Ladies of Craft Beer

Posted By: Stevie Caldarola

Featured photograph courtesy of (ironically) a 1949 Miller High Life Advertisement

Things are looking up in the world of home brewing- laws are changing, craft beer is booming, and there are limitless possibilities in the realm of equipment and know-how. Resources are at your fingertips, and the results are delicious.

Do you know a homebrewer or someone who is itching to start? Do you know someone who has expressed an interest in brewing, no matter how small?

If so- you’ve come to the right spot to figure out a great holiday gift for your favorite homebrewing pal. From beginner to intermediate to the semi-professional, we’ve got ideas for educational resources, equipment and even software that will help keep those bottle caps popping!

Educational:

• Good friend and advocate of Ladies of Craft Beer Billy Broas has recently launched an online resource aptly called The HomeBrew Academy. Billy’s service currently includes write-ups, videos, a glossary and instructions on the process of becoming a homebrewer. As the site builds, he will add more advanced instructions and supplemental videos on interesting topics with special guests such as “Brewing Sour Beers” with Mike Tonsmeire of the Mad Fermentationist. The best thing about this complete and comprehensive online resource? It’s only $30. Word on the street is that the HomeBrew Academy will close tonight at 10PM Eastern Time so get in while you still can! (The HomeBrew Academy will open again for enrollment in 3 to 5 months.) Sign your homebrewer up here.
• There are TONS of homebrew based books available on the market today, but here are a few suggestions of our favorites: The Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, Brewing Classic Styles: 80 Winning Recipes Anybody Can Brew by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer, Radical Brewing: Recipes, Tales and World-Altering Meditations in a Glass by Randy Mosher, and Designing Great Beers: The Ultimate Guide to Brewing Classic Beer Styles by Ray Daniels. For more great books, just search “homebrew” on Amazon.com.

For the Beginner:

• Looking for a small kit to get someone who wants to try homebrewing before going all the way? Try the 1 gallon kits from Brooklyn Brewshop and from The Brewer’s Market. Both sites also sell larger beginner kits in 5 gallon batch sizes. I, for one, got the men in my family each a one gallon kit from the Brooklyn Brewshop- a convenient package that not only includes the specialty equipment needed for brewing but the ingredients for one of six different flavors of beer- Gingerbread Ale, Chestnut Brown Ale, Honey Sage Seasonal, Everyday IPA, A Well Made Tripel and Chocolate Maple Porter. Kits range from $40-$150 and ingredient mixes (to continue brewing) range from $15-$50.

For the Intermediate:

• Some of the most handy tools for the homebrewer are calculators for recipes, gravity, IBUs, priming sugar, etc. BeerSmith is a comprehensive software package that combines these calculators in a user friendly, easy to use way. BeerSmith also has a great printer interface where brewers can print out their (just made) recipes in a step-by-step format that is easy to read and works well with the brewing process. This software can even make equipment recommendations based on what you already have and help you schedule your brew dates. BeerSmith is available for a free 21 day trial and the full version of the software only costs $21.95.

For the Semi-Pro:

• This Cornelius kegging system from Midwest Brewing Supplies is a great starter kit for the homebrewer who wants to get into easier storage methods for their beer. Kegging is the process of inserting beer into one vessel for storage while simultaneously inserting carbon dioxide (carbonation) into the beer (this normally happens in the bottling process by adding priming sugar to the beer). Kits can range from this size (about $175) to multi-tap systems in the $300-$500 range.

Gifts for Everyone:

• Speaking of Midwest Brewing Supplies, those guys are your one stop shop source for beer, wine, cheese, coffee, soda, liquer, mead, cider and sake supplies. They also have these great lists of popular homebrewing gifts in the $1-$25 price range, $26-$50 price range, $51-$100 price range, and beyond. Check out their site for more details.
• If you want to get a homebrew centric gift but really aren’t sure what the equipment is and don’t want to get your homebrewer the wrong thing, check out this awesome (and searchable!) database by Brewer’s Roundtable for a listing of homebrew supply stores in your area. Most shops sell gift certificates or gift cards in different amounts- this way your homebrewer can buy what they need on their own terms.

• There are lots of great beer-centric magazines available nowadays, but the favorite of homebrewers here at Ladies of Craft Beer is Brew Your Own. Full of informational articles on brewing issues, procedures, equipment, and recipes for new beers as well as clone recipes for your favorite commercial brews, this gift is the gift that keeps on giving year-round. Brew Your Own is currently running a special of 8 issues (1 year) for $28 including the first issue as a free trial. This means that if for some reason, after the first issue, you aren’t satisfied, you cancel your subscription and pay nothing. I’ve been getting Brew Your Own for almost a year now, and I still wait by my mailbox for the next issue! Click here to subscribe.

• Last, but of course, not least, remember that your Ladies of Craft Beer have calendars and tee-shirts available at our merch store. Our official tees (see picture above) are a relaxed fit tee perfect for brew days. Our calendar can be used to schedule out days for brewing or to remind you when to bottle (or even your favorite upcoming beer events!) We also have men’s tees, more women’s tees, long sleeve tees, hoodies, and baby and pet apparel available on our Spreadshirt shop. Check it out here.

Whew! With so many choices available, (and this isn’t even the half of it!) how can you pick just one? Hopefully this guide has helped you out, but if you have any questions or need help finding something, feel free to contact me below.

Cheers, and have a happy, healthy and safe holiday!

Have a question? Email me here:[contact-form 6 "Untitled"]

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• Homebrews & Craft Beer — The Gifts That Keep on Giving
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• Women in Beer Series – Mariah Calagione

Originally posted 2010-12-13 12:49:23.

Posted By: Stevie Caldarola

REMINDER: Today is the last day to participate in 15% off beer kits at Northern Brewer! (Until Midnight, Central Time)

Click the ad on our sidebar (at left) or above and head over to Northern Brewer for 15% any beer kit! Make sure to enter code “MakeGreatBeer” (without the quotation marks) at checkout.

Cheers and big thanks to Northern Brewer for awesome deals!

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Posted By: Melissa Ward

When people ask me where I’m from, I tend to be a smartass and say “the entire East Coast.” It’s not completely hyperbolic, seeing that I’ve lived in 5 different states up and down the coast. But while I might proudly call the Philly metro area my home, there will always be a special place in my heart for Upstate NY.

And in Upstate there’s a fantastic city called Ithaca, bordering the beautiful Finger Lakes Wine Region. Ithaca has a green reputation, Cornell University (Go Big Red!), and a growing brewery: Ithaca Beer Co., nicknamed “The Spirit of the Finger Lakes.”

I know my Uncle Larry—Cornell alum and Ithaca native for at least 30+ years (probably more)—favors Ithaca’s Nut Brown Ale; a lot of folks in NY do. For me though, I have to hand it to Ithaca’s seasonal offerings and its Excelsior! series. The other day, while perusing the cold case at my local Wegmans (yet another jewel of Upstate NY), I heard a six-pack of Ithaca’s Cold Front, a Belgian Amber Ale, calling my name.

According to Ithaca’s website, “Cold Front is our Belgian-style Amber Ale brewed in autumn to keep us inspired as the days grow shorter and the nights colder. It’s brewed with European Malts and hops and fermented with a legendary Belgian ‘Farmhouse’ yeast.”

Cold Front stands at 7.2% ABV, technically outside the prescribed limits of a “session beer,” but it’s extremely drinkable as a pint or two. The beer pours a deep amber brown with a fluffy white head. A spicy, Belgian yeast aroma erupted from the glass as I poured—I knew this would be good.

Taking a whiff, the nose is chock-full of spice. Taking my first sip, I’m greeted with a deep caramely sweetness with just the hint of dark stone fruit. Cold Front finishes slightly dry, demanding the drinker to take sip after sip.

What I find particularly clever is that Ithaca’s spring seasonal is called Ground Break. It’s a hoppy American Saison that celebrates spring and the waning of winter. As someone who spent five winters in NY, I can appreciate the care Ithaca’s brewers take to remind us that there are good (and warmer!) things around the bend.

Originally posted 2010-10-19 09:05:30.

Posted By: JOConnell

Jennifer O’Connell lives in Decatur, GA and is a co-founder of Georgia Ale & Lager Sirens (GALS). A long time lover & friend of craft beer she is also known by some as Hoptrollop. A trained chef she currently cooks only for family and friends, but still gets her kicks creating dishes. If beer is involved in anyway, all the better.

Originally posted 2010-10-15 08:20:00.

Posted By: Theresa Carpine

Last fall, I noticed that Dry Fly Distilling, Washington’s first legal distillery to operate since Prohibition, was selling some of their used whiskey barrels. I don’t have much use for whiskey barrels, so I didn’t think much of it until Boundary Bay Brewery, my favorite Washington brewery, announced that they were aging some of their beers in the Dry Fly barrels.

My hometown distillery and my adopted hometown brewery were joining forces to create craft beer? I was excited, to say the least.

After some weather-related delays, the two quarter-kegs of Boundary Bay beer made it over the Cascades to Spokane for a crowded tasting event at the Elk Public House on Thursday, March 8, 2012. For $7, patrons received a shot of Dry Fly Whiskey and a 12 oz. pour of either Boundary Bay Barrel Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout or Cabin Fever.

By the end of the night, both quarter-kegs were gone and at least six empty Dry Fly Whiskey bottles lined the bar.

I started off with the stout, while my companions, Jackie and Dylan of Sweet and Stout Cupcakes, tried the Cabin Fever. I really love the Boundary Bay’s IOS as it is, so I was anxious to see how the whiskey barrels had changed the flavor. The aged version seemed less sweet and drier, which surprised me; I find that aging usually adds smoothness to a beer. The whiskey flavor really came out in the finish, which was a stark contrast to some of the original elements of the beer. Tasting the beer and whiskey side-by-side seemed to emphasize the competing flavors, rather than bring them together.

We flipped beers for the second round and I thought that the whiskey-aged version of Boundary Bay’s winter seasonal benefited from the aging more than the stout. Cabin Fever, a spicy winter warmer, took on some of the elements of a barleywine: strong, sweet, and smooth. Here, the flavor of the beer was enhanced and matched by the whiskey.

Full disclosure: I’m not a whiskey drinker and apparently I made a lot of interesting faces while sipping my shot, which I made last both rounds, but tasting each beer with the whiskey created a different experience than drinking the beer alone. Now, if only I had the unaged versions to taste side-by-side with the aged beer! Maybe next year…

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Posted By: Stevie Caldarola

Click the ad on our sidebar (at left) or above and head over to Northern Brewer for 15% any beer kit! Make sure to enter code “MakeGreatBeer” (without the quotation marks) at checkout.

Cheers and big thanks to Northern Brewer for awesome deals!

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