Johnny the Jet's Red Beer

Tom and I brewed a special batch yesterday: Johnny the Jet's Red Beer. See, I got a phone call a few weeks ago from someone in Omaha who's opening a new sports bar. She said she and her partners were interested in having a beer brewed exclusively for them, that they could put their own name on. I told them that I could do that, and that we should meet at the Crescent Moon to try some beers and come up with some recipe ideas. She told me she wasn't a big beer-drinker, but maybe she could get "Johnny" to come along.

Johnny did indeed come along. He's Johnny "the Jet" Rodgers, the running back of 1970's Nebraska Cornhuskers fame, and he enjoys a good beer.

My idea of brewing a Vienna Lager evolved into making a red beer. We tasted Negra Modelo, Leinenkugel's Red Lager, and Anchor Steam. They liked the flavor of the Negra, the color of the Leinie's, and the body of the Steam.

I didn't realize they had picked up the lunch tab for Paris and me until they were gone and I went to pay my own.

So anyway, Tom and I brewed it yesterday. It's plenty red. It's unfortunately also plenty underpitched - not as much yeast as it should have - so we might just brew another batch next week with some fresh yeast harvested from my Okvemberfest Bockbier.

Oh, and I cleaned three dozen kegs in the afternoon.

Thursday: the Micro Brew Ha Ha event in Omaha.

Friday (and maybe Saturday): the 6th Annual Oktoberfest at the Crescent Moon and Huber Haus in Omaha.