Heronimous Homebrew

was actually my God given name, as a child. Beer Deacon comes off the tongue much easier, don't you agree? Anyhoo I brewed a beer yesterday. I call it "Anola's gingernut ale" after my grandmother, because the spices used were ripped from my grandma's famous norwegian christmas cookie recipe. yes, famous, they're known throughout the Blue Earth MN nursing home community. It's a dark brown ale lightened with honey and spiced with ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and dried orange peal. I also used whole hops (vs. pellets) for the first time and they are naaaaasty. They actually smell very nice when balanced with so much malt, but naaaaasty to clean-up. Yuck, that's a lot of wet flowers.

But enough about me. Today is the "official" opening of the first homebrew shop in New York City!! Ave Maria, it's about time. For the last few months Brooklyn Homebrew has been operating out of Danielle and Benjamin's apt in South Brooklyn, and after quickly building a reliable customer base (we're a creative and thirsty city, after all) they're ready to open a permanent storefront. The store opens at 12 PM today, at 163 8th St. in Gowanus (just east of 3rd Ave) conveniently located near the R/M/F/G stop at 4th and 9th. Which if you're keeping track (and I am) is only two subway stops past my apt...

Buy today and you get 5% off all purchases of $10 or more (hey that's not bad...they ain't exactly Sam's Club!) and the first 50 buyers geta free gift bag thrown in for good measure. Sharpen up those recipes, beer cooks...

Wayne's World! Party time! Excellent!

Great news: as reported on the Brooklyn Homebrew blog, NYC's one-and-only homebrew shop has a permanent home at an unspecified location in Gowanus (hopefully near the 3rd Ave climbing gym!) starting in January:

We will have more information about the move as we get closer to the date, but we will definitely be having a party, with lots of beer, homebrew to be exact, stay tuned.....

You bet I will. Sweet.

Just a quick note...

...that I'm now on the Brooklyn Homebrew email list and sooooo happy about it...love that there's finally a local who can get me all my holiday ale spices!

Trivia at Black Sheep Pub tonight. Not a magical brew selection, but I'm quite happy drinking Lagunitas IPAs and Anchor Steam all night.

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.