tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42025268044027967142024-10-02T09:54:49.956-04:00Tips on beer and homebrewing great beer.ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11905265561951961746noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-64706839975074946502013-12-09T22:39:00.000-05:002013-12-09T22:39:34.680-05:00

A few shots from our last brew day.  Nice. Mash over! Brew pot is full. Ready to get our boil on. Race against time.

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09242252145471766554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-21307799997376517472013-10-24T12:53:00.001-04:002013-10-24T12:57:34.618-04:00

Dear Northern Brewer, A couple weeks ago, I received your email, titled "Free Shipping". "What is this?", I thought. "Could this be an actual deal that I could use?" Alas, no. You suckered me again with "Free Shipping" on a very select, expensive and useless collection of crap in a "set" that no one on your email list probably would ever need. A couple weeks ago, it was "BUY 2

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09242252145471766554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-23699994966884841872012-09-04T08:49:00.000-04:002013-06-24T08:50:04.543-04:00

The RocketScience Team enjoys our cider so we came up with a new recipe. It is a crisp and clean apple cider. This cider is complete after being in primary for 4 months!  As a note, we get all our cider from a local orchard and the gravity of 4 gallons is roughly 1.050 with no additions. So here is the recipe: Crisp Hard Cider Four gallons of apple cider (No preservatives, No Additives,

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-22197284987490508432012-01-16T21:49:00.000-05:002012-03-04T20:26:01.887-05:00

During the holidays the RocketScience Team enjoys a more festive tasting cider. So here is our recipe for our mulled cider, it normally goes really quick! Mulled Hard Cider Four gallons of apple cider (No preservatives, No Additives, Unpasteurized) 5 Cinnamon sticks 1/4 Cup Mulling Spices 1 T Apple Pie spice 1 lb Dark Brown Sugar 2 Cans Frozen Apple juice Concentrate Wyeast 4766 Cider

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-50952195135368381172011-10-31T21:51:00.000-04:002011-11-19T15:46:57.400-05:00

This past weekend my wife and I went to the Notre Dame vs Navy game in South Bend, IN. We stayed in Indianapolis for the weekend and visited Thr3e Wisemen Brewing Company located in the Broad Ripple community. Atmosphere The interior is all hardwood and the tables are picnic tables and each have a growler in the center. The tables are setup as two four tops but can easily 

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-53567789128130143242011-10-24T19:49:00.001-04:002011-10-24T19:49:32.528-04:00

Beer This is another single I picked up from World Market. Abita Beer was founded in 1986 and is located 30 miles north of New Orleans, Louisiana. In its first year, the brewery produced 1,500 barrels of beer and now produces 109,000 barrels of beer and 6,000 barrels of root beer. According to the bottle: Pecan Harvest is and ale brewed with  pale, Munich, biscuit, and

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-71920536312260225802011-10-21T19:58:00.002-04:002011-10-21T19:58:50.589-04:00

Beer I picked up a single Red Ale from World Market. Marble Brewery is a relatively new brewery located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The bottle reads: Our red ale is rich with caramel malts and balanced with a bold, bright blend of Crystal, Cascade, and Simcoe hops. On first taste the malt comes through but is well balanced with a slight bitter from the hops with a medium Simcoe

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-7012803717891656132011-10-01T19:47:00.000-04:002011-10-01T19:47:13.929-04:00

The Discovery Channel discusses how the ancestor of the lager yeast used in beers—such as pilsners, foreign and domestic—has been identified.  From the article's summary: (link addition mine) People have been searching for the wild ancestor of lager yeast for decades. Scientists finally located the yeast in the forest of the Patagonia region. The find reveals how the first batches of

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929482197373218323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-67002731202705494542011-09-19T17:53:00.000-04:002011-09-19T17:53:00.191-04:00

As background for the great photo set from The Atlantic, I'll borrow liberally from Wikipedia's description of Oktoberfest:  Oktoberfest is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929482197373218323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-32834209660333722412011-09-15T21:23:00.000-04:002011-09-15T21:23:08.488-04:00

Obama To Serve More Home-Brewed Beer At White House How could we not link to this?

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929482197373218323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-66160544398378467952011-09-05T13:49:00.001-04:002011-09-05T13:49:52.273-04:00

Two recent articles on the family aspects of homebrewing came up recently: Lifehacker discusses "Homebrew with Your Kids to Demystify Alcohol" They also link to Wil Wheaton's discussion of how he and his son bottle beer. For the brewing scientists here at RSB, brew day has always been a social event.  We plan a day around getting together with friends (some who don't homebrew . . . yet,)

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929482197373218323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-66933719401275847802011-07-03T17:49:00.014-04:002011-07-04T08:15:11.852-04:00

The Rocket Science Team spent the weekend in Asheville, NC which is a short hop across the Smoky Mountains from our labratories. Asheville, NC was recently named the winner of the 2011 Beer City USA Poll run by Charlie Papazian. They have 10 breweries, which is the most breweries per capita in the United States. We learned that this is mostly due to the liquor laws which allow self distribution.

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-91076404147983938732011-05-22T21:01:00.000-04:002011-05-22T21:01:35.530-04:00

Many folks have asked me for the link for the T-Shirts. See below. RocketScience Brewing by ToadkingBecome a t-shirt affiliate at zazzle.com

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06929482197373218323noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-5833944640817764842011-03-19T13:20:00.007-04:002012-01-16T21:49:38.408-05:00

Most of the cider we've made to this point has been strong enough that would be satisfactory for use as rocket fuel (it's RocketScience, after all), if it didn't spontaneously combust on its own. Finding creative ways to cut this potent potable has been a pursuit on its own. Our most recent, and most popular recipe is included below. We're thinking its going to be a great cider recipe for the

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-51778118538595976702011-03-09T12:57:00.005-05:002011-03-09T13:53:39.043-05:00

Recently, around the brewpot the Rocket Science homebrewers had a discussion about the legality of homebrewing in TN, where we live.While we all knew homebrewing was legal in TN, we each remembered different parts of the law. Well none of us are lawyers here, but the AHA has a some online resources covering state and federal statutes.According to the AHA site, in Tennessee it looks like the

Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09242252145471766554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-37687234016722452502011-02-27T10:50:00.004-05:002011-02-27T10:54:40.407-05:00

I found a new site this week called Hopville that allows you to save your beer recipes. You can also see what other members are brewing.Being new to brewing I have not had the desire to venture out and make my own custom beer recipe. I am sure I will get over that soon enough but for now I have a hugh number of recipes to try so I can figure our exactly what beer style I like.

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-19235825663553357132011-02-14T13:21:00.002-05:002011-02-14T13:29:18.118-05:00

As I am reading though my feeds today and I come across an AP posting that says an MIT student (who else would it be?) has created a device that turns used hops, yeast, and barley into natural gas. This sounds like an excellent use of brewery waste; Here at RocketSceince we have been testing bread, cookies, and dog treats as products for the spent grains from brewing. The bread has gotten rave

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-31623380401400128062011-01-17T16:21:00.000-05:002011-01-17T16:21:58.385-05:00

The strain of yeast used in a beer makes a huge difference in the flavor.  To make sure my strain of yeast is the winner in my wort, I like to use a yeast starter.  The idea is that I add more living cells of the recipe's yeast strain than may incidentally be in my newly sterile wort and I get to "proof" the yeast, ensuring its viable for fermentation.  You're making a tiny little

ajwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11905265561951961746noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-16415330224382951662010-11-29T23:35:00.004-05:002010-11-30T20:51:22.920-05:00

On Mondays episode of Brewmasters, Sam worked with a brewery in New Zealand to come up with a beer that included ingredients native to New Zealand.They started with a porter and added roasted Tamarillos that were smoked with wood from New Zealand trees. Half of the fruit that was included in the recipe was roasted and the other half was fresh. The beer was debuted at Beervana, a large beer event

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-29049317900478160932010-11-29T23:19:00.006-05:002010-11-30T07:46:54.572-05:00

Tonight, another new episode of Brewmasters aired on Discovery channel. This episode covered two beers; Punkin which was Sams fourth recipe as a home brewer and includes pumpkin, nutmeg, and allspice. The second brew was called Portamarillo and it is a porter that includes Tamarillo fruit from New Zealand. I will cover this beer in a separate post.At the factory they started construction to

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-22053589721320651032010-11-29T23:04:00.005-05:002010-11-29T23:43:00.400-05:00

On Sundays episode of Brewmasters we followed Sam from Dogfish Head Craft Ales to Puru where we learned the brew he was making was called Chicha (pronounced chee-cha).It is mainly a corn based brew and unlike malted barley, it is unable to created the enzyme, called amalyze, needed to breakdown starch. This enzyme is prevalent in one source, human saliva. So the workers at Dogfish Head got

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-60119991765937365722010-11-28T07:50:00.012-05:002010-11-29T23:02:59.204-05:00

The keezer is built and I currently have three kegs in it filled with pumpkin ale, a really good session beer, and some hard cider. I was having issues at first as the cider came out as foam, the pumpkin ale keg would not stay sealed, and the session beer was perfect until it ran out of CO2.I had the Brewmaster and Yeast Wrangler over for a brew day and let them take a look at it. I thought I was

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-17049043674430228002010-11-22T17:59:00.008-05:002010-11-23T18:12:29.887-05:00

I got a really good deal on a chest freezer around Columbus Day, and am converting it to a keezer. It is a 7.2 cu. ft. Frigidaire model (FFFC07M2KW). It was white until the wife and I painted it with 2 cans of black appliance paint. I also built a stand for it to sit on with casters.I added a strip of chalkboard paint to the lid; That way I can write out what is on tap. Here are two almost

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-67083135027950794132010-11-22T06:47:00.011-05:002010-11-22T10:38:09.349-05:00

So last night was the premier of BrewMasters on Discovery channel. The show follows Sam Calagione, Bryan Selders (Dogfish Head lead brewer), and Floris Delee (Dogfish Head Brewmaster) as they create custom themed brews.This episode had the Dogfish team creating a brew to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" album. They finished with an African Taj beer and mixed it

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4202526804402796714.post-91678165371985418112010-11-16T19:47:00.004-05:002010-11-16T20:59:19.786-05:00

Barley, water, hops and yeast might not sound like a recipe for success, but to the beer connoisseur, the fine balance of those four ingredients is the stuff of legend. Last Sunday, (Nov. 14) on PlanetGreen, there was an episode of HowStuffWorks that covered beer.It was a really informative show and will re-air on November 23 (check local listing for time). They talked to Charlie Papazian (Author

Leshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11946858287873871797noreply@blogger.com0