BrewedGirl

Kathy and I went to the Hawthorne Bridgeport Ale House last night for some celebratory beers and dinner, and were extremely pleased to see that their amazing onion soup is back on the menu! I don’t know why they ever took it off the menu, but its return makes us 100 times more likely to consider Bridgeport as a dining option. I mean, the beer is pretty good, but this onion soup is amazing! And their other food is consistently quite tasty, making it a great impromptu dinner outing destination.

Oh yeah, and have a beer while you’re there!

What happens when a beer company gets an orchestra to do their commercial? This:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8OxuUEBN9c

Kudos to Victoria Bitter and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for a great concept! Beer really is the most versatile drink in the world.

AVB’s Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema is one of my all-time favorite beers. It’s a real treat to find it on tap, but I’m just as happy when spring arrives and the local store stocks the Summer Solstice. As a seasonal beer, it’ll probably be available from late April through August, then gone until next spring.

What I love about it is that it’s flavorful and interesting, but so drinkable that you could have several pints of it in a day and not mind the repetition. On pouring, it has a clear coppery golden color with a light head that quickly disappates. I love the velvety smooth mouthfeel, the malty, light cream soda flavor that brings a mild but not overwhelming sweetness. The finish is clean, smooth, just enough hops to keep the beer from being sweet. And it gets better as the beer warms up a little, allowing the maltiness and creaminess come through, with the sweetness taking a back seat.

It’s certainly not a beer for everyone, though! I convinced a friend to try it at a bar and she thought it was too weird—too much like cream soda. I hate cream soda, yet I love that taste in this beer. Go figure!

If you happen upon the Summer Solstice at a pub or in the store, really do try it! It’s delicious and unlike any other beer on the market. It will also cost a pretty penny at $9.29/6 pack, but it’s worth the money!

I first made this recipe from The Joy of Homebrewing last spring, and Kathy and I drank it all up right quick. Yum! It turned out the be the perfect light, malty, flavorful but not heavy spring/summer beer. I wasn’t really planning to brew this weekend, but a conversation with some of my students after class about beer left me craving a kolsch. Not enough breweries in town make one! So I guess it’s up to me to supply my own this season.

With the price of hops and malt rising, I was pleased to find all the hops I needed in my freezer — leftovers from last year, or acceptable replacements for the hops I didn’t have. And Let’s Brew has bulk wheat malt extract for only $2/lb, which is great!

Nearly done with the first 30-minute boil, then I add more hops and boil for another 30 minutes. Then it’s time to strain, sparge, and let it cool before I pitch the yeast. In a month or so, I’ll have fresh kolsch to enjoy! Maybe if my students are nice (and 21+), I’ll share some with them!

After a weekend in the 70s and 80s in Portland, my lager-temperature garage reached 60, so I decided to stop lagering the experimental beer and just bottle it. Enough! It’s the clearest beer I’ve ever made, which is no surprise given that it’s mostly made of rice and corn, with “just the kiss of the malt” (as opposed to Schlitz’ “just the kiss of the hops”). Pale and light like, well, Pabst I have to say. Which was my goal! Tastes fine enough warm and uncarbonated, so I’m hoping it’ll be tasty with some fizz and fresh from the fridge. In a few weeks I’ll know for sure.