Tag: homebrew

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Homebrew Lime-A-Rita

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I have zero idea what a “disruptive growth organization” is or how it relates to making beer but the DGO of SABInBevNoMiller, ZX Ventures is disrupting by purchasing Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply and its sibling Midwest Supplies.

The usual cut-n-paste explanation of the sale offered no clarity as to the future since it was written with enough vagueness to please a lawyer but whereas a beer BUYING community will certainly have members who either don’t know who owns the brewery or don’t care, the people in the home BREWING community are much more likely to know that using Northern Brewer is using the foreign owned company.
Other acquisitions by ZX were much more niche and under the radar.

This ownership change will affect a lot more people who have used products from Northern Brewer for their malt bills and hop torpedoing and I do think many will simply decide to go elsewhere even though it is easier to buy online which is the strong suit of the Midwestern company.

And perhaps that is what the goal is? To irreparably harm a growing company or at least shackle it and deprive home brewers of certain hops or malts or to just make it harder on them.

If the Behemoth from Belgium were truly altruistic, they could make hay with this acquisition but I doubt that is the case.

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The Longshot’s are In

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One of the annual rites of GABF is the announcement of the Sam Adams Longshot winners. This year the chosen (2) homebrewers and (1) Sam Adams employee who will see their beers brewed on a super larger scale are:

David Cousino of Avon, OH, Saison – “Cousino began homebrewing 25 years ago in college and after a long break started brewing in earnest four years ago. He is a pharmacist and now the attention to detail in his profession shows in his homebrews. Koch says Cousino’s Saison has a soft malt character, delicate floral notes and a hint of pepper.”

Duane Wilson of Horseheads, NY, American Wild Ale – “Wilson and his co-brewer Mike Edwards have been brewing together for eight years and strive to improve on the styles they create. Wilson’s mixed-fermentation American wild ale is fruit forward with apricots and kumquats and finishes with a dry tartness.”

Graham Johnson of Marblehead, MA, Imperial Stout – “Johnson is the Samuel Adams employee home brew winner. The company opened up the competition to its employees because they are so passionate about beer and many of them brew at home. Johnson’s Imperial Stout uses whole coffee beans and chocolate and has decadent flavors of cocoa, espresso and hints of brandy and raisin. The taste finishes with touch of sweetness.”

It will be quite the task for a Wild Ale to be added to a mixed pack.

Now the waiting begins, the six-pack won’t arrive until spring of next year.

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Homebrew Review – Mustard Brown

After a volcanic opening and a bit of clean-up, I was able to taste a beer that I was a bit wary of. See, I am not a mustard person. Not really a condiment person in general.
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The ale pours a dark brown and the aroma is what I would consider British.  Not much mustard at all except at the end where a touch of spice. This is nice and lively. Great malt taste here.
Simple and flavorful.

Probably my favorite because it doesn’t rely on a big flavor punch.

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Beer Review – Longshot – Five Crown Imperial Stout

One of the yearly traditions that I stay on the look-out for is the release of the Sam Adams Longshot winners. The second beer to be reviewed is an Imperial Stout….

Five Crown Imperial Stout
Created by Joe Formanek
“For the past 15 years, Joe has been brewing his Russian Imperial Stout. This malt-forward brew has a rich complexity, with roasty and chocolate notes, yet enough hop bitterness to balance out the sweetness. This satisfying winter brew is full-bodied with an enjoyable velvety smoothness.”

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You + The Bruery =

a great homebrew contest!

Check out the full press release….
“In celebration of The Bruery’s continued growth, the incredible support from our fans across the country and our humble beginnings as homebrewers ourselves, we will be holding our third ever homebrew competition; this one set to determine our 300th batch.
The first place recipe of the competition will be brewed as our Batch No. 300 and the winner will have the opportunity to assist us in brewing the batch on our system if they so choose. The first, second and third place winners will also get various forms of swag.
Along with the chance to have one of your very own recipes brewed and distributed, you will also be helping us raise money for those in need, as the entire $10 entry fee will be donated to Lestonnac Free Clinic, devoted to providing free, comprehensive medical care to the poorest of the poor in Orange County, CA.
Please read the below rules carefully before submitting and good luck to all!
Cheers!
The Bruery

Entry information, terms and conditions
-Entries must be received at The Bruery by January 31st, 2011.
-Only the following BJCP categories will be accepted: 13F, 16, 17, 18, 22 & 23.
See http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/ for more information.
-This is an AHA/BJCP sanctioned event and all entrants must be AHA members (this way the resulting beer can be entered in the GABF Pro-Am competition!).
– This competition is only open to beers brewed by entrants at home, not at a commercial brewery or a Brew On Premise.
-Entries must be sent to 715 Dunn Way, Placentia, CA 92870, Attn: Batch 300
-Each entry has an “entry fee” of $10 (checks made out to “The Bruery”) – 100% to be donated to charity.
-Entrants can submit as many entries as they would like. Each submission must have it’s own recipe sheet and $10 entry fee.
-Each entry must consist of 3 bottles of 12oz or larger (but not bigger than 750ml).
-The downloadable form at www.thebruery.com/batch300 must be submitted along with your entry.
– In order for the winning batch to be brewed, we will require the winning brewer submit the recipe to us. The Bruery intends to produce this batch as a one-time offering, although we reserve the right to brew this recipe as a year-round or a seasonal offering without further compensation to the winning brewer. We will use our best efforts to brew this batch as similar to the winning beer as possible. However, there may be some variation due to the availability of ingredients and brewing system differences.
-The Bruery reserves the right to change the name of the beer.”

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the Stone collaborations keep coming

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San Diego County Session Ale is the latest in the lovely etched collaboration bottles to soon grace our ‘fridges. It was brewed over the course of the summer by Colby Chandler from Ballast Point, Mitch Steele from Stone and Kelsey McNair from a brewery I have yet to taste from called North Park Beer Co..

I am glad the session is taking over!