Posts Tagged “homebrew”

I have really come into some good practices in my brewing the last couple or three beers.  I am getting a system down, trying some newer things and having some success.  The Christmas Stout turned out really nice (IMHO) and I will actually get to taste my Rogue Dead Guy clone next weekend.  On Thursday I did a partial mash Rye IPA using a sparge bag and a new method for rinsing the grain and mashing out.  I had issues keeping the mash temp just right, but didn’t lose much on the original gravity.  The Pacman yeast has been bubbling away since Friday afternoon and I look forward to seeing what it has done when I go to dry hop later this week.  This week when I brewed, I started noting some things in my mind that I wish I had known originally, but am very glad I learned.

Sanitation – This is one of the most important things.  Period.  I knew this.  However, what you have to do is get your method for sanitation down.  Know that you are going to make a bad beer when you are starting and the odds are that it will be because you sacrificed something in sanitation.  The best thing to do is get into habits quickly when it comes to sanitizing and cleaning your equipment.  Boil the things you can boil and keep sanitizer handy.  It only takes 15-30 seconds in the sanitizer to re-ready something, so don’t skip it.

Experimentation – Do not ever be scared to try something.  I am not a kit guy.  Kits are absolutely wonderful things and make incredible beers, however, I would rather formulate the recipe myself.  I like the idea of putting different things in beers and I like the thought of hopping beers in a different way than I have had before.  I am not that far along in this area, but I have little fear when it comes to throwing an ingredient in as long as I do my research and learn the ramifications first.  There are tons of places to feed the experimental drive of anyone.  Use Google to your advantage.  Find active communities on the internet that allow you to learn from other brewers.

Software – Speaking of the internet…use it to find some good beer recipe software.  I have used both Strangebrew and Beersmith.  Of the two, Beersmith is far and away a better tool.  Strangebrew is a great tool, especially for beginners because the learning curve for the software itself is not that steep.  The downside to Strangebrew is that it doesn’t seem to be updated anymore.  It feels dated (putting on my software reviewer’s cap here).  Each time you reinstall, for whatever reasons, you have to email the owner in order to get a new code.  It happens quickly, but it’s still a pain.  Beersmith, on the other hand, is sleek and very tight as applications go.  It is easy to use and has a huge database of ingredients from which to build recipes.  Neither application is that expensive, so go buy one now.  You can try both, if memory serves me correctly, for a limited time.

Your System – No two brewers do things the same way.  One of my brewer friends sanitizes the floor, just in case he drops something.  Another started immediately with  a conical fermenter, completely jumping past the typical bucket and carboy setup.  Both have found success, regardless of the differences in methods in comparison to mine.  Everyone will do it different, create different things and inevitably, unless they are just not good, will brew good beer.  The devil is in the details and he can drive you nuts if you worry about how others do their brewing.  Find what works for you.

Perhaps more than anything I have learned was stated in the first book I ever read on the subject.  Charlie Papazian states clearly “Relax.  Don’t worry.  Have a homebrew.”  No truer words have been said when it comes to the wonderful art that is homebrewing beer.

I haven’t posted here in some time.  I admit that I have neglected both of my blogs.  To be honest, more times than not I just want to drink beer and not think about the taste, smell and all of that so that I can write a post.  I have given into that feeling pretty often.  As well, life, work and everything else has come along and kept me too busy to post here or on QuadrantRush.com.  I sorely want to make this site bigger than it is, but I have had very little contact from people who want to write with me.  This site may dry up completely, but I will do my best to keep it going.

In the meantime, I have had time to do quite a bit of research on homebrewing and food/beer pairings.  In the last month I have really been focusing in on what I want to do as far as homebrewing.  It has been casual for about 2 years with it kicking up to a more serious state the last few months.  I brewed the Irish Christmas Stout that I mentioned previously and tastings so far have revealed that I really did this one right.  I am very happy with it.  That doesn’t mean too much given that I am biased, so I look forward to others trying it out.

My wife took a bigger role in brewing a small batch and is claiming our Blackberry Red Ale as her own.  It is in primary fermentation this week.  I will move it to secondary this weekend and add the blackberries.  It is already sweet because of the honey we added during the boil, so I expect it to be quite tasty when we are finished.  In the pipelines I am trying to decide between a Double IPA, using some of the 4 ounces of whole leaf cascade hops I was given OR a Cranberry Wit.  I do know that in January or February we are considering a mead.  So any suggestions there would be cool.

I attended my first meeting of the State of Franklin Homebrewers club last night.  It was truly enlightening and one of the most interesting nights I have spent discussing beer and, in general, getting to know some new people.  I look forward to future meetings and plan on joining the group next month.  I look forward to brewing in the coming year just because I know I will have a wealth of knowledge I can draw from going forward.  If you are local to the Tri-Cities, I would suggest you follow the link above and check the group out.

Again, if you are reading this and feel the need to write about beer, brewing or food pairing, please email me at ernpacATgmailDOTcom and I will add you to the site so you can start posting immediately.

I wanted to take a few minutes and update with a couple links that should help any of the readers of this site out and with the next beer I plan to brew.  Here goes!

Frisky Valley Irish Christmas

1 lb Chocolate Malt
1 lb Roasted Barley Malt
6 lb Golden Malt Extract
1 lb Honey
4 sticks cinnamon
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel
1 oz Corriander
1 oz Fuggles Hops

It’s gonna be good!  I cannot wait to try it out.  I will have a review for sure once it has been opened.  I plan to brew November 1st ensuring a mid-December arrival of my first stout AND my first holiday ale.

As for the linkage:

I love when I @ reply to someone who is “famous” on Twitter and they take the time to respond.  It’s odd that this happens.  Many poker personalities do not.  However, Charlie Papazian who wrote the book (literally) on homebrewing took time out of his day to respond to a request I had for holiday beer/food pairings.  Check out what he sent me if you are interested in matching great holiday foods to some of the more interesting beers you can get during the winter season.

http://seasonalbeerandfood.org/

I got wind of these guys through Twitter as well when someone shared their site.  They are on Twitter and have an interesting idea for homebrewing…something I have been falling towards more lately, that being the small batch.  The great thing is that you can actually “try before you buy” in a way if you “think” you wanna try homebrewing.  They supply almost everything you need (you will need bleach or some sort of sanitizer) along with the equipment for $40 and you can make 1 gallon of craft beer.  If it sucks, you are not out the $200 that a 5 gallon kit can cost after buying the ingredients and equipment and if it doesn’t suck, you can turn around and make about 12 bottles of beer per batch.  How awesome is that??  I sent them a question I had and they responded that day and added some humor to my night.  Great couple and I am sure the product is great as well.  After the Irish Christmas, I plan on doing 2 small batches from them.

http://brooklynbrewshop.com

I will be (hopefully) brewing a new beer this weekend. This is my 2nd attempt at crafting my own recipe. If this turns out as good as the Honey Amber, I will be thrilled! Here is the recipe.

Malts / Fermentables:
24 oz Blackberries
24 oz Blueberries
2 lb Gambrinus Honey Malt
2 lb Honey
3 lb Weizen Dry Malt Extract
3 lb Wheat DME

Hops:
1.50 oz Hallertauer – 60 mins
1.00 oz Saaz – 15 mins

Yeast:
Wyeast 3494 Belgian Witbier

The fruit and honey will be added near or at the end of the boil to preserve as much flavor as possible. Once again, I am going with a gambrinous malt that will be added to impart a honey sweetness. Heck, it worked last time!

Also on the horizon, Clint and I will be scheduling a time very soon to do our Recession Tasting. Anyone else interested, please let me know. The Mix-A-Six we will use will look something like this:

Bud Heavy
Miller Lite
Southpaw Light
PBR
Keystone Light
Coor’s Heavy

That’s my wishlist anyway. I figure I can get some and Clint can get different and if we do 4oz tastings of both batches…even with 12 beers, these things won’t even have us buzzing! It should be fun. I have never seen anyone do a complete tasting based on cheap crappy beer. Any suggestions or volunteers?