ESB and O-Fest Blues

Every once in a while even the best homebrewers have to throw a batch out. I am sad to say, the O-fest will be gracing the gutter with it's presence. With a starting OG of 1.056 it should have finished fermenting around 1.018, but after over a month it never made it below 1.032. I really don't know why it never fermented, but hopefully it will help my grass grow...

Moving on. I just kegged (secondary) an ESB I brewed a few weeks back, and it fermented out just awesome. It was sharply bitter, but that will quickly mellow into the smooth bitterness of an English ESB. Here's a shot of it being transferred to the fermentor (a 13gal carboy).

Finally, my hop garden is flourishing. All plants have begun their trip away from the earth, and I will be training them over the next week to climb the trullesses.

Man Down, O-Fest brewing completed with casualties.

Last weekend brewed my annual octoberfest (maerzen) beer that will be consumed in the fall. Everything was going great until we reached the wort chilling faze, and that's when the hops clogged up but of my pumps, one of which I was unable to clean out and needs to be

rebuilt/junked. I also found a small bit of grain had burnt to the bottom of the mashtun, hopefully the burntness won't make it into the final product, that would suck.

Award Winning, B#$CH!

Finally, after several attempts, the RCBC has won an award. 2nd place at the 2008 Shamrock Open! Santa's Bootstrap is good!

Maiden Voyage

As is my standard procedure for new breweries, I brewed a stout today as a test run for the new RCBC. Let me just say that so long as this beer doesn't taste like warmed up arse that was the best brewing experience I've ever had. 77% efficiency, steady mash temp, and ease of use, where has this brewery been all my life!

Oh yeah...anyway, brewing went well, all told I now have 13gal of stout in process...which now that I think of it is probably more than I had calculated for and therefore efficencies were even better! Next brew will include an accurate sight tube for proper volumes (installed today).

Looking closer - A visual tour

The base design for Goliath was taken from Lonnie's Brutus Ten, for which plans were printed in BYO magazine. Beyond that, I customized the kettles for my brewing style and pumps. Please remain seated while the tour is in motion:

The Hot Liquor Tank (HLT) is simply a reservior with a valve, homemade thermowell, and temperator controlled with a Love controller and solenoid valve to fire the burner as necessary.

The Mash Tun is a little more complex, with a valve, false bottom, and thermowell, as well as an adjustible recirculation manifold and optional sparging ring (for fly sparging).

The Pumps are hand-me-down carbonator pumps. They work great, but are hard to regulate when it comes to flow control.

The Boil Kettle has a valve and a recirculation tube which helps to generate a whirlpool effect to speed wort chilling.

Finally, the Control Board manages liquid temps and pump cycles.

We've come a long way, baby!

So it's been almost 2.5 years since I started brewing on the stove. As with all my hobbies, I've dumped a lot of time and cash into the initative, and it's great because I can consume the byproduct of my work...BEER!

About two years ago I went into all-grain, and from there quickly into 10gal+ batches. I believe 10gal is a good size for frequent brewers who like to consume their product and share it with friends.

Now I've moved into what is likely the last major phase, although I do intend to eventually run a RIMS system in line with my new direct fire brewery. I'm excited to present the new RCBC, named Goliath in honor of my Chevelle I sold in January, of which some of the proceeds funded the brewery project.

It features three independent burners, two of which are automated via digital temperature controls and STC solenoid valves. There are two carbonator-style pumps, assorted fittings, and other such nonsenical things that I will detail later. But for now, I will just stand in awe!

More brewery updates

Couldn't help but snap a picture of the control panel, as it is friggin cool! Aluminum tread plate really ices the cake!

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...

Samiclaus and a new Brewery

Well the samiclaus brewing went well, especially as a send-off for the brewery. What, old brewery you say? Yep, it's time to brew like the big boys. Sometime in the next few weeks I hope to have the RCBC V3.0 ready for brewing. Construction has gone well thus far, although expensive and at a time when I am low on dough. Building it in the image of the Brutus Ten.

Monthly Update

It would seem that I am not as good at updating as I once was. Tough tacos. Anyway, severl developments in the RCBC...

First, the "RC" is gone, sold it to a nice guy in Apex, NC. I used the proceeds to build a cold room and begin construction on my basement gameroom. Gameroom is almost complete, and I still have enough cash leftover to upgrade the brewery.

Second, I've joined a group to become a certified Beer Judge (BJCP). It's a lot of memorization, and figuring out what flavors are what in beer. I've enjoyed it, but to say it is difficult would be an understatement. Examine in in June.

Third, once again I am brewing a big beer, Samiclaus, for the BBG club. Next weekend it is on!

Finally, the Dopplebock came out well, so far. Definitely needs some time to lager, so we will get to see how it goes after that. I also brewed a Bohemian pilsner using pallisade bittering hops, not proper, but that's what you get during a hop shortage!

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.

Bottling complete, brewery revamp.

Christmas beer is bottled and labeled...now it's just a matter of if you are on my "good" list! Anyway, after brewing the other day I finally decided that I would move forward with wholesale changes to the RCBC. I sold my Chevelle (68) and will use a small portion of the profits to gather the last few pieces I need for upgrades...more to follow, otherwise Merry Christmas!

Santa's Bootstrap complete!

Bottled most of the bootstrap stout yesterday while brewing yet another attempt at a brown ale. Popped one today to check the carbonation level, and let me tell you it was one fine beer! I have the labels in hand and will be bottling the rest as soon as I get the second keg's CO2 right.

HOPS! DEAR GOD HOPS!

As the self-proclaimed anti-hop I've recently brewed a "hop closet" brown ale. It was a bit of all the leftover hops I needed to get rid of. I must say, it's a nice session beer, keeps the palate engaged, even after the 3rd pint. Plus, I don't have a bunch of folks kicking down the doors for a drink, as Irish Jim and Captain Pete are no fan of hops either.

Man am I slack!

But here comes Santa's Bootstrap!

Beer is brewed, conditioned, and ready for spice. I've separated spiced vodka:

Ginger
Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg
Ginger cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla beans

I have nice labels on the way, will post the proofs when I get them!

Back by Popular Demand...

OK, OK, OK...I know I've been delinquent in posting. The stash of O-Fest is almost finished off, as well it should. turned out well, although the "toasted" variety seemed to hold it's bite a tad more than the regular. Still a fine brew!

So I'm now in the process of dreaming up a new version of the brewery that's a little more traditional. It probably won't happen anytime soon, but you never know. I also brewed the full run of the x-mas stout, as the first one came out pretty nice. It's finishing up primary, and I haven't decided if I'm going to bottle condition or force carbonate...

Hopefully I'll get back into a grove of posting on a regular basis!

It's been how long?

Nearly a month, not that anyone is counting. Starting a new business has taken it's toll on my free time!

The Christmas Stout got good reviews at my club meeting last night, although it is obviously not a drinking beer, and therefore not much was missing when I got home. No biggie, it's a rich full beer that wasn't meant to be drank in bulk...

Another biggie is the CAP I have lagering. It's mellowing nicely, although I figure it really needs a few months more. I'll have to put it on tap before then since that's about all I have right now. Brewing gold ale this weekend that should be ready to serve in a few weeks, so I can make up the difference.

When good brewing goes bad...Xmas beer test run.

Well brew day is in the books...what a cluster bomb...

Planned a great recipe for my christmas beer, a ginger-molasses imperial stout.

Planning is but a small part of a project. For some reason I chose to forgo adding Munich malt, why I don't know. Then my mash temp was low by 3 degrees (not too big a deal). Then my gravity was off by 10 points, as seems the standard for any high gravity beer even though I continue to lower the projected efficieny. And finally I can no longer get the wort below 78-80 now that the water is getting to that temp. I even had a pre-chiller going with ice and salt...still no dice after over 30mins of chilling, stirring, swirling, etc.I guess I'll have to start freezing some water bottles or move to Alaska in the summer! Days like this make me feel like a rookie!

The right way to do an American Pilsner...

A true beer this Pilsner is,
Not weak, tastless, Clydesdale horse piss.
It's big and it's bold,
On your palate it will hold,
A flavor your taste buds will miss!

American Pilsners have a particularly bad rap for beer snobs out there thanks to the efforts of Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing. Don't get me wrong, these companies garner tremendous respect for me as a hombrewer because they produce a consistent, quality product. Their product, however, is a far cry from the original CAP that was full-bodied and full of flavor...

So I took it upon myself to try and recreate the CAP the way it was meant to be. Only thing is I am cleaning out the winter grain stock and had pilsner malt (CAPs usually use 6-row malts) and 2 pounds of corn. Either way I went big, with a strong starting gravity that sould put us in the 6-6.5% ABV range. Balanced that with a heartier hop bill than normal and a bit of Munich to give it a tad more flavor. I have high hopes for this brew!

Back from Vacation

Spent a week at the beach with the wife drinking homebrew and hooch...Good Times...

Back home and brewed a Dunkel yesterday, trying to get rid of some pilsner malt. I still have a good bit of it, thinking of doing a big classic American Pilsner later this week as well.