Author: Dave Bonta

Kveik Rye with Mugwort, Spruce, and Oak Apple Galls

Kveik Rye with Mugwort, Spruce, and Oak Apple Galls

As mentioned in my previous post two and a half years ago (!) I don’t drink much anymore. Consequently, I’m not brewing much. But this summer I did use up almost all of the malts I had lying around in a pair of 2.5-gallon brews 

Sassafras IPA with Kveik

Sassafras IPA with Kveik

I haven’t been brewing much for the past year or so, for the simple reason that I’ve cut way back on my own drinking. But I still love to brew, so it occurred to me half-way through December that I could brew a batch of beer to give away.

When brewing experiments go bad

When brewing experiments go bad

What to do with a staghorn sumac wheat beer and a root beer stout that fail to live up to expectations.

Summer Meadow Gruit IPA

Summer Meadow Gruit IPA

Is there really such a thing as a gruit IPA? you may be wondering. Well, there is now!

Spruce IPA

Spruce IPA

A fairly conventional IPA with fresh, wild-crafted Norway spruce tips. Ten ounces in the secondary seemed just about right.

Ten Tips for Homebrewing in a Pandemic

Ten Tips for Homebrewing in a Pandemic

Before you start hoarding homebrew ingredients willy-nilly, read this.

New page: Why brew with herbs?

New page: Why brew with herbs?

At long last, a bit of back story on my journey with herbal brewing, so first-time visitors of the site will be able to quickly figure out just how little I really know.

Ground Ivy Gruit Porter

Ground Ivy Gruit Porter

Ground Ivy, AKA alehoof or gill-over-the-ground, is an historically important brewing herb that I’d never fully appreciated until encountering it in its native land.

New page of herbal brewing tips

New page of herbal brewing tips

I’ve been putting off writing a page of tips on how to brew with herbs and spices. Then today, quite by accident, I rediscovered just such a list I’d pulled together for my original homepage some 15 years ago, and had long since forgotten about.

Sleepytime Lager

Sleepytime Lager

Lavender, chamomile and valerian root meet hops for a dark lager with an extra midnight-y nudge in the direction of bed.

Chai Lager

Chai Lager

Cardamom, ginger, vanilla, star anise, and grains of paradise—plus some actual black tea, because why not.

Brewing in Coal Country

Brewing in Coal Country

Lots of craft breweries pay tribute to the unique characteristics of their local area, but few do it as well or as thoroughly as Coal Country Brewing.