All Posts in Homebrew

August 30, 2020 - 1 comment.

The Great Estibrew Challenge

es·ti·brew
/ˈestə,bro͞o/

nounestibrew; plural noun: estibrews
a type of beer brewed partially or entirely through human-sensory estimation.

verb: estibrew
past tense: estibrewed; present participle: estibrewing
to make (beer) using varying degrees of human-sensory estimation.

Folks and friends, first time readers and foes,

Have you ever wondered whether you had the brewing chops to brew a competent beer based purely on estimating each end every variable by feel alone? I'm talkin' grain bill, water chemistry, hop additions, water volumes, water temperatures, the lot? Read more

October 25, 2016 - 2 comments

Homebrew Label Design 101 – A Peek Inside Silly Sir’s Labelling Process

Until recently, the label design quality of my beer was more consistent than the beer itself. This is in large part thanks to the incredible effort and skills of my girlfriend Sara who is a designer, and who can adapt and adjust my label sketches in all the right ways to make them look great. She's taught me everything I know about what makes good homebrew label design. As I continue to perfect my brewing methods and upgrade my equipment, our beer quality has continued to improve and is now falling in line with our great labels.

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July 5, 2016 - Comments Off on The Thai Have Slightly Thicker Beer(ds)

The Thai Have Slightly Thicker Beer(ds)

If I were to take a random sampling of my readership audience I'd wager a bet that at least 90% of you are white men. Of this group, 75% of you have pretty legendary beards, and if you don't it's probably because your beard growing capabilities are sub-par. Of the remaining 10%, half of you are white females (probably not bearded), and the rest of you are from various ethnicities (though you're most definitely blokes). The GTA Brews Homebrewing Club - of which I am a member - is the biggest of such clubs in Toronto. Toronto has one of the most diverse populations in the world, and yet GTA Brews struggles to broaden its base to appeal to women and minorities. We're trying though. Amongst the rarest in the group, it seems, are black, and Asian people.

If you've been following the blog of late, you're aware that I'm in fact currently backpacking across Southeast Asia with my girlfriend, Sara. She's of Malaysian descent and technically a GTA Brews member - whaaaaat?! We started our travels in Singapore, flew to Indonesia, then hit up Malaysia and Sri Lanka before landing in Thailand. Sadly, the variety of beer in these countries has been quite limited. I can only occasionally sniff out craft beer, and when I do it's usually in obscure pockets of big cities. Even still, the beers at these niche bars are usually imported from Europe or North America and (almost) never locally brewed…

… unless you're in Bangkok!

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March 2, 2016 - 1 comment.

Introducing: Giggle Splash IPA

 

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Giggle Splash is my first attempt at a highly aromatic American IPA. American IPAs are marked by their bright, citrusy hop aromas, and high bitterness. Giggle Splash sits at around 57 International Bitterness Units (IBU) which is considered moderate according official guidelines. For comparison, Budweiser and Molson Canadian sit at around 10 IBU or so (plus or minus a few units). So yes, it's quite hoppy.

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December 22, 2015 - Comments Off on He’s British NOT Australian

He’s British NOT Australian

Back in September I attended a GTA Brewclub meeting at Rainhard Brewing Co. and sampled a ton of fantastic beer. There was one beer in particular that really stood out to me: a Belgian ginger-saison that was brewed by a man whom I had mistakenly assumed was Australian because he had an accent and an an awesome Akubra hat:

Yes, that's him! Yes, the one who looks Australian!

Yes, that's him! Yes, the one who looks Australian!

... so anyways he's British not Australian. I think I was just enamoured by his wicked Aussie-style hat and jean jacket. He's been brewing for over fifteen years, and his beer quality was on a different level. The ginger flavours were fresh and bright, and left a subtle kick as it went down. He explained his process. I listened attentively.

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