Just a quickie!
Love this place right next to the tracks and a block and a half from the sandy beach in Carpinteria. 
Drink Local and Drink Responsibly
Bishop
Tag Archives: brewery
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
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.
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