Author: Jerry

I am a middle school math and science teacher who first stepped foot in the classroom in 1988. My first teaching experience was in Marinette, WI.
In addition, I started home brewing in 1998 and still enjoy the hobby - thus Fieldpointe Brewery.
I am also a licensed amateur radio operator - N0IMJ - and received my "ticket" in 1986 while attending college in MN.

July 2023

Foghorn Parti

With much sadness and disappointment we learned of the recent closing of Anchor Brewing in San Francisco, CA. Their website indicates 127 years of business in the Bay Area as “America’s First Craft Brewery.”

My first encounter with Anchor Brewing was right here in Oak Creek, WI some years ago. I was suds shopping at the local supermarket and saw Anchor Old Foghorn in 7 oz bottles. Being in a small bottle with a cool name and label, I thought it had to be good. So I bought a few and enjoyed them. Apparently, I got my hands on the last of it because I never did see it on the store shelves again around SE WI.

In recognition of Anchor Brewing and its closing, Brew Your Ow n (BYO) magazine published a number of clones of the Anchor beers. Also in recognition of Anchor’s contribution to the craft beer community and to American beer history, I decided to brew the beer that introduced me to the Anchor lineup: Old Foghorn Barleywine.

Anchor produced this beer using the Parti-Gyle Style of brewing. According to the BYO website:

“Anchor’s brewhouse wasn’t designed for brewing large batches of high gravity beers. In order to hit their target for Old Foghorn Barleywine they reach for a traditional English technique of using just the first runnings from a very large mash without sparging. This yields a much smaller volume of wort so they collect the first runnings from three mashes to reach their full volume.

Of course skipping the sparge leaves a lot of sugar in the spent grains that would be a shame to waste. So once again they looked to English brewers for a solution. That’s where parti-gyle brewing comes in. By sparging the mash and collecting these second runnings the remaining sugar can be used to make a lower gravity beer. Anchor started doing this very process to produce Anchor Small Beer in 1987.

The result of parti-gyle is two very different worts. The first runnings are high gravity, deep in color, and rich in flavor. The second runnings are much lower gravity, lighter in color, and often a bit thin or astringent. You can use this to your advantage as you make a much more quaffable session beer to go along with your barleywine.”

The Fieldpointe version also employs the parti-gyle method – which is a first for the brewery. Brewing 2 beers in a single day has not been attempted. Following the BYO guide, the first runnings are collected (no sparge) for the main beer and then the mash is sparged to collect the 2nd runnings for the small beer.

The day started early – just to ensure that there would be enough time for a two boil day. There is one propane burner at Fieldpointe North so each brew needed to take its turn.

As indicated in the BYO notes, the initial 22 lb of grain is mashed in 10 gallons of water to produce 7 gallons of 1st runnings in the boil kettle. This actually was spot on and as previously indicated, there is no sparge of the mash at this point.

While the 1st runnings were over the burner flame, additional water was added to the mash which patiently waited for the first burner occupant to finish.

Eventually, with the initial boil completed, the 2nd boil commenced. Sparge water was added to the mash to produce an additional 7 gallons of 2nd runnings.

The now traditional Fieldpointe North “no chill” method was employed on both beers. The wort is allowed to cool until it falls somewhere between the 170 and 180° F range. The Foghorn Parti was then transferred to the stainless conical to finish cooling and the accompanying small beer was transferred to a 6 gallon plastic container purchased specifically for no chilling. Within 24 hours the worts were at pitching temps. Yeast was added so that they would do their thing.

Instead of using a “blow off” tube on the conical, a traditional airlock was attempted – and rejected. As you can see, it was just “spit out” by the fermentation – which eventually filled some space in the “containment” system on the floor (2nd pict).

BTW – the small beer is in the glass carboy on the floor in the second pict. Understandably, that fermentation was much more subdued and behaved itself.

The inaugural parti-gyle procedure went smoothly and was enjoyable. The brew day went well and was finished in plenty of time. Both beers are giving indication that all is going as it should.

It is sad that after all these years Anchor Brewing had to close its doors. I’ve had the privilege of trying a number of their beers – including their annual Christmas productions. It will be missed along with its place in the American Craft Beer scene. I get to do what I enjoy because of what places such as Anchor have made possible. Thanks Anchor!

Here are the makings of Foghorn Parti and its accompanying small beer:

Grain

20 lb – 2 Row
2 lb – Crystal Malt 60° L

Hops

2 oz – Cascade @ 90 minutes
1 oz – Cascade @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Cascade @ 30 minutes
2 oz – Cascade in the fermenter (2nd week)

Yeast

Lallemand – 3767 Nottingham (starter)

Projected Analysis (not measured)

OG – 1.115
FG – 1.029
Color – 17 SRM
IBU – 76.6
ABV – 11.5%

Small Beer

1 oz – Goldings @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Goldings @ 30 minutes
Safale US-05 (yeast)

Thanks to Anchor for its contribution to the beer scene in America. It is sad to see you go. May many more be like you in their contributions to the craft beer community and beer history in the United States.

June 2023

Vesuvius

Post author By Jerry
Post date June 26, 2023
1 Comment on Vesuvius

Most connoisseurs of beer are familiar with Russian River’s Pliny the Elder. As indicated on the Russian River WWW site, Pliny is made in limited supply. It also is limited to the Santa Rosa, CA region which means that it doesn’t make its way to the Midwest.

Question: What is one to do?

Answer: Have Mark read a 13 year old issue of Zymurgy magazine and find a clone recipe provided by Vinnie Cilurzo himself.

Mark’s son, Jack, was in town from IN and was given the privilege to name this beer. Below is the condensed version of Jack’s research into this important task. I’m sure he spent more than 2 minutes to come up with this.

According to Wikipedia, Gaius Plinius Secundus – AKA Pliny the Elder – died in AD 79 attempting to rescue a friend from the then erupting Mount Vesuvius.

The board of directors at Fieldpointe approved the name suggestion in record time as to not hinder the immediate production of Vesuvius.

With the hard work out of the way, came the much easier task of Mark figuring out how to spend his time at the grill. He decided on a brisket (7 lb) which he procured at Danny’s for the occasion.

Bright and early on brew day Mark was firing up his charcoal unit. I’m so glad he uses charcoal. The charcoal, smoking wood chips and cooking meat present a wonderful aroma to enjoy while engaging in a few pints from the infamous basement brew fridge. (A keg of Paddle Pusher was on hand for the event.)

The day was glorious so the Dorothy Doors were in full open status. All attendees had easy access the Basement Man Cave to keep the bottoms of their pint glasses from drying out. (There hasn’t been much rain in this area as of late so this is a concern.)

While putting in the time to accomplish the two tasks of the day: Brew beer & Grill the brisket – we were entertained by Jack’s two dogs: Elton and Dolly P. Elton “chews” water coming out of the lawn sprinkler and Dolly P stares and paws at small patches of sunlight created by the small drainage holes in Mark’s gazebo canopy. When not doing those things, the two will “zoom.” This entails racing each other back and forth across the rear of the property. They also keep the local wildlife in check as I did not see a single chipmunk or rabbit the entire time.

Having so much down time, Mark once again put together some homemade pretzels using some of the spent grain from the mash. As per usual, they turned out fantastic – especially with some Mark-B-Q sauce.

Preceding the pretzels was the anticipated and expected Bloody Mary Bar. Mark has expanded the ingredient offerings to include many of the usual BM candidates. This time he had shrimp and a horseradish sauce that Jack brought from IN.

This is some good sinus clearing stuff and a great companion to the BMB.

The brisket turned out to be very good. It was enjoyed with corn on the cob and a cucumber salad. Brisket pizza was originally on the day’s menu but did not make an appearance. It was decided to give the time to the grill and not so much to the oven. This had nothing to do with the Great Pizza Debacle of 2023!

Brisket pizza along with brisket tacos and everything else brisket made appearances in following days – so I’ve been told. I have been informed that it all was, as Doreen would say, “Fabulous!” I have to take the word for it.

As previously indicated, Vesuvius is a clone recipe. I don’t think a brewer ever divulges the exact recipe design but gives something close to the original. Either way, this IPA should turn out well.

The brew day went well and as planned. Other than that, there isn’t much else to report. Nothing smoldered or had to be thrown out. Guess it is good that the process is more or less routine at this point. Here is the Fieldpointe version of Vesuvius:

Grain

13 lb – 2 Row
0.5 lb – Crystal 40°
0.5 lb – Cara-Pils

Adjunct

1 lb – Corn Sugar

Hops

2.5 oz – Columbus @ 90 minutes
0.5 oz – Columbus @ 45 minutes
1 oz – Simcoe @ 30 minutes
1 oz – Centennial @ flameout
1 oz – Simcoe @ flameout
1 oz – Columbus in secondary
1 oz – Centennial in secondary
1 oz – Simcoe in secondary
1 oz – Columbus in keg
1 oz – Centennial in keg
1 oz – Simcoe in keg

Yeast

US-05 Fermentis Safale

Projected Analysis (not measured)

Style – Double IPA
OG – 1.081
FG – 1.018 (@ 75% efficiency / attenuation)
ABV – 8%
Color – 8.8 SRM
Bitterness – 199 IBU

June 2023

Paddle Pushers Ale

Sunday, June 04 found the Fieldpointe Brew Crew meeting up with the McFarland Mashers to resurrect that group’s 30 gallon brewing system which had gone dormant for some years. Mark and I were graciously invited to be a part of the event and were glad to attend.

The McFarland guys consist of my brothers Paul and Todd (Todd is a OTR driver and was on a run that day.) and their friend John – at whose place the brew gear resides, is maintained and now once again used.

This post is going to be in picture format so Mark can actually follow along and enjoy it for a change.

55 pounds of grain went into this brew.

As you can see, the sparge vessel false bottom consists of multiple stainless steel braids. You probably recognize the float!

Notice how Mark fulfilled the role of supervisor – just as he does at the Fieldpoine events. Every brewery needs an overseer of operations.

This kettle is full! Todd will be glad to know that a boil over did not occur – thanks to Hop Spider’s watchful eyes. Here he is going after that stray bottle cap that wandered too close.

This copper chiller has a motorized paddle that agitates the wort. A garden hose in and out gets the job done.

This system works very well.

This rack keeps the barrel at a slight forward incline. John explained that he simply slips another barrel under the primary and uses good old gravity to transfer to the secondary. The secondary is at just the correct hight to fill kegs when the time comes.

This was a fantastic day! John had the beer fridge well stocked. Paul brought some fantastic brats. Mark brought some snacks – including Danny’s meat sticks. I brought 4 liters of Father, Bread, Evil and a bottle from Dark Lord Day at 3 Floyds Brewing. (Mark and I linked up with his boys in Munster, IN a week or so earlier for the annual Dark Lord Day. Next time you see Mark, ask him about his new best friend John – not the one above – although….)

This is my brother Paul’s recipe for Paddle Pushers Ale – printed without permission.

Grain

40 lb – 6 Row Pale Malt
5 lb – Flaked Rice
5 lb – White Wheat Malt
3 lb – German Pilsner
2 lb – Crystal Malt 10°L

Hops

6 oz – Perle for 60 minutes
6 oz – Willamette for 10 minutes

Adjunct

4 lb – Corn Sugar

Yeast

Yeast #1056 – American Ale (starter)

Projected Analysis (not measured)

Original Gravity (OG) – 1.053
Final Gravity (FG) – 1.012
ABV – 5.4%
Bitterness – 31.2 IBU
Color – 3.9 SRM

Paul and I plan on each serving this beer at our respective amateur radio Field Day events at the end of this month. The rest of it John and Mark will have to fight over.

Thanks for a great day guys!

April 2023

Citra Celebration!

Easter Monday found the brew crew at Fieldpointe South for a kickoff to Spring and to reflect on the message of Easter: Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Easter blessings to all of you.

Christ’s resurrection means two things: 1) Our sins have been paid in full and heaven is ours. 2) Just as Christ rose victoriously from the grave, death has been conquered and we too will be raised on the Last Day. Easter is so much more than colored eggs, fluffy bunnies and Peeps. Thanks be to God!

It is time to shift gears to summer beers. The Maibock, a Spring beer, is still doing its thing on the Dorothy Door steps. It will be evaluated in a few weeks to see if it is ready for the keg.

The first beer of summer is a recipe that has been brewed a number of times now and has not disappointed. Just like spring house cleaning, a name upgrade is in order so the afore Zombie Dirt (a semblance of 3 Floyd’s Zombie Dust) is now Citra Celebration. Citra hops are a celebration in a glass!

Things got underway at what seems to be the standard start time – 10 AM. A new experience for Mark is that he got to use the hand mill to crush the grains. Usually the grains are milled at the malt shop with the powered mill. This works when the grain is to be used within a short period of time. With Holy Week, the timeframe was unsure as to when the goodies would be acquired so unmilled grain was attained. (The order was placed a good week in advance.) The author milled perhaps a third of the bill and Mark had at it – and finished strong. A power drill has previously been used but hasn’t had the best results. More torque is needed. Arm Strong power seems to be the best and Mark surprisingly had some.

Following the mash, Mark took his share of the spent grain and headed off to make the pretzels and then later, the pizza and then dog biscuits, while laughing that the poor chipmunks would be cut short on their spent grain ration yet again. Sometimes he can be so insensitive to wildlife.

Last time (the first time) Mark made pretzels, his wife, Helen, was out of the office so Mark made “dog pile” pretzels. (See a previous post.) This time Helen was available to assist (and bail Mark out of his predicaments. More on that in a bit.) so the creativity of the pretzel presentation has improved.

As with Pretzel Version 1.0, 2.0 tasted just as great. Sometimes looks are not everything. 1 of 3 done. Check √.

Phase 2: Get the dough ready for pizza. Since Mark has done this a couple of times now, this procedure should go just fine. But, as with middle school kids, don’t get your hopes up. Just when you think you are making progress …

Mark prepared the dough and had it going along nicely. He even comment on how he enjoys punching the dough because it doesn’t punch back. Perhaps it should have on this occasion.

Where is a great place to put rising dough? Of course, in the oven! That is where it is going to end up anyway so why not get it acclimated ahead of time, right? Makes sense.

However, one needs to account for a slight transition when said oven is also used for baking the pizza – preferably before preheating the oven to pizza baking temperatures. The following is a paraphrase of the conversation that might have taken place in the kitchen.

Helen: “Are you preheating the oven for the pizza?”

Mark: “Thanks for the reminder. I’ll do that now.”

A short time later….

Mark: “It is getting a bit smoky in here Helen. Did you spill anything in the oven?”

Helen: “You know I take the utmost pride in my culinary skills and wouldn’t make such a careless mistake as to spill something in the oven. Who do you think I am, a middle school rookie cook?”

Mark: “Yeah, you are right. But something is burning and causing the air in here to have a bluish tint. Open some windows.”

Helen: “Ok. Well, whatever it is, when you are finished making your mess in here, get the pressure washer out and get this taken care of.”

Mark: “Sounds like a plan. Will do.”

Mark grabs another beer and heads outside to wait for the preheat timer to sound. And then….

Mark: “Helen, did you move the pizza dough?”

Helen: ” No, haven’t touched it. It is probably right where you left it.”

Bewildered Mark: “I don’t see it. Are you sure you didn’t move it? I’m positive that I left it …. in …. the …………. Helen!!!”

At this point I must stop my paraphrasing as it might not have been suitable for publication.

Once the comotion died down, Mark came out with a sullen expression indicating that there would be no pizza on the menu. Not only did the dough not make it for its intended purpose, the poor towel that was draped over the dough succumbed to heat stroke – and more. Sadness & Disappointment. Iron Chef? Not so much.

Helen, being used to bailing Mark out of his predicaments, saved the day by effortlessly putting together a bar-b-q brisket nacho platter which was enjoyed by all. Mark dried his tears and it all worked out just fine.

In other news, the Dorothy Door Report: This week has experienced some fabulous summer-like weather. So, the DDs were OPEN! It sure is great to have this access to the man cave from the patio available once again . Beverages can be replenished so much faster! And one doesn’t need to pass through a smoke filled kitchen.

Unlike the great pizza debacle, the brew session went smoothly – which means there isn’t much interesting to report. Therefore, I’ll transition directly to the stats of Citra Celebration.

Grain

10.5 lb – 2 Row Brewers’ Malt
1.5 lb – Munich Malt
0.5 lb – Cara-Pils
0.5 lb – Crystal 60°

Hops

1 oz Citra – 60 minutes
1 oz Citra – 30 minutes
2 oz Citra – Flameout
2 oz Citra – Storage (Keg)

Yeast

Lallemand LalBrew Verdant IPA

Projected / Unmeasured Analysis:

OG: 1.063
FG: 1.016
Color: 11.3 SRM
ABV: 6%
Bitterness: 70 IBU

This was a great way to spend Easter Monday. Thanks to Mark for giving something interesting to share with the 1.5 readers of this blog. Easter Blessings!

March 2023

Maibock I

Post author By Jerry
Post date March 15, 2023
No Comments on Maibock I

Ahh… Spring Break. The much anticipated time-out from the school routine since the Christmas / New Year Break. Although there isn’t very much “Spring” about it so far, it does mean being able to get the brew gear involved in the usual spring break brew: Maibock.

Maibock has two versions available at the brewery: I and II. For this seasonal favorite, #1 was chosen. It is a Helles Bock which is a lager beer. In the past it has occupied some shelf space in the brew garage here at Fieldpointe HQ quietly doing its thing totally dependent on naturally provided temperatures. Sometimes is was on the warmer side and at other times it would be cooler. Either way, it has turned out to be a fun springtime favorite eagerly anticipated and enjoyed.

Last year’s version, Maibock II, had the privilege to do its thing on Mark’s Dorothy Door Steps. Being an equal opportunity establishment, Maibock I also gets to hang out in pretty much the exact same spot as Maibock II did on the steps. The location is the same but the variable of temperature may be a lot different. Time will tell. (And if Mark can keep his hands off of it.)

How does a brew day kick off by two guys who have a day and house to themselves? (Mark’s wife, Helen, had the smarts enough to get away from a Wisconsin “Winter” Spring Break and head to sunny CA.) As one would expect: a Bloody Mary bar! The usual fixings were present with a few new arrivals on the scene: pickled okra and beef broth. Incorporating the beef broth was intended to add some complexity and I guess change the name of the drink to a “Bull” or something like that. (I wasn’t paying all that much attention when Mark was giving the explanation so I’m not sure. Maybe he was giving me a line or two of bull.) Anyway, I eagerly participated by including the provided new ingredients into the concoction and was not disappointed in the least. It was so good I had to break code and have another to celebrate the day.

As you may or may not recall, Mark has been stepping up his game as an active player in the brew day. Last brew session, he tried his hand at making spent grain pizza. Surprisingly, it turned out well! Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, he tried it again. This time the featured topping was anchovies. I previously mentioned that the opportunity to have tried this before had escaped me. Perhaps I had bought into the usual response that people who have tried it give – not very good. So I never persued the option. Well, Mark gave me the option and honestly, I enjoyed it. Yes, anchovies are a little on the salty side but otherwise it was good – especially with Homebrew! What is totally amazing is that he had to go solo on this because, as previously mentioned, his wife was not around to bail him out – or do his cleaning and dishes afterward. So Mark is 2 / 2 on the pizza. The first was sauerkraut with jalapeño and now anchovies. Wonder what his plan is for the next?

Don’t really know what fire got started in him, but Mark also embarked on yet another enhancement to the brew day – spent grain pretzels. As you know, the internet can be a dangerous thing in the hands of some people. But I have to say, he scored on this number as well. With home-made beer cheese, these were very good!

The presentation phase wasn’t the most creative. The best he could do was something that resembled a dog pile. You can be the judge because I am including picts of his pretzel masterpiece making!

Hope it and the pizza making thing hang around – although I understand if he doesn’t go for them at each brew event. Sometimes you just have to sit back, relax, enjoy a homebrew and watch other people do all the work. But, until the grilling season hits full force, this is a fantastic filler by giving him something useful to do.

Guess it is time to get to the brew. Ah, yes – Maibock I – a Helles Lager. Am kinda forced into going all grain on these beers lately. Think you can figure out why – and that’s OK – with the afore mentioned added benefits of doing so. Extract brewing works well with limited time availability but that isn’t a concern with most of our brew days. We like to follow Charlie Papazian’s mantra: “Relax, Don’t Worry, Have a Homebrew.”

The brew session went well – at least as far as I could tell. Nothing special to report concerning the brew in particular. However (and I almost forgot to include this), I attempted something brave and daring – which included the DDs. Yes, here it is – the anticipated Dorothy Door Report!

While Mark was making a mess upstairs in the kitchen, I needed to access the DDs – which were not open due to the spring / winter weather. Having not ever paid attention to how the mechanism works on the DDs, I needed to figure it out on the fly. Not being a seasoned veteran at this, I did not achieve “full open” status. Rather, I managed to open just one of the two doors. Which, it turned out, was plenty of room for me to slip out, feed the chipmunks and birds, and get back inside before any squirrels or raccoons made their way down into the Blauert Man Cave. In addition, I think I was able to close and secure the door properly on the return trip. I will have to ask Mark in a few days if he has noticed any vermin or hooligans hanging out in the Man Cave. So far, so good.

With that being covered (can’t believe I almost forgot – that would have been sadness & disappointment) here is this rendition of Spring Break Maibock I:

Grain

12 lbs – 2 Row Brewers’ Malt
1 lb – 40°L Caramel
1 lb – Wheat Malt

Hops

1 zo – Perle @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Hallertau Mittelfruh @ 30 minutes

Yeast

Ferments Saflager W-34/70

Again, no actual measurements were taken so here are the anticipated readings per the brewing software at 75% efficiency:

OG – 1.061
FG – 1.015
Color – 10.85 SRM
Alcohol – 6.0% ABV
Bitterness – 35.8 IBU

The next brew session will most likely be Easter Monday. See you then!

February 2023

Super Brew Sunday II

Once again the brew crew, Mark and I, got together for Super Brew Sunday II (Second Edition). Last year’s Super Brew was the Maibock usually brewed over Spring Break. We discovered that brewing it in February was not the best idea because the outside temps were on the lower cold side. (The Maibock’s home is the steps just underneath the Dorothy Doors.) The beer turned out but it took a long time to do its thing due to the colder temps. Of course, the other end of the spectrum can take place waiting until Spring Break – warmer than usual temps. Anyway, we decided to put the Maibock brewing back to Spring Break and settled on the Belgian Quad for this year’s Super Brew Sunday II spectacular.

It was a fantastic brew day! Sunshine abounded with basically no wind and 46°F. Mark struggled to pull a couple of the summer patio chairs out on the, well, patio so could enjoy the sunshine, blue skies and growlers of Littleport Lil Bit Helles. This was the beer that other, more important Mark and I brewed back on January 02 at the end of Christmas break at the Littleport Brewery. All three (sunshine, warm February temp and Helles) made for a fantastic afternoon.

A pair of Helles growlers for Super Brew Sunday!

Since I’m in on this at this point, might as well get to the much anticipated Dorothy Door Report a bit early. You probably have guessed that the DDs were open – for a short period – but open nonetheless. Mark commented on the number of spider webs that accumulated over the winter months. One would think that spiders went south for the winter. Who knew?

So while the Belgian Quad was mashing away, we were outside grabbing as much sunshine as possible while enjoying the Helles.

A Lil Bit of Helles with a lil bit of sunshine and 46°F.

Less important Mark started the session off with his Bloody Mary Bar which is now an integral part of the brew day. Pizza slices were absent at this point but that concern was addressed a little later on in the day – however, sadly, after the BM Bar was closed.

As eager as Mark was to get the beer brewing under way, there was a slight delay do to some modifications that needed to be made. It was time to “upgrade” the brew gear. In January, using my birthday as an excuse to buy brew gear, I purchased a counterflow wort chiller with water supply hoses using quick connect / disconnect connect / disconnect connectors – or disconnectors. (Not quite sure how to state that.) Hoses needed to be cut. Adapters needed to be installed. Glasses needed to be filled. Here is the device in service for the first time at the end of the Belgian Quad brew boil.

New addition to the brewing process: counterflow wort chiller.

So why was Mark getting his knickers in a twist over the delay? Because of the anticipation of yet another first (and probably to become another staple for future brew days just like the Bloody Mary Bar). He wanted to get his mitts in the mash tun for some spent grains.

Sometimes Mark does some dangerous things – like reading. He came across a use for spent grains: dog biscuits. While not owning a dog, he thought it worth while to see if he could make some from the spent grain. Perhaps he plans on taking them to work for snacks?

Understandably, the local chipmunk populous vehemently objected to this because Mark is cutting in on the spent grains that get dumped behind the shrubbery. Apparently, Mark doesn’t yet understand the supply chain issues that are still present and the poor chipmunks are now forced to endure yet another hinderance on winter food supply. Some folks are just insensitive. And don’t care.

So, why the urgency? Biscuit baking can wait. Can’t it? Fortunately, Mark’s reading also introduced him to the idea that spent grains can be used to make a thin pizza crust. Ahhhh – now there is a practical application. (Maybe he will discover that spent grains can also be used to make homemade bread.)

Like a dog drooling for a spent grain biscuit, Mark was Marky on the Spot as soon as the one hour mash was complete. In he went with his scooper thing and off to the kitchen he disappeared to work his wonders using Belgian Quad spent grain. (It was kinda nice being able to get some stuff done without him constantly asking, “What do you need me to do?”)

During the boil and while Mark’s spent grain dough concoction was doing its thing, we played some two handed Sheephead. Of course, Mark always attempts to “set me up” by dealing me trash while keeping all the trump himself. I humor him by playing the hand and commenting on how a person could possibly be dealt so much fail in one hand. I, of course, go trick-less while he is so proud of himself for the clean sweep. Then comes the preverbal, “It never gets old.” comment. (I don’t pay him any nickels for winning the hand.) With the nonsense out of the way, legit dealings follow and Mark still cleans up on me in which I do have to pay up. Oh well…. he enjoys it.

Eventually Mark has to don the apron and get himself back to the serious matter of producing something resembling pizza. This was a high-stake affair. Chipmunks could be going without needed sustenance because Mark decided to waste the precious commodity of spent grain on a failed Martha Stewart endeavor. (Or is it Becky Home-ecky?)

To everyone’s amazement (Mark, Helen and me – other people had to water their lawns or pick up dog poop or something), Mark procured his specialty: Spent Grain Thin Crust Sauerkraut ‘n Jalapeño Pizza! Otherwise known as SGTCSnJP. It was really good! Paired with the Helles, it was a Lil Bit Heaven. That guy can work some wonders – once in a great while. Now that I think about it, it was probably his wife Helen who turned Mark’s wonder into a miracle pie.

Discussion immediately turned toward what type of pizza to make during Spring Break when the Maibock will be the beer of the day. I’ve never had anchovies but I bet I’d be OK with em. I’ll leave that part of the brew day up to him. We have a pretty good thing going on: Mark with his Bloody Mary bar / spent grain pizza and me with the brewing. We might soon become addicted and have do it more often.

As much as Mark tried to steal the show, the beer is always the center of attention no matter what other new and exciting things present themselves. It was decided to brew the Belgian Quad to give it some time to mature over the summer months and be ready for next Fall / Winter. BTW, more important Mark at Littleport is working on a RIS to brew now for the same reason. Both should be worth waiting for.

This was / is an all grain beer, as it needed to be in order for the grains to be used for pizza and dog biscuits. BTW – Mark said he did make some dog biscuits and will wait to test them out on some unsuspecting dog someplace sometime – or people.

Nothing unusual for this brew. The usual “one size fits all” approach was used: mash at 152°F for one hour while recirculating. Boil for one hour adding the hops and adjuncts at the appropriate times. The counterflow chiller worked very well and cut down on the cooling time (and water use I would guess). As is usual, I don’t take readings other than the mash and hop addition times. I guess it hit the numbers….. maybe…. perhaps. IDK. It is what it is no matter what the numbers may indicate. (If you want to know the projected values, leave a comment below.) No beers have gone down the drain outside of passing through someone so that is good enough.

Here is this year’s Super Brew Sunday II’s edition featuring the Belgian Quad.

Grains

9 lb – Belgian Pils
7 lb – Belgian Pale

Hops

1 oz – Brewer’s Gold @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Hallertau @ 30 minutes
1 oz – Styrian Goldings @ 15 minutes

Adjuncts

2 lb – Dark Candi Sugar @ flameout

Yeast

Fermentis Safbrew BE-256

Everything went well for Super Brew Sunday II and a good time was had by all. God is good!

Oh, and there was this football game that was played.

January 2023

Tall, Dark & Bready

Today is MLKJ Day which means that the classroom is in recess for the day in observation. This is a time to reflect on the Civil Rights movement with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr and the Little Rock Nine being familiar key players – along with many others. It is also a great day to put some heat on the bottom of the brew kettle. Especially since it is a 37° F rainy day at the brewery.

Past MLKJ Days have been used to brew a stout of some sort. Today’s brew is of a slightly different character and make up – not diverting too far from the standard – but different nonetheless.

The reason for the diversion is because this beer was intended to be brewed Monday, January 02 – at the end of the school Christmas break. However, it was put on hold until today for a good reason. That reason being that I had the privilege of being the assistant brewer for the day at Littleport Brewing of Racine, WI. (See previous post.)

So, today it is Tall, Dark & Bready – a German Wheat Beer / Dunkles Weissbier. I had one of these at a beer garden last summer. I don’t recall the name of the garden but it is located along the bike trail that leads north from Milwaukee along Lake Michigan. I remember it being a tasty number and I wouldn’t have minded to have another. However, I was biking and needed to cover some more distance. This was on the return trip but I’m not up to challenging my bladder capacity while on longer rides. Although a full bladder does inspire one to peddle faster.

I do hope this beer turns out being close to the Dunkles at the beer garden. If so, I think it may be a regular on tap at Fieldpointe Brewery.

Since I’m going solo today – Mark decided he was lacking in his leadership qualities and is attending a 3 day conference in Chicago starting today – and I don’t have Dorothy Doors at Fieldpointe HQ to report the status of, on with all things Tall, Dark & Bready.

Grains

5.0 lb White Wheat Malt
3.0 lb Munich Malt
2.0 lb Vienna Malt
0.5 lb Special B Malt
0.25 lb Chocolate Wheat Malt
1.0 lb Rice Hulls to keep the grain bed from compacting

Hop

1.0 oz Tettnanger @ 4.5% AA – 60 minutes

Yeast

1.0 (11.5 g) sachet Ferments SafAle WB-06 – starter was made

Brewing with Mark (Littleport owner Mark – not the other one who bailed on me today) inspired me to pull out my refractometer after many brewing sessions of non-use and take some readings. I explained to Mark that I haven’t been taking OG or FG readings for quite some time because it really doesn’t matter to me. The beer is what it is. Then again, I am brewing for personal consumption and don’t need to know “the numbers” in order to enjoy it. Since I do have a refractometer and, as Mark pointed out, doesn’t take much time or effort to use, I dusted it off (dug it out) and am using it on this brew.

The pre-boil SG was 8.5 brix – which is a reading on the amount of fermentables in a solution of wort – which is what refractometers are used for. The post-boil brix was 13 – which equates to an original gravity reading of around 1.052 (according to my simple conversion spreadsheet). If I remember, I’ll take a reading sometime during fermentation and again at the end to see what has happened. I have another SG spreadsheet that uses periodic brix readings to track the fermentation and ABV. It contains all the conversion / adjustment formulas one needs to do the real science. I don’t recall where I got this from but I think it was referenced in one of the brewing magazines some time ago and was downloaded from the WWW. Most likely, it was either Zymurgy or Brew Your Own. Anyway, I’ll see if I can pretend to be a master brewer and track the readings with the refractometer on this batch – just to see what is going on.

Once again, here is the projected (not fully measured – at this time) analysis of Tall, Dark & Bready:

Projected Analysis

OG – 1.047 at 75% efficiency. (Looks like I did a bit better than 75%.)
FG – 1.012 at 75% attenuation. (Need to wait and see how this turns out.)
Color – 17.5 SRM
4.6% ABV
14 IBU

Happy MLKJ Day!

Update 02/16//23

Upon some encouragement by Mark from Littleport Brewing, I took actual OG and FG readings via refractometer and entered them into a conversion spreadsheet that has the commonly used formulas to give reasonably accurate results – I think.

The OG reading was 13.0 brix or 1.053 on brew date.

The FG reading was 5.0 brix or 1.001 today – one month later.

According to the conversion calculator, this ends up being a 6.7% ABV beer – slightly higher than the anticipated 4.6% ABV.

If all this is accurate, then my system is more efficient than 75% and the yeast did a very good job at what they do!

Of course I neglected to take my refractometer for Super Brew Sunday II so I don’t have the actual OG reading to use for that beer. I’ll try to remember to take it for the Spring Break Maibock next month.

January 2023

Full Mast Helles

Yesterday, January 02, 2023, I had the privilege to be the assistant brewer with owners Mark & Chris Flynn at Littleport Brewery in Racine, WI. Mark was brewing his Full Mast Helles.

414 lb of grain went into a full 300 gallon brew. Included in the grain bill were Pilsen Malt, Honey Malt, Munich Malt and CaraPils Malt.

This is Littleport’s stainless conglomerate where the magic happens.

Littleport’s 10 Barrel Brewing System and Fermenters

Getting the business going in the Mash Tun.

Recirculating to clarify and on to the boil kettle.

While waiting for the boil to get its steam on, some Porter was transferred from its fermenter to two separate 62 gallon vessels to make some Chocolate / Raspberry and Maple Porter.

Some of the hops used in the Helles.

Another way to pass the time and every assistant brewer’s job – emptying the mash tun of spent grain.

Following the boil it’s on to the whirlpool to let the wort clarify (let the trub and hops settle) and slightly cool before being transferred to the fermenter.

Once the wort has had time to calm down (a time out) it is on a trip through the plate chiller and into the fermenter where the yeast was added. In this case, FV #4.

The reward for a job well done?

Special thanks to Mark and Chris for letting me in on this experience! I’ve never brewed more than 8 gallons at one time. 300 gallons sure is a lot of beer. Hope to do this again sometime.

Cheers to the Flynns and Littleport Brewing on a prosperous 2023!

Update: 02/03/23

Full Mast Helles made it to the kegs and not the drain! I stopped by Littleport last Friday as Mark was beginning to keg the beer. Taste testing and hydrometer readings verified that this brew maintains “Full” and not “Half Mast” status due to my participation in the brew event.

Mark has 60 gallons of the Helles in 2 – 30 gallon wooden honey barrels to see what might happen. (Sorry I didn’t think to capture that image. Now that I’ve kinda figured out how to do picts, I have to be more insightful.)

Out of appreciation for me not tanking 10 barrels of finished product (because of my participation in the process) Mark was gracious to give me a donation towards this next weekend’s Super Brew Sunday festivities – for quality control purposes, of course.

I’ll report back with the taste testing results sometime next week.

Cheers!

December 2022

Aussie Bush Telly

December 30 was a grill / brew bash at Mark the Harold’s abode. He did not do much singing as the popular Christian Christmas hymn named after him states. Guess he has already lost the Christmas spirit by letting Alexa fill in for him – sadness and disappointment.

However, Mark did have the spirit to get up at the crack of dawn (or maybe slightly earlier? It was hard to get some hard evidence as to what the actual time was.) to get his grill fired up for a pork shoulder to be used later in the day for pulled pork sandwiches complete with Mark-B-Q or Bar-B-Q sauce. The time and effort he put in were well worth it. Served on pretzel buns along with coleslaw and a tap to two from the beer fridge, this was a fantastic day of food, friends, fellowship and Sheephead – for the most part.

On tap in Mark’s beloved beer fridge were the recently brewed Hoppy Amber which was more than amber in color. Perhaps it was because of the company that it was keeping. Last Christmas break and on MLK Day two oaked bourbon brews were made: Bourbon Barrel Porter and Bourbon Barrel Russian (Ukrainian) Stout. These guys waited patiently next to the outside of the fridge for a year waiting for their turn to get inside. The time had finally come! In addition, I brought a growler of Father, Bread, Evil for the crew to enjoy.

As Mark was putting in his time at the grill, he presented a Bloody Mary / Maria bar for those who took the occasion seriously and came early. (For the record: it was Mark and myself who were dedicated to the entire day’s cause.) Oh well, the others missed out on some goodness as Mark had quite the spread of choices for designing / constructing your own personal drink. Well done Mark! The BM/M Bar closed at 1:30 PM promptly.

Mark has been busy honing his skill as the master of the Webber by reading a lot of material concerning his craft. During those study sessions is when he thought it would be good to enjoy something that goes well with early day grilling – Bloody Mary / Marias. And so, this activity has now become a part of the grill / brew day. No sadness and disappointment here!

To pass the time until others thought it worth while to stop by, Mark and I played two handed Sheephead (which he always cleans up on me because I don’t pay as much attention as he does to what was played and I lack strategy), watched college football (bowl games), and listened to Christian Christmas on Alexa (who would take unannounced breaks and would need to kindly be asked to resume). Alexa can be a slacker – much like Mark.

I would like to say that the real fun started when the first guest arrived: Pastor Z. Again, I would have liked to say that. PZ is the bicycle guy who rides year round. His goal was to reach 3,000 miles by the end of today (December 31). His report this morning was that his ride to and from the festivities got him to 3,001 miles for 2022. Way to go! I came up a bit short of my 2,500 mile goal at 2,321. My bike riding is on hold between Thanksgiving and somewhere around Easter when I will start again. I’m not up to having 1.25 inch wide tires meeting ice. PZ has a fat tire bike. PZ’s redeeming quality is that he knows how to play Sheephead (or he fakes it pretty good).

Next to arrive was Dave. Even though he doesn’t play Sheephead, Dave often brings Danny’s meat sticks. Therefore, Dave is more fun to have around. He is an outdoor enthusiast and likes to go on adventures. He shared his recent excursion to the UP of MI and had just recently returned. It was great of him to show up and give his support to the grill / brew adventure of the day. That’s the spirit!

The real life of the party arrived after Dave – Pastor L. Now PL doesn’t play Sheephead either (supposedly) but he brought a special rendition from his brewery – Captain Jack’s Rumball Special – which was not poured down the drain. PL’s brewery is called C.F.W. Malther Brewing Company. (Don’t bother asking him for stickers.) This is the best he could do on the visual as he thinks we have the eyesight of the high school kids he teachers.

What PL was claiming and his card playing were not matching up. How so? It soon became apparent that he isn’t such the newbie at Sheephead after all. Nice try pastor. Hope you enjoyed your short lived success.

At some point, Mark had his gilled sensation ready for the crew. All attendees took a time out from the card playing (I think Alexa did as well – again) and enjoyed Mark’s efforts. (Well, not Alexa. Didn’t earn it for being a slacker.) This time out was appreciated. He is doing quite well with his craft. Good stuff!

All was well until Mike showed up. A beer, a water and a call to Doreen kind of derailed the show. Mike is not even remotely close to being anything resembling a card player. He is, however, great at taking up space. Attempting to get Mike involved in the game was like trying to get an 8th grader to do his math.

Don’t think I mentioned the beer yet and since this is suppose to be a beer blog, it is time to get at it.

Aussie Bush Telly is slang for an Australian Campfire. It is an Australian Sparkling Ale and was a recent feature in an AHA email. It read as something that might be interesting after all the big beers lately. Australian sparkling ales usually have a higher carbonation level. Rather than force carbonating this brew, table sugar is going to be added to the keg so it can condition / carbonate naturally. Here is the makings of Aussie Bush Telly:

Grains

6.5 lb 2-Row Malt
1.5 lb White Wheat Malt
0.5 lb Carahell

Hops

1.0 oz Centennial (10%) – 60 minutes
0.5 oz Galaxy (13%) – Flameout
0.5 oz Enigma (15%) – Flameout
0.5 oz Galaxy (13%) – Fermenter
0.5 oz Enigma (15%) – Fermenter

Yeast

Ferments Safale S-04

Adjunct

0.5 lb Table Sugar – 15 minutes

Notes

1/3 cup table sugar added to the keg for natural carbonation

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

November 2022

Happy Hoppy Amber

Just a tad tardy on this post (again). This school thing sure takes up a lot of time! An opportunity to be a brewer’s assistant recently presented itself and I had to pass on it. Yup, school again. Guess that is what college was for so I better get my money’s worth with the school thing.

November 05 was “Teach A Friend To Homebrew Day.” Since I am lacking when it comes to friends, Mark understood my dilemma and bravely volunteered to fulfill that role. Not having a friend on “Teach A Friend To Homebrew Day” would set the stage for sadness and disappointment. Thanks Mark!

I just double checked and was reminded that it was “Learn To Homebrew Day” instead. Oh well, what I have typed – I have typed. That just goes to show what happens when too much time passes.

Anyway, this was another American Homebrewers Association (AHA) event. This was “borrowed” from the AHA site:

“In 1999, Learn To Homebrew Day was established as the first Saturday in November by the American Homebrewers Association to promote the most rewarding and delicious activity of all time—homebrewing. Beer lovers worldwide are invited to brew, share their knowledge, and celebrate the hobby of homebrewing annually.”

Well stated AHA! And it gives us a reason to brew, enjoy food and engage in fellowship.

Time out! Doesn’t the author of this prestigious site have a Saturday retail job that has occupied his Saturdays for 20+ years? This must be a hoax. Made up. A sham. A scam. A hallucination. He probably lives in Nigeria and has Florida lakefront property to sell you.

As Charlie Papazian, the nuclear engineer, and Godfather of Homebrew said (perhaps once or twice), “Relax, Don’t Worry, Have a Homebrew.” In other words, don’t get you knickers in a twist. I took the day off. Yes, I do that once in a very great while.

The AHA’s suggested recipe was called “Hoppy Amber” and was geared for a 1 gallon batch. There was a 3 gallon version – if you sought it. As previously stated in the prior post (I think), Mark stated it well. “Brewing one gallon of beer is like getting the Weber charcoal grill all fired up to cook one hotdog.” (I guess the three gallon would equate to three hotdogs.) We were going to go all in so the recipe was “enhanced” to produce the typical five gallons. Thus, I can call it Happy Hoppy Amber.

Faithful readers know that last month’s brew was the highly anticipated Father, Bread, Evil. If you don’t know this, quit being a slacker and get caught up. It’s not like there is a post every other day.

Anyway, FBE’s namesake is the Lord’s Prayer. (Go back and review if need be.) And there is a connection to this post. (Otherwise I’d be wasting your time with you reading all this.) I’ll get to it now.

I use a Bible app to do some devotional reading in the mornings before getting the day underway. There is always a random verse from scripture on the site. The verse for November 05 was Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.” And the Lord certainly did! Mark & Helen had an abundance of daily bread for the day. Fantastic!

It didn’t take long before the daily bread appeared. Mark kicked the event off very well by presenting his rendition of the Bloody Mary shortly after my arrival. Y’all know pictures are very rare on this site but this one needs to be here.

These were absolutely fantastic! Daily bread in a glass. I’ll have another, please.

The daily bread did not end there. Oh no, it was just beginning. Beer and snacks were in plenty. Mark’s wife, Helen, procured a slow cooker German Stew followed by a fabulous desert. Daily bread was a fitting theme for the day. Thanks Blauerts!

Happy Hoppy Amber is a simple beer,” as it needs to be for a “Learn to Homebrew” or “Teach A Friend To Homebrew” or whatever event. Mark took a more active role in the brew session and gives the occasional impression that he actually likes it. But before I get into the recipe, the awaited Dorothy Door Report: Sadly, due to rain and cold, the DDs were closed – and probably will be for some months now. However, there was a break in the weather which allowed the doors to be opened briefly for the spent grain removal. Mark loves chipmunks so the spent grain is deposited behind the shrubbery to aid in chipmunk survival for the next generation(s).

You too can make your very own Happy Hoppy Amber Ale by using the following brew things:

Grains

2 Row Brewer’s Malt – 10 lb
Crystal Malt 60° L – 0.5 lb
Chocolate Malt – 0.25 lb

Hops

Amarillo – 1 oz @ 60 min
Amarillo – 0.5 oz @ 15 min
Amarillo – 0.5 oz @ Flameout

Yeast

Fermentis – Safale US-05 (1 pouch)

Analysis (Estimated, Not Actual)

OG – 1.056
FG – 1.014
Color – 16 SRM
Alcohol – 5.5 ABV
Bitterness – 39 IBU

The next brew session(s) will most likely be over Christmas break. Until then, a happy, healthy and blessed Thanksgiving to you all.