Brewing Beer: First Pull from the Keg

I've been looking forward to this moment. The moment when I have a homebrew on tap again. The California Strong Ale is cloudy with yeast still in suspension and some pieces of hops leaves from the pellets floating around. (doesn't help that I've been shaking the keg to dissolve the CO2 faster) As time goes on the yeast and hops will settle out and the beer will get clearer.

Each day I check the beer for carbonation. Today it seems very cask like. Not much carbonation. I jacked up the pressure to 25 lbs. Disconnected it. Shook it. Connected it. Disconnected it. Shook it. Kinda like rinse, lather, repeat ;-)

So tomorrow it should be carbonated just right. Here's to a new keg of homebrew.

Cheers!

Brewing Beer: Two Batches Fermented

:-)

The Strong California Style Cascade Amber Ale is now in a soda keg and the Strong German Style Ale is undergoing its second fermentation in another carboy. The brewing of these batches was mentioned here, here and here. There was mention of a brewing schedule, but, that is pretty much out the window. I'm in need of brewing ingredients again and some ball lock connector thing-a-ma-bobbers for the new (to me ) kegs I purchased. batch00000001 Strong California Style Cascade Amber Ale 6.5% batch00000010 Strong German Style Ale 7.4% I am surprised they taste so good. After all I didn't use any steeping grains. It's amazing how much character a liquid yeast can add to the taste. If you ever get the chance, make two yeast starters with two different yeasts using the same DME. Then when you're pitching one or both, taste them side by side. The California Ale yeast tasted so much different than the German Ale yeast in my experiment. How do batches 00000001 and 00000010 taste? Clean with sweet maltiness and pronounced hops, but, not overly bitter. Batch 00000001 is fruitier than the German ale. Both batches were hopped every ten minutes or so throughout the process. I just mixed all the hops together and split into six piles. Every ten minutes I added 1 sixth of the total hops. I'm not exactly sure what this does, but, my hunch is that it gives a full hops profile to the beer. Not too bitter and not too floral. Hey what do I know? I guess I could try and split a batch one of these days to discern the difference between hops timing methods. Or I could just drink it and do some more last minute brewing! We'll see. BTW you can thank Eli for the freakin' long binary names! ;-)

Brewing Beer: A blast from the past.

I was catching up on some beer news via my iGoogle startpage yesterday when much to my surprise I came across a headline about Loretto, PA. Could it be THAT Loretto? Loretto is a small town in Western, PA. I spent a lot of time on my grandfather's farm near Loretto during my childhood. I've since settled down in Southeastern, PA in the Delaware Valley. I don't often hear about "the other" part of the state unles I'm speaking with relatives or visiting. I was a bit surprised to see this news item show up in Google News from the Altoona Mirror. It really brought back some great memories from when I started brewing.

I'm not sure if you were around back in the early days of The Brew Lounge when I wrote about how got started in home brewing. We purchased the equipment we used for that first homebrew from a small shop between Loretto and Chest Springs called Brew It Your-self. My dad knew of it, because, this is where he purchased his wine making supplies. Brew It Your-self is owned and operated by Ed Krug. The shop itself sits on a farm along a beautiful country road in rural Western PA. I haven't seen Ed in over ten years, but, I remember him as being knowledgeable and kind. What more could you ask for in a home brew shop owner?

I think I'll stop in next time I'm in town.

The Website: http://brewityourself.net
The article in the Altoona Mirror.

Brewing Beer: Bottom of the Keg

The green hopped California style IPA is nearing its end. I poured the last pint a week ago. Or so I thought. That was three pints ago. Pour by pour I savor the last drops. It just keeps coming. Anybody ever experience that feeling when you go back to the tap of one of your favorite beers waiting for the sputter of the keg emptying? How about the feeling when you get a full glass just one more time? Somehow it tastes just that much better.

Brewing Beer: I did it again.

I did two things again actually. First, I brewed again last night. Second, well I'll get to that later. I don't want to talk about it right now. Back to the brewing. I had to. The California Ale yeast that I saved from the Green Hopped California Style Pale Ale (what? you want a shorter name? Ok, batch0001) was doing its thing in the starter I made. I couldn't just let a perfectly good starter go to waste. I also saved myself a few bucks by not buying yeast again.

What a perfect night. Weather was warm and sunny. My wife was out (easier to mess up the kitchen), the kids were playing in the yard and I put up some water to boil. Nothing better than some last minute brewing. Well, this one was kinda planned as an option, but, I didn't expect the yeast to revive. Hopefully it will be strong enough to get the fermentation rolling.

Again I didn't have any steeping grains so I just went all extract with some DME, light LME and amber LME. Hops? Can you say Cascade? I didn't have anything but, so this ought to be interesting. Never brewed an all Cascade batch before.

Hey on a side note, I downloaded Beer Smith. Pretty cool. I put my meager inventory in there and used it to formulate my recipes which wasn't very hard. It calculates IBU, ABV, IQ and DNA...er well you get the point. There is more to this program than I need right now, but, it seems like it would make it easier to become an advance brewer. Anyway, I didn't buy it yet. I have 20+ days left on my trial. I think it only costs 20 dollars. We'll see.

So I have a Strong California Style Cascade Amber Ale and a Strong German Style Ale in the works. Speaking of which, you'll never guess what I did...again. I blew the airlock off the German Ale fermenter again. Sounds cool, but, mostly it isn't that glamorous. I have a short video of the vigorous fermentation in action that I'll post. If it makes you feel any better, you'll be pleased to hear that I have a much better blow off tube setup for the carboy now. Shouldn't have a problem next time. (Of course there will be less to write about now.) By the way if you have the opportunity to buy the bigger carboy (7 gallons I think) go for it. That is what I'm using for the SCCAA (what!? would you like me to call it Batch 0002 or something like Amber's Best Shot?). The larger carboy gives me more head space for the krausen.

We're brewing up a storm here at TBL.

Cheers!

Brewing Beer: Last minute brewing...

If there is one thing I am an authority on, it is last minute brewing. For years I would think, hmmm maybe I should brew today. Usually it was Sunday or some other time when the homebrew store was closed. This time I'm lucky. Thanks to Bryan I have ingredients and I'll be able to brew tonight. While visiting Bethlehem Brew Works he stopped by the homebrew shop nearby and picked up; 4 cans of malt extract, some DME, 4 oz of cascade hops pellets, a couple liquid yeast packs. I also have various random packages of hops pellets in the fridge. I'm all set. Oops, I forgot the grains. Oh well, this one will be without steeping grains. I still had some yeast harvested from the last batch of California IPA. I have a starter of that in the works. I also have the German ale smack pack. I guess I should think about my recipe now. I will be brewing with the German ale yeast by 8:00 PM. What can I say? I'm a last minute kinda guy. As long as I stockpile some ingredients that isn't a problem.

Brewing Beer: That's it! I'm brewing tonight.

I've been thinking of brewing more often. Heck I thought that I might even come up with a schedule to help keep me on track. Not that I'm good at schedules. I don't even know what I'm brewing, but, I have some ingredients and I have some time. Gotta get my starter goin'. Then I'll have no choice.

Green Hopped California IPA - Collection of Posts

I collected all the posts about the Green Hopped California IPA into one post. The only thing I don't have here is a recipe. When I find it I'll add it. Each of the posts has a link to the next. Enjoy! - 10/19/2006 Harvesting the Cascade Hops - 11/7/2006 Making a Yeast Starter - 11/9/2006 California IPA Fermentation Video - 11/9/2006 Time Lapse of Primary Fermentation - 11/21/2006 Green Hops in the Secondary - 4/22/2007 Kegging the Green Hopped California IPA

Cleaning Whole Hops from a Carboy

The green hopped California IPA I brewed was kegged recently. You may remember I was concerned about separating the hops cones from the beer. Well as usual I worried a bit too much about all that. I just shook the carboy and with a little help they all came out. I did lose some beer that was absorbed by the cones, but, it was worth it. Here are a few pictures of the carboy after the secondary was emptied.

Brewing Beer: Fresh hopped California IPA

- Go back to the list of Green Hopped California IPA posts. -

So if you brew an IPA and fresh hop it with frozen hops cones and then forget about it for about six months, is it still called a fresh hopped IPA? I don' t know, but, I like it! Kegged it on Friday night and shared a few pints yesterday with Daren around the fire. And to think that the hops I used in the secondary came from plants I started growing about this time last year. I wonder what the harvest will be like this year. The cascade plants only yielded five ounces of green hops last year. I'm expecting tons more this year now that the plants have established themselves. They're already about ten inches tall or more!

- Go back to the list of Green Hopped California IPA posts. -

Poll Closed: Have you ever hombrewed?

Last Friday we started polling our readers. The results are in.

The Poll Question: Have you ever homebrewed?

Participants: Thirty one votes were cast.

The Answers...

- 72% home brewed at least once
- 22% never homebrewed
- 6% assisted in some way

Well no matter whether you are a homebrewer or not, we think you'll like the next poll. It's all about growing hops! Stay tuned, it will be posted shortly.

Do you homebrew?

Looks like the homebrewers are winning this one.

- 71% hombrewed at least once
- 23% never homebrewed
- 4.8% assisted in some way

Only 21 votes in so far. Things could change. The poll is over on the right. Interesting, I thought it might be split down the middle between homebrewers and shall we say people who simply appreciate good beer. Hmmm...

Poll will be closed Friday so vote now!

Did your grandfather make beer? Mine did.

So I'm here reflecting on the past few days over a Fat Gary Nut Brown Ale from East End Brewing. I'm thinking of some family health issues, time with my dad and my uncle and aunt and work stuff. What does it all mean? Hard to say I guess. On one hand there's the bad stuff. You know mortality, that thing we seldom think about. Then there's today and the way life can serve up something unexpected and good. Oh right, beer...what does this have to do with beer? I recently spent time with my family. I've spoken with my Dad about beer often. Heck we brewed our first batch together. I've written about that experience on this blog before back in 2005. It wasn't really his thing, he'd rather make wine, but, he told me about how his father brewed beer. He knows the kids helped bottle it and that there was a raisin in each bottle. Over the last few days I found out that my uncle who is a bit older remembered a bit more. While I spent a few days with him he shared his memories with me. I asked him, "What was this beer like?" Well it was dark or perhaps amber. It was made from malt that came from a can. Hops were dryed in the attic. My uncle remembered a conversation he had with my grandfather in their attic.

"What's that Dad?" "That's hops for making beer."

Now we're talking. So did he grow them? Did somebody else grow them? Did he buy them? What did it taste like? My uncle said he remembered it as being somewhat sweet and dark. Well there you go. Now I'm hooked. What was the recipe? Who might have it? Was it in his head or did he write it down? So here is what I know.

• dark or amber color
• raisin in each bottle
• cake yeast
• hops drying in the attic
• brewed/fermented in a large crock
• started it in the kitchen
• finished in the cellar
• brewed for the 4th of July celebration
• kids helped bottle it
• kids washed the bottles

All of a sudden I have a new mission. What was his recipe? Could I approximate it? Wouldn't it be fun to brew it again and take it to the 4th of July celebration? Anybody out there have an idea of what a typical recipe for beer would be like 60 years ago in rural Western, PA?

Brewing Beer: What mistakes have you made?

This post is inspired by Eli's most recent post over at The Four Eyed Beer Geek. I for one appreciate his situation. It really captures how I have felt when homebrewing, uncertain, pensive, hesitant and just plain frustrated. Not to worry I think Eli's first batch will be just fine. Anybody have some advice for him? We all make mistakes, right? Charlie Papazian said it best, "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew." That statement drives to the heart of what homebrewing is all about, having fun. Face it if we worried about every step and what could go wrong, we probably wouldn't start homebrewing in the first place. Hey homebrewers out there, what mistakes have you made? Click here and tell us all about it.

Collection of Posts: An Account of Brewing Our Barleywine with Malt Extract

About 14 months ago Bryan and I decided to try to brew a barleywine using extract. Here is an account of the process and our notes along the way. We started at Home Sweet Homebrew in Philadelphia, PA with Nancy's suggestions. A few adjustments were made (because I forgot what she said ;-). Some friends were invited over to help and the rest is history. If you're interested in the recipe let me know. I'll add it to the notes.

• Making Beer: Altbier & Barleywine
• Making Beer: Altbier & Barleywine Update
• Making Beer: Barleywine...popped off again!
• Making Beer: The Fermentation
• Making Beer: Das Altbier & Barleywine
• Personal: Homebrewer's Blues
• Making Beer: Barley Wine, Altbier & Kolsch Brewing
• Brewing Beer: Quick update
• Brewing: Kolsch & Barleywine Sample
• Brewing: Barleywine ABV
• Brewing Beer: Kolsch is gone :-( What's next?
• Brewing: Wee Heavy, Imperial Stout & Barleywine
• Brewing Progress: Barleywine, Wee Heavy, Imperial Stout
• Happy New Year!
• Brewing Beer: Imperial Stout, Wee Heavy & Barley Wine
• Brewing: Barleywine
• Home Brew: Wee Heavy, Scotch Ale
• Making Beer: Tasting Our Barleywine After One Year

Brewing Beer: How do you separate the hop cones from the beer?

When dry hopping or fresh hopping how do you get all the hops out of the carboy? I really want to bottle or keg this fresh hopped ipa but I'm stuck. Here are my goals. ~ extract all the hop oils I can from the hop cones ~ minimize the leaves floating around in the final beer ~ minimize the oxygen exposure I guess I could just siphon it into the keg and be done with it, but, would I be getting the most hop oils from the cones? Maybe the oil has been dissolved by the alcohol in the beer and I have nothing to worry about. I don't know. Any suggestions? Can anybody share their experiences/thoughts/ideas? What would you do? (The picture above was taken right after I added the hops. Now the hop cones look all brown and bloated with beer. Kinda cool. I'll post a picture.)

Making Beer: Tasting Our Barleywine After One Year

About 14 months ago I started brewing a barleywine. Not too long after this website was started. Since that fateful day when Bryan and I walked into Home Sweet Home Brew and asked Nancy about brewing a barleywine I wanted to taste my own homebrewed barleywine. Thanks Nancy! What a great start to the recipe.

When I brewed this beer I knew I would need to ferment for a longer period of time and store it for a long time before I could really know what it was going to taste like. Over the past six months a case of it has dissappeared. Some was for Bryan and some for Jeremy and I guess I could lay claim to a few of those empty bottles myself. Each time I crack one of these puppies open its like opening a birthday present. I have reached the time where I must ration the last 18 bottles. I would like to enjoy these for as long as I can. My plan is to drink one or two of these each year and record my impressions. I would like to stretch this out over 10 years. The following are my tasting notes.

Packaging & Date Stamping: 12 oz. brown bottle, oxygen barrier cap

From where & how stored: extract brew by Adam and friends 10/1/2005, bottled 12/14/2005, stored in cellar for the past year with varying cool temperatures

Availability: one off ;-)

ABV, IBU, and Other Available Stats: 11.5% ABV, IBU 90+

The Look:
dark cherry wood
substantial head thinning to islands of foam
very clear, nothing in suspension
hard to see through

The Aroma:
huge malt nose
figs, dates, licorice

The Taste:
wow that's strong
bitter, tang, not sweet
very bitter, but, smooth
slight butterscotch
well carbonated, almost more than I like
it helps spread the taste around, but, is somewhat distracting
the finish has lost the bitterness and gently lets you down with a nice malt carpet

The Verdict:
Well this just gets better and better. I tasted it on New Years Eve as well. It was dirtier that night, because, I jostled it around too much in trasport. What a shame :-( Lesson learned. This one however was very clean and clear! Everytime I taste this beer I like it. I'd like to think it is getting better over time. Overall it is a pleasantly bitter and malty barleywine with a huge malty aromatic nose.

I'll gather all the posts related to this beer together and post them tomorrow with a summary of the life of this beer from beginning to end. Ahh...there goes my last mouthful. :-)

Brewing Beer: NRK Homebrew...almost gone!

My Not Really Kolsch, NRK, was almost gone by Thanksgiving night! And that was before it reached its prime. Well there's nothing like making some beer for your family and friends and having them drink it because they like it. So 4 gallons down and 1.25 to go :-) When hunting season is over I'll have to bottle the Fresh Hopped Imp. IPA. Hmmm...what am I going to brew next? Any ideas for me?

Brewing Beer: Secondary Fermentation - Fresh Hopping

- What's next? The kegging of course! What did it taste like? -

To make a long story short the IPA and NRK primary fermentation is finished. I kegged the NRK. Well sorta. I'm using the soda keg as a secondary fermenter. I racked it into the keg and shot some CO2 in to clean the air our of the headspace in the keg. Then I used the pressure relief valve to expel the excess until there was no pressure in the keg. The NRK (Not Really Kolsch: German ale with some wheat added) tasted pretty good. We'll see once the secondary is finished. That brings up another point. I planned on taking this with me to Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's. I think it will be ready. I guess I could always bill it as a German cask conditioned ale ;-) At around 4.0% it should be very drinkable. I hope they like it as much as they did last year. What about the IPA? Its hoppier than Sierra Nevada pale ale already! We tasted it and it has sooo much potential. It isn't done fermenting yet and I just added 5 oz. fresh (frozen since I harvested them) Cascade hops to the secondary. I'm hoping it all turns out. It is great right now, but, I can't wait to see what the fresh hops added to the mix.

- What's next? The kegging of course! What did it taste like? -

Brewing Beer: Timelapse Video of Fermentation

- What's next? Remember those hops we harvested? Find out how we used them. -

Watch the first 15 hours of the fermentation of my NRK and the IPA. A frame was taken every 5 minutes for 15 hours. You can see the lag time of about 7 hours while the yeast is getting ready to do its thing. Then it begins :-)

Sorry the aspect ratio is messed up. Click on video and go to YouTube to see a better view.

- What's next? Remember those hops we harvested? Find out how we used them. -