Brewing fun making our Mauhler 12 Clone!

So for a while now my sister and I have been the “ususal suspects” at our local Ale House drinking one of favorite beers, the Mauhler 12. So we decided that after making our mead we would look into making our very own Mauhler 12. But with life, school and work it seemed almost impossible. Until we met Mr.Naylor who happens to be one of the best brewers in San Diego and also happens to live down the street from us!

Suddenly our dream to replicate and brew our own Mauhler 12 had become a reality! We are actually going to be calling it our very own “Arrizon 12″ for a bottle share and opening this month.

Things always happen in funny ways it seems that way lately. We hanging out at the Ale House then meeting our own neighbor that was also a regular there at the same time and hitting it off talking about brewing and stuff. Small world . . . .

Champion League Weekend Wooo-Hooo!!

So my friend the other day reminded me of the big soccer game this weekend and since not only do I play but love soccer so much, I’m gonna make sure I’ll be watching for sure!
I’ll probably be at my local pub in Encinitas where they always have an awesome tap list and really good food as well! Plus their soccer fans themselves!
The match will be the final game of the European Champions League between Germany’s Bayern Munich and UK’s Chelsea FC. Bayern will have home advantage since this game is in Munich but Chelsea isn’t to be taken lightly. Chelsea FC is an EPL powerhouse with good experience both in domestic and international games so this will be an interesting match to watch.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney, and many soccer players who are sponsored by Nike going forward including this summers Euro 2012 as well as the summer Olympics.

Exciting soccer times ahead.

Soccer + Beer = Happiness ;P

A Time to Thank and Give . . . . .

This years Thanksgiving was a good one, besides getting a new job things are now falling into place.  I also got to indulge myself to a couple of cooking apparatus.  I have always wanted to make an awesome turkey dinner but I just never got the time nor the right cooking sets.  So I decided to go all out this year.  I searched for turkey cookers, turkey oven trays,  non-stick cookers for turkeys . . . . you name it I searched and searched.  Stores would tell me that they were completely out or that they had no idea what I was looking for. Ugh!  One would think that most retail stores would carry them in stock around the Holidays . . .but I was soooo wrong.  So I finally went online and found myself  a Calphalon Cookware Set, Yay!!

This is similar to what I bought myself, it’s called the Calphalon Turkey Cookware Set.
I have been wanting a set from Calphalon for quite a while now, and I really liked the 5 piece it was a great deal.

My recipe this year was given to me by Bryan, a total genius!  Learned that when you mix pineapple juice, vodka and some very special spices the turkey becomes incredibly delicious.  I would have never thought of that creation because I was so stuck on the conventional way of cooking a turkey.  Thanks Bryan and hope you continue to inspire me. It opened the doors to so many other variations to using this mixture of spices and juices.

Like I mentioned earlier this Thanksgiving was a very special one for me.  Besides the food, the pies and all the great beer of course,  we had to opportunity to help out in cooking and distributing about 100 turkey dinners.  I have always thought that if you can help just a little bit the world and its human race will change for the better!  It brings happiness to your heart and hope for others . .  .  What else can one ask for? If anyone else feels the magic within we can all make a huge difference.

Once again I take this special little moment to thank all the good people around me and my cute little animals that are truly a blessing to me. We (Martha, Bubba, Kristy and I) wish you all a very good Holiday this year and the many, many to come. We pray for peace and joy and hope that we all can grow to see a better tomorrow.  Please send me a message if you would like to join (fill a belly) for Christmas,  I will admit we do need Volunteers.

Small Beer Glass for Better Beer Taste

I love brewing all kinds of mead’s, cider and just recently beer as you probably know by now. Something about taste of home brewed beer that makes it a lot more enjoyable than ordinary beers. And it even tastes better if I taste it in a smaller beer glass.

Since I have my friends coming over often to taste my beer, I decided that it would be a good idea to purchase a set of a small set of beer glasses. One of my friends gave me an a $25 gift certificate from an online cookware specialty store that also sells bar ware and drink ware  where I bought my  beer glass set of 12 made by Anchor Hocking. My purchase arrived today which I am very excited about. They are very delicate and cute,  and I am looking forward a better beer tasting experience and serving my friends my home brewed beer in these beer glasses.

My First Quaff Oktoberfest Festival @San Dieguito Park

First and foremost I want to thank everyone at the Picnic today for sharing and making today a great day!  Thanks to all my fellow Brewer’s for sharing such great beers.  I think I tried all of them except for the Hell’s Pale Ale (Chile beer)    I was too late for that one, bummer-   On the bright side the Orange Wit was one of my favorites as well as the American Wheat.  

As you can see from the picture (right) the tittle of every beer that  Barley Engineer’s were serving. I also took some other pictures but they still need some editing.  This was the original list . . . starting with The Pommegranate Hefeweizen by Andy Gamelin, Kolsch – Andy Gamelin,  Alt Bier – Joe Sherman, Maibock – Andy Gamelin, Weizenbock – Richard Mang, Cream Ale – Dean McCleary, American Pale Ale – Travis Hammond & Leanne Abe, Brown Ale – Jim Bordier, Saison- Jeremy Jerome, Kriek- Andy Gamelin, Framboise-Mike Johansen and last but not least The Mystery Beer- Hell’s Pale Ale- Ken Schmidt

Yeih,  for the guys in our Barley club! Every beer was unique and had it’s own distinguished taste.  It was a good idea arriving early (thanks Dean)  even though my sister got called into work last minute so she could not attend . . . .  she is still very sad- Maybe next time Kris   A couple people did ask  me about the dish we brought and I will post the recipe as soon as I get a chance. It made Kris and I, happy that everyone enjoyed it-  There is really no name for the plate except it is a German favorite.  We called it Sauerkraut Cooked in Beer, with Spicy Bratwurst, paired with apples, raisins, cinnamon  and walnuts.

I do have to give all the credit to my sister since she is the cook. But this was one of the important steps, letting the Sauerkraut soak with the beer and the sausage the night before.

• 8 links bratwurst sausage
• 2 cups of  red onions
• 4 (8-ounce) bottles dark beer
• 2 cups yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 3 large red or golden delicious apples cored and cubed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 half cup of fresh ground cinnamon
• 2 cups of fresh walnuts
• 2 pounds sauerkraut, rinsed well under cold running water and drained
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Yes, it’s a bit late to be posting anything up but the beer sharing continued at O’Sullivans Pub were we watched the USA vs Honduras Soccer Game  . . .  What can a girl do? Anything for the love of the game!

First Attempt to making a good MEAD

Yes,  this past week has been very exciting . . . although I might be leaving for a mini- vacation soon I still am very excited about Oktoberfest which falls on Oct. 10th of this year.   With the help of friends and my sister who is a genius, I think we will show up with something good   My main ingredients for this Mead will consist of real honey from Robert’s Farm in Temecula, some real cinnamon, and maybe orange peels.  Still debating over that but the rest of the ingredients are top secret. hehe . . .  Anyway gotta run to class again but I will continue this later.

Yesterday Kris and I went back to Hydrobrew again for like our 4th time!  We needed more supplies and I think  finally,  we have everything we need now  The guys there are super cool and they helped us out tremendously-  Thank You Guys!  We are going to be taking some of the classes in the future and if any of  you want to join here is a link to their website http://www.hydrobrew.com/Events.htm

Comics and Beer . . .

Recently I’ve noticed many of my old comic book friends and I myself sometimes find reading a comic book or watching Anime with a nice brew on the side the perfect match . . .  Just started school and getting back into the flow of things and many of my old friends that liked “real” beer before with their comics are now brewing their own awesome creations . . . . This is cool.

Last night there was a Hellboy marathon at my friends place in old town and many people showed up. Many with a bunch of beer and some with their own brews . . .  It was lot’s of fun but unfortunately I cannot drink some of the dark heavy stuff . . . it puts me down.  Had to lay for a couple of hours guess it really got me. It was sooo much fun though. Got to watch one of my favorite movies with a bunch of my old crew mates and new ones too!

Anyhow, also  met Dave who is a full time brewer and big time comic bookie. Very nice and wants me to come with him on their next home brewing session . .   It actually sounds like much fun.  Anyhow the movie last night made me think of how much I do like and miss Hellboy- the movie.

I don’t know there is something special about a big mean looking devil lad that drinks beer and has a soft side for cats-    Heart full of  love but stubborn as a stone.  I gotta run to class now but I will continue this one later . . . . there is much to be written!