Colorado Kitchen Brew

I think what I'm doing here may be a first, at least according to an admittedly brief Google search. I'm making a non-alcoholic Saison. For those of you who didn't stop reading at "non-alcoholic", I think you'll find what I'm attempting to be pretty novel. Saison is a yeast driven style that I also feel benefits from some hop character. When you boil off alcohol to make a non-alcoholic beer, the live yeast in your beer dies off with it. Any hop aroma and flavor that was present takes a hike too (the bitterness remains, thankfully). That's a definite double whammy of flavor and aroma loss with a beer like this. To bring those losses back, I'm doing some experimentation. Here's the order of business before getting to the actual recipe. First off, the term non-alcoholic is a bit of a misnomer. Commercial N/A beers actually do have around 0.5% of the stuff. That means I can bottle condition my beer and let fresh yeast do a little bit of w...

There are a lot of Homebrew sites out there vying for people's attention. This one is relatively young, and hasn't exactly been brewing outside the box of the more established sites. That's about to change. Many of my efforts will focus on a new Buzz Free Brewer blog devoted to non-alcoholic homebrew. How's that for thinking outside the box? For those who didn't stop reading at "non-alcoholic", the new site reaches an audience that no other homebrew blog has ever paid much attention to. So head on over and let me know what you think. This site is now devoted to brewing obscure styles like Sahti and Kentucky Common, in additional to truly experimental creations. The first of these brews will be up soon. Until next time, happy brewing.

I'm off on my Honeymoon, so I put CO Kitchen Brew on auto-pilot to publish itself while I'm away. This is the first non-homebrew beer review on my blog and definitely not the last. I can't think of enough good things to say about Taddy Porter. I feel it's the consummate English Porter. It's also one of my gateway beers from the mid 90s that spurred me onto homebrewing. Because of that, it holds a special place in my beer hierarchy. Taddy pours with a deep chocolate brown hue. Its head is tan, firm and stays with the beer. The only weak point is the lack of lace down the glass. My bottle left only tiny patches. The nose is very complex and slightly sweet. Blackberry, dark cherry, chocolate and black grape aromas are nicely mixed. In the mouth, an initial sweetness gives way to perfect sweet/bitter balance. Tastes of bakers chocolate, cherries and black grapes have great interplay. The finish is dry. Some hop bitterness lingers initially, but gives way to a ...

After a very long wait, the four Quads from my wood aging experiment are ready.  The base beer is quite nice all by itself. Dark cherry, plum and raisin flavors are out front. After that comes a light bitterness that is slightly minty. My beer finishes very dry, with a subtle burnt sugar edge. It also has a light body (perhaps a little too light, given the strength) and a mild alcohol warmth going down. Now it's time for my Bourbon aged variant. First off, it has a little more Bourbon action than I would've liked, but it's not overpowering. On top of the base beer is a slight vanilla and caraway edge. The caraway is most prevalent in the finish. This beer is not quite as dry as the base too. As the beer warms, there's a light roasted almond note that was a pleasant surprise. The first thought that crossed my mind when I tried the Rum beer was "now that's different." The Rum aged beer is extra sweet out front. In addition, the Rum added lots of whi...

It's been 20 (20???) years since my roommate and I brewed Gushing Geyser , but I can still recall a bit of what the original beer was like. So, does this new iteration taste like I remember? Pretty darn close. Out front on the nose, there's a nice light roasted note that's complemented by a caramel sweetness. The Willamette hops bring a nice earthy and floral note. The aroma reminds me of why I liked them so much 20 years ago. Overall bitterness is mild and very clean. If I recall correctly, the original beer had a slightly rustic (I swear that's a flavor) edge. The original beer utilized Bullion hops rather than Newport, which pretty much explains the difference. A medium-light body makes for easy drinking, while the moderate ABV makes it safe to have more than one. The beer does have a bit of what I've heard many homebrewers refer to as the"extract" taste. I can't completely describe the flavor, but I know it when I taste it. The closest I can ...

I finally hit the proverbial Weissbier nail on the head with my Winter Weizenbock . With the warmer months ahead, it's time to brew a less hefty version for both my Wedding and Summer imbibing. The new beer's grain bill is quite literally 75% of its Bock strength sibling's. The time consuming triple-decoction mash lives on, as does the yeast. I switched from Opal to Sybilla hops, simply because I had the later on hand. Here's the recipe for five gallons: Grains: 3.75 lbs Weyermann Light Munich 3 lbs Weyermann Pale Wheat 2.25 lbs Weyermann Dark Wheat 3 oz Weyermann Dehusked Carafa II Hops: 0.5 oz Sybilla (6.4% a.a.): 60 min Total Boil Time: 90 min Yeast: White Labs WLP300 - Hefeweizen Ale Yeast Mash Schedule: Acid Rest: 104F for 20 min Decoction 1:      Heat ~1/2 of mash to 155F and hold for 20 min      Heat Decoction to boiling and boil for 15 min Protein Rest: 125F for 20 min Decoction 2:      Heat ...

It's been nearly two years since I last wrote an "On the Road" post. However, my new gig has me traveling quite a bit. What better way to take advantage of my downtime than to visit breweries? First up on my travels is Los Gatos Brewing Company in San Jose, CA. To be honest, after a long day of traveling, just about any beer would have tasted good to me. I was in the mood for something light and refreshing, and Log Gatos' Kolsch did the trick. It wasn't the best example of the style I've ever had. It lacked the mild white wine quality you get from a good Kolsch yeast. There was definitely more a of a Blonde Ale vibe to my palate. Nonetheless, it did its job as a refresher. The Cask ESB was more true to style. It was served at a nice cellar temp, and carried light carbonation, plus an earthy black tea bite from the hops. If more radical beer is what you're in the mood for, this isn't the pub for you. Despite just two locations, Los Gatos has a...