Leprechaun

Recently on our podcast "The Beer Party Show", which you can catch almost every week at http://thebeerpartyshow.podomatic.com, we sampled the up and coming Leprechaun Cider. I was lucky enough to meet the owner himself recently and was so impressed by everything he stood for that I gave it a shot.

The words "Artificial, and concentrate" were used as if they were naughty and so I went on to test this theory.

Leprechaun Cider is by far the most delicious cider I have ever had. I do enjoy ciders from time to time, and consumed many of the well known brands (Ace, Crispin, Woodchuck), and while these are all delicious in their own way, they still lacked the authenticity that Leprechaun puts forth.

Using Cider apples instead of dessert apples was quite an important step in the making of the cider, and the lack of any apple juice concentrate made a world of difference. Many more techniques were used to make this cider what it is, and once again... cider is GLUTEN FREE for those of you that can't take the awesomeness that is malts.

In the end, if you enjoy ciders... or hell, if you enjoy a fine champagne... buy a bottle and give it a try yourself. I highly doubt you will be disappointed.

Houston Beer Week

Well, this week so far has been a success. I have networked and met some pretty bad ass brewmasters, consumed large amounts of good beer, had a hangover for the past three days, and am just plum tired.

So many events are happening and I have so many more I am going to attend!

If you are coming into this week late, here is the website to check what else is happening and what is coming up this weekend.

Remember, drive safely. I am on the road too and don't feel like having to look out for drunk asses!

Smoked Malts

There was once a time when malts were dried over open flame. These were harsh times, and the beers created were smoky as hell.

This did not stop our ancestors however, and they continued to make unintentionally smoky beer until one day, someone decided to dry their malts with a kiln. This kept the malts from becoming smoky and burnt.

One country still makes smoked beers however... Germany.

They make such beers as Rauchbier and Roggenbier, in which the malts are intentionally dried over open flame. These styles were not widely accepted until recently, and now the smoked beers are appearing more on the market.

I as well am going to smoke my own malts and attempt to make a couple smoked beers. This process will of course begin when I have the funds to buy all the new equipment and ingredients I need... Damn.

Either way, I will be brewing a smoked red and a Roggenbier. I will experiment and see how different smoking procedures affect the malts.

Status updates will be posted.