I have been brewing for eight years now. Early on I subscribed to Brew Your Own magazine and kept the subscription for two years. The magazines have been incredibly helpful in my brewing and always had great recipes to try. I hung on to the issues for years! They even made the cut off for the move three years ago. For the last three years they sat in a magazine box in my office under my work table.

They say there for three years.

Since we are expecting our third child in a few months I have been trying to clean up my junk room, er, office to consolidate the stuff in the spare room. Yeah, I’m a stay home dad with a clutter problem. Anyway, after moving that box a couple times to clear out stuff I decided it was time to get rid of them. I couldn’t see putting them in the recycling though, the information on brewing beer is still valid and useful!

I offered the magazines up to anyone interested locally asking only for a sampling of their beer in return. Now my magazines have a new home where they will be read again and I have a new brew I need to try. Perhaps this recipe will push me finally into all grain brewing, as it can’t be replicated with extracts.

Cheers!
Tony

Man, in the last two days I have bottled nearly two cases of beer. I have truly forgotten how much a pain in the butt it is to bottle 12 oz at a time! I certainly hope that the recipients of the bottles appreciate how much a pain in the butt it was to make them possible.

I’m spoiled. Having kegged my beers for the last, what, six? seven? years going back to bottling is a pain! Eight years ago I bought a bench capper. It makes it a lot nicer capping with that, but it is still a pain in the butt.

I bought a case of blue bottles and red caps from Midwest for the beers. It looks sharp!

But it is still a pain in the butt. If you get a blue bottle with “IPA” or “W” on the top, you better appreciate it.

Cheers,
Tony

Several years ago I brewed a pepper wheat beer. Actually, it was more like six or seven years ago… anyway I found a six ounce bottle in the case of empties I’m planning on filling.

Being the stand up guy that I am, I couldn’t pour it out, I had to taste!

It still has the heat that I remember, but a very mature flavor. Not at all the wheatness that I remember, it is almost like a brown ale now. Surprisingly there is no overwhelmingly off flavors. Even after all this time. Everything I have read suggests that a beer isn’t worth drinking after a year unless it was extraordinarily strong and sealed with O2 barrier caps. Maybe because the pepper was the primary flavor component in the recipe instead of a malt or hop is an answer to it lasting so long.

Who knows?

It is still good enough to drink!

Cheers!
Tony

I brewed again this weekend, so now I have 20 gallons in fermenters. this is probably the most homebrew I’ve had in my fermenters in several years. What is even more astonishing is I’m planning on getting the wine started so it is ready in May.

Before I say what I’ve got going on in May, how about a recap of what is in the fermenters right now:

Primary: a wheat from Midwest Supplies.
Secondary: a Pale Ale
Secondary: IIPA with my own hops added to the already huge hop schedule of the kit
Secondary: Cranberry Wheat

The first two are for my father in law’s office Christmas party. They’ll be finished and kegged in two weeks and hopefully chilled, carbed and ready to go.

The IIPA is going to be kegged and then I’ll pull a couple growlers off to bring along when we visit my mom and brothers. The Cranberry Wheat will be the holiday beer for Christmas, and I will also bottle some for my wife later this year.

Which brings me to the wine. I want it very clean and clear, so a few months in tertiary will be perfect. Why May? That is when our baby will be born! Yea us!

Cheers,
Tony

I was able to brew in two consecutive afternoons this weekend. Yesterday I finally got to my IPA that I have been waiting to use my home grown hops for. The recipe kit was from Midwest Supplies, Hop Scare. I added a pound of dry malt extract and in between the scheduled hop additions I threw in handfuls of my home grown cascades.

Then this afternoon I brewed the cranberry wheat. I forgot how loud frozen cranberries are in a food processor. My youngest daughter was a bit freaked out by the noise. “Dad, what’s all that racket?”

“Just daddy’s beer stuff, hon.”

I’m excited for both of these to be done so I can sample them. Kt and et should also be looking forward to them as I’ll bring samples over next time we visit!

Cheers!
Tony

While I was pouring a pint this evening I couldn’t remember if I’ve written about pouring before. Actually, I was remembering watching others struggle pouring out of my faucets. Oh, the internal cringe as my guest pours a pint half of foam and not listening to my quiet pointers. That is a negative reflection on my beer! Come on! If you don’t know how to pour, let me… pleeeeeeease?

First the glass. I’m not finicky about what shape or kind of glass, pint or no-nick, pilsner or flute, whatever, so long as it is CLEAN and sound. Some folks like putting their beer glasses in the freezer but I’m not a fan of that because that initial hit of beer freezes to the glass and then I’m drinking some slush with my beer. It totally kills the taste buds and needlessly chills the beer beyond serving temp. Of course, there are glasses in my freezer, I just don’t use them often. Instead, I’d rather keep the glasses in the kegerator fridge door. I would like to, but I don’t. My beer glasses stay in the cupboard with the rest of the drinking glasses. Grab a glass and come on down to the kegerator.

The straight pour from a regular faucet is the most common. Put your glass under the faucet at a slight angle so that first bit of beer runs down the side. Pull the faucet completely open in one smooth motion. as the glass starts to fill, let the beer drop straight down into the glass. Close the tap, again in one smooth quick motion when the glass is 3/4 full or so. The head should build right to the lip of the glass. Yup, I like to see at least an inch of head in my glass. Not half the glass, but at least an inch. It makes that great beer aroma hit the nose first when I raise my glass.

It is that simple to pour a decent pint! I shudder watching a bartender pour a pint, dump out foam, try to fill it again, pour out half the beer… there is something wrong with the balance of the system if you can’t get a clean pour without dumping out half a glass of beer. In fact, the first time you dump out half my beer will the the last time you’ll be invited to drink it.

Pouring a pint of stout from a stout faucet is stupid easy. Put the glass under the faucet and open it up. The beer should drop straight down into the glass. Stop pouring right near the top, then hold the glass up to your eyes so you can see the cool cascading affect. Give it a little twist and watch how the cascade changes. The faucet should pour considerably slower than a standard tap, but it is worth it.

I hope this helps, it sure helped me. It was kind of Cathartic…

Cheers,
Tony

Here I sit with two more beer kits to brew and the itch to get them done. Two weeks ago my loving wife saw a three pound bag of cranberries and said I really needed to do another cranberry wheat. Of course, in “these rough economic times” I snatched up that bag of cranberries and headed to the beer store the next day to pick up a corresponding wheat kit.

There they sit, that hop scare IPA that I am still planning on tossing my home grown hops into and the wheat recipe just waiting to brew.

One of these days.

Of course, I also said a few kits ago that I was going to jump into all grain after these kits are done and gone. See how well that turned out.

Maybe this weekend.

Cheers!
Tony

Yeah that’s right! I picked up a 12 pack of Schlitz long necks yesterday. I still don’t trust them past two, but the thing is, there is some real nostalgia in that beer. When I was very little pops would have a beer now and then. Maybe with dinner or during a football game. I have vague memories of him letting me try a sip once in a while.

Schlitz tastes like those memories! It sounds crazy, I know. I was really young, too, I know, but still, there is something in that bitter clean finish, low to no mouthfeel, high carbonation that has some historic rightness to it. Brothers, if you’re reading this and can find a 6′er or single give it a try and report back. I’d like to know if my memory serves me or not.

I tell you what, though, even with the high school chant of “Schlitz’ll give you the schlitz!” I’ll take it over Bud or Busch any day.

Cheers!
Tony

I finally kegged that lemon coriander wiess that has been sitting in secondary for an extra two weeks. The addition of the second lemon’s zest really makes the wheat sing. Here’s hoping my mother in law doesn’t ask for more lemon to put in it. My wife likes the flavor, too, so that’s a double bonus.

The carbonation was still a little off this morning, so I cranked it up to 20psi until this evening. Hopefully it will fizz up nicely.

Cheers!
Tony

This blog post was pointed out on one of the forums I read. Give a look, it’s a very creative way to get the pumpkin essence into the beer!

Cheers!
Tony