http://www.beerluv.com Luving life one pint at a time Sun, 11 May 2008 18:39:23 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I love Peak Organic. Before last week, I had tried both their Pale and Amber ales. Both outstanding! Unfortunately, the third time wasn't a charm. At Whole Foods last week, I picked up a pint of the Maple Oat Ale. While it is certainly a fine beer, it doesn't live ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/05/11/peak-organic-maple-oat-ale/ What do I know really. If his method turns out great beer, that's all that matters. Two things I'd point out. First, his boil appeared to last only 15 minutes. This may be enough to sanitize the wort, but I don't think it's enough to fully bitter the beer. I ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/05/11/good-beer-eats/ So here's my situation. I was planning on brewing a bavarian lager this weekend. I ordered the grain, the yeast, everything. On Friday I started to come down with a cold, but thinking that wouldn't prevent me from brewing, I made the starter anyway. My starter is now 36 hours ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/05/11/saving-a-yeast-starter/ See, it was easy deciding to go to Red Hook. I've been drinking their ESB for years. LUV IT! And the wife and I happen to be in the neighborhood so, what the hell. Unfortunately finding the place is nearly impossible. I guess it would have helped to stop and ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/05/07/red-hook-brewery-take-the-tour/ http://www.beerluv.com/2008/04/30/freeze-beer-instanly/ This is big news in the craft brew world. I've had Magic Hat IPA on occaision and found it deliciously hoppy. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of wheat beer and so only by Pyramid on the rare occasion I find the IPA somewhere. nesAnywayz, here's the press ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/04/30/magic-hat-and-pyramid-are-merging/ I kegged my Kolsch today after about eight weeks in the fermenter. The last five weeks or so it's been sitting at about 40 degrees. My major concern at this point is the cloudiness. I've never used any clarifying agents or anything like that. And all of my beer has ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/04/28/kolsch-kegging/ So I brewed my first batch with the Partial Mash method I discovered at BYO. I had ordered the grain for the Strauss in the Haus Vienna Lager, what would have been my first lager as it happens. But I hadn't planned on it taking so long for my chest ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/03/03/spontaneous-pale/ I'm just ordered my first kegging system. I'm excited! Too bad I don't have any beer to put in it right now. http://www.beerluv.com/2008/03/02/kegging-for-the-first-time/ I finally got a taste. Lord almighty, the taste. It's still hanging on ... and I love it. On Saturday my wife and I found ourselves in the neighborhood of one of three full-scale craft breweries in the Chicagoland area: Two Brothers Brewing Company. Their pale ale, The Bitter End, is ... http://www.beerluv.com/2008/03/01/two-brothers-hop-juice-2/