BeerBorg

Man, this place has been almost as quiet as a cemetery. Let's chat it up guys. I don't care how boring it is or if you want to talk about your pet frog, as long as you can include beer with it, talk about it.
Here's some things to talk about:
-Anything new you've bought or were gifted
-Special beers you've recently tried
-Tips on brewing
-Your brew setup, kegerator or keezer build
-How you save money to brew more
-Homebrew deals
-Future plans for your brewery
-Share a recipe
-Food pairings
You get the idea. Who cares if it's interesting or not to everyone, if it has the word 'beer' in it, shout it out. Just remember to try to post in the correct area.

Shhh... I'm trying to sleep...

I was skiing last week in Colorado and had this beer at lunch in Beaver Creek.

Ok, I'll start a thread on my next brew and it is going to be a Hop Heavy IPA with home grown hops so BL this will be right up your ally to comment on.......

berryman wrote:Ok, I'll start a thread on my next brew and it is going to be a Hop Heavy IPA with home grown hops so BL this will be right up your ally to comment on.......

Well, it doesn't have to be about me but I like where you're going with this!

Well, I just got a box from BrewDemon yesterday. I had emailed them a few days ago asking how to fix a leak in one of their LBC fermenters that I had, the hole for the spigot had a small crack in it and was leaking. They asked a few questions and then wanted to know if my account address was still correct as they were sending me a new fermenter, spigot, and thermometer strip. How's that for customer service?

I've noticed the same trend, and I'm glad you spoke up, Paul. So here's what's up with me....

Remember when I posted how I asked my LHBS guys if they were hiring part time, and they told me they were considering restarting their Brew on Premises feature, but they had some renovation and landlord issues to deal with first? But they said they'd keep me in mind, so I'm hopeful.

I'm even more hopeful after going to their website earlier this week and seeing an announcement that they were going to be restarting Brew on Premises in the Spring of 2017.

I'll probably be going there next week some time, so I guess it might not be a bad idea to mention what I saw on the website, and maybe get a little more information on it and how I might fit in. At least to let them know I'm still keenly interested in being part of it. So keep your fingers crossed.

Good luck to you! The brew on premises concept killed my LHBS. A different shop has since opened, and he's great, but I do miss the old place.


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I've been traveling a fair amount, so in order to save time, I've returned to my roots and have been using prehopped extracts.

My last project ended, but I'm not sure what my next project will be. And I've now got a bit of a stockpile of HME, so I'll probably continue doing those.

I've also gotten interested in fermenting other things. I regularly make yogurt and kefir. I've also started making sauerkraut and kimchi. I've made natto and tempeh a couple of times. My most recent batch of natto (this week) turned out very similar to the real thing (those of you who have had natto are probably feeling sorry for me). I haven't had any for a long time, so I'm easing into it to give my gut some time to acclimate.

Also on the cooking front, I'm going to make a batch of mashani's curry this weekend. It looks like it'll make a lot, so I'll probably give some to my daughter. Then I'll probably make my version of dal bhat tarkati (lentils, rice, vegetables; kind of a staple in Nepal).

On another note, my refrigerator died. It was old and probably horribly inefficient, so the new fridge will probably pay for itself in a couple of years. I may need to consider replacing the one in the garage.

MrBandGuy wrote:Good luck to you! The brew on premises concept killed my LHBS. A different shop has since opened, and he's great, but I do miss the old place.

Thanks. I could see where such a program could become problematic if a shop can't sustain it. But I've been going to this LHBS for a few years, and I've noticed a few things relative to their BoP situation.

1) They have a large space with restaurant-style sinks and adequate burners.

2) They limit the sessions to four people.

3) They were doing it before, and want to do it again.
3a) They used to have a third guy working there, possibly part-time, but he left (hopefully for better things) a year or so ago. So the owner's mother is filling in part-time, but I get the sense she's more a warm-body replacement rather than someone familiar with brewing.

4) If done right, I can't see it being anything but a money-maker. Not only are people buying the kits, but they're paying for the brew session and the bottles, and they're potential repeat customers for more ingredients and eventually equipment. The difficulty would be in having someone devote the time to it and not be able to adequately serve the regular walk-in customers. I imagine the peak times for BoP sessions would also be the peak times for regular business.

Make sure they have the proper licensing for Brew on premises. It isn't as simple as saying that they bought the ingredients, they make the beer, they bring it home, so we're good.

In Michigan, the store would have to obtain a Micro Brewer license, as well as a Brewer's Notice from the feds, register a generic label with the feds and state, and label every bottle with that label and pay all federal and state taxes on the beer produced.

All beer produced is viewed as beer produced by the store, not the customer. 200 gallons is an at home homebrew law, not covering this.

I suspect NJ might be similar or more restrictive.

I've been quiet because I've been Swen'd.

I was sulking in the corner because nobody loves me.
Just kidding. I was actually sunning in Mexico. Sorry about that.

What part of Mexico? What, it's not warm enough this winter for you in New York?

Pretty warm today. But it snowed a foot the day before I left, and it was 16 degrees when I drove to the airport.
We were in Xcaret, near Playa del Carmen in the Yucatan. I even tried Mexican craft beer.