Beer Draft Kits

New Beer Technology

This is some awesome new beer technology.  Thought I’d share.

If you have some awesome beer technology to share, join us at the Pub for Beer Enthusiasts, Beertaps.com Pub.

Putting Some Good Use to Your Beer Draft Kits

There are beer enthusiasts who are deeply enriched in the beer making world, who own their own home breweries and who take advantage of all the benefits. Then, there are beer enthusiasts who have never even thought of making their own. I can’t imagine why a beer enthusiast wouldn’t at least be interested in giving it a try, but I’m going to try to change that now.

There are many benefits to brewing your own beer and I’m going to take it one step at a time. When you are ready to get off this wild ride, take stage coach left and no one will think any less of you for it. But I bet once this journey begins, you will want to ride it until the wheels fall off.

First, brewing your own beer is a way of putting a mark on your own home bar. You can even get online and design yourself a label and then place it on your bottles, glasses and beer taps even. When company comes over, you can have them all try it. It might just become their favorite beer meaning you might just get company more often if that seems like something you would like to have.

Then, you can start marketing your beer to the local bars. Give them a taste and see if they like it. There are different ways to make this happen. You can get in touch with a local bar owner and tell them you would like to have a tasting at their bar. You offer some of your beer for free and then when people say they like the taste, the bar owner will most likely want to stock it. Make a thing of it. It’s supposed to be a fun time. So, have fun!

The next logical level is to enter into some beer events. Start locally, but again have fun. Go across the country if you want. The more exposure you get, the more buyers you get. Don’t be surprised when someone approaches you to see if you want a sponsor. Sponsorship can take you to levels you have never imagined. Nationwide distribution. Export. International attention.

By this time of course, you have expanded your enterprise to include so much more than a bucket and a kegerator. You have built your brewery into a high powered system that produces enough beer to satisfy all your orders. You’ve moved your operation to a local location that houses your brewery and invites the neighbors to wander in and have a beer. You’ve had to apply for your beer license so that you can start selling your beer and you’ve had to build a bar so that your neighbors have a comfortable place to sit. You’ve got a sign on the front of your place with your name on it and you’ve been highlighted in the paper as the local beer expert.

With a few different flavors now in your inventory, you can have a seat. Take a breath. You’re finished the first phase of Operation Your Brew. The rest of the ride goes anywhere you want it to go.

Fort Worth Examiner Announces Death of Microbrewer and Author Greg Noonan

From Fort Worth Examiner Debbie Cerda

Microbrewer Greg Noonan has been reported to have died in his sleep at home early Sunday morning, according to this Beer Advocate forum. Visitors to the Vermont Pub and Brewery on Sunday found the pub closed, with a sign posted: "Greg Noonan  March — 1951 – Oct. 11th 2009."  What does the death of a craft brewer in Vermont have to do with craft beer in Austin? Plenty.

Greg was one of the best known craft brewers in America, having pioneered the craft beer industry for microbreweries and brewpubs. His books on brewing are mandatory reading for both home and microbrewers, including "New Brewing Lager: The Most Comprehensive Book for Home and Microbrewers" published in 1986 and re-issued in 2003. His sour-mashing techniques were featured in this homebrewing article which appeared in the October 2008 edition of Brew Your Own magazine.

He was a well-known speaker at brewers’ conferences and author of numerous trade journal articles and books. Greg spoke in Texas at the 1998 Bluebonnet Brew-off Homebrew Competition about the beer style he’s authored a book on- Scotch Ales. He provided his expertise by consulting on the startup and design of several pubs and breweries, and helped legalize brewpubs in Vermont by lobbying the legislature for three years to allow pub brewing. His own Vermont Pub and Brewery which opened in 1988 is the third oldest brewpub on the East Coast. Five years later brewpubs became legal in Texas in June of 1993.

It was reported in a 2001 All About Beer article by Stan Hieronymus that Greg bought his malt for his two brewpubs in the Northeast from St. Patrick’s of Texas, an Austin homebrew supply store. The original storefront was located next to Billy Forrester’s Waterloo Brewing Company, the first brewpub in Texas. St. Patrick’s began importing undermodified Czech malt from Moravia in 1998, which was also bought by Austin microbrewery Live Oak Brewing for their Live Oak Pilz.

In 2005, Greg was presented with the Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Brewing at the Craft Brewers Conference from the Brewers Association (see "Past Winners"). More on Greg Noonan excerpted from an article in Business People-Vermont:

"Noonan was brewing beer as a hobby while working as a manufacturing manager for paper and wood products companies in Massachusetts. Microbreweries were just becoming trendy on the West Coast, and he decided to pursue the commercial possibilities for his craft.

He had managed restaurants in New Hampshire and Boston and wanted his own restaurant to feature his brew. He used the results of his research for Brewing Lager Beer to launch his brewpub in Burlington.

“I specifically sited my brewery in Burlington because it’s where I wanted to live. I admired the politics in Vermont,” says Noonan. “I had $175,000, which is a shoestring budget in the brewing industry; brewing equipment is very expensive.”

He applied to several banks for additional funds, but lenders were skeptical. “The banks all said, ‘What is a brewpub?’ But I plunged on anyway with the money I had.”"

Without craft brewing pioneers like Greg Noonan, the brewpub and microbrew industry in Austin as well as Texas may not exist as it does today. He will be sorely missed by all in the craft beer community everywhere.

Homemade Wine Tips

Making homemade wine can a great hobby and a lot of fun to boot. There is nothing like the feeling of opening your own wine and knowing that what you created surpasses many of the high priced winery wines. However, while making wine may be fun, there is a bit of a learning curve.

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!

Packaging your homemade wine can be an important aspect of the wine making process. From the bottle to the cork to the wine label, it can all give your wine that special touch. Wine labels are probably the most important aspect for personalizing your wine.

The wine label will give one the overall impression of the wine. Wine labels are used for logos, the name of the wine and putting personal messages on the bottle that is used as a gift. Sounds like so much fun!