Category: October 2021

Happy Festival of the Reformation! 504 years ago, Martin Luther (NOT MLK) tirelessly worked at the risk of his life to bring the church back to the inerrant Word of God as found in Holy Scripture. Today Lutherans thank God for His direction and blessing in working through men such as Luther so that we today know that we are saved by faith alone in Christ. The Lutheran Reformation grew from the conviction that the Bible alone (sola scriptura) is the final authority in faith and practice. The “three solas” identified with the Reformation are sola scriptura, sola gratia and sola fide, that is, scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. Thanks be to God.

This is a continuation of the last post. The Belgian Quad needs some time for maturation – about 4 months minimum. In the meantime, there needs to be something to fill the empty space in Mark’s mostly empty beer fridge. After a little thought, a stout was chosen with the hopes that it be ready for the Thanksgiving holiday.

This was a solo brew done this past Friday because Mark decided to spend his time basking in sunny California with his wife. (Enjoying In And Out Burger – and most likely a few so-cal brews.) Yes, a Friday. The last Thursday and Friday of October are annually slated for state teachers’ convention time. Having been in the teaching profession for as long as I have has taught me a few things: 1) Most ideas are recycled. Usually they come back to the tried and true. Changing things for the sake of change is not necessarily innovation. As it is said, “The more things change the more they stay the same.” I don’t need a conference to be reminded of this. 2) I can use the time more productively at home taking care of the final outside Fall things that need to be done: like cleaning the rain gutters, covering the AC unit (BTW – if your cover your outside AC unit for the winter, place a couple of drier sheets inside the unit where the electronics are located to keep mice from nesting in there. They like to set up shop in there and chew on the wires. I know from experience. Apparently, the wires taste like licorice to the mice – I guess.) The rain barrel needs to be emptied, the grass cut, the garage door lubed, etc. And beer NEEDS to be brewed. So yes, a brew session took place this last Friday since I took care of the other things on Thursday.

After a bit of deliberation, Mark decided that he would go with the stout as it ties in with the Fall / Winter season and is a change from the IPA scene. Once again, I went with the Northern Brewer version. Why try to reinvent the wheel? The stout was a partial mash brew meaning that there are some grains that need to be steeped or mashed at 152° F while the rest of the additions are LME and DME extracts.

The no chill method was used. This is now standard procedure here at the brewery. The method works well and there have been no negative experiences after employing the method multiple times. The cooled wort was transferred to the fermentor Saturday AM before work and the yeast starter added. Fermentation was going strong Saturday evening. Two weeks in the conical and then to the keg it goes for a little conditioning and carbonation. It might make the Thanksgiving timeline.

This is a lighter version of the Fieldpointe Oatmeal Stout. (I think there is a previous post on the Fieldpointe Brewery version.)

The anticipated OG is 1.049 and the IBU and ABV are classified as low. This should work well for sharing with visiting family while playing multiple rounds of Terraforming Mars all hours of the night.

Grains

• 2.5 lb – Maris Otter
• 0.5 lb – Black Malt
• 0.5 lb – English Dark Crystal
• 0.5 lb – Flaked Oats

Additional Fermentables

• 3.15 lb – Dark Liquid Malt Extract (LME): 60 minutes
• 1 lb – Dark Dry Malt Extract (DME): 60 minutes

Hops

• 2 oz – US Fuggle: 60 minutes

Yeast

• Safale S-04 Ale: Starter

Happy Festival of the Reformation! Time to watch the Luther movie on DVD.

Looks like some time has passed since the last post. It is this school thing – it gets in the way of doing much of anything else – like brewing. The good news is that 1/4 of the school year has been completed. The 2nd quarter starts on Monday. This means that the end of the school year is only 3 quarters away – but who is keeping track? (I wonder.)

A big change has taken place with the group here regarding our favorite watering hole, Racine Brewing. Andy and Angie pulled the plug on the establishment and closed the doors the end of September. Apparently, COVID mandates did them in. This is sad and disappointing because many of the forced protocol measures were not necessary. This and many other small businesses were forced out of existence by the overreaction to the pandemic. The brewery was for sale but no one stepped up to the plate so the brewery furnishings are to be auctioned off. There were a few people who looked my way and hinted. Although I would have liked the chance to work at it, owning one at this stage of my life is not on the agenda – nor financially an option. It would have been fun though – for a while. As members of the Ray Bru mug club, we will cherish our mugs and reminisce all the good times spent playing Sheephead while drinking great brews. Andy, Angie and Racine Brewing will be greatly missed.

On the positive side, another local brewery is getting underway in Racine – Littleport Brewery is a block from where Racine Brewing was located. It is still in the process of learning the system and dialing in parameters. The brew gear there is larger than what Racine Brewing had and the owners have quite a list of beers that they plan on brewing. Time will tell how this venture goes.

Changing gears, the last brew session before the school year got underway was my take on Racine Brewing’s Ghost in the Graveyard – Monster in the Mausoleum I call it. The one or two of you who possibly read these posts will vaguely remember that the brew day didn’t go so well. Basically, the kettle thermometer decided to record its own reading which was quite different from the actual temp involved. This resulted in a mash temp well above the desired 152° F target. By the time I located my analog dial thermometer (because my digital didn’t work), the temp was at the mash out tempt of 170° F. The ghosts in the graveyard were apparently at work here. Not wanting to call the brew day a bust along with the ingredient and time investment, I followed through hoping for the best. Well, it quickly fermented so there was hope. However, the finished product is thin and on the low side in regards to ABV. I don’t take measurements but I can tell. Oh well, as they say, there is always next year to try again. The Monster in the Mausoleum will just have to stay there for another year. Sadness and Disappointment!

This past Sunday, after morning worship, there was a brew session at Mark’s pad. On the agenda was the Belgian Quad that has been brewed and enjoyed before. The extract version was chosen for two reasons: 1) A shorter brew day. See the school reference above. 2) For ease in mobile brewing – less equipment to haul and clean.

The session kicked off just as the Packers were engaging in their weekly bout – this time with the Washington Football Team To Be Named Later As Long As It Doesn’t Include A Reference To Indigenous Native Americans. That sure is a long name. The old one was much shorter.

This brew is a rendition of Norther Brewer’s Northy 12 Belgian Quad. In fact, it might possibly be the same recipe. Of course there are the nuances of each brewing system so I’m sure there were some slight variations in the brewing procedure and process.

Nothing extraordinary to report – the session went fine. Mark provided assorted nuts, berries and grubs (OK – no berries and grubs) and the small big screen for the game down in his man cave dungeon. I almost forgot the Dorothy Door Report: the DDs were closed – a sad reminder that the season has changed. Mark’s wife served tasty taco bowls which went nicely with the IPAs that were consumed. Some severe damage was done to Mark’s beer fridge inventory.

Shifting gears again – Mark managed to road trip to Imperial Oak Brewing in Willow Springs, IL. This brewery makes one of my most favored beers: Sinister Minister – a Belgian Quad! I think Mark likes it too. We have been able to get our hands on some the past few years now. It is a seasonal fall release and is eagerly anticipated. Check out Imperial Oak’s web thing and if you are in the area, stop in and try some outstanding beer. Back to the Quad:

According to the NB product details:

• Style: Belgian Strong Ale
• OG: 1.090
• SRM: 31
• IBU: 40
• ABV: 10.1%

Enough chat – here is the ingredient list:

Extracts & Other Fermentables

• 6 lb – Pilsen LME: 60 minutes
• 3.15 – Gold LME: 15 minutes
• 1 lb – Pilsen DME: 60 minutes
• 1 lb – Gold DME: 15 minutes
• 2 lb – Candi Syrup (D-180): 15 minutes

Hops

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

Yeast

• 2 Packs – Safbrew Abbaye (BE-256)

This is a 4 month brew – which would be expected for a beer of this calibre. Some age works wonders on it. The test will be to see if Mark can keep his mits off of it until February. Any bets, anyone?