Fall Brewing

Tuesday was double brew day. Brown ale and a new recipe for a traditional bock. I went bock with the intent of a) getting a good yeast slurry together, and b) I accidentally bought too much pilsner malt, so I'm going to do a double bock too and try to clean some of it out!

Brewing went well. The beers are both fermenting away. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be able to enjoy it! Part of the Pale Ale Project included filtering, so I now have a plate filter. It works well and is nice when transporting beer to keep from stirring up sediments that settle out during aging...

Till the next time!

More Updates

Samiclaus continues to churn away, Bo-Pils is lagering, and a young Double Bock is on tap and will be good once it has aged (if it makes it that long!)...

Brewery construction is moving along nicely, frame is painted, motors and motor guard installed. Pilot lights tested and solenoid control valves tested great. Wiring is the last daunting task, good thing I worked a summer as a car stereo installation guy! Here's a few pics showing the burner test firing...

STUCK MASH!!

Attempting what will likely be the last brew on my current brewery, I cooked up a dopple bock. 7.5hrs later I completed it, after a horribly stuck mash and one heck of a mess! The good news is that I did get 13 gallons at my targeted gravity...as for whether I got good sugar conversion...well that we won't know until the krausen settles.

Where the hell have I been?

All over...really. No, not really. Actually I've been at home mostly, getting a new business of it's feet. Don't worry, I still make time for brewing, just not so much in the way of this blog!

Updates:

- Switch died on the brewery pump, had to hotwire it, but I should have a new switch soon. I've brewed 3 times w/o it, so it's not impeding my progress, just rigged for the time being.

- Brewed cream ale, original recipe brown, and just today a Bass Ale clone which is in between an English Mild and English Pale. Also brewed a Belgian wit (Blue Moon Clone), or I should say Irish Jim did with me as his assistant. I personally don't care for the Blue Moon, or the style, but that's what makes the sis-in-law happy. And, it'l getcha drunk!

- Entered the Belgian Dubble and Bock in the US Open Brewing competition in Charlotte, NC this weekend, and will be travelling there to steward (read "sample great beers all day"). We'll see if I can break the 40pt barrier!

- Jalapeno beer was a hit at the Cino de Mayo party last weekend. It has the aroma of a fresh pepper, but the smooth, clean flavor of a golden ale. This was my idea, but Drank Tank's pet project. He used Tequila instead of vodka for the peppers, but it still turned out great.

- Started my own business, Tumblin Construction. If you know anyone in the greater Triad NC area that needs a deck, fence, shed, or whatever else, contact me here.

I'll try to keep in touch more often, and maybe I'll win a ribbon this weekend!

Bock update...

Actually, Drank Tank and I dubbed this brew "Bock Twenty-Five" since it isn't quite a double, but is more than just a bock...

Transferred to secondary last night. Already tasting smooth with a hint of bitterness. Very malty and just a hint of phenols (alcohol taste). Gravity at 1.014, and that's where it will certainly stay. The yeast I've used for the vienna and this bock is outstanding. It's a "special" strain that White Labs release in the winter. Platinum Series Bavarian Lager yeast. It ferments great at 52 and is healthy with vigorous fermentation. I collected at least 1/2 a pint of it from the fermentor for use on my O'fest in March!

Double Bock (or not)

Drank Tank and I brewed a Dopple(double) Bock Sunday but it didn't quite come out that way...we were shooting for an OG of 1.077 but only made it to 1.060. So we ended up with what is barely a bock. No worries. DT wanted to use the 13gal fermentor he brought back from Tennessee, so that's what we did. It is fermenting away at 52F...

Back in the Saddle...

Well sorry for the delay, but it took longer than I thought to get into my car...

I'm back, for now. A lot has happened at the RCBC, but the most important thing is that I've started making good beer again! I had a few hickups transitioning to the pumped brewery, but the last four beers have been quite tasty. Thanks goodness, because I was starting to get really worried! Here's the current tally:

DRINKING
Transmission Fluid Red (Irish Red Ale)
Smokey Burnout Ale (Wee Heavy Scottish Ale)
Brake Fluid Lager (Octoberfest Lager)
Forty Weight Brown (English Northern Brown Ale)

FERMENTING
El Camino Equis (Vienna Lager [Dos Equis Clone])

NEXT UP
Blueberry Pie Ale
Cockhammer v2
Belgian Ale (abbey)
Hard Cider
Bock

Next Up - Highland Amber

This Friday I am brewing a Scottish Ale using a recipe I found on the net. It's called "Highland Amber" and I hope to do it justice. This winter I'm going to try and brew a number of different styles:

Belgian (Farmhouse style)
American Lager (Sam Adams)
Bock
German Pilsner
EXPERIMENTAL (Probably the chestnut brown)
Porter

We'll see how many I get through since I will be moving to part-time work and doing some home remodeling!