Finally, an easy way for Home Brewers to label their Beers!

Playing around the net on my lunch break today, I discovered two of the coolest things I didn't know I needed! One of them was an accessory for my iPad (iBallz) but the one relevant to this blog is the simple solution for labeling your home brewed beer. Onlinelabels.com makes all kinds of pre-cut label templates in any shape or size you need, along with the Word or Pdf template for you to design and print them out. Even if you're not a home brewer but were looking for foil Christmas tree labels, they have them. The one I'm buying is this one Beer Label Template .Their prices are very reasonable too, 100 sheets of 4 for 22.95! Imagine the possibilities!

Whipped Cream Might Become The Next Four Loco

As far as misleading titles to a story go, this one takes the cake, or maybe pie this time. First off, we're talking alcohol infused whipped cream. And I'm not saying it's going to be outlawed. I just wanted to shorten the title from it's original 28 word format. This was the only combination that still made sense.

Four Loco was outlawed in several places in the US "after a wave of negative press and public pressure surrounding the beverages unsafe consumption"  It's not for me to be the judge on this one. I'm sure there's thousands of college students that had their heat broken when they found out they couldn't blow their parents money chugging their favorite carbonated caffeinated alcoholic drink. On the flip side, I'm sure there's thousands more that are going to go grab their favorite non-alcoholic energy drink, take a big swig off the top, refill with cheap vodka, and not miss a blink of partying. If not they're buying a 4 pack of redbull and a bottle of vodka and doing the same thing.

While we're talking about unsafe consumption, I'm pretty sure there was a time in my life that I unsafely consumed an alcoholic beverage.  I'm pretty sure there was a day I unsafely  consumed too many Pixi Stix... I use to know a friend that would huff ready whip cans. I bet these new cans would add a whole new aspect to that fun past time. Watch the video here for more info about the Cream. I doubt it catches nearly the heat of the Four Loco but only time will say. I'm falling a seep so I'll proof this tomorrow. Enjoy

Here's to you Leslie Nielsen

I just received the news that the wonderful Leslie Nielsen Passed on today. It is a sad day but I will continue to celebrate his life and one of my all time favorite movies Airplane. He will be missed for sure but his work will live on forever.  Its too bad but theirs  not a lot you can do but remember . I guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing airplane glue . Leslie, we will never forget!!! and this mug is here for you

Cheers, from all your fans, I tip my glass  Congrats on the huge success you had through the years

Reason to Brew your own Beer #127

127. Your local package store might be going upside down! Where I doubt that our great country is going to run out of liquor stores any time soon... The number of stores that has hit the Black List has doubled and tripled in some locations over the past year and a half. The "black list" is the individual states list form the department of alcohol and tobacco of stores that haven't paid their tabs. When they make the list, they get cut off, if you get the picture. Where I'm sure a few sober up and pay the bill, If the business's financial practices aren't pretty to begin with it may be the kiss of death.

So brew your own beer, it's cheaper in the long and it can be any flavor you want! And if you go out of business, it's your own fault!  I buy all my stuff here if your looking for a knowledgeable place to shop!

Crazy Beer Criminals

A little secret about brewing beer, most of your time is spent waiting. Waiting to boil, waiting to ferment, waiting just to free up a piece of equipment so you can brew something new..... In all this waiting, I get bored, so I write here, read books on beer, and all the other fun hobbies I have. One of my hobbies is to type "beer" in to Google and hit the news tab and see what pops up on the first two pages. I bet you probably didn't know that at least 3-5 people make the first two pages just by robbing a convenience store for a six pack, mug a guy over a beer on the streets, some armed criminal action surrounding beer.   And you know they're not stealing a bottle Utopias (you can look that up here). By the way, if anyone would care to donate a bottle of Utopia to the Blog, I would be happy to review it and post my findings on here! Just shoot me an email and I'll send you the address to send it too. But my point is this, coming from a beer lover to everyone out there. It IS true, free beer is the best tasting beer, but obtain it legally! Or you might wind up as a shame in the news like these folks (this was my favorite of the day) Beer thieves caught trying to sell suds on Facebook    

I'm saying, stay thirsty, but not a year in jail thirsty..... 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving and a late Black Friday! Go shopping some other time,  unless you like standing out in the freezing rain for 8 hours like you will here. If your one of my international readers, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving (another US holiday) that shoppers wait in line for hours, days, even sometimes weeks, just to get the possibility of chance for a great deal or sale at a store. If you're not familiar with it, it's an amazingly crazy tradition where people have actually been trampled to death over the sale of a small box store appliance. I'm not proud of my country for this tradition, I certainly don't participate, but I will offer you with a little humor on the subject with a top ten photos from Black Friday and a promise that I will sleep in late on Friday! Crazy Pics Here courtesy of the DC Trawler

Dolly and Larry inspire me to brew beer

While watching Larry King Live interview Dolly Parton …..

Larry and Dolly Beer

Larry- straight forward, dry, old, suspenders, frail body, strong soul = Doppleboch

Dolly- Vibrant, full of life, always doing new thing, open to new ideas = Citrus Wheat...

Mix the two together and I’d like to see what I get . The full nose of malt followed by all the tastebuds
focusing in the entry of smoke that’s cleaned up by Chrystal malt body and a citrus finish.
It’s like a roller-coaster of flavors with a happy ending. I’ll end the jokes here but I think I I’m
going to mash Larry and Dolly and see what I get!!

Goose Island Brewery is Celebrating Black Friday the way a Brewery should!

If you have the privilege of getting your hands on a pull of Goose Island's much anticipated Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout on Friday, your a lucky duck! The Beer will only be previewed at one Pub over the weekend in Chicago starting Friday morning before it's release to the public on Monday. Rather than just rewriting the story, I'll let you read it here  and just say I'm working on getting my hands on a bottle to "review" as we speak.

Brewing scientist Charles Bamforth probes soul of beer and brewing

Beer: Tap into the Art and Science of BrewingIn case you've never heard of Professor Charles Bamforth, he is today's modern living genius of beer. He is a historian, scientist, philosopher, author, and lover of beer. He has 9 books and a 7 CD listening set. He also has an amazing speech at Google's Mountain View Headquarters. If you like beer you will enjoy the readings of this man. His You Tube link is here And a great article on his latest book and all of his accomplishments is here at the UC Davis site. Basically, if you're reading my blog, you really should be reading from this man.

Sunday it happens, MY new favorite TV Show!!

Master Brewers on the Discovery channel will capture your attention through some new TV programing.  It should be great, I can't wait  Watch trailer

Four Loco, not really beer news worthy, but here's my take....

Alcohol + Man = Drunk....  Pretty simple equation. Granted it's not perfect math, there are a few that can have just one and be fine, and there are people that add the same two and you get smashed. When the math gets tricky is when you add caffeine. To Keep things VERY simple here I'll just say this, Caffeine is a very complicated, readily available,  psychoactive stimulant drug.  To see more about it read this, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine You might need to grab a cup of coffee, it's not exciting stuff. But it does give you a little insight into the world of easy access stimulants.

Now add alcohol, a depressant, also very easy to get your hands on. After being in the bar business for several years what I know is this. As easily available as the two are, outlawing one drink because it is the current poster child of a huge growing problem is not going to stop anything. Ironically, it does the exact opposite in this situation. Cue Obvious News Article Here

The type of people that like to mix their redbulls and vodka's respectively are usually the same people that like to try the newest and latest "Mixed" drink. And the ONLY thing they here if you try and outlaw an over the counter can of punch is, must be great S#!+. And yes, they will buy out a supplier if they hear that they won't be able to get it.

And the there is this. Man Dies From Caffeine Overdose To my knowledge, this is the first ever recorded of it's kind. And no alcohol was in this instance.... So what's my point? If you want to "fix" the problem, a whole lot of education of how bad people are messing up their bodies would be a small start. Regulate coffee? Outlaw the two be mixed together? I don't have all the answers but I will say that they will find a new way to get what they want, and if you tell them no, all you're doing is promoting it.

Random Stuff I Post When Exciting Beer News Fails To Find Me.

These are pics from the top shelf of my bookcase. If you are a connoisseur of old fine books or collect old bartenders guides, you'll find I have a few fun toys but no "Holly Grails" of the collectors world. I've been collecting "Old Mr Boston Bartending Guides" for several years now and have 22 different editions,  because you have to have goals in life... Some are to fragile to open so I don't have print shots of all of them... Enjoy

Old shipwrecked beer to be replicated and bottled

How cool is this?! A 200 year old beer found in a shipwreck? I want a taste....

(AFP) – 13 hours ago

MARIEHAMN, Finland — Finnish authorities said Wednesday they plan to allow one or several modern breweries to replicate the recipe of beer discovered in a nearly 200-year-old shipwreck.
Divers discovered the beer in July, when they were salvaging champagne bottles from a wreck which sank in the early 19th century, which makes both the champagne and the beer the world's oldest.
"I don't care so much about the champagne," Christian Ekstroem, the diver who discovered the wreck's cargo, told AFP at a ceremony to uncork some of the bubbly on the Baltic island of Aaland.
"Champagne we can only sell or drink up, but... we can use the beer to produce something unique and local. It's historically meaningful," he added.
Ekstroem, in addition to being the province's foremost diver, is also the manager of a pub for a local microbrewery called Stallhagen.
He said that one of the beer bottles cracked open on the boat's deck, and the dark, ale-like liquid frothed up like any fresh brew, indicating that the yeast was incredibly still alive.
Some of the beer has been sent to the Technical Research Centre of Finland to probe the makeup of the beer's chemicals and microbes.
"We don't know if the yeast is alive, or sleeping, or dead," Rainer Juslin, a spokesman for Aaland's department of culture said during a presentation on the shipwreck's cargo on Wednesday.
Juslin added that several microbreweries, including Stallhagen but others from North America, were keen on the idea of using the shipwrecked beer to grow a root to produce more beer exactly like what was found.
Ekstroem, who tasted the beer, says he would be extremely disappointed if the authorities in the autonomous Finnish province did not give Stallhagen the opportunity to produce the beer locally.
He said that in the early 1800's, only the best beers were bottled, which makes this find even more exciting for connoisseurs.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

Free Beer For Everyone! (terms and conditions may apply)

(This article is being translated from Australian English to American English to simplify for my readers.)   VB (Victoria Bitter) in Australia is going to give every adult over the age of 18 (legal drinking age) a token (coupon??) for 1 free 375ml (12.6 fluid ounces) if Australia wins the Ashes (A cricket tournament between Australia and England). (You'll have to look up cricket on your own but it's kinda a combination of baseball and bowling on the middle of a big oval field) Cricket (see above) dates back to 16th century England and is a sport taken very seriously by both countries.  One thing is for sure, I would hate to be the Aussie Cricket Team if they loose, Beer means about as much to Aussies as cricket does! Good luck to all my Australian friends! I hope you get your free beer. Found in original article here http://www.triplem.com.au/ posted  by: Tyson Schubert 16 November, 2010 - 10:54 AM

From the Future!!

AB-Inbev Sues the MLB

I hate it when Mom and Dad fight. Granted, I don't drink Bud anymore, but I hate to see a prominent beer brewery I supported for years fight with the one sport I love. Even if AB is now owned buy another country. If the case is as the media is reporting it, the basics are that the MLB is trying to renegotiate their contract they signed in April after they found out how much AB paid the NFL in a new contract. I'm sure there's more to it than that. As long as they don't change the name of Busch Stadium to Inbev Stadium, I'll be happy. I guess it's not for me to judge but you know the MillersCoors Co. is watching very closely. Wall Street Journal Link

Beer Bread Super Easy!

                                                                   Ingredients: 3 Cups flour, 1/3 Cup of sugar, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 beer, 1/3 Cup melted butter.


Mix everything listed above until the big lumps are out and it's a fairly sticky mess. Pour that mess into a pre-greased bread pan and brush the top with your melted butter. Pop the loaf in the oven and open a beer while you wait.

After I finish 1 beer I check on it, depending on the day I'm having, I might just set a timer for 30 minutes. Brush top with more butter and throw it back it. This is where common sense kicks in. Watch your loaf, if it's starting to brown all across the top, it's probably done. My recipe calls for an hour but I always bake it until it looks right so try which ever you like.

I added some brown sugar and honey to this one ans used a wheat beer on this one but once you realize how easy it is you'll be making all kinds of variations. Two words of  advise, take any rings off before you hand mix your dough and let the beer warm op to room temp or you'll freeze your hand off while mixing it!

A Christian Singles Group/Brewery! And A Shelter To Boot!

      This post came as an effort to look more into the news report about the Lancaster Church that is going to start brewing beer. First of all, I decided to do a little research, so I went to Google News with  "James Episcopal Church, in Lancaster" which was a copy and paste form another page. I apparently missed the "St." when I now look at my screen shot. Anyway, I read articles, typed up a few paragraphs, and went back to my Google page to find a picture to post with the blog and something distracted me. When I came back to the screen, this is what my brain put together. I laughed for about 5 minutes before I took the screen shot. Seems that not only are they in the beer business, but a singles site, and a county shelter! This is one Forward thinking church! I just hope they have a sense of humor too!

Weekly Brew Update

I just took samples from the four brews I have going to see how they're progressing, Both of the meads are still very young and even thought there's no real reason to taste them, it's still fun. And as the Master Brewer of my brewery, I deem it necessary to taste everything, often! The winter spice beer is coming along wonderfully and might get a bit more ginger and a second fermentation if it keeps maturing the way it is.  The cider has come up with a sour flavor I'm researching. I'm afraid I used too much orange peal for two long. Not positive it'll make the cut, I'm still researching a fix. I'm thinking I might do a Barleywine next, or at least that is the idea that the latest Zymurgy has plugged into my head. I've also been thinking about a Porter. Either way, I need to make up my mind soon, my spring baseball beer will take about two months, and if it's going to be bottled and ready by opening day, that leaves me the month of December to get one or MAYBE two more between now and then...

Until then,
Cheers!

The Stable Serving Up Founders Beer Brunch and IPA Month

Being a beer drinker, I've always been a fan of brunch. Basically, it means I don't have to get up as early as normal to still get breakfast. And it socially acceptable to boot, fancy sounding even! So when I heard about event, it was a no brainier! And a big thanks to STL Hops for covering all the important things in my life! The Stable Serving Up Founders Beer Brunch and IPA Month

Didn't Get The Memo....

Looking through Beernews.org I just read about the World's First Beer Bloggers Conference ! I guess my invite was lost in the mail but it looked like a huge success. I can only imagine that year 2 will be even bigger. Along with 108 bloggers the event also attracted Industry representatives. Speakers and tastings filled the time along with the networking of all that attended. Maybe next year I can make it to one of the two locations for 2011, Can't wait to see you all there!

Old Oklahoma Power Plant Gets New Life

The Old Sand Springs Power Plant is now getting turned into a Micro-Brewery! Spring Loaded Brewery
Old Power PlantOld Power Plant

Discovery's New TV Show, Brew Masters

On November 21 2010, the season premier of Brew Masters series premiere, Host Sam Calagione, head of Dogfish Head, takes fans around the world looking for the right ingredients and recipes. His book, "Extreme Brewing" teaches you to not fear taking a chance on something different. I highly recommend the book and look forward to the show!

A random Hello!

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology thanks for stopping by! I have always wanted to visit Hong Kong, a fascinating place! I hope you found what you were looking for on my blog, if not, and you want to fly me over to Hong Kong,  I'll be happy to meet with you!

Some International Home Brewing

Looking at all the countries that I get readers from can kinda be daunting when you think about where I am. If you read this and "your not from around here", I'm in Springfield Missouri. Basically, if you threw a dart at the middle of a map of the United States, you'd get pretty close. And thinking that I now have readers in Canada, UK, Germany, Poland, Russia, Denmark, Hong Kong, Italy, and Singapore, it feels amazing. Let me say Hello, and thank you all for stopping by! I would love to here brewing stories or just talk beer with all of you! Leave me a message, send me an email, you can even snail mail me! I have a big world map and would love to put up a pin where your at! Tell me your local brewing laws, what your favorite beer is, or just say HI.  Keep drinking good beer out there!

Keeton

The two meads decorated for Christmas! Don't worry, I used LED lights so they wouldn't transfer heat! They may get more lights as it goes, they may get a whole new shelf and decorating....

The Brew Is Brewed

My Winter Snowman Ale is Brewed and fermenting as we speak. Mainly Light and Amber malt was used along with some Chocolate and Belgium grains. I steeped the grains for about 15 minutes longer than the recipe called for. It boiled for an hour, Irish Moss was added at 15 Min left and Spices (Cinnamon, allspice, and ginger) were added at 5 Min left.  Original Gravity was 1.080 on the dot and 24 hours after pitching the yeast, I can barley keep the trap full. It's blown twice tonight. I'm going to to let it run dry and give it a week after racked with some new sugar just to kick it a little and then bottle it. On Monday I'll have all the brew numbers plugged into my iBrewMaster App and be able to post all the specs on the brew.   I'll update this as I work the brew.

I also racked both Mead brews and the Cider. Both Meads were given another 1.5 pounds of clover honey  and the 3 gallons of cider got half a pound of brown sugar. All three are chirping along and loving the now sugar.

Brew Update

I've moved to a new brewery and haven't had time to post anything new in a few weeks, but I'm back! The Root Beer that I put together was only about 2.5* but the cider I made was 4 out of 5! I have two different 5 gallon batches of mead going and a newer batch of cider with a new recipe to go with it. I have used the same yeast starter for all the batches of mead and cider I've started now.
 
Tomorrow, all three get racked, honey, and or brown sugar gets added, lees get pitched (thrown away) not pitched like new pitched... hahaha I made a brewers joke.... and I'll make a trip to the Home Brewery to pick a great winter brew recipe to start the next couple days...

And at the end of the day I'll have some new pics to post of my pets!