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There is a craft beer Festival this weekend at the Morton Arboretum, out in Lisle. http://www.mortonarb.org/2017-craft-beer-festival-brewer-list at last count 38 breweries represented.

I've seen an article about the beer concentrate from Foxboro Brewing Company, Foxboro Mass, and their 4 flavors of contentrate in a rigid plastic stick pack. It is 50 mL, you snap it open and pour into a 10 oz sparkling water. They have an American lager, american pale ale, Amber ale, and a...

Just saw this, the list of craft breweries and cider makers is up to almost 50 being represented. http://www.mortonarb.org/events/cider-and-ale-festival

I found a nursery that sells a lot of unusual plants and I bought a Cascade from them last year. It grew well, I got cones the first year, and triple that amount this year. I bought 2 more this spring, got them into the ground in a different area of the yard with a lot of sun. They have only...

I saw an ad for the Morton Arboretum craft beer fest in Lisle, IL this weekend, the 25th of June. The website has a listing of over 45 craft breweries from around IL, WI, and Mich. A coupe from CA, NY, Co. Anyone go last year? Apparently, you get 15 tastings of 3+ oz each. A lot of...

Happy Spring! I've laid off the brewing for quite some time, but still enjoying our country's finest canned and bottled offerings. I have some ingredients that I am trying to cobble together for an IPA with a citrus lean on it to enjoy in the early summer, and I just might add some orange zest...

I have a Cascade in the ground, this will be it's second year of growth. Last year, (its first year), I got about an ounce of cones from it, it was about 14' tall. This spring is has already grown about 5 feet tall and I counted 4-5 major vines growing from the base. Problem is, I need to...

I have a Cascade plant that is in its first year. Grew about 12-14 feet tall. The hops cones are about the size of an acorn. They aren't closed and firm like a lot of the cones I see in photos (like a young pine-cone), instead they are opened up and look almost like blooming flowers. I've...

I'm getting ready to brew in the next 10 days. I'm unsure about whether it will be a wheat beer, or an American Ale with wheat. That depends on supplies available at the LHBS. I'm taking some brewing equipment to a relatives house, might get some supplies locally and some in his state. I have...

I have an IPA, bordering on an imperial IPA, that has been in the bottle for about 3-4 weeks now. I've chilled and tried about 6 of them over the last week on separate days. Three of the bottles really foamed up when I poured them into a pint glass, I had to stop halfway through the pour and...

I bought a 6" Cascade plant from a nursery and it has grown to over 11' tall so far, and I expect much more by the end of the season. I don't plan to have a harvest this first season, so even 1 cone would be gravy. Is there a way I can 'split' this plant so that I have 3-4 for next year? I am...

So my wife thought I was grumpy about every 5 weeks. I figured it out, this was about the time where my current batch of bottled beers were running low, and the next batch was still in the primary fermenter, with another week of dry hopping and at least two weeks in the bottle. This is a...

I put my dry hops in my 5 gallon bucket, my IPA is looking good. I have 1/2 oz leaf, and 1 oz pellets in a hops bag with about 7 sanitized glass marbles. The bag is about 3/4 underwater, like an ice berg. Will the leaf hops absorb the beer and eventually sink? I will give it 7-8 days, and then...

Luckily I have a backup dial thermometer, but my glass thermometer, with the red liquid in it, appears that the red liquid has split in 2. There is an inch of it at the very top. Not sure if it cooled down too quickly last time? If I heat it back up, do you think the liquid will combine into a...

A few questions about my plans for an Imperial IPA. I have a 5 gallon carboy for a primary fermenter and a 5 gallon stainless boil pot, so my plan is to make a 4 gallon final batch. Likely a 4.5 gallon boil. That gives me some headspace in both. I have a 4 gallon secondary fermenter. 1. When...

Planning my next batch. So far, the wife supports the recent re-kindling of this former hobby. To keep the momentum going and the support growing, I want to brew something she will enjoy, as well as guests that come over for some grilling and chilling in the backyard, as we sweat our way through...

My Pale ale, OG of 1.050, with Muntons Ale yeast, the 2gallon batch is divided between two fermenters, one is about 0.7 gallons in a glass 1-gallon carboy, and the rest, 1.3 gallons, is in a 2-gallon bucket. Both have bubble airlocks. I saw bubbling on both after 11 hours, but at 24 hours, I...

Target finished batch size is 2 gallons OG was 1.050 at 70 degrees with floating hydrometer. 3 gallon Alum pot. 2 lbs of 2-row, unknown I lb Maris Otter 2-row 10 oz Crystal malt Held at 154 degrees for approx. 55-60 minutes in approx. 1.5 gallons. Sparge with 156 degree water, approx. ½...

So I'm trying a small batch, using about 3.5 lbs grain, I have this sweet new nylon bag with a string tie. I put in my 1.3 quarts per pound, get it up to 166 degrees, based on a calculator for heat loss. The bag goes in and I try to stir it around and soak the grains. The grains swell. My...

I've been reading through literally dozens of recipes for various 1-gallon ales. I've brewed before, had a 5-gallon setup, made some awesome stouts, ales, and wheats. But I have taken many years off. Now I'm getting back into it, reading as much as possible, and the one thing that I am a...