Houblon #45

Houblon #45

Got the right hops this time.

Grains:
6# Pale Malt (2-row)
6# Pilsener
1.5# Caramel 10L
1.5# Cane Sugar (in the last few min of boil) - oops. didn't add during boil. I'll add during primary.

Hops:
1.0 oz Columbus - 60 min
1.0 oz Columbus - 25 min
1.0 oz Saaz - 10 min
1.0 oz Amarillo - DH

Yeast:
Fermentis Safale T-58

Mash at 149F

OG = 1066
IBU = 72
FG = 1028 :(
ABV = 5.0%

UPDATE:
1/24/09 - Added haf a pkg of champagne yeast to see if that'll dry it out some. SG = 1026.

UPDATE:
2/12/09 - Champagne yeast did nothing. This is currently in a keg. Wasn't happy with the dry hoppiness, so I added a 1/2 oz. of Amarillo to a grain bag and threw it in the keg. I bet this gets yummy now.

Traditional Tripel #44

Traditional Tripel #44

12# Belgian Pils
0.5# Wheat Malt
1.25# Belgian candi sugar when primary is finishing up

Mash at 147F.

1 oz. US Golding - 90 min
1 oz. US Golding - 30 min
1 oz. US Golding - 5 min

Yeast: Wyeast 3787 Trappist

OG = 1.064
IBU = 34
FG = 1013
ABV = 6.7%

4.5 gals in 5 gal carboy, 1 gal in a 1 gal glass jug. Tried to pitch the appropriate amt of yeast in each.

Update:
Now secondarying in 5 gal carboy.

ABV = 6.7%

Centennium Falcon IPA #43

Used some of my new whole Centennial hops. Gonna be a hoppy one. And whole hops is a bit of a pain to brew wif.

Centennium Falcon IPA #43

11.5# 2-row
1# Crystal 40L

Mash at 153F.

1 oz. Centennial - 60 min
1.25 oz. Centennial - 20 min
1.25 oz. Centennial - 10 min
1 oz. Centennial - 5 min
1.5 oz. Centennial - dry hop

Yeast: US-05

OG = 1.062

Liffey Sludge #42

Last night, whipped up a batch of Liffey Sludge from a Listy kit.
OG = 1042.
Used "Cooper's Brewers Yeast". Will have to look that one up. It cae with ths kit. Was kinda pricey (the kit). No more kits dammit.
Gonna use last year's cacao nibs-n-rum on all 5 gals of this one. Mmmm chocobeer.

IBU = 58
OG = 1042
ABV = 4.5%

More

Bought a 4 pack of J W Lees Harvest Ale. It's a vertical of '99 - '02. N o idea why Dilly Deli had it. But I own it now. Thought about cellaring it for a year, but that just won't happen.
Bought a gallon of Gerber pear juice. And added a White Labs English Cider yeast. Gonna have some perry. I'll prime with more pear juice.
Added a pkg of US-05 to the Office Saison #40. Let's see that gravity drop dammit.
The Boba Fett IPA should be ready to keg soon.
Ommegang Hennepin is awesome.
The Goose Island Harvest Ale is tasty. Def get that again. I bet it's like most harvest ales - hoppyaroma dissipates over time. So get it while it's fresh.
Wife's been a big fan of the Schlitz. "Just the kiss of the hops." Not me.
Picked up a Listy's Irish Stout kit - gonna do a whole batch of cacao nibs stout.
Got a big bunch of hops recently from freshops.com - a pound of Centennial and 4 oz or Amarillo. And some from Midwest Brewing - 3 oz Colombus and 2 oz Mt. Hood. MMMMMMM. Beer. Gonna make an all Cent IPA and a fer rill Rye IPA soon.
Gawd - the beer to-do list grows!

What's Up Dates

Secondarying the Boba Fett IPA with an ounce of Cascade. 'Bout time to keg it.
Gonna make a perry with 4 quarters of Gerber pear juice from the baby section at the grocer. Need to make sure I check the gravity of plain pear juice. And then add sugar up to 1060. Then add cider yeast.
Had to bring the Saison #40 up to the office and put it in a closet with a space heater. I turn it on every so often and check the temp. Wanna check the gravity soon. Hope it's less than 1050.

Updates

Holy crump. Took a gravity reading from the Saison d'Accouplement #37. It went from an OG of 1094 to an FG of 1004. That's 12% folks. Gonna have to bottle this and hide a bunch. Thing is, it's still really tasty!
The Bogwater Irish Red Ale #36 is a lil thin, but a great sessiony beer. Glad I used my homegrowns on this one.
The Boba Fett IPA #39 needed a blow off tube somethin' fierce. Krausen was comin' all the way down the BO tube and into the water bucket. Tazy. I guess that's what a cake of US-05 will do tho.
I think there's plans for another Fingernail Ginger Ale soon and I wannado another stout with the cacao nibs from last year. The nibs are still on the 151 rum and there's no sign of infection, so I'm gonna consider em still good.

Saison #40

Saison #40

Started out as a Vertical Epic 040404 clone, but I couldn't get the right yeast.
So it's just a Saison.

14.5# pale malt 2-row
0.75# flaked wheat

Mashed at 149F.

1.50 oz Saaz - 60 min
1.00 oz Strisselspalt 10 min

Wyeast 3724 Belgian Saison

OG = 1080
IBU = 40
ABV = 9%

Boba Fett IPA #39

Boba Fett IPA #39

Wanted to have an all Cascade IPA.

12# Maris Otter
1# Crstyal 40L

Mashed at 152F.

0.75 oz Yakima Magnum - 60 min
0.25 oz Cascade - 30
0.25 oz Cascade - 25
0.25 oz Cascade - 20
0.25 oz Cascade - 15
0.25 oz Cascade - 10
0.25 oz Cascade - 5
0.50 oz Cascade - 0
1.00 oz Cascade - Dry Hop

US-05 Yeast Cake from Clone Ale #38

OG = 1074

Clone Ale #38

Clone Ale #38

6# Light LME
1# L Crystal Malt

0.5 oz yakima magnum - 60 min
0.5 oz perle - 30 min
1.0 oz cascade - 10 min
2.0 oz cascade - 0 min

us-05

Saison d'Accouplement #37

Yowsa. That's a lot of Belgian Pilsner malt.
Especially for my lil 5 gallon mash tun.
Had a lil stuck mash, pulled about 2 qts out,sparged a bit, then dumped it back in. Created a mess when it over flowed the tun!
Not a big deal, but yay, more to clean.

Saison d'Accouplement #37

16# Pilsner

Mash @ 149F for 2.75 hrs!

1.5 oz Saaz 60 min
0.75 oz Willamette 30 min
1# cane sugar 30 min
1.0 oz Strisselspalt 10 min
0.5 oz Cascade dry hop, maybe

OG = 1094
IBU = 45
ABV = 12%

Wyeast 3711 French Saison, cake from last Saison #34.

Bogwater Irish Red Ale #36

Promised myself to make an Irish after we got back from Ireland. While I didn't have this style, I really didn't want anymore Guinness!
I was alsohopig to bring back some real Irish Moss from Ireland, but it didn't happen.

Bogwater Irish Red Ale #36

7.5# Pale 2-row
0.75# Carapils
0.25# Special Roast Malt
0.13# Biscuit Malt
0.13# Chocolate Malt

Mashed at 152F for 60 min

1.0 oz Glacier 60 min
0.5 Homegrown Cascade 30 min
0.5 Homegrown Cascade 15 min

OG = 1047

Wyeast American Ale II 1272

Tasting Notes: Henny Penny Saison #28

Really good. ~7.5% ABV. Too much ginger, probably.

Centennium Falcon IPA #35

Episode 7 of this saga.

12# 2-row
1.5# Crystal 40L
1# Vienna Malt

0.75 oz Yakima Magnum - 60 min
1 oz Centennial - 20 min
1 oz Centennial - 10 min
1 oz Centennial - 5 min
1.25 oz Centennial - Dry Hop

Safale US-05

OG = 1066
IBUs = 78

Saison #34

Made a "real" Saison. I'll be bumping this up to the second, and maybe third floor, to boost the temp and get some fenallicks.

9# Pilsner
1# Wheat Malt
0.5 Crystal 20L
0.5 Cane Sugar - Will be added in a few days

1.5 oz Strisselspalt - 60 min
1.0 oz Strisselspalt - 3 min
0.5 oz Strisselspalt - 5 min

Wyeast 3711 French Saison

OG = 1055
IBUs = 24
FG = 1004 :)
ABV = 6.7%

Nedward Flanders Red Ale #33

Based on Jamil Zainasheff's Flanders Red Ale, I made this mack in May in SF with Greggle. This time, I actually had the Wyeast Roselare smack pack -- last time, we just used a White Labs Sour Mix.
However, we both started out with a Fermentis Safale US-05. Great stuff.
So after a week or so, I'll pitch the Roselare and then wait for, oh, a year.

2.25# Vienna Malt
2.00# Pilsener
1.25# Munich Malt
0.25# Aromatic Malt
0.25# CaraMunich Malt
0.25# Special B Malt
0.25# Wheat Malt

0.75 oz EKG 60 min

Safale US-05 & Wyeast 3763 Roselare Blend

OG = 1062
IBU = 20
ABV = ?

Tasting Notes

Henny Penny Saison
Aroma is of typical belgian yeast fruity/spiciness.
Looks nice n yellow. Almost like bud.
Flavor is sweet, lil tangy, banana, peppery.
Good saison. Hoping the banana/fruitiness fades over time. Will have to hide afew from myself.

Ruiner IIPA
Awesome hoppy smell from the Centennials.
Nutty brown color.
Malty,well-balanced IIPA.
Similar to Ruination, but not as yellow.
Too great an IIPA from my brury. Wife-pleaser, fer sher.

Gem of the Highlands Scotch Ale #32

Gem of the Highlands Scotch Ale #32

14.5# Pale Malt 2-row
0.6# Crystal 60L
0.5# Wheat Malt
0.25# Aromatic Malt
0.13# Roasted Barley
0.06# Scottish Peated Malt

1.25 oz EKG 90 min

Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale Yeast

I'll prolly rack a gallon or two onto some charred bourbon barrel chips I got at the AHA NHC.

Update: One gallon got 0.5 oz of the chips, one gallon got 1.0 oz chips, and 3 gallons got none. Bottle conditioned. Some are flat. Not sure which.

OG = 1074
IBU = 25
ABV = 7.5%

Denny's Rye IPA #31

Got it right this time.

Denny's Rye IPA #31

11# 2-row
3# Rye Malt
1.25# Crystal 60L
0.5# CaraPils
0.5# Wheat Malt

1 oz Mt. Hood FWH
1.1 oz Yakima Magnum 60 min
0.5 oz Mt. Hood 30 min
1.5 ox Mt. Hood 5 min
1 oz Centennial DH

Wyeast Denny's Fav 50

Serving

Must have a leak in the CO2 lines somewhere. Ran out already. Poopy.
So I bottled the Ruiner IIPA.

And I chucked out the Simcoe Small #30. Was gross. Prolly needed some crystal malt for second runnings.

Tiny Friday Update

Bottled 6 bottles of Houblon #26 in 750 mL Belgian bottles.
Used a tad over 1 tsp of sugar in each.
3 got raw cane brown sugar, 3 got white table sugar. Corked and caged.

Three Beers Update

Final Gravities:

Simcoe Small #30 = 1006 Tastes gross. Will Prolly pitch this one. That's ok.
ABV = 3%

The Ruiner IIPA #29 = 1012 Gonna be a good one. Super hoppy.
ABV = 8.3%

Henny Penny Saison #28 = 1008 Still really young. Can totally taste the ginger and orange peel. Will do well to age.
ABV = 8.5%

Simcoe Small #30

Second Runnings from Ruiner IIPA.

OG = 1030
IBUs = 28

30 min boil

0.25 Simcoe 30 min
0.25 Simcoe 20 min
0.25 Simcoe 10 min
0.25 Simcoe 0 min

US-05

The Ruiner IIPA #29

14# 2-row
1# Crystal 40L
1# Light Munich Malt
1# Carapils Dextrine Malt

1.75 oz Yakima Magnum 60 min
1.0 Centennial 30 min
1.0 Centennial 10 min
1.0 Centennial 1 min
1.0 Centennial DH

US-05 yeast

OG = 1072
IBUs = 138

Henny Penny Saison #28

8# Briess Pilsener
2# Pale 2-row
2# Belgian Candi Sugar when krausen starts to fall

1.25 oz Willamette 60 min
0.75 oz Saaz 2 min

1 oz fresh grated ginger - 15 min
1 oz bitter orange peel

Wyeast 1213 Belgian Abbey yeast

OG = 1070 i think
IBUs = 28

India Brown Ale #27

Matty liked some Dogfish Head India Brown Ale, so I made a clone.

Grains:
11# Pilsner
1# Flaked Maize
0.75# Amber Malt - used Crystal 20L
0.75# Crystal 60L
0.41# Coffee Malt
0.13# Roasted Barley
0.38# Brown Sugar (Carmelized in kettle prior to runoff.)

Hops:
1.0 oz Yakima Magnum - 60 min
1.2 oz EKG - 10 min
1.2 oz Crystal - 0 min
0.8 oz EKG - DH
0.8 oz Crystal - DH

Yeast:
White Labs 005 British Ale

Mash at 153F.

OG = 1077

Houblon #26

Man. Love me some Chouffe Houblon Double IPA Tripel. So does Ren. It's a Belgian tripel with an IPA malt backbone and extry hops. Mmmm.

So here's my take:

Grains:
6# Pale Malt (2-row)
6# Pilsener
1.5# Caramel 10L
1.5# Cane Sugar (in the last few min of boil)

Hops:
1.5 oz Glacier - 60 min
1.5 oz Glacier - 25 min
1.0 oz Saaz - 10 min
1.0 oz Centennial - DH

Yeast:
Fermentis Safale T-58

Mash at 149F

OG = 1066

Denny's Rye IPA #23, Update

I may have racked to secondary too early. Did so after only one week. Derr. My SG is only 1020, so I added a pack of US-05. We'll check it again in a week. (That was for me. I'm gonna wanna check it tonight, which is stupit.)

Cornhole Mulberry Blonde Ale #25

Just brewed up a Blonde Ale. Kinda hate the idea of one, but I think it's the style to add my backyard mulberries.

Cornhole Mulberry Blonde Ale #25
--------------------------------
6.33# 2-row
0.75# Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
0.75# Wheat Malt

1.0 oz Saaz 3.6% AA - 60 min
1.0 oz Spalt 2.0% AA - 60 min

Yeast = US-05

Secondary with mulberries. How much? I don't know yet.

Kinda missed my volume and gravity, but whatevs. I wonder what it is. I did get my burner working better. Maybe more evaporation? Seems like I don't even get my pre-boil right. (That means my efficiency is too low. Need to account for that in my recipe preparation. Today was 66%.) So eff = 66%, evap rate = something. Need to calc.

Two AG Brews in one day

Man. Been a while.
Greg and i brewed a Flemish Red on May 22 with US-05 and White Labs Belgian Sour Mix.

On June 1, I attempted Denny's Rye IPA (#23). Wheat sucks. Gave me my first stuck sparge. Only got about 4 gals. :(
Recipe:

11# 2-row
3# Rye Malt
0.5# Carapils
1.25# Caramel 60L
0.5# Wheat Malt

1.25 oz Vanguard FWH
2.0 oz Glacier 60 min
0.75 oz Vanguar 30 min
1.0 oz Vanguard 5 min
0.66 oz Perle 5 min
1.0 oz Columbus DH

Wyeast 1272 American Ale II

Then I did an Oktoberfest. Should be ready 'round Septembeer. Got an 80% efficiency with this one.

Achtoberfest #24

5.5# Pilsener
0.25# Melanoidin Malt
5.0# Munich Malt
1.0# CaraMunich Malt

0.33 oz Yakima Magnum 60 min
0.75 oz Saaz 20 min

Wyeast 2206 Bavarian Lager, at 45F, starter. Pitched on 6/2.

-----

Need to rack Cherry Wit #22 off fruit, then keg a/o bottle.

Cherry Wit #22

Sup.
Using a Briess recipe i ganked from a magazine, I made a Belgian-inspired wit.
I made a one half gallon starter of White Labs WPL400 (Belgian Wit).
Then brewed this extract based should be great in the hot summer sun.

Cherry Wit

Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.4 0.25 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
10.2 0.75 lbs. Munich Malt(light) America 1.033 10
5.1 0.38 lbs. Briess Caramel 60L America 1.034 60
67.8 5.00 lbs. Briess LME- Weizen America 1.035 4
13.6 1.00 lbs. Pale Malt(6-row) America 1.035 2

Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.33 oz. Perle Pellet 8.00 13.0 60 min.

Extras

Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
64.00 Oz Cherry Fruit 4 Days (in secondary)
0.05 Oz Irish Moss Fining 15 Min.(boil)

Notes:
Will add cherries on 5/16, then let finish. Primary only.

UPDATE:
Gonna let the beer finish in primary until 5/26. Then add cherries.

Yeast Starters

TIP: If you're going to make a half gallon starter, don't use a half gallon growler - go ahead and use a one gallon cider jug. The growler filled up too much and wanted to overflow with yeasties.
Thankfully, oxidizing the "Beer" isn't an issue, as i'm not drinking it, I'm just using it to make more yeast cells. So I just dumped it into the one galloner.

Clone Ale #21

Rain.
Not sure how I feel about it. Love it sometimes, hate it others.
Camping - been in warm rain and hated it, freezing rain and loved it.
The house - wanted to work in the yard tonight, but it's raining, which my new plants really need, so.
Decided to rebrew the Clone Ale tonight. Extract-based again. Total last-minute decision, but the CFO's gone this evening, and I feel guilty for having all empty fermenters.

SNPA Clone #20 => Clone Pale Ale #20

Wowsa.
After only two weeks, I'm drinking the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone #20 I made.
I like it so much, I've renamed it Clone Pale Ale - keeping with the Star Wars naming theme, and the word "clone" denotes an attempt at recreating a commercial beer, in the homebrewing community.
Anyway, this started out way too low for my recipe (OG = 1.040), and FG was around1.013, therefore ABV = 3.5%. Great lawnmower beer, and can't wait to make this my house pale ale, esp since it's an easy extract recipe with only a primary.

Sam Adams + Chunks of Glass = ??

http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/04/07/daily8.html

Scary.

The affected products are embossed on the base of the bottles with the following marking: The letter "N" followed by the number "35" followed by the letters "OI".

Batches 19 and 20

You may have noticed that my batch number has decreased on the right.
(You dind't notice - you don't love me.)
Well, I took out all the experimental small batches and the cider and mead.
All Beer Now.
Anyway, I made #19 Centennium Falcon IPA, and #20 Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone today.
Let's see how they turn out.

The Alderaan Alt is nice. Nice 'n bitter. Funny how it's a weird beer, then you remind yerself - it's a German pale ale, and yer like wow that's good.
Bane Stout's nice and kegged too. Been havin' that. It's a lil strong, but like I care. Went well with last night's flourless chocolate cake.
Then there's the Fingernail Ginger Ale. Man that stuff's gingery, but that's what we were going for. Next time, needs more body (more caramel) to balance it out, and maybe a secondary with fresh ginger?

Oh, and the numbered batches. Unless I get a large number of "no" votes soon, I'm gonna stick with the numbers prepended to the name. Even if it's something I've made before. (See #19 Centennium Falcon IPA above).

Yikes

Ah Mah Gah.
So Tuesday morning I get my 15# CO2 tank filled at my normal place.
$12. Awesome.
Then on the 30 mile drive home, I'm 4 houses from my own, and my CO2 tank decides to abruptly release its contents inside my Honda Element.
POW!!! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!
I fortunately was not on the highway doing 75 in rush hour traffic.
I was going like 10 mph on my residential street.
The car filled with white gas immediately, and I was able to pull over, hold my breath, put it in park and open the door and jump out.
I was so lucky this didn't happen earlier in my commute and no other cars around.
The old lady bringing in her garbage cans was quite concerned as well.
I thought at first I'd run over an IED, but quickly remembered it was just the CO2 tank.

Wednesday:
Just got back from the CO2 place.
Turns out they thought it was a 15# tank. And it's a 10#.
They even looked it up in a computer system first.
They replaced the burst disk, the CO2, and gave me $3 back.
I shoulda asked for a new pair of underwear.

Bane Stout

Got anxious, bottled all of the Galactic Senator Doppelbock (30 bottles!), and went and kegged the Bane Stout.
Had an FG of 1.014.
Therefore an ABV ofabout 7.6%.
Wow.
Is that right?
Gonna have to check my notes again.
Tastes super awesome tho.

Been going crazy washing bottles.
The Fingernail Ginger Ale took 54 bottles. Made Josh buy a case of empties. :(
Gotta plan for this Alt to go somewhere.

Next up - extract SNPA clone and an AG Centennium Falcon.
All in one day.

Malta India Black Beer Update

Oh dear. This is kinda gross. The other bottles are def for someone else to sample.

It's black and cidery. Taste is thin and a lil harsh?
Very little hop, aroma or bitterness.
Prolly around 5%, but I'd rather drink cider. Yes, it's that bad.

Pass/Fail?

Fail.

March 1 = Beer Day (Bjor Dagurn) in Iceland

Today was a two brew day.
Jim, Greg, and I came up with an Alt recipe two weeks ago. Greg brewed his last weekend, and I brewed mine today. Jim = ?

Alderaan Alt

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------
07-C Amber Hybrid Beer, Dusseldorfer Altbier

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.6 0.06 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
59.6 6.00 lbs. Pilsener Germany 1.038 2
29.8 3.00 lbs. Munich Malt Germany 1.037 8
9.9 1.00 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.90 19.1 First WH
1.00 oz. Spalt Pellet 3.20 15.4 60 min.
0.50 oz. Czech Saaz Pellet 3.20 7.7 60 min.
1.00 oz. Spalt Pellet 3.20 5.2 20 min.

Yeast
-----
Wyeast 1007 German Ale

Actual OG = 1.047 and a little less than 5 gal.

=======================================================

Then Josh had the idea for a Ginger Beer (with alcohol):

Fingernail Ginger Ale

BJCP Style and Style Guidelines
-------------------------------
08-A English Pale Ale, Standard/Ordinary Bitter

Grain/Extract/Sugar
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
95.2 6.50 lbs. Generic LME - Light Generic 1.035 7
4.8 0.33 lbs. Aromatic Malt Belgium 1.036 25

Hops
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.50 oz. Yakima Magnum Pellet 13.50 30.2 60 min.
0.50 oz. Cascade Pellet 5.90 3.5 15 min.

Extras
Amount Name Type Time
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
6.00 Oz Ginger Root Spice 60 Min.(boil)

Yeast
-----
Safale US-05

Actual OG = 1.046

=======================================================

The Spaz Bock has been in the keg almost a week, and I been having some. It's good, but should be maltier, IMHO.
Antered the Spaz Bock and the Galactic Senator Doppelbock in the Bockfest Homebrew Competition (www.bockfest.com). Man, I think I could do this for a living. Chemistry, Cooking, Patience, Beer.

Malta India Update

So, I wanted to be as low-tech as possible with this brew.
I used a 6 pack of Malta India malt beverage, an empty glass one gallon cider jug, and 1/4 teaspoon of bread yeast.
Once it was done fermenting, I dumped an ounce of table sugar into the jug, stirred it around a bit, and used a funnel to pour the solution into bottles.
Then I capped all 8 of em, and they'll be ready to sample in a week or two.
I'll letcha know....

1st Annual Midwest Winter Beer Festival

http://www.bigsplashevents.com/

Went to this Saturday 1pm - 5pm. Was fun.
Don't let the title fool you -- there wasn't anything particularly Midwest or Winter about it. Sure there were a few reiognal breweries represented, but not exclusively.
Was funny that Diageo's table was Guiness, Smithwicks, Red Stripe, and Smirnoff Ice. Maybe it was just me, or you had to be there, but c'mon guys.
Of the 76 brews, I "sampled" 13 in about 3 hours. They were 4 ounce samples, so relax:
Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre*
Dogfish Head Red & White*
Brooklyn Monster
Brooklyn Winter Ale*
Mt. Carmel Nut Brown Ale
Rogue Mocha Porter
Sierra Nevada Harvest Ale
Sierra Nevada ESB
Bell's Expidition Stout*
471 IPA*
Goose Island Matilda
Maredsous 10*
(* = New for me)

Samsquamtch

Brewday Updates

Brewing the stout turned out very well. Fly sparged for the first time in a while.
My Notepad Notes ® © ™:
mash in at 151F
4 gals strike water @ 170F
fly sparged.
< 1 gal = 1.088 @ 140F = 1.104
2 gal = 1.080 @ 125F = 1.092
4 gal = 1.062 @ 125F = 1.074
5 gal = 1.050 @ 130F = 1.063
6 gal = 1.046 @ 130F = 1.059!
Ended up with just under 5 gals. I'm ok with that, since I'll only be primarying, and then keg, after prolly 2 weeks.
BTW, I hate boiling in the dark. Took me about 6 hours today from start to finish. And got a very late start.

The Malta is down to 1.022, so that's good. Wonder if it'll taste better later. Was kinda thin, but who knows....

Oh ya. Samsquamtch. That's how Bubbles pronounces it. If you don't get that reference yet, you will.
Anyways, spent some dough at the Party Source.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine
Brewery Ommegang Hennepin
Rodenbach Grand Cru
Bell's Consecrator Double Bock (the lablels on this six are UPSIDE DOWN)
Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Bell's Hopslam
Christian Moerlein Emancapator Double Bock
Chimay Cinq Cents
Shneider and Sohn Wiesen Edel-Weisse

Brew Day's Here Again!

Today, I'm brewing up an American Stout:

Bane Stout

Grain Bill
----------
% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
80.8 10.50 lbs. Marris Otter Great Britain 1.030 2
5.8 0.75 lbs. Flaked Oats America 1.033 2
3.8 0.50 lbs. CaraMunich Malt Belgium 1.033 75
1.9 0.25 lbs. Black Patent Malt Great Britain 1.027 525
3.8 0.50 lbs. Carafa Germany 1.030 400
3.8 0.50 lbs. Chocolate Malt Great Britain 1.034 475

Hops
----
Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
0.75 oz. Yakima Magnum Pellet 13.50 43.6 45 min.

Yeast
-----
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

Also, here's a tip:
If you don't wanna crack open a bottle of champagne for brunch, a half and half mix of Blue Moon Blegian White and OJ rocks.

Malta India

A couple of weeks ago, I read about people using Malta Goya for yeast starters.
If you want more yeast cells to pitch into your wort, you can either buy more yeast, or make a starter. It's usually a couple liters of low gravity (1.030) wort and you let it ferment out for a few days. Then you have like more yeast.
So anyway, Jimmy had asked about a "Grocery Store" beer - one made entirely from ingredients you can buy at any normal grocer.

Last week, I find myself at the local Bigg's buying a 6 of Malta India and a 10 of Malta El Sol.

Today, I created my latest experiment.
I added 72 oz (6 bottles) of Malta India to a one gallon carboy. Took a gravity (1.055). Degassed with the drill attachment. Added water to 1.050. Dunno the volume. Added 1/4 tsp Hodgson Mill active dry yeast, shook to mix. Beer.

I'll keep you updated.



UPDATE:
I was reading more about olive oil aeration in wort tonight. So I ran downstairs, and dipped a sanitized scissors in some olive oil and stirred in just a touch of EVOO. See, the olive oil provides molecular chains for the yeast that they would have made themselves with oxygen, for the growth phase.

Aaron's Got a Big Ol' Butt - Oh YEA.

It's here. Leinenkugel's Bigg Butt Doppelbock. Got a sixer at Bigg's.

Christian Moerlein

So tonight at the Pavilion in Mt. Adams, the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company will be tapping its new Emancipator Doppelbock. Can't wait.
Formerly brewed/owned by the Hudepohl Brewing Company, the Moerlein series of super-premium German lagers are quite a local historical delicacy. Viewed by some as local swill, it was named after a local pre-Prohibition brewer/blacksmith. The Moerlein family immigrated to the US in 1841 during one of the largest immigrations in US history that brought many rich, well-educated Germans. Christian opened the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1853, and it became one of the most successful in the US, pre-Prohibition. Once that 20th century Dark Age was over, the brewery did not survive. Hudepohl brought the name back in 1981. After a few more ownership changes, it's finally owned by a Cincinnatian again, Gregory Hardman, and it's known as the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company.
Another interesting tidbit - the house that is known as Christy's in Clifton was a wedding present for Christian's daughter and is known as the Moerlein Mansion.
Now, I'm not a fan of most of their beers, but I still want to support local breweries. And I do love me some doppelbock. My favorite is Leinenkugel's Big Butt, though not the perfect example of the style.
My doppel (Galactic Senator) is about ready for secondary.Once I do that, I'll be lagering both the Spaz Back and the Senator for about a month.

Immersion Wort Chiller Project

So, with this new house, I get to learn/teach myself some new skills.
One that I want to learn is copper working.
I hate the utility sink in our basement. I wanna replace it with a double basin stainless sink, AND the friggin' hot and cold taps are switched. It's only like 15 feet from the hot water heater so whoever installed it was a goddam genius.

Last brewday, I was chilling the Galactic Senator down to pitching temps, and I realized a pre-chiller might come in handy. I mean the hose water was cold, but in the summer....
So I looked up how much copper I'd need, what size, etc., etc.
Here's my parts list:

- 50' of 3/8" Type L copper refrigeration tubing.
- 40' 3/8" ID vinyl tubing.
- 2 female hose connectors.
- 10 stainless Steel hose clamps.
Total Cost of these supplies < $80.

I also got a new blowtorch, some flux, lead-free solder, etc. And I learned a new skill.

I made two 25' wort chillers, similiar to the one I already owned. I used a corny keg to wrap the already coiled coil around and get the shape right. I used my older chiller as a guide for the bends. Then I lightly sanded, fluxed, and sweated the copper along the long edge where the in and the out touch. The idea is that water will come up the hose, into the prechiller sitting in a cooler full of ice water, the chilled water will then run into the immersion chiller in the wort, cooling it faster and more. Sweet.

Bell's Hopslam Ale

... and it's here.
Each year, Bell's releases this yumminess upon us.
Hopslam is available in Cincy at finer beer stores (IGA has it), it costs $15 per 6 pack.
It's been compared to a super Two-Hearted Ale, but I'd say it's on its own. THA uses Centennial, HS uses comething else. I've read that it uses Simcoe as a dry hop.
With an Original Gravity of 1.087, it starts as a high gravity wort, and ends at 10% alcohol by volume with a Final Gravity of 1.014. That FG results in a nice malty sweetness that balances the crazy alcohol content.
For a double/imperial IPA such as this, you KNOW to expect hoppiness. But with a name like Hopslam, you get it. I wasn't able to find a good clone recipe on any of the boards I frequent. But once I find one, and hops aren't so ridiculously priced, I'mma make it. Hoppiness.

Norwood Punch Update

Alias - Norhooch.

Racked to secondary this yummy treat. Also dissolved 3 Campden tablets (potassium metabisulfite) in hot water and added that to the punch. That'll keep it from fermenting further, so it keeps its sugar.

Campden tabs are used 1 tab per gallon to sanitize water, wine, cider, beer, etc.
You can use it to sanitize must to kill off wild yeasts. But you must wait 24 hours for the silfites to dissipate before pitching fresh yeast, lest it dies too.

Should be ready to bottle soon. Will remain still (flat).

Bock, Bock Bock

Last Sunday, I brewed up a doppelbock (Galactic Senator) with my new 10 gal kettle that Mrs. Santa brought me.
Hit my gravities (OG = 1.094) and my temps.
Racked my Spaz Bock (Empire Strikes Bock) into a corny keg, for secondarying.
And I racked the doppelbock wort onto the Spaz's yeast cake, Wyeast Bavarian Lager 2206. They're oth chugging at 46F right now.
Realized I could've dropped my wort a lil faster and a lot lower with a second wort chiller dunked in ice water, placed in line with the WC in the wort itself.
So I made one. Cost about $40 from Home Depot. (I HATE that place, but they had copper cheaper than Lowes.) I'll post pics sometime.

Link of the Month:
LOL Cats

Racked the Norwood Punch to secondary, on top of 3 crushed Campden tablets (sodium metabisulfite) dissolved in cooled, boiled water. Gravity dropped a touch since last time I'd checked, but it shouldn't drop anymore, that's what the Campden's fer.

Anchor Brewing's Christmas Ale 2007

Christmas Ale 2007

ABV = Varies
Details = Top Secret

Too funny.

This is the 33rd year for this seasonal brew. It's only sold in January.
The pour revleas a dark, Coca Cola colored body and a nice head.
Sweet aroma slides into a complex flavor of citrus, spice, apples, clove?

Good and yummy. But did not go well with my taco soup. Once that stopsbloating my belly, I'm gonna have at least one more.

Let's Review, Shall We?

It's time to review the gravity of the Norwood Punch.
1.021
Still pretty sweet.
It started out at 1.052, so it's at 4.00% ABV. Hm. Maybe I wanna stop it fermenting soon.
Starts off with a sharp cidery bite, which as far as I can tell is just CO2, b/c once it settles down a bit, it's not too in-yer-face.
This over some ice cubes on a back porch in the summer. In Norwood. Can't wait.

Then there's the latest Centennium Falcon IPA. Now, this time, I used 0.75 ounce of Yakima Magnum hops as my bittering addition. And I used one packet of Safale US-05 instead of Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale yeast. I still get a bit of an off taste. Don't know if it's the Yakima Magnum or what. Maybe more dry or aroma hops. Think I could use a second opinion. Yep. Same taste.