Brewing an Irish stout: it’s been a while. So long, in fact, that any delay from a little detour into history and personal remembrance won’t significantly prolong the wait. Let’s get a beverage before the second paragraph. Continue reading
Author Archives: MD
steel cage floor-malted death match brew day: SMASH MILD
Such a melodramatic title with so many adjectives for a post about a 3% abv beer! Let’s start over:
this just in: yeast makes beer
A little factoid [edited for accuracy – thanks, citizens!] item of information for a Wednesday:
59% of aroma descriptions and 79% of flavor descriptions on the ASBC Flavor Wheel are created or modified by yeast.
reader question: system 2.0
Reader and friend Keith C. hit me with this Russian novel of a question – slash – very enviable first-world homebrewer problem, and I’m recruiting you citizens to chime in with your answers in the comments section. Let’s dig in: Continue reading
(tiny) bubbles in my beer, pt. 4
“Should the best stay small?” was the title of the response piece to the New York Times article. It was in reference to Hill Farmstead Brewery capping production at 5000 barrels a year; and it wasn’t a rhetorical so much as an unanswered question.
Far be it from me to deny the Interwebs more vitally important bloviation on the sacred cows of craft beer: onward, citizens. It’s answerin’ time. Continue reading
TMBR: Inevitable Conclusion Double IPA
Recipe and brew day notes and an animated nerdcore music video about pencil & paper roleplaying games here:
into the keg with you
Baby, if you ever wondered – wondered whatever became of me, I’m living on the air in Cincinnati.
Just kidding, I’m carbonating.
brew day: Cerny 13°
Between propagation and family get-togethers, this batch has been a long time coming. I enjoyed the numbered digressions so much last time, I’m going to indulge in it again. Sorry. Continue reading
reader question: finings
A bit ago, Clint wrote in with this question:
Would you consider a short post/tutorial on finings? Essentially just the what/when/how to use, or at least your recommendation.
I am in the process of setting up a keg system and should be kegging a double IPA within the next 2 weeks, or so. Crystal clear beer has not been a matter of great importance to me, so far, but it would certainly look nice, in a glass.
We drink beer first with our eyes, and I think appearance can definitely enhance or detract from the (aesthetic, non-analytical tasting) experience. Haze is expected in some styles (Hefeweizen, Witbier …) and may be to some extent unavoidable in highly dry-hopped beers like Double IPAs, but for everything else, there’s finings. Continue reading
2014
Happy new year, citizens. My last beer of 2013 and my first beer of 2014 were both homebrews. Standard gravity, mishmashed ingredients and of no particular style, brewed just for the sake and love of brewing. I have a German Pils conditioning in a keg and the grist for a Czech dark lager measured out and waiting for the hopper.
I did OK with my resolutions – how about you? What was your last/first beer of the years? When’s your first brew sesh?