So I currently have an empty waiting for something to fill it. I am pretty sure I will be bottling both the pilsner and the dopplebock instead of kegging either of them. So now the question is, what do I want to fill the empty with. Currently I am leaning toward ESB. Its been quite some time since I have had a good ESB on tap.
If this is the route I go, I will probably use one of the new formulas I have been working on. Of course, I still have never put a nice stout or porter on tap. I could do one of those just for the sake of doing one. But of course both of those are beers I only drink on the rare occasion when I am in the mood for them. Where as with bitters, I can drink those all day.
Notice I am completely skipping over previous beers I have had in mind to do. As always whimsical beers will most likely not be something I put a good amount of my home brew time into. Instead, it will most likely end up being the ESB that gets brewed. This being one of my all time favorite styles (ya, the germans really don't strike me as something I drink all the time and the Belgians tend to be quite a bit too much for casual drinking).
Blah, I guess if someone comes up with an interesting idea I might even go with that. But of course my standby will always be the fall back choice.
Enjoy the pint in front of you, cause I sure like mine.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
W.E.B. results
Sadly, this time around I did not medal. The ginger mead did well, but due to haze issues it did not do nearly as well as it should have. One of the judges even went so far as to give a food pairing suggestion for it. Personally, I thought that was a nice touch. They really do get some great judges for this competition and these judges go the extra mile to give incredibly good feedback.
Hot summer night did not do as well as I might have hoped. It brings to mind some interesting considerations though. One of the judges mentioned that they felt there might be a yeast problem with the beer. I had a terrible time getting both this beer and the Emo IPA to condition properly in the bottle. I wonder if this came through in the finished bottled beer. This tells me I really need to give up bottle conditioning on beers that I can much better carbonate inside the kegerator. This is another nail in the coffin of natural carbonation for me. Although for beers that I fully intend to do the entire batch as a natural carbonation in the bottle (namely my wheats) I think I will give them a hit of fresh yeast on bottling day. Hopefully this will relieve some of this stress.
The real winner was the Irish Rye. Although, it did not place, it did receive an honorable mention. This beer actually made it so far as to go to a mini best of show round. An interesting thought on this one... it was my first beer that I did not use crystal malt with. This tells me that I have made the move in the right direction. There really is so much more control when you rely on specialty malts (not crystal) to provide the flavor profile of your finished product. This in turn allows you to control the final body of your beer as well.
When I first saw how I placed I was a little disappointed. When I got my score sheets I realized that the Irish Rye is now my highest scoring beer in competition. I do enjoy knowing that my skills are growing. In self reflection, I have also realized that of everything I have done, what I accomplish in brewing is some of the most important to me (aside from raising my kids and such). Everything I have done is based solely on my skill and dedication. This is something I have not bullshitted my way through.
Anyway, its time I stop getting so introspective and such. I am going to disappear into some well needed pints. I hope you find some good pints of your own to enjoy.
Hot summer night did not do as well as I might have hoped. It brings to mind some interesting considerations though. One of the judges mentioned that they felt there might be a yeast problem with the beer. I had a terrible time getting both this beer and the Emo IPA to condition properly in the bottle. I wonder if this came through in the finished bottled beer. This tells me I really need to give up bottle conditioning on beers that I can much better carbonate inside the kegerator. This is another nail in the coffin of natural carbonation for me. Although for beers that I fully intend to do the entire batch as a natural carbonation in the bottle (namely my wheats) I think I will give them a hit of fresh yeast on bottling day. Hopefully this will relieve some of this stress.
The real winner was the Irish Rye. Although, it did not place, it did receive an honorable mention. This beer actually made it so far as to go to a mini best of show round. An interesting thought on this one... it was my first beer that I did not use crystal malt with. This tells me that I have made the move in the right direction. There really is so much more control when you rely on specialty malts (not crystal) to provide the flavor profile of your finished product. This in turn allows you to control the final body of your beer as well.
When I first saw how I placed I was a little disappointed. When I got my score sheets I realized that the Irish Rye is now my highest scoring beer in competition. I do enjoy knowing that my skills are growing. In self reflection, I have also realized that of everything I have done, what I accomplish in brewing is some of the most important to me (aside from raising my kids and such). Everything I have done is based solely on my skill and dedication. This is something I have not bullshitted my way through.
Anyway, its time I stop getting so introspective and such. I am going to disappear into some well needed pints. I hope you find some good pints of your own to enjoy.
waiting...
This weekend marked the judging of the Homebrew at the W.E.B., sadly, the scores have not yet been posted. Its always the waiting that kills ya. Up until now I haven't really thought about it. My work was done some time ago and all I could do was hope for the best. Now, its the waiting game to see if my hopes have come to fruition. Of course, the real prize is, as always, good feedback so I can improve myself as a brewer. But we all know that winning anything always makes us feel good.
My hope is of course that everything I entered scores the gold and possibly even best of show. But reality must also take root. The other brewers that have entered are also most likely quite good. The brewers who enter home brew contests on a semi regular to regular basis most often are good enough or better than many professional brewers. Most professional brewers started out as home brewers themselves.
It is contests like this that most brewers make names for themselves and get themselves known.
Even though brewing is a craft, you can be taught everything you need to succeed, so much of it relies on the artistry of the individual brewer. When you take it as pure craft you will find the big three breweries (bud, coors, and miller). Artistry comes into play in the smaller craft breweries. Without artistic expression most smaller breweries would never find a foothold within the major marketing campaigns of the larger breweries.
Now back to the pint in front of me... Emo IPA is so good on tap..
My hope is of course that everything I entered scores the gold and possibly even best of show. But reality must also take root. The other brewers that have entered are also most likely quite good. The brewers who enter home brew contests on a semi regular to regular basis most often are good enough or better than many professional brewers. Most professional brewers started out as home brewers themselves.
It is contests like this that most brewers make names for themselves and get themselves known.
Even though brewing is a craft, you can be taught everything you need to succeed, so much of it relies on the artistry of the individual brewer. When you take it as pure craft you will find the big three breweries (bud, coors, and miller). Artistry comes into play in the smaller craft breweries. Without artistic expression most smaller breweries would never find a foothold within the major marketing campaigns of the larger breweries.
Now back to the pint in front of me... Emo IPA is so good on tap..
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Stuff to do...
Of course the keg of Hot Summer Night blew almost immediately after my post last night. The sad news ... no more Hot Summer Night for a bit. The good news Emo IPA on tap, and its damn tasty. The Emo goes exactly into the direction I want to go with my beers. Its bitter, but not for the sake of being bitter. I picked some really good hops for the flavor profile. They enhance the malty flavor profile then shine through to show their own bite. I am quite happy with how this one turned out.
In other news...
Something I alluded to earlier this month... I finally feel its time to go into a bit more detail. Kraftbrau (a former Kalamazoo based brewery) is going to be reopening soon. At this time I am slated to be the brewer. This is something I have been working toward for quite some time now, so needless to say I am pretty stoked.
There is quite a bit to do still before we will be opening. But, hopefully, we will be ready to go real soon (just waiting on the liscensing from the booze authorities). When I start brewing there my personal brewing will most likely be put on hold for a short bit. But, I will still be making posts here as well as on the Kraftbrau site to keep people up to date with the beers that are a workin.
I have a bunch of stuff to do currently. I am going over the original brew sheets and setting up the brew schedule for our opening beers. At this time I am still not sure what we will be opening up with. I have been considering doing an imperial IPA or possibly a barley wine as the first brew. This inaugral beer will be an anniversary ale to be released on our first anniversary.
With all that said... enjoy the pint in front of you, cause I know I am.
In other news...
Something I alluded to earlier this month... I finally feel its time to go into a bit more detail. Kraftbrau (a former Kalamazoo based brewery) is going to be reopening soon. At this time I am slated to be the brewer. This is something I have been working toward for quite some time now, so needless to say I am pretty stoked.
There is quite a bit to do still before we will be opening. But, hopefully, we will be ready to go real soon (just waiting on the liscensing from the booze authorities). When I start brewing there my personal brewing will most likely be put on hold for a short bit. But, I will still be making posts here as well as on the Kraftbrau site to keep people up to date with the beers that are a workin.
I have a bunch of stuff to do currently. I am going over the original brew sheets and setting up the brew schedule for our opening beers. At this time I am still not sure what we will be opening up with. I have been considering doing an imperial IPA or possibly a barley wine as the first brew. This inaugral beer will be an anniversary ale to be released on our first anniversary.
With all that said... enjoy the pint in front of you, cause I know I am.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Quick post (cause I been lazy)
I have been slowly pulling Dunkelweizens out for tasting. I am pretty happy with how it turned out.
Its funny, I am getting anxious to see how the Emo turned out on tap. But I can't seem to get a handle free for it. I am pretty sure that Hot Summer Night will be finished off soon, although at this point it seems bottomless.
In a few more weeks I will be sending the pilsner to bottle. I am pretty sure that I will bottle the entire batch. I just don't see a desire to put it on tap. The Dopple will be going into secondary within the next few days. It seems that with both of these lager styles I have not really been in a rush to transfer them. Could be that they won't be drinkable for a while so no hurry to change em out.
Only a few more days till the W.E.B. judging. I am hoping for some good scores. I am also wishing the Dunkleweizen had been ready much sooner. I am thinking that it will be sent out to a contest or two within the next couple months.
On that note I have some work to do on finishing off this keg.
Its funny, I am getting anxious to see how the Emo turned out on tap. But I can't seem to get a handle free for it. I am pretty sure that Hot Summer Night will be finished off soon, although at this point it seems bottomless.
In a few more weeks I will be sending the pilsner to bottle. I am pretty sure that I will bottle the entire batch. I just don't see a desire to put it on tap. The Dopple will be going into secondary within the next few days. It seems that with both of these lager styles I have not really been in a rush to transfer them. Could be that they won't be drinkable for a while so no hurry to change em out.
Only a few more days till the W.E.B. judging. I am hoping for some good scores. I am also wishing the Dunkleweizen had been ready much sooner. I am thinking that it will be sent out to a contest or two within the next couple months.
On that note I have some work to do on finishing off this keg.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Brewday (well yesterday)
Big day, not only did I transfer the pils to secondary (saving the yeast) I also brewed the doppelbock. The pilsner is coming along nicely. Its gonna sit in secondary for at least a month though. When the doppelbock finally goes to secondary I will hold it there for probably 3 months or more. Nice think for the doppel... it should end up with enough alcohol to make it well worth aging, even after it has been bottled.
Wow, I really had a bunch of thoughts I wanted to get in here earlier, and now can't find a single one. Guess its time for randomness. I am pretty sure that what would be brew day two weeks from now is actually going to be a maintenence day. There are some supplies I need to gather for the brewery, among them is more one step sanitizer. Nice thing is, I tend to pick up enough to last a year in my home brewery. Sad thing is, it costs about the same as brewing when I do so.
I am serious need of starting up some meads soon as well. With the fermenter space I have right now, if I get a couple meads going I won't have any available space for a little while. At least I have a little bit of a stockpile working right now so I am not in need of anything to drink. Ive had thoughts of doing a melon (musk or honey dew) mead at some point. Too bad this time of year I can't get anything local.
I should be looking into doing some winter warmers or possibly some barley wines, so that I might have some ready by next winter. Some nice sippin beers would be good to while away the winter blahs.
Okies ... time to go back to my pint and cooling wort. Enjoy the pint you find before you.
Wow, I really had a bunch of thoughts I wanted to get in here earlier, and now can't find a single one. Guess its time for randomness. I am pretty sure that what would be brew day two weeks from now is actually going to be a maintenence day. There are some supplies I need to gather for the brewery, among them is more one step sanitizer. Nice thing is, I tend to pick up enough to last a year in my home brewery. Sad thing is, it costs about the same as brewing when I do so.
I am serious need of starting up some meads soon as well. With the fermenter space I have right now, if I get a couple meads going I won't have any available space for a little while. At least I have a little bit of a stockpile working right now so I am not in need of anything to drink. Ive had thoughts of doing a melon (musk or honey dew) mead at some point. Too bad this time of year I can't get anything local.
I should be looking into doing some winter warmers or possibly some barley wines, so that I might have some ready by next winter. Some nice sippin beers would be good to while away the winter blahs.
Okies ... time to go back to my pint and cooling wort. Enjoy the pint you find before you.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Dunkelweizen
Tried my first sampling on the carbed dunkel this afternoon. It was enjoyable even though it was only at cellar temp. The bitterness of the dark malts was prevalent but softened. The wheat character came through quite nicely (though that was to be expected). While I think of it, I should have another to refresh my memory. Course, I should get some in the fridge.
Some notes (while I have a glass in front of me) the color is a nice rich brown. There is a nice richness to it as well as decent carbonation. The wheat does counterbalance the bitterness of the dark malts nicely. All in all, I don't think there is much I would change about this one. I believe it will go into a wheat rotation. Probably mix it in with some of the Belgian style wheats I like to play with.
Now then I think I will finish my beer and leave you to yours.
Some notes (while I have a glass in front of me) the color is a nice rich brown. There is a nice richness to it as well as decent carbonation. The wheat does counterbalance the bitterness of the dark malts nicely. All in all, I don't think there is much I would change about this one. I believe it will go into a wheat rotation. Probably mix it in with some of the Belgian style wheats I like to play with.
Now then I think I will finish my beer and leave you to yours.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Some thoughts on aging
Recently, at the company Christmas party (I work in hospitality so we have our parties long after normal people) I opened the last bottle of my 2 year old dry mead and a bottle of my ginger mead. Its amazing the changes that take place with the flavors of boozes. Beer, wine, cider, and mead are all living entities. As they grow older they flavor profile under goes changes. Needless to say, the 2 year old dry mead was pretty much phenomenal.
At one point a question was asked that really got me thinking. Lukas had shared some of the ginger mead with a friend of his a little while ago. Upon sampling the ginger now, he asked me if he had waited would the flavors of the mead he shared matched that of the bottles opened at the party. Absolutely, they came from the same batch, bottled at the same time. Now, where this lead my thoughts. When is the right time to open that bottle of wine, or that bottle of mead? For that matter, when is the right time to open that bottle of barley wine you have had sitting in your basement for the past year or more?
This question is alot like life. We never really know where our next step will take us. When I open the bottle of mead that I have been aging for the past 5 years, is this the best it will ever taste? In my view the question is moot. The best time to open that bottle is when you feel the time is right. Maybe on a special occasion, and so many things can qualify as a special occasion. For me, the company Christmas party qualified as a special occasion. It was important enough for me to want to share this special bottle. I may very well save the bottles of ginger mead for many years, perchance only opening a bottle once a year.
At times you may find that there is a certain time when its just not in your best interest to open a bottle of that certain something. I discovered this with my first batch of cider. I opened those bottles on a whim that first year (whenever the mood struck me). But what I found, the very last bottle, one year old, that bottle of cider was OMG good. So now I know to wait for at least one year at the minimum before I open the cider. This means that when I make the cider I am now drinking the cider from the year before and won't be drinking the new batch till the next year.
And this my friend is why we have beers that mature quickly. We need to have something to drink while we are waiting patiently for those special moments to open the bottles of the really good stuff.
At one point a question was asked that really got me thinking. Lukas had shared some of the ginger mead with a friend of his a little while ago. Upon sampling the ginger now, he asked me if he had waited would the flavors of the mead he shared matched that of the bottles opened at the party. Absolutely, they came from the same batch, bottled at the same time. Now, where this lead my thoughts. When is the right time to open that bottle of wine, or that bottle of mead? For that matter, when is the right time to open that bottle of barley wine you have had sitting in your basement for the past year or more?
This question is alot like life. We never really know where our next step will take us. When I open the bottle of mead that I have been aging for the past 5 years, is this the best it will ever taste? In my view the question is moot. The best time to open that bottle is when you feel the time is right. Maybe on a special occasion, and so many things can qualify as a special occasion. For me, the company Christmas party qualified as a special occasion. It was important enough for me to want to share this special bottle. I may very well save the bottles of ginger mead for many years, perchance only opening a bottle once a year.
At times you may find that there is a certain time when its just not in your best interest to open a bottle of that certain something. I discovered this with my first batch of cider. I opened those bottles on a whim that first year (whenever the mood struck me). But what I found, the very last bottle, one year old, that bottle of cider was OMG good. So now I know to wait for at least one year at the minimum before I open the cider. This means that when I make the cider I am now drinking the cider from the year before and won't be drinking the new batch till the next year.
And this my friend is why we have beers that mature quickly. We need to have something to drink while we are waiting patiently for those special moments to open the bottles of the really good stuff.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The ripple effect...
Its been a few days since I have been here, maybe a bit longer than that even. There has been alot on my mind lately that I haven't been ready to commit to this space just yet. Course, I'm still not at a point where I am ready to share whats on mind in this instance but I will say that some big things are happening and I can't wait till I can share some more of whats going on.
I made the trip up to Hastings earlier today. My destination as always... the Waldorff brew pub and bistro. The place is owned by someone who I can call an old friend now (guess we have known each other for a good handful of years now). I used to work for Mike at Brooklodge when I first started cooking professionally. Ever since then I have come to see Mike as a mentor and sounding board for many of my bigger career decisions. After the 45 minute trip I found that Mike wasn't there (I'm a guy, I don't believe in calling first). But, Sam the Waldorff's brew master was there. Sam is one of the people that has given me advice and encouragement since the start of my brewing journey. We spent a good amount of time going through the issues at hand, and I gained some good insights.
Now with all that build up I could say whats going on, but instead I think I will just enjoy the Hot Summer Night in front of me and let you find your own brew.
I made the trip up to Hastings earlier today. My destination as always... the Waldorff brew pub and bistro. The place is owned by someone who I can call an old friend now (guess we have known each other for a good handful of years now). I used to work for Mike at Brooklodge when I first started cooking professionally. Ever since then I have come to see Mike as a mentor and sounding board for many of my bigger career decisions. After the 45 minute trip I found that Mike wasn't there (I'm a guy, I don't believe in calling first). But, Sam the Waldorff's brew master was there. Sam is one of the people that has given me advice and encouragement since the start of my brewing journey. We spent a good amount of time going through the issues at hand, and I gained some good insights.
Now with all that build up I could say whats going on, but instead I think I will just enjoy the Hot Summer Night in front of me and let you find your own brew.
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