Season 1, Episode 5 – This week, we chat about Session IPA and safely chug Beachwood BBQ Alpha Waves out of Long Beach, California, followed by Going in Blind! Then, Nagel’s non-beers: Sake and Cider. 

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We start off the show this week with a sessionable IPA from Beachwood BBQ, Alpha Waves then dive into non-beer homebrews from Nagel.

Alpha Waves from Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA, is a described by the brewery as a “trickster of a ‘session IPA’ that will knock you down with surges of flavor and aroma.” “Session IPA” have been all the craze this year. Beachwood Brewing’s stands out from the rest in that it is a true session ale, clocking in at 3.8% ABV. It has a healthy malt backbone, and quite a big hop presence, even though it’s only 50 IBU.

Feature: Homebrew – Greg‘s Homebrew Sake and Cider

Greg’s Sake, named “Kamakazi Gang Bang” was an experiment to see how good a homebrew Sake can be. Much how Japanese WWII pilots would get tons of ass before their final flight, Nagel purchased a Sake kit from homebrewsake.com. Following the arduous broken English daily instructions,  the rice/koji was soaked overnight, baked, cooled quickly, then fed it to the yeast.  Every day, the amount doubles until the kit is finished. Once primary fermentation is complete, it’s racked into secondary, then tertiary after 30 days. After six months, it’s like fuel for a Japanese Zero, but mellows out over time with big vanilla, banana and stone fruit notes.

We also sample Greg’s Cider, named “Cummin’s Cider,” that was ‘brewed’ easily from bringing a carboy up to Oak Glen’s Law’s Cider Mill. Step one: Sing The Sound of Music’s “The Hills Are Alive” while running through the apple orchards, dumping your sanitizer out of our carboy all over the ground. Next, add five crushed campden tabs to the carboy. Have the cider mill crush five gallons right into the carboy. Taste some to make sure it’s not gross. Pitch yeast after 24 hours (I used White Labs Old English Cider yeast). Add yeast nutrient twice daily while swirling and control temp to 68F. After primary, rack to secondary and wait 30 days. Improves considerably with age. Some people like to back-sweeten, which is gross. Save the trouble and buy the millions of sweet ciders available at the store.

Feature: “Going In Blind…”

We’re back for another round of “Going In Blind,” and this time, the beers were chosen and served up by Yvonne England. John wasn’t able to participate in the first round, since he “accidentally” saw the beer that was being served. Doh!

Ultimately, we find out that we’re drinking Dale’s Pale Ale from Oscar Blues, and Maui Brewing Co.’s Coconut Porter. We can’t stress how fun blind tasting is to do. Give it a try with your homies!

Cheers, and we’ll see you next week!

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