Pop Quiz, Hotshot!

Test your brew know-how! Go to http://www.pikebrewing.com/, click on "History" in the middle of the image, then click on "Pop Quiz - Test Your Beer Knowledge" on the right.

I got an 86...I don't know much about Pike Brewing Co. and I don't know everything about brewing either; the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.

Cheers!!

Westy's

I usually don't frequent the Mechanicsburg/Camp Hill/Harrisburg area, mostly because it's about an hour from my house on 2-lane roads. Fortunately I finally got around to stopping by Westy's in Camp Hill while out furniture shopping. I've heard good things about it but it really doesn't do it justice until you get there and see for yourself.

And in a state where the word "variety" is just as much a foreign concept as being able to buy a 6-pack of beer without signing over the deed to your house, it's truly a diamond in the rough.

The staff were very nice and helpful. My son walked out with a 4-pack of Steward's Birch Beer and I with a sampler case of Southern Tier (IPA, pale ale, raspberry wheat, and Tripel), but not before I perused the isles 5 or 6 times. I truly felt like a kid in a candy store! Many national and local brews were on hand: Stone, Bell's, Victory, Sly Fox, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, Southern Tier, Ommegang, Rogue, Penn Brewery, Avery...the list literally goes on and on.

Unfortunately they don't have a working website at the present time; directions and a list of what they carry would be helpful. But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.

Check 'em out:

Westy's Beer Distributor
420 St. Johns Church Road
Camp Hill, PA 17011


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Happy Brew Year!

Welcome to 2008!

First, a thanks and hello to some fellow homebrewers that have pumped up the activity on the blog! I tip my pint of Troegs Troegenator dopplebock to you!

Doesn't seem like that long ago I finally made a New Year's resolution to do something with that homebrew kit that was sitting in my basement for a year or so...

No, really!

And like any other homebrewer I was instantly hooked. So I did 10 extract-with-grains batches before deciding to try all-grain. 5 years, 58 all-grain batches and 510 gallons later, here I am.

That's 4,040 beers! Granted, a few of those batches were tossed due to one reason or another. Everyone gets at least one infected batch. Luckily, I've only had one or two. And lots of it have been given away, supplied at parties, etc. Fortunately, my liver isn't the sole beneficiary!!

So as we march into 2008, I've made a few Brew Year's resolutions: to take a shot at the top dog and defeat the competition in my homebrew club, and to try some new, haven't-brewed-this-yet styles (Schwarzbier, Saison, etc).

Next up: a Bavarian Dunkel and a Maibock, back-to-back on brewday!

Cheers!

Hop and Malt prices hit home

Someone please explain to me how it costs $8 to ship 3 pounds of malt from Columbia, MD to Hanover, PA (roughly 50 miles) but it costs $20 to ship a 55-pound sack of Munich malt from Champlain, NY to Hanover PA (roughly 500 miles). Unfortunately it would probably cost me $8 in gas to drive to Columbia, MD and back. But there definitely isn't a direct relationship there.

At any rate, the effects of the price hike in malt and hops due to several agroeconomical factors is already being felt. Take for instance Northern Brewer's footnote on hops, and the outright unavailability listed on their hops page. "Temporarily Out of Stock" is a recurring sight on MoreBeer's page as well.

It's definitely going to be a rough year. Hopefully we'll have enough beer to cry in...

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from OSBC!

Christmas time is definitely my favorite time of the year. In terms of beer, it's a no-brainer: holiday ales, barleywine, etc. Brewers roll out their special batches for the season. Bell's released their Special Double Cream Stout, which goes really well with dark chocolate chip cookies by the way!

Part of my treasure trove of presents was a bottle of Stone Double Bastard and St. Peter's Winter Ale. Proof the wife does pay attention, even when I think she's not. Gonna have to keep an eye on her...

Wherever you are, enjoy the holidays!

Cheers!

Brooklyn Monster 2007

I was pleasantly suprised to find a sixer of Brooklyn Monster Barleywine at my fav bottle shop the other day. As I said in the Devil's Milk blog post, I love barleywine---and the Monster doesn't disappoint. Sporting Willamette, Cascade, and American Fuggle hops, it's a tasty interpretation of the English style. This year's rendition clocks in at 10.8% so there's plenty of warmth for these cold nights.

Personally, I'm more partial to the English-style barleywines---the exception being Avery Hog Heaven, an American-style barleywine and probably my favorite of that style. But in many cases, the line between American-style barleywine and Double IPA tends to get blurred by liberal doses of hops. With barleywine, it's not solely about the hops. Maybe the Left Coasters can manage to show some restraint for once.

"Yeah, and maybe I'm a Chinese jet pilot."

Happy Holidays!!!

Flying Dog packs up and moves

Looks like Colorado-based Flying Dog Brewing Co. is packing its bags and moving east to Frederick, MD. As you may know, Flying Dog bought Frederick Brewing Co. a few years back. Flying Dog is moving all of its brewing operations to Frederick; the sales, marketing and administrative staff will remain in Colorado.

That means more beer for us---special release parties, events, etc!

Cheers!!

DuClaw Devil's Milk Barleywine

It's fine weather for Barleywine!

Last night I attended the 2007 release of DuClaw's Devil's Milk Barleywine at their Bel Air location. It's fresh from a fire restoration; you can almost smell the sawdust. Unfortunately the new setup isn't much bigger than the old restaurant, in terms of seating and room. One would think dragging the brewhouse out and starting with a clean slate would make for a prime opportunity to expand, given their popularity. The upstairs is walled-off, presumably holding a banquet room. But last night it was standing-room-only at the bar and at least an hour wait for a table. If they did design it bigger than it previously was, they seriously undershot.

Fortunately, irritation was easily soothed by a good selection of very good beer. On tap were their Porter, Belgian Wit, Oktoberfest, Wheat, Blonde, Amber, Pale Ale, and of course, the Barleywine. 6:55pm hit with a short presentation for the release on all flat-screened video monitors in the bar. The lines were already forming at the email-club table. Once 7:00pm I headed to the bar and ordered-up and by 7:01pm I had a snifter of Barleywine in one hand and a growler full of it in the other! I don't need to go into detail of its virtues. Suffice it to say it's excellent, it's worth driving an hour each way for, and a lot of beer drinkers feel the same way.

Last year, they released their Barleywine in wax-sealed 1L flip-top bottles in addition to their normal release. I grabbed two; one lasted a month tops, the other is still in my cellar "beers-not-to-touch-for-a-while" collection. Also last year they ran through 15 kegs of Devil's Milk in one night at their Bowie location and sold out of it soon after.

Word to the wise: if you're jonesin' for some Devil's Milk, get there NOW. Whoever first said "while supplies last" never had a good glass of Barleywine.

Project: Draft Box

For some time now I've been wanting to build a draft box for parties and what not. For probably 3 years now I've been grabbing gear here and there for it, starting with a cooler that my neighbor offered to me. Then, about 15 months ago I scored a 3-circuit cold plate on eBay for about $85, which is very cheap by comparison. After stopping by the store to grab two shanks and some tubing, it was time to get to work.

First, I measured and drilled the 7/8" holes for the shanks. I spaced them 6" apart and left a space in the middle where I will add a third shank and tap sometime soon. Unfortunately my local homebrew store (LHBS in homebrewing forum-speak) only had 2 3" shanks. If you plan to follow my lead, know that once you get past the outer plastic layer and hit the insulation inside, it gets very messy. Drop the cold plate in only after all holes are drilled, shanks are installed and the cooler is cleaned out. Insulation in your cold plate is bad.

Once that was complete and the fittings were installed on the cold plate, in it went. I also wrapped each fitting's threads with Teflon tape, as the cold plate is aluminum and the fittings are steel. I heated some water in the microwave and soaked the ends of the 3/16" tubing in it before pushing them onto the nipples.




The 3/16" fittings on the liquid disconnects and cold plate were no problem; the shanks I bought had two 1/4" nipples welded on. No problem, as long as the tubing is nice and soft. And don't forget to put two Oetiker clamps on the tubing before putting both ends on the nipples.




For the rear, I just drilled two holes the size of the outer diameter of the tubing. Many commercial draft boxes use pass-through shanks, which work well but add to the cost, assembly and disassembly.






After all fittings were finished, it was time to flush the cold plate with OxyClean and sanitize with StarSan before giving it a test-run. It worked well, however it got pretty foamy at serving pressure of 8 psi...give that it was just flushed with 60°F sanitizer. Once the cold plate is chilled with ice water, it should be a different story.




Which means more testing. And more beer to drink! Cheers!

The Dangers of Carboys

Saw this today on one of the brewing forums I frequent. Unfortunately, it's not a freak accident. I've seen this quite a few times before and I'm sure I'll see it again:

My good friend and fellow brewer has been off this week recovering from surgery.

He dropped a full carboy and instinctively tried to save it... putting his hands in the path of the resulting explosion. All that liquid escaping pushes the glass shards out pretty explosively apparently.

He severed 5 tendons in one had and had over twenty stitches in the other.

After telling my wife this story she made me sit down and by a carboy hauler, can't say I blame her.

I guess the lesson is be very damn careful with your vessels, spend the money on safety equipment, and if the carboy is going save yourself, and cry over the lost beer later.

The carboy hauler will help, but for me this danger is averted by using food-grade buckets. Until I can afford to drop $600 on a conical fermenter, this will be my fermenter of choice. Not to mention you're going to drop $12 on top of the $20 per carboy you have. That gets expensive quickly; though presumably once you make that purchase, you probably won't have to replace it again (short of any disasterous accidents like the one mentioned earlier).

I've been brewing for almost 5 years and for every one of the 67 batches I've made, I've used buckets. Buckets just have a few advantages over glass carboys:

• Easier to clean
• Easier to harvest yeast from
• Do not shatter
• Have a carrying handle built in
• Protect the fermenting wort from light (UV has negative effects on yeast and unisomerized hop compounds)
• Less slippery than wet glass

Of course there's the ever-debated issue of scratching the plastic buckets that may create a place for bacteria and wild yeast to take hold and flourish. If you're using a Brillo pad maybe. I just hose 'em out, soak 'em in OxyClean, drain, rinse and wipe 'em down.

Oxygen permeability was also debated at one point, before it was pointed out that new buckets are made of a plastic that is impermeable to oxygen. In terms of secondary fermentation, many homebrewers are now using the Better Bottle. And many, including myself, are using Cornelius kegs for secondary fermentation. No "suck-back" issues with the airlock and the beer stays protected in stainless steel under a blanket of carbon dioxide (provided you purge the headspace with it).

Whatever method you chose, make an informed decision. Many homebrewers still like the glass carboy for primary fermentation, if not just for the perk of being able to watch the fermentation activity. Who doesn't like that?!

Cobblestone's

About a year ago I remember seeing a billboard for Cobblestone's in York, PA. Then, Trouble Brewing blogger Eric cited an article mentioning Cobblestone's and the South Central PA Homebrewers' Association. After reviewing the website and their salivation-provoking beer list, we put it on our to-do list.

Yes, the wife suggested it...even though she's not a beer drinker! How to know you married the right girl...

Anyway, last night we made the trip. Fortunately for me, it's less than 30 minutes from my house. True to the picture on their website, the inner doors open to a large expanse of TV screens, pool tables, dart boards, and tables. The service was great, the food was good, and the overall atmosphere was inviting. I started with a pint of Bell's Oktoberfest and it fit the bill perfectly. Although later I did order a pint of Bell's Porter, the server returned with something that was definitely not dark and nearly opaque. The server had been great in every way and since it was a light copper color, I was sure it wasn't Bud so I didn't complain. Instead I looked at it as a challenge to try to test my senses and palate. After a few sips and some nosing, I was certain it was an IPA. When it was time to pay up, the check told me it was a pint of Bell's Two-Hearted Ale. A nice surprise for sure!

All in all, their beer menu was encouraging and the pool tables looked inviting. Definitely heading there for Happy Hour someday!

Construction

This past weekend kicked off another stride of construction in the ol' basement. A good friend of mine stopped by and helped me wire the place and the next day I started hanging insulation. The basement includes my back room, which is where all the brewing-type things happen (fermentation, yeast propagation, serving freezer, endless cleaning, etc.)---minus the actual wort production process; that happens in the garage or outside on a nice day. It also includes my bar with four VentiMatic faucets that run straight from my serving freezer. Once it's carpeted and the furniture and LCD TV go down there, I think my wife may have to forcibly remove me from my "man cave".

It is nice to be able to build things the way you want them, though. Outlets for the temperature controlled freezers, one here and there for miscellaneous items, shelving, etc. Once I finish framing the HVAC chase I'll be hanging moisture-resistant drywall. Maybe some epoxy on the floor someday. Who knows.

For now, I just have to suffer through not having any light in the back room---it's wired, just needs to have the overhead 48" lights hung after the drywall goes up. Until then, it's a 1,000-watt tripod light. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a little to gain a lot.

Pictures? They're coming. That place is looks terrible right now!

Another trip, another score

I've got it down to a pattern now: trip to Michigan, stop in Arbor Brewing, stop in Andersons in Maumee/Toledo, return. Ok, and some family things in between too.

Arbor Brewing was pleasant as usual, but unfortunately their offerings this time were diminished in selection. The Sacred Cow Cask IPA was out, their menu said they had Dunkel but didn't, and their Abbey ale was the only seasonal on tap. All were good, nonetheless. Just not as diverse this time. Hopefully they'll have their Terminator dopplebock back on tap soon.

And as usual, the Andersons store didn't disappoint. Aside, I really wish we had one here but then there's the PA distribution stranglehold---so you can forget singles right out, nevermind selection. It truly is a shame that in a state with such great breweries as Victory, Appalachian, Sly Fox, Stoudt's (countless more) the consumer is so limited in terms of what and where they can buy. There's supply and demand (the countless stores that stock 30-packs of Bud/Miller/Coors) but then there's politics. Pathetic, really, and a scarlet letter on the Pennsylvania legislative and distribution systems.

Anyway, I arrived safely home with a bounty of tasty brews:

• Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA. Had it before, great beer. And look, I can buy one bottle!
• Lagunitas IPA
• Southern Tier Raspberry Wheat
• Paulaner Salvator Dopplebock. The original dopplebock. Didn't make it 4 hours in the house before it was opened and summarily poured. It will be missed.
• Three Floyds Rabid Rabbit Saison
• Arcadia Coco Loco
• Southern Tier Harvest Ale
• Arcadia Hopmouth Double IPA
• Southern Tier Big Red Imperial Red
• Fort Collins Brewing Chocolate Stout
• Great Lakes Brewing Oktoberfest
• Great Lakes Nosferatu (stock ale)
• Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Yes, that is a 6-pack of Southern Tier Harvest Ale. The "quadrupulus humulus lupus" descriptor on the package sealed the deal for me. And before you think that this is just another double IPA, take a sip and you'll find that it's not even a double IPA at all. It has a very pleasant hop aroma and flavor but restrained bitterness. The beer delivers a moderately-malty flavor, devoid of a darkness that would suggest highly-roasted caramel malts; only 2-row pale malt and wheat malt. Clearly, the emphasis is the hops here: Amarillo, Chinook, and Columbus hops in the kettle, Styrian Golding hops in the hopback, and dry-hopped with Amarillo.

I've really grown a fondness for Southern Tier. Their beers are creative, and who doesn't love the packaging? Vibrant and vivid.

The Three Floyds Saison, one of the Arcadia Coco Locos and the Arcadia Hopmouth will be going to my craft beer enthusiast and amateur magician friend Jason, in return for 3 bottles of Stone 2007 Vertical Epic he brought me. It's good to have good friends with good taste.

Cheers!

There's hope for the world yet

Among my usual offering from my blog reader was an encouraging article from the BBC. Good beer knows no boundaries and makes its own friends. These friends in an unlikely part of the world modeled their event after the ubiquitous Oktoberfest in Munich and reaped the rewards in true Bavarian bierkeller style.

Rodney King missed the mark but he was close: can't we all just have a good beer together?

Ein prosit, der Gemütlichkeit!!

Time to reap what was sown

Received the score sheets and goods for the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair yesterday. This is the big pay-off, and not always necessarily in terms of physical goods (although those are nice too). The honest, objective feedback from BJCP judges on your brew is invaluable. This is where the wheel meets the road, in my opinion. Often I see posts of brewers on internet forums of "I've done [insert technique---or lack thereof---here] and my beers taste great!" While pride in one's creations is admirable and empathic, it's still subjective. I firmly believe you cannot completely and objectively analyze your own brews. That's where the score sheets come in.

In terms of my own, I received a 41 (out of 50) for my dry stout, 1st in category and an honorable mention in Best of Show. Here are some remarks:

Very nice beer. Could consume vast quantities.

Good coffee flavor with slight hop bitterness. Great balance, no huskiness.

A classic example of style. Very well balanced with only minor flaws. Kudos to the brewer.

Moderate roast with very low roast sharpness. Slight chocolate in middle of palate with some creaminess that smoothes beer tremendously.

For the Second Best of Show Maibock (36 points, 1st in category):

Very close to an excellent Hellesbock. The cloying malt flavor is my only problem. You have a very nice balance, but I've found that the best Maibocks are served fresh but become cloying with age. This could be the issue here. Still, very nicely done beer.

And just to be honest and drive the point home, Oktoberfest (30 points, 2nd in category):

Deep copper, very clear. Pretty good initial carbonation, but very poor head retention.

Recipe is probably ok but you need a cleaner yeast and lower fermentation temperature.

So, feedback, whether shining or shining a light on your shortcomings, is a good thing. It's certainly motivation to do better next time or to try to replicate your results. It's constructive criticism, so if you have a problem with that you're probably not going to do well with competitions or brewing in general.

Man up, put 'em in the box and send 'em on their way! If nothing else, the loot (like a gift certificate to the Flying Barrel) will put some bounce in your step!

How you know you married the right girl

My patient and ever-loving wife headed out to Michigan this weekend to help out a friend in need and returned with a mixed six-pack:

• Bell's Porter
• Bell's Lager of The Lakes (Pilsner)
• Bell's Batch 8,000 (Belgian Strong Ale)
• Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
• Great Lakes Elliot Ness Amber Lager
• Great Lakes Commodore Perry IPA

She done good! Not bad for someone who doesn't even like beer---show's she's been paying attention! Think I'll split the bottle of Batch 8,000 with her, some homebrewers I've talked to that have non-beer-drinking wives say they've had success with Belgian beers.

Cheers!

DIY taphandles

You don't have to go out and plunk down $40 on a new tap handle. You don't even have to spend $10-15 on eBay. You can make 'em yourself. Granted, some may require some tools most don't have in their workbench (myself included), but if you have access to 'em or know someone that does, a little homebrew barter can go a long way.

I grabbed an old aluminum spanner wrench that was dumpster-bound and decided to give it a second life, delivering hoppy and malty goodness. First it needed a little cleanup, so 5 minutes in the sandblasting cabinet made it look brand-new. Aluminum's a soft metal, of course, so drilling it and tapping it was a piece of cake. Add a light spray of acrylic to protect and voila! Ready for the faucet.

Short of that route, there's always the Tap Handle Insert, but it's probably best used for wooden or plastic items. It requires you drill a 1/2" hole, and in my case that was way too big. Still, it's a good low-tech option at $1.70.

Weight is a concern, so bear that in mind while you perform your search. I'm not sure exactly how much a given faucet can handle, but in reality the faucets aren't mounted 100% vertically and a little unsupervised movement in the wrong direction could mean an empty CO2 tank, an empty keg, and a large mess of beer on your floor---not to mention the loss of the beer! In my situation, my bar is being constructed in a fire department theme (go figure) so axe and sledgehammer heads aren't exactly practical. But aluminum is nice and lightweight so it fit perfectly.

Good hunting!

Sam Adams: Beer Lover's Choice

In 2005, it was the Brown Ale. In 2006, it was the Honey Porter (delicious, by the way). And once again, the Boston Beer Company is looking for votes for their next production brew. In one corner is an Irish Red, and in the other is a Dunkelweizen.

So check out the video and go to their promotions page to find a date and location where you can put your $0.02 in and drink good beer!

Cheers!

Alabama town considers going DRY

Link to Yahoo News Article

It appears some of the residents of Athens, Alabama retain the conviction that alcohol begets all that is bad. And to spare every reader with a political/religious tirade, I'll just say this: "What happened to Separation of Church and State, Reverend Eddie?!?!"

Ironically, the movement in Athens is encouraging the citizens to pray and fast---and when I think of fasting and alcohol, I think of the first monks that emigrated to Germany and sustained themselves with dopplebock, the ancestor of Paulaner Salvator. The outcome was much more prolific.

Someone needs a history lesson on why Prohibition failed. Perhaps Athens, Alabama can endure another ugly period in time; hopefully, the rest of the Country will never have to and as long as I'm here, I'm going to do my small share to ensure that doesn't happen by brewing beer, drinking beer, and blogging/talking/having a few pints with those that would agree that the world is a better place with beer.

Cheers, beer drinkers!!!

The results are in!

The results of the 2007 Montgomery County Agricultural Fair are in and I did pretty well:

• 2nd place Best-of-Show, Bock (Maibock)
• Honorable Mention, Best-of-Show, Stout
• 2nd place European Amber Lager (Oktoberfest)
• 1st place Dark Lager (Dunkel)
• 1st place Bock (Maibock)
• 1st place Stout

Second year in a row with 2nd Best-of-Show!!! Gonna shoot for the top for next year.