Author Archives: Bishop

Nephew Sean’s American IPA

Sean with my daughters Ashleigh and Lisa

My nephew Sean, see above, has complimented me (really flattered me and it is working) on my blog and he has recently asked for an IPA recipe …. India Pale Ale….a much hoppier beer than a run of the mill ale. I poked around on the internet and found a recipe for him to brew on “Brew Monkey” http://www.brew-monkey.com/….. good place to go if you want to step away from the ordinary. Now Sean is real new to brewing and his dad has done a few extract only beers.  So, Sean……taaaaaaaaaake your time on this one as it is a partial grain recipe and partner up with Dad. You will be using 1 lb. of a specialty grain steeped for 30 minutes in a gallon of water – keep the temperature above 150 deg. F and below 170 deg. F.

So, Sean, here are the basics. “Bums IPA” – close to Dogfish IPA in taste and color.

1 lb. – Briess Caramel 10L crushed crystal maltsteeped in one gallon of water (use a nylon bag or muslin bag for grains.) after steeping add the water to 1 gallon of water and boil for 1 hour. This is a two gallon boil recipe but will be brought up to 5 gallons.

4 lbs Extra Light Dry Malt Extract (DME)

4 lbs Light liquid malt extract/syrup

1 0z. German Northern Brewer pellets added 15 minutes into the boil

0.5 oz. Cascade hops added 30 minutes into boil

0.5 oz. Cascade hops added 45 minutes into boil

1 oz. of leaf Cascade hops added dry into the secondary when transferring from primary to secondary – hold in secondary for 14 days (ok to use pellets if you have to but need to be careful when bottling.)

1/2 tsp. Irish Moss at 50 minutes into boil. Helps clarify the beer.

Chill , pour into primary fermenter leaving as much trub behind as possible then bring volume up to 5 gallons by adding preboiled water. – 3+ gallons

Pitch 1 package of American Ale yeast – Wyeast #1056 when wort has been cooled to 70 deg. F

Ferment 7 days at 70 deg F and transfer to glass carboy for an additional 14 days

Add to 3/4 cup corn sugar to beer and bottle condition at 70 deg – age 28 days…be patient Seany boy…. it will be worth the wait.

Store at 55 deg F if you can.

Last and certainly not least…. Uncle Bishop needs to taste and provide feedback on your brewing skills….. it may take 3 or 4 bottles to give you a fair assessment…… ;- )

Uncle Bishop

Resources;

Northern Brewer – http://www.northernbrewer.com/

Midwest Supplies – http://www.northernbrewer.com/

Williams Brewing – http://www.williamsbrewing.com/

Australian Brewing Corporation – http://australianbrewingcorporation.com/

Defalcos – Houston

Dick’s Danger Ale Has Now Been Captured – In Bottles

Bottle and Sample

I finally made time to rescue Dick’s Danger ale from what seemed like an eternity in the secondary fermenter. The recipe suggested a week and I went well over two weeks before the liberation forces arrived. Now I have to wait two more weeks while it conditions and carbonates in the bottles. I used one BIG bottle and 26 individual sized bottles. My big bottle is the 6 L size ….. the Tap-a-Draft mini-keg size. Patience my dear!!!! I checked the 6 L bottle today and it is getting very firm….an indication of carbonation! Just 13 more days!

The sample I grabbed during the bottling process was excellent! I was drinking it out of the cylinder used to check the gravity but it was just too good to treat it like a mere sample. I broke out one of the chalice style beer glasses to better savor the beer. Wow…. so smooth on the tongue and a bit af a malty taste with a hint of coffee. Not very hoppy, and I didn’t expect it to be but overall  very pleasant.

An update on the Amarillo Ale . Slow to mature and the citrus flavor from the Amarillo hops is dominant. I am hoping that it will mellow as it continues to mature. Kinda like me – huh….. mellowing as I mature. It is drinkable now but not what I expected. The Belgian Wit in the minikeg is ok but I think the bitter orange rind is over the top…. it is one you like or don’t, not much middle ground.

Maybe I should pour a cold one and contemplate my navel!

Take an Ale to lunch today – it will make you feel so much better!

Bishop

Tennessee Beer Travels

Not much brewing on  the home front. I will bottle the Dick’s Danger Ale tonight, if can find enough empty bottles.

We just returned from a trip to Nashville and Knoxville Tennessee. I am impressed with the scenery, the music and the some of the local beers. We arrived in Nashville on Tuesday the 8th of November. We checked into he hotel about 2:30 PM and Kathy said lets head downtown….  I thought it was a bit early but decided to humor her. It turned out to be a good choice. Our first stop down on Broadway St. was the Big River Grille and Brewing Works. http://www.bigrivergrille.com/ The food was Ok but the beers were pretty tasty. Kathy liked the Nashville Steamer Golden Ale. I had to try two and chose the House IPA – it was pretty good, not overly hopped but still tasty and the Sweet Magnolia Brown Ale.

We then wandered off to sample some more and to find some music. We found both! Yazoo is a local beer, both on tap and as we found out later, in bottles. The Hop Project is a very cool beer. Every batch is different, Batch 61 is out today and I sampled batch 60 – it was outstanding. check it out. http://yazoobrew.blogspot.com/ I also sampled the Dos Perros ale and enjoyed it as well. Kathy went with her old standard – Blue Moon Belgian Wit….. she is not quite as adventurous but is broadening her palate.  I have heard her reply to someone, usually a woman (will that get me in trouble?) – when they say all beer is the same and she then proceeds to educate them.. I love it. I did drink a few PBR’s as it wanted to lighten the ABV load for the evening. My lovely wife surprised me with a nice room at the Marriott and lo and behold – it came equipped with a jacuzzi tub….. hmmmmm. It was a nice surprise. Nuff said! The musis…. For a Tuesday night it was superb. I am ready to go back and maybe even dance a little.

We then wandered off to Knoxville to see our son Ben swim at the UT invite. He swam well and Kathy and I got to explore a bit more. The beer exploration included two trips to the Downtown Grill and Brewery on Gay St. Some nice beers on tap. Over the two visits I manged to sample 5 beers from the list, The White Mule Ale, the Woodruff IPA…I like!, the New World Porter…. Ok but not as good as the State Street Stout – tasted a bit like my stout, and the Downtown Nut Brown Ale. Kathy stuck with the very pleasant and easy to drink Downtown Blonde Ale.  http://downtownbrewery.com/The_Beer.html

We went to a place called Cafe4 for lunch one day and they had a local beer on tap made by Marble City. The waiter said it was a stout and I decided to try it. Well, when he brought the beer out is was a nice amber color and definitely not a stout. He checked with the the bar and they insisted it was the stout…..I think the delivery guy didn’t swap out the handle. The beer was a bit sweet and had a bit of spice flavor.  I looked up  the brewery offerings on my iPhone and it appears I was drinking the seasonal beer. It was definitely the Spiced Pumpkin Ale. A day later we went down the Old City Knoxville and found a little market that had beer on draught as well as growlers to go. They had a couple of  the Marble City offerings. http://mcb2.syncslate.com/our-beer/ No stout…… but I tried Dad’s Dime Ale and the Nectar Rubus….a rasberry wheat ale. Nice beers. I also had a South Carolina beer by RJ Rockers called Buckwheat After Dark Ale a Dunkelweizen… I really liked this one. http://www.rjrockers.com/page.asp?p_key=62A5E5C200184ECDB2D69B6C1AEF1E58&ie_key=587AF451F7AF42E497B18737E009A050

We tool a drive up into the Great Smoky Mountains – wow= really nice and an afternoon drive is severl days too few! We should be back in February again.

Kathy and Bishop - Big River Grille and Brewery

Brisket and Stout – Better Than a Sleeping Pill

Stout and Brisket - Should Be Goo

Woke up around 2:30 AM this morning, tossed around for a while and finally decided I would get up and try to get some things accomplished. I looked online and saw that my local Starbucks wasn’t open until 5:30…..I could have gone up to the front of Kingwood – that store opens 30 minutes earlier….. Chose to wait and ride the bicycle down to my local Starbucks hang out.

My restless night was partially due to the procedure done on my right ear yesterday… they poke a needle hole in the tympanic membrane and inject a warm steroid solution into the ear. After three daily treatments the hearing issues (lack of) and vertigo may subside or go away. The vertigo increased overnight and the hearing is so bad I can’t tell if it is getting better. The tinnitus ringing in the ear was over the top last night… so it was a sleepless night…not “Sleepless in Seattle” – I think that was a chick flick, it was sleepless in Kingwood.

So, what does this have to do with a beer blog – well let me fill you in. I decided that some good Texas comfort food – Brisket!, a bottle of my oh so good Imperial Stout……. it just seems to get better and better as it sits, some nice fresh gazpacho – fresh from the garden and local CSA pick-up and dinner with my wife and daughters would be a nice precursor to a full belly and the sedation from an 11% stout! – it just may help me sleep.

I think I will sleep very well tonight. The stout is so smooth…almost silky on the tongue and a mix of “chocolaty” and a hint of licorice flavors is very nice….the beer  adds to my vertigo – I am almost ready to go sideways as I type. My third inner ear injection is tomorrow and hopefully I will see some improvement!

More Beer stuff. Need to pass along some pats on the back to some beer supply folks. A couple of weeks ago I ordered some imprinted bottle caps. Well, they have not arrived so I sent a note off to the contact email address asking for an expected delivery date. I received a great reply, after hours and not from some overseas call center….. Mr. J Cameron Cooper, Manager of BottleMark LLC, http://www.bottlemark.com/ , sent a great note back explaining  their production issues/problems….. I told him no problem that I could wait –  but he fired off a note back to me saying they will try to get my order out for my next bottling….. this is real customer service…. if you need printed caps – give BottleMark LLC your business. I am impressed!

Oh yeah, back to the brisket,…. 10 hours in the smoker – the brisket turned out awesome…. And yes…..I am fading …. I think I will have to pass on watching “Dancing with the Stars” tonight. Sorry hun!Mmmmmmm good brisket – goes well with the Stout.

Mmmmmmm good brisket - goes well with the Stout

An update… I was fading for sure – the post to the blog also went sideways so I am trying to salvage my thoughts – so few and so fart ( as I proofread I saw the word fart…not intended between them! – I am trying again. I did sleep very well – until about 5;20, then rode the bicycle down to my Starbucks office to finish things up.

Dear Melissa, the vertigo just makes riding the bicycle a small challenge in the bigger scheme of things. I love the challenge. When it gets bad enough that I have to lay down to put my underwear on I will forego the morning rides…..

TTFN

Bishop

Dick’s Danger Ale is in the Secondary Fermenter

It was a busy afternoon in the kitchen/brewery. I flew in from Midland on the 5:20 AM flight this morning….. I got some feedback – I was told that the flight left at the” crack of stupid”! It was a bit early according to my who picked me up as well as my co-worker – he decided to stay in bed and have a day of leisure – my alarm went off at 3:45 AM in order to get the car back and get my “special” pat down at the security gate… this all metal left  knee sets the alarms off every time. I wonder if anyone ever gets a woodie during this pat down….? No, not me… the guy doing the pat down!

Back to the beer – I transferred the ale from the primary into the glass carboy secondary fermenter in order to clear it up and allow it to condition a little long without sitting on the spent yeast. The grab sample to check the specific gravity was so good I think I  could keg it now and charge it up with CO2 – it would be ready to drink. If it gets better over the time as  it sits before bottling  I won’t be able to keep it around. This partial grain recipe seems to be a keeper. Once I get set up to do an all grain beer I will give this ale a try as an all-grain brew. It looks very dark but isn’t heavy and is just smooth!!!!!

I was able to do a pretty good job of avoiding collisions with my daughter Lisa and my lovely wife. Halloween party tonight with Lisa and friends. She made some of those Ritz cracker and peanut butter cookies dipped in melted almond bark and decorated Halloween style. I wonder if they will go well with D’sDA – (Dick’s Danger Ale)

I did have a bit of a problem during the transfer….. it is a requirement to enjoy a good beer while conducting any and every step of the brewing process. Well, I had a “small” pint of the Belgian Wit I recently brewed – one beer…. shouldn’t be a problem right? Well, not so recently. I have been afflicted with a condition called Sudden Hearing Loss –  just the right ear. I am one of the chosen ones because along with the hearing loss I have a pretty good dose of vertigo….  that becomes the issue. My vertigo and one beer start the merry-go-round spinning a little too fast. The only benefit that I can see is that my good home-brew may stick around a little longer because I am a one and done guy in my current condition. If you want more info there is a link below.

http://www.dizziness-and-balance.com/disorders/hearing/shl.htm

Hmmmmmm, what shall I brew next?

TTFN,
Bishop

Dick’s Danger Ale is Fermenting

Busy day yesterday. I brewed the 5 gallon batch yesterday and it was a hectic effort. I did not dive in and do an all grain recipe….. my CFO would need to authorize a $600 investment in mashing equipment…maybe a little more depending on the quality. This was a partial grain batch and the grain bill was pretty heavy – 2.5 lbs of 2-row pale malt, 7 ox. of crystal mall 80 (L), 9 oz. of Briess black malt 550 (L) – the black malt really gives it a dark look. I also added 3.15 lbs. of Briess light extract and 1.5 lbs of dried malt extract. I used severla of my dear’s kettles and had to be a little creative to rinse the grains.

Magnum hopsused  for bittering and Mt. Hood hops for aroma – the Mt. Hood hops have a great aroma! Dry English Ale yeast, pitched at 74 degrees and aerated well. A day later there is a good krausen ring around the edges of the fermentation bucket indicating the fermentation is well underway.

I should be ready to bottle in two weeks and enjoy for the Thanksgiving Holiday Season. I ran a taste test on the sample I pulled to check the OG(original gravity) and the color matches up with the recipe – about a 28 on the SRM scale vs. a 35 or more for my Stout. The taste is nice… not sure how it will mature after it conditions. Folks in the Northwest rave about the beer so I am anxious but willing (need) to be patient.

SRM Scale link if you are interested; http://www.brewersfriend.com/2009/02/28/beer-styles-srm-color-chart/

For you folks in Houston…. some good beer news. We have a new brewery, Karbach Brewing Co. The Brewmaster is well seasoned… looks like the Houston Chronicle mixed his name up with the Brewery name in the article… oh well, Eric Warner has somegood  roots and spent time with Flying Dog as the CEO…. I like the Flying Dog offerings and the irreverent humor expressed through the artwork on their labels. The article touts Karbach’s “Sympathy Lager”….. and now the hunt begins.

Hey hun….er, Ms. CFO – how about a good sized refrigerator for the garage so I can brew some Lagers….. I found a great article for clone lagers like Hamms and Oly…..real classics…how about a real good MGD?

Maybe I shouldn’t press my luck.

The Photo below was taken on my 60th birthday – Pat Love – We named a Wheat Ale we brewed after him, John Livezey, my partner in crime at the Humble Beer Festival ( the H is silent in Humble), me.. looking good in that Bush t-shirt and a non-brewing neighbor Alan Wooten…. he did a little quality surveillance for us.

My Bakersfield Brewing Buddies on my 60th Birthday

The Belgian Wit was a hit at dinner tonight. My daughter Ashleigh had a friend over and her review of the beer was pretty spectacular… head swells, chest puffs up and I grin like the Chesire cat…. I do love to hear nice things!

TTFN

Bishop

 

Dick’s Danger Ale Postponed Due to Weather

Belgian Wit – Nice Color – and Flavor

I had to delay the brewing planned for yesterday. It was a mixed blessing. The wind was gusting pretty strong which can bring all kinds of airborne contaminants – well beyond my cat dander nemesis. The good was the temperature drop which will make it easier to maintain better fermenting temperatures in the house.

After some errands, taking the MRI disc to the ear doctor, getting some materials to go vertical with my fall strawberry planting and picking up my share of CSA provided vegetables, I got down to beer related activities.(was that a run on sentence Mr. Kunert?). I picked up a copy of “Beer” magazine, the September/October issue and enjoyed the slick layout aand great articles.

This issue had two very important lists. One was the magazine’s top 50 beers. Over a three-year period of time they sampled and rated over 300 beers….how do I apply for a job??? It is a very interesting list and a bit sad… I realized that I have only sampled 4 of the 50! Three of my tastings scored 95’s and one a 94.  There a large number of beers scoring 96 and above that I may have to hunt down. If my children of legal drinking age are reading, I will leave the magazine out and my wish list tabbed. Thank you.

The other list in this issue was one that I can say I am more familiar with. It lists the top craft breweries by volume – “by volume”, that phrase resonates with me. So, I sat down, sampled a cold draft Belgian Wit(see photo), handcrafted by a good-looking gray-headed guy in Kingwood, Texas, and began reminiscing on my experience with these breweries and their offerings. I won’t list all 50 but I will list by rank those that merit my comments……yes I have sample from all that  I will mention.

1. Boston Beer Company – most beer drinkers will recognize the Samuel Adams brand and all of its various seasonal offerings. A craft beer company with roots going back to brewer and founder Jim Koch’s home brewing days. Also listed on the stock exchange…about $ 85 per share. I have tried and like many of their beers.

2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California. My youngest son, not of legal drinking age, has Chico State on his list of possible choices. Their Pale Ale is very nice, not real hoppy at all, about a 37 on the IBU scale, but very drinkable. I like the Stout as well as the seasonal beers. Another plus….I can reuse the bottles in my brewing/bottling activities.

3. New Belgium, Fort Collins, CO. Fat Tire and 1554 are my favorites. The Ranger IPA has a great aroma and taste…. if you like hoppier beers. I also like my New Belgium bike jersey…way cool.

4. Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX. Oh man… Shiner Bock!!!!! They have a nice suite of beers  – No IPA though, but overall they make Texas proud…. I may not have been born a Texan, but I got here as quick as I could.

9. Harpoon Brewing, Boston, MA. The Harpoon IPA is good as well as the UFO Hefeweizen.

11. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE. I have been developing a real fondness for IPA’s ( India Pale Ales were  heavily  hopped to help the English ales survive the trip to India, hence the the name. It became a favorite of expats returning home and the style became a fixture). The 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPA’s are very nice.

12. Alaskan Brewing and Bottling Co., Juneau, AK. Alaskan Amber, MMMMMMMMM good, I traded 4 bottles of my Imperial Stout for a 6 pack… it is that good. After looking at their offerings I may have to explore some more….I wonder if my Continental Airlines pilot buddy can score a variety pack in exchange for some more home-brew???

14. Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA. Love that Gargoyle logo…. Love the Stone Pale Ale, Stone India Pale Ale and obviously the Arrogant Bastard Pale Ale. They have a nice looking line-up of beers that beg for sampling… so few hours in the day!

15. Abita Brewing Co., Abita LA., Who dat! …. Tucked off of Interstate 10, what a great little accidental stop. My wife and I were driving home from Auburn Alabama after watching our son swim in the SEC meet and we were feeling hungry. Asked the GPS to finds us some food and it as if it knew that we were both beer drinkers. Kathy fell in love, first with me and then the Abita Purple Haze. I haven’t found one that I didn’t like….Turbo Dog is my first choice. Try it, you’ll like it.

16. Brooklyn Brewery, where else but Brooklyn, NY. I sampled the Brown Ale, Pale Ale and Lager at the Humble Brew Fest …. see earlier post. Not bad at all.

23. Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, CA. My introduction to beers beyond yellow fizzy water happened at Pizzaville on Oak St., Bakersfield, CA. Bob Green, the owner, stocked the Anchor Steam beer. I was intrigued with the flavor. It really grew on me. It was also the only place in town to get Olympia on draught! Bob loved Oly as did an older couple that came in every Friday evening, before the fights in the parking lot started, ordered a medium Beef & Onion pizza to go along with a pitcher of Oly. I just found a clone recipe for the long extinct Oly…..will try it once I am set up to lager beers. Where do Artesains hide? Answer in a future post.

26. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA. I want to retire to Paso and get a job at Firestone…..they can pay me in beer. I am a huge fan of the Double Barrel Pale Ale, the Double Jack will sneak up on you and knock your whatever into the dirt! They are very fond of all things Pale Ale-ish! Worth a trip to visit and sample.

28. Flying Dog Brewery, Frederick, MD. I love the labels…..no I don’t peel them off and eat them – but he beers are outstanding. Give them a try… they may make you chase cars…. be careful and don’t chase parked cars….. is that how Pekingese dogs got that funny look????

33. Odell Brewing Co. – I sat in the airport in Colorado Springs waiting for a flight and drank a few Levity Amber Ales…. very nice. I want to try a few of the others in their line-up

48. St. Arnold Brewing Co., Houston, TX. Ah, back home, we are blessed to have an outstanding local brewery in the top 50 by volume. They make some great beers and I understand have a great tour…. need to round-up a DD and give it a taste test. I like the Elissa IPA really well but the others in the stable are very nice,  the Amber, the Lawnmower and the Weedwacker are in my fridge quite often.

TTFN

Bishop

 

Kegged and Now I have to Wait

 

Mini kegs - 6L each

 

The batch of the Belgian Wit has been racked to the 6L plastic keg bottles. I have about three long weeks to wait before I tap the first one. I wound up with about 15 liters of beer….last time I used the little kegs I had a full 18 liters. The bottom of the primary fermenter was pretty deep with sediment so I left some beer behind….it was a tough decision but for the good of mankind I erred on  the clean and clear side of the proposition.

The bottles need to condition for about 9-10 days and then sit at a little cooler temperature… 65 or so for two weeks!!!!. That may be a tough temperature range to find without special equipmen and may be a long wait! Ales are a bit forgiving so I will hope for the best here in the house.

As with every racking effort I had to run some of the beverage across my tongue. It does not appear that the cat dander found this batch, yee-haw! I am not a huge fan of the Belgian Wit……. “Blue Moon”, but this batch tastes very drinkable and I may share a few evenings sipping a cold one with Kathy – this batch really is hers but I know that she will share some with me.

I have been running across more articles in various magazines of all types, food magazines, Mother Earth News and my brewing periodicals, talking about the growing wave of hard cider making. It is a very compatible venture for home brewers and has captured my interest. I am still very interested in making an all grain batch of beer but it may be followed or maybe preceded with a cider effort. The decision will posted here very soon.

Still waiting on the Amarillo Ale. Sampled it last week and it was way too early. I have a bottle cooling in the fridge now for a weekend test. Fingers crossed. The first bottle was a bit flat and the flavor was very ordinary. I will update y’all soon.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/2007-10-01/How-to-Make-Hard-Cider.aspx

 

Bishop –

 

Bottling and Racking to Secondary

A very nice beer to sip while brewing.

I have the Amarillo Ale bottled and aging now. I had to delay bottling for a few days because the gravity did not drop as low as I wanted. I stirred it up and let it sit for another three days and got a 3 point drop. I am a little more confident that it will be fine. The sample during the bottling was OK but not outstanding. I will be patient and let it condition and age before sampling again.

On the same day I racked the Belgian Wit over into the secondary fermenter. Yes I sampled and took the gravity…. gravity is where it needs to be and the flavor is damn good. I will again show some patience and let it sit the full required time in the secondary before filling my 3 -6L minikegs. While I was boiling the wort my wife walked by and said she liked the smell of this wort as compared to some of my other batches. I still have no chance to boiling the wort inside the house……

Next on my list?????? I am still wanting to try an all grain beer. I need to do a little research and see if I have enough goodies on hand so I don’t get the CFO questioning additional expenditures. If someone has a request for doing a clone send me the request. Or maybe I will  get real frisky and brew something original in a style I like? So many beers and so little time to sample them all!

Amarillo Ale – Transfer to Secondary

Stunt Double for the Belgian Wit -" Fat Tire"

My latest batch is an Amarillo Ale… if you remember from the last post – it is not a Texas “thang”, it is because of the Amarillo hops used for the flavor. I took extraordinary care during the transfer to keep cat dander out of the air and hopefully out of the secondary carboy (6 gallon glass vessel – a lot like the old water bottles).  I will let the batch settle more in the secondary, dropping more  of the solids out, become much more clear and continue progress towards the final gravity. I was a bit surprised as it was only down to 1.032 when I transferred the beer. It started at 1.052 and I was hoping that it would be closer to 1.020. Be patient Bishop!!!!!

I did little sampling as I transferred the beer – I drank the sample out of the graduated cylinder and I was impressed. Wow, a great hop balance, not an IPA but just enough to make it stand out from the ordinary fizzy yellow waters on the shelf. Even stands out from some of the better ales. I had to ask for help from a cold Fat Tire Ale for the photo…. silly me, I drank the sample before taking the photo so I substituted the Fat Tire seen in the photo. My Amarillo Ale sample tasted better even though very young and just a little too sweet. I am anxiously waiting to bottle, age and enjoy the new beer.

Plans…. when I return from Midland, TX  during the middle of the week I will boil the wort for my next batch. I am making a Belgian Wit to satisfy my wife’s yearnings for a beer that is a bit better than the Blue Moon equivalent.  She is broadening her experience base and has begun to move out of her comfort zone and try new beers.

While surfing this AM I  saw a pumpkin beer actually fermented inside of a large pumpkin….. hmmmmm, might be worth a try! One example even used the pumpkin as the tun in a whole grain brew. Wow!

Enjoy the football season and try a new beer or two along the way.

Bishop