I know there are plenty of you out there who would love to brew your own beer. After all, it is America’s fastest growing hobby (please don’t ask me to back that up)! Thanks to Niagara Tradition Home Brew, Buffalonians with no knowledge whatsoever of the brewing process can now pick up a starter kit and, a few weeks later, enjoy about 50 twelve ounce bottles of their own beer.
The kit includes nearly everything you need to get started- a fermenting bucket, bottling bucket, equipment sanitizer, hydrometer… and of course the precious ingredients! The only things you need are a large stewing pot (needed to boil the wort), a measuring cup, measuring spoons, and a large spoon for stirring. When the time comes to bottle your beer, you’ll also need the bottles and a funnel.
With the step-by-step instructions guiding you in great detail, it should be easy and fun to produce your first batch of beer. Besides picking up a new hobby, home brewing is also convenient for storage–since homebrews are naturally carbonated in the bottle, they last a long time. If you store it at room temperature until the day you imbibe, it will age gracefully.
Kit prices range from $64.99 (equipment only) to $79.99 (equipment plus ingredients), and you can choose from many different types of beer- Pilsner, Bavarian Lager, Australian Pale Ale, and more. Check back in a few weeks and I’ll share my experience with the kit, and let you know how it turned out!
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In honor of yesterday’s Oktoberfest celebration at the Central Terminal, I thought we’d talk a little about the background of the beer typically enjoyed at such celebrations.
Traditionally, German brewers produced a Marzenbier, a stronger version of an amber Vienna style. It was a seasonal beer, being brewed in March and stored until late summer, when it was enjoyed in large festivities all over Munich. These days, it is more common to find a paler, milder version of this style (known as an “oktoberfestbier”) which apparently appeals to a wider audience of palates. This is not always a bad thing, however, as there are more than a few high quality oktoberfestbiers out there.
You should be able to find a good variety of such brews at many local beer stores. Beck’s, Sam Adams, and Spaten all distribute their Oktoberfestbiers internationally. Make sure you stop in the local brewpubs for their own varieties as well!