Brewing with Cap’n

On a recent Saturday, I spent the day observing my good friend Richard from Travels with Cap’n  try his hand at homebrewing for the first time.  I say observe because I do not have brewing skills and did not want to muck anything up.  Also because another seasoned Brooklyn Kit homebrewer, Jennie was in attendance to handle the advice needs.

Observe in the camera sense as well.  Here are some photos from the day….

HB

Everything went smoothly if slowly.  If there is one thing I have learned from the few home brews that I have witnessed, it is that you can’t have enough big pots and you can’t have enough ice to cool the wort down.  And that was probably the only issue with this brew.  A World Cup game fit easily into the time that the brewing took but being a first time that time will surely drop as Rich becomes more comfortable with brewing.

I was glad that he chose the Everyday IPA recipe because that is probably a pretty foolproof recipe.  Hops should cover up any small error. Speaking of, I think that the hop addition wasn’t according to schedule and a little too heavy at the start so the aroma may be a bit muted but aside from that, I can’t wait to see how this beer turns out.  Though I was a little peeved that no major spill occurred because that would have made for a much better photoshoot. Aside from some ugly hop residue at the bottom of the pot after the transfer to the carboy.

 

 

MyBrewBarrel

rcr4jfe9qme5b8lmy7j4

One of the American dreams is to make things as good, just faster.  FASTER! But this brewing product is not from here.  It’s from Germany.

BrewBarrel wants to be the “easiest and fastest way to brew beer at home.” According to the literature (e-mail lit), “you can create your own beer out of over 30,000 varieties and then brew your customized beer at home in only one week.”

They have just started their Kickstarter campaign in order to take Brewbarrel to the US.

Check out the video.  Do you think it would generate more interest in home brewing?  Would it be a good introductory product for home brew shops to market as the step before all-grain brewing?

I do love the orange in the graphic though.

Homebrewin’ tastin’

One of my former co-workers has begun brewing.  She (identity protected to protect the innocent) is and adept cook and her first batch using the Brooklyn HomeBrew kit and recipe was solid.  Recently she invited me and my beer buddy, Richard from Travels with Cap’n to taste her latest brews.

But before the photos and the reviews, a warning

photo1

I won’t protect his identity because I don’t think Craig would like it if I did.  Anyhoo, on with the reviews

The first beer was a lavender honey ale. Honey being used instead of Belgian Candi sugar. It was well balanced and bone dry. A hint of lavender which is much preferred to too much. It poured a pretty light yellow color as well.

photo1

The Tea & Toast was an avenue for experimenting with tea. The recipe called for English Breakfast but could accommodate others and the very smokey Lapsang Souchong was chosen and it imparted a big smokey kick. There was a nice toast/wheat note that punched in briefly as well.

Of the two, a the honey lavender would be an excellent go to summer beer and I would like to try Tea and Toast with another tea variety.

There is a Peach Cobbler bubbling away with a Gose in the future. And I am excited to try them.

photo2


 

40 Years of Falcons

box_falcon_logo

For the 40th Anniversary of the Maltose Falcons Home Brew Club they will be conducting a Baltic Porter Tasteoff!  Love that a semi-obscure style like that is getting love. According to their website, “We’ll be tasting everyone’s Baltic Porter creations to determine a recipe to take to Eagle Rock for brewing! If you have a Baltic Porter, bring it!”

I for one, am looking forward to tasting this at Eagle Rock later this year!

 

Session # 71

session_logo_all_text_300-246x300

The first topic of 2013 comes from the blog, Brewers and Drinkers….
“It always surprises me how many beer bloggers are out there, and how not all of them brew.

For me brewing was a natural progression from my interest in beer.

But as I’ve discovered more about brewing my enjoyment of beer has changed.

The more I learn the less I enjoy mediocre beers, knowing how easy they are to make. Similarly, great beers seem all the more impressive now.

Apart from this general change, I’ve also become a more analytical drinker. I try to identify flavours in a way that I never did before.

How did they get that biscuity malt flavour up front? Is that raisin? They overdid the bittering hops, didn’t they?

Brewers and Drinkers is about your relationship with beer and how it’s made. Do you brew? If so why? If not, why not? How does that affect your enjoyment of drinking beer?”

When people learn that I am a not-so-famous beer blogger, I will inevitably be asked if I brew at home. I have two stock answers.
1. I have attempted and made some spectacular vinegar.
2. My wife hates the smells associated with beer being brewed so I refrain.

And as much as I push beer education and beer reading and flat out drinking as many beers as you can safely try in general practice, I do not think that you need to be an expert home brewer to either judge or enjoy craft beer expertly. You can coach a football team without playing a single down or be completely non-athletic and call the play-by-play of the game featuring multiple coaches who never strapped on a helmet. And I feel the exact same way about beer.

I, of course, can’t answer for the other side of the equation for the fine people who home brew and then order a sampler tray from a new brewery and wonder if it will stand up to their own standards. That may be a difficult circle to square.

But your relationship with the beer in front you should be one of discovery and open mindedness. If home brewing helps to create that state of mind then kudos to you. If it creates too many questions, then maybe it is a detriment. Think about the costumer who watches a movie and only notes what could have been done differently with that dress on the leading lady or that military uniform is too tight or frankly any other artisan who looks upon a piece of work that they did not do and picks out the negative first.

Now I will not over-generalize and say that every home brewer does that. My “no data to back it up” guess is more beer snobs do it overall. But the point is that you should do your best to live in the moment with the pint of beer. That beer may be sub-standard and you may know exactly why and you may know how to fix it but drink the pint first and give a rounded critique from the aspect of a drinker first, home brewer second and then whatever other occupations after that. Because, as a member of the brewing fraternity, wouldn’t you want the same from the people drinking your beer?

I am reminded of what the comedian Patton Oswalt said about the Star Wars prequels in one of his stand-up routines, “I don’t give a shit where the stuff I loves comes from. I just love the stuff I love. That is enough for me.”

Ultimately, I will take every brewery tour and read a book devoted to water and brewing but hand me a pint of Weird Beer from Smog City Brewing and all that important knowledge takes a back seat to the aroma, look and taste of the beer.

The Homebrewer’s Garden

I don’t do my own home brewing. (Or my own stunts for that matter) but for the home brewer who also wants to create or control their ingredients there is a book for you by Joe and Dennis Fisher.

The Homebrewer’s Garden according to the back cover, “If you have a backyard, or even a sun-facing porch, you can greatly enhance the flavor, aroma, and uniqueness of your homebrew by growing your own hops, brewing herbs, and malt grains.

Easy instructions will help you put the “home” into your homebrew from setting up your first hop trellis, to malting grain at home, to brewing recipes specially formulated for homegrown ingredients. When you grow your own organic ingredients, you can be sure they are the freshest and purest available.”

When my thumb get’s a little greener, I may try to grow some of the beer items in this book.

Brooklyn Home Brew – the book

I have posted about Brooklyn Brew Shop’s home brew kits that you can either purchase online or get at a Whole Foods and now they have the companion book to go along with it!

Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Better Beer Making Book, by Erica Shea and Stephen Valand.

Here is the blurb from the press release: “Brooklyn Brew Shop’s Beer Making Book takes brewing out of the basement and into the kitchen. Erica Shea and Stephen Valand show that with a little space, a few tools, and the same ingredients breweries use, you too can make delicious craft beer right on your stovetop.”

Hopworks Pilot Brew

File this under smart moves, Hopworks Urban Brewery. Already the organic beer leader in Portland, and the leader in beer and bikes is in the process of opening a “nano brewery” that they will open to home brewers. The 30 gallon capacity systesm will be available for home-brew clubs six times during the year and solo home brewers for all of the other free dates. Applicants will be encouraged to use all Organic base malts in their recipes and in exchange will be able to brew at Hopworks, make use of their mill and just be around and absorb the vibe and knowledge that Hopworks already has.