1.21 Gigahops – Doc Brown’s Double

Hard to believe that today is the last Friday of summer. Seems it was just a short while ago that we were wrapping up the school year and looking forward to summer break. Guess what they say is correct – all good things must come to an end. For most things this is correct – like summer break. But God gave us the seasons to enjoy in their due time and I actually am looking forward to the new school year because that means Fall and Football are almost here! Fall is such a wonderful transition from the dog days of summer to the wonderland of winter. And football is, well, football!

So how to spend the last Free Friday of summer? How about NOT doing any schoolwork OR homework! I’m in for that. What to do? Brew beer of course! Since the electric system has been the workhorse at Fieldpointe South, the old propane systems has been collecting dust at Fieldpointe North for a good long while. Today that is changing and Old Faithful is currently back in action. Kinda windy but the weather is great and so far it has been a fantastic way to spend today.

But wait! School starts in a few days. Where is your dedication to the future of our society? My dedication today is to the brew pot. Monday the focus will be Back to the Future. Ha!

You see, the brewing at Fieldpointe South mostly stays at Fieldpointe South. That’s the tradeoff of being able to brew regularly and use Mark’s home and utilities. He gets to keep the finished product in return for brewing, the BM bar, snacks, a meal, beer and more! It works for the both of us. This leads to the question that all Brothers of the Lutheran Persuasion ask:

What does this mean?

This means that Fieldpointe North needs to occasionally brew to keep the 4 tap keezer stocked. Not that there is a lack of brew. There always seems to be random open cases and kegs strewn around the man cave. It’s the principle of the thing. Couldn’t tell you the last time a brew session took place here. I know it wasn’t last summer or winter or spring. So I’m back at it and NEED to plan for a winter brew over Christmas Break – the next opportunity.

Readership will note that brewing at Fieldpointe North is not as informative as Fieldpointe South. There could be a BM Bar but that didn’t happen today. It was closed. There are no Dorothy Doors to open. If there were, they would be open. The keezer contents will wait until later this evening for the Featured Friday Pizza and Beer pairing. The most “interesting” thing that occurred so far is that the wind extinguished my burner once. Don’t know how long it was out but that situation was corrected easily. Otherwise, all is going as it should.

Just did a quick look and all is well. 5 minutes remaining in the boil and then free-fall cool down. The “no chill” method is still in use here. For basic review: At flameout the boil kettle is allowed to cool naturally. In this case with the temp being 81° F it will be a slow process. It will sit out back for a number of hours before the flameout hops are added around 170° F, then racked into a container, carried inside down to the man cave and transferred to the fermenter. There it will cool all night and by morning the temp should be good for pitching the yeast. BTW there is a yeast starter of Fermentis SafAle US-05 underway at this time. That should be good to go tomorrow morning as well.

Time to go kill the burner and do some cleanup and prep work.

This beer should be listed somewhere on the site as a previous brew. To make it easier for all and just in case modifications to the recipe have been made, here are the makings of 1.21 Gigahops – Doc Brown’s Double:

Grains

10# – 2 Row Brewers Malt
0.5# – Maris Otter
0.25# – Vienna Malt
0.25# – Crystal 20°

Hops

1 oz – Magnum @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Simcoe @ 30 minutes
1 oz – Centennial @ 15 minutes
1 oz – Cascade @ flameout
1 oz – Amarillo @ flameout
2 oz – Cascade: Dry hop in the serving keg

Adjuncts

1# – Corn Sugar @ 15 minutes

Yeast

Fermentis SalAle US-05 (starter)

As an aside, some weeks back I attended the air show at the EAA in Oshkosh, WI for Teacher Day. While perusing the grounds, what should I stumble upon?