Happy New Year!

Here is a link to a National Post story on the top Beer books of the year:

http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/12/30/the-beer-frontier-best-brew-books-of-2011/

It was quite a 2011 for yours truly! Hitting beer number 1,000, multiple home brew batches, beer drinking in Germany, Czech republic and throughout Canada and the U.S. It will be hard to top it in 2012!

Here is to all my beer buddies, including but not limited to Sith@Heart, iRob, Doogie, Big Daddy, Dr. Haggis, Half-Price, NYBJG - you all know who you are!

Canadian Microbrews

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-managing/leadership/12-craft-brewers-shaking-up-the-industry/article2263636/

Coffee Porter - coffee time

Today (after 2 weeks fermentation) I added the coffee. I cold steeped about 1/4 pound of freshly ground coffee beans in a quart of cold water for 24 hours, and then added it to the carbuoy.

Homebrew: Coffee Porter

I have tried chocolate porter in the past, and was pleased with the results. This time I thought I would try coffee porter. It was also a good excuse to try and use a bunch of ingredients I had on hand...

Steeped at 150 (ish) for 30 minutes:

.8 oz black patent malt (500-600L)

1/2 lb. medium crystal malt (75L)

1/2 lb. chocolate malt

1.5 oz roasted barley (probably a no-no for Porters, but what the hell)

Bring to boil. Add:

.6 oz Northern Brewer hops (9.8% AA)

20 minutes later:

.8 oz. Willamette hops (4.8% AA)

25 minutes later:

.5 oz. Willamette hops (4.4% AA)

5 minutes later:

1 tsp. Irish Moss

Added water to make 5 gallons. I pitched Wyeast 1275 (Thames Valley) liquid yeast. However, after a day and a half it did not appear to be fermenting. So I added a pack and a half Coopers dry ale yeast. That appeared to do the trick. I guess we will find out.

After 5 days I racked to the carbuoy. Next step is to add the coffee. Still haven't fully decided how I am going to do that.