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Nicaragua has a few local beers but nothing high quality. It's also pretty warm here to make beer, so my husband began experimenting with white sorghum recently. Chele Sorgo is the result, a lagered ale made from white sorghum readily found in the local markets. Brewing good beer has been as much an adventure as everything else in this crazy Central American country and while Roger has been brewing beer for some time now, doing it in Nicaragua presents unique challenges. The weather is too warm here and good luck finding supplies for brewing. In the past, friends have sent us the makings but that's hardly being self-sufficient. Several experiments with local products and many an hour making new tools/toys later, and Roger has a nice brew that'll be ready in time for the holidays. This latest five gallons is a refinement of a sorghum brew we shared with friends at a Gringo get together in Catarina earlier this year.
Roger's latest toy, a malt factory, was made from a broken fridge found in Jinotepe for 100 cords. I insisted on painting the old yellow thing, then Roger got to work installing gadgets to turn this old fridge into a beer maker's tool.
The addition of a single burner hot plate, small fan, outlet, and temperature control, plus a few well-placed holes, and Roger's now able to evenly dry and toast 15 pounds of sprouted sorghum at a time.
(drying in the new malt factory)
(grinding the malt) The beer making journey in Nicaragua has led to other tool/toy making such as the mash tun,
a large cooler that transforms into a holding station for the mashing process. As good southerners, we brought with us our turkey-fryin', crawfish boilin' beer keg cooking pot that does extra duty to boil the wort, which is when the hops and any extra sugars are added to the brew.
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(sprouted sorghum)
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