KC Irish Fest brewing competition

I received a letter in the mail with my 2012 KC Irish Fest brewing competition results. I did not place in the top three, which are the prize winners. My feedback was mostly positive with an overall score of 38 (out of 50). The beer was deemed very good with no major flaws but not outstanding. I toast the winners and look forward to next years competition. They vary the style category from year to year, I wonder what it will be.

Chi-Town in August



Our beer selection



The wife and I went to Chicago for a short get-away. Sometimes you just gotta get outta town. I don't think it matters where you go, just go. Except for the notorious Chicago trafiic it is a great vacation destination. We took in a couple of tourist sites including the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago Botanical Garden and Wrigley Field. We also sought out a few beers that are not available in our home town.



Jelly fish at the Shedd Aquarium



Chicago Botanical Garden



Goose Island Wrigleyville



Rain delay



Winter Ale 2012

On Sunday, August the 5th, I brewed a Winter Ale. It uses my Wee Heavy recipe as the base with mulling spices added.  I brewed it a little later than I had hoped but still a couple of months earlier than last years. It should be ready by winter and maybe even in time for Christmas. The extreme heat this summer is one of the reasons I have brewed so infrequently this year. Who wants to stand around a stove when it's 105 degrees outside? The heat also seems to have raised the water temperature coming in to the house which slowed the chilling process somewhat. I created a yeast starter for this beer. Fermentation started right away and was consistent. I will leave it in the primary for a couple of weeks then transfer it to a carboy to rest for a couple of months prior to bottling.