • 22oz Peak Organic Maple Oat Ale
  • 1 cups heavy cream
  • 2 cups half and half
  • 4 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup grade A maple syrup (real maple syrup)
  • 1 cup choped walnuts
Directions
Place beer in small saucepan, cook until reduced to 1/2 cup. Set Aside.

Pour half and half maple syrup and cream in saucepan.

Whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add sugar while whisking rapidly. Keep whisking until mixture falls from whisk in ribbon like form.

Temper the cream mixture gradually adding small amounts, a few tablespoons at a time, of cream into the eggs while stirring, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour remainder of cream in and transfer back to saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F.

Strain mixture and place into a container. Once mixture has cooled enough not to form condensation on the lid place the mixture into the refrigerator for 8-12 hours.

Place beer reduction in separate container and cool in refrigerator.

After 8-12 hours stir in beer reduction into ice cream base.

Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. When mixture starts to become firm add walnuts to the machine.  Continue to churn until done (total time 20-25 mins) Freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

 

Have a beer lover in your life, or are you one yourself? We here at DrinkCraftBeer.com know it can be hard picking out just the right gift, especially if the person you're trying to give to loves craft beer. Well, to help you out, we're put together a great list of holiday gifts for every budget that we've personally picked out for this season. A lot of these we use ourselves, so you know you can trust them.

Also, you Craft Beer Drinkers, remember to give this Craft Beer Gift Guide to your girlfriend (or boyfriend), your wife (or husband), your mom/dad and anybody else that might be getting you a gift. Make sure you get exactly what you want. Trust us, they're pulling their hair out trying to get you something great, so give them a hand!

Now, onto the gifts! We've broken it up into categories for you, so that you can easily find exactly what you want:

- Beer of the Month Clubs
- Home Brewing
- Home Brewing Books: How-to & Recipes
- Craft Beer Glassware
- Craft Beer Books
- Beer Magazine Subscription: Homebrewing and Craft Beer
- Beer Apparel
- Miscellaneous Craft Beer Gifts

Beer of the Month Clubs

Check out our comprehensive guide as well as reviews of many of the top clubs here: Beer of the Month Clubs

Home Brewing

One of the best gifts for the craft beer drinker in your life is some good basic home brewing equipment. This is the gift that keeps on giving, as your beer lover can brew again and again. This is a great starter kit that includes almost everything you need to get started! (3-5 gallon stock pot also needed seperately).

Also, once you've got your beer lover the brewing equipment, they still need some beer ingredients to brew with! So we've also included some ingredients kits. They start with the lightest and most mild, progressing to the darkest, robust, stoutiest stout of all... a Russian Imperial Stout. (Quick hint: If your brewer likes Guinness, try the Irish Stout kit!) These are the kits that Devon and Jeff used when they started brewing... they definitely turn out some quality beer.



Home Brewing Books: How-to & Recipes

All home brewers need the know-how... whether they're just starting or quite experienced. The Complete Joy of Homebrewing and How to Brew are what taught both of us how to brew and come HIGHLY recommended. Clone Brews will teach your beer brewer how to brew many popular commercial beers, while Designing Great Beers will teach him or her the exact opposite... How to develop their own delicious recipes from scratch. Lastly, if you've got a brewer who is always looking for bigger and better, look no further as Radical Brewing will teach how to make those high octane brews that have become so popular!



Craft Beer Glassware

Well if you or someone you're shopping for loves craft beer, a quality set of glassware is a necessity. Good glassware allows you to fully taste your craft beer. By pouring the beer into a glass, you allow the whole smell to come out and it also gets rid of a little bit of carbonation, so your beer isn't overly fizzy. We've got options from nice stemware to pint glasses and everything in between!



Craft Beer Books

OK, so maybe your beer lover doesn't homebrew, and doesn't want to... That doesn't mean that he or she doesn't get to read about this great beverage we call craft beer! We have books by Michael Jackson (NOT the singer, but the man who literally invented beer writing and the greatest beer writer of our time), Sam Calagione (founder of DogFish Head, one of the great innovators of extreme brewing), Garrett Oliver (Head Brewer for Brooklyn Brewing Company and one of the most knowledgeable people alive when it comes to beer), Steve Hindy (Founder of Brooklyn Brewing Company) and Brian Yaeger (who enjoys the beer road trips as much as Devon and Jeff do)!



Beer Magazine Subscription: Homebrewing and Craft Beer

Maybe your special someone enjoys magazines more than books? These magazines provide great information on craft beer, food pairing, home brewing, beer history and so much more! It's definitely a gift that keeps on giving and the reciever will get magazines over the course of a whole year!



Beer Apparel

Want to show the world you love beer? Say it with the clothes you wear!



Miscellaneous Craft Beer Gifts

These are the items that we thought were way to cool to leave out, but couldn't figure out where to include them. These are definitely worth taking a look at for the craft beer lover in your life! Trying to think of gifts that most people would never think to get for themselves, but would love if they received them? Well here you go... and we'd know, because we'd love to get these gifts! They include quite possibly funniest beer movie ever (from the makers of Super Troopers), a great Beer-A-Day calendar, a 1000 piece beer puzzle, a beer-centric version of Monopoly and a video game that allows you to run your own brewery!<.p>

We want to thank everyone who joined us at the New Hampshire Brewers festival this year for our Taza Chocolate and beer pairing classes. We had a lot of fun meeting you all and introducing you to the wonderful world of beer and chocolate.
 
For those who attended we've provided the pairings we used below.
 
Pairings:
 
Yerba Mate Chocolate paired with Peak Organic Pomegranate Wheat
 
Guajillo Chili Chocolate paired with Moat Mountain Hoffman Weiss
 
Salted Almond Chocolate paired with Smuttynose Old Brown Dog
 
Vanilla Chocolate Paired with Gritty's Christmas Ae
 
If you'd like to order any of the chocolates you tasted you can get them here: Taza Chocolate
 
We'll be uptating this article with full tasting notes so if you missed he class check back soon!
 
 
Oakshire Watershed IPAYou may not have heard of Oakshire Brewing Co. yet, but you will. Oakshire, a small brewery located in Eugene Oregon is poised to do some amazing things and we think the craft beer world is going to take notice sooner rather than later. The Pacific northwest has always been a driving force in craft beer and Oakshire is yet another example of great breweries still starting up. While many businesses have slowed or held off on expansion during a tough economy Oakshire business has been booming. So what makes them different; how come they seem to be able to do what many others haven't been able to? Simply put...it's all in the beer. We were fortunate enough to sample their Watershed IPA, a fantastically hoppy west coast IPA as well as their Overcast Espresso Stout, a beer that somehow feels both refreshing and soul satisfying. What gets us even more excited though are all the small projects brewer Matt Van Wyk is working on. We set up an interview so he can tell you more about those.

DCB: What go you into brewing?

Van Wyk: Like most brewers, craft brewers, I started out with a home brewing hobby. In the late 90's more craft breweries started popping up. I was a science teacher I started volunteering at a few breweries which eventually turned into an assistant brewing job. I thought that would last for a couple years and I'd go back to teaching because I had a degree in that. But it's been 8 years and it's sort of worked out ever since. I have a biology background and have taken several chemistry courses. So the background knowledge coupled with a love of brewing and drinking good beer meshed together into a new career.

Read more...

Smuttynose Farmhouse AleFrom Smuttynose's Big Beer Series, the Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale is one of our most anticipated limited beers each year. Smuttynose's interpretation of a Saison, it's normally out during the heat of summer, when it is one of the few big beers that can really quench your thirst during a heatwave. This year, though, it came out a little later than usual in mid-September. While it's a little cooler out lately, this beer is no less delicious!

A quick historical note, Saison was traditionally served to Belgian farmhands in Wallonia during the summer. It was kept low-alcohol and dry to be thirst quenching. Modern interpretations have often kicked up the alcohol a bit.

The Farmhouse Ale pours a golden coppery color with just a slight bit of haze. This is one you're going to want to pour carefully, because the white head is huge and doesn't go away any time soon! To get the picture in this review it took about  10 minutes of repeated gentle pours followed by time spent waiting for the head to die down. The color is a bit darker than a traditional Saison, but then again this beer has a much higher alcohol by volume than a traditional Saison at 7.5% abv.

The smell is apparent as soon as you pour it and that great head explodes, spicy Belgian yeast notes and sweet malt dominate. You don't get much hop aroma in the nose. There is no alcohol apparent, even as it warms.

The taste combines candy sweet, but not cloying, malt and black pepper from the yeast. It's a great pairing that works to balance both sides. The carbonation is strong and you get a second foam-up in your mouth, which makes for quite the interesting mouthfeel! While it's sweet up front, you get a very dry feeling in your mouth at the end. This works to help the beer as it brings it back to it's traditional, thirst-quenching dry and low-alcohol roots.

In the end the Smuttynose Farmhouse Ale is a perfect late summer beer. The higher alcohol makes it perfect for slightly cooler evenings, while the crisp, refreshing and spicy Belgian yeast makes it good for warmer days.