Over forty people gathered for the Boreal Brewers’ celebration of Big Brew Day in Northern Minnesota. Big Brew Day is a worldwide event, created and supported by the American Homebrewers Association. People began gathering the night before to get equipment set up, do some camping and engage in a bit of pre-tasting and food testing. The Brew was held Saturday May 5th, and yes, the food did reflect Cinco de Mayo. Though brewers continued to arrive and set up throughout the day, the gathering was formally launched with the traditional toast at noon. Nine different batches were brewed, for a total of an even 100 gallons. The equipment ranged from simple extract setups to engineering marvels for all grain brewing. The weather cooperated which is always a plus this far north.
Old brewers, new brewers, friends, family and a few dogs gathered for a fun day of brewing, chatting, discussing and learning new techniques, recipes and ideas. A beautiful freshly carved mash paddle from a maple showed up and was used. We nearly made it through the food, but did not even come close to finishing the beer, as brewers ALWAYS bring too much. To use the old phrase, “A good time was had by all.”
- Watching a few of the brews
- A basic mashing system
- Good use of gravity
- Cooler style mashing and lautering system
- The Blichman Extravaganza
- Full use of electronics and pumps
- 20 gallon system, and the maple mash paddle
- Working a mash for 10 gallons
- Mash volume always expands to fit the size of the mash tun
- Just a bit of a potluck …
- Just some of the sixty or so gallons of beer, mead and cider that showed up
- The coolest portable cooler
- And the obligatory wood-chewing dog
- Then it was down to the racking ….
- And the cleaning
- Hope to see you next year!!!
Research shows that moderate beer consumption can help prevent heart disease and strokes, provide important vitamins and minerals, is low in fat and helps increase good cholesterol (HDL).