Yeah, we know we said our next batch would be Imperial Stout.
But I, Mrs. Brew Meister, have had to make a change and declare a nice, summery white be brewed next. Another trip to Indianapolis and a pass through the Brugge Brasserie and the Broad Ripple Brew Pub have inspired the orange peel and coriander craving.
My darling husband allowed for the change of venue for our next batch, and he's working on it immediately. We also enjoyed a little Blanche de Namur, but got a tad giddy over the flavor of La Fin Du Monde, and that probably helped solidify the inspiration for this brew session.
Never fear, though, because the new house and temperature control, plus a couple of extra kegs from the LBS, will allow that Imperial Stout to follow...eventually.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Yoink!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Camp-brewing?
With hopeless hophead hubby traveling at times, brewing has been far more sparse than I, Mrs. Brew Meister, would prefer. I mean, having a stocked kegerator is a nice thing, no? But his recent camping trip made me wonder...
Can you camp and brew? I hear that college kids can do amazing things with homebrewing in dorm conditions. And not everyone (at least not us either) has the super semi-pro dedicated brew stove, racking, kegging system extravaganza that some of Parrothead's work friends have. But, given that brewing is a science, requiring cleanliness, temperature control, and light/air damage prevention...can one brew outside at a camp site?
Where is the most "rustic" and/or least equipped place that you have brewed?
Friday, March 28, 2008
Touring the regional brewpubs (aka why we were MIA)
Business travel has advantages. One of those is the opportunity to check out brewpubs for an expensed dinner out. And if the family pays its own way and tags along, we can all enjoy the experiences--with one of the family members dining for free. And so I, Mrs. Brew Meister, have been inspired as a result of my husband's local travel...
We had the pleasure of going to Indianapolis for the first time. Sure, it was a drive-through town between Chicago and Cincinnati, but now we got to see what it had to offer. I didn't expect much, and I was wrong. Indy has a terrific district called "Broad Ripple", with adorable coffee shops, boutiques, and restaurants. We dined at Brugge Brasserie, with a respectable beer selection (and some pretty special fries). But the real treat was hitting the Broad Ripple Brewery. The vegan food selections were only surpassed by the amazing beer. There wasn't one we didn't love! As evidenced by the empty growlers...ahem.
After Indianapolis, we were inspired to hit the Chicagoland region. We toured the Two Brothers Brewery, met the brothers, dined at their new taphouse (also veg friendly--the kids adored going "off menu"), and fell in love with their Domaine Dupage. Later, we check out America's Brewing Company at Walter Payton's Roundhouse, where we got a special tour from Brewmaster Mike Rybinski. The brewery has been as adventurous as making pizza beer (I didn't attempt this tomato-basil concoction) and a blond chocolate beer (really dessert-like; as if a candy bar was melted in it). My current favorites are the coffee stout and barleywine.
Going to Florida was just the death knell for good beer. Having the grandparents to babysit, we went on a mission. Our two months in Europe inspired us to check out a German-inspired bar. At our wits end, we asked the bartender to suggest one spot where we could buy a decent take-home brew. He recommended the strangest place--and my husband had actually heard of it! It is called The Corner Store. It is a round building, in a not-so-friendly neighborhood, but it is run by the quirkiest fellows. Where else can you buy random items like bait, porn, cookies, horseshoes (I bought one), wine, and microbrews?
Since there aren't any vacation or business travel plans for the family in the near future, and we need inspiration for our own next brewing experience, we have to stay relatively local. Next on the list will likely be Goose Island, Flossmoor Station, and Three Floyds. Will the inspiration never cease? At the very least, we have certainly answered why the children think museums are "where they make the beer".
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Belgian Epiphany
I have always been a hophead, inspired originally by British Bitters and IPAs. Then I moved on to West Coast ales with insane amounts of hops and a higher-than-normal ABV. Moylan's Triple IPA and Rogue Brewery's Brutally Bitter (among others) were my choices. Everything went off without a hitch. Primary fermentation lasted 6 days, secondary fermentation lasted 8 days. At the end of secondary, the beer tasted a bit fruity in the nose, with banana or apple, followed by a warm tongue-coating maltiness. The hops were still surprisingly apparent in the taste. The alcohol was pronounced as it went to the belly. It finished with a sharpness reminding me the beer is still too young. The batch was primed with corn sugar and bottled in an assortment of glass and Brew tap bottles.
However, my wife traveled to Europe several times for work when we first married. She would go to England, the Netherlands, and Germany, and come home talking about some of the great European beers she was trying fresh off the tap. While I did enjoy a Hefe or Bock, she never really brought home any of the Belgians. My only real experience was local sources of Lindeman's Kreik and Framboise. Not good samples in trying to convince me of the Belgium brewing magic.
I have since traveled several times to the Netherlands and once to Germany, but never made time to research or find good beers. It was usually whatever they served in my isolated Dutch hotel, or the one local Irish establishment in the heart of Schweinfurt.
During an extended work trip last year, Mrs. Brew Meister and I methodically sampled every variety possible. We started with the grocery store close to our lodging. Grolsch Kanon, Le Chouffe Blond, Paulaner Naturtrub, Hoeggarden's Grand Cru and Verboten Vrucht...oh, there will be more on beer travel later.
I was fascinated with the complexity of these brews. Many were malty, vinous, yeasty, heady, and downright delicious. After we returned home, my thoughts were still with these styles. In fact, the first batch for 2008 was a Belgian Dubbel based on a "Joy of Homebrewing" recipe. I was probably inspired by time spent in Europe drinking as many new dubbels, trippels, witbiers, schwartzbiers, hefeweizens, farmhouse ales--and anything else I could try.
When I visited the Local Brew Shop, and asked, I was recommended the "Joy" version with a few minor alterations:
I had a few friends over to show them the joys of homebrewing. It was also an easy sell, as we sampled a few beers from the style
I forgot to check FG, out of practice. Still, all and all, a great way to kick off the Brew Year.
