Homebrewing

In my last post that dealt with the cost of beer, I mentioned the impact of grains . My expatiation was plenty for many of you. And since “brevity is the sole of wit, brief let me be.” Hops are important on various levels for making a beer. There was a time in history when they were not a major part of beers , but that time is long gone. Why? I think partly because hops were found to be ideal for the various parts of beer production. This includes everything from fermentation to shelf-life. Yet many people don’t understand that different beers use ... Read Full Story

It’s not often that one finds a product that’s both visually attractive AND functionally satisfying.This kettle is one of those rare items: the shiny stainless steel body is beautiful to look at, and it boils water very very quickly!It features a nice big and sturdy handle which is very comfortable, and the spout is perfectly designed so that you’d have to be a real klutz to spill things.The cordless feature is wonderful, I tried a cheap ten dollar “Hot Pot” for a day or two and hated having to deal with the cord, plus that model doesn’t have automatic shutoff despite what it says ... Read Full Story

I have been looking through our hop profiles and found that we have not written about East Kent Goldings (or any Goldings hops) yet. This variety is Mike’s “go-to” English hop. He uses these in his Ordinary Bitters and other English style ales. Goldings is an Old English hop variety that was cultivated from a wild variety named Canterbury Whitebine. There are other Goldings (Kent, Whitbread) but the ones grown in East Kent are the premier version. Note: Styrian Goldings hops were bred from Fuggles, but that’s another post. Origin: As noted above, East Kent Goldings hops are grown specifically in the area in ... Read Full Story

This week’s Sip With Us Saturday beer comes from a unique English craft brewery, Wychwood Brewing Company . Always appreciative of unique label art, I have to hand it to Wychwood for never failing to dress their bottles up in provocatively dark, yet colorful labels that lend one to believe something interesting is on the inside. It seems that every brewery has some sort of unique interest that becomes their marketing focal point. Wychwood is no different, drawing from English folklore. From the Brewery’s website: Wychwood Brewery is named after The Royal Forest of Wychwood which was recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086, ... Read Full Story

I make no bones about it: I prefer a British Pale Ale over an American one any day of the week. I like the more classic rendition of the style and the Demererra sugar tones, nuttiness, and overall taste of non-U.S. versions. For me, the American versions tend to be over-hopped for what is, historically speaking, normal. However, Stone makes no pretensions about what they are aiming to accomplish. In fact, they don’t call this an American Pale Ale. No, they go even further by calling it a Southern California Style Pale Ale (although basing it on British style). Okay, at least we know ... Read Full Story