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If you need some good reasons to build your own home bar, here are the top five of all time. They work for those of you who are experiencing resistance from your better half.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Jan 06, 2012 […]
Salvaged windows always make for great home bar decorations. Whether they are tall windows that can liven up the entrance or long windows that can add dimension over a table with a set of stools, salvaged windows add character.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Nov 23, 2011 […]
Most beer taps are made from plastic or glass. But, pub style beer taps are made the old fashion way. They are made from wood.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Nov 08, 2011 […]
You may not be in time to brew some for Halloween. But, you can get started on brewing some for Thanksgiving or any time in the fall...or year around for that matter.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Oct 27, 2011 […]
Building your own bar is cheaper when compared to hiring a contractor for the job. It is an easy job, but will require enough time to finish successfully. When constructing a bar, follow the following easy steps.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Oct 06, 2011 […]
Calculate your home brew's ABV, Alcohol by Volume percentage. If it isn't potent enough for you, make it stronger.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Sep 28, 2011 […]
There are many great beers throughout this world. But, Budweiser has to always be at the top of the list and not just because it’s a great tasting beer.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Sep 01, 2011 […]
There are beer steins of all shapes and sizes. Traditionally, they tell the tales of historical events. But, steins have evolved just like everything else. Still, learn how to make your own.Contributor: Stan SchubridgePublished: Aug 03, 2011 […]
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There are beer enthusiasts who are deeply enriched in the beer making world, who own their own home breweries and who take advantage of all the benefits. Then, there are beer enthusiasts who have never even thought of making their own. I can’t imagine why a beer enthusiast wouldn’t at least be interested in giving it a try, but I’m going to try to change that now.
There are many benefits to brewing your own beer and I’m going to take it one step at a time. When you are ready to get off this wild ride, take stage coach left and no one will think any less of you for it. But I bet once this journey begins, you will want to ride it until the wheels fall off.
First, brewing your own beer is a way of putting a mark on your own home bar. You can even get online and design yourself a label and then place it on your bottles, glasses and beer taps even. When company comes over, you can have them all try it. It might just become their favorite beer meaning you might just get company more often if that seems like something you would like to have.
Then, you can start marketing your beer to the local bars. Give them a taste and see if they like it. There are different ways to make this happen. You can get in touch with a local bar owner and tell them you would like to have a tasting at their bar. You offer some of your beer for free and then when people say they like the taste, the bar owner will most likely want to stock it. Make a thing of it. It’s supposed to be a fun time. So, have fun!
The next logical level is to enter into some beer events. Start locally, but again have fun. Go across the country if you want. The more exposure you get, the more buyers you get. Don’t be surprised when someone approaches you to see if you want a sponsor. Sponsorship can take you to levels you have never imagined. Nationwide distribution. Export. International attention.
By this time of course, you have expanded your enterprise to include so much more than a bucket and a kegerator. You have built your brewery into a high powered system that produces enough beer to satisfy all your orders. You’ve moved your operation to a local location that houses your brewery and invites the neighbors to wander in and have a beer. You’ve had to apply for your beer license so that you can start selling your beer and you’ve had to build a bar so that your neighbors have a comfortable place to sit. You’ve got a sign on the front of your place with your name on it and you’ve been highlighted in the paper as the local beer expert.
With a few different flavors now in your inventory, you can have a seat. Take a breath. You’re finished the first phase of Operation Your Brew. The rest of the ride goes anywhere you want it to go.
Home Beer Brewing is becoming an increasingly popular hobby for men and women of all ages. The ever increasing price of drinks at bars and clubs coupled with a greater interest in entertaining at home have made it increasingly popular.
So yes you can start home beer brewing! However it dos not have to be a solitary occupation locked away in the cellar or shed for hour after hour. As well as being a hobby for the individual it can also be a family project through which you introduce members of the family to alcohol and the need to be responsible with it. Some people do not understand why people make their own beer. They wander why they want the all the mess and clutter associated with creating their own brew. They believe that it is far easier to simply go to the store and get what they want when they want beer. However, it is not simply about the convenience or the cost of the beer stores.
The actual reason why a lot of people have started home beer brewing is because they think it is both enjoyable and exciting. This is a way for them to participate in hobby that they like and that keeps them busy. Some people create their own brew just because they have never tried it before and now the proliferation of Home Beer Brewing Kits and other resources provide them with the opportunity relatively cheaply.
It is also a way for individuals to reconnect with their ancestors and family history. There are so many different recipes for beer, not only held by the breweries, but that have also been handed down through different families. They are using the recipes that their ancestors used and seeing if they can do what they did, In the process they are discovering that they can create great tasting beer. Many of the recipes are easy to follow and have an ingredient list that is easy to find. There are different things that people can buy to make their beer making experience more fun.
With the right kit and the best beer-making recipe, it has come within the reach of many more people and anyone can try making great tasting beer. Even if it is a one shot thing, it will be worth seeing if you can create a beer that is just as good as the beer that is purchased in the store. You can create anything with the home beer brewing supplies that you can now find in the store.
Buying the kits to brew your beer is going to make it easier for a lot of people to do. You can get everything that you need with this kit and it will make your beer brewing easier. Finding these kits will make the beer brewing adventure even more fun for someone that has not had the opportunity to try making their own beer yet.
Finding out about making your own beer is easy. You can go online and get all the facts and the tips that you need to get started on making your own beer. There are many tips and pieces of advice that you can use when you start your new hobby of making your own beer and I hope you will enjoy your own beer!
Microbrewer Greg Noonan has been reported to have died in his sleep at home early Sunday morning, according to this Beer Advocate forum. Visitors to the Vermont Pub and Brewery on Sunday found the pub closed, with a sign posted: "Greg Noonan March — 1951 – Oct. 11th 2009." What does the death of a craft brewer in Vermont have to do with craft beer in Austin? Plenty.
Greg was one of the best known craft brewers in America, having pioneered the craft beer industry for microbreweries and brewpubs. His books on brewing are mandatory reading for both home and microbrewers, including "New Brewing Lager: The Most Comprehensive Book for Home and Microbrewers" published in 1986 and re-issued in 2003. His sour-mashing techniques were featured in this homebrewing article which appeared in the October 2008 edition of Brew Your Own magazine.
He was a well-known speaker at brewers’ conferences and author of numerous trade journal articles and books. Greg spoke in Texas at the 1998 Bluebonnet Brew-off Homebrew Competition about the beer style he’s authored a book on- Scotch Ales. He provided his expertise by consulting on the startup and design of several pubs and breweries, and helped legalize brewpubs in Vermont by lobbying the legislature for three years to allow pub brewing. His own Vermont Pub and Brewery which opened in 1988 is the third oldest brewpub on the East Coast. Five years later brewpubs became legal in Texas in June of 1993.
It was reported in a 2001 All About Beer article by Stan Hieronymus that Greg bought his malt for his two brewpubs in the Northeast from St. Patrick’s of Texas, an Austin homebrew supply store. The original storefront was located next to Billy Forrester’s Waterloo Brewing Company, the first brewpub in Texas. St. Patrick’s began importing undermodified Czech malt from Moravia in 1998, which was also bought by Austin microbrewery Live Oak Brewing for their Live Oak Pilz.
In 2005, Greg was presented with the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing at the Craft Brewers Conference from the Brewers Association (see "Past Winners"). More on Greg Noonan excerpted from an article in Business People-Vermont:
"Noonan was brewing beer as a hobby while working as a manufacturing manager for paper and wood products companies in Massachusetts. Microbreweries were just becoming trendy on the West Coast, and he decided to pursue the commercial possibilities for his craft.
He had managed restaurants in New Hampshire and Boston and wanted his own restaurant to feature his brew. He used the results of his research for Brewing Lager Beer to launch his brewpub in Burlington.
“I specifically sited my brewery in Burlington because it’s where I wanted to live. I admired the politics in Vermont,” says Noonan. “I had $175,000, which is a shoestring budget in the brewing industry; brewing equipment is very expensive.”
He applied to several banks for additional funds, but lenders were skeptical. “The banks all said, ‘What is a brewpub?’ But I plunged on anyway with the money I had.”"
Without craft brewing pioneers like Greg Noonan, the brewpub and microbrew industry in Austin as well as Texas may not exist as it does today. He will be sorely missed by all in the craft beer community everywhere.
The Father of Our Country loved his beer. English–style porter was George Washington’s drink of choice and whenever he could he would seek out the product of Robert Hare, a brewer in Philadelphia who was one of the first to make porter in the U.S. Washington was no stranger to homebrew either and this recipe from a personal notebook he kept will make 30 gallons of ale, enough for a large household like Mount Vernon.
"Take a large Sifter full of Bran, Hops to your Taste—Boil these 3 hours. Then strain out 30 Gallons into a Cooler put in 3 Gallons Molasses while the Beer is scalding hot or rather drain the molasses into the Cooler. Strain the Beer on it while boiling hot let this stand til it is little more than Blood warm. Then put in a quart of Yeast if the weather is very cold cover it over with a Blanket. Let it work in the Cooler 24 hours then put it into the Cask. leave the Bung open til it is almost done working—Bottle it that day Week it was Brewed."
"To Make Small Beer” is the title of this recipe. “Small beer” is normally brew made from the second runnings through the mash for strong ale and the beer that is created has very little alcohol (about 3%). However, a note on the NPR website says that the above recipe produces a beer with an alcohol content of about 11 %. If this was George’s “small beer” then consumption of his “large beer” must have somehow disrupted space-time for its imbiber. Compare that ABV to a popular modern American brew, say Sam Adams Boston Lager at 4.9%, and you realize that “Town Destroyer”, as the Iroquois nicknamed Washington, wasn’t effin around. In fact, I think he might have been trying to kill himself and anyone around him.
So if you try this recipe use caution (or just less molasses) and for God’s sake send us pictures of the aftermath.