Topics

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Foam

« on: July 02, 2014, 02:26:05 PM »

Last weekend I poured a glass of New Glarus Berliner that I traded for at NHC.  I have never seen as thick a head as this, like meringue. 
I'll try to post a picture here.

I wonder how they did that?

One day, I am going to find out what I am doing wrong with posting pictures. 
Or not. 

2

Beer Travel / St. Louis this weekend

« on: April 29, 2014, 04:36:55 PM »

My wife and I will be taking a break and flying to St. Louis this weekend to see what's there.  Hopefully we'll see a little Spring.  We miss that, living in Florida. 
Are there any good beer bars, breweries or restaurants we shouldn't miss?

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Smoke Signal

« on: April 12, 2014, 01:04:22 PM »

Guess who smoked the malt for the best smoked beer at the World Beer Cup in Denver?
This guy!

4

Ingredients / Efficiency of raw wheat

« on: March 27, 2014, 05:01:17 AM »

I plan to make a witbier this weekend.  In the past when I've used raw wheat in the mash my efficiency suffers almost to the point that the wheat doesn't add any gravity points at all, so I have used gelatinized or flaked wheat instead.  This results in a witbier that doesn't stay cloudy, dropping bright in the keg fairly quickly.
So my question is how do I get the raw wheat to convert better?  I am thinking of doing a cereal mash with some of the barley malt and bringing that to a boil, then adding it back to the main mash, but that's a big cereal mash when half the recipe is wheat.
What do you guys do to convert raw wheat?

5

Homebrew Competitions / State Championships

« on: February 17, 2014, 03:40:25 PM »

Here in Florida we are in the midst of having two State-wide brewing competitions, one for homebrewers and one for pro brewers.  This year we have over 750 entries in the homebrew competition and 340 in the pro competition.  All from Florida. 
Does any other state do this or are we the only ones?
I gotta say this puts us on the map for craft beer, even if the state is otherwise known as a wasteland.
Tampa Bay Beer Week starts on March 1 if anybody is down this way.

6

All Things Food / bacon bowl

« on: December 11, 2013, 11:35:47 AM »

Perfect Christmas idea?
https://www.buyperfectbacon.com/

7

The Pub / Fake Brew Dog pub in China

« on: December 05, 2013, 05:36:04 AM »

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/12/04/brewdog-co-founder-pens-letter-unscrupulous-mr-emperor-who-opened-counterfeit-bar

The Brew Dog guys are funny.

8

The Pub / Here's a typical craft beer bar menu

« on: October 02, 2013, 04:24:44 AM »

http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6921709/the-complete-guide-to-the-craft-beer-at-your-local-bar

9

The Pub / Bottle Cap Floor

« on: September 16, 2013, 02:49:14 PM »

A friend of mine asked me to start saving bottle caps so he could make a custom garage floor.  I'd never heard of this so I googled it.
http://www.finishing.com/544/69.shtml
Looks pretty cool.

10

Events / Announcing the names of the winning beers

« on: July 07, 2013, 10:37:02 AM »

Part of the fun of listening to a beer competition awards ceremony is hearing the clever names that home brewers give their beers.  This seems to be conspicuously omitted in the National Homebrew Competition.  Of course some names occasionally are so double entendre filled that they need some editing, but I think they should be included as part of the announcements.  You can tell a lot about what was entered and the type of person who entered it if, instead of, say "category 23" you hear "category 23 Graetzer" or "Ed's Batch #385" or "Jeffy's Smoked Poblano Wit" or "Labor Day Black IPA" or whatever.
I just think it would be more fun and show some more of the creativity that goes with the hobby.
I notice that they don't even put the names in the winners list on the AHA site.
I wonder why not.....

11

Homebrew Competitions / East West Rivalry?

« on: April 20, 2013, 12:10:33 PM »

Anybody on the forum a member of Oregon Brew Crew?  Denny?
We have a throw down between them and my local club, the Tampa Bay Brewing Enthusiasts Enjoying Real Suds (BEERS), to see who can brew the best IPA.
The way it works is they picked a neutral competition, 8 Seconds of Froth in Wyoming, and we each send as many as a dozen IPA entries.  Points go to the club with the most points, assuming at least one of those clubs' entries wins some points.
Later in the year our club will pick a different style and another neutral cometition for the second challenge.
Seems like a fun thing to do.  I am bottling my IPA today.

12

Events / ARRRR, Mateys

« on: September 19, 2012, 05:59:37 AM »

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Today's a holiday and I didn't even realize it.

13

General Homebrew Discussion / On the Radio

« on: September 10, 2012, 06:05:49 PM »

We're gonna try out a radio show tomorrow afternoon on the local community radio station in Tampa, WMNF 88.5 fm.  I think you can listen in on the web at wmnf.org or catch it later in a podcast.  Listen to "The Beer Curmudgeons" at 2pm EST and hope that Bob of St. Somewhere, JB of Mr. Dunderbaks and I don't make fools of ourselves more than we deserve.

14

Events / Pilsner Urquell Masters Chicago finals

« on: July 26, 2012, 08:21:52 PM »

I brewed up a Czech Pils for this competition and it won the Florida "regionals" for which the prize was a trip for two to Chicago for the finals.  This is probably the best prize I've ever earned from a homebrew competition. 
But wait, it gets better.  Here we are in Chicago and my beer made it to second place!  I was one beer away from a trip for two to the Czech Republic!
I'm pretty stoked.

15

The Pub / Today is Towel Day

« on: May 25, 2012, 04:36:06 AM »

http://towelday.org/
I forgot to bring my towel to work.