The Brewers' Guild

[von Corax]

Sooo... Any thoughts on the global hop crisis?

Anybody here grow their own hops?

Anheuser-Busch is the world's biggest consumer of Saaz hops — any speculation what they do with them? (They're obviously not putting it in their beer! )

[Professor Phineas Brownsm]

that all sounds really intresting..... the only experiance i have at the moment is Ginger beer..... have not got any on the go at the moment.

but am tempted into trying other real ales and what not

I almost forgot...... one has also made Limoncello!!!

[Madasasteamfish]

that all sounds really intresting..... the only experiance i have at the moment is Ginger beer..... have not got any on the go at the moment.

but am tempted into trying other real ales and what not

I almost forgot...... one has also made Limoncello!!!

And I've made another batch of tea wine, completely on the spur of the moment.

[Daedalus Forge]

Well speaking as a keen homebrewer I wholeheartedly support this endevor. And I look forward to hearing more about other people's projects. I've got about 5 gallons of bitter on the go at the moment (I'm putting it into a pressure barrel this weekend), and I've got quite a bit of experience under my belt at the minute, as I've done quite a few batches of country wine. My next most intriguing project (for the near future, probably September/October for next December) is a type of apple mead (it's called cyser) my next proper project is something called grocer's red, a red wine made from different jams.

With regards to the apple mead, might I suggest a name?  Now, I might be pronouncing the word 'cyser' incorrectly, but if not, it's surely screaming out to be called 'Kaiser'. 

[Unsubtle Pete]

Due to my impending move, not much in the way of  big projects.

Currently on the go I have just the gallon of chilli mead.

I also have been trying my hand at liqueurs, with Creme de Cacao and Coffee Liqueur soon to be joined with a lime thingimijig.

[Madasasteamfish]

Due to my impending move, not much in the way of  big projects.

Currently on the go I have just the gallon of chilli mead.

I've got a mate who's planning on doing that, he's going to call it 'Odin's Piss', and label it with the slogan;

Spoiler: ShowHide

It burns when I drink it!

[Rev. Jade]

Sooo... Any thoughts on the global hop crisis?

Anybody here grow their own hops?

Anheuser-Busch is the world's biggest consumer of Saaz hops — any speculation what they do with them? (They're obviously not putting it in their beer! )

I'm sure it will pass shortly.
It'll drive the price of hops up, to be sure, which will make farmers want to plant more of them in order to cash in on the big bucks.
Then we'll have an over-abundance which will mean the price of hops will go down, so fewer growers will plant which will in turn cause prices to rise and so on and so forth for all of eternity.

But yes, I believe Budweiser could do with a little more flavor!

Right now, I'm waiting for the primary fermentation on my apple cider to finish. I made in excess of 5 gallons of the stuff, and I'm gonna keg it and throw it in my kegerator when it's finished.

[Rev. Jade]

I was thinking earlier today, that we should do something unified as a "club."
I think that we should all either brew a specific type of beer, or a specific kit, or some other brewing-related project (mead, wine, what have you) and then share our methods and how it turned out.
What do you guys think?

[von Corax]

Might give me an excuse to get started.

Here's something to think about: If Brass Goggles were a beer, what style would it be? (I'm thinking ESB, but I welcome other opinions.)

[Rev. Jade]

Might give me an excuse to get started.

Here's something to think about: If Brass Goggles were a beer, what style would it be? (I'm thinking ESB, but I welcome other opinions.)

I'd have to agree with you 67% on the ESB.
We're definitely extra-special, though I'm not too sure about bitter.
Premium lager?

[von Corax]

Might give me an excuse to get started.

Here's something to think about: If Brass Goggles were a beer, what style would it be? (I'm thinking ESB, but I welcome other opinions.)

I'd have to agree with you 67% on the ESB.
We're definitely extra-special, though I'm not too sure about bitter.
Premium lager?

Depends what you mean by that. The publishers of the 365 Bottles of Beer for the Year desk calendar use the term "premium lager" rather disparagingly to refer to the cheap, cereal-based mass-market Labolson-Budmilloors-type "beers." Also, while a really good lager or pilsener is very tasty, lagers just don't have the breadth of flavour that Brass Goggles has.

Also, any bitter I've tasted wasn't actually bitter per se; there should be a definite balance between the hops and the malt. I've not studied the history of the style, but I would speculate that the original bitters were the first beers brewed in England using hops, and so were bitter in comparison to their unhopped predecessors, in much the same way that pale ales are usually rather dark, but are paler than the brown ales that preceeded them.

EDIT: Come to think of it, an IPA would be thematically appropriate.

[Madasasteamfish]

I was thinking earlier today, that we should do something unified as a "club."
I think that we should all either brew a specific type of beer, or a specific kit, or some other brewing-related project (mead, wine, what have you) and then share our methods and how it turned out.
What do you guys think?

Be a good idea. I mean me and my mates have plans to make a steampunk brewery calling the 'Brewery with cogs on'.

[Rev. Jade]

Might give me an excuse to get started.

Here's something to think about: If Brass Goggles were a beer, what style would it be? (I'm thinking ESB, but I welcome other opinions.)

I'd have to agree with you 67% on the ESB.
We're definitely extra-special, though I'm not too sure about bitter.
Premium lager?

Depends what you mean by that. The publishers of the 365 Bottles of Beer for the Year desk calendar use the term "premium lager" rather disparagingly to refer to the cheap, cereal-based mass-market Labolson-Budmilloors-type "beers." Also, while a really good lager or pilsener is very tasty, lagers just don't have the breadth of flavour that Brass Goggles has.

Also, any bitter I've tasted wasn't actually bitter per se; there should be a definite balance between the hops and the malt. I've not studied the history of the style, but I would speculate that the original bitters were the first beers brewed in England using hops, and so were bitter in comparison to their unhopped predecessors, in much the same way that pale ales are usually rather dark, but are paler than the brown ales that preceeded them.

EDIT: Come to think of it, an IPA would be thematically appropriate.

Ooh I like the thought of a Brassgoggles IPA!
But by IPA do you mean India Pale Ale or Imperial Pale Ale?
The differences are slight, but they are technically two different styles.
But there is definitely a good sound to Brassgoggles IPA.
This one gets my vote.

I was thinking earlier today, that we should do something unified as a "club."
I think that we should all either brew a specific type of beer, or a specific kit, or some other brewing-related project (mead, wine, what have you) and then share our methods and how it turned out.
What do you guys think?

Be a good idea. I mean me and my mates have plans to make a steampunk brewery calling the 'Brewery with cogs on'.

I wish you guys the best of luck!
My ultimate goal is to own a brewpub, but it probably will not be steampunked.
I want it to be in a building that is reminiscent of a Viking/Celtic feasting hall.
I've actually made a webpage for it, so that I can claim that I had the name first if/when I do open it and there is another brewpub with the same name.
The little logo in my signature is a link, if you want to check it out.
It's nothing too special, just something I wasted some time on haha.
Once I finish my Bachelors' degree, I'm going to go to the UK to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to do their brewing diploma program, and will hopefully return at some point for the Master Brewer program.

[Boston Jones]

I've only every brewed my own beer once, it was an easy pale ale and now the equipment is sitting in my garage collecting dust.

I made a huge mess of it as well.  It was fun though but I had too much beer and my roommate at the time keep recycling my bottles without me realizing it.

[von Corax]

Ooh I like the thought of a Brassgoggles IPA!
But by IPA do you mean India Pale Ale or Imperial Pale Ale?
The differences are slight, but they are technically two different styles.
But there is definitely a good sound to Brassgoggles IPA.
This one gets my vote.

I had not actually heard of Imperial Pale Ale before now. Can you point me toward a description/recipe/brewing notes about it?

Once I finish my Bachelors' degree, I'm going to go to the UK to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to do their brewing diploma program, and will hopefully return at some point for the Master Brewer program.

Or go to the University of Leuven (sp?) and do a Masters in Beer Studies!

I've only every brewed my own beer once... I made a huge mess of it as well... I had too much beer...

This is another concept with which I am entirely unfamiliar.

[Professor Phineas Brownsm]

Once I finish my Bachelors' degree, I'm going to go to the UK to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to do their brewing diploma program, and will hopefully return at some point for the Master Brewer program.

theres a master brewers program???

[Rev. Jade]

Ooh I like the thought of a Brassgoggles IPA!
But by IPA do you mean India Pale Ale or Imperial Pale Ale?
The differences are slight, but they are technically two different styles.
But there is definitely a good sound to Brassgoggles IPA.
This one gets my vote.

I had not actually heard of Imperial Pale Ale before now. Can you point me toward a description/recipe/brewing notes about it?

The BJCP has all of the guidelines by which beers are officially judged.
Here is the style guideline for IPA's and Imperial IPA's (or just Imperial Pale Ales) in specific.

Once I finish my Bachelors' degree, I'm going to go to the UK to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to do their brewing diploma program, and will hopefully return at some point for the Master Brewer program.

Or go to the University of Leuven (sp?) and do a Masters in Beer Studies!

I had considered that, but unfortunately that program is far too expensive for me to be able to afford 

Once I finish my Bachelors' degree, I'm going to go to the UK to the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to do their brewing diploma program, and will hopefully return at some point for the Master Brewer program.

theres a master brewers program???

Yes sir there is.
Information on the Master Brewer program from the IBD can be found here.

[von Corax]

Ooh I like the thought of a Brassgoggles IPA!
But by IPA do you mean India Pale Ale or Imperial Pale Ale?
The differences are slight, but they are technically two different styles.
But there is definitely a good sound to Brassgoggles IPA.
This one gets my vote.

I had not actually heard of Imperial Pale Ale before now. Can you point me toward a description/recipe/brewing notes about it?

The BJCP has all of the guidelines by which beers are officially judged.
Here is the style guideline for IPA's and Imperial IPA's (or just Imperial Pale Ales) in specific.

My mistake — turns out I have tried an IIPA (Southern Tier Unearthly IIPA); I quite liked it, but it hadn't registered as a distinct style from IPA, merely as a Usanian interpretation of the style (which is really what IIPA is, after all.)

My only objections to Brass Goggles IIPA are that it is a) modern and b) Usanian, not British. On the other hand, IIPA is decidedly overengineered, which gives a certain Steampunk caché, so maybe it balances out.

Going over some of the other BJCP guidelines, I still come back to ordinary bitter or special bitter; their lower alcohol content would make them good "session" beers (ie. you can drink a few of them without getting kraken-faced.)

[Rev. Jade]

Ooh I like the thought of a Brassgoggles IPA!
But by IPA do you mean India Pale Ale or Imperial Pale Ale?
The differences are slight, but they are technically two different styles.
But there is definitely a good sound to Brassgoggles IPA.
This one gets my vote.

I had not actually heard of Imperial Pale Ale before now. Can you point me toward a description/recipe/brewing notes about it?

The BJCP has all of the guidelines by which beers are officially judged.
Here is the style guideline for IPA's and Imperial IPA's (or just Imperial Pale Ales) in specific.

My mistake — turns out I have tried an IIPA (Southern Tier Unearthly IIPA); I quite liked it, but it hadn't registered as a distinct style from IPA, merely as a Usanian interpretation of the style (which is really what IIPA is, after all.)

My only objections to Brass Goggles IIPA are that it is a) modern and b) Usanian, not British. On the other hand, IIPA is decidedly overengineered, which gives a certain Steampunk caché, so maybe it balances out.

Going over some of the other BJCP guidelines, I still come back to ordinary bitter or special bitter; their lower alcohol content would make them good "session" beers (ie. you can drink a few of them without getting kraken-faced.)

I think an ESB would probably be appropriate as the Brassgoggles official beer.
Maybe we can get some input from the folks over in the "Pick you poison" thread.

[von Corax]

I think an ESB would probably be appropriate as the Brassgoggles official beer.
Maybe we can get some input from the folks over in the "Pick you poison" thread.

Or The Beer Thread. (People keep forgetting about The Beer Thread! )

[Madasasteamfish]

So, anyone else got any projects going at the moment? I'm sat here enjoying a glass of my latest creation, a batch of 'memorial brew'  as I call it (rice and raisin to the world at large).

[Professor Phineas Brownsm]

got two ginger beer plants back up and running for the Ginger beer Emporium!!! should be up and running by the end of the week!!!

[Boston Jones]

So, anyone else got any projects going at the moment?

Yes, I recently opened a case of PBR and I intend to be quite drunk by the time I'm done.

[Donk!]

So, anyone else got any projects going at the moment? I'm sat here enjoying a glass of my latest creation, a batch of 'memorial brew'  as I call it (rice and raisin to the world at large).

Hmmm I made this a while back... loved it! I haven't brewed for about a year... I got put off by a couple of batches going sour... one was a gooseberry wine which had been on the go for an age! 

Got some good old ribena wine on the go at the moment... another 2 weeks and I'll be drinking it

[Madasasteamfish]

Got some good old ribena wine on the go at the moment... another 2 weeks and I'll be drinking it

Ooh, Ribena wine, I remember making some that before christmas, unfortunately the poor insulation in my flat lead to some rather energetic results . Am tempted to try it again at some point in the future.