Brew Drinker

4 Types Of Beer That Everyone Should Try

“Beer” is the casual term used to describe a cold refreshing alcoholic beverage made of malt and hops. However, for those with more than a passing interest in the drink, a single word is far from sufficient to describe it.

In fact, world of beer gives you a multitude of options. The amount of differing characteristics that can be found is surprising, with most people having a favorite type even if they are not aware of it. You’d be surprised at how a pilsner can differ from a porter, or how a stout stands out from a cider.

The method of brewing tends to be somewhat similar for most commercially produced beers. However, there are enough slight variations on the basic brewing process for each type of beer to have individual characteristics. Different types of beer have unique qualities like appearance, taste, origin and aroma.

Below are some of the most popular types of beer available…

Lager: Some of the most popular types of beer are lagers. These include American styles including basic lager, all-malt lager, light lager, double pilsner, malt liquor and low-alcohol or “light” beers. Popular international choices include Czech, European, Japanese and German lagers.

Ale: This includes brown ale, American amber, porter and wild ales. Other variations are ales brewed with local techniques from Belgium, Ireland, Finland, Scotland and France.

Cider: While not an official beer, cider is still enjoyed by many beer drinkers. Cider brewed from traditional English farms is a particular favorite of many.

Hybrids: Combining different beer styles or ingredients create this “experimental” beer. Sub-categories include smoked, spiced, fruit and vegetable beer.

You’re missing out if you haven’t tried at least the types of beer listed above. Remember that variety is the spice of the life; you’re severely limiting yourself by always being loyal to one brand. Next time you’re in a beer drinking mood, try something different!.

How To Brew Your Own Beer

Making beer at home is something that every true beer lover should try at some point. It is actually not that difficult of a process, and it is not expensive either.

If you are interested in learning how to make beer at home, then you are definitely going to want to read on so that you can learn about the basic process that is involved to make beer at home.

There are only really a few steps that are involved if you want to make beer at home. The first step of the process being to purchase yourself a beer kit, which you can find easily enough in online beer brewing stores. Make sure that you get a fully comprehensive kit, one that includes all of the different tools and materials required.

Then you need the four main ingredients, which are: water, malt, hops, and yeast. You might be surprised to know water is actually the most abundant ingredient, and makes up most of the final product. Malt is short for malted barley and is a type of grain which has been soaked in water and then dried out. Hops balance out the sweetness by adding a degree of bitterness and also add a distinctive aroma to the finished brew. Yeast is the catalyst which makes it all happen.

The next thing that you need to do is add all of the ingredients together using the beer kit, and there are usually instructions that come with each different beer kit because each kit usually has some different aspects to it.

Should you wish to do so, you can deviate a little from the instructions provided with your beer kit to create a slightly more unique beer. Maybe you want to try adding some of your own flavorings to it, such as honey or banana.

Even if you do make a mistake, you can just throw that batch out and make a new one, as practice is going to be the only way that you will be able to learn. After a few batches, you are going to be quite good at making your own beer, and you will be surprised at the freshness and tastiness of it, especially compared to the beer that you are used to drinking.

Beer Brewing : Join A Home Brew Club

Making your own alcoholic drinks can be fun and challenging at the same time, and will not take up a lot of time or space. Usually one burner on your stove will be enough space, except for storage, and in about two hours, up to five gallons of home brew can be in the keg or ready for bottling.

Are you interested in home brewing? Maybe you have already followed up that interest and have already brewed some alcoholic beverages at your own home. Either way, you may want to consider joining a home brew club. Whether your beverage of choice is beer, wine or grain alcohol, and regardless of where in the country you reside, there is going to be a home brew club to match your interest.

Many times people follow directions for so long they tend to ignore the possibility there are other ways of doing things. As people become more experienced in home brewing, they may try different methods or different ingredients and often willingly share these findings with other members of their home brew club. The sharing of information and tips is just half of the home brew club equation though, the other half being the sharing amongst members of each others finished products.

You will be able to ask questions to more experienced brewers and run ideas past them to see if they think a particular technique will work before you try it yourself. Others in the home brew club may have already tried and failed and can offer advice on how to do things correctly.

Many members of a home brew club are more than willing to share their knowledge and experience, despite the intense competition of brewing the best. Whether it be beer, wine or spirits that you want to improve your knowledge on, someone will be there to lend a helping hand.

Many times a home brew club will have local competitions where members can enter their brews to be judged. You will be going up against some pretty experienced people should you enter but do not let that put you off. This is one type of competition in which taking part is truly more important than winning. You are guaranteed to have great time!

Best Happy Hours in Cleveland

Lolita – I went with my sister and we ordered the mac and cheese and The Lolita Burger. I have to say it is the best mac and cheese I have ever tasted. 5-6:30 pm and 9:30 pm to close Tuesday through Thursday; 5-6 pm and 10:30 p. to close Saturday. 4-6:30 pm. Sunday Lolita is one of Michael Symon’s (of the food network) first restraints. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is only $2 and there are several dishes for only $5

Lincoln Park Pub – Taco Tuesdays, 3 p.m.-midnight. The Tacos are made on homemade taco shells. If you like hot food try the morning after sauce. Tacos, $1.25; Mex beers, $2.25; margaritas, $3.25

Momocho is one of the hippest restraints in Ohio City. From 5-6:30 p.m. daily they have 1/2 off taquitos and margaritas plus a great deal on Tecate.

Blind Pig – Pizza and wings for $5; 23-ounce beers $2.50, 4-9p.m. daily. The pizzas are pretty big for $5, big enough for two people at least. The beer special includes imports. They have the nicest set of TVs downtown.

Light Bistro -4:30-7 p.m. daily, Cocktails starting at $3. Food plates are $5. This is one of the Best Restaurants in Ohio. It is nice to be able to stop in for an after hour bite, but it seams a better idea to go for dinner.

Liquid – 4-8 daily. Half off drinks and bottled beers. The atmosphere is cool and the clientele is young professional. Nice place to grab a beer. The food is very good and easy on the budget. The beer selection is impressive.

Paladar 4-7 p.m. daily, Beer $3, mojitos and margaritas $5; Latin appetizers $2 to $4. This place has a great atmosphere and very good food.

Putting The Home Bar Together The Easy Way

When you have your bar and your cabinets built, you’ll want to get to drinking in it…Now.  But, I’ve seen some make shit jobs that aren’t really all that great.  Then, I’ve seen some expensive setups that are way out of the reach of most of us.

So, here’s the home bar the easy way:

The kegerator is the first thing you put in your bar.  It keeps your keg cool and it adds style in an inexpensive way.

This kegerator can actually make the entire bar.  If you choose to use a kegerator like this to hold your kegs, you can make it a part of the bar’s counter top.  Then, you only need counter space on each side.  That’s a setup made easy, as easy as it gets. 

Grab a tap handle of your favorite beer and now you’ve got something to really get you bragging.  There are tap handles of all kinds, from your favorite domestic to your favorite import.  As a promotional tool, every beer you can think of has a beer tap handle for commercial uses as well as the home bar enthusiast.

But, just in case you have a beer of your own or some other “unrecognizable” libation, get the beer tap handle you can write anything on that you want. 

Tell people, “Try Me!”  Give your concoction a name.  Have fun with it and write, “Make Your Own Beer…” or whatever else you might come up with to prank your friends.

You’ve got the bar.  Dress it up in style.  The kegerator and a beer tap handle can turn any room into a bar.  Your bedroom, your dorm room (oops), your garage, your basement, your tree house…

Anywhere!

Homemade Wine Customization

An awesome hobby that is a lot of fun is making homemade wine. Imagine the feeling you would get by opening a bottle of your very own homemade wine and finding that you have made something that tastes better than a lot of more expensive wines. Making wine is definitely fun, but be prepared because there are some things to learn first.

Before beginning your wine making endeavor, there are some important things that you need to have a real understanding of. There are plenty of experts, websites and books where you can learn the basics and nuances of wine making. There are a lot of places where you can pick up all the equipment needed at reasonable prices both online and at a brick and mortar.

The easiest way to start making homemade wine is to purchase a wine kit. Beginners will find it much simpler to using a wine kit to start with and then move on and up from there.

While it might be a good idea to use quality equipment for wine making it is more important to use top notch ingredients. The higher the quality of ingredients the better your wine will taste, but fear not, if you are on a budget you can still make wine from juice concentrate!

It can take anywhere from seven to ten weeks to complete the entire wine making process and it varies between wine types. Do not drink your wine early because you will ruin the final product and wine is better the longer it gets to age.

Websites and books are great resources for finding yummy wine recipes from dandelion wine to merlot. You can turn your special homemade wine into a personalized gift for someone, tailoring the taste to that of the receiver. A wine lover will appreciate a gift of wine designed especially for them!

An essential part of the experience of making homemade wine is the packaging. The bottle on down to the cork and even the wine label will give your wine that special va-va-voom. In fact, wine labels are the best way to personalize your wine.

Wine labels give the overall feel and impression of your wine. They are used for telling people what type of wine is contained in the bottle, you can put personal messages on the wine used for gifts, and you can put a logo for your wine. How fun is that!

How To Make Your Home Bar More Bar And Less Home

When you are trying to create a bar in your home, of course you begin with the taps and the handles, mirrors and signs.  You built a bar!  It has to look right.  Right?

But when the bar is in place and you think you have it all, what kind of lame bar serves draft beer in plastic cups?  And I’ll be willing to bet that’s what you have.  Red plastic cups that you bought at the grocery store.  Hmm…all that work and then you tap out at the end.

Well, you can add some specialty glasses so that your friends are drinking in style.  This is where it gets tricky, but you can manage.  You don’t just want to get mugs of any kind.  You need to stock up your cabinets with mugs of all kinds.

Vintage mugs from old fashioned beers add such a touch of class.  Especially when you have friends asking you where you got the mugs.  That’s when you realize saving money on those red plastic cups wasn’t worth it after all.

But, don’t stop there.  You should have Pilsners and Pints, Dimpled Mugs and Retro Pubs.  Get mugs with different logos like Coors, Molson, Blue Moon and Killian.  It’s a blast to make sure that you drink out of the right glass for the right kind of draft.

Logo Beer Glasses

DIY Kegerator – A Beer Keg In Your Refrigerator Or Wherever Else

It’s been a dream for many beer drinkers around the world.  But, putting a keg in an old refrigerator for your apartment, den or garage isn’t that hard to do when you have the right material.

A Kegerator Conversion Kit is all you need and there is something that you may have never thought about, but it’s a surprise and I’ll tell you in a minute.  These conversion kits change any old refrigerator into a kegerator in minutes.  Install the shank and faucet directly in to the door of your refrigerator and hook up the Co2 inside.  You’ll be drinking from your kegerator in no time at all.

But, here’s something that not many people think about.  The Kegerator Conversion Kit can also be used for other home bar designs.  Wall mount it to a closet.  That’s right!  Turn your closet into a kegerator.

All you need to do is install the shank and faucet on the wall the way you would the door of your refrigerator.  Then, grab a large trash can full of ice just like you would for a normal keg party.  Hook up the Co2 inside the closet and you are ready to drink some cold beer with the keg hidden in the closet, fully functional for your party.  Of course, this is really only good for keg parties when you have them.  But, you can try to keep ice in the trash can as you keep swapping out kegs.

As this idea starts to spark the imagination, I want to see Kegerators everywhere!  Garages, Bedrooms, Kitchens, Living Rooms, Bathrooms, through the wall to the Patio outside…etc.

Beertaps has the Kegerator Conversion Kit you need!

Making Money Being A Brew Drinker

You watch people on television having a great time.  Some of the reality television shows allow their contestants to be viewed while drinking.  Some actors like Norm have made a career out of it.  But, can you get paid to drink beer?

It would be nice to know, wouldn’t it?

I loved watching Tara Reid get drunk on the Wild On… episodes that she hosted and on the Taradise show that had a short run.  You sit back and watch the show thinking, “Man, why can’t I land a gig as sweet as that?”

You get paid to roam around the world, find the best places ever and drink their alcohol to show people at home how fun it is.  That’s the gig of the century.  But, then the thought occurs to you that only blessed people like Tara Reid get gigs like that.

Well, not anymore.  Getting paid to drink is no longer a gig for the beautiful and talented.  It’s a job all of us can have.

It seems that there are plenty of beer companies starting a trend.  They love to pay people to drink their beer and give them feedback.

“Just two nights ago I attended a beer & wine discussion group and for about 1 hour of my time, sampling a few different beers and wines and answering some questions I received $70.” Tim Costello, author of Make Money Drinking Beer.

It does appear that the blessings have been passed on to the rest of us.  So, if you think you can participate in a drinking group where people will be drinking and talking about drinking, the learn more about how to make money drinking beer…

10 Awesome Oktoberfest Party Ideas

Oktoberfest takes place over 16 days in September and October every year in Bavaria. In addition there are many private Oktoberfest parties thrown throughout the world. You can throw your own with the help of the following Oktoberfest party ideas:

1. Make your invitations out of card. Make cut outs of lederhosen, beer kegs, beer steins, beer glasses, beer goggles or bratwursts. State clearly that anybody who does not dress up will be charged on the door!

2. For costumes, guys get to wear the awful lederhosen. Hold them up with some braces and you will look truly ridiculous. Get yourself a hat with feather and some knee height socks and you are set to go!

3. Ladies, you get to wear traditional Alpine peasant girl costume. This includes a lacy blouse and a tight bodice.

4. Get your decorations in the colors of blue and white, the Bavarian flag color. Get blue and white balloons and place them everywhere.

5. To make your venue look like a traditional brau haus bier keller, you need long wooden tables and benches. If necessary fix them together, but they should be in a long line!

6. Bake some gingerbread men and hang them from the ceiling. Make cut outs of lederhosen, beer glasses and beer kegs and also hang them up!

7. Get some German flags to hang on the walls. Also get plenty of mini versions to place on the tables.

8. You could hire a brass band to play traditional beer hall music, provided its in your budget.

9. Some traditional German food you should make would be Weiner Shnitzel, pretzels, garlic bread, sauerkraut, bratwurst, nuremburgers, apple strudel, gingerbread, black forest cake and stollen.

10. Of course, the most important element of any Oktoberfest party is the beer. Make sure you stock up with plenty! Make sure it is German beer! There will be people wanting to try many different sorts of beer so get in a variety.

We hope you have found some useful Oktoberfest Party Ideas here as well as inspiration for your theme party! We also have many more Oktoberfest Party Ideas to help you with your party planning and enable you to throw the best Oktoberfest party possible that your guests and yourself will remember forever!