Paul’s Brewsletter

Hello and Happy Holidays! I hope you’re having a great time and are getting ready for Christmas - it is fast approaching!

Countdown to Christmas 2007:

I finished off my holiday beer for 2007: Czech the Halls…get it? It is a Czech style pilsner similar to Pilsner Urquell. The alcohol content on this batch came out at 3.89% by volume, which is just fine for me. I typically don’t like to overload on the alcohol content with beer.

Are you still shopping for gifts? I created a page on Paul’s Brewsletter to give you some ideas. Take a look:

http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/

You might find that beer related item you’ve been looking for that beer nut in your life…or maybe for yourself!

I’ve also added a Beer search engine on the brewsletter homepage. Check it out!

I haven’t tasted the Czech the Halls yet…will probably do so Christmas Day for my family’s huge get together. Will let you know how it goes!

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Find a wide selection of beer gifts at http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/

I’ve been lagering the Red Ale I brewed in October, and I’ll probably unveil that at the New Orleans Concert Band Christmas Concert after party. I just love seeing the looks on people’s faces when I pull out 2 liter bottles (with the original soft drink labels on them, mind you) full of my own beer and start serving my beer from 2 liter bottles. Are they clean? Yes, in fact all the bottles I use for my beer have been sanitized using One-Step Sanitizer. Is this beer competition worthy? Probably not, but I’m brewing beer to make beer I like and beer that my friends like.

I am going to start primary fermentation on my Christmas Beer this weekend. Primary Fermentation just means that I’m mixing the beer extract with water, yeast and the corn sugar to put in the barrel for several days. Once this is done, I will bottle the beer for another week or two until it is carbonated and ready to rock. This beer is a Czech style pilsner. Did you know that the Czechs invented the pilsner style of beer? In fact, the name pilsner comes from a town in the Czech republic called Pilsen. So it’s not just a clever name

Since this is my holiday beer, I’m calling it “Czech the Halls”. Get it?

This probably won’t be the highest alcohol content beer I’ve done, but it’s not always about the alcohol. Besides, you can drink more of them to get the desired effect

Remember to shop for beer gifts for yourself and your friends at http://www.prhsolutions.com/brewsletter/beer-gifts/

I’m going to tell you something a little shocking - beer makes a great gift. Whoa! Did that stun you? Okay, maybe that statement is just a tad obvious. I have recently used beer, specifically homebrewed beer, as a thank you gift for a neighbor and let me tell you, that goes a long way.

My wife and I took a trip out of town over the summer. We asked this particular neighbor of ours to keep an eye on things while we were gone. You’ve probably done something similar time and time again. While you’re away, the neighbor collects the newspapers, mail, etc., that arrives at your house and gives it to you upon your return. Many times as thanks or repayment, you offer the same service to your neighbor when they leave town. After all, that’s what neighbors do, right?

That’s correct, and it should be that way. But how about going an extra step in saying thanks?

For under $50, you can get a kit to make good beer in your home that you can:

a) enjoy yourself
b) share with neighbors as thank you gifts or just gifts in general

This kit comes with simple to follow instructions, and all the ingredients you need except for water and maybe a few extra bottles (used beer bottles or soft drink bottles will do). It doesn’t get much easier than that!

The look in my neighbor’s face when I handed them a six pack of beer that I made for them to enjoy said it all. Do something nice like this for your neighbor and yourself, you’ll both benefit.

Keep this in mind too for the Holiday Season: giving someone a unique gift that you personally made, like homebrew beer, is a really nice touch that shows you went the extra mile and didn’t just get something quick and easy from the store.

Get yourself started at http://prhsolutions.com/thankyoubeer