tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39702321298020824322011-11-27T18:30:59.733-05:00"There is no such thing as a bad beer. It's that some taste better than others." - Billy CarterTom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.comBlogger1321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-85659337629748341192011-02-08T09:02:00.002-05:002011-02-08T09:29:15.078-05:00

This is what happens when you let some Jersey City riff-raff move into your neighborhood. A couple of months later the town brewery almost collapses. Looks like all of the recent snow and ice caused some dangerous sagging in the River Horse's roof. No word yet on whether or not there will be any impact to production. I'll try to swing by there in the next few days for some investigative

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-47327976347450323862010-11-27T01:12:00.006-05:002010-11-27T02:01:31.244-05:00

So I finally got around to watching Brew Masters, the new show on the Discovery Channel that's a show about Sam Calagione masquerading as a show about beer. And unfortunately I have to admit that I didn't hate it as much as I wanted to. However...It still sucked.The elements of the show that focused on beer production and recipe formulation were really interesting. As far as beer is concerned,

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-2246406897857930922010-10-12T23:09:00.003-04:002010-10-12T23:11:36.708-04:00

Here it is:

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-82413255916796896232010-07-23T11:59:00.003-04:002010-07-23T12:09:53.725-04:00

I hate to come across as a crotchety old grouch these days, but I couldn't help but post a link to this great article on the latest batch of nonsense released by the attention starved hype machine that is BrewDog. Big props to the author for pointing out the incredible lameness of a brewery called BrewDog and their even more ridiculous and pompous press release:''This is the beer to end all

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-47721490683325328322010-07-16T23:24:00.002-04:002010-07-16T23:27:45.668-04:00

Kudos to Great Lakes for getting a headline on espn.com today. I've definitely never seen a craft brewery get a headline on a major sports website, so good for them.Maybe I was wrong about jumping the shark after all.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-1902983795382685412010-07-02T19:35:00.002-04:002010-07-02T19:43:32.180-04:00

Because Saint Sam needs even more attention, right?They could have found someone way more knowledgable about beer to host a beer show, but there's no way they would have found someone as rugged and handsome as Sam. I can only hope that there are some gratuitious shots of him surfing or rapping or modeling his Levi's. We've jumped the shark.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-13816565722414247192010-06-25T11:06:00.004-04:002010-06-25T11:14:58.830-04:00

I'm headed to the NJ Craft Brewers Guild's annual festival tomorrow. We always have a good time out on the Battleship drinking the best beers that Jersey's breweries have to offer. It looks like we'll be spared the rain tomorrow, but unfortunately not the heat. Looks like a high of about 93. Yikes.I'm not entirely sure of the lineup, but it does appear that the new New Jersey Beer Co based

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-59264155779434035712010-06-13T21:15:00.002-04:002010-06-13T21:31:38.506-04:00

I've had a few friends tell me that the Super Buy-Rite in JC (down by the Holland Tunnel) has a great beer selection. Finally made the trip down there today with R and it was well worth it. They have quite a few brands there that I haven't seen at any of my other go-to spots in New Jersey (Mikkeller, New Holland, Uinta, more). So we mixed a few sixes and picked up some fun stuff to try over the

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-20484195711320665472010-06-07T09:42:00.002-04:002010-06-07T10:04:11.145-04:00

This is my first post in two months. I apologize to those (one) of you who have been looking forward to more. My life the last few months has been all-consumed by house hunting with R, so homebrewing has been put on the back burner. I guess there's a pun in there, right? Homebrewing, back burner.....Lew Bryson just posted a recap of last year's session beer vs extreme beer brew-ha-ha (yes,

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-9818115518618785222010-04-06T10:36:00.003-04:002010-04-06T10:40:31.308-04:00

The Star Ledger and Inside Jersey are polling for their annual "Best of NJ" survey. Find out more here, and if you're interested in taking the survey you'll want to look for the "Click here to get started" at the bottom of the article (nj.com always does a great job of making their site nice and easy to use, don't they?) If you register and vote you'll get a shot at a $50 gift card. Not

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-42586426636122771872010-04-03T00:23:00.003-04:002010-04-03T00:30:05.711-04:00

That's how many beers were entered in the NHC this year. Kind of a staggering number, no? I guess it's a testament to the popularity of this awesome, cool, and totally nerdy hobby, right?I did my homebrewing thing this evening. Getting out of work early is awesome because I got home from work, brewed, and I'm completely done with cleanup before midnight. Knocked out an English style brown ale

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-2209504891133429742010-03-27T21:41:00.003-04:002010-03-27T21:54:03.111-04:00

Just a quick love note to say that I'm having a great beer right now. We were in Lambertville today and the lovely R picked out a mixed six for me, one of which is Yards Brawler. It's 4.2%, has great chocolate and caramel flavors, a little bit of fruity English ale yeast character, and finishes with just the right amount of bitterness. A little dry, not too sweet. Great stuff.The brewery

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-34299664278267958512010-03-22T13:04:00.004-04:002010-03-22T13:17:33.094-04:00

Good afternoon. Today I came across an interesting article on the ever-escalating ABV of the American craft beer. You may link to it here and give it a read yourself. I wouldn't necessarily agree with the title of the article - that the American session beer has met its untimely death. I just think that the ones out there are getting absolutely no attention while everyone goes bonkers for all

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-70543337277682001682010-03-19T16:42:00.002-04:002010-03-20T15:41:28.804-04:00

So I'm in the Hoboken train station this afternoon waiting on a train to go and meet R. From there we're on our way to Cricket Hill to claim a few bottles of their new barrel aged porter - Paymaster's Porter agen in Four Roses whiskey barrels. And it's a sin to pass up the opportunity to have a beer on the train. That's why they have a liquor store in there for crying out loud!So I walk up to the

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-4561114983395476862010-03-08T16:44:00.003-05:002010-03-08T17:02:58.363-05:00

I've been through the paces with yeast culturing and growing a pitchable slurry of yeast up from an agar plate and all that. It's a lot of work. It's very time consuming and you have to be extremely careful with your sanitation practices. Quite frankly I just don't have that kind of time to dedicate to the hobby these days.At the same time, I love to have a low gravity 3-4%ABV beer on hand at

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-57624308872293264592010-02-24T13:25:00.000-05:002010-02-24T13:26:07.502-05:00

with a fork.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-55777692378983221772010-02-04T15:26:00.004-05:002010-02-04T15:36:05.587-05:00

I haven't really blogged much of late because I haven't really had much to blog about. Haven't brewed in about a month. Homebrew Alley IV was this past weekend, so that was something fun. I had the opportunity to judge three flights - English Pale Ales, American Ales, and Strong Ales. Lots of great homebrew. There really weren't any duds in the bunch - and that's saying something because I

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-90035117782667728722009-12-30T22:29:00.003-05:002009-12-30T23:12:10.096-05:00

I finally have a beer tapped up that I fermented with the WLP925 High Pressure Lager Yeast. At least one that's worth drinking anyway. The first lesson I learned with this yeast is that it's seriously non-flocculent, so with the Dunkel that I first brewed to be fermented with this yeast I had to dump the entire four liter starter into it. It doesn't taste all that swell, so I figured I'd wait

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-26536272816367948252009-12-04T10:18:00.002-05:002009-12-04T10:23:55.706-05:00

So on Tuesday I'll be entered in this homebrew contest being held by The Office restaurants. Jeff at Beer Stained Letter wrote about it a few days ago here. My Oatmeal Stout will be in full effect at the Montclair location. If I'm lucky enough to be chosen the winner on Tuesday, I'll be back there again on Saturday to face off against the winners from all of the other Office locations. The winner

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-81323747325035951412009-11-30T09:51:00.003-05:002009-11-30T10:35:28.474-05:00

A lot of people have asked me about the WLP925 yeast that used recently, so I thought I'd provide an update.First of all, I'm really treating this first batch like a big yeast starter. I had some problems with this past brew, and I don't want to truly evaluate this yeast strain based on this batch. Some of the problems were my fault - screwed up chilling my wort and didn't get it nearly as cool

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-33243616275088806492009-11-17T09:57:00.002-05:002009-11-17T10:10:19.725-05:00

A big thanks to the Stoney Creek Homebrewers whose second annual competition was a huge success this past weekend. I went down to the General Lafayette Inn with some entries and to judge. I wound up judging Belgian Strong Ales in the morning (as usual) and Amber Hybrids in the afternoon. It was a real treat to have two short flights. The more competitions I judge, the more I find that doing

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-33184167917871272162009-11-13T16:26:00.004-05:002009-11-13T16:33:27.792-05:00

There's a new book out about the history of brewing in New Jersey. Sounds like a pretty interesting read. Hopefully Santa leaves a copy under the tree for me this year. He knows I've been good...New Jersey was once a huge center of brewing in America - particularly in Newark. I'll look forward to reading up on this history. It's also nice to read that the author spent some time on the current

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-45631438064984672009-11-11T09:53:00.004-05:002009-11-11T10:09:45.194-05:00

I came across this op-ed piece in the Asbury Park Press about the NJ state liquor license policy and it left me scratching my head. The gist of the it is that NJ does not make a beer/wine only license available for restaurants, making it much harder for joints unable to secure a liquor license to stay in business. Basically you're either a BYOB establishment or you have a full liquor license.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-21341942366902480482009-11-05T09:37:00.002-05:002009-11-05T10:26:50.856-05:00

Thought I'd take the opportunity to post some actual Jersey City beer news. From the Garden State Craft Brewer's Guild newsletter: Come by to LITM to meet River Horse reps and samplegreat beers. The event takes place Wednesday, November 18th from 6 to 9 PM.Featuring all year round beers plus two special releases.There's nothing on either brewery's site yet about this, so this is all the info

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-39028818674064184822009-10-20T10:53:00.004-04:002009-10-20T11:10:13.381-04:00

Here's another article that I came across and thought was pretty cool. A festival celebrating canned craft beer is a pretty cool idea whose time has definitely come.I've been of the belief that cans are the way of the future for the craft beer industry and the tide is (very) slowly shifting. More and more craft brewers are taking advantage of the can and I've been trying to make a point of

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-34390186045266036852009-10-19T11:23:00.006-04:002009-10-19T11:56:14.102-04:00

I've been following this story for a few days now. The long and the short of it is that the makers of Monster energy drinks are suing Rock Art in Vermont over their Vermonster Barleywine. Check out this video to hear Matt Nadeau from Rock Art tell the story himself.You can really hear the frustration in Matt's voice in this interview. He's genuinely hurt by this action, and who can blame him? I

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-60175990353586993592009-10-12T14:25:00.003-04:002009-10-12T14:42:09.663-04:00

I browsed over to the BJCP site just a few minutes ago and was completely stunned to see the news of Greg Noonan's passing on the front page of the site. For those who don't know, Greg was the founder and brewer at one of the best brewpubs around - if not the best brewpub around - the Vermont Pub and Brewery. When I went to the Vermont Brewer's Festival in July with R, we hit the VPB several

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-74855417410093635432009-10-07T16:28:00.003-04:002009-10-07T16:44:38.057-04:00

I'm used to actively pursuing my beer coverage. I have my blogs that I read, my magazines that I subscribe to, and the regional beer rags that I pick up whenever I'm at a bar or restaurant that has them around. Also, the AHA's Tech Talk forum has just started sending out a daily compilation of headlines and links to interesting articles from around the world. Yet another reason to sign up for

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-20086998254601297452009-09-22T10:39:00.003-04:002009-09-22T10:51:36.305-04:00

I've been unable to locate any info on the Oktoberfest "parade" on Grove Street in JC, but in the meantime, here are a couple of things going on:Through 10/27, Zeppelin Hall will be celebrating Oktoberfest with oompah bands, dancing, food, beers, etc... Haven't made it down there to see how often they're actually doing it up, but it's a nice space and worth checking out. It's pretty reasonable

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-64532028554328220142009-09-17T11:27:00.003-04:002009-09-17T11:38:30.205-04:00

I haven't posted anything in a while because nothing terribly exciting has been going on. Although today I'm patiently awaiting a FedEx package with two unique White Labs vials inside.Poking around on the White Labs site last week I noticed the High Pressure lager yeast (WLP925) that's listed by them as a professional strain. According to their instructions, you can use this yeast to produce

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-60862373530713593382009-09-04T10:24:00.003-04:002009-09-04T10:52:19.535-04:00

I've seen a few articles in the past couple of days about a lawsuit filed by A-B/InBev/Labatt and friends against a Canada's Brick Brewing Company over their Red Baron Lime product. There's no question that Bud Light Lime has been the greatest success story for A-B to hang their hat on in recent years - probably bigger for them than Blue Moon has been for Coors. In their terms they'd probably say

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-3653755792608425332009-08-31T11:44:00.002-04:002009-08-31T11:56:33.873-04:00

I wanted to take a quick moment to give some props to the folks in the Lehigh Valley Homebrewers club whose Malt Madness competition this past weekend was fantastic. The compettion itself went off without a hitch. The morning session, lunch, afternoon session, BOS round, and awards all flowed in punctual fashion - no small task for a competition with some 450 entries. Absolutely great job by

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-65997808716842226182009-08-27T10:59:00.002-04:002009-08-27T11:17:34.987-04:00

Wow. It never ceases to amaze me what people in this country actually care about. So this Rep. Webster character votes to pass a law basically stating that children can't see adults consuming alcohol because he's afraid of kids walking into a grocery store and seeing adults standing around drinking liquor. He's accomplished his goal. But what else has he taken a giant dump on? Does this mean

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-50904076732844186372009-08-24T14:38:00.004-04:002009-08-24T15:15:38.819-04:00

Boy do I wish I hadn't come across that last article that I blogged about. Part 2 of George Lenker's series on amateur beer writers started an avalanche of crappy reading to clog up my browser windows. First off, I finished Part 2 and couldn't believe what I was reading from a professional journalist. I was actually looking forward to reading some constructive, well-thought-out criticism of

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-46698359436984875832009-08-18T11:09:00.004-04:002009-08-18T11:28:50.599-04:00

George Lenker (The Beer Nut from The Massachusetts Republican) presents an interesting take on the subject of beer writing. He's taking issue with the value of the ramblings of amateur hacks, such as myself. Professional journalists are making their way through the 21st century media landscape as best they can and it's always interesting to hear them explain their value over that of the folks

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-81715134363643589122009-08-14T15:53:00.003-04:002009-08-14T15:57:50.128-04:00

Came across this interesting new site today. And it looks very new. There's hardly anything up there for NY, and nothing for NJ or PA. I'm curious to see if this takes off. If it does, I'll be even more interested to see if it has any impact. If I were a retail store, craft beer bar, or distributor, I'd definitely keep my eye on it to see if I'm getting any requests.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-30954778989479825282009-08-06T10:08:00.003-04:002009-08-06T10:22:15.699-04:00

After missing BA/AHA guru Charlie Papazian at the Vermont Brewers Festival, it turns out I missed him again recently right here in Jersey. Here he is giving a few shout-outs to Krogh's and Long Valley. It's nice to see a few NJ brewpubs getting some national exposure. His next stops appear to be along the Delaware River, so lets hope he hits the Ship Inn and River Horse. I wonder if he was at

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-50836942698774865872009-07-29T21:03:00.030-04:002009-07-30T15:41:27.488-04:00

On my most recent brew day, I took pH measurements throughout and took some pics. Not sure how much use the pictures of the strips will be - they don't always jive with what they looked like to my naked eye as I read them. I'll describe each step where I took measurements, what they mean, and how you as a homebrewer should look to take measurements as you go.Mash pHMuch has been made about mash

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-28040842112883868552009-07-28T15:56:00.003-04:002009-07-28T16:09:11.081-04:00

Last year Brewtopia was held on the weekend of Halloween. Not hard to forget what with the funny outfits at the festival and the reminders from R to call for a ride home instead of walking home by myself and risking coming home looking like a pre-cooked omelet.This year, it's not only a new time, but a new place. The cruise ship pier has been replaced with the Park Ave armory. This is definitely

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-578306007991267602009-07-23T10:38:00.004-04:002009-07-23T13:36:16.173-04:00

So many cool and fun things happened on our recent trip up to the lovely cities of Portland, ME and Burlington, VT that I could write and write about it for days. However, for the purposes of this space I'll keep it as short and sweet as possible, and all about the beerz. Here are some of the highlights:Portsmouth Brewery: We stopped in New Hampshire on the way up and were quite impressed with

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-40748649311834387112009-07-21T16:22:00.002-04:002009-07-21T16:31:31.379-04:00

For those who saw the "I Am A Craft Brewer" video that Greg Koch of Stone presented to the Craft Brewer's Conference, here's the home brewers version:I haven't really investigated the roots of this so much, but it would appear that some home brewers got together on one of the message boards and filmed their own versions and edited them together. Kind of cool, I guess. I sure wish they would

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-78075201206256192002009-07-20T21:01:00.005-04:002009-07-20T22:37:14.638-04:00

It's been a while since I posted. Took a trip up to Portland and Burlington with R this past week, so I was a bit out of commission. More on that, including the Vermont Brewer's Fest, later. In the meantime just to get something up here I figured I'd post on the beers I've been making my way through tonight. After our last trip up to the Binghamton and Ithaca areas I brought back a bunch of

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-30506351638068854012009-07-07T14:07:00.005-04:002009-07-08T22:28:13.357-04:00

This past weekend I brewed up a quick batch of something that will be along the lines of an ordinary bitter or light blonde ale and decided to mess around with pH measurement. I took my mash samples and measured them with five instruments:1) Economy pH test strips (universal range)2) Economy pH test strips (mash pH range)3) ColorpHast test strips4) Hanna Checker meter5) Martini pH meter with

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-88831795170695042592009-06-25T14:14:00.006-04:002009-06-25T15:48:05.979-04:00

It's about time I posted a recap of the NJ Craft Beer fest last weekend...Needless to say, R and I were worried about a crummy day in Camden what with the constant rain all Saturday morning. The drive on 295S got kind of hairy at times with some serious downpours. After checking into our hotel in Center City we took a cab to the River Link ferry and arrived in Camden about 40 minutes before the

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-87750552983792536022009-06-22T10:24:00.003-04:002009-06-22T10:46:28.134-04:00

Lew Bryson has had several posts on this subject, and here's the latest. I'll let you jump over to his page for the details as he's an insider and can explain the situation much better than I. A few years back I toured the IC facility with R and it's definitely up there on our list of most memorable brewery tours. A few bulletized thoughts that pop into my head as I lament the loss....The massive

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-65327886332633880922009-06-18T11:18:00.002-04:002009-06-18T11:30:35.803-04:00

The 13th Annual New Jersey Craft Beer Festival is this Saturday on the Battleship New Jersey on the Camden waterfront. We missed it last year, because R & I were on our honeymoon. So we're looking forward to being back there after a one year absence and hoping for a great brewery turnout. Unfortunately not all of NJ's breweries are members of the Guild and not even all of the members actually

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-87401636493800946972009-06-17T15:12:00.002-04:002009-06-17T15:26:18.614-04:00

Looks like Jersey City will finally get a new beer bar - Zeppelin Hall. Their open date has been shifting for a few months now, but rumor is that they will be open for business this Friday, June 19th. I drove past this place with R a few weeks back. It's tucked away behind Grand Street just south of the hospital in the ground floor of what looks to be some new condo development. On first

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-59444082581775376762009-06-15T13:00:00.003-04:002009-06-15T13:05:59.901-04:00

Caught wind of this little news nugget today. I would really love to know what went wrong with this beer and how far it's off from what they would consider a proper Coors Light. Maybe they realized that the water they're brewing with down there in Georgia didn't actually come from the Rockies? ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!Seriously, if anybody in the Southeast has one of these suspect Cooooors (in my best Sam

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-74599831084537521462009-06-11T09:52:00.003-04:002009-06-11T11:06:12.882-04:00

Been a while. Sorry.Went with R to Citi Field for the first time right after the last blog post, and it's high time that I jotted down my thoughts in this space. I'll try to keep the baseball points to a minimum and keep the beer related business in focus...I've been to about half of the ballparks in the country. And there are some real gems out there, like Camden Yards in Baltimore and PNC Park

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-10667246216647152712009-05-28T16:02:00.005-04:002009-05-29T11:58:53.814-04:00

So about two months ago I brewed a Berliner Weisse. I had three gallons of 1.032 wort, 50/50 wheat/pilsner malt ratio, which were the second runnings from my American Wheat beer. I pitched a full pack of Wyeast lactobacillus at about 78 degrees and let it sit for about three days. I didn't really see any activity in there, but then again, I don't really know what lactobacillus looks like in a

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-79942427483999786792009-05-22T10:43:00.002-04:002009-05-22T10:52:05.197-04:00

It's on, folks. After reading Jeff's post at Beer Stained Letter the other day, I also received the following in the AHA's daily Tech Talk mailing. From Charlie P:"Some of you are aware of the headline discussions in Washington DCthis week and last week regarding proposals to dramatically increase FederalExcise Tax on brewers and other alcohol beverage industries. BrewersAssociation staff and

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-58097514781797500922009-05-14T16:35:00.005-04:002009-05-19T12:53:47.647-04:00

Took a trip with R up to the Binghamton/Ithaca area for a few days, so I've been away for a while. All in all, it was a fun time. A few general observations first:Had a lot of fun at the B-Mets game, the Ross Park Zoo, the Kopernik Observatory, and a few other little things here and there. But trying to find something to do in Binghamton is quite a chore. Sadly, it's a pretty run-down place.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-64306230801097573742009-05-06T11:51:00.004-04:002009-05-28T16:20:24.557-04:00

Dumbass that I am, I needed to look at my own blog to be reminded at the last second about this awesome event. I went last year, ate a dozen Yaquina Bay oysters and got bombed on some fantastic Rogue beers. This year was not to be as fun filled and exciting, since I didn't really have the time to spend there. I was in and out in about 25 minutes last night.Rogue: They're just one of America's

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-6027259059197275792009-05-05T14:19:00.002-04:002009-05-05T14:53:20.660-04:00

Somehow, a homebrewer out there managed to go 100+ batches before ever brewing an IPA. And that homebrewer and I share a name - Me. When I ordered hop rhizomes a while back, I also ordered a bunch of whole hops. There was a minimum order, so I wound up ordering more than I needed. Add that to what I already had in my freezer and the Mt. Rainier pellets that were given out as prizes at Homebrew

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-58741055929795110202009-04-27T09:50:00.004-04:002009-04-27T10:45:20.159-04:00

First things first, a great big tip of the cap to the community of Lambertville, NJ for putting together such a pleasant and wonderful weekend. Shad Festival or no Shad Festival, Lambertville is a fantastic town to spend a weekend in. In addition to being quite picturesque, the town has the added advantage of being supremely walkable - you can walk to anything in town, and you can also walk

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-76367827992400479172009-04-24T10:08:00.003-04:002009-04-24T10:34:20.960-04:00

Taking a trip with R this weekend down to Lambertville, NJ for their annual Shad Festival. For those who have never been down that way, we'd totally recommend making a day of it on any weekend when the weather is nice. Lambertville is one of those quaint little river towns where you can have a nice day just walking around and exploring. Plus, New Hope, PA is an easy walk right across the bridge.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-23215407854230290312009-04-21T11:58:00.006-04:002009-04-21T16:57:44.424-04:00

I had intended to write up a review of my Beer Wars Live experience. Then I came across this. I guess there's not much more to say.OK, I can think of two more things to say... There has been a lot of noise from the beer nerds over Rhonda Kallman. Everybody's all up in arms that she was portrayed as one of "the little guys" when she's not a "real" craft brewer. Fine, she may lack authenticity

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-516003703890678252009-04-16T10:53:00.004-04:002009-04-16T11:21:59.625-04:00

So tonight is the Beer Wars Live movie/live-simulcast-panel-discussion-thing and I will be seeing it, along with R, at the theater in Union Square. Earlier in the week I looked over this FAQ post on the movie's web site. The very fact that this post is even there would indicate that the movie's director/producer has been taking some heat and decided that they'd take the time to address some of

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-43239813746301355332009-04-13T09:56:00.003-04:002009-04-13T10:28:58.862-04:00

On Friday, along with R, checked out some gin mills we've never been to. After chowing down on some massive (and I mean MASSIVE) oysters at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, we hit:The Campbell Apartment. If you've never been here, you have to check it out. The back story is that it was at one time the office/party space of some wealthy banker back in the 30's or so. Left unused for a while, it was

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-55564092553845826922009-03-31T16:28:00.005-04:002009-03-31T16:37:21.680-04:00

The New York City Homebrewers Guild is sponsoring a BJCP class for homebrewers who want to become beer judges. The first meeting is tonight at Jimmy's No. 43 at 7:30PM (I know, three hours notice). But the real classes don't start until next Tuesday, April 7th, at Burp Castle. The topic will be Malt and we'll be covering light lagers and pilsners. Discussion lead by none other than yours

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-49773100264850213252009-03-28T14:23:00.003-04:002009-03-28T14:27:01.979-04:00

So I'm brewing the Altbier described below and waiting around for the last 10 minutes of the boil to finish up. Thought I'd share some beer porn while I wait. Not bad for a crummy camera phone.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-21645967433973872542009-03-24T11:33:00.005-04:002009-03-24T12:52:34.982-04:00

As a fairly frequent homebrewer - about twice a month here - you eventually succumb to the yeast. Unless you want to spring for a new pitch of yeast every time you brew, you have to get a strain that you want to use for a little while and re-pitch from batch to batch. (And if you're really out of your mind you bank agar slants so that you have your favorite strains at the ready and (with some

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-66594653339247892422009-03-13T14:56:00.006-04:002009-03-13T16:20:50.398-04:00

Today I've decided to make some agar slants. The yeast that culturing is the Whitbread dry ale yeast, otherwise known as White Labs Dry English Ale yeast (WLP007) or Wyeast British Ale (1098). I made a few beers with this yeast and I was quite pleased. Made a great Brown Ale, Bitter, and hopefully a great Olde Ale. The Olde Ale is sitting in a secondary right now and the initial tasting on

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-25148065787682948612009-03-05T16:27:00.003-05:002009-03-05T16:37:31.203-05:00

So there's a new beer documentary called Beer Wars coming out. The angle seems to be craft beer vs. the mega breweries. Looks interesting:There has been a lot of hype around the craft beer scene the last few years, and not all of it very well informed (witness this recent dumb article). So I tend to be skeptical. Also, there appears to be a healthy dose of St. Sam in this, which is a real eye

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-76876896146994419882009-03-03T14:03:00.002-05:002009-03-03T14:25:43.824-05:00

This past weekend took a trip with R down to the Philly area. Visted Earth Bread + Brewery, which we'd been meaning to check out since it opened. Founded by the owners of the late Heavyweight Brewing, of Ocean Township, NJ, they're trying to do an American Flatbread type thing - a couple of house beers, a bunch of local taps, and good, simple, locally sourced food. The beer selection and menu

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-61839640723377498932009-02-16T08:27:00.003-05:002009-02-16T08:45:15.404-05:00

News out of Portland is that some dumbass politicians want to raise Oregon's excise tax on beer by 1,900% (not a typo). Finally, an answer to all of America's economic problems! I wish I could say that I'm surprised, but I'm not. With all of the indiscriminate taxation against tobacco that has gone on over the years, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone shifted their bullseye

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-30178988374432958312009-02-10T11:48:00.002-05:002009-02-10T11:52:44.779-05:00

Politics aside, you have to love that The President Of The United States Of America says something like this (0:36):And is photographed on the campaign trail at a brewpub doing this:

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-43685270825672545112009-02-04T14:57:00.004-05:002009-02-04T15:05:13.815-05:00

Great post over at Beer Stained Letter about the state of regulatory affairs in the New Jersey craft brewing scene. Read Jeff's post for the full scoop, but here's the quick and dirty:The state of New Jersey makes things way harder on craft brewers than it is in other states. Production micros can only sell a customer a max of two six-packs or two-growlers per visit. Brewpubs can only sell on

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-31756810406577065582009-02-02T21:24:00.003-05:002009-02-02T21:27:14.133-05:00

Here's one that I posted to the Norther Brewer forum. Any clues, please chime in below..."The kitchen stove that I brew on, unfortunately, does not vent to the outdoors. The problem that I have is that condensation really builds up big time in the house during the boil. There are some spots in the house (downstream from the kitchen) where condensation will build up at the ceiling and then drip

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-37048891585347656782009-01-30T10:34:00.005-05:002009-01-30T10:48:13.809-05:00

I know it's not beer related, but I thought I'd post on this anyhow since I'm proud of myself. What you see to your left is a guitar amp I built from scratch. The head is all tube, Class A with an EL34 power tube. The head itself is made with 1/2" plexiglass. I had it fabricated at one of those sweet plastics places on Canal St. I built it a while back, so I can't remember how many watts it

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-69132872672595692342009-01-23T09:26:00.009-05:002009-01-23T09:44:11.876-05:00

I think that this blog post can be filed under "too little, too late" considering that the holiday season is over and the decorations are already most likely down, but I thought I'd give a shout out to Rolf's. Located on the southeast corner of 22nd St and 3rd Ave in Manhattan, Rolf's (sorry, no web site) is a small German restaurant that goes absolutely bonkers with Christmas decorations. Think

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-54999616926448584282009-01-21T15:22:00.002-05:002009-01-21T15:33:45.245-05:00

Been a while, right?Before last night's NYCHG meeting, I stopped by the Hop Devil Grill on St. Marks Place and was pleasantly surprised to find that dollar tacos are back on Tuesdays. So now you know where you can find me on the third Tuesday of the month some time between 6 and 7:30. And in addition to beef, chicken, and vegetarian, there's now an option for chorizo too. Are they the greatest

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-11707354432425983922008-12-11T15:14:00.004-05:002008-12-11T15:20:55.168-05:00

Aaaaaaand.... we're back.So the last step in culturing up this yeast was to sample the 100ml starters to make sure that they fermented properly and grow them up to a full sized yeast starter. That and to innoculate the agar slants, but I'll post on that later.I decanted some of the fermented wort (hereon refered to as beer) from each of the 100ml starters. Here they are. I knew those beer

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-62248562386341934232008-12-01T21:39:00.003-05:002008-12-01T21:59:55.750-05:00

With our trio of 10ml yeast starters having fermented out, it's time to step them up to 100ml. I've read that it's best to step up at a rate of anywhere from 4:1 to 10:1. I go with 10:1. It has worked just fine for me, so I see no reason to drag the process out any longer than that.Equipment (in addition to what was used in previous steps):1) 100ml pyrex flasks2) Foam stoppers - a stopper and

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-90795080291103735682008-11-25T10:22:00.009-05:002008-11-26T09:41:22.389-05:00

As promised, here's some more on the latest steps in my yeast culturing project... We left off with a petri dish streaked with yeast from my slurry. Here's what it looks like now:The next high-level steps are to:1) Prepare 10ml starters2) Innoculate those starters with single colonies from the petri dishEquipment (in addition to what was used in the previous steps):1) 10ml test tubes - I prepared

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-82783366322319108082008-11-23T21:14:00.004-05:002008-11-23T22:09:41.695-05:00

Given the sorry state of the kegerator these days, it was time to brew up a quickly servable batch. I decided to go with something along the lines of a British bitter, but considering that I was using almost exclusively American ingredients, I'll call this an American Bitter. The details:9 lbs Briess Organic two-row.5 lb Briess Special Roast.25 lb Muntons crystal.25 lb Muntons dark

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-58816278541549907922008-11-21T11:18:00.005-05:002008-11-24T14:37:50.340-05:00

If you've got an hour to kill, check out this New Yorker article on Sam Calagione and Dogfish Head and some back and forth between Sam, Garret Oliver, and some beer advocates.What do I think of it all? Well, I'm glad you asked.First and foremost, I'm completely behind Garrett. After reading the article and subsequent comments from Garrett on the BA thread, there's no question that he has every

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-24858534105314883462008-11-19T09:50:00.008-05:002008-11-19T15:08:44.208-05:00

This weekend I got around to setting up some agar slants and petri dishes in an effort to culture up some yeast. I have a slurry of Cal Ale yeast that has gone through several pitches and I'm going to streak a petri dish to isolate colonies of what hopefully will be my "house" yeast strain. I've been re-pitching this slurry at a temperature slightly lower than what is recommended for the strain (

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-28965895708820567542008-11-14T11:12:00.002-05:002008-11-14T11:24:28.341-05:00

If you should happen to find yourself in downtown Jersey City around happy hour and you're looking for a drink, Ox is well worth the visit. Definitely more of a wine/mixed-drink scene than a craft beer bar, but half price drinks until 9 can't be beat. Of their four taps, three seem to be dedicated to North Coast's Blue Star Wheat Beer and Red Seal Ale, and DFH 90 Minute. The fourth tap rotates

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-79060935187529841982008-11-10T14:52:00.006-05:002008-11-10T15:37:35.710-05:00

Saturday morning at the General Lafayette Inn was the 1st Annual Stoney Creek Homebrewers competition. I definitely have to tip my cap to the competition organizers. For a first time competition to start on time and end on time (if not early) is most impressive. The judges were definitely well looked after at this one.I judged Porters and American Brown Ale in the first round and IPA's in the

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-60024187100833401912008-11-06T10:42:00.002-05:002008-11-06T11:08:53.940-05:00

Some industry news over on Lew Bryson's blog (see Boston Beer and Trading Down posts - Lew posts in bursts sometimes, so try to keep up). I get geeked out on beer biz trends just as much as I do on the art and science of brewing, so this stuff always keeps me interested. However, there's something that makes me squirm in my chair a bit when I start reading about cost outlooks and third-quarter

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-11168224184012189112008-11-04T16:04:00.005-05:002008-11-04T16:30:25.854-05:00

Had a blast at Brewtopia on Friday night. Working the NYCHG table was a lot of fun. It was great to get such positive feedback on the beer that I brewed and served, and also fun to talk to some new people about homebrewing. Hopefully we'll get some new people interested in the hobby. As for Saturday...One of these days I'll learn that I don't need to drink every drop of beer I can get my hands on

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-37368013777420465812008-10-29T10:30:00.002-04:002008-10-29T10:40:52.403-04:00

Kicked my keg of amber last night. That means I have exactly one out of four taps up right now on the kegerator. How embarrassing. I do have some oatmeal stout in the primary that fermented like crazy (almost done after three days) and should be ready to tap in about a week. Also a lager in the secondary, but that's at least three weeks away. I think it's time to brew a quick bitter or mild

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-27427533365394294522008-10-27T10:05:00.003-04:002008-10-27T10:20:55.254-04:00

Thinking about the sorry state of affairs that is my kegerator (one out of four taps up now... yeesh) this weekend, it was time for another brew. With the weather cooling off I decided that it was time to whip up another batch of oatmeal stout. This is a recipe that I've been tweaking and playing with the last few years and haven't brewed it in a while. It will make its triumphant return

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-4014059664761962212008-10-21T15:27:00.003-04:002008-10-21T15:31:34.080-04:00

I came across an article in one of the beer rags about a chili and beer tasting event at the Newark Museum on Thursday (10/23). It's a shame that there hasn't been more publicity about it, it sounds kind of cool. R and I will try to make it over there, but that's not set in stone yet. It starts at 6PM which may be a bit too early for us, especially considering that it will be over at 8:30. $50 is

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-89567485354328821152008-10-16T20:09:00.008-04:002008-10-16T22:13:03.418-04:00

So, as promised, here's some detail on my yeast counting adventure the other night...I ordered a smack pack of the Wyeast Danish Lager yeast about two months ago. I knew that I'd need to build up a starter in order to have enough healthy yeast to pitch into my 5.5 gallons of 1.054 wort. So, about four days before brew day I made a starter:3.5 liters of 10˚ Plato wort boiled with 1/2 tsp. of

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-23469929984659798432008-10-13T10:24:00.003-04:002008-10-13T10:51:26.272-04:00

Busy weekend. Friday night, met R in Hoboken and did a bit of bar hopping. Nothing too exciting on the beer front - Old Scratch Amber, Rowhouse Red, and Reissdorf Kolsch at Mile Square (yes, corny, I know), Radeberger Pils at L&J's, Flying Fish ESB and about the most disgusting pint of Pilsner Urquell I've ever had at the 8th Street Tavern. They also served up about the worst plate of nachos

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-2938485660811083972008-10-10T10:14:00.003-04:002008-10-10T10:23:27.119-04:00

See below...Stopped in there last night to sample this very intriguing beer. A bit disappointing in that it wasn't truly a wood beer, as the description made it sound. The cask was wood covered, but definitely lined either with plastic or stainless - no wood character in the beer at all. You could even tell by the seams in the faux hoops, that it was really just a show piece and not a "real"

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-46485280415763588672008-10-07T16:28:00.003-04:002008-10-07T16:33:23.295-04:00

The Hop Devil Grill on St. Marks Place does not do the world's greatest job of keeping their web site up to date, so I thought I'd share something very interesting that I received from them in one of their e-mail updates. This Thursday, 10/9 at 6PM they will have a "wood cask of celebration beer from Staatliches Hofbräuhaus München sitting on their bar for the gravity pour"Sounds pretty darn cool

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-45060170373019986792008-10-06T12:09:00.004-04:002008-10-06T12:35:02.188-04:00

Friday afternoon saw the third annual Jersey City Oktoberfest party on Grove Street, right in front of (and sponsored by) Bar Majestic. The festivities were kicked off by a short parade down Grove Street, from Christopher Columbus down to Montgomery Street. This works out to all of 0.1366 miles according to the extremely helpful gmap pedometer site. The mayor, councilmen, and other honorees all

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-25864655605346138732008-10-02T15:41:00.004-04:002008-10-02T15:59:31.727-04:00

Happening tomorrow afternoon on Grove St. There will be a parade at 4, followed by festivities centered around the Bar Majestic. Luckily I'm getting out of work early tomorrow, so I'm hoping to check out the parade. No word on what beers will be served. Hopefully there will be multiple Oktoberfest beers available.R and I went to this a few years ago. It was a good time for a while until, in

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-28802509940019626622008-10-01T11:19:00.003-04:002008-10-02T15:59:19.169-04:00

Eric Asimov in today's Times has a writeup on Oktoberfest beers, featuring a tasting with Lew Bryson and the guy who owns Bierkraft in Brooklyn. Lew's one of the absolute best beer writers today, period, and an awfully friendly and accomodating man (over e-mail, anyway). And I judged my first homebrew competition at a table with Richard from Bierkraft.I hobnobz with celebz.It's duely noted that

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-8227136144449169272008-09-29T09:56:00.003-04:002008-10-02T15:59:01.952-04:00

I had the privilege of serving a keg of homebrew to some friends last night. Some old friends, some new friends. It was well received, though I'm going to keep tweaking the recipe. The feedback was very helpful. We kicked the keg in about two hours.I was calling the beer an American Red Ale, though it was really more like an American Brown in the BJCP style guideline sense. I often think back on

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-25456630302805212972008-09-24T15:00:00.002-04:002008-09-24T15:05:02.804-04:00

Jeff over at Beer Stained Letter does a great job of calling attention to this really lousy write-up of Jersey brewpubs that appeared in Inside Jersey magazine. I won't rehash everything that Jeff already covered - he does a much more thorough job than I ever would have. The basic recap is that it's amateurish, inaccurate, and in no way helpful to people interested in learning more about NJ

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-24638284451944463812008-09-23T11:05:00.005-04:002008-09-23T15:25:06.727-04:00

Friday night at the Cask Ale Fest was a very good time. By all appearances, it was quite a success. To the left you see the Harviestoun Ice Maiden - first one I sampled. I was definitely surprised at how hoppy it was. This was more of a British bitter, not a Scottish ale like you might expect to come out of that particular brewery. Jersey represented very nicely with casks from Harvest Moon (

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-17500480078642493452008-09-19T10:32:00.004-04:002008-09-19T10:51:51.125-04:00

At the NYCHG meeting this week I had the opportunity to chat up Alex Hall, the man responsible for the cask ale fests at Chelsea and also tri-annually at the Brazen Head in Brooklyn. He gave me a peek at an advanced copy of the list of casks that will be pouring tonight, and it was quite impressive. Looks like the full list is up there on his site now. Hopefully there will be one imported cask on

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-90926387307535232942008-09-18T10:07:00.006-04:002008-09-23T15:28:35.745-04:00

Special thanks to Mikey of the Utah Beer Blog for pointing out my mistake on the name of Uinta Brewing. You'd think I would have caught that. It's not like I posted a big graphic with the brewery's logo up there or anything...Went over to the Blind Tiger last night and sampled two of the Uinta beers. I'm not really loving the whole beer review thing these days - there are a zillion beer reviews

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-35104253163420736642008-09-17T10:36:00.003-04:002008-09-17T10:47:17.253-04:00

There's a Unita Brewing event tonight at the Blind Tiger and I'm going to try and stop by to sample one or two. Unita is a brewery in Utah that has to adhere to some arcane law about beer not being greater than 4.0%ABV/3.2%ABW. Why am I not surprised?I haven't been able to find a list of the beers that the Tiger will have on tap, but I think I'd be most interested in trying the Brown, the Pilsner

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-92138234154770303472008-09-15T14:35:00.004-04:002008-09-17T10:47:40.339-04:00

And by sh*tshow I mean two things - the combination of rain and crowd that made for a less than ideal experience, and the general state of my being by the time the thing was over.The folks at the NY Brewfest corrected two of their biggest problems from last year's event. One, they allowed people to check-in before the actual start time of the event, which made getting in a heck of a lot easier.

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970232129802082432.post-1335613695465095452008-09-12T13:39:00.004-04:002008-09-12T13:56:21.810-04:00

The 81st Annual Feast Of San Gennaro is now on, right around the corner from my office. Contrary to the title of the post, I do not hate the feast. I just can't think of a Feast in Little Italy without conjuring up Robert DeNiro in Mean Streets. That's one of those movie lines that goes around and around in my head, over and over again at nonsensical hours of the day for no reason at all. The

Tom Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05388230749725216013noreply@blogger.com0