I'm back. Its been quite a busy couple of weeks. And when I say busy I mean lazy; really, really lazy. I did have a rather entertaining ordeal involving a rabid fan and a hacked brewing blog, but I survived. Security levels have been raised and restraining orders have been filed. Let's talk about beer.
Last night I was cordially invited to attend my first beer dinner. For those of you who do not know, a beer dinner is when somebody tells you to eat their food while drinking their beer. Then they charge you a lot of money. Last night's event was held at The Melting Pot restaurant in naptown. Now I am not a huge fan of fondue. I'm somewhat of an aggressive eater, and I tend to leave fondue restaurants with some rather serious burns in my mouth. But my love of beer trumped any medical concerns, so I packed my aloe vera gel and prepared myself for a wonderful night. I was not disappointed.
The hosting brewery was Brooklyn Brewery. I am not very familiar with their products. In fact, even though I have read (partially) a book about the founding of the brewery (Beer School) I am not sure if I have ever even tried their signature Brooklyn Lager. I was looking forward to sampling some of the best craft brewed beers in the world. I'll stop boring you now and give my super expert professional review.
Course 1:
Brooklyn Cheddar Cheese Fondue: Brooklyn Pennant Ale, cheddar and Emmenthaler cheeses accented with Nueske's (who?) Applewood-Smoked Bacon, onion, dijon mustard, Tabasco and scallions.
Paired With: Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55 (apparently 1955 was the last year the Brooklyn Dodgers won the pennant, or maybe it was 1855. Who knows?)
Professional Review: Bangin'. That Nueske is ok in my book. He sure knows how to smoke a hog. The bacon made the cheese taste all appley and woody. This was probably favorite dish of the night. The Pennant Ale was good too. It had a reddish color and a refreshing quality. Somewhat dry but sweet at the same time, if that makes any sense. This was my second favorite beer of the night. I lucked out too cause the guy next to us won a free pint but wasn't much of a fan so he passed it off to my wifey. Since we are married and required by law to share everything 50/50 I begrudgingly commandeered my half and stowed it away for safe keeping in my rapidly expanding gut. It's the law.
Course 2:
Wisconsin Wedge Salad: Iceberg wedge with Roma tomatoes, Emmi Roth Kase Gorgonzola, Nueske's Applewood-Smoked Bacon and Peppercorn Ranch Dressing.
Paired With: Brooklyn Brown Ale.
Professional Review: BORING! What can I say? Its lettuce. I absolutely despise Gorgonzola (and bleu cheese, what's the difference?) and for some weird reason I can only eat tomatoes if they are on a sandwich. The bacon was delicious of course. The brown ale was good. Not great. I'm not a giant fan of brown ales. I have never had a non-skunk New Castle and always wondered why they use clear bottles. But this is Brooklyn Brewery, and this brown was fresh. It had a nice crispness to it which went well with the salad. Overall I'm afraid this course fell short based on personal preferences. If my buddy had a fresh case of Brooklyn Brown chilling I would certainly help him finish them off. Would I buy it in the store? Probably not. It's just not my preferred style. This was my least favorite course.
Course 3:
Entree: Buffalo Chicken, Memphis-Style BBQ Pork Tenderloin, Teriyaki-Marinated Sirloin and Cajun-Style White Shrimp.
Paired With: Brooklyn Sorachi Ace.
Professional Review: My first reaction when I saw the selection of meats was sheer joy. The kind of emotion that only the chubbiest 10% of the population are capable of feeling. I freaking love shrimp!!! I consider myself to be an honorary Beaver Boy (warning: extremely immature content.) Off the chain. I also really enjoyed the teriyaki sirloin and buffalo chicken. The fondue dippin' sauce reminded me of chicken flavored ramen. I have a refined palate. The Sorachi Ace is probably the most unique beer I have ever tasted. After my first sip I found myself thinking "WTF this tastes like Bazooka Joe." I also really enjoyed the carbonation. It gave the beer a very clean and enjoyable finish. Sorachi Ace was my favorite beer of the night and I can't wait to get my hands on some more.
Course 4:
Dark Chocolate Fondue: Dark Chocolate Fondue with Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka.
Paired With: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout and Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Floats
Professional Review: Whoever had the idea to make ice cream floats with beer deserves a pat on the back (if it was Nueske I'm facebook friending this guy.) I am not a huge dessert guy so I only dipped one or two pieces into the fondue. It tasted like... dark chocolate. I am also not a huge stout fan. I always feel like I just gave birth and am ready for a 3 hour nap after I drink one (is that normal?) I was very impressed with this beer however. I have tried chocolate stouts before but have never really tasted the chocolate. In this beer the chocolate flavor was very noticeable. It was very good paired with the vanilla ice cream. It also packed quite a wallop at 10% alc. I was very impressed with this beer and have to say it is my favorite stout that I have tasted so far.
Well there you have it. Delicious food. Delicious beer. Wonderful atmosphere and a designated driver to boot. Does life get any better? We met some cool people and learned a lot about beer. I had an absolute blast at this beer dinner and cannot wait for the next time. Have fun. If you have any good beer pairings leave me a comment. I will start you off with one of my college favorites.
Beer: Bud Light
Food: Doritos
This combo is an all-time favorite of mine. The delicious saltiness of the processed cheese complements the watery flavor of the Bud perfectly. Enjoy!
SR
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Yeast Starter
Sunday arrived and for the first time in recent memory, I was not hung over. I decided to make it a productive day and pick up some stuff for my next brew. I plan on one day being able to brew completely outside so I picked up a propane tank. I hooked it up to my sweet burner I got for Christmas and gave it a test run. It makes my garage smell like chemicals but it lights stuff on fire so thats always good. I'll have to rig up some kind of ventilation system in the near future. Alcohol, fire and flammable gas make for an interesting night.
I also decided that if I ever wanted to brew up my IPA I would have to learn how to make a yeast starter. So I hit up google and after reading a few differing opinions I had a rough plan.
Now before I get into my awesome plan I should maybe explain what a yeast starter is and why it is recommended for a beer with a high specific gravity...or at least the 6 years in college for a 4 year degree version. Yeast is alive and its hungry. When it eats it has babies. Its favorite food is sugar. Beers with a high specific gravity have a lot of sugar in them. Too much for the little yeast guys to eat before passing out in a food coma. So the idea behind a yeast starter is to give them an appetizer to start having babies but not enough to fill their tiny bellies. It is basically making a little bit of wort to feed your yeast. So now after the starter they are all hungry and there are a lot more of them. You dump them in the fermenter with the high specific gravity wort and let them eat into a comatos state. I envy them. Questions? I have one. Why dont you just add more yeast at the beginning? Answer: Stupid question, Next. Real Answer: I don't know, back off. I'm still learning. Maybe because it's expensive.
Okay moving on. My awesome plan. For this plan to work I will need the following: Dry malt extract, water, pot (kitchen style), yeast, funnel and a container. I had all of the above except...dry malt extract (DME). Luckily for me, the liquor store down the street just started selling homebrew supplies a few months ago. A quick trip down the road and I was ready to roll. Pro Brew Tip 1- Do Not buy Amber extract for an IPA. That's right, I bought amber extract. Why? Because I have the brain of an ADHD addled 4 year old. Get this kid some Aderol. I was stuck on brew #1, which was an amber. Too late now. Let's get started.
I followed instructions from John Palmer's website. Boil a pint of water, add a 1/2cup DME. Boil 10 minutes. BORING. For the last 3 minutes I was supposed to put the lid on the pot. After that I wasn't so sure so I went to check the directions. Pro Brew Tip 2- Do Not leave your boil pot unattended in the house. 15 seconds later I hear a sizzling coming from the kitchen. Ugh why me? My pot overflowed. Imagine turning your burner on high for 10 mins and squirting maple syrup on it. Not pretty. I scrubbed the sh*t out of it for 15 mins but it wouldn't come up. Oh well, live and learn. At least I now have my yeast starter. I just have to cool it to 80 degrees, pour into my container and add the yeast. Simple. Pro Brew Tip 3- Do Not shake your yeast vial vigorously before opening. It will explode. Everywhere. If you would like to see this effect recreated go to the store, buy a 20 oz Mountain Dew, shake it for 30 seconds, and open. Very similar. I lost about 1/3 of my yeast. Will it still work? I don't know. You will have to stay tuned to find out. (The suspense is killing you)
BTW, that guy John Palmer has a book. It's what got me started in this messy hobby. Check it out if you want to learn more.
I also decided that if I ever wanted to brew up my IPA I would have to learn how to make a yeast starter. So I hit up google and after reading a few differing opinions I had a rough plan.
Now before I get into my awesome plan I should maybe explain what a yeast starter is and why it is recommended for a beer with a high specific gravity...or at least the 6 years in college for a 4 year degree version. Yeast is alive and its hungry. When it eats it has babies. Its favorite food is sugar. Beers with a high specific gravity have a lot of sugar in them. Too much for the little yeast guys to eat before passing out in a food coma. So the idea behind a yeast starter is to give them an appetizer to start having babies but not enough to fill their tiny bellies. It is basically making a little bit of wort to feed your yeast. So now after the starter they are all hungry and there are a lot more of them. You dump them in the fermenter with the high specific gravity wort and let them eat into a comatos state. I envy them. Questions? I have one. Why dont you just add more yeast at the beginning? Answer: Stupid question, Next. Real Answer: I don't know, back off. I'm still learning. Maybe because it's expensive.
Okay moving on. My awesome plan. For this plan to work I will need the following: Dry malt extract, water, pot (kitchen style), yeast, funnel and a container. I had all of the above except...dry malt extract (DME). Luckily for me, the liquor store down the street just started selling homebrew supplies a few months ago. A quick trip down the road and I was ready to roll. Pro Brew Tip 1- Do Not buy Amber extract for an IPA. That's right, I bought amber extract. Why? Because I have the brain of an ADHD addled 4 year old. Get this kid some Aderol. I was stuck on brew #1, which was an amber. Too late now. Let's get started.
I followed instructions from John Palmer's website. Boil a pint of water, add a 1/2cup DME. Boil 10 minutes. BORING. For the last 3 minutes I was supposed to put the lid on the pot. After that I wasn't so sure so I went to check the directions. Pro Brew Tip 2- Do Not leave your boil pot unattended in the house. 15 seconds later I hear a sizzling coming from the kitchen. Ugh why me? My pot overflowed. Imagine turning your burner on high for 10 mins and squirting maple syrup on it. Not pretty. I scrubbed the sh*t out of it for 15 mins but it wouldn't come up. Oh well, live and learn. At least I now have my yeast starter. I just have to cool it to 80 degrees, pour into my container and add the yeast. Simple. Pro Brew Tip 3- Do Not shake your yeast vial vigorously before opening. It will explode. Everywhere. If you would like to see this effect recreated go to the store, buy a 20 oz Mountain Dew, shake it for 30 seconds, and open. Very similar. I lost about 1/3 of my yeast. Will it still work? I don't know. You will have to stay tuned to find out. (The suspense is killing you)
BTW, that guy John Palmer has a book. It's what got me started in this messy hobby. Check it out if you want to learn more.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
First Brew Check In
So it has been 10 days or so since my first brew. I thought I would give an update on how things are progressing. I took a hydrometer reading today and it looks like we are sitting right around 1.03. We started around 1.06 or so, which means we are progressing nicely...I guess. I really dont know. The directions say let the beer ferment for 7-10 days and then siphon to the secondary fermenter. I am not using a secondary fermenter because I have heard they are unnecessary. So I will give it another week or so and take another reading. If we are still around 1.03 the fermentation is complete and we can move on to the priming phase. Nice.
Now I'd like to discuss the newest additions to my brewing toolset:
First is my racking cane siphon. I actually had this piece before I brewed my first batch, but had not bothered to learn how to use it. So instead I used a cut up milk jug and a plastic cup as my funnel. A quick search on youtube told me everything I could ever want to know. Here is the vid if interested.
Now we have the funnel. I picked one up for a dollar at Giant. If you don't know how to use a funnel please send me an email. A friend of mine is a Nigerian prince with a great investment opportunity. I would love to send him your info.
And to finish it up, we have my thermometer. You probably remember this guy. I had to leave my house with the stove on high to pick up this one. It was like $6 at Giant. Ideally I would have bought a floating thermometer like this one but I was kind of desparate at the time.
Thats it for now. I'll give another update when I'm ready to bottle.
Sincerely yours,
Salty Rick
Now I'd like to discuss the newest additions to my brewing toolset:
First is my racking cane siphon. I actually had this piece before I brewed my first batch, but had not bothered to learn how to use it. So instead I used a cut up milk jug and a plastic cup as my funnel. A quick search on youtube told me everything I could ever want to know. Here is the vid if interested.
Now we have the funnel. I picked one up for a dollar at Giant. If you don't know how to use a funnel please send me an email. A friend of mine is a Nigerian prince with a great investment opportunity. I would love to send him your info.
And to finish it up, we have my thermometer. You probably remember this guy. I had to leave my house with the stove on high to pick up this one. It was like $6 at Giant. Ideally I would have bought a floating thermometer like this one but I was kind of desparate at the time.
Thats it for now. I'll give another update when I'm ready to bottle.
Sincerely yours,
Salty Rick
Saturday, February 25, 2012
First Brew!
I finally did it. After months of procrastination and laziness, I brewed my first batch. I was intitially planning on brewing the Austin Homebrew Supply Imperial IPA, but the instructions recommended a yeast starter. I was ready to roll and did not have the patience (or knowledge) to make a yeast starter so I opted for the AHS Anniversary Amber. This choice turns out to be smarter for a beginner because it has less ingredients and steps to completion.
Enough about the beer. Let's talk brewing. The process started off very smoothly. I prepped all equipment by washing and sanitizing, let everything air dry, and started heating 2 gallons of water as the directions called out. My confidence was growing. "You got this dawg," I said to myself. "All I have to do is keep an eye on the temperature of the water. Its been on the stove for a few minutes now, let me check the temperature with my... where the frick is my thermometer?" What kind of an idiot tries to heat water to 155 degrees without a thermometer? *raises hand*. Luckily I realize the missing equipment early enough to run to the piggly wiggly and pick one up. I get back from the grocery, rip off the packaging, give the thermo a quick dip in the sanitizer and plop it in the water... 150. Perfect! Disaster averted. A few more minutes on the burner and this bad boy is ready to rock.
Ok, the water is heated. Next step is to steep the grain that AHS was nice enough to crush and put in a nylon bag. Just like making a large pot of awesome tea. This step goes smoothly. Any moron can make tea.
After a long tea-bagging session, I bring the liquid to a boil then remove from heat and add 7lbs of the malt extract. This stuff was very thick and syrupy. Spilled a good bit on the hot burner which produced a rather unpleasant smell in the house. Wife not happy.
Ok, so now I boil, add hops, keep boiling, add more hops, disconnect fire alarm cause its gettin steamy in this piece, keep boiling and then...
Chill B. Remember the picture of the wort chiller I posted a few weeks back? Well, I didn't use it cause I didn't want to go outside and hook it up to a hose. So I opted for the old fashioned put the pot in the sink and run cold water method. It worked ok. I managed to splash a good bit of dirty sink water into the wort. Sanitation is for p*ssies. Random strains of bacteria add flavor. Once the wort is chilled to 80, I added clean water to make 5 1/4 gallons. I eyeballed it. Close enough. Now you may notice that my attention to detail is waning a bit. The answer why is two-fold. The first reason is... I'm gettin a lil crunk. I am about 2-3 hours in at this point, and everybody in this club is getting tipsy. The second, and more prominent, reason is that the kitchen looks like ground zero and my wife is lightly sleeping in the bedroom. If she witnesses what I have done to the kitchen I will be banished from the house. So I made an executive decision that some slight off-flavors in my beer is a better alternative than divorce, and cut a few corners.
All right! Specific gravity time. For all you brewing nubs out there, measuring the gravity of the wort tells you how dense the liquid is. Sugar and other stuff in the water raises density. To measure this we professionals use what is called a hydrometer. I'll touch on this in more detail at a later date. So I add some wort to my little cylinder. Ideally I would have preferred to use a sanitized turkey baster, but since I didnt even think to have a thermometer on hand the turkey baster was a no go. I used the next best thing, my hand. I was careful not to touch the wort, but I may have scraped a knuckle or two. So I drop in my hydrometer and my reading is...how the hell do u read this thing. Oh wait, its upside down. 1.072??? WTF I'm shooting for 1.051. I add some water and measure around 1.06. Its getting late at this point and I need to transfer to the fermenter and start cleaning. I splash in some more water, give it a stir and don't even bother to take a third reading. Close enough.
Here is where it gets fun. The wort is already sitting in my plastic bucket fermenter. I want it in my glass carboy so I can watch all the action. I have a siphon kit but I dont know how to use it yet so I devise a genius plan to transfer the wort. I make a homemade funnel out of a plastic cup. The bottom of the cup was flat and I drilled a hole in it. Mensa. I cut the top off a gallon milk jug and proceed to fill up the jug and pour it into my precariously perched homemade funnel... disaster. I just spilled about a pint of delicious unfermented beer on the floor. If my wife sees this I'm finished. My life would be forfeit. You would learn of my fate on the next episode of Snapped! (her favorite show...yikes!) Panic stricken, I search the kitchen for an alternative plan. Bingo! An empty Fresca 2 liter. I grab the bottle and begin frantically cutting it in half, all while thinking "Who the hell drinks Fresca?" I jam the top half of the bottle into the mouth of the carboy and it's a perfect fit. At this point I am racing to finish. I am filling the jug as fast as I can, wrist deep in the wort. I don't care if it tastes as bad as, well Fresca, I need to start cleaning. Once as much liquid has been transferred as possible, I shake up the yeast and add it to the carboy, shake it around, and carry it to my fermentation room. And that, my friends, is where it currently sits. I took some pics.
Sideways view. What the heck's goin' on in there?
Ok. If you made it through the wall of text I appreciate it. And for the record my wife is an angel. She would not really do any of the things I mentioned earlier (although Snapped! really is her favorite show. Love you Boogie).
I'll add some updates in a few days.
Over and Out,
Salty
Enough about the beer. Let's talk brewing. The process started off very smoothly. I prepped all equipment by washing and sanitizing, let everything air dry, and started heating 2 gallons of water as the directions called out. My confidence was growing. "You got this dawg," I said to myself. "All I have to do is keep an eye on the temperature of the water. Its been on the stove for a few minutes now, let me check the temperature with my... where the frick is my thermometer?" What kind of an idiot tries to heat water to 155 degrees without a thermometer? *raises hand*. Luckily I realize the missing equipment early enough to run to the piggly wiggly and pick one up. I get back from the grocery, rip off the packaging, give the thermo a quick dip in the sanitizer and plop it in the water... 150. Perfect! Disaster averted. A few more minutes on the burner and this bad boy is ready to rock.
Ok, the water is heated. Next step is to steep the grain that AHS was nice enough to crush and put in a nylon bag. Just like making a large pot of awesome tea. This step goes smoothly. Any moron can make tea.
After a long tea-bagging session, I bring the liquid to a boil then remove from heat and add 7lbs of the malt extract. This stuff was very thick and syrupy. Spilled a good bit on the hot burner which produced a rather unpleasant smell in the house. Wife not happy.
Ok, so now I boil, add hops, keep boiling, add more hops, disconnect fire alarm cause its gettin steamy in this piece, keep boiling and then...
Chill B. Remember the picture of the wort chiller I posted a few weeks back? Well, I didn't use it cause I didn't want to go outside and hook it up to a hose. So I opted for the old fashioned put the pot in the sink and run cold water method. It worked ok. I managed to splash a good bit of dirty sink water into the wort. Sanitation is for p*ssies. Random strains of bacteria add flavor. Once the wort is chilled to 80, I added clean water to make 5 1/4 gallons. I eyeballed it. Close enough. Now you may notice that my attention to detail is waning a bit. The answer why is two-fold. The first reason is... I'm gettin a lil crunk. I am about 2-3 hours in at this point, and everybody in this club is getting tipsy. The second, and more prominent, reason is that the kitchen looks like ground zero and my wife is lightly sleeping in the bedroom. If she witnesses what I have done to the kitchen I will be banished from the house. So I made an executive decision that some slight off-flavors in my beer is a better alternative than divorce, and cut a few corners.
All right! Specific gravity time. For all you brewing nubs out there, measuring the gravity of the wort tells you how dense the liquid is. Sugar and other stuff in the water raises density. To measure this we professionals use what is called a hydrometer. I'll touch on this in more detail at a later date. So I add some wort to my little cylinder. Ideally I would have preferred to use a sanitized turkey baster, but since I didnt even think to have a thermometer on hand the turkey baster was a no go. I used the next best thing, my hand. I was careful not to touch the wort, but I may have scraped a knuckle or two. So I drop in my hydrometer and my reading is...how the hell do u read this thing. Oh wait, its upside down. 1.072??? WTF I'm shooting for 1.051. I add some water and measure around 1.06. Its getting late at this point and I need to transfer to the fermenter and start cleaning. I splash in some more water, give it a stir and don't even bother to take a third reading. Close enough.
Here is where it gets fun. The wort is already sitting in my plastic bucket fermenter. I want it in my glass carboy so I can watch all the action. I have a siphon kit but I dont know how to use it yet so I devise a genius plan to transfer the wort. I make a homemade funnel out of a plastic cup. The bottom of the cup was flat and I drilled a hole in it. Mensa. I cut the top off a gallon milk jug and proceed to fill up the jug and pour it into my precariously perched homemade funnel... disaster. I just spilled about a pint of delicious unfermented beer on the floor. If my wife sees this I'm finished. My life would be forfeit. You would learn of my fate on the next episode of Snapped! (her favorite show...yikes!) Panic stricken, I search the kitchen for an alternative plan. Bingo! An empty Fresca 2 liter. I grab the bottle and begin frantically cutting it in half, all while thinking "Who the hell drinks Fresca?" I jam the top half of the bottle into the mouth of the carboy and it's a perfect fit. At this point I am racing to finish. I am filling the jug as fast as I can, wrist deep in the wort. I don't care if it tastes as bad as, well Fresca, I need to start cleaning. Once as much liquid has been transferred as possible, I shake up the yeast and add it to the carboy, shake it around, and carry it to my fermentation room. And that, my friends, is where it currently sits. I took some pics.
 |
| 24 Hours in. Look at that kraeusen. Yum |
Sideways view. What the heck's goin' on in there?
Ok. If you made it through the wall of text I appreciate it. And for the record my wife is an angel. She would not really do any of the things I mentioned earlier (although Snapped! really is her favorite show. Love you Boogie).
I'll add some updates in a few days.
Over and Out,
Salty
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Brew 101: Equipment: Fermenter
Hello everyone,
Whilst I'm waiting for my newest shipment like a fat kid loves cake (wait...), I thought I would discuss some of my equipment and give a brief explanation of what each piece does.
First up is my fermenter. The big coin jar pictured below is called a carboy. The carboy is where all the magic happens. I like to think of it as a giant glass Bunny Ranch where the yeast is free to impregnate all the sugar molecules, which later pop out tiny alcohol and CO2 babies. Does that make sense to anyone else? Cause that's what happens. It's science. Anywho, this is a 6.5 gallon carboy which is perfect for 5 gallon batches. It is important to leave space at the top because fermentation can get hot and heavy and will leave a creamy residue behind. Don't worry, its just yeast, exhausted from a long day of babymaking. If the budget is tight you can even scoop up some of this cream (called kraeusen) and nurse it back to health for future batches. Be careful not to introduce any foreign bacteria to the fermenter, or you could ruin your beer.
OK, that is enough Brew 101 for today. Tomorrow I shall discuss what we use to release all the heat that is built up from the fermentation process. Steamy!
Peace and Love,
Salty
Whilst I'm waiting for my newest shipment like a fat kid loves cake (wait...), I thought I would discuss some of my equipment and give a brief explanation of what each piece does.
First up is my fermenter. The big coin jar pictured below is called a carboy. The carboy is where all the magic happens. I like to think of it as a giant glass Bunny Ranch where the yeast is free to impregnate all the sugar molecules, which later pop out tiny alcohol and CO2 babies. Does that make sense to anyone else? Cause that's what happens. It's science. Anywho, this is a 6.5 gallon carboy which is perfect for 5 gallon batches. It is important to leave space at the top because fermentation can get hot and heavy and will leave a creamy residue behind. Don't worry, its just yeast, exhausted from a long day of babymaking. If the budget is tight you can even scoop up some of this cream (called kraeusen) and nurse it back to health for future batches. Be careful not to introduce any foreign bacteria to the fermenter, or you could ruin your beer.
OK, that is enough Brew 101 for today. Tomorrow I shall discuss what we use to release all the heat that is built up from the fermentation process. Steamy!
Peace and Love,
Salty
Friday, February 17, 2012
What Have I Done?
So after a rather long layoff from any real progress, I have come to the conclusion that I am in over my head. Let me explain. When most people start the wonderful hobby of homebrewing, they begin with a malt extract kit.
A malt extract is basically a can of condensed, unfermented beer with the consistency of caramel, or molasses if you are old. The brewer simply boils some water, adds the extract, boils it some more, adds some hops, boils some more, cools the wort and adds to the fermenter. I decided to skip this step. After all, I have read a book about brewing. I don't need to subject myself to such amateur methods. I opted for the all-grain approach. "Send me your wheat in the mail and I shall brew an ale worthy of kings," I proclaimed. Well, I was wrong. It's a little more complicated than that and I just don't know where to start. So... I just placed an order for a malt extract brewing kit. The new kit should arrive in a week or so, and then I am finally going to brew something. What flavor did I order? Well, I got an amber ale extract that was on sale for $22. Add the $7 yeast and I'm lookin' at a pretty good deal. I also included a plastic bucket fermenter so I can have two batches going at the same time. Two at the same time? That's crazy. I havn't even brewed one batch yet. That is very true, but I also ordered an Imperial IPA 7.5% alc that I am very excited about. I plan to have this bad boy in my glass carboy and the amber in the plastic. Two at once to make up for the lack of production I have made so far. Just trying to keep my fans happy.
On another note, I have had a request to create a how-to post about brewing and maybe a throw in some definitions. I'll start working on that soon so stay tuned.
I also saw a commercial for East Bound and Down season 3 last night which I am VERY excited about, even though I havn't seen season 2 yet. I gots to get on that.
Check in soon
A malt extract is basically a can of condensed, unfermented beer with the consistency of caramel, or molasses if you are old. The brewer simply boils some water, adds the extract, boils it some more, adds some hops, boils some more, cools the wort and adds to the fermenter. I decided to skip this step. After all, I have read a book about brewing. I don't need to subject myself to such amateur methods. I opted for the all-grain approach. "Send me your wheat in the mail and I shall brew an ale worthy of kings," I proclaimed. Well, I was wrong. It's a little more complicated than that and I just don't know where to start. So... I just placed an order for a malt extract brewing kit. The new kit should arrive in a week or so, and then I am finally going to brew something. What flavor did I order? Well, I got an amber ale extract that was on sale for $22. Add the $7 yeast and I'm lookin' at a pretty good deal. I also included a plastic bucket fermenter so I can have two batches going at the same time. Two at the same time? That's crazy. I havn't even brewed one batch yet. That is very true, but I also ordered an Imperial IPA 7.5% alc that I am very excited about. I plan to have this bad boy in my glass carboy and the amber in the plastic. Two at once to make up for the lack of production I have made so far. Just trying to keep my fans happy.
On another note, I have had a request to create a how-to post about brewing and maybe a throw in some definitions. I'll start working on that soon so stay tuned.
I also saw a commercial for East Bound and Down season 3 last night which I am VERY excited about, even though I havn't seen season 2 yet. I gots to get on that.
Check in soon
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Chiller
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