Summer Kolsch Review

My go to summer beer may have been replaced with the latest beer I have on tap. It is a summer Kolsch recipe that I modified from a few different recipes I've used in the past. For this one the focus was on keeping it a well-balanced easy to drink lawnmower beer.

This is also the first beer that I ran through my new filter system, which I can see will probably work very well, though it's hard to tell how effective it is due to the presence of wheat in this receipe. Those who brew will recall that you can't filter wheat out - think Hefeweizen - though not as much wheat.

In any case, the results are stellar, both out of the keg and from the beer gun into bottles. Could this be "Yellow Bike"?

Good Intentions

You know the saying...well, I have had good intentions, but still have not managed to get the blog or photos updated as often as I'd like. I have been spending a fair amount of time posting on twitter http://twitter.com/brainfroth I am even putting pics up there from time to time. It seems to be easier to be consistent, but we will see. I'll be making time each evening (hopefully) to update this, though I won't be letting too many people know, until it becomes routine. In the meantime, check out the twitter link.

Here's what I have been up to:

• Brewing - Belgian Wit, though I wrecked a batch today
• A little fishing
• family
• A lot of work

Hope Springs Eternal

Well, it is Spring and the time of new birth, thus I will be making a better effort to post to my blog - at least once every couple of days. Life has been happening since I last posted (the day after getting Abby) November 2. Here are some highlights

• I had a birthday (38)
• Ian turned 8
• Julie had a birthday (not telling)
• I wrecked my Jetta
• The kids have grown
• We've visited the beach a lot
• Life has happened

For an overview, you can visit http://gallery.mac.com/sitecrafting

Also, if you really want to know what's going on you can follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/brainfroth or SiteCrafting on twitter is www.twitter.com/sitecrafting

Puppy!

The St. Michael Auction was last night and we have a new member of the family. She is an 8 week old black lab mix - a rescued puppy that now has a new home. The kids are very excited as you can tell from the new November pictures.

October Photos and More

Well, life has happened again and I've not been posting as much as I'd like. The good news is, I've made up for some lost time. I've updated the September Photos and added a gallery for October.

A few highlights:

• A visit from Jennifer and Elizabeth
• Trips to Seabrook
• Fishing photos
• Halloween

Enjoy! More to come including Christmas Brew and more...

Bavarian Weisen - Mostly Compliant

The keg is ready, and so like all good brewers I elected to give the latest brew a try. This Bavarian Weizen (Wheat) is a very good beer. While technically not fully compliant with Reinheitsgebot - The German Beer Purity Law which allows for only barley, hops, and water. This is pretty close as it has barley hops and water and wheat malt, (from Canada no less).

While I prefer the Belgian Wit, this is still a very good beer for summer. Too bad it's 48, rainy, and nearly Fall. :)

The best part of this beer is the fact that I brewed it with my Dad. We spent a Saturday in August and it tastes a bit better knowing that.

Here's the recipe (10 Gallons All Grain) :

10 lbs. Wheat Malt
10 lbs. Pale Malt (2-Row) - Breiss
1.5 lbs. Munich Malt 10L

1 oz. Tettnanger 2.8 - 60 min
2 oz. Tettnanger 2.8 - 30 min
1 oz. Tettnanger 2.8 - 0 min.

White Labs WLP351 Bavarian Weizen - Platinum

Next up - likely tomorrow - Wassail Christmas Ale

Makeup Time

OK, so I've been slacking...

We have been busy though too!

I've posted pictures from August, like this one.

View More From August including Charlotte's Birthday Party, a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Forth and a short flyfishing expedition on the Deschutes River.

Earlier this month we visited Disneyland and family in California. To view these pictures, click here or on the California Vacation Gallery on the Right below is a sample picture.

And Finally the First Day of School which was Monday for Ian and today for Charlotte. I'll be posting an entry about school soon, but for now here's a preview. You can see more in the September Gallery.