Beer Bits 2

July's Fermentation Friday is here!

2008-07-25T09:24:00.002-04:00

So why do I have to go to work? :-( Ahhhh well I guess I'll read all about it when I get home over a pint of homebrew.

LINK :: Visit The Brew Dudes for the action.

July Fermentation Friday - Advice for new brewers, "Brew it Your Way"

2008-07-22T19:47:00.003-04:00

The Brew Dudes have laid down the gauntlet for Fermentation Friday this month. On the 25th we can all jump from site to site soaking in the advice of home brewers who have been there done that. Here is my contribution.

Theme: What one tip would you give a beginner homebrewer before they brew their first batch and why?

What a great topic. I think most home brewers could go on for hours. Though, if my experience tells me one thing it would have to be, "Brew it your way." Sure there are things you just shouldn't do, but, it really is all about learning. Everybody learns in a different way. You're first step might be to read a book or perhaps watch somebody brew. Maybe you'll follow the directions that came with a kit. These days you can even watch a DVD or a video on YouTube. Oh yeah there's also podcasts to listen to. I suppose you could even persuade somebody to help you via a Skype video conference or go old school internet and look for a newsgroup about brewing. Ok...a forum if you like more recent tech. Hey, my grandfather did it in a crock in the basement. How sanitary was that? Many people have been brewing for thousands of years. I hear it used to be a common chore in many households. It ain't rocket science. So get to it. There's more than one way to start brewing. Remember my one piece of advice. Do you're own thing. Why? Because you are your own brewer. Nothing should stand in the way of your first mistake. After all this mistake could be what will likely teach you to make great beer time and time again.

Fermentation Friday @ Brew Dudes this week!

2008-07-22T10:43:00.002-04:00

This month's theme?

What one tip would you give a beginner homebrewer before they brew their first batch and why?

http://www.brew-dudes.com/fermentation-friday-july-2008/297

Get started early and send you contributions to The Brew Dudes!

Homebrew Kolsch vs. Yuengling...

2008-07-21T16:35:00.002-04:00

Well I'm happy to report that the Kolsch was a success. I went with ten gallons and came back with one. The Yuengling 16 gal keg was hit a little lighter. Not sure, but, I think about ten gallons are still left. :-)

The beer is kegged and the music is ready...

2008-07-18T10:17:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is the community party where I get to share my homebrew. I kegged the second keg last night with the help of my brother in law and its cold conditioning in the fridge right now. How did it turn out? Well I'm happy to say this Kolsch is something I'm pretty proud of so far. Definately the lightest tasting and looking beer I've ever made. Seems pretty clean not too dry. I drank it next to a Victory Hop Devil so I don't have accurate tasting notes yet. The real test will be tomorrow. Will a bunch of people drink this beer or Yuengling Lager? Should be interesting.

My wife and I are also providing the music selection (via iPod not actually playing). I hope they like that too. Otherwise I'm never going to live it down ;-)

Beer Bits 2 Readers & Me :-)

2008-07-17T15:40:00.009-04:00

By now you know I love writing this blog and teaching people how to brew. I've written hundreds of posts about the topic here and elsewhere. So, if you like Beer Bits 2 and what I do here feel free to hit the donate button over there on the right. See you tomorrow.

Helping somebody get started in homebrewing...

2008-07-16T11:29:00.003-04:00

When I heard my brother-in-law was getting ready to homebrew for the first time I couldn't stop offering to help. Seriously, he's probably wondering how to stop me from talking about it ;-) Well after a few conversations we landed on brewing at my house while his family is visiting. What better way to show somebody the ins and outs than to have them help you brew.

Homebrewing used to be a very private thing for me. I just wasn't very confident about my process and the results. Why would I share them with somebody if I wasn't a master? They might see I was doing it all wrong. Well, all I needed was somebody to ask me. Enter Jeremy a friend from work. As I've mention before in my online bloggings he was the reason I started brewing again. You know looking back on things he could be considered the catalyst for me to start homebrewing and blogging :-) Hmmm....anyway back to the story, he said that he was thinking of learning to brew. I of course shared with him that I knew how to do it and would be happy to help him learn. Before long we were buying supplies at the now defunct Brew By You and boiling up our first wort. We brewed a few beers together at my house with my equipment and then with his and soon he was off brewing on his own. In fact his wife is getting ready to brew her first batch soon. In fact I think they might be over to help us out too.

So, if you know how to brew, consider sharing your skill with somebody. You might not be perfect, but, who cares. You might even learn a thing or two. Some say, "The best way to learn something is to teach it." Sounds counter intuitive, doesn't it? Once you've taught something you'll understand. Get out there and teach somebody to brew!

Monday Sampler

2008-07-14T11:52:00.002-04:00

Here's what's going on...

I'll be demonstrating the finer aspects (what does that mean?) of homebrewing to my brother-in-law sometime over the next week. Another friend and his wife might come over as a precursor to her first foray into brewing. She's shooting high for that first batch, pomegranate wheat.

Getting ready for the community party this weekend. I'll be sharing homebrew with these folks for the first time. Should be a good time if we get good weather.

The AB & Inbev thing is getting some big press. I don't really care all that much. I thought HopTalk had a funny post about it. If anything I think it will help Americans understand that we really do live in a global economy now. Even their American Beer is affected. Hey, maybe I do care. Maybe we should be listing to Jack. There's opportunity to be had.

Also, the Firefly Lights (aka Little Belgian Bastard Ale) is almost gone. There's just a bit of root beer left for some root beer floats. I'm sure the kids will appreciate that.

Fermentation Friday July 2008 announced by Brew Dudes

2008-07-11T13:36:00.003-04:00

Brew Dudes decrees the topic to be...

What one tip would you give a beginner homebrewer before they brew their first batch and why?

Thanks John. Great topic!

What is Good Beer? Listen to Charlie Papazian...

2008-07-10T01:16:00.007-04:00

Note: Sorry about the bad links. All fixed now. Thanks Andy for the help.

Charlie Papazian is making some great points on his blog. If you've ever thought about how to explain Good Beer, you might want to check this out. Here are links to the posts in his "What is Good Beer?" series (so far).

While giving us his take on good beer he enlists our help as beer enthusiasts. Here is a quote from his most recent post.

It is quite clear to me that if beer enthusiasts reach out and “teach” others
about the variety of tastes beer can have, most light lager drinkers can extend
their beer drinking experiences to other types of beer. I know this.

He is absolutely right. I found myself doing this on the 4th of July more than once. I'm usually trying not to talk somebody's ear off about beer or homebrew, but, they just keep asking questions. They want to know more. I would venture to say that as homebrewers we have a distinct advantage. We aren't presenting some kind of fancy high falutin' expensive beer. We're sharing a homebrew!

H.G. Wheat, Picnic Tap, Brewing Legacy, Root Beer...

2008-07-08T23:32:00.003-04:00

Checking in to say that the 10 gallons of H.G. Wheat are gone. The CO2 charger worked just fine. I have now successfully brewed beer for the 4th of July picnic just like my Grandfather and the root beer was a hit too. Really puts a smile on my face.

Now on to the next party :-) First I have to go back to work :-(

Cheers!

Drying Hops with a DIY Hops Dryer...

2008-07-03T10:09:00.008-04:00

First of all thanks to Bryan over at TBL for suggesting this topic.

The bines are growing as are your visions of the hops harvest. You might even be planning ahead wondering about how you are going to dry all those hops so you can store them? I guess it depends on how much you have. During last year's harvest we picked about five pounds of green hop flowers (less than two five gallon buckets) that yielded 21 oz. of dried hop flowers. Keep in mind these were second season Cascade plants. I'm expecting more this year. I'll probably stick to my usual method of putting them near a dehumidifier in the basement on screens.

I'm not an expert, nor do I think you need to be. There are a variety of ways to dry hops. I have heard of these methods.

food dehydrator - usually small amounts due to the small size of these devices
oven - a step up from a dehydrator, not sure how well this works
lay the hop flowers on screens in a very warm and dry area like attic or near a dehumidifier with a fan to move the air
build your own hops dryer out of some wood and screen (usually stacked trays)
hang whole bines in the attic

Basically you need a few things to be successful.

large enough area for your harvested flowers
heat
airflow (fan or natural air currents from the heat)
low humidity
ability to move the hops flowers around a bit to ensure they dry evenly

I found that after a day or two in my basement with the dehumidifier running the hops were ready to be packaged and stored. I use the vacume seal food saver bags, because I happened to have them around.

Prost!

Hops Drier

Pause

2008-07-02T21:12:00.006-04:00

Take time out and just "be present in the moment". I recall the words a wise and kind person once gave to me. I guess the idea of being present wasn't new to me. People who know me would quickly agree, I imagine. Yet, even I need to be reminded that things can move too fast. So fast that one might not understand what they mean. Of course all this is subjective. Sometimes getting things done is just what you have to do. Just remember sometimes momentum has you needlessly careening forward at break neck pace.

Right at that moment take pause and look around. What is happening? Are you surrounded by people? What is the scenery like? Are there animals? Can you see the Sun or the Moon? What about the stars?

Just take pause and be present. I'm here in our sun room after the sun went down with the windows open. Coldplay is playing, Firefly Lights homebrew in my cup, kids in bed trying to sleep and the dogs are waiting for my wife to come home. I have things to do. I shouldn't really be writing this self indulgent essay. I should be preparing for the 4th of July.

I can't pass up this time. I want to be in it. I want to be reminded of the times when I was small. When I wasn't careening toward nothing. When I was waiting for the fireworks to start or running through the dark playing ghost in the graveyard. More importantly I want to remember what happened tonight.

Making some Gnome Root Beer

2008-07-01T23:06:00.003-04:00

Last night I made some root beer with my kids. They had a ball. It was so easy. Northern Brewer has this concentrate they sell for making root beer from Gnome Soda. I bought a four ounce pack and had the kids help. Here's how I made and kegged about 8 or 9 gallons (can't be sure).

get two corny kegs ready
get some one step ready
Heat 1.5 gallon of water to 130 degrees
add 5 lbs of table sugar to water
empty 4 oz packet of Gnome root beer concentrate into pot
split evenly between the two kegs
top off keg with tap water to 4 or 4.5 gallons each (to taste really)
we could use less sugar next time (need to experiment)
pressurize keg to 35 psi constantly in fridge (or shoot, shake, shoot, shake)

Took about thirty minutes to an hour. It would be faster without the kids and the explanations. Next time I hope to forgo the concentrate and find a good recipe like the one Ted posted. One step at a time ;-) Then after that maybe I could get the recipe my grandfather used. Somebody stop me!

I think I'm set for the 4th of July weekend. Just a bit of cold conditioning and carbonation left.

Cheers!

CO2 Charger & Corny Keg to dispense beer at a picnic or party...

2008-07-01T19:50:00.006-04:00

NOTE: I have since used this method at a real live picnic :-) and it did work. I'll post about my experience and post it soon.

How do you serve cold beer at a party without a bulky CO2 cannister, regulator, etc? With one of these CO2 keg chargers of course. I read in forums that people have used these things with success, but, wasn't quite sure what to expect.

It worked pretty well actually. Here is how I did it. First, I recommend the beer already be carbonated in a soda keg using a regulator and a CO2 cannister. I found the Cornielius Keg CO2 chargers (left) at Northern Brewer. I ordered one with a cornelius keg gas disconnect with MFL fitting (top right) and a pack of twelve 12 gram CO2 cartridges (right bottom).

The CO2 charger came with one 16 gram cylinder and the adapter. Here is how I put it all together.

unscrewed the casing for the cylinder
removed the instructions from the casing and read them (really I did)
put the 16 gram CO2 cylinder in the casing
screwed the casing on quickly
no sound of gas or anything
went to my keg
realized that the pressure would need to left out completely if I were to follow the directions
decided to not do that
connected the keg charger to the disconnect (against the warning in the directions)
made sure I didn't pull the trigger (that's what would make the disconnect fail possibly)
connected the disconnect to the keg (already pressurized to about 15 PSI)
pulled the trigger
voila, it worked

I imagine this will work just fine. Somebody wrote in a forum that it takes about five or so cartridges to dispense a whole keg. I'm armed with a portable dispensing solution now :-)

Oh yeah, I bought a bleeder valve with a low pressure gauge on it so I could check the CO2 pressure if I needed to while dispensing. I don't think it was necessary. I'll probably use that for testing other things at a later date.

Cheers!

Keg + CO2 Cartridges = Portable Tap

2008-07-01T14:59:00.002-04:00

Yep, I bought one of those CO2 cartridge gadgets to dispense beer with. I'll have to try it out tonight. The 4th of July picnic is coming soon. The two kegs of H.G. Wheat are carbonating and cold conditioning right now.

I'll be back with the results.

Prost!

Fermentation Friday: Crazy Concoctions

2008-06-27T09:23:00.004-04:00

CNYBrew is hosting this months Fermentation Friday.

"What is the craziest concoction you ever came up with, on the fly or prepped, to brew with."

I'll take the medley approach to this one. Mostly its about things gone wrong.

The barley wine that blew the fermentation lid off was fun :-) Can you say vigorous fermentation? I still have the mark on the basement ceiling from that one. My son often refers to it. "Dad, that's from your beer isn't it?" He says knowingly. [accidental]

Ah yes, my second brew, how do you crack these steeping grains again? Nice unexpected little treat. A rolling pin and 30 minutes later I'm wishing I had it done at the local homebrew store. [improvising]

Third batch since my hiatus from brewing ended. Didn't quite get back in the saddle. Malt...check, hops...check, yeast...check, steeping grains...check and commence the boil. Ok, the water is heated up for the steeping grains. Uh oh I don't have anything to steep them in. What could I use? Panty hose! BTW this is the first time I told anybody. Don't worry they were sterilized with boiling water ;-) The beer tasted fine. [improvising]

Then there was this time when I created a kitchen sink beer. What would it be like to just throw stuff in a pot? Several year old can of pre hopped dry stout malt, some coffee beans, fresh espresso, molases, dry malt extract, liquid malt extract, mismash of left over hops pellets. Franken porter....it lives! Well I guess it does. I mean it is still sitting in a keg in my basement and well just never really fermented out. I'm kind of scared to check it again. I often have dreams of saving it. Lightening, electrodes, Egor, maniacal laughter and local villagers with pitchforks... Anyway, there's some high gravity yeast with its name on it. [on the fly, gone wrong]

You know, now that I think of it, there's a little craziness in every beer I brew. I usually just grab the ingredients I have. Thumb through or click through recipes, refer to BJCP and kinda wing it. Its never really "in style". Something inevitably goes awry and I just ride it out. Eh...its only beer. Travis I hope this is the kinda thing you were looking for :-) Thanks for hosting this month.

Prost!

A Kölsch Köbe's worst nightmare...

2008-06-26T11:19:00.004-04:00

As you know I'm trying to stock pile beer to share at various picnics. I think I'm almost caught up. One more batch and then I'll be burned out ;-)

Last night I brewed a beer that I'd like to call A Köbe's Kölsch Nightmare. Only because I'm sure nobody from Cologne would think it was a Kölsch. Hey I'm using Kölsch yeast and a Pilsner liquid malt extract with Hallertau hops. I'm also trying to keep the fermentation temp between 60 and 65 °F.

So why is it not really a Kolsch? Well I didn't use soft water, the LME will be a bit too dark, I also added some caramel malt which doesn't fit the flavor or color profile and Cascade hops were used for bittering. Egads! Who cares. We'll see if people like it.

Prost!

Sampler: Fermentation Friday, Brewvana, H.G. Wheat...

2008-06-25T11:54:00.003-04:00

Sampler as in a little taste of each topic:

Brew bloggers don't forget CNYBrew is hosting this months Fermentation Friday. I'll try to post my story later today. If you have questions about this month's theme. Let Travis know with a comment to his post.

"What is the craziest concoction you ever came up with, on the fly or prepped, to brew with."

Next, check out Brewvana's last few posts. This is why I read Wilson's blog.

Last but not least, I took a specific gravity reading of each H.G. Wheat batch. The fermentation appears to be close to complete :-) How do they taste? Despite the Kolsch yeast still in suspension leaving that bitter yeast bite after taste...I'd say these are gonna be damn good! I wonder what my Grandfather would have thought.

One more thing, the first five gallon keg of the Little Belgian Bastard[ized] Ale, aka Firefly Lights, has been kicked. The second keg is in the fridge now being carbonated. I have to say I'm impressed with how well this less than four percent beer has been received by friends and family. Makes me proud, it does.

Prost!

George Carlin Dead of Heart Failure

2008-06-23T16:16:00.002-04:00

George Carlin was a great Frisbeetarian.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25322638/&GT1=43001

Here's to you George!

Fermentation Friday is THIS FRIDAY!

2008-06-23T14:51:00.002-04:00

CNYBrew is hosting this month. The theme is...

"What is the craziest concoction you ever came up with, on the fly or prepped, to brew with?"

I'll have to post mine early 'cause I'm tied up Friday night. Hope to see your contribution.

Prost!

Quick updates...

2008-06-23T09:09:00.002-04:00

As the 4th of July approaches I feel prepared with my H.G. Wheat. Five gallons in the secondary five gallons in the primary ready to be moved. I even have five gallons of the Firefly Lights conditioning now.

So what's next? Either another beer using the yeast from the H.G. Wheat or a root beer. Never made root beer before, but, that never stopped me before ;-)

Cheers!

The Summer Solstice is upon us...

2008-06-20T22:18:00.003-04:00

Ahhh...the first day of summer.

Cheers!

Reusing Yeast Article @ Beer Dorks

2008-06-19T10:43:00.003-04:00

Great advice on reusing yeast. I've used similar techniques and had great results. I really like the way they write this in layman's terms.

http://beerdorks.com/articles.php?article_id=78

Prost!

H.G. Wheat Deux is fermenting...

2008-06-18T00:33:00.004-04:00

After putting the first batch of H.G. Wheat through the primary fermentation I tasted it. It tasted good! Whew...I was a bit nervous. Sure its a bit sweet due to the yet to be fermented sugars, however, it seems like the 2.5 oz of home grown Cascade was good enough for bittering and flavoring. I racked it into a cornie keg fitted with an airlock for secondary fermentation. What does all this mean? Since the recipe for the first one worked out, its time to brew the second batch. This time I did substitute some DME for most of the LME. Should make it a bit drier. Also, I had just enough homegrown hops for the recipe. Ahhh...I love it when a plan comes together.

Next on the list. Dunno. Maybe I'll make another version of this with Cascade pellet hops instead of the home grown whole leaf Cascade. That would also enable me to get another generation out of this Kolsch yeast instead of buying more.

Can't wait until the family tastes this beer at the 4th of July reunion/picnic :-)

Prost!