Smoked beer (bacon beer)

When I was at the Great American Beer Festival this year, I only came across one smoked beer. There may have been other smoked beers, but it’s easy to get lost among the thousands of other beers. The funny thing was, the server did not want to pour the beer for me. He said the beer tasted like an ashtray. I already knew what I was in for and requested a pour.

Actually I thought the beer tasted much more like bacon than ash. The beer was a smoked Märzen, similar to the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen from the 500-year-old brewery in Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany. It’s made with Rauchmalt (smoked malt). If you haven’t tried this beer, it has a VERY smokey flavor and will remind you of bacon. People either love this beer, or they hate it. I haven’t met anyone who didn’t have a strong opinion of this beer.

Lambic

Lindemans Framboise goes great with turkey

Lambic really isn’t that unusual until you’ve seen it ferment. Normally you would ferment a beer with yeast, but lambics also include any random bacteria that happens to be floating by. The bacteria creates some very ugly and scary looking fermentations. The resulting beer is sour and often is accentuated with tart fruits like raspberries or cherries. Many people have tried Lindemans Lambic, which I think tastes like liquid sweet tarts, but other lambics have a more unique flavor (sometimes good, sometimes not so much).

Fish Beer

Drink like a fish, not drink a drink that tastes like a fish!

This is as horrifying as it sounds. Usually when I’m thinking of interesting ingredients to add to beer, fish is not the first ingredient to come to mind. I’m not sure it’s on my list of top 100 ingredients to add to beer. Tosa Kuroshio Karyudo Beer, located in Konan City in Japan’s Kochi Prefecture, created a beer only the Japanese could love.

The fish beer is a 5% ABV beverage created with rice flour and hops in a 4 to 1 ratio. The brewers then added dashi, a fish stock also used in miso soup. I’m not sure if they decided to create this beer after drinking too many normal beers, or as a challenge from Iron Chef Brewer Edition. The dashi is made from dried konbu seaweed and dried Bonito, a fish similar to tuna. So if you like the aftertaste of fish in your beer, this beers for you!

Beer for kids!

It's a beer for kids. It's not alcoholic, but it still would never fly in the USA

The Japanese will remarket just about anything for kids. In a move which would shock the alcohol control boards in most countries, Japan’s Sangaria Beverage Company introduced a beer for kids. It’s not alcoholic, but the beer was designed so children could join in the fun while their parents were getting hammered. Sangaria has a whole line of the fake alcoholic beverages sold individually or in 6-packs, and marketed for children. Some of the “near beers” are golden in color while others are dark brown, and both produce a nice head of foam.

Blue beer

I’ve seen green beer served at St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, but that beer is usually some light beer like Budweiser with green food coloring added. This beer (again created by the Japanese) starts out blue. They also have a lime green and bright red beer. These beers are brought to you by the Abashiri microbrewery located Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido. They are also the came company which brought you great beers like Scallop Beer and Bilk.

Bilk

Speaking of Bilk , this beer might turn your stomach a bit. I think when Abashiri thought of this beer the conversation went something like this:

“We need more women buying our beer. What do women like drinking?”

“My wife drinks a lot of milk.”

“Lets make a beer that tastes like milk!”

“What do we call it?”

“BILK!”

And after the conversation bilk was born. Bilk is a beverage one-third milk and two-thirds beer. The idea actually was suggested by a liquor store manager who sought to use large surpluses of milk from a local dairy. The drink is reported to have a sweet flavor, probably from the lactose in the milk which brewer’s yeast cannot ferment.

Boza for boobies!

There’s a rumor going around that beer will increase the bust size of women. One beer called Boza beer from Bulgaria claimed to be the best beer at turning “sweater kittens” into “watermelon-sized cats”. There is no science behind the claim, but it didn’t stop European men making the drive to Bulgaria for the breast-enhancing beer. I guess they figured, “just in case”.

Pizza Beer

Someone orders a few too many beers at a pizza joint, and the next thing you know someone at the Pizza Beer Company is throwing pizza into the beer.  Mamma Mia! Pizza Beer includes oregano, basil, tomato and garlic as adjuncts in the beer.  The reviews seem to be quite mixed for this beer, ranging from “very pizza-like” to “pizza flavored Pringles”.  I’d love to hear what others think of this beer.

“The Thing” beer

You’ve probably heard of aging beer.  How about making beer from old yeast – really old yeast?    The Fossil Fuels Brewing Company, having never seen a sci-fi movie about reviving ancient micro-organisms, harvested yeast from inside a Lebanese weevil covered in ancient Burmese amber which lay dormant for up to 45 million years.  That is some very old yeast!  Tasters say the beer is actually good, and has a very spicy aftertaste.

Cock Ale

I once made a clone beer of Old Speckled Hen and called it Old Freckled Cock.  Luckily this beer isn’t what it sounds like.  Not that cock.  Cock Ale is made with chicken.  It starts out sounding innocent, adding hops, malt and sugar.  Then you take a third of a well-crushed chicken, presumably the meat parts, and add it to your fermenting beer on the second day.  The recipe does specify the chicken should be cooked.  I can’t imagine this tastes anything other than fowl.

OPB – Original Pussy Beer

This beer is what it sounds like.  Put enough drunk guys together, they will eventually try to merge their two favorite things.  Scary thing is it was a girl’s idea!  A Seattle woman donated a small amount of her own yeast for the fermentation of the beer.  Her site claims ancient Sumerian beers made by women inspired her to add her crotch yeast, but her added yeast isn’t even the same family let alone the same genus or species as beer yeast.  A completely different yeast is used for beer and bread.  It is likely her yeast was quickly out-competed by the brewer’s yeast.  I don’t think her yeast would give it that ‘tang-y taste you’re expecting.  Still it’s very odd someone would even consider this.  Is this a beer you’d want to try?

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My homebrew kit came with sugar, can I toss it?

I’m surprised how often this comes up.  Somehow sugar got a bad rap, and now no one wants to put it into their beer.  It’s true if you add too much sugar your beer will not taste good, but your recipe has to have more than 10% sugar before it starts to become a problem.  There are several reasons why you should add the sugar to your beer.  Sugar increases the alcohol content, dries out the flavor, and makes the body (mouthfeel) of the beer thinner.

Rock candy, Belgium candy, sugar... it's all C12H22O11

For example in Belgian style beers, sugar is a key ingredient.  The added sugar makes beer taste and feel much lighter in the mouth, even though the beer might be 10% ABV.

For some extract beer kits, the added sugar makes the beer taste less sweet.  The reason is sugar will ferment completely, while your malt will contain unfermentable sugars which can leave a bit of sweetness.  The more alcohol in your beer will make the beer taste drier, resulting in a better beer.

Sugar can cause problems if you are not careful.  If you are adding lots of sugar to your beer, you want to use a stepped approach.  When your primary fermentation is about 2/3 complete, add the sugar.  The reason is yeast will eat simpler sugars first, since less work is required, and eventually the yeast will stop producing an enzyme needed to break down maltose.  This will cause a stalled or stuck fermentation.  If your fermentation stalls, this will leave unfermented malt sugars.

Do you have a recipe for X beer?

I probably do, but you’ll get a quicker answer if you check out one of the clone beer recipe books or the Brew Your Own special issues you can find at your local homebrew store.  Check out Clone Brews or Beer Captured.

Is mead served warm, room temperature, or cold?

Yes.  You can serve mead at any temperature you like.  I sometimes follow wine rules for serving mead.  My white meads I’ll serve at white wine temperatures (cooler) and red meads at red wine temperatures (room temperature).  If the mead is sweeter, I’ll serve it cold too.  Ultimately there are no real guidelines for drinking mead.  The best advice I’ve heard is drink the mead at the temperature you think it tastes best.

How can I pass a breathalyzer test?

The easiest way is to not drink.  I don’t really recommend that solution, beer and wine are too tasty to pass up.  The short answer to passing a breathalyzer is to wait a long time.  There is no quick way to sober up, as I explained in another article.

What is your favorite beer movie?

Beer Fest.  Filled with cheap thrills, juvenile humor, and lots of beer!

Where can I find homebrewing supplies in my country?

Most cities in the United States have a homebrew supply store.  If not, you can find most everything you are looking for online.  Unfortunately many homebrewers outside the United States are not so lucky.  If you do not have a local homebrew supply store, you might check with a local microbrewery.  Many microbreweries have brewers who started as homebrewers.  I’ve known some people who have been able to purchase extra supplies from the microbrewery after talking with the brewer.  I’ve even heard of a few nice breweries that even put in extra orders for homebrewers.  At the worst case, the local brewery might be able to direct you to someone who can help you find the supplies you are looking for.

Your hydrometer most likely measures the gravity in Plato and Specific Gravity (SG)

What does 10 P mean on my beer?

The P designation is degrees Plato.  This denotes the density of sucrose by weight before the beer is fermented, and ultimately the amount of alcohol in your beer. The Plato scale is more common in central European breweries.

Why does the beer recipe include rice hulls?

The rice hulls are to help prevent stuck sparges.  It provides more space between the grains, and helps you avoid grain cement when you mash your grains.  The rice hulls do not change the flavor, and you can probably omit them from the recipe if you are batch sparging.

What is the easiest beer to make at home?

This question is a bit subjective, but I think making an extract Hefeweizen is the easiest beer to make.  The ingredients are usually just the malt extract, hops, and yeast.  The hops are a single addition at the start of your boil.   It uses an ale yeast, so if you have a spot in your brewhouse which gets down to 65 F you are set.  Making a Hefeweizen is pretty much boiling soup for 60 minutes.

How do I become a brewmaster?

There are three realistic ways you can become a brewmaster.  You can attend a beer technical school, get a degree in Fermentation Science from a university, or find someone in the trade willing to train you.  You can find more information about becoming a brewmaster in “So, You want to become a brewmaster?”

How do I get tested as a supertaster?

For those of you who don’t know, a supertaster is someone who can discern minute flavors in anything they taste.  These “supertasters” are highly marketable in the wine industry, because they have an edge up in tasting flaws or features in wine.  Linda Bartoshuk, a professor of otolaryngology and psychology at Yale University, published a paper in the 1990s defining a supertaster as a person with a higher density of tastebuds in their mouth.  About 35% of Caucasian women and 15% of Caucasian men are supertasters.

The test is simple.  You put blue food coloring on the tongue which is not absorbed by the taste buds.  Your tongue will be blue, but each bud will stay pink.  Each pink dot is counted within a defined area.  The more dots, the higher the likelihood you are a supertaster.  You’ll have to consult a tongue expert to find the actual number of taste buds required to be noted as a supertaster.

A simpler home test is “do you like spicy foods?”  If you do, most likely you are not a supertaster.  Supertasters do not like spicy food or fatty foods.  The spicy food is painful for them.

Personally, I think it’s more marketing than reality for most supertasters.  Many are “self-described” supertasters.  Unless it’s a PhD counting your tastebuds in a defined and repeatable test, it’s most likely a gimmick.

Oh, and there is no tongue map!

There's many great beer books out there.

What beer books do you recommend?

I’ve reviewed all the beer books I own here.  The article is framed in a holiday/gift season, but this what I think about the different books.  My favorite book is Designing Great Beers.  If you are looking for a book to learn to brew beer, you will want to check out How to Brew.

Is your beer recipe for 5 gallons?

All recipes on this site produce an end result of 5 gallons.

Are you on Twitter?

Yes, you can find me on twitter at @deege.

So that’s it for this round of questions.  As I get more questions, I’ll answer them and post the new ones in another article.  If you have any questions, let me know!  Until then, happy brewing!

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The Halloween gods have smiled upon us.  This year Halloween falls on a Friday, and this means lots of Halloween parties.  Is your costume ready?  Here are a few beer themed costumes ideas for you!

The Beer Keg

This costume is fairly easy to construct.  I’ve even seen it for sale at some Halloween stores.  The idea is to construct a keg around your body and put a tap on your hat.  You can construct one with a few small hula hoops and cardboard or cloth.  The version I saw at the store actually pumped beer from a hidden can in a hat.  The hat was constructed to look like a keg tap.

Your favorite bottle/can of beer

Here’s a popular beer costume: make yourself into a bottle of your favorite brew.  Many replicate a Miller bottle because it’s easy to match the simple yellow bottle.  With a little work, you could easily reproduce any bottle.  The bottle part is easy, and you can make your “label” with a little work.  Think how cool it would be to show up at your party dressed as a bottle of Chimay!  I’ve seen this costume a few times at the Great American Beer Festival.  If the bottles are there this year, I’ll get some pictures!

The Six-pack

This “costume” requires much more coordination than the beer bottle costume.  Getting six friends to agree on a Halloween costume can be much more difficult than deciding a location for lunch.  If you can find six agreeable friends, this is a cool costume to pull off.  The idea is to all dress as the same beer bottle or can.  You and five friends dressed up as beer equals a six pack.

Duffman

If you watch the Simpson’s, you know who I am talking about.  Duffman is the spokesperson for Duff beer.  Duffman is a satire on Bud Man, an expired Budweiser campaign aimed at college coeds (I wonder why they abandoned the campaign – duh).  For this costume, you need a blue t-shirt, blue tights, a red hat, a red cape, red underwear (which go on the outside), dark sunglasses, and a belt made of beer.  You can easily construct the simple Duff beer logo with paper.  Be warned – people will come up to you throughout the night with very obscure Simpson’s references and expect you to know the exact episode.

Are you ready to get Duffed? Oh, yeah!

St. Pauli Girl / German beer garden girl

Nothing looks cuter than a girl in a dindrl.  Thousands of internet photos from Oktoberfest can’t be wrong.  The best part is the costume is cute and sexy, but doesn’t go overboard.  This costume can be found at every Halloween store, usually labeled as “Beer Garden Girl”.  You can try finding an authentic dindrl, but these dresses can cost as much as $300 USD.  The fake beer garden versions sell for about $49 USD.

A girl in a dindrl is always a hit! Does this photo remind you of the photo with Jayne Mansfield and Sophia Loren?

Pawtucket Patriot

You could go as the patriot from the Samuel Adams, but Pawtucket Patriot adds the missing coolness factor (and few would recognize the real version).  Pawtucket Patriot is a character from Family Guy who spoofs the Samuel Adams’ patriot from Samuel Adams bottles of beer.

If you're a fan of Family Guy, this is a fun reference costume

Beer God

If you’re thinking of a beer personality, why not go straight to the top and be a beer god?  Dionysus is the god of intoxicating drinks.  Girls can go as Ninkasi, the ancient Sumerian goddess of beer and brewing.  This costume is fairly simple, and leaves lots of room for creativity.  For Dionysus, start with a Greek god costume.  For Ninkasi you will want to go more “Egyptian”.  Try creating a wreath for the head from hops.  Bring a clay pitcher (or clay looking) and fill with beer.  Pour drinks for others, and you’ll be the life of the party.

Beer Monk

While the true Trappist monks might make boring costumes, a beer monk from the middle ages can be much more entertaining.  Think more “Friar Tuck” and less scary images from your Catholic school.  The monk costume is another simple costume.  You can find monk robes at just about any costume store.  Loop a beer mug around your waist or neck with a belt of beads.  Again the idea is to be creative with the simple basic costume.

Beer fridge

This costume is easy to make.  You just need a box and some creativity.  You can have anything you want in the fridge, but really you want lots of beer!  Isn’t beer in everyone’s fridge??  Pick the right beer (or wrong depending on perspective) and people will want to open you all night.

Breathalyzer

Another easy costume to make is a breathalyzer.  The creativity in this costume comes from where you want drunks to “blow”.  Again the costume starts with a big box.  Dress it up with dials or lights to indicate different stages of being drunk.

Hopefully these costumes give you some ideas for your Halloween costume.  It’s October, so get cracking on your costume!

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3. Butt Beer

I’ve been asked this question many times, but I’ve never really known how to answer.  I haven’t made too many bad batches, just a few questionable ones.  With the questionable ones, you can claim it’s “funky” or it “has character”.  Bad beers are beers which rarely can make it past your lips.

I asked what you do with bad beer to several brewers on the AHA TechTalk Homebrewer’s Forum.  The answers were varied and very interesting.  Here is what other brewers do.

Cooking with beer

The most common answer I got was to use the beer for cooking.  If the beer has a strong malt flavor it would go well with chili.  Many suggested using bad beer in sauces or marinades.

“When I have a beer that’s not quite up to par, but still has a nice malt backbone, I like to cook with it.  Try a dark to amber ale for beef, pork, or lamb roasts or ribs.  I usually do something like pork ribs immersed half way in a roasting pan in the beer.  Season the ribs to your liking, and cook the ribs slowly all day so they are almost falling off the bone.  Then get creative with some of the beer in addition to garlic, onions, ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire, white or malt vinegar, etc. for the BBQ sauce.  Finish them on the grill, slather with BBQ sauce and enjoy with a good beer!  Yum!”  – Andy G.

When I cook sausages I usually place the sausage in a baking pan, pour about an inch of beer around the sausages, cover the baking pan with foil, and cook for about a half hour.  It gives the sausage a good flavor.  You can also use the beer for boiling brats.

Beer Fertilizer

Several brewers suggested bad beer could be used as lawn fertilizer.  This gives a new spin on “lawnmower beer”.  While live yeast will not help your lawn, dead yeast or other nutrients in the beer might help.  The alcohol probably won’t hurt your lawn unless it is a very high alcohol brew.  You will want to take care and possibly try a test spot before dumping the swill on your grass.

Making Malt Vinegar

Many brewer responses say they make malt vinegar with their bad beer.  In many ways vinegar is beer or wine which has gone bad.  Control how it goes bad, and you have vinegar.

Once you have vinegar, there are many options for food.  Greg G. suggested turning the beer into malt vinegar “then use the vinegar to make mustard, relish, chutney and marinade.”

Moonshine

While this option might not be the most “legal” choice, one suggestion was to distill the beer into whiskey.  You could always claim you are producing ethanol to combat the fuel crisis.  The distilled beer might make a good whiskey, but I know nothing about how well this will turn out.  You will want to be very careful, or give it to someone who knows what they are doing.  Bad beers often contain fusel alcohols, and distilling a bad beer will give you concentrated fusel alcohols.  This is the moonshine which makes you blind.

Add more hops

I’ve had a few IPAs which tasted like liquid hops.  In fact I didn’t taste anything but hops.  For some, these hop-bombs are the new trend.  This could be your way out of bad beer.

As Larry S. says, “Just hop the heck out of it and call it Imperial whatever”.  Adding lots of late hop additions could cover up the bad flavors.

Your bad beer's purpose in life may just be to serve as a warning to others.

Snail Bait

I’ve never heard of this use for bad beer, but apparently I am the exception.  We don’t get too many snails in Colorado because they like moisture and well, it never rains here really, but several brewers suggested use the beer as “bug bait”.   Snails will drown in the beer.  A dish beer left out over night will attract many bugs to their death.  I have a serious wasp problem; I’ll have to see if this works with them.

Beer Possum

This was a weird suggestion until I figured out what The Earl (Steve S.) meant by “beer possum”.  A “beer possum” is someone who really appreciates beer, especially free beer.  Everyone knows at least one “beer possum”.  You might even get favors back for the off beer.    Now this is a great use for bad beer.

This one could be tricky.  Serving the bad beer to others may reduce your reputation as a great brewer.

Just drink the beer

In most cases, your beer will be “off” but not bad”.  Relax and have a homebrew as they say.

“If they are moderately drinkable, I keep drinking them as incentive to be more careful next time – and to do so soon.” – Bob K.

Thanks to everyone on the AHA TechTalk Homebrewer’s Forum for their answers!

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Keep your clothes on when caught

Take Holly Kay Highfield from Jacksonville, Florida for example.  She was driving drunk in a Honda filled with children, deliberately tried to crash her car into a cyclist, carjacked another car after the crash with the bicycle, and then crashed the stolen car into her Honda.  At this point you can assume she’s in a ton of trouble.  So what does she do at this point?  She starts taking her clothes off.  Taking your clothes off at the scene of the crime will not help you, nor will it get you out of a DWI.  So if you’re pulled over, keep your clothes on.

(Source: First Coast News)

Do not attract attention to yourself while driving

Gail Powell from the UK learned the importance of not being seen while driving drunk.  She was seen swerving in traffic with her broken leg in a cast hanging out the driver’s side window.  Her blood alcohol content was 1.5 times the legal limit, so you could say the woman was plastered.  A police car driving in the opposite direction noticed the woman and her leg, and pulled her over for a DWI.

(Source: Metro.co.uk)

The best way to avoid becoming like these drunks, is just don't drink and drive

Don’t attempt to erase your high BAC with wite-out

Juan Briceno, 33, of Omaha, Nebraska was busted for his fourth DUI/DWI.  He was in the police station with a blood alcohol content of .287 percent, so you could say the evidence was stacked against him.  No matter how bad your DUI situation is, drinking Wite-Out the correction fluid for typing errors will not erase the high BAC.  The police officers administered a blood test instead of the breathalyzer.

(Source: LiveLeak.com)

Don’t drive school buses into poles

He’s Otto and he’s blotto.  Ok his name isn’t Otto, but his actions will not win him any babysitter of the year awards.  When driving drunk, driving a school bus filled with children is not going to help your case.  Even worse, drunk driving a school bus of children into a pole will not get you any leniency.

(Source: ksl.com )

Alternate modes of transportation will not avoid a DWI

When you are drunk, driving something other than a car is still drunk driving.  Police from Queensland, Australia arrested a 64-year-old man for drunk driving his wheelchair.  The man was found passed out in the turning lane of a highway.
(Source: News.com.au)

Make sure your designated driver is of driving age

Holly L. Schnobrich, 24, of Lafayette, Indiana was drunk and needed a designated driver.  Does she call a friend, her mom, or even a taxi?  Nope.  Her choice of driver, her 5-year-old son, landed her in jail for public intoxication and child endangerment.  Choosing an underage driver will not prevent you from running afoul with the law, and you certainly will not win mother-of-the-year awards.

(Source: IndyStar)

Don’t ask a drunk friend to help you

A man crashed his pickup into a parked car and had troubles freeing his truck from the car.  His drunk friend helped him separate his truck from the car and attempted to drive him home.  Since his friend was drunk too, he crashed the pickup truck into another parked car on the same street.  Both men were charged with DUIs.

(Source: LoHud.com)

Don’t try to outrun the cops

If you are busted for a DUI, just accept the situation and don’t make it worse like Stephen Ray Castor, 53.  Like all ideas when drunk, Castor’s idea of escape from the law was failed from the start.  Castor was driving a lawn mower (see Alternate modes of transportation will not avoid a DWI above).  He led the police on a 3 mph “high speed” chase before a police office grabbed him.

(Source: KomoNews.com)

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Here is a list of some of the drunkest people on the planet.  It is surprising half of the record holders here are female!  Even more surprising, if not really sad, is all of these drunks except one were found driving while intoxicated.  They are lucky to be alive in several ways.

When your blood alcohol level is 0.500% or higher, you’re considered dead.  0.500% is the lethal limit (not legal).  Most people die when their blood alcohol levels reach these insane limits.  To get your BAC levels over 0.400%, you need to drink over sixteen 12 ounce Budweiser beers in one hour.  Keep this in mind when you read these next few drunks .

You really need to drink hard to get as drunk as these people

The Bulgarian miracle (0.914% BAC)

An unidentified 67-year-old man was brought to a hospital after getting hit by a car.  In fact this is the only drunk we found who wasn’t trying to drive!  When doctors tested his BAC, they thought something was wrong with their instruments.  After 5 separate lab tests, doctors finally confirmed the ridiculously high blood alcohol content.  The man was able to speak/slur to the doctors. I normally wouldn’t consider him without a name, but 5 tests and multiple news sources reporting this lead me to believe this story is true.

(Source: CBC.CA)

The breakfast drunk (0.720% BAC)

Terri Comer, 42, luckily drove her car into a snow bank in Oregon.  Police found her slumped at the wheel at 11:30 AM.  That’s in the morning – almost noon.  Either she starts early, or she was coming home from one hell of a party the night before!  Police had to break her car window to retrieve her and take her to a hospital.

(Source: The Smoking Gun)

The beer hunter (0.690% BAC)

Willard Ashley III, 32, was found sitting in his car.  He claimed he was hunting and waiting for a friend to call a tow truck, but it was clear the car was wrecked not stalled.   He was arrested for public intoxication in Indiana.  I’m assuming he didn’t get a DUI since the car was not running at the time of arrest.  His “hunting buddy” did show up a bit later, drunk as well.

(Source: The Smoking Gun)

Hanging at the pizza joint (0.550% BAC)

Meagan Harper, 30, was found by police outside a pizza joint passed out in her car.  The Oregon woman’s story is kinda lame, but the blood alcohol content in her system is impressive.

(Source: The Smoking Gun)

Blasted but not belted (0.532% BAC)

Cloyd Joseph Dull, 49, was found passed out at the wheel of his 1989 Plymouth.  Not only was he charged for drinking and driving at a ridiculously high blood alcohol level, he also got charged with not wearing a seat belt.

(Source: The Smoking Gun)

Tacoma County record holder (0.500% BAC)

Rebecca G. Lingbloom, 45, was seen swerving all over the road and almost ran over a pedestrian.  The Washington state woman scored a 0.500 two hours after being arrested.  I’m guessing she was at 0.530 at the time of arrest assuming normal metabolism rates.

(Source: Boston.com)

Stanley, Destroyer of Billboards (0.491% BAC)

Stanley Kobierwoski, 34, drove his car into a highway billboard when police arrested him.  He had troubles getting out of the car (I’d have troubles moving at that BAC), and then refused to leave his car.  Cops had to carry him away.

(Source: SF Gate)

How many drinks do you need to consume to get your BAC this high?!?

The ex-cop (0.470% BAC)

Deana Jarrett, 54, was driving and hit two cars before police caught up with her.  She hit a Volkswagen, tried to convince the other driver to not call the cops, and then she drove away into a second collision – this time with a Lexus SUV.  She was an ex Seattle police officer.  It’s interesting she was arrested, booked, and then released four hours later.  You’d think with a BAC so high they would take her to the hospital first.

(Source: Associated Content)

The Queensland record holder for women (0.446% BAC)

Toni Apperton of Queensland, Australia, was found unconscious at the wheel of her car.  She has the current record for Queensland for women.  This implies there is at least one man in Queensland who has equaled or surpassed her feat.

(Source: ABC News AU)

The lawnmower man  (0.441% BAC)

Jerold Earhart, 29, drove home drunk on a lawnmower.  Ironically this isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this.  He drove in circles in an intersection, passed out at the wheel, and then was thrown from the mower.  The mower continued into a tree where witnesses turned off the mower.

(Source: MLive.com)

If you find a drunk that tops 0.441%, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.

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I get tons of searches on Fermentarium looking for answers to different brewing questions.  I’ve collected some of the more common questions here with answers.

Homebrewing is easy as making soup.

How do you add alcohol to beer?

I usually tell people “it is a white powder I special order from Malaysia”.  I guess there is a grain of truth to this.  I add yeast to the wort, which in dry form looks like a coarse powder.  To make a beverage alcoholic, you need to ferment it.  The fermentation process occurs when yeast convert available sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide.  When the fermentation is complete, the liquid contains alcohol.

How do I read a hydrometer?

I find it interesting this is the number one search which brings people to Fermentarium.  Reading a hydrometer is very simple.  Place you hydrometer into your jar with the solution you wish to measure.  Read the value at the bottom of the meniscus.  You can find more information on reading the hydrometer with this article .

How do I make hard cider?

I use this recipe when I make my hard cider.  The recipe really is just apple juice, some sugar, and yeast.  The important step I use when making cider is to add apple concentrate after the apple juice is fermented and stabilized.  This gives the cider a sweeter apple flavor.  The cider is very popular in the summer.

Does beer contain sulfites?

Small amounts of sulfite are produced in the fermentation of alcoholic beverages.  Most breweries have limits on the amount of sulfite that can be present in the beer.  The sulfite could be added as a preservative in some rare cases, or simply be a byproduct of the fermentation.  The Food and Drug Administration in the United States requires any beverage which has more than 10 parts per million (ppm) to include a warning on the label.  I have not seen many beers with a “Contains Sulfites” warning on the label, so most beers should be below 10 ppm.  German beers will not have sulfites added, but the beers may still contain some sulfites from fermentation.

How do I brew spirits?

You can’t really “brew” spirits like vodka or gin. To make spirits, you first need to ferment a strong alcoholic beverage.  Then the alcohol is distilled from the beverage.  The alcohol is distilled by raising the temperature of the alcoholic beverage to the point where the alcohol boils, but water does not.  The ethanol steam is collected, possibly distilled again, charcoal filtered, and then the result is your spirit.  It is quite a bit of work and requires specialized equipment.  It is illegal to produce spirits in many countries, including the United States, but the equipment is readily available.  The distillation equipment is meant for ethanol production (gas), but it also works for spirits.  Personally I think it is more work than it is worth.

Can you homebrew/make ice wine?

Yes, kinda.  If you have access to the grapes, you can make any wine.  To make a true ice wine , you need to harvest the grapes after they have over-ripened and frozen on the vine.  There are only three places in the world where it gets cold enough for this to happen on a consistent basis: Ontario, Germany, and New Zealand.  However, you can make a very good approximation using a wine kit.

These grapes are pressed frozen to get a more concentrated must

You could also freeze your grapes, and press the frozen grapes.  To do this, you need a press which can provide a lot of pressure.  Your goal is to get a must with a brix over 30.  It’s a lot of work, and you will never get the same flavors you would get from ripe grapes frozen on the vine.  I’d recommend the icewine-style wine kit.

How do you make lambic?

It’s a long article to describe how to make this delicious beer.  Too much to describe here, but luckily I’ve already covered it.  The basic process is to add a lambic blend to your beer.  The lambic blend includes Brettanomyces, Saccharomyces, and the bacterial strains Lactobacillus and Pediococcus.

It looks scary fermenting, but lambics are worth the scare.

How do I clean my kegs?

Cleaning kegs is very easy.  I use soap and water.  Rinse the kegs very thoroughly.  For the harder to remove deposits, I use PBW.  Once the keg is clean, I sanitize the keg with a one-step solution.

Can homebrew beer be poisonous?

No.  There are no known pathogens which can live in alcohol.  This does not mean your beer cannot taste foul.  You might have a nasty tasting beer that induces vomit, but it is not poisonous.  One caveat: you can get alcohol poisoning if you drink too much, just like regular beer.

Why does my beer have no alcohol?

If your beer is as sweet as the day you pitched your yeast, your beer does not have alcohol because it did not ferment.  There are many causes for this, but the most common reason is your yeast was dead.  It might have been dead before you pitched, or you might have killed the yeast when you pitched.  Here are some points to consider before you pitch your yeast.

Do you have a question?

If you have questions you would like answered in a future article, please use the contact us page .  I’ll collect the questions and answer them in future posts!

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We all saw the pictures this week of Hillary Clinton pounding down a beer and shot of Crown Royal whiskey (Canadian whiskey – poor choice when you are trying to get the American vote).  I am sure that the beer and shot were picked to be blue collar as possible.  According to CBS Hillary prefers Blue Moon or red wine, not the light lager she is pictured drinking.  This is more proof her campaign manager chose her beverages to identify with the voting public.  Her message was clear – she is one of the boys and one of the common folk.

Does Hillary Clinton really know beer?

Hillary Clinton could have chosen other beverages to send a different message.  Here are a few other beer choices the candidates can use to take alternative stances.

Yuengling

If Pennsylvania is important to the Democrat vote as many suspect, Yuengling would be the perfect choice.  Yuengling is the oldest brewer in America, established in 1829.  The popular east coast Yuengling screams “made in America”.  The best part is the beer hails from Pennsylvania.  This beer would have been a perfect choice for Hillary.  Doh!  Too late!  Some other candidate can use it now.

Budweiser

This beer would have been the obvious pick, and may have been the beer Hillary chose.  All I could find in the press was “light watery lager”.  Whether you agree with the rule, Budweiser is the king of beers.  A Budweiser or Bud Light candidate would appeal to the widest audience. This beer choice would identify the candidate as the “popular vote”.  This beer appeals to the Joe Six-Pack/NASCAR voter (yes I know Coors is the NASCAR sponsor ).

Fat Tire/New Belgium

A candidate choosing this beer is looking for the environmental vote.  No brewer has run around saying “I care for the environment” more than New Belgium.  Fat Tire screams I want the green vote.  The savvy beer drinker might point out Mothership Wit might be a better choice, but most people know Fat Tire equals New Belgium.  This beer appeals to the tree-hugger, hippie and Al Gore vote.

Blue Moon

Young gen-xers or gen-millennium identify with this trendy beer.  Blue Moon tells the world your campaign manager doesn’t have a clue.  Blue Moon is a great beer, but as we all know, younger generations don’t vote.

Blue Moon is hip with the younger Gen-Xers

Schlitz

Schlitz is the beer from yesteryear, and was my grandfather’s beer.  The large elderly electorate would vote for this beer.  Schlitz also appeals to the voter on a very fixed income.  A candidate that chooses this beer wants the senior citizen vote.  It says, I remember back in the day and if you vote for me I’ll bring the 7-ounce steel cans back.

Avery Beers

I love their beers, but due to the high alcohol content of Avery beers this choice says the candidate is a closet alcoholic.  These beers might appeal to the Russian immigrant vote who miss the Yeltsin days.

Arrogant Bastard Ale

This beer says vote for me.  Or don’t.  I really don’t give a $@#&.  Arrogant Bastard is the anarchist vote.  It tells the voters, lobbyists, and the rest of the world “I don’t care what you think; I’m doing what I want”.  Arrogant Bastard might get the disenfranchised angry vote.  Or maybe it won’t.

Corona

If you are planning on pushing NAFTA, immigration bills or Fort Lauderdale keggers, Corona will appeal to the voters you want.  This beer also says “I didn’t know Mexico a made beer” or “We’re invading Mexico next for the oil”.  If the candidate is not careful, a few of these can quickly turn to tequila shots and spring break parties.  Corona can be fun, but not a good image to send to your voters.

Corona can help with the NAFTA vote

Great Divide Wild Raspberry Ale

If the candidate needs the soccer mom vote, this beer can help.  This beer is a crowd pleaser and often popular with the women.  Great Divide Wile Raspberry Ale says, “I understand how difficult is being a mom, and a good beer can be mother’s little helper.  As your President, I’ll help you too”.  Awwww.

Molson

This beer appeals to Canadians or as we like to refer to them, members of the 51st state.  Just kidding, eh?

With careful choosing, the candidate can send a subtle message to the voters.  The beer choice not only speaks to who the candidate claims they are, it appeals to the voters the candidate needs.

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Like a horse after a long ride, you may find yourself racing to the finish line at the end of your brew day.  If you cross the finish line too soon, you may create more problems for yourself.  Here are six questions you should answer before pitching your yeast into the beer.

Is your wort cool enough for happy yeast?

Yeast does not respond well to higher temperatures.  The metabolism of yeast changes as the temperature changes.   If your wort is too hot, the yeast will be shocked and most likely will take a long time to start fermenting.  You can kill your yeast en masse if your temperature is not low enough.  If your temperature is not boiling but still well above the recommended temperature range, you may not kill the yeast but you will unnecessarily stress your yeast.  Stressed or shocked yeast can lead to bad flavors, and slowed or stalled fermentation.  Make sure your beer is within the recommended temperature range for the yeast you are using.

Boiling wort looks hypnotic, but it's a death pool for yeast. Make sure it's below 80 F (27 C) before pitching.

Does your wort have enough oxygen?

Like most organisms, yeast needs oxygen.  The oxygen is needed for cell-membrane components which are used in reproduction.  Unfortunately, hot wort contains little oxygen.  If you just cool your wort and pitch, your yeast may struggle.  Poor aeration can also cause higher than normal ester production in your beer.

Ale yeasts need about 5 parts oxygen per million in wort, while lagers can need 10 to 12 parts oxygen per million.  To make matters worse, the maximum dissolved oxygen you can achieve in your wort using air is around 8 parts oxygen per million.  Splashing your wort by rocking the carboy will help, but it most likely will not come close to the theoretical maximum.  White Labs states shaking will achieve about 10-30% of the needed oxygen levels.

You should aerate your wort for higher gravity brews.  The reason is higher gravity brews decrease the solubility of oxygen.  You would need to shake very hard to get enough oxygen into your high gravity wort

You can get an aeration stone from an aquarium shop or your local homebrew store.  There is some debate among homebrewers if you really need to use oxygen, or if air will suffice.  Personally I use air, and have had no problems.

Are you pitching the correct amount of yeast?

Long before pitching your yeast, you need to know how much yeast you need to pitch.  Homebrewers notoriously under pitch their yeast.  Commercial brewers pitch at least 10 million yeast cells per milliliter of wort.

According to Brewing Classic Styles by Jamil Zainasheff and John Palmer, you need to pitch 0.75 million yeast cells per milliliter of wort per degrees Plato.  Wyeast and White Labs recommend 1 to 2 million yeast cells per milliliter of wort per degree Plato if you are reusing your yeast.  This yields the following equation:

(0.75 million yeast cells) x (milliliters of wort) x (degrees Plato)

One degree Plato is about 1.004 of specific gravity, so to get degrees Plato divide the gravity of your wort by 4.  If your wort is 1.060, your degrees Plato would be 15°P.

You really need a yeast starter for most 5 gallon recipes

1 US gallon equals about 3785 ml, so a typical 5.5 gallon batch is about 20,817 ml.  If you enter these values into the above equation yields 234,196,875,000 yeast cells.  Your typical smack pack is 100 billion cells.  For a 1.060 beer, you need three smack packs to properly pitch.  Your best bet is to create a starter.

You can over pitch too, but that usually is a problem only when you pitch 400 billion cells in a typical 5 gallon batch.

Do you have enough nutrients for your wort?

Yeast needs three things to be happy: a happy temperature, oxygen, and nitrogen.  The nitrogen can be a bit nebulous for the homebrewer.  The best advice is to look at your ratio of grain to adjuncts.  Most of your nitrogen will come from your malt.  If you are using more than 25% non-barley adjuncts, you need to consider adding yeast nutrient.

What temperature are you fermenting at?

As I mentioned before, higher fermentation temperatures can have a negative impact on the flavor of your beer.  Higher temperatures can cause the yeast to produce a fruity flavor.  If your temperatures are too low, the yeast will be sluggish and take longer to ferment.  The longer the fermentation, the higher the possibility something else (like bacteria) can take hold in your beer.   Make sure that you can ferment your beer within the recommended temperature range.

What’s your starting specific gravity?

You should measure your starting gravity before you pitch your yeast.  You still have some chance to adjust your starting gravity before your yeast is pitched.  Ideally you want to know your starting gravity before you boil, but checking at the end of your boil is important.  The initial gravity will let you know how the boil affects your gravity (how much water is lost to evaporation).  This metric is also important to determine the attenuation of your yeast, and help you estimate how much alcohol is in your beer.

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While researching information for other articles, here are some interesting beer facts I’ve come across.  Many of these may surprise you!

Beer has fewer calories than many healthy drinks

Here’s a list of one ounce drinks and the number of calories in each.  We’re not claiming that 5 beers are healthier than 5 glasses of milk, but if you are counting calories, beer has fewer calories.

18 calories in one ounce milk
9 calories in one ounce bud light
21 calories in red wine
20 calories in white wine
15 calories in one ounce of Guinness
8 calories in one ounce of Amstel Light
15 calories in orange juice

Homebrewers pitch too little yeast

Brewers usually pitch 10 million yeast cells for every milliliter of wort.  To match commercial pitching rates, homebrewers should pitch 200-400 billion yeast cells.  A dry yeast packet typically contains 50 billion cells.  A liquid vial contains 70 to 140 billion cells.  The smack packs contain around 100 billion cells.  This means if you do not create a starter, you are under pitching.  Smack packs are not starters.  They activate the yeast metabolism, but they do not increase cell counts.

History of Pilsner and Budweiser

Pilsner and Budweiser origins come from the Czech Republic.  The pilsner style originated in the city of Pilsen in 1840, and is now known as Pilsner Urquell.  “Urquell” is the German word for “original source”.  Budweiser’s history is more suspect.

The Budweiser pilsner comes from the city of Budejovice.  Budweiser describes where the beer comes from, much like Bordeaux describes where in France the wine originates.  The beer has been brewed in Budejovice since the 14th century.  So how does Budweiser have rights to the copyright?  Anheuser-Busch was founded by German immigrants in 1876.  The Czech company Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895.

You have to admit the logos look very similar

Both companies claim the name Budweiser, and there are legal disputes to this day.  The United States has ruled in favor of Anheuser-Busch, and Budvar is sold under a different name.  In Switzerland and Germany, Anheuser-Busch must use a different name.  The United Kingdom recognizes that both companies can use Budweiser.  I asked about this on a Budweiser brewery tour in Fort Collins, Colorado.  The response was “I’m not familiar with that microbrew”.  Pilsner Urquel is the original source of pilsner, but it is still up for debate to the original source of Budweiser.

Hathor is the goddess of destruction and drunkenness

The Egyptian goddess Hathor/ Sekhmet goes my many titles (and names).  One is the goddess of destruction and drunkenness.  Her story goes like this.  The Sun god Ra wasn’t getting the love he needed from his subjects, so he sent Hathor to set them straight.  She took the job to extremes, turned into a leopard and started killing all the humans (where is SG-1 when you need them).  Ra, realizing that dead subjects don’t worship well, decided to stop Hathor.  He threw barley and dates into the blood that flowed through the streets.  It turned to beer and Hathor drank it up.  Hathor got drunk and became a much more fun loving god – the god of beer.  She’s also known as the god of fertility.  This is most likely because, as many women have found out, consuming too much alcohol can lead to pregnancy.

Egypt created the first no alcohol beer

The first non-alcoholic beer came from ancient Egypt.  A priestess would create a strong ale, then heat it over a fire.  The alcohol would burn off, and rise to make the goddess (Hathor?) very drunk.  The remaining beer, now non-alcoholic, was sold to the public (probably in France to soccer fans from other countries).

Bass Ale got the very first trademark

The distinctive triangle is the oldest trademark in Britain.  After the 1875 Trademarks Registration Act was passed a Bass employee was instructed to wait outside the patent office on New Year’s Eve.  If my boss told me to stand in line on New Year’s Eve, I know what my reaction would be.  The employee camped out at the office over night.  The new law went into effect January 1st, 1876 and the first two patents were awarded to Bass.

Breweries created the “pilgrims stopped for beer” myth

There is some debate to why the puritans settled in Plymouth .  While there is no debate that the puritans left England with plenty of beer, rumor had it that they stopped in Plymouth because they were out of beer and built a brewery.  There is no truth to this rumor, and the Mayflower probably had plenty of beer for the return trip to England.  The myth actually came from the American breweries shortly before and after prohibition.  Before prohibition, breweries (led by Budweiser) wanted to claim that beer was a part of American heritage.  They ran large ads in newspapers stating “Pilgrim fathers drank it”.  After prohibition, beer sales were down, so in an effort to increase sales the breweries ran ads creating the “pilgrims stopped for beer” myth.

The real prohibition repeal date in the United States is December 5

When was the 21st Amendment passed? (April 7, 1933 or December 5, 1933)

The Twenty First Amendment was passed by Congress February 20, 1933.  It was ratified December 5, 1933.  April 7, 1933 the federal government legalized 3.2% ABV beer.  Many confuse the two and celebrate the repeal of prohibition on April 7th.  While you could have purchased something that was technically beer, you could not get wine, full-strength beer, or spirits until December 5, 1933.

The real beer drinkers

The Czech Republic drinks more beer per capita than any other country.  For the past two years, China drinks more beer than any other country (350 million hectoliters).  China is the fastest growing beer market in the world.  The United States ranks number two by amount, but ranks 11 per capita.

The first beer cans

The first beer cans were produced in 1935.  Drinkers were no longer going to taverns, and breweries needed to get beer into the homes.  The smaller packages made it much easier to get beer home.  1939 ushered in a new era of beer on the go (and formaldehyde in beer).

Reinheitsgebot is missing an ingredient

The famous German Purity Law of 1516, “Reinheitsgebot”, is missing an essential ingredient for beer.  The original text decreed that beer can contain only water, barley and hops.  They did not understand the role of micro-organisms until the 1800s, so yeast was not a known ingredient.  Brewers knew to add a bit of the slurry from the previous batch, but did not know it contained yeast.  Yeast was added as an ingredient to the German law during the 20th century.  Reinheitsgebot remained in effect until the European Court of Justice repealed the law in May of 1987!

The first brewery in the United States

As I mentioned earlier, the pilgrims did not build a brewery when they landed in Plymouth in 1620.  Nicholas Varlett obtained from Peter Stuyvesant a patent for the first brewery in America on February 5, 1663 (it was a Monday for the incurably curious).  This brewery was on Castle Point in Hoboken, New Jersey.  The oldest active brewery is the D.G. Yuengling & Son brewery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.  The Yuengling brewery was founded in 1829.

Hops are a recent addition to beer

The first reported use of hops in beer was 736 AD, but brewers didn’t really use hops until the 1500s.  Before the 1500s, gruit beer used ingredients like wormwood or other herbs to balance the sweetness.  Medieval brewers did not like hops in beer because they thought it caused “melancholy and tormenting disease.”  They also thought tomatoes were poisonous.

Beer is not just beer

Most people know that there are ales and there are lagers.  Ales are top-fermented beers, while lagers are bottom fermented beers.  Ales and lagers have many beer styles that taste very unique.  In the 2007 Great American Beer Festival, there were 76 distinct beer categories.  Each category represented a unique beer style.

Beer isn’t made in a day

It takes a while to make beer.  The quickest time from grain to glass can usually be accomplished in a week.  This short fermentation is possible in low gravity beers (low alcohol).  Budweiser’s fermentation and lagering process takes about a month.  The fastest reported time from grain to glass was at the F.X. Matt Brewery in Utica, New York.  F.X. Matt was the first brewer to get a brewing license after the repeal of prohibition, one hour after the law went into effect.  Defying the known laws of fermentation science, F.X. Matt delivered kegs of “fresh” lager 24 hours later.  This feat has never been “repeated”.

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If you have not started getting your home brewery in order, you better get to it.  It takes beer 5 weeks on average to ferment and to be ready for consumption, it many take longer.

For spring and summer beers, you want something that is light, crisp, and generally lower in alcohol.  The beers listed here are session beers, or beers that you can drink for most of the day and night without hating yourself the next morning.

Here are 10 excellent choices for summer beers.

Summer is a great time for beer. The only problem is choosing one.

Pilseners and Light Lagers

Lagers are a mainstay for hot summer days.  In fact, you can find some variation of this beer made on every continent (save maybe Antarctica).  These beers are the number one choice for hot summer days.  If you want to make lagers for the summer, you need to start now.  These beers typically take two months of lagering.  Lagers are known for their low hops and crisp dry flavor are often 4% ABV to 5% ABV.
Commercial Examples: Pilsner Urquell, Heineken, Gordon Biersch Pilsner

British Bitter

Despite the word “bitter” these beers are quite smooth.  Bitters are light yellow to light copper and have a very light to no floral hop character with a sweet malt taste.  According to the style guidelines, the balance is slightly towards bitter, but it should not overpower the malt or hop flavor.  The alcohol content is usually 3.2-3.8 % (ABV) which makes these great sessions beers.  This is the beer you want to drink on your porch with friends during the cooler summer nights.  This beer is best served at 55F (13C) on draft.
Commercial Examples: Bodington’s Pub Draught, Young’s Bitter

American Pale Ale

American pale ales are closely related to British bitters.  American brewers distinguish the two styles because they are separated in competitions.  There are other subtle differences.  The American pale ales often have stronger hop aromas from late kettle additions or dry hopping, less caramel flavor, and less body.  The American pale ale is less carbonated than the British bitter.  This beer’s alcohol strength is between 4.5-6.2% ABV.  If you are looking for a good summer beer, stick to recipes that have lower alcohol contents.
Commercial Examples: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale

Kölsch

Kölsch is a German beer that comes from the city of Köln.  The beer is also called Kölschbier.  It has very little malt aroma, and little to no Nobel hop aroma.  This beer is very balanced.  Kölsch beers have a cooling period similar to lagers, but the beer is brewed with ale yeast.  This is an ideal beer for those looking for a lager, but do not have lagering equipment.  In fact, many tasters might mistake this beer for a lager.  The low alcohol and high carbonation of this light beer make it a great choice for hot summer days.  This beer is 4.4-5.2% ABV on average.
Commercial Examples: Reissdorf, Gaffel, Alaska Summer Ale, Harpoon Summer Beer

Witbier

What beer list would be complete without a selection from the Belgians?  Belgian Witbier (“white beer”) gets its name from its cloudy haze, although the beer is usually a light straw color.  This refreshing beer has spicy notes from the coriander and orange peel added to the brew.  You might even detect vanilla or honey flavors.  Witbier also has citrus flavors from the saaz hops that go great with a slice of lemon or orange.  This beer is typically 5% ABV, but drinks like it’s 2% ABV.
Commercial Examples: Hoegaarden Wit, St. Bernardus Blanche, Celis White, Blue Moon

Cream Ale

For homebrewers without the ability to lager beer, cream ales are another good choice for the summer months.  This beer was created by brewers in the American Midwest to compete with the larger lager breweries.  This beer is similar to the light American lagers. It has almost no hop aroma and little to no maltiness.  Since hops are dramatically understated in this beer, you can use almost any bittering hop.  This beer is much higher in carbonation than your typical ales, but is so smooth it is often referred to as the “lawnmower beer”.  The ABV is between 4.2% ABV to 5.6% ABV.
Commercial Examples: Genesee Cream Ale, Little Kings Cream Ale

Hefeweizen

This German wheat beer is very easy to make.  The grain bill is usually just pilsner malt and wheat malt.  According to German law, 50% of the grist must be wheat malt.  The wheat malt gives the beer its cloudy color, similar to the Belgian Witbier.   This beer is filled with fruity esters, which give the beer a slight banana flavor.  These beers are 4.3% ABV to 5.5% ABV.
Commercial Examples: Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier, Schneider Weisse Weizenhell, Paulaner Hefe-Weizen

Raspberry Wheat

Nothing says crowd pleaser like raspberry wheat.  The refreshing flavor of the hefeweizen is enhanced with the crisp flavor of raspberries.  This beer can be made by adding a bit of raspberry flavoring at kegging or bottling.  These beers are also 4.3% ABV to 5.5%ABV.
Commercial Examples: UFO Raspberry Hefeweizen, Schlafly Raspberry Hefeweizen

Mexican Amber Lager

Mexican lagers are really just North American cousins of Vienna lagers.  They are very light and refreshing.  These beers are also slightly malt forward, but finish very dry.  These are great beers to drink through the hot summer nights.  This is yet another good session beer, but a bit stronger at 4.5% ABV to 5.5% ABV.
Commercial Examples: Dos Equis Amber

California Common

The California Common (or “Anchor Steam”) beer is an American original from San Francisco.  Several beers used to be known as Anchor Steam beers, but 30 years ago Anchor Steam Brewery trademarked the name.  Now other steam beers are called California Commons.  The California Common has stronger hop flavors from the Northern Brewer hops added to the beer.  The beer is also is fermented with a lager yeast that tolerates higher temperatures.  This beer sometimes has a bit of fruitiness, some caramel biscuit flavor, and a dry finish.  The alcohol content is usually 4.5-5.5% ABV making it a slightly stronger session beer.
Commercial Examples: Anchor Steam, Southampton Steem Beer, Flying Dog Old Scratch Amber Lager

Making beer in the summer is only second to drinking beer in the summer!

So those are my recommendations.  There are other good summer beers, but I think these are some of the best representatives.  It is mid-March now.  If you want beer for the summer, you had better get brewing.  Oh, and if you’re planning to make a Marzen for Oktoberfest, that time is now as well!  Get brewing.

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10. Add specialty grains to your beer to fine tune flavors

If you are brewing extract brews, adding a bit of specialty grains will improve your beer flavor and can give it a better head. The specialty grains also give the beer a bit more depth in flavor. Specialty grains are steeped in hot water, 158F (70C) for 20 to 60 minutes. This creates a “grain tea” that is added to your wort when you start your boil. The grains used for steeping are not part of the mash, because these grains do not require enzymatic conversion.

9. Use a one step sanitizer

If you are not using a one step sanitizer like star san, you should start now. A one step sanitizer sanitizes your fermenter, spoon, or anything else the might come in contact with your wort within minutes. The best part is that the one step sanitizers do not require you to rinse. A one step sanitizer is an odorless and tasteless weak acid, so it will not change the flavor of your beer. Proper sanitary procedures will dramatically reduce the chance for infection, and thus give you a better beer.

8. Full wort boil

A full wort boil is when you boil the full 5 gallons of your wort. If you are creating Belgian Wits or Hefeweizens that are too dark in color, a full wort boil will help you lighten it up. The darker color originates from boiling concentrated wort; the sugars tend to caramelize. The higher concentration also makes it harder for you to extract the bitterness from the hops, since there is less “room” for the hop flavors in the wort. Boiling the full amount will help you create lighter colored beers and extract more hop flavor (better hop utilization).

7. Use a wort chiller

Before you can pitch your yeast, you must cool the wort. Once the wort temperature goes below 140F (60C), your wort is susceptible to bacterial infection. The best protection from bacteria in your beer is your yeast. The yeast will change the pH of your beer and make the conditions harsh for invading bacteria. Unfortunately, you can not add yeast until your beer temperature is around 70F (21C), so the sooner you can get your wort to this temperature the better. A wort chiller can cool boiling hot wort to less than 90F (32C) within minutes. The other advantage of chilling your beer quickly is getting a “cold break”. If you chill your beer quickly enough, the proteins in your beer will form solids. These solids are believed by some brewers to cause off flavors in the beer. Removing these solids will produce a cleaner tasting beer.

6. Keg your beer

If you are still bottling your beer, you should consider kegging. Kegging is much easier than bottling, and it is not expensive in the long run. You can often find good deals on four packs of used kegs for less than $100 USD. The CO2 cylinder, regulator, and a single used keg can be found for around $100 USD. Why would kegging improve your beer? Kegging will produce a more consistent carbonation for your beers. Your beers will also be clearer, and you also do not need to worry about the “yeast sludge” at the bottom of each bottle. This is strictly presentation, but clarity does count for a good looking beer.

Kegging your beer allows you to produce a consistent product with each pour.

5. Use liquid yeast

While dry yeast is much cheaper than liquid yeast, there is far more selection for liquid yeasts. A wider variety can give the brewer more control over the flavor of the beer. Yeast contributes the most flavor to your beer of any ingredient. The drying process can also contaminate your yeast with bacteria. This can cause off-flavors. If you are spending $20-$30 USD on your beer, an extra $5 for liquid yeast is a very small price to pay. If you are cutting costs, the yeast is really not the place to do it.

4. Oxygenate your wort

Oxygen is very important for your yeast in the early stages of fermentation. If your yeast do not get enough oxygen, they will become stressed. Stressed yeast produce off flavors. You want happy yeast. It takes very little effort to stir, splash or vigorously mix your wort before pitching. A siphon sprayer costs $3. There are attachments that connect to your drill to stir your wort for you. Shaking the fermenter before pitching the yeast is free. You really do not have an excuse to not do this. Happy, healthy yeast will ferment faster and produce a cleaner tasting beer.

3. Switch to all-grain brewing

All-grain brewing is much more approachable and easier than you think. Batch sparging has become very popular in the past few years. You can build a complete batch sparging system for around $60-$80 USD. If you have a good 40 quart (10 gallon) cooler you don’t need, you can convert it for $20-$30 USD. All-grain brewing allows you to create more complex tasting beers. It also allows you to create much lighter colored beers, something that is very difficult with extract brewing. You can create excellent extract beers, but all-grain brewing can give you the fine tuning that lets you take your beers to the next level.

All-grain brewing is a fun way to fine tune your beer recipes

2. Use a starter

According to Designing Great Beers by Ray Daniels, most homebrewers severely under pitch their beer. The popular smack packs claim to have 2.5 billion cells when the package has expanded. If you try to match the commercial pitching rates, you would need 200-400 billion cells for a 5 gallon batch, however the minimum pitching rate recommended for a 5 gallon brew is 20 billion cells. Creating a starter will help you get much closer to the recommended pitching rate and produce a much crisper tasting beer, with fewer off flavors.

1. Try different beers

The best way to determine how your beer should taste is to try different beers. This will give you an idea how the different styles should taste. More importantly, trying different beers will expose you to different styles you might not have tried before. You will find new beers that you like, and will eventually try to make at home. You might even improve on the recipe! Hopefully these tips will help you improve your beer. If you have any tips we missed, let us know in the comments!

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Related Posts

1. 6 questions to ask yourself before pitching your yeast
2. Why does my beer taste bad?
3. Should you put olive oil in your homebrew?

Megan Jane Conroy – Drunken Schoolgirl

This story was very popular with the Fermentarium community and the internet at large.  Megan, 17, returned home to find her mom throwing a birthday party.  Megan had also been partying that night before returning home.  She took exception to one of the patrons of her mom’s party, because he was a “kiwi” (someone from New Zealand).

Being born in New Zealand was only this man’s first crime.  His next crime helped land Megan into Fermentarium’s Beer Nuts hall of fame.  He mispronounced her name.  His crime caused this drunken schoolgirl to go into a fit of rage and to kick the kiwi “in his kiwis” – three times.  Ouch.

When we first posted this story, we thought it was humorous.  Somehow we pictured her yelling “say my name biatch!!” just like the girl in American Pie while kicking him.  The world thought the story was even funnier.  We received searches and hits on this story for many months afterward.  This story was so popular that it received more hits than all but six of the stories on Fermentarium for 2007.  We still get hits on this story.

Bare man eaten by bears at beer festival

This was our second most popular Beer Nuts story, even though it received less than half the hits of Megan Jane Conroy.  This man’s moment of internet fame not only landed in our Beer Nuts section, it also landed him a Darwin Award.

After partying at a nearby beer festival, a 23 year old Serbian man took off all his clothes, folded them into a corner of a bear cage and tried to cuddle up with the bear.  The bare man was then attacked by the bear.  We’re guessing the bare man barely knew where he was, before climbing in the bear cage.

Doughnuts in the Park

The third most popular Beer Nuts story was a girl who was arrested for driving drunk.  What made the story slightly funnier was that she was driving in the middle of the park doing doughnuts.  However it was her picture that really made the story.  She just looked so gosh darn happy in her mug shot.

Notable mentions

Here are the other articles that didn’t make our top three, but were still popular:
Naked Male Hula Dancer Steals Beer
Couple takes beer from store after hours: Jailarity ensues
München “Wiesn”‘s Up To Paris [Hilton]

© 2008 – 2010, fermentarium. All rights reserved.

Please see the fair use guidelines for republication. If you would like to submit articles to fermentarium.com, please review our Guest Post Guidelines.

Don't forget to "like" fermentarium on facebook

Related Posts

1. Man doesn’t get beer, gets goat
2. Beer pong player unleashes lethal shotgun attack on furniture
3. Drunk school girl kicks Kiwi in the kiwis