July 26th, 2009
Yesterday, the 2/3s of the Brewsci team were in Auburn, CA to unveil two of our latest creations. The first of the beers was the Amy Streeterweizen; a hefeweizen designed to have a hint of sweet citrus. This batch was tailored to the likes of my sister, Amy, for her college graduation party. The beer was brewed in early July with Dean Eckles providing assistance and putting his photography skills to work. The beer was a great success in that we achieved the flavor profile we set out to create. In traditional hefeweizen style, the beer was bottled last weekend. Since the beer was a custom brew for a special occasion, we decided that the bottles needed a special flair. Thus was born the idea of creating a label for the otherwise empty bottles. You can see the label I designed. The color scheme matches the lighter, unfiltered look of a hef. In the middle is a great picture of Amy, the person the beer was customized for. The addition of the label on the beer, while requiring slightly more work, definitely completed the brew, adding a new level of sophistication to the batch.
The second beer we unveiled was another Cezanne. This particular brew could have benefited from some additional time in the fermentor, allowing the flavors to strengthen and develop a bit more. But despite our critque, the keg was tapped early in the evening; the people voted with their cups.
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April 23rd, 2009
Happy Reinheitsgebot anniversary everybody! Unless, you speak German, you may be wondering what I may be talking about. Literally, Reinheitsgebot means ‘purity order’ in German. And today is the anniversary of that law, also known as the Bavarian Purity Law. On April 23, 1516, the city of Ingolstadt put forward a law regarding what could be put into beer during production. In the original text, the only ingredients that could be used (and still have the drink be considered “beer”) were: water, barley and hops. The wise would note that rice is not on this list. Violators were subject to having their brews confiscated without compensation. Presumably, this made some health inspectors very happy, and very drunk.
The law has since been replaced by the Provisional German Beer Law which now allows a few more ingredients, such as wheat malt and cane sugar, but disallows unmalted barley. Back then, it wasn’t known that yeast played a role (and such a crucial role it is!) in the production of beer, so it was not originally included on the list.
Interestingly, the Reinheitsgebot was mostly an attempt to prevent price competition with bakers. It may also have been an attempt at trade protectionism; excluding foreign brews from being allowed into the country.
Check out the Wikipedia article for more information.
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February 26th, 2009
Not only has it rained for like two weeks (don’t try and tell me that it’s better than snow, I was promised 365 days of sun), but when checking on my tax return status I get his message:
Your return has been received and processed, however, your refund cannot be issued at this time.
Due to the state’s persistent cash flow problems, the State Controller has directed FTB to stop sending refund requests to the State Controller’s Office for payment. Refund payments will resume when the State Controller indicates there is enough cash available to make refund payments.
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February 20th, 2009
Living in California now means dealing with 8.25% sales tax, but it could be worse. In the great state of Taxachussetts, they are looking to focus their solution to the economic downturn a bit more sharply. For a state that is famous for fighting tariffs on Tea, you have to wonder how the locals are going to react to a tax on their beer. I have a feeling that a certain special interest may have an issue this.
Massuchesetts isn’t the only state thinking they can tax this ‘recession proof’ product as part of a solution to their financial woes. Similar ideas are being discussed in Oregon (where they might see an 1800% increase). Another good story on the Oregon increase can be found here.
Oh and in completely unrelated news. Kid Rock is getting his own beer. I really have no words to describe what that means for the world.
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February 11th, 2009
Good news, everybody! New Features! New Features! When posting comments, you can now login with your Facebook account. Facebook Connect is a way to securely link your comments back to your Facebook account. When you go to post comments, all you have to do is click the Facebook Connect login button. Then you’ll be logged in and you can comment!
So off you go! Comment away!
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