To address the beer shortage at Fieldpointe South and to prep for a near future faculty gathering, the 2 man operation got together at an attempt to produce a beer in the short order of a couple weeks. Will see if this works or not. There is a standby keg of The Innkeeper at Fieldpointe North if needed.
The aforementioned beer shortage does need a line or two of explanation because as it stands now, there are 4 full fermenters at Fieldpointe South. The previous post indicated that the summer brewing thus far has been for future events. This has left a dearth of consumable beer for Supervisor Mark. He’s had a bit more Hamm’s than would normally be consumed to manage the present situation.
Life, Liberty & Hoppiness is almost a SMASH pale ale. SMASH beers are Sing Malt And Single Hop beers. This number uses the main base malt and a bit of crystal for color enhancement.
The twist on this rendition is a required hop substitution. The original LL&H used the classic tried and true Cascade hops. Wouldn’t you know that the inventory was depleted just a few days prior to my securing brewing supplies. As Charlie P. would say, “Relax. Don’t Worry. Have a Homebrew.” Pretty much any “C” hop can be substituted for another “C” hop. Being a fan of Citra hops, that was available and was used. It has to work – it begins with a “C”.
The weather this past week has been on the hot side with temps in the 90s and even reached 103° at Fieldpointe North. To enhance the experience, our friends over in Minnesota and up in Canada decided to share wildfire smoke with intensity. Holy Smokes! It was foggy. A yellow-orange smoky haze on top of hot weather. Was a good day to stay inside (the Man Cave) and brew beer.
With this all being said, the Dorothy Doors remained mostly closed for the event. One door was opened to transport the spent grain outside to feed the local chipmunk population – which by the way, seems to be very low this summer. Having popped outside it was noticed that the acrid nature of the smoke had diminished to the point the one could be outside for a bit. So, the DDs did make it to open status for a short time while we enjoyed food, fellowship and beer on the patio for a short while.
Speaking of beer… To commemorate the foggy nature of the day caused by all the wildfire smoke, Supervisor Mark procured a supply of Warpigs Foggy Geezer. Being fans of 3 Floyds, this beer reinforced our continued support of the brewery. This is some good stuff and we enjoyed it. A hazy IPA (7.3%) on a hazy day.
Been using the ol’ refractometer lately to get some idea as to where the numbers are in the brewing process – not that it really matters all that much. The Tilt (red) has been in WCCRIS for quite some time. That beer is about ready to make its journey to a keg soon. Will need to get the finishing ingredients such as the coconut extract and cacao nibs. The oak has been soaking in bourbon for a couple weeks. Looking like WCCRIS will be about 10% ABV. Once this is done, the Tilt can be used to record fermentations of future beers.
This beer (LL&H) however, will be a better fit for summer fun and food. Will find out if we can do the quick turnaround on it.
Life, Liberty & Hoppiness
Grains
- 10 lb – 2 Row Base Malt
- 0.5 lb – Crystal 40°
Hops
- 1 oz – Citra @ 60 minutes
- 1 oz – Citra @ 30 minutes
- 1 oz – Citra @ flameout
- 1 oz – Citra in keg
Yeast
- Fermentis US-05
Projected Analysis
- OG – 1.055
- FG – 1.014
- ABV – 5.4%
- Color – 7.6 SRM
- Bitterness – 38.3 IBU
Cheers to Life, Liberty & Hoppiness on America’s 250th!
