Tag Archives: Beer

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

 

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