AleSmith Brewing Company Releases Jamaica Blue Mountain Speedway Stout

Discussion in 'Beer Releases' started by Todd, Feb 7, 2014.

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  1. the_trystero

    the_trystero Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2013 California

    If I were a brewer, Kopi is the last thing I would use, Viet 2nd to last, and Blue Mountain 3rd from last.

    And while I appreciate the use of a Gesha in beer, I think it's completely overkill.

    Easily my favorite collaborations with my homebrewer friends have been with great, sweet, chocolatey Central Americans except for an IPA where we used a great floral and fruity Ethiopian, a Gesha would have been good there, too. But for stouts, especially big stouts, Central Americans all the way. And I could care less about rarity, I can't fucking taste rarity.
     
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  2. hiimrichie

    hiimrichie Initiate (0) Jul 11, 2012 California

    Variety sucks, right?
     
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  3. mrkdwrds

    mrkdwrds Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2010 California

    I sure wish that brewers would stop using gimmicky coffees (Kopi Luwak, Jamaica Blue Mountain) in their beers.
     
  4. MaltMilkshake

    MaltMilkshake Initiate (0) Feb 9, 2011 California

    Where would you rank Folgers or Sanka?
     
  5. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    Agreed! Gesha in beer to me is a little overkill. The coffee varietal itself is delicate and tends to get lost in stout style beers...Throw in barrel aging and it pretty much vanishes. In brewed coffee form...it's amazing!

    Viet and Kopi in beer tend to work (depending on roast level) a little more harmonious in beer IMO since they are usually roasted dark to charcoal burnt (sad but true) and can withstand the big, overbearing flavors in stouts ...But in all honesty...at those roast levels, you are pretty much tasting the roast level and is not a true representation of the respected coffee varietals.

    With that being said, I would like to introduce myself.

    My name is Mike Arquines and i'm the head roaster over at Mostra Coffee in San Diego. Chef & Roaster by trade...Beer and Bourbon lover, trader, sharer everyday! Started off roasting in a cast iron skillet on my electric stove, then a hot air popcorn popper. Moved on to 1lb San Franciscan roaster and shortly after, a 25lb beauty of a behemoth SF that is now the centerpiece of our HQ.

    Our roasting facility/distribution warehouse and tasting room in Carmel Mountain. I love everyone's comments and most of all, I love me some beer. If anyone's in the area, please don't hesitate to stop in for a cup or 3 (or IP trade of some sort!) of coffee....or maybe even stay longer to cup some of our newer coffee selections

    A little backround about how are our Collab with Alesmith came about:

    I Had drinks with Bill (brewer extraordinaire over at Alesmith ) and some friends one night and discussed a possible coffee collab with their speedway stout.. I threw out different options of coffee varieties, lots, etc and we both agreed that the JBM's flavor characteristics would be perfect...if, 1. Can we source some beans (2 barrels in the U.S. at the time) and 2. Can we roast it precisely to the flavor profile they were trying to achieve. Challenge accepted.

    After weeks of hunting, we finally sourced some true 100% JBM (a lot of fakes out there) from the Mavis Bank Estate, we proceeded to cup (taste) different 20+ roast levels ranging from really light to waaay past 2nd crack to ensure a thorough examination of nuances, flavor profiles and most importantly, adhere and abide by the strict standards that Alesmith is known for and has set for us.

    We settled on 4 roast levels and brought them all to Alesmith for Peter and the brewers to cup while not letting them know we already had our favorite picked out prior to the the tasting. Luckily, they all unanimously chose the one we all thought was the winner (wheew!). We then brewed the winning JBM roast for them to taste, as well as cold brewed concentrated version (full flavored, less acidic) and they decided to go with latter. Dosing, measuring amounts yadayada were finally worked out and after numerous tastes and palette balancing acts....A final ratio of Speedway to Cold Brew was found. It even gave Peter Zien and I quote, "Goosebumps"... Definitely not a bad thing.

    So, to sum it all up...Jamaica Blue wasn't selected for its scarcity or to be gimmicky, but more for the flavor profile that Peter and Bill of Alesmith were looking for. We pitched different coffee varieties, rare and most not so rare...but we all agreed that JBM fit the flavor they were looking for and ultimately, it was there decision to go with it and man are we happy they did : )

    Hope you guys enjoy as much as we enjoyed being a part of the process of it. In the mean time, do Pre-ISO's, wait in line for Younger, and countdown the days until Hunaphu Day, cause you know where i'll be...........trying to get my mules (or sherpas as I like to call em) in line for that Taps/El Cerrito Collab "REMY" release February 16th! : )

    Cheers everyone!

    - Mike
     
    #25 whalewatchin, Feb 8, 2014
    Last edited: Feb 8, 2014
  6. the_trystero

    the_trystero Initiate (0) Mar 19, 2013 California

    Right on, that's one awesome account of the process!
     
  7. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    Really appreciate it!!!

    Just wanted to show that our collab wasn't just "slapped" together overnight or even in a month, ya know?

    Cheers!
     
  8. AlexM

    AlexM Pooh-Bah (1,844) Jun 9, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Thanks Mike for the insight ... super interesting to understand the painstaking process involved in this & other brews! Good luck with the release and I for one will be on BPT, March 3rd :slight_smile:
     
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  9. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    It was my pleasure : )

    Thanks for reading it!

    Cheers!
     
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  10. mrkdwrds

    mrkdwrds Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2010 California

    JBM is just Arabica Typica. Still gimmicky. Cup it next to some Bourbon or Heirloom varietals and it becomes even more apparent...
     
  11. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    Definitely...but it's the roasting process that really makes the difference regardless of type. Bourbon, peaberry etc...You can have the rarest bean of the utmost highest quality, but if u roast it to death...then it dont matter.

    Gimmicky? Depends who you ask...To each their own though!

    Wax topping, limited release, on purpose low bottle counts, autographed, cool art....gimmicky? Again, depends on the person. Don't matter tho, im still waiting in line for the next release with everyone else.

    Cheers!
     
  12. johnyb

    johnyb Pooh-Bah (2,272) Aug 11, 2012 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    Best of luck here Mike. I can't wait to try this variant personally.
     
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  13. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    Appreciate it Man!

    Can't wait for you to try it!

    Cheers!
     
  14. Donco

    Donco Pooh-Bah (1,615) Aug 12, 2013 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That's an uninformed statement...
     
  15. SaltySizzle

    SaltySizzle Initiate (0) Aug 12, 2013 California

    Great insight on the process! I'm definitely going to buy max and FT this! Craft beer + Craft coffee? Yes, please!
     
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  16. vurt

    vurt Grand Pooh-Bah (3,578) Apr 11, 2004 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah Society Trader

    That is correct. But if the bottles don't sell out in the online sale, you can sometimes buy them at the AleSmith tasting room. I'm pretty sure that was the case with BA Grand Cru and BA Wee Heavy. And not long ago I was very surprised to see 4 different BA AleSmith beers on the shelves at Belmont Station here in Portland. (The aforementioned Grand Cru and Wee Heavy, and 2 BA Old Numbskull variants. No Speedway, though.)
     
  17. jb3304

    jb3304 Initiate (0) Mar 29, 2012 Illinois
    Trader

    Thanks for the clarification. Don't think I'd ever be so lucky to see any BA AleSmith on the shelves in Chicago! As it is only certain parts of IL get AleSmith.

    Cheers!
     
  18. eaterfan

    eaterfan Devotee (375) Jul 10, 2013 California
    Trader

    Mike,

    Really looking forward to this release (as I said in previous posts). Any idea on how many bottles there will be and what the bottle limit is?
     
  19. whalewatchin

    whalewatchin Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 California

    Sorry, I don't have bottle count/limit info at this moment...I'm pretty sure AS will give more details as soon as the release day nears...

    Cheers!!
     
  20. Sesmu

    Sesmu Zealot (744) Feb 28, 2007 Massachusetts

    Very interesting write-up. Thanks for taking time to share all this.
     
    whalewatchin likes this.
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