Page 18, Nov/Dec Zymurgy

Recognize anyone?

Funny thing is that the article talks about how the clubs get the $$, yet in our last meeting – the check was STILL in the mail. Hmmmmmmmm…

165…

…gallons. That’s how much I’ve brewed so far this year. Fortunately that means I’ll be coming in under my legal limit of 200 gallons this year, even if I brew a few more times (which I will). I have a rather large stockpile of beer in my basement so I might end up taking a break this winter and brewing some bigger (or more time consuming) ones… Ones that take a while to age. Maibock is definitely on the agenda. I **MUST** learn to brew some lagers… and figure out how to handle them without having to go purchase another damn refrigerator/freezer.

And before someone runs off and starts planning my intervention, here’s a couple of reasons why I managed to get through that much beer in a year:

• 25 gallons still in in fermenters
• 30 gallons in kegs
• 5 gallons in bottles
• 5-10 gallons still in kegerator
• A best friend in Dover that typically goes home with a growler or two every time he visits
• I brewed 5 gallons just for my dad
• My family (God bless them) can put a hurting on my beer every time they come to visit, which I welcome.

… So I get help making it disappear, and we’re sitting on a good amount too.

Brew Like a Monk is an amazing read and reference for any of you out there looking to brew authentic (or even inauthentic) Belgian-style brews. Its packed with great info from both sides of the Atlantic (Belgium and America) and has many suprises I wasn’t expecting – For example, fermentation temperature control for Belgians would be the exception to the rule – Many many places actually pitch 65-70 degrees and let their temps rise into the high 70s or mid 80s! In addition 15-20% sugar is pretty standard, with some using as much as 30%. And corn sugar (yes, that stuff you use for bottling) is a good substitution for clear candi sugar!

That book also had Lots of good info for me to use for my Ommegang clone or Abbey-style Dubbel – Speaking of which, I picked up 3 750mL bottles of Ommegang at State Line this weekend so I could reculture. We’ll have to see how it goes – Worst thing that could happen is I get really ripped on some belgian-style goodness, even if I can’t get the yeast revived and kicking again.

No brewing this weekend. I’ll be bottling & kegging my 10 gallons of Belgian Wit tomorrow. Next weekend I’ll either be brewing 5 gallons of Oak-Aged Vanilla Porter or 10 gallons of Black Honey Ale – My dad is running low again, so it would make a good Christmas gift. I hope that he actually gets a kegerator when he retires – I could keep him in good beer pretty easily.

Sweet Peat

10 gallons of peated scottish, to be more specific. My peated scottish smelled heavenly thru the mash, boil, and going into the fermenter. I am actually concerned that I should have used a full pound of the peated malt rather than 8oz. I guess I can chalk this batch up as experience if the peat mellows and disappears – I still have 1.5 lbs left, so I’ll have to brew some superpeat scottish or something…. maybe a peated porter… mwaa haa ha haa.

I employed 2 time saving gadgets this brew, and managed to get it done (Heating mash water to pitching) in 5 1/2 hours – My O2 setup totally cut out an hour and a half of waiting for the wort to oxygenate – Anyone need an aquarium pump? In addition I’ve used my hose H2O filter instead of the water filter on our kitchen sink. It’ll dechlorinate and purify water at a rate of about 5 gallons a minute. Pretty sweet.

I got my nut brown ale on tap – the Burton Ale yeast is still somewhat apparent, but its a good brew. I could drink it all night and keep my head… well, for a couple hours anyways.

So now I’ve got 25 gallons in fermenters – 10 gallons of wit (5 kegged, 5 bottled this weekend) 5 gallons of Pumpkin Ale (for bottling). I suspect that I’ll have two more kegs coming available here soon when the Native Rage and Oak Aged Vanilla Porter kick. Speaking of which, I brought a six pack of the Native Rage to a coworker and he LOVED it. He and his wife are hopheads, and the absolutely love it to death… so I’ll have to bring some to the next meeting and get folks’ opinions. Maybe I should have entered it in the homebrew contest… Oh right. No one came or participated but me, Jeff and Scott. would have been a waste.

“Brew Like a Monk” rules. That book is really well written, interesting, and going to influence the next belgian style brew I do. Still haven’t cracked the spine on Brown Ales or Bock, but I’m looking forward to those as well.

The littlest competition in DE

Our meeting on Friday was very intimate, as was the competition. 6 people attended – Me, my wife Donna, Dave, Scott Beiber,Hank, and our host Jeff. There were 7 entries, 5 of which were from me:

• (A) Belgian Pale Ale – Beiber
• (O) Stout – Ramberg
• (A) Black Honey Ale – Sever
• (A) Amarillo Pale Ale – Sever
• (O) Oak Aged Vanilla Porter – Sever
• (A) Initiation Pale Ale – Sever/Moore
• (A) Pliney the Elder clone – Moore

(A) = Ale category, (O) = Other. We had no (L)ager entries.

Amusingly Scott thought he was entering his British Pale Ale, which seemed odd considering the apparent banana esters the ale was throwing off… he realized it was his Belgian instead after the competiton sheets had already been submited. DO’H!

I could kick myself for not knowing the level of turnout in advance – Dave had several excellent Imperial Stouts and an IPA that could also have been submitted, but since we were expecting more folks and he only brought one 22oz bottle a piece, they were all gone before the competition even began. Dave, your stuff should have been in there – and it probably would have won. Next time we have a competition we will make sure the rules are absolutely clear, it is well advertized and promoted prior to the event, AND that we have sufficient pre-competition suds to keep people’s throats from drying out!!! I brought a cooler full of beer, but nothing to drink prior to the competition! DO’H! DO’H!.

We all had fun despite the low turnout, and I think everyone enjoyed a good sampling of beer. Hank promises to tally the results for the next meeting.

BROADCAST BREWS

Former National Beer Wholesalers President David Rehr will be the National Association Of Broadcasters next President and C-E-O. To read more click here.

Jane Hautanen (Jane Doe)