Spring Break is just about over. Good thing the Brew Crew got together yesterday at Fieldpointe South to get something in the fermenter. The pre-meeting polling picked Red Zeppelin for the event. Be advised that there may have been some ballot box stuffing going on. I’ll explain.
C.F.W. Malther’s management is Zeppelin oriented in music. This has caused minor debate at preceding brew sessions with other representing breweries. There may be misinformation out there as to where Zeppelin ranks in comparison to, let’s say, Pink Floyd. Most folks would have that figured out. That’s an easy one – at least you would think. But alas, patience must be extended towards the few who do not. Perhaps picking Red Zeppelin was not the proper way to go as it may encourage more future nonsense. Too late now.
RZ is an Irish Red Ale. Guess that is fitting with St. Patrick’s Day approaching fast. No, this won’t be ready until early next month. That’s OK – we will extend the SPD celebration during April in preparation for the tapping of the Maibock the following month.
In attendance were Greg of Lone Cedar, Jerome of C.F.W. Malther and of course Supervisor Mark of Fieldpointe South.
Mark’s BMB opened promptly at 11 am but the author was a tad tardy attempting to squeeze in some schoolwork beforehand. Greg, being somewhat familiar with the brewing process, stepped up to the plate and had the sparge water heating as well as the strike water in the main unit. This move got him an 11% stake in the brew. That is if the beer mice don’t get to it first.
It is believed that some in attendance may have broken protocol by skipping the Hamm’s Chaser and going directly to Lone Cedar’s beverages. The Fieldpointe South folks follow this well established policy and procedure. Perhaps the BMB should be off limits to the violators until some manners are learned. Just saying.
What did Lone Cedar provide that enticed participants to forgo proper BMB etiquette? Irish Vendetta (Growler) and Prairie Schooner Porter on Nitro (Mini Keg). You can look these up on Greg’s website provided you can find it. He likes to keep it a well kept secret. Something about his beers being proprietary or something along those lines. These are very good beers!
Here Greg is pretending to be distracted by the food stuffs Mark provided. A pint of PSP is in the foreground. We ate well.
“What’s this?” “Are those playing cards on the table?” Why yes, they are! Jerome tag teamed the event with his youngest son, Andre, and introduced him to the wonderful world of all things Sheephead related. Since this may have been his first time, the “rookie rule” was lifted. Folks just learning the game are required to play with quarters before earning the right of passage to graduate to the more common nickels. (Some people even play for pennies but that might be an issue in coming years.) Besides, father and son were going on an adventure to locate establishments with the “claw game” where a minimum of $10 combined must be spent. If remembered correctly, 3 different locations were to be visited to fulfill the activity. Guess that is where all the quarters were going. Mark’s “claw game” apparently is out for repair as it hasn’t been seen for a good while now.
The brew session was fun and went well. I think the same can be said of the clientele – the fun part.
This version of Red Zeppelin is slightly different from its predecessor. For this round, attention was given to the color factor – which normally isn’t a big deal. However, the name kinda dictates that the beer have a hint of red. The trick will be figuring out the combination of roasted barley, chocolate malt and crystal quantities. The goal of course is to get a red tint to the beer and not end up with a brown ale or darker. Another option to try would be the use of what is called Red X malt. Fieldpointe has no experience with this so far. Might need to change that.
Red Zeppelin
Grains
- 8 lb – Two Row
- 2 oz – Roasted Barley
- 2 oz – Chocolate Malt
- 2 oz – Crystal (80°)
Hops
- 1.5 oz – East Kent Goldings @ 60 minutes
Yeast
- Fermentis US-05
Projected Analysis
- OG – 1.044
- FG – 1.011
- Color – 14.5 SRM
- Bitterness – 28 IBU
- ABV – 4.3%
Cheers to a fun filled brewing and St. Patrick’s Day!
