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Treating home distilling as illegal makes little sense, given that homebrewing and wine making have been legal at the federal level since 1978. In the aftermath of its failure to pass a health-care overhaul, Congress appears poised to turn to tax reform. While income and corporate tax rates will likely garner most of the attention, alcohol producers are also hoping for changes to booze taxes. Specifically, brewer, vintners, and distillers have been pushing on Capitol Hill for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which would lower federal excise taxes on alcohol. Despite attracting nearly 300 co-sponsors in the...

The recipe (5 gallon batch): 7 lbs (64%) 2 row (pale) malt 2 lbs (18%) wheat malt 1 lb (9%) Vienna malt 1/2 lb (4.5%) Rye Malt (yes, rye) 1/2 lb (4.5%) Carapils 1 oz Perle pellets @ 60 minutes (25 IBUs) 1 oz Hallertau leaf @ 5 minutes (3 IBUs) 1 pkg White Labs WLP025 Kölsch yeast This is not mandatory, but if you want a bit more punch, add 2 lbs of Pilsen DME (that will up the ABV from around 5% to 6 - 6.5%) Cooking instructions: I did a 3 step mash with mash out...

The recipe: 10 lbs Munich Malt 8 oz Black Patent 8 oz Caramel 20 8 oz Chocolate 8 oz Carapils (for head retention only) 1 oz Challenger pellets @60 mins 1 oz Challenger pellets @30 mins 1 oz Wilamette pellets @5 mins Safale S-04 Mashed for 90 minutes @ 157°F using Brew-in-a-bag. Mashed-out for 10 minutes @168°F. 60 minute boil. Fined with Irish Moss @15 minutes. Held in primary for a week; secondary for 2 weeks. Kegged @10 lbs. The numbers: Pre-boil SG: 1.045 OG: 1.054 FG: 1.024 ABV: 3.94%

Obama's & His Dark Sayings; The Wrath of God On America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rrp6wUkTGjY

I'm making some cheap wine. When I say cheap I mean one step above Pruno. Right now I'm just getting down the basics, collecting equipment and experimenting with different concoctions. My first try was apple juice, sugar and bread yeast which actually came out quite well. I have 2 bottles of it sitting in the fridge now waiting until my 5 litre box of Blush runs out before I start drinking it. The main reason I chose apple juice first was for the 128 ounce bottle. Now that it's done I'm using the bottle to make other wines 64 ounces...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Let us know what y’all are brewing up and making. Any interesting brews or wines you have discovered?

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Let us know what y’all are brewing up and making. Any interesting brews or wines you have discovered?

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Let us know what y’all are brewing up and making. Any interesting brews or wines you have discovered?

Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Or In This Case A Mint JulepDerby Day Tomorrow Or Make Your Own With Your Favorite Bourbon Mint Julep Recipe 2 cups sugar 2 cups water Sprigs of fresh mint Crushed ice Bourbon Whisky Silver/Gold/Glass Julep Cups Make a simple syrup by boiling sugar and water together for five minutes. Cool and place in a covered container with six or eight sprigs of fresh mint, then refrigerate overnight. Make one julep at a time by filling a julep...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I missed posting last Friday and I apologize. I just got caught up in all the news coming out of Boston last Friday and missed posting the thread. I did get to brew up another Irish Stout last week and it needs to be racked into a secondary tomorrow. My last Irish Stout turned out to be so good I needed more! Yum!

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Well, it has been a little more than a month since the last thread was posted. The Oatmeal Stout I bottled around the middle of Feb. has bottle aged and carbonated very nicely and is mighty, mighty tasty. My next Homebrew will be another Oatmeal Stout because this one turned out so well. I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let us know what your favorite brew, wine or spirit is.A little Beer News:  Samuel Adams beers captured nine medals at the International Brewing Awards 2013 in England.The bi-annual competition attracted more than 1,000 entries from 45 countries. Forty judges, all professional brewers, assessed the beers over the course of three days....

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Here is a thread on FR that I ran across earlier today that some of you might enjoy What Would John Adams Drink? Hard cider comes in so many varieties—it might be fruity, sweet, or dry, sometimes a bit like beer and other times akin to sparkling wine—it’s the rare drink that people won’t necessarily get tired of. And it is so easy to make it at home! Not much going on at the...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I bottled my oatmeal stout yesterday and will let it bottle condition for a few weeks before trying. Hope it carbs up nicely. I do not have any plans on brewing up another brew until the weather warms up a little. It is a little cool out side for me. My last try at making an acceptable Apple Cider is coming along well I popped a top on one and it was quite tasty...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! This past week I racked an oatmeal stout to a secondary and added some oak cubes that had been soaking in Maker’s Mark for a little over a month. I think I will let them flavor the beer for a few days and then remove them. Has anyone used oak cubes or chips to flavor their beer? How long should they be in the secondary?

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Super Bowl weekend. Here are a few statistics to ponder. I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let us know what your favorite brew, wine or spirit is.

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. It was a nice day here in Northeast Texas today – mid 60s and just right to brew up a batch of brew. Made an Oatmeal Irish Stout. I used a kit from Midwest supplies. 6 lbs. Dark Liquid Malt Extract Speciality Grains 4 oz Chocolate Malt 4 oz Caramel 10º L 4 oz Roasted Barley 4 oz Flaked Barley 8 oz Rolled Oats Hops - 0.5 oz Nugget and 1 oz Willamette 4...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I will be brewing an Oatmeal Stout next week after I get back from a trip to Mississippi. I have some dark roasted oak cubes that have been soaking in some Maker’s Mark Whiskey for the last two weeks that I will add to the secondary. Hope this turns out good! I hope all of you and your Brews and Wines are doing well. Stop by and share what you are brewing or let...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. I had my very first commercially brewed Double IPA yesterday evening. It was brewed by Samuel Adams as a limited release of their brews and is called “Third Voyage”. It is 8% ABV in a 22 oz. bottle and is very tasty and hoppy with a big citrus after taste. They used Cascade Hops from the regions that that Capt. James Cook sailed to on his third voyage - New Zealand and the Pacific...

Good afternoon/evening FReepers. Yep, it is Beer Thirty Time Once Again!Happiness is a bubbling airlock! And a Cold Brew Irish Stout Yum! Good evening/afternoon brewers and winemakers. Happy New Year to all! No partying planned for me. It will be an early night drinking a few of my Irish Stouts here. I am trying a Guinness Black Larger for the first time. I am not all that impressed at all. It has a thin/light mouth feel with a quick disappearing head. It has a slightly bitter after taste. Might be good ice cold on a warm summer day. Expensive $ 10.00...