tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-375832222024-03-08T04:59:18.810-05:00Barley, Hops, Yeast and WaterOld Station Brewing Co. homebreweryOSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-19498370571019002592009-05-11T16:21:00.003-04:002009-05-11T16:26:53.203-04:00American Craft Beer Week<span style="font-family:arial;">Today marks the start of American Craft Beer Week. It's truly an exciting time and the giant middle finger to those that (still) insist that craft beer is "just a fad". For anyone who's been paying attention, for over 15 years it's been much more than that; even the big brewers are taking note and marketing their products consequently (can you say "triple hopped"?)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Some linkage for ya:</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.beertown.org/"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.beertown.org/</span></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.beertown.org/events/acbw/index.html"><span style="font-family:arial;">http://www.beertown.org/events/acbw/index.html</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So grab a pint (or three) of your favorite craft brew and raise a glass to the craft brewers and homebrewers that have made it possible.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-42732267758370430982009-04-24T08:01:00.006-04:002009-04-24T08:15:48.195-04:00More hops!<span style="font-family:arial;">Speaking of hops, I've decided to delve into the world of growing hops! After seeing pictures of fellow homebrewers with buckets full of fresh hop cones, I began to dream of trellises wrapped with hop vines and the aroma of a wet hop ale.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SfGs3pwNMnI/AAAAAAAAAFo/zeYe_c1TUUI/s1600-h/Photo_042009_001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 160px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SfGs3pwNMnI/AAAAAAAAAFo/zeYe_c1TUUI/s200/Photo_042009_001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5328229906256835186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">My friend <a href="http://barkingbeaglebrewing.blogspot.com/">Jason</a> got me started by generously donating a Nugget rhizome, which has broken through the soil in its flower pot and is steadily inching skyward.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">The excitement prompted me to buy a few more from </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.freshops.com/">Freshops</a><span style="font-family:arial;">: Chinook, Cascade, and Centennial. I had ordered them UPS Ground but got an email from Dave at Freshops saying that UPS Ground was too slow to Pennsylvania and that he'd send it Airmail with a refund (was cheaper too!). Less than a week later I had hop rhizomes in my mailbox with a few dollars tucked in. Now THAT'S service!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />So thank you to Dave for the excellent service and thank you to Jason for pushing me in the right direction. I now have the construction of 12-foot 4"x4" posts joined by wire and twine sticking out of my yard to look forward to!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-41960384989725823182009-04-06T08:49:00.000-04:002009-04-06T08:52:03.548-04:00Hop p0rn<a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://hopsdirect.blogspot.com/">Just found this</a><span style="font-family: arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The folks over at Hops Direct maintain a blog, complete with pictures. If these don't make you drool or you don't get a goose egg on your forehead from trying to sniff the pictures, something's seriously wrong with you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-15606281776031970692009-03-09T16:21:00.003-04:002009-03-09T16:42:36.220-04:00Frye?...Frye?<span style="font-family:arial;"><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OK</span>, it's been a month and this page has gotten more stale then yesterday's doughnuts. What's going on?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Saturday I took advantage of the nice 70° weather and a yeast cake of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">WLP</span>833 from my <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Maibock</span> and brewed 10 gallons of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Dopplebock</span>. It was a little bit of a logistical concern, since my mash tun and kettle are both 15.5 gallon kegs. 25 pounds of grain at average grain/water ratio is pretty much the max for the mash tun. Each </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.twitpic.com/1wtce">5 gallon batch</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> called for 20 pounds of grain. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">could've</span> double mashed, using wort from both batches to fill the kettle, but the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">preboil</span> volume was 14.5 gallons---a little too close to the maximum for comfort and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">feasibility</span>. So I boiled the first while mashing the second. In all, it took about 6 hours and I hit my target <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">OG</span> and volumes with no problems. I had </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.twitpic.com/1wxw5">40 pounds (dry) of spent grain</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> when done.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Prior to that, I brewed 10 gallons of Centennial IPA with a fellow local brewer. He brought the Centennial whole leaf hops and his computer and the brew session was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">broadcasted</span> </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.mogulus.com/barkingbeaglebrewing">on his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Mogulus</span> channel</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. If I can ever get a notebook and a wireless <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">internet</span> connection here, I'll be doing more of that!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Lastly, I have a German <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Pilsner</span> and a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Maibock</span> that are <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">lagering</span> and awaiting the day when we can be acquainted! Late April/early May will be the date.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Oh, and one more thing...I apologize to those who've linked my blog; if you previously noticed that the favor wasn't returned, it wasn't intentional. Once this blog was upgraded to the new Blogger interface, I lost a little info. If you don't see yours on there, please let me know!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-78458213392061873442009-02-17T15:33:00.005-05:002009-02-17T15:38:50.575-05:00How Many Brewers could You Take in a Fight?<span style="font-family:arial;">A new post at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.draftmag.com/howmany/brewers/">Draft Magazine</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> wants to know.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.draftmag.com/howmany/brewers/" style="background: transparent url(http://www.draftmag.com/images/brewerfightbadge.png) no-repeat scroll 0% 0%; display: block; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; width: 296px; height: 84px; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 42px; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration: none; text-align: center; padding-top: 145px;">24</a><p></p></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">24 brewers, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Interesting questions. I'll confess, I fight dirty: there's no such thing as a fair fight.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">But those instances are rare and extreme. I'd rather have a beer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-45037760498097781872009-01-27T19:22:00.007-05:002009-02-17T09:43:16.851-05:00Best East Coast Brewery?<div style="font-family: arial;" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><a href="http://thefullpint.com/2009/01/27/best-east-coast-craft-brewery">Best East Coast Craft Brewery? | thefullpint.com - Craft Beer News, Reviews and Event Coverage.</a><br /><br />A poll at <a href="http://thefullpint.com/" target="_blank">TheFullPint.com</a> wants to know who you think the best East Coast brewery is. Quite a tough choice in my opinion, and it's nice to see good breweries on the list. At the posting of this blog entry, Dogfish Head leads with Victory Brewing Co. a close second. With all due respect to Sam Calagione and while I agree that Dogfish Head is stellar in terms of innovation, creativity and is an industry leader, could they produce a well-made Helles? A clean, malty Dopplebock? Where would they be without megadoses of alpha acids (Raison d'Etre notwithstanding)? In their own defense, their name does include the phrase "Craft Brewed Ales".<br /><br />My money is on <a href="http://www.victorybeer.com/" target="_blank">Victory</a>. Equally adept at hoppy ales like HopDevil and Hop Wallop, malty lagers like St. Victorious, and estery Belgians like V-Twelve and Golden Monkey. There's a reason why they have a German-born <a href="http://www.victorybeer.com/brewery.html" target="_blank">50 barrel Rolec brewhouse</a> and yes folks, they do <b>decoction</b>. But that's just my opinion.<br /><br />EDIT: TheFullPint just added Flying Dog, presumably excluded initially because Flying Dog Brewery is still "new" to the area. That'd be a close call for my vote as I do like Flying Dog!<br /></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So get over there and cast your vote!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-55813317390689321352009-01-26T10:55:00.003-05:002009-01-26T10:59:03.155-05:00We Have the Technology<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><span style="font-family:arial;">This morning I did a little browsing <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/" target="_blank">add-ons</a> for FireFox and grabbed a few that made reading <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS" target="_blank">RSS feeds</a><br /><br />First off, if you don't already know that <a href="http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/" target="_blank">FireFox</a> is---in beer terms---like <a href="http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/avery-hog-heaven/71/" target="_blank">Avery Hog Heaven Barleywine</a> to the <a href="http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/coors-light/707/" target="_blank">Coors Light</a> that is Microsoft Internet Explorer: lots of people like the latter because of mass-marketing and cheap production, but the former is light years better. And I'm only speaking in terms of functionality at this point, nevermind security.<br /><br />What motivated my search was the need to incorporate my RSS feeds into FireFox to make single-platform viewing easier. Fortunately, there is an add-on called <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4578">Brief</a> that handles that task well. I have quite a few feeds (many beer-related of course), seen in a <a href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/firefox.jpg" target="_blank">screen shot here</a>.<br /><br />(And if you can recommend any beer RSS feeds you don't see there, please let me know!!)<br /><br />Also, you'll see <a href="https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5081" target="_blank">TwitterFox</a> in the lower right corner. Another great add-on that posts to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and receives feeds from people you're following.<br /><br />Finally, I've just started using the <a href="http://www.scribefire.com/" target="_blank">ScribeFire</a> add-on to compose and publish my blog. Pretty neat!<br /><br />Tonight I'll raise a pint to the Mozilla and FireFox add-on developers. Keep up the good work!<br /><br />Cheers!</span><br /></div>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-46650850587399231782009-01-20T09:32:00.004-05:002009-01-20T10:18:47.100-05:00Equipment upgrade<span style="font-family:arial;">Speaking of improvements to make things run better...<br /><br />I'm a gear head. One thing I love doing nearly as much as homebrewing is modifying </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v333/113/118/1038785441/n1038785441_127874_6897.jpg">my system</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. Fortunately, moderation is brought about by fiscal and practical concerns. Short of three </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.blichmannengineering.com/BoilerMaker/BoilerMaker_photo_gallery.htm">Boilermakers</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, 30-plate chiller, a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.blichmannengineering.com/Fermenator%20Web%20V3/Fermenator.htm">14-gallon conical</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and a winning lottery ticket, my options are limited. Finishing my basement and brew room have primarily fed this addiction, but lately I've realized that my system as-is could use some improvements.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Some time back I received the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52:the-hop-stopper&catid=36:ourproducts&Itemid=28">HopStopper</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> as a Christmas present. It worked wonderfully <a href="http://barleyhops.blogspot.com/2007/01/57.html">initially</a> but after some time, it's </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.ihomebrewsolutions.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=61">claim</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> of being able to strain out pellet hops seemed to be questionable. Even trub would clog mine, leaving precious wort at the bottom of the kettle. Because I use a plate chiller, it's absolutely imperative that as much particulate matter is left behind in the kettle as possible. In my brewery, it soon came to be known as the HopClogger. I'm still using it (even after 2 years), although placing hop pellets in muslin bags and accounting for wort losses in the kettle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">In terms of the mash tun, I initially started off with a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://morebeer.com/view_product/5757//Stainless_Pick_up_tube_for_Sanke_Keg_Mash_Setup">Sanke kit from MoreBeer</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. Grain particles easily got around the screen edge and clogged the plumbing. So I made a manifold out of stainless steel braid and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/system4.jpg">retained the screen</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> to help keep weight off the braid. This too worked well for a while but it's performance dwindled over time. Searching for the better way (again, the gear-head motivation), I grabbed the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.zymico.com/bazooka/">Bazooka T</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> I used to use in the kettle and married it to the stainless steel diptube from the old MoreBeer kit. Because of piping size differences, the T would move freely, despite a rubber grommet. This too caused lautering issues, leaving wort behind in the mash tun.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Recently I ordered a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.zymico.com/bazooka/sanke.jpg">Sanke adapter for the Bazooka T</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> in an attempt to solidify the mash tun manifold structure and hopefully leave less wort behind. Yes, I could just account for the losses in the mash tun and kettle, but where's the fun in that? Again, gear head! If you're a supporting member of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.homebrewtalk.com/">HomeBrewTalk</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, you already know the story behind the snafu in ordering the part; if not, we won't rehash it here. Suffice it to say things didn't exactly arrive as expected.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Short of ordering a Bazooka T Sanke adapter, I'm thinking of cannibalizing the HopStopper and using the copper tubing to connect to the Bazooka T. Leaving the kettle to be addressed, I'll use either the stainless steel diptube from the mash tun or the errant Kewler adapter kit and the screen from the HopStopper to create a pick-up tube. Instead of picking up directly from the center, the side near the wall would help reduce hop and trub in the chiller. I do have the ability to whirlpool.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Comments? Ideas? Other suggestions? I'd love to hear 'em. I'm not doing any brewing right now, it's too @#$%^& cold!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-43993159585235544182009-01-07T10:20:00.002-05:002009-01-07T10:30:27.412-05:00Beer Pong competition, Vegas<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/aaronld/beerfest.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 287px; height: 400px;" src="http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h134/aaronld/beerfest.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-beer-pong,0,3046167.story">Beer Pong competition in Las Vegas, Baltimore Sun</a><br /><br />From college dorms and apartments and bars to a nod on the big screen, and now to the Vegas strip! Bring your A-game though, this is serious business. 400 teams vied for the top prize of $50,000 that eventually went to Ron Hamilton of New York.<br /><br />$50,000 would buy some sweet homebrewing gear! Although exemplified in <span style="font-style: italic;">Beerfest</span>, I'm sure they weren't playing with liter Maßkrug steins. But hats off to 'em!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Und...TRINKEN!"</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-2660075635401383102009-01-02T08:43:00.006-05:002009-01-02T09:13:00.884-05:00Happy New Year!<span style="font-family:arial;">Some of us have to work the holidays, so this Happy New Year wish is a day off...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Hopefully the holidays were good to you. I managed to spend some time in Warren, Michigan (northern suburb of Detroit) at <a href="http://www.dragonmead.com/">Dragonmead</a> with a few other brewers, enjoying their expansive tap list. Drinking with other brewers, even ones you've never met before, carries a comfort that just isn't possible with strangers otherwise.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">It's like putting on an old pair of shoes. Comfy, familiar.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here it's life as usual. Work, brewing here and there, and enjoying a beer or two. I need to catch up on a few <a href="http://blogs.eveningsun.com/troublebrewing/beer_appreciation_102/">Beer Appreciation 102</a> beers now that I'm back in town. My Oatmeal Stout is carbonating and I'm patiently awaiting ingredients to brew a Best Bitter---time to celebrate 6 years of brewing! 6 years ago I was boiling wort on my kitchen stove, making a pale ale with a Brewer's Best kit and wondering what this was all about. Here's the recipe:<br /><br /><blockquote>Brewing Date: Sunday January 12, 2003<br />Recipe: First Ever Pale Ale<br /><br />Batch Size (Gal): 5.00<br />Total Extract (Lbs): 5.80<br />Anticipated OG: 1.045<br />Anticipated SRM: 7.9<br />Anticipated IBU: 13.3<br />Wort Boil Time: 30 Minutes<br /><br />3.30 lbs. Muntons LME - Light<br />2.00 lbs. Muntons DME - Light<br />0.50 lbs. Crystal 60L<br /><br />1.00 oz. Cascade (Pellet, 5.30% AA) 30 min.<br /><br />Danstar Nottingham yeast<br /><br /></blockquote>From what I remember it actually turned out pretty well. The second batch...well, we won't get into that right now.<br /><br />Brewing will at least keep me occupied and kept from thinking about how dreary and underwhelming January is---no holidays, cold, dark, naked trees. Rock-hard ground. Time to brew some Maibock and Pilsner for Spring!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">At any rate, Happy New Year to you and yours!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-87797382911120083822008-12-12T09:08:00.003-05:002008-12-12T09:39:38.530-05:00WANTED: Logo<span style="font-family:arial;">Ok, creative types. Do you like beer?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">For years I've been trying to come up with something as a logo and although my Photoshop (GiMP) skills are basic, I lack the killer creativity some of you right brainers have. Interested in helping? How about 2 cases of whatever kind of homebrew you want? Ok, to some that sounds like offering a bag of McDonald's...here's </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/maibockscoresheet.jpg">some consideration</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Interested now? That's right, you make an award-winning logo, I make you </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://barleyhops.blogspot.com/search?q=competition">award-winning beer</a><span style="font-family:arial;">!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Of course, the namesake of my brewery has to do with my other calling: firefighting. I'm thinking maltese cross, pick head axes, mash paddles and hop cones. If interested, drop me a line at DualLines at Yahoo.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Now get to work!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-74187474638773468012008-12-10T16:47:00.006-05:002008-12-12T08:55:40.820-05:00Looking ahead<span style="font-family:arial;">Been more back in the swing of things lately, despite Christmas around the corner. My homebrew club released the competition brews for next year, so I at least know what to brew when in terms of that: English Bitter/Pale Ale (BJCP category 8) for February, Pilsner (2) for May, Light Hybrid Beer (6) for August, Smoke and Wood-Aged Beer (22)for November.<br /><br />January of 2009 also marks 6 years of brewing for me! My next batch will mark #75 as well (65th all-grain). Will I break 100 next year? As far as the Feds know I won't...<br /><br />I'll also be making some Maibock for the springtime---this time I'll be making 10 gallons, as 5 gallons seems to go rather quickly! Also some Oktoberfest for the fall and probably a Dopplebock pretty soon for the fall as well...you read that right, for the fall. We're talking at least 6 months of aging!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm also looking to get back on the competition circuit a bit. I did pretty well in the past, but this past year I just haven't put forth a lot of effort. Regrettably so. The winnings are nice and even if you don't win, it's still great feedback and motivation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But for now, I'm patiently awaiting some ingredients for an Oatmeal Stout brewday this weekend. Santa UPS man should be here tomorrow! And to tide me over, I'll be closely following Eric's recommendations for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://blogs.eveningsun.com/troublebrewing/">Beer Appreciation 102</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-50988796531026472032008-11-24T16:27:00.002-05:002008-11-24T16:44:33.222-05:00Early Christmas present<span style="font-family: arial;">Eric over at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://blogs.eveningsun.com/troublebrewing/">Trouble Brewing</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> organized a group buy for </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://blogs.eveningsun.com/troublebrewing/2008/11/beer_appreciation_102_the_fell.html">Beer Appreciation 102</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. One of my local fellow homebrewers was kind enough to grab my case over at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.beeryard.com/">The Beer Yard</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in Wayne, PA while I was spending another 24 at work. And today Christmas came a little early!</span> <span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks, Eric!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">(Blogger doesn't want to create thumbnails right now so here's some linkage:)</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0921.jpg">IMG_0921.jpg</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0922.jpg">IMG_0922.jpg</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0923.jpg">IMG_0923.jpg</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0924.jpg">IMG_0924.jpg</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0925.jpg">IMG_0925.jpg</a><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0926.jpg">IMG_0926.jpg</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">In other news, I sadly had to retire my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/kegerator.jpg">old serving freezer</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. It worked well for a while but began to go downhill. It was 20-25 years old, after all, so I didn't see putting more money into it. Instead, I scored a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0849.jpg">20 cubic foot refrigerator</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> off of Craigslist, did some </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0851.jpg">basic modifications</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, and the taps are now </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/1119081953a.jpg">back in service</a><span style="font-family: arial;">!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-24349680063011339082008-10-30T15:08:00.002-04:002008-10-30T15:11:14.419-04:00How Beer is BrewedHere's a video from About.com with Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewing showing how it's done. Whether you're a n00b or well aware of how the brewing process takes place, it's a good video and a nice look into the Brooklyn Brewing brewhouse.<br /><br /><embed src="http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/271521142" bgcolor="#999999" flashVars="videoId=1733221647&continuousPlay=false&playerId=271521142&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://console.brightcove.com/services/amfgateway&servicesURL=http://services.brightcove.com/services&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&domain=embed&autoStart=true&" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="510" height="550" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" swLiveConnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed><br /><br />Cheers!OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-83366791724684576702008-09-08T10:22:00.004-04:002008-09-08T10:46:12.015-04:00My time of year<span style="font-family:arial;">I did allude to my love of Fall, in </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://barleyhops.blogspot.com/2008/08/oktoberfest-approaches.html">terms of beer</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. It's not just the beer though (yes, you read that right).</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The stores are already getting their Halloween gear, candy, wreathes of orange, yellow, and brown leaves out. Soon the leaves will fall, the lawn mower will be drained of gas, the cornstalks will be cut and the sweatshirts will come off the hanger. The air becomes crisp, the wind picks up, and the morning commute to work stays darker for a little longer.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Yesterday I had a colossal hankerin' for some spaetzle, wurst, and of course beer, but by the time the wife got home from work my</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.germanfoodinpa.com/"> fav local destination</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> for German consumables would be soon closing. It was Sunday afternoon, afterall. So when you can't go to the Hoffbrauhaus, bring the Hoffbrauhaus to you!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I grabbed a <a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/German-Spaetzle-Dumplings/Detail.aspx?prop31=4">spaetzle recipe</a> and headed to the store for some bratwurst, kraut, and buns. It was my first time making spaetzle, and it turned out very well. So much in fact that there was none left whatsoever and the wife reiterated her interest in it's production once again!</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SMU6lyxXFoI/AAAAAAAAADw/SzNGZBVOzt8/s1600-h/IMG_0649.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SMU6lyxXFoI/AAAAAAAAADw/SzNGZBVOzt8/s200/IMG_0649.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243661762101188226" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I grabbed my German drinking song CD, my last bottle of Sam Adams Octoberfest, and a plate of chow. It wasn't long before my oldest was singing "Ein Prosit", something I'm sure will confuse his preschool teachers. I hinted to my wife that all that was missing was dirndl, to which I got that "look". Ah well, the food was good, the beer was good, and I was with my family. Couldn't get much better than that.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-59786107899929243452008-09-05T12:35:00.002-04:002008-09-05T12:39:55.176-04:00Attention South Central PA brewers<span style="font-family: arial;">Stoudt's is hiring! According to their </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=34480#post34480">post on ProBrewer.com</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, they're looking to hire a new brewer and the wording indicates that they may consider hiring a homebrewer with no formal brewing education.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">I've often entertained the idea of looking for a part-time brewing gig (my full time job of breaking things and hauling people to the ER pays much too well to leave), but an 90 minutes one way to Stoudt's is too far for me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a lucky chance for a homebrew to live the dream! Good luck!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-18532834129213454602008-08-30T10:27:00.005-04:002008-08-30T10:51:31.108-04:00Oktoberfest approaches<a style="" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SLld2rh8DAI/AAAAAAAAADg/6esN-p9utXU/s1600-h/IMG_0604.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rwVAgtMcgHU/SLld2rh8DAI/AAAAAAAAADg/6esN-p9utXU/s200/IMG_0604.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5240322835401673730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Oktoberfest in Munich may be a few more weeks off and smaller celebrations state-side as well, but the brewers haven't failed to deliver the beer world's Harbinger of Fall!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">While at my local bottle store yesterday, I perused their singles rack and noted 5 or 6 Oktoberfest beers...Victory Festbier, Hacker-Pschorr, Warsteiner, Spaten. All kicking out the Oktoberfest. I settled upon a sixer of Sam Adams Octoberfest, as I haven't had it in some time.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The local brewers haven't failed to disappoint either. Appalachian Brewing has their </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.abcbrew.com/gettysburg/brewery_specialty.htm">Kipona Fest</a> on tap<span style="font-family:arial;">, Victory has their Festbier flowing, and Tröegs has their Oktoberfestbier as a specialty in their </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.troegs.com/Scratch%20Beer.htm">Scratch Beer Series</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, available only in cases and on tap at the brewery (probably not for much longer!)<br /><br />Prost!<br /></span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-31405623232544286922008-08-11T11:55:00.004-04:002008-08-11T12:10:32.109-04:00Crabs and Beer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/0809081513a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/0809081513a.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Is there anything better?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Saturday it was time to get together with the family, mow down 4 dozen steamed crabs, and drink some beer---some Sly Fox Dunkel, in this case. I'm not a summer person by any means...I can get a sunburn from the full moon. But some things make it better. Crabs, beer, corn-on-the-cob, spaghetti-string tops and bikinis!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-80055010393143810402008-08-06T21:20:00.003-04:002008-08-06T21:39:38.716-04:00Let there be DUNKEL!<span style="font-family:arial;">After reading </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=37583222&postID=3830191605882085287&isPopup=true">Eric's comment</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> about a place in York that sells more Sly Fox than my local store, I begged of him the location. He kindly called me and gave me the coordinates. So after my errands were done, it was off to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox&rls=FlockInc.:en-US:unofficial&hs=XLu&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=DJs+westgate+beverage&near=York,+PA&fb=1&view=text&latlng=3241870565629731617">DJ's Westgate Beverage</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/IMG_0518.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/IMG_0518.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Their selection was approaching that of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.yellowpages.com/info-LMS56055168/Westy-Beer-Distributor-Incorporated">Westy's in Camp Hill</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. DJ's gets points: Troegs, Sly Fox, Stone, Victory (saw a case of 10 Years Alt!), Southern Tier, Bluepoint, Sam Adams, Clipper City---even saw some Hook and Ladder Brewing Company brews from Silver Spring, MD. Looked like they had a nice cigar selection as well, unfortunately which I didn't have time to explore; the wife just got off work and the kids were getting restless. Swoop and scoop as we say in the EMS business.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eric reminded me that sometimes they have the Dunkel and sometimes not. As a reward for my determination, daring, and---well, just thirst for some good Sly Fox beer, I picked up</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" > the last case </span><span style="font-family:arial;">of Dunkel. I didn't notice until I got home that the case read "Best Before 4/28/08". I've drank worse. But I was pleasantly surprised when I cracked a can, poured it in a glass and took a sip. Sly Fox doesn't disappoint, even 3 months past the "fresh date". It is good beer, afterall. Missing were the cases of Sly Fox Pale Ale, Royal Weiss, and Rt. 113 IPA. Hopefully they'll stock up now that I've </span><span style="font-family:arial;">completely depleted them of Pheonixville brews.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/IMG_0519.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/IMG_0519.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So thanks Eric! I tip my second pint of Dunkel to you tonight!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-38301916058820852872008-07-21T16:24:00.002-04:002008-07-21T16:34:22.484-04:00Sly Fox Update<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Just got an email from Sly Fox with their <a href="http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/newsletters/0708/?utm_source=SLY+FOX+NEWSLETTER&utm_campaign=1bdd2693af-July_20087_21_2008&utm_medium=email">latest news</a>.<br /><br />Looks like some 750ml offerings of Incubus, a Belgian Trippel, and Saison VOS; the former available on tap the first Friday of every month at the Pheonixville location. As well, on the second Friday of the month (July through November) their IPA project brew goes on tap.<br /><br />Last but not least, it looks like some more cases of Sly Fox beer will soon be available. Hopefully they'll have more at my local case 'n' keg than just one case of Pheonix Pale Ale. To boot, they have an <a href="http://www.slyfoxbeer.com/beerlist.asp">impressive line up</a>! Brian O'Reilly must be one busy brewer!<br /><br />All this makes me really wish I were closer to Sly Fox...or that gas was less expensive. Unfortunately it's more likely that I'll move to Pheonixville than gas prices drop appreciably.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /></span></span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-2144303983419385432008-07-15T13:46:00.003-04:002008-07-15T14:04:08.835-04:00Hofbrauhaus, Abbottstown<span style="font-family: arial;">Sunday my parents stopped by and took us out to the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.germanfoodinpa.com/">Hofbrauhaus Pub and Eatery</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in Abbottstown. Presumably named after the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/index_en.html">Hofbrauhaus in Munich</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, it's definitely one of my favorite haunts in the area. German beer on tap and in bottle (Warsteiner, Spaten, Franziskaner, more), German cuisine like sauerbraten, spaetzel, rouladen. All that's missing is the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.oompahband.com/bavarian.mp3">Oompah band</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretzel">jumbo pretzels</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. And of course they have light lagers on tap and in the bottle for those of you who like it fizzy and pale. But with their tap list and location, it'd be a sin not to venture beyond the yellow stuff.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">They don't skimp on the portions either. I had the tree sausage platter, of which I picked knockwurst, bauernwurst, and bratwurst with sauerkraut and spaetzel. Started off with a pint of Warsteiner Dunkel and finished up with some Franziskaner Dunkelweizen. Fearing my stomach would explode, it was time to go.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The Hofbrauhaus is a definite stop and doesn't disappoint. Just west of the traffic circle on 30. Check 'em out.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Prost!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-23451273976077621472008-07-15T10:15:00.000-04:002008-07-15T11:58:22.887-04:00The Great American Lager<span style="font-family:arial;">Since it's been over a month since my last blog entry (I had some back issues at work and the wife had her gall bladder out, so things have been pretty hectic to say the least), I figured it's time to get back to it. At the forefront of beer news, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/business/worldbusiness/15inbev.html?_r=1&ref=worldbusiness&oref=slogin">InBev's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch</a>.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tniOznxJkcE&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tniOznxJkcE&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />It wasn't long ago that Anheuser-Busch's marketing strategy to address the brewing corporate mergers of SABMiller and Molson-Coors was to drive a jingoistic baseball park foam index finger rap into the heads of Bud drinkers, as shown in the YouTube clip above. Of course, the irony is now while A-B may identify the brand as American, it certainly no longer is. Hopefully, this merger won't mean job losses for the guys and girls working at American A-B breweries.<br /><br />I love my Country. But I'm not going to thumb my nose at imported beer because the label's not on the side of a NASCAR stock car. I'm not going to believe the drivel that what you drink is related to what political party you align yourself with. Taste is highly subjective. We're a young country, and our brewing heritage has strong irrefutable ties to the UK, Europe, and Asia; Anheuser-Busch, Adolf Coors, and SAB Miller are all proof of this. Maybe this merger will help a few to broaden the horizons of their palates and try something that's made with more than just 6-row barley, rice syrup, and a hop cone.<br /><br />And if being American-made is unequivocally important to any given beer drinker, I'd like to point out that there are tons of American-made beers.<br /><br />They're called "craft brewers", their beer is made here in the good ol' USA by proud Americans and they want their countrymen to drink quality, flavorful beer.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /></span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-73437209661345421172008-06-10T16:11:00.001-04:002008-06-10T16:11:15.214-04:00Another busy weekYet another busy week.<br /><br />When it's 95° outside, the only thing to do outside besides mow the lawn is sweat. So, indoor projects return to the forefront. I've been slowly working on finishing my basement. In particular, I want to get my "brew room" done so I can get things organized. Just a little more drywall to hang, then it's time to tape, compound, and sand. Thought a little brick wall look would be cool...who knows.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/DSC02513.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/DSC02513.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/DSC02512.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/DSC02512.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0288.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0288.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0293.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0293.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0287.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0287.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0286.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0286.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0294.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0294.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0295.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0295.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Hopefully by Fall we'll be ready for carpet. And a wood-burning stove or pellet stove. Propane prices are going nowhere but up!<br /><br />Late last week in my local travels I stopped by my <a href="http://www.collegesquareliquors.com/">fav bottle shop</a> looking for some Avery Hog Heaven barleywine. They searched the back room for me, knowing they had some but couldn't find it. They then figured out that the last time they got some in, someone came in and bought the whole case! So I asked them to set a few aside for me and a few days later returned with <a href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0289.jpg">these 3 sisters</a>. It is by far my favorite barleywine! Already down to two after the first night, the remaining two snuggled together comfortably in my vintage box for later (as long as I can hold out, anyway).<br /><br />Last night I decided to hit a local case-and-keg store seeing as how I'm dangerously low on beer; the vintage box is, afterall, for rainy days. I grabbed a <a href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/0609082120a.jpg">sampler case</a> of Bell's, formerly which wasn't available short of a drive to Ohio or Michigan itself. And at these gas prices...<br /><br />Wherever you are, cheers!<div class="flockcredit" style="text-align: right; color: #CCC; font-size: x-small;">Blogged with the <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" style="color: #999; font-weight: bold;" target="_new" title="Flock Browser">Flock Browser</a></div>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-46769735159593947742008-06-03T10:21:00.006-04:002008-06-03T10:32:00.406-04:00Week in Review<span style="font-family:arial;">Lots of chit has happened over the past week.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Sadly, my keg of Maibock is almost gone. Good and bad really. Bad, obviously, because it's malty yumminess is almost gone. Good in that Maibocks tend to get sweeter over time, which of course is what you don't want. Some sweetness, yes. Cloyingly sweet, definitely not. So it's just as well. I did take <a href="http://barleyhops.blogspot.com/2008/05/pleasant-surprises.html">1st place</a> at a club comp with it (head-to-head with some very good brewers, I might add) and 2nd Best-of-Show at last year's Montgomery County Ag Fair homebrew comp</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> (out of 107 entries).<br /><br />This morning I got a PDF of the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/maibockscoresheet.jpg" target="_blank">scoresheet</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. 42/50 isn't bad!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Hopefully later today I'll have some Dunkelweizen brewing. Need to get more beer on tap ASAP.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Besides the brewing prospects, the last few days have been eventful. On Saturday we met some friends at the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://atwproductions.com/index.php?pr=vvhome" target="_blank">Virginia Wine Festival</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> in Centreville, VA. Being my first wine festival, it was quite a bit different than the beer festivals I'm used to. Samples are limited to a few drops, but you can buy a glass or the whole bottle to enjoy there or take home---something that you don't see at beer festivals. But the samples are MUCH bigger at beer festivals. It was a good time overall, even after the 3 hour drive that should've taken 2 hours except for rain and traffic on I-495 and Rt. 66 in Virginia. Worth it to have a few glasses of wine with friends though.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Lastly, yesterday was our 7-year anniversary. We dated for 3 years before that, so last night we went out to dinner at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.mealeysrestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Mealey's</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> in New Market, MD to celebrate 10 years of not killing each other. I'd been going there since I was a kid and they never cease to impress. Started off with some Cream of Crab Bisque with a glass of Sam Adam's Boston Lager. Then it was Stuffed Rainbow Trout and a glass of Dogfish Head Pale Ale. My wife had the Crab Imperial. Of course dessert was too good to pass up, I had a slice of their Key Lime pie and she had the Crème Brûlée. Perfect.</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0259.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/FireBrewer/Brewing/IMG_0259.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After picking up the kids from the neighbors' and putting them to bed, we watched the Penguins and the Red Wings. Bunch of BS calls, I might add...high sticking? Tripping? Interference for just barely touching the goalie? Even the announcers said the referees were being inconsistent. Hope they had a police escort home. At any rate, I topped the evening off with a bottle of Victory Baltic Thunder</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Baltic Porter. Very good, hadn't had it since a few years ago at Victory Brewing in Downingtown. Which reminds me, a roadtrip to the remodeled Mecca of Victory beer is long overdue. Time to grab the calendar.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Cheers!!</span>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37583222.post-70532298669559737782008-05-14T08:29:00.002-04:002008-05-14T08:32:04.908-04:00This beer's for the dogs!<a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=566111&in_page_id=1770">via the Daily Mail</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Yes, this canine concoction actually has malt extract. Whether is has brewer's yeast or not remains to be seen. Of course, no hops, as </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8977648">some instances</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> have suggested that hops can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Either way, it's interesting. I'm sure my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://a227.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/36/l_1f4470d3b2dd785d3ff97257e25ca9da.jpg">two mutts</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> wouldn't waste a drop, nor time in consuming it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Cheers!</span><br /><div class="flockcredit" style="text-align: right; color: rgb(204, 204, 204); font-size: x-small;">Blogged with the <a href="http://www.flock.com/blogged-with-flock" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153); font-weight: bold;" target="_new" title="Flock Browser">Flock Browser</a></div>OSBChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11254843860216157980noreply@blogger.com0