CRAFTconditioned

Over the next couple weeks, many homebrewers (and beer lovers) will be figuring out how to best travel with beer (of both the gift and souvenir varieties). This topic came up as a discussion thread on the Facebook page for MyLHBS recently, and I thought it was worth further discussion here.

TSA has no restrictions for transporting beverages under 24% alcohol other than it needs to be stored in checked luggage. Because I seldom bother to check luggage, I have less experience flying domestically with beer than I do flying internationally. But I compiled tips based on my own experience and some research.  If you have your own stories or recommendations, please share!

*  Wrap it right and wrap it well. Anyone who has worked (or witnessed) ground crews can tell you that checked luggage gets manhandled. If you’re going to travel with beer, wrap it appropriately. At very least, I wrap bottles in a plastic bag and towel in case the bottle breaks. Socks, then Ziploc bags, then dirty clothes seem to be popular combination. Bubble wrap is also a convenient approach – TSA can open it and retape it, as necessary. Another pricier suggestion is Bottle Armor (or similar tools). Whatever you wrap bottles with, be sure to position them in the middle of your bag for additional padding.

*  Pick the right bottle.  Traveling with homebrew will cause the yeast to re-suspend, but a worse fate is the risk of explosion. Even with pressurized luggage holds,  a bottle may explode if it’s already under pressure from over-carbonation. Keep this is mind when choosing which beers to pack. You may even consider traveling with newly bottled beer, before the pressure and trub build up. Since no one’s wardrobe benefits from beer stains and glass shards, remember that good wrapping will help to minimize the damage, so take the extra time to do it right.

*  Presentation. I haven’t had any issue traveling with unmarked bottles, but I also don’t travel extensively with beer. It doesn’t seem unlikely for an agent to start asking questions about an unmarked bottle. A simple label may help here. Or reusing commercial bottles with labels still attached may also help to avoid questions. It’s reasonable to believe you will always run the risk of bottles being confiscated or opened during inspections, though.

*  Customs. When traveling internationally, I have worried about getting caught up in customs to answer questions about yeast strains or other ingredients that may prove to be contraband. I once had a bag of trail mix confiscated by Australian agents because the dried banana slices contain seeds, but they didn’t raise an eyebrow at my bottle-conditioned homebrew. I imagine this is a country-by-country concern so I wasn’t able to find much information on it. Perhaps you have some experience with this?

Sometimes, just shipping bottles may prove to be the best option. The money you save on checked luggage can go toward the shipping costs. Of course, this approach comes with its own complications – different states have different rules and USPS won’t ship any alcohol.  Billy Broas covers the topic of ordering online well, and he pointed me to Jamey Barlow’s good tips on shipping it yourself.

However you choose to transport and share your favorite beverages this holiday, I wish you safe travels and plenty of cheer!

December 5 was Repeal Day, and I celebrated by trying to repeal the cold I picked up while traveling last weekend. Today is apparently National Lager Day. My cold has mostly passed so I have no excuse not to celebrate with a dobbelbock or some such tasty pint. Except, it’s hard to get excited about fake holidays. While I’m not one to scorn a good excuse for a drink, I have to ask, who gets to declare this stuff?

Repeal Day has historical significance. But now we can apparently come up with a concept, slap it on a website, inject it into a social-media thread so it goes viral, and suddenly we’re all raising a glass to rubber duckies and baking soda. I understand the marketing ploys that curse us with such job-themed distractions as Boss’s Day or award Arthur Guinness his own rotating feast day in late September. Ultimately fun is fun, but without evidence to demonstrate some meaningful reason to drink lagers today, I’m inclined to drink whatever will please my palate the most tonight. Cheers!

As beer enthusiasts, I assume we’ve spent a fair amount of time at the pub. And anyone who has spent time at the pub has also witnessed it become the stage for someone’s drama – feuding friends, awkward first dates, the drunk’s aspirations for a one-man show, bachelorette parties. So it can’t be a surprise that the National Theatre of Scotland staged a production inside a pub. Of course, when it came to town I had to check it out and report back.

Long before my love affair with beer, I loved good theatre. I’m particularly interested in good site-specific performance. As a storyteller, it fascinates me to see how performers will creatively use a non-traditional space to augment the story they are telling. “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart“, on tour after a very successful run at the 2011 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, was staged locally at a well-known (and well-worn) beer bar. Attention to a number of details helped to set the scene, loosen up the audience, and establish the feeling of a raucous “lock in”.

The evening began with a complimentary whisky tasting (Benromach – a pleasant, slightly-smokey Speyside single malt) which helped to start conversations and lower inhibitions. The bar also compiled a menu primarily of British-style beers and ciders to further make the audience feel at home in what would soon be transformed into a small-town pub in Scotland. I opted for Oskar Blues Old Chub, a Scottish-style ale with a complex malty (and almost licorice-like) palate.

The cast of 5 players entertained the room with live music from the Scottish Borders before launching into fast-paced, tag-team storytelling complete with cheeky rhyming metre and energetic acting using the entire floor (and a few table tops). Over the next 2 hours, the cast engaged the audience, asking for help to tear napkins into snow, requesting (and receiving) “desultory applause”, trusting audience members to protect their drinks from being spilled, encouraging one-on-one improv to establish a scene, and initiating a rowdy round or two of soccer chanting. In exchange, the actors were rewarded with an audience enthusiastically playing along in a way I seldom see in theatre but have definitely seen on a night out.

Were this a theatre review, I would provide my thoughts on the acting quality, express opinion on whether or not the script was slow at times, and praise the particularly witty bits. But this is a beer blog so I’m more interested in the site-specific element. Put succinctly, by night’s end at least 2 people were stripped to their underwear, most of us were buzzed, and everyone was singing. That sounds like a successful pub performance to me.

Disclaimer: “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” is hosted by The Shakespeare Theatre, a former employer of mine.

To all the people and things that make us happy to be alive. Cheers!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s hard not to enjoy a day dedicated to eating and drinking with people we love to show how grateful we are for what we have. Rather than travel this year, I’m hosting a potluck with friends, including some fellow homebrewers. Even though I was saving a special bottle of wine to share, the reality is that we’re a beer-focused group. Beer will be the beverage of choice. But in true potluck style, we have no theme so we’ll be enjoying a variety of commercial and home brews, drinker’s choice. 

Normally, I’m a big fan of doing at least a bit of pairing. Thanksgiving is also a great time to introduce non-beer drinkers to the variety within craft beers. There are already a number of good articles available on how to pair beers with the traditional Thanksgiving meal, and I don’t feel the need to weigh in this year. Here are a few articles I found interesting, but let me know how you choose (and what you’re drinking this year). 

• A local beer director’s practical advice on how to select beer or wine 
• Local beer experts provide different perspectives on pairing 
• Cider vs. beer, plus some great tips for selecting the right flavor profile
• Incorporate beer into your menu 

I also love how a few local businesses are joining in on the celebration. Many of the local breweries opened for growler hours today to ensure the community could enjoy their local beer of choice as part of the feasts. A few bars are also open tomorrow evening, offering specials and, in one case, an inexpensive Thanksgiving dinner as a thank you to customers.

No matter how you celebrate or what you eat and drink, remember that Thanksgiving is for enjoying what and who we have in our lives. So relax, have a homebrew (or not), tell your loved ones you love them, eat what you like (and as much as you like), watch the game (or don’t), and be thankful for what you have and what you love. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Brewing (and drinking) is always best when done socially. Today is Learn to Homebrew Day, a perfect excuse to get out and  brew with friends, whether you’re teaching, learning, or just there for the beer.

With the growing popularity of craft beers, there’s also been a growing curiosity about the brewing process. As soon as people learn I brew my own beer, I start getting questions about how it’s done. My typical advice to prospective brewers is to shadow a friend to learn the basic process and realize it’s not that difficult to create a pretty good beer. This is exactly what Learn to Homebrew Day is designed to encourage.

For those new to brewing, the American Homebrewers Association has some great resources. Also check your local homebrewers club or supply store. Many are doing demonstrations today or have specials on equipment and supplies. Most online supply sites also have specials today.

In a couple of hours, I’ll be supporting my local homebrew club with their public demonstration. In the spirit of the day, I also invited a few friends to join me. Whether you’re sharing a craft or just a craft beer today, have fun celebrating!

A [franken]storm’s brewing, which means it’s time to prepare to hunker down, assuming a worst case scenario. Preparing over the last week has been a two-step process. First, I needed to customize my emergency plans for the new house, then I needed to make sure I’m ready for this particular event — hurricane with possible flooding and power outage. I’ve discovered that brewing supplies have come in handy when preparing for emergencies.

Disclosure: In addition to coming from a family of worriers, I’ve done work for the American Red Cross over the last few years, so I have a particular interest in preparedness.

Since I moved this summer, I haven’t taken the time to update my emergency plan and supplies for the new location. Hurricane Sandy was good motivation. I’ve had a nagging to-do list in the back of my head since September, National Preparedness Month, so it’s just been a matter of taking the time to get stuff done.  This involves

•  Building a kit: I refreshed the supplies in my first aid kit and my “go bag”, including cash and updated copies of important documents.
•  Making a plan: I customized my plan with new evacuation routes from both my home and my neighborhood. I also updated my contact plan, coordinated with my housemate, family, and friends.
• Staying informed: I signed up to receive emergency alerts through email/SMS and pulled out my crank-powered emergency radio.

Since I expect to be hunkering down at home for this event, I made sure to have the supplies I might need on hand. I now live in an fairly wealthy, urban area where storms are seldom debilitating and the neighbors’ idea of preparing is apparently stocking up on gourmet cupcakes and wine. I didn’t see the run on standard groceries and supplies that are more common in the suburbs. This stage is where brewing supplies particularly come in handy.

• Potable water: Not only does a good emergency kit include a 3-day supply of water (1 gallon per person per day), an emergency water supply is also important for drinking and cooking, or even bathing and flushing toilets, should the main water supply get disrupted or contaminated. I’ve found that unused carboys or fermentation buckets are great for storage purposes. I made sure to fill a few in advance of the storm.
• Beer supply: Water is important, but having beer (or wine or booze) on hand provides another hydration source and helps to calm nerves. Booze can also be used to sanitize in a pinch. My homebrew supply has been depleted since the move, so I made sure to pick up a few commercial beers.
• Food supply: I usually have a kitchen full of ingredients. But it’s important to have some fast, non-perishable, no-cook foods on hand in emergency situations. Items high in protein are particularly important. For this event, I stocked up on instant-y meals, soups, chili, peanut butter, protein bars, soy milk & cereals, etc. Even if I don’t need these foods for this storm, they also come in handy for quick lunches at work or when I’m sick.

Now that I’m ready and just waiting on the storm to hit, there’s nothing left to do but kill some time brewing the first batch of beer in the new house! I’ll report back after the storm clears.

Last week, I met up with some homebrewing friends, Josh Hubner and Mike Stein, to celebrate their first commercial release, a collaboration with local brewery, Lost Rhino, hosted by Smoke and Barrel, one of the premier beer bars in DC. After refining the IPA recipe over a series of four trial batches, Josh and Mike approached Lost Rhino, where they volunteer, to produce the beer. Wandering Belgian is the result — a spicy, bitter IPA with soft citric notes. With help from a crush of friends, family, and curious beer fans, the supply kicked in just four hours.

For me, this event epitomized the state of the DC beer scene today – a community of beer enthusiasts who continually demonstrate a willingness to encourage and support each other from newbie to pro.

The Lost Rhino collaboration is a fantastic opportunity for Josh & Mike. However, it’s not the only example of how local DC breweries are supporting local homebrewers and nurturing the homebrewing scene. You saw it when DC Brau brewed Brian Barrows’ award-winning Belgian paterbier (which won a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival last weekend) and when 3 Stars opened a homebrew shop this summer and invited the DC Homebrewers to hold a club meeting there. Of course, these are just a couple of recent examples.

The local beer bars have also stepped up to play multiple roles within the scene, whether it’s hosting unique (and often local) beer events (Churchkey, Rustico, and Pizzaria Paradiso among many others), sponsoring homebrew competitions (Meridian Pint, Mad Fox, and RFD, all this year), or hosting homebrewer club meetings (most recently, Black Squirrel and District Chophouse). Bars like these have contributed to the vitality of the scene, helped to raise the quality of the product, and bolstered the curiosity of the clientele.

It’s an exciting time to be part of the burgeoning craft beer scene in the DC area. As a homebrewer, a writer, an advocate, and a fan, I’m proud to be playing a part in its success.

DC-area drinkers, what are you particularly enjoying about the scene and what are you looking forward to?

Tomorrow, I celebrate and enjoy the great breadth of autumn beers at an enormous beer jamboree, Snallygaster. A good festival calls for a good plan of attack. My typical approach is 1. make sure I can get in (advanced ticket) 2. make sure I have enough time (show up early and stay late) 3. drink what I like (which may require being selective) 4. remember moderation (eat and stay hydrated). Given the extensive and impressive beer list cultivated by Neighborhood Restaurant Group Beer Director Greg Engbert, however, I may need to outline a more specific plan. The survival guide posted by BYT includes insight from Greg, making it a great reference for mapping the festival.

I love that the large beer lists at many NRG bars are broken out not by beer styles but by flavor profiles. Knowing whether a beer is crisp, fruity, hoppy, malty, sour, etc helps any beer drinker, even newbies, to make a good selection based on what they like or what they want. I use this same technique when making beer recommendations to someone new to craft beers and beer styles.

Greg organizes his festival recommendations in much the same way as his beer menus. Flavor profiles are a great tool for mapping which beers you’ll drink and in what order. The rule of thumb when sampling a variety of beers (or other food and drinks like wine, sushi, chocolate, etc) is to start with lighter flavors and work your way up to heavier, more complex flavors. For festival goers, this could look like crisp lagers > hoppy beers > maltier Oktoberfest beers > smoked beers > sour beers > bigger, desserty beers. Of course, because of festival crowds, you can’t always be choosy about what you drink when. And of course, there are those rare beers that you’ll just need to grab while supplies last….

Tonight, I’ll identify the beers that interest me most out of the list of 150. Those are the ones I’ll try to prioritize tomorrow, maybe even in an order my palette will appreciate. But the most important goal of tomorrow, as always, is to have fun talking about and enjoying beer with other enthusiasts.

Do you have any other tips for how to tackle, survive, or enjoy beer festivals?

When I originally thought up the concept for this blog, I was tackling the challenges of attempting to brew in a small, urban space. I wanted to share my research, experiments, and resolutions to benefit others struggling with similar limitations. But rather than research, compromise and whinge, I settled on a more assertive action plan. I moved.

A friend was looking for someone to share her row house. I was looking for a better home brewery. Did it meet my critera?

• Trade sketchy window units for central heating and air conditioning = better temperature control
• Trade closet for cellar = more storage for beer and brewing equipment
• Trade narrow kitchen with 30-year-old gas stove for wide kitchen with a  reliable model = safer, more convenient stove-top brewing
• Trade flights of stairs to get outside for brick patio with hose spigot just off the kitchen = space to use a propane burner for all-grain and larger batches.

Sounds right to me! And I fortunately met her criteria for a sane, financially-reliable, fun-loving housemate. Plus, I came with my own beer supply!

So, after two months in the new place, why haven’t I brewed anything yet? Motivated by an audience (you, readers!) I have started scheming. To further challenge myself, I outlined a few goals.

• Upgrade equipment to switch from extract to all-grain brewing. I now have the space and no excuses
• Increase my knowledge in one area with each batch, either through researching how something works, trying out new ingredients, conducting experiments, or practicing different techniques
• Teach a friend to homebrew. Brewing should be a social activity anyway
• Devise, experiment and refine the perfect red ale for enjoying soccer matches
• Brew more beer, at least tripling my brewing activity over the next year
• Enjoy more homebrew, preferably with friends

I’ll be referencing these, among other topics that interest me, in the coming months. Fellow brewers, how do you keep yourselves challenged?

I started brewing beer nearly six years ago, after I moved from a hands-on, creatively-satisfying job to an office job that inspired me intellectually. I missed creating a tangible product that can be enjoyed by others, particularly my friends (and biggest fans). Beer proved a successful outlet.

Originally, I was curious to understand more about how the beers I enjoy drinking are created – the magic behind the alchemy. After volunteering to help a friend with a batch, I couldn’t wait to start the next one. My interest soon surpassed his and I eventually inherited his beer lab. I’ve learned a lot during the past six years while also discovering myriad more questions.

I’ve considered a blog for awhile now as a vehicle to offer thoughts, musings, observations, etc about beer, brewing and related topics. Through Craft Conditioned, I’ll share some of the things that I find interesting, extend some of the great conversations I’ve had with other beer enthusiasts, and explore answers to some of the questions that arise during my journey to better brewing and beer appreciation. I hope you’ll enjoy (and join) the conversation.