Anyone want to join in on a brew project? My good friend Jamie picked up a full size Bourbon barrel. Now the plan is to fill it with Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Ale (clone) and let it oak age for a year. If you haven’t tried Rasputin, you really should – it’s a smooth, delicious [...]

I plan to brew a very high gravity beer in the near future – which will require a big yeast count. To get there, we need to brew a few lower gravity beers. This, along with the Wil Wheat should provide enough pacman cells for the big batch. Another Cream Ale? You bet. This stuff [...]

I have been brewing for a few years. Of course, if you read this blog, you probably already knew that. A large percentage of the posts revolve around brewing. A few weeks back, I submitted two beers to the Slurp and Burp Open – the largest home brew competition in the pacific northwest. My hope [...]

I was not expecting to brew this weekend… Then Jamie started talking about the yeast he purchased to brew 24 gallons of “Snowfall Pale Ale” (his house beer). We quickly realized that he would need at least 1 Trillion yeast cells – he only had 2 vials of WLP005 (200 Billion total). He also wouldn’t [...]

As a child of the 80′s, I grew up watching Wil Wheaton on TV (Star Trek, Stand by Me). When I recently found out that he is also a home brewer – well, I knew that a beer needed to made in his honor. Yesterday, I noticed that FH Steinbarts (my LHBS) is going to [...]

Decided to make some labels for all the different beers. Something simple. Something bold. Typeface is Red October Patterns are by Vonster They are meant to be printed at 300 dpi (apx. 4″x5.5″)

Time for another IPA. I love the Ranger(ish) clone that we brewed last time. It is simple to brew and delicious. However, I remember thinking that it could use some more Pine/Citrus hop flavor. Lucky for me, I have a glut of Chinook right now. So, the following recipe is based on the Ranger with [...]

How any IBU’s is too many? Most craft beers now list the IBU (International Bittering Units) on the side of their bottles. I like hopped up beers – but, really couldn’t tell you my hop preference in an number form. You see, it all depends on the style of beer – some beers seemed too [...]

I have been brewing for several years and feel pretty confident with most ale recipes. However, this will be the first lager attempt. It’s not that I don’t like lagers – rather, I have avoided them in the past due to the fermentation temperatures. My home stays between 60-70°F, which is optimal for ales. Lagers [...]

We’re trying to catch up after not brewing for almost a year! The first time I made this, the recipe was a complete experiment – but it turned out so well that a re-brew was in order. Grain This is for 12gal 24# 2row 3# Caramel 60 .5# Chocolate .5# Black Patent .5# Roast Barley [...]