Friday, January 20, 2012

Happy Brew Year!

Even though it's now mid/late January and most people have already broken their New Year's resolutions, (and those that haven't are probably realizing that it's not going to last) I figured I'd take a second to let you know my own Brew Year's Resolutions - essentially my goals for this upcoming year as far as brewing goes.  Here we go....

  • Sour Beer - I aim to make at least one batch of sour beer this year.  I'm eyeballing a Berlinerweiss, and hopefully soon so it will be ready for the summer barbeque.  For those that don't know, sour beers are fermented (either wholly or in part) with bacteria instead of yeast.  It yields a sourness to the beer, as well as massive depth of flavour.
  • IPA - The more traditional homebrew: I want to brew up a batch of REALLY hoppy pale ale.  I haven't figured exactly what I want yet, but it'll be hoppy for sure.  I've already secured a couple pounds of hops for this beer (Amarillo and Columbus)
  • Solara Brewing - I have a 54L demijohn (two in fact) from my grandfather sitting in my basement, and my goal for them is to fill them with beer, and each year bottle a portion of it, while brewing another batch of the same beer and topping it back up.  The goal is to have essentially 'aged' beer fresh every year, while not having to wait so long to get the last year's batch to age. What beer you ask?.....
  • Westvleteren 12 - I've never had it, (I have tried the 8 however, and it was incredible) but if I am going to brew a beer to drink all year long, THIS would definitely be worthy of my time.  Look up any top 10 list of greatest beers, it's there.  I've come across a group who worked out a recipe quite close to the original, and my goal is to brew this beer for the demijohns.
  • Competitions - Lastly, I'd like to enter at least one of my beers in a competition, big or small.  It just would be nice to get some feedback on how my brewing compares with others.  I'm not in it for the recognition, just to better my beer by knowing how it stacks up against others.
So there it is, hopefully by putting it in print I will be more motivated to make these happen.  If I don't get around to them all I won't be disappointed, just maybe a little thirsty.


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