Thursday, July 9, 2009

Beer Trivia - Homebrewing

Everyone loves trivia. Whether watching Jeopardy, reading a homebrewing guide, or playing Trivial Pursuit, we all love answering those little-known questions and impressing those around us.

And here's five little known interesting facts on our beverage of choice: good, refreshing beer!

To begin with, have you ever had the unfortunate luck of being served a watered-down beer? Didn't that just burn you up? Well, back in ancient Babylonia around 1750 B.C., a law was passed that if a barkeep gave a watered down beer to a patron, the owner would be drowned in his own offending brew. Now I call that justice!

Also, most of us know the story of the pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock. But here's something to impress your history-loving friends with next time you're out: The big reason the pilgrims stopped there and did not travel south to warmer climates is simply because they ran out of beer! Just think: If they had brought more homebrew with a homebrewing guide, we may never have had a Thanksgiving!

On the other hand, Americans would not celebrate our independence during July 4th - and this would also mean that July would not be known as "American Beer Month" - I mean, what's more American than drinking homebrew with our best buds?

If you didn't know about that, though, then you probably didn't know that later on in the fall, down in Denver, Colorado, there is a huge celebration called "The Great American Beer Festival." Every year over thirty thousand people come to drink beer, share their own homebrews, and just enjoy themselves with other beer lovers.

The final little known fact? You can join those of us who are homebrewing. How? Quite simply, go to http://www.freehomebrewguide.com and download your free homebrewing guide, with 13 easy and delicious beer recipes.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

How to Make Beer Clone Recipes

Although I make a vast majority of my own beer, I still like to head to my local tap house and have a fresh, quality craft beer from time to time. I benefit from this in a couple of ways and so can you.

First, it helps with the continuous education of my passion for beer making by discussing the specifics of the beers I am drinking with the knowledgeable bar staff. I also solicit feedback from my fellow patrons at times and their input can be informational as well. This can lead to inspiration for tweaking an existing recipe you use or creating one from scratch.

Second, have you ever been out at a bar or restaurant and tried a beer that you absolutely loved? That has happened to me more than once. For most people, that initiates the desire to purchase more of that beer whenever they visit their local watering hole or liquor store. However, for me and the eager home brewer, this could be an opportunity to duplicate our favorite adult beverage. The problem is that the beer bottle does not have the recipe on it and most of the time, that information can be a highly guarded secret.

Well, it's a good thing that there are clone recipes to make beer like our favorites. The easiest way is to Google "beer clone recipes". You will find and adequate amount to start exploring. One of my favorite sites for clone recipes and home brewing information in general is BYO.com. I have hand picked 5 clone beer recipes from their site to get you started. Good luck and enjoy!

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone Author: Greg Snapp

Hundreds of our customers at my homebrew shop have made this. Most swear it's identical to the original. Dry hopping is essential for classic Cascade flavor and aroma. (5 gallons)

Ingredients:

* 8 oz. caramel malt, 30degrees Lovibond * 6 oz. DeWolf-Cosyns cara-pils malt * 6 lbs. light malt syrup * 1.5 oz. Perle hops (8.2% alpha acid) for 60 min. * 2.5 oz. Cascade hops (5.4% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 15 min., 1 oz. for 5 min., 0.5oz. pellets (dry hopping). * Wyeast 1056 (American ale) * 11/4 cup dry malt extract

Step by Step:

Add grains to 1.5 gal. water. Bring slowly to 170degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.

Total boil is 60 min. Boil 10 min. and add Perle hops. Boil 45 min. more, adding water as needed to maintain liquid level. Make first Cascade addition. Boil 5 min. more. Turn off heat. Wait 10 min. Add 1 oz. Cascade. Wait 3 to 5 min. Remove hops and transfer to fermenter.

Top up to 5 gal. Pitch yeast at 70degrees F.

Ferment three days and rack to secondary. Dry hop with 0.5 oz. Cascade pellets. Ferment two weeks at 65degrees F. Prime and bottle.

Fullsail Golden Clone Author: James Crane

The rye adds a pungent fruitiness characteristic of Full Sail Golden ale. (5 gallons)

Ingredients:

* 6 lbs. pale malt extract * 1 lb. light dry malt extract * 8 oz. crystal malt, 10degrees Lovibond * 8 oz. flaked rye * 3 oz. Cascade hops (6.1% alpha acid): 1 oz. for 60 min., 1 oz. for 30 min., 1oz. for 2 min. * 750 ml. starter of Wyeast 1056 (American ale) or White Labs California Ale pitchable yeast * 3/4 cup dextrose for priming

Step by Step:

Steep grains for 30 min. in 2.5 gal. water at 150degrees F. Remove grains and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat and add extract. Total boil is 60 min. Return to boil and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 30 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 28 min. more and add 1 oz. Cascade. Boil 2 min. more. Top up to 5 gal. with cold, preboiled water. Cool below 75degrees F and pitch yeast.

Ferment at 68degrees to 70degrees F until completed (about five days). Secondary ferment 10 days to two weeks. Prime with dextrose and bottle

Sierra Nevada Stout Clone

Creamy and malty with notes of dark caramel, chocolate, light molasses and ripe plums. An American stout that truly typifies citrusy hops and black malt.

(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%

Ingredients:

* 9.0 lbs. (4.1 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American Black Patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 16 qts. (15 L) of mash liquor. Boil wort for 60 minutes. Ferment for 7 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash) OG = 1.065 FG = 1.019 IBU = 60 SRM = 40 ABV = 5.8%

Ingredients:

* 0.33 lbs. (0.15 kg) American pale malt * 3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich malt (10 degrees L) * 1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) American black patent malt (500 degrees L) * 0.67 lbs. (0.30 kg) American crystal malt (60 degrees L) * 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) Briess Light dried malt extract * 4.0 lbs. (1.8 kg) Briess Light liquid malt extract (late addition) * 14 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 14% alpha acids) * 5.8 AAU Cascade hops (10 mins) o (1.0 oz./28 g of 5.75% alpha acids) * 2.0 oz. (57 g) Willamette hops (0 min) * Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) or Safale US-05 yeast * 1 cup corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash at 154 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes in 7.5 qts. (7.1 L) of mash liquor. Combine partial mash wort with dried malt extract and enough water to make at least 3.5 gallons (13 L). Boil wort for 60 minutes. Add liquid malt extract with 15 minutes left in boil. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Rack to secondary and condition beer for 14 days at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

Sam Adams Winter Brew

(5 gallon, extract with grains) OG = 1.069 FG = 1.016 IBUs = 26 to 30

Ingredients:

* 6.6 lbs. Briess wheat malt extract syrup * 1.5 lbs. crystal malt (60degrees Lovibond) * 1 lb. wheat malt * 1.5 lbs. Munich malt (20degrees Lovibond) * 1 teaspoon Irish moss * 1 oz. Curacáo orange peel (bitter orange peel) * 0.5 oz. ginger root (freshly grated) * 0.5 tsp. cinnamon (powdered) * 9.5 AAU East Kent Goldings o (2 oz. of 4.75% alpha acid) * 4.5 AAU Tettnanger o (1 oz. of 4.5% alpha acid) * 4.7 AAU Hallertau Hersbrucker o (1 oz. of 4.7% alpha acid) * 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime * German Lager yeast (White Labs WLP830) or Bavarian Lager yeast (Wyeast 2206)

Step by Step:

Steep the grains in 2.5 gallons of water at 150º F for 30 minutes. Strain out the grains, add the wheat malt syrup and return to a boil. When the wort begins boiling, add East Kent Golding hops, Irish moss, and boil for 60 minutes. Add spices for the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Add Tettnanger and Hallertau hops for the last 2 minutes of the boil. Remove from heat and cool wort in ice bath or with wort chiller. Transfer to fermentation vessel (glass carboy). Add enough cold water to the wort to bring the volume up to 5.5 gallons. Pitch yeast and ferment at 50º to 55º F for 3 to 4 weeks. Prime, then bottle or keg. You should lager this beer for about 4 weeks prior to serving.

All-Grain Option:

Replace the wheat malt syrup with 3.5 pounds of pale malt. Increase the Munich malt to 4 pounds and the wheat malt to 4 pounds. Also change the boiling hops to a smaller quantity, 7 AAU (1.5 oz of 4.75% alpha acid). I would suggest a two-step mash schedule for this beer. This involves doing a 30-minute protein rest at 122º F, followed by 60 minutes at 155º F.

Note that the quantity of boiling hops are slightly lower for the all-grain batch. This is due to the greater hop extract efficiency that results from a full boil of the entire wort volume. The remainder of the hop, spice additions and fermenting instructions are the same as the above extract-with-grains recipe instructions.

Bend Brewing Co. Hophead IPA Clone

The secret to a good Imperial IPA is dry-hopping. It can make or break this style. It is very important to have a huge aroma that leads you into the beer, complementing the inherent bitterness. - Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster

Hophead Imperial IPA Bend Brewing Co.

American-Style India Pale Ale (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)

OG = 1.073 FG = 1.017 IBU = 100 SRM = 6 ABV = 8%

Ingredients:

*14 lb. 10 oz. (6.6 kg) 2-row pale malt *8.0 oz. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (30 degrees L) *1.1 oz. (31 g) Saaz hops (first wort hops) *19 AAU Chinook hops (90 mins) o(1.6 oz./44 g of 12% alpha acids) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Northern Brewer hops (5 mins) *1.8 oz. (51 g) Cascade hops (5 mins after knockout) *1.5 oz. (43 g) Cascade hops (dry hop) *Wyeast 1968 (London ESB) or White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (2.5 qt./~2.5 L yeast starter) *0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming)

Step by Step:

Mash at 155 degrees F (68 degrees C) for 60 minutes. Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 68 degrees F (20 degrees C). Dry hop for 7 days.

Extract option:

Reduce amount of pale malt to 1.5 lb. (0.68 kg).

Add 7.1 lbs. (3.2 kg) light dried malt extract at beginning of boil. You will need to perform a full-wort boil to get the specified level of bitterness.

J.T. Freeman is an avid home brewer that has been producing quality brew out of his own home for over 5 years now. His passion and knowledge are obvious in his articles, blog, and book "Effortless Homebrewing". His writings are an excellent source of first hand experience for anyone involved with making beer at home.

Friday, June 26, 2009

How to Identify the Best Beer For You

Generally there are minor variations on beer styles from brewery to brewery. There are three terms to distinguish in between the flavor of beers. Now you have to take time to learn these flavor characteristics and decide what balance of these traits suits you, thus you'll be consistently ordering a perfect enjoyable beer bottle for you. Please have a look at these three terms as listed below:

Fruitiness - Most of the Pale ales have a fruity flavor within them, but the fact is there is actual fruit at all in the beer. This fruity flavor is actually a by-product of the yeast fermentation in the brewing process.

Malt Beer - This is the most widely used Beer style. Actually malt is derived from barley and wheat, and is the part of the beer that is fermented. You will find many varieties of malt, with varying flavors. Many people also find a malt flavor to be somewhat sweet.

Hops Beer - It is widely know for its bitter flavor. Actually hops are a plant that is also added to beer, and they give beer a bitter flavor. Pale ales are generally the hoppiest beers available in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia and Australia.

Now you have to know about the beer styles. There are two widely used categories of beer styles known as bottom-fermenting beer and top-fermenting beer. Top-fermenting beers or Ales are more complex with fruity characteristics and include wheat beer, stout, porter and ale. While bottom-fermenting beers or lagers possess a cleaner finish and include bock, Oktoberfest, pilsner, American lager, and malt liquor. Bottom-fermenting beers are very light in color, light bodied and usually have little to no malt or hop characteristics.

So now that you have the idea of beer styles and know all the basic flavors that are present in beers, you can explore the different varieties of beer and find the best one that suits you and your palate.

The author of this article is Beer of the month club. If you want to explore more about beers then please feel free to visit Monthly beer club.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Beer - What Goes Well With It?

If you ask John Michael Montgomery what goes good with beer, he'll tell you the following:

It goes good with beer and the Friday night atmosphere. Of this cross-town bar where the cars all get steered to. And it goes hand-and-hand with my crazy buddies and this three-piece band, An' the pretty girls and the games we play and the smoke and mirrors: Yeah, troubles come, but they go good with beer.

Well, this probably isn't what you expected to find when looking for something that went well with beer, but the truth is, a lot of things go good with beer and not just food.

Yes, of course there are the foods that we love to eat that go good with beer. You've got your classic beer and pizza combo. Can anything even come close to the taste of an ice cold beer and a hot slice of pizza? For that matter, even a cold slice of pizza and beer is pretty good. For some guys, that's pure heaven.

Then there's peanuts and beer. That's why they sometimes call them beer nuts. You can walk into your corner bar, especially if it's one of them home town doggie places, if you know what I mean and just ask the bartender for some beer and nuts. He'll know just what you want. Or, if you're too lazy to leave the house, just have a jar of those Planters nuts laying around, open up a nice cold brew and have yourself a picnic. For some guys, that's all they need.

But beer is not just about what you eat with it. Beer can be used as a very useful tool for picking up women. A typical scenario is you're at a bar, you order your drink and there's a cute gal sitting two stools over. You turn to her and in your most macho voice you say to her, "Can I buy you a beer?" Now if you were a real sophisticated guy you'd probably ask her if she wanted a drink. But offering her a beer is so much more manly and raw-at-home-boyish.

Then of course there is the beer as used for a prop when playing pool. You're standing there with your pool cue in your hands while you're buddy is running the table on you and the last thing you want to do is look like a loser of a dork, so you kind of lean on your cue stick, cock your body to one side, pick up that nice cold long-neck bottle (has to be long-neck) and take a nice, slow, long guzzle. You'll look so cool, people will think you're winning.

And finally, beer is just great for sitting in front of the TV and watching your favorite episode of NYPD Blue. Has to be a manly type of program. None of that girl stuff. While you're doing this, you lean back, spread your arms across the back of the couch and let out a good loud...Well, you get the picture.

Beer. It goes well with just about anything.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Beer

Homebrew Beer is Easy, Fun and Delicious

If you've ever had a homebrew, or eaten in a brewpub - you know those restaurant/bars that have the giant brass holding tanks on display as a part of their decor and where everyone loves to hang out - you've probably wondered what it would take to create your own beer at home.

Now obviously, most of us have no where near the space needed for that kind of operation, but actually, it doesn't require anything like that kind of investment of space, equipment or even the time in order to brew your own homemade beer.

You can get started with as little as a six-gallon fermenter jar with an airlock, and some ready-made malt with hops. Malt extract has become easy to find in the can, so there's no longer a reason to worry about the difficult and messy task of malting your own grains just to get a nice homebrew.

It can be as easy as mix, brew, bottle and enjoy.  Mixing is done in the fermenter - all you need is hot water, a malt kit, cold water added for volume, and the right yeast.  The whole process is even easier than making bread - and the results are just as spectacular!  The fermenting happens as the yeast eats the sugars, all while you sit back and take it easy.  Once the fermentation is finished, you can bottle your liquid gold and soon after you'll be enjoying that first delicious sip.

It's easy to make your favorite types of beer at home - and you can add your own special ingredients as you develop your own recipes.  Not only is it easy and fun, but you can save a lot of money over buying the boutique commercial brands in the grocery stores.  You'll be pleasantly surprised to discover you can brew up to six gallons of your own homebrew for only about $20-30.

If you've ever tried a homebrew, you know how much fresher and more flavorful they can be than what you buy in the store.  Why do you think the brewpubs do so well?  Their microbrewed beer is definitely a cut above the commericial brands.  And homebrew easily competes with the microbrewery beer - especially when it's made by you!

Ready to get started brewing your own delicious beers the easy way? Get your free guide to homebrewing 13 easy and tasty recipes for ales, lagers, stouts, and other great beers. Go to http://EasyHomebrewTips.com

Friday, June 19, 2009

Avoid Lagers in Britain

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If you're planning a holiday in the United Kingdom then you may well be planning a visit to a traditional British pub. It is, after all, something that seems peculiarly British.

As a local, I'd certainly recommend that you do indeed head for a few pubs during your stay. You'll notice that they vary quite considerably in appearance, atmosphere and character.

We all have our own favourite pubs, from the friendly local that's hidden away in a back street to the pub that remains popular thanks to its considerable beer garden.

I live in a town that is popular with tourists and hence see many wandering in to local pubs. It's always interesting to watch their faces as they take in the scene. It must be great to look at scenes such as this for the first time.

You can often see how thrilled they are to be part of a real British establishment. They then walk up to the bar and order a lager.

At this point I often begin to feel sorry for them. Britain has been flooded by cheap imported lagers in recent years but these are by no means the taste of a real British pub.

Far from it. They often lack any taste or character. Don't make the mistake of ordering a lager at a pub in Britain - you'll find it far more enlightening to try one of the local brews.

Traditional British beers and ales have been making a resurgence. While lager sales fall, ale sales have been performing more strongly, with more and more locals remembering what is so great about beers that actually taste different.

It's a great opportunity for many of us to celebrate local beer production and it's also a chance for visitors to enjoy the best of British.

Take a look at beers that have been made locally - you'll be pleasantly surprised.

You can find out how to make beer by reading further articles by Keith Barrett

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Thursday, June 18, 2009

English Beer

Beer has been a staple in England for centuries, dating back to the days of Chaucer. The most popular type of beer in England is ale. Ale is a type that is brewed using hops and malt, making it strong and rather bitter. The English prefer ale (darker beer that uses more hops) to lager type, which is popular in America.

In England, beer has traditionally been kept in the cellars of the many pubs. Although not refrigerated, the temperature is cooler than room temperature. The English prefer their beer to be only slightly cool, while those in the United States drink beer as cold as possible.

English pubs also sell a good amount of stout and porter. Stout is a darker, heavier hopped ale that has a creamy head when poured into a glass. Porter is a dark beer, which was often known as the workingman's drink.

In the past, English pubs were tied to specific beers because they were owned by that brewery. In recent years the laws have relaxed, allowing pubs to offer many types of beer. Still, many of the local pubs are owned and operated by breweries. The most popular of these are Whitbread, Bass and Guinness.

In England the term "light beer" is used to refer to a pale beer, such as a light colored lager. Beer is made using hops. The dried flowers of this plant are used to impart a slightly bitter flavor to beers and ales. In England, hop shoots are widely available and are cooked and served as a vegetable.

Stout is a dark beer that originated in the British Isles. Stout has a strong hops smell and is made with dark-roasted barley which gives it a deep dark color and slightly bitter taste. Pale Ale is also common, which is a slightly lighter in color. The darker the color of the beer the more hops and barley have been used in the brewing process.

Beer does not age as wine does and is best consumed as fresh as possible. Beer is usually low-alcohol, typically less than 5% by weight. Water makes up most of the beer or ale, so the taste of the water used will make a distinct difference in the taste of the finished product. This may explain why people often prefer the beer brewed closest to their home.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Drink Beer AND Lose Weight

Want to shed that beer belly? Why not try the low-carbohydrate approach? Following the philosophy of today's most popular low-carbohydrate books, dieters gradually increase the early restrictions of their daily carbohydrate intake while excess weight continues to come off, once again enjoying starchy foods like potatoes, rice and pasta ... in moderation, of course.

But what about beer? Is it possible to include moderate amounts of regular brewed beer in a low-carbohydrate diet? One stumbling block that some beer drinkers find when trying to shed weight on a low-carbohydrate regime is the reliance on light beer with its minimal carbohydrate content (and some might say taste). Is it possible to move beyond the restrictions of light beer and on to one of your full-bodied favorites?

Don't bother looking for the answer to this beer drinker's quandary in the many low-carbohydrate diet books that can be found on store shelves today. Not one of these books addresses the possibility of moving on from light beers to regular brewed beers while the pounds continue to melt away.

Why not? If you're a beer drinker, the answer might be obvious. There are no carbohydrate listings on the cans or bottles of regular brewed beer because the government feels that "... nutrition information on labels [of regular beers] is unnecessary and unwarranted." Brewers of light beers, however, have to not only prove that their products are lower in carbohydrates and calories than their big brothers by listing the carbohydrate and calorie count on beer containers, they must also include the nutritional values of the lighter brew.

Is it right to know the carbohydrate and calorie content of what's in your Twinkie but not in that bottle of Czechvar imported beer sitting in front of you? Not if you're a beer drinker on a low-carbohydrate diet!

For the benefit of anyone who's considering using the low-carbohydrate approach to shedding unwanted pounds, here's a list of some popular beers with their carbohydrate contents. All carb values are for twelve-ounce servings:

Anchor Steam 16.00,
Bitburger Pils 9.05,
Boston Beer Summer Ale 15.85,
Budejovicky Budwar (Czechvar) 13.49,
Cooper's Genuine Draught 7.02,
Coors Blue Moon Belgian White 12.87,
Corona Extra 13.99,
Grant's Scottish Ale 12.70,
Harpoon IPA 12.00,
Leinenkugel Original 13.90,
New Belgium Fat Tire 13.66,
Pete's Strawberry Blonde 13.70,
Pilsner Urquell 14.70,
Warsteiner Premium Fresh 12.78,
Spoetzl's Shiner Summer Stock 10.50.

For more information on the carbohydrate count of more than 350 worldwide brands of beer, go to www.drinkbeergetthindiet.com.

Bob Skilnik is a Chicagoland freelance writer who has written for the Chicago Tribune, the Collector Magazine, the American Breweriana Association's Journal and the National Association Breweriana Advertising's Breweriana Collector on the subjects of beer, brewery history and breweriana. He is a 1991 graduate of the Chicago-based Siebel Institute of Technology, the oldest brewing school in the United States, with a degree in Brewing Technology.

His interests in beer and brewing were cultivated while serving as a German translator in West Germany for the United States Army. Skilnik is the Associate Editor for the ABA Journal and The Tap newspaper, and a member of the Society of Midland Authors and the Culinary Historians of Chicago. He has appeared in the Chicagoland area on Media One's television program, The Buzz, WTTW's Chicago Tonight with Bob Sirott and Phil Ponce, Chicago's Public Radio station, WBEZ , Springfield, IL's WUIS Radio and the WOR Morning Show with Ed Walsh in New York. Skilnik's national television appearances have been on the Cold Pizza morning show on ESPN2 and Fox News Live.

Skilnik's latest effort is The Low-Carb Bartender, published by Adams Media. This reference book of hundreds of beers, wines, liquors, and liqueurs with their carbohydrate counts and a collection of over two hundred low carb mixed-drink recipes will be available in bookstores in the fall of 2004. His first book, The History of Beer and Brewing in Chicago, 1833-1978 was published in 1999. The book was awarded the Quill & Tankard Award by the North American Beer Writers Guild (NABWG) as "Best Beer Book" of 1999. The follow up to this work, The History of Beer and Brewing in Chicago, Volume II, is now available at Infinity Publishing, http://www.BuyBooksontheWeb.com, the author's website at http://www.chicagolandbeerhistory.com, and http://www.amazon.com.