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!
This is the final of the “church beers” for this Fall’s Oktoberfest celebration. We are happy to have it brewed since all the brewing so far this summer has been for future events. This has resulted in the keezer mostly running dry of tapped beer at Fieldpointe South. There is a keg waiting for the annual Fantasy Football Draft which means it is off limits until then. So far the Supervisor has left it alone (I think) but if something doesn’t materialize soon…
Freudenfest is a Märzen brewed with a variety of malts to give it that extra special Oktoberfest festive vibrance. Freudenfest means “festival of joy” or “festival of fun”. This beer is to elicit the joy and fun of the event.
Supervisor Mark and myself managed the brew event: Mark on the grill and me the brew kettle. The Supervisor begins the early morning shift at the grill tenderly nurturing his craftsmanship throughout the day. My contribution is much less intense and time consuming. Mark’s masterpiece this time was tri-tip beef grilled using the Santa Maria Style method. This method uses a raised iron grate over wood instead of traditional charcoal.
The result is amazing! I could taste the love and dedication.
Per the usual, the event included the now anticipated and expected BM bar. Mark was thinking that his BM bar this time was “on fire” as you can plainly see.
I skipped on the potatoes but pretty much included all the other food item offerings in my BM.
The brewing efforts went just as well as the Supervisor’s at the grill. Even remembered the Hot Scotchies.
Dorothy Doors were open. Weather was great. The day went well and was enjoyable. Need to do it again soon – before the new school year begins.
This was the most recent June beer brewed at Fieldpointe South. The inspiration for this number came from church of all places. The “mostly retired” former pastor commissioned (not during the sermon) the Fieldpointe leadership to consider this rauchbier for future Fall consumption. Turns out that both of us are avid fans of the Aecht Schlenkerla rauchbier of Bamberg, Germany. (Editor Note: Just got lost viewing the links and thinking of all the wonderful smoke beer. Did learn that July 23 is “Smokebeer Preservation Day.” {see link at the end}) Currently have a few bottles of this in the keezer.
“The connoisseur drinks it slowly with relish, but steadily and purposefully. He knows, that the second “Seidla” (half-liter) tastes better than the first, and the third even better than the second. He drinks during the morning pint and during the afternoon break. He drinks it in the evenings, drinks it alone and with company, especially with company, as “Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier” makes one talkative and exuberant. It brings together the local with the stranger, as it is common in Franconia to share your table with others.”
With the persuasion part out of the way (the easy part), came the recipe formulation. As luck would have it, the mythical King of Beer – Gambrinus, provided such a recipe through our good friend and owner / proprietor of Littleport Brewing of Racine, WI. Mark provided Fieldpointe with a recipe formulated to resemble the above mentioned inspiration. Both Littleport and Filedpointe brewed this beer for a future side-by-side-by-side comparison. (The real deal, Littleport & Fieldpointe.)
The key ingredient is the genuine beechwood smoked malt as used in Germany. Don’t use peat or other acrid tasting smoked malt. Word has it that all smoked beers taste a bit harsh at first but mellow after a couple months of cold conditioning. This should work out just right for Fall enjoyment.
Brewing the beer was conducted under the scrutinizing eye of Supervisor Mark. On hand for moral support was Jeremy of C.F.W. Malther – who came bearing gifts! (That crowler of Goat Rock Bock was fantastic!)
The usual formalities were followed: BM Bar, open Dorothy Doors, food and fellowship. Speaking of food – the Supervisor provided pulled pork nachos at some point.
Looks like there might have been some of Fieldpointe’s finest served as well.
All went well and Bamberg Rauchbier is in the fermenter / keezer at 52° F doing its thing.
Am a bit behind in updating. There were two brew sessions in June and it is over a week into July. Guess I’ve been busy?? This one was a solo endeavor at Fieldpointe South the beginning of June as the Supervisor was out of town.
This is the third production of one of the two “church beers” for the annual First Evan Oktoberfest celebration. It has been received well so it remains as one of the two annual brews. The second “church beer” is being planned to be brewed in a couple days – if all works out.
Last year the two other brewer friends each contributed a beer of their choosing to the festivities. C.F.W. Malther and Lone Cedar were once again invited to do the same for this year. Each has brewed their own beer and indicated that they will be ready for September. I’ve been told what they are but as is the case, if it is not written down, it doesn’t stick. Perhaps as they read this they could respond in the comments section as to what each respective beer is.
Being a solo situation for this brew, there wasn’t anything of particular interest to report. So, here again are the makings of Gemütlichkeit – a Helles Bock.
Memorial Day 2026 is first and foremost a day to thank God for the American Heroes who gave their everything for us and this nation. One day isn’t enough to commemorate the multitude of sacrifices made. If you haven’t ever visited a national / veteran cemetery, you need to do so. The row upon row of marble markers move you.
The WWW indicates: “An estimated 1.2 to 1.3 million American service members have lost their lives in all U.S. wars and military conflicts combined since 1775.”
In addition, Memorial Day was an opportunity for the Fieldpointe South guys to take a much needed break from the routine of life for friends, fellowship, food and beer. (feer?) During the days events, we took a moment at 3 pm local time to listen to taps and think about those who made the moment possible. Our deepest gratitude and thanks to our United States military – past and present veterans and those currently serving. Thank You!
Supervisor Mark was given the task to name this commemorative brew since this is a first timer for Fieldpointe. He did well. Taps to Tapped: WCCRIS (Wisconsin Coconut / Cacao Russian Imperial Stout). {Editor’sNote: WCRIS may be an acronym for the Wisconsin Council of Religious & Independent Schools. This is purely coincidental.}
The inspiration for this beer is a favorite of both Mark and myself: 3 Floyds Brewing Cocomungo. Mark has been able to secure this a few times now and has graciously shared with those deemed worthy. Never mind that he may have had to take out a loan to purchase it. It is worth the expense. At the time of this editorial, there is 1 remaining bottle at Fieldpointe North. Fieldpointe South inventory is unknown. (Most likely at zero.)
Not having insider information on the actual recipe and procedure for replication, this is rendition #1 of a projected many to improve and perfect Fieldpointe’s rendition of a somewhat similar beer. The goals for this version is to get an abv close to 12% and get the coconut and cacao notes to make themselves known. Future renditions will focus on other aspects if we can get these down. The downside for this is that the beer will age for one year. Memorial Day 2027 will bring the team back together for analysis and suggested improvements.
The BMB opened at 11 am to get the brewing portion of the day started. By that time Supervisor Mark had some time well spent at the grill. Per the usual, he did well and was proud of his presentation.
OK. I know the suspense is killing you. That’s all fine and good but what about the Dorothy Doors??? You can tell from the above presentation that the weather was fantastic. Therefore, the DDs were in summer open mode status. The DDs are such a blessing giving easy access to the Man Cave brewing process and taps.
As previously stated, these Fieldpointe South brewing occasions are times for friends and fellowship. Lone Cedar and C.F.W. Malther once again supported the Fieldpointe cause.
Good thing these folks were around as I’m prone not to remember the important things: such as hot scotchies. Thanks guys and Mr Boston!
Getting a higher gravity wort took a few additional steps due to the larger grain bill. Mark of Littleport Brewing of Racine was gracious and lent the use of his cooler mash tuns. Thanks Mark! The trick was to collect the wort from the coolers and boil down to concentrate. For most previous Fieldpointe brews actual measurements were not taken. Close counts. The numbers usually presented here are the calculations from the brewing software. Lately I’ve taken a renewed interest in OG /FG numbers and invested in a Tilt Hydrometer. In addition, I dug out the refractometer to monitor the sparge. At 3 brix it’s time to quit drawing wort. 8 gallons were collected and were boiled down to the usual 6. At that point it was transfer time to the fermenter. Here is the transfer in progress and the resulting Tilt OG reading.
Screenshot
This OG reading is lower than what was expected but should give an abv of at least 10% or slightly higher. Cocomungo is around 15.5% so there is room to improve. Mash temps, time and recirculation will need to be given attention to monitor (improve) efficiency.
All that being said, here is what went into Taps to Tapped: WCRIS.
Grains
14# Maris Otter
1.5 # Munich 20L
1# Brown Malt
1# Flaked Oats
0.5# Carafa Special III
0.5# Carastan
0.25# Chocolate
0.25# Roasted Barley
Hops
2 oz Cryo HBC 472 (16%) at 60 minutes
Adjuncts
1# Corn Sugar at 10 minutes
1# Lactose (Milk Sugar) at 10 minutes
4 oz Coconut Extract (keg)
12 oz Cacao Nibs (Vodka Extract – keg)
2 Oak Spirals (Bourbon Infused – keg)
Yeast
2 packs Ferments Safale US-05 (primary)
Fermentis Safbrew HA-18 (secondary)
According to the brewing software the following may be expected:
OG 1.110 (measured 1.080)
FG 1.029
Color 32 SRM
ABV 11.6%
Bitterness 73 IBU
Thanks to Mark at Littleport for giving his suggestions and advice on brewing this beer. He has brewed a similar beer called Northern Lights which I thoroughly enjoyed.
A recent Sunday afternoon found the brew crew at WSBC for an overdue brew session. JD had been busy collecting maple sap this spring and suggested using it for a beer. Why would anyone say “No”?
On hand for the event was special guest Greg of Lone Cedar Brewing – Sprague, NE. (Thanks for the ride along Greg.) Greg brought a couple growlers for the gang to enjoy. Thanks! In addition to Greg was host JD, Pirate Paul, Todd, Jacob, Matt and myself. As always, a good time was had by all.
There were a few extra curriculars going on so we didn’t hit Greg’s brews all too hard. One of them was his Sunset Red (below) and the other was v 2.0 of his SMASH “How’s the Water?”.
Other sampling involved WSBC Xmas Ale 2013/25, Leftovers and other things that shall go unmentioned.
The weather was a tad on the cloudy, cooler side with some rain eventually moving in. This brought the outdoor brewing somewhat indoors.
JD apparently had some excess time on hand and put it to good use redesigning the false bottom on the mash tun. Some random stainless gas grill burners and ingenuity replaced the stainless braid “worms” that had been previously used.
While Pirate Paul and Todd were wrestling with the fermentation barrel sanitization with Jacob supervising, JD took a moment to hang out at his Rauchen Tafel. By the looks of it though, it might be mislabeled.
All went well and in the end some 30 gallons of something ended up where it was supposed to be.
Spring Maple Ale used 22 lb of condensed sap that JD collected. With that much sugar content, the grain bill was considerably less than otherwise would be needed for a 30 gallon brew.
Maple Spring Ale
Grains
20 lb – 2 Row Pale Malt
2.4 lb – CaraPils
Sugar
22 lb – Condensed Maple Sap (10 minutes)
Adjunct
1 lb – Rice Hulls
Hops
2.5 oz – Magnum (60 minutes)
3 oz – Fuggle (10 minutes)
Yeast
Wyeast American Ale 1056 – Starter
The finished beer should be around 5% abv with a bitterness in the 25 IBU range. The color is estimated to be in the 14.5 SRM ballpark.
Spring Break is just about over. Good thing the Brew Crew got together yesterday at Fieldpointe South to get something in the fermenter. The pre-meeting polling picked Red Zeppelin for the event. Be advised that there may have been some ballot box stuffing going on. I’ll explain.
C.F.W. Malther’s management is Zeppelin oriented in music. This has caused minor debate at preceding brew sessions with other representing breweries. There may be misinformation out there as to where Zeppelin ranks in comparison to, let’s say, Pink Floyd. Most folks would have that figured out. That’s an easy one – at least you would think. But alas, patience must be extended towards the few who do not. Perhaps picking Red Zeppelin was not the proper way to go as it may encourage more future nonsense. Too late now.
RZ is an Irish Red Ale. Guess that is fitting with St. Patrick’s Day approaching fast. No, this won’t be ready until early next month. That’s OK – we will extend the SPD celebration during April in preparation for the tapping of the Maibock the following month.
In attendance were Greg of Lone Cedar, Jerome of C.F.W. Malther and of course Supervisor Mark of Fieldpointe South.
Mark’s BMB opened promptly at 11 am but the author was a tad tardy attempting to squeeze in some schoolwork beforehand. Greg, being somewhat familiar with the brewing process, stepped up to the plate and had the sparge water heating as well as the strike water in the main unit. This move got him an 11% stake in the brew. That is if the beer mice don’t get to it first.
It is believed that some in attendance may have broken protocol by skipping the Hamm’s Chaser and going directly to Lone Cedar’s beverages. The Fieldpointe South folks follow this well established policy and procedure. Perhaps the BMB should be off limits to the violators until some manners are learned. Just saying.
What did Lone Cedar provide that enticed participants to forgo proper BMB etiquette? Irish Vendetta (Growler) and Prairie Schooner Porter on Nitro (Mini Keg). You can look these up on Greg’s website provided you can find it. He likes to keep it a well kept secret. Something about his beers being proprietary or something along those lines. These are very good beers!
Here Greg is pretending to be distracted by the food stuffs Mark provided. A pint of PSP is in the foreground. We ate well.
“What’s this?” “Are those playing cards on the table?” Why yes, they are! Jerome tag teamed the event with his youngest son, Andre, and introduced him to the wonderful world of all things Sheephead related. Since this may have been his first time, the “rookie rule” was lifted. Folks just learning the game are required to play with quarters before earning the right of passage to graduate to the more common nickels. (Some people even play for pennies but that might be an issue in coming years.) Besides, father and son were going on an adventure to locate establishments with the “claw game” where a minimum of $10 combined must be spent. If remembered correctly, 3 different locations were to be visited to fulfill the activity. Guess that is where all the quarters were going. Mark’s “claw game” apparently is out for repair as it hasn’t been seen for a good while now.
The brew session was fun and went well. I think the same can be said of the clientele – the fun part.
This version of Red Zeppelin is slightly different from its predecessor. For this round, attention was given to the color factor – which normally isn’t a big deal. However, the name kinda dictates that the beer have a hint of red. The trick will be figuring out the combination of roasted barley, chocolate malt and crystal quantities. The goal of course is to get a red tint to the beer and not end up with a brown ale or darker. Another option to try would be the use of what is called Red X malt. Fieldpointe has no experience with this so far. Might need to change that.
Red Zeppelin
Grains
8 lb – Two Row
2 oz – Roasted Barley
2 oz – Chocolate Malt
2 oz – Crystal (80°)
Hops
1.5 oz – East Kent Goldings @ 60 minutes
Yeast
Fermentis US-05
Projected Analysis
OG – 1.044
FG – 1.011
Color – 14.5 SRM
Bitterness – 28 IBU
ABV – 4.3%
Cheers to a fun filled brewing and St. Patrick’s Day!
“The Big Game”, “Super Sunday” or “Game Day” – however you want to reference it, we at Fieldpointe prefer to call it “Brew Day”. This “Brew Day” featured the beer named after a sought after month – May. This is for a number of reasons. One being spring. The other is the end of the current school year. Brewing a Maibock indicates that the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and bigger.
It is with appreciation that the NFL enhanced the day by providing this somewhat entertaining event. It tried. Perhaps it is time to go old school and bring back the half time marching band. This was kind of a surprise really because I don’t recall orchestrating anything with the NFL to provide entertainment ahead of “Brew Day”. Some might think it coincidental but there is probably more to it than that. Mark?
What I find interesting is that the NFL decided 60 years back to keep track of this yearly event by using a numbering system – Roman Numerals – as added event enhancement and documentation. This number, as was established, is to be equal to – no more, no less – than the age of the Fieldpointe Senior Manager (FSM). The FSM managed to squeeze out 60 revolutions around the sun this past January. With that accomplishment the SB / BD ID of “LX” was set. The rest, as they say, is history.
Sometimes (perhaps often) it is said of many things in life – it is better to leave well enough alone – or something along those lines. I preface this next part thinking those words, I should have left well enough alone.
Once upon a time brewing was taken very seriously. Not that it isn’t now mind you, however, the priorities have gradually changed over time. After all, there have been 60 years to do this. Not that brewing has been an integral part of all of them as it probably should have. What I mean is this: The books had been read and procedures followed. Timing and temperatures recorded. Quantities carefully weighed. OG and FG taken. Spreadsheets employed. Etc.
What I discovered along the brewing journey at some point is that the tree was getting lost in the forest. Unless, of course, it is just a Lone Cedar somewhere in Nebraska – but that is a different story.
Sure, Fieldpointe accumulated all the gear and gadgets – most of which are used and have made the process more efficient and enjoyable – like brew kettles, mega spoons, mash paddles along with stainless steel connectors and silicone tubing. There has been the addition of electric brewing (which is the preferred method at Fieldpointe South) and even a pump which gets occasional use at Fieldpointe North. These apparati are all fine and good and have been great additions to the brewery. However, at some point it was realized that brewing wasn’t as enjoyable as it once was. Why so? The discovery was that too much was being put into the numbers and all. Don’t get me wrong, math and science are my life – literally. I try my best to teach math and science concepts to the middle school kids that put up with me on a daily basis during the school year. It was just getting too nerdy at this level. Brewing, dare I say, wasn’t as enjoyable as it once was. Then I remembered this guy and his famous quote:
Brewing needed to go back to a simpler time at Fieldpointe. Roughly measure grain. Use ballpark water to grain mash ratios. Employ a standard one hour mash. Time the hop additions but don’t get the knickers in a twist if not exact. A standard one hour boil. Cool. Transfer. Ferment. Keg. Enjoy. Fieldpointe brews beers to savor and enjoy by the chosen few – not the masses. We don’t need no quality control. We don’t have to justify to the bean counters. Don’t make swill of course but KISS it.
Notice that I didn’t address the OG (original gravity) and FG (final gravity) readings. These were skipped in the time of simplicity. Sure, there are the hydrometers and a refractometer but these devices rarely ever are used. Who cares what the readings are? Beer is being produced and the beer mice are giving their approval. (Fieldpointe South still has a problem with that.) Our friend Mark of Littleport Brewing in Racine doesn’t quite understand why this part of the process would be not of a higher priority. “How do you know if you are hitting your expected gravity if you don’t take readings?” People who care about style guidelines care about this stuff – and those who sell beer for a living. (By the way, he has given up asking me this but now this may change. My fault.) But now I’ve gone ahead and ruined it and now I’m thinking I should not have gone down this rabbit hole. Too late!
For the 60th milestone last month (LX), modern technology has been attained in the form of a digital hydrometer – a Tilt Pro Mini device. No real reason why. Something new to mess with. Maybe.
AI has this to say about it:
The Tilt Pro Mini is a compact, high-precision Bluetooth hydrometer designed for smaller, modern, stainless steel fermenters with 1.5-inch dump ports. It provides enhanced sensor resolution (4 decimal places for SG), improved signal strength, and, despite its smaller size, brings the robust, long-range performance of the Pro series, featuring 3–5 year battery life.
Spectacular! Who wouldn’t love such a device? This is going to make brewing even more fun! Or is it?
Simple to use. Just sanitize and plop into the fermenter. Connect to it via the Tilt app on the phone and enjoy the numbers. There is an option to calibrate in water just before use. Thinking this is a good idea, I chose this route for the first trial of the device. Quick and easy. Into the fermenter it went. And …. it worked! However, all is not fun and frivolity. More like sadness and disappointment. Stupid numbers.
Screenshot
OK, so this is the first time in use and despite its ease of use, there may be something that is being overlooked. I’d ask Mark (Fieldpointe) for input but … know better.
Going by the Maibock style guidelines (first problem – ignore, ignore!) the Maibock should have an OG between 1.064 and 1.072. 16# of grain in the brewing software had this at 1.069. OK. Of course there isn’t 100% efficiency so using the default 75% which I consider the low end of the spectrum, the number should be 1.05175 which you can see is the factory “pre-calibrated” number above. Temperature also affects an OG reading but the pre-calibrated temp was very close to the actual when in the fermenter. Might need to see how to go about messing with this aspect. Or maybe I shouldn’t.
As all good Lutherans would ask: What does this mean? It means that if my water calibration is on par, the efficiency is less than 75% – the low baseline. Yikes! Perhaps I should skip the water calibration and just go with the pre-calibration because I really don’t need precision here and those other numbers look better. (Am I being a politician here?) Now this is just the first run at using this device and Mark isn’t any help because it is technology. I’m on my own here. I’ve not been back to FS to get another reading so we’ll just ride this out and see what becomes of it. In the long run, it won’t matter. The beer seems to go somewhere. Beer mice!
Alright, with that nonsense out of the way … It was great to share the event with others – in order of appearance: Mark & Helen, Greg, Jerome & Son, John and perhaps another.
Mark and Helen were, as always, very gracious hosts letting us invade for the day. There was no shortage of food stuffs. Helen’s Ugly German Stew was the highlight of the event. There was a good possibility that beer and hot scotchies were a part of it as well.
Of course, there was the BMB along with a Hamm’s chaser – which is now anticipated and expected to kick off each brewing session and “Big Game”.
Some other bits and pieces to share.
The brewing operation itself went well. The procedure is well routine by now and should produce something respectable for May – regardless of what the true OG was / is. May will be celebrated.
The Makings of MaibockLX
Grains
12 lb – 2 Row
2 lb – Munich Malt
1 lb – Crystal 20°
1 lb – Wheat Malt
Hops
1 oz – Perle @ 60
1 0z -Hallertau Mittelfruh @ 15
Yeast
Fermentis Saflager W-34/70
Brewing Software Analytics– Non Tilt Influenced
OG – 1.069
FG – 1.017
Color – 10.8 SRM
ABV – 6.9%
Bitterness – 33 IBU
The beer was at cellar temp for 2 days to get the fermentation underway since I had neglected to get the “starter” process going on Friday. As far as is known, Mark moved the fermenter to the keezer set at 52° F on Tuesday. In another week or so, I’ll see if I can stop in for a gravity reading and perhaps a beverage or two.
As always, thanks for wasting your time with us. Prost!
Friday, December 26 marked the half-way(ish) point of the 2 week Christmas / New Year winter break. To commemorate the occasion the brew crew gathered at Fieldpointe South to try another rendition of Flex Coconut Porter in case Jolly ol’ St. Nick should happen to stop by on his way to recovery time in the South Pacific.
Supervisor Mark decided to go with this one again reminiscing the local Hula Chaser from Racine Brewing Company. RBC has been gone from Racine’s Main Street but its memory lives on by those who fondly remember quaffing mugs of Hula Chaser. For some of us, that was at weekly Wednesday Sheephead gatherings.
The first run of FCP was OK but not quite what the desired outcome should be. Toasted coconut was added to the finished keg but didn’t impart that classic Hula Chaser coconut porter taste. It also turned into a gooey mush being in the keg for the extended time during serving. In this rendition the Supervisor decided to add the coconut straight to the fermenter. Yup – just dumped it in. The plan is to give the fermentation process the typical couple of weeks to complete; then move the fermenter to the keezer for a week or two so everything settles followed by the transfer to the keg. Time will tell if this procedure produces the intended desired results.
Present to this event were representatives from Fieldpointe North & South as well as head brewmaster Jerome of C.F.W. Malther Brewing Company of Racine.
Despite being “under the weather”, Mark’s wife Helen graciously endured our presence provided we kept our shenanigans contained to the Man Cave – and kept a lid on it. Let’s see… the Man Cave is where the brewing gear and beer are located, so… no problem!
Mark was a gracious host (as always) and went all out to keep his guests feeling jolly and well fed. In addition to beer (duh) Mark had procured these holiday treats: smoked salmon, port wine cheese spread and herring. In addition there was sushi which always should accompany a Bloody Mary – as it did following the standard procedure for kick starting each brew session at Fieldpointe South.
The Ghost of Christmas Present moved Supervisor Mark to open the Bloody Mary Bar 20 to 30 minutes earlier than the usual 10 AM. This suited the attendees just fine as the one guest arrived on the early side of 10 AM – apparently to get situated before all the good seats were gone. As Jerome soon realized, this really wasn’t a concern as there was plenty of personal space available to mill about as one pleased.
While the brew session was under way, Mark thought it a good opportunity to give the keezer a good interior cleaning. This included removing the kegs and wiping the keezer floor. The motivation for this activity was actually initiated by the Lakeshore Common keg. When this beer was kegged, it was noticed that the beer out post was leaking. A new “o” ring was procured and replaced. Thinking this solved the problem, not much additional thought was given to the situation. However, Mark discovered that the kegs were doing the backstroke in the keezer. Mark and Jerome soon had the cleanup completed and lamented briefly over the few pints that were lost. Since the one replacement “o” ring didn’t fix the problem the first time, another was added to the beer dip tube. Following testing and close observation, the keg was cleared to reenter the keezer and as far as this author is aware, is behaving as it should.
As a departing gift, the Supervisor gave each attendee a can of 3 Sheeps – The Wolf which is an Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon Barrels. It is very good – one of my most favorite things not in brown paper packages tied up with strings. You may learn more about it here. I do like the quote from 3 Sheeps, “The liquid equivalent of a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” Yes, it will sneak up and “bite” you if not careful.
Since this beer recipe has been previously posted, I will refrain from reentering it here – unless there is a request for me to do so.
With that, may your 2025 have been great and your 2026 even better.
We are just a few days removed from Thanksgiving and in a few hours it will be December. Of course that means we are knee deep into the holidays.
A few weeks ago the Waukesha Shores Brewing Club (WSBC) got together for a 35 gallon American Porter brewing session at WSBC headquarters – a stone’s throw from Lake Waubesa in McFarland.
From the looks of it, perhaps a few years have transpired since its last production. Just wondering if a revision is warranted: Xmas Ale (2013, 2025).
Like all serious garage brewers, constant science and testing is involved. Recent sessions have included design engineering and experimentation with a hop filter. This filter is located in the inline transfer from boil kettle to the fermenter. This upgraded version received a classification of “better” – kinda like my Fantasy Football score this week. Speaking of FF, just throwing this out there from an earlier matchup this season just in case certain readership is present:
This was matchup #1. Matchup #2 may have been retribution by FS. However, this writer hasn’t procured the visual evidence to substantiate this at this time. (I actually got my butt kicked but good on round 2.)
So, the implemented tube filter was an improvement over the previous shorter design but not quite there yet – at least where pellet hops are concerned. The prognosis is that it should perform very nicely with just leaf hops. Almost all of the leaf hops remained in the kettle following the whirlpool and the few that went to the filter didn’t go any further or cause any problems with flow restriction. The pellet hops didn’t behave so nicely – kinda like some middle school kids I work with. The hop debris didn’t hang out in the kettle and caused flow restrictions despite the larger surface area of this larger (longer) tube filter. A hop spider will need to be used with pellet hops until the time when a redesign and test warrant otherwise – if at all. I could envision this device to be used as a hop rocket for a future brew. (Just throwing that idea out there.) The device would need to be reversed for this concept to have a chance at success. (I would think.) Cleaning it might be a bear though. (Never mind.)
Below is a gallery of images of the event in no particular order. (Unless they automatically post in the order taken.)
Last report was that the porter had been transferred to secondary. (Some people like extra work.) The preliminary OG measurement indicates that the ABV will be a couple to a few percentage points above target. The final fermenter volume should have been 35 gallons. Due to the slow transfer due to the above mentioned reason, an executive decision was made to cut it at 32. This being a “holiday beer” actually makes this aspect appealing in my humble and worthless opinion.
Xmas Ale (2013)
Grains
60 lb – Pale 2 Row Malt
5 lb – Crystal Malt: 120 L
1.5 lb – Black Patent Malt
1.5 lb – Chocolate Malt
Hops
5 oz – Columbus @ 60 min
4 oz – Hallertauer Mittlefrueh @ flameout
Yeast
London Ale starter
Anticipated (but not real) Analysis
OG – 1.050
FG – 1.013
ABV – 5%
Bitterness – 41 IBU
Color – 24 SRM
Some time had passed since the last WSBC brew session so it was good to get together with the boys. Brewing can be a very social activity. Here “giving each other the business” is not only expected, it is enjoyed. Happy Holidays!
