Topics

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Goose Island beer

« on: May 12, 2013, 02:56:13 pm »

I'd only heard of the far off brewery Goose Island and never in my life thought it would ever be on the shelves here but lo and behold...

I've had a 750 of "Sofie" farmhouse ale and am sipping on some "Summertime" which is a Kolsch evidently.

So far all have been excellent. Could it be that the recent appearance has anything to do with InBev?

2

The Pub / Forum attendance

« on: March 29, 2013, 03:46:40 pm »

Wow Guys! We've seen a couple records broken:

Most Online Today: 229. Most Online Ever: 406 (February 20, 2013, 13:43:17)

Significantly up from last year and the year before! Way to go fellow brewers!

3

Going Pro / New Texas law?

« on: March 07, 2013, 05:39:54 pm »

Today a person I met in New Braunfels claimed that a law allowing self distribution by breweries was passed recently. A google search reveals nothing.

Might affect my choice of retirement career options.

4

Commercial Beer Reviews / Schlitz High Gravity V.S.L.

« on: February 07, 2013, 10:54:39 am »

Yes folks Schlitz High Gravity V.S.L. enters the ring at 8.5% by volume...! Knocking aside its competitors with the low price and cheap buzz.

I've become rather partial to this strong-lager in its black can. It's a little sweet and could use a bit more of hop character but a fine golden beverage nevertheless. I mix 1-2oz limeade with a 16oz can to make a refreshing but sneakily potent shandy. Been drinking a lot of this lately as the homebrew is running low.

5

Beer Travel / Ouachita Brewhouse Little Rock Airport

« on: January 10, 2013, 07:02:35 am »

I might be spending several hours in this airport and don't want them to be long... Anybody with knowledge of this establishment: Ouachita Brewhouse? I certainly can see myself spending a few hours drinking some beer.

6

The Pub / Another timewaster

« on: January 04, 2013, 06:34:03 am »

I stumbled upon this interesting little game called "Progress Quest". Only thing required is picking your name, race and class and roll up your stats. Then it does the rest.

The browser version seems to eat up a lot of cpu and pauses when the window isn't on top so the client performs so much better- leave it running for an hour or two in the background and see how fast you level!

7

The Pub / Absente

« on: December 02, 2012, 05:07:29 pm »

I know this isn't a new product since Absinthe actually has been legal in the States for quite some time now. This stuff is as probably as close to the classic absinthe one can get with 10mg thujone per serving. According to my research this is most likely more ppm than the original product. Regardless, I'm fairly sure that thujone isn't the main effector in this drink but is part of a synergistic medley of herbs.

I've had a pastis everyday between the classic 5-6 pm to celebrate the drink and to stimulate the appetite.

It's fairly nice with just ice but thought I'd demonstrate the "louche" without the wasteful flaming of the sugar-cubes. Dilute about 3-1 and serve well chilled. Sip and enjoy the delicate flavors.




I get some indefinable stimulation but where it really shows up is the effect on my dreaming. Very vivid and complex. Ever see Inception...?

8

General Homebrew Discussion / Beer serving temp

« on: November 22, 2012, 10:31:13 pm »

I got back from visiting the family and placed a 3 gallon keg of bitter into a bucket and chilled with frozen bottles for a couple hours. The water is 48F and the first couple glasses were exactly that temp. Tastes great. Now the beer is serving 10 degrees over the ambient water temp. Still awesome. maybe better.

The water is to the top of the keg and over the level of the beer but I'm assuming there's some sort of convection? Why else would the beer warm up while the chilling water has remained the same temp?


And what temp do you guys serve beer at. mine usually is in the low 40's? I was raised with cold beer here in the South. Can't help it.

9

The Pub / A changed euge (sorta)

« on: November 20, 2012, 07:40:54 pm »

I just wanted to let you guys know about some things that have transpired in my life in the last several months.

You know about the death of my dear old Dad- an old Marine, a member of the Greatest Generation and my ultimate Hero.
 
What you don't know is:

Four days after his death I was laid off from my decently lucrative job of 6 years. Three weeks after that an Aunt passed away suddenly. A month after that an Uncle. The family pulls together. In the meantime there are slim pickings in my particular field of expertise. Basically no real jobs to be found in my area for a person of my qualifications. Mentally it got ugly. Thank god for xbox, beer and other things. A fellow laid-off is colleague calling me mirroring my mental state. We support each other. Meanwhile all is chaos and confusion. No responses to my carefully crafted resume and letters of recommendation. I begin to despair. Am I just another statistic of today's Economy?

A slew of part-time jobs appears. I apply for every single one of them. No responses.

Then my Mother passes away three months exactly shy of one hour of my Dad's death. I miss saying goodbye by 10 minutes. The family is devastated yet in no small way relieved since she suffered so. I am trying not to sink into a world of self-pity.

Two days later as we are making arrangements for a funeral a call is received and an Interview is scheduled! The day after the funeral another call comes in from my old organization. They want to interview me. After two interviews with the Director and my soon to be peers I am made an offer- albeit at a diminished compensation rate and part time hours. I quickly and gratefully accept. Will start in December.

Yesterday another recruiter calls me for a part time job and I set up an interview for this afternoon. Surprise! It's a peer interview with Supervisor/Manager present! Goes OK I think... Another one with the Director afterwards. Am told "We will be in touch by middle of next week one way or another..."

By the time I get home the recruiter is calling me with an offer. I take it. Now I have two part time jobs with competing organizations....

All is clear to me now. It has been tough, scary and uncertain. I still have no benefits. I am humbled and chastened. Probably not over yet. And I miss my parents.

10

The Pub / Latest Colorado and Washington State laws

« on: November 10, 2012, 08:17:27 pm »

So as everybody must have heard by now possession of weed up to 1 oz is legal by State law in two States now. As far as I understand it anyway.

Two States that feature a significant brewing and foodie culture I might add!

I don't think it violates forum rules so it intrigues me as to the opinions of others. Will there be an exodus to these two States? How does this impact the workforce? How about traffic stops? On and on (don't get political keep it somewhat objective)...

Enjoy.

11

General Homebrew Discussion / Spilling Beer

« on: November 10, 2012, 07:56:11 am »

I must say that a lot of beer has been spilled at my house...

But, last night I fell asleep holding a full glass of beer in my hand while sitting on my couch. About half of it splashed on me but the rest went into he couch.

There is a distinct sickly sweet candy smell now emanating from the couch which I find highly objectionable. The slip cover has gone into the washer. I dabbed at the area with a hot cloth but it hasn't seemed to do much.

How in the hell do I get rid of this odor?

12

Commercial Beer Reviews / Batch19

« on: November 07, 2012, 03:44:04 pm »

Pre-prohibition style lager!

Inspired by a 1919 recipe; this is an offering by Coors I was to find out later with a web-search. A golden bright fizzy lager with a decent malt and hop backbone. A tad sweet but balanced. Lightly herbal and citrusy with a faint currant nose. Definitely reminiscent of the Coors malt profile.

Nice beer. If they were drinking beer like this back then then they were drinking well! The macros would do well to take notice.

13

General Homebrew Discussion / Is this a good problem?

« on: November 07, 2012, 09:49:30 am »

Think I'm developing weaze's problem where his friends were drinking all of his beer up- even when he wasn't at home.

One friend in particular comes over for "beer and a visit" and grabs the largest glass available -24oz and he usually drinks five of them in short order while I'm quietly drinking a couple 12oz.

I nearly snapped Monday when my keg of IPA kicked after a couple of these visits in the space of days. I think he could tell I was a bit miffed about it. In the scheme of things even homebrew is costly and time consuming to make. There has been no offer of "helping out" but then again I haven't asked. I know the guy doesn't have much money right now so feel bad about that. Friends for over 30 years...

SO the 24oz's are going away. So will the 20oz nonic glasses. It'll be 12oz flutes and maybe only the 6oz kolsch glasses.

The flipside is I get to brew more, and the compliments I get are gratifying. Still doesn't balance out things but maybe I'm just selfish.

14

General Homebrew Discussion / Red Hoptober

« on: October 10, 2012, 02:14:22 pm »

This fall offering from New Belgium. Has anyone tried this beer?

15

Kegging and Bottling / Beer line and transfers

« on: October 10, 2012, 12:08:49 pm »

My regular serving line is 3/16" ID. I want to build a jumper so I can transfer carbonated beer from keg to keg. I have some extra 1/4" ID line- is there a problem associated with using this diameter to move chilled carbonated beer to another tank?