The Pennsylvania Medal – My 50 State Medal Pursuit
My Pennsylvania medal was obtained at the 2023 Buzz Off Homebrew Competition held by the “Brewers United for Zany Zymurgy” in South-East Pennsylvania. There were 142 entries in this competition,...
Big Monster Brewing – Put That In Your Beer and Smoke It
Spoiler alert: This is one of the most fun, interesting, and tasty beers I’ve ever made! It started with a ridiculous idea of smoking hops with a nine-dollar cocktail smoker....
Big Monster Brewing – I Don’t Like Belgian Beers
Saying “I don’t like Belgian Beers” is the quickest way to generalize my preference over the entire range of Belgian beer styles. But, like with most things, there’s always an...
Big Monster Brewing – Air Quote Barrel Aged Old Ale
Changing one of my most awarded beers to make it a different style will prove challenging or stupid. Chances are it’s going to be a little of both as I...
Big Monster Brewing – On My Old Kentucky…Common
More and more “lost style” historical beers appear on local breweries’ taproom menus. In this episode, I will jump on that “lost style” train and make my first “Kentucky Common,”...
Big Monster Brewing – Peach Cider
For most of my adult life, I wondered how people made beer at home. The entire process was a mystery to me for many years. To solve that mystery, I...
The Florida Medal – My 50 State Medal Pursuit
I wasn’t sure what to pick as my Florida Medal for this project. Florida is the state I first started this hobby, and for the first four years of competing,...
Big Monster Brewing – Spiced Mead
Mead is the oldest known alcoholic beverage. In its simplest form, it’s honey, water, and yeast. But mead can be as diverse as the people that make this traditional fermentation....
Big Monster Brewing – The Tale of Two Scottish Ales
The malt-forward, sweet, clean, and often complex nature of a Scottish Ale is a unique and usually phenomenal experience. An experience that I rarely get to enjoy because they just...
Big Monster Brewing – Dialing in a Black IPA
In this episode, I revisit a style that was one of my first ten all-grain recipes many years ago. A Black IPA. All the hop-forward aroma and tastes you’d expect...