All Posts
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Licht ‘Em Up
A sour, smoked, lower-gravity historical central European wheat beer. Complex yet refreshing character due to high attenuation and carbonation, along with low bitterness and moderate sourness.
Vector Brewing produced a very delightful Lichtenhainer back in 2021 and we were smitten. I recieved some free smoked grain from Collin Zreet and decided to try brewing this...
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Iron Mash 2020 (Covid-Style)
A virtual Iron Mash brew day, an Ingredient Choice Matrix, and a single green crayon that led to ginger as our secret ingredient.
This year, of all years, Silvia and I decided to grimace, stretch, and enter to compete in the Cap & Hare Homebrew Club "Iron Mash" competition. Traditionally this is a one-day...
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Resilience Update
Comparing three versions of Resilience IPA — Sierra Nevada, Cowtown, and our AHA homebrew.
Just a quick update, the 5-gallon batch that we brewed has been consumed. The GoFundMe campaign has raised $400 and remains open. http://bit.ly/bf-campfire I've had three versions...
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Sierra Nevada Resilience IPA
Brewing the home-version of Sierra Nevada's Resilience IPA to support Camp Fire relief in Chico, California.
To make a really long and detailed story short: I brewed the home version of this delicious beer to help out with the fundraising. It will be on tap at the Improving Dallas office...
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We Have A Winner!
Thistle Dew takes a stein at the 2017 Bluebonnet Brew-off — Scottish Ale, field of 24.
Stein Winner for Scottish Ale – Our Scottish Export "Thistle Dew"* Last Saturday evening, March 25th, 2017, Silvia and I were completely dumbfounded at the Bluebonnet Brew-Off...
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Choosing Our Best Beers…
Picking two NHC entries from seven Bluebonnet beers — Thistle Dew and a reworked American Stout.
I signed up to try and get slots to enter beer in the National Homebrew Competition (NHC). My good news is that I was able to get two slots. The bad news is that I must now pick...
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Bluebonnet 2017
What's in the pipeline for the Bluebonnet Brew-off entries this year.
After getting a few score sheets back from the Bluebonnet Brew-off judges last year steps were taken to control fermentation temperatures and more attention was paid yeast pitch...
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Happy Brew Year! (2017)
Looking back at 2016: Journeyman Brewer Certificate, club wins, third-place finishes, and goals for 2017.
Ok, 2016 is in the books and there was quite a lot of beer brewed. My brew year turned out better than I'd hoped. I started the year with the Journeyman Brewer Certificate program...
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Our Cellarman's Nelson
A single-hop IPA built on the Martin House formula with Nelson Sauvin hops and a Vermont Ale yeast.
We did a single hop IPA, using the Martin House formula, with Nelson Sauvin hops. Very simple grist: 1. 88% two row barley 2. 12% light Munich Straightforward hop schedule: 1. 65...
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Cobra's Hopped Challenge (Thistle Dew) Update
Our Scottish Export grabbed second place at Cap & Hare and 41 of 50 BJCP points — not bad for a whimsical contest brew.
Most of the challenge competitors merely gave a "wink" 😉 to the supplied ingredients, using them for yeast starters, and showed up with all manner of IPAs and other pale beers. I...
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Ingredients!
Thoughts on the four ingredients of beer — water, hops, yeast, barley — and the adjuncts that round them out.
I was flattered recently when a beer friend asked for my thoughts on the importance of each ingredient in beer. Normally beer has just four ingredients – water, barley, hops, and...
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An Awful American Stout
A stout that started out as a 'Cascadian Ale' eventually grew into a balanced, roasty competition entry.
Back in March, with Brew Riot and a Lone Star Circuit Stout competition looming on the horizon, we grabbed an American Stout recipe from Brewing Classic Styles and went to work. I...
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Smart Alec Wit Beer
A Belgian Wit brewed to double-dip in two contests — wheat malt for the Collective and Belgian yeast for Cap & Hare.
Back in April the Dallas Homebrew Collective had a people's choice event where the recipe needed to contain at least 50% wheat malt. Seeing a Belgian event two months later, I...
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Update – British Brown Ale
Our brown ale wins by a single point in the March style competition — first win and a second place.
It has been a successful start to the brew year. For the March style competition our brown ale squeaked out a win! The judging was very close, a single point decided the winner,...
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Cobra's Hopped Home Brewer's Challenge
A box of mystery malts (and an almost-burned brewing rig) leads to our 80 Shilling Ale for the Cobra Brewing challenge.
A local craft brewer conjured up a home brewer challenge. Silvia and I were intrigued enough to sign up. When we arrived to pick-up out mystery ingredients were expecting a crazy...
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Hissy Fittings
A four-way gas manifold, three empty CO2 bottles, and the soapy-water diagnosis that finally found the leaks.
This is the story of a hissy fitting and how I managed to roll through three bottles of CO2 before getting to the root of the problem. 4-way gas manifold* Some time last fall I...
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British Brown Ale
Brewing a Southern English Brown — Nutty Man Brown Ale — for the March style competition.
March's style of the month is 13B – British Brown Ale. I am a fan of brown ales, including Newcastle Brown Ale and Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale, so I thought that this style would...
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January – American Porter (20A)
Entering two porters in the Dallas Homebrew Collective's January style competition and what the judges' feedback revealed.
First style out of the gate for the Dallas Homebrew Collective was 20A – American Porter. Last year Silvia, Adam, and I had brewed a partigyle with runnings from a Russian...
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Happy Brew Year
Setting brewing goals for 2016 — Dallas Homebrew Collective, Cap & Hare Master Brewer, and Bluebonnet Brew-Off entries.
I don't really do "New Year's Resolutions", but I have come to understand the value of setting goals. One of my brewing goals for 2016 was to be recognized for brewing beers to...
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In the Beginning
How a gentle nudge from Silvia led to a Craigslist all-grain rig and our very first brew on December 13, 2014.
I got a gentle nudge into home brewing. On several occasions, my loving wife, Silvia, said to me "Honey, you should start home brewing". After about the fifth suggestion, I...