HopHead Brew Blog

Well, another year has come and gone, and it is time to crack open a new keg of homebrew! I want to wish you all a happy holiday season and a wonder new year of brewing. So eat drink and be merry, I just hope the holidays don’t get in the way of your brewing!

David

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5 Tips To Drinking Beer Responsibly
by Daphne Succes

Being the most popular alcoholic beverage in existence, beer is everywhere. In certain situations, it is readily available and may present a problem for anyone who is not familiar with its side effects or being responsible in this situation.

TDrink minimal quantities. If you find yourself drinking more than would be used in a social situation, alcoholism may be a lurking illness. The best way to avoid addiction is to drink minimal quantities and know when to stop.

TDrink beer at home. The best way to drink beer responsibly is to simply drink it at home. This will eliminate the danger associated with driving or getting into a confrontation with others.

TDo not drive. If you have consumed beer, it is best not to drive. Not only may it be illegal, but also dangerous. If you need to go somewhere, walk or have someone to take you.

TIf you are away from home and have been drinking, give your keys to a friend, designated driver or call someone to pick you up. If you need a ride home, you can call a friend, family member of even a taxi. Anytime that you are under the influence of alcohol, it is pertinent that you not attempt to operate an automobile. This could not only endanger your life, but those of others as well.

TNever leave your drink unattended in a public place. This is especially true of restaurants, bars and/or anywhere that alcohol is served. Leaving your drink unattended may leave you susceptible to someone placing a substance in your drink. If you get up to dance or go to the restroom, order a new glass of beer when you return. If you are just mingling, take your drink with you.

In the United States, an individual must be 21 years of age to purchase and/or legally consume beer. When purchasing alcohol, photo identification is required. This can be in the form of a driver’s license or other similar form of identification, which features a photo and birth date of the customer. A number of retail grocers, in the United States, prohibit the sale of beer before 12 p.m. in the afternoon.

If you, or someone that you know, is believed to have a drinking problem, consult a local treatment center for diagnosis and therapy to help overcome the illness. Alcoholism is a disease that often requires professional medical care, which is why proper treatment is critical to its cure.

About the author

Daphne is a Writer, Business Owner, Motivator and Self-Starter and full-time Mom. She enjoys writing articles about small businesses and family and tries to motivate other women with the same desire. She can be reached at 1-877-TOY-DIVA http://www.daphnespassion.com

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How to Make a Sparkling Mead the Easy Way
by Will Kalif

A Sparkling wine is a wonderful variation of your typical wines and, in particular, is a great treat for the holidays. Mead, being a wine, can also be made in the sparkling variety with very little extra effort. Here is a tutorial on how to make sparkling mead the easy way.

Sparkling mead is identical to any other type of sparkling wine in that it is a wine that has continued its fermentation process right inside the bottle. This extra fermentation causes a large amount of gases to be built up right inside the liquid. And it is this extra gas that causes a champagne bottle to pop when opened and causes the wonderful flow of tiny bubbles.

There are many different ways to make sparkling mead just as there are many different ways to make a sparkling wine. And some of these ways can get quite complicated with specific guidelines and restraints as far as yeasts used, times of ferment, temperature of storage and rotation of bottles as they mature. The way I outline here in this article is just about the easiest no fuss way to make up a five-gallon batch. You will be able to bottle up your mead and set it aside until ready to drink.

Make your five-gallon batch of mead the way you normally would and at the bottling step instead of putting it right into the bottles mix two-thirds of a cup of honey into the five gallon carboy. Stir it up gently and once homogeneous you then bottle it. That is the whole extra process when it comes to making it sparkle. This extra honey will cause a secondary ferment in the bottles and when you open one it will pop and bubble just like your typical champagne.

This addition of a small amount of honey is the only process change you need to make for your mead but there are a couple of definite changes you really need to make when it comes to safety considerations. The secondary ferment inside the bottles will cause quite a large amount of pressure buildup so you absolutely should not use regular bottles and corks for the brew. You need to get champagne bottles, champagne corks, and wire hoods. The bottles are thicker and stronger, the corks are more reliable, and the wire hoods are an added safety feature. If you use normal wine equipment for bottling you run the very real risk of having the corks pop or even the bottles explode. This is dangerous and at the least can cause quite a mess. So I recommend very highly you spend the extra few dollars. The end product will be well worth it.

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I’m writing to invite you to join us for the Mid West’s largest
homebrew
contest the weekend of January 25-26, 2008 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The 2007 contest drew nearly 1000 entries from across the country.

In 2008 we’re awarding more medals and also have more events scheduled
around a Belgian beer theme. Highlights include:

-Speaker Stan Hieronymous, author of “Brew Like a Monk”
-The Brewer’s Forum - a Q & A and beer tasting with local pro brewers
-The Indoor Pub Crawl - no steenking buses, we bring the beer to you!
-Belgian-themed banquet
-commemorative beer & glass for all judges & stewards
-judging session food for volunteers

Visit our web site for more details and to sign up to judge or steward.

http://www.mnbrewers.com/events/mashout/

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope to see you at UMMO ‘08.

–
Steve Fletty
2008 Judge Coordinator

Technorati Tags: Call for Judges/Stewards: Upper Mississippi Mash-Out ‘08

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