Golf Trip '12

I am brewing this beer to serve at the 2012 annual golf trip at Myrtle Beach. Not being able to think of something I thought everyone would really enjoy, I decided instead to brew something that would get everyone drunk. This is a very robust porter that should turn in at around 7% ABV. The chocolate, honey and molasses used in the brew should give it a sweetness most will be able to at least suffer through if not really enjoy.

If the beer is not drinkable, it was still an exciting experiment. Not having brewed a beer this high in gravity, I was not prepared for the vigorous fermentation about to take place. I have read about "blow off tubes", which alleviate overpressure in fermentation tanks when dealing with high gravity beers. Well, about 5:30 AM two days after brew night, I am awakened by a loud hissing sound coming from my closet. As soon as I realize it is something to do with my beer, I jump out of bed, into the closet to see "krausen" (the foam/bubbles created during fermentation) spewing from the air lock on my ferment bucket. This is in my closet, so several shirts now have black sleeves! (of course I'd be brewing a dark porter not just some light brew) I check it out a little closer and the lid to this bucket is bowed up like the Superdome roof, getting ready to blow off!! Luckily, I store my brewing equipment in my closet with the fermenters and had some siphon tubing handy. Remembering the "blow off" method I'd read about, I removed the air lock (which spews this $hit all over me and the closet) and stick the tube in the lid of the bucket to relieve pressure. This worked, but dude, it was close to disaster! A few minutes more and that bucket lid would have blown, painting my closet in beer. Needless to say, that could have been the end of my homebrewing days as the wifey would mos def have cut me off!!

Anyway, the beer made it through fermentation without any other hiccups. I am moving it to the secondary fermenter Saturday, 1/21, dry hopping it 1/24 and bottling/kegging it 1/28. This will give it 6 weeks to condition prior to being tapped at the 2012 annual golf trip. Hopefully it is palatable. If it is, look out Dirty Myrtle, Golf Trip '12 will be creating quite a "buzz"!!

Cheers!

Batch #11

It's been a while! between my last post and now, a lot of home brew has been consumed. 9us and Lucy's Great Pumpkin Ale was, well GREAT! I also brewed a light wheat beer in the mold of Blue Moon for Fusion's Christmas party. With that came the purchase of mini kegs and a tap. It was a hit! The beer was stellar and two of the kegs were tapped at the Fusion's Christmas party. Many said it was just as good or better than Blue Moon! The mini kegs are the bomb! They save a lot of time when bottling, 4 kegs vs 48 bottles.

Tonight I brewed batch number 11. It's a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA clone. This brew was cooked with 8 additions of hops, added continually throughout the boil. It is called....Continua11y! Continua11y is going to be good, guaranteed. Cannot wait to put it into the bottle/mini kegs!

Cheers to batch 11...Continua11y!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!!

Cheers!

9us & Lucy's Great Pumpkin Ale

OK, I struggled with a name for this. I'm thinking I might need to give that piece of brewing up, it is taxing the creative side of me! Nicole encourages it, that means I'll keep reaching for names. Anyway, even if it's a stretch, the name is appropriate. With Fall two days away and pumpkin ales filling the shelves, I wanted to try one of my own. I had planned on brewing this past weekend but didn't get to it until last night. Bad mistake! I started at 8:00 and finished after midnight. I knew preparing the pumpkin would take a little work but damn, I could have carved jack o'lanterns for the neighborhood in the time it took me to brew this! The beer smells amazing and was already bubbling this morning. I'm thinking the late night will be well worth it. I'm gonna try to have this ready to taste on Halloween. If I'm buzzed when you knock on my door for candy, you'll know why!

Cheers!

Celebr8 Ale Brewed

This is the most planning/scheduling I have put into a beer I have brewed. My eighth batch, Celebr8 Ale, won't be ready for two months after brewing 8/21/11. The ready date for Celebr8 will coincide with the release of my number one most favorite beer, Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, which goes out to stores around 10/15 each year. Hopefully my version is enjoyable and can be used to help celebrate the holiday season! Writing this I am realizing that if Celebr8 is any good, it will likely be gone long before the holidays get here. Crap! Well, if it's good enough to polish off in 4-6 weeks, I won't be disappointed! No plans yet for batch 9, maybe a second batch of Celebr8! Thinking way too far ahead. I think I need to relax, don't worry and have a homebrew!

Cheers!

Seven Dwarfs Dunkel

I brewed batch seven last night, a dunklweizen, which is a dark, German wheat beer. It should be similar to 2wheat but carry a little more body. This is another of Nicole's favs so hopefully she will enjoy it, allowing me to continue brewing without her getting fed up with it!
Hop Head Porter is in the secondary fermenter and should get bottled in a week or so. Batches 1-4 are gone and have been enjoyed by many!
Stone Clone 5 is the only homebrew I have available and it is going fast. It is very good and has actually been favored by a few over Arrogant Bastard in side by side tastings.
Looking forward to getting Hop Head Porter and 7 Dwarfs Dunkel in the bottle!
Cheers!

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Stone Clone bottled, Hop Head Porter brewed

Batch #5, Stone Clone, was put in the bottle tonight. Either my patience has grown or I just don't have time but this was actually ready to bottle over a week ago. Probably a combination of better patience and no time but, either way, I am glad it waited. The extra aging time will only benefit this beer, especially given it is the biggest beer brewed so far. This 7.6% ABV beer needs the extra time to make it right. Judging from the smell and taste of it, it will be worth the wait! Arrogant Bastard is a fav, so hopefully this will taste a little like it's inspiration. Can't wait to try it!

I brewed batch #6, Hop Head Porter, 10 days ago. It is amazing how noticeable the color of dark ale is, even early on. The beer is BLACK in the fermenter! It will move to the secondary sometime before a highly anticipated trip to the beach next week. Being out of town for a week will give it a chance to properly age just as batch #5 did. This is the first batch brewed with a "homebrew buzz", hopefully I wasn't too lose and forget something!

TRI.P.A and 4Summer Ale have been tapped into frequently over the last few weeks and the results are magnificent! I am beginning to get a feel for the ingredients being added and the impact they have on the final product. Not quite ready to formulate my own recipe but I will be there soon. Hope those that have tasted the first four batches have enjoyed the results. Unless folks are afraid of hurting my feelings with critical reviews, it's been good because most everyone has given good feed back! The greatest joy of this hobby is not when savoring my work myself but when others enjoy the end product.

Excited to taste Stone Clone and make better batches so that you can taste a better homebrew!!

Cheers!!

Dada Day!

Happy Fathers Day! I love my Dad, I love being a Dad and I love brew!

Both TRI.P.A and 4Summer were sampled today and I have two good beers (and a buzz!). Moved Stone Clone 5 to the secondary and added dry hops. I really like the smell of this brew! It will be going to the bottle in a couple of weeks.

Haven't decided what to brew next but I have an empty fermenter so I will have to decide real soon! Welcoming suggestions!

Again, happy Fathers Day...cheers!

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