I read an article in the New York Times today which just plain made me jealous.
There's actually some good content in there on some of the basics of aging and a cool enough setup to make any beer geek jealous.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Glunz Beer Expo
I am a lucky dog. Seriously.
A couple weeks ago, I managed to snag a ticket to an event that one of the local Chicago beer distributors puts on every year.
The format is essentially this: They get most of the breweries whom they distribute for to send a few reps and many many cases of beer to a convention center Chicago and pour beer after beer after beer for the folks who come. (Mostly buyers and a few friends.)
I'm not exactly sure, but there were somewhere on the order of 5o breweries pouring multiple beers each. They ranged from macro american fare (Pabst / Schlitz / LaBatts) to Belgians to some of my favorite American craft makers (Dogfish, Breckenridge, and Great Lakes.)
Being the beer geek that I clearly am, walking around a convention center and just being able to try new beer after new beer was unreal. My biggest (and only) complaint was the fact that I had to drive myself home afterwards, so I had to start spitting after the first hour or so...
In any case, I got to try a few special reserve type beers which blew my mind. Particularly the dogfish stuff. They have a crazy raspberry strong ale called Fort that's somewhere around 19-20% by volume, and still manages to be very drinkable.
I also got to continue my search for the perfect IPA, which went mostly unfulfilled. (Rather surprisingly.) Most of the IPAs I tried weren't quite balanced enough to be great. The only new one I tried which actually made me happy was Arcadia's HopMouth double IPA. Their head brewer was actually the one pouring, which made for some solid conversation over the beer.
All in all - awesome experience.
A couple weeks ago, I managed to snag a ticket to an event that one of the local Chicago beer distributors puts on every year.
The format is essentially this: They get most of the breweries whom they distribute for to send a few reps and many many cases of beer to a convention center Chicago and pour beer after beer after beer for the folks who come. (Mostly buyers and a few friends.)
I'm not exactly sure, but there were somewhere on the order of 5o breweries pouring multiple beers each. They ranged from macro american fare (Pabst / Schlitz / LaBatts) to Belgians to some of my favorite American craft makers (Dogfish, Breckenridge, and Great Lakes.)
Being the beer geek that I clearly am, walking around a convention center and just being able to try new beer after new beer was unreal. My biggest (and only) complaint was the fact that I had to drive myself home afterwards, so I had to start spitting after the first hour or so...
In any case, I got to try a few special reserve type beers which blew my mind. Particularly the dogfish stuff. They have a crazy raspberry strong ale called Fort that's somewhere around 19-20% by volume, and still manages to be very drinkable.
I also got to continue my search for the perfect IPA, which went mostly unfulfilled. (Rather surprisingly.) Most of the IPAs I tried weren't quite balanced enough to be great. The only new one I tried which actually made me happy was Arcadia's HopMouth double IPA. Their head brewer was actually the one pouring, which made for some solid conversation over the beer.
All in all - awesome experience.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
My Roommate is a Freak of Nature
In a nearly completely unrelated note to homebrewing, my roommate Eric has proved himself capable of a feat that deserves recognition.
He's always been able to down a beer far faster than I can. Far faster than anyone I know can for that matter. So when, about a month ago, we were out at a watering hole in Chicago which will remain nameless and he was out-chugged by another similarly freakish individual, his ego was noticeably bruised.
Thereafter, I didn't have to do much besides pull out the stopwatch to prompt him to crack open a can of Miller Lite or whatever other foul beer he had on hand, pour it into a pint glass, and proceed to run time trials.
He finally got a chance to redeem himself on New Years Eve. Thankfully his rightful place as the fastest beer drinker (to my knowledge) was restored, although by an extremely thin margin of victory, at 3.1 seconds.
Freak.
He's always been able to down a beer far faster than I can. Far faster than anyone I know can for that matter. So when, about a month ago, we were out at a watering hole in Chicago which will remain nameless and he was out-chugged by another similarly freakish individual, his ego was noticeably bruised.
Thereafter, I didn't have to do much besides pull out the stopwatch to prompt him to crack open a can of Miller Lite or whatever other foul beer he had on hand, pour it into a pint glass, and proceed to run time trials.
He finally got a chance to redeem himself on New Years Eve. Thankfully his rightful place as the fastest beer drinker (to my knowledge) was restored, although by an extremely thin margin of victory, at 3.1 seconds.
Freak.
Naturally Priming a Cornelius Keg
A few months ago, I decided to try fermenting a lager for the first time in my (still relatively) newly acquired kegerator. Having bought one big enough to accommodate a full half barrel, a standard 5 gallon fermenter and a corny keg fit inside of the fridge just fine.
After the two months or so of fermentation and conditioning it took to actually brew the Czech -style Pilsner, I decided to try naturally carbonating the resulting beer instead of using C02 to force carbonate it. (After months, what's another week for the yeast to do their thing again?) Although I was tempted to try using some preserved, un-fermented wort instead of priming sugar, I got lazy and just opted to use priming sugar. As per usual, I followed Charlie Papazian's advice and used 1/3 of a cup instead of the normal amount you'd use to prime 5 gallons for bottling
I'd say that there is a noticeable difference in the end result. There's a bit less head when pouring the beer, and that which does form takes more time to develop. (Similar to what you'd see on a higher-gravity, higher viscosity commercial brew or on a keg-conditioned beer served at your local brewhouse.) The mouthfeel is definitely more delicate and you get bubbles that are somewhat akin to those you see in a properly poured glass of champaign.
All in all, it's worth the extra week or so to naturally condition the keg. I think I may just have to go for the gyle method next time.
As an aside - if you've got the capability to brew lagers, do it. It may have just been beginner's luck, but this is hands-down the best brew I've produced so far.
After the two months or so of fermentation and conditioning it took to actually brew the Czech -style Pilsner, I decided to try naturally carbonating the resulting beer instead of using C02 to force carbonate it. (After months, what's another week for the yeast to do their thing again?) Although I was tempted to try using some preserved, un-fermented wort instead of priming sugar, I got lazy and just opted to use priming sugar. As per usual, I followed Charlie Papazian's advice and used 1/3 of a cup instead of the normal amount you'd use to prime 5 gallons for bottling
I'd say that there is a noticeable difference in the end result. There's a bit less head when pouring the beer, and that which does form takes more time to develop. (Similar to what you'd see on a higher-gravity, higher viscosity commercial brew or on a keg-conditioned beer served at your local brewhouse.) The mouthfeel is definitely more delicate and you get bubbles that are somewhat akin to those you see in a properly poured glass of champaign.
All in all, it's worth the extra week or so to naturally condition the keg. I think I may just have to go for the gyle method next time.
As an aside - if you've got the capability to brew lagers, do it. It may have just been beginner's luck, but this is hands-down the best brew I've produced so far.
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