New Brew

Dog treat made from Spent Grain

So a friend of ours has wanted to get into all grain brewing and together, Chappy and Mike, worked on all grain yesterday at our house.  Mike and his wife, Paige and their daughters, came over and we jawed while the men brewed.  At the girls nap times, Paige, the girls and I went to their house so the girls could sleep and we could brew a meade.  Not sure if the meade will turn out, didn't pay as close attention as we should have, LOL!  But we'll see.

However, what I learned out of the whole endeavor was that I could make things with the spent grain.  Paige and her husband have been making spent grain bread that they rave about!  (I hope to get some.)  And something that I learned to make was dog treats with the spent grain!  Snaps Provalone (our dog) LOVES them!  I like the idea because I love knowing exactly what went into the product (even though I normally buy dog food that is grain-free).  I got the recipe from the Zymurgy magazine.

Brew club

Image via WikipediaSaturday rose glorious in the sight of Chappy.  He was going to meet up with the local brew club for the world wide brew off.  As it was his first time with the brew club, he merely watched and met people.  Accompanying him was a new brew friend, Mike, who has been brewing longer than Chappy but hadn't yet moved into all grain, though his desire is great to do so.   Both spent the entire day-- I mean ENTIRE day-- with the brew off.  And both, upon returning home, were more than ecstatic.  Coming this Sunday Chappy will help to teach Mike the basic art of all grain.  Because we, Mike's wife Paige and I, don't want to be brew widows I will be giving her the basics of liqueur creation and if she is up to it, a basic mead.  The liqueur will be a cinnamon apple.  I hope I remember it all-- it has been a couple of years since I brewed my last batch of meade.

Wine and Beer

Saturday we were invited to join some of our biker friends to go to a wine tasting at LaVina (NM).  Chappy and I spent over 2hours tasting wine and going back for more.  We both prefer the sweet wines, though we can see the value in a dryer wine to compliment a nice steak or such.  (The Muscat and the one I can't remember the name to, had La Vina in the title (bubbly sweet), were our favorites).

But for us it was merely a means to pass the time till the beer tasting at State Line/Sidedoor Liquor Store (TX/NM).  Chappy was more interested in the beer, for obvious reasons, and was thrilled to find friends from work sampling some fantastic microbrews.  In addition to imbibing savory brews, he found local people who also craft beer at home.  He and some of the guys from work will be looking into the local brew club--a great place to learn a trick or two and share your brewing experiences. 

 Chappy stuck with IPA's which is to be expected, while I sampled lambic (knew I would!) and Belgium Wheats.  I loved, loved the Roswell Alien Wheat (Sierra Blanca Brewing Co).  A very nice brew--smooth and just the right amount of citrus.

I would like to report that the Espresso Liqueur I made a month or so ago, turned out fantastic!  I LOVE (note the capital letters) Espresso Liqueur.  I will try to remember to pick up some fruit the next time I go shopping and make a fruit liqueur.  Perhaps, apple.  (Pics may be added once I purchase some liqueur bottles.  I will be making liqueur as Christmas Gifts this year and am working out the recipes.)

PS We never did get to meet our friends at the wine tasting; we missed them by less than 5min.  Ah well.  Maybe next time.  (This fall.)