Go Big Brew or Go Home
Ah, the magical sweet smell of hot water mixing with malted barley. The spicy scent of hops stinging the nostrils and enticing the pallet to imbibe. It must be homebrew. For those of you who have never experienced the smells, you’re missing out. What better way to participate in the craft beer revolution than to brew your own? Well okay, maybe drinking some craft beer would be good too, but ancient brewing tradition holds that good beer must be enjoyed while brewing new beer.
Speaking of homebrew, the American Homebrewers Association has designated May 7 as National Homebrew day. To celebrate the holiday, homebrewers gather with friends, family and even strangers on the first Saturday of May (May 4 this year) for a “big brew,” to share the love of their craft and educate new brewers. Homebrewing clubs will sometimes organize group brews on big brew day, where the members all brew together at someone’s house. Brewing together is a great way to learn new techniques and exchange information. It’s also a great way to share beer amongst members. The American Homebrewing Association has both a club locator and suggested recipes on its website.
So, if you’ve ever been on the fence about getting into homebrewing, May 4 might be a good time to give it a whirl. You can find good advice, good ingredients and good people at your local homebrewing shop.
Foolproof Expansion
After only three months on the market, Foolproof Brewing Co. in Pawtucket, has completed their first expansion. Three brand new shiny fermenting tanks were delivered in early April. The tanks arrived on a single flatbed truck and were lifted by crane to their new home. This upgrade effectively doubles Foolproof’s capacity.
We’re Going to Need a Bigger Bucket
Homebrewers turned pro, the boys over at the Bucket Brewery are also looking to expand. Currently they have a one barrel (bbl) capacity brewhouse capable of putting out about 16 bbl every month. This planned expansion is going to move up their capacity by a factor of 10, giving them the ability to brew 10bbl in a batch and an overall output target of 110bbl each month. They’ve started a crowd source funding campaign to help them finance this ambitious expansion. If the campaign proves successful, it will put Bucket’s capacity on par with other loved breweries in this state such as Trinity, Coddington, Revival and Grey Sail.