Jeff, our itinerant Brew Nazi, really turned up the anal-retentive Monday. I didn’t even know the dial went past 10, but apparently it goes all the way to 11 (anyone? anyone?).

Fortunately, I think the fascist control of our mashing temperature can only help our latest pass at a Belgian. We decided to go with a classic dubbel. Our yeast starter got off to a great start over the weekend and we were only a few points off of our original gravity target, so we’re pretty excited about this one.

Joel is excited for a different reason. He thinks a “Belgian beer” is one that’s made out of really big waffles. They’re so cute when they’re clueless…

Many hugs and kisses to Troy and his wife for their lovely gift of beer! We opened up a mysterious package last night only to be greeted by a bunch of pigs.

A bunch of pigs with the words, “The only thing better than pigs are beer, and rabbit –The world of gastronomy according to Troy”

Even better than the cryptic message (Troy cooked us a rabbit dinner a few months back) was the beer inside, a Bell’s Oberon Ale and a Calvinus (DANGER: annoying site alert). Oh John Calvin… You tickle our innards.

As much as we love drinking them, it’s been awhile since we tried brewing our last Belgian, a Peach Abbey Ale, which we decided to call Southern Monk or Mulletproof Monk. Unfortunately, this beer was a lot better in theory than it was on paper. Or in glass. Or in stomach.

We really want to get this beer right, so we’ve decided to start from scratch. Tonight we’ll be brewing a basic dubbel with a recipe formulated with the help of Stan and his Brew Like A Monk book. Come by Jeff’s and learn with us!

 Wonder of wonders, Joel tipped us off to a great new site yesterday: BeerMenus.com. This site scours NYC bars to find out where the best beers are served. The two founders, Will and Eric, are huge fans of Stone Arrogant Bastard and Dogfish Head 90 Minute. Which definitely gives me confidence in their craft beer focus.

Unfortunately, the site is only for NYC right now. I’m pushing for their next foray to be in Atlanta. Join the cause and let them know.

I know Travis lives in NY. Maybe these guys can teach him what a good IPA tastes like.

I ran across this site yesterday, which sells (or used to, anyway) beer for dogs. Happy Tail Ale, anyone?

I know what you’re thinking: That is just wrong. And normally I would completely agree. But this beer has no alcohol and no carbonation, so it’s really just healthy barley water. Plus, it’s fortified with beef drippings. For real.

Only problem is, they don’t seem to be operating anymore. From their “Merchants” page:

Thank you so much for your interest in Happy Tail Ale, non-alcoholic beer for dogs!

Unfortunately, Dog Star Brewing Company will be on hiatus indefinitely, and will not be producing any more beer.

Thank you so very much for your interest.

Let’s pretend they are still in business, though. Is this a legitimate idea? Seems like it’s still just a novel way to give your dog a drink, though with less chance of getting busted by the ASPCA.

Our hops are doing a LOT better this year, especially if you consider that they weren’t even in the ground until May last year. We transplanted them over at Jeff’s house earlier this spring, and I don’t know if he’s feeding them speed or X or something, but they’re really shooting out of the ground. Thus far the Cascades (pictured) have won the race.

My goal is to have a legitimate harvest this year. At LEAST… 3 TIMES AS BIG. And no more of this “Atlanta is in a drought” crap. Our hops don’t care. They’re thirsty.

It’s Monday.

Normally we brew Mondays.

Sometimes we forget yeast.

But tonight, we are ready to go. We’ll be trying to tweak our Swashchuckler IPA a bit based on feedback from the Brewhaha and our ongoing beer battle with Sir Travis McStupidhead. Unfortunately we won’t have much to drink given that our last 2 batches got a bit o’ the yeasties, but please come on by and brew with us anyway! I’m sure we’ll make a package store run at some point.

It should be an earlier night tonight (finishing up before 10pm), so make sure you don’t come too late.