Checking in on my New Years' Resolutions and Store Announcement | Vinny

2019 is flying by pretty fast, wouldn't you say? 1/3rd of the way down and 8 months left to go. Let's see how I'm holding up against the resolutions I made back in January, what to expect coming in the summer months, and an important announcement at the end of this post.

Resolution #1: Weekly blog posts

I had promised at least 1 post per week in my resolution, as I count now, excluding the video recap posts and individual posts for the Trader Joe's Beers, I'm up to 15 posts, which you can count to check my math by clicking here. Considering that 18 weeks have already passed, I'm a little behind schedule. Oops. The good news is that I have a lot of new ideas for blog posts and videos coming up. With summer approaching and my living circumstances now different, you can look ahead to a fresh new garden. I'm really excited about being able to grow again.

YouTube Recap | Videos from April 2019

In case you are not subscribed to our YouTube Channel or you missed one, here are the videos we released in the month of April. In total, a total of 6 vids were released. More videos are coming, so don't forget to subscribe!

I Tasted these Honey Bunches of Oats Flavors so you don't have to

"I was baited by an instagram ad so I had to try these cereals for the novelty. They tasted exactly how I thought they would." -- Vinny

How did the Hail Storm Beer turn out? | Altbier bottling

So after an eventful brew day and a week of fermentation later, I needed to bottle out the Altbier.

We Brewed in a Hailstorm -- Hail Storm Surprise Altbier Brew Day

The last brew day at my little condo was quite extreme. It also happened to be the latest in the day I've started brewing.

This brew my buddy from the Dunkelweissen brew day came to join me going half-in on this batch. We initially discussed making some kind of amber ale, but those plans got slightly.... altered. From my Trader Joe's Beer Reviews, I really liked the flavor of the Alternate Dimension Altbier enough to try a brew of that style. Here is the recipe we came across for that style:

Top 6 $1 beers from Trader Joe's

If you are a frequent shopper at Trader Joe's and visit the alcohol for some fine $3 wine or other beverages, you may have seen their house brand beers. Believe it or not, even though they cost $1 each before any taxes or CRVs, these are an incredible value. Let's review my 6 favorite $1 beers they have for sale.

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Alternate Dimension Altbier Ale

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau Hefeweissen

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau Spring Prost Maibock

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Josephsbrau PLNZR

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Black Toad Distinctive Dark Ale

Tasting notes:

Trader Joe's Beer Review: Stockyard Oatmeal Stout

Tasting notes:
Very dark, good roasted character and good mouthfeel from the roasted oats.
Probably my favorite of the $1 Trader Joe's beers is Stockyard Oatmeal Stout.

Stockyard Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Flavor Profile: Roasted; caramel, malty
My rating: 8.5/10

Timestamped video review and tasting:

View the other Reviews

Giving up on the Kegs for now | Bottling the Rye Stout from the Keg

After accumulating enough beer bottles, I decided to bottle out the Rye Stout from the second keg.

Brewing my Favorite Beer Recipe on the Craigslist Setup | Rye Stout 2018 -- Brew Day

After the success with the first batch of beer with the Craigslist equipment, it was time to make the most of it and brew up another. Of course, I had to use my favorite recipe this time, Rye Stout.

For those who prefer watching videos, here's a full video to capture the length of the events of brew day. Don't forget to subscribe and enjoy!

Bottling the first Beer Brewed on the Craigslist Equipment | Dunkelweissen Bottling Day

So after getting past all the different misspelling variations for this brew, the Dunkel was ready to bottle.

Top 5 Winter/Fall Homebrew Favorites

I've gotten a few requests to compile a short list of some good recipes for the later half of the year. Here is a list of our favorite recipes of brews we've made for the fall and cold winter weather:

#5: Graff (AKA Apple Ale)

Graff was one of my favorite experiments to do to see how viable making apple ale at home was. I especially like that this can be brewed on an extremely small scale, but finished at normal quantities. Give it a shot if you've got a bucket and a small stove top.

Beers of the World Cup: Group H

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group H we have Poland, Senegal, Colombia, and Japan. We acquired a Polish and a Japanese beer for tasting.

From Japan we have Asahi Super "Dry" lager. This rice beer is reminiscent of traditional American adjunct lagers that use rice (Budweiser). The rice made this one very smooth. 2.5/5.

Beers of the World Cup: Group G

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group G we have Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, and England. We acquired a Belgian and an English beer for tasting.

From Belgium we selected Grimbergen Blonde ale. At 6.70% ABV, this is an all around tasty and  balanced ale. 4/5.

From England comes Samuel Smith's Organic Pale Ale. An orange tinted ale with full body, this was tasty. 4/5.


Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group F

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group F we have Germany, Mexico, South Korea, and Sweden. We acquired a German beer for tasting.

Germany has a wide variety of different beers available. We selected Erdinger Dunkel for tasting. This is a very malty dunkelweizen balanced by the roasted malts and hop flavors. 4/5.


Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group E

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group E we have Serbia, Brazil, Switzerland, and Costa Rica. We were only able to acquire Brazilian beer for tasting.

From Brazil comes Xingu Black Beer. This Schwarz beer is dark with a slightly roasted taste. It isn't as smooth as the Coopers Stout we reviewed earlier, but is still tasty. 3/5.

Check out our Instagram feed to see which other beers we managed to snag as each group stage match goes live!

Beers of the World Cup: Group D

It's world cup season, so we went out and bought as many possible beers from as many countries in the tournament we could find. In Group D we have Croatia, Iceland, Argentina, and Nigeria. We were able to acquire all but Nigerian beer for tasting.

From Argentina is Quilmes Cerveza, Argentina's favorite beer. A traditional lager that went down smooth. 2.75/5.