A personal blog dedicated to home brew stories, beer tastings, and general fermentation antics
KICKED
Searching for a new kegerator...
Runs on Dunkel
Dunkelweizen | 6.0% ABV
Keep It Simple, Stupid
American IPA | ~6.7% ABV
Pool Party Hall of Fame
Clover Extra (Irish Extra Stout)
2024 Alameda County Fair Home Brew Competition - 1st Place, Stouts
2024 Queen of Beer - 2nd Place, Dark Beers
2024 World Cup of Beer - 3rd Place, International Stouts
Firecracker (Pale Standard Saison)
2024 Queen of Beer - 2nd Place, Belgians
What's Growing?
Year 2 hops popped up, but couldn't handle the sun. For now, they've been cut back. Here's to hoping Year 3 will be more promising...
Cascade Hops were planted in April 2023. These hops have a grapefruit and pine flavor and are most well know for their use in the classic Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Hops grow on bines (the official name for their vines) and will need a trellis support system as they grow. Although this plant may produce a few cones in its first year, it won't hit its full production until its third or fourth year, at which point it may produce 1 to 2.5 pounds of hops!
Photo of Year 2 Hops 5/30/24
Cheers!
After being a fan of craft beer for years, I decided to start home brewing in March 2021. My first beer was a quite terrible - an IPA made with a malt extract kit that had a slightly-too-sweet brown sugar after taste. Since then, I've gotten slightly better, but I have a long way to go.
Building my home brew set up has been a lot of fun. I brew outside in a kettle over a propane burner and mostly bottle (though I've kegged before and want to get back into it once I purchase a new kegerator!). I also have really cool friends who sometimes make me label artwork for bottles.
My love for fermentation doesn't stop at beer - I've made my own kombucha, tepache, and sauerkraut while also maintaining a sourdough starter that I'm too intimidated to bake with.
This blog was started as a creative outlet and a way to keep me accountable to try new beer styles (no one wants more IPAs any way). I want to become a BJCP Certified Judge status and win Best of Show in a homebrewing competition.
