Search results

Well, if you’ve still got friends in Chicago, let them know. I just picked another (third) pound of flowers and didn’t make a dent.

My Saaz vines went nuts this year. I’ve picked all I can. My friends have picked all they can. There’s still more than a year’s supply of saaz on the vine. Labor Day weekend looks to be the last days of viable flower before they start to decline. I’m in Mount Prospect, if you need fresh hops...

Yep. Full boil.

Well, like Munich... Still to early to tell since this was raw (lots of yeast in the nose). I think it'll end up pretty sessionable, since I was mashed at 148 and it's all Perle hops.

Thread resurrection... Just bottled today; ended up doing a Maris base with lots of Munich II (almost 40 percent), plus a handful of wheat and carapils to hopefully give a fluffy white head upon carbonation. Early results look promising:

A couple of coworkers are on the 'bottomless 4 pack' program; keep bringing back the empties and I'll refill from stock with whatever I have around. We work in a high stress industry so drinking is a usual thing. I heard a few weeks ago that making it into the 4 pack club was akin to entering...

I'm kind of considering it. Stupid question, but wouldn't that turn the head orange too?

The reason I've always hesitated on using fresh spruce is recognizing the tree. What's the possible toxicity for accidentally using fir or other evergreen tree?

Thanks for the suggestions all! Keep 'em coming. It's an odd exercise but I'm enjoying trying to work out this problem. Brewing (for me at least) has always been about nailing a style or experimenting with flavors. Color matters, but it's odd to try and brew a whole batch for no other...

My marketing department at work found out I brew and have asked me to make a 'company beer' for a social media marketing spot. They'd like me to make a beer that looks like our company colors - bright orange and white. I'm thinking an orange-bodied beer with a fluffy white head. Obviously, if...

Just got it carbed from bottling - success! I used a teaspoon per gallon, which is fairly intense. Half as much would be more subtle if you're into that sort of thing. Next batch will have less nutmeg, more cardamom, and I might add some tea.

Trying it now, in fact. 2 row, carapils, jaggery, and some red quinoa. Using mount hood for bittering and Saaz for aroma. Starting with one teaspoon masala per gallon, which is kind of aggressive, but the Saaz seems to give a nice complimentary odor. Let you know how it turns out?

2 gallon batches on the stovetop, BIAB. 3 hours on the button, almost every time. 10 minute setup while the water heats 60 minute mash 70 minute boil 20-30 minute chill 10 minutes cleanup

Pic of how the saison comes out. Still bright purple:

Hi Don, I use forbidden rice, and yes, there's a little extra complexity from the rice that's hard to pin down. It's halfway between the blandness of white rice and the nutty flavor of wild rice, which helps get away with that much adjunct. A few months ago I amended this recipe to a black...

No drinking pics. I use these beers to make this:

And now, for something completely different. My wife's making chili and asked if I had any beers in the fridge that would work as an addition. Somehow, I didn't have one beer out of the dozen varieties that would make a good stew base. To compensate, I started making a one gallon batch of...

Am I reading that right - there's no hop addition at the start of the boil?

Pic: Edit- a couple of months aging and this cleared up better than I thought it would.

First, credit where credit is due - the inspiration for this brew came from Brooklyn Brew Shop's seasonal cookbook, which lists an excellent smoked cherry ale. If you're into small batch it's a worthwhile addition to your recipe arsenal. This is a modification that I've made over the years...