tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56097308887989422692024-03-06T03:48:41.130-05:0036 PintsMaking beer, five gallons at a time.Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-20919335144139588142014-12-25T11:16:00.001-05:002014-12-25T11:16:04.937-05:00Brewing Again <p dir="ltr">Has it really been three years since my last post? There was an excellent batch of mead (Hafdan's Viking Mead) a couple of years ago, but nothing since then. </p>
<p dir="ltr">My wife and I brewed our first batch together about a month ago. To keep things simple, we went with "Whitey's Gone Fishin' Pale Ale" <b>(p.171)</b>, with some substitutions on the hops. We subbed Hersbrucker for the Strisselspalt at 10 minutes, and finished with Galena instead of Sterling at the finish. I wanted a more citrusy finish, since that's what my wife prefers. </p>
<p dir="ltr">It spent two weeks in primary, and then went into the keg. The fermentation wasn't quite finished, but re-racking it would likely have stopped it at that point. The result was good, nice and drinkable, and the fermentation seems to have gone a bit further in keg. </p>
<p dir="ltr">All said, we're happy with it. I need to get a new hose for rinsing before we brew again, since the old one had since been repurposed. I'll probably want it for cleaning the keg, too; otherwise I don't have a great way to rinse it out. <br>
</p>
Michael Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02452030026125279631noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-48909815056661659622011-08-05T20:53:00.000-04:002011-08-05T20:53:54.641-04:00Instant Classic Ale<p>
OK, not the best name, but given that I winged it when I got to the store, "instant" isn't such a bad description. My friend Bobby helped me brew this one.
</p>
<p>
My office had a Family Day cookout today, and the boss gave me permission to bring in a keg of homebrew. It took a lot of convincing, I can tell you. On the way to the <a href="http://mdhb.com">brewing store</a>, I realized that I hadn't picked out a recipe.
</p>
<p>
I have no idea if this is essentially the same as another recipe, but here's what I threw together:
</p>
<p>
<b>3lbs</b> light DME<br />
<b>3lbs</b> amber DME<br />
<b>0.5lbs</b> #80 crystal malt<br />
<b>0.25lbs</b> chocolate malt<br />
<b>2oz</b> Centennial leaf hops (boil)<br />
<b>1oz</b> Willamette leaf hops (flavor)<br />
Trappist ale yeast<br />
</p>
<p>
The flavor hops went in for the last 10 minutes of the boil. Everything else is exactly as you'd expect.
</p>
<p>
I kegged it last night—it could have used another day or two to finish fermenting, but the result was good. Everyone seemed to enjoy it. The color's basically light-amber, definitely not a pale ale, but not a deep amber by any means. The Centennial hops are reasonably high alpha, so there was a nice hoppiness to it, but not overpowering. The Willamette gave it a very nice finish. All in all, a good classic ale.
</p>
<p>
If I make this again (and I well might), I'd probably give it more hops, and maybe throw in some aroma or finishing, just to give it an even crisper taste.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-56816434609564888502011-07-27T20:28:00.000-04:002011-07-27T20:28:40.246-04:00More Ginger<p>
On July 4th, my friend Mike came over, and hung-over as I was (long story), we brewed another batch of <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2007/09/snapping-ginger-ale.html">Snapping Ginger Ale</a>. This is destined for my deck-warming party, date TBD. Once again we tweaked the recipe. The malt and hops are as in the first batch, though we used hop pellets instead of whole-leaf. About 1.5 pounds of grated ginger went in for half an hour after the boil, as has become standard procedure.
</p>
<p>
I hadn't planned to try it before the party, but Pete was over to re-rack our batch of mead (more on that in about six months), so we decided to have basically a swift half-pint (or three-quarters). It was good—less gingery than I'd expected, but definitely tasty. The hops were still muted compared with a normal pale ale, but I think they were more evident than in the first batch, inasmuch as I can remember what that one was like. The head retention was also good, so I may have found a sweet spot. As is traditional when kegging, I chucked the first pull, though I might not have needed to. It had been re-racked from primary, and then stopped fermenting, so there wasn't really any sediment to speak of to begin with.
</p>
<p>
And yes, I usually don't bother with a secondary, unless the fermentation takes more than two weeks. I might try dry-gingering the next batch with about half a pound after the first week of fermentation, just to see what it does.
</p>
<p>
I'll update this post with any other notable reactions after the party.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-87114044373313269712010-11-14T15:56:00.019-05:002010-11-14T17:09:58.184-05:00Block Party, November 2010<p>
Yesterday was block party day, so of course I brewed a keg to contribute to the festivities.
Given the time of year, I decided on a dark beer, Danger Knows No Favorites Dunkel (<b>p.204</b>).
Indian Summer was in full swing, so the weather was much warmer than I'd expected, but the dark
beer was still a bit hit. The biggest challenge was finding a nice shady spot to keep it reasonably cool.
</p>
<p>
Actually, the biggest challenge was the brewing itself. I only gave myself two weeks to ferment,
which for a dunkel is cutting things dangerously close. This was also the first batch that I've
brewed completely on my own — no assistance on brewing day or kegging day. Brewing day was Halloween, so the lack of assistance meant I was also fighting the clock for the arrival of trick-or-treaters.
</p>
<p>
I'm going to go into more detail on the process than I usually do for this one, complete with
photos. First, the substitutions. I used hop pellets instead of my usual whole-leaf. Since
I don't usually adjust the quantity of hops for whole-leaf when pellets are called for (pellets
have higher surface area, since the hops are powdered), this was a bit hoppier than we've made
it previously. Also, the varieties called for in the recipe weren't available. I used two
ounces of Mt. Hood for the bittering, and an ounce of Hallertau for the flavor and aroma.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUKvmLWSXnrKVC31kRghStBEoX-hlFIsM0k11pnE_oJQuL0_8N0mBiAKgvM20wWY_rUUriF7_hyphenhyphengj5_LkDB93lbJTFP1vtawPUb4UXv97O_s2O23kBXMDNtDF5lN8bEkFSIEK_RC_vqs/s1600/hops_yeast.jpg"><img style="display:block; text-align:center; margin:0px auto 10px; cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQUKvmLWSXnrKVC31kRghStBEoX-hlFIsM0k11pnE_oJQuL0_8N0mBiAKgvM20wWY_rUUriF7_hyphenhyphengj5_LkDB93lbJTFP1vtawPUb4UXv97O_s2O23kBXMDNtDF5lN8bEkFSIEK_RC_vqs/s320/hops_yeast.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539514642998799314" /></a>
The yeast is a German lager yeast (though with only two weeks to ferment I did not lager it).
</p>
<p>
The fermentables are fairly standard for the recipe. I use a #80 crystal malt. As always, I substitute 3 pounds of DME for 3.3 of LME.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzhAlSCyxRBsIFbrJr9LBzGArG7aWDjR_0qDrbFgoH9xC5gwzLtOoDa6cBuM2CLPEXvfm58LtXM97WUb-Ul5YdWV2I4tfkQvetZV7GicQy9p6DwTz6CxdhDa-oX7nwP5kdFZN1uH0fOM/s1600/fermentables.jpg"><img style="display:block; text-align:center; margin:0px auto 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzhAlSCyxRBsIFbrJr9LBzGArG7aWDjR_0qDrbFgoH9xC5gwzLtOoDa6cBuM2CLPEXvfm58LtXM97WUb-Ul5YdWV2I4tfkQvetZV7GicQy9p6DwTz6CxdhDa-oX7nwP5kdFZN1uH0fOM/s320/fermentables.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539515664857436066" /></a>
</p>
<p>
Let's look at the equipment you'll need. I like an Ale Pail as a fermenter, since it makes a
number of things much easer, such as pouring and cooling the wort.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bFHtmfKBNNgBg7VfRpSgWpB5hLLoyW-GI1lV7T8anyiegoQXZ53oSxjrHlROCV34GWk6jg1y1MqQRTY9QInzYVLUv12Z0b7soPb8B54EXoZ3xoywaNjBjuq9WHCoskmVlh-2q_nfu34/s1600/ale_pail.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bFHtmfKBNNgBg7VfRpSgWpB5hLLoyW-GI1lV7T8anyiegoQXZ53oSxjrHlROCV34GWk6jg1y1MqQRTY9QInzYVLUv12Z0b7soPb8B54EXoZ3xoywaNjBjuq9WHCoskmVlh-2q_nfu34/s320/ale_pail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539516980453328434" /></a>
Sure, glass carboys feel somewhat fancier, but ultimately convenience wins out. If the plastic
bucket starts to pick up unwanted flavors, it's not that expensive to chuck it and buy a new
one. The pail, and other bits, need to be sanitized before use. I use EZ Clean no-rinse
sanitizer, which comes as a powder.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLP3PlfXEj6GSEFh5EyMxB0TKAGtPtHUona5PI_YKyUYKVVuGfflIL0ksnzFPR-SPHSQXjail5IU-2THUJYt-xciqd1ABmfuoiC0t2zqoUl7nBwchMstk20RmLKkh86k4z3nNop6IOg8/s1600/sanitizer_powdered.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZLP3PlfXEj6GSEFh5EyMxB0TKAGtPtHUona5PI_YKyUYKVVuGfflIL0ksnzFPR-SPHSQXjail5IU-2THUJYt-xciqd1ABmfuoiC0t2zqoUl7nBwchMstk20RmLKkh86k4z3nNop6IOg8/s320/sanitizer_powdered.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539517720841522114" /></a>
One tablespoon of the powder per gallon of water is the ratio to use, and with 5 gallons of sanitizer, I santized the pail, its lid, the gas trap, and a hose with a funnel for filtered water.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLlkfTXttr3pKfxAelWr7ZZ5pdRWJNaK3Db7ZPpazaipd3WomKKCVz8Dt8Yr2y769HU0AvvZ2-eW2kyoWUwmIjyF5rElVDkRUY5Elc0Zn2NZJkvCag-Gyl8WtMrdQ9I_J4Vp0uS7MM4A/s1600/sanitizing.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkLlkfTXttr3pKfxAelWr7ZZ5pdRWJNaK3Db7ZPpazaipd3WomKKCVz8Dt8Yr2y769HU0AvvZ2-eW2kyoWUwmIjyF5rElVDkRUY5Elc0Zn2NZJkvCag-Gyl8WtMrdQ9I_J4Vp0uS7MM4A/s320/sanitizing.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539518341054187954" /></a>
Once sanitized, these have to dry. This is my unintentional Art Shot
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0HO5CqzQ2zfJNUuMyGhYBzbZkE7cFhqGtwKlm61asi7z9OiqqY7X8iVEiUYOvn03Urx9NBnse9aSNZ7zwbgBVlwnRueOx0-_EpIYpAEaw5B01GnmQEclJ46DPIboYiGpBfM-auSQidQ/s1600/drying.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0HO5CqzQ2zfJNUuMyGhYBzbZkE7cFhqGtwKlm61asi7z9OiqqY7X8iVEiUYOvn03Urx9NBnse9aSNZ7zwbgBVlwnRueOx0-_EpIYpAEaw5B01GnmQEclJ46DPIboYiGpBfM-auSQidQ/s320/drying.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539518705336161538" /></a>
</p>
<p>
While sanitizing is something you want to do right at the beginning, the actual brewing process begins with your brew pot.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXfoDeCBAfLdI81bHHIe-Fv7nszK8qI3emy2pO3HShYdi7nYABSvjTeqqC8AJZuDRkrM9lIZa5ZNKWKTHF4XcKxeUqLnn_SYt47ITrB_cOxfXDuP5KHcj_w9rgHhAFZNWorHtbnKqjNc/s1600/brewpot.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXfoDeCBAfLdI81bHHIe-Fv7nszK8qI3emy2pO3HShYdi7nYABSvjTeqqC8AJZuDRkrM9lIZa5ZNKWKTHF4XcKxeUqLnn_SYt47ITrB_cOxfXDuP5KHcj_w9rgHhAFZNWorHtbnKqjNc/s320/brewpot.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539519144696433106" /></a>
This is a 30 quart pot (7.5 gallons). You can get away with a 20 quart pot, which is what I should have done. As it turns out, this pot, with the lid, just clears the fume hood on my stove. The rest of the equipment for the boil is shown here
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cG7D_BrrBWlJkzTnwg2BD31_SAyvUVFpfxm35rcrjTQGcjjxbSI8Dq8uqhLcTzeYA9Ge9ZbaFydeuytrnvo0Oc6lEx7dVorwE7AelBFBycW4Z7uLEpNO-xqozhyphenhyphenzG_eqkqhTaExJkBM/s1600/hardware.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4cG7D_BrrBWlJkzTnwg2BD31_SAyvUVFpfxm35rcrjTQGcjjxbSI8Dq8uqhLcTzeYA9Ge9ZbaFydeuytrnvo0Oc6lEx7dVorwE7AelBFBycW4Z7uLEpNO-xqozhyphenhyphenzG_eqkqhTaExJkBM/s320/hardware.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539519739934992866" /></a>
On the left is the sparging rig. This consists of a metal bowl, a colander, and a potato masher.
The tongs are used to move the bags around. The bags are in center frame; they're very fine nylon mesh. I haven't used these before, and I have to say they're a welcome addition to my collection, as they make the grain extraction process much faster, and you don't lose heat from the mash. The probe thermometer is essential for temperature control when steeping the grain and determining when the wort is cool enough for the yeast to be pitched. The cheap vodka is food-grade rubbing alcohol for cleaning as needed, and to fill the trap.
</p>
<p>
Putting milled grain in bags has a drawback: the grain gets less contact with the water. Consequently, I split the grain between the two bags
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BSCJ5FIDDMWqhvTmSEDZUC1Xya0_YLCHiWjGQvbKWQGs-EuMJyFsnzZgyUAhVu247aIb_mh-R-Dw7UIgCaSJxjWZtACR9s8AMNqZH_jvrqSbGLGVL6QGrT01spa8LQQFwuCCCo4EUtY/s1600/grain_bags.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BSCJ5FIDDMWqhvTmSEDZUC1Xya0_YLCHiWjGQvbKWQGs-EuMJyFsnzZgyUAhVu247aIb_mh-R-Dw7UIgCaSJxjWZtACR9s8AMNqZH_jvrqSbGLGVL6QGrT01spa8LQQFwuCCCo4EUtY/s320/grain_bags.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539521359615346610" /></a>
</p>
<p>
Brewing started at 3:30. I expected trick-or-treaters to begin arriving around 5, so time was pretty tight, and I was not optimistic about finishing. I filled the pot with two gallons of water filtered through an on-tap Pur system. To do this, I use a length of hose with a funnel attached. Through what I'm going to explain away as Bernoulli's principle, the lower pressure inside the funnel causes it to hold onto the filter by suction, which is handy. At Marco's house, we tend to use bottled water. I prefer the freshly filtered water because it's cheaper, doesn't waste resources for the packaging, and is better aerated (not a concern for the boil, but it will be later). On medium heat, I brought the water up to 150 degrees, and then added the bags of milled grain.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqosG_pCW6WY-HuPMdUlwgJH8ca5NVeg9HtxMvseaIO_-yqfq82WwZP0asK-iHu1zPGLP-d4mm_SrYFYIc5BbJrVGNr6GmQOKFaCZz9kBqriouTbwLREIaYgy8V8Bx2iD4ejvZXjiLNY/s1600/grain_steeping.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMqosG_pCW6WY-HuPMdUlwgJH8ca5NVeg9HtxMvseaIO_-yqfq82WwZP0asK-iHu1zPGLP-d4mm_SrYFYIc5BbJrVGNr6GmQOKFaCZz9kBqriouTbwLREIaYgy8V8Bx2iD4ejvZXjiLNY/s320/grain_steeping.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539522603495992018" /></a>
The grain steeps (I hesitate to call it "mashing", since we're not converting many starches to fermentable sugar) for half an hour between 150 and 160 degrees. I overshot by a degree or so at one point, but generally kept things well within the desired range.
</p>
<p>
After steeping comes the extraction and sparging. This is where the nylon bags proved their worth. Extraction is easy using the tongs, though there's always a little dripping. Everything's water soluable, though, so unless it's burnt clean-up is pretty easy. Applying the potato masher, and occasional filtered water, rinses the grains and captures their malty goodness in the bowl, which is then poured back into the pot.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFLz13XG9e3HTqsYB0brY48ovEmc_c44mnXvakVqNoZV0CusV_G-0cwENl0SXv4vYeL0dimo2pit4eG1N5L-WNssTqGmwHQbDPb6ytUBOOQhe5e0B2RJMD_Z1O3KdY04eL0pQw8Ag2yk/s1600/grain_sparged.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlFLz13XG9e3HTqsYB0brY48ovEmc_c44mnXvakVqNoZV0CusV_G-0cwENl0SXv4vYeL0dimo2pit4eG1N5L-WNssTqGmwHQbDPb6ytUBOOQhe5e0B2RJMD_Z1O3KdY04eL0pQw8Ag2yk/s320/grain_sparged.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539523572061764754" /></a>
</p>
<p>
I then added the DME and boiling hops. Since the liquid was still hot, the DME dissolved fairly rapidly. I brought the liquid to a boil over medium-high heat, to reduce the amount of malt that burns to the bottom of the pot. The rest of the boil was just stirring occasionally and adding the flavor and aroma hops at the appropriate times. When the boil was nearly over, I added about half a 7 pound bag of ice to the pail, so that when the boil finished I was able to immediatly begin transfering the wort through a large funnel with a filter.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXFKG_zhvcD1-0vUG_KCcW-boAPCZKc5xfQvzNLuQkZ_X2MYhXOWco9QmwLCe0b_hXHM0qDsh2WqL6CUNCrUPWnPl_snMHnWrSPPqypsKuFdUC2oM2mgsm5mbxcJjGqD50NeIrjQ3K9c/s1600/straining.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXFKG_zhvcD1-0vUG_KCcW-boAPCZKc5xfQvzNLuQkZ_X2MYhXOWco9QmwLCe0b_hXHM0qDsh2WqL6CUNCrUPWnPl_snMHnWrSPPqypsKuFdUC2oM2mgsm5mbxcJjGqD50NeIrjQ3K9c/s320/straining.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539524695191667794" /></a>
The powdered hops made this very slow going (we usually bag the hops, when we use whole-leaf). But eventually all the wort made it into the pail. More ice (most of the rest of the bag) brought the mixture down to 75 degrees, and then I added enough filtered water to reach a total volume of 5 gallons. Vigorous stirring with the paddle works oxygen into the wort, which the yeast will need in order to reproduce. Plenty of oxygen means your fermentation will start reasonably quickly.
</p>
<p>
Remarkably, no trick-or-treaters had come by yet, and it was nearly 7. In fact, at about 10 'til, I pitched the yeast into the fermenter, and just as I finished the doorbell rang for the first time. Once I'd given the first set of kids their candy, I returned to the kitchen to seal the lid on the pail and add the vodka-filled trap.
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYy5nNp6HPFmhsXsRkKCBTU6WztqUXTFdbQ8cnw6cQKXn-5gve_bECh5NEgA__JOPxt9fpeLXtRw-NVXJvYBMQ5KYVuOjolFR-xxo82g_zguLaSwa6xf7cIyDWl7BMWOtZTnnvC64p-c/s1600/fermenting.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYy5nNp6HPFmhsXsRkKCBTU6WztqUXTFdbQ8cnw6cQKXn-5gve_bECh5NEgA__JOPxt9fpeLXtRw-NVXJvYBMQ5KYVuOjolFR-xxo82g_zguLaSwa6xf7cIyDWl7BMWOtZTnnvC64p-c/s320/fermenting.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539526376692719282" /></a>
There was positive pressure by the morning, and by the next evening it was bubbling happily.
</p>
<p>
Knowing that dark beers can take up to a month to ferment, I was somewhat worried about it being ready in time for the party. In fact, Saturday morning it was still bubbling, albeit infrequently. I had to get the batch into the keg, though, since the party started at noon, and I couldn't show up empty-handed. To make things more exciting, the previous evening, I discovered that my siphon was broken. It was too late to go to the store, so I had to leave bright and early Saturday (9:30, which is bright and early for a Saturday in my book) to get to the store when they opened.
</p>
<p>
Once I got home, I sanitized the keg, siphon, and tap. Once those had time to dry a little, I transfered the beer into the keg and force-pressurized it under 30psi, shaking until I couldn't hear any more CO<sub>2</sub> going into solution. (Technically, what you hear is gas passing through the regulator.) Unfortunately, I didn't have any time to try to cool down the keg.
</p>
<p>
I was a bit worried about the beer being too sweet, since there was clearly unfermented sugar left in it. Fortunately, there was very little, and I'm very happy with how this batch turned out. Nice and malty, with a good amount of hop bitterness and a nice mild finish. My neighbors enjoyed it, though they left me at least a third of a keg to enjoy at home.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-80387645713427044202009-12-28T19:30:00.002-05:002009-12-28T19:44:14.797-05:00Unnamed Beer #1<p>
Yes, it's been awhile. Marco and I brewed back in October, but didn't get around to trying it until yesterday. Why the delay? This batch was intended for a block party that never materialized. I decided to wing it on the recipe, with the expectation that the finished product would be consumed outdoors in fairly cool weather. That meant I wanted something with a robust flavor, so that when cold it would still have a noticeable taste. Here's the recipe:
</p>
<p>
<b>3lbs</b> amber DME<br />
<b>3lbs</b> dark DME<br />
<b>1oz</b> Centennial hops (boil)<br />
<b>0.5oz</b> Sterling hops (boil)<br />
<b>1oz</b> Sterling hops (flavor)<br />
<b>0.5oz</b> Sterling hops (aroma)<br />
Trappist ale yeast
</p>
<p>
Hops were whole-leaf. The flavor hops were added with 5 minutes left to the boil, aroma hops at one minute.
</p>
<p>
The beer's good, but I think it could be better. That's why I'm not naming it yet. Something seems to be missing. It's not terribly highly hopped, but I don't think it needs more (not that it'd hurt — the more hops the merrier). The Trappist yeast might be a bit too smooth; an English ale yeast might give it more of a bite. I think some grain would also help, perhaps half a pound of dark or chocolate malt and a quarter to half a pound of a medium to dark crystal.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-48780268426160520422008-12-25T11:10:00.004-05:002009-01-15T18:13:45.752-05:00An Inaugural Batch, Part the First<p>
Since a couple of my professors from grad school are going to be in town for the inauguration, it was time to make another batch. Since it's dark beer season, Marco and I made "Danger Knows No Favorites Dunkel" (<b>p.204</b>). We started the batch on Sunday the 21st (so it's also a Solstice Batch), and it's happily bubbling away now. While boiling the wort, we tapped out the keg of "Whitey's Gone Fishin' Pale Ale", which was good to the last.
</p>
<p>
Substitutions were 2oz of Mt Hood for the boil and Saaz for the flavor and aroma. We went with a #60 crystal malt. The store didn't have German Caraffe Black, so we used regular Black—not sure what the difference really is.
</p>
<p>
In our constant effort to perfect our technique, we tried something new for the grain. Previously, we've been tying the grain loosely in a cheesecloth bundle. This time we used flour sack. Now, when I picked up the package, I'd assumed it was a sack for storing, say, five pounds of flour in something that would wick away moisture. Apparently, I'm the only one who didn't know that "flour sack" actually means "flour sack cloth." Still, the mesh was finer than cheesecloth while still allowing water to flow through, and the shape was more amenable to tying into a bundle. At 22"x34", it might work better draped over the edge of the pot and clipped in place, especially with a 20qt pot (mine's a 30qt, which is a bit iffier). The truly great thing is that each new idea requires another 5 gallon batch of delicious beer to test.
</p>
<p>
<b>UPDATED 1/15/09:</b>
After two weeks of fermenting, it was time to move the beer out of primary. I'd have prefered a secondary fermentation for at least a few days to let the particulates settle. Unfortunately, due (presumably) to temperature fluctuations the fermenter was at negative pressure, and we'd gotten at least a little suck-back (air only, I think). With fermentation complete, I was guardedly optimistic, and we kegged. After about two weeks, I finally tapped the keg to try
it. After discarding the first glass, the second confirms that we have a tasty batch. All the wonderfulness typical of the dunkel is there, and if I don't start throwing up tonight I'll declare this batch fit for sharing with visitors.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-31390748548717413712008-10-14T19:40:00.005-04:002008-10-14T19:45:30.102-04:00Super-Massive Beer Foul<p>
You may recall the <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2008/02/massive-beer-foul.html">Massive Beer Foul</a> that coated my laundry room with a couple pints of <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2008/03/leap-beer.html">Leap Beer</a>. Given that event, what followed on September 4th could only be called the Super-massive Beer Foul. The following is a nearly-verbatim excerpt from an email to a friend that day.
</p>
<p>
<blockquote>
<p>
I was getting ready for work in the morning. As I'm about to put on my shoes, I notice that the corner of my coffee table looked a bit wet. I go over and touch it, and it's sticky. That's when the puddle in the kitchen caught my eye. My keg, nearly full of batch 3 of Snapping Ginger Ale (and the best one yet), had emptied itself. The tap had popped off of its hose sometime overnight. Spraying the walls, a bit of the ceiling, the furniture in about one third of the kitchen, and of course my kitchen floor. Half an hour of cleaning up, including using my Ryobi as a wet vac for the first time, and I was ready to head off to work. That evening I had to continue cleaning, of course.
</p><p>
I bought some more hose clamps, so that I can tighten the seal with the taps, and hopefully this sort of thing shouldn't happen again. Really, I should be tapping the kegs more frequently, so they don't keep building up internal pressure.
</p><p>
So, that's the Super-massive Beer Foul.
</p>
</blockquote>
</p>
<p>
Now we must never speak of this again.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-36130541615128171112008-10-14T19:24:00.002-04:002008-10-14T19:39:58.593-04:00It's Been Awhile<p>
We have not been idle, contrary to what the ol' blog would seem to indicate.
</p>
<p>
We've made (and consumed) a batch of Winky Dink Marzen, with another fermenting at present. Those were both at Marco's, as was a batch of Goat Scrotum Ale. That one was a bit disappointing, because we didn't bother re-racking to secondary, so the final result had a lot of sediment. It wasn't quite chewy, but you get the idea.
</p>
<p>
My keg currently has Whitey's Gone Fishin' Pale Ale (<b>p.171</b>), which spent two weeks in primary and two weeks in secondary. The result was a smooth, strong, extremely clear brew that's <i>very</i> easy to drink. It was also the first at my house to use an Ale Pail for the primary, rather than a glass carboy. Before that was our third stab at Snapping Ginger Ale. For my money, it was the best batch yet, but most of it was lost in what I refer to as the Super-massive Beer Foul, not to be confused with the merely <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2008/02/massive-beer-foul.html">Massive Beer Foul</a>. That will need its own post, however.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-40672379661547179362008-04-19T20:58:00.002-04:002008-04-19T21:00:36.785-04:00APIS Updated<p>
Since updated articles don't generate new RSS entries, I thought I'd point out that
<a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2007/11/apple-pie-imperial-stout.html">Apple
Pie Imperial Stout</a> has been updated with more recent tastings.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-68159914987409422302008-03-01T16:59:00.000-05:002008-03-01T17:00:15.373-05:00Leap Beer<p>(Marco Cavagna and Mike Marsh, based on "Sparrow Hawk Porter")</p>
<p>
My niece's birthday is February 29, so we had a big party for her
yesterday evening. In honor of the occasion, we made a special batch
of homebrew to keep the adults relaxed while a score of little kids
ran around having fun. What I wanted, beer-wise, was a good February
seasonal with a bit of a kick. It being Winter, we started with a
nice dark porter. The "leap" part would come from the addition of
dried chiles.
</p>
<p>
Unlike our previous recipes, this one is based on modifications to an
existing recipe, "Sparrow Hawk Porter" (<b>p.201</b>). Consequently,
we'll only list the modifications we made.
</p>
<p>
Beginning with the malt, we opted for amber (out of the choice between
amber and light). For both types of extract, we used equivalent measures
of DME, rather than syrup.
</p>
<p>
The aroma hops were as listed, though for the boil we substituted
2oz. of whole-leaf Golding. The higher quantity more-or-less
compensates for the lower alpha acidity compared with the called-for
Northern Brewer hops.
</p>
<p>
We used an Edinburgh ale yeast, since my brother-in-law's ancestry
traces back to Scotland (and he's a fan of Scotch Ales).
</p>
<p>
The final modification was the dried chile peppers. Surprisingly,
these were difficult to find. We ended up using dried California
chiles, with which I'd never worked before. We added two of them
(whole) at the start of the boil. During the course of the boil they
split open, and some of the skin peeled off and rolled up into little
tubes. There was also a distinct red tint to the blow-off.
</p>
<p>
The final result went over well at the party, though I still have a
bit under half a keg left. The chiles had a much milder effect than
I'd expected — future brewings will need a hotter chile, or just
more pepper. While the keg
was <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2008/02/massive-beer-foul.html">sufficiently
pressurized</a>, the beer wasn't as carbonated as it should have been.
It's back under pressure now, and it should be interesting to compare
the flavors of the relatively flat and fully carbonated versions.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-77134151910204485382008-02-23T22:26:00.002-05:002008-02-23T22:32:05.610-05:00Massive Beer Foul<p>
Marco and I kegged our latest creation — Leap Beer (recipe to follow) — today, and let it pressurize while we went to a movie. When we got back to my place, we decided it was time to taste-test it. I attached my brand-new picnic tap to the keg, which the person at the store assured me wouldn't need any kind of clamp to keep attached, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a storm of dark beer. There was enough pressure in the keg that the tube was forced off the ball-lock connector, and we had to remove the connector from the lock on the keg. What followed was a lengthy clean up of my laundry room. (If you brew, you need a Swiffer.) The beer was pretty good.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-35207571857512785792008-01-28T20:59:00.001-05:002008-01-28T21:11:34.470-05:00Ginger Revisited<p>
Marco and I made a second batch of <a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2007/09/snapping-ginger-ale.html">Snapping Ginger Ale</a>. We tweaked the recipe slightly, always in search of perfection. The ginger was upped to about 1.5 pounds to give a bit more bite. We also added half an ounce of Saaz hops to both the boil and the finish.
</p>
<p>
We brewed on January 20, and kegged on the 26th (this past Saturday). We're happy with this batch — there's a much more distinct hop bitterness in addition to the extra ginger. It's about as strong as the previous one, which is to say "deceptively." More hops in the finish also give it some head retention, which was lacking in the first batch.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-45116908194055823082008-01-11T20:19:00.000-05:002008-01-11T20:26:51.479-05:00A Quick Update<p>
The "Phat Fired Weizenbock" is long-since kegged. It's not bad, but not as tasty as we'd hoped. Still, a solid, drinkable beer.
</p>
<p>
We also made another batch of "Danger Knows No Favorites Dunkel" (<b>p.204</b>), almost completely by the book, which was kegged about two weeks ago. It's delicious. I shared some with my neighbors this evening after work, since the weather was so nice everyone wanted to hang around outside.
</p>
<p>
One of my neighbors shared some homemade limoncello, which was also delicious. It was starting to rain, so we had to swig down the last of what we had in our glasses. For the record: swigging limoncello should only be attempted by trained professionals.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-10562881829433370912007-11-26T20:45:00.002-05:002008-04-19T14:26:41.297-04:00Apple Pie Imperial Stout<p>(Marco Cavagna, Christine Garnett, and Mike Marsh)</p>
<p>
This beer is a sort of "work in progress." The idea was to have a strong, dark, malty
beer with notes of apples and cinnamon, as a Winter seasonal. It hasn't worked out
quite as we'd hoped, as of the pre-Thanksgiving tasting, but we'll be reporting on
the progress as the batch ages. Note that this, as well as the
<a href="http://36pints.blogspot.com/2007/09/snapping-ginger-ale.html">Snapping Ginger Ale</a>,
are experiments. Some work better than others, but all are learning experiences.
</p>
<p>
<b>9 lbs.</b> amber DME<br/>
<b>0.5 lbs.</b> chocolate malt<br/>
<b>0.5 lbs.</b> roasted barley<br/>
<b>1 lb.</b> tart apples (cored, peeled, and chopped) — we used 6 Fujis<br/>
<b>2</b> cinnamon sticks (boil)<br/>
<b>5</b> cinnamon sticks (priming)<br/>
English ale yeast
</p>
<p>
Do the usual 30 minute steep of the grain between 150 and 160 degrees
Fahrenheit. Strain and fill the pot to 2 gallons or more. Add the
malt extract and 2 sticks of cinnamon, bring to a boil, and boil for an hour.
Turn off the heat and let the wort cool to 180 degrees. Steep the apples
between 150 and 180 degrees for 20 minutes. Strain out the apples and
cinnamon, sparge and cool, and pitch when the wort is cool enough.
</p>
<p>
When fermentation is complete, boil 5 cinnamon sticks with the priming
sugar for 10 minutes. Add the solution (with cinnamon) to the young
beer (the alcohol will pull out a few more flavors). Bottle condition
for at least two months.
</p>
<p>
There was a little (well under a pint) left after filling 17 1-liter
bottles, so we tasted the primed young beer. Obviously, the priming
sugar made it a little sweet, and it was room-temperature and flat.
That being said, we could feel the cinnamon more than taste it, as a
bit of tingling on the tongue and a bit of warmth. Because we used
tart apples and no hops, rather than the bitterness to which we're
accustomed, the beer was a bit sour. Based on this initial
impression, we'd go with a less-tart apple next time.
</p>
<p>
The first tasting, at about 50 days in bottle, was better than the primed
beer, but still disappointing. Without hops there's no head retention.
The tartness is still present, and tends to overwhelm the other flavors
(the cinnamon is basically undetectable). I'd describe the flavor as
hard cider and weak coffee. Marco and I split a 1-liter bottle, but we
ended up pouring out about half of it. We'll try it again in another month or two,
but we don't expect it to ever taste the way we wanted. Cider takes awhile to develop
its flavor, and this (inadvertently) is closer to cider than beer in character. The next
time we'd use at least a little hops, and go with fewer of a sweeter variety of apple.
</p>
<p>
The second tasting, at 195 days in bottle, was considerably different. The sour flavors
are essentially gone, leaving the cider and coffee flavors to dominate. While it would
never be my regular beer, I found it quite drinkable, and consumed nearly the full 1-liter
bottle myself. Marco still doesn't like it, but he seems not to like hard cider. The beer
was at cellar temperature; another tasting with the beer chilled will be necessary.
</p>
<p>
Less than a week later (4/18), I chilled a couple of bottles and brought one out with me for my standard nice-weather sitting-on-porch-drinking-homebrew. The malt flavors were pretty thoroughly muted, leaving just the apple tartness. As the beer warmed, the coffee notes returned. I shared a bit with an intrepid neighbor, after warning him that it wasn't what we'd hoped for in terms of flavor, and he at least <i>said</i> he liked it. Apparently I'm not alone in considering this beer drinkable.
</p>
<p>
Brewed: 9/8/07<br/>
Racked: 9/22/07<br/>
Bottled: 9/30/07<br/>
First Tasting: 11/19/07<br/>
Second Tasting: 4/12/08<br/>
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-91075037378005464242007-10-28T21:07:00.000-04:002007-10-28T21:24:13.079-04:00Dark Beer Season Has Arrived!<p>
As mentioned previously, Marco and I brewed a batch of "Phat Fired Weizenbock" (<b>p.195</b>).
We used DME instead of LME (with the proper conversion), because it's not as messy to work with,
even if it does take longer to dissolve.
The recipe calls for 1.5 lbs of amber DME, but since we don't buy in bulk, we went with a 2 lb bag.
For the crystal malt, we used a #80 roast.
The store didn't have debittered black malt, so we substituted 1/8 lbs of regular black
malt instead.
The hop varieties called for were only available as pellets, while we prefer to use whole
hops, so we substituted 2 oz of Hallertau for the boil (again, increasing to the nearest
purchaseable unit), and Tettnang for the flavor and aroma.
We used a Heffeweizen liquid ale yeast.
</p>
<p>
The boil (Oct. 13) smelled fantastic, as did the ongoing fermentation. We <em>did</em>,
however, experience blow-off in the 6.5 gal Ale Pail.
Since Marco didn't have the makings of a blow-off tube (that may change with our next
shopping trip), I went over with the necessary
equipment, and we got it cleaned up and safely bubbling into a bucket of santizing solution.
When the blow-off ceased, Marco reinserted the normal airlock.
The remainder of the fermentation was (externally) uneventful.
</p>
<p>
Yesterday we transferred it to Marco's new keg.
It was still bubbling just over twice a minute, but it needed to be re-racked at that point,
regardless, so we decided to let the fermentation complete in the keg.
For reasons that aren't important, we didn't try it last night, so it'll most likely have
another full week in keg under minimal pressure (enough to seal the keg well) to ferment.
</p>
<p>
Based on the aroma, we expect this batch to be wonderful. With a two-week turnaround (kegs are
so nice), we might be making more of this soon.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-29412993647134353222007-10-23T22:23:00.000-04:002007-10-23T22:27:34.234-04:00Brewing Update<p>
We do, in fact, have a batch brewing at the moment. It's "Phat Fired Weizenbock" (<b>p.195</b>),
with slight modifications. Marco has the details, as well as a story of his own.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-54083776326323787862007-10-23T22:14:00.000-04:002007-10-23T22:22:40.659-04:00Email Sent to Marco on Thursday the 18th at 10:46PM<p style="font-size:x-small"><b>
[Note: One instance of bad language appears in the following. You have been warned.]
</b></p>
<p>Allow me to paint a picture.</p>
<p>
This evening, I go downstairs to start a load of laundry. There's a faint smell of beer in the laundry room. "That doesn't seem right," I remark to myself. I look at the floor, and there's a small puddle of mostly-dry beer beside the refrigerator. I open the door, to discover that beer is slowly foaming out of the ball lock of my keg. This is the old keg -- Rocky II. I, of course, immediately begin cleaning up the spill, and get my laundry in the wash.
</p>
<p>
Now, let's elaborate on the current scene. I have two kegs. One has been in the fridge for awhile, is almost empty, and has just started (based on the amount of spilled beer and the observed rate of, shall we say, foamage) to express homebrew. The other has been at cellar temperature for a little over a month, is almost empty, and is attached to a cobra tap, the only one I have. No seepage has ensued in keg number two.
</p>
<p>
The logical course of action was to fetch a fine mug with a handle, tap a beer from keg number two, consume, and repeat. The idea was to tap out the second keg, and then move the cobra tap to the first keg. It was a fool-proof plan, and I'm fool enough to prove it.
</p>
<p>
What I had not considered was that there was more Rocky III than Rocky II. After either four or five beers (I'm not actually sure which), the laundry was done, bedtime was approaching, and I was experiencing a mild case of fuckedupitude. Nothing severe, mind you -- certainly not vomitous (nor anywhere near), but enough to expect a suppression of REM sleep.
</p>
<p>
The end result stands at: Rocky III is tantalizingly close to being tapped out. There might, in fact, be comparable amounts of both batches remaining. The cobra tap has been moved to Rocky II, and Rocky III has been placed in the container I use to hold the blow-off bucket, which is identical to the container that I use to store my brewing odds and ends. That way, if there's seepage from keg number two, it will be contained in an easily cleaned vessel. Keg number one, in turn, has the cobra tap, which should provide an extra level of protection against a repeat of the leakage that prompted this whole "drinking" exercise.
</p>
<p>
Our story concludes now. I hope that it was mostly coherent, largely correct in both spelling and grammar, and at least slightly entertaining.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-3274831678832460722007-09-16T13:52:00.000-04:002007-09-16T14:06:49.767-04:00Rock Party<p>
My neighborhood had a block party yesterday, for which I provided a keg of Rocky Raccoon
(<b>p.210</b>), prepared with help from Marco and Bobby. My neighbor Shawn, who organized
the party, promised to forward me at least some of the pictures he took. If there are any
good shots of people enjoying homebrew, I'll try to post them here.
</p>
<p>
I made sure to take the first cup, since I hadn't tried the batch yet, and I wasn't sure
if there was anything in the lines (or just in the sediment) that would result in off
flavors. It's a good thing that I did, since there was definitely something not right
in my first cup. It was still drinkable, but very bitter. Subsequent servings were
considerably better, but even after rinsing my mouth a couple of times, my palate was
still too affected by the first drink to get a good sense of the batch quality.
</p>
<p>
My dad had a similar experience between his first two servings, though his first wasn't
as off as mine, and didn't seem to bias his palate as much. Everyone else who tried it
had nothing but good things to say, and I hopefully have at least one new convert to
homebrewing. The only disappointment was that I'd expected a block party to easily
tap the entire keg. I estimate about a gallon remaining. For the sake of my ego, I'm
going to attribute the "low" consumption to the cooler temperatures — yesterday's high
was only 71, which isn't as conducive to drinking as the 77 degrees of just the
previous day.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-87583119938977177572007-09-10T09:07:00.000-04:002007-09-10T09:10:02.994-04:00Snapping Ginger Ale<p>(Marco Cavagna and Mike Marsh)</p>
<p>
This recipe is inspired by Carribean ginger beer, which is a
non-alcoholic beverage with a very strong ginger bite. We've made an
alcoholic version of this, which is based on a classic English pale
ale with the hop bitterness greatly reduced. The resulting beer is
light and crisp, perfect for a hot summer day.
</p>
<p>
<b>6 lbs.</b> extra light DME<br/>
<b>0.5 lbs.</b> #80 crystal malt<br/>
<b>1 oz.</b> Kent Golding hops (boil)<br/>
<b>1 oz.</b> Saaz hops (finish)<br/>
<b>1-1.25 lb.</b> fresh ginger<br/>
English ale yeast
</p>
<p>
Wash the ginger and trim off any bad spots, then shred in the food
processor. There's no need to peel the ginger.
</p>
<p>
Steep the crystal malt for 30 minutes in a gallon to a gallon-and-a-half
of water between 150 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain the spent grains
and add the malt extract, boiling hops, and ginger. Bring to a boil
and boil for an hour, adding the finishing hops for the last 10 minutes.
</p>
<p>
Strain, sparge, cool, and pitch the yeast when the temperature falls below
75 degrees. Since the ginger should dominate the flavor, this doesn't need
a long bottle conditioning, and is an excellent candidate for kegging.
</p>
<p>
This first batch was good, surprisingly so for a very experimental
recipe. I thought it could use more ginger (another half pound, at
least), and Marco thought it could use more hops. I suspect that the
amount of time for which we're boiling the ginger is muting the flavor
substantially. The same amount of ginger for a much shorter time,
such as the last 10 to 20 minutes of the boil, might result in a
stronger flavor. In any case, this will be a fun recipe to play with
in future batches.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-32652334899862152902007-09-10T00:06:00.000-04:002007-09-10T00:29:50.066-04:00Vicariously Pale<p>(Marco Cavagna and Mike Marsh)</p>
<p>
<strong>6 pounds</strong> light DME<br/>
<strong>1/2 pound</strong> #40 crystal malt<br/>
<strong>2 oz.</strong> fuggles hops (boil)<br/>
<strong>1 oz.</strong> kent golding hops (finish)<br/>
british ale yeast
</p>
<p>
Steep crystal malt in about 1 gallon of filtered water for 30 minutes at 150-160 degrees Fahrenheit. Add DME and fuggles hops and boil for 1 hour. Add kent golding hops for last 5 minutes of the boil. Sparge and pitch yeast when temperature reaches 75 degrees.
</p>
<p>
This invention of ours took a surprisingly short time to finish bubbling, and after bottle conditioning for 2 weeks we were able to give it a try. Our initial impression was that it could use a bit more hops, both in the boil and the finish. It improved substantially after another 2 weeks in the bottle, but we still plan to use more hops for the next time we try this one. Overall, we think this was a pretty solid effort.
</p>
<p>
Incidentally, the name, "vicariously" refers to 2 weekends ago, when I was on call and couldn't drink. I brought some of this ale over to Mike's and watched him drink it while we brewed Rocky III (more on Rocky III later).
</p>Marcohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11838886020936671099noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-8224283695243492152007-08-28T12:52:00.000-04:002007-08-28T12:54:02.382-04:00This is Beautiful<p>
This has nothing to do with our homebrewing efforts, but it <i>does</i> have to do with
homebrewing. I only saw part 1, and I don't know how long it'll be available, so
check it out now.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-56918772790415544872007-08-25T14:10:00.000-04:002007-08-25T14:19:11.624-04:00A Brief Update<p>
Since our last post was in May, you might have gotten the impression that nothing has
been happening, brewing-wise.
While it's true that we had a bit of a hiatus, due in part to summer travel, we've
been more active of late.
</p>
<p>
Marco's going to be posting the recipe and general comments for a pale ale that we started
last month, and that we finally got to taste recently.
We have another Super Secret batch that's going into bottles this weekend.
It'll be a couple more weeks before we can try that one and reveal the recipe (possibly
as a cautionary tale).
</p>
<p>
For upcoming batches, my neighborhood is having a block party in a few weeks, so we're going
to make a keg of Rocky Raccoon (<b>p.210</b>) for that.
Since I already have a partial keg of that (yes, <i>still</i>), that means I'll be upgrading
to a second keg.
</p>
<p>
We also have a winter seasonal that we want to try.
It's another experimental Super Secret batch; one that will probably want at least a couple
of months of bottle conditioning.
The plan is to have it ready to drink for Thanksgiving.
If it turns out well, we might have to make two or three batches for next year.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-7495223569480559982007-05-01T22:10:00.000-04:002007-05-01T22:20:33.811-04:00At the Mountains of Madness<p>
We cracked the first growler of Insane Pale Ale tonight.
It was a screw-cap growler, and we were pleased (and somewhat relieved)
to discover that it held its seal.
</p>
<p>
The cast of characters: me, Pete, Marco, Susan, and Ranier (Susan's SO).
Everyone seemed happy with the results, with the consensus being that it
will really benefit from further aging.
The color is more amber than pale, which isn't too surprising given the recipe.
</p>
<p>
My personal impressions were that it's distinctly hoppy, though not aggressively so.
It's also strong, though not in the sharp way that some beers (or other alcoholic
beverages) have that lets you know immediately that there's a lot of alcohol in the drink.
In contrast, the strength becomes apparent when you're on your second glass and you
notice that you're substantially buzzed.
There was a lingering sweetness that indicates there's some more bottle-conditioning to
be done that will increase both the carbonation (which could have been a bit more
concentrated) and strength.
</p>
<p>
It's safe to say that this recipe is a success.
Very tasty, and pretty much exactly what we were going for, especially with another month
or so in the bottle.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-87698310821127645522007-04-22T14:53:00.000-04:002007-04-22T15:06:55.589-04:00Rocky II<p>
Yesterday was brewing day for our second batch of Rocky Raccoon's Crystal Honey
Lager (<b>p.210</b>).
We modified the recipe slightly, at least in part due to ingredient availability.
We used an extra half pound of DME, substituted an ounce of Northern Brewer
hops in the boil, and used a Trappist Ale Yeast.
That last was definitely intentional, since I tend to prefer the Trappist yeast.
Here is the array of goods, which I call "Still-life with Beer Ingredients."
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXwljJAYYGF7nLN5cm_eLho4BvSMRXA3KbUjEH-AGIe2O7r-Abf_epotrnRokuYT-3EvCa9Vbw1JvdLgK04lV4yv6Gn1ghPub7glw9XetRwNPSChJnpSwyEIm2ysVNb07SdQ0QIazozw/s1600-h/ingredients.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrXwljJAYYGF7nLN5cm_eLho4BvSMRXA3KbUjEH-AGIe2O7r-Abf_epotrnRokuYT-3EvCa9Vbw1JvdLgK04lV4yv6Gn1ghPub7glw9XetRwNPSChJnpSwyEIm2ysVNb07SdQ0QIazozw/s320/ingredients.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056328962738266162" /></a>
</p>
<p>
This time around, rather than trying to engineer a sinker for the aeration hose, we used a
racking cane attached to the air hose:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4hqFTtaWp9hPX858s5ZU55je9YoWCvASzwVBuSVFQ20Efhnrta51rXb0lMsGJ6nkcPLhZuWFeSuAHA3hpTp2C_xCobc9U9fvTqhEf7MYG493sDMpOQ1-gHxfqmEia9CthO-GYwl6Iw8/s1600-h/aerating.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4hqFTtaWp9hPX858s5ZU55je9YoWCvASzwVBuSVFQ20Efhnrta51rXb0lMsGJ6nkcPLhZuWFeSuAHA3hpTp2C_xCobc9U9fvTqhEf7MYG493sDMpOQ1-gHxfqmEia9CthO-GYwl6Iw8/s320/aerating.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056328967033233474" /></a>
Marco supervised the aeration:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XuO6ckz6xVAY2vDafiH_T3nnZGt8YZ5RGq77-KYNAAsGSz68KnfB6qozBZafM47b3Jbs8s5eyAqVRFzVARpvZsl1eat2fO_Qp4jwvHupihz1bQBSXI3YmibT40yK7mmI5GUMJqzxU7w/s1600-h/aerating_marco.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3XuO6ckz6xVAY2vDafiH_T3nnZGt8YZ5RGq77-KYNAAsGSz68KnfB6qozBZafM47b3Jbs8s5eyAqVRFzVARpvZsl1eat2fO_Qp4jwvHupihz1bQBSXI3YmibT40yK7mmI5GUMJqzxU7w/s320/aerating_marco.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056328967033233490" /></a>
And here I am contemplating the marvel that is aerated wort, and maybe a bit of wondering
how much of a pain it's going to be to clean up the foam that's coating the outside of
the carboy:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1H_eTInfEs-AoReglmcrle1axubSpgFOjjf2aQJHns-j_VUzhD2m5nsnCsm3bOpEQEjl4yymdcVbbPP2zynyOYFsYPSSshpBrEpJdukeDqTAYqunBIY2JaliMFhM4jkMgBJRbxPqau8/s1600-h/aerating_mike.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1H_eTInfEs-AoReglmcrle1axubSpgFOjjf2aQJHns-j_VUzhD2m5nsnCsm3bOpEQEjl4yymdcVbbPP2zynyOYFsYPSSshpBrEpJdukeDqTAYqunBIY2JaliMFhM4jkMgBJRbxPqau8/s320/aerating_mike.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056328971328200802" /></a>
</p>
<p>
Finally, the wort was aerated, the yeast pitched, and the blow-off tube attached:
<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_COqPk-snrYPT7UlS1MMl3ZRn3i-X250zJqQx6saznnHvdwYODM3MCg1XEw4bCtCf4kG-CVNDSp7w0lEEbT-aC6TKRJ2CRxNe86ngAZejpDUggIpwSGldPHliVFHbaaDckVIaHCTB6o/s1600-h/pitched.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW_COqPk-snrYPT7UlS1MMl3ZRn3i-X250zJqQx6saznnHvdwYODM3MCg1XEw4bCtCf4kG-CVNDSp7w0lEEbT-aC6TKRJ2CRxNe86ngAZejpDUggIpwSGldPHliVFHbaaDckVIaHCTB6o/s320/pitched.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056328971328200818" /></a>
That was at around a quarter past 10 last night. By this morning, there was definite
positive pressure in the carboy, though it's not quite bubbling yet.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5609730888798942269.post-80893244839925169532007-04-21T22:37:00.000-04:002007-04-21T22:44:10.557-04:00Dunkel, First Impressions (Part Two)<p>
Welcome back, my friends, to the brew that never ends.
</p>
<p>
Marco and I brewed tonight at my place (blog entry to follow tomorrow).
He brought over a couple of our 1pt EZ-Cap bottles of the Dunkel, at a more
flavor-compatible temperature.
</p>
<p>
After trying the not-so-chilled Dunkel, I stand by my characterization of the
beer as having a distinctly roasty-toasty character, which isn't surprising for
a dunkel.
This was even more apparent, and the chocolatey character of the chocolate malt
also came through.
I thought that it tasted somewhat creamy, in addition.
The hops and alcohol are definitely there, but neither whomps you upside the head.
</p>
<p>
Needless to say (and yet I say, or rather write, it anyway), I look forward to
drinking more of this, especially as bottle conditioning continues to develop
its flavors.
</p>Mike Marshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15730365232944097577noreply@blogger.com0