Beer Diary...

The author responds to the previous post, with a homebrewers perspective. Over the years I have stumbled across some important lessons about brewing beer at home and not all of them have been about the brewing processes. Some lessons have come in the form of important tools for a tranquil home life. It is easy for me to become so self absorbed in my hobby that it sometimes overshadows some other important parts of my life, specifically my relationship with my wife. I can sometimes overlook the simplest of domestic responsibilities as I endeavor to make up a batch of beer and keep my kegerator well stocked. I forget that another person occupies the same living space and should be considered when spreading out the materials and equipment to do battle in my makeshift brewery. So, I have come up with a list of do’s and don’ts that have served me well over the years and I would like to share them with you here. As a side note I want to make clear that although I am referring to my wif...

This is a guest post by my wife on being married to a homebrewer and what that's like. You can read her blog at http://www.artpilgrim3.blogspot.com/ by Susan Dorf When I first came home to what looked to be some one's dirty underwear soaking in my best cooking pot, I have to admit I was a little unsettled. Even after he explained to me that they were just used hop bags, they still looked disgusting. And what was that sticky stuff all over the stove? Yeast starter? What the hell is that? Ugh. From a page in my art journal. ©Susan Dorf 2009 It had been several weeks since my husband had taken the one day Introduction to Brewing class at the local home brewing supply store and come home with a glazed look on his face and a starter kit to make his first batch of home brewed beer. Now he was moving from malt extract to all grain brewing and had acquired a mill and a few other bits of paraphernalia to make it possible. As long as it all fits under the sink, I said. But really,...

I recently made the short trek to the other side of the bay to meet up with a friend of mine and enjoy his company over a couple of beers. During the drive down I couldn't help but smile in appreciation, for the privilege of living in one of the most beautiful places in the country. As Highway 1 bends south along the shore I witness the stunning views of the coastl ine with its cities of Monterey, Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach lining the distant horizon over a vivid expanse of deep blue ocean. My destination is The Ol’ Factory Café http://www.olfactorycafe.com/ located at the entrance to Monterey. Morgan Christopher is the owner and beer aficionado, who opened for business two years ago introducing to the public the vast array of remarkable beers from all over the world. As I walk in I am immediately drawn to a bar that boasts at least forty specialty beers in bottles and another ten or twelve on tap. We’re not talking your usual domestic craft fair although there is some of that ...

Let me begin by stating that I don't have a problem with using a false bottom in the mash tun. I used one successfully for many years when I began brewing with all-grain. In fact, I would probably still be using one now if I hadn't gone from five gallon to 10 gallon batches. When I switched to larger brews I converted a Sanke keg to use for my mash tun. When I did this, rather then purchase an expensive false bottom to fit, I decided to take the easy and cheap way out by modifying a length of plumbing supply line into a mash grain filter. Here, I want to show how to circumvent the need for a perforated false bottom. In the first example, I use a short length of stainless steel braided hose attached to a plastic spigot in a 5 gallon bucket for a simple solution for partial mash brewing procedures . Go here for the video example. In the second example I have a longer length of s.s. hose connected to a copper pick-up tube that is in turn connected to a ball valve for use in a la...

I was recently taken aback by an unpleasant experience with a professional brewer. After a short conversation about the business of brewing he convinced me that at some point, for the most part, professional brewers were left to give up their passion for brewing, and must devote their energies towards the need for fiscal responsibility in order to succeed in their business. Fortunately, I was quickly spared the idea of this disappointing, alternate reality when I had the chance to talk with Mike Hutson , the brewer at Sudwerk www.sudwerk.com in Davis, California. His passion for brewing still lives on despite the large financial needs required to operate a facility as large as Sudwerk . But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Earlier, after driving three hours to Woodland, to pick up grain for the Zymurgeeks homebrew club www.zymurgeeks.org I decided to stop at Sudwerk in Davis for lunch and of course a couple of well deserved cool ones after the long drive. I ordered a Pilsner ...

If you don’t use or haven’t heard of these techniques, I highly recommend adding them to your regimen of brewing ideas. They sound primitive but I use them regularly with excellent results. Also, check out a more recent posting with additional tricks at "3 more easy homebrewing tricks" posted in November of 2009. A.) The mighty spray bottle. A very helpful and simple tool to have at your disposal is a common household spray bottle filled with dist illed or filtered water. Keep it filled and nearby when the wort is coming to it’s initial boil. As the foam rises a couple inches, spray a heavy mist of water on the top which will effectively knock the foam back down into solution. You will have to spray periodically at the onset of the boil. Using this technique, you may be able to eliminate the awkward need to adjust your temperature down as a way of preventing boil overs, of course, it depends on your heat source and/or how vigorous you want the boil. When the boil is sta...

We’re back from Mexico now and getting acclimated to the quite, cool coastal atmosphere of northern California again. As I sit here enjoying a Sierra Nevada ESB I can’t help but notice the absence of the noises of Mexico. From the midnight fireworks to the diesel buses and car alarms, there was never a moment of peaceful silence. The garbage man called for your trash by hammering pieces of sheet metal together and the gas truck played a funny tune repeatedly over loud speakers attached to the cab. The calls of the vendors at the market and the special whistle of the knife sharpener who road his bike with a grinding wheel attached to the fender, through the neighborhood. The old man that sang his tuneless song as he made his rounds in the park each afternoon. Barking dogs, honking horns, mariachis bands, crowing roosters, televisions novelas , fighting cats and the church bells, always the bells from the Spanish Colonial churches that anchored each barrio to the earth like a rusty ca...