Beer Flights

Wednesday evening, two weeks ago, a friend Kris and I had a tasting flight, with  our wings.

Beer Flight

When you make your own 6 pack, the beer is on the self, unchilled. So in order to attain the proper operating temperature is a short time, I converted a waste basket into a cooler. Not to worry, It was lined with a bag and I scrubbed it for several minutes in the tub. I grabbed a handful of salt packages and emptied them in the mix too. All was chilled in half an hour.

Instant Cooler

No pics of wings or cigars. When you are in Miramar FL, you have to go here for wings : http://www.jerseyswings.com.

And when you want a smoke, you have to go here:
http://www.aficionadoscigars.com/index.php/photos

I had an Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur and Kris had an Armondo's blend. Kris normally makes it about 1/3 of the way but this one made it to the end. Next time I am at Aficionados, I will focus my attention on the house blended cigars because they are excellent.

Hoppy Clouds

I go down to check on my project and all I can thing of is Bob Ross painting Happy Clouds.

I have Happy Yeast and a nice cap.

Had I watered back up to five gallons, all my hops would be on the floor because I don't use a blow off tube. In a week, I will siphon to the secondary and then add a gallon of water to the trub to separate the beer from the soupy mixture of yeast, hops and wort, that will by then have settled on the bottom.

Brew #20 Porter #17, Take 3

Brew Date: Dec 19th, 2012

Here we go again. You know by now that something here is not like the other. After making a poor choice of substituting chocolate rye for chocolate wheat on brew #19, I am putting the wheat back, and then adding 3 lb of spraymalt extract to the boil. My mash ton can only hold so much grain and until I get this under control, higher ABV's will have to come by way of extract.

sTevo's Porter, take 3:

10 lbs 2-row
3 lb Plain Extra Light Spraymalt
3/4 lb crystal 80L
1/2 lb roasted barley 300L
1/4 lb chocolate wheat 1000L

1 oz saaz @ 4.9%
1 oz tettnang @ 4.8%
1 oz kent golding @ 4.5%

Safale US#05 dry yeast


Hop Addition Schedule:
Upon Boil after Skimming
1/2 oz saaz  1/2 oz tett t=20
1/2 oz saaz  1/2 oz tett t=40
1/3 oz Kent t=55
dry hop 2/3 kent after active fermentation settles down.

Rinsing Adds ~1 Gallon

Pours like Syrup

My concoction  boiled over on wifey's glass cook top which was a major pain and caused a lengthy delay. I had to cool down the wort, siphon it in a carboy, clean the glass using razor blades and ceramic cleaner. Then I started the boil all over after the mess was cleaned up, an hour and a half later. On the plus side, wifey was to tired to get involved.

Wort hit that cook top and instantly caramelized and then turned to charcoal. Had I continued, the smoke alarms would have started blaring. I used two pots to boil in on the second round so I would not repeat this operation, even though the dross from the break hit the cook top and flowed to the floor. I still have to remove the oven door face to clean out the inside. The blob flowed in through the vents as it proceeded downward.

I was up till midnight getting it done. On the plus side, I got to use my wort chiller twice in one evening.

Deconstruction

Jupiter SAS 767 '89

In order to fully understand something, you must fully deconstruct it. Then put it back together piece by piece.

In some ways the same goes for an excellent brew. You must know all of the components and how to assembly them properly. Each part has its proper place in the assembly. The trick is to figure this out, with minimal rework.

So, now that all of the parts cleaned are cleaned up and ready to be assembled. Will it play? Not without fine tuning and regulation.

Happy Thanksgiving

Have taken way too much time off from brewing. In the meantime, here is a pic of my daughter getting all artsy fartsy with the fruits. Plus, it is 5:00 PM somewhere.

#18 Turned Out Just Fine

 A few pictures, hic!

Bottling Day #18

 Notice the little coke bottle.

Quaker IPA @ 3 Weeks Old

 Perfect recipe. We were tasting it at 2-1/2 weeks and it was good then, even had some bubbles too.

Back By Popular Demand sTevo's Porter

We'll have to see if the judges like.

Update: They didn't like it, as a Porter. The mistake (cause of low ratings) I made was using chocolate rye instead of wheat or barley. Essentially this batch turned out more like an English Ale. Recipe #17 was definitely a Porter.

Porter # 19

 Brew Date: Sept 1st, 2012

Joined the Brewers Guild and had a great time at the August meeting at Smith Mountain Lake. Later this month there will be a Porter competition so I can recycle recipe #17 because it was so good. While I was at the shop I noticed that Chris restocked the shelves with a few more roasted varieties of grain.

Because I am never content to leave a good thing alone, I am substituting the chocolate wheat with chocolate rye. Will it still be a Porter? I don't know, will have to consult the experts.

I need get busy and hope this can be ready in time.
 
sTevo's Porter Take 2:

10 lbs 2-row
3/4 lb crystal 80L
1/2 lb roasted barley 300L
1/4 lb chocolate rye 500L

1 oz saaz @ 4.9%
1 oz tettnang @ 4.8%
1 oz kent golding @ 4.5%

Safale US#05 dry yeast

Update:

From the Beer Advocate http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/80

Baltic Porter

Description:
Porters of the late 1700's were quite strong compared to today’s standards, easily surpassing 7% alcohol by volume. Some brewers made a stronger, more robust version, to be shipped across the North Sea, dubbed a Baltic Porter. In general, the style’s dark brown color covered up cloudiness and the smoky/roasted brown malts and bitter tastes masked brewing imperfections. The addition of stale ale also lent a pleasant acidic flavor to the style, which made it quite popular. These issues were quite important given that most breweries were getting away from pub brewing and opening up breweries that could ship beer across the world.

Average alcohol by volume (abv) range: 7.0-10.0%

 ---

OK, looks like I am on the light side of the ABV.

Feel The Grain, See How It Converted

Sometimes it can feel doughy. Today, only empty husks and little spouts.

I Need A Bigger Juice Box

 I want to go for a higher ABV but the box is too small. I need a 7.5 gallon one to help the mash.

My Latest Arrangement

It's all about ergonomics.

Strained Bits

At the learn to brew day I noticed one of the guy straining the flow  coming out of his sparging unit. So I figure I could do a similar thing.

Brew Class; Quaker IPA #18

Have a couple of students today to learn the technique of brewing full grain with minimal investment.

Today's recipe #18 Quaker IPA

10 lbs two row
1 lb flaked oats
1/4 lb crystal malt
1/8 lb chocolate malt

1 oz Gelena
1 oz Cascade
1 oz U.S. Kent Golding

safale US-05 dry yeast

$31.22

Today we start with an IPA and make a small tweek. I am hoping the oats will provide a silky creaminess and the crystal and choc will provide a hint of flavor for this otherwise dry recipe.

The hop will provide enough bitterness for this light grain bill that it might be a tongue bare knuckle beat down. We will see.

Pics to follow.

Can you see the rolled oats?

3.5 gal at 170 deg F

Room for ~1.5 Gal @ 210 deg F

Hops additions every 20 Min, 90 Min Boil

Student of the Minimalist Style

Her Da

 

The aroma, you love it or hate it.

And if you hate it, it probably means you don't like beer, foreign action adventure movies, or snarking on political blogs either. Speaking of political blogs...Paul Ryan is welcome to drink my beer any day...current occupier...not. We can haz a beer summit.

Too Busy to Brew

Here are a couple of pics from our Long Island vacation.

Bigfoot Ale

Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale is a barley-wine with a big hops. It competes with Dogfish Head 90 min IPA.  

 Hanging out in Uncle Marks Kitchen.Check out that nice amber-red color.

Seems that whenever two or more are gathered, lobsters or clams make their happy ending.

Hope to be brewing soon.

It's All About The Hops

Says It All

Who Needs Filtering?

That's What I'm Talking About

When you find a good beer, you need to make a note of it. The Imperial IPA by Green Flash Brewing Co. from San Diego, CA is one to try.

It's a good thing we have a good buyer at the market in Roanoke.

After this one we tried one that had Caraway Seed in it. About an hour later I experienced Anaphylactic shock. I'll not be trying that one again because it wrecked my whole evening.

sTevo's Porter #17 Is A Hit

Randy said " How much does it cost?" Then said "That's what I'll be asking for, what do you call it?

John said "That's a man's beer." John likes Hefeweizens but I have seen him drink Guinness.


Walt said "Is there anymore of that stuff?" We killed six 24's.

I can't remember what Dan, Sam, & Kris said but all the bottles and glasses were empty.

sTevo's Porter #17

Matt wouldn't try it, he drinks bud lite.

I guess I will be brewing more in a couple weeks.

Bottling Day #17

Porter gets bottled and it is good.

Recipe #17 is a keeper.

I tried some and I think it could be served without carbonation. So I added 1/3 of a cup of charging sugar instead of the usual 5/8 of a cup. I like a few bubbles but recent overcharging has given me some perspective. The last bud-rice that I poured was 99% foam for about ten minutes. Obviously there were some fermentables in that batch.

My next round is going to be an IPA with a medium level of hops and a hint of crystal.

She Caught Me On The Last Bottle

It used to be that I peeled labels on recycled bottles. Not any more.

Make Cold Beer Colder Quick

What to do when your beer isn't cold enough and you don't have and hour to wait. Wrap a napkin or paper towel around the bottle and wet it. Stick it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes and voila! Ice crystals in your beer.

It was about 90 deg F the other day and the icy wrap on the bottle lasted about 3 minutes.

Stand-in. Waiting on yeast again.

Brew #17 Porter

 Brew Date: May 18th, 2012

No Friday night at the fights for me. Just domestic chores and kitchen duty.

I figured it's high time to develop a malty flavor and tone down the hoppiness. On-line you can find a range of recipes for Porters so, as the Command-in-Chiefs girlfriend that we read about is a composite, so is this recipe. Note: for economic reasons I start with 10lbs of 2 row to get the discount price.

sTevo's Porter:

10 lbs 2-row
3/4 lb crystal 80L
1/2 lb roasted barley 300L
1/4 lb chocolate wheat 500L

1 oz saaz @ 4.9%
1 oz tettnang @ 4.8%
1 oz kent golding @ 4.5%

Safale US#05 dry yeast

The other day PDB brewed his #2 batch using the full grain method, solo. I called to check on his progress and he was ten minutes or so into mashing. He had the mash going on in the boiling pot which was running over. His mash was sticky and hard to stir. I lent him my Igloo cooler and it skipped his mind so he forgot to mash in it. After a short conversation I convinced him to transfer the mash into the cooler in order to gain and extra 1/2 gallon of volume. From there I believe all when well.

He confessed to needing a wort chiller because he didn't like staying up to midnight waiting for his wort to cool down in the sink. I told him that it took 16 batches for me to come to Jesus on this piece of equipment. He said "Ah a Conversion Experience". Yes there is a conversion going on...PDB is becoming a Brewing Monk.

For the sake of being redundant, here are the steps to brew, using wifey's pots and pans:

Mash in the Juice Box

Strain and Rinse Using

 Wiefy's Broccoli Steamer

Pour Wort into Boiling Pot

 Skim The Scum Off The Top

Add Hops Per Sched

Hop Addition Schedule:
Upon Boil after Skimming
1/2 oz saaz t=0
1/2 oz saaz t=20
1/3 oz tett t=40
1/3 oz tett t=60
1/3 oz tett t=80
1/3 oz Kent t=90
 dry hop 2/3 kent after active fermententation settles down 

Employ The Coveted Chiller

Bottling Day #16

So I bottled the reformulated bud-rice. To ease the pain of the whole bottle wash and rinse routine I picked up a rinsing gismo that attaches to the sink faucet. What a life saver.

Bottle Rinser

Bud-Rice #16 Revisited

OK, the joke is on me. The Bud-Rice taste like a cereal box. I shouldn't be surprised as it has Cap'n Crunch in it. What to do with 5 gallons of swill? I know. I can blend it with 2 lbs of crystal and 2lbs of rye, 2 more oz of hops and a pack of Safale US-05.

And so I ran a mini batch the other night. I tell you, working in smaller quantities is a lot easier. It has given me the idea of revisiting Batch #6. I will use a grain bag to mash and rinse and it will be a lot easier. Might even use a hop bag to put the Galena bittering hops in. This way the bitter won't overpower the flavor and aroma.

So I processed the batch and then go on-line to  review the crystal specs and it says the crystal has no enzymes in it. Now what, Joke number two? Not to worry. That sucker was bubbling away like it was made with two row.

Bud-Rice Fixer

 PDB has my two air traps so a Mason jar will have  to do.

While I was at the shop the other day I picked up this present with some of Mother's birthday money. In ~15 minutes this guy had the wort down to ~85 deg F with a very low water flow rate. It is a thing of beauty. You also get to experience heat exchanger fouling first hand. It you don't keep the wort agitated, the water temp drops of quickly.

Wort Chiller

I also grabbed a bottle rinser. Pics next time I bottle. Then I returned to the shop with PDB and he grabber a rinser too. Oh man does that make bottling day so much easier. PDB avoided all the misery of rising 48 bottles and was raring to go when I arrived to help him bottle his first batch Friday evening.

Lunch Hour

It used to be that you could have a few beers on lunch hour. Not any more with all of the restrictive policies. Get caught with beer-breath and you are off to a piss test and a pink slip. Well they can't stop me from going to the brew shop. Even made a map so I could get there and back in an hour. Cuts out about 10 traffic lights.

Point A to Point B in 15 Minutes

Note From Uncle Jim

Uncle Steve,
Benny Boy and I just returned from the Homebrew Emporium!  We are planning to make Oatmeal Stout on Sunday while it is raining.  Here is the recipe:

10 lbs British pale ales malt
1 lb flaked oats (1 L)
3/4 lb chocolate malt (350 L)
3/4 lb victory malt (28 L)
1/2 lb crystal (80 L)
1/2 lb black roasted barley (500 L)

2 oz Kent Goldings 5% AA

11 grams Safale S-04

Working the yeast starter now.

I plan on mashing for 90 minutes to get the most out of the oats.
Cheers,
Uncle Jim

Uncle Jim's New Mash Tun

It all started about ~1987 when Uncle Pete started home brewing. Then a couple of decades later I started brewing  in 2010. Uncle Jim tasted and said, "It is Good" and so he started in 2011. Uncle Jim won't do anything without the best equipment though. Last August he acquired a soda keg system with 2 kegs and a CO2 tank. Then he got a 10 gallon mash tun with false bottom. Oh, and then he made a wort chiller. Below are some pics of Uncle Jim's new toy.


Uncle Jim will be sharing his recipes, methods, success stories and best of all, how not to brew. I have made some small mistakes but I have never dumped a batch, excepting the Horse Grain #2. That was a learning exercise.

I. Need. One.

I am not jealous, I am happy for Uncle Jim.

False Bottom

False Bottom

   

Little Juice Box Behind Big Juice Box

 

I Need One Of These

Blonde #16 Bud-Lite

Why on God's green Earth would I try to brew Bud-Lite?

Observation: The recipe cost $17 for the real parts and $7 for the fake parts.

Real Parts:
5 lbs 2-row

1 oz Hallertau (sub for Saaz that was sold out)
Saflager w-34/70

Fake Parts:
2lb-10 oz Minute Rice
14 oz box Cap'n Crunch (Corn substitute)

I mashed on the stove top and I think it is too much work. I will go back to the mash tun and pay more attention to the water draw. The rice did not appear to convert as much as the cereal. The cereal completely dissolved. I am wondering what happened to all the cereal ingredients like thiamin mononitrate and riboflaven? Was it the crusty stuff that precipitated and hardened on the foamy scum ring? No, I think that was the Yellow #5 and the Yellow #6.

This beer and no color at all except that it is blonde. Very blonde. Goes with the target audience. Girls. Oh no, now I am going to be called a sexist.

Next time I try a silly experiment with rice, I will use puffed rice to get the same 100 percent conversion. Can't say what this is going to do to the taste, or even if the carbohydrates get converted to fermentable sugars or not.

The moral of the story is that Bud-Lite brewed at my house has Cap'n Crunch in it. It is children's beer.

This Is What The Recipe Calls For

Oh Man, I Screwed Up

Where's the Cap'n?

Meticulous Record Keeping

For Blonde's Only

Bottling Day #15

Bottling doesn't get too much attention because it is a chore. To make things easier, try to use as many 24 oz bottles as you can. One of the first things that you need to have before you brew is a container to put your final product in. I am aiming for a keg system but until that materializes, I am stuck with bottles.

Another consideration with bottles: rinse then soon after emptying them. It is a lot easier to wash clean ones. There is a gadget, which I still need to get, that attaches to the kitchen faucet to make rinsing much easier. Another thing: I don't use the sanitizer, just soap and lots of water, and I go for the high hops. If the early Colonizer's beer survived the trip to India, then mine will last two weeks in a bottle.

30 Bottles, Mostly 24 OZ

Siphon With Bottling Wand

27 Bottles, Should Last 2 Pool Nights

One of the Last #14's