after my recent tour of the batdorf & bronson roastery, i went on a quest to brew a better cup of coffee. i learned on the tour that there are many factors that go into a good cup of joe. these range from the quality and freshness of the coffee, to using the proper ratio of grounds/water, to hitting the ideal brewing temperature of 205°. the problem is most consumer coffeemakers never reach such high temperatures. for that, you need a hand-brewed method where you are in full control and as much as i love my french press, it sounded like a pour over coffeepot was the way to go.

after a little research, i decided on the stylish chemex coffeepot. it’s both a great coffeemaker and a beautiful piece of design, even 70+ years after its creation. plus it only set me back $31.95 at dancing goats in decatur. i did have to buy special chemex filters for it, but they were just $5.95 for a 100 pack, which wasn’t that bad.

for my inaugural pot, i picked up some nice costa rica la minita del sol coffee. the description on the bag was “full bodied & sparkling sweet, maple, almond & orange juice,” which sounded interesting. the beans were 100% sun dried instead of fully washed, like most central american beans, so it’s supposed to be fairly unique.

the brewing process was pretty easy to follow. i put a chemex filter into the top of the coffeepot and added a tbsp of freshly ground coffee for each 5 oz cup, 8 tbsp for a full pot. i boiled 40 oz of water and removed it from heat for roughly 20 seconds until it reached ~205°. i then wet the grounds with 4 oz of water and let “bloom” for 30-40 seconds. from there i added the rest of the water, making sure not to overflow, and composted the spent grounds. voilà, the perfect cup of coffee!

the results were definitely worth the effort! the coffee had that fresh, strong taste you get from a french press, but seemed cleaner and less-bitter since the oils and sediment were filtered out. it was a nice, crisp cup of coffee where I could actually distinguish some of the descriptive characteristics. i wouldn’t say i sensed the orange juice, but i picked up some sweet and nutty elements, especially when sampled next to a cup of french roast. it was some of the better coffee i’ve made at home!

on top of that, the actual coffeepot is gorgeous and looks great on the countertop! it’s on permanent display at moma and was featured in the modern by design exhibit at the high museum of art, further proving its elegance.

for more thorough brewing instructions, or to check out some great mid-century illustrations, head to the chemex website. there are also some slightly different brewing instructions offered from dancing goat, although i tried this method and didn’t care for it. it used almost twice the coffee and was a little strong for my taste.

enjoy!

– ryan

dancing goats coffee bar

419 west ponce de leon ave
decatur, ga 30030
404-687-1100

i ended up going to the decatur craft beer festival this year with my buddy willy! there were lots of great beer for the tasting, although it’s always a gamble drinking that much between noon and 5pm on a saturday. i know it’s boring, but my highlights were sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest and estate homegrown ale on tap!

– ryan

i recently spent a nice fall afternoon brewing a couple batches of beer with some friends! it had been awhile since i’ve brewed, so i was excited to get back into the swing of things.

we made a bell’s two hearted clone and a pumpkin amber, although we had to substitute some ingredients on the two hearted. the ipa ended up being 9.6% (wohoo!) and the pumpkin amber a respectable 5.2%!

here is the bottle rocket brewing website if you want to check out previous beers i’ve been a part of.

– ryan

brewing recipes:

pumpkin amber ingredients:
5-8 large okra sliced

egg wash:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1 lb caramel/crystal malt (10l)
6.6 lbs amber sparkling lme
2 oz willamette pellet hops
1/2 oz fuggles hops (dry hop)
wyeast 1098 british ale
2 tbsp pumpkin spice (2 tsp dry hop)

two hearted clone ingredients:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1/2 lb munich
1/2 lb carapils
6.6 lbs golden light lme
2.3 lbs pilsen light lme
4 oz amarillo hops (centinnial was the hop we wanted)
1 oz cascade hops (dry hop)
white labs high gravity yeast

i recently had the 2011 brew free or die ipa by 21st amendment brewery. as far as i can tell, it’s the same tasty ipa with just a new design. be sure to check out my review on the 2010 brew free or die from last summer!

as i mentioned a few days ago, i totally appreciate great beer design! check out recent posts on the revamp of red hook and the new hell or high watermelon design.

– ryan

21st amendment brewery

563 2nd street
san francisco, ca 94107
415-369-0900

the 2011 hell or high watermelon wheat bear is out and as tasty as i remembered! it’s the summer seasonal by 21st amendment brewery out of san francisco. the packaging and cans have a new design this year and it’s just as impressive as last years. i appreciate beer companies that take the extra effort with great design! red hook brewery also had a recent revamp of their package design.

check out our write-up on the 2010 hell or high watermelon from last summer!

– ryan

21st amendment brewery

563 2nd street
san francisco, ca 94107
415-369-0900

once upon a time, my buddy willy and i brewed quite a bit of beer under the name bottle rocket brewing. we hosted gatherings where we grilled out and shared our beer with friends. summertime favorites were our watermelon wheat and orange cream ale, both went quickly when we had them on tap.

most of our friends also chipped in and designed labels for our beers. the labels were a big part of the fun we had! you can see all of the different label designs on the bottle rocket website, or flip through them here.

although it’s been awhile since i’ve brewed, i hope to get back to brewing soon!

– ryan

on our recent trip to florida we visited the florida beer company tasting room and brewery. here they brew hurricane reef, ybor gold, key west, la tropical and other florida beers.

the brewery was fairly small, offering a fun intimate setting for the visitor. the tasting room was on the second floor of the building, right above the beer brewing. this allowed you to watch the brewers hard at work while sampling their beers. we watched the bottling and capping process while tasting ours. the setup reminded me a lot of the rogue brewery in newport, or.

i tried the key west sunset ale and swamp ape ipa on draft. although i enjoyed the sunset ale, it was the swamp ape ipa that really stood out. this tasty treat was extremely hoppy and a whopping 10%, quite the beast indeed! it was brand new from florida beer and not actually available yet. i was bummed i couldn’t buy any to bring home.

i had a blast sampling fresh brewed local beers while on vacation! if you ever find yourself in melbourne, florida, be sure to stop by the florida beer company.

– ryan

florida beer company

2500 south harbor city blvd
melbourne, fl 32901
321-728-4114

my favorite time of the year has finally arrived! we have cool weather, fall foliage, and, as of last week, we have the 2010 lineup of wet hop ales!

in case you missed my post at the beginning of the summer, wet/fresh hop ales are by far my favorite beers and are only around for a couple months of the year. this type of beer is unique to american craft breweries and is quite the treat when you can find them. these tasty brews are made with wet hops that are delivered to the brewery the same day they are harvested. the brewers are waiting on hand to add the wet hops to the kettle while at the peak of their freshness. the result is one of the hoppiest, most flavorful beers around. it’s the equivalent of cooking with fresh herbs rather then dried ones.

so far i have only been able to find sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest in atlanta, but i am sure many more will be available soon. in the meantime northern hemisphere harvest is totally satisfying my fix.

i will be trying any and all wet/fresh hops ales i can find this fall, so be sure to check back for more reviews! i hear from my buddy rob in oregon that the rogue wet hop ale is also great, hopefully he can send me one.

– ryan

sierra nevada

1075 east 20th street
chico, ca 95928
530-893-3520

21st amendment brewery recently started selling their hell or high watermelon wheat beer in georgia. willy and i tried this tasty beer at the 21st amendment brew pub in san francisco many years ago. we enjoyed the unique flavor so much, it actually inspired us to start bottle rocket brewing. over the years we brewed many similar wheat beers with fresh puréed watermelon and they were always great.

the hell or high watermelon is a perfect summer beer. it is fairly light with a crisp fresh watermelon flavor that’s not too sweet. it’s perfect for grilling, drinking by the poolside or taking to the beach or a park.

like oskar blues, 21st amendment sells their craft beers in cans. for those who are still hesitant about drinking canned beer, be sure to read the message on the bottom of the packaging:

six good reasons to open a can of beer:
– cans keep beer fresher because the beer never sees light
– cans are lined so they don’t affect the flavor of the beer inside
– cans weigh less than glass and chill faster
– cans are easier to recycle and more often recycled than glass
– cans use less energy to prduce and transport than glass
– cans go where no glass dares: beaches, parks, stadiums, boats, pools, golf courses…

– ryan

21st amendment brewery

563 2nd street
san francisco, ca 94107
415-369-0900

it’s been a little while since i’ve brewed beer but i am still a big fan, especially of hoppy IPAs. i love when fall approaches and breweries begin to release their fresh/wet hop ales. these tasty treats are brewed with wet hops that are delivered to the brewery the same day they are harvested. the brewers are waiting on hand to add the wet hops to the kettle while at the peak of their freshness. the result is one of the hoppiest, most flavorful beers around. it’s the equivalent of cooking with fresh herbs rather then dried ones.

one of my favorite wet hop ales during the fall is sierra nevada’s northern hemisphere harvest. this was actually the first beer brewed with fresh hops back in 1996. since then, wet hop ales have swept the american craft brewing movement by storm. there is an annual fresh hop ale festival held in washington state and even the brick store pub in atlanta started hosting a fall hop harvest festival with many fresh hop ales on tap.

there are various options for wet hop ales in the fall. i’ve never had a bad one, so don’t be afraid to try different breweries. keep your eye out for local brewery options as well, i know sweetwater started brewing one in atlanta last year.

sierra nevada also brews a tasty summertime fresh hop ale called southern hemisphere harvest. you can find this delicious treat in stores right now, i’m actually drinking one as i write this article! to brew such a style during the summertime, sierra nevada overnights fresh hops from new zealand during their fall harvest, which happens to be america’s springtime. thanks to their efforts, we can enjoy a fresh hoppy beer during our wet hot american summers.

– ryan

sierra nevada

1075 east 20th street
chico, ca 95928
530-893-3520

ps…this is our 50th blog post!!!