The second brew session of break took place today in the Fieldpointe brew garage. The gear was initially setup outside however the wind persuaded a move to the garage. Good thing because a little snow fell and turned into rain during the session.
This was a solo event so nothing unique to report on like there usually is when others are involved. Some entertainment was sought by working 2o meter Slow Scan TV (SSTV) during the boil but wasn’t too productive. The high powered stations were ruling the band leaving little room for low powered station success. However, I was able to decode some SSTV images from the International Space Station as it passed the vicinity. The ISS is transmitting lunar images between Christmas and New Year. Unfortunately, most of the passes are during the very early hours of the morning and being on break, I’m sleeping in – a bit. (Still wake up on the early side. But still …)
The new Blichmann Hellfire burner was used for the second time today. (Once today – second time used.) I am very happy with the purchase as it performs well. Clean burning blue flames producing plenty of heat to get the job done. An added benefit was that it warmed the garage up nicely – not that it has been that cold around here so far this winter. Today’s very minor snowfall perhaps gets us to about 1.5 inches so far for winter. Kind of silent. And nice.
The beer this time is a Strong American Ale. Previous renditions of this beer have been produced before but it has been average so a few changes were made to the recipe. The grain bill was increased and the hop type was changed with another ounce or two added. This edition should be more interesting.
Here are the makings of this edition of Silent Night Winter Ale.
Grain
14 lb – 2 Row Brewers Malt
1.5 lb – American Caramel 60°L
0.25 lb – American Chocolate Malt
Hops
2 oz – Cascade (60 minutes)
1 oz – Cascade (45 minutes)
1 oz – Cascade (30 minutes)
1 oz – Cascade (15 minutes)
Adjunct
2 lb – Honey (Flameout)
Yeast
1 Pack – Fermentis Safale US-05 (1 Liter Starter)
Projected Analysis
OG: 1.079
FG: 1.021
Color: 17.6 SRM
ABV: 7.74%
Bitterness: 69.6
Here’s hoping that this winter remains silent as we transition to 2022.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! On Christmas break so that means the brew kettle gets to see some action. (Hopefully more than once over break.)
The brew session took place this past Thursday with Mark being the host. It had been previously decided that a big boy would be up for consideration with the weather being on the cooler side – minus the snow so far. (No complaints on the lack of snow.) The thought was to brew something on the stronger side to keg and keep for next Fall / Winter. Thus, the Imperial Bourbon Barrel Stout is making another appearance.
The original IBBS was a 8 gallon brew for an 8 gallon oak barrel that I had secured from Woodinville Whiskey Co located in Woodinville, WA. This was some years ago. After housing a few larger dark beers initially, the barrel is currently used for the Fieldpointe Sour – which is very tart and horsey. It’s not so bad once you get past the initial taste or two.
Mark got his hands on some Beer Barrel Bourbon distilled by New Holland Brewery in MI. I picked up some toasted oak chips and soaked 2 oz of chips in 4 oz of BBB. These will be added to the keg at packaging. This is not going to be the same as being in the barrel but it should suffice.
As previously mentioned, the brew session took place at Mark’s place. Since this brew has a larger grain bill, it was too big for the RoboBrew electric system. Time to clean the dust off the 10 gallon brew kettles and check the propane levels in the tanks. This equipment has not been used for quite a long while. The electric system with built in pump works fantastic for average grain bill beers < 13 lb. A concern was that I had eliminated my old turkey frier style burners when the garage was cleaned earlier this Fall.
When the plans had been discussed about a month or so ago, I pulled the trigger on a HellFire Burner and Stand from Blichmann Engineering. (Blichmann makes some good hardware. I have a 10 gallon mash tun and 7 gallon conical fermenter.) With shipping delays still the norm these days I was expecting the same for this order but it arrived within a week of the order date. Nice.
This was going to be the inaugural brew on the new burner. Since propane needed to be used, the brewing was done outside on Mark’s patio. It was nice of him to preplan for this activity as he had removed all of the summer patio furniture. How convenient!
This brings me to the Dorothy Door Report: The Dorothy Doors were open. This access is very nice for moving between the basement man cave to the outdoor back patio. The steps are rather steep and the top door frame a little low – the occasional bump of the head reminds those who pass through to keep low – but is a convenient travel portal.
During the mash and boil, Mark and I played two handed Sheephead. He did not get any of my nickels because he set me up on the first hand. While I managed the brew duties, Mark sat around and “stacked the deck” by giving me two fail suits while he kept most of the trump. He did mess up because I did take one trick – rookie. Because he did not let me cut the deck and had set me up, I did not fetch my nickels from my truck so he got nothing from me. That will learn him. (He does a much better job at tracking cards. Me – not so much. Thus he is slowly depleting my supply of nickels. But not today.)
While card playing and waiting for him to play (sometimes he takes as long as Jeff does to play a card) I noticed that Mark has a whole house humidifier on his furnace. I mentioned this discovery to Mark and game play was suspended to investigate the operational status of this unit. It turned out that the unit was still operational and was engaged for winter use. Mark’s wife is dealing with some breathing concerns and the thought was that adding some humidity to the house air may be beneficial to her. Usually humidity is added by our indoor brewing but this doesn’t happen enough to really make a difference. In addition, Mark’s wife thinks hops smell like stinky feet. You try to be nice and helpful. Go figure. So, the humidity level was set to full output on the furnace unit and we petitioned Mark’s wife throughout the brew session whether the upstairs felt like Florida. Of course we did not disclose as to why we were asking. Not wanting any part of our antics and game playing (she said so) positive feedback was not received. Apparently our repetitive asking was not as entertaining to her as it was to us. Eventually she was informed as to what we were up to but still was unimpressed with us and our amazing discovery. Oh well. Back to the brew.
The new burner worked well. The mash hit temp just fine and held pretty well for the hour it sat outside in the cooler weather – around 40° F – with the burner off. I guess the mass of all the grain – just about to the top of the 10 gallon tun – held the temp nicely. Not having used the burner before, it took just a bit of fine tuning to get it to perform well for the boil. The HellFire burns very clean and is quiet unlike my old turkey frier types that were noisy and often left a lot of soot on the kettle underside. Not a cheap burner – especially now with metal prices – but well constructed and very efficient. I hope to use it again this week for another brew and for many more down the road – or in my garage – which is more convenient than brewing down the road.
Because the original IBBS was for a 9 gallon boil (8 finished), the recipe was scaled back for a 6 gallon boil (5 finished). The original version had 6 lb of dark LME in addition to the ingredients listed below. Otherwise everything else remained the same. The projected ABV is around 11% – although it will be a bit lower than that because there were about 6 gallons at finish. I didn’t have a way to calibrate the final kettle volume so I guessed – and it was dark out by then. And I’m the world’s worst guesser. And it was dark out. (Mark was too cheap to turn on the outside patio light.) Not that is would have mattered. Anyway….
Here is the brew as we put it together:
Grain
14 lb – 2 Row
1.5 lb – Dark Munich
1.5 lb – Crystal Malt 90°
1.25 lb – Roasted Barley
1 lb – Chocolate Malt
0.75 lb – Black Patent
2 lb – Flaked Oats
Hops
1 oz – Columbus (60 minutes)
1 oz – Challenger (45 minutes)
1 oz – East Kent Goldings (30 minutes)
1 oz – Fuggle (15 minutes)
Yeast
1 pack – Fermentis US-05 (1 Liter Starter)
Adjuncts
1 lb – Rice Hulls
2 oz – Oak Chips (Medium Toast)
4 oz – Bourbon
Projected Specs
OG – 1.111
FG – 1.028
Color – 41.26 SRM
ABV – 11.11%
Bitterness: 103.9
The trick will be to keg this on the oak and bourbon and then forget about it for about a year. Time will tell how it goes.
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?
Today is the final brew day before the new school year gets underway – which is this coming Tuesday, August 24. That is when the little monsters arrive. It’s also the sign that summer is winding down and will be gone too soon.
It has been a warm and dry summer here in SE WI. Grass cutting hasn’t entirely stopped although I did get one 2 week stretch of not having to push the mower. Otherwise I’m still at my once per week routine and this morning was it for the week. Despite the warmth, dryness and brown patches, the lawn still begs attention from the mower – and the mower requires my attention. Summer is still here with sunshine, 86°F and 75% humidity. Great day for a mow and a brew.
Today’s brew is a clone of a beer that Racine Brewing did a couple of years ago as a one and done (so far). They called it Ghost In The Graveyard and it was fantastic! Its baseline is an American Stout with oats, pumpkin and lactose added. I was disappointed that it was not on the tap list the following Fall as it sure was good. The second year it was a no show I asked Andy if he would share his recipe with me and he happily obliged. He even scaled it down for a 5 gallon batch for me. Thanks Andy! (Andy and Angie are the propriaters of Racine Brewing Company.)
So, after the grass cutting the brew gear was setup and the brew is in progress in the early stage as I type this – and there has already been a scare which may doom this batch to the dungeon of the waste water treatment facility.
The grain bill for the Monster is 17 lb – a bit much for my frail electric system – which I enjoy using. Since additional kettle space was needed, the old propane burner, which hadn’t been used for quite a long time, and the Blichmann BoilerMaker 10 gallon kettle with false bottom came out of hibernation from the crypt to see some action. This part of the equation was a good decision as the mash fit comfortably. So far – so good.
An online mash / strike water calculator was used to get the correct amount of water in the kettle. The first propane tank was empty but the second one still had contents and the old burner fired up just fine. Once the temp reached 125°F, according to the dial thermometer built into the kettle, the grains were added and stirred well. Heat was still being applied and the mash was stirred often on its way to 152°F. Once the temp rose to 140°F, it kind of just stayed there – for a while. There was a light breeze so I figured I was loosing too much heat to the wind so I turned up the flame on the burner. A little more time passed and still not much of an increase in the mash temp. As more time passed and the temp just stayed there I figured something was amiss. It sure seemed that the mash was getting warmer. Time to get another temperature instrument and check as to what is going on here.
My electric brew system has its own built in temperature sensor so I haven’t used my old dial or digital thermometers for about as long as the old brew system hasn’t been used. Now to locate them. I rummaged through a tote of brewing gear. Not there. Hmmmm… Tried another and found the digital thermometer. Pushed the “on” button and nothing. Crud. Where is that analog dial unit? More digging and it was finally located near the eye of newt and hair of toad. Went out to take the mash temp. Sadness and Disappointment ensued. Not just a little past the 154°F I was after – it was near mashout temp of 170°F. Lightning and Thunder! I cut the flame and stirred it desperately trying to get the heat to dissipate because I was out of cricket breath which lowers temperatures quickly. Don’t know if this brew is going to be a goner but I’m going through with it. Time will tell how this one turns out but I’m rather bummed at this point. Anyway, the hour mash is up so off I go to sparge the grain bed, filter through grasshopper wings and transfer to the cauldron.
I’m happy to report that the sparge went well. 1 lb of rice hulls was added out of concern for the oats and the canned pumpkin that were added to the mash. A stuck monster mash is not a graveyard smash. The wort certainly looks and smells like a stout. That is all that matters in the end, right? Dark and Foggy? The mash tasted somewhat sweet to me – or it was my mind wanting me to taste it as being sweet. There should be some fermentable in there – or at least some spider legs – or something. This may end up being a dark water based elixir enhanced with lactose.
The boil and hop additions went just fine. No boil over to make a mess of things. This is somewhat disappointing for sorcerers spell. (Not really.)
This is another no chill brew as the witches are on vacation. This saves a little time and water not having to cool the wort down to pitching temp. This is Ok since there was the extra time heating the mash extra hot. Arg! The session ended up being 8 hrs without the chill. I’m hungry enough to eat a fried salamander tail or two at this point.
Now the cleanup is done and the yeast starter is under way. The fermenter has sanitizer within – all awaiting the Monster tomorrow – which will probably not be too monsterous after today’s mishap.
It has been almost a week since this brew session took place in Mark’s dungeon so it’s high time to get this posted.
The weather was fantastic (not that it really mattered with the basement brewing) and the Dorothy Doors were open. Mark finally moved his patio furniture outside so that is where we enjoyed most of the brew session.
I’ve always known Mark to be the type of person who is even keeled. He doesn’t get too bothered or upset by what life presents. He just rolls with the show and makes the best of the situation. However, there are two things for witch Mark does not have patience or a tolerance for: mosquitoes and chipmunks.
Everyone living in Wisconsin has to deal with the mosquito situation – although it really hasn’t been that bad with all the dry weather so far this summer. But the chipmunks – whoa Nelly! I haven’t seen Mark move that fast since our college football days a few years back when he spots one invading his property. I’m not going to mention Mark’s eradication methods, but let’s just say that the critters usually out maneuver him. They have his stratagies figured out. Mark even claims that the varmints will taunt him by standing on his flower bed retaining wall while doing the I’m Alright gopher dance from Caddyshack.
David stopped by for a while and he and Mark got to try the Mango Kölsch which I thoughtfully brought specifically for Jeff (It was brewed at his place) . But alas, Jeff was a no show.
Jeff is one of those people who likes to have his “ducks in a row” and had inquired a day or two earlier for verification that the planned brew session was indeed going to take place. Mark enjoys messing with Jeff’s questions. He answers them – but not so directly at times. This frustrates Jeff – which the rest of us enjoy. Once Jeff received the information in a satisfactory manner, all was set. That is until Friday’s session got under way and Jeff texted that he wasn’t going to make it. Something about having to get things ready for a vacation that was kicking off the next day. Apparently he wasn’t aware of his planned vacation – or he just forgot about it. I don’t know what is so involved in prepping for a vacation. On the morning of, just throw your socks, underwear and tooth brush in a duffle bag and off you go. As previously indicated, Jeff’s ducks need to be properly lined up so I’m sure his prep was way more involved for a guy than it should have been.
You will notice that there is a name change on this beer. That is because this session’s recipe underwent an experimental change. We liked the hazy presentation of the beer brewed for National Homebrew Day (Star Gazer Double IPA). So, we used that grain bill (I think) and used the hop schedule for the Zombie Dirt – 10 ounces of Citra hops. This should offer the likeness of a favorite of all of us – Toppling Goliath’s Pseudo Sue. Of course, this all depends on Mark taking his hop agitation responsibility seriously. Time will tell.
I think (as previously stated) this is the grain bill for the brew as I’m not sure what Mark picked up from Northern Brewer and he wasn’t so sure either. I certainly know that oats were involved as I could identify them and the sparge was on the slow side. The sparge was not a concern while brewing the Start Gazer. Perhaps Mark got extra oats? He isn’t a numbers guy so he probably read 1.5 lb as 15 lb or something like that. Anyway, some rice hulls would have been a benefit to loosen the grain bed. His suggestion of adding some pink naked squirrels into the mash for good measure was nixed. Good thing.
Grains
6.5 lb. Rahr Premium Pilsner Malt
3.25 lb. Rahr Red Wheat Malt
1.5 lb. Flaked Oats
6 oz. Weyermann® Acidulated Malt
Hops
1 oz – Citra (60 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (20 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (10 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (5 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (Flameout)
2 oz – Citra (Dry Hop – Fermentor)
3 oz – Citra (Dry Hop – Keg)
Yeast
Fermentis SafAle K-97
That’s it! Thanks for reading and get your brew on.
This was a simple solo brew put together to be enjoyed the second half of the summer – which in WI has been either sunny with temps in the 90s or as in today, cloudy and cool with a current temp of 62° F. I’ll take either as both are better than January mid-winter cold.
This is a quick brew consisting mainly of Liquid Malt Extract (LME), Dry Malt Extract (DME), a couple steeped specialty grains and some corn sugar. Of course, hops and yeast complete the presentation.
The Innkeeper is classified as an English Pale Ale – Standard / Ordinary Bitter. The estimated ABV is 3.25% with 48.5 IBU.
Nothing unique to report on this session so here it is:
First brew session of the summer break from school. This event was hosted by Jeff and we were blessed with a perfect day for brewing. The only slightly negative was that Mark was there. As hard as we tried to keep him away he was like a fly on a dog turd.
It actually was good that Mark was there as he brought and shared with us a growler of Lancer Pilsner from the C.F.W. Malther Brewing Company. This is a great tasting brew which as stated: chases away all Sadness and Disappointment. It certainly did. Thanks Pastor L.
This was probably the easiest and fastest brew day for quite some time. The was great because it left more time to play many rounds of Sheephead while enjoying the company (and beer).
This is a Northern Brewer number: Mango Fusion Kölsch – an extract kit. It worked out well because Jeff needed us off his property by 6 and extract brews generally go quickly. Some sort of big grilling event that Jeff was hosting that Mark and I were not worthy of. That’s fine. We did better. Mark went to Danny’s Meats and picked up some great sausages that were grilled to perfection at his place. We enjoyed them with the DIPA that was previously brewed on the May 1 Big Brew Day. What a winning combination and a great end to a fantastic brew day. Thanks Mark.
Here is the simple lineup for the making of Mango Fusion Kölsch:
Malt Extracts
6 lb Pilsen Malt Syrup
1 lb Pilsen Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)
Hops
1.5 oz Hallertau (60 min)
Yeast
Fermentis Safale K-97 (59-68° F)
Other Additions
15 ml Gourmet Mango Extract (keg)
As long as Jeff leaves his hands off, it should turn out fine.
Twas the week before National Homebrew Day and all through the house, Everyone was drinking beer, even the mouse.
The kettle and keg had been sanitized and prepared with care, And Jerry went to Menard’s because he sometimes worked there.
Courtney, Paul, and Jeff were sharpening their skills at Sheephead, Reciting to themselves: “round over point, black over red.”
The pastors, writing their sermons, they had just begun, As Dave was finishing his fifty mile run.
Jay was busy working on his homebrew rap, While Lincoln settled in for his afternoon nap.
After mowing, I had lazily in the sun just basked when I suddenly remembered – there were unanswered questions that had been frequently asked!
So many questions in my head they did ring -“What will we brew?” “What should I bring?”
“When does it start – what second, minute and hour?” “Am I always supposed to sacrifice points before power?”
I rushed to my laptop, my fingers – they did fly. As I tried to answer Who? What? When? Where? and Why?
The list of questions was exhaustive so thorough I tried to be, Until the last question was answered finally.
And so dear friends, and Jerry too, Here is the much anticipated FAQ.
Poetry from Mark set the stage for the festivities to be held at his place for the AHA’s “Big Brew for National Homebrew Day” on May 01. Mark is known for his informative and entertaining FAQs from prior events and delivered once again for this event. If you want to know what the FAQs were, you will need to encourage him to get his own site. Being quite savvy with his technological abilities, I’m sure he can slap together “All Questions Frequently Asked” in no time. He is the inspiration for the FAQ section on this site.
It is now a week after the brew day so I better get posting before next year’s event comes around.
This event is to commemorate the impressive act of Congress to declare May 07, 1988 as the first National Homebrew Day. (Or something like that.) It is my understanding that this floating holiday is celebrated on the first Saturday of May – to the consternation of some in this group who felt that not brewing on the actual day – May 07 – was in violation or even unlawful. Goodness. I equate this to the MLK Day of home brewing – its not always celebrated on the actual day. Or how about Easter. That day hasn’t been nailed down for centuries and yet no one objects to it. This just gives insight to the company I sometimes keep. The pint glass of goodwill was extended just to be slapped away on some imagined objection.
Anyway, Saturday arrived bringing plenty of sunshine and very warm temps – in the 80s. The “Dorothy Doors” were open, the grill was fired up and heaped with Danny’s Meat products for the Blauertkraut, and the Zombie Dirt and Maibock were tapped. Not good enough for some. So…. nice weather (sun / 80s), great eats (Blauertkraut is amazing), homebrewed beer (free), fantastic fellowship (interesting and entertaining personalities) and Sheephead (aka Sheepshead) couldn’t draw some in.
Excuses: I need to plant some grass and trees at the campground. I have prom dad responsibilities. I don’t know how to play Sheephead. What? Are you kidding me? This is Blauertkraut, Beer and Sheephead we are talking about here – on National Homebrew Day! Serious lack of priorities and dedication. What a bunch of Nancys!
Of these excuses, I need to comment on this one: There were two individuals invited who had, as the one put it: “prom dad responsibilities.” The one actually thought prom dad responsibilities to be real and did not show.The other individual wisely indicated that if in fact they do exist, they are as follows: Prom dad responsibilities include making yourself very scarce around the house, or better yet, getting yourself out of the house completely and finding something creative to do – like brewing beer, playing cards, enjoying good company and great food. It was great to see you again Paul. Thanks for bringing Pastor L. (You have to get him on SNB.)
Another oddity of the day was the card playing. Somehow Sheephead got replaced with Euchre. I must have been tending the kettle when this amendment was passed. Euchre? You mean Bob? How does one play “points before power” in Euchre? Is Bower a mispronunciation of Mauer? How do you use nickels when keeping score on two 5s? Where is the fun in that? Where are the leasters? Can you play two handed Euchre? Goodness. Who was responsible for this faux pas? It was good to see you Pastor R. Thanks for stopping by.
All kidding aside, it was a great day for fun, fellowship and brewing. Speaking of which, we brewed one of the “official” Big Brew Day recipes: Star Gazer Double IPA.
From the American Homebrew Association website:
“This hazy double IPA was formulated to showcase the tropical and juicy aromas from BSG Hops’ Zamba blend and the minty and green-apple aroma notes from German Polaris hops. The grist is typical for the style, with a little boost from sucrose to increase wort gravity without adding non-fermentables or additional malt flavor. The hopping schedule and yeast strain are intended to set the stage for aroma retention and biotransformation while keeping hop bitterness in check.”
The all grain version was selected for this special occasion. Between Mark’s meat hors d’oeuvre, card playing and homebrew sampling we managed to not mess it up (I think). It has been in the fermentor for a week now and is ready for the fermentor dry hopping. The recipe is being tweaked a bit in that some of the fermentor hops are going into the keg at packaging. This is what is done with the Zombie Dirt brews and the results are very favorable. We are eager to see how this one turns out.
By the way, the Maibock that was tapped was the Spring Break garage brew and the Zombie Dirt was brewed before the Maibock. Both beers turned out great. The Maibock was not fully carbonated – as is usually the case with beers that are relatively new. The full kegs have very little head space for CO2 and so are on the flat side initially. Either a few pints need to be pulled to increase the head space or perhaps some priming sugar needs to be added. This will need some experimentation.
Perhaps the slogan of Fieldpointe Brewing should emphasize this somehow. “Carbonated beer? Everyone is doing that. We are different – Low Carb beer – Not quite what you think.” Or maybe not.
Anyway, here is the Star Gazer Double IPA magical formula with minor adjustments:
Malts
6.5 lb. Rahr North Star Pils ™ Malt
3.25 lb. Rahr Red Wheat Malt
1.5 lb. Flaked Oats
6 oz. Weyermann® Acidulated Malt
Adjunct
1 lb. Sucrose @ 15 min
Hops
1 oz. Polaris, 20% a.a. @ 60 min
1 oz. Zamba™, 10% a.a. @ 60 min
1 oz. Polaris, 20% a.a., whirlpool
1 oz. Zamba™, 10% a.a., whirlpool
2 oz. Polaris, 20% a.a., dry hop – fermentor
2 oz. Zamba™, 10% a.a., dry hop – fermentor
1 oz. Polaris, 20% a.a., dry hop – keg
1 oz. Zamba™, 10% a.a., dry hop – keg
Yeast
Fermentis SafAle K-97
Thanks for stopping by and Happy National Homebrew Day!
An Easter Monday brew day today at Mark’s place. Just the two of us at it. The others must have had more important things to do than brew beer and play cards. I have no idea as to what that could possibly be.
Shifting back to the summer beers in today’s session. We all really like Toppling Goliath’s Pseudo Sue and this beer is as close as we have been able to get to in our brews. It’s a Northern Brewer recipe. The Citra hops in this number are amazing – and there are a lot of them. Mark picked up an extra couple ounces to experiment with. He needs to decide whether to add them to the fermentor or the keg. (I’m going to speculate that they will end up in the keg.)
Today’s brew was the extract version of Dirt. The all grain version was done a few times last year and I don’t think we have brewed the extract version. We do enjoy brewing all grain beers but have discovered that extract brews work well in these portable brewing sessions away from the brewery.
Mark has commented that he enjoys the brew sessions – watching others (me) do all the work. So today he was involved in the process by doing more than just watching. He had the arduous duty of adding the water, LME, DME and hops. In addition, he learned how to use the spoon to stir in the malt extract well. He will sleep well tonight. Did I mention that the Citra hops smell amazing? A Citra hop pillow would be the best.
While brewing, Mark and I played a round of Terraforming Mars. This was my first experience with the game and not Mark’s. Are you surprised that he won? There is a lot going on with this game and I am amazed at the folks who thought this one up. I’d give it another go now that I have a vague idea as to what is going on. We also got in numerous hands of two handed Sheephead. He won most of those also. That’s OK because I was using his nickels so in the end he won nothing and I lost nothing.
The host was gracious in sharing some grilled sausages from over the weekend. If you live in the area and have not yet had meats from Danny’s Meats & Catering in Racine / Caledonia, you have waited too long. This place produces top quality meat products that are worth every penny. As their website indicates: Another Day In Paradise. The only thing that could improve the place would be if it had Citra hops. Citra hops are fantastic – if you did not know this. Dave donated a great mustard sauce to the cause. He is a very gracious individual. He has donated various meat sticks and other things to past brew sessions- when he can’t make it. We thank him for his generosity. It would be more fun to share these things with him present but then again, there must be more important things out there than to hang with the brew dudes. (I don’t know if I should be glad or sad that I don’t know what they are.)
Since this brew was born at Mark’s place and will remain there, the no chill method was not used this time. It has been a long while since the wort chiller has been used. The ground water is still very cold and it didn’t take too long to drop to pitching temperature.
Instead of a yeast starter, two packets of Fermentis Safale S-04 were used. At an anticipated 1.060 OG using two packets wasn’t a bad idea – good thinking Mark! Oh yeah – Mark added the yeast to the wort too – and learned the correct way to sanitize the scissor.
Nothing amusing to report. Perhaps if Jeff or Dave would have shown the story would be different. But it isn’t so, here it is:
Specialty Grains:
0.5 lb – Carapils (Steeped to 170° F)
0.5 lb – Medium Crystal (Steeped to 170° F)
Extracts:
3 lb – Gold LME (60 minutes)
3 lb – Munich LME (10 minutes)
2 lb – Golden DME (10 minutes)
Hops:
1 oz – Citra (60 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (20 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (10 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (5 minutes)
1 oz – Citra (Flameout)
2 oz – Citra (Dry Hop – Fermentor)
3 oz – Citra (Dry Hop – Keg)
Yeast:
2 Packets – Fermentis Safale S-04
The next brew and brew session is being planned: The American Homebrew Association’s Big Brew for National Homebrew Day – Saturday, May 01.We are looking at the Official Big Brew Day Recipe: Star Gazer Double IPA. Here’s looking forward to the next brew session celebrating National Homebrew Day!
