It is said that Spruce Tips impart various flavors associated with the needle buds that are found on spruce trees. Spruce tips impart a great combination of citrus, pine, resinous, floral, and even cola-like flavor. The history of using spruce tips takes us back to indigenous North American people. Jacques Cartier and his explorers used spruce tips while exploring what is now Quebec in 1535 as Derek Ebberts writes in his book, To Brew or Not to Brew: A Brief History of Beer in Canada. The use for these spruce tips was to ward off scurvy. Spruce tips typically are harvested in the spring. … [Read more...]
When A Beer Is More Than Just A Beer
In 1985 Bruce Springsteen’s hit, “Glory Days” became the fifth release from the album, Born in the U.S.A. The song portrayed Springsteen’s childhood little league baseball teammate, Joe DePugh according to a New York Times article. As Springsteen wrote: I had a friend was a big baseball player Back in high school He could throw that speedball by you Make you look like a fool boy Saw him the other night at this roadside bar I was walking in, he was walking out We went back inside sat down had a few drinks But all he kept talking about was [“Glory Days”]. A gifted athlete I once … [Read more...]
DOUBLE PLAY: HOW BEER AND BASEBALL BECAME AMERICA’S PASTIME
The dog days of August are winding down. I’m taking my ease at the picnic table on the deck during a sweltering evening, admiring the pale golden hue of homebrewed vanilla cream ale in a tapered pilsner glass, illuminated in the slanted rays of the sunset. From outdoor speakers come the soothing intonations of a baseball play-by-play broadcaster narrating a game that has just started. With the first cold sip, my cares suddenly melt away like ice cubes in the humidity as a two-hour escape to the virtual ballpark in my mind begins. Whether it’s at the ballpark, watching from a tavern, or … [Read more...]
Small Batches = Big Results
Here’s a riddle: When does smaller mean bigger? Answer: When it’s your homebrew pipeline. A lot of novice homebrewers start with small batches and that makes a lot of sense. You don’t want to invest money, time, and space on a hobby that might not work out (and let’s face it, for someone new to brewing, it seems like a cross between rocket science and black magic). And there are companies that specialize in kits and equipment for new small-batch brewers. That’s how I got my start, along with thousands of others. But if the fever really gets hold of you, the tendency is to go big - … [Read more...]
Reiterated Mashing: Brewing High Gravity Beers
After I brewed my Oktoberfest, my mind started wondering to big beers. You know, those beers that look forward to after shoveling the snow in December or January. Those beers that warm your bones as you sip it next to the fire. After brewing a Belgian Stout a few days prior, I felt the need to brew up a nice Imperial Porter. Somehow with all the crazy attention Barrel Aged Stouts and Pastry Stouts receive these days, Imperial Porters have pretty much gone to the waste side. This was my effort, however minimal and innocuous, to bring more attention to this wonderful beer style. One of the … [Read more...]
A “CORNY” IDEA THAT MAKES SENSE — KEGS
“For a quart of ale is a dish for a king,” an appreciative William Shakespeare wrote in A Winter’s Tale. And yet – while Bard’s father was an official ale taster, and he enjoyed an occasional pint at The Windmill when not inserting drinking references into his plays – neither Shakespeare nor his characters home brewed. Had Prince Hamlet taken up the hobby when not plotting revenge against his uncle, he would have stared at the carboy of his first completed batch of ale and rhetorically asked: “To keg or not to keg – that is the question.” Why a beginner should consider corny kegs for beer … [Read more...]
Grain Mills – A Must Have for Homebrewing
Most homebrewers don't begin their brewing obsession by rushing out and buying a grain mill. They start by brewing extract batches. These beers are well-received, consistent, and usually pretty darn tasty. After a while, these young brewers want to venture off to the land of all-grain brewing. Let’s face it, one of the biggest reasons why homebrewers venture into homebrewing is to have the freedom to brew when and what they want to brew. One piece of equipment that can allow brewers the freedom to brew is their very own grain mill. Grain mills also allow Brew in the Bag (BIAB) brewers … [Read more...]
New Recipes From Old
Pop quiz! What do the following dishes have in common? Chicken Marsala Chicken with Cashews Chicken and Dumplings Chicken Kiev If you said “chicken,” congratulations, you can read. And no, you didn’t get re-routed to a foodie blog. The point is, these four delicious meals all have the same common base ingredient (chicken, for you slowpokes). But they’re all delightfully different because of the other ingredients used to enhance the dish. And this is related to beer….how? We’re naturally creatures of habit; we set our alarms for the same time, go through our morning … [Read more...]
Beer Money Blueprint: How A Homebrewer Turned His Passion To Profit
Here's your chance to peek behind the scenes of Homebrew Academy. I was recently interviewed on one of the top business podcasts on iTunes: "Bacon Wrapped Business" (cool name of a show, right?!). Brad interviews all types of business owners and entrepreneurs and on our episode, we discussed how and why I started Homebrew Academy after college, taking a passion and turning into a side hustle and then a full time business. Brad called it the Beer Money Blueprint (it's got a nice little ring to it). You'll see behind the scenes, how I founded the site and how I earn a living from it … [Read more...]
Competition Brewing – Part II
We all make mistakes now and then, and our brewing experiences are no different. Mistakes can range from fermenting too warm to nearly killing yourself. No lie. Gordon Strong, the president and highest ranking judge in the Beer Judge Certification Program, had this happen. In the introduction to his book Brewing Better Beer, Gordon describes how he and his partner were using a smoldering stick to kill any mold in a bourbon barrel they intended to use for aging a barleywine. The fumes ignited and the barrel exploded. It took them over eight weeks to recover from their injuries. So keep your … [Read more...]