Blackstone Brewmaster Releases How-To Guide For Beer Lovers

This is a press release that I received and wanted to pass on. I have always been a fan of Blackstone and Dave Miller's work. - Smitty

Dave Miller is a legend among craft beer lovers. Two decades ago, he authored one of the most influential homebrewing books ever released, Dave Miller’s Homebrewing Guide. Since then, Miller has gone pro, as Brewmaster at the St. Louis Brewing Company and then at Blackstone Restaurant and Brewery in Nashville, Tennessee. His award-winning beer has earned international recognition; Blackstone alone has won six World Beer Cups and eleven Great American Beer Festival Awards.

Now, Miller returns to the home brewery, this time with professional insights. In Brew Like a Pro, Miller shares the secrets of great draft and pub-style brewing, just like the experts do it. Drawing the best techniques and practices from the pub brewery, Miller includes complete setup plans for a home system that requires just 18 square feet, and he offers recipes for small batches of classic, all-grain brews that stay fresh in kegs for months, eliminating the need for messy bottling.

Miller starts by explaining why he uses only all-grain brewing, rather than substituting malt extract, to make superior–tasting beer. He then delves into everything the reader needs to set up an efficient all-grain home brewery and a draft system for serving fresh, cold beer. From the brew kettle, to the mash/lauter tun and hot liquor back, Miller details everything needed while avoiding expensive, unnecessary equipment. Brew Like a Pro includes descriptions of brewing necessities such as quality ingredients and the best cleaning and sanitizing products, followed by explanations of brewing operations. Step-by-step instructions for building the 5-gallon home brewery are then complemented by recipes for popular ale styles that are easy to brew and suitable for beginning all-grain brewers.

Miller’s conversational tone, insider tips, and clear instructions make pro-quality brewing as easy as it is enjoyable. Readers who are ready to take their craft to the next level will be delighted to find a clear, concise how-to guide in Brew Like a Pro.

Brew Like a Pro

Dave Miller
Storey Publishing, December 2012
Two-color, illustrations throughout
272 pages, 6½" x 9"
$18.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-61212-050-8

December - New Brews and Other News

Geez. Where do I start? So much going in the Nashville craft beer scene. Let's start with a wrap-up of the 2nd Annual 12 South Winter Warmer. Matt Leff at Rhizome Productions continues to hit home runs with his beer festivals. It was so well-organized with so so many great beers. So many that I had palate fatigue by 2pm. Some of my favorites were Country Boy Barrel-aged Papaw's Imperial Red, Olde Hickory Event Horizon, Schlafly Black IPA, Calfkiller Christmas Bonus, and Green Flash/Cigar City Candela Rye. As far as sours go, I really enjoyed Rivertown Ville de River and Lucky Bucket Kriek. The best multi-faceted beer was Yazoo Wild Child (a collaboration with Brandon Jones). The extreme beer award goes to Cool Springs Brewery for the Scorpion King, which was a "chili beer" with Trinidad scorpion peppers. That floaty filled concoction packed some serious heat! I am sure that I am forgetting a few others, but I did not take notes this year. That is why I am Nashville's laziest beer blogger.

Lagunitas is supposed to be hitting the high gravity shelves next week. Be on the lookout for Lagunitas IPA, Hop Stoopid, Cappuccino Stout, Lil Sumpin, and Brown Sugga. Thank Cathy Bass at DET for bringing them to town. With Southern Tier (NY) coming in a few months back, it's been a good year for noobs.

I spoke with the guys from Indianapolis-based Flat 12 Brewery. They hope to be in distributing here around mid January. These folks know how to brew and get the Smitty stamp of approval. I am extremely excited about getting their Half Cycle IPA, which is excellent. I'll be drinking it by the gallons. It's that good.

If you are into growlers, there are two new options for filling up your glass. The Filling Station at 1118 Halcyon offers about 25 taps, in addition to packaged craft beer. They offer 32 and 64 ounce fills. It's worth a visit if you are in the neighborhood. Kay Bob's Grill and Ale at 1602 21st Ave (Hillsboro Village/Vandy) just started offering growler fills. I have not been by to check it out, but I hear the prices are good.

Mayday Brewery in Murfreesboro is officially open. Tap room hours can be found on their website. I have not heard anything official as to when or where any kegs will make it into Nashville. For now, you just have to make the short trek to the Boro! Brewmaster "Wiz" Wisniewski brings his brewing experience from Goose Island and Two Brothers - so I am anxious to give their beers a try. Speaking of Goose Island, they have three of their flagship beers being distributed in Nashville. But what I am waiting for is the stuff coming out of their Fulton Street brewery.

Tennessee Brew Works is still shooting for a March opening. Location has yet to be determined. Follow the progress on their Facebook Page or website. In fact, their brewmaster is over in Belgium checking out the fabrication of their new equipment.

The Tennesse Craft Brewers Guild now has a website . It's a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting and protecting craft brewers in Tennessee. I am glad to see this up and running, as this will also benefit us as consumers. Hopefully they can be successful in fixing some of these archaic beer laws and provide a level and profitable playing field for TN breweries.

That's it for now. I will amend this post if anything else comes up. If you are on Facebook, be sure to like Nashville Beer Geek, as well as Nashville Craft Beer Aficionados. Both groups are a great way to get the latest news, as well as get involved in the Nashville craft beer social scene. I have an Illini game to watch and some Schlafly Tasmanian IPA to drink. A second shipment arrived so I wanted to be sure I got mine before I let you in on it. Until next time - Hasta....

Smitty