If you have been following Haw River much, you may have heard that they recently collected, isolated and banked their very own native yeast strain in Saxapahaw, and they’ve created a few internal test batches, as well as a commercial beer called Little Miss NC (a collaboration with Trophy Brewing Company) to test it out. Exciting stuff, right? Read more
Haw River Ales Native Yeast Homebrew Competition
Categories: News, Yeast & Fermentation
Tags: competition, haw river, ingredients, saxapahaw, yeast
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DIY Workbench & Brewstand
But let’s be real, this is a homebrewing blog, and what’s better than a good workbench that doubles as a brew stand (and WAY cheaper than most 3-tier gravity stands)!? Read more
Girls Pint Out “House & Homebrew”
The NC chapter of the popular social group, Girls Pint Out, is shifting their eyes away from the bars for their May event and taking the beer back inside the home.
The girls will be hosting a small homebrew festival/tasting event where you’ll have the opportunity to see what beers other girls (and boys) are making at home in the area, and ask questions about getting started brewing your own beer. It’s a great opportunity to open your eyes to the world of homebrewing on a smaller, more intamate scale instead of attending one of the larger, more crowded festivals such as Brew Durham.
The event is scheduled to run from 1-4pm on Saturday, May 18th. The cost is $20, but 100% of the ticket price is going directly to Hope for the Warriors. Only 40 tickets will be sold, and they will definitely go fast! Read more
Casks for a Cure 4
This year’s event will be raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s North Carolina Chapter.
There will be at least six casks & kegs created especially for this benefit, all provided by some of the top homebrewers in the area, and includes a cask from Ben Woodward of the soon to be open Haw River Farmhouse Ales!
A $10 donation gets you access to all the beer! There will also be a food truck on hand. Read more
Brew Durham: Spring 2013
The event is already full on the brewer’s side, but tickets are available for attendees. It’s a great event to get out and try other’s homebrew and see what cool concoctions the local brewer’s are coming up with.
We will be there serving up two brews:
- The Beer With No Soul. This is a 9%+ ABV Belgian Tripel with ginger root added to the mash, boil, and fermentor. It is a colaboration of three gingers – myself, Chris Shields of Mystery Brewing, and Dave Haydysch of Fullsteam. So, it’s a beer brewed with ginger, by gingers, and for everyone.
- Cask Conditioned ESB. I love bringing cask beers to festivals, if for no other reason than to counter the extreme with the traditional. This will be a 5.5% ABV English extra special bitter, so we’re hoping it will have the nice bready and toasty maltiness balanced by an assertive, but not overwhelming bitterness and English hop earthiness. This one is a collaboration with one of the few other Certified Cicerone’s in NC, Matt Pennisi, and we might just be pairing it with some delicious food from Dos Perros, if everything falls into place.
Here’s the low-down on Brew Durham this year: Read more
Beer Education Classes at Beer Study
We’ll be incorporating 24 different off flavors and discussing the beer history and styles from the UK, Belgium & France, Germany & Czech, and the US. The classes will be once a month from April through November, and you can sign-up for single classes or for the full eight-class course at a discounted rate.
**EARLY REGISTRATION SPECIAL***
Sign up between now and the end of the day on Saturday, April 6th and individual classes are only $15 (normally $20) or all eight classes for $100 (normally $135)!
For more information on the schedule and syllabus of the classes, and to register online, check out our “Beer Study @ Beer Study” page. Space is limited to 15 people for the off-flavor nights, and 20 people for the geographic style discussions. Read more
Easy Upgrade Series: DIY In-line Thermometer for Chillers
I have a thermometer on my kettle, which was great when using an immersion chiller, but if you’re using a plate chiller or a counterflow chiller, you need to know what the temperature is *after* the wort has gone through the chiller
There are a lot of really complicated ways of doing this, however, I wanted a simple, affordable, DIY method, so I started looking around. The simplest design that you can buy is called the “Thrumometer.” The only downside is that it costs $25. Not terribly expensive, but it seems a bit high for a simple thing like this. I got to thinking…there has got to be an easier way. Read more
Categories: Brewing Techniques, Equipment, Projects
Tags: chillers, DIY, temperature control
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Easy Upgrade Series: Counterflow Wort Chiller
Social Brewing and Friendly Competitions
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So, you like to brew your own beer. And why wouldn’t you? It’s cost-efficient, tasty, and allows you to create something you enjoy. The process of brewing beer requires patience and discipline, but offers the reward of a unique brew of your own.
Drinking has always been a social activity, and brewing can be the same. If you’re friends with people who enjoy a nice drink (and you probably are), then there are a few ways you can make brewing a social event.
Those Who Brew Together
Of course the first and most obvious option is to brew with a friend. You can split the costs, labor, and bounty. In return, you get someone to help move jugs full of liquid, keep bottling tubes steady, and talk with while you wait for reactions to take place.
Teaching
If you’re the first of your friends to catch on to the brewing craze, take the opportunity to become a teacher. Teaching is a great way to learn things yourself, and those who learn together create tight bonds. You still get someone to help you out with the heavy labor, and you’re creating a friend who you can talk with about the intricacies of your home brewing hobby.
Home Brewing Contest
A lot of cities are hosting beer festivals, allowing vendors from all over to display their wares to a new audience. As part of these festivals, there is often a brewing contest. Entrants pay a fee to contribute to the pot and cover administrative costs, and then they get their brew entered against other local brewers. Read more
St. Patrick’s Day – The Homebrewer’s Favorite Holiday
We’re quickly approaching on the one holiday that is almost solely about drinking beer. OK, so there’s the whole wear-green-or-get-pinched thing, oh, and those pesky leprechauns and their non-existant pots of gold. But the #1 way of celebrating St. Paddy’s day is to hit the bar and have your favorite Irish beer!
America has come up with some pretty funny ways of selling beer on St Pat’s. We’ve even started turning our light American lagers shamrock green. So let’s take a look at a few of the various Irish brews, and the American renditions, as inspiration for you to brew up a batch for St. Patrick’s Day (or maybe next St Patrick’s Day since this year has snuck up on me)! Read more
