Topics

1

General Homebrew Discussion / Blending beer

« on: June 20, 2011, 07:54:30 PM »

I'm researching beer blending, particularly combining different styles to create new flavors (as opposed to blending batches of the same recipe for the sake of uniformity). Does anyone know of specific breweries that practice much blending? I've heard New Belgium has some nice combinations. Santa Fe Brewing Co. does one, I think they call it the Santa Fe Sunrise: most of a pint of pale ale topped with some Sangre de Frambuesa raspberry ale.

Thanks for any help you guys can provide ...

2

Equipment and Software / Foam stoppers

« on: April 05, 2011, 06:38:41 PM »

I recently picked up a couple of the foam stoppers that I've been seeing in the catalogs, and was wondering about their care and handling. Does anyone here use them? If so, how do you store them and keep them sanitized? With their porous structure, sanitization seems like an impossible task, unless you keep them either on a carboy/flask or soaking in sanitizer with all the air squeezed out.

Thanks,

gabe

3

General Homebrew Discussion / Legality of brewing eisbier

« on: March 11, 2011, 06:53:46 PM »

My business partner and I (at the nearly open Taos Ale House) have been discussing eisbier for a few years, and our impression has been that eis-ing is considered an artificial method of concentrating alcohol and so is legally categorized as a distilled product requiring a distiller's license.

However, we've been unable to verify this with the actual legal code or statute, and have heard of occasional eis-style beers being offered in the United States. Can anyone me to any material that would clarify this issue for us?

Thanks!

gabe

4

Beer Recipes / Thanksgiving beer

« on: August 11, 2010, 07:41:01 PM »

I'm planning on doing a beer for Thanksgiving, a nice malty base, either a dubbel or a Scotch ale, with some fresh rosemary and maybe a little sage or thyme. I'm solid on recipes for both styles  (just brewed a partigyle batch of Big Scotty/Little Scotty), but haven't used these herbs in a beer before (infused some delicious herbed vodka, though). My biggest concern is with quantity; I want a subtle touch of the herbs, not a heavy-handed rosemary beer. Anybody have experience brewing with them? I'd like to get it made pretty soon so it has a couple of months to condition.

5

Events / Cicerone Off-Flavors Classes

« on: August 10, 2010, 12:07:10 AM »

I'm looking for people in northern New Mexico or southern Colorado who want to take an off-flavors class through the Cicerone program. It's offered Aug. 20, Sept. 27 and Nov. 12. It's a 75-minute online class that covers six of the most common off flavors, like oxidation and DMS. The cost per site is $180, a bit steep for me to shell out by myself, but each site can accommodate up to six people, potentially dropping the cost as low as $30/person.

I'm in Taos, but if everyone else is in Santa Fe, Alamosa, Pagosa Springs, wherever, I can come to you. I'd really like to take the Aug. 20 class, before the Cicerone tests during GABF week, but I can wait if necessary.