After 12 months in the barrel and over 8 months of conditioning in the keg, the saison from the 2014-2015 Austin ZEALOTS Barrel Project is tasting wonderful. Sour, light, and crisp, this past years’ barreled saison came out surprisingly well. A continuation of the barreling series, this post is the follow-up of mostly my personal … Continue reading
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
It’s been about a month since the Fall Equinox, and the days are noticeably shorter. Although it’s still 80+F in Austin, I’m sure many readers are experiencing noticeably cooler weather as well. I’m finally back after another short hiatus, and have wrapped up my travels for awhile. In this AHB blog post, I’ll provide some … Continue reading
On Saturday, I attended the July monthly meeting of my homebrew club, Austin Zealots. It was held at Adelbert’s Brewery in Austin, TX, a Belgian-style brewery about 15 minutes north of downtown Austin. The style for this month was meads, and many members brought their very best, including a fantastic vanilla-cardamom and well-aged pineapple-coconut mead. … Continue reading
This past Saturday marked the 2014 summer solstice. In celebration of the changing seasons and the beginning of summer, I brewed a Helles Bock. As per tradition, during the summer solstices, I like to brew something pale and strong. Since I am currently brewing German lagers, I thought a Helles Bock would be an appropriate … Continue reading
After 3 weeks of fermentation and 5 days of dry hopping, the Farmhouse IPA is finished. Inspired by Michael Tonsmeire of the Mad Fermentationist blog, the Hoppy Saison is mostly a traditional saison, but with loads of Saaz, totalling 4 oz in late and dry hop additions. The yeast was saved from the primary fermentation of … Continue reading
April is always a busy month in graduate school. Fellowship reports, exams, papers, taxes all due. Couple that with regular work (research, lab maintenance etc.), and things get busy quick. I’m keeping my spirits bright, and using brewing as a stress-free creative outlet! In lieu of formal blog posts (due to school, sad face), I’d … Continue reading
Air-lock activity has stopped. Krausen has fallen. Gravity readings are terminal. Brewers everywhere know what this means: time for packaging! The Passion Fruit American Wheat has finished secondary fermentation after a substantial addition of passion fruit juice. Frankly, I am relieved this beer is near process end. The planning and execution of this recipe was … Continue reading
The spring equinox has passed and spring has sprung (at least in central Texas)! The weather has been nice and frost isn’t likely, so I recently put out my spring-season balcony garden. Those who read the Session Oatmeal Stout post may have noticed transplanted bluebonnets and sunflower seedlings next to the beer. My garden is … Continue reading
For those who are new to homebrewing, towels may seem an unlikely addition to your kit. However, new and seasoned homebrewers alike know all too well of the messes, sometimes gigantic, that can happen on a brew or bottling day. Since brewing indoors on a stove top presents many challenges, having some trusty clean-up technology … Continue reading
The Apartment Homebrewer 