Fall is Here

So, after doing well with my back for several months, the pain is back.  As I had mentioned in my August 3rd post, I have developed Spinal Stenosis in my lower back this year.  It has just added another obstacle for me to over come.  I noticed the pain coming back in the beginning of August, and every day, it got a little worse.  Thanks to the games the insurance companies like to play, it took me 6 weeks before I could get into the specialist for a spinal steroid injection for some relief.  In those 6 weeks, I deteriorated rapidly, forced to be dependent on my cane and wheelchair again as the pain got worse.

I finally had my injection last week.  Let me tell you, this is not a fun procedure.  After numbing the area with lidocaine injections, they insert a long needle into my back guided by x-ray.  When they believe they found the correct spot in my spine, they inject some dye.  An extremely sharp burst of pain, lets me know they're in the correct spot.  That's the good news, they're in the correct location.  The bad news is they still need to inject 4cc of steroid solution into my back and there's zero room of it, so it will be going directly onto my nerves.  Painful.  Every time he injected a small amount, intense, shooting pain in my lower back and going down my legs.  It takes about 10 minutes for this process of injecting some, letting me recover, and injecting more.  To put it in easier terms.  He's injecting the equivalent of a can of soda into a space the size of a pea, and that pea is engulfed by stinging jellyfish.  Good times.  The next few days were pretty uncomfortable, but I'm finally starting to get some relief, and every day I wake up with a bit less pain.  Enough of the torture, let's talk beer!

It's Fall, so that means the pumpkin beers are hitting the shelves.  Some are great, some, not so much.  One of my favorites (not shown) is Schlafly's.  It's thick and sweet, and really is like drinking a pumpkin pie.  I've already had one this season!

My second pumpkin beer is from Shock Top.  Really not that great, but I can say I've had worse.  For me, if I'm going to drink a Shock Top, I'll stick with their Apple, it's much better.

 You have to love New Glarus.  Whenever I get over to Wisconsin, I always try to find their "Thumbprint" series.  It's basically them letting their brewmaster make whatever he wants, and it's always good.  Scream IIPA is no exception.  Very smooth for a double IPA, and loaded with citra hops.  This is a great beer.  It reminds me of  a higher alcohol Psuedo Sue from Toppling Goliath.  Both beers are worth a try.

 Shown is Shiner's Oktoberfest.  This is a fairly good representation of the style.  Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special either.  For my money, I'd rather drink locally, and go with an Oktoberfest from Millstream Brewery instead.

Here is on of the first pours of my "Nugget Galaxy" Amber.  This one turned out great.  Great fruitiness from all the hops, yet not overly bitter, and very easy to drink.  While not the most exciting of styles, I do feel that my Amber Ales can compete with the best breweries in the world.  If you're in NE Iowa, give me a shout, I'll be happy to let you try one!


Recently, I won tickets to Chive Fest Denver, and decided to say what the hell, and took a last minute road trip to enjoy the fest.  While there, I met some great Chivers, and got to hang out with my oldest friend.  I was able to see John, Mac, and the Chivettes, but didn't get the opportunity to talk to or get a picture with them.  After expressing my disappointment to the above mentioned on Twitter, I was shocked when I got a direct message from Kat, one of the Chivettes.  She said she was sorry I didn't get to meet them too, and after talking with John, they offered me VIP tickets to Chive Fest Dallas on November first.  I have to tell you, I was, and still am, totally blown away by their kindness.

If you aren't familiar with The Chive, please check them out.   www.thechive.com
The website is a mix of pictures and stories of silly things, good looking women, an awesome online community, and amazing charities.  http://thechive.com/2014/10/01/this-is-the-story-of-a-young-girl-and-a-very-special-puppy-15-photos/  This is why I Chive.  It looks kind of silly from the outside, and some of it is, but these really are some great people doing great  things, and I'm proud to be a Chiver.

Chive On!

  This is me and my best friend since the 2nd grade, Waylen on our road trip to Colorado.  I won 2 tickets to Chive Fest Denver from www.thechive.com and we took advantage of it.  It was a 12 hours drive followed by some over priced whiskey at the hotel bar in downtown Denver.  A short bus ride the next morning (and meeting a new friend Dan,) and we were at City Park ready to rock.

It's also worth noting that after years of pushing me in my wheelchair when we were younger, Waylen still has it.  Nobody can push a chair like him.

 We enjoyed some good music, made some new friends, got to see Mack, John, and the Chivettes, and drank $8.00 beers.  Thankfully, we were spared from drinking Bud Light, because Redhook had us covered with some easy drinking Longhammer IPA's.

After many hours of enjoying the fest, our age and the 95 degree temps got the best of us, and we headed back to the hotel early to relax in air conditioning.  Of course we enjoyed a few more whiskeys and good old Coors Banquet beers before calling it a night.  I would love to do another Chive Fest, just maybe it could be a bit cooler next time!

 Here's my "Nugget Galaxy" Amber Ale getting kegged.  This is a session beer at 5% ABV, but packed with nearly 3 pounds of fresh nugget hops.  This one should be about ready to try now.

 Perfect beer for my birthday.  Deshutes does it again with their Black Butte XXVI.  I can't say this enough, if you haven't tried them yet, you need to.  http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/  This was a very smooth, yet complex brew with hints of oak and cranberry, and at 10.8% ABV I could feel it.

 I found this little gem in Wisconsin Dells at a Famous Dave's.  This is a brewery from my home town of Dubuque, IA.  They aren't open any more, but there is a cool museum down town that you should check out.

In my next blog, I will review my new Nugget Galaxy Amber Ale, as well as Schlafly's Pumpkin beer.  Cheers and Chive on!

Not all beer is good beer

Saying that all craft beer is good just isn't a realistic statement.  I always have a hard time when someone asks me what my favorite style is.  I always tell them, I don't have a favorite beer style, it just depends on what kind of mood I'm in, and how good the beer is.  Just because I like IPA's, certainly doesn't mean I like all IPA's, in fact, I've had quite a few I didn't enjoy at all.

Of course, the same goes for when people tell me they don't like dark beer.  I always tell them they just haven't tried the right one yet.

This week, I had a few beers that I've been wanting to try from a local brewery that I really enjoy.  Peace Tree Brewing out of Knoxville, IA makes some wonderful IPA's, and their Belgian Blonde recently one Gold at the GABF.  Simply put, they know how to make good beer.  One that I've heard a lot about is there Templeton Red.  It's a red ale aged in barrels from Templeton Rye Whiskey (one of my favorites, also made in Iowa.)  I've never been a fan of Peace Tree's Red, but this sounded interesting to me.  I was a bit disappointed.  The Red Ale, was sit the same old Red that I don't care for, and there was way too much Whiskey/oak flavor for me.  It was just too overpowering.

A few days later, I tried their Royale 41 Imperial IPA.  This was much better.  It was still overly bitter, in my opinion, but still a pretty decent Imperial IPA.  I still highly recommend that you seek out this brewery and give them a try, because they do a fantastic job.  http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/

 Deschutes Brewery is one of my favorites in the country.  http://www.deschutesbrewery.com/  Their Chainbreaker White IPA continues to show me why.  It's delicious, easy to drink, and perfect on a muggy Iowa summer day.  This is a fairly new style to me, a Belgian Wit that is hopped like an IPA, but it is quickly becoming one of my go to styles.  Alaskan Brewery http://alaskanbeer.com/ and Single Speed Brewing http://www.singlespeedbrewing.com/ also make excellent examples of this style.

From left to Right: Me, my son Joseph, my
Brother In-Law Chad, and hist wife Annie

What do I do when there's not great craft beer available?  I drink Coors Light, of course.  Whether is fishing, hanging out at the local dive bar, or at a family wedding (right) this is my American Lager of choice.

Back in the saddle

Zip Line Brewing out of Nebraska has been showing up a lot on the the shelves in Iowa lately.  I finally tried one of their brews.  The Oatmeal Porter was a good start for me.  Nice balance of roasted malts, and the smoothness from the oatmeal helped make this a very tasty beer.  I will certainly be trying more of their beers in the future.

I first came across this beer almost a year ago, while I was in Kansas City.  Avery Brewing has made a great summer beer with their White Wheat.  A bit fruity and spicey, light, refreshing, and easy drinking helps me give this beer high marks.  For those of you that are just starting to explore the world of beer, this one is a great leap into it, and for the experienced Craft beer drinker, you'll be pleased with this well crafted, delicious, Belgian style wheat.

You may have to make a road trip to Decorah, IA to get a hold of one of the most popular beers made in the state.  Toppling Goliath's beer is in such demand, it usually sells out in stores within a few hours of delivery.  Once you try their beer, you will understand why.  They sell their beers in 22oz bomber bottles that are perfect for sharing, but once you try this refreshing Citra hop bomb, you'll want it all for yourself.  They have a way of loading their Pale Ale's and IPA's with great hop flavor and aroma without making them overly bitter.  Something a lot of breweries out there today struggle with.

Next time you're in NE Iowa, head to their tap room in Decorah to try one of their fantastic brews.  http://www.tgbrews.com

On a recent trip to North Carolina, I came across this gem from Oskar Blues Brewery.  An old college buddy of mine has been posting pics online of him with his cans of Old Chub, so I thought I should do the same.  This 8% ABV Scottish Strong Ale is thick, rich, and sweet.  Despite it's unusual name, it's a very solid beer, and I recommend you grab an Old Chub when you get the chance!


This winter I developed a serious back problem, that was/is excruciatingly painful, and causes sharp pains to shoot down my legs.  I became completely dependant on my cane in my house, and wheelchair bound out of it.  After having and MRI, and discovering I very claustrophobic, they diagnosed me with Spinal Stenosis.  Basically a build up around my spinal column in my lower back caused from arthritis, that is squeezing my nerves in my lower back.  It will require surgery to fix it, but we agreed, to try other treatment first to delay surgery.  After months of physical therapy, pain meds, steroids (unfortunately I didn't develop any super powers,) I had a steroid injection in my lower back (again, no super powers.)

The injection has helped immensely, I'm about 70% better than what I was.  So I still have to be careful, not lift things, keep my cane around, and sometimes use my wheelchair, but my life is livable again.  So, after nearly 8 months away from homebrewing, I'm back in the saddle again.  I'm starting with extract brewing for a bit, to make things easier on me, but I hope to be doing some all-grain before the year is over.

My first brew back is my California Common, or American Amber Ale.  I used half ounce of Galaxy pellet hops at the beginning, and the end of the boil, along with two pounds of Nugget hops fresh from my freezer (from last years crop that my wife grew.)  I'm saving nearly 3/4 pound of hops for dry hopping, that is an unknown mixture of Nugget, Cascade, and Willamette hops.  This is one of my favorite recipes that I'm come up with over the years, but this is the first time I've tried this hop combination.  I'm hoping for good things from this brew.  Below in a video of the airlock bubbling away as the yeast does it's magic turning the wort into beer.

Since I've been lacking on my blog this year, I'm going to attempt to blog once a week in August to try and make up for it.  Maybe it will help me pass the time until I can finally drink the first homebrew I've made in 2014.  Prost!

I haven't brewed any beer in quite a while now, but of course I've still been drinking it.  Matt's Burning Rosids from Stone is a high alcohol Saison.  This is definitely a beer worth trying, there was a bit more complexity to it as it warmed up.  As far as Saisons go, it was middle of the road for me.

Not shown is my Hoodang Fresh Hop IPA.  If you read my last entry, you know I used 4 pounds of home grown nugget hops to brew this.  It was a lot of fun to make, and has turned out to be quite tasty.  The first 2 months or so there was a lot of "green" flavor to it, almost vegetable like from all the fresh hops, now that flavor has dissipated, and it has turned into a really good IPA.  It will be a perfect spring/summer beer for me to enjoy.

One of my favorite non local breweries has to be Deschutes. http://www.deschutesbrewery.com//  If you haven't tried their beers yet, you need to.  One of their latest beer I've tried is their Fresh Squeezed IPA.  This is truly a thing of beauty if you like hops.  I can't tell you how glad I am that they're available in Iowa now.

A few months ago, I went to Beers to You in Waterloo with my 2 brother in-laws and father in-law.  The night was a bit of a blur, but there definitely were a few stand out beers of the night.  Keeping with IPA's was Annabelle's IPA from Galena Brewing.  http://www.galenabrewery.com/  So far this is the only beer I've had from them, but it was fantastic.  I thought it was similar to Schlafly's Tasmanian IPA.  I will absolutely be trying more of their brews in the future.

Another big hit from that night was Jobu from Capital Brewing.  http://www.capital-brewery.com/Default.aspx  This 8% abv brown ale aged in rum barrels was my favorite beer of the night, and I can't wait to get my hands on some more.

A local favorite for me was SingleSpeed Brewery.  http://www.singlespeedbrewing.com/  I'm never dissappointed having one of their brews, and they brought 2 fantastic beers to the event.  Brewed X 2 and IPA Blanco.  I couldn't tell you which one was better, because they were both fantastic.

We are lucky to have a booming craft beer industry here in Iowa with greats like SingleSpeed, Toppling Golliath, Court Avenue, Millstream, and now gold medal winning (from GABF) Peace Tree Brewing.  http://www.peacetreebrewing.com/landing.php?return=/&x=-1  Next time you're in Iowa take a look around, and I bet you can find a great, locally brewed beer near you.

Hoodang Fresh Hop IPA

It's been a while since I have written on here.  In my time away from the blog, I have continued to try new brews, and have brewed 2 more original beers myself.  I had an IPA (that went very fast,) and a Vanilla Porter.  I also harvested 7 pounds of hops, and stuck them directly into the freezer after picking.  What do you do with 7 pounds of fresh hops in the freezer?  You make an IPA!  For this beer, I decided to go all-grain.  It's been nearly 2 years since I did an all-grain beer, so I thought this was the perfect time.

Since I do all my brewing inside, I use a 2 pot method for my boil, and with just one cooler for my mash tun, I do a batch sparge.  All-grain brew day took me 5 hours from start to finish (including cleaning.)

Using fresh hops, I new I would need more than my typical 4 ounces of pellet hops, so I brewed with just over 3 pounds of fresh hops (all Nugget,) and reserved about 3/4 of a pound for dry hopping.

To the right, you'll see my set up with the batch sparge in action.  Below, You may notice a hop bag with 1/3 pound of Nugget hops in the mash tun.  Just another way to try and get the most out of the hops.

Not shown, I made a gallon of "hop tea" while the other two kettles were busy brewing.  I heated up a gallon of water and submerged another hop bag with another 1/3 pound of nugget hops in it, and let it steep for an hour.  I added the hop tea directly to the fermenting bucket.

This picture shows both brew kettles in action.  The first running wort is in the pot on the right, with the remaining wort on the left.  When I do two pots, I don't hop the first wort pot. I do this partly for less clean up, but I also think it stretches the hops a bit further by using it in the weaker wort.  This is after my first hop addition of a full pound of nugget hops.

I added another half pound of hops after thirty minutes, and the final pound fifty minutes into the boil.  After the sixty minute boil, I quickly cooled both pots down with the wort chiller before transferring it to the fermenting bucket with the hop tea.

This shows the two and a half pounds of hops left in the pot after I transferred the wort.  The pot holds about four gallons of liquid, and I got about one and a half gallons of highly hopped wort.  I'll let it ferment for a week before adding the last of the four pounds of hops for this beer to the fermenter to dry hop.  I'll post results in a few weeks.

Below is a picture of me (left) and my brother in-law (right,) Chad.  He started home brewing a few years before me, and had a huge influence on me and my love of great beer.

Life has gotten in the way of blogging.  You can still keep up with my beer experience with the free Untappd app, where you can friend me to see what I'm drinking as well as follow my latest home brewing.  Follow the Crinkletalk Home Brewery to see my latest creations.

You can also follow me on Twitter for inappropriate humor and beer expeditions, @crinkletalk.

I will come back to blogging later this fall when life slows down again.  Until than, Prost!