I remember when I first started homebrewing.  I should since it was only three years ago.  If I couldn’t remember, I would rack it up to too much homebrew…but that’s not the case.

On July 4th, 2005, I brewed up a True Brew Amber Ale.  I had purchased my equipment kit along with this recipe kit two weeks prior to the brew day.  I had brewed with the other brew dude Mike a few times in the past but this was the first time I brewed on my own.  I read the simple instructions that came with the recipe kit a few times to make sure I understood everything. 

I did my best cleaning and sanitizing all the equipment.  My uncle gave me a tip about brewing and suggested I buy spring water.  I got 5 gallons of the store brand spring water to make my amber ale.    

I got the largest pot that we had and poured a gallon and a half of the spring water into it.  I was able to stick the half empty (or is it half full) gallon with the 3 other unopened gallons in the fridge.  Getting the rest of the water to refrigerator temperature was key to get the wort cool enough for me to pitch my yeast.

From what I can recall, the boil went fine.  I think the kit came with two cans of malt extract, which I added at the start of the boil.   Once the hour was up, I put the pot in an ice bath in my kitchen sink.  I took the spring water out of the fridge and pour it all into the fermentation bucket.  Once that was done, I poured the wort into the bucket.  I took a look at the temperature strip on the side of the bucket and saw that I had cooled it down to 70 degrees.  It was like magic.

I fermented the brew for a week and then bottled it up.  I kept checking the bottles everyday to see what was happening inside of them.  I saw the yeast clumping up into big particles by day 7 and I really thought I messed things up.  I opened one up to taste how bad it was and was surprised to find it wasn’t undrinkable. 

A week later, I brought a 22 oz bomber to some event over Brian Hammer’s apartment.  I opened it up and we all took a swig.  Mike gave me a “not bad” look.   Certainly wasn’t the best beer in the whole world (no real character) but a good start.  

Mike brought over a book he got recently for our homebrewing tasting session.  It’s written by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer and it’s entitled Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anyone Can Brew.  

When it comes to homebrewing recipes, Mike and I formulate our own based on our experience and on recipes we see (online and offline).  This book has definitive recipes coming from a guy who has won a ton of awards for his homebrews.

I thumbed through the book and I did see that it had recipes following an all grain procedure along with partial mash and extract only versions. 

I went on to Amazon and saw that some reviewers were disappointed by the book.  For the most part, I think they thought they were getting a book that had more science behind the recipes rather than just the recipes themselves. 

From what I saw, it looked like it was worth the purchase…as long as you understand that it’s just a bunch of recipes. 

Formulating your own recipes is fun, but it’s nice to have another point of reference for a springboard/sanity check.

Yesterday, a few of us got together to do a BJCP-type tasting of the homebrews we have available. Those brews included:

• Kolsch
• American Pale Ale
• American India Pale Ale
• Oatmeal Stout
• Maple Porter

We also had an apple cider that Mike got from a brewer he met on the Brewing KB. It was fermented with wild yeast, crystal clear, and light in color. It was phenomenal.

When we get together to drink beer, usually we are just being social and having a good time. This time, we read about the styles and focused on what we were tasting. We didn’t take notes, but I think we learned a lot because we took the time to really understand the flavors of each sample.

And we had a good time too.

Now, if we can get another bottle of that apple cider.

All righty… We’ve posted a bunch of recipes in anticipation for the real beer season: SUMMER!

And this year, we are asking you to choose the brew of the summer of 2008.  Lots of pressure here.  You are choosing a beer that not only defines the season but also defines the year.  So, what do you think??

You can pick one of the choices we have selected or you can add your own.  Vote away!

In this day and age, there are yeast strains available for every beer style. When you are formulating recipes, it’s good to get familiar with the types of yeast strains available and which ones have been developed for the style of beer you are looking to brew. Here are some links to keep handy when researching yeast strains:

BYO Magazine’s Yeast Strain Chart

White Labs Yeast Strains

Wyeast Laboratories Yeast Strains

To make a beer to style, it is essential to use a strain that suits the style. To experiment and try something different, use a strain that hasn’t been developed specifically for the style you are brewing….like a white beer with a lager strain…which is my latest potential experiment.

Remember, yeast are your friends…even if they look funny. Based on the way I eat, I swear I was a yeast cell in a former life.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae images provided by Peter Hollenhorst and Catherine Fox.

Inevitably when we dream of great summer beers we start to think of FRUIT BEERS!

A good lawnmower beer is a great beer to have on a hot day after working in the yard or playing with the dog.  However, when the temperature climbs a little touch of fruit in a well made crisp beer can really slake the thirst… and keep you coming back for more.

Getting fruit into your beer can come in three general ways: Raw fruit purchased fresh, fruit flavored extracts, or prepackaged fruit products.  Each one has its pros and cons.

Raw Fruit:
If you are fortunate to live in an area with a unique source of fruit in ample supply there can be great pride taken in making your own beer with local produce.  Depending on location you can often get raw fruit at the peak of freshness for maximum impact on the beer.  The down side to natural raw fruit is that from a beer stand point it is dirty.  If you want to keep wild yeasts and bacteria out of your precious brew this can be a challenge with raw fruit.  Secondly, the fruit likely needs to be processed in some way, such as a food processor or other mechanical mashing, to release its goodness into the beer.

Fruit Extracts:
The largest advantage that extracts have is the extremely low likely hood of a microbial contamination. These things are often made as alcohol based extractions of fruit flavors and they are easily filtered free of microbes.  Second to that is the ease of use.  You can easily control the amount of flavor you get by adding a little at a time to a keg or bottling bucket.  Just add an ounce at a time, stir and taste.  When its just right you are done.  The disadvantage with extracts is that many people complain they tend to taste like….extracts.  Something is just missing from the flavor profile that you can only get with fresh fruit.

Prepackaged Fruit Products:
Namely I am referring here to fruit purees.  With these products you get the advantage of whole fruit fully processed to expose the fruity characters and you get cutting edge packaging and handling technology.  Many fruit purees are flash pasteurized so the microbial contamination issue is eliminated.  The only minor disadvantage is how much to add.  You’ll need to add a puree in a secondary fermentor like you would raw fruit and let it ferment out to prevent overly carbonated beers at bottling time.

Overall, I think that Fruit Purees are the way to go.  You get pre-processed fruit that is sterile and packaged at its peak of freshness.

A common variety is the Oregon Fruit Products brand.  I have seen these a many a homebrew shop.  So give them a try next time you are looking for a fruit addition.  I know the next Strawberry Wheat I make, I am going to try it out.

Brew On!

Just got this email from some guy named Samuel Adams:

Hello Homebrewers,

Your entries in the 2008 Samuel Adams American Homebrew Contest® - LongShot have been pouring into the drop locations. Unfortunately the entry window closes today (May 1st).

Please do not fret if your status on the website still reads as "pending". Our good friends at Beer, Beer, & More Beer in California, Two Brother's Brewing in Chicago, and the Samuel Adams Brewery in Boston are hard at work opening the boxes, sorting the entries, and logging them into the system.

We're hoping to have all entries logged over the next few days but his process may take a week or so due to the volume of entries. Once your entry is processed into the system, you will receive an automatic email notifying you of your status.

Please know that your beers will be handled and stored with the same quality of care that you put into brewing them. First round judging events will take place throughout the month of May and into early June. You will receive your score sheets a few weeks after that.

We're looking forward to tasting your beer! Good luck and happy homebrewing!

My brews are in and the status has changed from “Pending” to “Received” for both.

Brew On!