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Thinkgeek goodies

Posted Sun, 05/30/2010 - 06:47 by Joe O

I'll be the first to admit that I am a geek. With that in mind, I give you this. Here's the problem though--they are out of stock. Needless to say, I'm more than willing to drop the $25 bucks plus shipping on it just to see if it is money well spent--I do love the idea of growing all the ingredients myself. And as an added bonus, my Chinooks are up, and the Willamettes will be planted (hopefully) this coming weekend...ok, my weekend, not everyone else's weekend.

Partial Mashing 101: Introduction

Posted Sun, 05/23/2010 - 05:06 by Joe O

For some, it is a matter of space. Others, it is a matter of subscribing to the theory of 'if it ain't broke, then don't fix it' train of thought. Others still are still testing the waters, so to speak, to see if they are willing to take the plunge to all grain.

Food

Posted Thu, 05/06/2010 - 06:03 by Joe O

Like most of my homebrew brethren, not only do I dabble with cooking, but I know my way around a kitchen as well. Tonight, while contemplating the meaning of life over a wonderful glass of Cab Sauv, my mind wandered back to a recipe that I came across last year for a Blackberry Sage Sauce from, of all things, The Joy of Cooking. Now, with this being Montana, my mind quickly thought of two different berries that are plentiful in this state to try  this with: the chokecherry and the huckleberry.

Hops!

Posted Wed, 04/28/2010 - 05:05 by Joe O

Yesterday, I finally got around to planting two of the hop rhizomes I bought from MoreBeer.com. Normally, I am all about supporting the local economy, but I find the local homebrew shop in Great Falls to be a bit lacking in some areas. I also lived in Billings, Montana for a few years and got aquainted with the owners, which at the time was a father/son duo who just happened to be brother and nephew to my high school English teacher (I didn't find this out until after I had become a loyal customer).

Recipes

Posted Sat, 03/27/2010 - 19:55 by Joe O

Like most homebrewers, I have a stack of recipes. This is one that I created for a friend of mine who loves porters. Again, it seems that I have misplaced my original and final gravity readings, my apologies.
 
Jackson's Entire
 
7 lbs two row
1 lb Peated malt
½ lb Chocolate malt
¾ lb Black Patent malt
1 lb steel cut oats, well cooked
½ lb 120°L crystal malt
 
1 oz Chinook, 45 minutes
1 oz Kent Goldings, 5 minutes

Seasonal Brewing

Posted Tue, 03/23/2010 - 05:07 by Joe O

Spring may be in its infancy, but there is nothing wrong with looking forward to summertime, baseball games, lawnmowing and a cool crisp refreshing homebrew. The summer months tend to put a bit of a damper on brewing due to the high temps, but there is one style of beer that is a bit more forgiving than most: The Hefeweizen.
 

Cider!

Posted Sun, 03/21/2010 - 03:43 by Joe O

Like many homebrewers, at some point my attention turned to other fermented beverages, namely cider and mead. This was one of my first attempts at making cider, and surprisingly it took second place in a competition in the hard cider category.
 
Hard Cider
5 gallons Apple Juice. I used a store brand apple juice rather than pressing my own (something that I would love to attempt).
3 lbs. raw honey
 
Spices:
2 cloves
20 corriander seeds
2 cinnamon sticks (secondary fermenter)
 

Ah, Springtime

Posted Fri, 03/19/2010 - 22:15 by Joe O

Springtime, the time of renewal. Several years ago, while conversing with a bartender friend of mine, we got on the topic of the different types of ales that Scots brew, which quickly led to Heather Ales. After a few pints, we came up with the following recipe:

Heather Ale
5 lbs John Bull light malt extract, unhopped
1 lb 120 L° crystal malt
1/2 lb Brown Sugar
1/4 tsp non-iodized salt
1 tsp Irish Moss
WYeast 1728
 
2 oz Fuggle @ 60 minutes
1 oz Heather Tips @ 10 minutes

And so it begins

Posted Mon, 03/15/2010 - 03:55 by Joe O

I suppose I should start off with a bit about me. I'm 32 years old, started homebrewing at the age of 22, and have taken part in one homebrew competition (which I did quite well in I'll add). I was born and raised in Montana, and now I am raising my own family in this great state.