Have you ever NOT done something because you thought you couldn’t?  Me too.  I always wanted a lager on tap in the summer - honestly, more than one.  But summers for us are CRAZY BUSY.  Until recently, we were beekeepers, and maple syrup producers plus we have always been big gardeners.  All while working full-time! 

I heard a fellow homebrewer and BJCP Judge say… 

Once a month, we meet with a bunch of fellow home brewers, and we discuss one of the BJCP styles and a process. This month (September) we were told the style for October would be, well, Oktoberfest, and we were also told that if we didn’t have one brewed by now, we wouldn’t have enough time.

Have you ever gone to one of your kegs and found ZERO carbonation?   Your heart falls, while your brain races through a list of questions.  What the heck happened, when did it happen, when was the last time I checked this keg; and is my beer RUNIED?  More questions… is the CO2 tank empty, is it leaking, is the regulator broken, is the connection bad or is the leak coming from the keg ?  Once you work past the SHOCK, you attach another CO2 tank; this time really checking your every move, carb the beer and hope for the best.  This has happened to us, usually right before bottling for a competition OR, just before loading the keg into the car for a party.  UGH!  

Here we hav

Have you ever wondered, is it really necessary to follow the “rules” that have been used for years and decades?  Technology, processes and ingredients are changing constantly, so could we tweak things a bit, or a lot and get the same results?  I had to check it out, so I did two Oktoberfests on the same day Crazy? Right? I kept eveything the same EXCEPT for the mash and boil lenghts.  Here’s what I did:

Imperial measurements will be six pounds of pilsner malt, two pounds of Munich malt, one an a half pounds of Vienna malt and one pound of wheat malt. Our mash and temperature will be 149 degrees Fahrenheit or 65 degrees Celsius. Our mash out temperature will be 167 degrees Fahrenheit or 75 degrees Celsius. Ou