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.

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.

October 2022

Father, Bread, Evil

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

Amen.

Those familiar with Christian (Lutheran) churches know this as The Lord’s Prayer. It is the model prayer to use at the beginning and end of each day and anytime in-between..

It also is the inspiration for a great beer name. (I can not take credit for this naming – that goes to Jay Selle, a former faculty member at THE WLS.) As the prayer is spoken in the service, a bell is tolled after each of the three words in the title. Why? This is a good question. I borrowed this information from the WWW:

“Medieval monks are credited with the custom of ringing a bell three times during the Lord’s Prayer. The idea was to alert people in the area surrounding the monastery or church that the Lord’s Prayer was being spoken in those buildings and they could join in from a distance.”

This beer was designed a year ago (October 27, 2021) and has taken until today to get under way. Currently, the mash is doing its thing in the brew garage.

Why so long to get at it? Another fantastic question to which I don’t really have a sustainable answer. Sometimes it just takes a while to get at things. A beer with this name needed to be special – nothing hastily rushed into. Many things worth doing well take time.

When I stopped in yesterday to pick up the brewing supplies for this heavenly beer, the attendant at Northern Brewer was amazed at the mish-mosh of stuff going on here. This brew is an integration of many different beer styles – multicultural – if you will. Inclusion is the theme with this one.

As the Lord’s Prayer is for all Christians in all places at all times, so this beer incorporates aspects from many different styles and ingredients from various peoples and places around the world. Yes, this is a beer of heavenly stature. Those who partake of it will certainly be blessed.

Dunkelweizendoppelbock. Yes, that is what this beer is. Why not combine a few great beer styles into one? Why wouldn’t you? This is what makes / keeps the hobby interesting. With the weather / season turning, now is the best time to give it the go. We all could use a little blessing in our lives – especially since the end of the first quarter of the school year was Wednesday.

By the way, this session is taking place at the brewery and I am going solo. It is a wonderfully sunny cool day in Oak Creek (52° F). I should really be on the roof cleaning the leaves out of the gutters but brewing captured my attention more so than the leaf cleaning. Besides, not all the leaves have dropped here in SE WI so that task will wait a bit until that event has taken place.

If you are disappointed that Mark isn’t going to be mentioned (other than now), take heart. Saturday, November 05 is Teach A Friend To Homebrew Day. Since friends can’t be located on this end, time and energy will be invested in getting Mark more involved in the brewing process. He will be brewing his own Happy Hoppy Amber – based upon the suggested brew for the event. I will, of course, be around to lecture him on what he is doing incorrectly. Hope my voice holds up.

It is somewhat disappointing that the online recipe for TAFTH was just for a 1 gallon batch. I suppose for people brand new to the hobby (as is the purpose for the event) investing in a few supplies, etc. to get a feel for it makes sense. However, putting the time and energy into just making 1 gallon of beer is, as Mark put it, like getting the charcoal grill fired up just to make a hot dog. Well put. We are going to go full Monty for a traditional 5 gallon batch. More on that brew session in a week.

The 60 minute mash is about over. There was some concern that the 21.25 lb of grain, the 1.5 lb of rice hulls along with the 7 gallons of strike water wouldn’t fit the 10 gallon Blichmann tun. It did all fit with a couple of inches to spare. Whew! The tun has been filled to the brim once or twice before when a barleywine was on the agenda. It has been a few years since that has taken place.

So what makes this beer the candidate to be named Father, Bread, Evil? All good gifts come from our Heavenly Father. Today’s endeavor is no different. He has given me the ability and this glorious day to brew. Father is appropriate for the fist part of the name.

Our Heavenly Father gives us our daily bread. Beer is liquid bread. Bread is appropriate for the middle part of the name.

Those two are easy to come up with. God is good. But what about evil? This one caused concern. How can evil be a part of this? There is nothing evil about this beer. Or is there….

Although I have the means and way to do so, I don’t take actual measurements (other than temps) on my brews. Not sure why. I guess the numbers really don’t mean much to me in the end. Anyway, there are theoretical statistics listed in my brewing software. Gazing upon the analysis portion of the recipe, evil was easy to figure out. This number has an estimated ABV of 11%. That’s it! Evil it is.

Father: The Author of all good and perfect gifts from above.

Bread: He gives us our daily bread – all that we need for our daily existence. Beer is liquid bread. We need beer.

Evil: Caution! This is NOT a lawn mower beer at 11% ABV.

What goes into a Dunkelwizendoppelbock? Glad you asked! Here you go:

Grains

9.5 lb – Pilsner Malt
0.5 lb – Acidulated Malt
3 lb – Dark Wheat Malt
5.5 lb – Wheat Malt
1.5 lb – Carawheat
1.25 lb – Chocolate Wheat Malt

Adjunct

1.5 lb – Rice Hulls

Hops

1 oz – Chinook @ 60 minutes (11.7% Alpha)
0.5 oz – German Hallertau @ 10 minutes (3.4% Alpha)
0.5 oz – German Hallertau @ 5 minutes (3.4% Alpha)

Yeast

Fermentis – Safbrew BE-256 (1 liter starter)

Theoretical Analysis

Original Gravity (OG) = 1.109
Finishing Gravity (FG) = 1.027
Color = 29.6 Standard Reference Method (SRM)
Alcohol = 10.9% Alcohol By Volume (ABV)
Bitterness = 31.7 International Bittering Units (IBU)

I’ll end this here and continue on with the brew day. So far – so good. I just hope I don’t start to think about beer every time I pray the Lord’s Prayer in the future. And if I do – only briefly.

August 2022

Silent Night

It was Labor Day today and laborious it was. Didn’t get at all the things that I had planned on so that leaves stuff to do on the non-labor days of the year. Started the day with a 67 mile bike ride followed by cutting the grass on a half acre lot with a push mower and then a few small projects. This took care of the day – almost. I’ve been needing to get at this post as it is 8 days past event.

The brew day was anything but silent due to the day’s activities. This is a winter warmer – so the silent part comes during the cold days and nights of mid-winter.

Mark hosted the trifecta of events on Sunday, August 28 at his place. On the agenda for the day was: 1) Brewing (of course). 2) Blauertcraut (been a while since it has made a showing). 3) Staff fantasy football draft for those of us who understood that the 28th was draft day and not this weekend. Right pastor?

Mark and Helen hosted a larger than usual group for this shindig and put a lot of effort into making it a memorable experience. The Blauertcraut and fixing were fantastic. Mark has become the master of the Weber and spent a good portion of the day grilling copious quantities of meat products for the main event. It was worth all the time and effort. Blauertcraut with Mark-B-Q sauce is amazing!

Commissioner Dave directed the NFL Fantasy Football draft. Someone thought it a good idea to have an individual who has expressed indifference towards the league to be the director of operations. Dave did keep the program moving and may have made some decisions (picks) for individuals taking more than 12.5 seconds to make a pick.The “Staff Infection” is 10 strong this year and looking forward to the beginning of the NFL season this Thursday.

While Mark was busy outside with the grill, I took care of the brewing responsibilities down in the Blauert Mancave. The session went well – as far as I could tell. There was an initial concern because the Dorothy Doors were closed upon arrival and continued that way for the mash-in due to the persistent threat of rain. However, the rain avoided the festivities, for the most part, and the DDs were opened as the 60 minute mash ended. This worked out well because open Dorothy Doors makes disposing of the spent grains a lot easier. No one likes sticky dripping all over the floor, up the main stairs, through the kitchen and out the back. Open DDs make outside access easy and quick. Outside guests also enjoyed the easy access to the beer fridge in the mancave.

Silent Night is a higher abv beer due to the addition of honey – a little more than the 2 lb in the original recipe. 3 lb were added because of the container size when purchased. 3 lb sold for $9.99 at the local big box store (which also sells groceries). I was not going to measure out 2 lb so into the brew went the 3. A second change also concerning the honey was when it was added. In the past, the honey was added to the boil somewhere during the last 15 minutes. The conventional reasoning for doing it was to do away with any potential bugs that may be in the honey. In so doing, some of the nuances of the honey were boiled off. I surmise that this is not needed as honey is a very shelf stable product. So, for this batch I put the honey directly into the fermenter and racked the cooled wort on it and added the yeast. I am not concerned in the least bit of anything wonky happening by doing it this way. Of course, time will tell.

Here are the makings of this edition of Silent Night Winter Warmer:

Grains

Common 2 Row – 14 lb
Crystal 60° L – 1.5 lb
Chocolate Malt – 0.25 lb

Adjunct

Honey – 3 lb added directly to the fermenter

Hops

Cascade – 2 oz at 60 minutes
Cascade – 1 oz at 45 minutes
Cascade – 1 oz at 30 minutes
Cascade – 1 oz at 15 minutes

Yeast

Fermentis Safale US-05

The numbers as indicated by brewing software – not measured:

Original Gravity (OG) – 1.101
Final Gravity (FG) – 1.019
ABV – 10.79%
IBU – 94.47
Color – 18.07 SRM (Standard Reference Method)

Here’s looking forward to some cold winter months and some Silent Night Winter Warmer!

August 2022

Doc Brown’s Double

This summer has been a bit lax when it comes to brewing. This may be just the second brew session since school ended just before Memorial Day. Since the new school year is just about here (23rd) it is time to get a brew on while there is still the opportunity.

When deciding what to brew, Doc Brown’s Double was at the top of the recipe list so the decision process ended very quickly – no need to look any further. 1.21 Gigawatts it is.

The grains, hops and yeast were procured from Hop To It in Racine. This is the counter part to Littleport Brewery. Owners Mark and Chris Flynn have been running the Hop To It brewing supplies business for some years now and their Littleport Brewery has been in operation for about 16 months now. Supporting local is what we try to do at Fieldpointe Brewery. It is nice to have these options available.

Today’s post is being typed in “real time” and not the customary days or week post brew. Not having much interesting to convey – this is a solo brew and I’m not very entertaining on my own – I’ll attempt to give the “play by play” action as it happens.

Currently – (8:01 AM) the mash is resting. Target temp is 152° F but close counts. Sparge water is heating to around 170° F. Exciting times.

Update – (9:07 AM) the mash is done doing its thing. Sparging with the previously heated water. Aiming for 7 gallons in the boil kettle. It should be close, which again is good enough for garage / basement brewing.

Slow going – (10:30 AM) the grain bed must have compacted some as the runoff is a slow trickle with the valve completely open. Haven’t had this problem for a while. Perhaps rice hulls are needed for future batches. (I discovered that all I had to do was close and reopen the valve to fix the situation.)

Back in business – (11:00 AM) one hour boil has commenced.

Half way – (11:30 AM) the propane tank is getting on the light side. Hope it holds out for another 30 minutes. There is another tank in the shed but it is, of course, empty from previous brew sessions. I need to plan better.

Boil compete – (Noon) and the propane tank did not go dry. Yea! Didn’t miss any hop additions. However, the 5 minute Cascade hop addition did not play nicely! I have not experienced a boil over at the end of the boil. This one made up for it. What a mess! This was volcano eruption quality action going on. You would have thought I added a box of baking soda to a pot of vinegar for some kid’s science fair project. It looked like most of the hops that were added during the boil ended up on the outside of the kettle, all over the burner and on the floor. Once the wort has been transferred to the fermenter, the kettle and burner are going to get a bath from the outside hose. What a way to end. I am thankful that this happened at the end of the boil. What a headache it would have been earlier on. I’ll need to fire up the burner again to get the water out.That area of the garage floor is going to be sticky for some time. I’ve washed it a few times now and my shoes still make sticky walk noises. Sheesh!

I did use a new app (for me) on my phone: Brewer’s Friend. It appears to be a nice setup however the timer alarms for hop additions do not sound. I was paying attention to the schedule so it all worked out in the end. I guess the app creators are trying to get this bug worked out for future app updates. Otherwise, the app can be downloaded for free and saves recipes among doing other things like strike water additions (which is why I downloaded it).

Just finished (1:45 PM) cleaning up the burner which is a Blichmann Hellfire unit. There are a lot of gas ports on that thing. I had to take a wooden skewer (just the right size) and poke it into every hole because of all the sticky hop goober that baked onto it. After about 20 minutes of run time all the ports had flame again. (No, I did not poke around while the unit was lit.) I’ll let it cool down and then fire it up again just to make sure all the water is out of it. Boil overs just don’t usually happen on my watch. This one got me good – and totally by surprise.

Just about (2:15 PM) done with the cleanup (dishes). This event went a tad longer than it otherwise would have if Mount Vesuvius would have remained dormant. The Hellfire was lit again and all looks good. The gas ports are clear of gunk and water. Now the unit looks like it has been used. Oh well, looks are not everything but it had the appearance of a new unit until today. Like most of the products I purchase – they are to be used and not looked at. I’ll be OK.

This, like many Fieldpointe brews, is a “no chill” brew. It will cool in the fermenter overnight and the yeast will be added tomorrow morning. No, there are no issues doing it this way. It shortens the brew day and cuts down on water usage. Transferring the wort between 170 and 180° F keeps the bugs at bay. The fermenter is a Blichmann 7 gallon stainless steel conical so it can handle the heat.

I believe this is not the first posting for 1.21 Gigawatts – Doc Brown’s Double but here are the makings and estimated analysis so you don’t have to go hunting for it:

Grains

10 lb – 2 Row Brewers Malt
0.5 lb – Maris Otter
0.25 lb – Vienna Malt
0.25 lb – Crystal Malt: 20°L

Adjunct

1 lb – Corn Sugar

Hops

1 oz – Magnum: 14% AA (60 min)
1 oz – Simcoe: 13% AA (30 min)
1 oz – Centennial: 10% AA (15 min)
1 oz – Cascade: 5% AA (5 min)
1 oz – Amarillo: 8% AA (Flameout)
2 oz – Cascade: 5% AA (Dry Hop)

Yeast

Fermentis Safale US-05

Estimated Analysis:

OG: 1.063*
TG: 1.012*
Color: 5.18 SRM*
Alcohol: 6.68% ABV*
IBU: 111.4*

*These numbers are calculated by brewing software and are not measured.

The next anticipated brew session is projected for Sunday, August 28 and will take place in the Blauert Basement Man Cave in connection with the Fantasy Football draft. The beer is TBD.

Thanks for reading!

July 2022

Christmas In July

Today was the big day to celebrate the much anticipated Christmas In July. To commemorate the activity, the Blauerts came through once again by hosting and providing a fantastic meal. Can’t bestow enough accolades on their hospitality: Great fellowship, food and beer. Mark and Helen are fantastic!

Mark stepped it up a notch for this event by decorating his Christmas tree for the occasion and providing party favors. A first on this site: A picture of us celebrating Christmas In July.

Christmas In July

The CIJ event was planned a number of months ago as a time when we would sample two winter beers that were brewed late 2021 and early 2022. These beers were “off limits” until today and again are not to be touched until Christmas in December (Unless someone manages to relocate the holiday to a different calendar date.)

The two brews taste tested: 1) Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout (Brewdate: December 2021) 2) Bourbon Barrel Porter (Brewdate: January 2022). Both show promise for a festive holiday season in about 6 months. (These brew sessions can be found documented on this site.)

A wonderful and fun time all around! Cheers to Christmas In July!

June 2022

Fabulous Fiscal Finish

The annual End of the Fiscal Year Grill and Brew Fest was held, ironically, on the end of the fiscal year – June 30th. (Yes, this was posted in July. Since June 31 was eliminated from the calendar this year [see below], I didn’t have much time to get at this. Sorry about that.) The only thing “annual” about this event is that June 30th is the traditional end of the fiscal year. The “grill” and “brew fest” part is debatable at this time and can be properly evaluated a year from now. Mark (and Helen) was gracious to host this “annual” event this year for interested participants.

Most of you know that knowledge is power. In Mark’s case, he got his hands on some book about grilling and has been sharing his version of “fact or fiction” regarding all things grill related. He has even been so bold as to attempt some of the ideas that he garnered from said book. On this occasion he gave the old college try on a pork shoulder. I say the “college try” because he needs to work on his focus and dedication to the task. He went big on this task but wasn’t up to the responsibility that was required. Fancy meat thermometer or not, this was a giant leap from grilling a couple brats. A pork shoulder is a “in it for the long haul” event and Mark wasn’t adequately prepared for the endurance needed physically and emotionally. Sometimes knowledge is a dangerous thing (for some people).

The physical aspect is easily enough addressed: Mark needs to chase more chipmunks, rabbits and birds around his property. Yes, he does trek the steps of the Dorothy Doors (when open) but that alone does not equate to the physical stature needed to pull off this undertaking.

The emotional part will need to be addressed himself. His excuses of being distracted because of having to talk to “important people” about some possible career change and move doesn’t fly when it comes to dedication to the grill. As to not heap too many burning (or not) coals upon his head, I will spare some of the details from this dialogue. He may have a delicate side that bruises easily.

When all was said and done, everything turned out just fine – eventually. Good thing everyone (except Dave) was off the clock and could spend the extra quality time with Mark and Helen. It was worth the wait. I hadn’t eaten that well for some time!

Attendees included: Mark & Helen (hosts), Dave, Jeff, Paul, and new to the scene – Branden & Nichole. Jeff and Paul are not too frequent attendees to these spectacular events (not sure why) so it was nice to see them. Branden and Nichole – well, they are new to the area so I guess that might be a reason. Anyway, welcome!

OK I put this off long enough – the eagerly anticipated Dorothy Door Report: The DDs were OPEN! Those who are familiar with Mark’s abode know how important the DDs are. Having direct access to the man cave from outside should not be under estimated. Although, I am a bit concerned about Helen’s nearby roses growing wildly out of control. I fear that they may cover and conceal the Dorothy Doors so that they will be lost for the remainder of the summer season only to be rediscovered when the weather and temperatures are not favorable for DD use. I’m sure Mark will take this into consideration.

Mark isn’t known for much but what he is know for are his FAQs that he creatively adds to his email invitations. In fact, Mark’s FAQs were the inspiration for the FQA section at this site. I find Mark’s FAQs inspirational and entertaining. Others – maybe not so much. To give you a taste of his work, I will include a number of them from his invitation to this event here (with slight editing as needed to ensure safety and happiness). I hope they are not copyrighted because they are being used without permission.

“The annual End of the Fiscal Year Grill and Brew Fest will take place on Thursday, June 30 at my house. You are invited. The Dorothy Doors will be open. Below are the FAQ.”

FAQ

Q What time does this exciting event begin?

A For me it has already started. Things will pick up in the late morning of the 30th and carry through til early evening. I anticipate the primary fellowship opportunity to be from early to late afternoon, approximately 1:38pm to 5:11pm.

Q Where will this awesome activity take place?

A My house (I believe that was covered in the invitation) – N Main St. Racine.

Q What should I wear?

A Suit and tie is not necessary but, as always, I do ask that you dress professional so we can keep up appearances.

Q Why didn’t you send out the invitation earlier?

A Seriously? EVERYBODY knows that we celebrate the end of the fiscal year at the end of the fiscal year! And EVERYBODY knows that the end of the fiscal year is June 30. And EVERYBODY knows that invitations are not supposed to go out more that 48 hours before said event.

Q Why isn’t June 31 the end of the fiscal yearr?

A Look at a calendar

Q What can I bring?

A Great question. I will have lots of beer and grilled stuff but if you feel compelled to bring something, any of the following will be acceptable:

A pound or so of cheese curds.
A bag of pretzels (new bag, not that half empty bag in your pantry filled with stale, partially crushed ones).
A growler of the Winter Warmer, an ironic beer for this time of year.
10 meat sticks from Danny’s – don’t buy five and cut them in half. I will know.
A couple of packages of button mushrooms.
A bag of chips with the same requirements as the pretzels.
6-8 cobs of corn. Make sure it is sweet corn and not popcorn or field corn.
Nickels
4pk, 6pk, or 12 pk of Pseudo Sue. Make sure it’s not expired. Just because it’s been sitting at the bottom of your beer fridge and you didn’t drink it in time means it’s acceptable to pawn it off on the rest of us. I will know.
A bag of large shrimp (20count or so) They need to be the size of a baby’s arm.
Coleslaw – the good stuff, not the leftover half eaten container from when you went to KFC last week.
A pound or two of tiger meat – make sure its the good stuff and doesn’t have any bad stuff in it.
Chips and salsa and/or guacamole – it better be good
A container of Utz pub mix – make sure its fresh and not old stale stale stuff your cat ate out of.
A bag of Chex Mix – again, it has to be a new bag.

Q Since you did not help me move into my apartment on Sunday, is it ok if I just show up and not bring anything?

A Fair enough

Q Is it ok if I bring a nice vegetable tray with healthy stuff like carrots and celery?

A No. Stick to the list or don’t bring anything.

Q If I have another home brew or a really good brew that is not on the list is it ok if I bring it?

A Yes, but you better tread lightly. We have high standards.

Q What are the nickels for?

A Sheephead

Q I don’t know how to play sheephead Is it ok if I just watch?

A Sure. We understand. There is a lot of math involved. It’s not for everybody.

Q What are Dorothy Doors?

A Have you never watched the Wizard of Oz? Your parents have failed you.

Q What beers will you have on tap in your glorious beer fridge?

A Mark’s Magnificent Maibock and Father Bread Evil. You can read more about them atFieldpointe.netAlthough I believe the brewmaster incorrectly labeled them as House Ale and Maibock II (EDITOR’S NOTE: This is NOT the correct address for this brew blog. You greatly disappoint me, Mark. Follow it at your own risk. Correct site: Well, you know it because you are at it now.)

Q Will you have anything else available to drink besides beer?

A An endless supply of tap water

Q What will you be brewing?

A We (and I mean Jerry) will be brewing a Zombie Dust clone which shall be named the Fabulous Fiscal Finish or something else. (Zombie Dust would be another acceptable beer to bring to this spectacular occasion, provided it’s fresh and not been sitting in your garage or the trunk of your car for the past year or so)

Q What will you be grilling?

A TBD We shall see what inspires me tomorrow as I meet with my butcher.

Q Did you already pick up the necessary brewing materials?

A Sort of. Mark at DP Wigley had to substitute some items for what he deemed to be “close enough.” Might be interesting.

Q Since I am a young buck, fresh out of the halls of MLC, what else should I know?

A You may want to bring your ID in case you get carded. Jerry is a stickler.

As indicated above, Mark had the responsibility of picking up the brewing supplies for the Fabulous Fiscal Finish. And yes, he did substitute due to supply chain issues or something other. Regardless, we brewed it and it will be fine. It is going to be a dark IPA – not a Cascadian Dark but definitely a darker version of past variations. For those wanting (or needing) to make the connection, this brew is yet another rendition of the Zombie recipes found on this site.

So what did Mark pick up? Good question. Most of the items I could identify. The exception is the one pound of mystery grain that was not labeled. Here it is:

Grain

1 lb – Mystery (as in not known) – Steeped

Extracts

2 lb – Golden Light DME (Briess)
3.3 lb – Goldpils Vienna LME (Briess)
3.3 lb – Pale Ale LME (Briess)

Hops

1 oz – Citra @ 60 minutes
1 oz – Citra @ 20 minutes
1 oz – Citra @ 10 minutes
1 oz – Citra @ 5 minutes
1 oz – Citra @ 0 minutes
2 oz – Citra Dry – Hop: Fermentor
3 oz – Citra Dry – Hop: Keg

Yeast

2 Packs – SafAle S-04 (Fermentis)

No anticipated analysis has been made for this brew session since readings are rarely, if ever, taken and this recipe has not been entered into brewing software. You are free to do so yourself as you desire.

I was unaware that annual fiscal year end celebrations could be so joyous. Getting together with friends (and Mark), enjoying good food and sharing brews was indeed fabulous.Thanks to all!

May 2022

Field Day

Post author By Jerry
Post date May 9, 2022
No Comments on Field Day

What is Field Day? Glad you asked! According to the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the national association for Amateur Radio in the USA, representing over 170,000 FCC-licensed Amateurs:

“Field Day is ham radio’s open house. Every June, more than 40,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations in public places to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community outreach, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio.”

“ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. On the fourth weekend of June of each year, thousands of radio amateurs gather with their clubs, groups or simply with friends to operate from remote locations.

“Field Day is a picnic, a campout, practice for emergencies, an informal contest and, most of all, FUN!”

Amateur Radio is my “other” hobby. I’ve been in radio longer (1986) than I have been in brewing (1998). The two together are utterly fantastic – which is why both occupy this space in this post.

Next month’s shindig is being organized by Fred K9SO. He secured a location for the event and will showcase his remote station operations. From a park pavilion he will be able to remotely operate his two stations: one at Q-SO Corners in WI and the other in Mooresville, NC. (Click on Fred’s call sign above for more information.)

My contribution to the event will be 5 gallons of Field Day brew. The naming rights to it are in the hands of Fred who has solicited many suggestions from the members of the local amateur radio club: Lakeshore Repeater Association (LRA). Since the naming debate is still hot ‘n heavy, I can’t go beyond the Field Day moniker at this time.

This recipe is not my own creation but came from my bother, Paul KD9PM, who brewed this for his Field Day activities. He claims that it will disappear without much encouragement or coaxing. I hope that I can duplicate that with this showing. There were a couple minor tweaks made to his recipe but nothing that should alter it drastically.

The reason I could brew this today, on a Monday, is NOT because school is over for the year. Today was a potential winter weather makeup day. Since this winter was very mild with little in the way of snowfall, today was dedicated to brewing and getting some outside things done – and getting the bike out of the shed putting a couple of miles on it. Finally there was sunshine and warmer temps around here. Although, living such a short distance from the lake does keep things cooler. BTW, the school year DOES conclude at the end of this month – before Memorial Day for a change. Nice!

Here is the makings of Field Day for Field Day in June:

Grains

2-Row Brewers Malt: 6 lb
Flaked Rice: 1 lb
White Wheat Malt: 1 lb
Acidulated Malt: 05. lb
Cara-Pils Malt: 0.5 lb
Caramel Malt 40°L: 0.5 lb

Hops

Willamette: 1 oz (60 minutes)
Saaz: 1 oz (15 minutes)

Additions

Irish Moss: 1 tsp (15 minutes)

Yeast

Mauribrew AB01 (Repitch from Littleport Brewing, Racine)

Preliminary Stats

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.012
Color: 7.12 ARM
ABV: 4.91 %
IBU: 27.7

Here’s hoping for a great Field Day and an empty keg!

April 2022

House Ale

Post author By Jerry
Post date April 20, 2022
No Comments on House Ale

Christ is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed!

Easter Monday found us a day off of school and at another brew session in the BMC (see previous posts). What better way to culminate the events of Holy Week than to celebrate our Risen Savior with Christian fellowship and frivolity. (Just to be sure, Pastoral supervision was an integral part of the day’s activities. Thanks Pastor R for keeping the rebel rousers at bay.)

The attendance at this session was better than at previous sessions. I’m not sure what the difference was this time. All I can guess is that Mark did a better job of “talking it up” than he has in the past. That, or people just didn’t have a lot going on. Probably more of that scenario. Anyway, as previously mentioned, Pastor R attended to keep the lid on the project and Dave stopped in to score a free Pseudo Sue – which had been absent for some time – from Mark’s beer stock. (Truth be told, I nabbed one as well – just because I could.) Pastor had to be there for supervision purposes only because he is on some allergenic awareness program (he has a color coded card so it must be legit) where yeast and barley products are flagged items. (Good thing hops and water are still golden.) So, he could not / would not partake in the offerings presented. He lamented that he could not participate at this time but is holding out hope that he will soon misplace the card. He had his own undercover secret elixir and a can with a cashew label on it but who knows what was actually in it. He could be just messing with us. Mark did offer him some seasoned grass clippings from last fall but Pastor declined. Go figure. All in all, it was great that he stopped by.

Other than the free beer, the jury is still out as to why Dave stopped by. Just kidding Dave. You don’t need to take this so seriously. Actually, Dave had some body work that needed to be done (you need to guess where) which he wasn’t really looking forward to. Go figure. As someone once said, “It is good for us to be here.” And it certainly was that both Pastor and Dave attended. I didn’t have to spend all the time alone with Mark.

In addition to the Pseudo Sue, Mark had leftover Stone and Odell Brewing beverages in his beloved beer fridge. Speaking of his beer fridge: He gets a little concerned when we brew because his future coffin needs to be taken off of life support (unplugged) so as to not trip the circuit breaker that operates just about every electrical appliance in the BMC. However, this ever wise one finally observed that there are in fact two circuit breakers marked as basement in the junction box AND discovered that quite possibly an adjacent outlet might be on the second breaker. Low and behold – success! In electric basement brewing there are two apparatus that are simultaneously sucking (sorry – pulling) the electrical lifeblood from Mark’s residence. In the past, this procedure would have been met with rejection and the result being left in total darkness in the cave – which is not out of the natural way of things concerning caves. But not anymore! Both units happily chugged the maximum 1,500 watts (1.5Kw) each with no objections from the circuitry. Fantastic! This operation works because the afore mentioned beer fridge is temporarily removed from the equation. Although it is a temporary disconnect, Mark still gets his knickers in a twist because he is afraid that he won’t remember to plug it back in later. No surprise there. No worries, Mark. I do the thinking for you and have your beloved covered. I am there to help – because I care – more than you..

To show my appreciation for Mark hosting these brew sessions, I am trying to bring a special libation to SHARE. This time I brought a bottle of quite possibly my most favorite brew: Goulden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Imperial Dark. Webnet: goudencarolus.be I stumble upon this once in a great while on my beer runs. It is a hit or miss item – mostly miss but when I find it I score myself a few bottles. The last discovery was at Timers Beverage in Racine. I got my hands on three bottles. Apparently, I’m not the only one who enjoys this number as I had to use my imagination as to what this particular bottle tasted like. By the time I got around to lifting the bottle, it was very light in the heft – consisting internally of nothing but air. Thanks buddy. I did encourage him to partake so it’s on me, I guess. As it worked out, Mark’s wife had prepared some good eats for the Easter dinner the day before and an abundance was shared with me. This was mighty fine with me so I did not object too much about the sudden bottle evaporation. By the way, I got the last bottle of this off the shelf at Timers yesterday so now I have two in my solitary possession.

Yes, the beer brewed was a simple House Ale. Since Mark’s residence has a structure on top of ts foundation, it qualifies as a house and so works. Actually, this is a very close rendition of the first beer I ever brewed back in 1998. That beer consisted of a can of liquid malt extract (John Bull), a pound or two of dry malt extract and an ounce or two of about the only hop available at the time: Cascade. I remember sharing that inaugural brew with my dad who told me that it was good. I thought so too and thus my brewing hobby commenced.

A house ale typically is a beer that an establishment brews on a regular basis to offer its patrons. Obviously, it has to be something that is good and people desire. No, I don’t brew this regularly but if I did, it would be my house ale. My commercial house ale is Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. I try to keep some of it on hand at all times. During the summer months, I also like to have some Bell’s Two Hearted Ale available. (It probably is about time to pick some of this up again. The weather will eventually get warm?) Drinking either / both at the fire pit after the Friday evening pizza is enjoyable. I’m a friend of fair weather and so far this summer routine is still in hibernation.

As it goes, this brew is a conversion to an all grain recipe with a few more ounces of hops than the original. It is not an IPA but rather a more robust pale ale that fits in the afore mentioned Sierra Nevada and Bell’s family of similar offerings. It definitely would be / is my House Ale. Here is how it looks:

Grains

2 Row Pale Malt – 10 lb
60° Crystal Malt – 0.75 lb
Dextrin Malt (Carapils) – 0.5 lb

Hops

Cascade (1 oz) – 60 min
Cascade (1 oz) – 30 min
Cascade (1 oz) – 15 min
Cascade (1 oz) – flameout

Yeast

Fermentis US-05

Anticipated Analysis

OG – 1.062
FG – 1.017
IBU – 44.4
SRM – 8.6°
Attenuation – 72%
ABV – 6.15%

Here’s hoping that Mark can share some of this with me in the future.

Easter Blessings to you all. He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!