March 31, 2010

My First Barleywine®

I can't believe that after 7 years of homebrewing, I just made my first barley wine.

March 30, 2010

Brew Dog Day

First outdoor brew day of 2010. First brew day with our new dog Sasha. I can get used to this.

March 29, 2010

Citrus Wine

I opened my fridge one morning and poured myself what I expected to be a nice glass of OJ, but it smelled like Pee-Yew (much like rotten veggies and diaper)!

March 26, 2010

Mmmm...... pork........mmmm...... beer....

I love food, and I love beer, and as a homebrewer I love to incorporate my homebrew into my food.

March 23, 2010

Lawnmowers and Weddings.

Summer is just around the corner, which means that the season for weddings and lawnmower beers is also around the corner.

March 19, 2010

March 17, 2010

How to Make a Bicycle Pump Keg Dispensor



What I'm about to detail is sacrilege to many homebrewers, so let me preface this with some disclaimers.

March 15, 2010

Mysteries of the Yeast Starter Revealed

Anyone can make a yeast starter. Don't believe me? Ok, raise your hand if you've ever made a beer. Is your hand in the air? Congratulations, you've made a yeast starter before.

March 12, 2010

My Favorite Brewing Sites: Brewing Calculators

On-line brewing calculators can help you figure out questions as simple as what you should expect as a final gravity, or as complicated as what color beer you will get with which grains. Here are a few that I use on a weekly - if not daily - basis:

March 8, 2010

An Ode to Bitter

British bitter is one of my favorite styles to brew. It's simple, cheap, and well balanced, much like yours truly.

March 5, 2010

2 Things Literature Says You Should Do That You Shouldn't


1. Rehydrate dry yeast.

Some folks worry about osmotic shock and then make a practice of rehydrating dry yeast in warm water before pitching into wort. Please don't rehydrate in water. Rehydrating dry yeast in water can strip your yeast of essential free amino nitrogen (FAN) that is needed for growth and proliferation. Rehydrate in wort (just sprinkle over the top, don't stir, don't do anything but sprinkle).




2. Vorlauf or Wort Recycling in the mash

The collecting of wort as it runs out of the lauter tun and pouring it back over the grain bed is commonly practiced. Many brewers claim that recycling should be done to settle the grain bed. Please don't recycle. This practice can not only lead to hot side aeration, but will strip out fatty acids that are essential for proper yeast nutrition. In particular, North American grains tend to be low in fatty acids to begin with, so please don't Vorlauf domestic grains.

March 2, 2010

Cherry Chevapravatdumrong


So I have 25 lbs of cherries in my freezer... Well, I had 25 lbs of cherries until I took these 5 easy steps that put those little stone fruits to excellent use!

Here's what I recommend to those of you with 25 lbs of cherries to burn:

March 1, 2010

Something to try

I was recently browsing my library of cookbooks, searching for inspiration for beer-friendly recipes.