What Makes Me Drink More Beer

Dear People in the Left Lane,

I'm cool with you being there, but I have ONE RULE of Traffic:
Keep It Moving©
So, if you're not going over the speed limit, or if you're not actively passing someone, or if you see a ball of light in your rearview mirror, get the hell over.
How many times do I have to drive 73 mph in a 65, fly up on your bumper, and you don't get over when there's no one around us for miles? According to state law, one MUST pass on the left, and you are forcing me to pass on the right. Sure, I could slow down and wait (!) for you to get over, but it's also your responsibility to GET OVER. There are signs all over the highway stating "Slower Traffic Keep Right". We all know how it works. You can go faster than the speed limit and not get pulled over. Just last night, I flew past a cop clocking people on the highway doing 75 in a 65. He did not care. This happens all the time. If you're texting, or sipping Starbux, or trying to read a map, in the left lane, and you COULD get over, DO SO. I hate you.

Bock Bock

Got an email from a Cincinnati Malt Infuser about a possible Homebrew competition the weekend of Bockfest. I haven't made one before, but I'm gonna now!

Knock Shock Bock (Thanks Greg & Ryan)

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 15.25
Anticipated OG: 1.084 Plato: 20.21
Anticipated SRM: 25.9
Anticipated IBU: 24.7


Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
91.8 14.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
6.6 1.00 lbs. Crystal 90L America 1.033 90
1.6 0.25 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Hallertauer Mittelfruh Whole 4.50 17.2 60 min.
1.00 oz. Tettnanger Tettnang Whole 4.50 4.6 15 min.
1.00 oz. Tettnanger Tettnang Whole 4.50 2.9 5 min.


Yeast
-----
WYeast 2206 Bavarian Lager

Scheduling

Hm. Was noticing how I've got too much beer going on down in the cellar.
Got a C3-PilsnerO that can go in a keg any day, but I need to keep my second keg ready for the Centennium Falcon IPA, which will go in next week. And the first keg gots a Liffey Sludge Stout in it. Maybe it's time for another keg, to build a collar on the kegerator, taps, manifolds, oof. Too much. I'll just wait until one keg is done, then in goes the Pilsner. Do I even want to keg that? Should I bottle it. I guess I should taste it to see if I'll be drinking it. :)
Anyway, the title of this post is scheduling. I am about to plan my "brew year".
I want to have cerain beer ready at certain times. An Oktoberfest in September, a Bock in March, stuff like that. So, thinking out loud:
Bock ready March first, 3 weeks of lagering, two weeks of primary, a week or so of secondary. So, let's see... that puts brew day at January 19, 2008. Ok.
An Oktoberfest is typically brewed in March (hence the aka "Marzen") and then lagered until mid-September. So anytime in March I'll be brewing that style.
A wheat beer for summer (brew late Spring), a porter for winter (early in the year), a Saison for when it's hot out (brew in Spring). hm.... what else is there?

Vocabulary

There are a TON of weird words associated with brewing and winemaking.
Here are a few with definitions and pronunciations.
Heard of one not on the list? Let me know!

The process is this in all-grain brewing:
Mill malted barley grist, Mash grist in mash tun, Wait 60 minutes, Lauter grist by sparging from lauter tun into brew kettle, Boil with hops, Chill wort down to fermenting temperature, Measure and record Original Gravity, Pitch yeast, Ferment.

- All-grain brewing - Using just grains and no concentrated malt syrup(s) to brew beer.
- Barley - Grain used for making beer and whiskey.
- Extract - Concentrated malt syrup(s) to brew beer.
- Extract brewing - Using only concentrated malt syrup(s) to brew beer. Sometimes used in conjunction with specialty grains for body, color, etc.
- Fermentation - Growing micro-organisms for the use of producing their by-products. In brewing, Yeast convert sugars into CO2 and alcohol.
- Gravity (Specific, Original, Final) - Measure of the sugar dissolved in water, water having a measurement of 1.000. A typical beer might have an original gravity of 1.050 and a final gravity of 1.012 because of the yeast eating the sugars.
- Grist - Grain that has been separated from its husk.
- HLT (Hot Liquor Tank) - Reservoir used to hold hot water (liquor) that lauters grist. :)
- Hops (Pellet, Whole, Plug) - Flower from the Humulus lupulus vine used mainly for flavoring and preserving beer.
- IBU (International Bittering Unit) - Measure of the bitterness of a beer given by hops. An American lager might be 5 IBUs and an India Pale Ale might be 100+.
- Krausen - Foamy head on top of fermenting beer.
- Lauter - Rinse Sugars off malt (actual "brewing", think of brewing coffee)
- Liquor - Brewing term for water.
- Malt - Germinated grains that are dried before they develop. Malted barley is used in beer making.
- Mash - Mixture of crushed grains and hot water.
- Must - Unyeasted wine.
- Partial mash brewing - Combination of extract and all-grain brewing.
- Pitch - Add yeast to wort (or must).
- Sparge - Distribute water over mash to facilitate lautering
- Specialty grains - Grains used to give body or color to an extract brewing session.
- Trub (troob) - Gook leftover at the bottom of fermentation, usually made up of yeast, hops, and coagulated proteins.
- Tun - Vessel. Examples - Lauter tun, Mash tun.
- Vorlauf - Act of letting wort drain from the lauter tun until it runs clear.
- Wort - Unyeasted beer.
- Yeast - Microscopic fungi used to make beer.

Amber Waves, Part 2

Dude, he boils his specialty grains. Oops.
That would impart harsh tannins. Bad idea, Alton.
And it's not dry-hopping if you put hops in the boil.
And then he calls wort mash.
And then he calls straining, sparging.
Pitching at 87F is not advisable.
And you can't trust bubbler timing as a fermentation indicator.
But it's still fun to watch. I do every couple of months.

Beer me someone

Posted about this before, but it's important.
Well, to me. And prolly to you.

Boston Beer reports 46% drop in profit despite record earnings

Amber Waves

I like Good Eats.
I like beer.
They got married once:

Link-o-rama

Just wanted to pass links along.
Saw this on the side of a Stone 60 Minute IPA keg I need to return to the Party Source:
MicroStar Keg Management. Fun.
The Centennium Falcon IPA is chugging away nicely, with the Bell's harvested ("liberated") yeast.
Um, Monday Night Football at Fries Cafe was fun coz the beer, not coz the game.

Amounts

Jif axed me yesterdee, how much I've made. Didn't know, but now I do.
13 batches x 5 gallons = 65 gallons of beer
2 batches x 3 gallons = 6 gallons of cider
1 batch x 5 gallons = 5 gallons of mead.
Total = mmm

Centennium Falcon IPA Episode II

Made another batch of this yummy IPA. Used a little more 2-row, and a touch more bittering hops.
Jimmy made the exact same recipe yesterday. We should do a beer battle.
I need to make two batches for a party in just under two months. Will need to be ales, something great, and something more approachable. I keep hearing that not everyone likes hoppy beers. So maybe wanna remake this beer. And something else. Will need to research styles.
Also, wanna test bottling a kegged beer from the keg.

Centennium Falcon IPA Recipe
------

Grain/Extract/Sugar
Amount Name
------------------------------------------------
12.00 lbs. Briess 2-Row Pale Ale
1.00 lbs. Briess Caramel 10L

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 9.50 ??.? 60 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 9.50 16.7 20 min.
2.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 9.50 16.6 5 min.
1.00 oz. Centennial Pellet 9.50 0.0 Dry Hop

Yeast
-----
Bell's Yeast - Harvested from 7 bottles of Two-Hearted Ale