Notes on a Brew Day: Helles VII

House beer: do you have one? A brew that you always keep on hand, or at least return to frequently? Perhaps it's a seasonal feature in your homebrewery's lineup? And, in a world where change is the only constant, is the recipe static? Or do you, like me, succumb to the urge to fiddle?

Seasonal Ingredient: Rainbow Chard

Almost every fruit and vegetable is available year-round. Buy in-season, however, and you get produce at its peak of flavor and nutrients. In January and February, rainbow chard is readily available. Other chard tend to be available during the summer months, but the flavors do not vary much.

Am I suggesting brewing with a green, leafy beet? Yup. Sure am. Forget the Reinheitsgebot! Below is a recipe for a beer that doesn't utilize hops, instead beckoning on bitterness extracted from chard stems in a small quantity of vodka that is added to wort post boil (just kidding: there is no boil).

Notes on a Brew Day: Surly Pro Series

As I sat at my desk back in 2010 with the recipe files from Surly head brewer Todd Haug, scaling them to five gallons for homebrewer sized pilot batches, I felt like I was deciphering the Rosetta Stone with Led Zeppelin ca. 1971 on board the Millennium Falcon.

... deciphering it somewhat wrong, mind you (thanks for nothing, Bonham and Chewie). But that's the purpose of pilot batches: to work out the kinks before any cash is plunked down.

Kinderweiße Cheese Fondue

Serves 8

St. Patrick's Day

March seventeenth lays a feast upon Irish tables & a wellspring of firkins upon Irish pubs.

Across the Atlantic, we have been raised to reflect the revelry, but most haven't the eyes or taste buds to holistically feel for Saint Patrick's Day.

April, come she will

That's a glass full of winter release from a local craft brewery behind an April caddis for a local trout stream: to everything there is a season. And both inside and outside of beer glasses, it's just about time for a changing of the guard, season-wise.

For your love

How do you say love? Flowers, chocolates, I.O.Us on chores, big ticket gifts, and fancy dinners? I don't think any of those things are a proper substitute for sharing your passions with your significant other. Why not share the joy of brewing?

Bring Me More Frothy Beer

Let's continue our salute to beer delivery truck drivers.

Beer and Your Body: The Alcohol Hangover

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day." ~Frank Sinatra

The purpose of a hangover is to drive a railroad spike into your brain so that you don't wake up thinking everything you did last night was OK.