Beer Diary...

Another offering from the brewery Cervecera Mexicana in Penjamo, Guanajuato, Mexico. This is the third of three beers that I've reviewed which are brewed in the micro-brewery/tequillaria not far from San Miguel de Allende, where we've been staying. This is an unusual beer in that a large percentage of it is added 'house' tequilla along with a noticable quantity of artificial lime flavoring, not to mention some sodium benzoate for good measure. At 12% abv. this is a potent concoction. After first pouring, a small head forms but dissipates almost immediately, which seems to be a signature conditions for the beers of this brewery. Little carbonation is evident once the head is gone. The color is a dark brown with ruby highlights. The aroma is of sweet coffee and alcohol. This beer is dominated by the tequilla and the smokey flavor that is a byproduct of the process of roasting the heart of the agave plant prior to fermentation. It follows with distinct caramelized malt an...

They don't do this where I come from http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/ but here in Mexico it is very popular to add a kind of salsa to the beer. This salsa blend is made with chili and lime and pepper and when added to your favorite beer is called a 'Michelada' Before the pour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelada . Apparently, adding salsa to beer has been going on for quit awhile here in Mexico (since the 40's according to wiki) and is starting to make some headway into the U.S. Naturally, I had to give it a try as I don't want to come across to my Mexican friends as a purist in my beer drinking habits (even though, secretly, I am, don't tell anyone). I ordered it with my dinner at a restaurant called El Truco in Guanajuato and was surprised to recieve a bottle of Modelo naturally, along with a glass containing a couple of tablespoons of bright orange liquid in the bottom and the rim ladened with salt. I poured the beer in on top of the spicy juice and filled...

As much as I enjoy the brewing process and want to brew as often as I can, I only have a certain amount of time in which to spend in the brewery. I think this is a common dilema in the homebrewing community. My normal all-grain brewing day has typically been around six to eight hours from set-up to clean-up. But, over the years I have come up with a few tried and true ways to cut down on the amount of time I need for brew day, allowing me to do other important things on my weekend. I have cut my brew day time down to about five hours. The following ideas are probably pretty obvious to anyone who has brewed more than a few beers but for those that are new or new to all-grain brewing, they may prove valuable. 1.) The first thing that I started doing to improve on my time was to formulate a nd prepare a written schedule of the recipe for the beer that I would be brewing. I'm 'old school' when it comes to formulating new recipes for the style of beer I will brew. I calculate ...

I want to share some of the many way I have found to save some money in my homebrewing hobby. Over time, I have calculated that I can produce a pint of average strength beer (a gravity of 1.050-1.060) for myself for about .30 cents per pint. This is based on brewing in ten gallon batches and achieving an 80% efficiency in the mash. When considering the high price of commercial beer out there, this is a huge savings and if you drink as much beer as I do, brewing at home really pays off in the long run. When first starting out, the cost of ingredients can push your final price per pint into the range of commercial beer costs. We are usually buying kits or small amounts of malt extract and hops. The small purchases are more expensive to produce mostly because of handling costs which leads to higher costs to the consumer (brewer). This leads to the first idea that will dramatically save you money. 1. purchase ingredients in bulk. Once your hooked in the hobby of brewing, you will most like...

Beer and food pairing event sells out in San Miguel de Allende with overwhelming response. Mark Taylor and Noren Caseres Aside from a few logistical glitches, Noren Caseres (owner of El Burrito Bistro) and I managed to serve a 'reservations only' crowd of sixty people last night with home brewed beer and a three course meal. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and I had a lot of people ask me if they could buy the beers that were served with dinner followed by 'when will you do something like this again?' In the mean time, I learned a few lessons as the evening progressed. The biggest lesson was that if I do this again it will be with kegged beer. Also, serving people three courses would be better managed if they were served in larged groups rather than as they arrived. The owner of Cerveze de San Miguel was present for the evening and expressed and interest in working together to come up with some special and or seasonal beers. I was honored. I hope to use what I...

I wanted to know if any of my readers have done a homebrew and food pairing, or even a commercial beer and food pairing? This is a new experience for me and I could use the tips. Please comment below if you have some good advise or talk about your experience. In any case I delivered one hundred bottles of beer to the restaurant and it looks like it's on for a homebrew and food pairing here in San Miguel de Allende. I have teamed up with Noren Caceres, the owner of the 'El Burrito Bistro' and we have made our final plans for a reservations only dinner on the 7th of February from 5-8pm. Noren just informed me yesterday that we have the sixty people reserved that we can accomodate. Each person will be getting a sample (5oz.) of each of my three beers along with an appropriate course prepared by Noren. The beers will be the Belgian ale made with the addition of jamaica (hibiscus flower) and tamarindo. Followed by a pale ale with miel de agave and then a pale ale made with a ser...

Finally, a place I can go for a pint of ale! Not only ale but ale on draft! Not to mention 'pint glasses' what a novelty here in Mexico. Cameron Carroll with beer taps ^ Matthew Carroll at the bar The new restaurant and brewery on the outskirts of San Miguel de Allende called Cerveza De San Miguel has opened to the public and I visited on opening day for a couple of pints (did I say a couple, I mean a few) and to talk with the new owners Matthew Carroll and his son Cameron. Update: This brewery closed about a year after writing this post, very sad.  They were still putting the finishing touches on the place when we arrived and there was plenty of wait staff to cater to the expected superbowl fans that would arrive later. I was immediately impressed with the gleaming draft tower at the bar. Eight or ten tap handles in a row mounted to a length of shining chrome, it was beautiful. We grabbed a stool and ordered the signature pale ale to start. Th...