On this historic day, whatever year it is, I’m proud to announce BEER mom and I made our 6th batch of beer.  It has also been 6 months since our first brew finished and a little over 6 months ago when I started this site.

Tonight, for our sixth brew, we went the unpopular route and chose to brew some bitter.  I mentioned last time that English Bitter isn’t very different than a pale ale, but it’s called bitter because of the amount of hops it contains.  I decided a while back that I would try brewing a lighter beer since almost everyone who tried the coffee beer said it was too strong.

We started this evening the same as all the other times we brewed beer, except this time BEER mom was having  good hair day.

More …

We picked up the pictures we had taken the other day so expect a lot more Kaden with every post.

BEER mom and baby were playing earlier and she took some nice photos which are in the Baby Smith album starting here. This is one of my favorites from her:

When I got home we picked up his three month photos from Background’s Photography in Derby. There are too many to post all at once, so go see them in the album beginning with this one.

I used to work with the photographer at Office This, and she did a great job so we plan on getting more pictures from her in a few months. These are some of my favorites that she took:

Kaden also got a special treat today for his 3 month birthday (a shiny new domain name for those of you who weren’t paying attention).

Kaden is 3 months old today.  We celebrated by getting 50¢ tacos for us and by giving him a bath.  I’m not sure how else you’re supposed to celebrate these things, but we also took him to get 3 month pictures on Saturday.  We’re still waiting to get those back.

As of his last doctor’s appointment (a couple weeks ago), he weighed 11 lbs 14 oz.  He has been sleeping all night for about 4 weeks and has been wearing size 2 diapers and 3-6 month clothes for a couple weeks. He’s starting to get chubby.

Here is one new picture from today:

Five other pictures from today begin here in the Baby Smith photo album.

Despite the lousy name, I decided we will brew English Bitter next time we make beer.  I have 16 coffee beers left so most likely we will start the Bitter next weekend.

English Bitter is actually a type of pale ale, which was my second choice of what to brew next, but tends to have a greater strength, flavor, and more defined appearance than regular pale ale.

A popular type of English Bitter is IPA or India Pale Ale.  Bitter tends to use more hops than regular pale ale and typically has a lower alcohol content.

I will be making a strong bitter (comparable to ESB in the United States) which will have a slightly higher alcohol content than most bitters and hopefully a dark amber color.

Forgive me for the rant, but I have to say I’m disappointed in the response I’m getting to my coffee beer. I am disappointed because the only people I can find brave enough to try some are either not coffee drinkers or not fans of dark beer.

I think the coffee beer is absolutely amazing and would like to share it with people who truly appreciate both coffee and beer, however I can’t find any. Some of the responses I’ve received so far include:

• I can’t really taste any coffee, but taste the alcohol.
• It was damn yummy.
• It was good, I’ve had it before. (Confused with my Nut Brown Ale)
• Whew that coffee is strong. I can’t finish this. It’s going to keep me up for days.
• It’s good, but I don’t want a whole one.
• I don’t drink coffee, but it was pretty good. I could smell the coffee.

I am going to feel real bad if I end up drinking it all myself. Let me know on twitter if and when you want any so I can finally arrange that beer tasting party I’ve been talking about the past few weeks.

Due to the lack of positive feedback I am probably going to make something light next time I brew beer.

We will be celebrating my first Father’s day tomorrow with my parents in Overland Park.  Knowing me I will probably also take several bottles of my coffee beer to give away to family and friends.

Kaden is finally starting to be more playful and active and we recently discovered he likes popcicles as much as I do.  He will be 3 months old on the 24th.

If you haven’t read yet over on that smith, BEER mom also decided to get a puppy this week.

At the rate I am currently drinking the coffee beer (which is no more than one a night if even that) it should last me until the end of July.  It’s very good now that it’s been sitting longer, but it’s hard to drink because the caffeine is strong enough to keep me up at night.

If anyone would like to sample some let me know.  I have just over 50 bottles left and only found three other people to try any so far.  Not many of our friends enjoy good beer or fresh coffee as much as I do, so I’m not going to give it away to just anyone.

Hit me up on twitter or by other means if you want any.  Once I get down to around 20 I am going to start planning my next brew.