FinalGravity

2nd saturday again?

2009-06-12T16:43:00.000-07:00

It's time again for second saturday at one of my favorite San Diego bars, Hamilton's Tavern. Every 2nd saturday they celebrate a brewery by serving up many of their beers on tap including specialties. They also include free food, and its delicious too!

Last month there was 24 Rogue beers with 18 of them never leaving Oregon before. I only had a few pints, but they were delicious.

This month is Green Flash brewing served with New Mexican food. Hailing from New Mexico and knowing the guys at Green Flash I am looking forward to this one. Two beers I am looking forward to tasting are their Double Stout on cask and Super Freak (Le Freak but soured in a oak barrel). I can't wait!

Free $0.99...

2009-06-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Recently, many have been writing about the cost of homebrew prices. Which got me thinking of how I can reduce my homebrew cost. Sure, some of us already grow your own (hops/malt), purchase in bulk, reuse yeast, make our own homebrew equipment. Is that all we can do?

I think an overlooked aspect to homebrewing (if you can) is to use one of the best resources possible...commercial brewers. Ok, I know some of you already do this, but are you taking full advantage? Did you know that many commercial breweries simply dump thier excess yeast down the drain? Their yeast are very healthy, viable and better than what you would find in a vial/package.

With a friend (he works in a local brewery as a cellarmen), I recently did a small experiment where we used the same wort and 2 different yeast. The result: his healthy commercial yeast (taken straight from a 90-barrel fermentor) attenuated 8 points lower than mine.

Sure the yeast were some differences and slightly different pitching rates, but my point is you can get FREE HEALTHY YEAST! Zilch, Nada, Zero, for FREE $0.99. All you have to do is ask and more times than not they will give you some. It helps if you bring a steril container. This will save you $8. Well, at least in my case.

Hop plants

2009-05-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

My hop plants are starting to come back after the white fly devastation. They are still not gone, but their population have been reduced in number. Note: An organic herbacide I bought does not do well with hop plants. It seems that the heat of the sun will burn the herbacide and the hop leaf. I have switched to spraying pure water and soapy water to get rid of the white flies.

The chile plants have had the same effect, from the herbacide, but they too are now bouncing back. In fact, some of them are now blooming. Pics to come soon.

Big Brew Day...

2009-05-13T12:04:00.000-07:00

This year the big brew day event was being hosted by award winning Alesmith, so I had to participate. Plus they are located down the street from where I live. Alesmith was great and provided us with some beer and food. Thanks guys! We used my friend's set up (he has a fancy pump system) and I decided to make the big mile recipe:

WILD MILD
English Dark Mild 10gallon batch
O.G.: 1.037
F.G.: 1.012
IBU: 15
70% efficiency

11 lb (2.5 kg) 2-Row Pale Malt
22 oz (312 g) English Crystal 55° L
12 oz (170 g) Crystal 120° L
6 oz (85 g) British Chocolate Malt
6 oz (85 g) Dark Carastan

0.75 oz (21 g) East Kent Golding, 5.8% Alpha Acid, for 60 minutes

White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast

Force carbonate at approximately 1.75 to 2.0 volumes of CO₂

wort cooling

fancy pump system

pump in action
mmmm...
Alesmith, a few months old
(small container in front is their hopback)

1,2,3,4 I declare a war...

2009-05-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

...on whiteflies!!!

Hops plants were growing well until recently when they were attacked by whiteflies. Anybody ever had this experience? My chile plants were also attacked so I bought some organocide and so far it seemed to have worked. I hope it stays that way... How do you know if you have any whiteflies? They are super small, white and like to hang out on the back side of the leaf. They suck out all of the juice from the leaf and in the process leave their saliva behind which is toxic to the plant. Eventually, the leaves wither and the plant dies. They can double in population in less than a week and 1 whitefly can reproduce ~9 times. I don't like them.

On the brighter side. Tomorrow I will be participating in big brew day, which will be held at Alesmith Brewing co. (they recently won small brewery of the year at GABF). I will be slitting a 10g batch with a friend. It will be an English Dark Mild and the recipe can be found at Beertown.org. We had to change it a bit due to a lack of ingredients being available (chose dark carastan for brown malt). Also, we will split the 10g batch and ferment one with WLP-001 & one with WLP-002.

Chile/Hop plants update:

2009-04-15T12:17:00.000-07:00

1 1/2 week old hop plants Perle (far), Sterling (near)

Below: poblano (L), Serrano (R)

1930 German brewing film

2009-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a film showing you how to brew the 1930 German way...

Tis' the season...

2009-03-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I planted 2 hop rhizomes and 3 different types of chili's. If you look closely you will see shoots (white roots) starting to already appear. These rhizomes seem to be healthy, we shall see if I can manage to destroy them. I was told that these do not grow well in San Diego, but these are perfect for cal commons and kolsch style beers.

Hop rhizomes, Perle (L) Sterling (R)

Perle rhizome

Sterling rhizome

Also, I planted a variety of green chili's (mostlyNew Mexico variety). They are similar to Big Jim's, but are much tastier.

Hatch Green Chili's (NM #6) are the most famous

There about 60 of these

Update: finally...

2009-03-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot happening this month with work and of'course beer! Let's just move on to beer. In the next few days I will be talking about:

The guest brew @ Turtle Mt. Brewing Co.
Homebrew & commercial brew @ my friends wedding
Stone brewing & a homebrewing collaboration
Stone brewing @ our homebrew club meeting
Planting hop rhizomes & chilies

Tonight will be the first posting as I hope to catch up on all my news.

Fermentation Friday-March

2009-03-27T10:43:00.000-07:00

“How will you grow or change as a homebrewer this Spring? How will you embrace your Spring fever and channel it toward your homebrewing endeavors?”

Planting hop rhizomes, kegging and brewing with the season. I jsut planted some hop rhizomes, which I hope translates to a couple fresh hop beers. I can now keg my beers, which I look forwarde to, I so HATE bottling! I will try and brew with the season Example: A true marzen brewed now and lagered until october, lighter beers in the summer, heavy high alcohol beers in the winter.

Also, with the nicer weather & longer days I hope to have a few outside brews this spring/summer that are conjoined with bar-b-q's with friends.

Traveling and guest brewing

2009-03-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend I will be traveling back home to visit the family, which always means stopping in my favorite brewery back home, Turtle Mt. brewing. On monday I will be helping them brew two brews, an Irish stout and a black IPA! Helping meaning doing the grunt work (milling 50lb grain sacks, graining out, but I do get free beer!!! Sweet...

Pics and brew day will come soon after.

Old Fashioned Donnybrook Recipe

2009-02-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

Awhile ago I made an oatmeal stout that tasted great, but not so well during bottling. After some thought I will try that recipe one again with some minor changes. I'm looking for the grains to showcase this beer and have the hops support it. The yeast (WLP-002) should leave some sweetness to the beer, as it has a 70% attenuation in ideal conditions. And, of'course there may be a 1 gallon experiment, now I just need to secure the "special" ingredient.

Old Fashioned Donnybrook
(aka. Oatmeal Stout II)
Mash:154 IBU's:36 OG:1.055 FG:1.014

Grains:
9.5# Pale ale malt
1 Flaked (old fashioned) Oats (toasted)
3/4 Chocolate malt
3/4 Victory
1/2 Crystal 80L
1/2 Roasted barley

Hops:
Galena 60'

Yeast:
WLP-002 English Ale

Steam Beer update:

2009-02-14T10:49:00.000-08:00

The Great Steam beer experiment is still going strong. After almost 3 full weeks in the bottle the beers now have sufficient carbonation, BUT (a BIG BUT) is that during the bottle conditioning period there may have some diacetyl accumulation. With lagers this is somewhat normal, but with mine it seems to be on the excessive side. To minimize this character the beers must now be cold lagered for 3-4 weeks. I'm beginning to learn that I might not have the patience to make lagers. The wheatwine update coming soon.

For the next brew; It will be an ode to my motherland so I will be making an Irish Oatmeal Stout
I am researching and formulating an appropriate recipe and interestingly have found that above 10% oatmeal would lead to gooyness. I'll keep that in mind...

I'll post the recipe in the next few days.

Home brewers heaven!

2009-02-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

You must spend some time at Brewhalla (aka. homebrewers heaven) whether you are looking to design your own brewery or not. There are homemade to store bought and simple to elaborate designs. So grab a beer and view 180+ pics.

Cheers!

Easy mash tun set-up

2009-02-04T15:33:00.000-08:00

Mash tun pieces:

wire mesh
(catches all small pieces)

colander
(placed on top of mesh)

mesh connected to spigot

This setup works really well and produces very clear wort from the beginning and I have yet to get a stuck sparge. All parts were purchased at Home Depot or Target.

Not beer related...

2009-02-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

but music related and worth checking out.

They are called, the McLovins (as in the movie Suberbad) ", seen here covering Phish "Harry Hood", Greatful Dead "Shakedown Street" and a McLovin original "Purple Trees".

Fermentation Friday - Janurary

2009-01-30T17:12:00.000-08:00

This months topic is "brew year’s resolutions’ for 2009". For this year I decided to keep it simple and only choose 5 resolutions. They are:

1) Brew every 4-6 weeks (didn't do this last year)

2) Brew/learn more about lagers, brewing water & master balanced styles (I now have a lagering system)

3) Update/organize my blog more frequently (w/text & pics) (I went in spurts last year)

4) Enter (a few) competitions (never got the timing right last year)

5) Purchase grain/hops in bulk (& find a place to store them) (make it cheaper)

Cheers!

UPDATE: Steam Beer; BOTTLED

2009-01-26T19:49:00.000-08:00

(l) WLP-810, (r) Saflager S-23

Today, I bottled the 2 Steam Beers. One w/WLP 810 San Fran. Lager and the other Saflager S-23 dry lager yeast. Every variable was the same except for: #1) different yeast (White Labs 810 vs Saflager S-23), #2) amount of yeast pitched into the wort (1 WLP-810 vial into 4gallons vs Saflager (1) packet into 1 gallon). The WLP fermented to FG 1.015, while the Saflager FG was 1.012.

How did they taste @ bottling?

Color: same. Aroma: both were bready, w/hints of hop aroma/bitterness. I think WLP-810 has a slight fruitiness, which is what the yeast is famous for; a lager taste w/a slight ale character. WLP-810= Clean lager taste w/bready character and clean bitterness followed by a dry aftertaste. Saflager= clean lager taste and a noticable subdued malty/bitterness and hop flavor, it finishes with a dry aftertaste.

Saflager S-23: OG: 1.012

Overall: The beers seemed to look, smell, taste similar until they were tasted side by side. The Saflager seems to have more of a "lager" feel, a subdued malty/hop character, while the WLP-810 definetly had the characteristics of an ale and lager. I guess no surprises here. They are both highly drinkable and compliment the spring weather we currently have here in San Diego!!! I can't wait to taste the final product and compare these beers to my friends steam beer, whom used the same recipe, but used different (n. brewer) hops. When I make this beer again I will use the WLP-810 and I think I would use the Saflager S-23 for an altbier or any other lager for that matter.

WLP-810: F.G. 1.015

A day late and a dollar short...

2009-01-24T09:14:00.000-08:00

For the past 6 months my homebrew club has been trying to gather everyone to start a second study group for the BJCP test that will occur in mid march. I missed the first study group and test when I missed a club meeting and sign up. There were 40 people who took the class and test, apparently, the biggest ever to do so. Now it seems I have missed the second group as the first meeting occured this past thursday, which I learned of friday morning...damn it.

I have decided that although I can not make the study group I will try to study on my own and take the test, which I heard is not easy. I want to take the test mainly to learn more about beer (history, making, production etc.) than wanting it for judging beer. I find the judging portion to be very opinionated, anyway, wish me luck.

Lee Chase, pizza and beer...

2009-01-23T11:56:00.000-08:00

A new fine restaurant to visit in Normal Heights, San Diego...yeah! The Blind Lady Ale house is partly owned/operated by Lee Chase. Lee in the past was the original head brewer at Stone Brewing Co.. The restaurant is set to open at the end of this month and will focus on pizza's and has 21 taps on hand, mmm. There is a secret party that my homebrew club has been invited to, but I am not sure that I can attend. If I do I will post pics.

You can read all about it at the Blind Lady Alehouse blog!

Oh, btw he will be serving a batch of organic belgian single that he brewed at Mission Brewery.

My Top 5

2009-01-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

2009 = keeping it simple
In the spirit of resolutions and an all-time Top 5 movie of mine, High Fidelity, I will give you my top 5 brewing goals of this coming year.

1) Brew every 4-6 weeks
2) Brew/learn more about lagers, brewing water & master balanced styles
3) Update/organize my blog more frequently (w/text & pics)
4) Enter (a few) competitions
5) Purchase grain/hops in bulk (& find a place to store them)

Last post of 2008

2008-12-31T11:50:00.000-08:00

Be merry and safe and drink your homebrew. Tonight is a great night for sipping on some strong ales.

Happy New Year everyone!

Wheatwine 08' + Steam update

2008-12-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

Finally, after reading about this style and having only tried it twice, from Karl Strauss brewing, I decided to brew it. Wheatwine is a very interesting style and can taste delicious. [1][2] I am trying to make a balanced version. As i write this am in the second hour of the boil. After the mash it seems to taste very "wheaty" with an aftertaste of hoppiness. I was only going to boil for 75' but after a gravity reading I decided it needed to boil longer. This will probably make for a long cool down...arrgghhh. One immediate change is add more caramel malt, for color/flavor. I will give it a few weeks and see how it turns out. Pics to come soon, batteries need recharging.

Here is the recipe:
Wheatwine 08'
2-row 4#
Wheat 7.5#
Crystal 60L .5#
(+ 1#rice hulls) [3]
Total grains: 12#

Hop Schedule:
60' Galena
15' Centennial
15' Cascade
5' Centennial
5' Cascade
Total IBU's: ~66

Yeast: WLP029 German Ale/ Kölsch Yeast [4]
Ferment @ 65F

[1] I like to brew styles that are hard to find
[2] This way its hard to compare and be dissapointed :)
[3] 1st time using rice hulls, it made brew day easy
[4] I had 2 yeast sitting in my fridge, did not want to purchase another. The other was Wyeast Ringwood 1187

UPDATE: The Steam beer(s) is trucking along at a constant 55F.

New Fermentations...

2008-12-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again to make the holiday Appleweizen. I still have most of last years batch (Appleweizen 07' and Spiced Appleweizen 07') which will be used for new year's eve celebrations. This years version consists of 2 gallons of apple juice with 1 pound of berries (blackberries, strawberries and blueberries) mixed in before fermentation. Also, have 1 gallon mixed with 1 pound of blueberries. MMMmmm, can't wait to taste.

Oh, there was an accident the 1 gallon blueberry mix blew off the airlock and has been fermenting exposed for a few days....oh well we shall see where this experiment takes us...

The Natural Experiment
Blueberry Appleweizen 08'

The Big Dampf Experiment [4]

2008-12-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

A friend and myself have talked about brewing an steam beer experiment. We decided to play with the hops, like any other hop lover. Besides, I think the San Fran lager yeast is what really defines this style of beer. After doing some research, which by the way is very interesting for this beer (it's a hard style to define by history).

The Steam Beer Mash

After the research and talking to a couple local pro brewers we decided on this recipe. I went a bit further and made an additional experiment.

South Coast Steam Beer
O.G.: 1.058/F.G.: 1.012/IBU's: 29.5/ABV: 5.9%
Grain Bill:
2-row 7.5#
Maris Otter 1.5#
Munich 10L 1.5#
Crystal 40L .5#
Crystal 10L .5#
Victory .5#
Hop schedule: [1]
Cluster .75oz @ 60' @ 7AA's
Cluster 1oz @ 15'
Cluster 1oz @ 1'
Yeast(s): [2] [3]
(a) San Francisco Lager - White Labs (4 gallons)
(b) Saflager S-23 (1 gallon)

The homebrewery

(L) Saflager (R) WLP-810

[1] He will be using Northern Brewer hops
[2] Both beers are currently fermenting at 56F. My friends experiment is @ 50F. So much for controlling variables...
[3] 55F, average temperature in San Francisco
[4] Dampf is German for Steam