Beer of the Weekend - My Beer

With as much as I have to say about beer, I am inexperienced in the art and science of its creation. I merely sit on the sidelines, quaffing the rewards, throwing barbs and compliments towards people I don't even know. I am in essence, the equivalent of a theater critic, an armchair quarterback.

To broaden my both my figurative and literal palette, I decide it was time to make the jump into brewing myself.

I had inherited some brewing equipment from an old brewer, and bought some new pieces at my local homebrew store. I picked out some ingredients, enlisted the help of my fiance Amber, and my friend John, and off we went.

I had decided that my first attempt would be an American Style Amber Ale. It seemed that there was a lower probability of screwing that style up, and besides, Amber & I both love it.

We steeped some speciality grains in the mix for some flavor and color, but the base of the brew was from extract. Eventually I'd like to get to all grain brewing, but for now, I'm letting the pros do the mashing.


We used Cascade hops for the bittering, and IPA lovers, it smelled wonderful as soon as it hit the wort. It changed the color of the mix and released a citrus smell throughout the kitchen.

After letting the wort boil for an hour, it was time to cool it down and add the yeast. We used an immersion wort chiller and it worked like a charm. If you're an aspiring home brewer, I highly recommend the investment in this piece of equipment. I've heard that cooling in the sink or tub can take an hour; this took less than 15 minutes.

After that we added distilled water to make up for some lost in the boil, and sealed it up. I'm happy to report that it's bubbling away in the basement and smells delicious. I'll report back on the process as it goes along.

Beer of the Week

Located in Amhearst, Wisconsin, Central Waters Brewing has gone through many changes since its inception in 1998, including owners, brew kettles, and location, but the Oisconsing Red Ale has been there since the beginning.

Named for the Algonquin word for the Wisconsin River, this beer pours a ruby and amber color with a small white head. Subtle lacing appears, and the head refreshes itself after each sip.

The beer has a subtle nose, but it's there if you "look." There are notes of roasted malts, subtle caramel, and just a hint of flowery hops.

Oisconsing has a medium body, smooth and caramelly in the front, with biscuit and graham in the middle, with just a nick of hops on the back. It's a solid amber somewhere between a Fat Tire and an Oktoberfest style.

Owing to the medium body, relatively mild alcohol, and subtle hops, it's highly "sessionable." Although I have a bevy of delicious beers in my refrigerator at the moment, I find myself reaching for this one more than I expected. This is another quality outing from another one of Wisconsin's hidden gem microbreweries. Go Badgers!

Links of Interest:

Central Waters

Beer of the Week

Due to a new job and a new residence, BOTB had to take some well deserved time off. Having settled into our new digs however, a celebratory beer was in order, and it turned out to be our beer of the week.

Singletrack Copper Ale is our second BOTW from the original Colorado microbrewery, Boulder Beer. The bottle and the name are obviously linked to bicycling, perhaps a jab at cross-state rival New Belgium Brewing, whose "Fat Tire" ale also features a bicycle on the label, and also is a similar tasting amber ale.

The beer pours a light copper color (hence the name) and has a small white head that has some retention throughout. No doubt, this is a fine looking beer.

The beer has a light nose of malt biscuit, with some floral hops mingling in there, however not as strong as say, Fat Tire.

Singletrack tastes incredibly well rounded: a nice sturdy medium bodied malt base, with just enough hops bittering and aroma to make it stand out. If it were just a tough sweeter, it could pass for a British ESB, but perhaps because it is not as sweet, I actually enjoyed it more.

Singletrack is definitely a session beer: not too heavy, but flavorful and distinctive enough. I could almost see myself drinking one for a break on a nice long bike ride.

Cheers to Boulder Beer for its second Beer of the Week.

Links of Interest:

Boulder Beer

Beer of the Week

Even though the last two beers of the week were from south-central Wisconsin, we promise that not all of them will be; however, it is Amber's birthday today, so in addition to this BOTW being a delicious brew, it is a nod to Amber. Happy Birthday! With that, we’re thirsty to name Ale Asylum’s Ambergeddon as our recommendation for weekend libation (of course, in moderation).

Our BOTW comes from right in our own back yard, Madison, Wisconsin. Ale Asylum brews a wide variety of beers including a stout, an American pale ale, a blonde ale, and a Belgian dubbel.

Ambergeddon is hard to classify. The brew is a cloudy unfiltered rich red-auburn and has a thick but short head. It has some of the maltiness of a traditional amber ale, but it has hops in an almost IPA level. The mingling of the hops and the malt is one of the qualities that make this beer stand out. Is it a hoppy beer, or a malty beer? It's hard to tell where one stops and the other begins.

The perfect balancing of malt and hops makes this a beer you can have again and again. It satisfies a wide array of tastes and has a cool name to boot. Congrats to the Ale Asylum on Ambergeddon for being our second Beer of the Week.

Links of Interest:
Ale Asylum