Let’s get down to brass tacks: I need to write more. The blog has been suffering from regular updates and I hope to change that by, drumroll please, lowering standards! No more need for coherent and well-organized blog posts. Nope.…
Blog Archives
Skunks, Dancing Dolls, and Floral Beer
I was awoken this morning by something you don’t want to be woken by: the pungent stench of fresh skunk. Had it been sleeping on my pillow? I couldn’t sleep so I wandered into the living room and it was…
Posted in Brewing, Parenting Tagged with: beer, blossom wheat, CH, child harbat, dolls, home brewing, hops, orange, skunks, smell, wheat beer
Never Give Up
Sometimes you give up too early. I’ve written about beers that didn’t work when I thought they would be great, and others that rose from the ashes to be wonderful. Last night I went out to the beer fridge int he…
Posted in Brewing, Uncategorized Tagged with: beer, brewing, harvest ale, home brewing, malts, spices
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…
Bubble, Bubble, Toil, and Guzzle
Home brewing is a hedonist’s dream. Whatever your taste, your required quantity, your preferred bottle shape, it’s all under your control, o puppetmaster. But homebrewing is a hell for the impatient. You think once fermenting is done that you can…
Posted in Brewing Tagged with: abbey ale, beer, brewing, english ale, fermenting, home brewing, honey rosemary saison, stout, yeast
Let Your Beer Grow Up
A little age isn’t a bad thing. Take a look at the smoked wheat after it had some extra time in the fridge to settle: And it’s not just the color that improved. The flavors really matured, blended, and mellowed.…
Posted in Brewing Tagged with: ale, beer, bottling, brewing, grains, home brewing, mash, racking cane, stout
Lemongrass Wheat Beer
New beer is on the way! Last weekend I made a batch of wheat ale and decided to go off-recipe and try my own thing. Yes, this is the part of the story where Uncle F#*k-Up makes an appearance. But…
Posted in Brewing Tagged with: beer, cardamom, child harbat, coriander, home brewing, lemongrass, mash, toca boca, wheat ale
Making it Yourself
It’s one of the oldest themes of my blog: handmade. This weekend I went back to those roots, finding simple joy in the handcrafted pleasures of…oh, who am I kidding? UncleF#*k-Up finally bottled the beer after an extra week of…
Posted in Home Improvement, Parenting Tagged with: beer, CH, home brewing, leprechauns, parenting, uncle
