CCHBS News for October 2008
- Fall Recipes... and a Special!
- Often Overlooked Hops
- Dark Candi Syrup Back on Stock
- Wheat Extract Going Away Soon
- Seasonal Yeasts in Stock
Fall Recipes... and a Special!
The weather has finally started to cool off a little (OK, so on Oct. 1 it's 100 degrees, but the forecast calls for cooler weather), so your brewing options are picking up. Almost any American or English ale can be brewed once the temperatures get near 70, but why not do some advance planning? Our Holiday Spiced Ale recipe is a great beer for the holiday season, and would be a great beer to brew during October. To help you, we're even reducing the price to $40 during the month of October. We know, we said we wouldn't do that any more but who's going to complain, right?
Often Overlooked Hops
Yes, many of our favorite hops aren't available right now. But there we do have hops in stock which are worthy of your attention. Sterling was bred from Saaz and Cascade and is one of our favorite hops, but very few people try it. It combines the smooth bittering qualities of Saaz and a more subtle version of the citrusy flavor and aroma of Cascade. Another nice hybrid is Crystal, which was bread from Halletauer and an American hop. It's also smooth and subtle with a faint lemony quality. Finally, if you're brewing English beers, try Bramling Cross. It can lend a Black Currant flavor to a beer, which is very English.
Dark Candi Syrup Back in Stock
Dark Candi Syrup makes a dark Belgian beer taste... right. We've been out of stock for a while but, checking around the Web, so have a lot of people. It's in stock again and we'll shortly have the clear, amber and Dark 2 syrups in stock. Hmmmm, a Belgian Dubbel with spices might make a really nice holiday beer.
Wheat Extract Going Soon
With cooler weather just around the corner, we'll be replacing wheat extract with dark extract soon. That means we'll only have the more expensive dry wheat extract until some time next Spring. If you're planning on making a wheat beer, you should plan to do it soon.
Seasonal Yeasts in Stock
We have a number of seasonal yeasts available. The newest from Wyeast are the French Farmhouse, Biere de Garde and French Saison strains. We also have their Canadian Belgian yeast and Bavarian Wheat Blend. Meanwhile, in White Lab's platinum line, we have Saison Blend, Dusseldorf Alt, Abbey Ale IV and Belgian Wit II.