Beer | Something's Brewing

Guy Checks Single Can of Beer on Airplane

Posted on February 21, 2020February 20, 2020 by Sam Kornstein in Beer

Briefly going back to the roots of this website, here’s an outstanding beer story: Just as the passenger was about to board his Qantas flight to Perth, he was informed at the gate that he wouldn’t be allowed to take his can of beer with him. He argued with the staff, but they insisted that the rule was part of their policy. Much to the Qantas staff’s surprise, the passenger decided to check in his beer. The can went through the usual check-in process, along with the rest of the passengers’ baggage. And it looked like this: More at the link, including a short clip of the beer on the baggage claim.

Citrasaurus Homebrew Recipe

Posted on March 26, 2018March 26, 2018 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, General, Homebrew Recipe

My latest brew. I the tweaked my previous Sorachi Magnum recipe by scaling back the Sorachi Ace and finishing it with Citra. Delicious. Will make this one again. Here’s the recipe:

Sorachi Magnum Homebrew Recipe

Posted on February 18, 2018March 25, 2018 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Homebrew Recipe, Homebrew Review

Quick update on my latest Sorachi hops homebrew (previous recipes for Soarchi Hokkaido and Soarachi El Dorado here and here). This time I went with a simpler recipe with just light malt, caramel 15 grain, half an ounce of Magnum hops for bittering, and the rest Soarchi Ace hops for aroma. I also switched from a lager yeast back to California Ale yeast. After aging in the keg for a few weeks, this is by far one of my favorite recipes. Previous iterations didn’t have quite the right bitterness profile. The Magnum hops solves this, but doesn’t get in the way of the Sorachi flavor. Also, I probably hadn’t been aging the lager versions as long as I should have

Sorachi El Dorado Homebrew Recipe

Posted on January 8, 2018January 8, 2018 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Homebrew Recipe

I followed up my previous Sorachi Hokkaido beer recipe with a slightly altered version, Sorachi El Dorado. It’s still predominantly Sorachi Ace, but this time I complemented it a bit with some El Dorado and Citra hops, switched back from a lager to an ale yeast (mainly to reduce the amount of time it needs to age, as I liked the recipe as a lager), and reduced the hop bill, including removing the dry hop addition all together. Here’s the recepe: And after kegging it and aging it for a week, here’s the beer: This is a solid ale, which will probably improve with a bit more age. I preferred the lager yeast, think the dry hops should be

Sorachi Hokkaido Beer Recipe & the Fermentasaurus

Posted on October 29, 2017October 29, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Beer

Quick brewing update. I continue to refine my Sorachi Ace beer recipe previously discussed here, with the notable changes being more hops, more rice, no more wheat, and lager yeast. I love this beer, and haven’t brewed anything else in over a year. I’ve named it Sorachi Hokkaido after the place where the hop variety was bred. Here’s the latest recipe iteration for a 5 gallon batch, brewed today: 6 pounds pilsner light DME 1 pound rice malt extract 2 pounds flaked rice 1 pound flaked barley 8 oz Sorachi Ace (5 oz in the boil @ 60min, 45min, 30min, 10 min, flame out; 3 oz dry) San Francisco lager yeast I’ve also recently upgraded my equipment with two big

We’ve Reached Peak Brewery

Posted on April 9, 2017April 10, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Current Events

From WBUR last week, the number of US breweries has now passed the five thousand mark: The number of American breweries topped 5,000 for the first time last year, with craft beer makers accounting for 5,234 of 5,301 U.S. breweries, according to new figures from the Brewers Association. Just five years ago, there were only about 2,000 U.S. craft brewers, which the Brewers Association defines as small or independent beer makers. Last year alone, more than 800 opened for business. The history of American breweries is interesting. I did a small research project on the market in 2012 while in grad school, and the momentum that was just starting then has continued through today. The Brewers Association has a few well-made

East Austin, the ArModelo & Longhorn Caverns

Posted on April 2, 2017April 2, 2017 by Sam Kornstein in Bars, Beer, Photography, Travel

I spent last weekend in Austin with a few good friends from grad school. We’re spread across the country at the moment – two in Boston, one in Boulder, and one in San Francisco – and decided to get together somewhere that (1) is fun and (2) had cheap direct flights for all of us. Austin delivered on both fronts, easy decision. Before continuing, I have to thank my amazing wife Laura, who encouraged me to have one last weekend away before our son arrives. So, a quick recap on some highlights. I’ve been going to Austin at least once a year since 2012 to visit Laura’s family, and I’m still excited to find excuses to go back. No other US city has Austin’s mix of

Sorachi Ace Single Hop Home Brew Recipe

Posted on November 14, 2015November 14, 2015 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Homebrew Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I discovered Sorachi Ace when someone brought a homebrewed gallon to a friend’s party and I gave it a try. For the first time in years, I felt as though I was trying a new style of beer. It wasn’t just good, it was completely unfamiliar. A hop profile I had never experienced. It’s a strain that was developed in Japan by Sapporo in the 70’s and 80’s, and is only now making it’s way to the US market in meaningful quantities. I went home and immediately did some research, eager to brew something similar. The below recipe is what I came up with. And I’m very happy with it.

Wimberley Texas

Posted on December 2, 2013December 1, 2013 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Travel

The day after Thanksgiving, I went out to Wimberley with my girlfriend’s family, which is a small town about half an hour outside of Austin. I didn’t know what to expect, and was very pleasantly surprised. We started the day the Blue Hole regional park, a nice area with some hiking trails where we successfully found a geocache by a creek. This was one of the toughest ones I’ve done — and I can’t take credit for finding it (I’m not so sure I would have): We then went to the square, which is filled with lots of artsy stores selling many locally made “things”. I say “things” because while there were plenty of more normal crafty items such as

(Blackberry) Stout Recipe

Posted on November 3, 2013January 8, 2018 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Homebrew Recipe

Last week I brewed my first batch of beer in quite some time. I didn’t brew this past spring as I was moving in the summer, and didn’t want to worry about moving a bunch of extra bottles and/or full carboys. And It took some time to get settled in my new place. But now I’ve finally got my homebrew setup running. So let there be fresh beer again. Last weekend my plan was to brew a blackberry stout. I came up with a new recipe inspired by some previous stouts I had made, and brewed it last Sunday afternoon. I had picked up some blackberry flavoring with the intention of adding it at bottling. But I just transferred it