Home brew (Sunday brunch: June 21, 2015)

(wishing Raydoc a happy Father’s Day)

One Oktoberfest isn’t enough for the folks at our church, so they held a beer and brats night yesterday to raise funds for the youth group trip.  Part of the reason people like these events is the very talented guild of home brewers in the parish (motto: “Sharing God’s love, twelve ounces at a time.”

Beer is the official beverage of Father’s Day, so beer making kits are a popular gift around this time. I ran a brewery back when I was in college, and it took a few tries, but we eventually got to the point where the product was pretty good.  Not quite as good as what the “St. Pauli Guys“ were serving last night, but I made a prize-winning malt liquor.  It’s not hard to make beer, but making something good enough to make people put down their professionally-made beer is another story.  So if you want to to try brewing as a hobby, find a local homebrew club and join them rather than just getting a kit.

Kevin Wald would have been a good guest last night: this week he brewed up a tasty variety cryptic to go with German food.  Elsewhere this weekend, the Wall Street Journal published a Labyrinth by Mike Shenk.  Last time out was easy, this one is harder.  I have a hint grid up elsewhere on the blog as well as the solution.

The New York Times variety puzzle is a Split Decisions by Fred Piscop.  Deb Amlen (spoiler alert) notes that Piscop seems to be finding his stride in constructing this unusual style.  Deb is getting better at solving them, but Piscop is starting to make his Split Decisions a little harder.

Of the regular weekly puzzles, the syndicated cryptic in the Globe and Mail is noteworthy: I found it had a strong Puns and Anagrams feel to it.  Be prepared for some clues without indicators: they’re usually going to be anagrams.

And there’s the Hex cryptic in the National Post, blogged by Falcon.