Categories
Life

The Arts and Crafts of Beer…

…in which I talk about the art of craft beer.

This past weekend I went to the 2011 Denton Homebrew Showdown in which 14 beers were entered to see who made the best craft beer in Denton. Not only was it an opportunity to sample a wide range of beers, but more specifically it was nice to try out a lot of the creative ideas spawned right here in Denton. I had been invited to participate but seeing as how I still view my brewing as kind of “cheating,” I didn’t feel justified in entering the contest. Additionally, I would have had to provide 5+ gallons of beer and since I only brew 2 gallons at a time, I would have resulted in an oddly mixed batch of beer. I had a good time and enjoyed the selection, but I left with mixed feelings about my own processes.

Categories
Brew Blog

A Quick Update on my Pear Cider

In my last home brewing adventure, I had crafted an experimental pear cider for my lovely wife who doesn’t care for beer, but is a big fan of Ace Pear Cider. I had looked up some tips and suggestions on how to turn the stock cider kit into a pear cider, but I mostly played it by ear. Having never brewed a cider before, I found it interesting in what was different than brewing beer. The cider spends a lot less time in the keg, and it is advised that it spend more time in the bottles. After everything, though, it was unanimously decided that the results were mediocre.