Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wednesday's homebrew shop of the day

It's a common complaint among New York's ENORMOUS population of homebrewers, that dangerous class of amateur basement chemists who more often than not have never taken a science class and yet churn out delicious ambrosia, that the city with everything lacks even one homebrew storefront. Ordering online is expensive, and chains one to the one preferred brand of malt of a given website. Well fear not city dwellers, there are new kids in town, and they reside over a comfortable and comprehensive apartment storefront in Sunset Park.

the deacon took a bit of an R train pilgrimage to the fledgling Brooklyn Homebrew (12 weeks old) and found the lovely co-owners, Benjamin and Danielle, to be friendly and helpful w/out a hint of beer snobbery. We talked barley malts and gypsum salts, and the deacon came away with a new starters kit, an extra glass carboy, salts, bottle caps, grain bags, and all the malts, barley, hops, and yeast needed for a dandy chocolate stout, all for a startlingly affordable $152.

They're new and already thriving, which isn't a surprise, so if you live in NYC and want in on the homebrew game it's a perfect place to start. That's a selfish request for me (a thousand ave marias): the more business they get, the more diverse a selection of malts and hops they can afford to carry. But they're super friendly, open 12pm to 7pm Tuesday - Sunday, and will gladly answer your questions about stock or availability at brooklynhomebrew@gmail.com. Hallelujah.

EDIT: Curious about the recipe?

6.6 lbs Briess Liquid Unhopped Traditional Dark Malt Extract ($12/3.3lbs)
1 lb Muntons Chocolate Malt (400L) ($2.50)
1 lb Weyermann's Caramunich (Crystal Malt) 60L ($2.50)
2 oz Willamette Hops (AA 5.8%) ($1.50/oz)
2 packs Coopers Dry Ale Yeast ($2/pack)
5 lbs DELICIOUS CHERRIES (bought separately)

= One delicious Cherry Chocolate Stout

["But wait! Chocolate malt + Crystal 60L doesn't make a stout, that's a porter!" yells Beer Kid in all his high-pitched ignorance.]


Chillax, homefry. As Arthur Guinness would say, "Stout IS Porter!" And then he'd say, "Hey deacon, want a personal tour of the brewery? I left the taps on..." and then we'd ride down the streets with no names on matching black stallions. At least, that's how all my dreams end.

1 comment:

  1. First of all, as the "Beer Kid", a name which I did nit know I had but one that I actually like and fully accept, I feel like I need to defend myself. Fine, a porter is a type of stout, but using that logic, Old Milwaukee is beer, and I still find that hard to believe. The defining characteristic of a stout is the presence if roasted barley, and chocolate malt, while dark in color, does not create the bold roasted flavor the a roasted barley will. I'm sure the beer will be delicious, as all uncontaminated homebrews tend to be, but I'm allowed to question the lack of roasted barley in your "stout" recipe. I am very happy to be in this blog and condone the use of my nickname from here on out.

    Love,
    Beer Kid

    ReplyDelete