Newly Wedded Wheat - The Adventure

When I found out from Mrs. Hacksaw that it had been requested for Hacksawing Brewing to provide beer for the wedding in which she was to be the Matron of honor - I was ecstatic. This was the highest honor I had received as a homebrewer and knowing I was being given the opportunity to be part of making their wedding day awesome was exciting.

Homebrew Recipe: Chop Down Wheat Forest

Chop Down Wheat Forest

A few football seasons ago, Down the Hall and Hacksaw teamed up to create some homebrews for consumption during tailgating of NC State games. We jokingly called ourselves Carter-Finley Brewing after the NC State stadium name. While the attendance at our tailgating parties wasn’t great - we had a ton of fun putting together recipes and theming them around the opponents. This particular brew was for the Wake Forest matchup which happens to be where Mrs. Hacksaw’s sports loyalties truly lie. The goal of this beer was to make a classic hefeweizen that could be morphed into a blue moon with the addition of a fresh orange.

Brewery Visit: Northern California

Okay fine, Northern California isn’t a single brewery.  I’m on vacation out on the ol’ left coast, and I’ve been able to drag my family to quite a few breweries along the way.  I’ll be out here through the end of the week, but since the first week was riddled with beer sampling in the Bay Area, I thought I’d write a brief update.

Beer Tasting: New Belgium Snapshot

New Belgium Snapshot

5% ABV, 13 IBU

Enjoyed 08.31.14

Every once in a while I go looking for something a little different than what I normally drink just to change it up. I’ve overdosed lately on IPA’s and imperial stouts, so this offering from New Belgium was enticing as I hadn’t had a wheat beer in a while. This used to be my favorite style when I first started getting into craft beer and while it isn’t my fave style anymore It’s a good standby.

The Grass is Always Greener

The grass is always greener on the other side….or is it?

Hi, I’m Colby, occasionally referred to as Jacob’s “beer goddess”, and I’m married to a brewer.  I love my husband, and I love beer (let’s be honest the two kind of go hand in hand am I right!?  Yes, I’m right).  I love that we have so many things in common.  But, in all honesty, I sometimes resent the fact that we have so much in common.  I am my own person and have my own hobbies…they just happen to be more or less the hobbies that he enjoys as well.

Cost-Effective Upgrades

So, you’ve started homebrewing, you’ve got a few batches under your belt, learned a couple of lessons along the way, and you want to keep pursuing the hobby.  Once you find that you might be willing to invest a little more money in your setup, there are a few items that are not essential by any means to brewing great beer, but they can make the process a little easier. 

Homebrew Recipe: Newly Wedded Wheat

When a wonderful couple asks you to brew beer for their wedding – you say yes! This recipe was crafted based on their input that “Blue Moon” and “Wheat Beers” were their favorite. Making a clone of Blue Moon was not going to happen because I cared about these people too much. I insisted I would make a crowd pleaser that would be even better than Blue Moon. With that goal in mind I built an American Wheat beer that had some hints of orange. Sounds similar to blue moon but it had much more malted wheat flavor and higher ABV than Blue Moon packs.