Blog Archives
Craftbeer.com = Awesomeness
Today I right a wrong. The wrong is that I’ve never blogged about Craftbeer.com. It is a traveshamockery that will be resolved today.
Why today? Because yesterday my buddy, Brett Myers, tweeted about some new awesomeness:
One of the questions I get asked frequently, and also ask of others, is, “What is your favorite beer style?” I often answer that anything Belgian is my favorite. I love Dubbels, Tripels, Saisons, etc. Then people ask what those are like. I usually mumble something about a floral character and distinct taste. But now I have a sweet resource to which I can refer people.
Craftbeer.com Style Guide
Yesterday Craftbeer.com posted a news release marking the launch of their new Beer Style Guide. This allows people to search for beer styles based on SRM (color), IBU (bitterness), and ABV (alcohol by volume). Here is a glimpse at the style selector:
By adjusting the sliders you can hone in on the styles that fit what you’re looking for.
Clicking on any style brings you to a page with much more information about it. Click here for the Belgian Dubbel page. The information pages are great. They tell you the average ranges for SRM, IBU, and ABV. They show the type of glass in which to serve that style. It’s just pure awesomeness.
In the past when I wanted to learn about beer styles I would visit Beer Advocate. Their style guide is nice and was my go-to source for years. In fact, I will still reference it when I need information regarding American Adjunct Lagers.
So if you are a beer connoisseur or snob or just enjoy some Pumpkin Peach Ale over golden suds, then I recommend you check out the Beer Style guide and then everything else on Craftbeer.com.
Have a great weekend and enjoy a brew or two!
Brew or Brew Not – There is no “Try”
First, welcome to my blog. Thanks for visiting!
I like beer. Let me expound. I like good beer. I like craft beer. I like homebrews. I like microbrews. I love touring a brewery, soaking in all the smelly goodness of malt and hops and barley. I love adding a new pint glass to my collection.
I didn’t always like beer. My family drinks one of the mega-market mass production beers. I used to. Now I politely drink one if offered, but I usually don’t take a second. Does that make me a beer-snob? Perhaps. That’s okay with me. If I’m gonna drink beer I’d prefer it be good.
I purchase about three 6-packs a month (moderation counts, people!). But at $8-$9 per 6-pack that adds up. I can’t spend $25 a month on beer anymore. So rather than continuing with that spending rate I have decided to drop a bunch of cash upfront and hope to save money over the long haul by becoming a home brewer!
So much potential…
So after dropping about $140 I am almost ready to go. I still want to pick up a turkey fryer so I can boil the wort in the garage. My wife will likely appreciate that. And then the brewing can begin.
Doing a little math I have determined that my breakeven point, financially, will come after about 5 batches of beer. Each batch can produce 48 beers (eight 6-packs). So 5 batches would be forty 6-packs. If I were paying full price of $8.50 for forty 6-packs my cost would be $340. Since a brewing kit costs $200 (fryer included) and the beer materials cost about $25 each that means 5 batches will cost $325. Therefore after brewing 5 batches I can call it quits and still have come out ahead.
Okay, so that assumes that I can get the bottles for free. It also assumes that I don’t cave in and have special labels printed. Either way, I am joining a fun group of people who have chosen to brew their own beer. This will be interesting.
Boards and Barley 