tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52121751316697530232024-09-07T19:27:04.570-07:00Craft Brews and Home BrewsChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-17385928034237469902011-02-16T18:28:00.001-08:002011-02-16T18:28:29.664-08:00

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-70650165554632367972010-10-22T20:22:00.001-07:002010-10-22T20:22:17.267-07:00

Strong barley smell and flavor, very good head, but would prefer less bitterness on the finish and more citrus flavor.

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-46576002382373052612010-10-20T09:08:00.001-07:002010-10-20T09:08:50.951-07:00

via xkcd.com

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-67926496537311022112010-10-17T16:17:00.001-07:002010-10-17T16:17:33.260-07:00

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-22911422863060708252010-10-16T16:22:00.001-07:002010-10-16T16:22:26.119-07:00

via cracked.com

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-7917437219885159762010-10-10T15:40:00.001-07:002010-10-10T15:40:44.613-07:00

via faorani.tumblr.com

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-19496176650328556282010-10-09T07:55:00.001-07:002010-10-09T07:55:43.987-07:00

---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Benson Hua <bensonhua@gmail.com>Date: Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 9:41 AM Subject: i love asian airlinesTo: Sam Keller <samkeller1@gmail.com>, Ben Baldridge <baldridge.ben@gmail.com>

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-53410632803211183022010-09-27T18:17:00.001-07:002010-09-27T18:17:19.824-07:00

One possible reason for the disconnect between popular views and the official economists’ view of the country’s “recession” status is semantic. Economists and laypeople mean different things when they use the word “recession”: To most people, it refers to the level of economic activity. To economists, it refers to the change in economic activity. That is, most people associate a poor economy —

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-8851254845087706612010-09-26T15:25:00.001-07:002010-09-26T15:25:25.407-07:00

via cracked.com As in life, there are more of these than real fighters.

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-90083986449451345852010-09-25T20:51:00.001-07:002010-09-25T20:51:37.039-07:00

via cracked.com

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-88436544437112780062010-09-25T09:54:00.001-07:002010-09-25T09:54:49.946-07:00

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-50906199304010844422010-09-21T19:47:00.001-07:002010-09-21T19:47:05.151-07:00

via woot.com This song and video changed my life. About 1 minute of my life, that is, which was filled with laughter.

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-6634052913950866392010-09-18T18:10:00.001-07:002010-09-18T18:10:13.101-07:00

via beerreviewdude.com Here's to the brewers for whom brewing is a passion.

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-66802007970445313862010-09-18T14:48:00.001-07:002010-09-18T14:48:32.489-07:00

Excellent!!

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-22402583970917856742010-04-18T11:57:00.000-07:002010-04-18T11:57:33.301-07:00

I started the next batch about a week and a half ago. This one is a hefeweizen, a light-colored wheat beer made from wheat instead of barley. Here is the mixture I used. When this picture was taken, I had just cleaned the utensils and keg and was about to start boiling corn starch in water. After that, I took the pot off the heat and added hopped malt extract (thick mixture of malted barley

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-84086400837188469832010-02-23T19:09:00.000-08:002010-02-23T19:09:21.627-08:00

The first batch of homebrewed beer, the golden ale, was finally ready about three weeks ago. What's interesting about it was that there was no "aha" moment where it became beer instead of some combination of yeast, grain, and corn syrup. Instead, it started off as a failure of a beer, no head, very little carbonation - in two words, Ice House. Thankfully, I only put one bottle in the fridge at a

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-71720442465434801812010-02-11T18:53:00.000-08:002010-02-11T18:54:33.117-08:00

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-28863375075114325202010-02-06T12:53:00.000-08:002010-02-06T12:53:41.988-08:00

World Market Explorer ran an article about pairing beer with food and suggests complementing (similar flavors), contrasting (spicy with cool, etc.), and cleansing the palate as the three core ways that beer can work with, not against, a meal. It looks like beer is starting a wave of awareness in the US, similar to the way that everyone started talking about wine when the movie Sideways came

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-31265151520408501312010-01-26T18:43:00.000-08:002010-01-26T18:43:07.143-08:00

Delirium Noel has replaced Matilda as my favorite beer. Classified as a strong ale from Belgian brewery Brouwerij Huyghe, Noel holds a solid, creamy head and is simply filled with aromatic hops. The season is almost over, but if you see some of this left at the liquor store, change that situation immediately. 7 of 7 pink elephants in Santa hats

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-89947652019327627642010-01-18T21:11:00.000-08:002010-01-18T21:12:22.098-08:00

My first batch of homebrewed beer was finally fermented and ready to carbonate today. After I cleaned out the bottles, I drained the keg into the bottles with some extra sugar. While the yeast eats the sugar over the next week or two, CO2 will be trapped in the bottle, carbonating it. Here's to the next step. Right now it tastes like flat beer, which is pretty much what it is.

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-73795538243010591282010-01-18T08:01:00.000-08:002010-01-18T08:01:32.708-08:00

Hop Devil delivers on its name with a healthy dose of bitter hops. This beer isn't for everyone, but for something different for a beer enthusiast, this is a solid choice. You'll know it's right for you if you pour it German style for maximum head on purpose. 5 of 7 stars

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-53689605737382575262010-01-09T19:07:00.000-08:002010-01-18T21:13:01.363-08:00

The yeast is still working on the wort. Better to wait until it's clear before bottling it. So that means no home-brewed beer when my in-laws visit next weekend. :-(

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-28267574715582888232010-01-09T09:40:00.000-08:002010-01-09T09:40:34.820-08:00

My in-laws got me a beer-making kit from Mr. Beer. I've been reading up on brewing while my first cask ferments. I thought I would start with one of the "easier" ones that came with the kit, a Blonde Ale. The steps are to make "wort," which is the sugary stuff that yeast eats first. Wort is a combination of barley seeds (or wheat, etc.) that has been allowed to sprout partway (this is called

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-9354879189181207322009-12-06T16:49:00.000-08:002009-12-06T16:49:06.270-08:00

Lindsay and I went to the Chicago Lyric Opera last night for the opening of The Merry Widow. We had never been to the opera before but had wanted to see what it was about for awhile now. Our landlord had two tickets. When his daughter got sick, he offered to them (see also: Landlord of the Year Nominees). It was very funny, in English, and not that melancholy experience I was worried I might have

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212175131669753023.post-87177844220110340012009-12-05T13:08:00.000-08:002009-12-05T13:09:24.097-08:00

I ran across some fun photos I've taken this year. In no particular order, here they are. Dog at a wedding reception. During the ceremony earlier, he attacked the bride's train. Creative editing of the word "FREE" at the corner of Adams and Morgan. I've since found more of these. If I could find and map them all, I think they would spell something sinister. Or it could be

ChicagoWandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12854630249306942312noreply@blogger.com0