All Day IPA Session Ale by Founders Brewing
All Day IPA Session Ale by Founders Brewing comes in a 15 pack of cans which is a great value and a novel concept. This sessionable IPA at 4.7% ABV has a deep amber color with a mild to medium carbonation with a ton of hoppy flavors including a major grassy smell and flavor on the initial sip. When you think grass, you really don’t think good but the flavors seem to work really well together to give this mild IPA a lot of hop forward flavors and a nice punch overall. I see this as a little brother of Founder’s Centennial IPA which is an amazing beer with a great malt backbone. Founder’s never fails to impress with major flavors that seem to be perfectly balanced between the malts and the hops. For a great session craft brew at a great price, grab a 15 pack and share with friends.
All Day IPA by Founders
Hibiscuwit Belgian Wheat by Red Brick Brewing Co
Hibiscuwit Belgian Wheat by Red Brick Brewing Co is one of the best flavored witbiers I’ve ever enjoyed with only 5% ABV I wish I had bought more for this Summer weekend. This amazing witbier pours a beautiful apricot color with the perfect amount of carbonation for the style with a very smooth fruity and tart taste common to hibiscus brew teas. If you love hibiscus flavored teas and quality ales then I would recommend this beer to you but if you are a hop head and don’t usually drink witbiers then you should probably stick to your bitter beer.
Hibiscuwit Belgian Wheat by Red Brick Brewing Co
Lost Cove American Pale Ale by Highland Brewing Company
Extremely light in color compared to most Pale Ales and a little high on the carbonation but the biggest impression was all the Cascade hop smell as I went to take a sip, it was as if I had fresh hops floating on top of the brew. Lost Cove American Pale Ale by Highland Brewing Company is a bit different with its lighter body, high carbonation, major hop forward smell and taste but shockingly it is only rated at 20 IBU with the bitter of a smooth 40 IBU Pale Ale. Most pales ales have a bitter more like an IPA but Lost Cove American Pale Ale nailed it for what a pale ale should taste like. This is a great session pale ale at only 4.5% ABV, lighter body from the mild Pilsner malt blend with all the citrus aroma and smooth bittering makes this a pale ale to try this Summer. I personally was impressed as Highland Brewing Company makes some great beers but most have a lot more malt flavor and as I poured the Lost Cove American Pale Ale I became a bit concerned until my nose hit the citrus aromas from the hops and after the first sip all concern changed to a pleasant surprise.
Lost cost American Pale Ale by Highland Brewing Company
How to start All Grain Beer Brewing? Part 2 – How to start brewing your first batch?
Most people start brewing beer by jumping right in to a 5 gallon system with 5 gallon kits but most of us simply can’t afford that type of investment and with 1 gallon producing about 10 bottles that would easily equal 50 bottles, I simply can’t commit to 50 of any one beverage. If you think about most craft beer drinkers we love to try new things and can you even imagine filling your fridge with 50 of the exact same thing, I would enjoy the first 10 and then from there I think I would dread knowing I had 40 more to go. My personal recommendation for any new brewer is to do everything in small 1 gallon batches which will yield you 8 to 10 bottles per batch. This makes it easy, affordable and fun as you get to experiment a great deal and if you are lucky enough to make a beer that you absolutely love and may want to share with friends and family then go for it and brew a big 5 gallon batch at that point. Justifying the cost of equipment needed to brew a 5 gallon batch make a lot more sense once you know what you are doing and have a few or even several dozen small 1 gallon batches under your belt.
Here are a few of the 1 gallon kits currently available on the Internet although if you have a local Brew Supply shop please check with them as it is always a great thing to support your local small business owners:
Midwest Supplies LINK – This kit is my personal favorite which includes more than most kits for the money and the only thing you need to supply are the bottles which if you are making beer for the first time I can only guess you have been drinking it and can save up 10 bottles for your first batch. Of course you will need a pot or two but if you don’t have those you can easily buy one locally or from Midwest Supplies at the same time. This kit even includes your first recipe kit, an American wheat. A newer kit from them that I would suspect has all of the same items but a different Recipe Kit, an American IPA LINK
Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply LINK – Another great kit as it is what I consider a complete kit as it gives you everything you need to do your first batch and even allows you to pick the style you want to do as you first brew but please note a lot of the choices are not 100% all grain and many include extract malts. I do think the most people should brew something simple for the first brew like an American Wheat, IPA, Pale, Hefeweizen, Blonde or like brew. Please remember this kit will also need you to supply your own bottles and kettle but those are items you will probably already have. They also have a few special kits like this White House Kit with only two choices of “honey” type beers LINK. They also have a Wil Wheaton VandelEyes kit LINK but as you will notice in the picture they are using extract malts instead of 100% all grain but it is still a nice starting point if you must.
Brooklyn BrewShop LINK – This is my least favorite kit as I feel they charge more for a lot less as the kit is $10 less than the kits listed above and they do have a nice selection but you don’t get an auto-siphon, spring tip bottle filler, bottle caps and capper like the all the other kits above include. They will sell you the capper and caps for an extra $20 but you are still left with a manual siphon and no spring tip bottle filler which helps to reduce the amount of oxygen that gets into your bottles. Plus their kits don’t appear to include the normal brewing socks included by most other kits including those from Midwest Supplies and most likely Northern Brewer Homebrew Supplies. As all kits don’t include bottles or a kettle you will need those plus either a really fine mesh strainer that can hold up to 2 lbs worth of grain or brew socks other fine mesh bag to help complete your brewing process. I do not recommend this kit for a beginner as it simply isn’t a good value compared to the ones listed above and for a first time experience I personally feel it could be very difficult to do by yourself if someone with experience isn’t assisting you.
Mini Monster Bookshelf Brewery LINK – These look like great kits also but sadly I would rank them with Brooklyn BrewShop kits as they are missing the finer things that can be found in the Midwest Supplies and Northern Brew Homebrew Supply kits. IPA version LINK
Remember to keep it simple and learn as you go.
Here are some photos of what it looks like to prepare, brew and then setup your 1 gallon bottle for fermenting:
Always sterilize your and then layout everything you will need to complete the job, as you will notice I also like to put everything on fresh paper towels just to play things on the safe side of cleanliness.
Home Brew Prep Area
How to start All Grain Beer Brewing? Part 1 – Why All Grain Beer Brewing?
First question everyone asks is why brew your own beer? Although it would seem obvious to some people this answer really can depend on the person. As a hobby it can be very relaxing and fun from the challenge of your first brew to the endless experimenting of 100th brew. I personally find it relaxing to a degree as it can be a lot of work but between my experimenting and the ultimate completion where I am able to let friends sample my many works of art and get their feedback is very rewarding to me. Think of your favorite beer or maybe you don’t have one as you wish someone would brew a certain type of beer with a very distinct flavor, well what is stopping you from making your own favorite brew either on your first attempt or it could become a long term trail and error to perfection. Second question you maybe asking yourself “Why All Grain Brewing?” compared to dry or liquid malts which are advertised as easy and recommended for novice brewers. In my opinion based on everything I’ve read before I began brewing and since is that the only reason anyone should choose to do dry or liquid malts are to save time during the brew process. The other reason I hear is that all grain brewing is hard which is a load of crap, all grain brewing simply takes a little more patience and time of course. From everything I’ve read from people with a great deal more experience brewing compared to myself, is that there is no comparison to all grain brewing when it comes to the final product, a quality crafted beer. When you think about all the major brewers I can’t think of one that has ever mentioned using extracts in their beers. Extract brewing usually takes about 2 hours from start to finish while all grain brewing can take 3 to 4 hours but honestly when you think about the time you will need from initial brewing to bottling or kegging that extra hour or two is really nothing in the big picture of a quality crafted beer. Remember the goal is to learn something new and the best way if you are going to devote time to learning, you might as well learn to do it the best way possible.
