I have today off for the Columbus Day holiday which gave me the opportunity to take Mitch to the vet this morning for his annual check-up and shots. I scheduled to take him in Thursday morning to have his teeth cleaned because he is starting to get some gum irritation.
Last night a friend from work invited me over to eat a bunch of game birds he shot. There were just four of us, but he cooked about 15 quail, 15 pheasant, and a couple chuckers.
We started out with about a dozen skewers of pheasant breast on the grill with an Asian soy/sesame marinade and some pheasant legs with barbeque sauce as an appetizer.
Then he brought out the tray of roasted quail. Quail was a tie for my favorite this evening. After a bit he brought a tray with the roasted pheasant and chuckers. These had been dry rubbed with a spicy Cajun spice blend.
While I was still working on my chucker he brought out a large pheasant pot pie. This was the other favorite of the night. He made it in a regular 9" pie pan. Huge.
For dessert they baked a cherry pie. All of it was delicious.
They made three of the huge pot pies and sent one home with me along with a few quail.
I took Mitch along and he seemed to enjoy himself too. They were worried that their young and extremely energetic and non-stop motion German shorthaired pointer hunting dog would be too much for the calm laid back Mitch. They were just fine together.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Everything is in place. Kettle is on the fire coming up to temperature. Steeping grains are in the mesh bag. Yeast pack has been smacked. Liquid malt extract is in a hot water bath. I think I am going to open up another homebrew that I put in the fridge last night and sip that while I am waiting for my water to heat up.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Friday evening and three beers under my belt. Drawing the water I will brew with tomorrow so it can sit overnight and dechlorinate. Will get everything set out that I will need tomorrow so I can get brewing as soon as I have had my coffee and breakfast.
Tried one of my homebrews that I bottled last weekend. It is maltier than I expected but still good. Drinkable. I think another week of conditioning will carbonate it a bit more and bring out some more of the hop bitterness. I used two cans of amber malt extract. Tomorrow I have a can of amber and a can of light. I like the trial and error aspect of this hobby.
I am going to a friend's house Sunday to eat some pheasant he shot. He likes really weak beer, but I will still take a couple homebrews with me even though I don't think he will like them.
Talked to Tim-In-Law for a bit and am jealous of the load of great beer they they have for tonight. I am really interested in trying the Racer 5 IPA they tried and said is awesome.
OK, I have the stereo tuned to 104.3 FM and it is time to go get everything ready for tomorrow morning.
Tried one of my homebrews that I bottled last weekend. It is maltier than I expected but still good. Drinkable. I think another week of conditioning will carbonate it a bit more and bring out some more of the hop bitterness. I used two cans of amber malt extract. Tomorrow I have a can of amber and a can of light. I like the trial and error aspect of this hobby.
I am going to a friend's house Sunday to eat some pheasant he shot. He likes really weak beer, but I will still take a couple homebrews with me even though I don't think he will like them.
Talked to Tim-In-Law for a bit and am jealous of the load of great beer they they have for tonight. I am really interested in trying the Racer 5 IPA they tried and said is awesome.
OK, I have the stereo tuned to 104.3 FM and it is time to go get everything ready for tomorrow morning.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
I wasn't quite sure how to keep track of which bottle of homebrew is which, and then I had a good idea: I will write the date I bottled each bottle on the bottle cap with a Sharpie. It is so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it before.
But that didn't take care of the problem of remembering the specifics of each batch (i.e. ingredients, unusual or different techniques that may have changed the outcome, etc.) We bought a little notepad for this, but you can run of space on a page, it can get dropped in a pale of ale, etc. So I had a second follow-up idea to the first idea above: I am going to use this entry to keep track of each batch of beer by bottle date.
I will just keep adding information to this entry rather than adding a new entry with every batch.
Brew Log
Brad's Summer APA
Brewed 7/3/09
IBU's: 31
1 lb crystal malt steeped 30 minutes
6 lbs Light Dry Extract
0.60 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops
0.70 oz Columbus [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops
1.00 oz Amarillo [8.20 %] (5 min)
Safale US-05
Hop Scare IPA (kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply)
brewed 4/26/2009
1 lb caravienne malt, steeped 30 minutes at 155 degrees
6 lbs liquid gold malt
2 lbs dry light extract
1 oz Warrier hops, 15.4% alpha, 60 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 15 min
1 tsp Irish moss 15 minutes
2 oz Cascade hops, 5.4% alpha, 4 min
Wyeast American Ale II Activator pack
Bottled 1/2/2009
6 pounds light DME
1 pound crystal malt 60L
norther brewer hops
1 ounce 60 min
1 ounce 40 min
1 ounce 10 min?
1 ounce dry hopped
Safale US-05
Bottled 11/15/08
Brewed on 10/25/2008
1 pound US crystal malt 30 Lovibond steeped 20 minutes at 165 degrees
5.3 pounds DME
1 ounce centennial - 60 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 40 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 30 minutes
1 ounce centennial - 15 minutes
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 ounce centennial dry hopped into secondary fermentor when racking after first week
2 7 gram packets of Cooper's Ale Yeast pitched dry directly into wort without proofing
Used wort chiller for first time. Cooled down to 70 degrees in about 20 minutes
11/1/2008 – Estimated bottling date of batch brewed on 8/11/2008.
OG 1.050
2.5 ounces Simcoe hops, continuous addition. 0.5 ounces dry hopped in secondary fermenter.
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped golden light LME
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped sparkling amber LME
Steeping grains: 1 pound Briess 60L crystal malt 6 row
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 pound Briess victory malt
Wyeast Northwest Ale yeast.
Primed with cane sugar.
Bottled 10/4/2008 – Ad hoc recipe. ~5.5% ABV
6.6 pounds amber LME
0.5 pounds light DME
1 ounce Cascade bittering
0.5 ounce Kent Golding bittering
1.5 ounce Kent Golding flavor
1 pack Munton's dry yeast to the primary, and another pack to the secondary when fermentation stopped.
Aerated the wort this time. Poured hot wort into primary fermenter with a bag of commercial ice.
After one week of bottle conditioning my first impression is that this turned out almost like a hopped up stout. Using all amber extract is too much for my tastes. It is still good though.
Bottled 8/22/2008 – Mead, basic dry. 10.4% ABV 12 pounds mesquite honey, Pasteur Champagne Red Star yeast, acid blend (citric/tartaric/malic)
Bottled 8/10/2008 – First solo batch. Used a Brewer's Best American Micro Style Pale Ale. 1.5 ounces Cascade hops, bittering 1.5 ounces Willamete hops, flavor. Added the yeast before the wort was properly cooled. I think it was about 130 degrees. Added a second packet of yeast to the secondary fermenter when fermentation stopped a few days after racking.
Bottled 6/7/2008 – Batch brewed at Bev-Art
But that didn't take care of the problem of remembering the specifics of each batch (i.e. ingredients, unusual or different techniques that may have changed the outcome, etc.) We bought a little notepad for this, but you can run of space on a page, it can get dropped in a pale of ale, etc. So I had a second follow-up idea to the first idea above: I am going to use this entry to keep track of each batch of beer by bottle date.
I will just keep adding information to this entry rather than adding a new entry with every batch.
Brew Log
Brad's Summer APA
Brewed 7/3/09
IBU's: 31
1 lb crystal malt steeped 30 minutes
6 lbs Light Dry Extract
0.60 oz Cascade [5.40 %] (60 min) Hops
0.70 oz Columbus [12.20 %] (60 min) Hops
1.00 oz Amarillo [8.20 %] (5 min)
Safale US-05
Hop Scare IPA (kit from Midwest Homebrewing Supply)
brewed 4/26/2009
1 lb caravienne malt, steeped 30 minutes at 155 degrees
6 lbs liquid gold malt
2 lbs dry light extract
1 oz Warrier hops, 15.4% alpha, 60 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 30 min
0.5 oz Amarillo hops, 8.2% alpha, 15 min
1 tsp Irish moss 15 minutes
2 oz Cascade hops, 5.4% alpha, 4 min
Wyeast American Ale II Activator pack
Bottled 1/2/2009
6 pounds light DME
1 pound crystal malt 60L
norther brewer hops
1 ounce 60 min
1 ounce 40 min
1 ounce 10 min?
1 ounce dry hopped
Safale US-05
Bottled 11/15/08
Brewed on 10/25/2008
1 pound US crystal malt 30 Lovibond steeped 20 minutes at 165 degrees
5.3 pounds DME
1 ounce centennial - 60 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 40 minutes
.5 ounce centennial - 30 minutes
1 ounce centennial - 15 minutes
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 ounce centennial dry hopped into secondary fermentor when racking after first week
2 7 gram packets of Cooper's Ale Yeast pitched dry directly into wort without proofing
Used wort chiller for first time. Cooled down to 70 degrees in about 20 minutes
11/1/2008 – Estimated bottling date of batch brewed on 8/11/2008.
OG 1.050
2.5 ounces Simcoe hops, continuous addition. 0.5 ounces dry hopped in secondary fermenter.
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped golden light LME
3.3 pounds Briess CBW non-diastatic unhopped sparkling amber LME
Steeping grains: 1 pound Briess 60L crystal malt 6 row
1 teaspoon Irish moss - 15 minutes
1 pound Briess victory malt
Wyeast Northwest Ale yeast.
Primed with cane sugar.
Bottled 10/4/2008 – Ad hoc recipe. ~5.5% ABV
6.6 pounds amber LME
0.5 pounds light DME
1 ounce Cascade bittering
0.5 ounce Kent Golding bittering
1.5 ounce Kent Golding flavor
1 pack Munton's dry yeast to the primary, and another pack to the secondary when fermentation stopped.
Aerated the wort this time. Poured hot wort into primary fermenter with a bag of commercial ice.
After one week of bottle conditioning my first impression is that this turned out almost like a hopped up stout. Using all amber extract is too much for my tastes. It is still good though.
Bottled 8/22/2008 – Mead, basic dry. 10.4% ABV 12 pounds mesquite honey, Pasteur Champagne Red Star yeast, acid blend (citric/tartaric/malic)
Bottled 8/10/2008 – First solo batch. Used a Brewer's Best American Micro Style Pale Ale. 1.5 ounces Cascade hops, bittering 1.5 ounces Willamete hops, flavor. Added the yeast before the wort was properly cooled. I think it was about 130 degrees. Added a second packet of yeast to the secondary fermenter when fermentation stopped a few days after racking.
Bottled 6/7/2008 – Batch brewed at Bev-Art
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
I have been really interested in trying Anheuser-Bush's first ale (as far as I'm aware) called Budweiser American Ale. I finally saw it in the store yesterday and picked up a six pack right away.
It is easily the best beer AB has ever produced, but it is just an OK beer compared to all of the other great beer out there. The carton says it is dry hopped with Cascade hops but I can just barely detect their aroma, and I detect no hop flavor. The hop bitterness is nice without being too overwhelming for people used to insipid macro lagers.
It wasn't dry, but it also wasn't overly malty or heavy. It had a nice body and mouth feel.
Another nice touch is the bottles have pry off caps rather than twist offs which means I can reuse the bottles for my homebrew. I expected to have to throw them away. A nice surprise.
Finally, a six pack was $7.50. For just $0.50 to a $1.00 more you can buy a really outstanding beer. If it was priced more like their other beers in the $6 range I might be more tempted to pick some up every now and then when feeling the pains of a bad economy, but at that price I don't think it's a beer I will be seeking out.
So overall it is a decent and approachable beer, but nothing too interesting. My hope is it will give people that normally just drink Budweiser-type lagers their first experience of a nice hoppy ale and be a "gateway drug" to the better beers that are out there. I am also hoping it will be showing up on tap in bars and restaurants that normally just have Bud on tap. If that was the best choice and I was feeling like a beer I would order one. If they just had Bud, Miller, etc. I would probably just pass.
It is easily the best beer AB has ever produced, but it is just an OK beer compared to all of the other great beer out there. The carton says it is dry hopped with Cascade hops but I can just barely detect their aroma, and I detect no hop flavor. The hop bitterness is nice without being too overwhelming for people used to insipid macro lagers.
It wasn't dry, but it also wasn't overly malty or heavy. It had a nice body and mouth feel.
Another nice touch is the bottles have pry off caps rather than twist offs which means I can reuse the bottles for my homebrew. I expected to have to throw them away. A nice surprise.
Finally, a six pack was $7.50. For just $0.50 to a $1.00 more you can buy a really outstanding beer. If it was priced more like their other beers in the $6 range I might be more tempted to pick some up every now and then when feeling the pains of a bad economy, but at that price I don't think it's a beer I will be seeking out.
So overall it is a decent and approachable beer, but nothing too interesting. My hope is it will give people that normally just drink Budweiser-type lagers their first experience of a nice hoppy ale and be a "gateway drug" to the better beers that are out there. I am also hoping it will be showing up on tap in bars and restaurants that normally just have Bud on tap. If that was the best choice and I was feeling like a beer I would order one. If they just had Bud, Miller, etc. I would probably just pass.
I went to the homebrew shop on Sunday to get ingredients to brew an IPA next weekend and I am pretty excited about what I got.
The centerpiece of the batch is three ounces of Simcoe hops plugs! Their alpha acid content is 13.2%.
I also stepped up from dry yeast and got a Smack-pack of Wyeast Laboratories Northwest Ale strain. This is a link to the details of the yeast strain.
For steeping grains I got a pound of 60 Lovibond crystal malt and a pound of victory malt. I tasted a few grains of the victory malt before he crushed it and it has a very pronounced toasty bread taste. Lovibond is a measure of grain's darkness. The higher it is the darker it will make the beer. Crystal malt has a nice sweetness to help offset my Simcoe hops.
Finally I got a 3.3 pound can of amber liquid malt extract (LME) and one can of light LME.
On Saturday I finally bottled the batch of beer that my family drove 4 hours to help me brew 6 weeks ago on August 23, 2008. It is tasting really good and it is going to be really difficult for me to wait until this weekend to try a bottle. Friday after work I will bring a bottle up from my beer cellar and put it in the fridge so it will be ready to inspire me while I am brewing Saturday morning.
The centerpiece of the batch is three ounces of Simcoe hops plugs! Their alpha acid content is 13.2%.
I also stepped up from dry yeast and got a Smack-pack of Wyeast Laboratories Northwest Ale strain. This is a link to the details of the yeast strain.
For steeping grains I got a pound of 60 Lovibond crystal malt and a pound of victory malt. I tasted a few grains of the victory malt before he crushed it and it has a very pronounced toasty bread taste. Lovibond is a measure of grain's darkness. The higher it is the darker it will make the beer. Crystal malt has a nice sweetness to help offset my Simcoe hops.
Finally I got a 3.3 pound can of amber liquid malt extract (LME) and one can of light LME.
On Saturday I finally bottled the batch of beer that my family drove 4 hours to help me brew 6 weeks ago on August 23, 2008. It is tasting really good and it is going to be really difficult for me to wait until this weekend to try a bottle. Friday after work I will bring a bottle up from my beer cellar and put it in the fridge so it will be ready to inspire me while I am brewing Saturday morning.