The Hobby of Homebrewing

     When I started seriously homebrewing, 1 year ago, I didn't realize the hold that it would take on my mind, heart and soul.  I mean I started brewing 10 years ago with a Mr. Beer kit (don't mock me) and it was not good so I stopped. Now, I dream about brewing.  If I have downtime at my day job I think about the next brew day and what I will be brewing.  I think about competitions and what I can do to make the best homebrew competition beer I can. It's not just an obsession, but it's a HUGE passion.

     I'm an IT guy by trade, so that makes me a problem solver / troubleshooter.  I love process.  I love learning different disciplines to making a great beer.  What a certain hop will do or how it would compliment this other hop along with grain bill.  What flavor a certain malt would bring to the palate. I guess I can basically explain it like this.  Beer is to a brewer as food is to a chef.

     My dream is that some day I will get paid for my passion.  I want to be able to wake up in the morning, go to work and brew the best beer I can for the masses.  May it be for an already established craft brewery or eventually opening up my own.  That may be a possibility, I guess anything is possible, or it's just a fleeting fantasy.

     My point here in this post today is, if you enjoy a good craft beer.  Sit down and think about the process that made that beer great.  The people behind it.  The passion that keeps them brewing it time and time again.  Maybe then, you will go out and buy a beginner homebrew kit and brew your first batch and appreciate that craft beer that much more and keep supporting the smaller breweries.  Be warned, though, if you're like me brewing that first batch might be that catalyst for a life long passion for the art.

This is just my 2 cents.

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Lagunita's Sucks: Brown Shugga' Substitute

I had heard so much about this beer since last year. Listening to the Brewing Network they interviewed the brewer about this beer and I had to go out and find it.  Find it I did and I was blown away!  This is a fantastic beer!

Lagunita's Brewing wasn't able to brew their seasonal fan favorite Brown Shugga' due to capacity issues caused by construction so they brewed this as a substitute.  A self deprecating name of the beer was to be as a poke at ones self apology to those disappointed by the lack of release of Brown Shugga.

Having tasted the beer, it was a win for everyone.  Not only did Lagunita's gain another perfectly crafted seasonal but gained the respect of those disappointed fans. It truly is a fantastic beer.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose you automatically get hit with full on hop aroma. Fantastic aromatics that make your mouth start to water from the get go. With the hefty hop bill of Chinook, Apollo, Simcoe, Summit, Nugget and  HBC342 it will definitely satisfy the hop heads out there.

Tasting it you get a nice fruity, spicy, grapefruit flavor from the hops at top and finish with a nice malty, hoppy bitter at the end.  Very well balanced and fantastically drinkable.

IBUs: 63.21
ABV: 7.6%

This beer is a must try!

The link to the brewery is below.  Check back again for more posts about some more great craft beers!

Click here to go to Lagunita's Brewings website!

Our Official Facebook Page

Hey all,

Just wanted to inform you of our official Facebook spot.  Click the link below and come like us there.

Colorado Craft Brew Blog Official FaceBook Page

It'll be great to get to know our readers.

See you all there!

CCBB Staff

By popular demand.......

We are expanding our reviews and interviews to this great nation's plethora of craft breweries.  The name still remains as we are based out of Colorado.  Posting several reviews soon so stay posted!

Thank you for your patience!

The CCBB Staff

Boulder Beer Company

Hello Colorado beer lovers!

Today I am blogging about the Boulder Beer Company. First I am going to give you some tasting notes on three of their brews then I will post some history and a great video they had produced of a grain to bottle for their Mojo beer.

HAZED & INFUSED - 5% abv / IBU - ?

Hazed & Infused is a dry hopped, unfiltered amber ale. On the nose you definitely get that Centennial hop character.  The aroma itself makes your mouth start to water.  Pouring into a glass you get more of the hop character and you see the unfiltered fantastic amber color come through.  This is a very smooth, hoppy, amber ale with great malty character that is so easy to drink with a fantastic mouth feel due to the yeast left behind from it being unfiltered.  This is one I recommend on a relaxing evening with friends.

MOJO IPA - 7.2% abv / IBU - ?

This clean, crisp IPA has a very fantastic hop flavor due to the Amarillo Hops. This has to be one of my all time favorite IPA's out there.  It is very refreshing without having an over-powering hop character.  The combination of hop and malty character along with a fantastic hop aroma makes this one something I will return to time and time again.

SWEATY BETTY BLONDE - 5.2% abv / IBU - ?

Sweaty Betty is a Bavarian style wheat ale.  Pouring into the glass you get the typical Bavarian wheat cloudiness with a very pronounced head. The use of a Bavarian strain of yeast gives it the fantastic banana/clove aroma you would expect from a Bavarian wheat ale.  The flavor and hop character is bar none.  Very refreshing and with it being a 5.2% abv it is very session able. This is another beer hat I will highly recommend to you all out there for a good, refreshing, Bavarian style wheat.  One of my favorites in Colorado!

For more information on Boulder Beer Company, visit their site (Link below)

Here is a great video that shows their grain to bottle process for Mojo IPA:

BOULDER BEER COMPANY
2880 WILDERNESS PL.
BOULDER, CO. 80301

CLICK HERE FOR BOULDER BEER CO. OFFICIAL WEBSITE