Month: May 2015

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Brew Biz: Werts and All

The Topic: FastFerment Review

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Written by Ken Carman

Ken Carman is a BJCP judge; homebrewer since 1979, club member at Escambia Bay, Clarksville Carboys and Music City Homebrewers, who has been writing on beer-related topics, and interviewing professional brewers all over the east coast, for over 15 years.

  I must admit as homebrewers my wife Millie, and I, are more than a bit dated. We started brewing when it was made legal in 1979. We had moved to Nashville the year before and one of my jobs was as a security guard.
  My multiple security guard assignments included the many buildings that were part of the Green Hills Mall complex, one which was also home at the time to Lil’ Ole Winemaker: the first post legalization homebrew store in Nashville.
  I had learned to love the darker, stronger, more complex beers after several visits to Canada and simply couldn’t find the kind of brews I craved in the Bud/Miller dominated 70s. So homebrewing was almost a necessity. Continue reading “Brew Biz: Werts and All”

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James Visger’s Beer Term O’ the Day

Beer Term ‘O the Day: Hop break. The precipitation of protein and tannic material when hops are added to the boiling wort. A new hop break occurs with each addition of hops. (chunky green scummy looking stuff)

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11200622_10204207575965313_2069580751634047627_nJames Visger lives in Clarksville, TN. He’s a BJCP beer judge and president of The Clarksville Carboys. His wife’s name is Jami and they are a great looking couple. James and Jami are lovers of dogs and secret aliens from the planet UIYTHJHGYGYGBBVG. Go ahead, pronounce that. We double dare you.

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Marking Time with a 2013 Brett-Saison from Boulevard

Written by Franz Hofer for A Tempest in a Tankard

Time to celebrate! For Tempest’s eighteen-month anniversary, I opened a 2013 Brett-Saison from Boulevard, and compared it with the notes I scribbled last November on a 2014 Brett-Saison a friend brought over for dinner. File these notes under cellaring –– another means of marking time.

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HERE

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Engine House No. 9 Redux: “Significant” Doesn’t Begin to Cover It

This is going to be quick ‘n’ dirty, because I’m swamped with trying to get a condo ready to sell and planning for a brand new house but I wanted, in the wake of the last post, “Murderer’s Row…“, that one brewery which SHOULD have been included in that list was left out.

And I apologize.

I recently wrote a post about the sour/brett/barrel program that’s being driven to dizzying heights at Engine House 9, in Tacoma, Washington, by their visionary brewmaster, Shane Johns. In that post, in an attempt to contrast what a miraculous development that program is, in a city which seems least likely to spawn it (or support it), I did a little, quick, 270-word scene-setting which, apparently, caused the earth to tilt off its axis and threatened to wipe out civilization. Those 270 words – less than 10% of the post – became the focus, with all the high praise for E9 being dead lost in a tsunami of static. So, here it is without the craziness and obfuscation:

The flawless Le Pérelin

E9 absolutely belongs in Murderer’s Row and, in fact, should have been mentioned prominently, right next to de Garde Brewing and Breakside Brewing and those others who are both hitting their top gear and changing the face of Northwest beer.

 

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James Visger’s Beer Term ‘O the Day

Beer Term ‘O the Day: Strike water. The water initially mixed (mash-in) with malted grains (grist) to form the mash. There are several programs that will calculate the volume/ temperature of the strike water required to hit a specific mash temperature.

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11200622_10204207575965313_2069580751634047627_nJames Visger lives in Clarksville, TN, he’s a BJCP beer judge, has a lovely wife named Jami, and is president of The Clarksville Carboys but not Snarksville Flyboys. Their president was caught in a Venus Flytrap and was last heard, in a tiny little voice, saying, “Help me! Help me!”

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4th Annual Nashville Chimipalooza

written by Dee Gross for crazycow252

One of the wonderful things about falling down the rabbit hole that is the brewing community is feeling like you are part of a secret society.  Slowly but surely, you meet new and interesting people who bring with them spectacular beer. The 4th Annual Nashville Chimipalooza was just such an event.

The event was hosted by Eddie Chimi.  Imagine, if you will, a potluck where instead of casseroles, the guest bring delicious food and some of the most amazing beers ever.

Continue reading “4th Annual Nashville Chimipalooza”

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From Vikings to the War Of 1812: An Interview with Right Proper Brewmaster Nathan Zeender on Recreating Historic Beer Styles

From Vikings to the War Of 1812: An Interview with Right Proper Brewmaster Nathan Zeender on Recreating Historic Beer Styles

Editor’s note: In today’s piece, Sal Colleluori interviews Nathan Zeender, of DC’s Right Proper Brewery. Some of the techniques Zeender refers to are a bit esoteric, so check out our home brew article if you’re looking for more detail into the specifics of brewing.

The resurgence of craft beer brewing in the United States has given brewers a newfound sense of adventure in executing their craft. Some have decided to make beers that push the boundaries of taste and flavor, while others have simply attempted to recreate primary styles that have been the mainstays of European breweries for hundreds of years. However, Washington, D.C.’s nascent Right Proper Brewing Company has combined the art of beer making with a keen sense of history; their brewers simultaneously create beers that are accessible, while recreating and reconstructing historic beer styles.

Right Proper’s operation is teeming with history beyond just its beer. The brewery is located in the old pool hall of Frank Holiday, a “center of African American community” and the location where one of jazz music’s most famous musicians, Duke Ellington, would find his inspiration.

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Beer Profile: Spaten

CkNhmwT

Profiled by Maria Devan

Pours a pale straw color gold and glinting with clarity. Thinnish white head that fell off pretty fast. Nose is mild grain, and a small whiff of dms. Textbook to style. Taste is excellent. Crisp malt. Body is tremendously light even thinnish. Carbonation livens the palate . Smooth, dry malty finish with a soft sweet hop herbal. No esters, no diacetyl.

If you want to observe the “background DMS note from pils malt” as per the bjcp – this is your beer..

3.8

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Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”

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_______________________________Beer HERE

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mdMaria Devan lives in Ithaca, NY, is a great beer writer, and should be a beer judge. We’d consider kidnapping her and taking her to a test so she can become one, but that would be wrong and ILLEGAL.

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James Visger’s Beer Term ‘O the Day

Beer Term ‘O the Day: Bottom-fermenting yeast. One of the two types of yeast used in brewing. Bottom-fermenting yeast works well at low temperatures and ferments more sugars leaving a crisp, clean taste and then settles to the bottom of the tank. Also referred to as “lager yeast.”

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11200622_10204207575965313_2069580751634047627_nJames Visger lives in Clarksville, TN, he’s a BJCP beer judge, has a lovely wife named Jami, and is president of The Clarksville Carboys. He is NOT a vampire.

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100 American Craft Beers Every Beer-Lover Should Drink

There are some things in life that people simply have to experience first hand. Riding a roller coaster. Catching a wild brook trout. Running a mile for time. Dating someone out of your league…this is what life is all about. If you’re a baseball fan, you have to see a game at Wrigley Field. If you eat food, you have to try the spicy fried chicken at Gus’s Fried Chicken in Memphis. You just have to. You haven’t lived until you’ve experienced that chicken.

Likewise, if you’re a beer drinker, there are certain beers you have to drink. At least once. We’ve thought long and hard about what those quintessential beers are—the ones that everyone should try—and we’ve come up with a hearty list of 100 that define the American craft beer scene. Some of these beers would be considered the best beers in the country, if not the world. Others can hold their own, but earned a spot on this list because of the role they played in the craft beer movement. Is this a definitive list of beers everyone should try? Dear Lord, no. If you truly love beer, you should try them all. Even the bad ones. At least once. But this list will get you started.

Here’s the first round from the master list—we’ll be counting down all week. We hope you’re thirsty.

100. Dale’s Pale Ale

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HERE