Category Archives: Homebrewing

Hop Water Batch Four

What happened to batch 3? Good question. Batch 3 was finished and added to the 1 gallon Growler Werks mini keg. My writing took a back seat due to back to back visits of grandsons. First week were the 2 under the age of 4 and the next batch of grandboys were in from Denver, similar ages. They kept me busy, but not so busy that I did not have a chance to enjoy batch 3……Batch 3 was made with 9 grams of Centennial hops. Used citric acid to lower the pH to 3.15…….some lessons learned here with amount of citric acid needed. FYI it does not take very much and it takes a lot of water to bring it up from pH 1.8!!!!!!!Batch 3 was dry hopped at a chilled temperature for about 24 hours. Results -very drinkable and used a thin slice of Meyer lemon in each pour. The Growler Werks mini keg did a very nice job carbonating the batch. A single 16 gram cartridge did well. As the 8th pint was dispensed the cartridge was totally expended. My beer loving daughter from Denver gave high marks to Batch 3.

Batch Four – back to more experimentation and exploration. Used a variety of hops that I had never heard of nor ever used to brew, Tahoma Hops. ;

“Released in 2013 by the USDA and Washington State University, Tahoma is the daughter of Glacier. With alpha content higher than its parent, Tahoma features very low cohumulone giving it a subtle, yet lovely lemon citrus aroma and flavor with undertones of orange, woodiness and spice.”, https://www.hopslist.com

Additional experimentation and exploration, I am a bit notorious with my need to experiment and explore. The drawback is that repeatability when a come across something really good may suffer. Note to self; make notes and capture the story. Used my sous vide to run the water temperature up to170 degrees F. Steeped for 30 minutes. Needed to use 1.5 gallons to get sous vide gear submerged enough to pump and heat….I had planned on 8 grams of Tahoma, bumped to 12 grams as the volume was half again larger. My prior pH discoveries let me zero in to pH 3.55 this time, just what I wanted. I filled one half of a 1/8 teaspoon with citric acid but then ;only added a little “dab”, measured pH, added another “dab”, measured pH, added another “dab”, measured and yee haw, pH dialed in to 3.55. Still a relatively large amount of citric acid was left in the measuring spoon.

Off to the races……heading on up to 170 degrees F
Reached set temperature…..close enough for my purposes. Removed sous vide and added hops as shown below.
Just at the beginning of immersing the hops.
A little low on carbonation so I jacked up the pressure a little more . Color is nice and the flavor is smooth….I may try the next glass with a slice of lemon but it really doesn’t need it.

Chilled the one gallon batch overnight after running through cheese cloth to sieve out hop pellet crumbs. Then added the chilled batch to my chilled growler and charged up the pressure to approximately 20 psi. Shook it good in order to get the CO2 into solution. Will shake it again after 24 hours and then wait a day to sample the result. Be patient Bishop …….. The initial aroma is good and I do like the color, a bit more yellowish, very much more than the prior 3 batches. Not sure if it is all due to the hops variety or the warmer temperature used for steeping or a mystery due to my exploration……..

Added another cartridge to better carbonate this batch.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

A Tragedy, Not of a Greek Tragedy Nor Shakespearian Nature, but a Tragedy Nonetheless.

When I considered writing about my recent and very significant tragedy, the first thought that popped into my head were the words, “Greek Tragedy and Shakespearian Tragedies”. Well, very quickly I realized my lack of writing skills! The first of which is “1 – Language: Shakespeare (or whoever really wrote the plays) wrote in iambic pentameter within a sixteenth century style of English. The Greek tragedies, of course, were in neither English nor iambic pentameter but in common Greek.”(1) I do remember hearing about iambic pentameter and failed miserably in my English classes trying my hand at it! As for common Greek, well, it is all Greek to me.

Secondly, ” 2 – Subject: Most of Shakespeare’s subjects were real people. He got many of his characters from “Holingshed’s Chronicle” and other historical volumes. Some Greek tragedies dealt with real people but had a tendency to veer to gods and goddesses and those with almost superhuman determination or strength.“(1) I am most definitely real people, but I will not even pretend to be a god or have superhuman traits.

Thirdly, ” 3 – Endings: Shakespeare’s endings were more more realistic. The Greek’s loved “deus ex machina” (god from a machine) for their happy endings. As our hero or heroine got deeper and deeper into plot problems, a hand-lowered contraption with a actor as “god” inside would magically make everything great again.”(1) The ending to my tragedy has not yet manifested itself, but, I do have a pretty good idea where/what it might be and address minimizing future tragedies.

 (1) https://www.quora.com/What-are-some-similarities-and-differences-between-Greek-tragedy-and-Shakespearean-Tragedy#:~:text=Greek%20tragedy%20is%20typically%20written,asides%20spoken%20by%20individual%20characters. I am sure my attempt at proper attribution for the quoted sections above will keep me out of plagiarism court or from ridicule at Harvard.

This is both a personal tragedy and a tragedy to an important inanimate object, yet, an important object in my life and nearly essential to my well being. My kegerator died an early but under the circumstances, not an unforeseen death. Building my kegerator was a labor of love as well as an exercise in creativity. The base element was a “used refrigerator with a top door freezer section. The used element…..the good and the bad, cost was attractive but the condition of the refrigerator was a big unknown and a key element in the tragedy.

The finished product. Four taps available and aesthetically pleasing with it’s covering in rough cut 1X4 cedar boards. I left without finish for a rustic appearance. The top freezer section was finished with chalkboard paint. Handy for designation of which particular essence/nectar of the gods is on tap.
Four Cornelius 5 gallon kegs fit very nicely into the comfy, cozy and chilly home. When equipping my kegerator I also purchased an Sanke valve set up so I could also tap commercial style kegs.
Sanke valve vs. ball lock type connectors on Cornelius kegs.

Now the tragedy to my beauty, my refuge and to my love of sharing the essence or nectar of the gods with friends & family was ripped from my heart in a tragic and untimely demise. The heart of every refrigerated device is the compressor. We/I had a massive heart failure and, although repairable, less expensive than a medical repair, it is still costly……. the estimate was a potentially costly $ 797.66 and it could be almost as good as new……! Now, my dilemma, spend nearly $ 800 to put it into working order but still used!!!!! Or, at my leisure, my labor is essentially free, strip the cedar off the original project and install on a brand new refrigerator costing less than $ 700 new, replumb the lines, FYI there were some lessons learned there that will be incorporated into the new project, hopefully creating a very long lasting kegerator! …….Hmmmmmmm what is a beer drinker to do????? Better have a beer to facilitate this difficult choice.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Russian Imperial Stouts – A Beverage that Begs to be Shared

I have brewed 4 or 5 batches myself, which I typically have bottled in 24 ounce bombers. Big ABV beers and big volume which I always utilize as “the one and done” beer at the end of the evening to be shared with 2, 3, 4 or more friends. Drink Responsibly…….The “one and done” is due to the ABV which tends to be north of 10 %. I don’t want to put a friend over their limit in any way shape or form. I am fond of the barrel aged Russian Imperial stouts and have always known they were to be shared and savored from my very first exposure.

I want to share my first exposure to the delights of Russian Imperial Stout…..the barrel aged beer called Parabola by Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, CA. Which year it was is a bit foggy…..not from the beer but from time frame……suffice to say a number of years ago. Close to 15 years are likely and I have slept multiple times since that visit to Firestone Pub in Paso Robles. That said I do recall my company that evening and the fun we had sharing the beer. My workmate Murray and I had been working in the area and decided to try out the Firestone Pub. The beer was their barrel aged Parabola, an Imperial Stout bottled in 22 ounce bombers……now reduced to 12 ounce sized bottle…..smart move and now the line up in their barrel aged offerings is extensive and so damned good.

Our waitress made the suggestion at he end of our meal to give Parabola a try. Glad we listened but in our conversations we realized that even though she recommended the beer, she had not ever tasted it. Murray and I immediately knew we had to include her, but we also realized this beer was near 14% ABV and we didn’t need to cross the line. We eventually shared 5 reasonable pours of this bottle and needless to say we were both hooked. I bought a bottle to bring home and in the years since, I have made it a top choice for sharing.

I do not brew this beer often and I always utilize toasted oak that has been soaked in bourbon to enhance the final product. The final product many times needs to age up to a year before it mellows out and becomes literally = Nectar or Essence of The Gods…..ready to be shared. I am going to share a link to Firestones barrel aged collection, as it has grown extensively over the years.

https://www.firestonebeer.com/our-beers/
Take time to take a look. https://www.firestonebeer.com/our-beers/

Some of the Best Russian Imperial Stouts according to Beer Advocate ……FYI Parabola is on the list several times due to the fact, that the aging process can be different every year yielding different taste profiles needing to be shared…..LOL https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/top-styles/84/

Three very fine ones in my inventory waiting to be shared. These are 12 ounce bottles so fewer shares available or maybe the same number with smaller pours LOL.

The last several batches I brewed I have been wise enough to bottle 3-4 in 12 ounces bottles to periodically share on 3-4 month intervals, in order to see if my partners in crime like the progress of the aging. One of my unique methods with my Russian Imperial Stouts I prime with brown sugar to allow CO2 to be built up. Most home brewers that bottle utilize corn sugar in the priming process that adds little if any flavor to the beer. The brown sugar creates the aromas and flavors that are also unique to my Imperial Stouts. From my sharing efforts in the past I have received strong and positive feedback from folks I shared this Nectar/Essence of the Gods with. It also ages well with a 6 year old bottle, last one from a prior batch getting rave reviews.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

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My First Lager……!Que Bueno!

Ok, yes, I am patting myself on the back……Translation……awesome! excellent beer Bishop, keep up the great work! The most difficult portion of this effort was the need for patience, allowing the beer to lager for 6 long and lonely weeks,……….just begging to be quaffed. Brew date was June 23, 2023, raised temperature to 68 degrees F on my mother’s birthday, June 30th, she would have been 94, for the diacetyl rest, what is that?…….”Because of the need for warmer temperatures to reabsorb the diacetyl, the diacetyl rest stage is mostly used when brewing lagers.” It was then cold crashed for several days to aid in clearing up the beer. It was kegged on July 8, 2023 and placed at 36 degrees into the kegerator and placed on CO2 for the +/- for 6 looooooong weeks needed to lager. On an additional note, in preparation for this beer I combined the zest of 4-5 limes into some 100 Proof vodka…….4 ounces of cheap vodka for about 3 weeks. The infused vodka was added when I kegged the beer.

Target date to drink was August 20, 2023, well it was going to be questionable if I could wait! The betting line was at least 100:1 against me…….and yes, I failed…..but it was for good reasons. I needed to pull a few samples about 4 weeks into the process to ensure any sediment that may have accumulated was pulled off and properly disposed of as well as checking the carbonation levels. Very little sediment was found and the disposal actually tasted pretty good, carbonation a bit light but not bad. At 5 weeks the sample was again pulled and properly disposed of. Much cleaner now and carbonation was on target. August 20th was approaching, Yee Haw.

I had my good buddy John over the join me for the summertime release of my Mexican Lager. The infused vodka was in just right amount, there is a hint of lime flavor but no indication of the presence of the little dab of spirits. If you folks have not been aware, August in Texas can be brutally hot. Summer of 2023 has literally kicked our butts around the block for 30 some odd days straight. My buddy John is a bit of a weather geek and for his Christmas/Birthday present several years ago, I bought him a weather station from Davis Instruments……The image below is from August 20th, the release date, and copied from his weather station. Needless to say we needed 2 1/2 to 3 healthy samples to adequately hydrate and give the beer a proper taste test. We both gave the beer high marks, Well surprise, surprise, surprise……Thank you Gomer Pyle USMC!

A little warm ya think and sadly not much breeze.
A Saint Arnold’s pint glass photo taken from my patio on August 22, 2023 and yes…….it was still friggin hot outside.

Will I brew another lager?…..Yes, but I prefer my ales…….I have 2 empty taps on my kegerator so I see at least one IPA – a SMaSH of some sort and probably a dank West Coast IPA in my near future. On a side note, a friend of my daughter’s was by recently and I broke out a 12 ounce sample of my bottled Russian Imperial Stout. He is a self professed fan of stouts. He and I split it. His opinion and mine were that the aging process is progressing nicely and it is very drinkable now…..I do have a number of 22 ounce bombers to share this fall and winter. It will only get better. Yum

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Massive Disappointment Yesterday

Yesterday my buddy John dropped by as he often does for a cold beer. We alternate patio sitting so yesterday was my turn. I knew he would like a nice pour of my Simcoe SMaSH IPA……

If it looks familiar it is…….I used this image in my last post.

I pulled two 20 ounce glasses out of the freezer, set one under tap number one featuring my “outstanding” Simcoe SMaSH IPA….there I go again with self congratulation! Mini lesson here, when pouring beer, always pull the tap handle into the fully open position. Why, a partially open valve creates a larger pressure drop at the tap and causes much more foaming of the beer than necessary. I sat the big glass under the tap, pulled it full open and dang it, just short of 14-16 ounces the keg ran dry. No problem, I give John the good beer and I will take a pour of the Session Ale. At about 2 ounces poured the Session Ale keg blew empty……dang it. Sorry John……no full beer for you. I took a portion of his and we had even amounts……sadly.

Well, now my brewing plans need revision! My kegerator is empty. Life is not good….I do have some options! When I built my kegerator system I bought a Sankey valve connector and added hardware to connect it with ball lock fittings. In simple terms it means I can pick up a commercial keg requiring a Sankey valve and hook it right up!!!!!!I have a special keg ordered from my favorite local brewery, DECA Beer Company, the Mosaic SMaSH…..cant wait till it is ready.

I need to shift gears and put a succession plan together for my empty kegerator. IPA’s are at the top of my list, my wife has slowed down on her beer drinking so I will likely focus on my tastes, my buddy John’s tastes, he is a fan of IPA’s and also some of the good lighter versions, and my beer drinking sons. My son Ben likes the Dank West Coast style IPA’s as do I. At my age, 72 and counting, I could probably benefit by having some lower calorie and less potent beers on tap. So, IPA’s of some sort soon to be brewed.

As for my Russian Imperial Stout, bottling day is on the calendar for April 23rd or thereabouts. Almost all will be bottled in 22 ounce bombers but 4 or so will be in 12 ounce glasses to help judge the aging process every 3 months. Progress notes will be coming…..I promise no more long hiatuses.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Simcoe SMaSH Results.

I have this beer on tap in my kegerator now and everyday that I walk into the garage it whispers to me……”Bishop, come closer and grab a frozen mug! Pour a pint and enjoy it!” It takes all of my willpower to resist…..not that I have a lot of willpower when it comes to very good beer……Yes, I am patting myself on the back. So, on or around February 8th or so….It really isn’t a memory problem, it is about me not adding the proper notes to my brew sheet!

The chalk blackboard on my kegerator – yes I know……I have two empty taps….Get going Bishop!!!!!

I did make a note that original specific gravity was 1.061, alas no date. Yeast was pitched on 1/22/23, WLP001 California Ale yeast. Pat myself on the back for that. I will now have to trust my memory on the next important part, final specific gravity, my memory has it at 1.012, which calculates out to about 6.4% ABV……several tastings of multiple pints seems to confirm the ABV….LOL. My previous blog post pegs the transfer to the secondary fermenter on January 29, 2023……So kegging was around February 7-8. First photo of a pint+ sized was February 11th……so…… relatively close on my time line….I will add those notes to the brew sheet and ask for your support and not calling me a liar.

Tasting, although my good buddy John does stoke (wasn’t sure if I wanted to use the word stroke here so I opted for stoke so as to not hear some of your giggles) my ego once in awhile, he pronounced this beer in the top 3 or so of my beers brewed…..he has liked a lot of my previous beers so I will accept his compliment. It was slightly over carbonated, but after relocating my CO2 bottle outside of the kegerator the low pressure gauge seems to respond better and hold the set pressures better. It now pours with a beautiful head!!!!!!

Nice thick frothy head……still very delicious and great aroma.
Simcoe SMaSH graciously accepting a couple of drops of green food coloring one day after St. Patrick’s Day

Now on to bigger and better things……a very big beer that nearly overwhelmed the capacity of my Grainfather System. I is rated at 20 pounds of grain and I managed 20.5 pounds……so, it was a struggle. It is a Russian Imperial Stout with dark toasted oak spirals soaked in good bourbon. The beer is in the secondary now, this will allow the spirals to sit for 8 weeks and impart magical flavors and mellowness to the beer and then bottle it in 22 ounce bombers. I am not kegging this beer. It looks like it will be between 10% and 11% ABV. The story on this beer soon!!!!!!!

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Update and Wandering Musings of my SMaSH Simcoe Beer

First the update. Yesterday on day 8, I managed to rack from the primary fermenter into the glass carboy secondary fermenter. I added 1 ounce of Simcoe hops for dry hopping. Even after 8 days the beer was still a bit busy fermenting, as indicated by the gravity of the beer. I had been expecting something in the neighborhood of 1.012 or less and the beer was 1.021. The primary still had a busy looking krausen …… I figured what the heck, rather than closing it up and waiting a few more days I went ahead and racked it over to the secondary with the understating that it would still be bubbling pretty actively. The sample I pulled to check the gravity was not wasted, slightly sweet on the backend but very nice aroma and color was perfect. Note to self here…..this beer will need serious cold crashing prior to kegging…..At my age that may require and reminder plugged into my smart phone,,,,,if I don’t forget!…… FYI – I added it to Monday February 6th at 1:00 PM. Yee Haw!

Wandering musings……some of you are craft beer savvy and you understand the term SMaSH. If not it simply means the simple process of brewing with a single malt(malted grain) and a single variety if hops. A little more……

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-malt#6rXUJtvrb9M1bqzLktw2Ui ————————————————————

“How Is Malt Made?

The desired end-product affects the malting process, but the basic steps involved in malting include:

  1. 1. Harvest: Gathering, cleaning, and drying the grains is the first step in malting. Since ancient Mesopotamia, the most common malted grain is barley. Malt makers or maltsters can malt all kinds of grains, but barley remains a popular staple.
  2. 2. Soak: Soaking or steeping the grains involves submerging the grains in water. The enzymes activate and set off chemical changes as the grains absorb water.
  3. 3. Germinate: When the grains reach a specific moisture content, maltsters drain the excess moisture and sprouting begins. The starches in the grains convert into sugars, such as monosaccharide glucose, disaccharide maltose, and maltodextrin, among others. Specialized enzymes called proteases help break down the grains’ protein into different forms, including amino acids, that yeast can consume.
  4. 4. Dry: At a certain point, the maltster halts the chemical transformations of the green malt with air and heat. This preserves the germinated grain in its new, changed state with the right combination of starch, protein, and sugar.
  5. 5. Roast: Some malts, such as those for certain types of beer brewing, roast in an oven or kiln. This additional heating process creates further changes in the nutritional profile of the grain, affecting the fermentation process and altering the flavor of the finished product.”

OK, that may be TMI but I am sure someone may want to know. So now the term malted grain is established . Now for hops.

Beer Fundamentals – What are hops?
“Hops are the flowers, or cones, of a plant called Humulus lupulus. Hops help to keep beer fresher, longer; help beer retain its head of foam—a key component of a beer’s aroma and flavor; and, of course, add “hoppy” aroma, flavor, and bitterness.” “

Last of the TMI stuff. Lets talk about my Simcoe SMaSH and a little more. This is my third or fourth beer brewed in the SMaSH mode. The first couple were Mosaic Hops and Marris Otter malt. Feed back from my buddies indicate that it was a very drinkable beer with good flavor and great aroma…..Yes! I selected Mosaic primarily because of the amazing aroma but also for the fact it can also be a good bittering hop used at the beginning of the boil. Subsequent additions are later in the boil so as to maximize the aromas as well as a dose of dry hopping in the secondary fermenter. If you need to know…..go ahead and google “dry hopping” my musings going forward will attempt to avoid too much TMI. Marris Otter malt is very flavorful, has a bit darker color than if using a pale malt and a slight malty flavor that my oldest son doesn’t particularly like….Children are to be spoiled……even at 32 years of age. So, I used Golden Promise malt for the Simcoe SMaSH ……hopefully the taste will be in Ben’s preferred flavor profile. My sample seems to meet that criteria. A musing of sorts. I assumed criteria was singular but I googled it and learned that it is the plural of criterion. Really old dogs can learn new tricks. And I am a really old dog!!!!!!

Let me wander a little further…..next up on my brewing list is a Russian Imperial Stout with whiskey barrel aging as part of the process. Deeper explanations in a future blog posting. Suffice it to say that it will be a higher ABV beer in the 11% or higher range, will not be worth drinking until it is well beyond a year old and will do nothing more than age very nicely just as the blog’s author…..smiling broadly, I do believe that I have aged well. My last batch was brewed in 2016 and bottled in 22 ounce bombers. The last two bottles were consumed very recently. An old neighbor and homebrewer shared one with his wife this past December and the very last one was shared with folks down at DECA Beer company along with a Russian Imperial stout brewed in 2017 by Cody Evans, Chief Brewer and he holds so many flunky titles at the brewery that I won’t mention them. We had been attempting the taste off and sharing for quite some time. Both beers received high marks from patrons and brewers alike. My beer had been primed with brown sugar which imparted a faint aroma of molasses and was surprisingly good. Keep you eyes open for more down the road.

Yum…….

Drink Local and Drink Resonsibly

Bishop

Simcoe SMaSH IPA

Brewed this beer January 22nd 2023, after a fairly long break from brewing….The Avery Clone IPA was the last beer I brewed and kegged. If you read my last post you know that it disappeared too quickly. I have brewed a Mosaic SMaSH IPA several times in the past and decided to go with Simcoe hops for this SMaSH…..I love the aroma and the flavors come through very nicely….

My chicken scratch my brew sheet form BeerSmith on this recipe…..gotta keep notes if you want to to repeat a good beer.

A little about Simcoe Hops from Yakima Valley Hops web site;

“At 12%-14% Alpha Acid, Simcoe® has great bittering qualities, but also packs a complex aroma of stone fruit, pine, and citrus zest. It truly is a dual purpose hop that is capable of standing on its own in single-hopped beers in a wide range of styles.”

When I pulled the sample to determine the original gravity, 1.064 to be exact, I dipped my nose in for a whiff and by golly Yakima was right! Secondly the flavor was very, very pleasant a little sweet but to be expected as unfermented wort should be sweet. As the sugars in the wort are devoured by the “yeasties” the sweetness disappears and the magic of conversion to beer happens. I have very high hopes for this beer.

Brew day did not go as smooth as I would have liked…..I have a 110 Volt Grainfather G30 system. Overall I love it but……brew day was pretty damned cold for Houston and the wind was stiff. I brew outside because my wife does not like the smell of boiling wort in the house, I think it is rather pleasant but….I make some sacrifices to maintain harmony in the house. The mash went very smooth, the equipment held the 165 degree F mash temp perfectly. The system’s pump worked perfectly for the Vorlauf process. During Vorlauf and sparging I ran the set temperature up to 212 degrees F. One drawback of the 110 Volt system is the slower heating rates as compared to the 220 Volt systems.

I use my propane burner to heat the sparge water, 170 degrees F was the recommended tempearture. I was patient and sparged at a rate to rinse as much sugar out of the grain bed as was expected. As I was sparging the temperature was coming up very slowly…….too slowly. I pulled out my electric paint stripping gun and plugged it into a separate circuit in order to not to blow a fuse. It helped, I ran it on high setting on the lower sides of the pot….and slowly the pot came up to a good rolling boil. Added 0.5 ounces of Simcoe for 60 minutes. Next addition of Simcoe was 1.0 ounce at the 15 minute remaining mark and 1.5 ounces at the 5 minute remaining mark. Added ½ of a whirlfloc tablet at that same time in order to help precipitate haze-causing proteins and beta glucans resulting in a clearer wort.

Then a set back and change of process now that the beer had boiled for the required 60 minutes. I attached my counter flow chiller and attempted to pump hot wort through the coils and back into the pot to sanitize the coil. The pump had worked perfectly when I ran it to Vorlauf but for some reason the pump would not move any fluid…..I was at a standstill …… I disconnected the fittings to see if there was clog and I could not see a problem. Started and stopped the pump multiple times……no dice. I could hear it sounding like it was running but no output……I need to get the wort cooled and into my fermenting bucket.

Plan B now. The wort is at a specific gravity of 1.064 X 8.345 pounds of water per gallon X 6 gallons equals about 53.27 pound of liquid plus the weight of the pot. I had to now lift this hot and awkward mess up onto platform of some sort in order to make plan B work……siphon the wort into my fermenting bucket. I did utter some strong words, tested my 71 year old back and pain tolerance to hot surfaces, but did manage to gain the necessary height to allow the siphon to work. I pumped very hot wort through the siphon hose and equipment and back into the wort to sanitize it all……then successfully filled the fermenting bucket.

Got it all situated and placed in a 66-68 degree location to best allow the yeast to do it’s work. Took a couple of Tylenol as a preventative for potential back pain and waited overnight to add the yeast. I usually like to cool the wort much more quickly and add the yeast once it is all down below 80 degrees F.  Yeast was added this morning and by this evening there was good indication of bubbles and active fermentation. Now, one of my challenges is being patient to allow nature to do its work.

Next step will be transferring to a secondary fermenter and adding 1.5 ounces of Simcoe hops for dry hopping. After 7 days I will cold crash it to 34-35 degrees and transfer to a keg. Then carbonate, be patient again and then enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Can’t wait to be at this point……filling the keg with my Simcoe SMaSH IPa.

Lesson learned and a discovery. The wort was at boiling temperature when I turned the pump on and with a little research the pump suction creates a lowered pressure and likely vapor locked the pump. Lesson learned ….be patient……turn the heat off, wait a bit then turn on the pump. During cleanup there was a bit of brew trash in the discharge check valve but probably not enough to stop flow. Note to self……understand my sometimes lack of patience and chill old man!!!!!!

SMaSH – a beer brewed with a single malt and a single hop……in this case Golden Promise Malt and Simcoe hops…..Yum

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Karbach, Nice Family Visit

My son and wife came into town for a quick visit. He is also into homebrewing and he and wife both love to explore craft beers. The doors on Sunday open at 11:00 and we were nearly first in line. We had an early lunch to facilitate their drive back home to Corpus Christi. They do have a very good food menu and a nice selection of beers.

I am a fan of their barrel aged selections and chose to do a flight. Everyone else selected a good pint.
My selections and yes I do go big on the ABV scale…..and I had a designated driver.

If you noticed my selections for the flight I ordered were on the heavy side for ABV, Double and Imperial IPA’s…..I did have a driver LOL. I decided to educate myself so I am including a description from bsgcraftbrewing.com

“Double IPA or Imperial IPA? What’s the difference?

Short answer? Nothing.

Double IPA and Imperial IPA are in fact the same thing; an IPA that’s been turned up to eleven. Some believe the origin of the name “Double IPA” comes from the extra “I” in the abbreviation of Imperial IPA (IIPA). Imperial on the other hand is a term often used in beer to denote big flavor and high alcohol.”

https://bsgcraftbrewing.com/the-imperial-strikes-back/#:~:text=Double%20IPA%20and%20Imperial%20IPA,big%20flavor%20and%20high%20alcohol.

My impressions….The Rodeo Clown Double IPA, good but almost ordinary in flavor. It is smooth to drink but I wouldn’t put it high on my go to list. The Rodeo Clown Imperial Tropical IPA comes through with Citra, Galaxy, Comet and Mosaic hops. The impression I picked up was more to the citrusy side with a pleasant bitterness. . The Rodeo Clown Imperial Hazy IPA was my favorite of the the first three. The hops were a broad mix including Motueka, El Dorado, Mosaic, Sabro, Melon, Citra and Amarillo. These are a good mix of aroma hops and dual purpose hops that work well for this nice hazy IPA.

The BBH, Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter, choices were very good. The first, BBH Eggnog, brewed with Katz Coffee eggnog flavored coffee and aged in bourbon barrels. Very smooth and easy to drink. this one is one of those evening ending beers to be shared in small glasses LOL… especially at 11.5% ABV. The BBH Mole was my favorite and it comes in at 11.8% and slightly more dangerous, but already well into the dangerous range. This ale is brewed with chilis, cinnamon, clove, and chocolate. Very well done! Karbach does a great job with the BBH series but in my professional beer drinking experience/opinion, the Firestone Walker Brewery in Paso Robles has the very best selection of barrel aged beers and an amazing mix diversity of offerings…….sorry Karbach, but, that said your BBH series ales are top notch.

On the lower end of the ABV scale Karbach has many great offerings and Hopadillo is one of my favorite beers…..consistent, hoppy in a very good way and pleasant to drink. Love Street is a nice summer beer and in honor of the Astros going to the World Series again, the Crawford Bock referencing the Crawford Box Seats…..Left field and recipient of many Astros dingers. Oh yes……it is and excellent beer to drink at Minute Maid Park. The Karbach Clutch City links back to the glory days of the Houston Rockets. It too is a nice easy drinking beer.

Gotta give a thumbs up to the food menu at the brewery. Good choices, portions are reasonable and they pair well with many of the beers. I had family with me on this visit, wife, daughter and youngest son with his bride. The beers ordered were diverse as well as the food choice ordered. Overall a great place to bring family and friends…..and yes we will be back.

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop

Back At It Again

I apologize a bit to a beekeeping acquaintance of mine here in Texas as he has named his business “At it Again Apiaries”…….so, I just appropriated a portion of the name. That said, it has both been too long since I last brewed and also too long since I last posted. Up date, I have an Avery IPA clone sitting in the secondary, dry hopped and I started the cold crash yesterday before kegging tomorrow. The gravity targets from the recipe were hit dead on. It was 1.056 for the starting gravity and 1.012 for the ending gravity…….sample tasted wonderful.

Sadly my local beer supply store closed a few months ago and I have resorted to online ordering. The online experience has been hit or miss. I have tried Austin Homebrew Supply and Northern Brewer. The excuses revolve around labor shortages and supply chain issues……I am more concerned about having room in my kegerator for two more beers so, I am learning to be more patient. Tomorrow I should be carbonating the Avery clone but the next beer, or should I say planned beer is a SMaSH with Golden Promise grain and Simcoe hops…….dangit…..may not get it started until sometime next week. That is if the remaining ingredients show up.

I hate to say it but part of the delay is my fault. The grain bill calls for 12 pounds of Golden Promise, in the drop down box I apparently did not click hard enough on 12 and they order went out as 1 pound. I did have a second chance to review my order at checkout, but guess what, senior moment, and I did not correct my mistake. So I have compounded the delivery issues……nuff said and you can stop giggling any time you want!

The Avery clone was an all grain kit from Austin Homebrew Supply…..they did a decent job getting the supplies here on a reasonable amount of time. A browse through the products section does highlight notable amounts of “out of stock” tags but over all not too bad. I did resort to going to the “Grainfather” site for parts I needed before brewing the Avery clone. The connections on the inlet to the pump and discharge side of the pump had gone bad. Fortunately the discharge tube leaked badly as I was cleaning and prepping and not during the brewing process, averting a catastrophic event!. It delayed the Avery IPA clone by about a week.

Final Gravity…..Dead on Target – Love my new hydrometer…..yes, I dropped and broke one…..word of advice, always have two in your brewing kit. Fortunately I did.
Dry Hopped and I cold crash everything should settle out. One of these days….I dream of having a dedicated brewing area and use SS conical fermenters and a well sized walk in cold box and a 10 tap kegerator andddddd so much more!

I will promise to update all y’all in a timely matter once in the keg and properly carbonated….and wish I could share some with y’all – you will just have to rely on my words and your imagination. Trust me…

Drink Local and Drink Responsibly

Bishop