A Trifecta of Meads

I'm diverging from my usual beer post to make the LPR (if you have to ask please do look it up) of most Renaissance Festivals. Why it's mead of course! I'm making a Dry Mead, Cyser Apple Melomel and a Metheglin. The only bummer is that I'm going to have to wait at least 6 months before I can even taste it. Oh the pain.

Recipes will be posted at a later date.

When every little bit of beer is gone Saisons say so much!

You guessed it. Saison this week. Nothing to special, but it was a beautiful day to brew in South Texas.

A friend of mine told me that Saison loves the heat. Let's hope so. After it starts bubbling I'm sticking it in the garage.My fermenter is full.I need more room to brew.

Beer Nerd Stuff:

Beer Style: Saison

Batch Size: 5.5 Gallons

Grains:

• 7.76 lb Pilsner (2 Row) Ger (2.0 SRM)
• 2.74 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)
• 1.45 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM)
• 0.71 lb Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
• 0.72 lb Dememera Sugar (2.0 SRM)

Hops:

• 0.75 oz Northern Brewer [8.00 %] (60 min)
• 1.00 oz Saaz [3.30 %] (30 min)
• 2.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] (5 min)
• 1.50 gm Grains of Paradise (Boil 5.0 min)

Yeast:

• 1 Pkgs Belgian Saison I Ale (White Labs #WLP565)

Mash Type:

• Single Infusion, Full Body

OG: 1.072 SG

Look out! She's going to blow!

I won a gold medal at a major homebrew competition in Texas this year. The style of beer stout and the name of the beer was...well, maybe I should start from the beginning.

Before the year of beer I was making mostly extract beers. Think of extract beers as a "Mr. Beer" kit taken to the next level. That week I was making my first stout. I was really looking forward to it. I've been a big old stout fan for quite some time and I really didn't want to screw this beer up. I carefully measured all my ingredients, was disciplined in keeping the temperature to within one degree on my mini-mash, and carefully grew my yeast for pitching into the wort.

I went to bed that night thinking everything went great and that I should have a good beer within a few weeks.

I woke up the next morning to find my stout wasn't fermenting! Yikes! What did I do wrong? I think I called my wife from work about five time that day to ask if the brew started fermenting yet. Later that afternoon I finally saw my first fermentation bubbles. Whew! I went to bed that night relieved that the beer was fermenting away with dreams of chocolate and coffee beer in my head.

My wife woke up first the next day. She came in to wake me and said,"Honey, you beer is hissing and foaming over."

Panic.

Fear.

Oh the humanity, I'm losing beer to the foam.

I knew that first thing I had to do was to change out the bubbler since the current one was encrusted with beer gunk. I took off the bubbler and was head toward the sink...oh crap...there's stout on the ceiling.

As soon as I took off the bubbler the stout shot out of the carboy like Texas crude and made a distinctive pattern on the ceiling. The pattern was like what you would see in a CSI episode when they check out a cheap motel room. Just think blacklight and you will get the picture. I cleaned up the mess and headed to work

6 weeks later I had a yummy and chewy stout. All that work (and cleaning) was so worth it.

My buddy Bob came over for a pint and I told him the story. He said,"Dude! You should call it the Load Blower!"

The beer has lived up to it's name. The second time it was proud enough to shootout the bubbler on its own. The same thing happened on the third. (That time I was smart enough to put the brew in a bathtub. Tile is so much easier to clean than carpet.)

Load Blower 3 won a Gold Medal at the Lunar Rendezbrew in the Stout category. Thank you, Bob for naming the beer.

Oh yeah, back to what I brewing. Load Blower 4 is in the carboy. May it forever blow its load.

Another weekend another two brew

This weekend I brewed an Imperial Pale Ale with a ridiculous amount of hops. I had help from my local brewclub. At our monthly meeting it was asked "Are you brewing this weekend?" I said, "Hell yes I am!" I then became the happy owner of fresh Simcoe hops.

The hops were so thick after the boil that I had to pour the wort pitcher by pitcher through a strainer and scoop out the hops ever few minutes. A tried a  hop kettle screen screen, but it failed. Is was then my wife and I said in unison in our best Jack Nicholson impersonation, "You can't handle the hops."

I also managed to make a small beer. Mmmm beer. It's what's for dinner. That and the steak my wife picked up at Costco.

Beer Nerd Stuff:

Beer Style: American Amber

Batch Size: 5 Gallons

Grains:

• 18.25 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
• 1.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
• 0.06 lb Carafa III (525.0 SRM)

Hops:

• 3.50 oz Brewer's Gold [9.70 %] (90 min)
• 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [7.20 %] (5 min)
• 1.00 oz Simcoe [12.20 %] (5 min)
• 1.00 oz Amarillo Gold (Dry Hop 3 Days In Secondary) [7.20 %] (0 min)
• 1.00 oz Simcoe (dry Hop 3 Days In Secondary) [12.20 %] (0 min)

Yeast:

• 1 Pkgs American Ale II (Wyeast Labs #1272)

Mash Type:

• Single Infusion, Full Body

OG: 1.095 SG

A change of heart on ciders and meads

Way back when I decided not to include ciders and meads in the year of beer. I'm happy to say I was so wrong not to include them. A friend of mine convinced me to give them a go. Well, not just any friend. He happens to hold a few national championship medals. Among those medals are winners for cider. I asked John if he wouldn't mind teaching me a couple of things on Cider making. He was happy to oblige.

Cider Nerd Stuff:

Cider Style: Common Cider

Batch Size: 4 Gallons

Juice:

• 4 gallons organic cider
  

Yeast:

• 2Pkgs Red Star Pasteur Champagne

Cider Style: English Cider

Batch Size: 4 Gallons

Juice:

• 4 gallons organic cider

Yeast:

• 1 Pkgs English Cider Yeast (White Labs #WLP775)

Teach a Spouse to Brew Day

Today was a significant milestone in the year of beer. My wife made her first all grain beer today with a mash tun we both built together. There was a stuck sparge and all those great things that go wrong making beer. We even tried a new wort ice water pump chiller. It took her a full 8 hours from start to finish. I am so proud of her. I think I've created a monster. Ain't it great!

Beer Nerd Stuff:

Beer Style: American Amber

Batch Size: 4 Gallons

Grains:

• 6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM)
• 1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM)
• 0.38 lb Victory Malt (25.0 SRM)
• 0.13 lb Wheat Malt, Bel (2.0 SRM)

Hops:

• 0.50 oz Centennial [9.00 %] (60 min)
• 0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (15 min)
• 0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (5 min)

Yeast:

• 1 Pkgs American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)

Mash Type:

• Single Infusion, Full Body

OG: 1.054 SG

Even More Bourbon Barrel Belgian Dark Strong

A couple of folks didn't manage to brew their share for the Belgian Dark Strong. Leave it to guy going through the year of beer to brew some more.

Beer Nerd Stuff:

Beer Style: Bourbon Barrel Belgian Dark Strong

Batch Size: 12 Gallons

Grains:

• 4.00 lb Light Dry Extract (8.0 SRM)
• 22.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
• 10.00 lb Munich Malt (9.0 SRM)
• 1.50 lb Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)
• 0.50 lb Carafa II (412.0 SRM)
• 4.00 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)

Hops:

• 12.00 oz Northern Brewer [10.60 %] (60 min)
• 1.50 oz Styrian Goldings [3.50 %] (20 min)
• 0.50 oz Styrian Goldings [3.50 %] (10 min)

Yeast:

• 2 Pkgs Belgian Ale (White Labs #WLP550)

Mash Type:

• Single Infusion, Full Body

OG: 1.097 SG