And the waiting begins

So I took too much time to get distracted by shiny objects, as is my thing. Trey is WAY ahead of me. But I finally got off my duff, went to Northern Brewer, and ordered myself a kit for pale ale, and the starter kit with TWO plastic carboys. Yes, TWO. I have a soda keg, and I bet I can grab 2 cases worth of bottles in a short time period, so I will be brewing two test batches after receipt of said purchases. Kegerator supplied by my employer (ahem). Heaven help both my coworkers and my husband. Here we GO.

ATTN BEER BREWERS

I need some advice. I really want to start brewing. I have been goofing around with *thinking* about it for about a year. A friend of mine said he would do it with me, but my foot dragging pushed his impatience, and he started without me last night. He's doing a Cream Ale, from some sort of starter kit, and brewing straight to a keg. Booo. But it seems to have been the competitive spark I needed to get off my duff and start.

I bought this book, and I ended up getting a little more freaked out after reading, since it suddenly felt a lot more like chemistry class than home ec. I can bake, I should be able to brew, but now I am over thinking it. I am definitely starting from a kit from a local homebrew store, and I am STILL compiling a list of equipment I need. I'm recruiting the husband into the hobby, so I won't be alone.

I would love feedback from all you awesome people out there, you award winners, you serious brewers that I admire so much. Here are my starter questions:

1. What are the must have, no messing around, don't bother if you don't own this, equipment that you would recommend?
2. For a first timer, what style of brew would YOU recommend starting?
3. Should I attempt bottling, or is keg brewing easier? I have access to kegs and a kegerator, so I feasibly could do it, but am afraid of ruining so much beer all at once.
4. What are the worst mistakes newbies make, and how can I avoid them?

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate it!

Guinness 250

Available starting today!
250 years ago, brewing excellence and innovation were set in motion when Arthur Guinness signed the 9,000 year lease on the famous St. James's Gate brewery in Dublin. To mark this remarkable anniversary, GUINNESS 250 Anniversary Stout is being made available in the United States on a limited edition basis (approximately six months). This marks the first new stout offering in the U.S. from Guinness since 1966 -- more than 40 years ago -- when Guinness draught was first introduced to Americans.

The commemorative stout is carbonated, not nitrogenated like the traditional GUINNESS Draught. As a result, it has a near-white frothy stout beer head of larger bubble size than that of GUINNESS Draught, and is poured on draught in a one-part pour or gently from a bottle (as opposed to the two-part pour unique to GUINNESS draught). This product has a crisp effervescent taste with a balanced malty, roasted, hop flavor that is enhanced when released with a lively, refreshing and smooth carbonated mouthfeel. A triple hop addition regime provides a hint of bitterness.

O'Dowd's in Zona Rosa in one of two bars in KC that will have this on tap. They will be tapping it this evening. Where else can you find it?

Office Beer Update 2

I don't believe the Boulevard Single Wide IPA is very popular at the Global Headquarters of Department Zero. The dry bitterness that I like so much may be to blame, as the less intense Mighty Arrow Pale Ale from New Belgium was already gone by now. Although to be fair, we had several friends help us polish that off during a First Friday's get together. We're at 2 weeks now, with just a 1/6 barrel keg. So in case anyone was worried, we're all back to our mostly non-alcoholic ways.

Update 4/24
We blew the keg last night. Whew.

KC Craft Beer Week Events

I have been looking for events in the KC area for Craft Beer Week, coming up May 11-17. So far all I have found are the Boulevard events, posted to their FB page. Even BeerAdvocate has let me down. Anyone else have an idea on what else might be going on?

Monday, May 11
Boulevard Smokestack Sampling
O'Dowd's Little Dublin (Plaza location)
http://www.odowdslittledublin.com/

Tuesday, May 12
Boulevard Beer Dinner
Grinder's (Crossroads)
7 pm $30 per person
Call 816-472-5454 for reservations.

Rainy Days & Mondays Always Get Me Down

I still really want to go on a beer vacation. I think that would be sweet. Colorado, I haven't scheduled it yet, but I will come see you soon.

I just realized that I don't have a tag created for "craft beer." How can this be? I guess I get to start one, and play a re-tagging old posts game tonight.

Today the Brewer's Association released top 50 lists, in terms of sales volume in 2008.

Top 50 Craft Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume
(Based on 2008 sales)

Rank	Brewing Company	City	State
1	Boston Beer Co.	Boston	MA
2	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.	Chico	CA
3	New Belgium Brewing Co.	Fort Collins	CO
4	Spoetzl Brewery	Shiner	TX
5	Pyramid Breweries Inc.	Seattle	WA
6	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
7	Matt Brewing Co.	Utica	NY
8	Boulevard Brewing Co.	Kansas City	MO
9	Full Sail Brewing Co.	Hood River	OR
10	Magic Hat Brewing Co.	Burlington	VT
11	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Juneau	AK
12	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
13	Bell's Brewery, Inc.	Galesburg	MI
14	Kona Brewing Co.	Kailua-Kona	HI
15	Anchor Brewing Co.	San Francisco	CA
16	Shipyard Brewing Co.	Portland	ME
17	Summit Brewing Co.	Saint Paul	MN
18	Stone Brewing Co.	Escondido	CA
19	Abita Brewing Co.	Abita Springs	LA
20	The Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
21	New Glarus Brewing Co.	New Glarus	WI
22	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	Milton	DE
23	Long Trail Brewing Co.	Bridgewater Corners	VT
24	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.	San Jose	CA
25	Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co.	Newport	OR
26	Great Lakes Brewing Co.	Cleveland	OH
27	The Lagunitas Brewing Co.	Petaluma	CA
28	Firestone Walker Brewing Co.	Paso Robles	CA
29	SweetWater Brewing Co.	Atlanta	GA
30	Flying Dog Brewing Co.	Frederick	MD
31	BJ's Restaurant & Brewery	Huntington Beach	CA
32	Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants	Louisville	CO
33	BridgePort Brewing Co.	Portland	OR
34	Odell Brewing Co.	Fort Collins	CO
35	Victory Brewing Co.	Downingtown	PA
36	Mac and Jack's Brewery	Redmond	WA
37	Big Sky Brewing Co.	Missoula	MT
38	Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants	Chattanooga	TN
39	Karl Strauss Brewing Co.	San Diego	CA
40	Breckenridge Brewery	Denver	CO
41	Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe	Eureka	CA
42	Otter Creek Brewing Co.	Middlebury	VT
43	Utah Brewers Cooperative	Salt Lake City	UT
44	North Coast Brewing Co.	Fort Bragg	CA
45	Blue Point Brewing Co.	Patchogue	NY
46	Boulder Beer Co.	Boulder	CO
47	Pete's Brewing Co.	San Antonio	TX
48	McMenamins Breweries	Portland	OR
49	Anderson Valley Brewing Co.	Boonville	CA
50	The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc.	St Louis	MO

Top 50 Overall Brewing Companies by Beer Sales Volume
(Based on 2008 sales)

Rank	Brewing Company	City	State
1	Anheuser-Busch InBev	St. Louis	MO
2	MillerCoors Brewing Co.	Chicago	IL
3	Pabst Brewing Co.	Woodridge	IL
4	Boston Beer Co.	Boston	MA
5	D. G. Yuengling and Son Inc.	Pottsville	PA
6	Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.	Chico	CA
7	Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc.	Woodinville	WA
8	New Belgium Brewing Co.	Fort Collins	CO
9	High Falls Brewing Co.	Rochester	NY
10	Spoetzl Brewery	Shiner	TX
11	Pyramid Breweries Inc.	Seattle	WA
12	Deschutes Brewery	Bend	OR
13	Iron City Brewing Co.	Pittsburgh	PA
14	Minhas Craft Brewery	Monroe	WI
15	Matt Brewing Co.	Utica	NY
16	Boulevard Brewing Co.	Kansas City	MO
17	Full Sail Brewing Co.	Hood River	OR
18	Magic Hat Brewing Co.	Burlington	VT
19	Alaskan Brewing Co.	Juneau	AK
20	Harpoon Brewery	Boston	MA
21	Bell's Brewery, Inc.	Galesburg	MI
22	Goose Island Beer Co.	Chicago	IL
23	Kona Brewery LLC	Kailua-Kona	HI
24	Anchor Brewing Co.	San Francisco	CA
25	August Schell Brewing Co.	New Ulm	MN
26	Shipyard Brewing	Portland	ME
27	Summit Brewing Co.	Saint Paul	MN
28	Stone Brewing Co.	Escondido	CA
29	Mendocino Brewing Co.	Ukiah	CA
30	Abita Brewing Co., L.L.C.	Abita Springs	LA
31	The Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn	NY
32	New Glarus Brewing Co.	New Glarus	WI
33	Dogfish Head Craft Brewery	Milton	DE
34	Long Trail Brewing Co.	Bridgewater Corners	VT
35	Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.	San Jose	CA
36	Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co.	Newport	OR
37	Great Lakes Brewing Co.	Cleveland	OH
38	The Lagunitas Brewing Co.	Petaluma	CA
39	Firestone Walker Brewing Co.	Paso Robles	CA
40	SweetWater Brewing Co.	Atlanta	GA
41	Flying Dog Brewing Co.	Frederick	MD
42	BJ's Restaurant & Brewery	Huntington Beach	CA
43	Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants	Louisville	CO
44	BridgePort Brewing Co.	Portland	OR
45	Odell Brewing Co.	Fort Collins	CO
46	Victory Brewing Co.	Downingtown	PA
47	Straub Brewery	Saint Marys	PA
48	Cold Spring Brewing Co.	Cold Spring	MN
49	Mac and Jack's Brewery	Redmond	WA
50	Big Sky Brewing Co.	Missoula	MT

Now I HAVE to try brewing....

because this is officially the name of my first batch.

Office Beer Update

Last Friday we went on our quest to locate a baby keg of good beer for the office. One week later, during a First Friday impromptu get together, we killed that keg. One week. A 1/6 barrel is about 5 gallons, so that's an average of a gallon a day. Considering there are now 9 of us in our office everyday, that's not really surprising. Just shows you the difference between having good beer around, versus a mega keg of Miller Light! This week brings a new beer quest, and the beginnings of a recommended office beer list. Updates to come on a more regular basis.

1.) New Belgium's Mighty Arrow Pale Ale
2.) Sam Adams White Ale**
3.) Boulevard's Single Wide IPA**

**Yes, we got TWO mini-kegs at the same time. Now this should last us at least 2 weeks. We shall see how the Belgian wheat and hoppy IPA score with the crowd!

Schlitz blows thru town

Bull over at the KCBeerBlog actually caught the Schlitz Gusto teams at Harry's, and Fox News caught up with them at Paddy O'Quigley's. It hit the news that Schlitz was making a comeback last year. Today they are wrapping up their KC tour, and moving on to STL for tomorrow. Bull, you gotta share some pics of the Gusto Girls. They apparently weren't TV friendly?