Homemade or home-brewed beer can be a rewarding experience with the right tools and the right recipe. A search of the Internet will bring up everything from recipes for Moose Milk Stout to Lawnmower Special. Here is a collection of homebrew beers from around the world.

MOOSE MILK STOUT

(This beer recipe is from the Easy Homebrew site.)

Ingredients

6 lb Munton Fison DME

¼ lb Black Patent malt

½ lb Roasted Barley

¼ lb British Chocolate malt

½ lb British crystal malt 60° L

½ lb Lactose

1 oz Challenger hops

5 oz priming sugar

1084 Irish Ale yeast

Preparation method:

” Steep specialty grains for 20 minutes in 2-3 gallons of water.

” Remove grains and bring to boil.

” Add DME, lactose and hops. Stir well.

” Boil 60 minutes.

” After 60 min. boil, chill wort to 70° and pitch yeast.

” Ferment 5 days in primary.

” Rack to secondary for another 5 days.

” Prime and bottle.

” Store at room temperature for 14 days.

” Serve at 55°

NOTTING HILL PUB BITTER

(Here’s an English Bitter, found on the Beer Smith site.)

General Information:

Type: Extract

Batch Size: 5.00 gal

Boil Size: 3.50 gal Asst Brewer:

Boil Time: 60 min

Equipment: CCHBS partial boil instructions

Taste Rating (out of 50): 35.0

Ingredients:

” 1 lbs Extra Light Dry Extract (3.0 SRM)

” 3 lbs Pale Liquid Extract (8.0 SRM)

” 8.0 oz British Crystal 77L (77.0 SRM)

” 4.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM)

” 1.00 oz Challenger [8.00%] (60 min)

” 0.70 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00%] (10 min) (Aroma Hop-Steep)

” 1 Package London Ale (W yeast Labs #1028)

Notes (Carbonation):

Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar

Volumes of CO2: 1.8

Pressure/Weight: 2.2 oz

Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.0 F

Age for: 28.0 days

Storage Temperature: 52.0 F

LAWNMOWER SPECIAL

Here’s a homemade light American lager from the prolific BeerSmith site.

General Information:

Type: All Grain

Batch Size: 5.28 gal

Boil Size: 6.05 gal Asst Brewer:

Boil Time: 60 min

Taste Rating (out of 50): 35.0

Ingredients:

” 5.29 lb Lager Malt (2.0 SRM)

” 1.72 lb Corn, Flaked (1.3 SRM)

” 0.49 oz Crystal [3.10%] (60 min)

” 0.49 oz Crystal [3.10%] (20 min)

” 0.49 oz Crystal [3.10%] (10 min)

” 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

” 1 Package Pilsner Urqell (Wyeast Labs #2001) [Starter 125 ml] [Cultured]

Notes (Mash & Carbonation):

Mash Name: Single Infusion, Light Body, No Mash Out Total Grain Weight: 7.01 lb

Sparge Water: 4.70 gal

Grain Temperature: 72.0 F

Sparge Temperature: 168.0 F

Tun Temperature: 72.0 F

Adjust Temp for Equipment: FALSE

Mash PH: 5.4 PH

Mash In Add 8.76 qt of water at 161.5 F 150.1 F 110 min

Mash Notes: Simple single infusion mash for use with most modern well modified grains (about 95% of the time).

Carbonation Type: Corn Sugar

Volumes of CO2: 2.4

Pressure/Weight: 4.0 oz

Keg/Bottling Temperature: 60.1 F

Age for: 28.0 days

TSING-TAO

(Here’s a homemade “clone” beer recipe replicating a Chinese lager: Tsing Tao. For an extensive list of clone beers, check the AngelFire site.)

Yield: 5 gallons

Ingredients:

” 6 3/4 lb. American 6 row

” 1lb. Rice Hulls

” 1 1/2 Lb. Rice

” 1/2 Lb. Crystal 10L

” 1 Lb. Rice syrup

” 1/3 oz. (9 grams)Tettnanger

” 3/4 oz. (21 grams) Saaz

” 1/4 oz. Saaz

” 1 tsp. Irish Moss

” Wyeast Pilsen Lager yeast

” 3/4 cup Corn Sugar

Instructions:

Grind rice and cook until soft (about 20 minutes). Mash all grains together including the hulls and rice cook for 30 minutes at 122F. Raise heat to 150F for 60 minutes. Sparge and accumulate 1 1/5 gallons of wort. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Add the rice syrup, Tettnanger and 1/5 oz. of Saaz. Add water to make 2 1/2 gallons. Boil for 50 minutes. Add the rest of the Saaz and the Irish Moss. Boil for ten more minutes. Cool. Add water to make 5 gallons. Add yeast.

Notes:

” Primary 7 days

” Secondary: 1 week

” O.G.- 1.048

” F.G.- 1.010

” Alcohol - 4 1/2%

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She’s a pretty girl, and she can make a cake from scratch, but can she make homemade beer? You might be surprised at how many people make and store homebrewed beer. Is your mate among them? Are you?

Beer making follows very simple rules. So, why wait? If homebrewed beer is something you’d like to try, then this should help you get started. And the good news is that it costs very little to bottle your first homemade brew.

People have been making homemade alcohol for thousands of years, ever since man first stumbled onto fermentation. After tasting the results of fruit left to rot in the bottom of a jug (wine), he moved to grains, which are the main ingredients of beer. Beer recipes have been found among some of the world’s oldest recorded Sumerian writings.

Homebrewed beer is a thoughtful process, not a complicated one; it involves 6 components or steps:

1. Mash is made when a malted grain is mixed with water and then heated causing the starch to change into sugar. Mashes are available in a “No Boil” Kit, a partial mash, or the most complicated option, a full mash.

2. Wort (pronounced wirt, not wart) is the liquid formed by the malted grain mash. Wort can be purchased pre-made in dry or liquids.

3. Fermentation happens when a sugar mash is encouraged to convert into alcohol and carbon dioxide via the introduction of bacteria (yeast). Once yeast is added, wort becomes beer.

4. Conditioning (also known as secondary fermentation) is when the beer is siphoned from one container to another and allowed to brew again.

5. Carbonation takes place with the addition of a second sugar to the beer, which is then stored in either bottles or kegs.

6. And the easy part….Drinking!

Still afraid to get started? Perhaps master brewer and author, John Palmer, can help. He knows the ins and outs of home-brewing beer and the mistakes that can be made. He says his first homemade beer was “fit only for mosquitoes to lay their eggs in.”

He suggests beginning with a “fool-proof” ale beer recipe because ale is the easiest type of homemade beer to make. Palmer includes terms and tools you’ll need to make your first beer.

You could start brewing beer from scratch or you could begin with a home brewing beer kit which can be had for under $100. Beer kits are available from your local beer and wine supplies store, eBay, or one of the links below.

A simple search of the Internet will leave you with thousands of returns for recipes, games and other important beer information. Making your own beer can not only be useful it can also be a great experience. Think about it, they brewed their own beer years ago and look how much fun they had. So much they tried to shut them down! Try and stay out of trouble, but there is nothing any better than a home brewed cold one.

Caution

Homemade beer is for your consumption; stay out of trouble, don’t sell it.

And play it safe, check with your state or provincial laws before embarking on your homebrew beer adventure.

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Will today’s well-stocked medicine cabinet now hold a bottle of beer? According to 10 years of scientific research, the answer is, “Yes.”

The next time someone says that beer isn’t good for you, smile smugly, hold up your beer mug and tell him or her they are wrong!

Worldwide research done over the past decade shows that beer drinkers enjoy a multitude of health benefits from the amber ale.

First and foremost, beer drinkers are less likely to die from heart attacks. That comes straight from Harvard University. According to an April 2001 issue of the Harvard Gazette, heart disease sufferers who drink about 2 glasses of beer a day are less likely to suffer heart failure.

In the past, it was believed that only wine provided health benefits because of a chemical found in grapes. But Harvard researchers say it’s not the grapes; it’s the alcohol in the beer or wine that brings about the positive results.

Later, a 2003 study done by Israeli researchers showed that male heart patients who drank a glass of beer a day also reduced their risk of heart attacks because of changes to blood chemistry.

And across the world, an Australian study of nearly 3000 senior men found that those men who drank beer everyday were also less likely to suffer with heart problems.

Studies have also shown beer reduces the risk of strokes because beer lowers the stroke-causing protein: fibrinogen.

In a 2002 Texas Southwestern University study, researcher Dr. Norman Kaplan concluded that beer drunk in moderation could lower occurrences of bad cholesterol. That’s the waxy substance that builds up in the artery walls of our circulation system causing heart attacks.

And there’s more to the story.

Beer lovers may have a better chance of maintaining good eyesight. Beer or ale contains antioxidants. A glass of beer a day could provide the antioxidants necessary to reduce the risk of eye cataracts.

Need another reason to have a glass of bubbly? The hops and barley used to make beers and ales are full of the vitamins necessary for good nervous system and brain health: Vitamin B.

And here’s a little something to share with your wife or mother-in-law — modest beer drinking by itself won’t cause a beer belly. In 2003, both British and Czech researchers concluded there is no scientific evidence supporting weight-gain among beer drinkers.

After examining nearly 2000 Czech men and women (considered the biggest consumers of beer in the world), no link between beer consumption and stomach size or weight was found.

In fact, compared to yogurt and fruit juice smoothies; beer is actually less fattening.

Does that mean you can make beer a primary source of your diet, morning, noon and night? Of course not. Just as you wouldn’t drink a steady diet of orange juice, beer should be consumed in moderation.

Researchers further caution that beer drinking can only be good when drinkers avoid other ill-health producers like smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise and over-drinking.

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If you enjoy wine and your friends enjoy wine, a casual wine tasting can be a great way to enjoy wine together and test each other’s palates. You can hold blind tastings if you really want to test your skills and the skills of your friends, or you can just get together and try out the different types of wines that you and your friends enjoy.

Many formal wine tastings do not allow you to swallow the wine. The tasting is simply to get the taste, smell the bouquet and enjoy the overall experience of the wine. At your casual tasting you can feel free to allow your guests to drink the wine, but there may be sobriety issues if you do this. It is also important to realize that you may not get the full flavor and effect of the wine as you get deeper into the tastings.

Either way that you perform your tasting you will want to have clean glasses for each person and each bottle. You will also need a clean white tablecloth. The white tablecloth will allow you to get a good view of the wine. The tablecloth allows you to see the wine’s body and any sediment that may be in the glass from an aged wine. Candlelight will also allow you to see the wine clearly and any sediment that may be in the bottle or decanter. Clean glasses are extremely important, as any residue in the glass will cause your wine to have an impure taste.

To help keep the event easy, ask your guests to bring a bottle of their favorite wine. You may also need them to bring their own glasses if you do not have enough. You will also need some crackers or bread to help cleanse the palate as well as room temperature water. Cold water will shock your taste buds.

You will want to decant your red wines. If you cannot decant them all at once, you may want to pour a small amount in each glass and allow them to breathe a bit. The more air contact the wine has, the better they will taste. You may also choose to explore the difference that decanting makes. Taste the wine at ten and fifteen minute intervals. White and blush wine should be chilled slightly before serving.

When you taste your wines, it is a good idea to have a paper and pencil available so that your guests can take notes and rank their wines. You will also want to start with lighter and simpler wines and then move on to the drier and heavier wines. You will not taste your white wines as well as if you drink the heavier and dry wines first. If you must reuse a glass, swirl some water around in it and dry it with a clean cloth so that the water does not dilute the wine.

Begin by looking at the wine and observing its clarity and color. A wine is judged on its color, aroma and taste. Hold the wine up to a light and note the color of the wine. The wine should also appear to be clear and cloudy. Next, tip the glass slightly and swirl it gently. The wine flows around the glass and if the wine clings and dribbles down the side in “legs” or stripes, this mean that the wine is a medium bodied wine. If the wine forms a sheet, it is a full-bodied wine.

Next, tip the glass and swirl the wine around while holding it a little bit away from your nose. This helps to increase the amount of scent that is available for your nose to smell. Inhale the wine deeply and then move it away, this will keep you from becoming overwhelmed by the aroma. You may be able to smell fruit, yeast, grass, or earth in the wine.

The last step is to taste the wine. Take a small sip and push it up in front of your mouth and then inhale through your teeth. Slosh the wine around in your mouth and cover your tongue with it. You are going to want to taste the predominant tastes at first and then the secondary tastes that appear. Is the wine’s taste complex? Does it have a wood-taste?

Take a moment between wines to rinse your mouth and take a bite of unsalted crackers or bread. This will help to clear the taste from the previous wines. If you hold a blind tasting, place the bottles in brown bags or remove the labels. Have your guests make notes and guess what the varietals and brands are.

Wine tastings don’t have to be formal affairs. They can be very casual and you can have a lot of fun with it. There are even wine tasting kits that you can buy to supply you with the necessary bags, tags and other wine information that you may need.

Caroline Silverstone is a freelance writer for The Wine Standard, an
online wine store. She specializes
writing about a variety of wine gifts
such as

rabbit corkscrews and wine openers and
riedel wine
glasses.

Whenever most of us think of endurance, we think of a variety of things. We think of an athlete crossing the finish line after a ten mile run. We imagine mountain climbers sopped in sweat reaching the apex of a steep grade. We think of lung capacity, we think of willpower and we think, with a bit of envy, of the Energizer Bunny. When it comes to endurance, we think of all sorts of things, but wine isn’t usually one of them. Drinking paper cups of Chianti during a race seems pointless, crossing the finish line and immediately chugging a glass of Shiraz seems weird, and pouring a bottle of Merlot over yourself in a celebratory shower seems downright ridiculous: that stuff will stain your workout clothes.

Despite the fact we might not equate endurance and wine - or really wine and athletics - recent studies are proving there may be a strong relation between a red wine compound and your body‘s ability to produce energy.

Now Gatorade, don’t worry. PowerAde, stop pouting. All Sport, be a sport: red wine is not out to take your jobs, it’s simply out to prove that endurance can be found at the bottom of all sorts of bottles, not just the ones designed as sports drinks.

In November of 2006, Johan Auwerx - a researcher at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology in France - published an article based on proof that reservatrol, a natural compound found in red wine, could help improve endurance in mice. He and his coworkers proved this by putting groups of mice on a variety of diets and noting the results.

One group of mice was placed on a regular diet, one group was placed on a diet high in fat, and one group was placed on a diet high in fat and high in reservatrol. After three weeks, the mice on the diet high in fat weighed 60 percent more than the mice on the regular diet, but the mice on the diet high in fat and high in reservatrol weighed only 20 percent more than the mice on the regular diet. The mice who were taking reservatrol gained 40 percent less weight. These mice also portrayed better fitness levels: they were able to run twice as long as the mice who were not given the compound (even after the weight gains were taken into account).

Whether this will work the same way in humans is still the root of much speculation. To begin, the mice were given so much reservatrol that a human, in order to receive the same amount, would have to consume nearly 100 glasses of red wine in a 24 hour period. Though some people might think this a great idea, most would probably find such excess only results in the world’s biggest hangover or - as Gatorade likes to call it - “job security.”

Reservatrol is believed to help endurance because it jumpstarts the body’s mitochondria, which provide cells with energy. When the body consumes reservatrol in large amounts, the passage that provides cells with more mitochondria is activated, and the body is suddenly consumed with much larger amounts of energy. This also leads to an enhanced metabolism and an ability to burn fat at an increased rate.

Reservatrol doesn’t just help increase endurance on a muscular level: it also adds to the greatest endurance of all: an increased lifespan. Known as a compound that can literally slow down the aging process, reservatrol is a multi-talented chemical. Like the overachiever we all hated in high school, reservatrol is the class president/cheerleading captain/teacher’s pet/scholarship winner of the chemical world.

As of now, the future influence reservatrol will have on endurance is very much up in the air. We only know that the above findings have opened doors to many possibilities. Drinking just a glass or two of red wine a day won’t suddenly give you the ability to “be like Mike,” but this discovery could lead to athletes one day taking reservatrol supplements. It could even open the door to a “sports drink meets wine” conglomerate: as bottles of red wine get infused with more reservatrol to become Graperade, a fitness drink for the next generation, known for reeling in athletes with the tagline, “Wine is just “win” with an ‘e.’”

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

The German people are known for a lot of things; one of them is beer. With over
thirteen-hundred different breweries spanning the country, beer is an essential piece of
their tradition and ancestry. The Czechs and the Irish are the only countries above the
Germans with beer consumption per capita. The history of Germanic beer goes back to the
beginnings of the nation when monks started to experiment with brewing about 1000 A.D.
Eventually, brewing started to become very lucrative for the monks and the country’s
monarchy began to regulate the manufacturing of the brew. The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or
purity requirement, was written in 1516 and remains the most famous and significant
aspect to effect German brewing.

The Bavarian Reinheitsgebot was authorized by Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria to guarantee
Bavarian beers were only of the highest quality. Water, hops, and barley are the only
ingredients allowed in beer according to the regulation. Unaltered after almost 500
years, the Reinheitsgebot is the oldest regulation put on food in the world. The only
addition to the proclamation is the addition of yeast to the list of vital ingredients.
Yeast found naturally in the air was what brewers in the past used. Because of the stern
code of quality followed by the purity standard, Bavarian breweries were soon considered
the superior makers of beer. As the reputation of the Bavarian breweries spread across
the nation more and more manufacturers began to adhere to the proclamation as well.

As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, Germanic brews have a long-standing notoriety of
making quality beers made from only the purest ingredients. As time passed and Germany
began to export beer, a lot of cities became famous brewing locations. The city of Bremen
had over six-hundred breweries in it by 1500 and was the top exporter of beer to Holland,
Scandinavia, England, and even as far as India. Einbeck and Braunschweig were a couple of
other famed brewing cities. In modern Germany, the majority of the nation’s drinking
citizens still prefer fabbier, or draught beer, over bottle beer because of it’s robust
flavor and right amount of foam. In use still today, German beer steins became popular
around the time the purity requirement came along in an effort to prevent more breakouts
of the black plague.

Germany began many regulations to stop its citizens from getting ill during the time of
the black plague. Massive amounts of diseased flies would fly in people’s food and spread
the disease. This led to the German beer stein, a drink vessel with a hinged top that
could be used with the thumb so a person could prevent infection and still be able to
drink with their free hand. As citizens began to learn the plague spread in unclean
conditions with stagnant water, beer consumption rose exponentially. Originally crafted
from stoneware with pewter tops, steins rose in popularity. German beer steins began to
be crafted entirely of pewter for nearly three-hundred years as the pewter guild became
more powerful. Eventually, porcelain and silver steins were introduced and continue to be
produced today.

Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for “Beer Maniac” fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at beer tap handles, and german beer steins, websites for household draft beer accessories.

The Germans are famous for a lot of things; one of them is brewing. With over 1300
different breweries spread across the land, beer is an important part of their culture
and heritage. As far as per capita beer consumption, the German people are only below the
Czechs and the Irish. The monks started to experiment with brewing around one-thousand
A.D. at the beginning of the Germanic history The nation’s monarchy eventually started
to legislate the production of beer as brewing became more and more profitable. The most
important and influential factor to influence German brewing came about in
fifteen-sixteen with the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot, or the purity standard.

To help make sure Bavarian beers were only the best quality the Duke Wilhelm IV
authorized the Bavarian Reinheitsgebot. The document states that beers must only be made
of water, hops, and barley. Unaltered after almost five-hundred years, the Reinheitsgebot
is the oldest legislation put on food on the earth. Yeast is the only addition to the
list of essential ingredients in the proclamation. Manufacturers before had just used the
yeast that was naturally in the air. Bavarian beer makers were soon known as the best
producers of beer because of the stringent standard of quality following by the purity
requirement. As the notoriety of the Bavarian breweries spread across the nation other
manufacturers began to adhere to the proclamation as well.

As a result of the Reinheitsgebot, German beers have a long-standing reputation of
producing quality beers made from only the best ingredients. A lot of locations became
famous brewing spots as time passed and Germany started to export beer. By 1500,
Scandinavia, Holland, England, and even as far as India principally recieved their beer
from one of the more than 600 breweries in the town of Bremen. A couple of other famous
brewing towns were Einbeck and Braunschweig. In modern Germany, most of the country’s
beer-drinking people still prefer fabbier, or draft beer, over bottled beer because of
it’s full-bodied flavor and right amount of head foam. In use still today, German beer
steins became popular about the time the purity standard came about in an effort to stop
further breakouts of the black plague.

During the era of the black plague, Germany originated several regulations to stop its
people from getting ill. Infection would spread as large amounts of infected flies landed
in citizen’s food and beverages. This led to the German beer stein, a beverage vessel
with a hinged lid that could be operated with the thumb so somebody could prevent
infection and still be able to drink with their free hand. As citizens began to learn the
plague spread in unsanitary conditions with stagnant water, beer drinking rose
exponentially. German beer steins were originally made of stoneware with pewter lids.
German beer steins started to be made completely of pewter for nearly three-hundred years
as the pewter guild became more powerful. Eventually, porcelain and silver steins were
introduced and are still produced in the present.

More than 5000 brands of beer are produced today from more than 1350 breweries within
Germany’s borders. The oldest beer maker in the world that continues operation today is
the Benedictine abbey Weihenstephan, that has been making beer since one-thousand and
forty. The Franconia region of Bavaria by the city Bamberg is the most concentrated area
for breweries in Germany. Most beers can be placed by ales and lagers but German
breweries produce a large variety of tastes. The majority of beers have an alcoholic
content from 4.7% to 5.4% but some types can be as high as 12%, making them more
powerful than a lot of wines.

Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for “Beer Maniac” fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at beer tap handles, and german beer steins, websites for household draft beer accessories.

If you read the newspapers, you probably see a lot of stories about the health problems that the country is facing. You see headlines of people suffering from heart attacks, cancer, and other illnesses, but you may not have heard an easy (and delicious) solution to some of these headlines - beer.

Remember, that you should definitely consume all alcoholic beverages in moderation, and if you have any questions about whether this will benefit your health, you should talk to your doctor. Ok, we’ve told you the legal disclaimer, let’s get down to the facts and the research that show that beer, consumed in moderation, can actually help your health.

So how can beer help you to keep you healthy? Well, studies have found that it can actually be good for your heart, just like wine. If you are worried about your heart health, you should obviously exercise and eat right, but drinking two beers a day for men (and one for women), may give some people an extra boost. Remember, the advice is one to two beers a day, so drinking three or four beers a day won’t triple or quadruple these effects of the beer.

What exactly can beer do to help your heart? Well, according to a study done by Tufts University, the consumption of beer in moderate amounts can decrease your cholesterol level, reduce the amount of fibrinogen in your blood (which is a protein that is responsible for blood clotting), and increase the level of antioxidants in your body.

Are all beers created equally? Not really, because although you can get health benefits from all beers, dark beers are actually better for your health than lighter colored beers. Dark beer contains more flavonoids than light beer. Flavonoids come from plants, and are also found in chocolate and red wine. What are the benefits of flavonoids? Flavonoids have been proven to prevent cancer and promote a healthy heart. Sure, you can find flavonoids in other foods, such as fruits and vegetables, but they are also present in high numbers in dark beer.

If heart disease runs in your family, you may want to listen to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, which found in their research that drinking a moderate amount of beer daily can decrease your risk of coronary disease by about 30-40%. This is a great study to show your wife when she complains about you drinking a beer or two every evening. You can just reply with “Sorry honey. I’m doing it for us, not for me.”

No longer do beer drinkers have to switch to wine if they want to get the health benefits of alcohol, because now they can get them from their favorite beverage. Of course, if you want more information about the effects of beer on your health, you should definitely consult your physician. Beer drinking can be dangerous for people who have certain health conditions or who take some medications. If you are already a casual beer drinker, you don’t have to give it up to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

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If you enjoy drinking beer, but don’t enjoy the high prices of going to a bar or restaurant for a decent brew, you can brew your own beer in your kitchen. If you are tired of paying a lot of money for beer that you think tastes like cat piss, you should consider brewing it yourself.

Beer brewing is not really a difficult thing to do, if you have a bit of patience, you can really get a great tasting beer the first time you brew. If you want to do a bit of home brewing for the first time, you are probably going to want to get a kit that will help you. Then, invite a few friends to come over and give you a hand. Don’t forget that brewing beer isn’t an instant process, so you will have to buy a couple of six packs to tide you over until it is ready.

If you can boil water, you can make a delicious beer (and if you can’t boil water, don’t worry, there are several kits that you can buy, which you don’t even need to boil water to make). Don’t worry; you don’t really need a lot of equipment to get a great tasting beer. You will need at least one large container to store the beer in while it is fermenting (impress your friends by calling it a ‘carboy’), a large pan (to boil water and mix ingredients in), a siphon tube, and a hydrometer (which will tell you whether the beer is done or not).

To make your first batch of beer, you are going to follow three basic steps: clean, brew and bottle. If this is your first time brewing, it may take a bit longer, but once you have the hang of it, the cleaning and brewing part of the beer making process should take about 90 minutes for each batch.

If you want great tasting beer, you need to make sure that you have the best water and clean equipment. If your containers are dirty, it is definitely going to affect the way that your beer tastes. If you don’t want to sanitize your stuff, make sure that you delegate the task to someone who will.

Brewing is about as easy as boiling water and stirring in the ingredients. The amount of each ingredient is going to change depending on the type of beer you are brewing, but all you have to do is boil some of the water and add the grains. Follow the instructions for the particular type of beer that you are making. The last step is to add the yeast, which will start the fermentation process.

Then the hard part begins: waiting. It takes at least five days for the beer to be ready for bottling, and depending on the type of beer, it can take a lot more time (which is why you are now glad that you took the advice of buying a couple of six packs to tide you over).

If you want your beer to look as great as it will taste, you can put them in glass bottles. This is the final step, and one that every brew master will like, because the sooner you put the last cap on the bottle, the sooner you can get out the bottle opener and pop open one of your handcrafted beers.

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If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Rhône Valley region of southeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local red Côtes du Rhône.

Among France’s eleven wine-growing regions the Rhône Valley ranks second in acreage. The region extends 125 miles (200 kilometers) along the Rhône River. This region is actually composed of two parts, the north and the south whose wines tend to be quite different. The northern Rhône Valley is quite narrow. The major red grape variety is Syrah, while the major white variety is Viognier. The southern Rhône Valley produces about 95% of the Rhône Valley wines. This is the kingdom of grape blending. For example the famous Châteauneuf-Du-Pape AOC wine may be made from up to thirteen different grape varieties. The better wines are clearly defined as coming from the northern or the southern part of the Rhône valley. We will be reviewing some of these wines in later articles.

The site of Avignon was probably settled by the Celts. It was a flourishing city in the time of the Ancient Romans. But it is best known as the home of seven popes between 1309 and 1377. Who would have thought that when Pope Clement V chose this southern French city for the site of his Papacy, it was ruled by the King of Sicily, albeit through the house of Anjou, in the opposite corner of France? Avignon and the surrounding area remained more or less papal property until the French Revolution. The major tourist site is the Palais des Papes (Papal Palace), which unfortunately is missing many of its original furnishings. But there is a lot more to see including several churches and museums, the beautiful hilltop garden Rocher des Doms (Rock of the Domes), the opera house, the Clocktower Square, and of course the Pont-St.-Bénézet (St.-Bénézet Bridge) made famous by a children’s song Sur le pont d’Avignon (On the Avignon bridge). Parts of this bridge are said to date back to the Twelfth Century. And you’re only a little more than ten miles (less than twenty kilometers) from the village of Châteauneuf-Du-Pape.

Before reviewing the Côtes du Rhône wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region.
Start with Fois Gras de Canard (Duck Liver Pâté).
For your second course savor Caillette (Pork-Liver Meat Loaf).
And as dessert indulge yourself with Sorbet (Sherbert) and fresh fruit.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed
Réserve Perrin Côtes du Rhône P2004 13% about $12

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. Roaming Rhône. This wine will transport you to the South of France. Five generations of Perrin winemaking culminate here as you breathe in aromas of candied cherries, plum, spice, and earthy tones. There’s volumes of juicy cherry flavors surrounded by good ripe tannins on the medium-bodied palate. Gourmets can savor it with chicken or lamb tajine.

Most of the wines that we have reviewed are made from a single grape variety. This wine, like most of the wines in the southern Rhône Valley, is a blend, in this case 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvèdre, and 10% Cinsault.

My first meal consisted of rib steak and fried potatoes. The steak was marinated in a homemade ketchup and horseradish mustard sauce. By accident too much mustard fell into the sauce, but I didn’t want to throw it out and start over again. No problem, this wine rose to the challenge easily and wasn’t in the least overwhelmed by all that horseradish. I still tasted dark fruits and spices.

My next meal involved slow cooked ribs and potatoes. The wine was very round and full. While it wasn’t complex it was quite pleasant. In addition to the above components I tasted a bit of tar. When the food was gone the wine tasted peppery. I liked it.

Once again I went to beef, this time a slow cooked beef stew. The wine was a bit chewy. It was powerful and mouth-filling.

The first cheese was a French Saint-Aubin, a soft cow’s milk cheese traditionally packed in a wooden box. This cheese has a creamy brie-like texture and a stronger taste. Unlike many other wines, this Côtes du Rhône retained its fruit when paired with the Saint-Aubin.

I next tried the wine with an Italian Bel Paese, a mild buttery cheese suggested to accompany fruity wines or to be eaten alone as a snack or a dessert. This combination was even better; the wine became rounder. There was a little wine left in the bottle. Instead of slicing off a bit more cheese, I tried it with a slice of mint chocolate cake. Unfortunately the combination was no success, the cake denatured the wine a bit. But, as always, I don’t blame a wine for an unorthodox pairing choice that turns out to be a mistake.

Final verdict. This wine is a definite winner, especially when you consider its price. I’ll be buying it again, but not before tasting several other wines from both the north and the south of the Rhône Valley.

Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten books on computers and the Internet, but to be honest, he would rather just drink fine Italian or other wine, accompanied by the right foods. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. Presently his wine websites are http://www.theworldwidewine.com and http://www.theitalianwineconnection.com.