In the first of (what I hope to be) many postings of my homebrew recipes, here is one of my favorites. It is my take on a traditional gruit-style ale. I am starting with this recipe partly because it turned out very well, even winning 3rd place in the 2007 Greater Huntington Homebrewers Association Mountain Brewers Open. Also, I imagine that a lot of people will be wanting to explore the gruit style, since it doesn't use any hops (or, at least, my recipe doesn't use any hops), and with the hops shortage, I know a lot of brewers are looking for alternatives.
I know what you might be thinking: "What self-respecting beer geek wants a beer with no hops?" Well, if that's what you are thinking, then you really need to open your mind, and try this beer. I can't stand the more-hops-is-always-better attitude, but thats a rant for another day. Lets get back on track.
WikiHow– How to visit a brewery ?!?!
So, I saw this article this morning on WikiHow, that tells you how to visit a brewery. Now, maybe I'm just old hat at this, but I would have thought this was a pretty basic thing that you didn't need to be told how to do. You know, kind of like, "How to go grocery shopping". But maybe I'm off base here.
In any case, I think it is good to give non-beer-geeks the idea to visit breweries. I imagine some people would never have thought of it. I really don't mean to sound as sarcastic as I probably do in that last paragraph; it just struck me as funny. Also, this article does a good job of showing how to visit a brewery that doesn't really do tours or visitors. These small breweries are the most interesting, at least in my opinion. They seem to be the closest to homebrewing, and I would love to someday be able to sell my own beer. I would be sure to advertise tours, though.... I think tours are a great way to build a loyal base of fans. And they are so much fun!