Ooh, I like the title of this post, it sounds like a noir film. But really it’s all about very, very dark stout all bottled up. As I bottled this I had a taste and I think this is going…
Blog Archives
Border Crossings, Beers, and Giant Meat Cylinders
Boy are things changing in Mexico! Here in San Diego the craft food and beer scene is heating up and stimulating the foodie culture south of the border in Tijuana. Craft breweries are popping up, stylish high-quality eateries, and places…
There’s Dark Beer and there’s DARK BEER
Holy crap! I’ve somehow made a black hole in the beer closet! This isn’t just any dark beer, it’s chocolate cream stout. Somewhere in that square fermenter is a bag of cocoa nibs, some cocoa-soaked rum, and vanilla extract. But…
Bigger is Better!
I’ve moved up to 3 gallon brewing instead of 1 gallon. And oh lawdy was it easy. How do you do it? First, go to Home Depot and get a 5-gallon water cooler. It’s $20, a bargain for what you’re…
Posted in Brewing, Uncategorized Tagged with: amarillo, brewing, brewing equipment, carboys, cooler, fermenting, grain, homebrewing, hops, mash tun, nelson sauvin, simcoe, valves
Beer Successes, Beer Failures
When you’re a homebrewer, sometimes the product is greater than the sum of its parts and sometimes it’s a mess you pour down the drain. Three weeks ago I bottle my Harvest Ale, a lovely dark amber spiced ale made…
Brewing Stockpile
Now I know how the squirrel feels. With the warmth of summer still hanging in the air like the last note of a concert before the applause, the days growing darker but the cold not yet drawing the heat away.…
Brew Daze
Apologies for the punny title, I was inspired by a liquor store near my office called, sadly, “Happy Daze Liquors”. It seems like a name that would’ve been funny during the Great Depression but now stirs up the tut-tutters. What’s…
Stocking the Closet
It must be one of the most primary and ingrained feelings: the sense of contentment you get from being well-stocked with provisions. Tens of thousands of years ago it was the sight of smoked mammoth meat stacked in the back…
Now We’re Cooking with Jaggery!
“Can I help you sir?” asked the young man at the Indian/Himalayan market. Big smile, hands wrung together, plastic sandals. Already I was thinking the answer was probably ‘no’. “Do you have any jaggery?” I asked. Now his smile was…
Beer Review: Honey Rosemary Saison
Another beer brewed, another lesson learned. Hey kids! Go easy on the herb, ‘kay? Even though Crazy Uncle Gary says it’s no problem and he lets you pour coke into your Froot Loops instead of milk, a little fine herb…
