Fully Automatic Beer Brewing

 A former Microsoft employee and homebrewer frustrated by the difficulty in getting recipes to turn out the same every time, turned to his food processing engineer brother and another Microsoft employee, to create PicoBrew Zymatic.
 Users browse a list of recipes online on their desktop computer or smartphone. Recipes are submitted to the site by users. They they weigh the grain into a plastic tray, add hops to special filters, and water to a small cornie keg (which transfers water back and forth into the device). In 3.5 hours, their brew is finished. (They can even monitor their PicoBrew from their smart phone.)  Add yeast to the cornie keg, refrigerate it for a week or so and the beer is ready.
 PicoBrew Symatic ( picobrew ) soon on Kickstarter. The first machines will sell for $1300 and the second wave for $1500.

The Grateful Dogfish Head??

The Grateful Dead are readying the release of the craft beer the band began developing last year with Delaware brewery Dogfish Head. The special ingredient suggested by fans? Granola, according to Brewbound. More than 1,500 fans submitted suggestions for the "American Beauty" pale ale. The suggestion for granola came from Thomas Butler, a 39-year-old chemist and homebrewer who saw his first Dead show when he was nine.
 The components of granola – honey, toasted grains, oats and fruit – offer a lot from a beer perspective, as said on the Dogfish Head website. The beer is to be a sessionable ale that highlights the oats and honey with a nice 'dank' hop selection.

Perrin & Siciliano's To Host Homebrew Contest

US Government Shutdown Means No New Beer

 There are two main issues for the craft beer industry to deal with during the shutdown. By the numbers, the largest of these issues is the Treasury Department’s Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ceasing approval of new beer labels and recipes. Beer news site Beerpulse estimates that 400 labels per day won’t receive approvals during the shutdown, based on the over 110,000 labels that TTB had approved over the course of 2013 through the end of September. More immediately detrimental to the health of craft breweries is the Small Business Administration halting approval of new loans for the duration of the shutdown.

Oktoberfest Pasta

Beer Brat Oktoberfest Pasta- (serves 4)
  Ingredients:

6 strips thick sliced bacon

1 sweet white onion, sliced
1 tbs olive oil, plus 2 tbs later
6 bratwurst (raw)
12 ounces brown ale
1 lb spaghetti
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
4 large eggs

Directions
In a large pot over medium high heat, cook the bacon. Remove from pan, chop. Pour off about half the pork fat, leaving about 2 tbs still in the pan. Add 1 tbs olive oil and onions, cook over medium heat until the onions start to caramelize, about 8-10 minutes. Remove onions from pan, set aside.
Increase heat to medium high, add the bratwurst, cooking until browned on both sides. Add the beer and reduce heat to medium low, simmering until the bratwurst are cooked through, 10-12 minutes. Slice into rings.
While the bratwurst are cooking, cook the spaghetti in lightly salted boiling water, drain and return to pot.
Add sliced brats, chopped bacon, caramelized onions, tomatoes, cheese, salt, pepper and remaining 2 tbs olive oil to the spaghetti, toss to combine.
One at a time poach the eggs in simmering water until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny.
Divide the pasta between 4 bowls, top with poached eggs. Serve immediately.

Beer Facts

 Beer improves the state of blood vessels-
According to a study, arteries become more flexible and blood flow improves within hours when you drink a pint of beer, Authit Mail reports. A new study states that drinking a pint of beer actually improves the state of blood vessels around your heart.
 Here are some of the benefits:
-Beer is known to decrease the incidence of heart diseases by approximately 20 to 40 per cent. Though drinking beer is okay, you need to have it responsibly. Moderate consumption of beer results in an increase in HDL and a decrease in LDL along with an improvement in both.
-Beer is loaded with vitamins. According to a Dutch study, there was a remarkable 30 percent increase in vitamin B6 in beer drinkers.
-It is also known to decrease kidney stones.
-Beer is also believed to make your head clear. Drinking the right amount of beer is good for your mental health. The New England Journal of Medicine reported a preservation of mental acuity, especially in older women who drink alcohol moderately.
-There have been numerous studies that have shown that the consumption of moderate alcohol also decreases the incidence of Alzheimer's and improves memory, concentration and reasoning.
-Multiple studies have shown up to 50 percent reduction in the risk of strokes in moderate alcohol drinkers. The American Stroke Association have stated that two alcoholic drinks per day can decrease the incidence of stroke... but I'm sure you all ready knew that.

Time To Make Cider!

 Brewing hard cider from nonalcoholic, or “sweet” cider is a simple process, and the inebriating end product is as delicious as it is discombobulating. Here are the steps you’ll follow to make hard cider of your own. how-to-make-hard-cider .
Also here are tips to make your cider great making-cider-tips-from-the-pros.