Brewing a Rye Amber Ale Recently, I brewed an amber ale with a twist. Looking for something with a little more malt character for the cold weather but still craving something hoppy and citrus-y, I brewed up an amber ale with a large dose of rye and loads of late centennial hops. Since I’ve been … Continue reading
Almost three months since brew day, the California Common is nearly gone. Having saved the San Francisco lager yeast from the SMaSH Blonde I served at the Zealots summer picnic, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to make a California Common for the fall season. While sadly I’m almost out of this fantastic … Continue reading
Many of my readers may be wondering where I am? No posts in over two weeks, WTF mate! Well, between travels, graduate school and conferences, life has certainly diminished the brewing operations in my apartment. Not to worry! While the busy times are still here for the month or so, I’m actively getting back into … Continue reading
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been tweaking my brewing process. As such, I recently updated my brewing equipment. No longer am I a carboy shaker and ice bath maker as I’ve acquired an oxygen system and wort chiller. To test out the new goods, I decided to make an extract beer to cut out … Continue reading
Six weeks since brew day, the Craft A Brew Brown Ale has finished fermentation, bottle-conditioned, and is now ready to drink. After racking from the primary, I yielded 9 bottles and some tasty hydrometer samples. Overall, I’m quite pleased with this one-gallon brown ale extract kit, and from this, hope to play with one-gallon batches … Continue reading
A few weeks ago, Craft A Brew generously set me one of their one-gallon starter kits [**]. For those unfamiliar, Craft A Brew makes homebrewing starter kits and extract-based recipe kits, ranging from 1-3 gallon batches, providing new homebrewers with all of the equipment and ingredients necessary to start their first batch of homebrew. With several … Continue reading
Every September, when Fall seasonal beers start rolling out, I get a mean craving for German lager in all forms. Typically, having not planned accordingly, I start an Oktoberfest too late, and end up buying some commercial brews to satisfy myself while awaiting my homebrew. This year, I am planning ahead, making a long list … Continue reading
Last spring, I submitted a few entries to the 2013 Texas Bluebonnet Brew-off, the largest “single-site” homebrew competition. I did well for my standards, as a number of my beers were “pushed” to the second round. Excitingly enough, my apricot wheat beer, an American-style wheat beer brewed with loads of tasty apricots, won a 3rd … Continue reading
