Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with beer

Homebrew questions, simple and complex.

Mngo — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:02:48 -0800

I have never made my own beer, but I need to make some in a rather specific circumstance, which is why I'm asking for advice here rather than a homebrew forum. For an art event, we want to have on display in a gallery a quantity of beer-in-progress, with a specific timeline about when we want it “done.” In other words, I want to prepare this beer and then display it basically with an announcement of when we will serve it. I've done enough online reading to know there are a lot of options, but also that I can probably get by with some help from a homebrew store (this 2005 thread is great, and this from 2010 is even better). What I'm looking for here are your aesthetic and practical insights about how to have the best experience possible—what to look for, what to avoid, how to make it work well with a minimum of angst.

Some more parameters:

This is in northern California, the greater Bay area. I have a car and can transport supplies, visit different shops, etc.

The gallery will be open to the public during the day, and while we're not worried about folks messing with the set-up, it will not be the kind of sterile environment I'd use at home. There will be some other time-based foods developing in the gallery at the same time (probably pickles, sourdough, yogurt). Anyway, sounds important to start clean and stay clean, right?

The event lasts about 4 days, so if there's a process that could begin and end in that window, cool. Otherwise, we're able to start things ahead of time.

I'm not sure about scale—there are potentially 400-700 attendees who might partake, but the actual number is surely radically lower. We're also not aiming to “serve beer” in the sense of supplying a party—symbolic portions are all that's needed, maybe as little as 1 or 2 ounces per. What's your thinking about the best ratio of effort and expense to output?

I'm not far enough along in research to understand what “the end” of the brewing process is. Do we have to either bottle or keg to serve, or is it possible to serve tastes directly from the brewing rig?

As for taste, I'm partial to hoppy, bitter beers, but for this we'd be happy with anything that tastes clean and real. Since the theme is development over time, yeasty-ness within reason is very acceptable.

I'm pretty sure we could do this without your help, but I think input here could help us avoid first-timer mistakes and improve both the beer and the event. Thanks.

TX Beer in PA?

theweasel — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:10:11 -0800

How can I provide our host in Pittsburgh with delicious Texas brews? We're going out to the East Coast in July to spend some time with friends and generally escape the Texas heat (though "escaping the heat" into an area of the country where air-conditioning is not de rigeur is...to me, questionable. Oh well.) Most nights we're staying with family/good friends, but a one night layover in Pittsburgh will be spent on the couch of an old roommate's ex-boyfriend, a nice guy who I don't know as well. Said guy moved from Austin to Pittsburgh one year ago, and his constant complaint is the loss of Austin beer. I'd love to provide him with a variety pack as a house gift, but since shipping beer is illegal in BOTH states, I thought I'd bring this to the green. My question breaks down thus:

1. Is there a store anywhere in PA that Texas beers are sold? I have little hope for this, though I thought I'd ask on the off-chance that there's a pack of Shiner Bock floating around somewhere up there. We're Amtraking to Pitt from NYC, so stores there are also an option.

2. We're flying into Providence and road-tripping/sleeping on floors in-between, so I suspect bringing beer with me on the plane is just a bad idea. But then, I love gestures. Wacky ideas for beer-transport are welcome.

3. Should I decide to forget the symbolism, I'd love to bring him local Pittsburgh beers that are similar to his favorite Austin brews. I know the man likes hops. Are there any well traveled Mefites who can point me to good Pennsylvania companies, particularly any beers that taste like Independence Stash IPA or Real Ale Lost Gold IPA? Hidden treasures he might not have stumbled across in a year in PA? (I see this old post, but I'm not just looking for good beers, I'm looking for hoptastic ones)

Beer snobs of Metafilter, help me be an amazing houseguest!

Beer like Surly that I can buy in Rhode Island

wenestvedt — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:07:10 -0800

What beer is most like Surly that I can buy in Rhode Island? I do dearly love Surly's beers -- the Furious, mostly, and also the Abrasive -- but I can't get it where I live in Rhode Island. (Yes, I know that I could order it from a few Minnesota liquor stores, like France 44, but the shipping costs twice as much as the beer.) What else is there for sale around here that is most like Surly's beers?

I am in northeast RI, close to Yankee Sprits in Attleboro, but I work in Providence so I can run down to Warwick or wherever on my lunch break.

I tried some Lagunitas IPA and it was good, but not quite the same.

What is up with the metallic taste of German beers?

Mechitar — Thu, 16 May 2013 11:12:19 -0800

I am a big fan of beer in general, but not much of a fan of German beers, in spite of their much-vaunted reputation. This is mostly due to what I perceive as a metallic taste in some of the classics, such as alt bier and dunkelweizen. To me these beers taste like someone took a “regular” beer, dropped a bunch of pennies in it, and stirred it up. This is most noticeable when I’m drinking the beer by itself, but fortunately the metallic taste subsides when I have the beer with food. A few questions about this. 1. Is it just me? Is there some quirk in my palate that makes me taste this metallic flavor and most other people don’t? 2. If other people do taste the metallic notes, why/how do they put up with it or even like it? 3. What is it in the ingredients or the brewing process that produces this flavor?

Best off licence near Oval tube station

knapah — Sat, 11 May 2013 11:25:55 -0800

Which off licences near* Oval tube station in London should I go to tomorrow (Sunday) to buy from a good range of bottled beer? Preferably including London breweries like Meantime or London Fields. * reasonably close, but I'm happy to 'travel' a little if need be.

I'm no supertaster

Admiral Haddock — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:40:49 -0800

I'm looking for very, very unsubtle: 1) malt vinegar; 2) sake; and 3) beer that tastes yeasty (like bread, and not like estery Belgian beer). I'm not sure there are mass-market products that meet my needs, so if you have similar cravings and an alternative, I'd be grateful, too. Looking for strong flavors and high-test products here.

1) I like malt vinegar on fries, fish and chips, etc. I want really bracingly acidic malt vinegar. It's never all that tart--even UK imports don't satisfy me. I want to eat a vinegar-soaked fry and have my mouth water from the tartness, like I'm sucking on a lemon.

If malt vinegars are, for whatever reason, not available with a pH of 1.3 (damn you, Washington fatcats!), what stronger acid would you recommend adding to straight malt vinegar to make it more tart without affecting the pleasant malty flavor?

2) I drink a fair amount of sake at home with meals--periodically the good stuff, but typically just Geikkeikan's basic bottle. With food, I do love sake's subtlety, but periodically I would just like a sake that has either a higher ABV or just a stronger flavor. Really, what I want is essentially gin made of sake. Does such a thing exist? I know of shochu (though haven't had it in a long time), but I'm particularly hoping for a stronger sake-like flavor. Do they make a distillate of sake the way brandy is made from grape matter?

3) I want a very yeasty beer, but not the estery Belgain witbier kind of stuff (which I hate). I want a beer that tastes strongly of Marmite or nutritive yeast. Higher alcohol, again, would be a plus, but I would prefer it not to be too sweet (say, like the very sugary Samichlaus).

Thanks!

Chicago Database of Bars seachable by beers

Uncle — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 14:52:22 -0800

My friend just told me of a website that had a listing of Chicago bars, restaurants, and liquor stores that you could search by beer brand. He can't remember the name or url. Can you?

ID an old comedy short?

timsteil — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:42:16 -0800

Ah dear hive I asked this five years ago, and have yet to solve it. Here's the deets. Trying to identify, and in a perfect world find an online copy of an old comedy. Here's the best info I can remember.

- I believe that the title was "How Comedies Are Made", although that might have been a subtitle.

-- Pretty sure it was a two-reeler

-- Pretty sure it starred Bud Jameson (or at least that was one face I could put a name to.)

-- The plot was essentially, a bunch of guys are trying to write a comedy short, but always stop to drink beer instead of working at it. Paraphrased dialogue something like...

"Hey, what if the main character did something like this?

That's a great idea! How about a beer?"

-- They are in a house, looks like it is something right off the backlot of a studio. Might have been one guy's crabby wife who kept chastizing them.

I want to say it must have been made right after the repeal of Prohibition, because the main theme seemed to be "ah fuck it, we have beer again!!!"

It almost seemed to be a two-reeler send up, of the whole two-reel comedy genre.

I've looked in all the usual video archives, and tried every different search string variation I can think of.

I know it is out there.

Help me find a similar beer in Sydney

vidur — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:46:18 -0800

I visited New Zealand recently (thanks AskMe for all the help with the itinerary), and happened to try a beer there - Mac's Great White Cloudy Wheat Beer. It seems that it is only available in New Zealand. Is there anything else that might replicate the taste? I am not a beer person, so I am not sure exactly what to look for or even how to describe what exactly I liked. Most beers do not agree with me but this one did, so I am keen on finding something similar.

Here is the link to the beer company's webpage (can't link directly to the beer because it hits an age verification) with a better description. The text says:

Great White is the Mac's version of a classic Belgian Witbier, with a smorgasbord of flavours too well-stocked to enumerate here. Like the great Belgian Witbiers on which it's based, Mac's Great White is a cloudy cornucopia of flavour. Indeed, it's amazing what the addition of a few wheat malts can do. What do you fancy? Bubblegum, banana and Turkish delight? Check. Rhubarb and custard to follow? Certainly. Raspberry, aniseed, citrus and coriander on the way down? Enjoy.

Where to enjoy a Blatz beer in Milwaukee?

Monster_Zero — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 14:46:54 -0800

Where's a nice place to sit and enjoy a Blatz beer on a Saturday night in Milwaukee? My wife and I are cobbling together road trip ideas for our upcoming anniversary, and I suggested a pilgrimage to Wisconsin to have a Blatz. Extra Details: I know they aren't brewed there anymore but as we live in southern Manitoba, Milwaukee seems like an interesting place that's within feasible driving distance given our time frame. It may seem like a long way to go for a beer but she's been curious about it for years (Blatz is her maiden name) and we can't get it locally. As good a road trip excuse as any!

(our local beer vendor was only willing to import a pallet at a time which is rather more of a commitment than I'm willing to make.)

What determines the price of a drink at a bar?

sandmanwv — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 11:38:40 -0800

What determines the price of a drink at a bar? Why does it differ drastically in different places? I've noticed that your average-run-of-mill bar (sports, chicken tenders) in different cities have different prices for your average run-of-mill beer (Bud Light, Miller Light, etc), whether it's $6 in NYC, $4.50 in DC or $3 in some college town (this is difference in up to 100% on retail cost). When I go buy a keg or case from a store the prices are alot more similar than the bar prices, however (or in the case of the college town, the keg prices is WAAAY higher than the one in another pricier city.).

I've always assumed that price is sort of sticky, that prices should be similar to similar places in the same locale.

I met a person who works with beer distributing that mentions it actually has alot to do with the wholesale cost, which changes depening on the local jurisdiction, etc.

Also, has anyone tried to create a CBI (calculated beer index)?

What and where should I eat and drink in Seattle?

slogger — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 18:11:53 -0800

I have one evening alone in Seattle. What should I eat and drink, and where should I do it? I'll have one free evening in Seattle later this week. I'd like to grab a decent meal and some good beer. I like good food, and I'm willing to pay for it, but I don't know if I'm up for doing any fine dining alone. More like dinner at the bar for me. Charcuterie and cured foods are some of my favorites, but I'm not limited to that. I'm not a huge seafood person, but if there's a must-have seafood meal waiting for me, I'm there.

Also, I'm a huge beer lover, all styles, from Belgians to IPAs. Beer can be a part of dinner or afterwards. I'll be staying downtown, but will have access to a car (which I'd rather not use if I'm going to be drinking).

Bonus question: I'll have a few hours to kill before my flight the following day. What local food items should I bring back home?

Light beer recipes: it's like a kitchen on a dock... cooking (with) near water.

1f2frfbf — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 14:47:55 -0800

I have 8-10 Bud Light beers in cans left over from my New Year's party. I'm not going to drink them... but can I cook with them? Give me your best cooking with light beer recipes. I'm pretty handy in the kitchen. I do a mean beer can chicken, I can make porter cakes and stout chili, but I'm looking to branch out. Teach me. Nothing is too odd or strange.

Sort of previously.

I'm thirsty just writing this

Aizkolari — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:26:21 -0800

Alkies of AskMe! Please recommend me a scotch, rum, bourbon or other whisk(e)y for a man who loves dark beers. A friend of mine loves rich, dark beers, and I want to get him a bottle of something harder for Christmas. He loves stouts, porters, and all of the stronger/imperial variants thereof. He doesn't really love other beers and drinks these more or less exclusively.

I would appreciate recommendations for any distilled spirit that you think would be good. He doesn't really drink hard stuff right now other than the occasional glass of Maker's. I was thinking maybe a good dark or aged rum?

I could spend $40-80 USD.

Beer Flights in Washington, DC

forkisbetter — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 11:19:47 -0800

My GF's birthday wish was to go out for beer flights, and my Google Fu is failing me. I am looking for places in Washington, DC that serve beer flights and for bonus points that either have an awesome beer selection and/or more ambiance than a Gordon Biersch. (Note, I am not looking for places that just have awesome beer. I am looking for places in DC that have awesome beer flights available)

Any excellent craft ESBs from New England?

.kobayashi. — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 14:00:52 -0800

Beer Filter: I really like a good ESB, but for reasons unknown to me, they seem not to be a very popular style among micro-breweries in Northern New England (everyone's making these super-hoppy IPAs nowadays). Can you recommend some high quality craft ESBs that I should try? Bonus points for ESBs that can be found without too much difficulty in VT, NH, or MA. And yes, I'm willing to travel a bit to a destination brewery in those three states (esp. if they sell growlers).

Undercounter beverage center?

foggy out there now — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:59:47 -0800

Any recommendations for an under-counter beverage fridge? We're remodeling our kitchen and we've got a hole for a beverage center. We originally planned on a wine cooler, but we're mostly red wine and beer drinkers and we typically drink wine within a week of purchase.

So we're looking for something to hold craft beer (mainly bottles) and the occasional bottle of white wine, vermouth, etc.

The other house dweller wants stainless with a glass front. I want a relatively quiet unit. We don't care if it is free-standing or built-in.

Budget is less than $750, preferably way less than $750 if possible.

Thoughts?

Looking for an "indy" light beer

lieberschnitzel — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 06:06:13 -0800

Looking for a decent, widely available "independent" light beer I've now read two articles about consolidation in the beer industry, and would like to support independent brewers with my light beer loving dollars.

I already drink microbrews and the like (I have a bunch of growers from my local brewery), but I'm having a hard time finding a decent very light beer – something in the vein of your standard Miller or Bud light, something I can drink for a while and not feel like I've gotten kicked in the teeth and gained ten pouds afterwards – that isn't inbev or Miller.

How do I turn rice into sweet sweet beer?

Octoparrot — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 20:32:04 -0800

I want to make my own brown rice and sorghum syrups for gluten free home brewing. Why is it so hard to find recipes? I took up home brewing about six months ago and about two months ago decided to start a gluten free diet for health reasons on the advice of my doctor. I made my first gluten free beer using some Briess syrups but now I want to take it to the next level. I'd like to make my own sorghum and rice syrups but Google seems to mock me in my attempts to figure out how to make these syrups. I am bombarded by recipes that use these syrups but almost nothing that states how to make them and where to get the ingredients. Can the hive help?

Specifically, where can one get sorghum in a raw form to make your own syrups? Brown rice is easy enough to find but how does one prepare rice or sorghum into a syrup to use for brewing purposes and make them gluten free. The only recipe I found wanted to use sprouted barley for enzymes which is obviously off the table.

Cleanliness: On tap!

1f2frfbf — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 15:11:15 -0800

What's the best system for cleaning a kegerator? I have this kegerator. I've enjoyed several kegs of beer in it, but now I want to clean the lines to keep everything fresh and tasty. What are my best options for doing so? Are the pump cleaners worth it? Can I make my own gravity feed system (I'm pretty handy with stuff)? What's the best cleaning solution? What's your best pro-tip? Tell me everything.

Can I get a tip on tipping?

COD — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:25:20 -0800

We frequent a wine bar that features a self-service Enomatic machine. You load up a debit card and then serve yourself. My wife usually drinks wine and I normally order beers. A $50 bill may represent $40 charged up on the card, with only 2 beers actually brought out to me by a waiter. I've been tipping based on the value of what we actually consumed, so I'm doing the math on what my wife drank, even though it is all prepaid and self-serve. If I tip the full bill, the waiter that helps us the next time, when we may not need to add to the wine card, gets screwed. Waiters of Mefi, am I doing it right?

Scotch but not American whiskey upsets my stomach. Why?

Earl the Polliwog — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 18:41:00 -0800

Why does single malt scotch, but not whiskey, upset my stomach the next day? Most if not all of the times I've had any of my first bottle of Lagavulin 16, I wind up with a mildly queasy gut and enthusiastic bowels that last a good portion of the next day. I believe this has happened with Laphroaig as well.

It does not happen with any of the American whiskeys I have tried, nor with gluten-free beer. I haven't had regular beer in a while but I don't recall it ever causing this either (I am not celiac, just trying to make my paleo/primal cheats less cheaty).

So, what's in single malt scotch that might be bothering me? I'm going to re-home this bottle, but I'd like to avoid those symptoms in the future.

Functional alcoholism and family life.

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 08:34:08 -0800

Functional alcoholism and family life. How do I reconcile a natural disrespect for alcoholism with my love for my husband who is otherwise meeting all his obligations and is not abusive? He generally treats me with respect except for this one issue, one which would normally be a deal breaker for me, and threatens to become one between us. We have children, and while I'm not keen to stay together "for them", things aren't objectively bad enough to leave, and my prospects are rough as a single parent (lack of education, spotty work history). I love him, and otherwise I feel that life is good. I'm pretty happy. I have two opposite, extreme gut feelings about this, one which says to stay and bury my feelings, and the other which says this is a disease and it will only get worse and I should protect my children before it does.

Some background info- Some alcoholism exists in my family history. I was raised to only drink occasionally and in moderation, and was frankly scared of alcohol's effects until I was of age. Because of my experience with an alcoholic step parent (briefly, thankfully), I grew to dislike any kind of regular drinking. I would say that I now have a particular sensitivity to excessive alcohol consumption, or at least perceived excess.

Despite this, I managed to fall in love with an alcoholic. I won't say that I didn't know he liked to drink from the start, only that he is so functional while drinking that I didn't notice just how excessive his drinking was. I'm willing to allow for some cultural differences- where he comes from, regular beer consumption is normal. His drink of choice is beer, and he doesn't consume liquor with any regularity. I've once seen him nearly die as a result of alcohol poisoning, and that's when I realized just how big an issue this is.

For me, it's threefold. First and foremost, I have trouble handling the fact that he will often drink at any obvious opportunity- Friday night? Beer! Pay day? Beer! Sunny afternoon off? Beer! Wife leaves her spare bottle in the frige for 24h? Drink it! He also has trouble moderating his drinking when there's a large quantity available. So, the alcoholism itself is a major factor.

Second, finances. We are stretched thin, and although our bills are paid and we even have some luxuries, we lack a safety net, and I can't help but feel like the beer 'budget' could make up for that. Now he's decided to make his own, so it's cheaper by volume, but his first batch of home brew has gone so incredibly fast that I'm questioning my patience- it's not really cheaper if the readiness makes it disappear faster. It's clear to me that the beer has a very low percentage, but it just drives me wildly mad to think about the sheer numbers and cost of him blowing through that first batch. He's become very interested in the process, and I doubt I'll be able to discourage it as a hobby, and can't be sure whether he'll start being more reasonable with future batches- he claims he will, but I have trouble trusting him on this subject for obvious reasons.

Third, the fact that I can be open and honest about all my feelings and am then lead to believe that I'm the only one with a problem. Sometimes I feel like we have really respectful conversations about my worries, but the desire to take action just isn't there, or he ends up making promises he doesn't keep, leading to more frustration, anger and disappointment from me. He has told me that it's "not a problem" for him, and I don't think he believes it when I say that it might become one for him if I have to leave.

I nearly left him once in the past, but his habits improved for some time. It seems we're moving back into an active phase of the disease, and I'm beginning to question my ability to withstand this cycle permanently I would be interested in Al-anon meetings, but unfortunately none exist for me locally.

Where do I draw the line? I sense that askme will say "a deal breaker is a deal breaker", but I think I'm in too deep for that with the kids aspect. I really don't stand to do well on my own with the kids, and it makes equally little sense for me to leave them here with him. They're young, not in school yet and I'm a stay at home parent.

tl;dr How do I navigate difficult feelings and family life with a man whose alcoholism I can't respect, but who is otherwise a loving husband and father who provides for us.

Need a name for a canned beer class

lizjohn — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 11:40:48 -0800

My husband is developing a craft canned beer class and is having trouble coming up with a name Some ideas he's already tossed around and mostly rejected "candemonium", "you can do it!" "This is not your fathers canned beer". He is the beer manager at a large chain liquor store, so the name needs to be clean, easy to understand if advertised (it will be listed under the beer class category) and subjected to corporate approval. Any ideas?

Who gave birth to this launch pad?

Bighappyfunhouse — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:54:04 -0800

Rocket Slide! Any idea what company originally made this badass rocket slide? They were placed in community parks in the 1970s. Looking for the original manufacturer. My google-fu fails me.