Travel

My wife and I enjoy traveling. Most times when we do, we begin at our first destination by grabbing a local libation and enjoying the scenery. We take the rest of the trip from that jump off point.

We’ve learned that local watering holes (not tourist traps) can be the best spots to chat with folks from nearby and get ideas for next stop(s), places to eat, or just friendly banter.

The next two weeks, we’ll be exploring the European country (Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria). My hopes are to focus on beverages from these areas while we’re here. The #TuesdayUpdate and #WeekendSituation will all heavily focus local libations.

The “meat and potatoes” of the blog content will be a bit less until we’re back in the States, but we’ll be back with our beer chatter and nerdy science real soon.

Today we visited Naïv in Frankfurt, Germany. The beer was tasty and the company was great. The staff was helpful and friendly. I’d recommend their NE IPA and of course all the Helles/Pilsner/Lager styles… they’re all great.

Water Chemistry Series: Water Report

I brew with tap water. If you use tap water than every year you should have access to your “Annual Water Quality Report.” An Annual Water Quality Report is designed to provide consumers with information on the quality of the water delivered by the public water system. Annual Water Quality Reports must contain information about the water system; information on the source of the water; report levels of contaminants detected in the potable water; information on cryptosoridium, radon, and other unregulated contaminants; information on any violations of drinking water regulations; and information regarding any variances or exemptions the water system may be operating under.

The information in the reports can be used by consumers, especially those with special health issues, to make informed decisions regarding their water. Educated consumers are more likely to help protect their drinking water sources and to appreciate the true costs of safe drinking water. However, the reports rarely list information such as hardness/alkalinity or certain ions that brewers look for to adjust water chemistry such as Chlorides and Sulfates.

In order to obtain these levels, I recommend obtaining a brewers water quality report from someone like Ward Labs ( https://www.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.php). This will give you your baseline data for your tap water, well water, or purchased water so you can effectively and efficiency build off of it.

A great source to read more on water reports and water treatment is: https://www.morebeer.com/articles/treating_homebrew_water

The article really breaks down everything you need to know regarding water reports and water treatment. Good luck and let me know if you treat your water!

Water Chemistry Series

My background is water. I work for the largest for-profit provider of water and waste-water services in the United States. My day job revolves around water – from source to tap. It makes sense that my first blog mini series should focus on water and how it directly affects beer quality and taste.

Different water sources can create different tastes, odors, flavor expressions, fullness, etc. when brewing beer. This mini series will attempt to cover the basics of water quality and what you can do to determine a baseline of your water profile and how to modify it to better serve your beer styles.

Good beer can be brewed with almost any water style. Great beer however, focuses on every detail of the production – including water profile and design. The “best” beers of each sub category are surrounded by specifics from their local water or water they choose to use.

Two Chemistry items to relearn before starting this series:

Ions: An ion is an atom or a group of atoms that has a positive or negative charge due to the loss or gain of an electron. The primary ions we focus on are Calcium (Ca+2), Magnesium (Mg+2), Sodium (Na+1), Bicarbonate (HCO3–1), Sulfate (SO4–2), and Chloride (Cl–1). Each of these items we’ll discuss more in depth each week and explain their role in brewing.

Hardness/Alkalinity: Water hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium (Ca+2) and Magnesium (MG+2) within your water source. A “harder” water has a lot of calcium and magnesium; a “soft” water does not. Many homes, specifically on hard water sources, have water softener systems. Water softeners work by replacing the calcium and magnesium in the water with sodium or potassium.

Water Quality Report: This first step I took when modifying my own home water quality was to define what my water ion/hardness baseline looked like. I’d recommend utilizing Ward Labs ( https://www.wardlab.com/BrewersKitOrder.php). I’m not sponsored by them nor do I have a working relationship with them but the end producti (seen below) gives a great snapshot of what your water quality looks like.

Start by determining your baseline and we’ll build from there. Next week we’ll jump into the water quality report and breakdown where to go from here.

If you want to go the additional mile and read up further, a few sources:

John Palmer – How to Brew: https://amzn.to/2IpHRZO

Non-Alcoholic Beer Movement

There seems to be a new craze sweeping the nation. Cya later 12% barrel-aged stouts, the NA Beers are moving in!

I was fortunate enough to run into an up-and-coming NA beer vendor while in Denver this week. The brand is Grüvi. I’m not usually an NA drinker but he offered a couple cans so I happily obliged.

I was astounded by the packaging – clean, concise, and friendly to the eyes. The beers poured like a standard beer and tasted awesome. They packed less calories than a soda and were crisp and refreshing.

I’m not convinced this is the way of the future, but for someone looking for a health conscious option to enjoy some brews with friends – this may be the way. Personally, this gives an option to hang with friends at bars or breweries for the social aspect and still be focused on your well being by limiting alcohol intake.

Let me know your thoughts on any NA beers you’ve tried and where you think this may take us for the future.

T.E.A.C.H.E.R. – Principles for Brewing and for Life

Principles I like to live and brew by:

T – Time

E – Effort

C – Consistency

H – Honesty

When I put those into words and began to write about them, I realized that there were a few missing:

A – Authenticity

E – Efficiency

R – Respect

Whether brewing, working, or living life, following the T.E.A.C.H.E.R. principles have served me well. For Brewing the ideas break down in the below, generalities:

T.ime – Everything takes time. It takes time to master a craft, develop a product, or simply for yeast to ferment wort into beer.

E.ffort – You must put in effort to spend your “free” time pursuing a hobby and hoping to eventually have that hobby carry you into a business. Effort is the backbone of a solid work plan.

A.uthenticity – Be authentic to yourself. Be authentic to your craft. Be authentic to your readers, customers, and friends. When you brew, be yourself. If you love German beers, brew German beers because your authentic love for them will shine through in your product.

C.onsistency – Strive to be consistent with brewing – follow a recipe you create or find and you’ll find the product is as designed. The moment you go off course, track your changes so you can duplicate and be consistent for your future. Some of the best beers I’ve tried are “Frankenstein” beers and can’t be recreated easily because the brewer didn’t track their steps.

H.onesty – Brewers make mistakes. Honest brewers mention their mistakes, share their stories, and grow through them. This helps not only you but others.

E.fficiency – Higher efficiencies tend to lead to better results. I say brewing is 75% cleaning, 20% design, and 5% actual brewing/fermenting. If you can become more efficient at any part of the process it can and will improve your overall product. I like to clean or package while my Mash is underway or while the boil is occurring.

R.espect – Show respect to everyone your encounter. Other brewers may try new things you don’t enjoy but do your best to respect their trials. Respect your equipment, your yeast, your materials, and yourself. Not everyone wants a critical review of their craft. Some are just trying to have fun or spend time with friends trying something new. Be cognizant of what others are trying to accomplish and be respectful of their path.

Leave a reply of other principles you follow in brewing, work, or in your life.