This weekend is busy, I have cleaning up and stuff to do, but I absolutely had to get some serious brewing done as well. So I did the very first step, and I’m about to do one more thing and get it done, and the do the stuff I have to do, like cleaning up, laundry, and grading. (Oh, and wandering off to someone else’s computer to try get my Emart order sent off too. I’m pretty sure there’s something with my current installation of Internet Explorer 6.0, but I can’t seem to fix it.) Anyway, pardon my French in …

As I write this, the Bangkok Summer Pilsner is on the stove. Summer Pilsner is what I call it simply because it’s intended to be something light, refreshing, and flavorful for the summer. If you’re interested, I’ve written up the “recipe” and procedure in the extended section of this post. 

Just before we flew to Indonesia, Miss Jiwaku and I made a strong Scottish ale with some chocolate flavoring. Well, in theory it should have picked up a chocolate flavoring, from the cocoa we put into it. In reality, it was not so chocolatey at all. The only property the beer seems to have picked up from the cocoa is bitterness, in fact. I was trying to figure out how to serve it, therefore, and stumbled upon something: it was missing a balance for the bitterness — some sort of sweetness and acidity. My first response was to squirt a …