I took part in the Glen Ridge Homebrewers Association‘s Spring bulk grain buy. Everyone in the group orders a bag or two or three, and we all save money by paying for shipping by the pallet.
I ordered a bag of Maris Otter and split a bag of domestic 2-row with another member. I should be good on base malt for six or seven batches.
I also bought some airtight pet food bins from Corrado’s to protect the grain from pests.
Time to brew!
Yesterday I ordered supplies for version 2 of my Gimp Biscuit ESB. I made some major revisions to the original (which I liked a lot but was quite a bit off-style). Following recommendations from Ray Daniels Designing Great Beers (as well as feedback from my own taste buds), I wanted to make this beer: Continue reading
It was a very Beery Christmas at our house. I received a lot of beer- and brewing-related gifts: a gift card to Midwest Homebrew, enough to pay for the ingredients for the next iteration of my Gimp Biscuit ESB; carboy covers complete with “Shh. I am Fermenting” embroidery; carboy draining and storage racks; a membership in the American Homebrewers Association, complete with a subscription to their monthly magazine Zymergy; a Christmas Story pint glass; a rare Belgian made with “wild” yeast. Thanks to wife Olivia, mother Marsha, brother Matt, and inlaws Don and Carolyn for supporting my addiction, er, hobby. Continue reading
My Black Friday brewing supplies order has arrived! If all goes as planned, I should be able to brew my Ghostly Juror Oatmeal Stout on Monday.
Did a little Black Friday shopping from home (er, in-laws home). Finally pulled together an order for two brews and a bunch of equipment I’ve been coveting. Here’s my shopping list:
There’s a short article in this month’s Beer Advocate about Valley Malt, a new maltster in Massachusetts that is the only micro-maltster east of the Mississippi.
They create base and specialty malts, using traditional barley varieties that date back to the first New England settlers. Continue reading
Any day that you buy supplies to make beer is a good day.
Today I ordered the ingredients for my “Gimp Biscuit.” I decided to go with the slightly more British-y S-04 over the more neutral Nottingham yeast.
I also ordered supplies to make an ale version of a Bavarian dunkel. I drank a ton of Dunkel when I was in Munich this summer and now consider myself well-acquainted with the nuances of the style. Plus, I happen to have an extra packet of Fermentis Continue reading
Since this is my first post, I thought it would be helpful to provide links to some good homebrewing resources.