The Ballad of El Centennial

Short post today - El Goodo is this year's fall-run batch, and I gotta get on cpf'ing this guy cause the trip is hours away. Let's just chat briefly about hop combos, shall we?

Centennial (homegrown) + Citra (not homegrown) = magic.

Makin' Cidah

Apples are coming in and the cider is flowing. I happened to get a gallon of fresh squeezed cider from a friend of mine whose mother in law has a few trees up north, or "up nort" as some say in these parts.

Notes on a Brewday: Harvest Season

We are in the midst of harvest season. In Minnesota, it comes earlier than elsewhere. Hop cones are flourishing, grapes are ripening. For us homebrewers, it means one last big warm-weather brew day.

Notes on a Brew Day for Someone Else's Wedding, Pt. 2: Marie avec Visage-Sale

Rub some dirt in it
and get back out there.

Sometimes, when you wake up with the flu but you've already measured out and acidified the strike water and weighed the grain the night before, and you're now at zero hour for bashing out a biere de garde commissioned for your cousin's wedding reception, well sir ... sometimes you just gotta start heating the water, go puke, wipe your mouth on the brew sheet, and then mash in.

Notes on a Brewday: Eye of the Sun Winter Ale

I'd like to toast homebrewers in the southern United States. I have too much skin to haul full liquor kettles across my backyard or stand over a 200,000+ BTU propane stove when the summer swelter gets angry. My desire to brew suffers under an oppressive 86 degree dewpoint & 116 degree heat index. Such afternoons signal it's too late to brew any lawnmower beer that isn't already sweating in hand; it's time to get a winter ale brewing.

Thunderbolt Pale Ale: Hop Substitution Experiment

So far, it's been a hot summer and a short summer. And that's to say summer hasn't officially yet begun. As manic as winter had been, summer crept around the Twin Cities like a lurking radioactive monster. From windy to above average hot, that was only after the tornado season began in north Minneapolis.

Warmer Days Call For Ice

These are the days where us folks from temperately chaotic climates start declaring "Warmer weather has finally arrived!!" to either the rolled eyes or dismissive guffaws of those lucky enough to live where freezing is something that happens in appliances & cryobanks. My appreciation for the seasonal change aside, these months do call attention to one of the few caveats of buying live yeast cultures via the internet: shipping & outside temperature.

Notes on a Brew Day for Somebody Else's Wedding, Pt. 1: Selection International Argentine Malbec

Image from winexpert.com

Yup. I brewed a wine. A double batch, actually. On a weeknight. In between putting the kid to bed and washing the dishes and amidst racking a Dortmunder. Gotta love wine kits!

But let's begin at the beginning: this post is going to be the first in an ongoing series about brewing (or vinting, if you must [get it?]) for an occasion. I have undertaken to provide the adult beverages for my cousin's wedding this fall. To date I've brewed (and vinted, if I must) for three other weddings, including my own, and this time I thought it'd be interesting to document the process and compare notes with others who've done the same.

Beware the Ides of Märzen

Or don't beware, that's cool too. Amber lager is delicious, whether you call it Oktoberfest or Märzen .

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).

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?

Seasonal Ingredient: Clementines

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, clementines are readily available.

It's Winter, So Eis-Something

So, I feel somewhat limited because I can't make certain beverages at home (home distillation is illegal here in the US). I don't worry too much about this, though; I can easily rely on Milwaukee's own Great Lakes Distillery to do all that artisan distilling for me. Their products are beyond outstanding:

About A Beer - Winter Ale

Fall has only a few fleeting days when the outdoors actually smells like the season. Raking leaves, pressing cider, roasting pumpkin seeds, walking about a damp cold wooded path ... Spring's got Autumn beat for aromas, in my opinion. Even the beers of fall are the brews we've held on to from another season's brew sessions: Oktoberfests, Saisons, Biere De Garde.

Brewing to the occasion

Every year since we were our in our twenties, some good friends and I spend a few days each fall and spring to fish the runs of Lake Superior trout as they migrate up their home rivers. Every fall and spring I brew a batch or two of beer for the trip.

The Season for Beer

You say it's January and I'm dressed for summer?

I frequently find myself drinking beer styles out of season. Oh, the scandal. Perhaps we homebrewers prefer to break with preconceived notions.

Do I Look Like a Mojito?

Jeremy: What is your favorite summer beer?
Tiki Dude: I prefer mojitos on a hot summer's eve.

Do I look like my favorite beer?

*Thanks to the Cesar dog food company for that bit of brilliance.

Ever see those ads where the owners look like their dogs? No? Here's an example: