Beer Recipe - George Washington's Small Beer for his Birthday

Tuesday was George Washington’s birthday.  A lot of people think we don't celebrate it anymore, and instead celebrate "President's Day."  The truth is, these days are two different things, and we celebrate GW's birthday every year, but never on his actual birthday. 

In honor of our first president (and a huge fan of porter), I’ll offer you a brief bit of historical trivia about how Washington’s birthday was made a holiday and how, subsequently, it was made “not a holiday.”  Then, we’ll get down to the beer. 

While the third Monday of February is often called “Presidents’ Day” (or “President’s”, or “Presidents”), the official Federal Holiday is still “George Washington’s Birthday.”  Ironically, because of its designation as always falling on the third Monday of the month, it can never actually fall on President Washington’s actual birthday- or rather, on either of his birthdays.

How does he have two birthdays?  Because of the switch from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.  Under the Julian Calendar, Washington was born on February 11^th, 1732, but his birthday was retroactively “changed” to be February 22^nd when the US switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.  Since the official holiday of his birthday falls on the third Monday of February, it always falls between February 15^th and February 21^st, so the official holiday has been arranged never to fall on his original Julian birthday or the more modern Gregorian birthday.

Think that’s confusing?  Let’s add some more history and see how convoluted the Federal Government has really made celebrating the father of our country’s birthday.  In 1885, Chester A. Arthur declared February 22^nd to be an official holiday as George Washington’s birthday.  That was fine and good until 1968, when the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed, which changed how Washington’s birthday was officially recognized.  The confusion about the name “President’s Day” stems from the fact that Federal Holidays really only hold sway for Federal Employees and those living in the District of Columbia.  The rest of us abide by our State holidays.  Lots of states, in turn, eliminated one of the holidays in February and deemed the third Monday as “President’s Day” to honor both Washington and Lincoln. 

OK, enough boring history.  This is a beer blog, so let’s talk about what beer Washington would be drinking to celebrate his birthday..

Beer News - Boulevard's Letter To Chocolate Ale Lovers

Who knew chocolate beer was so popular? As part of their smokestack series, Boulevard Brewing Company recently released a limited edition Chocolate Ale just in time for Valentine's Day. There was just one problem. They didn't release enough of it.

Apparently, they created 19,200 bottles and 350 5.2 gallon kegs, but demand was so high that it was soon nearly impossible to find a single bottle. Customers, distributors, and employees were soon very frustrated.

As an apology, Boulevard has published an open letter on their site to all chocolate ale lovers.

The letter details the problem and formally announces that the limited-edition one-time-only Chocolate Ale will make another appearance. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a year for it to come back out, just in time for next year's Valentine's Day.

Beer Recipe - Belgian Cherry Blonde

The first time I made this recipe, it was an extract recipe.  I made ten gallons, and split it into two fermenters and only added cherries to half of it.  Without the fruit, it makes a good Belgian style blonde ale.  With the fruit, it takes on an entirely different life.  At first, it seemed a bit bitter due to the hop additions.  When it aged a bit, though, it turned into an amazing beer.  It had effervescent carbonation and a tart flavor that made it more like champagne than beer, and really had a knockout cherry essence that only got better with age.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you are brewing with fruit, though:

• Make sure you do what you can to give your yeast the advantage it needs to ferment out before any wild yeast or bacteria kick in and start eating the good sugars.  To do this, let the primary fermentation finish before adding the cherries. It also really helps if you deep freeze your cherries for a while before you use them.  After they’ve been frozen for a couple of weeks, you can set them in the fridge to thaw for a day or two before adding them to your secondary fermenter.  Then, more magic happens and the healthy yeast get to eat the sugar in your cherries.
• Allow time for the sugars to ferment out of the fruit, as well.  It might even be a good idea to rack the beer off of the fruit into a third fermenter and allow it to finish out before you bottle.  Bottling with extra sugar in the beer will only lead to exploding bottles, which are not just sad and messy, they’re also dangerous.  When I’ve made this beer, I’ve had great success with just the secondary fermenter, but you want to make sure the yeast eat as much sugar as possible before bottling.  For that reason, I recommend giving plenty of time before bottling.
• Feel free to substitute fruit puree for the fruit, if you prefer.  It will speed up the secondary fermentation by increasing the surface area of the fruit and making those sugars easier to get to.  Your yeast will appreciate it.  I recommend Oregon Fruit puree if you’re going to do it this way.  I use fresh frozen and whole fruit for my fruit beers, but that’s just because I’m usually not in a hurry.

Without further ado, here is both the extract and all-grain versions of the recipe:

Mother's Brewing - Update - Interview with Brian Allen

In our final interview of three with the minds behind Mother’s Brewing, we are speaking with the master brewer, Brian Allen.  Brian is a very easygoing guy who knows beer intimately, and loves striving to create perfection in beer form.  Brian is open with his knowledge and experience, and loves to chat about what he sees in Mother’s future, and, of course, about beer.

Mother's Brewing - Update - Interview with Jeff Schrag

In our second in our series of three interviews with the “Mother’s Boys,” we’re talking with Jeff Schrag, owner and the mind behind Mother’s Brewing Company.  While I have only met Jeff a few times, my impression of him is one of a somewhat quiet but friendly guy.  He was very friendly and nice, and really opened up as we talked about the brewery, his plans, and-- well-- beer in general.

Cooking with Beer - Super Sunday Beer Brat Recipe

Ben Liebenberg / NFL.com

With the Big Game coming up on Sunday, lots of folks are planning their big Superbowl parties.  There’ll be food, of course (check out this recipe for beer and cheddar soup, this recipe for beer can chicken, or this one for Guinness chocolate cake for a few ideas), but more important for us beer fanatics is the type of brew we have available.

I don’t have any extravagant plans for a Superbowl party or attending one this year, so I’ll probably lay low with a homebrewed Citra pale ale or I might pick up some Single Wide IPA before the big game.  I’m feeling a bit hop-starved lately, and I think either one will go with my beer brat recipe (posted below).

What beer will you be drinking at the big game?  Leave a comment below with the beer you’ll be drinking and let us know why you chose it.

Grow Your Own - It's hops pre-order season!

A lot of home brewers eventually get around to the idea of growing their own hops.  I will be trying my hand at it this year.  From what I’ve heard and read, it’s really easy to get started, and hops are a very gratifying crop to produce.

While I haven’t grown any hops myself yet, I will be doing so this year, and have been doing my research.  If you’d like to try it out, now is the time to pre-order your hop.  Morebeer.com has started accepting pre-orders, and if you’re local, you should be able to pre-order some through the homebrewery. 

To help us on our hop-growing adventure, I’ve pulled some knowledge from various sources, such as squidoo.com (just some rudimentary knowledge) and The Homebewer’s Garden, which I consider a very great source for a how-to on growing hops.  One great article can be found in the Brewing Techniques archive.  While you’re there, check out the article on all-grain brewing.  It’s good stuff.  You might also check into sites like BYO Magazine and Zymurgy for articles on how to grow hops, as well.