JasonKimball.org

I just bought an iPhone and wanted to test how well the WordPress app worked. It’s nice being able to post an update no matter where I am. I thought it would be fitting to make my first mobile post a beer one.

It has been roughly three months since I started brewing my first beer with the Mr. Beer home brew kit. My last bottle of West Coast Pale Ale was finished last night and to be honest, it couldn’t have been any easier to make.

After finishing my first beer I must say that Mr. Beer offers a very easy way for new beer brewers to get an idea of how to properly brew beer. Overall I thought that the West Coast Pale Ale was a decent beer but lacked something I couldnt quite put my finger on. It didnt stop me from drinking all of it though…haha.

I went with two weeks in the fermenter, two weeks carbonating, and roughly three weeks conditioning before I had my last two or three bottles. I think the first beer I had was only after one week of conditioning and it definitely got better as time went by.

It wasn’t bad for a first batch. I am excited about the Whispering Wheat Weizenbier that I have had carbing for the last two weeks. Hopefully in two or three weeks I will have another review.

I have always enjoyed beer, especially drinking it! Who doesn’t, right? As I got older I started to develop a curiosity for brewing and thought that I could possibly brew my own beer but wasn’t quite sure where to start. Well, after seeing a deal on Woot for a Mr. Beer Premium Beer Kit for $19.99 I decided that I had to at least try it for that price. In fact, I bought three because I figured I could give them as gifts or sell them to some of my buddies.

According to the Mr. Beer website, the Premium Edition beer kit comes with everything you need to brew/bottle 1 batch of great tasting beer. Doing a quick search and you get reviews from people on both sides of the fence. On one side you have your beer snobs and on the other you have your newbies (like me). The simple fact is that since I purchased the kit about a month ago I have learned more about beer than I could have imagined. Also, many people (beer snobs included) have stated that this very introductory beer kit is capable of making some pretty good beer with some minor tweaks.

After waiting for a couple weeks for my kit to come in the mail, I finally made my first batch of beer. Included with the Premium Edition kit is the West Coast Pale Ale ingredients and instructions. I have followed the instructions and now have my first batch of beer fermenting. Of course it states that you can have beer in as little as fourteen days, but after reviewing a couple forums the basic process involves 2-2-2. This equates to two weeks in the fermentor, two weeks carbonating and two weeks conditioning. Of course, the more ingredients in your beer, the longer you should allow for fermentation and conditioning.

Surprisingly, there are plenty of websites out there for all your beer questions you may have regarding Mr. Beer or home brewing in general. Here are a couple that I found helpful:

• Mr. Beer Community
• Mr. Beer Fans
• Mr. Beer Yahoo Group
• Beeradvocate

I have actually decided to buy a second fermentor and several refill kits to include the Whispering Wheat Weizenbier, Sticky Wicket Oatmeal Stout, and Wicked Monk. It looks like I will have a new batch brewing for the next six months and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. Hopefully, after learning enough about the brewing process I can get a more advanced home brewing kit to step my game up.

Stay tuned for an update on my first batch made with Mr. Beer, West Coast Pale Ale.

My wife and I recently took a trip to Belgium and I returned home with some tasty beer. Here is a look at what I brought home with me.

This was my second beer of the night for our make your own sushi night and it brought back a lot of great memories from the three years that we spent in Japan.

I had quite a few of these back in Japan so I wanted to post some pictures for my personal online beer collection.

So, here goes…

Serving Type: 650 ml Can

ABV  (Alcohol By Volume): 5.0%

I was wandering around a local Asian food store and just happened to luckily find the beer section. To my surprise they had Sapporo and Asahi Super Dry, so I quickly grabbed a couple bottles of each and headed for the register.

After living in Japan for three years I would say that I consumed a fair amount of Japanese beer. Asahi was one of the beers I drank on the regular and it was good to get my hands on it again.

It is nothing spectacular but when I went out on the town I really got into drinking a lot of Asahi. It was sushi night at our house so I cracked open a bottle of this stuff to be reminded of the “good ole days” back in Japan.

Serving Type: 500 ml bottle

ABV  (Alcohol By Volume): 5.0%

This was my first shot at tasting Scottish beer and I thought McEwan’s No.1 Champion was pretty good. Overall I found this Scottish ale to be pretty good but nothing spectacular.

It poured a deep ruby color and that led to a very rich and dark tasting beer that I thought was very pleasant overall. At 7.3% ABV this had a pretty good kick behind it.

Serving Type: 500 ml bottle

ABV  (Alcohol By Volume): 7.3%

A stubby looking brown bottle with a white, red, and gold label just happened to catch my eye the other day so I thought it was time to give it a taste. The beer in question was Duvel, a Belgian strong golden ale that I can never recall ever seeing before. I have been really liking Belgian style brews so I thought this would fit right in with out a problem.

I was absolutely right. This small 330ml bottle of Duvel sure packs a punch at 8.5% ABV. I thought it was light and crisp on the mouth with a distinct sweet slightly carbonated taste. I thought it almost resembled the taste of a champagne but only better. This has to be one of the better beers I have come into contact with thus far. I think I have finally come to the realization of what good beer is suppose to taste like.

Do not let this tiny bottle fool you! At 8.5% ABV it will knock you on your ass. I know that I was surprised at how strong this tasty little guy ended up being. It almost makes me sad that I only bought one and I will have to hunt some more down before I can have it again.

According to the Duvel website:

With its subtly bitter bite and delicate aroma, Duvel holds a unique position within the rich Belgian beer tradition. After bottling, the beer continues to ferment for a fortnight after bottling in the warm cellars of the brewery. Finally, the beer is chilled for 6 weeks in the cold cellars. This extra long maturing process is unique and contributes to the exquisite flavour and pure aroma of Duvel.

Like I stated earlier, this one heads to the top of the list of my favorite beers.