Anniversary Beer

In May of 2006, I brewed a beer that's known around the house as Raspberry Belgianwine. Once a year - on our wedding anniversary - Rachel and I share a champagne bottle of it. The base beer was essentially a 5-gallon batch of "imperialized" tripel. After a couple weeks of fermentation, I added 4 lbs of raspberries and a peeled vanilla bean. The beer weighs in at 10% abv. Here's what it looked like after 4 years of marriage:


So far, the beer has tasted better every year. If the trend continues, Rachel and I will be drinking the delicious final bottle on our 13th anniversary. Brewing the beer at the pub will require a coarse filter to fully separate the beer from the fruit. It'll also cost me about $160 per keg (half-barrel) to brew, unless I can find organic raspberries for cheaper than $4.00/lb. Money and hassle, pssht. This beer WILL be brewed for commercial consumption!

In other news, it turns out that Jane only spent a week in the UK. I finished the bakery book well before she got back, but I'm still giving myself another week to research bakery logistics.