Category: Hobbies
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Slow start to cycling season
The cycling season is off to a rather slow start for me this year. Although we are now halfway through April, spring has not had the decency to stick around and be friendly. Almost weekly snowstorms are mixed with warm days, cool days, and windy days, and they don’t always align with my free time.…
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Farmhouse ale for summer
Spring is here, and warm weather is becoming normal now despite the occasional cold wet day. My last brew, an IPA based on Bell’s Two Hearted, is a good style for warm weather. But I also love wheat beers and strong effervescent ales in warm weather. One of my favorite strong bubbly ales is the…
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Comparing a real Two Hearted to my clone
As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, I tried to brew a decent clone of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale, one of my favorite beers, during my last brew session. Now that the beer has carbonated, and I have gotten past my awful spring cold, I was able to compare the real thing to my…
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Trying to clone Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
My latest brew is an attempt to clone Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. Bell’s is one of my favorite breweries, but I can’t buy their beer out here in Colorado. Instead I buy a bunch every time I head back to Iowa, but it doesn’t last forever. Of Bell’s beers, their Two Hearted Ale, an American…
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Christmas beers are bottled and ready
I brewed beer twice in the past few months. I wanted beers to share with family and friends this Christmas. One is meant to be a warming and flavorful high gravity beer and the other a tasty session beer. I settled on brewing a robust porter for the former, and an ESB[1] for the latter.…
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Racking the porter and preparing for an ESB
There is a lot of brewery action happening here in Denver this weekend. The dunkelweizen I bottled 2 weeks ago is ready to drink, and appears to have turned out very well. Good carbonation and great head retention, with the right color and a very nice flavor. I’m quite happy with my first wheat beer.…
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A Robust Porter for Christmas
I spent a while thinking about what to brew for the holidays. I’m in a big debate with myself now on whether to drive back to Iowa for Christmas or to fly, and I’m leaning towards driving. If I do I want to bring a nice warming winter beer with me. A porter seemed like…
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Interior bike rack for a 2012 Ford Focus hatchback
The best way to carry a bike? I want to be able to carry a bike in my car. Both so I can have my bike with me on road trips and to try new trails outside my normal riding distance from home. The obvious way to mount a bike on a car is to…
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Brewing an English bitter on a hot day
It’s hot. I brewed. We’ve been way above normal all spring and summer so far, and here we are on what is expected to be the second 100 degree day in a row. And I made a yeast starter last night so despite the heat I spent the morning outside on another brew session. Today’s…
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Completing Beer Prep for Andy’s Housewarming
Tonight I bottled the third of the three brews that I’m bringing to Iowa for our get together at Andy and Lindsey’s new place in Des Moines. The beer was the simple American Rye Ale from the Northern Brewer Kit, the product of the smoothest brew process I’ve had so far. It should be ready…
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