Beer Vinegar

In the last place Bill and I lived, we were just around the corner from this wonderful little consignment shop that always had all kinds of interesting things for sale. I am genuinely amazed at the fact that, more often than not, I would go in there looking and manage to NOT buy something. It’s truly the kind of place that could drive one to spend a small fortune there on a regular basis.

However, what I was prone to buying there was anything both kitchen-y and “weird.” Which is how I ended up with this piece of ceramic on a wood stand.

A beige ceramic vinegar crock, with plastic spigot, on top of a wooden stand. Foreground is a small glass bowl with a tiny amount of a brown, hazy liquid - vinegar.

So, see, I’ve actually wanted to make my own vinegar for several years now. And, no, I don’t know why I’ve wanted to.… Continue reading →

Beer Origin Stories – Shafiqah Hudson

I’ve always been fascinated by what draws people to liking beer, I think in part because I really didn’t enjoy beer until I was well over the U.S. legal drinking age. There’s as many stories as there are beer enthusiasts, and part of me wants to document them all. Starting here. In this one, my friend Shafiqah Hudson reminds us that freshness matters. And that’s just in the first paragraph.

My entrance into the world of craft beer began, interestingly enough, with a REALLY good bottle of Heineken. Not my first Heinie, but the best, ever AND since. I mean, it was really, reeeeeeally fucking good, and maybe partly because I wasn’t expecting it to be.

Some extensive background: once upon a time ago, I didn’t drink beer.… Continue reading →

SheBrew! I Judge!

Is it required that one drink a homebrew the night before they get to go judge a homebrew competition for the first time? I hope not, because I don’t think I have one in the house as I type this up.

That’s right, I got invited recently to be a judge (under the helm/wing of at least one BJCP judge) tomorrow at SheBrew! This appears to be a relatively new competition in Portland, Oregon, and I know the organizers have worked hard to make it big and awesome. When I last logged into my judge page, there were 92 entries processed for tomorrow.

Thank goodness there’s no world in which I’ll be expected to try all of them!

Two snapped in half hop cones positioned in front of a small notebook with a red pen inside it.

I will be there tomorrow judging beers within a few categories, but I don’t yet know where they’ll put me.… Continue reading →

Recipe for the Best Shower

I love showering, but I very rarely take a long shower. The water waste is just too much for this New Mexican’s heart. Yes, even though I live in the Pacific Northwest now (and I don’t know if I will ever be dry again). Clean, fresh, temperature-controlled water on demand is a hell of a luxury on its own. I can enjoy it in under five minutes and feel delighted.

But I won’t deny, there’s something glorious about a long, hot shower. So, on rare occasion, I take one. And today? Today I finally figured out what might be the best shower ever. Better than that? It’s repeatable. A must for any good scientifically-trained person trying to find “the best.”

Ingredients

Music from Tegan and Sara
Music from Enslaved

Almost blisteringly hot water

An appropriate plastic glass.… Continue reading →

Beer and Are There Four Kinds of Peppercorns?

Or, at least, that is what I told the nice folks over on the Brew Happy Podcast. Black, green, white, and the not-really-a-peppercorn-but-tastes-similarly pink. Also, it looks like I was wrong and there’s other kinds of peppercorns out there! I shall have to investigate further!

I got a last-minute invite to be on the show, so I’m glad it came together. It was a lot of fun, but you can probably tell I was very nervous (especially at the beginning) when you listen to it. Also SPOILER ALERT we never did quite get to it, but if I just had one “pizza beer” (which is INCONCEIVABLE to me) in Portland, Oregon it would likely be Occidental Kölsch.

Anyway, go check it out.Continue reading →