WANTED: Logo

Ok, creative types. Do you like beer?

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 some consideration.

Interested now? That's right, you make an award-winning logo, I make you award-winning beer!

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.

Now get to work!

Looking ahead

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.

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...

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!

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.

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 Beer Appreciation 102.

Cheers!

Early Christmas present

Eric over at Trouble Brewing organized a group buy for Beer Appreciation 102. One of my local fellow homebrewers was kind enough to grab my case over at The Beer Yard in Wayne, PA while I was spending another 24 at work. And today Christmas came a little early! Thanks, Eric!

(Blogger doesn't want to create thumbnails right now so here's some linkage:)

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In other news, I sadly had to retire my old serving freezer. 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 20 cubic foot refrigerator off of Craigslist, did some basic modifications, and the taps are now back in service!

Cheers!

How Beer is Brewed

Here'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.



Cheers!

My time of year

I did allude to my love of Fall, in terms of beer. It's not just the beer though (yes, you read that right).

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. 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 fav local destination 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!!

I grabbed a spaetzle recipe 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!

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.

Ein Prosit, der Gemütlichkeit!

Attention South Central PA brewers

Stoudt's is hiring! According to their post on ProBrewer.com, they're looking to hire a new brewer and the wording indicates that they may consider hiring a homebrewer with no formal brewing education.

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.

Here's a lucky chance for a homebrew to live the dream! Good luck!

Oktoberfest approaches

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!

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.

The local brewers haven't failed to disappoint either. Appalachian Brewing has their Kipona Fest on tap, Victory has their Festbier flowing, and Tröegs has their Oktoberfestbier as a specialty in their Scratch Beer Series, available only in cases and on tap at the brewery (probably not for much longer!)

Prost!

Crabs and Beer

Is there anything better?

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!

Cheers!

Let there be DUNKEL!

After reading Eric's comment 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 DJ's Westgate Beverage.

Their selection was approaching that of Westy's in Camp Hill. 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.

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 the last case 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 completely depleted them of Pheonixville brews.

So thanks Eric! I tip my second pint of Dunkel to you tonight!

Cheers!

Sly Fox Update

Just got an email from Sly Fox with their latest news.

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.

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 impressive line up! Brian O'Reilly must be one busy brewer!

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.

Cheers!

Hofbrauhaus, Abbottstown

Sunday my parents stopped by and took us out to the Hofbrauhaus Pub and Eatery in Abbottstown. Presumably named after the Hofbrauhaus in Munich, 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 Oompah band and jumbo pretzels. 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.

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.

The Hofbrauhaus is a definite stop and doesn't disappoint. Just west of the traffic circle on 30. Check 'em out.

Prost!

The Great American Lager

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, InBev's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch.



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.

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.

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.

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.

Cheers!

Another busy week

Yet another busy week.

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.



Hopefully by Fall we'll be ready for carpet. And a wood-burning stove or pellet stove. Propane prices are going nowhere but up!

Late last week in my local travels I stopped by my fav bottle shop 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 these 3 sisters.  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).

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 sampler case of Bell's, formerly which wasn't available short of a drive to Ohio or Michigan itself.  And at these gas prices...

Wherever you are, cheers!

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Week in Review

Lots of chit has happened over the past week. 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 1st place 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 (out of 107 entries).

This morning I got a PDF of the scoresheet. 42/50 isn't bad! Hopefully later today I'll have some Dunkelweizen brewing. Need to get more beer on tap ASAP. Besides the brewing prospects, the last few days have been eventful. On Saturday we met some friends at the Virginia Wine Festival 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.

Lastly, yesterday was our 7-year anniversary. We dated for 3 years before that, so last night we went out to dinner at Mealey's 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.

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 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.

Cheers!!

This beer's for the dogs!

via the Daily Mail

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 some instances have suggested that hops can cause malignant hyperthermia in dogs.

Either way, it's interesting. I'm sure my two mutts wouldn't waste a drop, nor time in consuming it.

Cheers!

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Pleasant surprises

So far a good week for beer, only to get better by the weekend (Friday's my birthday and it's going to involve enjoying good beer of course).

Monday night was my brew club's meeting night and quarterly competition. The style this time: bock. Traditional bock/Helles bock/Dopplebock/Eisbock, take your pick. I brewed up 5 gallons of Jamil's Angel Wings Maibock and took 1st place! Enjoyed a pint or two after the meeting downstairs in Brewer's Alley as a victory dance of sorts...brewmaster Tom had a great selection on tap. The dunkelweizen and Pils on tap were both very good.

Then, tonight after running some errands, we decided to visit one of my fav bottle stores. The wife grabbed two bottles of local wine while I perused the beer selection (mind you, I have 5 gallons of Maibock on tap and a half-case of Bell's Two Hearted Ale as well). I hadn't before noticed the small beer fridge in the back containing a few 22oz bombers; nor did I before notice the shelves immediately to the left of the fridge that were FULL of 22oz bombers! Stone, Southern Tier, La Chouffe, Allagash, Arcadia, Victory...beers that I was previously picking up 500 miles away while visiting family. I grabbed a 22oz of Southern Tier Barleywine and a 500ml bottle of Reissdorf Kölsch.

They know their stuff and the staff is friendly and helpful. By far my favorite bottle shop.

Stay tuned, Friday is going to be fun!

Salvation

Homebrewing requires a lot of patience at times; especially in the case of lagers. Lagers take time and the ability to slow down and pay attention to what's going on. Rushing a Munich Helles is like trying to bed Melissa Theuriau by saying voulez vous coucher avec moi: the result would most likely be futile and humiliating. (you're welcome) My Maibock requires the same level of babying.

Luckily, with a club bock competition coming up Monday, it was absolutely necessary to pull a pint to check for...erm, flaws etc. No other reason. Really! After a slight hiatus, it's nice to see the taps flowing again.

Meanwhile, work on my man-cave (ok, so it's not just mine) has resumed. The brew room has come to resemble the aftermath of an F5 tornado, making brewing that much more difficult.

In times of great stress and multiple irons in the fire, the reward of patience and vigilant respect in paying homage to one of the greatest brewing styles in the world is in itself greatly gratifying, first sip to last.

Prost!!

Charlie P. has a blog!

Charlie Papazian's blog

That's right! The godfather of homebrewing has a blog. Feed added!

And just in case you're a complete n00b and have no idea who Charlie Papazian is, check out these links:

http://beertown.org/events/otr/aboutcp.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Papazian

http://www.amazon.com/

http://www.beerbooks.com/

Cheers!

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MADD: Vestigial idiocy from the Women's Christian Temperance Union

Not too long ago my wife received a magazine subscription notice for one of her favorite mags.  The publisher had partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving in the subscription drive to which MADD would get a share of the subscription price.

Then about a week ago my wife received a phone call about the notice, to which she informed the caller that I refused to give money to any organization that supported MADD.  The lady was shocked, and my wife explained why I feel a formerly decent organization like MADD should not receive any assistance whatsoever and organizations that naively support it should be educated.

It's an established fact that MADD is more interested in the total prohibition of alcohol than simply bringing to light the problem of drunk driving (and reasonable efforts to cease it), rather than the warm-and-fuzzy "MADD" name would suggest:

"MADD generally attempts to mask its radical, neo-prohibitionist agenda in the veneer of sound science and sober statistics."Charles V. Pena, former MADD official. (1)

And even after the proven absolute failure of Prohibition, MADD and its cohorts still push the neo-prohibitionist agenda; every Presidential Election has a registered Prohibition party campaigning with a candidate.  Clearly, these people have never heard George Santayana's words, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

National Prohibition not only failed to prevent the consumption of alcohol, but led to the extensive production of dangerous unregulated and untaxed alcohol, the development of organized crime, increased violence, and massive political corruption. Although Prohibition was repealed in 1933, there are still hundreds of dry counties across the United States today. Amazingly, some people today insist that Prohibition was a success! (2)

Truly, alcohol, in moderate consumption, is no more responsible for killing than the spoon is responsible for making Rosie O'Donnell fat.  The Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine have both published articles verifying health benefits of moderate consumption:

Moderate alcohol consumption, up to 2 drinks per day, was significantly protective for ischemic stroke after adjustment for cardiac disease, hypertension, diabetes, current smoking, body mass index, and education (odds ratio [OR], 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.67). This protective effect of alcohol consumption was detected in both younger and older groups, in men and women, and in whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In a quadratic model of stroke risk, increased risk of ischemic stroke was statistically significant among those consuming 7 or more drinks per day (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.05-8.29).

Clearly, the proof is in the pudding...er, beer.  Fanaticism rarely produces positive results.

Cheers!

References:

1.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving: A Crash Course in MADD
2.  Temperance Movement Groups and Leaders in the U.S., by David J. Hanson, Ph. D.

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Seen Through a Glass: Why the PLCB should be abolished: Reason #17

Why the PLCB should be abolished: Reason #17

This popped up on my Flock browser (love it!) this morning and I couldn't agree more with Lew.  It's very well written and quite an eye-opener for the uninformed.

We need t-shirts and bumper stickers!!  And logo pint glasses...definitely logo pint glasses.

Cheers!