The Newest Débutante from Pretty Things

Thursday November 5, 2009

is no big-haired blonde Texan sweetheart. Word on the street, or at least on Twitter, is that the newest inamorata currently being tended to by Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project is a femme fatale, a mysterious dark maven aptly named Babayaga.

She is a Winter Stout.

The question remains as to whether or not they will be continuing the Belgianesque tradition they have garnered so favorably in their first year of production here in Massachusetts. Or will they delve headlong into the American waters they tested this summer with American Darling, their only purely American style beer (and lager) to date?

Whether she’s subtle as a Belgian, bold and mouthy as an American, or serious and hard-nosed as a Russian, this black beauty is sure to win the hearts and minds of all of her pink-cheeked, fireplace-bound Northeastern suitors this winter.

Keep us warm, Pretty Things.

Say hello to my gigantic friend. I came home from work today expecting to find a cardboard box about as wide and half as tall as me. What greeted me in the stairwell was decidedly squatter than I had anticipated. A corrugated cube, of sorts. Assembly required? <shake> Uh… no. Some… one else’s shipment? Uh oh. I tentatively jabbed my car keys into the packing-taped seam and pealed open the box to reveal my brand new 35-quart stainless steel brewpot (hell yes)! My ambivalence soon gave way to opportunistic excitement as I hefted the monstrosity onto the stovetop and its girth covered, yes, not one, but two burners! Yeah, she’s a little shorter, a little fatter than she looked on the internet. But who isn’t? This can only be good. Like any cook, I’m worried about getting a good boil on six gallons of water. I’ve only made one homebrew thus far - a summer ale with a manageable three gallon boil. But for my next brew, I want to try the 60-Minute IPA clone, straight out of Dogfish founder Sam Calagione’s book, Extreme Brewing. It requires a full boil of all six gallons, and an ebullient one at that. I was all ready to set up a propane burner in the back yard, but now it appears as though I can turn out a perfectly good wort in the comfort of my own kitchen. I can blast that sucker with two gas burners, plus - the extra surface area provided by the pot’s ample diameter can only work out in my favor, bubblewise. I suppose I should do a trial boil with my stop-watch and six gallons of plain ol’ water, but I’m prepared to say this is excellent news. Today is the first day of fall in New England, and from here things only get… colder.
Tuesday September 22, 2009

Say hello to my gigantic friend.

I came home from work today expecting to find a cardboard box about as wide and half as tall as me. What greeted me in the stairwell was decidedly squatter than I had anticipated. A corrugated cube, of sorts. Assembly required? <shake> Uh… no. Some… one else’s shipment? Uh oh. I tentatively jabbed my car keys into the packing-taped seam and pealed open the box to reveal my brand new 35-quart stainless steel brewpot (hell yes)!

My ambivalence soon gave way to opportunistic excitement as I hefted the monstrosity onto the stovetop and its girth covered, yes, not one, but two burners! Yeah, she’s a little shorter, a little fatter than she looked on the internet. But who isn’t? This can only be good.

Like any cook, I’m worried about getting a good boil on six gallons of water. I’ve only made one homebrew thus far - a summer ale with a manageable three gallon boil. But for my next brew, I want to try the 60-Minute IPA clone, straight out of Dogfish founder Sam Calagione’s book, Extreme Brewing. It requires a full boil of all six gallons, and an ebullient one at that.

I was all ready to set up a propane burner in the back yard, but now it appears as though I can turn out a perfectly good wort in the comfort of my own kitchen. I can blast that sucker with two gas burners, plus - the extra surface area provided by the pot’s ample diameter can only work out in my favor, bubblewise. I suppose I should do a trial boil with my stop-watch and six gallons of plain ol’ water, but I’m prepared to say this is excellent news. Today is the first day of fall in New England, and from here things only get… colder.

Comments
I&#8217;m a lady who LIKES her beer. Typical of my millennial instincts, I have a hard time being excited about things in earnest, without the cruel dampening effect of a sour, generational cynicism, or at least some amount of absurd irony. But beer, well, what is it to be so fervently devoted to the craft, culture, and enjoyment of something so easily stigmatized as a terrible vice? For me, it is perfect.
Saturday August 29, 2009

I’m a lady who LIKES her beer. Typical of my millennial instincts, I have a hard time being excited about things in earnest, without the cruel dampening effect of a sour, generational cynicism, or at least some amount of absurd irony. But beer, well, what is it to be so fervently devoted to the craft, culture, and enjoyment of something so easily stigmatized as a terrible vice? For me, it is perfect.

Comments
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