First Exchange PartyDate: January 16, 2010

A new shipment of Wyeast just arrived. Available here is the Pacman yeast, from Rogue breweries. A fairly neutral strain with a dry mild fruit finish. Pacman's flavor profile and performance make it a great choice for so many different kinds of beers. A few that are suggested: American Pale Ale, American Amber Ale, American Brown Ale, Brown Porter, Cream Ale, American IPA, Imperial IPA, the list goes on.

Alcohol Tolerance: 12% ABV
Flocculation: med-high
Attenuation: 72-78%
Temp Range: 60-72F (15-22C)

Try this yeast in your next batch of homebrew.

We just posted our first gluten-free beer recipe, and have all the ingredients in our store.

We started with a base of sorghum and rice, adding some amber Belgian candy syrup for carmelized sweetness. Maltodextrin and flaked rice add mouthfeel. We finish with a light touch of Saaz hops for gentle bittering and aroma.

Sorghum photo credit: Forest & Kim Starr.

For this Kenton Third Thursday, we will have samples of home brewed root beer, and some tasty beer brewed by HBX's very own Joe. We should have some homemade cheese as well. More businesses are getting involved this month, and there is a map that you can use to do a sort of scavenger hunt for free prizes.

Happy Holidays!For the holiday season, we will be staying open later on Saturdays. Starting tomorrow, we will be open 10am - 4pm on Saturdays. Our hours the rest of the week are unchanged. Please let us know what you think about the new hours.

Come down to our store today for some day-after-Thanksgiving specials:
Cascade Hops (1 oz plugs only) $1.00
Liquid Malt Extract %10 off
Liquid Rennet (veg) %10 off

Limit two each per customer.

Kids Love Homemade Yogurt
Yogurt is suprisingly simple to make. Yogurt is a healthy source of protein, calcium, magnesium, and other essential vitamins as well as an aid in digestion. The fresher the yogurt is, the more beneficial live cultures it should contain. The best part is my one year old just loves it. See our new page on how to make yogurt.

This week we just received a new shipment of new products. We have some nice new pint glasses, featuring some of Oregon's favorite brews: Rogue's Dead Guy, Bridgeport's Blue Heron, and Portland Brewing's MacTarnahans.

From Wyeast we've added the Cider and Sweet Mead yeasts, as well as Northwest Ale yeast. We've added a bunch of other little items as well, such as the wine thief, which makes taking samples of wine or beer out of your carboy very easy.

My favorite new product this week is the Yogotherm. The Yogotherm is an insulated container that makes yogurt making very easy. Soon I'll be posting step by step directions with pictures. If you have never tried to make yogurt, you'll be impressed how easy it is to make a superior product (that your kids--if you have any--will love). [Read more below...]