Back in the game

The brewery has been shut down for a few months now as I moved to Ft. Wayne and began greek. I passed my first big exam and now it's time to start brewing good beer again!

"Black-eyed" Black Rye


I'm shooting for something similar to Founders' Black Rye. We'll see how it goes. BrewDay is Saturday, and we'll be brewing between Melancthon and Brenz on the CTSFW Campus. Everyone's welcome!

Homebrew Competition Results

I got a terrible score in the competition, but it was definetly worth it.

All three of my first brews tasted very... well, something. They still didn't taste like I intended them to exactly.

The problem is acetaldehyde which gives it a "green-apple" flavor, which I can recognize (now that I've been told to look for it). I had thought that was the difference between extract and all-grain, but apparently it is actually an infection.

None of my last beers have had this off flavor (though the IPA definetly had some sourness which must have been an infection) so I think I've eliminated the contamination.

better beers from here on out! :)

Bottling and passing the torch

Tonight we bottled just under 10 gallons of beer. These two batches weren't mine, but they were some delicious batches with which I helped to bring two friends into the world of homebrewing. Sam made a souped-up version of my milkstout (less lactose, more specialty roasted malts) and Jordan made a Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout. We racked, primed, bottled, and capped about 90 bottles in all. The Cinnamon Oatmeal Stout especially tasted wonderful. I can't imagine how great it will be in a month or two once it has been naturally carbonated and has had some time to condition in the bottle. This is what brewing is all about!

Since I'm brewing two panick batches this Saturday, I was in luck: Jordan's Oatmeal Stout used the same Irish Ale yeast I use for my "Covenant Elite" Amber Ale, and so I reclaimed the yeast from the bottom of his secondary. With a whole pile of yeast ready to go, this second batch of Amber should take off and ferment in just a few days. That way we'll have a better chance of it actually being ready to drink on the 28th, the first of my "Farewell to Grand Rapids" get-togethers at my apartment. The other beer I'm brewing will be a Raspberry Wheat beer celebrating my friend Audrey's graduation and the end of Pietism's reign over her life. You see, at her extremely conservative Baptist affiliated college, all students are required to sign a contract saying that they will not drink alcohol, even if they are of legal age, thereby showing that they are "real" Christians: Piestism at its worst! I respect her resolve to obey the rules she has signed on to. I am happy to celebrate her freedom from the tyranny of modern-day Pharisees! And so, my first "girly beer" will be named the "End of Pietism" Raspberry Wheat ale, in her honor. It's an all extract recipe, but with the raspberry flavor it should taste just fine: why waste the good stuff on the fruit beer anyway, right? If it's sweet and drinkable and fermented, it will serve its purpose!

Along with the "Farewell to Grand Rapids" IPA and "Il bianco e dolce cigno" Belgian witbier, there will be 4 kegs in all: roughly 20 gallons! Ought to last for at least two going away parties, and perhaps a few other odd days. If all else fails, I might just HAVE to bring them along to the Seminary with me.... ;)

Stay tuned for updates on Saturday's brewday. (For those in the area, feel free to stop by. We'll be brewing from roughly 9am to 6pm this Saturday the 14th. Send me an email at sean AT daenzer DOT org if you need directions) There should be brats and plenty of beer for all!

"Il bianco e dolce cigno" Belgian style Witbier

My, it looks good.

Tastes wonderful too!

I think the flavors will blend and mellow out some as I let it condition a bit more in the keg. The bitter orange peel and corriander definetly come out at you.

Easter Hiatus

Takin' a break for Holy Week. I intend to brew a raspberry wheat beer on Easter Tuesday: An easy-drinking "girly" beer for the occasion of my friend Audrey's graduation. (Also so I have a good easy-drinking beer for any farewell get togethers as I leave Grand Rapids)

BrewParties in March

The last two weeks have been TREMENDOUS when it comes to brewing. Monday March 12, my buddy from work calls me and asks if I'd give him some tips on trying to brew beer (he makes wine already). I told him I could do one better, and we went to the homebrew shop to prepare for Tuesday the 13th: Big Bad Brewparty #1.

Here's the recipe I made: "Il bianco e dulce cigno" belgian style witbier.


And he brewed this Pale Ale, which he'll be dry-hopping.

It was a marvelous day, the first really warm (above 50°) day of the year. By the end of the day we had brewed two batches of all grain beer. During the course of the day we had a lot of fun grilling up brats and smoked bacon on a charcoal grill, and of course drinkin' plenty of homebrewed goodness! Here are some good pictures of the event:

Here's our mash. 150°-152°F for 60 minutes to get those sugars into solution.


Runoff that sweet wort into your boiling bucket. This is my witbier, which you can tell because of it's extremely pale colour.

It's a well known rule that during the brewing process, everyone must have a glass or bottle in hand at all times, especially for any pictures. My buddies are keeping the code as they wait for the wort to come to a boil.


Stirring the pot.

Three brew-crazy guys!


Tuesday was great to be sure. On Sunday, my other buddy decided he wanted to brew a batch as well. We took the equipment over to his place and brewed up a batch that smelled oh-so-delicious. It was a Cinnimon Oatmeal Stout with .5 oz of Cinnamon stick right in the boil! The aroma was wonderful, and I can't wait to taste that one. We grilled chicken and some leftover sausage to boot, and enjoyed a pot of fresh chili that Jordan cooked up. Boy I'm glad I had two kegs of homebrew on hand!

On Friday the 23rd, we put our next batches in: His a sweet MilkyStout (akin to my BVM Milkstout) and mine a fairly standard IPA- my "Farewell to Grand Rapids" beer, and perhaps the last beer I'll brew in GR before leaving for Seminary. This time we had two turkey friers, for a simultaneous double brewday. Bagels & Creamcheese and Taco Bell were our weapons of choice for that day, and we did our very best to finish up my two kegs (we didn't finish either of them). We pulled the car around back for some tunes and played some Jenga too. Even my hedgehog Brie came to enjoy the fun, as you can see in this last picture:


So, a good time was had by all, and in a month we should be tasting the fruits of our two week brewing binge: 5 different beers! Stay tuned for updates.

Kegging

Here are two of my three kegs. They are 5 gallon kegs from the Soda industry, commonly called Cornelius kegs, after the company that first made them, or "corny keg" for short. After washing and scrubbing them out well on the inside and replacing a few rubber O-rings (which have picked up the odor/flavor of pop), they are ready for use as beer kegs.
This is my keg system, which is rudimentary right now. A 5lb CO2 tank hold carbon dioxide. It is pushed through a regulator which takes things down from 800 psi to between 5 and 30 for our purposes. A tube takes CO2 from the regulator to a gas quick-disconnect (grey) into the keg, and then on the other side a liquid disconnect (black) takes beer out of the keg. It goes through some 3/16 hose to a regular picnic faucet, and into your glass. This system can do everything I need, namely, purge the kegs of oxygen to prevent oxidation, pressurize and force carbonate the beer, maintain the proper pressure and carbonation, and dispense beer while maintaining the carbonation.

Perhaps I'll give a more detailed look with pictures of a keg at another time. For now, it's important to know that my 4 gallon batch of "Fell in the Snow IPA" is in that keg in my fridge, and it doesn't taste half bad. This was my first all-grain beer attempt, and I think it turned out fairly well. Today or tomorrow I'll keg and carbonate my Amber Ale. Should be a good time! :)