A beer sort of day

KC Hop Head and OregonAmy were nice enough to let me host July's Brew Day, and despite some ungodly humidity, I think a good time was had by all. I know I learned a lot, just by watching them do their brews. I chickened out, because I still had yet to figure out how to properly carbonate my Questionable Cream Ale in the keg, and am not loving the results I get from extract brewing. KC Hop Head managed to get my beer all set, so it was tested, and deemed drinkable if not delicious. :) The brews brought by Amy and her husband quite awesome, and I am freshly motivated to move on from "kit" beer. It doesn't look quite as scary and difficult, when everyone else can knock it out while hanging out on my back deck. So thanks for the fantastic company and examples to follow. I'm personally interested in the oatmeal raisin stout that was smelling so nice while boiling! Friends showed up all day and evening, and I thank you all.


Everyone brought summertime brews to share, from home brew to special finds. I think my top favorites were the Belgian Cherry that Average Jane brought, the Founder's Scottish Ale brought by Tim, and the IPA brewed by Amy & her husband. Good stuff!

My dog is so exhausted from yesterday that he has only woken up twice so far - both times to eat. Ha!

Edited to add that I inherited both a tan Coleman cooler with one unmarked bottle of homebrew, and a hula hoop after everyone left on Saturday. If you'd like to claim either, let me know!

Brew Day! Deck Party! Super Happy Fun Time!

Everyone is cordially invited to a Brew Day at a beer sort of house! Saturday, July 11th, starting around noon. We're going with a Summer Beer Trade/Brewing/Drinking theme. Think lagers, pilsners, fruit brews, kolsch, etc. We'll fire up the Weber, have a few yard games, and lots of awesome people there, some even brewing up their own concoctions. The forecast says 92 degrees, but it is always cooler in the shade of Prairie Village, so plan to stop by! Bring your favorite brew to share, and possibly a camp chair. :) Email, twitter, IM, etc for directions.

Oh yeah, edited to add that our house is a couple of weeks from going on the market. If you or anyone you know really wants to move into a remodeled ranch on an awesome street in Prairie Village with great neighbors, come check out the house before it goes on the market.

Ketchup

Second batch of homebrew is almost ready for second fermentation, so fingers crossed. Bubbling is mostly stopped, gravity truth to be unveiled tonight. The Cream Ale involved way less STUFF, so maybe it's more idiot-proof? We shall see.

Works busy, economy is crap, and I think I am putting my house on the market to buy another one down the street. Gotta keep it interesting, you know.

I am going to Baltimore & DC for the 4th, any recommendations on where to get a decent beer?

Also, Jessica from Obsidian Public Relations thought I might find this interesting enough to post on my blog, so here you all go:

Flying Saucer will present a beer tasting featuring Schlafly Beer on Monday, July 6 at 7 p.m. The event will be hosted by Stephen Hale, head brewer at St. Louis-based Schlafly. Six of Schlafly’s bottle-conditioned and barrel-aged beers will be paired with selected meats, artisan cheeses and dessert. Featured beers include the Tripel, Grand Cru, Bière de Garde, Quadruple, Oak-Aged Barleywine and Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. Tickets for the event can be purchased at Flying Saucer and are $30 for U.F.O. Club members and $35 for non-members.

Fail Whale Pale Ale

The name ended up being more prophetic than I would have liked. It's really bad. Like, I don't even want to try anymore. I tried, I did. It smells awesome, but tastes like behonkey. The super low gravity that never rose told me this would be the result a week or so ago, but I really wanted it to succeed. Hope and want are not enough. Perseverance might be. You can get pretty far in a lot of things just by trying really hard and not giving up. I'm pretty stubborn, I don't like to fail, and I do lots of things I was not born to do, so there will be many more attempts.

Boil of a new brew starts tomorrow. In the meantime, I have a lot of cleaning to do. Sigh.

COMPLETELY related note:
I missed out on Amy's brew day today. I really could have used it. Long story, poor me, boo hoo, has everything to do with not so happy neighbors, a landscaping project, and then having to fill in for an employee on a Saturday afternoon/evening.

QUESTION:
That being said, KC brewers, if I can provide an actual venue, a free, private space, a place to gather, consume, discuss and teach/mentor the slower of us (me), would you be interested in an another meet up? The door is wide open. We could even invite home brew stores to come bring us goodies. I work in marketing, people, I will find us free stuff if I need to stoop to that level. Brew club peeps, experts & proven winning brewers (Jeff, I am looking at you) and fans (Bullevard) would you consider it?

Buy a movie ticket, get a free gift

If you're thinking about going to the movies on Friday, why not head out to AMC's Fork & Screen Studio 30 in Olathe? Boulevard Brewery is having release party of their seasonal beer, Zon, from 5 – 8PM. (Yes, I know Zon has been out in stores for a bit already, but they decided to throw the party now.) There will be free beer sampling with Boulevard staff on-site to talk about their beers and the brewery, free food sampling that goes well with the flavors, and movie swag from the movie “The Hangover” that comes out on Friday – t-shirts, shot glasses, etc. Get your free gift with movie ticket purchase this week.

I've always had a thing with gravity

Gravity testing on the brew starts now. Then on to moving it from one fermenter to another. Aren't you glad I updated you all on that? I am sure.

I've been kind of busy. Not in a bloggy way. Perhaps a little burnt out at the end of the day, too much time, too little do. Strike that, reverse it, you know. But it is summertime, GORGEOUS, and I have a little positive thing here: I paid a stranger to power wash, strip and restain my deck because I want to enjoy it, and I couldn't face doing it again. Grab a sixer of something interesting & meet me in the backyard, anytime.

Edited to note - This started out around a 1.020, I think. I should have done a better job of reading that specifically. Here's where we are now. Going to 2nd it because it really needs some clarification if my husband is going to drink it at all. :)

Double double toil and trouble

We have bubbles. One at least every 3 seconds. So I have that going for me. Which is nice.

Got wort?

I FINALLY have the wort in the carboy, and after messing up the seal, potentially sprinkling the dry yeast wrong, and almost forgetting to take a hydrometer reading, I THINK we may be in business. I have no idea. This batch is my warm up batch. No harm if it sucks, right?

Still haven't started

I went out of town to visit my mom in New England for Mother's Day, work's been all consuming, and I haven't had at least 4 hours at home to myself in the past 2 weeks, but I think I may be able to start my brewing experiment tonight or tomorrow night. We shall see.

In the meantime, please read Bull E. Vard's announcement that THERE IS MORE SAISON BRETT AVAILABLE! Oh yeah. Happy.

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?

Office Beer

As previously discussed, our office keg has not been replenished since July. JULY! The last thing in there was a big keg of Miller Lite, leftover from a summer party, and no one wanted to drink it. So it sat, and sat, and sat. Ew. We dumped it all out months ago, and left the keg laying around our office for too long. So on Friday Aaron & I went beer shopping for the office, looking for something that fit the following requirements:

• is in fact, an actual beer (April wanted cider)
  
• is not too dark (don't want to scare 'em)
  
• is not a mass produced lager (NO BUD OR MILLER, DAMMIT)
  
• is light & seasonal for spring (gotta switch it up now & then)
  
• in no way contains fruit of any kind (I hate fruit beer)
  

So we haul the keg back to Gomer's, and it had been so long they no longer had our paperwork! No worries, they found us in the system, and we traded that big empty keg in for a 1/6 barrel keg of New Belgium's Mighty Arrow Pale Ale. That's about 5 gallons of good beer, which means we shouldn't have a problem getting thru it in a timely manner. I also took pity on April & grabbed her a sixer of Woodchuck's Granny Apple Cider. And after a full hour of 4 dudes messing around with O rings, we got the lines cleaned and the keg hooked up, and proceeded to have a wonderful Friday afternoon brainstorm.

A few notes about the Mighty Arrow Pale Ale. It's good! Almost sweet, for a pale, but that's b/c it's an APA, not an IPA, which is what I've been drinking lately. It's coppery, like April's cider, and via newbie pouring efforts, we got several inches of foamy head on each pint. I credit Aaron with the pick, since it was well received by everyone in our office, the Busch Light drinkers included. *shudder*

Craft Beer Week is coming

From BeverageWorld
BOULDER, CO: America's small and independent craft brewers are making special plans for the annual American Craft Beer Week (May 11-17), a national celebration highlighting the culture and contributions of craft beer.

These brewers want the week to inspire beer enthusiasts to declare their independence by supporting breweries that produce fewer than 2 million barrels of beer a year and are independently owned.

In the works are special brewery tours, beer and food pairing events, special release craft beers and festivals all across the U.S.

A Declaration of Beer Independence is available on the program web site and the American Craft Beer Week fan page on Facebook, which participating breweries are encouraging beer enthusiasts to sign.

Local breweries and restaurants will also post a copy of the Declaration of Beer Independence so that patrons can show their support.

"The U.S. has become known as the best beer nation in the world. This reputation is in thanks to the innovation and passion of America's craft brewers who have taken beer styles to the next level. During American Craft Beer Week our goal is to get 10,000 Facebook users to become supporters of the American Craft Beer Week fan page, and thus declare their beer independence," stated Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association.

Small and independent craft brewers provide nearly 100,000 jobs, and in 2008 the total taxable barrels of beer produced by craft brewers was 8,596,971. Additionally, many craft brewers go to incredible lengths and great costs to lessen their impact on their surrounding environment and community. Representing 4.0 percent by volume and 6.3 percent in dollars of the overall beer market, consumer interest in the craft sector continues to grow, but not without challenges. According to the Brewers Association, the cost of operating a small brewery has increased over 39% November 2007 to November 2008.

Today's craft brewers face many challenges including the following:

* Access to ingredients and raw materials
* Increased pricing for materials and supplies
* Access to market (competition for shelf space at the retail level)

In 2006, the inaugural American Craft Beer Week was recognized by the U.S. Congress with House Resolution 753. Since then, the week has continued to attract interest and support from beer enthusiasts and media with more than 180 breweries formally participating in 2008.