Hippie Electronica...

A band that caught my attention late on friday night watching PBS...Yes my life is exciting. I really want to catch these guys live as I think it would be quite entertaining.

Buena

Minneapolis Ripe for more Craft Breweries?

One thing that I always has on my mind is that Minneapolis needs more breweries.  Obviously, we have a few here in Minnesota, but nowhere near the amount that other similiar sized cities/states have.  There are many Minneapolis Homebrewers, but not very many commercial craft brewers in the metro area.  As evidenced by the demand of Surly, Summit, and Flat Earth, there is more to be had in the Minneapolis area.  Why haven't more of them come to fruition?  What can we, as beer drinkers and homebrewers in Minneapolis, do to demand more top notch craft beer?  Surly is expanding as fast as possible, Summit sales have been on the up and up for years, and Flat Earth is also growing, why hasn't there been more individuals that will step up and take the chance?  What do you think and what would you like to see in the Minneapolis area?

Surly Abrasive - Review

So I picked up a 4-pack of Abrasive last night.  I quickly realized that I was not prepared for what was in the can.  I poured it into a large tulip and was surprised by the color.  A amber golden.  I don't know why, I expected it to be darker and more reddish similar to Furious.  A nice cream head and some nice lacing as well  The aroma was citrus, grapefruit, piney hop.  The first sip was an assault on the taste buds.  Really resiny hops and not overly bitter followed by some citrus notes that faded into a chewy sweet malt flavor.  The balance was amazing as it usually is with the beers from Surly.  The beer finished with some booze warmth that was very satisfying.  Over all defiantly worth picking up a 4 pack even with the steep price if you truly appreciate a very solid craft beer.  A-

Dank Brewer's Snow Pils and Maple sap beer tasting

A big shout out to the Dank Brewer!  The snow pils is an amazing beer, one that I would definitely buy and a true session beer that really hits the spot.  A clear pale straw color with some nice citrus notes and some really nice malt flavor.  There were two things that really made me pay attention to this beer, one was the soft mouth feel of the beer, it just made you want another sip, there are many commercial session beers that don't have this quality so kudos!  The second was the flavor, think of it as lager on steroids, nice citrus and subtle hops, this is true session beer at it's finest.

The maple sap beer was truly interesting.  Really complex aromas of sweetness and strong coffee.  To me it smells something similar to Surly's coffee bender.  The woody flavor really comes through and give it a very unique almost earthy taste in a good way.  I cannot wait to try this beer in a month or two, the flavors will all come together and be very complex.  If you are in the area, definitely hit him up for some samples of both of these brews, you will not be disappointed.

First brew day this weekend

I am going to attempt my first brew ever.  I am brewing the ferocious extract kit from midwest.  I am anxious to get it done and get a brew under my belt.  A big thanks to Dank Brewer for all of the advice and being patient will all the questions.  I will send an update with pics when the brew is completed.

Equipment is Purchased - Chiller Made

I finally got it all done. I bought the brewing kit and made the chiller. I also bought a kit that I hope to brew by the end of the weekend! Here is a picture of the chiller. I was suprised how easy it was. I used some free 5/8 copper pipe that was generously given to me by the Champ, so a big thanks to the Champ for that! No kinks and leak free. This thing is a beast. I am hoping for 20 min tops to cool the sweet wort, but we will see! Expect some more blogging about brewing soon!

612

I am a HUGE atmosphere fan and I think that if you at all into hip hop, you should listen to this...enjoy!

New Obsession?

So I am listening to Oracular Spectacular and am throughly impressed. I am really digging the whole album and can't believe that it took me so long to actually listen to it. Man I am getting old, music needs to become a higher priority in my life...as well as brewing, and I will get around to writing about that soon.

Old Skool

Change in plan

OK so I was going to just venture into the world of all-grain but I have backed off of that for the time being. I will begin my brewing with extracts and most likely kits from the first few go's. There are a couple reasons for this, one is that I need some practice and need to refine some skills first and do some basic beers to get a better understanding of the process. The second reason is that I really don't want to go the cooler route. I figure that even if the plastics in the cooler are food grade, the plastic will be exposed to heat for extended periods of time for a while, some of that is bound to leech and I really don't want that. I am not overly concerned about the chemicals, I just want a stainless mash tun setup that can allow me more options when it comes to all grain and I think that it is worth the wait.