I took advantage of the holiday weekend and the fact that both my wife and I were off and with her good graces did some brewing. On Wednesday I brewed B3's Christmas Ale. Nice malty pale ale with some all-spice, cinnamon, and ginger. Should come in at about 6% abv.
Then on Friday it was 5 gallons of Porter, with a little something extra: 8 ounces of Hershey's dark cocoa. Smelled wonderful, can't wait until it's ready! That'll end up at a modest 5% abv.
Finally on Saturday, it was time to keep the kegs filled with Kölsch. 10 gallons, about 4.75% abv.
This brings me to 56 batches and 415 gallons over the past 4 years! Feels good to brew like a monk!
Now that the cellar temperature is dropping, it's time to start brewing lagers. Next up is a Munich-style Dunkel with the grain bill being mostly Munich malt and Vienna Malt and a conservative charge of Hallertauer bittering hops. After that, it'll be 10 gallons of Maibock for the Spring and will be trying to work in 10 gallons of barleywine, 10 gallons of dopplebock, and maybe even a Bavarian Helles too.
Cheers!!!
27 November 2006
22 November 2006
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA
Made a trip to the bottle store the other day (no, not in PA...PA has no idea what "variety" means), grabbed a sixer of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2006 and as I was perusing the cooler, a 22oz bomber with "SIMCOE" on the lable caught my eye.
Simcoe of course being a fairly-new high-alpha hop varietal that's popular in double IPAs, pale ales, etc. Pretty tasty. This brew aparently uses Simcoe all the way through; bittering, flavoring, aroma, maybe dry-hopped as well.
Wow!! Damn tasty brew. I admit I was a little hesitant to buy a Weyerbacher beer...last year I got a sixer of their barleywine that was pretty young. Tasted like they just dumped the yeast and bottled the brew, no aging whatsoever. High fusel alcohols, etc. Terrible. I was relieved in a way.
I'm not going to rate this like a BJCP judge, since I ain't, but I will say that for a double IPA, this is surely a tasty, worthwhile brew. It scored in the 99th percentile on RateBeer.com, not suprisingly.
Hats off to the Weyerbacher brewers. Prost!
Simcoe of course being a fairly-new high-alpha hop varietal that's popular in double IPAs, pale ales, etc. Pretty tasty. This brew aparently uses Simcoe all the way through; bittering, flavoring, aroma, maybe dry-hopped as well.Wow!! Damn tasty brew. I admit I was a little hesitant to buy a Weyerbacher beer...last year I got a sixer of their barleywine that was pretty young. Tasted like they just dumped the yeast and bottled the brew, no aging whatsoever. High fusel alcohols, etc. Terrible. I was relieved in a way.
I'm not going to rate this like a BJCP judge, since I ain't, but I will say that for a double IPA, this is surely a tasty, worthwhile brew. It scored in the 99th percentile on RateBeer.com, not suprisingly.
Hats off to the Weyerbacher brewers. Prost!
16 November 2006
Rain delay
So much for brewing today. Mostly cloudy with a 100% chance of not getting shit done.
A little rain is no big deal but a driving rain like this is bad, considering it's even seeping around the garage door (thanks to the asswipe who built my house). If I'm brewing in the garage I try to keep the garage door at least cracked a few inches, if not fully open. Open propane-fueled flames, you know.
Looks like brewday is getting pushed---*sigh* yet again---to Saturday. I did, however, get a chance to make a yeast starter.
"A what?"
Yeast starters are a easy way of getting your yeast ready for the big party. I never brew without a starter---unless I'm using yeast that I humbly and gratefully got from a local brewery. There is a way that you can "kick it up a notch", and that's by using a magnetic stir plate.
Why? The little liquid tubes you get at the homebrew store that say they are "pitchable" are inadequate, period. For the most part us homebrewers underpitch, and that's bad for your beer. The proof is in the pudding...er, beer.
How many batches does one have to dump down the drain to make up the time it takes to make a starter? Unless you actually like your beer to taste and smell like green apples and/or butterscotch (hint: it's not supposed to, those are flaws)
Remember: brewers don't make beer, we make wort (unfermented beer). The yeast makes the beer. It's our job to provide the yeast with the best conditions possible, and that includes a shitload of yeast, my friends!
Cheers!!
A little rain is no big deal but a driving rain like this is bad, considering it's even seeping around the garage door (thanks to the asswipe who built my house). If I'm brewing in the garage I try to keep the garage door at least cracked a few inches, if not fully open. Open propane-fueled flames, you know.
Looks like brewday is getting pushed---*sigh* yet again---to Saturday. I did, however, get a chance to make a yeast starter.
"A what?"
Yeast starters are a easy way of getting your yeast ready for the big party. I never brew without a starter---unless I'm using yeast that I humbly and gratefully got from a local brewery. There is a way that you can "kick it up a notch", and that's by using a magnetic stir plate.
- a stronger, faster fermentation
- a full, complete fermentation
- less chance of off-flavors
- a strong, happy yeast that you can use on the next batch!
Why? The little liquid tubes you get at the homebrew store that say they are "pitchable" are inadequate, period. For the most part us homebrewers underpitch, and that's bad for your beer. The proof is in the pudding...er, beer.
How many batches does one have to dump down the drain to make up the time it takes to make a starter? Unless you actually like your beer to taste and smell like green apples and/or butterscotch (hint: it's not supposed to, those are flaws)
Remember: brewers don't make beer, we make wort (unfermented beer). The yeast makes the beer. It's our job to provide the yeast with the best conditions possible, and that includes a shitload of yeast, my friends!
Cheers!!
15 November 2006
Dear Santa...
Still headlong in the perpetual quest for gear. That's what gearheads do. And if necessity is the mother of invention, I'm biddin' on one of her kids.
Although not new, the HopStopper has been tested by quite a few homebrewers with promising and positive results. It's basically a fine-mesh stainless steel screen around a copper (or stainless steel) dip tube. The intended result here is separation of trub and hop debris from the wort. If you get a little of each in the fermenter, no big deal but the less the better; especially with lagers. Plus, that's less gunk in your yeast after fermentation if you plan on harvesting the yeast for another batch. Granted, you can wash the yeast, but that's a topic for another day.
So, as I currently have a Bazooka-T installed on my kettle and a Shirron Plate Chiller, I'd like to get mostly--if not solely--wort going through the chiller into the fermenters. Some homebrewers fear that hop particles will clog a plate chiller and create bacteria-harboring "pockets". As far as I know, there's never been any tests done to confirm this fear but it seems reasonable. With a little backflushing before and after use, detergent and/or boiling water use, and sanitizer use, plate chillers are a non-issue.
As for the HopStopper, you can get it in all-stainless construction for $30 over the $60 price tag. But besides being cheaper, brass and copper work fine. Stainless is more durable over the long run and looks prettier, but once passivated, brass is a team player and copper has been used in kettles for centuries. As for the iHomebrewSolutions website...well, hopefully the proprietor can get some professional web work done on the site. Looks like a beginning HTML class project. If it weren't for word-of-mouth by quite a few homebrewers, I'd never order from that site.
Anyhow, c'mon, Santa! Hook me up!
Although not new, the HopStopper has been tested by quite a few homebrewers with promising and positive results. It's basically a fine-mesh stainless steel screen around a copper (or stainless steel) dip tube. The intended result here is separation of trub and hop debris from the wort. If you get a little of each in the fermenter, no big deal but the less the better; especially with lagers. Plus, that's less gunk in your yeast after fermentation if you plan on harvesting the yeast for another batch. Granted, you can wash the yeast, but that's a topic for another day.
So, as I currently have a Bazooka-T installed on my kettle and a Shirron Plate Chiller, I'd like to get mostly--if not solely--wort going through the chiller into the fermenters. Some homebrewers fear that hop particles will clog a plate chiller and create bacteria-harboring "pockets". As far as I know, there's never been any tests done to confirm this fear but it seems reasonable. With a little backflushing before and after use, detergent and/or boiling water use, and sanitizer use, plate chillers are a non-issue.
As for the HopStopper, you can get it in all-stainless construction for $30 over the $60 price tag. But besides being cheaper, brass and copper work fine. Stainless is more durable over the long run and looks prettier, but once passivated, brass is a team player and copper has been used in kettles for centuries. As for the iHomebrewSolutions website...well, hopefully the proprietor can get some professional web work done on the site. Looks like a beginning HTML class project. If it weren't for word-of-mouth by quite a few homebrewers, I'd never order from that site.
Anyhow, c'mon, Santa! Hook me up!
14 November 2006
The Weak and the Hippocrites
Yep, crankin' 'em out today!
This has been on my mind for a while now. But allow me to preface the following with this: it's beer, drink what you like. If you like light beer, good for you. But if you're gonna start contradicting yourself, I'm going to make a point. And if you're the second-largest brewing company in North America and you contradict yourself, I'm going to crush it.
SAB Miller owns a ton of brands around the world and no doubt contract-brews quite a few of them. You may also know SAB Miller as Miller beer, or even Miller Lite. You may even be familiar with the recent "Man Law" Miller commercials.
One I did see recently (that magically disappeared) was the Man Law against adding fruit to beer. Maybe someone pointed out to Miller that some of their brands use fruit, as in Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss or Fusion Pineapple.
Maybe Miller could make a Man Law against using rice and/or corn syrup in brewing (yes, that's right!)
So fucking what if it uses fruit? A founding principle of the craft brewing industry (largely owing its existence to homebrewers as most craft brewers started as homebrewers) is experimentation. Like Dog Fish Head Brewing. Like Kalamazoo Brewing Co (aka Bell's). Like Boston Brewing Co (aka Sam Adams).
Maybe the Big 3 are just pissed because craft brewing grew ~10% last year whereas they actually lost some. If they're smart, they'll take notice. People are learning what beer is.
Maybe there should be a Man Law against drinking beer for its caloric and carbohydrate content. How fucking weak! Cutting carbs here is like ordering the Big Mac meal and washing it down with a Diet Coke.
Maybe there should be a Man Law about only drinking what the commercials tell you to.
In terms of beer, I say drink what the hell you want. Lots of hops/no hops, lots of malt/little malt, fruit/spices/whatever. Drink a watered-down, corn and/or rice syrup lager?
Whatever floats your boat.
This has been on my mind for a while now. But allow me to preface the following with this: it's beer, drink what you like. If you like light beer, good for you. But if you're gonna start contradicting yourself, I'm going to make a point. And if you're the second-largest brewing company in North America and you contradict yourself, I'm going to crush it.
SAB Miller owns a ton of brands around the world and no doubt contract-brews quite a few of them. You may also know SAB Miller as Miller beer, or even Miller Lite. You may even be familiar with the recent "Man Law" Miller commercials.
One I did see recently (that magically disappeared) was the Man Law against adding fruit to beer. Maybe someone pointed out to Miller that some of their brands use fruit, as in Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss or Fusion Pineapple.
Maybe Miller could make a Man Law against using rice and/or corn syrup in brewing (yes, that's right!)
So fucking what if it uses fruit? A founding principle of the craft brewing industry (largely owing its existence to homebrewers as most craft brewers started as homebrewers) is experimentation. Like Dog Fish Head Brewing. Like Kalamazoo Brewing Co (aka Bell's). Like Boston Brewing Co (aka Sam Adams).
Maybe the Big 3 are just pissed because craft brewing grew ~10% last year whereas they actually lost some. If they're smart, they'll take notice. People are learning what beer is.
Maybe there should be a Man Law against drinking beer for its caloric and carbohydrate content. How fucking weak! Cutting carbs here is like ordering the Big Mac meal and washing it down with a Diet Coke.
Maybe there should be a Man Law about only drinking what the commercials tell you to.
In terms of beer, I say drink what the hell you want. Lots of hops/no hops, lots of malt/little malt, fruit/spices/whatever. Drink a watered-down, corn and/or rice syrup lager?
Whatever floats your boat.
What next?
Turns out I haven't brewed in---oh, almost 2 months. Been busy with a class at work a few times a week and the wife picked up a few days here and there at work. Brewing with 2 kids 3-and-under is pretty tough. But maybe, just maybe I can do it tomorrrow. I need to get some Kölsch fermenting for back-up.
After that it's a Christmas Ale that I was going to brew for a November club competition, but didn't get to it in time. Again, work, class, blah blah blah. Should be nice---a little ginger, a little all-spice, a little cinnamon at flame-out.
Then it's a little tweak on my porter. Took a trip to Chocolate Town, USA a few months ago and happened to see some dark chocolate cocoa among the miriad of offerings there. 8oz of dark chocolate cocoa at flame-out will add nicely to the porter.
Then it's back to the lager world with a Munich-style dunkel. Haven't brewed that in a year!
And finally on the list, it's time to crank out some more Barleywine!! Gonna need lots of yeast, will soon be time to barter with the local brewers.
After that it's a Christmas Ale that I was going to brew for a November club competition, but didn't get to it in time. Again, work, class, blah blah blah. Should be nice---a little ginger, a little all-spice, a little cinnamon at flame-out.
Then it's a little tweak on my porter. Took a trip to Chocolate Town, USA a few months ago and happened to see some dark chocolate cocoa among the miriad of offerings there. 8oz of dark chocolate cocoa at flame-out will add nicely to the porter.Then it's back to the lager world with a Munich-style dunkel. Haven't brewed that in a year!
And finally on the list, it's time to crank out some more Barleywine!! Gonna need lots of yeast, will soon be time to barter with the local brewers.
Welcome
Welcome to the new blog home of the Old Station Brewing Co. It's being moved over from the ubiquitous MySpace, just looks better and hopefully will allow a little more productivity. So stick around.
Cheers!
Cheers!
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