Brewing is a involved endeavor. To plan and pack all of my…

Just trying to see if my brewing habits are normal. I’m targeting…

This is a review of my attempt to brew a traditional english mild using the brewing classic styles recipe. I’ve been all about session beers lately. It’s nice to be able to enjoy a pint, or two and not feel it in the morning. I feel like too many of the homebrewing recipes I come across start at 1065, and only go up from there. This beer started where many a homebrew stopped, 1.030, and…

This beer is the culmination of brain storming and contemplating seasonal brewing over the last few months. Back in July when the commercial pumpkin beers hit the shelves I was quite perturbed. They were invading my summer beer shelf space with sweet, overly spiced wheat beers way too early. I was still enjoying refreshing berliner weisses, hoppy pales and IPA’s. I made a personal resolution to avoid buying all pumpkin beers this year. I can’t sit idly by when they put the beer out so early that it’s old by the time fall sets in and I want to enjoy one. Since I wasn’t planning on purchasing any pumpkin beer, I figured I would need to make my own, when pumpkins and squash were in season.

This is a review of my first sour beer a berliner weisse made with 100% local grain. I split the batch into two versions, they are the same sour mashed wort and the same primary fermentation.

This is just a quick review of last years cider. I don’t make a ton of cider, I try to make a batch a year, it seems like the right thing to do living where I do. There are numerous orchards with in a short drive. You can even see quite a few wild apple trees along many of my local running routes. This is what it’s like living in converted farm county.

I got a text this past weekend letting me know a friend had some extra pear cider, asking if I was interested in coming over and helping make some. I jumped at the opportunity. I’ve never had fresh pear cider, and I never made Perry. I am a big fan of both pears and local fruit. Sunday morning I set of with my work crew and we headed to turn some pears into juice. The Cider grinder and press is a gorgeous piece that would look at home in a turn of the farm (1900’s). Osha and FDA certified it is not, with a hand crank powered toothed grinding wheel, a large open flywheel, and lots of wood.