Spent Grain Dog Treats

My wife was able to utilize spent grain from a Marzen I brewed last weekend to make some dog treats.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 cups spent grains
  • 2 cup flour
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 egg

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
  • Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix to combine.
  • Use a rolling pin to roll out dough on a floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out treats. Alternatively, you can shape treats by hand.
  • Bake treats on cookie sheet for 30 minutes.
  • Remove treats from oven and lower heat to 200 degrees.
  • When oven has cooled, return treats and cook on 200 for about 2 hours to dry them out.

Credit for the recipe: https://dining-alfresco.com/spent-grain-dog-treats/

Spent Grain Dog Treats
Spent Grain Dog Treats

We did the 2x recipe. Let’s just say the Gooddest Boy was happy!

PS: Stout is a small black lab (40 lbs). We got him from a rescue and we think he’s a lab and beagle mix.

Sparkling Hard Berry Cider

Credit: http://brulosophy.com/2017/12/14/bru-it-yourself-sparkling-hard-berry-cider/

Please. Give. This. A. Try. Follow the Brulosophy article and enjoy!

This one got me into ciders. I use this recipe but only back-sweeten with 1-2 cans of frozen apple juice. Give it at least one week to ferment and then another week to sit on the fruit and ferment out any off flavors. I tried to rush this once and I had a sulfur flavor in the keg – ended up dumping it. Do yourself a favor and give yourself 3 weeks for this.

Let me know your thoughts.

Ingredient List:

5 gallons preservative-free apple juice (Aldi – 10, 0.5 gal jugs – sometimes you get strange looks for buying so much)
1 pack Belle Saison yeast (MoreBeer.com)
4 lbs frozen mixed berries (Aldi – you can substitute with any berry or frozen fruit in the same manor)
3 cans frozen apple juice concentrate (local grocery store)
15 mL 88% lactic acid (local homebrew store)
1 Campden tablet (local homebrew store)
2.5 tsp potassium sorbate (local homebrew store)

Water Chemistry Series: Sulfate

Sulfate (SO4)

Sulfate ions, in contrast to chloride ions, tend to accentuate hop flavors and bitterness. This often leads to a perception of a drier and cleaner finish. Sulfate levels above 200 ppm are best reserved for hoppy beers (read West Coast IPAs).

Available forms: Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) and Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate)

Effect on beer taste: Adds crispness and hop bitterness.

Note: The Sulfate to Chloride ratio can be stated simply as the ratio of Sulfate (SO4) ions to the concentration of Chloride (Cl) ions. Divide sulfate by the chloride ion concentration. A ratio of around 1:1 (or 1.0) is considered balanced in that the water will neither enhance the malt or hop flavor. Ratios below 1 (higher chloride than sulfate) tend to lend more malt character and those above 1 (more sulfate than chloride) tend to enhance the hop character of a beer.

Brewing water, typically, has 50-250 ppm of Sulfate and 0-250 ppm of Chloride. It can be noted that the strategy of maximizing both ions at the same time to emphasize malt and hops does not work – excessively high sulfate and chloride levels at the same time leads to harsh flavors.

Water Chemistry Series: Chloride

Chloride (Cl-)

Chloride, not to be confused with chlorine, is a common addition to brewing water. If you’re looking to boost the malt character of your beer, you want to focus on chloride content. The easiest way to increase clhoride is by adding NaCl (table salt). Adding 0.8 tsp. (5 grams) to 7 gallons of brewing water will increase chloride to about 115ppm. Note, it will also increase sodium by about 75ppm.

Available forms: table salt, calcium chloride

Effect on beer taste: accentuates malt characteristics, enhances beer flavor and palate fullness, high concentration leads to salty taste in finished beer.

Observations from Europe

Culture, especially in bars and restaurants is an interesting thing. Visiting Europe opened my eyes to a few things, listed below. (I will note that we visited Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. If your experiences differed or were the same, let us know below!)

1. Most restaurants still allowing smoking – even in eating areas.

2. Cafes, restaurants, and bars are a great place for no-cost bathrooms (most bathrooms in Europe charge you to use). So if you go to a bar/cafe and purchase and item you get to utiilize their WC (water closet / bathroom) for free or a reduced charge.

3. Trough toilets and low/no-flow toilets are the norm here. Even in older pubs, toilets have been upgraded for conservation.

4. Big breweries don’t seem to be common. Many small restaurants produce their own beer.

5. Very few IPAs/Bizarre beer varieties. Most place have a light beer and a dark beer – typically a lager and a dunkel. They may also have a Radler. The places that make their own beer will have more variety but it’s still not as vast as USA breweries.

6. Most places are more relaxed and social. You’re not bombarded by the wait staff. They wait for you to ask for something. You have to ask for your check. Tip % is much lower (10%). You can wait at the table as long as you’d like without feeling pressure to leave so the waiter can “turn tables over” to make more money.

7. Water isn’t free. You pay for it. Sometimes it’s tap water and sometimes it’s bottled.

8. In some countries you have to specify still water – otherwise you get sparkling water.

9. Outside seating is all the rage. With minimal AC, most people eat outdoors because the inside of restaurants get hot. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy outdoor eating?

10. Cash is king. Unless you run up a large bill, most places prefer cash.

11. Try not to grab beers at your hotel. Drinking a block away at a local pub can save you 60% on the cost of beer and food.

Similarities:

1. Bartenders are still great and happy to recommend options nearby.

2. All types of alcohol are still available – beer, wine, and liquor.

3. Drinking is still arguably the best way to meet people.

A few photos from the trip below:

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.