If you have not noticed, the first sign of fall is here, preceding falling leaves, chilly nights, and hay rides:  Pumpkin Beer.  I noticed this seasonal phenomenon on the shelves of a local beer store two weeks ago and had to grimace...isn't it a bit too early (then not even mid August) to begin weighing down the shelves with the cliché "craft beer fall?" In a way, I was thrilled.  I am looking forward to some respite from this insane heat and humidity that is part and parcel with living in Missouri, but really, brewers...there are other  ingredients that are associated with fall.  And yes, I realize there are other seasonal brews out there--like the many various renditions of 'Oktoberfest' beers--but the hallowed pumpkin beer always hordes coveted beer shelf realty space. I just don't get it...both from a taste perspective and from a business perspective.  No, I don't like pumpkin beers, not even the revered Dogfish Head Punkin beer.  But at least I am willing to concede that just because I don't like a particular style of beer doesn't mean that my opinions are industry standard.  Beer is subjective. But from a business perspective, were I to open a brewery, my absolute ...

Many of you have noted, I'm sure, that Nate and I have not been as active on our blog or yours.  Normally, we are all over the place.  I try, at a minimum, to stop by every blog on our blog roll daily.  I try to comment almost as often. However, it's been less frequent lately.  Don't worry, we are going to be back on the ball but we've both been pretty swamped lately. Nate just moved with his five kids...I can't imagine the packing and unpacking alone.  On top of that, he's been working on the place they are living in and looking for a job.  For my part, well...the reason I've not been writing much is that I'm really busy lately.  I know that many of us could say that same thing, but I'm busy in a way that I've never been before.  First off, I have a job after a big drought, so I went from all the time in the world to a work week.  But that's just the tip of the iceberg. During the 4 1/2 months I was off, I was not brewing while depleting my reseverves of homebrew.  Now that I have a job, I'm ...

...when such a common denominator as beer is involved. A little known fact about me is that I can be slightly introverted.  While I have no problem with public speaking, regardless of the size of the crowd, I tend to put up my guard when it comes to first time social interaction.  Nonetheless, when Bull E. Vard invited me to brew show down that he and several other Kansas City beer bloggers frequently hold in which two breweries' similar styles of beer are pitted against each other in a blind tasting, I jumped at the chance.  Although I'd never met any of these guys in person, Bull E. Vard and Yeti (who does tours for Boulevard Brewery) pulled strings to get me (a guy they'd never met) on a booked up tour at Boulevard last December. The event was fantastic, as were the attendees.  Seriously, as awkward as I typically feel around new persons, none such awkwardness existed with these guys.  Their approach to the beer showdown was simple and absolutely un-pretentious.  Instead of judging each individual beer down to the molecular level, the gents simply blindly taste two beers and vote for which they prefer.  There is no arbitrary scale (like ...

Last year around this time I posed the question on Twitter (a service I find I lack time for these days):  "Would you rather go to #GABF or Oktoberfest?"  I rarely ask questions like this on Twitter, as it seems like pandering for standing on the social networking site, but I really was interested.  Only a few responded, maybe 4 or 5.  I am hardly a presence.  But, I was surprised that not one person preferred Bavaria over Colorado. I know that hands down, the greater beer selection would be had at the Great American Beer Fest.  Beyond my wildest dreams, I'm sure, there would monster IPAs, sour ales, and obscure beer-blogger-bragging-rights brews just waiting to be quaffed, were I able to pony up the cash for enough tickets.  I'm sure the scene would be cool...lot's of beer enthusiasts swishing their glasses and sharing stories, beer authors and beer greats chatting it up, and so on.  But how would the culture fare?  Could it move beyond JUST the craft beer culture?  Colorado's cool and all...I've been there and found it interesting. Oktoberfest would be a different story.  For the most part, the beers would be similar and selection would be whittled down ...

As most of our readers know, Nate and I are insatiably interested in opening a brewery.  Through recent encounters, I've personally been reminded to put my money where my mouth is.  As a result, I began looking into the concept/cost of operating on a nano scale... but I'm jumping ahead.  Actually, I've spent some time looking at the TTB website, requesting a brewery packet, and looking into the various aspects involved in becoming a legal brewery.  I won't bother you with the woes of government, but I will say that I've learned a lot and that my brewing kettle fire is brighter than ever. All of us are aware that life encounters can lead us meandering down the most unexpected paths.  Through a calculated encounter, I met someone who may be very helpful for the future of a brewery.  In reality, she already was. Let it suffice to say that I began taking the future even more seriously.  But one piece of the puzzle was still missing: real people who had really started a nano brewery.  Sure concepts are great but I'm the type of person that likes speaking and learning from other human beings. In comes Hess brewing (I have to ...

Part of why I love to brew so much is I love to see how ingredients work together.  In short, I love to cook and have been into it since I was about thirteen years-old.  Recently, I've been experimenting with calzones and how I can make a terrific one.  Well, I finally found the keeper and wanted to share it with our reading community.  Of course, there is beer involved in the process, so don't worry. Here is the basic recipe.  I have to credit, Amy for her simple calzone recipe as pretty much the basis for what I'm doing with mine, but I've tried to improve upon it for my needs. Dough: 3 cups flour (all purpose works fine) 1 Teaspoon salt 1 Teaspoon sugar (I like a slightly sweeter dough) 4 teaspoons yeast (a packet is typically 2 1/4 teaspoons) 7/8 cup water (I like to mix half water and half beer) 1/8 cup + 1 more Tablespoon Olive Oil (you'll notice that I like quite a bit of olive oil in the recipe) Here are the instructions for the dough:  Take everything but the flour and yeast and stir together, making sure it's between 105-120º.  Add the yeast and stir, allowing to re-hydrate for about ...

After defending BrewDog achievements of making a 32% and a 41% beer, I have to defend the creation of a  55% beer called The End of History, a reference to Democracy as the high human political achievement (the implication that the human political struggle reaches its terminus in democratic ideals). This is another notable achievement and landmark in the making of a massive beer.  Imagine, 55% ABV.  Wow!  Read about it here.  But the accomplishment of making a 55% beer is where I have to end my applause for BrewDog.  Here's the deal: We live in a time where all of us are more and more sensitive, more and more concerned about political correctness, and more and more readily offended at things like, say, a stuffed, dead animal with a beer running through its body.  I for one am not actually that discomfited with the idea, especially since these animals were already dead.  I've hunted for several years and am not at all uncomfortable with an animal hide.  Let me say, though, that I can see how someone might be bothered about it. Sausage jokes don't bother me either.  Rhetoric can be a fun and absolutely funny vehicle for making a point or, ...

One aspect of the beer community that I love in particular is the nature of the people in it.  Upsetting other writers by disagreeing with them is a rariety (unless one behaves flat out insultingly).  So, when I saw a post from Peter at Simply Beer discussing the disclosure of ingredients in a beer, I asked him whether my writing a counterpoint post would be okay.  Of course, he agreed. I do care what's in my beer.  I care that it's a quality product made with malts, hops, water and good yeast.  In short, I care that the beer I'm drinking doesn't have fillers and cheap production.  But for breweries to have to list ingredients like ginger, the reviled addition for Peter, is a discomfiting proposition to me.  The example I used on Peter's post and the one I'm going to use here deals with Wit beer. The exotic spices used in Wit beer are notoriously hard to pinpoint.  Some of the world's best tasters may have a guess, albeit an uncertain one, as to which ingredients are actually used.  The mysterious appeal and subtle qualities of a Wit beer are essentially based on these "secret" ingredients.  Now suppose the ingredients of the ...

One of the real tricks to having a website is getting real interaction.  Let me tell you guys and gals, we are extremely thankful for the beer community on our site.  We get a lot of interaction from several people.  That interaction is substantial and amazing.  However, we want to get to know you more.  You can learn a lot about people through various exercises. You can learn a lot about how people think and what their tendencies are just by asking them to complete a thought.  Plus, I really like the idea that our readers are actually shaping and defining our content. So, I had an idea (not sure if it's going to flop or fly) that involves making a simple statement and then asking our readers to finish the thought.  I think it will be fun and all of us will get to know each other better.  Without further ado, here is the first statement. "I love hops in a beer because they..."

Well, looks like Erik made it.  Is there some hope for the rest of us moping slobs?  It looks like Nate and I have a firm hope of raising some money through a site like kickstarter.com (eventually).  Meantime, donations to Erik's project made a roaring surge into and past his projected fundraising mark.  Allow me, and Nate as well, to offer the sincerest and most hopeful congratulations that our hearts can muster.  I am personally motivatedly jealous.  What you have done, Erik, is great and it lights a fire under my arse.  I'm excited for your future and wish you nothing but the best.  We will be rooting for and promoting your success on this site. Folks, one of the great things about Erik's fundraising is that he can exceed the amount given and add it to further his success. I've personally been out of for for 3 1/2 months (I do have a temp job and have an interview tomorrow), so I've not been able to give.  However, I plan on giving some money before his fundraising ends.  Please go to his fund page and do the same.  Let's help him to more than succeed.  It's no mystery that we ...