Our local Star Tribune ran a story today about home brewers growing their own hops. The reason for growing your own is obvious:

Home brewers throughout the Twin Cities have been busily planting the rhizomes (root stock) that produce the vines (ants and other critters permitting) that spawn the cone-like flowers that make beer, well … beer. Sales are hopping because a worldwide shortage has caused prices of the dried flowers or pellets to soar.

The point this article failed to mention is it takes at least two years before the hops produce anything close to the amounts needed to brew with. The other thing missed, though I suppose understandably, is the proper terminology for the shoots that hops send up. They are called “bines” not vines. Understandably missed because they would be called on it for misspelling “vines” right?

Finally, why can’t I ever be interviewed about my hobbies?!? I mean, really, I grow my own hops, brew my own beer and shoot my own guns, why don’t I get interviewed?!?

Cheers,
Tony

Marketwatch.com is reporting about a recent Gallup pole, the Consumption Surveys:

According to a new Gallup poll, beer’s lead over wine and spirits has returned to double-digits for the first time since 2002, particularly among adults between the ages of 30 and 49 who tried wine for a few years then shifted back to beer.

While it is no surprise that beer is the fluid of choice, what I thought was interesting is the need to say folks in my age group “tried wine” for a few years. Doesn’t that connote some type of single minded snobbery? I wish Gallup would contact me with a consumption pole. They might run out of room though.

I will admit to running in streaks, where I’ll enjoy beer for a bit, then wine, then maybe a coctail. Those streaks last maybe a month, but mostly I don’t consume one thing exclusively. I might have a beer one night, a glass of wine the next.

There was a cool link in the article to A-B’s “Here’s to Beer” website, which I haven’t seen before. I was able to look through the beer and food pairings, very interesting. Worth spending some time while bored.

Cheers!
Tony

That Kolsch I brewed a few weeks ago is almost ready to be racked off to tertiary so it can take some time to clear. Not only that, but I have a California Common in primary that I also need to rack! How in the world did this happen?!?

Before I know it I’ll have three or four beers ready to drink, and no kegerator to keep them cold. I’m dreading cleaning out the bottling bucket. At least I still have my bench capper, but I haven’t used that in two years! Do I have to bottle it? My saving grace is a cooler tucked away under the stairs in which I’m hoping still resides several one liter swing top bottles, 24 ounce cap bottles, a couple 16 ounce bottles too. I’m not willing to try carbonating in screw top growlers though. I bet I can scrounge up ten of those pretty easily. Wait, my wife reads this… um, I only have one or two. Honest.

Wish me luck, maybe toss me a reminder in a day or two if I haven’t racked it yet!

Cheers,
Tony

Though I have sworn off doing reviews of beer since there are so many other bloggers out there with much more experience disecting flavors, I am going to write about this one. I have been itching to get my paws on a Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA for a long time. Many folks have said its just not as good as the 60 and 90, too strong and syrupy, not well balanced. Essentially a Monster Beer to be taken as such.

Thanks to my beer loving brothers, I was able to put a bottle in my fridge. It was with some trepidation that I opened it this afternoon. I poured it out into my Hobgoblin glass, and I must be rusty because a bit of the yeast cake at the bottom slipped out. It looks a nice amber, cloudy from my bad pour and has an almost lemony scent.

The first sip was one of those explosion of flavors. I was expecting something super bitter, strong and sweet. What I got was lots of citrus, some cloying sweetness and a whallup of bitter hiding behind. After the swallow there is a nice glow in my mouth from the ABV.

I’ve been sipping on this twelve ounces now for almost an hour. Its little over half gone and believe it or not I have a bit of that “two beer buzz”. My wife tried a sip or two as well and thought it wasn’t bad, but agrees that it tastes strong.

Overall, I have to say I like it. It isn’t what I was expecting, at all, but it is a pleasant sipper.

Thanks for the bottle, Scott!

Cheers,
Tony

In the last six plus years that I have been brewing, I found a couple really good ways to kick start a fermentation that hasn’t quite kicked off the way it should. The first, and most obvious in my mind, is warm up the fermenter.

My fermenting in Duluth, MN was done in the basement year round. If you are unfamiliar with the region, it gets pretty cold in the winter, and stays nice and cool in the summer. On those beers that I wasn’t re-using my yeast I would start the primary in the dining room for a couple of days to make sure it took off, then bring it to the basement to finish up. Even a few degrees seemed to help kick start the process. If a beer hasn’t formed a nice cap in a day, the first thing I do is warm it up.

The next thing to do is give the fermenter a gentle swirl a couple times a day. Who knows why it works, but it does. It has only taken me two or three swirls before I see a nice cap going. Note that I say SWIRL, not shake the bejeebers out of it. Swwwiiiirrrllll.

Thankfully I’ve only had a dozen or so trouble ferments that needed some extra help. Of course an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Using the XL smack packs, re-using yeast that is less than a month old, or making starters certainly guarantees a perfect and fast ferment.

Cheers!
Tony

Yes it has taken me two days to write about it. I’ve been slow that way, but I was able to brew on Sunday. I fired up the California Common or steam beer kit I’ve had sitting around for a while. Everything was great, smooth going. I even was able to leave grains steep while I ran to the local U-haul to get a refill on the LP.

Sadly, I learned a valuable lesson. Don’t try to do too many things at once while you brew:

  Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks once again to the Adventurist for pitching me a heads up in a comment a couple days ago. He turned pointed out the Beer page on Alltop.

I have never visited Alltop before, and the beer page is … well, click over and take a look. There must be close to fifty different sources of beer related postings. Everything from news to blog posts. I was half expecting to see Brew Dad make the cut! (Not really.)

The really cool part of this site is by hovering the mouse over an entry, I get to read a snippet of the article contained within and decide if I want to read the whole thing.

Props to that site for putting together such an awesome beer resource as well as to Jason for pointing it out to me!

Cheers!
Tony

Wow, look what happens when I decide “meh, I don’t feel like writing today.” Nearly a whole week has gone by and I have nothing to show for it! Not a very good way to keep folks reading, is it?

I offer my humble apologies and once again will strive to continue writing daily. It seems like an easy thing to fall into a habit of writing once the kids are down for a nap, and just as easy to stop writing!

On a beery note, the Kolsch is now in its second week in the secondary fermenter. I am looking forward to getting that thing kegged up. Unfortunately with the prospect of a beer fridge far on the horizon, I may end up breaking out the bench capper and bottling a batch. *gasp* Oh the humanity!

Cheers!
Tony

Here are my most recent hop pictures. The Cascade on the left nearly reach the fence, and the little Willamette are making their way up to the top of the Cascade trellis.

And here is a picture of what I hope to be many many yummy cones!

Cheers!
Tony

Here is my note to self, hopefully others can learn from it to. When you have a low flocculating, high attenuating yeast one week isn’t going to cut it for primary fermentation.

This Kolsch of mine will probably spend two or three weeks in secondary and then possibly be racked again to a tertiary to clear better.

Yeah, lets remember that, shall we?!?

Cheers!
Tony