#39 Town Hall Hope and King Scotch Ale

The Northern Brewer Pro Series beer kits have been developed in conjunction with professional brewers, using their own award-winning beer recipes.

Town Hall Brewery's beer is renowned throughout the US, but only available at their amazing brewpubs in Minneapolis - until now. One of a handful of breweries to have an "A" rating on BeerAdvocate.com, it is known for producing high-quality beers in both experimental and classic styles.

Bronze Medal Winner, 2002 and 2004 Great American Beer Festival, Gold Medal Winner, 2011 Great American Beer Festival.   Hope and King is a full-body brew and is rich in malt complexity.   “Our interpretation of the classic ale that originated in Glasgow, Scotland. A full-bodied ale, rich in malt complexity. Brewed with both English and American barley and many, many specialty malts allowing hints of roasted chocolate, caramel and raisins with very little hop presence.  Our interpretation of the classic ale that originated in Glasgow, Scotland.” - Town Hall Head Brewer Mike Hoops.
Rate Beer: 91 or 100 and Beer Advocate 88 of 100

SPECIALTY GRAIN 

Town Hall Brewery - A Beer for every season

0.25 lbs Briess Caramel 20 

0.25 lbs English Chocolate Malt 

0.25 lbs English Medium Crystal 

0.125 lbs English Roasted Barley 

0.1875 lbs Belgian Special B 

FERMENTABLES

6 lbs Gold Malt syrup (60 min) 

2 lbs Golden Light dry malt extract late addition (15 min)

HOPS & FLAVORINGS 
.25 oz Centennial (60 min)
3 oz UK Fuggles (10 min)

YEAST
 Wyeast 1098 British Ale

#38 NB White House Honey Ale

There’s a decent crispness from the hops, and the beer is sweet but well-balanced. The honey flavor was muted. Adding it during fermentation would have given the beer more depth of flavor -- as Al Marzi, Harpoon's chief brewer, predicted, our beer is a little dry -- but it’s an entirely pleasant drinking experience.

History
White House Honey Ale is the first beer known to have been brewed in the White House.  The process began in January 2011 at the request of President Barack Obama who purchased the homebrewing kit using his personal funds.  As of 2012, three styles have been brewed in addition to Honey Ale: White House Honey Blonde Ale, White House Honey Porter and White House Honey Brown.

Former president Thomas Jefferson, who lived in the White House between 1801 and 1809, is known to have brewed beer himself, particularly after his retirement. He has been called "America's first microbrewer", but there is no evidence that it happened within the White House.

Petition

On August 21, 2012, at least two Freedom of Information Act requests were sent to the White House seeking the recipe of the White House Honey Ale from California attorney Scott Talkov and Texas attorney Brodie Burks, both home brewers. On August 29, 2012 during a brief Q&A session on Reddit, President Obama announced he would release the recipe, stating "It will be out soon! I can tell from first hand experience, it is tasty."

The recipe was released on The White House Blog on September 1, 2012.

Style
White House Honey Ale does not match a specific beer style as outlined by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines. Gravity, alcohol by volume, bitterness and color are within the guidelines for a Belgian Dubbel, however the English hop and yeast selection are not in keeping with the Belgian Dubbel style. Therefore this beer would fall under BJCP Category 23- Specialty Beer.

BJCP Style 16A/23 Date Brewed 11/23/2012 ABV 4.99 OG 1.048 FG 1.01 Calories 135 SRM 6

Grains 5 lb Wheat Extract 8 oz Flaked Wheat 1 lb White Wheat 1 1/4 lb Belgian Pilsner Malt Hops-Bittering .5 oz Cascade Hops-Flavor .5 oz Cracked Coriander .5 oz Bitter Orange Peel Yeast WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale Safbrew T-58"

#37/76 Saison de Noel LE (#37/76/109)

Deceptively dark and beguilingly complex, this holiday specialty is brewed in the tradition of Belgian farmhouse ales. Unlike most saisons, intended to refresh and sustain farmers doing manaul labor, this one is engineered to complement rich holiday fare and sustain you through long winter nights. A generous malt bill with highlights of butter toffee, chocolate, dark fruit, and bread tangles with the earthy, spicy funk of Wyeast’s French Saison strain and a single addition of bittering hops to strike an evolving balance. The porter-like color tricks your palate into expecting burnt, roasty notes and perhaps even a full body, but the reality that hits your mouth is a lean, attenuated beer with a snappy, estery, slightly tart edge and a warming, peppery finish. No spices here - all the complexity comes from malt, yeast, and your skill as a brewer! Brew now for Christmas, and stash away at least a six-pack of this age-worthy saison to enjoy on into the spring.  Purchase this from Northern Brewer.

Grains
6 lbs Pilsner malt syrup
1 lbs D-90 Candi Syrup
1 lbs Briess Pilsen dry malt extract late addition (15 min)
1 lbs Corn Sugar late addition (0 min)
0.5 lbs Belgian Aromatic malt
0.25 lbs Weyermann Carafa III
0.25 lbs Weyermann CaraAroma
Hops-Bittering 1 oz US Magnum
Yeast Wyeast 3726 Farmhouse Ale

Nice Christmas beer.  Keep it around and call it your Valentine's brew.