Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, May 17 2012
Attention to detail :  This style of beer takes extremely soft water to get the beer correct to the style.

Last week I evaluated Bohemian Pilsner recipes. This week I have picked and brewed my Bohemian Pilsner recipe. I call it Milk Carton Bottom Pilsner. We can get into the name later.

So after evaluating many recipes for Bohemian Pilsner this is the recipe that I chose:

• 9.5 lbs Pilsner Malt (Best brand)
• 1 oz Melanoidin Malt
• Saaz Hops – 1oz of 5.5% alpha acid at 60 minutes
• Saaz Hops – 1.5 oz of 5.5% alpha acid at 30 minutes
• Saaz Hops – 1oz of 3.0% alpha acid at 10 minutes
• Saaz Hops – 1oz of 3.0% alpha acid at 0 minutes
• Yeast – Wyeast – 2278 Czech Lager, made from a slant, and built up using 4 pints of DME.

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Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, May 10 2012
Color, flavor, and body :  Looking at two different recipes along with the importance of tradition and the brewing process.

I’ve been thinking about brewing some lagers. More specifically, I have been thinking about brewing a Bohemian Pilsner. Now the quintessential Bohemian Pilsner is Pilsner Urquell from the Czech Republic. I’m sure you have seen it in your local beer store. It’s a great beer, but sometimes those green bottles that the beer is packaged in do not do the beer any favors, therefore, I usually try to drink it on tap.

I have found some different thoughts on the style and a couple of different recipes that I am contemplating.

Traditional Bohemian Pilsner is made from all Pilsner malt, Saaz hops, lager yeast, and soft water. This beer is all about the "brewing process" as the recipe is generally pretty simple. Here is the first recipe that I have been scratching my head over.

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Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, May 03 2012
Black IPA's :  So how do brewers get the color, and then why do some have a roast flavor and some do not?

On a recent family outing to Springfield, Illinois to visit Abraham Lincoln’s home, I stumbled upon craft brew. Both sites are in downtown Springfield, Illinois which has a small town atmosphere even though it is the state capital.

When we parked to go see President Lincoln’s house we somehow parked by the local microbrew pub in town. It is called Obed & Isaac’s Microbrewery and Eatery. Its website is www.obedandisaacs.com, and it address is 500 S. Sixth, which is about two blocks from Abraham Lincoln’s house.

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Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, April 26 2012
Do It Yourself :  An overview of the equipment and procedures required, and why it might be normal if you smell burining arm hair.

Propagating your own yeast can save a brewer lot of cash and heartache. That’s what I have been doing for about the last three or four years. I currently have 16 strains of yeast in my refrigerator. It is actually more convenient, saves the heartache, as well because now I do not have to wait on a mail order or drive to the home brew store.

The process is not that hard, however in my opinion it is just like attempting all grain brewing for the first time – it is better to witness the process before trying it yourself. There are some good instructions out on the internet on how to propagate your own yeast. Much like all grain brewing it requires its own set of equipment as well.

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Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, April 19 2012
Simple, high-quality ingredients :  Tupelo honey is one of the rarest honeys with an exquisite buttery flavor and light color.

So categories 24, 25, and 26 are in the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guidelines (http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2008_Guidelines.pdf), but they are not beers at all. They are, in fact, categories for mead. Category 24 is Traditional Mead, category 25 is Melomel (Fruit Mead), category 26 is Other Mead, you know like using spices and other flavorings. So what is mead?

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Homebrewing

The All Grain Brewer   |   Thursday, April 12 2012
BJCP Category 22B :  The most important thing to remember is to get the base beer correct, and then get the level of smoke just right.

St. Louis has always been about beer kind of like Milwaukee. I was in St. Louis not too long ago for a quick trip. I did some initial investigation of the beer scene via the internet, and then at my home brew club meeting. At my meeting I met a gentleman that knew lots about St. Louis. He told me to go to Schlafly Bottleworks.

Alright that was one of the brewers on my radar; decision made. Now he mentioned the bottleworks because he loved the restaurant as well. They have another location that is just a tap room, and it is located downtown. I would have went to the tap room as we were visiting the St. Louis Arch, but I had the kids, so apparently they get hungry and have to eat. By the way, you pronounce the brewery SH – Laugh – Lee - - -Schlafly – it’s not obvious, at least not to me.

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