Well we finally got the .357 Imperial Pilz to finish fermenting....whew! It took a long while, but it still came out tasting great! The starting gravity was about 25 P, and finished about 5.5 P, giving it a healthy dose of alcohol to a warming 11.0% abv! It seems fitting for the schizo-weather that we're having to have such a light colored beer, more suting to warm weather, but at 11.0%, which lends more toward cold weather; that somehow seems to work right now!
We'll be tapping the .357 Pilz on May 31th, a Tuesday, at 7pm for Mug Clubbers and at 8pm behind the bar. Hope to see you there!
Also coming up is our Le Chien Blanc Wit, which will be a nice contrast at a much more sane 5% range. It's got some great notes of Corriander and Chamomile, with a nice orange zest in the flavor of it. We additionally have used this beer to propagate enough healthy yeast cells to adequately ferment our 15th Anniversary Ale, which we'll be brewing next week!
We have also started with our "Summer of Sours," though the phrase seems ironic right now. We just tapped our Saison & FUNKale, which is a blend of our Saison and the Bare Brett, which is a 100% Brettanomyces fermented beer. It was first tapped into at the Pre-Dark Lord Day, and is on tap behind the bar now, and has actually gotten more tart and even more Brett character into it now.
Cheers!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Illiana Mayfest Tickets
I'm not sure if everyone knows about this event, the Illiana Mayfest, put together by our friends at Crown Brewing.
We're selling tickets to the event, which is May 21st, here at the Station for $30 cash only. We only have 10 tickets, so grab 'em while you can!
Our new brewer, Mark, will be at the event, so come on out and meet him!
Cheers!
We're selling tickets to the event, which is May 21st, here at the Station for $30 cash only. We only have 10 tickets, so grab 'em while you can!
Our new brewer, Mark, will be at the event, so come on out and meet him!
Cheers!
Next on Deck
Even with all the events going on around the Station lately, we managed to introduce another beer; our Impromptu Pale Ale. This assertively hopped, yet refined pale ale will be a great session beer with a nice straw color, malty backbone and clocking about 5.4% abv. We'll be tapping into it next Monday, the 16th, at 7pm for Mug Clubbers in the back party room, and at 8pm for the bar and everyone else. Hope this time it'll be greeted with nice, warm weather!
We additionally have hired another brewer, Mark Weinert, who interned with us earlier this year and has just finished the Siebel international course. I'll let him introduce himself more properly, but we're really happy to have hime on board (excuse the silly train pun).
Our .357 Magnum Imperial Pilsnalebeerwhatchamacallit has been a painful fermentation, but it seems to be chugging along and might yet still make its debut in a few weeks. We had to press the emergency button and bring back up, which came in the form of some super yeast that's able to revive stuck fermentation (our protagonist stalled in the 3rd act). We're going to continue to monitor the flavor and condition of the beer, and if it meets our expectations then we'll unleash it in all of its uncouth, irreverent tenacity...just like Dirty Harry...
Coming up next on the agenda we'll be playing with some new yeast strains and venturing into very high abv territory. We'll be brewing a nice light Wit, Le Chein Blanc, brewed with unmalted wheat and spices to create a rich, mysterious concoction. Other than just a tasty brew, we'll be using that Wit to grow up a healthy amount of yeast to pitch from the barracks into battle; our 15th Anniversary Belgian Tripple 15%abv! We'll be brewing that in a couple of weeks and be releasing it on July 8th, our 15th Anniversary for Flossmoor Station R&B. It'll be released both on tap and in bottles, but as usual with our limited space, the bottles will be limited. We'll have some more information on that release as the date comes closer.
Behind the bar, we'll be making our transition to summer (weather allowing....will this week bring us the long awaited spring we've hoped for??). We're going to blend some of our very tart, acidic sour beers downstairs still in the barrels, with some of our house beers to create a "Summer of Sours." They'll provide some crisp tartness to refresh ourselves from the warm summer days. To kick off our summer, soon we'll have a very small amount of our Saison & FUNKale back on, which is a blend about 50% Saison and Garfunkel and 50% Bare Brett. Our Bare Brett, which we'll have on tap following the FUNK, is 100% fermented with Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain that gives a pleasant acidity and earthy flavors on a nice light colored beer!
That's about all there is on the agenda, but continue to check back for updates on other barrel aging projects and other goofy, fun stuff that makes a brewer happy! Thanks again for all the support and hope to see you all soon!
Cheers!
We additionally have hired another brewer, Mark Weinert, who interned with us earlier this year and has just finished the Siebel international course. I'll let him introduce himself more properly, but we're really happy to have hime on board (excuse the silly train pun).
Our .357 Magnum Imperial Pilsnalebeerwhatchamacallit has been a painful fermentation, but it seems to be chugging along and might yet still make its debut in a few weeks. We had to press the emergency button and bring back up, which came in the form of some super yeast that's able to revive stuck fermentation (our protagonist stalled in the 3rd act). We're going to continue to monitor the flavor and condition of the beer, and if it meets our expectations then we'll unleash it in all of its uncouth, irreverent tenacity...just like Dirty Harry...
Coming up next on the agenda we'll be playing with some new yeast strains and venturing into very high abv territory. We'll be brewing a nice light Wit, Le Chein Blanc, brewed with unmalted wheat and spices to create a rich, mysterious concoction. Other than just a tasty brew, we'll be using that Wit to grow up a healthy amount of yeast to pitch from the barracks into battle; our 15th Anniversary Belgian Tripple 15%abv! We'll be brewing that in a couple of weeks and be releasing it on July 8th, our 15th Anniversary for Flossmoor Station R&B. It'll be released both on tap and in bottles, but as usual with our limited space, the bottles will be limited. We'll have some more information on that release as the date comes closer.
Behind the bar, we'll be making our transition to summer (weather allowing....will this week bring us the long awaited spring we've hoped for??). We're going to blend some of our very tart, acidic sour beers downstairs still in the barrels, with some of our house beers to create a "Summer of Sours." They'll provide some crisp tartness to refresh ourselves from the warm summer days. To kick off our summer, soon we'll have a very small amount of our Saison & FUNKale back on, which is a blend about 50% Saison and Garfunkel and 50% Bare Brett. Our Bare Brett, which we'll have on tap following the FUNK, is 100% fermented with Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain that gives a pleasant acidity and earthy flavors on a nice light colored beer!
That's about all there is on the agenda, but continue to check back for updates on other barrel aging projects and other goofy, fun stuff that makes a brewer happy! Thanks again for all the support and hope to see you all soon!
Cheers!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Some changes rolling thru the Station
As many of you have already caught wind of the recent departure, Bryan has stepped down as head brewer here at Flossmoor. I think he simply is ready for a change of pace. He'll still be here (much to my comfort) as I'll be getting trained up to take over as the head brewer. I know there's been a lot of talent to come through here, and Bryan certainly is no exception. I've had the pleasure to work with him here and learn a lot along the way. I'm excited to try and continue the reputation of Flossmoor, both in innovation and quality, and hope my attempts will meet the scrupulous expectations of our well ventured palates out there!
To get onto our little party (it happens to precede a certain "sinister day" at an Indiana brewery), we'll be tapping into some pretty cool beers dug up from our cellars. We'll have 9 taps flowing from our jockey boxes, all of which won't be found behind the bar, starting at 2pm and running until they kick or the village ordinance kicks us out. We'll also be firing up the grill at 4pm, and the live band will start around 5pm. Everything will be outside (so pray for sunshine!) on our back patio, and for those interested in beer swapping, there'll be a nice area to do so by the caboose.
We'll also have our Saison & Garfunkel in bottles and available for purchase. Additionally, we'll have a raffle for our last 12 bottles of the HiFi Rye, with the raffle tickets going for $5.
Alright, here's our list of brews:
Barrel Aged Beelzebeer
Raspberry infused Barrel Aged Beelzebeer
Magnolia Star Malt-Bourbon Liquor (also barrel aged)
Barrel Aged Panama Red
Brett Saison Funkel
Dean's Beans (coffee stout)
Bare Brett (100% brett. fermented)
Rosie Pom (our gold medal for sours from last year's FoBaB)
Colaborative Evil 2010 (Smoked Porter)
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
To get onto our little party (it happens to precede a certain "sinister day" at an Indiana brewery), we'll be tapping into some pretty cool beers dug up from our cellars. We'll have 9 taps flowing from our jockey boxes, all of which won't be found behind the bar, starting at 2pm and running until they kick or the village ordinance kicks us out. We'll also be firing up the grill at 4pm, and the live band will start around 5pm. Everything will be outside (so pray for sunshine!) on our back patio, and for those interested in beer swapping, there'll be a nice area to do so by the caboose.
We'll also have our Saison & Garfunkel in bottles and available for purchase. Additionally, we'll have a raffle for our last 12 bottles of the HiFi Rye, with the raffle tickets going for $5.
Alright, here's our list of brews:
Barrel Aged Beelzebeer
Raspberry infused Barrel Aged Beelzebeer
Magnolia Star Malt-Bourbon Liquor (also barrel aged)
Barrel Aged Panama Red
Brett Saison Funkel
Dean's Beans (coffee stout)
Bare Brett (100% brett. fermented)
Rosie Pom (our gold medal for sours from last year's FoBaB)
Colaborative Evil 2010 (Smoked Porter)
I hope to see you there!
Cheers!
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Stammtisch Alt
We have the perfect bier for these windy spring days, and it's our Stammtisch Alt! We're tapping the German ale next Tuesday, the 19th. It gets its name, stammtisch, from the German word to describe the "regulars" table. Found at many pubs, the stammtisch table is set aside for the regular diners/pubbers, and is generally set aside and marked off so that not just anyone can sit down at it. Not to worry, this Alt won't be just for our mug club members, but they will be the first to taste it next Tuesday, in our pseudo-stammtisch room! Cheers!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
On the horizon
It's been a little while since I've posted here, must be seasonal affect disorder...
I'm probably sure you're like me and very ready for this winter to quit dragging its butt and move on, especially with the forecast for more snow.
Anywho, with that out of my system, we have some nice things coming up on our horizon that we're really looking forward to. We had a great tapping last night of our Saison & Garfunkel, which I really like as a nice transition into warmer weather.
We're admist fermentation of our .357 Magnum Imperial Pilsner, which is making a second debut. It's a big beer, hitting around 12% abv, and it's chugging along right now chewing thru all those sugars and should be finished up in time for our Pre-Dark Lord day party on April 29th. The rumor I've heard is that the party will be outside on our back porch with a live band. We also have some really great beers that we'll be releasing for that day only, so come on out!
Also in our fermenters is another batch of the HiFi Rye, which we will be putting directly and totally into barrels, so we'll have to be patient and wait until this fall to enjoy it (which might actually be rather difficult...)
And the last beer-horizon that we have coming is our Alt bier, that we're brewing next week and should be ready toward the end of April. With the glimmers of sunshine that have peaked out, I'm getting excited about drinking this beer on our back porch with warm winds and sunny skies, birds and budding trees........I'm really ready for this winter to be over....
Cheers!
I'm probably sure you're like me and very ready for this winter to quit dragging its butt and move on, especially with the forecast for more snow.
Anywho, with that out of my system, we have some nice things coming up on our horizon that we're really looking forward to. We had a great tapping last night of our Saison & Garfunkel, which I really like as a nice transition into warmer weather.
We're admist fermentation of our .357 Magnum Imperial Pilsner, which is making a second debut. It's a big beer, hitting around 12% abv, and it's chugging along right now chewing thru all those sugars and should be finished up in time for our Pre-Dark Lord day party on April 29th. The rumor I've heard is that the party will be outside on our back porch with a live band. We also have some really great beers that we'll be releasing for that day only, so come on out!
Also in our fermenters is another batch of the HiFi Rye, which we will be putting directly and totally into barrels, so we'll have to be patient and wait until this fall to enjoy it (which might actually be rather difficult...)
And the last beer-horizon that we have coming is our Alt bier, that we're brewing next week and should be ready toward the end of April. With the glimmers of sunshine that have peaked out, I'm getting excited about drinking this beer on our back porch with warm winds and sunny skies, birds and budding trees........I'm really ready for this winter to be over....
Cheers!
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Saison and Garfunkle Tapping March 22nd
We are having a tapping on March 22nd, at 8pm for our Saison & Garfunkle Belgian saison. This saison was a small collaboration with an eatery in the Wicker Park area of Chicago, so we wanted this beer to be easily paired with food.
The initial idea was a saison with citrus flavors, so we took notes and went to work on a test batch. Pleased with the test batch, we moved to the large system. The amounts of spices translated to 3#s of peppercorns, 1.5#s of fresh rosemary, and the peels from 20#s of clementines on the 15bbl system. This beer also did all of its fermentation above 80F, peaking at around 88F. What we have as a result is a very aromatic, freshly citrus beer with all the great characteristics of a Belgian farmhouse ale. The ABV on this brew is a hefty 8.3% so don't let the delicacy fool you.
The initial idea was a saison with citrus flavors, so we took notes and went to work on a test batch. Pleased with the test batch, we moved to the large system. The amounts of spices translated to 3#s of peppercorns, 1.5#s of fresh rosemary, and the peels from 20#s of clementines on the 15bbl system. This beer also did all of its fermentation above 80F, peaking at around 88F. What we have as a result is a very aromatic, freshly citrus beer with all the great characteristics of a Belgian farmhouse ale. The ABV on this brew is a hefty 8.3% so don't let the delicacy fool you.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Hi-Fi and BA Hi-Fi Release this Saturday, February 26th at NOON
The release of our 2011 rye barleywine, Hi-Fi, and the 2010 bourbon barrel aged Hi-Fi, will begin at NOON on Saturday, February 26th. Here are the details:
- We will begin to hand out numbered tickets beginning at 11am. These tickets are to help the release go more smoothly, as we will call groups of 20 people at a time according to these numbered tickets.
- When your number is called, please line up down the hallway that leads to the Metra parking lot. We are doing the bottle release out of the brewhouse so that no one has to wait in the cold (and so your friendly brewers don't have to either!)
- There is a 6 bottle limit on each variety for a total of 12 max possible. The price will be $10/btl for the 2011 Hi-Fi, and $15/btl for the 2010 BA Hi-Fi.
We are looking forward to this one!
- We will begin to hand out numbered tickets beginning at 11am. These tickets are to help the release go more smoothly, as we will call groups of 20 people at a time according to these numbered tickets.
- When your number is called, please line up down the hallway that leads to the Metra parking lot. We are doing the bottle release out of the brewhouse so that no one has to wait in the cold (and so your friendly brewers don't have to either!)
- There is a 6 bottle limit on each variety for a total of 12 max possible. The price will be $10/btl for the 2011 Hi-Fi, and $15/btl for the 2010 BA Hi-Fi.
We are looking forward to this one!
Tapping into the Black Magic at the Station
We are happy to announce the return of Black Magic IPA at the Station and you are all invited! In addition to the year round Rail Hopper, we will tap one of these seasonal IPAs every now and again.
Black Magic IPA (or IBA, India Black Ale if you are going to be sticklers) is going to be tapped on Wednesday, March 9th at 8pm. This is the same recipe as last year's Black Magic and will also be available in 22oz bottles with a black wax.
Black Magic IPA (or IBA, India Black Ale if you are going to be sticklers) is going to be tapped on Wednesday, March 9th at 8pm. This is the same recipe as last year's Black Magic and will also be available in 22oz bottles with a black wax.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Kapowski tapped out
Well, we have already finished the last of our Killer Kapowski on draft. He sadly tapped out just yesterday, but luckily, he tapped out to our Dark Matter Imperial Stout, which will be officially tapped in tomorrow, Wednesday the 9th at 8pm. Okay, enough of the tapping references...
We do still have a lot of the Kapowski in bottles, selling for $10 each
Cheers!
We do still have a lot of the Kapowski in bottles, selling for $10 each
Cheers!
Monday, February 07, 2011
Environmentally Conscious?
We're hosting an event here at Flossmoor Station called Green Drinks, which is "an informal networking event where innovative people meet at a bar or coffee shop to share ideas and make new connections."
We're having the innovative session on Thursday, March 3rd, starting at 6pm.
For more on Green Drinks, click here
Cheers!
We're having the innovative session on Thursday, March 3rd, starting at 6pm.
For more on Green Drinks, click here
Cheers!
Wooden Horse, pins and firkens and a new Saison
In continuation of our barrel aged beers on tap, we are finally moving along to our next selection. We finished the Grandma's Sleigh Ride, and she's rode on over hills and is gone for the year. We now have our Wooden Horse on tap, it's our house stout, the Iron Horse (note it is "our house"....not "out") aged in Buffalo Trace barrels for 5 months. We're really happy with the way it came out! It picked up some nice notes of the oak and vanillins, and the bourbon is more of a background note. It was really well received at the Brewpub Shootout, so come on out and try a snifter of it! We'll also be rotating these next selections of barrel aged beers more quickly, so come on out now as it'll be gone pretty fast!
In preparation for the Day of the Living Ales (formerly the Night of the Living Ales, which completes the reference much better) we are preparing our firkin's for the event. We already have one filled and is conditioning. We used our Zephyr as the base and put Cactus Pears in, with a nice Lacto culture to expand the flavors. We did one similar to this one, which reportedly turned out very well (we didn't get a chance to try our own creation!). So we're really excited about trying this one again. We're also doing our Ghost of the Iron Horse again, which is our stout spiced with Ghost peppers to give it a nice hot zing; note that ghost peppers are the world's hottest pepper.
We also are playing with another real ale. It's not really for anything in particular, but it'll be really fun to see how this turns out. We put in a pin part of a test batch Saison (more on that in a moment) and pitched a Roselare culture into it. The Roselare blend culture is supposed to replicate the ambient micro flora of the West Flanders region, best known for its spontaneously fermented Lambics and Geuzes. It contains two saccharomyces cultures, a belgian and a sherry, two brettanomyces cultures, a lactobaccilus and a pediococcus cultures. It'll be quite interesting how this project turns out!
Now on to that Saison. We're doing a seasonal batch in conjunction with The Bristol Eatery and Bar in the Bucktown area. It's a lighter colored Saison, brewed with Clementine peels, Rosemary, and peppercorns, and fermented with a traditional Belgian Saison yeast which complements the spices really well. We're brewing that this Thursday, so it should be presented in about 6-8 weeks.
Cheers!
In preparation for the Day of the Living Ales (formerly the Night of the Living Ales, which completes the reference much better) we are preparing our firkin's for the event. We already have one filled and is conditioning. We used our Zephyr as the base and put Cactus Pears in, with a nice Lacto culture to expand the flavors. We did one similar to this one, which reportedly turned out very well (we didn't get a chance to try our own creation!). So we're really excited about trying this one again. We're also doing our Ghost of the Iron Horse again, which is our stout spiced with Ghost peppers to give it a nice hot zing; note that ghost peppers are the world's hottest pepper.
We also are playing with another real ale. It's not really for anything in particular, but it'll be really fun to see how this turns out. We put in a pin part of a test batch Saison (more on that in a moment) and pitched a Roselare culture into it. The Roselare blend culture is supposed to replicate the ambient micro flora of the West Flanders region, best known for its spontaneously fermented Lambics and Geuzes. It contains two saccharomyces cultures, a belgian and a sherry, two brettanomyces cultures, a lactobaccilus and a pediococcus cultures. It'll be quite interesting how this project turns out!
Now on to that Saison. We're doing a seasonal batch in conjunction with The Bristol Eatery and Bar in the Bucktown area. It's a lighter colored Saison, brewed with Clementine peels, Rosemary, and peppercorns, and fermented with a traditional Belgian Saison yeast which complements the spices really well. We're brewing that this Thursday, so it should be presented in about 6-8 weeks.
Cheers!
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Bottles, Barrels, and Horses (?)
We are happy to announce a few things going on in the near future and hope to see you there..........
* The next tapping will be held Wednesday, February 9th at 8pm in the pub and restaurant. We are tapping the Dark Matter Imperial Stout, which has finished up nicely at a winter warming 8.1%.
* We are pleased to announce that the Iron Horse oatmeal stout will be on tap starting Tuesday evening February 1st, and will be on permanently as our house stout.
* The bottle release for the Hi-Fi Rye Barleywine (2011) and the Barrel-Aged Hi-Fi Rye Barleywine (2010) will be released in tandem on February 26th at Noon. Bottles of the Hi-Fi will be $10 and bottles of the Barrel Aged Hi-Fi will be $15. There will be a 6 bottle limit for each.
* Finally, the last of the Grandma's Sleigh Ride is on and for the remaining months of cold weather and big beers we are going to be rotating the bourbon barrels so one style isn't on too long. The first will be the Wooden Horse, the barrel aged version of the Iron Horse.
* The next tapping will be held Wednesday, February 9th at 8pm in the pub and restaurant. We are tapping the Dark Matter Imperial Stout, which has finished up nicely at a winter warming 8.1%.
* We are pleased to announce that the Iron Horse oatmeal stout will be on tap starting Tuesday evening February 1st, and will be on permanently as our house stout.
* The bottle release for the Hi-Fi Rye Barleywine (2011) and the Barrel-Aged Hi-Fi Rye Barleywine (2010) will be released in tandem on February 26th at Noon. Bottles of the Hi-Fi will be $10 and bottles of the Barrel Aged Hi-Fi will be $15. There will be a 6 bottle limit for each.
* Finally, the last of the Grandma's Sleigh Ride is on and for the remaining months of cold weather and big beers we are going to be rotating the bourbon barrels so one style isn't on too long. The first will be the Wooden Horse, the barrel aged version of the Iron Horse.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Brewer's Dinner tomorrow night!
Just wanted to put up a quick reminder that we're doing our Brewer's Dinner tomorrow, Thursday the 27th, here at Flossmoor Station. We got a great line up of beers and food pairings, and Bryan and I will be pouring beer for the event. So come on out for a great 4 course dinner with us! The price is $35 for mug clubbers (and significant others of those mug clubbers will be at the same price) and for everyone else it's $39.
Hope to see you there
cheers!
Hope to see you there
cheers!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Brewpub Shootout 2011
We had a great time at the Brewpub Shootout this year, they really put on a great show and all the breweries that attended brought out some truly great dishes and tasty brews! We got to walk away with some accolades as well, which is always a terrific feeling.
We were granted 2nd place for best beer, and we're not totally sure which beer fetched the title, but we're very proud our beers were well received
Additionally, we got 1st place for our food, which Chef Eduardo pulled together an amazing dish of beef tenderloin served over sweet potato mash. He seared the beef on the spot, which may have helped draw extra attention to our table. In fact, almost everytime he flared the burner up, a large group would gravitate toward us, drifting with the smell of beef.
This was my first time attending the Shootout, and it was an absolute fantastic event. It's really nice to have food being a focal point of a beer fest, especially after tasting so many great beers. Some of my favorites from the day were the potato dumplings from Rock Bottom and the Nutella bread pudding from Half Acre. Also, the other group of Rock Bottom'ers (east and south? or north and west? I can't remember how they split that up) brought out the liquid nitrogen to flash freeze raspberries over ice cream, which was really cool to see! I wanted to steal some of the liquid N2 to play with...
Revolution walked away with the best food and beer pairing, and I can't remember exactly what they brought, but it was a great dessert pairing with a Citra hopped IPA. The newly established Haymarket also received some awards, I think one in each catagory (beer, food, and pairing), and took first in the best beer.
We have pictures to come soon
cheers!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Bottling a Station Master
Seems like a difficult task, especially when contracting Phil Conners, but we managed to bottle 60 cases of the Station Master Wheat, so it is available today again in bottles behind the bar.
Additionally, in having a little fun with our bottle caps, we found the world infamous Gringo Extra cap
If you happen to be the lucky Gringo, then you get an Extra! Find the Gringo bottle cap and you get a 2 for 1 deal of the same beer, which this time happens to be the Station Master.
This might become a more regular tradition, but for now this is a first
Cheers!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Upcoming events
Just wanted to extend our upcoming events onto our beer blog. Thursday night we're doing a fundraising event with the Save-a-Pet no kill animal shelter. Their funds are rapidly running out and are in desparate need. They currently only have enough funds for the next 6 months. Bryan and I are going to be there, doing some tastings of our IPA, Pullman Brown, and Station Master Wheat. Appetizers will also be available. Tickets are $25, and space is limited, so call ahead for a reservation. Hope to see you there!
Also coming up, if you haven't heard already, the Bears are supposed to play on Sunday. I'm not gonna say whom I'm rooting for, as to not be ousted by this intense rivalry. But here at Flossmoor, we're doing a "Brown Down" day for the Bears! We'll have a few beer and food specials:
$1 Tacos
$5 BBQ Chipotle Wings
$3 Pullman Brown Ale pints
And as always, we'll have a free half-time buffet. So come on out and cheer on the team!
Cheers!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Anti-matter, stouts, food and gas
We had a nice turnout on Saturday for our Killer Kapowski bottle release, which was a pleasant surprise given how freaking cold it was (Bryan and I had to call it off a little early due to the lack of feeling in our fingers and toes, and faces for that matter). Thanks to everyone who made it out, hope those bottles are treating you warmly!
We decided to brew our Imperial Stout, the Dark Matter, again a week back. It's about done fermenting and tasting great, with a big starting gravity of about 23*P. We dry hopped it today with some Centennial and Chinook hops to round the nose out with a big dose of pine and grapefruit, and we additionally spiced it with just a hint of Star Anise, to add an extra depth of flavor. We're really excited about how this one will turn out, and we should release it next month for our next tapping party.
Another return for our cellars is the Iron Horse Stout, which we brewed last Friday. We are planning to release part of it on nitrogen, and then carbonating it for the remainder. It'll be a fun experimentation on the effects the gas has on the beer itself. Bryan and I call the carbonation of a beer the fifth ingredient, because of how much it impacts beer's flavor. With beer served on nitrogen, the flavor comes through much smoother, more mellow and more creamy. Plus, the head of a nitro beer has the classic Guinness ever-lasting pillow effect. This is all due to the insolubility of nitrogen in beer, and once it breaks out of solution, it does so in very fine bubbles, which create that creamy ever-lasting head. Additionally, with stouts, the nitrogen doesn't pull as much of the roasted flavors out of the beer, creating a smoother, more mellow stout. Serving a beer on nitrogen is a way to emulate serving a beer "real ale" fashion, with the low carbonation and the creamy effect of the nitrogen. In fact, most real ale beer engines have sparklers attached to the end of the faucet, to whip up more nitrogen into the beer upon serving to give it a creamy head. In contrast, the solubility of CO2 gives a very coarse mouth feel to the beer and, with stouts, pulls the roasted flavors out, lending to a drier, more roasty stout. Additionally, the acidity of CO2 gives a sharper bite to the beer, giving it a more crisp taste.
This of course isn't anything new, many breweries have been playing with nitrogen draft systems for a while now. In fact, many breweries are trying nitrogen on many different beer styles other than stouts, such as Pales, IPA's and so forth. It's fun to taste the difference the gas can give a beer, and we'll get to taste that change with our Iron Horse!
Alright, enough of that ramble, on to our big event this weekend. We finally have decided on our dish for the Brewpub Shootout. We're pairing our HiFi-Ryewine, non barrel aged, with Chef Eduardo's green peppercorn encrusted beef tenderloin, sitting atop a mashed sweet potato with pasilla peppers whipped with a housemade HiFi butter sauce. It tastes great (from what I've heard, I'm a vegetarian and haven't tried it), and everyone here is really digging it. So hopefully it'll show well come Saturday. Additionally, we're entering our Intercontinental IPL (6.7%) and our Wooden Horse Barrel Aged Stout (5.6%).
Cheers!
We decided to brew our Imperial Stout, the Dark Matter, again a week back. It's about done fermenting and tasting great, with a big starting gravity of about 23*P. We dry hopped it today with some Centennial and Chinook hops to round the nose out with a big dose of pine and grapefruit, and we additionally spiced it with just a hint of Star Anise, to add an extra depth of flavor. We're really excited about how this one will turn out, and we should release it next month for our next tapping party.
Another return for our cellars is the Iron Horse Stout, which we brewed last Friday. We are planning to release part of it on nitrogen, and then carbonating it for the remainder. It'll be a fun experimentation on the effects the gas has on the beer itself. Bryan and I call the carbonation of a beer the fifth ingredient, because of how much it impacts beer's flavor. With beer served on nitrogen, the flavor comes through much smoother, more mellow and more creamy. Plus, the head of a nitro beer has the classic Guinness ever-lasting pillow effect. This is all due to the insolubility of nitrogen in beer, and once it breaks out of solution, it does so in very fine bubbles, which create that creamy ever-lasting head. Additionally, with stouts, the nitrogen doesn't pull as much of the roasted flavors out of the beer, creating a smoother, more mellow stout. Serving a beer on nitrogen is a way to emulate serving a beer "real ale" fashion, with the low carbonation and the creamy effect of the nitrogen. In fact, most real ale beer engines have sparklers attached to the end of the faucet, to whip up more nitrogen into the beer upon serving to give it a creamy head. In contrast, the solubility of CO2 gives a very coarse mouth feel to the beer and, with stouts, pulls the roasted flavors out, lending to a drier, more roasty stout. Additionally, the acidity of CO2 gives a sharper bite to the beer, giving it a more crisp taste.
This of course isn't anything new, many breweries have been playing with nitrogen draft systems for a while now. In fact, many breweries are trying nitrogen on many different beer styles other than stouts, such as Pales, IPA's and so forth. It's fun to taste the difference the gas can give a beer, and we'll get to taste that change with our Iron Horse!
Alright, enough of that ramble, on to our big event this weekend. We finally have decided on our dish for the Brewpub Shootout. We're pairing our HiFi-Ryewine, non barrel aged, with Chef Eduardo's green peppercorn encrusted beef tenderloin, sitting atop a mashed sweet potato with pasilla peppers whipped with a housemade HiFi butter sauce. It tastes great (from what I've heard, I'm a vegetarian and haven't tried it), and everyone here is really digging it. So hopefully it'll show well come Saturday. Additionally, we're entering our Intercontinental IPL (6.7%) and our Wooden Horse Barrel Aged Stout (5.6%).
Cheers!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Some year end closings and upcoming events
Hello all craft beer enthusiasts, I just wanted to give some brief updates around the brewhouse. We were excited to end this past year ('10) with 816 barrels, which is up 91 barrels from last year, closing with 725. We're excited to have pushed out this much beer, and you are to thank! A good portion of our growth has come in bottles, and Glunz beer distributors have been working hard to deliver our great brew around the Chicagoland area. You can find our brews at most of the Binny's around the area, as well as Wholefoods. We're working with them to bring our beer into new craft beer markets, so keep a look out!
The new year is also bringing us some delicious beer and food pairings! We have a delectable Mardi Gras Brewer's Dinner lined up on Thursday the 27th, starting at 6pm, with tickets going for $35 for mug clubbers, and $39 for non-clubbers. Here's our menu line up, featuring a great collaboration with us in the brewery and our Chef Eduardo:
6pm Welcome with our ReplicAle Pale
Dinner Menu, starting at 630pm
Appetizer
Shrimp Etouffee over Cajun Rice w/ Andouille Sausage
Beer: Panama Red Ale
Soup
Chicken Gumbo
Beer: Intercontinental Pale Lager
Entree
Beef Tenderloin Medallion Ratatouille
Beer: Killer Kapowski Baltic Porter
Dessert
Bourbon Rice Pudding Broule
Beer: Bourbon Spiced Red Ale
And in upcoming events, we will continue our food and beer pairings with the 13th annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout, on January 22nd at the Irish American Heritage Center, from 1-5pm. We've got some great ideas flowing for our food pairings, as well as some creative beers using some special barrel reserves, but I won't spoil the surprise just yet! Brewpub Shootout
There's also some rumors passing around about an early March visit with the alive.....a day spent with the living ales.....but more to come on that
Cheers!
The new year is also bringing us some delicious beer and food pairings! We have a delectable Mardi Gras Brewer's Dinner lined up on Thursday the 27th, starting at 6pm, with tickets going for $35 for mug clubbers, and $39 for non-clubbers. Here's our menu line up, featuring a great collaboration with us in the brewery and our Chef Eduardo:
6pm Welcome with our ReplicAle Pale
Dinner Menu, starting at 630pm
Appetizer
Shrimp Etouffee over Cajun Rice w/ Andouille Sausage
Beer: Panama Red Ale
Soup
Chicken Gumbo
Beer: Intercontinental Pale Lager
Entree
Beef Tenderloin Medallion Ratatouille
Beer: Killer Kapowski Baltic Porter
Dessert
Bourbon Rice Pudding Broule
Beer: Bourbon Spiced Red Ale
And in upcoming events, we will continue our food and beer pairings with the 13th annual Chicagoland Brewpub Shootout, on January 22nd at the Irish American Heritage Center, from 1-5pm. We've got some great ideas flowing for our food pairings, as well as some creative beers using some special barrel reserves, but I won't spoil the surprise just yet! Brewpub Shootout
There's also some rumors passing around about an early March visit with the alive.....a day spent with the living ales.....but more to come on that
Cheers!
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Killer Kapowski Bottle Release
With the new year comes a new beginning for an old great here at Flossmoor. After a year off, the Killer Kapowski Baltic porter will be available again in bottles. We are going to release the Kapowski on Saturday, January 15th, and this delicious beer will be available starting at 12 noon. We will be selling this beer out of the rolling door south of the main entrance on Sterling Ave., and each bottle will be $10. We expect to have enough KK bottled so that everyone has a chance for a bottle, however there will be a one case, 12 bottle, limit.
We look forward to seeing everyone and have a wonderful new year.
Cheers,
Bryan
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