Category Archives: Homebrewing

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

Back to Brewing

Having a little to aid in the brewing process.

I spent a sweaty day brewing up a kit beer that I have had in the fridge for a few months. It is an Amarillo Ale from William’s Brewing. It is not named after the Texas city up in the panhandle but derives its name from the Amarillo hops used in flavoring the beer.  It is an extract kit beer and easy to brew. Or at least should be. I have had a couple of batches go sour and I blame it on
some of the cat dander and other microorganisms they bring into the house. I went overboard on sanitation and exposure to environmental air currents. I also aerated the beer to help the yeast get off to a better start. The fast start may allow the yeast to out compete the potentially undesirable airborne yeasts and bacteria.

I have a request form my wife to do a Belgian Wit for her. She loves Blue Moon and claimed my last Belgian Wit was much better than the commercial varieties. I ordered up the materials from Northern Brewer…..another good choice for all things associated with brewing.

I will give you an update on the Amarillo Ale soon.

Humble Texas Beerfest – May 7, 2011

My good friend John  and I made a brief appearance at the Humble Beer Festival this past weekend. For you none Texans, the H in Humble is silent. We both were a bit dismayed with the brief part….. the entry fee was double what it should have been but as true lovers of beer we winced when the wallet opened and closed but we were treat to some outstanding samples. Now don’t be too judgemental of  John’s appearance. The photo was taken quite early in the event, probably no more than 5,  two ounce samples under his belt.  I just forgot to say, “1, 2, 3, smile.”

It really was a nationwide festival, Brooklyn to Seattle and a few “fereners” notably the Ruskies. Every sample was good! although a few were much better than others. We met some interesting folks, the guy with a hops hat wearing a kilt was interesting to say the least. He was part of the Foam Rangers brewing club. I asked a young lady with bright pink hair to pose with me and she complied. I shared the photo of me and my friend on Facebook and my mom commented – “I was sent to the office in 1945 for having hair that color.”

Many new and even 3 day old start-up breweries were plying their marvelous concoctions. My primary interest was to assess how some of my recent efforts stacked up against the professionals. And yes maybe just drink a few as potential brewing candidates. I think my brews compare well! Hooked up with a local brew club here in Kingwood, TX so my brewing knowledge will continue to grow.

As for my brewing efforts;

The batch of wheat ale made for Lindsay Waterman went sour due to….. just my guess, cat dander from my wife’s cats. We rebrewed, is that a word – I guess now it is, and I bottled it yesterday. The sample pulled prior to bottling to check the gravity was might tasty! tonight I boil a new one for my daughter Lisa. She asked for a special brew that her friends from the band ‘Downfall 2012″ to take on their summer tour. I will try to replicate the recipe I shared in an earlier post. The only change I will make is to dry hop an ounce of the Amarillo hops. So, why mess with a good thing…. just to see if we can make it better. I will not send the full 5 gallons out with the band….i willjust keep some brew to replace the sweat I lose in the brewing process.

Bishop’s Imperial Stout

This photo was taken on February 14th, bottling day – yes I know I am a hopeless romantic! I did sample the brew….. I had to pull a sample to check the specific gravity and I hate to throw anything away….. a lot like my Dad. Well, it was tasty but too, too sweet. I let it sit and sampled again in mid March. Not mature enough…. a lot like the Cheezit commercial checking on the maturity of the cheese used.Remember this was brewed on December 20th, 2010!  My Imperial Stout was not quite ready so back into the dark it went.

I had to brew a replacement Wheat beer for my little brewing buddy – Lindsay Waterman – because the “Waterman Wheat Ale”  picked up an infection…… soured the beer – I can’t wait to have a cat free brewing zone!!!!!! Back to the stout – I put a bottle in the fridge the day before and sampled it on Monday the 18th of April, Ahhhhh! It is definitely maturing nicely. I gave my son, Ben and daughter Ashleigh a taste of the second bottle last night and even though they are not stout fans they gave it good marks. I loved the smooth feel in the mouth and the flavor has really mellowed – not too sweet and much less bitter than the Irish Stouts like Guinness.

I think I will give it some more time and as it is about 10%-11%  alcohol. It is a special occasion beer/stout and the 2 cases should last many months. Let’s also hope that I am successful at getting the new “Waterman’s Wheat Ale” into the bottle without an infection this month! Damn cats!

Bottoms up – responsibly!

An Update – Summer 2012 – lone remaing, surviving 22 oz bottle of this incredible beer was consumed. It only improved with age…kinda like me! No, more like my wife. I must make a plan to do this one again!

Bishop

Drinking and Thinking

Texas Dark Amber Ale

This turned out to be such a nice beer. Very nice light tan head, good lace on sides of glass. I was working on a presentation on my laptop and decided I needed to kick back for a little bit. I went to the fridge and poured a glass from my “Tap-a-Draft” mini keg. I sat back and savored the unique taste you can only find in a fresh home-brew. The recipe was just a guess but it was based on some prior knowledge. The guess turned out superbly! I have had nothing but great compliments and that feels good, but I knew that it was one of the best beers I have crafted in my short brewing “career”.

So, I was thinking, I can’t share the beer in the fridge with everyone ( I am a little selfish with the actual beverage), but I can share the recipe. I hope that you wind up with the same results as I have.

I ordered all of my ingredients from Williams Brewing (www.williamsbrewing.com/), but I have used Northern Brewer (www.northernbrewer.com/) in the past and our local store in Houston called Defalcos (www.defalcos.com/) for misc. supplies.

6 lbs. of American Amber Malt Extract

1 lbs. 40 deg. Crystal Malt – steeped in 1 gal at 165-170 deg F

2 oz. Fuggles Hops –  pellet – 1 oz. at 15 min. and 1 oz. at 30 min.

2  oz. Amarillo Hops – pellets – 1 oz. at 45 min. and 1 oz. at 55 min.

1/2 tsp gypsum before boiling

1/2 tsp Irish Moss at 30 minutes

Liquid American Ale yeast pitched at 75 deg F

Boiled with 2.5 gals plus 1 gal steeping water –  Ozarka Spring Water. Final batch size was 5 gals. While brewing drank an Abita Springs Bock, one of my American Ales and sampled  my Imperial Stout that was about 6 weeks along to check gravity – OG wa s1.108 and now was 1.040…… too young and not far enough along.  I will sample a bottle of the stout around April 15th. I will report out those results.

OG. – 1.075

At 8 days transferred into secondary. Gravity was 1.022 at 68 deg.  F – FG – 1.015 at 68 deg.

Kegged into my Tap-a-Draft 6 L bottles after another 13 days in secondary. Used 2/3 of a Williams kit corn sugar to prime.  Sat 12 days at room temp before placing the first keg in the fridge. I have tapped and now drinking the final 6 L bottle –  April 3, it was bottled on 2/20/2011. It is very mellow now and has improved but was always excellent. Good beer doesn’t seem to last very long.

If you try it I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.