07 April 2008

75 Years of Beer

Today is the 75th anniversary of the modification of the Volstead Act. On April 7th, 1933, Americans could once again drink beer! And it was the only legal alcoholic beverage allowed from that day until December 5th, 1933 when Prohibition was repealed. Tonight I'm celebrating by enjoying a pint after the kids hit the sack.

But my brew club did celebrate a little early this past Saturday by getting together and brewing up 30 gallons of beer for the National Homebrewer's Conference in Cincinnati. Brewing with others is always more fun, especially when they're your fellow homebrewers! It was a great day. About 60°F outside, light wind, sunny. Great beer on tap at fellow homebrewer Mike's house (his Classic American Pilsner was outstanding!), good food, and overall a really good time. I did 10 gallons of Schwarzbier which is currently bubbling away at 50°F in my lagering freezer. I did manage to get a little too much sun...didn't seem all that strong but with my complexion, it doesn't take much. My face was as red as a beet!









Wherever you are, take a moment to reflect and celebrate the beginning of the end of an era!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you buy smoked malt for the Schwarzbier, or did you smoke it yourself?

OSBC said...

Didn't use smoked malt in the Schwarzbier. Are you thinking Rauchbier? Schwarzbier calls for a medium to low bitterness in terms of malt, and I think smoked malt would be too roasty and smoky.

You want some roast flavor in a Schwarzbier but not to the level of a stout or porter. For that I used dehusked Carafa II. It gives the color and the flavor without the roast from the husk.

I'll post the recipe on here shortly.

Cheers!!