Saturday, December 5, 2009
Need to brew something.
Just realized I have very little beer to drink, have a beer fermenting but it's for a friend. Gonna need to get something going! Thinking a Stout or that weisbeer I keep saying I'm going to brew. Any Ideas?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
10 Beers in 6 months!
Just realized after my last post that I hit double digits for brews! Thats gotta be a milestone worth noting. First brew was May 1st, number 10 was October 30th, 6 months 10 brews of about 5 gallons each, thats 50 gallons. Hmmmmm one would think to make things come out even it should have been 60 gallons, 10 gallons a month sounds right.
Must step up production and make that goal!
Must step up production and make that goal!
Three more beers and a stuck sparge!
Made an American Brown with flavor/aroma hops from a friends yard, shes not sure what kind they are but the beer is good! Kegged it on Oct 21st.
Father in law was up from GA. and wanted to brew so we made JB's Special Wheat on Oct 5th, bottled it on Oct 30th. Hope to drink it with him when we meet in TN. later this month.
Then disaster stuck! On Oct 30th I tried an all grain American lager. Used 2 lbs. of flaked corn in the mash and could not get it to drain! Took FOR! EV! ER! Sparged as well as I could but it ended up quite light. Had an OG of 1.040, shooting for a 1.050, oh well, it should still taste better than what you can buy in a can right? I'll let you know in a few months.
Father in law was up from GA. and wanted to brew so we made JB's Special Wheat on Oct 5th, bottled it on Oct 30th. Hope to drink it with him when we meet in TN. later this month.
Then disaster stuck! On Oct 30th I tried an all grain American lager. Used 2 lbs. of flaked corn in the mash and could not get it to drain! Took FOR! EV! ER! Sparged as well as I could but it ended up quite light. Had an OG of 1.040, shooting for a 1.050, oh well, it should still taste better than what you can buy in a can right? I'll let you know in a few months.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Overdue Update.
Have not updated the blog in quite some time, here is a quick catch-up.
My Helles Bock had some issues with carbonation. Tried to force carbonate in a keg, then bottle. (note to self, if you are entering bottled beer in a competition, bottle carbonate!) I overcabed then when bottled it actually came out undercarbed. All in all, I liked the beer and for my first stab at a lager I took 5th place in the "Border Worts II" Mia bock-Helles bock competition. (6 beers entered but hey, not last!)
Kegged "Red Ass Ale II" Killed the keg earlier this week. (yes I had some help) Never compared it to the original, didn't think I could go thru it so fast. Good beer though, everyone liked it.
Kegged "Proud to be an American Pale Ale" for the festival of flavors taste testing a couple of weeks ago. Went over well, wasn't as hoppy as some like but I liked it. Not a lot of testers so I came home with most of the keg. Guess I'll have to drink the rest. :-)
Brewed "My Brown Eyed Honey II" honey oat brown ale on Aug, 19th. Secondary on Sep. 8th and bottled on Sep. 20th. Should be ready to taste when my inlaws come for a visit next week.
Plan on brewing something tomorrow or Sunday, not sure what but the FedEx guy just delivered my new Barley Crusher so I feel obligated to try it out. Maybe another try for a blonde ale or American brown. Hmmmmm.....
My Helles Bock had some issues with carbonation. Tried to force carbonate in a keg, then bottle. (note to self, if you are entering bottled beer in a competition, bottle carbonate!) I overcabed then when bottled it actually came out undercarbed. All in all, I liked the beer and for my first stab at a lager I took 5th place in the "Border Worts II" Mia bock-Helles bock competition. (6 beers entered but hey, not last!)
Kegged "Red Ass Ale II" Killed the keg earlier this week. (yes I had some help) Never compared it to the original, didn't think I could go thru it so fast. Good beer though, everyone liked it.
Kegged "Proud to be an American Pale Ale" for the festival of flavors taste testing a couple of weeks ago. Went over well, wasn't as hoppy as some like but I liked it. Not a lot of testers so I came home with most of the keg. Guess I'll have to drink the rest. :-)
Brewed "My Brown Eyed Honey II" honey oat brown ale on Aug, 19th. Secondary on Sep. 8th and bottled on Sep. 20th. Should be ready to taste when my inlaws come for a visit next week.
Plan on brewing something tomorrow or Sunday, not sure what but the FedEx guy just delivered my new Barley Crusher so I feel obligated to try it out. Maybe another try for a blonde ale or American brown. Hmmmmm.....
Friday, August 14, 2009
Hippo Helles Bock is in the Keg!
Transfered the Helles Bock to the keg. Sample tasted great! Nice and smooth and clean, hope to transfer some to a few bottles for entering in the Border Worts II competition. Must have the bottles turned in by the 21st. Hope I can get the carbonation right, if it's wrong I may have to drink the whole 5 gallons myself.....
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
American Pale Ale
Brewed an American Pale Ale on Sunday. Plan on kegging it for the brew clubs sample day in Sept.
So at the moment I have a Helles Bock lagering in the fridge, a Red Ale in the secondary, an American Pale Ale in the primary and a Blonde Ale bottle conditioning. I HAVE NOTHING DRINKABLE!!!! What's up with that? Must do better scheduling! Oh well, I'm on call this week anyway, the Blonde should be ready next week. Tried it last week but it had little to no carbonation.
So at the moment I have a Helles Bock lagering in the fridge, a Red Ale in the secondary, an American Pale Ale in the primary and a Blonde Ale bottle conditioning. I HAVE NOTHING DRINKABLE!!!! What's up with that? Must do better scheduling! Oh well, I'm on call this week anyway, the Blonde should be ready next week. Tried it last week but it had little to no carbonation.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Red Ass Ale II to the secondary.
About 5 days over due but it's finally in the secondary. Could have just bottled it I suppose but I want it to clairify some, plus there seemed to be about a half gallon of trub. I'll give it a week or so and keg it. It'll be my first keg.
Aslo put the Blonde in refrigeration, may try one tonight.....
Aslo put the Blonde in refrigeration, may try one tonight.....
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bottle Bomb?
OK, I've read about bottle bombs on brew boards and heard people talk about them but it's always been while the bottles were sitting and bottle carbonating (too much sugar seems to be the main cause.) Hadn't had this problem myself, but I took out a bottle of the blonde ale that is currently bottle conditioning. The last bottle I filled was only half full, I figured that would be a good one to check the carbonating progress. Didn't refrigerate, just took out a frosted mug to put it in. Applied the bottle opener and the thing started to gush! Pushed the cap down with my thumb and ran for the sink. Lifted my thumb and the thing went off like a shook up champagne bottle, almost lost an eye! Anyway, cleaned up my mess and tried the beer, not bad, tasted kind of flat for all the carbonation.
Not sure if it was the half bottle, not refrigerating or something else, I'll wait till the weekend and try another, open it OUTSIDE this time....
Not sure if it was the half bottle, not refrigerating or something else, I'll wait till the weekend and try another, open it OUTSIDE this time....
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Smell or Aroma?
Walked into the fermenting chamber, (spare bedroom), looking for something unrelated to beer, (yes that happens sometimes), and there was a very strong sickly/sweet odor. Upon further investigation I found it was coming out of my airlock! This can't be good! Posted to the club message board and response I got was "All is well. Let it finish and drink it." OK, I'll wait. Could be the yeast I used, it was Safale 05, never used that before, also this was my first partial mash. Keeping my fingers crossed......
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, Brewday!
Cooked up another batch of Red Ass Ale yesterday. Ran out of propane while I was bringing it up to a boil, no problem, I'll just get the tank from the grill right? WRONG! It lasted about 10 min. Had to use the stove. Actaully got permission from Maria! I was in a jam, gotta love that girl! Note to self...."MAKE SURE THERE IS ALWAYS A FULL TANK OF PROPANE LAYING AROUND!"
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Bottled the Blonde
52 blonde's in bottles! Had a friend spend the night over the weekend while his wife and mine had a night out. The spare bedroom doubles as my fermenting chamber so when his wife was over the next day I promptly told her that her husband slept with a blond. Would have been better now that there are 52 blonds in the room now instead of just one big one!
As long as I was cleaning and sanitizing everything in site I decided to go ahead and put my helles bock in the secondary. Supposed to bring the temp up to 70' for 12 to 24 hours to get rid of some flavor, (I'll look it up and let you know what is is later.) Then crash cool to close to 32'. Dropped the temp on the basement fridge to the coldest setting, will put the carboy in in the morning.
Think I'll have a beer!
As long as I was cleaning and sanitizing everything in site I decided to go ahead and put my helles bock in the secondary. Supposed to bring the temp up to 70' for 12 to 24 hours to get rid of some flavor, (I'll look it up and let you know what is is later.) Then crash cool to close to 32'. Dropped the temp on the basement fridge to the coldest setting, will put the carboy in in the morning.
Think I'll have a beer!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Bottles
I have heard it said "You know you are a home brewer when.... You buy bottles of beer more for the ease of label removal than the taste of the beer."
Spent last night cleaning bottles getting ready to bottle "The Blonde." Some of the bottle were "Belle" pale ales and porters, these labels were put on with some sort of epoxy or maybe cement! Soaked in soapy water, that usually lets the label slip right off but noooooo.
One had some gunk on the bottom that I scrubbed and scrubbed with a bottle brush. After about 15 minute I realized the gunk was on the outside of the bottle. Should have enough for the batch of blonde ale now, hope to bottle this week.
Spent last night cleaning bottles getting ready to bottle "The Blonde." Some of the bottle were "Belle" pale ales and porters, these labels were put on with some sort of epoxy or maybe cement! Soaked in soapy water, that usually lets the label slip right off but noooooo.
One had some gunk on the bottom that I scrubbed and scrubbed with a bottle brush. After about 15 minute I realized the gunk was on the outside of the bottle. Should have enough for the batch of blonde ale now, hope to bottle this week.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
July Brew Club Meeting
Went to my first brew club meeting yesterday, GREAT time, would have been better if I wasn't on call for the weekend. The host brewed with his brand new home made all-electric all-grain set up. He really put some time into it, looks cool and works fantastic. Ment to take a picture, never got around to it. Lots of beer to sample and we even did a taste test on commercial American wheat beers, Don't remember what beer won.... Looking forward to the August meet, not sure if I'll enter my Hippo HellesBock in the Border Worts II competition or not. May just drink it! :-)
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Beer Store
This is a little late but I want to get it in here.
The last weekend in June my nephew got married in Minnesota. So what is my first thought when planning this trip? Stop at a couple of brew pubs on the way and make a trip to the Midwest Supplies beer store in Minneapolis! Well, plans changed and I didn't make it to ANY pubs or even a bar, but I did make it to the Beer Store.
Now I've always used the phrase 'beer store'. "Hey, I'm going to the beer store for a box of beer." Or "Wanna go to the beer store? I need a box of beer." And so forth, but now that I have started brewing my own and have been to what I here brewers call a LHBS "Local Home Brew Store" the term has a whole new meaning. I was like a kid in a candy store! Every where I turned there was something I needed! I was a little intimidated by the other shoppers, they all seemed to know what they were doing and what they needed. I was walking around with my jaw wide open and my wife kept telling me to quit drooling.
I actually did have a list and a budget to stay under, but who knew there was so much other stuff that I had to have! In the end I did stay under budget by getting this instead of that and less of the other for more of something else. Too short on time and money for a field trip like that but it saved me some shipping on the big items like carboys and bulk dry extract.
(note to self.. bulk extract is not worth the hassle of splitting up, buy what you need when you need it!)
I do have the supplies for quite a few brews now so I need to step up production. Ah well, a brewers work is never done..... :-D
The last weekend in June my nephew got married in Minnesota. So what is my first thought when planning this trip? Stop at a couple of brew pubs on the way and make a trip to the Midwest Supplies beer store in Minneapolis! Well, plans changed and I didn't make it to ANY pubs or even a bar, but I did make it to the Beer Store.
Now I've always used the phrase 'beer store'. "Hey, I'm going to the beer store for a box of beer." Or "Wanna go to the beer store? I need a box of beer." And so forth, but now that I have started brewing my own and have been to what I here brewers call a LHBS "Local Home Brew Store" the term has a whole new meaning. I was like a kid in a candy store! Every where I turned there was something I needed! I was a little intimidated by the other shoppers, they all seemed to know what they were doing and what they needed. I was walking around with my jaw wide open and my wife kept telling me to quit drooling.
I actually did have a list and a budget to stay under, but who knew there was so much other stuff that I had to have! In the end I did stay under budget by getting this instead of that and less of the other for more of something else. Too short on time and money for a field trip like that but it saved me some shipping on the big items like carboys and bulk dry extract.
(note to self.. bulk extract is not worth the hassle of splitting up, buy what you need when you need it!)
I do have the supplies for quite a few brews now so I need to step up production. Ah well, a brewers work is never done..... :-D
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Born on the 4th of July
Hippo Helles Bock, born on date: 4 July 2009
First try with a lager. Most things I've read on this style call it a "Spring Beer" I think because it's easier to hit the lower temperatures needed for fermenting with a lager yeast. But the brew club is having a helles bock / maibock competition in August so I figured I'd give it a try.
Spent Friday night splitting up a #50 bag of dry extract into smaller bags. Not sure that was worth the money saved for buying in bulk. For those who don't know what dry extract is. About the consistency of flour but gets very sticky when it comes in contact with any moisture, even just the moisture of your skin. Then it gets hard as cement, fun to clean up.
Anyway, so I brewed the helles bock, changed location to the back deck due to the fantastic weather. A bit warm so I had to stay hydrated, dug into a box of Point beer for that, bought it for the bottles. Same price as buying a case of new bottles, you do have to empty them though. Tough job. All in all not a bad beer. May have gotten too hydrated, after brewing, grilling chicken and cleaning up, Maria wanted to go see the fireworks, not sure how long after that, she woke me up and told me to go to bed. Not sure, but I think we missed the fireworks....
When I was researching helles bock recipes, it looks like there is no particular ingredients special to this beer, I was looking for specific hops, grains and/or yeast, seems everyone uses something different as long as it falls in the correct range for gravity, bitterness and color. So I used Centennial hops for bittering, Styrian Gold hops for aroma, Carmel 10L and Munich 10 for specialty grains and a dry lager yeast.
Lagers should be fermented at lower temps, around 55'. My basement is now at 60' so I've got the primary sitting in a bucket of water and am rotating frozen water bottles into the bucket, a tip I picked up on one of the online brew boards. Warmest I could get my beer fridge was 40'. When it goes to the secondary, you must ferment/lager at close to 32' so I've arranged the fridge to accommodate a carboy. There it will sit until mid August. Lagers take to much time! I want to try a barleywine someday, they take a minimum of 6 months!
Still need to write about my trip to Midwest Supplies, stay tuned.
First try with a lager. Most things I've read on this style call it a "Spring Beer" I think because it's easier to hit the lower temperatures needed for fermenting with a lager yeast. But the brew club is having a helles bock / maibock competition in August so I figured I'd give it a try.
Spent Friday night splitting up a #50 bag of dry extract into smaller bags. Not sure that was worth the money saved for buying in bulk. For those who don't know what dry extract is. About the consistency of flour but gets very sticky when it comes in contact with any moisture, even just the moisture of your skin. Then it gets hard as cement, fun to clean up.
Anyway, so I brewed the helles bock, changed location to the back deck due to the fantastic weather. A bit warm so I had to stay hydrated, dug into a box of Point beer for that, bought it for the bottles. Same price as buying a case of new bottles, you do have to empty them though. Tough job. All in all not a bad beer. May have gotten too hydrated, after brewing, grilling chicken and cleaning up, Maria wanted to go see the fireworks, not sure how long after that, she woke me up and told me to go to bed. Not sure, but I think we missed the fireworks....
When I was researching helles bock recipes, it looks like there is no particular ingredients special to this beer, I was looking for specific hops, grains and/or yeast, seems everyone uses something different as long as it falls in the correct range for gravity, bitterness and color. So I used Centennial hops for bittering, Styrian Gold hops for aroma, Carmel 10L and Munich 10 for specialty grains and a dry lager yeast.
Lagers should be fermented at lower temps, around 55'. My basement is now at 60' so I've got the primary sitting in a bucket of water and am rotating frozen water bottles into the bucket, a tip I picked up on one of the online brew boards. Warmest I could get my beer fridge was 40'. When it goes to the secondary, you must ferment/lager at close to 32' so I've arranged the fridge to accommodate a carboy. There it will sit until mid August. Lagers take to much time! I want to try a barleywine someday, they take a minimum of 6 months!
Still need to write about my trip to Midwest Supplies, stay tuned.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
#3 to the secondary
Blonde ale went 9 days in the primary fermenter, had pretty much stopped bubbling the airlock. Just no time, 400 lives of men and now I have no TIME! Sorry flashed to Lord of the Rings for a second there...
Anyway, looks and smells good, a little darker than I thought it should be for a blonde but I'm sure it will taste good. :-)
I'll leave it in the seconday at least a week, maybe two, by then I should have enough bottles emptied to fill them up with this batch. I know, you are all thinking, "Poor guy has to empty all those bottles." But somebody has to do it, and it may as well be someone thats good at it. I'll work on some now!
Anyway, looks and smells good, a little darker than I thought it should be for a blonde but I'm sure it will taste good. :-)
I'll leave it in the seconday at least a week, maybe two, by then I should have enough bottles emptied to fill them up with this batch. I know, you are all thinking, "Poor guy has to empty all those bottles." But somebody has to do it, and it may as well be someone thats good at it. I'll work on some now!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Finally #3
Brewed batch #3 last night, a Blonde Ale, still workin on a name. Things went well other that the heat, it was 94' ! Had to keep hydrated, lots of BEER! Checked on it when I got home, bubbling away nicely. First try with a liquid yeast. Went with the Wyeast American Ale II.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Bottled Batch #2
Brown Eyed Honey Oat.
Went well very little waste this time, getting better! Smells good, gonna have a little taste and go to bed.
Brew Club
Met a few of the guys from the brew club I joined a couple of weeks ago, it's called Tri County Fermenters. http://www.tricountyfermenters.com/
Tim had bought hops in bulk and I was getting in on the good deal. Anyway, he said he would be brewing in the morning and heading over to Ed's after lunch and I could pick the hops up there. Ed is the club president.
So I drive down to Ed's on the motorcycle, to save on gas you know, never been there before but knew I had the right place when I saw the big cauldrons steaming out front and a couple of corny kegs in the garage.
Tim is there with his wife Tina, Jon and Ed. What are they doing? Well there's a batch of brew going of course and they are tasting beer, talking about beer, and listening to a guy talk about beer on the internet. Special occasion? Meeting? No, it's just Sunday. I'm gonna like these guys.
Anyway, they ask me what I plan on brewing. "Not a clue" says me, "I'm just getting started." So they ask if I've tried this or that, and mostly I hadn't. Next thing you know I'm handed a sampler 6pack of their homebrew. "Here take these home to try and see if you like any." Did I mention I'm gonna like these guys?
Spent about an hour there looking at Ed's setup, sampled a Dogfish Head IPA 120 min boil, (first taste seemed heavy bitter, but the aftertaste was heavy sweet?) and just talking beer and brewing. Wish my ears were working better today, could have picked up allot more.
Good group of people. Looking forward to the next time I hook up with them at the July meeting. Gonna be on call that day so I'll have to limit my tasting. :-)
Washing bottles the rest of the afternoon in prep for bottling batch #2.
Tim had bought hops in bulk and I was getting in on the good deal. Anyway, he said he would be brewing in the morning and heading over to Ed's after lunch and I could pick the hops up there. Ed is the club president.
So I drive down to Ed's on the motorcycle, to save on gas you know, never been there before but knew I had the right place when I saw the big cauldrons steaming out front and a couple of corny kegs in the garage.
Tim is there with his wife Tina, Jon and Ed. What are they doing? Well there's a batch of brew going of course and they are tasting beer, talking about beer, and listening to a guy talk about beer on the internet. Special occasion? Meeting? No, it's just Sunday. I'm gonna like these guys.
Anyway, they ask me what I plan on brewing. "Not a clue" says me, "I'm just getting started." So they ask if I've tried this or that, and mostly I hadn't. Next thing you know I'm handed a sampler 6pack of their homebrew. "Here take these home to try and see if you like any." Did I mention I'm gonna like these guys?
Spent about an hour there looking at Ed's setup, sampled a Dogfish Head IPA 120 min boil, (first taste seemed heavy bitter, but the aftertaste was heavy sweet?) and just talking beer and brewing. Wish my ears were working better today, could have picked up allot more.
Good group of people. Looking forward to the next time I hook up with them at the July meeting. Gonna be on call that day so I'll have to limit my tasting. :-)
Washing bottles the rest of the afternoon in prep for bottling batch #2.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Had a Good Beer?
Anyone had a good beer lately? Let me know what it was. I think I've got the comments open to everyone.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Fermenting? Nope....
Not much going on in the fermenter... may have to bottle sooner than expected. Monday or Tuesday will be my first opportunity.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Still no third batch...
Been trying to brew batch #3 for over a week, where does the time go.... Will have to wait another week now, have the pager this week and can't take the chance of getting called into work mid boil......
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Batch #2 to the Carboy
June 6th 2009
Transferred Batch #2 from primary bucket to secondary carboy, must have had the siphon too deep, got lots of sludge, I was sure I was at least a couple of inches off the bottom, scared me, thought the whole bucket was sludge. After a couple of hours in the carboy it settled out good. Looks much better. Smelled GREAT while siphoning....
Filled on 750ml bottle with a tsp of sugar, it may have too much sludge but its the only way to bring a sample to Mn the end of the month.
Also orderd supplies from Midwest for Batch #3 a Blonde Ale.
Transferred Batch #2 from primary bucket to secondary carboy, must have had the siphon too deep, got lots of sludge, I was sure I was at least a couple of inches off the bottom, scared me, thought the whole bucket was sludge. After a couple of hours in the carboy it settled out good. Looks much better. Smelled GREAT while siphoning....
Filled on 750ml bottle with a tsp of sugar, it may have too much sludge but its the only way to bring a sample to Mn the end of the month.
Also orderd supplies from Midwest for Batch #3 a Blonde Ale.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Brew Day Batch #2
May 27th 2009 Brew Day Batch #2
Banished to the garage to brew, steeped grains in kitchen, got a frown from Maria for this but assured her the 'great aroma' came from boiling wort and I will do that in the Garage. :-)
Did a Honey Oat Brown with a recipe I made up from looking at recipies for other Browns and Honey Ales. Things went well other than problems with my propane hook up, that still needs work...
3.3# Amber LME
2.0# Amber DME
1.0# Crystal 60L
1.0# Flaked Oats
2.0# Honey (Kanters Northwoods Wildflower Apiaries Honey, Goodman,Wi.)
1 oz. Hallertau Pellet 60 min.
1 oz Willamette Pellet 15 min.
Muntons dry yeast.
OG 1.042 (thought it would be higher???)
Steeped the grains and Oats for 45 min. @ 160', Sparge with 1 gal @ 170' Boil 60 min.
Only took 8 beers to brew this one...
Honey Oat Brown???
May, 18th 2009
Had some Newcastle Brown Ale, liked it. Between that and looking at recipes for Honey and/or Oat ales developed a grain and extract list.
Bought supplies from Riverside for a Honey Oat Brown. @ $45 This beer is WAY out of my league for my second ever batch, Hope it turns out, course I'll drink it anyway.....
Had some Newcastle Brown Ale, liked it. Between that and looking at recipes for Honey and/or Oat ales developed a grain and extract list.
Bought supplies from Riverside for a Honey Oat Brown. @ $45 This beer is WAY out of my league for my second ever batch, Hope it turns out, course I'll drink it anyway.....
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Blackstone Pizza
Blackstone Pizza tonight, Sampled Honker Ale, a Bock and a Munich ale. Even Maria Said the Bock was weak, had a good flavor though, the Munich was good, guy at the bar recommended the Honker, said he had it in Green Bay once and liked it. Very hoppy, tasted better and better as the pint glass emptied. BLT pizza was very different but very good.
FedEx Ground
Hmmm.... FedEx truck backing into the diveway.... MY NEW BEER INGREDIENTS ARE HERE! Driver Must be real exited about it too, as I'm signing for the package the truck rolls back into my red maple tree... Driver forgor to put the parking brake on.... No harm no foul... Beer stuff is undamaged! :-)
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Case of the Red Ass Ale
May 29th 2009
Testing day at the Dishaws for Case of the Red Ass Ale. Joe, Rob and Scott say Good. Maria says OK, Kim says “It's not Bud Light” Jill stopped by had a sip, said Good! I'm going with Good! Now to make a GREAT beer.....
Brew Batch #1
I'm going to start by copy/paste from my brew log the begining for this beginer, so lets go WAY back to Mid April 2009......
Bard's Basement Brew
Log Book
Mid April 2009
Acquired a home brew kit at the Home Show in Iron Mountain's Ice Arena thru a silent auction. Had been saying for years I was going to brew my own beer. Started reading and studying all I could find on home brewing, mostly on the internet.
April 30th 2009
Bought a beer ingredient kit from Riverside Liquors in Spread Eagle WI. Red Ale.
May 1st 2009
Went to the famous Annual Smelt Fry in Waucedah MI. after work. (Got off work early, drinking beer by 1:30pm.) Got home around 5pm, drank more beer. 7pm, felt smart enough too start brewing. (Note to self: Never start brewing late in the day.)
Batch Number 1
Directions say add grains to water and heat to 165' steep grains for 20 minutes. Total time grains in water close to an hour, 20 min. @ 165'. Drinking more beer the whole time to stay smart. 'Buffalo Theory' you know.
All went reasonably well till around 10:30pm when Maria woke up yelling something about the whole house stinking. I thought the house had a wonderful heady aroma about it.. Wort in the fermentation bucket around 11:00pm. Still drinking beer. Clean up commenced.
May 2nd 2009
Noticed bubbling of air lock in the afternoon, all is well, have a beer.
May 6th 2009
Airlock action seems to have stopped.
May 7th 2009
Thought I was going to have to bottle today but John came thru with a carboy loan. Filled one 750 ml bottle, (for testing purposes only.) .5 tsp of sugar in the bottle for carbonating. The rest in the carboy for a secondary fermentation. Couldn't seem to keep the siphon going towards the bottom, thought I got most of it, when I dumped the trub into a gallon milk jug it almost filled it, bummer, almost a gallon wasted. :-( Now the big wait, think I'll have a beer. CRAP! Forgot to take a gravity check before the carboy. How do you get a hydrometer in and out of a carboy. Note to self: Ask brewer how this is done for future reference. Have a beer.
May 8th thru 14th
Air lock veeerrrryyyyy sloooowwwwllllyyy bubbles over the next week. Scrubbing bottles....
May 15th 2009 Bottling day.
Very carefully drop hydrometer into the carboy, hear it hit the bottom hoping it didn't shatter and ruin the whole batch, (would have had to put it thru a coffee filter and drink it anyway). Reading was 1.01 exactly. Time to bottle. Can't get the hydrometer out, will have to get it when I clean it.
Fill the dishwasher with bottles and put on wash with no detergent to sterilize bottles. Maria has made some comments about bottles all over the house, I'm assuming it was a compliment to my readiness for bottling day.
Sterilize all equipment needed for bottling, racking bucket, bottle caps, hose, bottle racking tube, odds and ends and stuff. Dishwasher still washing? CRAP! Its on pot scrub heavy duty wash cycle, try to change at this point, can't without starting over on a shorter cycle, can't be that much time left can there?
After what seems like days, dishwasher finally stops. Get carboy and racking bucket all set. CRAP! Forgot to boil the sugar water for the racking bucket, could have been doing that while waiting for the dishwasher to finish! See what happens when there is no beer drinking going on? On call this week for work so I can't drink. Bad week to be a home brewer.
Boil the sugar water for the carbonating of the bottles, dump it in the racking bucket and start the siphon from carboy to bucket. Looks to be about a half a cup left in the carboy, carefully pour that in a glass without disturbing the sediment in the bottom. Taste, GOOD! Flat but good, Call Maria in to taste, she tastes, gives me a funny look and goes back about her business. I drink the rest, hope I don't get called into work. Now finally the bottling starts, Maria helps till it looks like I have it under control, then she leaves the kitchen. About halfway thru, the hose pops off the racking tube and beer starts squirting all over the place! I holler for Maria to bring me some towels, thinking the worst she comes running with an armful! Get the racking equipment back together, beer cleaned up off the floor, try not to cry about more wasted beer.... Finish Bottling.
2-750 ml, 12-16 oz, 24-12 oz bottles for a total of just over 4 gallons. Should have been a five gallon batch. Alcohol abuse! Verbally slap myself for the waste and blame it on not being able to drink while bottling. Next time better planning will prevail and I will not be on call during any important phase of the brewing process.
Name: Bards Basement Brew, Case of the Red Ass Ale.
May 16th 2009
Ready to brew again. What should I brew? Hmmmmm.......
Bard's Basement Brew
Log Book
Mid April 2009
Acquired a home brew kit at the Home Show in Iron Mountain's Ice Arena thru a silent auction. Had been saying for years I was going to brew my own beer. Started reading and studying all I could find on home brewing, mostly on the internet.
April 30th 2009
Bought a beer ingredient kit from Riverside Liquors in Spread Eagle WI. Red Ale.
May 1st 2009
Went to the famous Annual Smelt Fry in Waucedah MI. after work. (Got off work early, drinking beer by 1:30pm.) Got home around 5pm, drank more beer. 7pm, felt smart enough too start brewing. (Note to self: Never start brewing late in the day.)
Batch Number 1
Directions say add grains to water and heat to 165' steep grains for 20 minutes. Total time grains in water close to an hour, 20 min. @ 165'. Drinking more beer the whole time to stay smart. 'Buffalo Theory' you know.
All went reasonably well till around 10:30pm when Maria woke up yelling something about the whole house stinking. I thought the house had a wonderful heady aroma about it.. Wort in the fermentation bucket around 11:00pm. Still drinking beer. Clean up commenced.
May 2nd 2009
Noticed bubbling of air lock in the afternoon, all is well, have a beer.
May 6th 2009
Airlock action seems to have stopped.
May 7th 2009
Thought I was going to have to bottle today but John came thru with a carboy loan. Filled one 750 ml bottle, (for testing purposes only.) .5 tsp of sugar in the bottle for carbonating. The rest in the carboy for a secondary fermentation. Couldn't seem to keep the siphon going towards the bottom, thought I got most of it, when I dumped the trub into a gallon milk jug it almost filled it, bummer, almost a gallon wasted. :-( Now the big wait, think I'll have a beer. CRAP! Forgot to take a gravity check before the carboy. How do you get a hydrometer in and out of a carboy. Note to self: Ask brewer how this is done for future reference. Have a beer.
May 8th thru 14th
Air lock veeerrrryyyyy sloooowwwwllllyyy bubbles over the next week. Scrubbing bottles....
May 15th 2009 Bottling day.
Very carefully drop hydrometer into the carboy, hear it hit the bottom hoping it didn't shatter and ruin the whole batch, (would have had to put it thru a coffee filter and drink it anyway). Reading was 1.01 exactly. Time to bottle. Can't get the hydrometer out, will have to get it when I clean it.
Fill the dishwasher with bottles and put on wash with no detergent to sterilize bottles. Maria has made some comments about bottles all over the house, I'm assuming it was a compliment to my readiness for bottling day.
Sterilize all equipment needed for bottling, racking bucket, bottle caps, hose, bottle racking tube, odds and ends and stuff. Dishwasher still washing? CRAP! Its on pot scrub heavy duty wash cycle, try to change at this point, can't without starting over on a shorter cycle, can't be that much time left can there?
After what seems like days, dishwasher finally stops. Get carboy and racking bucket all set. CRAP! Forgot to boil the sugar water for the racking bucket, could have been doing that while waiting for the dishwasher to finish! See what happens when there is no beer drinking going on? On call this week for work so I can't drink. Bad week to be a home brewer.
Boil the sugar water for the carbonating of the bottles, dump it in the racking bucket and start the siphon from carboy to bucket. Looks to be about a half a cup left in the carboy, carefully pour that in a glass without disturbing the sediment in the bottom. Taste, GOOD! Flat but good, Call Maria in to taste, she tastes, gives me a funny look and goes back about her business. I drink the rest, hope I don't get called into work. Now finally the bottling starts, Maria helps till it looks like I have it under control, then she leaves the kitchen. About halfway thru, the hose pops off the racking tube and beer starts squirting all over the place! I holler for Maria to bring me some towels, thinking the worst she comes running with an armful! Get the racking equipment back together, beer cleaned up off the floor, try not to cry about more wasted beer.... Finish Bottling.
2-750 ml, 12-16 oz, 24-12 oz bottles for a total of just over 4 gallons. Should have been a five gallon batch. Alcohol abuse! Verbally slap myself for the waste and blame it on not being able to drink while bottling. Next time better planning will prevail and I will not be on call during any important phase of the brewing process.
Name: Bards Basement Brew, Case of the Red Ass Ale.
May 16th 2009
Ready to brew again. What should I brew? Hmmmmm.......
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Beer
OK, there I was just minding my own business and typing in my brew log.
(whats a brew log? I've been told that brewing beer at home requires record keeping and logs of everything you do with the beer, I'm new at brewing so who am I to question it, I just do it.)
Anyway, there I was typing and my wife looks over my shoulder and says "What, are you blogging now?" I told her I was just putting entries in my brew log but the bug was planted.
So.... Here is my Brew Log in a Blog, there may be some other stuff in here along the way but I will keep it geared towards beer, it's one of my favorite things you know......
(whats a brew log? I've been told that brewing beer at home requires record keeping and logs of everything you do with the beer, I'm new at brewing so who am I to question it, I just do it.)
Anyway, there I was typing and my wife looks over my shoulder and says "What, are you blogging now?" I told her I was just putting entries in my brew log but the bug was planted.
So.... Here is my Brew Log in a Blog, there may be some other stuff in here along the way but I will keep it geared towards beer, it's one of my favorite things you know......
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