The Pub
Welcome to the House of Husar. Grab yourself a virtual pint by leaving a comment for the bartender.
I used to have a live pub cam on this page but I took it down. Now you will find a few photos. As I entertain I take photos so stop by for a pint or two and I will update the photos. The pub is not 100% complete yet but the brew is flowing. Do you fancy a game of darts or maybe some slots? Maybe pool is your game? We have it all.
Some day I want to start brewing so maybe I will start adding details about that adventure in the near future. But for now enjoy the photos.
I am trying to do a better job of keeping this page up to date on what is on tap so keep checking back.
Currently on Tap as of:
Nov. 26th, 2008: Boulevard Pale Ale
Cheers!
Twitter It!
Just checking in on saturday! No pints in view, just Noah on video!
-Chris
Is two for Tuesday still going on here?
quit reclining and get to work on that east database
All work and not play makes Eddie a dull boy.
We have new beer on tap as of today. The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from Christmas and the Miller Lite was finished off this week. Currently on tap is Boulevard Pale Ale (http://www.blvdbeer.com/paleale.htm). I was hoping to get a keg of the Boulevard Stout but not luck finding it.
Cheers.
ed, i am with my dad.. leave big frank a message!
Franklin, my man! I will turn the camera around so you can see the home pub.
Chris are you in WI or IL.
hus!!!!!
put a note up for my dad… we are in IL
he says he may take up drinking again!
sleep well kids! gimme a call this weekend!
Just kickin’ it with some Abdel Wright, seeing if there was any action in the Pub. What special brew are you going to get for World Cup action man??!!
That is a good question Tyson. I need to put some thought in to that. I am hoping to have the home theather room done by then so I can watch World Cup on the big screen (projector). In fact a guy just called today to get the final drywall done on the ceiling.
We just might have to have a World Cup get together!
well you better have my pint ready i coming home!!!!!!
p-man
Pooh is coming home! Almost 2 years in the Middle East, 1 of which was his own choice. Can’t wait to hear when. Pooh is coming home!
We have a new beer on tap tonight Sierra Nevada Wheat.
Pale, smooth, and light-bodied, Sierra Nevada Wheat Beer is brewed from premium malted wheat and light barley malts, utilizing our traditional ale yeast. This unfiltered ale is finished with the characteristically spicy Strissel Spalt hops from the Alsace region of France.
Nice! Do you have a “real” job?
Oh yea, I do. And that is the reason I still have some work to do on the basement. It never ends!
Ed — It’s good to “see you” after all these years. I didn’t realize you were such a fitness machine — or 39!!! I like what you’ve done with the place …..
I know, I am getting old! I am more like a beer drinking fitness gaget.
[...] The Pub [...]
Hus,
I hear you are entertaining the thought of homebrewing. Let me tell you that this is a very good idea. But be warned: once you start, you will never want to stop. I decided to take it up last summer and had a blast. Homebrewing is the perfect hobby because it lets you be a kid again by bringing out your inner mad chemist, and it also lets you be an adult and drink lots of beer.
The first thing you need to do when you start homebrewing is do a search for homebrewing supply shops near you. I lived in Kalamazoo last summer so I was lucky and had Bell’s brewery and supply shop only minutes from my front door. You also might want to see if there are any homebrewing clubs in your area. Joining a club is a good way to get tips from seasoned brewers and discounts at the supply shop.
After you find your supply shop, you can go in, like I did, and just tell the clerk you want to start brewing and s/he will know what you need. I bought a complete kit for about $75 that included two plastic buckets (one should have a spicket on it for bottling), a glass carboy, a siphoning hose (get one of the pumps too), an airlock and rubber stopper, bottling wand, santizer, carboy brush, bottle caps and capper, and a hydrometer. You’ll also need a large funnel (I got mine in the auto department at Meijer), a colander (the one you use for your spaghetti should work fine), a large stirring spoon with a long handle, a big brew pot, and at least 48 brown bottles (you can’t use the bud light screw top variety). $10 for a case is expensive. You should be able to get 48 for around $15. You will be able to reuse them.Eventually, for your pub, you’ll want to start kegging, but before you invest that kind of $ practice a few times with the basics. Also, get yourself a large mug (one liter plus an inch for the head at least) from which to quaff your beautiful brew.
While you’re at the supply shop, pick up a copy of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing,” third edition, by Charles Papazian. This book has great instructions and a lot of great recipes. The other great resource is “How to Brew” by John Palmer. However, he has an abridged version of his book online at http://www.howtobrew.com, so you don’t really need to buy the print version. My advice is to not use either of these resources, or any resource, as if they were the Bible, but rather synthesize the information to come up with the method that will work best for you. After you read enough, you’ll find that people will try and convince you that their way is the best and only way, but that is not true. A small example is that you will be advised to do a secondary fermentation, but I’ve found through my own brewing that it’s not really necessary unless you’re really aging your beer (I always wanted to bottle and drink mine right away!).
After you buy your books and materials, give yourself a day or two to look over all the information and decide what type of beer you want to brew and then go back to your supply shop and buy your ingredients. For your first brew, you will probably be advised to start out at the most basic level, which is with a “kit” beer, which just means that the malt extract has been pre-hopped. I made my first beer (a simple amber ale) with hopped extract, and it turned out fine. However, adding your own hops is not difficult at all and makes the brewing and recipe-making that much more fun. If you want something fool-proof, though, get a hopped extract. You’ll also have a choice between dry and liquid extract. I always use liquid and sometimes a combination.
The big ingredient you’ll need is yeast. Spend the extra money and get the liquid yeast. I made my first brew with dry yeast, and it turned out OK, but I don’t think it fermented completely. The liquid stuff is the best. I prefer white labs (http://www.whitelabs.com) yeast over the brand that comes in the little pouch. Each yeast strain aligns with a certain type of beer… make sure you get the right yeast for the right recipe.
Lastly, make sure you sanitize everything completely. The way I do it is I always ferment in my carboy (easier to clean than the plastic buckets) and just fill it to the brim with water and bleach or water and a dissolving sanitizer. I don’t ferment in the plastic bucket because it’s more difficult to clean and you can’t use a blow-off tube. Instead, I use the extra bucket for sanitizing my equipment like the colander and the funnel, etc. Blow-off fermentation simply means that for the first day or two you connect a tube to the top of your carboy and put the other end in sanitized water. I prefer this method to closed fermentation because it gets rid of a lot of the tannins and bad tasting elements in your beer that you otherwise can’t get rid of unless you do a secondary fermentation, which means you have to wait longer to drink your beer. Most books will tell you to do your primary fermentation in the plastic bucket, then do your secondary fermentation in the carboy. This extra step is unnecessary if you just ferment in the carboy to begin with and use a blow-off tube. You’ll lose a little volume through the blow-off fermentation (2-4 bottles), but the enhanced quality is worth it. You can’t be too careful when it comes to sanitation. Any stray bacteria and all your hard work is ruined. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize. I find that one of those big plastic storage tubs can come in handy for sanitizing your brewing equipment and your bottles.
There is much more, but everything else you can find in the resources I recommend. The whole process takes about three weeks from brewing to drinking. Brewing takes about 3 hours and bottling takes another couple hours. You’ll need a friend to help you bottle. I’ve tried to do it by myself twice and it’s a nightmare. You want to cap as soon as possible to avoid exposure to oxygen. Oh, make sure you get the caps with the little oxygen-absorbing liner on the inside. The whole thing really sounds more complicated than it actually is. As long as you sanitize, everything will turn out fine. The hardest part is just getting all your materials and deciding on a recipe. I’ve brewed, in this order, an amber ale, an American wheat, an American pale ale, a Belgian golden strong, and an American brown ale. If you want to make a lager, you’ll need to either make room in your fridge or wait until winter. If you decide to make any of these and would like to see the recipe I used, just ask! The brown ale was especially delicious. Total price of a recipe can be anywhere from $20 to $60. It all depends on the complexity of the recipe. That may sound expensive considering you can pick up a case of Natural Light at Kroger for $12. But what you’re making is not Natural Light. The most expensive beer I made was the Belgian golden strong for about $60. It was expensive because I used about 16 lbs. of fermentables (not advised), and it had a final alcohol content of somewhere between 12 and 15%. But Light is like 3.5%. Two cases of a Belgian golden strong at the grocery store might run you $250, if you can even find a place that sells it. One bottle at a restaurant is probably $6.50-$8.00. So homebrewing definitely saves you money and it tastes just as good, if not better.
I hope this helps, and if you have any questions feel free to ask. You’ll probably have a few anxious moments during the fermentation process (you’ll see things that will make you wonder, “is my beer ruined?” I can tell you now it’s probably not.) that I might be able to help you with. Good luck!
Chip
[...] The Pub [...]
[...] The Pub [...]
[...] still a bit more work to be done. We’re going to be meeting up Monday, 7.00pm, at The Pub at the House of Husar in West Des Moines to discuss some plans for future trail work. We’re [...]
hey luv ur geisha tattoo im looking into getting one. already have a koi dragon demon and snake. do u have any pics of ur geisha the final product or any @ all
i dont know how 2 get a hold of u but luv ur geisha tattoo any more pics of it i have a koi dragon mask and snake getting a geisha next week
It is still a work in progress Raul. What you see on the blog is as far as I have done.