Snow Beer...a unique Lager

I've been thinking about brewing a lager all winter long. My basement is at perfect lagering temperature, I think, in the mid to low 50's. I have my basement fridge set at 41 degrees, perfect for a nice long rest for the lager yeast. I originally wanted to do a Bock because of my long time love affair with New Glarus Uff-Da Bock, and goats. Oh man I loved that beer in college. Are they still brewing that one? Anyways. Recently I've been looking at the Pilsner style and the thing about a Czeck Pilsner beer is that if you truly want to make it 'to style' then you have to use naturally soft water. Not softened water, but naturally soft water like the water they have in Pilsen.

To the point of my long winded, possibly uninformed rant....

I found out about something today that I just can't stop thinking about. I'd emailed Dane Gonzalez from Pearl Street Brewery and he replied with something that I thought was so interesting. He said..."A beer I never miss out on every year is snow beer and u should try it before its gone. Snow is naturally soft and works great for lagers. Gather the cleanest snow u can find and boil it down for a completely unique brew."

So, I've gathered a whole bunch of fresh snow from my front yard and I'm going to attempt a 'completely unique brew' and my first lager. I'm thinking I'll have to harvest some more tomorrow. I'll need about 9 gallons over all, or somewhere in there.

I ended up getting the European Pilsner kit from Midwest Brew Supply!

If anyone else has a tried and true Pilsner recipe that they'd like to share, I'd think about doing that one instead. Otherwise, I'd highly encourage you to brew up your own Snow Beer with some local snow while you still can and see how it differs from when you use normal water.

Updates....Dry Hop, and more Kegs!

I've got the IPA Dry Hopping right now in Secondary fermentation. Also, I now have not only my GimmeThatNut Brown flowin, but I'll also soon have my Native Brown Ale carbed and flowin as well! F-N-A, right?

Beer Release at the Rock Bottom -DT

Just wanted to let my readers know about a beer release I'll be attending tonight. It's at the Rock Bottom where Masterbrewer Bryon Tonnis is constantly working up nice creations for everyone. The big event tonight is all about Assistant Brewer Kaveh Rahimi who will be releasing his very own NE Darkside Steam Beer. For those of you that don't know, Steam beers were popularized in California where they would take Lager Yeast and ferment them at Ale temperatures. Kaveh is a bit of an inspiration to me, because early on in my homebrewing, I ended up getting a few of his old homebrew 'hand me downs' and in the process I tried one of his homebrews. It was a German Alt which at the time was a style that I wasn't very familiar with. I remember it being real smooth and malty and thinking, man I want another one. Tonight at 6 is the big release party which will be Kaveh's second release as a Professional Brewer and I'd highly recommend everyone come down and check out what this kid is doing!

Rock Bottom
800 LaSalle Plaza
Minneapolis, MN 55402
***Beer Release Party starting at 6pm
Be there by 6pm for the tapping and get a FREE PINT!
NE Darkside Steam Beer
Brewed by Kaveh Rahimi


Cheers! Have a beer.

Nick

New and improved Growlers from my boy Timmy C

Check these things out. This guy is so talented, always was, always will be. One of the nicest guy I've ever met as well. Feel free to buy as many growlers and other miscellaneous items as you see fit.

www.carlburgpottery.com