Is it hard to make beer?
The answer is a resounding NO. Read Jeremiah's Home Brew Primer to learn how easy it can be to make your very own homebrewed beer. You may view (and download) this file to your computer with this link : PDF version of our Brew Primer.
Shop us online!
Visit our WEBSTORE to shop for brewing and winemaking supplies so you can make your purchases online. Please Note: We are currently building a new shopping cart experience to better serve you. Orders will be taken via phone or Email Amy with orders, any questions or comments about our shopping cart or website. Thanks for visiting!
View our catalog!
VIEW OUR CATALOG in pdf format It is the most updated version of our brewing & winemaking supply catalog.
Butler's Original Beer Ingredient Packages
We have our own ingredient kits, well Curtis has created the recipes himself & they have proven
to be very popular. Below is a list of the kits he's created, along with all the recipes & instructions:
- "Ich bin ein Alt-bierliner!" - A presidential düsseldorfer altbier
- Tip the Porter (Greed is good.) aka ChocoJubilation Porter
- O Deathe, where is thy stinge? A drye Stout in Five Actes
- Butler's Creamalicious Dream Stout New!
- Bitter Middle-Aged Unmarried Librarian Ale - Or, An E.S.B.
- GrÜss gott, mate! A Hybrid Bavarian Honey-Wheat Beer In Convenient Kit Form!
- Nutty Senile Ol' Retiree Nut Brown Ale
- OBSEQUIOUS TROGLODYTE I.P.A.- big bold juniper pain/ouch.
- Old Dirty Monk Dubbel Ale, Take a bath already, would ya?
- Farmer Amy's Redneck Wheat Beer (We's havin' a ho-down, ya'll!)
- Butler's Fabulous American Pale Ale New!
- Butler's Fabulous Traditional Pale Ale - A beginner's 1 gallon batch
- Steamy, Twisted Streetwalker, a california common with a hint of coriander.
- Butler's Fabulous Organic Red Ale
- Butler's Fabulous Organic BitterNew!
HOPS and RHIZOMES NEWS!
- Grow Your Own Hops!
General information: Planting season is March to May, so if you want to grow some hops, its time to start planting now! Hops are a perennial plant that prefer a sunny spot with sandy, well-drained soil. In ideal growing conditions they have been known to grow as much as a foot a day(!) however most grow 2 feet per week, and they can reach 15 to 25 ft in height! Since they are prolific growers, space them at 3 ft, but if you would like to plant different varieties, plan to space at five feet so you can actually tell them apart!
Rhizomes are now in stock We have filled the pre-orders and have a few extras from the first shipment. The roots are $5.95 each, $5.50 each for two to five and $5.25 for six or more. We can include growing instructions upon request or you can download & print your own HERE. Check out the available varieties.
Email questions to us or call 812.339.7233 - ~Pellet and Leaf Hops to purchase for homebrewing~
You will find an updated variety and pricing pdf file below. Our suppliers tell us bulk stock has run dry for 2012 on several popular varieties like Amarillo, Simcoe, US Hallertau, and US Sorachi Ace. We will continue to stock them in 1 oz bags for as long as we can get them. The pre-weighed one ounce bags are pricier but as with all HopUnion hops, the high quality packaging will keep them fresh for a long while.
Hops listed as not available include: Centennial, Crystal, Falconer's Flight, Falconer's Flight 7C's, and Horizon. We still have some Centennial in bulk and just a few 1 oz bags left of the Falconer's Flights varieties and will remove them from our catalog when we sell out. As for the Centennial, do not despair! Soon we will have a "Centennial Type" replacement hop that very closely resembles it in aroma, flavor & bitterness qualities.
- ** Here's a list of the varieties & prices of hops we have in stock.
Download a copy for your own reference when planning your recipes. (The listed price and alpha acid is current as of printing.)
Any pellet hops marked "1 oz pkg" and all the organic hops, are packaged in one ounce bags. As for the non-organically grown selection, it is extensive & we try to get bulk
of the more popular varieties but sometimes there is a shortage of supply & we can only get 1 oz bags. We assure you that these pre-weighed 1 oz bags from HopUnion are
of the highest quality unfortunately they will be pricier than the same variety in bulk. The varieties in bulk can be weighed out as needed, in 1/4 oz increments,
preferably because its easier on us.
As you can see, we stock over 50 varieties of pelletized hops & 20 varieties of dried leaf hops, including a few varieties of organically grown hops too. Most leaf hops are available in HopUnion 1 oz bags but we are starting to transition to purchasing bulk. We've recently purchased a vacuum sealer and are now packaging them ourselves to cut costs. This will decrease your cost as well!
- FYI - HERE is a description sheet of all varieties we stock, including some recommended substitutions. Try a new variety today :) [Go to Hop Union's webpage to find out more about them & the hops they grow. Check out their hop handbook for variety descriptions and specs.]
- HomeBrew at the WEB Competition will be held March 2nd, 3rd & 4th- Enter your beer into this 5th annual competition organized by the Cass River Homebrewers Club of Mid-Michigan. Sponsored by some cool breweries & brewshops, including yours truly :-) Best of Show Grand Prize will be a $1000 online gift certificate, 2nd place gets a $500 online certificate to spend, & Best of Show beer will again be brewed by and served on tap at Midland Brewing Company of Midland, Michigan. New this year: several category gold medal winners will be selected to brew Pro-Am beers at various Michigan breweries. Author John Palmer will be the guest speaker on Saturday night (the 3rd) & author Gordon Strong is a judge. Entries will be accepted Feb 6 - 19. View the competition entry rules. Wanna volunteer to judge?
- 2012 WineMaker Competition - Enter your wine in the world's largest competition for hobby winemakers! Deadline is March 16th, 2012, $25 per entry, requires you to send one 750 mL bottle.
- Enter your beer in Upland Brewery's UpCup Competition- May 19th! Here are
Upland Brewing Company's UpCup Results from May 2011:
Bloomington Hop Jockeys Jason Mundy finished 2nd overall for his "Kate Middleton after the divorce Ordinary Bitter" and Steve Llewellyn received an Honorable Mention for his Oak Aged Black IPA - Indy Brewer's Cup Results from the July 2011 competition
Jason Mundy placed 2nd in Brown Ales with his English Brown Ale "Whitbread Nutcastle", and Steve Llewellyn placed 3rd in the Strong Ale category. Congratulations, Jason & Steve! View the previous winners. - 2011 Indy International Wine Competition results from August**
A special congratulations to our following award winners at the 2011 Indy: David Chapman, John Fansler, Joe Humbert, Robert Gunn, Robert Shakespeare, Karen & Lee Huss, David Jenkins, Kim Scherschel, Doug Skinner & Janine Copeland-Highley and Sean Arnot. Extra special congrats goes to Kim with a Double Gold medal awarded for his White Zinfandel & David Jenkins with a gold for his Traminette/Berry Blend "Make Me Blush" from Val-Lyn Vineyards. Great job fellas! Here's a listing of previous & current winners. - And if you are a homebrewer & want to know where else you can enter your beer, Go to the list of all AHA/BJCP sanctioned competitions out there. I am looking for a similar list for winemakers but the only one I've found is California-based. It is here. If you know of a better site with more eastern-based competitions, let me know and I'll be more than happy to share the link!
- **Any winemaker who wins a medal with a wine made from a Winexpert wine kit in either the Indy, FITA or the Winemaker competitions will receive a free wine kit! (The kit chosen for prize must be equal or lesser value of the medal award winning kit).
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