Lightship was eventually abandoned for Sam Adams Light. It was the second beer Jim Koch ever made. The vision for Lightship was to change peoples expectations of light beer. The recipe itself is over 20 years old now.
Lightship as seen Continue Reading →
Who needs a Mr. Beer kit when you too can own this appliance that can do it all. The WilliamsWarn Personal Brewery is an all inclusive home brewing system. The unit comprises a brewing tank, refrigeration system and ergonomically designed Continue Reading →
Abita Brewing gone beer high tech with beer finder app for your iPhone. The app gives you the ability to find Abita products by distances to your phone, profile of the beer, even food pairings.
We hope you enjoy this FREE Continue Reading →
I have to say this before I get into this post. Put your beer geekiness aside for a minute. Bring it back by the end of the article. We are going to be talking about ciders here.
I got a minute this week to sit down with Joe Heron, President of Crispin Ciders. 2011 marks a year of big expansions for the cider company, in both distribution and production. Ciders don’t always get the beer geek people excited. What Crispin is doing is a bit different from your average cider. They are game changers. We are talking the use ale yeasts, unique adjucts, and barrel aging. Yes, barrel aging.
Something I learned from Joe is that the art of cider is both easy and hard. You need a lot of apples. Much like beer brewing, the better ingredients the better the product. Apple & pears used in Crispin’s ciders come from Washington state. They have the most sophisticated cold storage in the United States. (Why you can get apples year round.) 6,000 gallons of juice come to Colfax, California at a time, they first started with 50 gallons. Ideally, cider is made from cider apples for their fermenting qualities, unfortunately they are rare & expensive. Culinary apples (for eating) are used the cider these offerings. Lots of Granny Smith.
Drinking beers from Stone Brewing? Does your dog feel left out? Not anymore. Using spent grain, organic peanut butter, organic flour, and organic eggs Stone & Doggie Beer Bones has created a perfect non alcoholic treat for pets. Stone Bones Continue Reading →
Yeah, you could go to Home Depot and piecemeal together a home brewing set up. But you have a few thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket and can’t be bothered with that. That’s where this set up comes Continue Reading →
Looking for something to do today? Open Google Maps. Find Athen’s, Georgia. Be there by 5 pm.
Terrapin Brewing is hosting an Anniversary Carnival in Athens, from 5:30-9:30 pm.
Expect great brews, casks, entertainment & more. Continue Reading →
Lightship was eventually abandoned for Sam Adams Light. It was the second beer Jim Koch ever made. The vision for Lightship was to change peoples expectations of light beer. The recipe itself is over 20 years old now.
Lightship as seen bottles and draft before it’s retirement sometime in the 1990’s, although RateBeer.com has some ratings from 2006. In 2011, Lightship will be making draft appearances once again.
4% ABV
Who needs a Mr. Beer kit when you too can own this appliance that can do it all. The WilliamsWarn Personal Brewery is an all inclusive home brewing system. The unit comprises a brewing tank, refrigeration system and ergonomically designed dashboard panel. Not only does it brew, but there is even an attached CO2 draft system. The ingredient kits allow you to make over 70 different styles in all 23 BJCP categories. Total output is over 5 U.S. gallons at a time. The company is based in New Zealand. The system will set you back just under $4,500 dollars. The video explains it all <WilliamsWarn>
The WilliamsWarn Personal Brewery from WilliamsWarn on Vimeo.
Abita Brewing gone beer high tech with beer finder app for your iPhone. The app gives you the ability to find Abita products by distances to your phone, profile of the beer, even food pairings.
We hope you enjoy this FREE Abita App. Abita is the #1 Craft Beer in the southeast and is sold across the USA. The Abita App allows you to find where Abita is sold. Find nearby retail stores, restaurants and bars that sell Abita and which brews they offer. Learn more about the varieties of Abita Beers and how they pair best with food.
The added bonus is the ability to report sightings of Abita, especially if your bar or store carries it. The app is free and available through the app store. <Itunes>
I have to say this before I get into this post. Put your beer geekiness aside for a minute. Bring it back by the end of the article. We are going to be talking about ciders here.
I got a minute this week to sit down with Joe Heron, President of Crispin Ciders. 2011 marks a year of big expansions for the cider company, in both distribution and production. Ciders don’t always get the beer geek people excited. What Crispin is doing is a bit different from your average cider. They are game changers. We are talking the use ale yeasts, unique adjucts, and barrel aging. Yes, barrel aging.
Something I learned from Joe is that the art of cider is both easy and hard. You need a lot of apples. Much like beer brewing, the better ingredients the better the product. Apple & pears used in Crispin’s ciders come from Washington state. They have the most sophisticated cold storage in the United States. (Why you can get apples year round.) 6,000 gallons of juice come to Colfax, California at a time, they first started with 50 gallons. Ideally, cider is made from cider apples for their fermenting qualities, unfortunately they are rare & expensive. Culinary apples (for eating) are used the cider these offerings. Lots of Granny Smith.
After the juice is blended, a white wine yeast is introduced to the juice and the process is of cidering is born. The yeasts could ferment to nearly 15% abv, but is suspended at 10%. In the U.S., cider can not be higher than 7%, so fermentation has to be closely monitored. Cider carbonation comes from tank fermentation and is typically 1/2 the gas level of beer.
Fox Barrel Ciders are quite unique, in that it’s cider with a little bit of craft brewing thrown in. For instance, Lansdown is brewed with an Irish dry stout yeast & molasses. The Saint uses maple syrup. Honey Crisp uses organic honey. Coming soon, ciders aged in whiskey barrels and red wine barrels. In this barrel aged series we will see The Jacket, a blend of 4 ciders including The Saint & Landsdown, wild fermentation apples & Gravenstein apples: aged in Jack Daniels barrels. Desert Noir will be aged in both Jack & red wine barrels.
By the end of spring, Fox Barrel will be in 30 states, with an annual output of 30,000 barrels. (Equating it to beer output.) Joe tossed out a few facts about cider in the states. Cider makes up about 1% of alcoholic sales in the US. Americans drink more non alcoholic beer than cider. In other countries such as the United Kingdom for example, cider consumption is in the neighborhood of 17%. American patriot John Adams mentioned in a few writings he started every day with a pint of cider.
Crispin Ciders literally meld ciders and some of the most exciting aspects of craft brewing. Try something different. <Crispin Ciders>
Drinking beers from Stone Brewing? Does your dog feel left out? Not anymore. Using spent grain, organic peanut butter, organic flour, and organic eggs Stone & Doggie Beer Bones has created a perfect non alcoholic treat for pets. Stone Bones are available from The Stone Store. <Stone>
Yeah, you could go to Home Depot and piecemeal together a home brewing set up. But you have a few thousand dollars burning a hole in your pocket and can’t be bothered with that. That’s where this set up comes in. Take your all grain brewing to the next level with Synergy Brew’s 15 gallon system.
The 2-tier setup features (2) 155,000 BTU burners, mashtun with false bottom, brew kettle, & hot liquor tank. There is a shelf for pumps & wort chillers, and removable top-tier to set up second boil. Total brew volume – 15 U.S. gallons.
This system will run you 1,895.00. One is available from Etsy. Check out the whole description. Not rich enough? Find some friends. Get Brewing. <Etsy>
Looking for something to do today? Open Google Maps. Find Athen’s, Georgia. Be there by 5 pm.
Terrapin Brewing is hosting an Anniversary Carnival in Athens, from 5:30-9:30 pm.
Expect great brews, casks, entertainment & more. 30+ beers on tap. Plus when you’re done there, got to Trappeze Pub. It’s a win-win.
Terrapin Brewing – 4/2/11, 5:30-9:30pm
265 Newton Bridge Road
Athens, GA 30607
