Adventure Race #2: 24 Hour Black Mountain Race

So this is an old race report but I decided I should post it for a couple reasons. 1. If anyone is ever interested in trying to retrace our steps and the real reason 2. To inspire me to get back training.

This race was another race put on by Equinox Racing Team. And their race report can be found here. If you look all the way at the bottom you'll see Team Kabooze and see we weren't the first to quit but we still only last a bit over 8 hours.

Well the real reason we only lasted 8 hours was because we were badly prepared and we kinda knew that we weren't going to make it the full 24 hours.(Maybe next time).
So we had some great luck and San Diego decided to use one of its 30 rain days of the year. It was fine as we started because it was only a mist but it picked up throughout the day and made everything much more difficult. They also had to cancel the kayak portion of the race due to the weather so we started out with a good jog by the beach. It started out well, meaning we weren't immediately in last place.
We got back to the start point which was near Torrey Pines State Beach and then we took off on our bikes toward Black Mountain. We followed the 56 all the way out. We got to the next transition point and started the trekking portion.
PJ needed to lighten his load and as a group we needed to live up to our team name. So out came the tallboy of refreshing nectar and some slimjims and bananas. What do you typically eat during an adventure race?
Almost immedietely after starting the trekking it started raining much harder. In my defense I imformed both of my teammates of the weather and the scope of the adventure race. Neither of them decided to bring anything waterproof and PJ was wearing Vans slip-ons (but they were camo-style). So PJ's solution to the waterproof jacket was a flannel and some garbage bags. And CJ had a windbreaker. Well as soon as it started raining they whipped out the garbage bags and realized they were for waste baskets.

So from this point on these guys were pretty sad and very wet. We kept trucking on and made our way up, down and around Black Mountain. We did stop at an Elementary school for a bit of lunch and to ensure we were in last place. It was a big emotional boost to get out of the rain for a bit.
We finally made it back to transition but we were done. Well not really we had to ride back to Torrey Pines where our car was. That was a fun, dark ride. The quote of the race came about then, PJ (6'4" - 260 lb rugby player) - "I am going to shivvvvvvver right off my bike".

All was good when we drove up the coast to have a few beers and burritos at Las Olas

Cider Series: California Common Yeast

So I decided to do a little experiment with some cider. So I have been buying the 1 gallon cider containers so that I can use them to do my experimental sour beers.

I had a friend come over and ask me what I was doing with the cider. I was trying to just drink the container but I got pretty tired of the cider after about a 1/2 gal. So he was asking me about making hard cider. And I guess it never occured to me how easy it would be to make that cider into hard cider. So I have decided that whatever yeast I have on hand I will pitch some into my 1 gallon of cider. This way I can test different yeasts and how they affect the taste of the cider.

I added 1 tsp of pectin (I like clear cider). I used a 100 ml of California Common yeast and fermented the batch for 2 weeks at 62-65. The gravity for the beer dropped to 1.000. It had only a small amount of apple flavor left but was pretty clean. I am a fan of semi sweet and my wife likes sweet cider. So what I did was I racked the cider into a 2.5 gal keg. I carbed it over a week to around 2.5 volumes (might go higher next time). And then I decided to bottle the cider but I would first add fresh sweet cider to the bottles.

(5) bottles with 2 oz of 1.055 cider - cider should have F.G. 1.009
(5) bottles with 3 oz of 1.055 cider - cider should have F.G. 1.014

I made sure that these stayed in the fridge because they will still have some yeast left in them. They will want to ferment but hopefully with fridge temps the yeast will stay dormant to keep the sweetness. I have heard that cider can improve also with a bit of lagering. So I will taste one of each cider in a couple months. About the time it is nice and hot and the cider is begging to be drank.

10/20/10 Update - They have been kept in cold storage and I really like the bottles with 2 oz of cider. The 3 oz cider is just a bit too sweet and both have enough apple flavor.

Stone Sour Fest 2010

Let me tell you as soon as I heard about this event I went crazy. It is the largest sour beer festival in the world and its a 30 min drive from our house. And at $40 bucks for 15 - 3 oz tastes that is a great deal considering the actual money you would spend to taste these beers. Check out the website. I also have my program that shows all the beers. (80-90 beers and 50+ on draft)

I am fairly new to sour beers. I actually have a nice story how I learned about them.
TANGENT It was an overcast day as it usually is in Bruges, Belgium. My then fiance and I were riding bikes from the city center on a mission to make it to the ocean. We made a few stops along the way and of course I never brought a map. I thought it was only about an hour ride or less to get there. (Ok while riding this it just occured to me to look it up. map. We were so close, if only I brought a map. And I even just found the place we ate on the map. And looking through pictures I found the place. ( De Palingpot )) So I was on a mission to order new beers while I was there and I had never heard of Rodenbach at the time. So I went for it. And talk about thrist quenching after a bike ride. I flipped out, I had never tasted anything like that before. I finished that glass in no time and it paired so well with the nice hot fries and mayo we were eating. It is one of my favorite memories from the trip and all because of that beer.

The reason for the above story is to preface that I am pretty new to sour beers. And I am also learning a lot about tasting beers. I plan next year to start my BJCP classes. I have read books and tried to learn how to taste beers. I can do pretty well when I open a bottle at home and really take my time with it. But a festival to me, is a completely different animal. I have a difficulty really searching for different flavors so I basically just get a nice overall impression of the beer. The beer has 3 oz to tell me to search this beer out and buy it, so I can enjoy it more thoroughly.

Another quick note that I learned at this festival is that for this style of beer (and most) other people's opinions don't mean that I'll like the beer. I tried some very big "celebrity" beers and they weren't my favorite. For example, the beer I was very excited about and have debated buying a $60 bottle of, was just a blast in the face and was too much for me. I'm talking about Cuvee de Tomme, I could tell it was excellently made and had all the flavors that people talk about. And it was super complex and each flavor had its own time to shine on your tongue. But for me, I would love it if it was a 6-7% beer but at 12% it's harsh on my taste buds.

So for me the beers that stood out:
The Bruery Melange #7 - The after taste of this beer is what won me over, it had the most amazing oak complexity and filled your mouth with coconut and vanilla for a while after drinking. Description: Cuvee Jeune, our young lambic (now older) and blends it with a special beer we made with Pinot Noir Grapes. Similar to White Zin.

New Belgium Tart Lychee - Talk about refreshing, this was tasted mid-day when it was pushing 90 degrees and it hit the spot. Description: Three year wild (oak barrel acidified with souring bacteria and Brett) beer blended with lychee and Ceylon cinnamon.

Other Notable Favorites of the day were : Veritas 007(amazing sour complexity), Avery Alter Boy (great Brett flavors), New Belgium Love (Both the dry-hopped and spiced versions blew me away, new tastes with sour), Birra del Borgo Duchessic (Cantillion gueze blended with a blond, pretty much the ultimate lawn mower beer)