Where to find my posts!

Hello All!

So I have been writing for a online magazine called

www.lbfoodreview.com

this is where you can find my blog posts from now on.

Sincerely,
Al the Brewer

Beer Tasting

Hello Everyone,

I recently poured for a beer tasting and had a few questions come up about contacting me for private events or in-home beer tastings.  I currently am working on a downloadable document so that anyone can look up or pass along the the information needed to have a private beer tasting.

If you would like to contact me personally at

althebrewer@gmail.com

or call

(562) 502-7433

Sincerely,

Allan H

All Grain Vs. Extract

Hello Everyone!

Well, thanks to my amazing, beautiful and all so awesome girlfriend, I now have an all grain brewing system.  Now, for those of you that don't know there are 2 basic styles of homebrewing - Extract and All Grain.  I get asked more than a bit on the differences between Extract and All Grain brewing so to help others understand I have a bit of an analogy to help, and is brownies!

You can make brownies, basically, 2 different ways, from scratch or from an instant mix kit. When making brownies from scratch you control every ingredient and step in the brownie making process. You can add less or more flour, personal choice of vanilla extract (or khalua is a fav of mine) and temperature which you bake. When making an instant mix brownie, you open the bag, mix it up, then throw it in the oven and done!  You can add to the recipe, but you can't take away.  While you still end up with a really good brownie, you have less control over what goes in there.

The options for home brewing are a bit like how you make brownies.  You have the scratch or All Grain brewing AND you have the instant mix or Extract brewing.  In Extract Brewing you get the sugars needed for fermentation from a bag of dried or liquid malt extract. While it works very well, don't fully know what is in the"bag", so you have less control over what is in your beer.  In All Grain Brewing, you obtain the sugars you need from heating up grains in a mash tun and then straining out the resulting tea as your wort (or young beer). In this you have have full control over what does or does not go into your brew.

While Extract brewing was a great way to start, it is time to move on up!  With my new all grain system I will have total control over how I make my beer, but I will also have to be more careful as there is more potential for screwing up my beer. We shall see what happens..........

Allan

Merry Christmas!

Alright, I a bit excited about this one......

My amazing, wonderful, beautiful and all around AWESOME girlfriend has decided to buy me an all grain system for Christmas! Yay girlfriend! So, I am doing to do my best to document my journey into all grain brewing.  This will be fun and off course end with a beer being made and enjoyed......

More to come.......

Allan

The Art of Beer

A little post as the holiday season kicks off, I wanted to share a few thoughts on an idea I have had swimming around in my head for a little while.   Being a former beer server and currently a home brewer, I have struggled to find accurate and relatable ways to bring what most people consider to be a commercialized liquid into and an actual craft.  I wanted to share with you a thought that I feel  best describes and grips what I consider craft beer to be, and that is art.  

I know there are examples of people creating beer bottle Christmas trees, (mind you this is awesome on an Epic level).  But more directly to be able to look at a glass and see it as a painted canvas is something I try to show just about anyone willing to sit and have a brew with me.  This blog is a bit of my thoughts on that, beer as art and how I came to this small epiphany.

During my time at Pepperdine I spent a year abroad in Germany.  Now, I had not acquired the taste for beer that I have now at that point and time in my life, but I did give a few a try while I was there.  As part of our educational experience we visited many of the great museums such as The Prado, Luvre etc.  I loved them!  Not that I became an instant art critic, rather, I found a love for learning about the different meanings, symbols and stories conveyed through the brush strokes.  I had no problem listening to the tour guide (when it came to art) as we toured the corridors of priceless artifacts, busts and still lifes.

Through tours, books and wandering corridors, I made a discovery, Monet.  He is my favorite painter and help found my favorite style of painting, Impressionism.   Impressionism is such an interesting stylistic concept; that it is not the specific image we are observing, rather the reflection of the light given off by the image that the artist is capturing. I think you can make alot of connection with this metaphor (well I think its a metaphor).  From philosophy, theology and I think there is a good argument that craft beer can be included on this list. That craft beer is Impressionism in a liquid form.

When I pick up a glass of craft beer I see a canvas in my hand.  And when I sniff, swirl, sip and ingest, the canvas comes to life.  While I know of the ingredients that may make up a beer, I am only getting the vision or impression that was given to me by the brewer.  As I taste the beer I try to take apart all of the different flavors, smells and nuances that are going on in the glass and draw out what the brewer has drawn for me.

Is this a glass assaulting my palate through the use of hops, spices or yeast flavors?  Is the malt a backbone holding  everything together like a strand holding up Christmas lights sparkling with flavor?  Or has it been lost on the wayside in turn for notes of adjuncts and other characters?  Is there an aroma that slaps, kicks or kisses you?  Does the flavor linger like a flirtatious smile or fizzle like the affections from a  flirtatious smile?

When the first few sips have been ingested and fully observed, I think about the brewer and ponder whether the impression I have taken from his/her piece of art is the same they had in mind.  If the thoughts, subtleties and nuances I am experiencing are near what they had as they tasted the same glass.

While my experience as a brewer is not at an expert level, nor am I a grand master Cicerone, what I do know that craft beer is a very individualistic experience.  A brewer can direct a glass, but, what you taste is what YOU taste.  Just as in art, while you may glace at a grand master piece and pass it by, you may also find wonder and awe in the simple drawing of a child. This is where a trained eye or pallet can help you to appreciate the art in front of you.  They can explain techniques or methods use to procure a particular whim or sensation.  Educate on the proper way to sip, observe, swirl or smell the craft in your hand.  Or tell you of the history and genealogy to a particular brew.  But when it comes down to the exact moment of judgement, everything is just between you and that glass.  You may try beers that are ranked on the highest level on beer advocate, or listen in on beer snobs on what is the greatest IPA (seriously Pliney and Sculpin are amazing!), in the end it come to the eye or taste of the be(er)holder.

Allan

Looking to do something different for a party?

Looking to do something different this holiday season for your party or event?  Let me help you host a beer tasting!  It can be informative and formal or fun and relaxed, most of all it will be a good time with quality craft beer.

Having been a craft beer manager I am experienced in hosting tastings of all sorts, but specialize in craft beer.  Tastings will be customized to your theme, style and party size.  Tastings can accompanied by pairings of food or cheese, again based on your preference.

If you are interested please contact me through my email

althebrewer@gmail.com

Cheers!

Now Certified!

I recently pass my Beer Servers Cicerone Certification!  For those of you unfamiliar with the Cicerone program, this is comparable to a Wine Sommelier in the Craft Beer world.

I am looking forward to moving on to my level 2 Cicerone, if you want to learn more about this program please check out this link

cicerone.org

More to come.

Allan