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: St. Edhar 8

Ah, the middle ages.

What is it about monastic beers that's so evocative of older times? The time capsule-like nature of Old World breweries in cloistered communities? The romance of a religious order living outside the flow of secular time, preserving the traditions of brewing, manuscript illumination, healing, and so on and so forth, intact through the centuries?

Whatever.

Notes on a Brewday: Scum and Villainy IPA

S&V IPA: Sorachi Ace, homegrown Centennial, staggered dry hopping with Glacier and Columbus, blah blah blah. That's actually not what I want to talk about.

Do you like to brew? Do you brew ... frequently? Do you often find that there's still a beer actively fermenting even while you're boiling a new wort?

Vlaai met witbier

Cooking with beer can be a real challenge, due to the fact that beer is often one of the only sources of bitterness in a person's diet. Bitterness is a taste that is rarely considered desirable in cooking, as it tends to invoke a negative response on the palate. Part of the reason may come from the primal association of bitterness with poison. Conversely, many animals seek out sweetness, because sweetness often indicates fat, sugar, and protein - all the things we find desirable in our diets.

Short on Supply, High on Concepts

I've had a couple years' run wherein my brewing has been a gently purring animal.

Tastes have become recipes. Those recipes have met practices on brewdays, and then found their way through the cell membranes of various yeasts, until the whole was poured into pint glasses. Those glasses were emptied into dozens of parched mouths; occasionally, a few of those mouths gave coherent, positive feedback. My three & some odd years of homebrewing have led me to a fine place where the only limits have been my imagination, palate & budget.

Gimme Somethin' Sweet

Add honey to just about any edible & you've turned onto the path of consuming something delicious: honey wheat bread, honey ham, honey mustard. A dab of honey turns more folks on to plenty of things.

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:

Do I Look Like a Mojito?

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

Sparking Spring Sima for Vappu (May Day)

"We're brewing Sima this weekend." "ZIMA? ummmm..."

Sima, pronounced SEE-MAH, is the Finnish homebrew of May Day, known in Finland as Vappu. It is a brew that celebrates the light and sweetness of a new spring.

30th Level Beer Nerd

Brewing beer is a lot like playing pen and paper RPGs. There are numbers and things to keep track of, it is a great social activity, and you get to use your imagination a lot.

Mead In Milwaukee

I recently discovered that bees make honey. Shortly thereafter, I learned that honey makes mead. And here I was under the impression that everything I need to know, I had already learned in kindergarten ... way to drop the ball on that one, Miss Eckhert!

Kellerbier time

One beautiful afternoon a while ago now I had several beers in the Biergarten across the road from the brewery in Aying. Sitting under a chestnut tree in a quiet Bavarian village and watching the sun set in the Alps over half-liter mugs of cloudy, incredibly fresh lagers pretty much ruined me forever.

Finnish your beer

Ahh ... sahti. It's like drinking a Christmas tree. For those of you who may be rye-curious, here's how to craft a pint of piney cheer:

Beer Planet Travelog: Bamberg

Bamberg, Germany is a UNESCO World Heritage site, full of medieval buildings that survived WWII. Walking its streets and squares makes you feel like you've stepped back in time. History is great and all, but on my trans-Bavarian beer trek I was more interested in its nine breweries, all within walking distance (or stumbling distance).