First let me say I am not financially linked to the following, I am just a huge beer fan and a homebrewer.
Tomorrow Saturday Oct. 23 there is a great beer event going on down in Lincoln at the Bricktop taphouse. There will be a special tapping of the five beers in the Mikkeller yeast series. These five beers are brewed from the same recipe with the only difference being the five strains of yeast used. This is a great opportunity for a beer aficionado to learn about how yeast selection affects the flavor of a beer.
Looks like I'm a little late to the party. What is the Bricktop Taphouse and where is it in Lincoln?
I'm also a home brewer. Where do you get your stuff? I usually go to Kirk's.
Well, I've only been there once for the event on the 23rd. Seems like a great place to try craft beers, I think there is 30+ taps plus a good selection of bottled beers. They are at 1427 O street. Bricktop Lounge and Dance Club
As far as homebrew goes I actually live in Omaha and get most of my stuff at Cornhusker Beverage. In the interest of full disclosure I work there part time (Saturdays) as well.
Currently planning an interesting experiment myself. Six 4-gallon batches of the same base beer, each fermented with a different combination of yeast/brett/bacteria with or without Oak cubes. It's based on the hombrewtalk.com 11-11-11 recipe which you can read a little more about it here. I'm camiller at homebrewtalk.com as well. Post 65 of that thread is where I lay out my experiment.
I too Live in Lincoln and am an occasional home brewer. I just brewed an Alt a week ago and will try it out in about three weeks from now or so. I get my supplies from Kirks brew and Northern Brewer. Have no financial connection to either.
Kirk gave me the ALT recipe and i am following his instructions. I don't get downtown much because of a young busy family but would still like to visit the brewery you talked about, the Bricktop.
I like brewing with all grain but it takes so much time, however the results I think are way above extract, and NO way am I a beer snob. If it has yeast in it I will try some and probably like it pretty well. Something else in my life is kind of like that too. Hmmm. . . . .
In Lincoln, Kirk's Brew is the local home brew shop. If you need something beyond Kirks, then you're either going to have to trek to Omaha or visit the online suppliers: Midwest Supplies, Northern Brewer, Austin Home Brew, etc. The online suppliers give you a wide selection and crush grain at no added charge, but you have to pay shipping. I try to support the local brew shop when I can.
I agree with Oscar that all grain takes time, but I mainly do it because I've already invested in the equipment and its alot cheaper than brewing with extract. Are there any competitions around Lincoln? I've been brewing beer here, but never really made an effort to get involved in any local brewing organizations.
There is a group of folks who brew as a "club" in Lincoln called the Lincoln Lagers.
They are on the web. i don't have any website info but I have been on their site a while back. i went to one of their beer tasting events held at the still. Had a great time, but too busy with other activity to get involved with another club.
I agree with Oscar that all grain takes time, but I mainly do it because I've already invested in the equipment and its alot cheaper than brewing with extract. Are there any competitions around Lincoln? I've been brewing beer here, but never really made an effort to get involved in any local brewing organizations.
Definitely get involved with the local club, Lincoln Lagers Home-Brew Club - Lincoln, NE . I'm not sure about contests local to Lincoln but statewide there is a contest associated with the Nebraska State Fair/River City Rodeo. Also there is a Club only competition called the Nebraska Shootout. Each Nebraska club picks their two best beers in a few pre-selected categories to forward to the shootout. At the shootout the beers are judged against one another.
+1 for supporting Kirk's. He's a great guy and he knows his stuff. His prices are a bit higher than what you might pay online, but you save on shipping and you KNOW that you're getting exactly what you need.
The Bricktop Taphouse is now known as Derailleurs Taproom and is located next door to YiaYias (still within Bricktop bar at this point). Just a heads up. They have tapping parties every Wednesday and Friday I believe. I usually make it down there on Fridays and it's always a good time.
I'm a member of the Lagers and enjoy our meetings, bus trips, internal competitions and sharing knowledge, recipes and just an overall passion for brewing good beers. Any and all levels of homebrewers are always welcome to sit in on a meeting or two and learn more about what we do together.