Category Archives: Ale

Southern Star Brewery – Plan C, A Better Plan

Saturday was supposed to be a morning trip to NRG Stadium here in Houston for the RV and Boat Show. The return trip was in the trip advisor as a stop at Karbach Brewing Company for beers and a tour. As they sometimes do, plans change and options must be assessed. The participants on this field trip were good friend John, son Benjamin and his fishing buddy David. Benjamin and David decided to check out the Boat Show on Friday evening.  Both of the boys were interested in a seminar on winter fishing for Speckled trout. That lead to the first change. Even though storms were forecast for Saturday morning, the 25/26 year old fishing fools took the boat down to Trinity Bay on the recommendation of the seminar speaker. They got very wet but did catch a few fish.

Two participants had now bailed on me. The storm did materialize and it hammered our house with wind, rain and some hail from near 4;30 AM, when the boys left, until 6:30 AM! My son’s dog hates lightning and thunder so I was trying to get her settled down, I will chat with him later. John realized on Friday evening when I sent him the remindern that he had scheduled the Direct TV installer for Saturday AM.  Due to the stormm the installer was late and he was begging off. So, what’s a guy to do?

I called daughter Lisa at 11:30ish and sought out her company….bag the Boat Show and head to Karbach Brewing Company. I needed to salvage part of the day’s plan. She agreed and off we started. It was now near 12:45 before we got on the road. Just for grins and because of the storm, I asked her to check with Karbach and make sure they were open. Oops…….Karbach hours on Saturday are 12:00 to 3:00 – Mmmmm, just a bit too short. Plan C now. Let’s check on Southern Star Brewing Company in Conroe. Good news, on Saturday they are open from 1-5 PM. We could be there by 2:00 if we were quick. So, turn the Suburban around and head North Westish in the direction of Conroe, Texas.

Lisa snapped a shot of the speedometer of the Suburban as we dashed off toward Southern Star Brewing Company. We made good time!

Lisa snapped a shot of the speedometer of the Suburban as we dashed off toward Southern Star Brewing Company. We made good time!

Here is the “Paul Harvey” – The rest of the story twist. The electronics in the dash are messed up. While parked the speedometer reads 80 mph…..so, I am not a menace on the highways, but it sure makes a fun image.

Great news on arrival, the first pint is “on the Brewery”….Yee haw cowboy! We did behave since I was driving but Lisa did go after a few of the bigger beers, the Valkyrie Double IPA was her first and she finished with one of my favorites, the Buried Hatchet Stout. I experimented and tried the Waloon, a grisette style beer that is not broadly brewed. I liked it but it would more appeal to my wife. I also sampled the Old Potentate, it has a nice maltiness and is hopped very nicely. I finished up with a Pine Belt Ale. My favorite of the day.

We took the brewery tour. It was a high speed, energetic yet informative tour….The teaser for  is the description of the future plans for capacity  expansion and an increase in the amenities that will set it apart from many of the local breweries. There will be a nice outdoor grounds, and Old House on the location will most likely house the taproom. The brewery expansion will be significant. Look for news of the opening in late 2015!

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The Tourmeister…..very entertaining and knowledgeable. Loves his beer and is passionate about brewing.

Lance at the bar ordering hos next Libation.

Lance at the bar ordering his next libation.

Lisa. not my daughter Lisa, but Lisa from College Station - she knows her beer too! She was working her way through the sampler.

Lisa. not my daughter Lisa, but Lisa from College Station – she knows her beer too! She was working her way through the sampler. Lance is still trying to decide.

Empty cans waiting to be filled with the liquid gold! The blue cans are the Bombshell Blonde, the number on seller and the Buried Hatchet Stout the brown cans.

Empty cans waiting to be filled with the liquid gold! The blue cans are the Bombshell Blonde, the number on seller, the Buried Hatchet Stout the brown cans and the center pallets are the Pine Belt Pale Ale cans.

The brewery is a very casual and a great atmosphere for meeting people. Granted the cool weather and the Holiday season may have kept the crowd down. We wound up making some new acquaintances, got to know a few by first name and if you are there…….you are a lover of beer!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly!

Bishop

 

Brewing Day

It was a few days ago, December 23rd to be exact. Yes dear, I probably could have picked a better day ……. seems like it was hectic for everyone – everyone else but not me…. I should have known that there were different expectations?????

The all grain process does chew up some time. I don’t wear a watch so a good portion of the day got away from me before I started. It was dark by the time I was finished and beginning the clean-up. From a technical standpoint the brew came off flawless……. I hit the volumes, the starting gravity, the color and if the flavor of the sample from the gravity measurement is an indicator, it will be very nice! In less than two days the fermentation was in high gear and I should transfer to the secondary in a couple of days.

I plan to make a small change to the recipe. I plan to add Raspberry Puree to the secondary fermenter for flavor. The folks at the local brew shop suggested the that I should obtain better results. Time will tell.

Low tech but effective outdoor brewing set-up.

Low tech but effective outdoor brewing set-up.

I finished drinking the little dab of Belgian Wit that was in the fridge and had a couple of my Golden Wheat Red IPAs while brewing. The Tap-a-Draft mini-keg really works well and added just a wee bit more CO2 – makes it an outstanding beer! Gotta have a homebrew when making homebrew!

 

Plans – my son Ben is asking for just a plain run of the mill Pale Ale – then he said it must have great flavor and be easy to drink…….the search for a recipe begins…..IPA flavor but less alcohol….as session IPA. I can do it!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Yes Dear – Raspberry Wheat Ale

I seem to brew a lot of beers that I like – the  problem is, my wife has a different palate! I made one for her  a while back but the bitter orange peel used for the Belgian Wit Bier was a bit overwhelming. Dang it….I have had to drink almost all of it! Since then I have brewed a rich and chewy Russia Imperial Ale and my Golden Wheat Red IPA.  So, as my Christmas gift to her, I have just returned home from the beer store with the parts and pieces for a Raspberry Wheat Ale, affectionately labeled the “Yes Dear – Raspberry Wheat Ale”. No wrapping paper needed and the gift that keeps on giving, She will be so happy! My old brewing buddies will understand that the unsaid portion of the label would have read, ” Yes Dear, I should have known – Raspberry Wheat Ale”. It’s a long story…. and besides, it would have crowded the label.

Ingredients = $ 29.12…… I definitely think she is worth that much…

  • 5.5 lbs. Domestic white wheat malt
  • 5.5 lbs. domestic two row pale malt
  • 0.5 lbs. British medium crystal malt
  • 0.5 lbs. Flaked oats
  • 0.5 lbs. Rice hulls – aids in making a filter bed during run off
  • 2 ounces Hallertauer hop pellets – 1.5 oz. 60 minutes and 0.5 oz. 2 20 minutes
  • 1 pkg. Wyeast # 1056
  • 1/2 tsp Irish Moss @ 15
  • 1/2 tsp food grade gypsum
  • Many gallons of Ozarka Spring Water
  • 2 lbs. frozen Raspberries added to the secondary – two weeks

Single Infusion @ 152 deg F and batch sparge.

Below is an image of label design for this batch taken by my iPhone from the laptop screen.

Tongue in Cheek - "Yes Dear - Raspberry Wheat Ale" -

Tongue in Cheek – “Yes Dear – Raspberry Wheat Ale” –

I sure hope my bride has a sense of humor?…….never mind, she married me so the answer is, yes she does!

 

PS – I also came home with 1.75 Liters of 190 proof Everclear! Not for beer brewing but for making some Limoncello with my bumper crop of lemons! More on that later.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

 

 

Barrel Aging At Home

It is not really barrel aging but results are pretty much the same. I brewed a 5 gallon batch of Russian Imperial Stout in May. As a home brewer seeking that wonderfully complex flavors achieved by the craft brewers, you have the technology. You can buy oak spirals, made that way to increase surface area. They can be bought in various levels of toastedness…..not sure that word has made  its way into your Funk & Wagnall yet, but it is an apt description. I have made mine in the past using a white oak dowel and cutting deep grooves on my lathe. PS, get permission from your SO before toasting the oak in your home oven or better yet, do it outside. I soak mine in bourbon…..I select a lesser grade as I believe in not using my Pappy Van Winkle 20 year old for the effort.

Drop the toasted and soaked oak into your secondary and wait….last batch was three months. I has worked well! Oak source;

http://infusionspiral.com/

Below is a link to a good article form a recent post in the Weekly Pint. My latest offering is a perfect example of the vanilla flavor imparted by the oak…..wonderful. I am considering a barrel aged pale ale of some sort in the near future. Just don’t have enough free time to brew all that I want and or crave. That damn thing called work gets in the way!

http://www.weeklypint.com/the-weekly-pint/beer-101/barrel-aged-beer-december-2014

Fixing the Autodraft Mystery

Something odd happened the other day. I used my blogging app on my iPhone to generate a blog about the first taste test of my Gloden Wheat Red IPA. I attempted to publish after adding a few photos and conducting my typical sophomoric self editing  before publishing.  All that appeared was the “Auotdraft” title and no meat, no potatoes and nothing about the beer. I want to rectify that problem or mystery.

This was Golden Wheat Red IPA III – but it was also the first attempt at brewing the recipe as an all grain batch. If you read an earlier post detailing the brewing day you will see that it did not go as intended. Lesson learned, if the hydrometer is behaving incredibly far outside of expected norms, do not panic. Take a pull on a  good pint of homebrew – down to mid point, lick your lips and realize that it would not be physically possible for the hydrometer to float that high…….Then inspect the hydrometer closely…..if I had I would have noticed that the tip had busted off and the calibrating weight in the base was missing. Had I done that,  it would have been mystery solved….I panicked –  but based on the taste test I recovered nicely.

My first taste test was 11 days after bottling and the conditioning process was spot on….nicely carbonated but not too much.  Great hop balance…good bitterness up front from the early additions and the late additions including the dry hopping have provided a nice aroma. Very, very drinkable….I have encountered very few undrinkable beers but I have had some that were worse than others! This one comes in pretty durn close to outstanding!

A pint of a successful batch...or really 12 ounces!

A pint of a successful batch…or really 12 ounces!

Lovely lace and great flavor

Lovely lace and great flavor

 

My label to aid in CRS issues

My label to aid in CRS issues

 

CRS – a condition that increases with age where you “Can’t Remember Shtuff” or something like that. I will label the bottles this weekend and painful as it is to admit I will share a few! I will be a bit stingy but not nasty about sharing!

 

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

 

Baywood Park Ale House

Surprise discovery for me! I picked up my mother’s car from the shop in Los Osos and drove over to Baywood while she napped. It is a fun place and if I had stayed longer than one beer I could have made 6 or 8 good friends! As it was I made two and was working on a third! They had a great selection of local beers and Central Coast Brewery in San Luis Obispo was well represented!

I had time for one beer as mom napped. I chose the CCB Terrace Double IPA. Very, very nice aroma and great balance of hops- my opinion!
http://www.centralcoastbrewing.com

The West Coast is well represented amongst the 16 beers they have on tap. North Coast Brewing, Hermitage, Drakes, Tap It, Santa Cruz, Black Diamond up in Concord, CA. Then they throw beer from Wisconsin. Minnesota and Utah and you have a great mix…. Gotta come back with my bride!

 

 

Quaint place just off the main drag on Santa Maria and 3rd in Baywood, CA!

Quaint little house and a great little place to drink beers.

Quaint little house and a great little place to drink beers.

Some of the 16 taps and beer menu board behind them.

Some of the 16 taps and beer menu board behind them.

Locals have their own mug hanging from the ceiling.

Locals have their own mug hanging from the ceiling.

I just had to laugh!!!!

I just had to laugh!!!!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly
Bishop

Back Again

My wife and daughter accompanied me on another trip to the Galveston area this week. We were joining our friends Bev and John on Tiki Island as part of their week long 60th birthday celebration. Our hotel was about a 7 minute drive from the Tiki Island house and it was another 6 or 7 to the Galveston Island Brewery. How convenient.

We arrived about noon at the party house, watched a little college football and snacked on all kinds of munchies. Beer was also featured. My buddy John has great taste in beer. Just like my tastes! We had several varieties of Karbach offerings(local Houston brewery and is a favorite) as well as some Shiners, another good Texas brewery!

I made an excuse to leave and check in at the hotel. My real motive was a brief return trip to the local Galveston Island Brewery. I tapped my daughter Lisa on the shoulder and she read my mind so off we went.

Not much of a crowd at the brewery but understood as strong storm was on its way. Lisa ordered the IPA, not a surprise, she has her father’s good tastes in beer! I went with the Oktoberfest, un sampled from my previous visit. We also bought two 64 oz growlers. Tip- if you are going to be late returning to the party, bring full growlers. Instead of being late you are known as the bearers of elixir and not as the late arrival.

There are a few more local breweries on the Island awaiting my exploration. The Galveston Island Brewing Co is worth repeat visits.

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Drink Local and Drink Responsibly
Bishop

Golden Wheat Red – A Big Beer in the Making

Progress – about 6 days ago I transferred the beer from the primary tank to the secondary, the glass carboy, for the second of the  two stage fermentation process. I am still disappointed with my measurement faux pas….I can only guess at my starting gravity. At transfer it was 1.015…a little lower than I had predicted but my predicted measurements were based on the absence of Murphy, as in Murphy’s Laws. see previous post – https://bishopsbeerblog.com/2014/10/22/the-brew-is-on/

I am happy to report that the sample I grabbed was very, very nice! In two days I will dry hop with an additional two ounces of Centennial hop pellets. I will hold the temperatures at 63 degrees F for 5 days after the hop additions and then crash it to 34 or 35 F to clear everything up. I still have some decisions to make. When finished – should I fill two of my 6 L Tap-a-Draft kegs and bottle the rest, fill one 6 L keg and bottle the rest or bottle all of it? So many choices! The best part of the decision – whatever I choose it will be drinkable and sharable!

Making the transfer - primary fermenter to the secondary.

Making the transfer – primary fermenter to the secondary. Mother Nature and gravity make the siphon move the beer!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

 

 

End of Houston’s Big Brew Weekend

We, my wife and I, poured beer Friday night in the Texas Brewers portion of the event. Friday was college football and all good things associated.

Today is Sunday and the day started off by cheering my daughter on in her second half Marathon and fittingly ended in front of the Karbach beer stand! They were out of beer but my wife planned ahead and we had frozen strawberries and several beers on ice for my daughter and her running mate.

This evening is now spent with some NFL football, grilling a pork loin and sipping on my homebrewed Belgian Wit. Life is pretty darned good I’d say!

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An evening cool enough in Houston that has me in my insulated flip flops and no mosquitoes! Note pumpkin theme behind the glass.

Daughter and her running mate photo bombed by the Karbach crew.

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Drink Local and Drink Responsibly
Bishop