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.

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

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

Homebrewing Crash Course: Bottling Beer

Posted on January 25, 2011January 27, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Homebrew Crash Course

The following crash course is a simple walkthrough of the homebrew bottling process. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive guide, and is written for those who want to learn as they go, or need a quick refresher. It’s based on my own experience, and if you find any errors or have any suggestions to improve the guide, please pass them along. Over the coming months, I plan to create additional guides covering extract brewing, all-grain brewing, the racking process, sanitation, and recipe creation. And of course I’ll update this one as I receive suggestions or think of ways it can be improved. Hope you enjoy. Estimated Time: The bottling process generally takes about an hour and fifteen minutes. After

Why’s There Ice In My Beer?

Posted on January 17, 2011January 18, 2011 by Sam Kornstein in Beer, Travel

I was surprised to find that in Cambodia, beer is often served in a glass of ice. This seems to be a bit ridiculous to me, as the cans and bottles are often cold to begin with — why dilute perfectly good beer? I’ve heard many explanations. Local Cambodian’s certainly like to drink, and one person told me that drinking beer with ice helps make sure you don’t get too drunk too fast (it’s not true). And then I read that establishments like to show off the fact that they have a plentiful supply of fresh ice. Regardless, it’s a strange tradition. One I probably won’t be taking home. Also, as a follow-up to my previous post on Angkor Beer,