Fermentation Friday: Spring Fever

I'm joining the ranks of the Fermentation Friday crew and posting on the topic. Bryon, at HomeBrewBeer.net is this months host and will post is roundup here. This months topic is "Spring Fever".

"How will you grow or change as a homebrewer this Spring? How will you
embrace your Spring fever and channel it toward your homebrewing
endeavors?"

This spring is going to be a crazy one for me. I have a lot going on and to be able to fit in some brewing sessions here and there will be key. As I've posted before, Ive been asked to brew some beer for my friends Kate and Shaun's wedding. So, naturally I'll need them to taste it before I brew the official batch. Almost all of my brewing this spring will be focused on this. I'm hoping to be able to get two good batches that they both like so I can have them for the wedding, in June!

On top of that, I've signed up to race in a Half-Ironman triathlon in July and I need to start getting a lot of training in and weekends are a great time for long runs and rides.....which eats into my brewing time. But, the good thing is that in the pat few months I've brewed a few batches so I'll have some tasty homebrew when I'm done my training sessions.

IF I had the time I want to dedicate to brewing, I think my main focus would be on consistancy. I have two recipes which have come out great in the past that I want to perfect. My APA and my Brown Session Ale. These beers are my best beers and If I can perfect them to a point where brewing them is like riding a bike, then I can kill two birds with one stone. First, I'll have two great recipes to base starting my brewing (whenever that may be) with, and second is, naturally, I'll have two awesome beers on tap at all times! WIN WIN for me!!

The other area I'd like to focus on, and I imagine a lot of others will too, is being more economically sound with my brewing. With the consistancy of the two brews mentioned above, I'd like to be able to make them for less. Hey, money doesn't grow on trees (someone should tell Obama that) so being frugal and trying to brew for less will be a big plus for me!!

Fermentation Friday was started by Adam over at Beer Bits 2, and it’s a chance for all homebrew bloggers to sound off on a singular theme at a set date - the last Friday of each month (check out Adam’s post explaining the origins).

Cheers,

Jason

Beer's Economic Impact

I came accross a great site today called Beer Serves America. The site goes into great detail about the impact beer has our nations (and states) economy. There is a tool on the site that allows you to view by state, and by district within your state, the economic impact the beer industry has. It was pretty amazing stuff. In 2006, Massachusettes employed just under 25,000 people in the industry earning wages over $255 million.

Now, I'm not an economist, but I read a great post (actually a few) on Lew Bryson's blog about taxes on beer/liquor/cigarettes etc. and how they don't work. With Govenor Deval's push for the new "Wellness Tax" I thought I'd point out this site. As Lew's post points out, NJ Tried this with smokes in order to help curb a budget crisis, and it backfired. People either stopped smoking or drove over the border to get their smokes and the State actually lost revenue.

Let's pray that the Wellness Tax doesn't go into effect. Because not only will your beer be more expensive, but that bag of skittles from the vending machine will be $2 soon!!

Cheers,
Jason

Two Brew Weekend

This weekend was one of the first weekends I've had this year where my wife and I didn't have to travel anywhere, or have any plans to do anything, so I took full advantage of it and was able to brew two batches of beer. The first batch was an attempt at making a clone of Sixpoint Craft Ale's Sweet Action. I used a lot of crystal malt to try and pull out the sweetness, and decent amount of high alpha hops to try and balance it out. The second batch was brewed at my neighbors house with another neighbor and fellow homebrewer. It was our goal to recruit one more person into the homebrewing club, and I think we were successful (Matt??).

The reason for the Sixpoint clone is two-fold. First, It's an awesome beer with a great balance of big sweet malt flavor and big hop aroma and flavor. So naturally, when a homebrewer likes a beer, they try and clone it! Second, my good friend Shaun, who lives in Brooklyn, is getting married to my other good friend Kate. As I've mentioned before, they've asked me to brew some beer for the wedding. We've collectively been trying to come up with a beer that would be enjoyed at the wedding, and one I'm able to brew successfully. A few beers are on the list, but this one was next so I gave it a shot. I posted a few comments on the TastyBrew forum about the original recipe that I created and was told I had WAY too much crystal malt in the recipe and that it would be ridiculously sweet. So I took some out, and added some other malts to try and balance it out and added some more hops for balance as well. I still think I'm on the sweet side with about 23% crystal malt, but we'll have to wait and see.

CrystALE

OG - 1.050
Batch Size - 6 g
Pre-boil Volume - 8 g

Fermentables:
8 lbs Two-Row
1.5 lbs Crystal 15L
1.5 lbs Crystal 40L
1 lbs Munich
.25 lbs Brown Malt
.5 lbs Flaked Barley

Hops:
.5 oz Columbus (13% AA, 6.5 AAU, FWH)
.5 oz Magnum (14.5% AA, 7.3 AAU, 30 min)
.25 oz Columbus (13% AA, 3.3 AAU, 30 min)
.5 oz Glacier (5.5% AA, 2.8 AAU, 15 min)
.25 Columbus (13% AA, 3.3 AAU, 10 min)
.5 oz Glacier (5.5% AA, 2.8 AAU, DH)

Yeast:
Wyeast 1056 American Ale

On Sunday, Rob, Matt and Myself brewed at Matt's house. Matt has been asking Rob and myself to teach him to brew for a while now, and we finally were able to make it happen. We took a walk (through the snow) to Barleycorns and picked up a kit for Matt to make. He chose an English Ale called Burton's Best Bitter. "Best Bitter - Mid level gravity and more malt flavor than the ordinary, also with a touch more hop character" It was reasonably priced at $44 so we picked it up and went back to brew. The day went off without any issues and we were able to show Matt how easy homebrewing can be. With an extract/grain recipe, our brewing time was about 90 minutes and we let the wort cool in the snow which took another 1.5 hours or so, during which we drank beer and stared at a fire. Two of my favorite things....beer and fire!! I don't have the exact recipe, but my attempt from memory is below. I was surprised how much hops were used, 5 total oz for a 5 g batch, but they were mostly low alpha hops.

Burton's Best Bitter

Fermentables:
4 lbs amber malt extract
3 lbs light malt extract
1 Victory Malt
1 Carastan Malt
.5 lbs Two-Row

Hops:
2 oz Goldings (5% AA, 60 min)
1 oz Fuggles (5% AA, 30 min)
1 oz Goldings (5% AA, 1 min)
1 oz Fuggles (5% AA, DH)

Yeast:
Safale S-04 dried yeast

I'm looking forward to finding out how these both come out. Next up, I'm brewing my American Pale Ale for my fantasy baseball draft. I don't have much time so I'm going to have to brew it one night this week. More brewing...WOOO HOO!!!!!

Cheers,
Jason

Patriot Homebrew Contest results

I received the results from the Patriot Homebrew contest. I entered two beers, Robust Vanilla Bourbon Porter and American Brown Session Ale. I scored a 33.5 out of 50 for the porter and a 32.6 for the brown ale. Although the score was lower, the feedback was much more positive with the brown ale and it scored second place in Category 10 C. I was pretty happy with that, and the criticism I received was deserved. I knew I had an issue with this recipe, as I stated in my previous post, because I added Munich malt. The biggest criticism was it had a roast malt flavor so when I brew this again this weekend, I'll replace the munich with Cara-pils.

Next up, the Sam Adams Longshot Homebrew contest.

Cheers,
Jason

Lagering - Part 1

I took my first step in being able to brew a lager. This weekend I converted my basement fridge into a lagering fridge. No, I say "converted" but all I really did was reinforce the bottom shelf of the firdge with a piece of plywood and braced the shlef to be able to withstand the weight of my carboy. I know, it's not much. But it's a step in the right direction and I can now fit a single keg on one side of the shelf and the carboy on the other.

I've already put together a Munich Dunkle recipe that I'm going to try out. It's second in line now to my Sweet Crystal Ale, which I'm hoping will be close to the Sixpoint Sweet Action I wrote about. Hopefully I'll be able to brew the dunkle before I leave for Red Sox Spring Training in March.

Here are my questions to you....have you ever brewed a lager? Was it difficult? What did you brew?

I'm not set in stone to brewing the Munich Dunkle, so if you have a good recipe, let me know.

Cheers,
Jason

Organic Belgian Wit

This weekend I tasted the Organic Belgian Wit that I bottled from the keg. It was my first time force carbonating in a keg, and I definitely need to study up a little more on that. The beer was pretty close to flat. It was in the keg at 50 f under 18 PSI for 5 days and it had very little carbonation. I used the keg carb stone and it still didn't work. I have my APA II in there now, so I'll see if I leave it in there longer if it will help.

Besides the carbonation level, the beer was pretty good. Great spice from the coriander and orange. I used marmalade based on The Bearded Brewers recipe, and it went well. The marmalade I used had bits of orange peel in it as well. The one taste issue I had was with the aftertaste. It had a heavy orange peel bitterness to it at the end of the bottle that i was not expecting and was unpleasant. I'm not sure why, but I will re-make this with either a different kind of marmalade or with regular dried orange peel. The staple cloudiness of the beer was perfect and the color was very light pale, almost white. Not a bad beer. I will definitely go back to the drawing board with this one as I think it could be a great beer.

Cheers,
Jason

Sixpoint Craft Ales

I was in Brooklyn yesterday and found myself in front of the Sixpoint Craft Ales brewery. Our goal was to get a tour and be able to chat with the brewers and taste some of there fantastic ales. Sixpoint doesn't have a phone number, so we just had to show up and hope they were open. To our dismay, they weren't. We decided to grab a seat at the bar just next door and have a few . Hey, it's as close as we could get. If you would like a tour, you need to email them in advance (which we soon found out)

I had two of Sixpoints beers. Sweet Action I think is their version of an American Pale Ale. The sweetness from the carmel malt is amazing and balanced perfectly with the hop bitterness and flavor. Very delicious beer. The second I tried was their Righteous Ale, a rye ale that had great hop flavor and malty taste. Also a good beer.

I had first heard of Sixpoint when a friend of mine bought me two growlers from their brewery, Hop Obama and a Belgian triple. The Hop Obama was a great beer with a MASSIVE hop presence. Not too overpowering and it had great balance with malty sweetness. The Belgian Triple was amazing as well. I think it was actually their Grand Crue, (Belgian barely-wine) but there was no label on the growler, so I'm not entirely sure. The alcohol was definitely present and after finishing the growler, i was feeling a little saucy...which isn't a bad thing.

As we were leaving the bar, we noticed a small building across the street and through the windows we saw new oak barrels stacked 3 high, potentially filled with delicous Sixpoint Craft Ales. I'm going to keep my eyes open for some barrel aged beers coming out in the near future. I suggest you give them a try if you can.

Cheers,

Jason

The Pike Brewing Company kicks off their 20th Anniversary Year with the release of Old Bawdy Barley Wine 08 and aVertical Tasting of Archived Vintages

Seattle, Washington, January 14, 2009. Old Bawdy Barley Wine is Pike's most extreme beer. With a high, starting gravity of 1.096 Old Bawdy has 10% alcohol by volume. The color, like a shiny new penny has amber highlights and a nose that is floral and sensual, like a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. Old Bawdy was brewed by Head Brewer Drew Cluley, second Brewer Dean Mochizuki and the Pike team of brewers and brewsters. The grist blend is made with enormous quantities of the finest biscuity malts. Pike Old Bawdy 2008 is sweet and earthy with the flavor of pale, crystal and wheat malts playing off of one another like sunshine on a field of barley. Balancing this liquid bread are incredible quantities of an herbal blend of Columbus, Magnum, Chinook and Centennial hops, all from the Yakima Valley. On the palate Old Bawdy is powerful, rich and complex with a smooth, full round mouth-feel and a fine balance of sweet and bitter, drinking as if it were much lighter in alcohol. The finish is long and satisfying with a slight essence of grapefruit.

Pike Old Bawdy, brewed only once a year, was first introduced in 1991. As the beer has been brewed through the years an evolution in taste has occurred as we strive to create a classic, particularly one that is a great accompaniment to food. Since The Pike Brewery was founded in the LaSalle Hotel one of Seattle's most infamous bawdy houses (brothels), the Old Bawdy label features a red light bulb in reference to "Naughty Nellie," the beautiful madam who converted an old seaman's hotel into a luxurious home away from home for gentlemen visiting Seattle's historic Pike Place Public Market, America's oldest. Though strong beers called barley wines had been brewed in Great Britain for centuries, by the late 1970s most were no longer being produced. At the time that Old Bawdy was introduced under Head Brewer Fal Allen, it was among the first of a new breed of hand crafted American barley wines and was an immediate success. Pike Old Bawdy was brewed from 1991 through 1997 at which time Pike founders, Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, sold the brewery and the beer was discontinued. The Finkels re-acquired The Pike Brewing Company in 2006 and in restoring and re-organizing the brewery, unearthed a treasure trove of the elixir from earlier vintages in both kegs and bottles. Earlier vintages, like 1996 and 1997 had matured beautifully. The 2006 vintage was lovingly brewed and released in early 2007. By contrasting this vintage with significantly older ones, the potential for aging was evident and the decision was made to establish a library of each year's beer. Customers look forward to experiencing each vintage.

2009 marks Pike's 20th Anniversary. To celebrate, special events will be held throughout the year culminating in a week-long celebration leading up to our actual birthday, October 17, 2009. On Sunday, February 8, 2009 Pike's Microbrewery Museum will be the venue for A Vertical Tasting of 1994, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Old Bawdy Barley Wines. This event will be limited to 100 people; we recommend reservations.

Pike Brewing Vertical Old Bawdy Barley Wine Tasting

1994, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2007 and 2008 Vintages

Sunday, February 8, 2009

2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

$18.00 per person - $15.00 with WABL (Washington Beer Lover's) passport

Pike Microbrewery Museum

1415 1st Avenue

Seattle, WA 98101

R.S.V.P. to Michael St. Clair mstclair@pikebrewing.com (206) 812-6613

The Pike Brewing Company, founded in 1989, is a family-owned gravity flow craft steam brewery and pub in the heart of Seattle next door to the entrance to historic Pike Place Public Market. It was one of the earliest American craft breweries to offer styles like Imperial Stout, IPA, and Barley Wine.

Pike Brewing Company honors Scottish poet Robert Burns with Pike's Robbie Burns' Evening

Seattle, Washington January 18, 2009.

Robert Burns loved ale as well as whisky and it seems only natural that as the brewers of Pike Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale and the purveyor, at the Pike Pub, of some of the finest malts of Scotland, that Pike should honor the bard on his 250th Birthday.

4:00 p.m. - 5:30 pm

Whisky Master Ari Shapiro will conduct a tutored tasting of Lowland, Highland, Speyside and Islay single malts from such classic distilleries as Lagaluvin, Oban, Singleton, Glenkinchie and Talisker. Ari will discuss the history, culture and taste of each whisky providing an opportunity for guests to increase their understanding of single malt whisky, one of the world's sensory gems. Tasting Seminar: $25.00 per person

5:30 p.m.

Pike owner, Charles Finkel, will tap a firkin of Pike Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale, seasoned with oak that was sterilized in Lagavulin single malt Islay Whisky. $6.50 per pint

6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The Elliot Bay Pipe Band will "Pipe in the Haggis," a traditional ceremony that includes a reading of Burns' Ode to a Haggis. Haggis, is a traditional Scottish dish of intestines stuffed with a mixture of meat, oatmeal, onions, cayenne, pepper and salt. In addition to authentic haggis, a vegetarian version will also be served. Scottish specialties to accompany the haggis will included Cockie Leekie soup, smoked salmon from Solly Amon at Pure Food Fish in the Pike Place Public Market, organic vegetables, tatties (mashed potatoes) and neeps (mashed yellow turnips,) and bread pudding with Kilt Lifter Hard Sauce.

Traditional Burns' Night entertainment will include a poetry reading by Scottish speakers, an extraordinary pipe and drum concert, songs and lots of old fashioned fun. Buffet and entertainment: $25.00 per person plus tax and gratuity.

Burns was born in 1759, a time of revolution in Scotland, France and America. He remained a man of the people throughout his short life and preferred to write in the Scottish dialect rather than English. January 25 is Robbie Burns' Day, a national holiday in Scotland. He was raised on a lowland farm and had six siblings. Whisky was kept on the sideboard and a dram or two was enjoyed afore breakfast and spending the day toiling to grow plump summer barley, the lifeblood of both beer and whisky. In later years "The Bard," as he became known, wrote "John Barleycorn, Thou king o'grain!"

Called the "Scotch Casanova," "Rabbie," as he was known to his wives and girlfriends, sired almost as many sons as sonnets.He wrote: "One night as I lay on my bed, I dreamed about a pretty maid. I was so distressed, I could take no rest; Love did torment me so. So away to my true love I did go. To the green bed I and my love did go. What we did there I'll not declare"
A folk philosopher, he authored: "When neibors anger at a plea, An' just as wud as wud can be, How easy can the barley brie cement the quarrel! It's aye the cheapest lawyer's fee, To taste the barrel."

Burns' began writing poetry, about his first love, Handsome Nell, at 15: 'Tis this in Nelly pleases me,'Tis this enchants my soul; For absolutely in my breast, She reigns without control." Tam O' Shanter, Coming Through the Rye, My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose, and Auld Lang Syne crown a mosaic of over 500 works as sensual and pertinent today as when they were penned in the 18th century. The Elliott Bay Pipe Band will perform traditional Burns' songs, and at the end of the evening, a stirring rendition of Burns' classic, "For auld lang syne my dear, for auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne."

American Pale Ale II

This beer is a re-brew of the recipe I brewed for Teach a Friend to Home brew day. This recipe was the third IPA/APA I've brewed and the first two had to be dumped because the first one (American Patriot IPA) was just flat out horrible, and the second (Fresh Hop Harvest Ale) was spoiled by bacteria that was on my home grown hops that I dry hopped with.

This APA came out awesome and I was very pleased. The hop presence was very well balanced by the malt flavour and the sweetness from the crystal malts. Because it was originally brewed for TAFTHBD, I gave almost all of it away. So, this one is just for me!! I was little upset because I missed my OG by .005. This is the second beer in a row where I've missed by OG. I suspect it's because I'm not adjusting my efficiency % when I calculate the recipe on Tastybrew, so I will have to test it out. I want to do an efficiency test on my system soon also so I can know my actual % instead of estimating. Thankfully, no boil-over like last time. I'm finally able to adjust the temp on the burner to prevent the boil-overs. They have been a big headache for me since my swtch to all grain.

I had a different issue with this brew. When I was transferring it to the carboy from the kettle, it seems the trub screen I have inside my boil kettle got clogged with hops. Unfortunately, I had to use a wooden spoon to clear it which didn't work all that well, so I switched to my auto-syphon and racked it with that. I ended up with a lot more trub in the carboy than I wanted, but oh well. After I used the spoon, I realized it wasn't the one I had sanitized, so hopefully it won't ruin this beer but I wanted to make note in case it goes sour. Recipe is below.

Brewed - 1/10/09
H20/Grain ratio - 1.2
Mash Temp/Time - 155/60min
Pre-Boil Volume - 8.5 g
Post-Boil Volume - 6
OG - 1.050
IBU - 41
SRM - 7

Fermentables:
11 lbs Two Row
.5 lbs Crystal 40l
.5 lbs Crystal 20l
.75 lbs Munich Light
.25 lbs Victory

Hops:
.5 oz Magnum (13.5% AA - FWH)
1 oz Chinook (12% AA - 15 min)
.5 oz Cascade (6.6% AA - 10 min)
.5 oz Cascade (6.6% AA - DH)

Yeast:
Wyeast - 1056 American Ale

Cheers,
Jason