Ladies of Craft Beer

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!

Related Posts:

• Northern Brewer Offers 15% off All Beer Kits This Week: March 13-20!
• 10 Helpful Hints for the Novice Homebrewer
• 10% Off Brewing Starter Kit from Northern Brewer
• Beers Made By Walking
• A Quick Guide to All Grain Brewing

Posted By: VGimpel

I think it’s fair to say that while I am a very ambitious home brewer, I am also the quintessential lazy (not to mention cheap) home brewer. I’ve been brewing all grain since my third batch, mainly because I wasn’t appreciative of the limitations on my creativity that extract brewing afforded me.

When I started looking into going all grain, it was because it was Christmas time last year, and I wanted to make a clone of Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve (recipe here if you’re interested). The home brewing forums scared me off a little at first, with talk of converting coolers to mash tuns, drilling holes, home depot runs for strange piping that I’d never heard of, and horror stories of these conversions gone wrong. Then I stumbled on a couple of threads talking about “brew-in-a-bag”; it sounded like the answer I was looking for!

Since then I’ve been told almost every time I admit to a fellow home brewer that I don’t own a mash tun, and that I brew-in-a-bag, I get the “Oh, that’s right, all you Aussies do that!” Apparently it’s an Australian home brewer characteristic that I happened to stumble upon purely out of looking for an easier way to do it!

I now have a slightly bigger set-up, but for all you apartment or Northern-dwelling folk who have to brew inside at least part of the year, here’s how I did it originally on the stove inside! My “stovetop” all grain method assumes that you have a plastic fermenting bucket like you would get in a starter kit – I think most of us started that way. If not, you might need to get creative!

Equipment Needed

• Fermenting bucket (or 8-10 gallon pot)
• 2 x 4ish gallon pots to boil sparge water (or 3 smaller pots)
• Mash paddle/long handled spoon
• Thermometer (floating or dial that hooks on)

• 10 gallon paint strainer bag (pick one up at the hardware store)
• 6-8 medium sized binder clips
• Some kind of pan, pot or tray to catch the liquid from the grain bag (it’s liquid gold!) I use a metal colander over a smaller pot.
• If it’s a cooler day, a blanket/big towel to wrap your bucket in is a wise idea!

How-To!

1. Figure out how much strike water you’ll need. I’ve found a thicker mash has worked better for me (although there are many schools of thought on this). I usually calculate about 1.15 – 1.2 quarts of water per lb of grain.

2. Heat your strike water on the stove

3. Figure out how hot your strike water needs to be here. You can figure it out manually with this formula (courtesy of How to Brew by John Palmer) if you feel like exercising your algebra skills

Tw = (0.2/R)(T2-T1) + T2

Tw – Temp of water; T2 = Target Mash Temp; T1 = Initial Temperature of mash (temp of your house); R = Water to grain ratio

4. While the water is heating, place the paint bag into the bucket with the edge of the bag folded over the top. Secure the bag to the bucket with the binder clips.

5. Once the water hits your desired temperature, dump the water into the bucket, followed by your grain. Stir the grain well, check your temp – you might need to add a touch more hot water to get it up to the right temp, and cover with the lid. Note: if it’s a bucket with a hole for your airlock, plug the hole with some cling wrap.

6. I recommend stirring your grains every 10-20 minutes; but do it quickly, you don’t want to lose the heat!

7. Start heating your sparge water ASAP, especially if you use electric! I usually sparge around 168-170 degrees with good results. How much sparge water is going to depend on your pots, and how much you lose to boil off. I usually aim to have about 7 gallons for 90 minute boil & 5.5 gallon batch; everyone’s system will vary so it may be a little trial and error till you get it right.

9. Take the grain bag out of the bucket, let drain a bit and then transfer to whatever you will hold it in to drain. Being ladies, I hate to say it, but you might need a hand, these things are damn heavy soaked with water!

10. Pour the collected wort into a spare pot or bucket to hold till you’re ready to boil. Add the wort from the drain tray into the same pot.

11. Put the grain bag back into the bucket and clip it back on. Add the sparge water all in one go, stir it well, put the lid back on and leave for 15-20 minutes. Stir a couple of times during that time.

12. Remove the grains again and place grain bag into your draining tray. Add the wort from the bucket and drain tray into a pot on the stove. Gently! You don’t want too much aeration at this point

13. Bring the wort up to a rolling boil, and continue with your hop additions etc. as you normally would.

Yes, I know this system is not perfect. However, It will definitely give you the chance to try out some all grain recipes on a limited budget and with limited space – I know that’s something a lot of ya’ll have to deal with. I hope this helps!

Originally posted 2010-11-10 09:05:03.

Posted By: Michelle

The goddess at work...

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

I have been brewing for just over two years. I was all excited when I got the idea to start making my own beer. I make a lot of my own food-stuff and am proud to be able to feed myself with very few processed items. I also live in the country and must be ready to be self-contained at any given moment, be it weather related limitations or laziness or lack of transportation or whatever.

Over time, I though about it and decided to take my love of beer to the next level. I mean, the other things I make at home are better than the store, so why not beer? But, then I got really scared! I started looking at books and web sites and home brew magazines. I started reading all about the gravity and the measuring and the science and the complexities of yeast and the equipment. I got pretty frightened and intimidated; so much so that I nearly gave up. Nearly….

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

Then I got a pretty decent home brew kit for Christmas from my husband. The kit had everything I needed to get started, even the ingredients and first recipe. To the credit of my local home brew store, this was no “Mr. Beer” set up; this was glass carboys and shiny tubes and fermentation locks and explicit directions. All I needed to take the plunge and make that first beer.

Onward I marched. I made my first batch a few weeks later. To this day, I am not sure what sort of beer it was. Just a regular beer, I suppose. Anyway, that first batch went pretty well overall and was most palatable. But, I did have to call the home brew store a couple of times for a quick consultation. The red bottom of the wine thief fell off into the carboy during fermentation. Crisis!!! AHHHH! If only for a 24 hour help line!! I was so worried after all I had read about contamination that I was sure this was the end of the batch and the only thing I would feed is my septic tank.

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

Then, the temperatures started to fall in the basement where I had planned to ferment. Again, I was on the phone with my home brew store. Did I kill the yeast? Will my beer survive? Oh, help, beer Goddesses! What was I to do now that the beer was not following the recipe on print? I continued on and muddled through that first batch.

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

I never really knew what that phrase meant until, oh, about 18 months into brewing. I have brewed nearly two dozen batches so far and, knock on wood and pray to all that is beer related, I have not thrown a batch yet. I understand that, though we start out with the best of intentions and meaning to stay true to the directions, there are times when it does not matter. I have learned to relax a bit.

I have also met and talked to lots of other home brewers. They, too, have had their mishaps and mess ups and not-true-to-form experiences. Their beer, most of the time, has been just fine. Just like the diverse nature of humans, the home brew community brews in diverse ways. This includes a lack of good record keeping, or no notes at all, varied fermentation temperatures, hops that were just on hand and not those recommended, sugar additions and grain modifications. And guess what? The beer LIVED! Much of the time, the brew was drinkable and acceptable. Perhaps not award worthy, or spectacular, or marketable on a grand scale, but just fine for the home brew crowd and even better for the “average” Joe who knows no better.

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

Boiling a brew!

It took me over a year of strict adherence to the directions to be brave enough to experiment. I was not interested in throwing away the time, money or effort in a bad batch of beer. I wanted to make sure whatever creation I came up with was not only drinkable, but noteworthy and perhaps a topic of discussion at home brew club night. I began to experiment, even if only slightly. So far, so good!

To date, I have brewed with herbal tea, real fresh fruit, various spices, dried fruit, and lavender. I have added these items to the boil, first, and second fermentation. Additionally, my fermentation temperatures have been all over the map, with up to 10 degree variations. I have boiled perhaps a bit too long, or perhaps a bit too hot, and have taken anywhere from minutes to hours to cool the precious wort. I have kicked my spouse completely out of the process, unless I need some requested help or muscle. That way, I figure that if a batch goes bad I will leave no room for blame on anyone but me.

Mind you, I never, ever, never, ever, never skimp on sanitation and cleaning and have a routine I stick to religiously. But, I have learned to relax a little when it comes to the recipe, directions or outline of the beer itself. I have not yet acquired the equipment or wherewithal to transition to all grain and I continue to be a partial mash brewer. I still use hop pellets and yeast packets, which leaves me plenty of room yet to grow and learn and expand.

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

There are times I get a bit of flack from my home brew brethren because I still use the packets and pellets, but they, too, are forgiving and realize they can be my mentors and guides into the next phase of my brewing life. I brew in my kitchen and ferment in the basement, most of the time. There are occasions when the basement gets a bit too cold and I turn the office into the fermentation room with it’s own heater. It sure helps that there are no kids at my house and the cat does not mind too much when one room becomes closed off.

Overall, I am having a blast and am told that I make good beer. I also have really enjoyed the new community I am a part of. I find a lot of support and much to learn. I find my fellow brewers more than willing to lend an ear or guidance and, hopefully soon, I will observe and learn more about all grain brewing first hand.

I also find that women approach brewing differently than men, which in and of itself, only adds to the diversity of the hobby. My brew set up has not grown, but my bravery and knowledge and support community has. Fortunately, too, my beer continues to disappear and nothing but positive comments follow.

I still think of myself as a new brewer and have nothing by high regard for those who have blazed the trail of knowledge and experimentation and creativity before me. I strive to be a welcome addition to the field as I continue to learn and experiment in my own right.

Hooray for those who dare brew and kudos to the others who take the time to help the rest of us along.

RELAX, IT’S A HOME BREW.

Words I understand and can now live by.

Cheers!

Related Posts:

• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 4)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 3)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 2)

Posted By: Julia Taylor

Catherine the Great

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, which means that the commercial world is very busy brainwashing guys to buy roses, chocolates, and heart shaped jewelry. We are Ladies of Craft Beer, so it is only appropriate that our Valentines present us with a special brew, a true chick beer, one suitable for an empress…

During the porter rage of the 18^th century, Peter the Great of Russia became a fan during his visit to England.  He requested that some of this brown elixir be sent to his Imperial Court, but the beer spoiled along the thousand-mile route.  In an effort to salvage England’s brewing reputation, Barclay Brewery of London increased the amount of alcohol and hops for the second batch.  The result was the “Russian Imperial Stout”, a dark complex ale that quickly warmed the bodies and hearts of the people of Russia. According to legend, Empress Catherine the Great of Russia  was very partial to the stout and repeatedly ordered large quantities for her own consumption and for her court. Her support of this brew made in popular inEngland and has contributed to its popularity today.

Russian Imperial Stouts are very popular among craft brewers, and today’s ebony brew has moved far from tradition with additives like chocolate, chili peppers, fruit, and herbs. Sometimes, however, the rich, roasty, and bittersweet flavors of this complex ale is all that is needed. I have tried many Imperial Stouts, but the one that you have not tried always seems to be the best, and I aspire for a Portsmouth Brewery’s Kate the Great.  This brew has received a World-Class (100) rating on Beer Advocate  from both Reviewers and The Bros , which places it as the crème de la crème of Imperial Stouts. The beer is brewery only release  planned for March 5 and is sold via a lottery system. Fourteen barrels were brewed for this year’s release, and 2,000-11.6 oz. bottles will be available for sale. A total of 15,000 scratch-off tickets will go on sale at the brewery approximately three weeks before the release, and there will be 2,000 “winners” mixed randomly among them, entitling the bearer to purchase a bottle for $8. The tickets are $2 each and all revenue will go to charity. Ticket announcements will be posted on their  Facebook  and sent out on Twitter , so stay tuned if you’re in the Portsmouth, NH area.

If you’re not lucky enough to get a “winning” ticket, join me in my attempt to brew a Kate the Great clone  utilizing the brewer’s recipe and the meticulous notes of  The Mad Fermentationist.

Kate the Great Clone

OG: 1.101  FG: 1.030  SRM: 51 ABV: 12%  IBU: 73

Mash Temp: 149 Boil Time: 135 minutes  Volume: 5.5 gal.

Grain Bill

17.75 lbs. American Pale “2-row” (73.9%)

1.00 lbs. Light DME (4.2%)

0.81 lbs. Flaked Barley (3.4%)

0.81 lbs. Special B (3.4%)

0.81 lbs. Wheat Malt (3.4%)

0.69 lbs. Carafa Special III (2.9%)

0.56 lbs. Aromatic Malt (2.3%)

0.50 lbs. Crystal 60L (2.1%)

0.44 lbs. Roasted Barley (~500L) (1.8%)

0.22 lbs. Black Patent Malt (0.9%)

0.22 lbs. Chocolate Malt (0.9%)

0.22 lbs. Crystal 120L (0.9%)

 Hops

2.00 oz. Columbus (Pellet, 13.00% AA) @ 75 min.

1.00 oz. Styrian Goldings (Pellet, 5.25% AA) @ 0 min.

 Additions

0.50 tsp Yeast Nutrient @ 15 min.

0.50 Whirlfloc @ 15 min.

0.75 oz Port soaked medium toast French oak cubes for 120 days

Yeast

WYeast 1272 American Ale II

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• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 15)

Posted By: Julia Taylor

In a few weeks, all “Irish” eyes will be shining and Guinness will be flowing like water in honor of the patron saint of Ireland.  This year, avoid the urge to be a plastic Paddy and brew up something that ol’ Patrick would have enjoyed, because driving snakes off the island does work up a thirst.  My vision of the Emerald Isle does not include dancing leprechauns and pots of gold, but a pint of dry stout paired with fresh oysters, so my festive beer will be getting a handful of mollusks tossed into the boil kettle.

While, the oyster stout is making a comeback among a few rogue craft brewers, the history of the beer is a bit ambiguous. The famous Beer Hunter, Michael Jackson, wrote in 1988 that it was one of the few styles of beer he had never tasted, which inspired him to dig into its past. He found that England’s Colchester Brewing Company brewed an Oyster Fest Stout around 1900, to celebrate an annual oyster harvest, but no proof that oysters were in the beer. Several recipes traced revealed shells used as fining, and their alkalinity helped to counteract the sourness in the beer. A reference was found to a manufacture of an English oyster concentrate made in New Zealand, that was approved as an adjunct in brewing, said to improve head retention “without a trace of fishiness.” Hammerton of Stockwell, London experimented with the concentrate in 1938, but scrapped after the appalling smell from a faulty can of oysters.  Later that year, J.J. Young of Portsmouth took the remaining cans and marketed an oyster stout, but production stopped when World War II began.

The oyster stout doesn’t appear to be a historically popular beer, so why the emerging trend? Picking out the bivalve’s contribution among the dark roasted malts is a challenge, but some claim a slight mineral quality lingers after the other flavors fade. While others state the extra protein gives the beer extra body that enriches the mouthfeel, and better head retention.  So go ahead, be a shellfish brewer and toss some oysters into your beer. Sláinte!

 Black Pearl Oyster Stout (Brew Your Own)

OG: 1.052  FG: 1.013  SRM: 60  ABV: 5%  IBU: 37

Mash Temp: 152  Boil Time: 120 minutes  Volume: 5 gal.

Grain Bill

9 lb.- 2-Row Pale Malt

0.5 lb.-Flaked Oats

1 lb.-Roasted Barley

0.5 lb.- Chocolate Malt

0.25 lb.-Black Patent Malt

 Hops

1.5 oz.-Fuggle @ 60 minutes

0.75 oz. Fuggle @ 20 minutes

 Additions

 10 oz. Raw Oysters & Brine @ 15 minutes

1 t.-Irish Moss @ 15 minutes

 Yeast

Irish Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1084)

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• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 35)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 34)
• 10 Helpful Hints for the Novice Homebrewer

Posted By: Julia Taylor

Webster’s Dictionary defines “hype” as “exaggerated advertising or promotion.” This definition is applicable to the macro breweries; however, a group in flannels usually makes craft beer marketing decisions over a pint, instead of three-piece suits and highballs. Therefore, the majority of the “hype” stems from our fellow beer lovers.  Scarcity, whether you recognize the brewery’s lack of production capacity, or believe that it is a deceptive plan to create frenzy, is what drives us to camp outside a brewery’s door, stalk every beer store in a tri-state area, or spend outrageous amounts of money on eBay.  We never claimed to be a sane bunch, and with Bell’s Hopslam  on its way to its 18-state market (plus DC) with approximately 69,000 cases, the madness is about to unleash again.

So is Hopslam worth the hype?  Are the shelves not bulging with other IPAs and double IPAs, equally packed with malt and hops? What is the big deal with Hopslam?   Hopslam is hoppy, but not in the enamel eroding bitter way of most West Coast IPAs, it is, dare I say it, pretty… Hops are flowers and this beer offers an aromatic bouquet of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. However, as with any delicate flower, it is best enjoyed in the moment because it will quickly fade, so do not bother to stockpile, but instead brew your own.

According to Bell’s Web site, Hopslam has six hop varieties added to the brew kettle and receives “a massive dry hop addition” of Simcoe, a strain noted for its citrus and pine-like aroma. There is also a generous malt beer and a solid dollop of honey, resulting in an original gravity of 1.087.  In my attempt to clone Hopslam, I will use Simpson’s Golden Promise, for its clean, sweet flavor, as the base malt.Munich and Aromatic malts chosen for their malty flavor and aroma, and unfermentable Carapils (dextrine malt) to increase foam, improve head retention and enhance mouth feel. Hopslam boasts slightly less than 70 international bitterness units (IBUs), so a single dose of Simcoe for bitterness and Centennial, with its floral and citrus tones, for flavoring. The remaining four hops will be a pleasant mild floral blend for finishing/aroma. Two pounds of honey added at flameout will raise the alcoholic content, lighten the body and round out the beer. If your desire is to add honey for sweetness, you will need to add diluted, heat-treated honey to the primary fermenter, since 95% of honey is fermentable. The beer will be dry-hopped with two ounces of Simcoe.

Hopslam Clone

OG: 1.090  FG: 1.014  SRM: 9.2  ABV: 10.2%  IBU: 76.8

Mash Temp: 150  Boil Time: 75 minutes  Volume: 5.5 gal.

 Grain Bill

 13 lb. Golden Promise

2 lb.Munich

1 lb. Aromatic

8 oz. Carapils

2 lb. Honey (at flameout)

 Hops

 1 oz. Simcoe @ 60 minutes

1.5 oz. Centennial @ 20 minutes

1 oz. Glacier @ 15 minutes

1 oz. Vanguard @10 minutes

1 oz.Crystal@ 1 minutes

1 oz. Hallertaurer @ 1 minutes

2 oz. Simcoe @ 7 days

 Yeast

American Ale Yeast (Wyeast 1056)

This beer should be ready by March, so I’m  hoping to have the opportunity for a blind taste test. If you would like to donate to the cause, I am currently accepting donations of unopened bottles of Hopslam.

Related Posts:

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• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
• Tweaking the Kit
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 35)

Posted By: Guest

Editor’s Note: There is some (purposeful) stereotyping in this article meant to get a point across.

We women have spent the better part of the last century combating the idea of being confined to the kitchen, cooking and cleaning for our strong, hearty men. The men sit on the couch, watch their sports and Speed Channel, drinking their favorite brew. The new twist on this classic tale is that their favorite brew was made right in your own home… by YOU. Home brewing is exploding around the country. More and more connoisseurs are realizing its not only economical and fun to brew your own, but as easy as making a casserole.

Our First Ever All Grain Brew

My husband, Nick, starting bringing up the idea of homebrewing about a year and a half ago when one of his friends mentioned his latest venture into it.  He immediately began spending hours on the computer on supply sites looking at recipes and reading a terribly outdated book trying to learn how to sanitize and carbonate. I took no interest, thinking it was a passing phase and soon he’d head back to the grocery store to buy another Sam Adams sampler. But it didn’t wane, and I knew I had to either get involved or move out before the supplies took over our garage and kitchen.

My passion, besides teaching my pre-k class, is cooking. I gladly spend most of my time in the kitchen, baking something new to take to work and fatten my coworkers. In regards to homebrewing, I worked with Nick to develop spice and flavor pairings for a summer wheat and a Belgian tripel to serve at our rehearsal dinner last summer. I was hooked. While the ingredients like two-row malt and Centennial hops were a little more foreign than the cilantro or egg washes I was used to working with, I quickly discovered that brewing recipes were meant to be followed just as any Christmas cookie recipe. Mix this stuff together, boil for sixty minutes, mix that other stuff in a separate bowl, combine. We worked together to figure out the best times to “experiment” and add a little extra here, a little more there. His brain works for the science behind it, and I contribute more to the flavors. Six batches later, we’re turning out to be a pretty good pair.

I know women in general are just starting to gain a reputation as legitimate beer enjoyers, so making our mark on the brewing side of the industry might take a little time. But there is no reason why your local home brew store should have a “NO WOMEN ALLOWED” sign on the door. So I challenge you, as part of your 2012 Bucket List, to talk to someone about how to start brewing. Make your mark. The only downside: you know how successful you were at roasting a chicken in an hour. This takes a bit more patience.

Related Posts:

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• Women in Beer Series – Martha Holley-Paquette
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Posted By: Michelle

Guys, this one IS for you.

Take One: It is a beer tasting event. My husband and I get our tickets. As usual, we are hoping that there is a designated driver or non-drinker cheap or fee option for him. Most often not. Either way, we enter. I am excited, eyes wide open and feeling the great beer energy that abounds. He looks sad, accepting his fate with a certain amount of dread. Like when he takes me to a gun show. Yeah, it’s like that. After we are in the event and start to peruse the offerings, he is quickly approached by other attendees for beer talk. Brewers and vendors single him out for beer related conversation. Do you brew? What have you tasted? Where are you from? How long have you been brewing?

Take Two: It is a local home brew club meeting or social gathering. My husband and I arrive and home brewers start to roll in. The general crowd of home brewers hones in on my old man. They quickly walk over and start their beer talk. My hubby looks at them with a blank stare and says, “You need to talk to her.” The unknowing home brewer now looks at me with that same blank stare.

Take Three: It is a night out. A nice dinner and a couple of drinks. I am reading the beer menu and am throwing technical beer related questions left and right to the wait staff. While I try to extrapolate important libation information from the server, s/he looks confusedly at my spouse, wondering why they are having this conversation with me and not with him.

And so it goes…..

My Husband's "Brewer Support Team" Tee

I am a craft-beer-drinking-home-brew-making-brewery-touring-libation-loving woman! Say that five times fast. Not the norm, as I have quickly learned. It got to the point that I had a t-shirt made for my hubby. Just to clear up any confusion about who the beer dork truly is.

Keep in mind that I have years of experience being the only woman in a male dominated arena. Recall, if you will, that I ride motorcycles. I don’t ride on the back and I do ride for real. That means I ride thousands of miles in a season. I ride in the rain, in the wind, in the heat, the cold…. etc. I am not the only woman who does this, just to be clear. I embrace my riding sisters and have nothing but respect and admiration (envy?) for those who ride circles around me! But, it can get weird. I wear full gear, which quickly removes many gender-related indicators. I also wear a full-face helmet that leaves only my eyes and nose exposed. Not a lot of identifying information there, either. I also wear my hair short. I learned that my lifestyle of camping, riding, boating and such is just not conducive to anything but low maintenance. Short hair does it for me. In fact, I actually shaved my head one year. Another story.

I do these things that mostly guys do and I wear my hair like mostly guys do and I wear clothes that can be pretty gender neutral while I enjoy my hobbies in the great out of doors. I have been called “Sir” to my face and often on the phone. I hate that, by the way.

For four years in a row, my riding partner (hubby) and I have attended a specific motorcycle rally in the summer. Calm down, it is not the misogynistic-wet-t-shirt-drinking-contest event many call “Sturgis”. We attend the North American V-Strom Rally. The first year, I was one of two women and the only female who rode her own bike. I was bored out of my head and alone in a crowd. None of the guys or the other woman would talk to me. Nobody got excited when asked to ride with me. I played on my smart phone while the guys around me talked up a storm over dinner about their love of bikes and subsequent adventures. I sat a lot and just chilled. I was excited to attend and my hopes for a weekend ripe with motorcycle mania were quickly dashed. Fast forward a couple years and I am now greeted with big bear hugs, warm smiles and conversation galore. I am not only welcome, but known and respected among my bike-loving-ride-in-all-weather-have-helmet-hair crowd. We have found our connection and our common ground. We are now buddies. Friends.

Bringing this all together….. Fellas, I don’t do these things to meet guys. I never did. This is just NOT about YOU! I engage in these activities because I LOVE them. I mean L-O-V-E as in sacrifice other things for them, spend lots of money to enjoy them, and have integrated these passions into all aspects of my life. My Christmas tree is lovingly adorned with beer coaster and motorcycle ornaments. My basement is full of beer supplies and my garage is full of motorcycles. My spare closet is filled with motorcycle gear and my storage shelves are packed with home brew supplies. My spouse and I have arguments about money and spending on our hobbies. Just like you. Just like many of us.

I realize that we are socialized to assume that most interactions between men and women are or will be or should become sexual. Both men and women receive messages that make it difficult to merely see each other as people with common interests, common stories, and connections to make. Connections that lay way outside of anything sexual, intimate or otherwise relationship-oriented. Connections that will bring us joy, but have nothing to do with partner shopping or dating or hooking
up. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. I bring this up because women, after all, are about 50% of the population. Women, after all, are everywhere, too. We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and configurations. We have lots of diverse interests and personalities. We are as similar and as different as you are.

But there is more…

The Front of Jim's Tee

I ask you, the male majority for this chat, to please not let my gender get in the way. While I may give you a black eye if you call me “sir” to my face (just kidding), I am there To enjoy one of my passions. Just like you. It IS about the beer. It is about talking beer, sharing stories about beer, getting tips and information that is beer related. It is all about the beer!

We share our love or beer (or bikes) and it is okay that we connect. It is okay that my hubby does not share my passion for beer and that I will have lengthy conversations with strange men about something I love. It only means that we share a common interest. Nothing more and nothing less. Dudes, it is about the beer NOT about you! Despite the messed up societal norms we may be exposed to, I think we can work through this together. I think there is room for all of us at the beer-lover-home-brewer table. That being said, it is not always the case that those of us who share a hobby are only there for the hobby. Of course not. I may have been born at night, but it was not last night. I know full well that some folks are looking for a partner, mate or maybe even just a hook-up. So be it. But, let’s be clear that you will figure that out right away. Even your beer-drinking self can recognize flirting vibes and undertones of a sexual nature. I, on the other hand, will make is easy. Not only will I not give you any clear or unmistakable flirt vibes, I can almost always guarantee that my big and tall adoring husband will be standing right there beside me while I get my beer on. A clear indication that I seek no more than a connection. No more than a mutual adoration of good brew. I seek only to indulge my beer dork self.

So, let’s make a deal. Let’s agree to each take a baby step on behalf of our love of beer. I will try and be more outgoing at these events and may even introduce myself to lots of strangers. Men included. In turn, I will ask that you seek out me – the female – and introduce yourself. You may recognize that I am one of the only women there and I may feel shy and intimidated. I probably don’t have any female friends that will attend with me, and I know for sure I have no close female home brew friends. But, like people everywhere, I am just trying to find my place and, in this case, share my love of beer. Like you, I long to connect with others who share my passion. If you approach a couple, perhaps ask who the beer lover is first and don’t assume that it is the male. I will, in turn, try not to get so freaking pissed off when I get ignored or left out or if you ask my hubby about his home brew.

It this always easy? Nope. Especially if you are as introverted as I am. I hate talking to strangers and meeting new people can be hard. But, I am willing to step out of my comfort zone if you will meet me part way. While it may not be our norm to approach strange people at our beer events, especially those who don’t look like us, we do have this great opportunity to break new ground, build a community and welcome new folks. It is our love of beer that brings us together. It is our love of beer that makes us happy. It is for our love of beer that we invest in our beer culture and our beer club. It is for our love of beer that we invite and welcome others in to our passion and our hobby. It is for our love of beer that we can throw out societal norms, expectations and stereotypes and move beyond the gender divide. Hell, let’s get crazy and include the racial divide, the ability divide, the age divide. Let’s include all those things that keep us separate and put them aside. It is for our love of beer that our community can and will grow, accepting all who enter. It is about creating and nurturing a quality beer culture. It is, again, about the shared passion. It is, as always, all about the beer. But, all bets are off if you call me “sir” to my face. Then it’s on…..

Related Posts:

• Interview with Randy Mosher about Women and Beer (Guest post by Ingrid Calderoni)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 35)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 34)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 32)

Posted By: Melissa Ward

For beginning homebrewers, a beer ingredient kit is often a nice way to start. You know you’re brewing a trusted recipe, and it let’s you focus on other things at hand—like actually brewing the beer. But if you feel like you’re in limbo between brewing only kits and brewing your own recipes, don’t fear, there is a middle step you can take as you flex your fledgling homebrewing muscles. I call that step “Tweaking the Kit.”

When we began homebrewing in 2008, my husband and I purchased a Nut Brown Ale kit from Morebeer.com; we followed the recipe in the kit for the main brew, but to add our own twist, we added 8 oz of strongly brewed hazelnut coffee to the secondary fermenter and let it age for at least a week before bottling.

Pre-coffee, the wort from the primary had a toasty, nutty flavor from the Victory malt, as well as a hint of cocoa from the chocolate malt. It was off to a good start, but needed a little more complexity—enter the hazelnut coffee. The coffee was brewed hot with a French press for a more concentrated flavor and then allowed to cool to room temperature before adding to the fermenter.

After patiently waiting for the beer to finish bottle conditioning, we were met by a homebrew with a bold hazelnut coffee taste that smacked you about a bit and then settled into a sweet, nutty finish. Christened Nuts About Coffee Nut Brown Ale, the beer was a crowd pleaser, and proved to us that we had the creativity and the skill to move beyond homebrew kits and into the thick of recipe writing.

Just one thing to note: After a number of months the coffee in the beer began to go stale, because the coffee was brewed hot. If working with coffee in beers, it would be best to cold brew instead to maintain the java’s flavor integrity. The same goes for brewing with tea, which is what I did when I brewed our Boris the Spider Chai Oatmeal Stout. The brewing of the coffee or tea takes a little longer when cold brewed, but it is totally worth the time spent.

Related Posts:

• A Quick Guide to All Grain Brewing
• Hopslam or Hypeslam?
• A Beer Drinking Woman in a Beer Man’s World
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (The College Years, Part 5)
• Vicki Stowe – Brewmaster (Part 35)

Originally posted 2010-12-08 09:05:32.