March is over and it makes me start thinking about spring – we’ve finally made it past winter!  After all, who ever heard of a snowstorm after April 1st? And as spring is the season of new and wonderful things, I’m very excited about the news coming from Santa Rosa, California. Russian River is ready […]

In some ways, Milwaukee is the spiritual home of the Beer & Whiskey Brothers. You see, our parents were born and raised there, and they love the place so much they retired there.  Don and I have scores of cousins and aunts and uncles in those parts as well, and there’s something about the place […]

Saturday night’s home brew tasting turned out to be a lot of fun.  There were like 50 people there, tons of kids running around, and each beer I tried was well-conceived and expertly crafted.  It also taught me that there’s always someone who can outdo you, no matter what you’re into. Those of you who […]

Okay, so I moved my first-ever beer from primary to secondary fermentation over the weekend.  It’s a bourbon barrel porter that has been fermenting for two weeks.  It will now spend another two weeks in secondary and then 10 days soaking with bourbon and oak chips. I used the beer thief to grab a sample […]

Normally one would think being brought to your senses by an enormous furry beast like the sasquatch would be a rude awakening indeed, possibly involving a ripped tent and a soiled sleeping bag.  But in my case, it was a very pleasant experience.  Of course the beast I refer to was from a bottle, it […]

Founders is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries for several reasons.  First on that list is that we share the same philosophy – ordinary beers are to be avoided.  You can taste this point of view in just about every beer Founders brews, as each is bold, memorable and delicious. Founders takes this philosophy […]

Usually a beer label will turn me off if it’s too cutesy or if the beer has a pun for a name (looking at you HE’BREW).  For some reason, I feel if they’re trying so hard to grab your attention with kitsch, the beer inside must not be that special.  It’s a stupid way to […]

When you Google “A Match Made in Heaven”  this picture comes up.  And it got me thinking, is beer Divinely Inspired?  We are in the season of Lent right now.  Sometimes Lent is called Holy Season.  One thing the Christian Holy Season lets us do is reflect.  Reflect on our lives, the people who are […]

It seems extremely early this year, but Sunday at 2am is that magical moment where we trick mother nature into giving us one more hour of daylight each day.  The price we pay for this is a hefty one – an hour less in our weekends.  What’s worse, an hour less to enjoy our favorite […]

So my bourbon barrel porter is doing well.  The bubbling has slowed after a few days of rowdy gurgles and the amazing yeast cake on the top of the carboy is slipping into the murky depths.  Soon it’ll be time to siphon the beer to secondary and then add the whiskey and the oak cubes. […]

As you know, some very nice places to buy beer online have been hit with a really unfair policy from FedEx and UPS, who are now refusing to ship beer to places they ship wine.  It’s a ridiculous policy and it needs to be changed. There’s a Facebook Page up that’s been designed to put […]

24 hours in and the yeast is loving its new home. The airlock is bubbling, the cake is rising and the bathroom is filled with perhaps the best aroma I have ever smelled.  I’m not going to make this a daily thing, but I just wanted to share my excitement that my first beer seems […]

So Sunday has come and gone and as you can see above, everything ended just fine.  It looks like our Bourbon Barrel Porter is alive and well.  I won’t bore you with all the details, instead I’ll just share a few observations.

So let’s skip to the end – this is an awesome beer.  I love it.  As you may know, I’m a little over focused on bourbon barrel aged beers right now, and this puppy delivers as well as any brew out there.  The thing I don’t get is the name…

Okay, so Sunday’s Brew Day and I’m wondering when I should taste what I’m making.  When I cook, I’ll take a little taste now and again to see how things are coming, and add a dash of this or that to get the flavor on course.  My wife on the other hand is big on […]