Drankin Foul Beer... For Knowledge!

I attended my first Cap & Hare Homebrew Club meeting as an official member last night. The meeting was held at Rahr Brewery, so it wasn't hard to make it. I worked a little late and just happened to be early. Good folks and great beer... but then there was the foul beer. They purchased a sensory training kit from the Siebel Institute with samples of different infections to add to good beer, so that tastes and smells could be identified. Along with each picture was a description of the infection and explanations of what causes it. Very good stuff to know if you are home brewing or working in a brewery (like me) or just for the knowledge. Most of the beers smelled worse than they actually tasted, but a couple were very bad on both accounts. The great thing about a Cap & Hare meeting is that there is always great home brew to help wash away something like infected beer samples. As I read the descriptions, it was hard to believe I was drinking these on purpose. Glad to have had the opportunity though. For the record, the Indole smelled more like Outdo, if you catch my drift.

Top Secret Brew

With the guidance and assistance of my good buddy Nick from the Cap and Hare Homebrew Club and ingredients from our supply at Rahr, I made a dream come true. We brewed a 10 gallon batch of a beer I've been dreaming about for a long while. More details will come, closer to the time that it's ready to drink, but for now... I will keep it mostly a secret. Let's just say, if you know me, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. I'm learning more and more about brewing and loving every minute of it. If you are lucky, you'll get to taste it at a Wednesday tour at Rahr. If you are really lucky, it might make it to small production in the near future.