Taking some time off

I haven't posted in some time, simply because I got a little bummed out from the last brew session. I need to post some pictures of this awful day. Actually, the past three brews have not turned out, and I have ended up pitching all three. As mentioned in previous posts, the American Amber never carbonated. Since I did not have my Co2 system operational at the time (or still), the beer was left in the bottle for several months, and ended up not tasting good on trial.

Then the previous two batches, done the same day, had a security violation: something was not sanitized. This resulted in mold growth in the fermentation carboys.

After this, I decided to take a break for a while. I have spent my time tasting different and various beers, getting some ideas on what I would like to try next time I brew. The family is off at the in-laws for a couple days, and I'm thinking about doing a small batch Mr. Beer, just because I have one sitting around. I am hoping that this will kick-start my enjoyment of brewing once again. I certainly enjoyed BTV 26, what I think has been their finest episode to date (in a series of many fine episodes). That episode alone makes me want to jump back in, though I do have some cleaning and sanitizing to do before that happens. Thanks BTV!

Cheers!

- Tom.

Dual batch and bad yeast

A couple weeks back I ordered two kits from Northern Brewer with a bunch of kegs and supplies as well. Then my son was born, and we couldn't find a good weekend to get the brews started and completed. Three weeks later, we've got them in the carboys. However, there was a small problem with the yeasts. The night before we brought them out of the fridge, smacked them around... but they never expanded. So the wort is in the carboy, and I'm giving the yeast another day in the warmth, hopefully to excite the little guys a little. I am pitching it tonight regardless, and we'll see what happens.

These two brews will be the first in the new keg system, here in four and six weeks. The four week is the NB Breakfast Stout, to which I add some unsweetened chocolate to make a Chocolate Stout with. The six week is the NB Raspberry Wheat. Together they make a really nice black and tan. The Raspberry OG came in at 1046, the Stout at 1050. We'll update on these after I add the yeast.

- Tom.

Building the dream: kegging your homebrew

I am slowly beginning to piece together the parts necessary for kegging my homebrew. A couple weeks back I picked up four used kegs from Northern Brewer, along with a cO2 distribution system for the four kegs and a temperature regulator. Next week I will be purchasing the faucets, Co2 tank and dual distributor, then shopping for the freezer to turn into the dispensing unit. I have the next four weeks to get all of this put together before my next batch of beer is fermented and ready to carbonate. Col has been very much on board with this expedition, and the first batches ready should be a couple of her favorites. More to come with some pictures.

- Tom.

First home brewing failure: failure to carbonate

In previous posts I had mentioned that the American Amber Ale I brewed several weeks back only bubbled for about three days, but still ended up as a very good tasting beer before bottling. The alcohol content was spot on so I know the yeast was present and doing its job. Last week marked the two week test from the bottling date.

The English Pale Ale came out wonderfully. Full of flavor, well carbonated... a very tasty finished product. The American Amber... well, it was flat, lifeless, like a pint of iced tea it was. Iced tea full of hoppy flavor. But no carbonation. So this becomes my first failure as a home brewer.

All is not lost though. Since the bottles are air-tight, there is still hope to salvage this fine brew. Here is what we are trying:

1. Pull a couple bottles out into a warmer place. It is possible that the environment was too cold and put the yeast to sleep. A little warmth will bring them back to life to feast on the priming sugar solution that was used (the same solution used in the English Pale).

2. Open the bottles and pour them in a keg. Force the carbonation with a gas system and drink from the keg. My problem with this is that I do not have a keg system, so will have to rely on Phil or Boone to have an empty for me to borrow AND keep the keg at one of their houses. I wouldn't trust either with a full keg of beer, but I guess that for storing five gallons, they would be entitled to their share.

3. Re-carbonate the bottles. We can always open the bottles, pour them back into a carboy, and start the carbonation and bottling process over again. This could be a chance to do another round of filtering.

We'll keep you updated as to which process we decide to go with.

- Tom.

Phil's all-grain cream ale

After the rapid bottling session on June 6, we turned around that afternoon to attempt a new, all-grain brewing system in Topeka. Phil wanted to try a new method, using computer software downloaded from Northern Brewer on a trial basis, and use his modified cooler as the mash tun. My participation was as the master note-taker. We'll try to get a synopsis up on the website at some point. The cooler worked like a charm, and we found some utensils that we should think about getting for the future. The brew itself, turned out to be very, very thick in the end. Hopefully all of the junk will settle and kegging the brew will take out a lot of that stuff.

- Tom.

English and American bottled just in time...

For the big World Cup opening round match. On June 6, Phil came over from Topeka for an intense bottling session, where in the span of two hours we managed to bottle one-hundred and two bottles of the two batches brewed a couple weeks back: the English Pale Ale and the American Amber Ale. Each of them looked very good (and similar) in the carboy, and both of them were extremely tasty after fermentation. Here's to hoping that they both carbonate well. We got forty-nine, twelve ounce bottles of each, two Grolsch bottles of each, and two ceramic flip-top Rouge bottles of each.

For as similar and tasty as these beers were... the World Cup match was quite bittersweet. The gents got the scoring started early to what looked like a win for the Brits, but a gaff by goalkeeper Green, evened the match. At the time I said, 'It would be a shame if that gaff proved to cost them the game, like a draw or a one goal victory.' How true those words proved to be.

Both batches will be ready to test and sample as of June 20, but will more than likely be ready to quaff after June 27. That's when we'll see who is better.

- Tom.

Brewing TV - Now online

A quick shout-out to Brewing TV (www.brewingtv.com) . Today they introduced their first episode of the new website. It is sponsored by the good people at Northern Brewer and The Brewing Network. Great first episode, I would recommend you take a look. I'm going to link to their RSS feed off to the side so you can catch the action from this blog.

- Tom.

Silence! When the bubbling stops...

A short day after the last brew, the English Pale began to consistently bubble away in the fermenting closet. A day later, the American Amber began to bubble. It's one of the small joys of homebrewing that I get, when I'm awakened by the sound of bubbling beer in the middle of the night, since I use the bedroom closets to hold the carboys. The Pale Ale bubbled consistently for about five days, the Amber only about three. As I spoke with Boone on this, his take was that the Amber would come out a little sweeter, a little higher on the alcohol content, than the Pale, because the yeast was not eating as much of the wort, which produces the by-product gas. Seems logical. Two weeks down, four to go before bottling.

- Tom.

Brewing outside in the spring - MUST HAVE!

When possible, we try to brew outside. You have to admit, it is usually rather pleasant to sit around in comfortable chairs, sipping homebrew and watching your beer in the fresh air. Plus if you are using a propane burner setup, you have to provide ventilation. Here is another tip:

If you are brewing outside in the spring-time, cover your brew pot with a wire-mesh lid. Normally you do not cover (or at least we do not cover) our pot when boiling. However, all day we were watching the sky as small seed pods of different trees came gliding down from the branches, perilously close to becoming part of our brews (think Apocalypse Now, with helicopter seeds and 'Ride of the Valkyries'). Easiest solution is to go to a cooking store and purchase a large mesh lid, which is usually used in the kitchen to cover a skillet when cooking greasy foods. It's also called a spatter guard. This will catch any seeds, but will also allow steam to escape. Good idea, Steve!

- Tom.

Brewing April 24, 2010

On Saturday we got together and brewed three batches of beer. The reasoning behind so much brewing, is that both Phil and I are preparing enough beer to last us through the next few delicate weeks, when both of our wives are expecting to give birth. Phil wanted his done and possibly kegged in the next two weeks, because Jen is due May 6. He brewed a specialty kit from Northern Brewer, the Twisted Enkel Blond. Mine... well, I would like to have it spend four weeks in the fermenter, two weeks in the bottle carbonating, and then at the end of June or early July, have a beer garden party with these two batches. Col is not expecting until mid-July.

So I brewed an American Amber Ale and an English Pale Ale (courtesy of Northern Brewer). Both fine summer ales, not too rich or filling, so that I should be able to enjoy them both through the end of August or September, when the weather starts to turn. As soon as they are bottled in June, I'll focus on making a late summer/early fall beer (a wheat or Scottish shilling) in one carboy, and reserve the other carboy for a heavy fall or early winter (like an Octoberfest or Stout).

The English Pale came in at a higher OG than expected, 1060. It was supposed to be around 1050, and some water was added prior to airlock to bring it up to a full five gallons, so we will do a gravity reading again at bottling. The American Amber came in at an OG of 1052, which was spot on. Both brews should be ready to bottle on June 5th, with quality tasting to occur on June 19. After that, it's bottom's up!

- Tom.

Preparing for the brewing

Cleaned out a lot of space in the garage for all of the empty bottles and brewing equipment. Moved a spare bookcase and desk into the garage, and got my carboys soaking with some cleaner so they are ready for the weekend.

We're going to try something different on the procedure this time. It always seems that when we get together, we have trouble remembering or deciding what steps need to be done, and at what times. We also have a problem of 'too many cooks in the kitchen,' and occasionally too many beers in the system (read: we drink too much when brewing). So this time, we are going to post on a large board the steps, times and what needs to happen, and mark things off as we go. This means a little more prep time than usual. Past brews have been slightly unorganized, with a lot of reading while we should be doing. We are also going to put one person in the 'Master Brewer' spot. Whomever is performing the brew, will become the Master Brewer, and make all final decisions. This will allow one person to dictate what happens to their own beer, regardless of the suggestions made by others. This will be helpful as we move into creating our own recipes for brewing, which I hope to do soon.

We'll see how this process goes, and how the two beers turn out.

- Tom.

Kits have arrived

Wouldn't you know it... the day that my two extract kits arrive from Northern Brewer, I get the weekly newsletter telling me that this week only, I can take 10% off my entire online order. You're about five days too late...

Now need to plan on which date to brew these two. I'm thinking about brewing both batches on Saturday, April 24, to be bottled on Saturday June 5, and carbonated and ready to drink on July 3. I will begin testing said brew on June 26 for flavor and carbonation.

- Tom.

Getting the beer flowing...

Recently I've been really getting into the blogging mood, and am currently working three (including this one) different blogs, that have nothing to do with each other. This one came to me just a few minutes ago after checking my Facebook account.

I had posted last night that I was ordering two extract kits to make and have ready two months from now. Col and were talking about having a tasting party at our house over the summer, and with the two beers that I already have, and two more, this should be a decent party. You see, I created my 'Year of Beer,' an organized plan to never be without the suds. This got me a little more focused on crafting a decent beer, along with a couple friends, Boone and Phil. I began rating more microbrews, keeping notes, purchasing equipment, and with Phil and Boone, started sharing all of our ideas, equipment and processes whenever we get together to brew.

A few people have replied to my Facebook post, and I'm realizing that there are many of my friends, or spouses of friends, who also homebrew. So my idea is that we are going to start a little club of homebrewers. I know there is already one in Lawrence, Kansas (where I am currently situated), but why not create one just among friends? To share our knowledge, equipment, and beer!

So here is the start of my blog on beer. Huzzah!

- Tom.