Prairie Homebrewers on the Evening News

I thought many of you might like to see what our fellow homebrewers are up to in the Fargo area. http://www.wday.com/event/article/id/32466/publisher_ID/29/ “On Saturday April 17th, several members of the Prairie Homebrewing Companions spent the day together brewing a bunch of beer to go into a Jack Daniels barrel.  That evening, WDAY news featured that group in their news.”

April 2010 minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Ryan Jilek, Rocky Stoltz, Dale Sattler, Jerry Ford and Jon Stika. Beer of the Month was Michelob’s Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale from Town & Country Liquors. This beer had a nice pumpkin and spice aroma with a medium body and deep golden color. Clove, cinnamon and nutmeg are very evident in the aroma and first sip. Good malt flavor that slightly overshadowed the hops with a slightly sweet finish. Rocky provided a brief Treasurers Read more…

March 2010 minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Paul Ellerkamp, Dennis Froemke, Rocky Stoltz, Jon Stika, Ryan Jilek and Dale Sattler. No beer of the month.  Dennis paid his annual dues of $25.  Discussed and planned the April 6, 2010 Homebrew Taste sponsored by the Dickinson K of C to be held at Garvin Hall of St. Patrick’s.  Jon has brewed a Kolsch kit from Midwest Brewing that is currently in the keg under pressurized carbon dioxide.  Ryan will acquire this keg Read more…

February 2010 Minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Ryan Jilek, Paul Ellerkamp, Rocky Stoltz and Jon Stika. Beer of the Month was Red Hook Mudslinger Spring (Nut Brown) Ale.  Mudslinger had a dark amber color with good caramel and nut flavors from the malt.  The malt flavor was evident up front and all the way through the flavor profile, while the hops were most prominent in the middle of the flavor profile.  A full-bodied, flavorful Brown Ale. Rocky reported that Jeremy Jahner Read more…

Cooper’s Sparkling Ale review from Australia

“Hey Dad, I finally got a chance to try Coopers Sparkling Ale.  So far, so good. I noticed it’s slightly bitter upon first taste and follows with a strong hops flavor. It’s not as mild as other ales that I have tried. Something I thought was neat is how you can see residue of yeast in the bottle. The label explains the reasoning for this in more detail: “Coopers Ale is brewed and fermented using Read more…

January 2010 Minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Dale Sattler, Paul Ellerkamp, Rocky Stoltz, Ryan Jilek and Jon Stika.  Dues of $25 for 2010 were collected from the members present. Beer of the Month was Finnegans Irish Amber Ale brewed by Summit Brewing Co of St. Paul, MN.  This ale tastes very similar to an amber lager with good malt up front, hops in the middle with a smooth nutty malt finish. Ryan nominated Jon for Secretary and Paul for President.  Discussion Read more…

Decemeber Minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Ryan Jilek, Dennis Froemke, Jon Stika The Beer of the Month from Town & Country Liquors was Murphy’s Red.  Murphy’s Red had a light copper color with a smooth malt aroma and flavor from start to finish.  It also had a subtle sweetness, fruitiness and hoppiness with a fine carbonation and head.  Murphy’s Red would serve as an excellent entry-level beer for those who seek more flavorful brews but have yet to venture away Read more…

Rocky & Ryan’s 2009 Barleywine Brewday

Well the 2009 Barley-wine brew-day is complete and we made some serious gravity in the garage today.  With about 55 lbs of malt and over a pound of hops we ended up with 3 brews of all fairly substantial gravities.  Rocky’s Bigfoot clone kit came in right at around 1.080.  I did a partigyle brew with only one malt and one style of hops.  I split these between 2 batches.  First was a barleywine with Read more…

November 2009 meeting minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Paul Ellerkamp, Dale Sattler, Rocky Stoltz, Ryan Jilek, Jon Stika. Beer of the month from Town & Country Liquors was Summit Kolsch.  This beer was light golden in color, slightly hoppy and dry with a lingering biscuit and hop finish. Paul brought home-brewed; Honey Ale, Pale Ale, Cherry Stout and anise-flavored Red-Eye that he also made.  The Honey Ale was clean, slightly sweet balanced with hop bitterness.  The Pale Ale was good, but not Read more…

October 2009 Meeting Minutes of the Heart River Home Brewers

Present: Ryan Jilek, Rocky Stoltz, Dennis Froemke, Todd Solem, Jeremy Jahner and Jon Stika. Beer of the month is Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout.  The stout had good roasty, biscuity aroma and flavor.  It was very smooth with chocolate, coffee and fruit flavors in a good malt background.  The beer was not as full or “chewy” as expected and was perhaps a little thin for the style. Ryan brought some Cream Ale that he brewed from a Read more…