So unless someone wants to start sending me updates, this type of post will be sporadic and dependent on my ability to visit various bars in town ...
However, this past Tuesday, I was at The Coney for our monthly homebrew club meeting, followed by a round afterwards at Benjamin's. There were some great offerings at both places worth mentioning.
This month at The Coney, you'll find Penn Maerzen, Franziskaner Hefeweizen, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, and a few of the usual suspects on tap. In addition, the three bottle specials for March are: Troeg's Nugget Nectar, Southern Tier 2XIPA, and Hop City Barking Squirrel Lager (a Vienna).
On tap of note at Benjamin's: Troeg's Nugget Nectar, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin' IPA, Bells Hopslam, Great Lakes Alchemy Hour Double IPA, Yards Brawler (brown ale), and a few other regulars.
Some great offerings in our tiny little town!
UPDATE: The Ironwood Grill just announced that they have tapped a keg of Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA and should also have some bottles.
Showing posts with label beer club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer club. Show all posts
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Extract Pale Ale for Club Competition
It's been a slow homebrewing year so far. In March, I made my first batch of the year, and extract saison (11B01) for my wife. I brewed this up in the kitchen while hosting my cousin John and two of his friends, all of whom wanted to learn how to brew. They have since brewed up several of their own batches up in Punxsutawney, though I've not had the pleasure yet of tasting any of them!
Anyway, I finally got around to kegging the saison last week while brewing my second batch of the year (11B02), an extract clone of Geary's Pale Ale. I brewed this last Friday and will keg this Friday. After force carbonating and trying out my new Beer Gun, I'll be taking a few bottles to the August meeting of the Indiana, PA Alesmiths (IPAs) for an intraclub competition. Should be interesting to taste everyone's version of the same extract/all-grain recipe, and hopefully mine will hold up despite its young age!
A colleague and friend of mine has been growing his own Cascade hops - last week he surprised me with a generous gift of a mason jar jam-packed with over 9 ounces of freshly picked hop cones (lightly dried). I'll be using some of these to dry hop the pale ale on Friday.
The cider I made last October is still sitting in a carboy in the cellar. I hit it with a lambic yeast mix and there's a nice white pellicle (sp?) sitting on top of it. Just have to figure out how to sweeten it a bit before kegging and bottling!
Three friends and I have also been putting together a nice 10 gallon all-grain system in a garage, including a nice counterflow chiller. We brewed a couple of batches this year, but due to various circumstances (busy schedules, old yeast, new system, etc.), they didn't turn out well. We hope to rectify that soon! And tuck this name away for a later day ... Indiana Brew Works.
Anyway, I finally got around to kegging the saison last week while brewing my second batch of the year (11B02), an extract clone of Geary's Pale Ale. I brewed this last Friday and will keg this Friday. After force carbonating and trying out my new Beer Gun, I'll be taking a few bottles to the August meeting of the Indiana, PA Alesmiths (IPAs) for an intraclub competition. Should be interesting to taste everyone's version of the same extract/all-grain recipe, and hopefully mine will hold up despite its young age!
A colleague and friend of mine has been growing his own Cascade hops - last week he surprised me with a generous gift of a mason jar jam-packed with over 9 ounces of freshly picked hop cones (lightly dried). I'll be using some of these to dry hop the pale ale on Friday.
The cider I made last October is still sitting in a carboy in the cellar. I hit it with a lambic yeast mix and there's a nice white pellicle (sp?) sitting on top of it. Just have to figure out how to sweeten it a bit before kegging and bottling!
Three friends and I have also been putting together a nice 10 gallon all-grain system in a garage, including a nice counterflow chiller. We brewed a couple of batches this year, but due to various circumstances (busy schedules, old yeast, new system, etc.), they didn't turn out well. We hope to rectify that soon! And tuck this name away for a later day ... Indiana Brew Works.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Our First Year Anniversary of Homebrew Club
Tonight, we celebrated our first year anniversary at as a homebrew club by hosting Bill Kroft of Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewing and his good friend and homebrewer Mark Dellinger. We met at 7pm at the Coney for our monthly meeting, with 11 regular club members in attendance.
We started with introductions and a brief history of Marzoni's (and Bill's brewing history). Next, we sampled some homebrews from three of our members: Ray S. brought a Honey Porter, an extract recipe that had a pound of honey in five gallons; Pat S. brought a 'normal' IPA, then followed with an apricot extract infused IPA - both all-grain recipes; and Eli brought a year-old, very dry cider. All four contributions were delicious.
After those, we cracked open two of Mark's homebrews, which included a heavily hopped smoked porter (awesome Rauchbier) and the one that I have been waiting for ... a saison with tons of Brett! Both were very tasty, but the 2005 "bretted" saison was absolutely outstanding!
Last, but not least, we cracked open the four different beers that Bill brought along: the Belgian Witbier and Oktorberfest (seasonals) and the two year-round offerings, Stone Mason Stout and Avalanche IPA.
Finally, as a rare and special treat, Bill brought along a bomber full of his very special and not-available-to-the-public Eis-Barleywine. In short, he took 10 gallons of the five-year anniversary barleywine (around 11% abv), froze it, and extracted 4 gallons of liquid from that. The result was an intense and very HOT alcoholic barleywine concentrate that was phenomenal tonight ... and what will turn into what I can only imagine as Heavenly in a few years. Kudos, Bill!
In all, quite a successful meeting!
We started with introductions and a brief history of Marzoni's (and Bill's brewing history). Next, we sampled some homebrews from three of our members: Ray S. brought a Honey Porter, an extract recipe that had a pound of honey in five gallons; Pat S. brought a 'normal' IPA, then followed with an apricot extract infused IPA - both all-grain recipes; and Eli brought a year-old, very dry cider. All four contributions were delicious.
After those, we cracked open two of Mark's homebrews, which included a heavily hopped smoked porter (awesome Rauchbier) and the one that I have been waiting for ... a saison with tons of Brett! Both were very tasty, but the 2005 "bretted" saison was absolutely outstanding!
Last, but not least, we cracked open the four different beers that Bill brought along: the Belgian Witbier and Oktorberfest (seasonals) and the two year-round offerings, Stone Mason Stout and Avalanche IPA.
Finally, as a rare and special treat, Bill brought along a bomber full of his very special and not-available-to-the-public Eis-Barleywine. In short, he took 10 gallons of the five-year anniversary barleywine (around 11% abv), froze it, and extracted 4 gallons of liquid from that. The result was an intense and very HOT alcoholic barleywine concentrate that was phenomenal tonight ... and what will turn into what I can only imagine as Heavenly in a few years. Kudos, Bill!
In all, quite a successful meeting!
Homebrew Club 1st Anniversary
Hard to believe, but tonight our Indiana Homebrewers Club celebrates one year of official existence. Well, not official in terms of being recognized by any actual authority, but at least official to those of us who run and attend the meetings, and official enough to The Coney, who graciously hosts our meetings every month.
Looking back, it's been a successful year. Our membership is modest but fairly steady, and quite satisfactory for a town of this size. We usually have between 10-15 members at each meeting. We try each time to have a point of discussion, whether its different styles of beer or tips & tricks of homebrewing or the hop shortage. And of course, we have a couple of homebrew samples each time to enjoy.
For our first anniversary, we've invited Bill Kroft, the brewer at Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewery to come over to talk to us and bring a few samples of his terrific beer. It'll give the members a chance to talk to a professional brewer (who started as a homebrewer) about brewing, and hopefully get the Coney interested in tapping into some local micros!
For the coming year, perhaps we can start to cook up some more activities as a group. Helping Scott at East End hand bottle beers, or have some of us help out at the 2009 Pints for Pets (tentative date: May 30), or perhaps even get something started in Indiana. Only time will tell.
Looking back, it's been a successful year. Our membership is modest but fairly steady, and quite satisfactory for a town of this size. We usually have between 10-15 members at each meeting. We try each time to have a point of discussion, whether its different styles of beer or tips & tricks of homebrewing or the hop shortage. And of course, we have a couple of homebrew samples each time to enjoy.
For our first anniversary, we've invited Bill Kroft, the brewer at Marzoni's Brick Oven & Brewery to come over to talk to us and bring a few samples of his terrific beer. It'll give the members a chance to talk to a professional brewer (who started as a homebrewer) about brewing, and hopefully get the Coney interested in tapping into some local micros!
For the coming year, perhaps we can start to cook up some more activities as a group. Helping Scott at East End hand bottle beers, or have some of us help out at the 2009 Pints for Pets (tentative date: May 30), or perhaps even get something started in Indiana. Only time will tell.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Tastings, Pints for Pets, and Great Smoked Porter
I can't believe how quickly May is passing - already three weeks down! It's been a good beer month, so far, and I hope to keep pace for the remainder.
On May 8, actually the evening of my last post, the majority of the Homebrew Club "exec" board met at Dave's for some good beer tasting. Justin and Jon were also present. Some pretty good beer flowed that evening, including: Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic that Jon had stored properly for the last couple of years; Lost Abbey Avant Garde and Devotion from Justin; an Avery Fourteen from me; and then both Surly Furious and Bender courtesy of Dave (via trade) finished by Dave's growler of North Country Double Buck-Up Stout.
On the 13th, the Indiana Homebrewers Club had a large homebrew tasting at The Coney. The notes from that event are here.
On the 17th, several of us rented the Coney van and went to Altoona for the Pints for Pets brew festival. This was the first beer festival for everyone in the van except for me, and I think they'll now be spoiled after Pints for Pets. There were at least 1400 people in attendance for the single 4-8pm session. Over 50 brewers & distributors were present, each pouring several beers. In all, it was a well-run and well-attended event, and I look forward already to next year's festival!
And finally, because I enjoy good Rauchbier (smoked), I wanted to give praise to North Country Kian's Smoked Porter, now on cask at the brewery. Wow! Dana and I had lunch there yesterday on the way to the Prime Outlets ... always helps to have a pint before going shopping ;) Anyway, between the two of us, we tried the Nit Wit!, the Simcoe Pale Ale, and the Cherry Garcia .. but that smoked porter was delicious. Outside of the Aecht Schlenkerla line and similar Bamberg beers, this was the smokiest I've had. Went very well with their Roasted Garlic Burger.
On May 8, actually the evening of my last post, the majority of the Homebrew Club "exec" board met at Dave's for some good beer tasting. Justin and Jon were also present. Some pretty good beer flowed that evening, including: Stone 05.05.05 Vertical Epic that Jon had stored properly for the last couple of years; Lost Abbey Avant Garde and Devotion from Justin; an Avery Fourteen from me; and then both Surly Furious and Bender courtesy of Dave (via trade) finished by Dave's growler of North Country Double Buck-Up Stout.
On the 13th, the Indiana Homebrewers Club had a large homebrew tasting at The Coney. The notes from that event are here.
On the 17th, several of us rented the Coney van and went to Altoona for the Pints for Pets brew festival. This was the first beer festival for everyone in the van except for me, and I think they'll now be spoiled after Pints for Pets. There were at least 1400 people in attendance for the single 4-8pm session. Over 50 brewers & distributors were present, each pouring several beers. In all, it was a well-run and well-attended event, and I look forward already to next year's festival!
And finally, because I enjoy good Rauchbier (smoked), I wanted to give praise to North Country Kian's Smoked Porter, now on cask at the brewery. Wow! Dana and I had lunch there yesterday on the way to the Prime Outlets ... always helps to have a pint before going shopping ;) Anyway, between the two of us, we tried the Nit Wit!, the Simcoe Pale Ale, and the Cherry Garcia .. but that smoked porter was delicious. Outside of the Aecht Schlenkerla line and similar Bamberg beers, this was the smokiest I've had. Went very well with their Roasted Garlic Burger.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Lichtenhainer, A Graduation, and Time Off
Last Friday & Saturday, if to be summed in one word, were hectic. I'll not bore you with the nitty gritty details, but it stemmed from needing to pick up several last-minute items in preparation for a small gathering at our house on Sunday to celebrate Dana's graduation!!
So first, a big Congratulations! to Dana for completing her Masters in Physician Assistant degree from St. Francis University. I couldn't be prouder, and I was a freakin' mess during the ceremony on Sunday.
So, part of the preparation on Friday was a trip to Altoona - which, of course, means that I stopped by Marzoni's. I walked in with a small cooler because I had two empty growlers to fill (one for me, one for my father-in-law) and two bombers filled with coffee porter to give to Bill. As I walked to the bar, I hear off to the side .. "What'cha got in the cooler? An extra liver?"
There sat Rick & Dave (of Cassidy's Brew Zoo), enjoying a late lunch. They're also hugely responsible, along with several others, for the Pint for Pets Brewfest coming up next Saturday. Bill was just on his way off to an appointment, so I sat and BS'd with Rick and Dave while enjoying a large glass of Lichtenhainer, a smoky, lightly sour session ale that I enjoyed but will take others some time to get used to. This beer was part of a collaboration between Bill and Scott at East End Brewing. They're also working on a gose, which they're brewing today in Pittsburgh.
After a pint, I grabbed a growler of Bill's Red Ale for me and my father-in-law, and hit the road.
Saturday was spent completely cleaning the house and de-junking.
Sunday was graduation day. My parents came over and we drove them to Loretto for the event. Luckily, this year SFU decided to split graduate from undergraduate graduation - so we were done in less than 1.5 hrs. A nice reception followed, then we all headed back to Indiana for the after party.
Now it's Thursday. My grading is done, finals here are over, and our graduation is on Saturday. I'm not teaching this summer (a first) and look forward to these months with excitement and some nervousness. I have some research projects and household tasks to keep me busy here and at the office, but I've never in my life had a long chunk of time where I wasn't on a schedule while still employed (I've had chunks of unemployed time, of course, but that's a different feeling alltogether). I already feel irresponsible and lazy!
So first, a big Congratulations! to Dana for completing her Masters in Physician Assistant degree from St. Francis University. I couldn't be prouder, and I was a freakin' mess during the ceremony on Sunday.
So, part of the preparation on Friday was a trip to Altoona - which, of course, means that I stopped by Marzoni's. I walked in with a small cooler because I had two empty growlers to fill (one for me, one for my father-in-law) and two bombers filled with coffee porter to give to Bill. As I walked to the bar, I hear off to the side .. "What'cha got in the cooler? An extra liver?"
There sat Rick & Dave (of Cassidy's Brew Zoo), enjoying a late lunch. They're also hugely responsible, along with several others, for the Pint for Pets Brewfest coming up next Saturday. Bill was just on his way off to an appointment, so I sat and BS'd with Rick and Dave while enjoying a large glass of Lichtenhainer, a smoky, lightly sour session ale that I enjoyed but will take others some time to get used to. This beer was part of a collaboration between Bill and Scott at East End Brewing. They're also working on a gose, which they're brewing today in Pittsburgh.
After a pint, I grabbed a growler of Bill's Red Ale for me and my father-in-law, and hit the road.
Saturday was spent completely cleaning the house and de-junking.
Sunday was graduation day. My parents came over and we drove them to Loretto for the event. Luckily, this year SFU decided to split graduate from undergraduate graduation - so we were done in less than 1.5 hrs. A nice reception followed, then we all headed back to Indiana for the after party.
Now it's Thursday. My grading is done, finals here are over, and our graduation is on Saturday. I'm not teaching this summer (a first) and look forward to these months with excitement and some nervousness. I have some research projects and household tasks to keep me busy here and at the office, but I've never in my life had a long chunk of time where I wasn't on a schedule while still employed (I've had chunks of unemployed time, of course, but that's a different feeling alltogether). I already feel irresponsible and lazy!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Super Tuesday (for beer, not voting)
Yesterday was my Spring Break beer-related day, starting with a road trip and finishing with a homebrew club meeting. It wasn't quite the journey from last year, but it was a great day.
I picked up Justin (aka Naka) at 10am, and after grabbing some caffeinated sustenance at The Commonplace Coffeehouse, we headed west on Rt 422 towards Kittanning ,Butler, and New Castle. At New Castle, we hung a left toward Boardman, Ohio, our first destination.
Why Boardman? Well, because of an absolutely wonderful beer & wine store named Vintage Estate Wine & Beer. First, we had lunch up the road at a place called Rocknes Pub & Restaurant ... a run-of-the-mill pub like TGI's or Chili's or "Chotchkies". The food was fine but uninspiring. In fact, the whole strip of businesses and restaurants all along Rt 224 in Boardman was the most bland yet eclectic collection of businesses I'd seen in a long time: Home Depot next to a mall next to Olive Garden next to a mattress store next to an adult store called "Ambiance". The whole area kinda sucked the spirit out of you. But I digress....
Vintage Estate!! Man, worth the two-hour drive from Indiana. The beer selection was phenomenal and the prices, compared to Pittsburgh beer stores and the asinine Allegheny Co. Onorato tax, were very, very reasonable. I had a wish list and some cash from Eli, whose order I filled first. Justin was busy gathering his stuff.
After getting Eli's stuff, I picked up the following:
After a great time at Vintage Estates, we hit the road and drove straight to East End Brewing in Pittsburgh - making it just in time for growler hours at 5pm. There weren't many people to show up between 5-6, so we hung out and chatted with Scott and Richard, tried a few samples (including the soon-to-be-released Monkey Boy, a German Hefeweizen). I left with a growler each of the Best Bitter and the Dubbel Trubbel.
We left Pittsburgh and headed home. After dropping Justin off and stopping home for a bit, it was time to head uptown to The Coney for the March meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers Club. The article about our club, published in the local paper last month, helped get us six new members last night! We talked about the hop shortage, tried some great homebrews and the two East End beers, and I ended up staying until midnight.
In all, a great beer day!
I picked up Justin (aka Naka) at 10am, and after grabbing some caffeinated sustenance at The Commonplace Coffeehouse, we headed west on Rt 422 towards Kittanning ,Butler, and New Castle. At New Castle, we hung a left toward Boardman, Ohio, our first destination.
Why Boardman? Well, because of an absolutely wonderful beer & wine store named Vintage Estate Wine & Beer. First, we had lunch up the road at a place called Rocknes Pub & Restaurant ... a run-of-the-mill pub like TGI's or Chili's or "Chotchkies". The food was fine but uninspiring. In fact, the whole strip of businesses and restaurants all along Rt 224 in Boardman was the most bland yet eclectic collection of businesses I'd seen in a long time: Home Depot next to a mall next to Olive Garden next to a mattress store next to an adult store called "Ambiance". The whole area kinda sucked the spirit out of you. But I digress....
Vintage Estate!! Man, worth the two-hour drive from Indiana. The beer selection was phenomenal and the prices, compared to Pittsburgh beer stores and the asinine Allegheny Co. Onorato tax, were very, very reasonable. I had a wish list and some cash from Eli, whose order I filled first. Justin was busy gathering his stuff.
After getting Eli's stuff, I picked up the following:
- Ølfabrikken Porter
- Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood
- Nils Oscar Imperial Stout
- Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout
- Mikkeller Big Worse Barley Wine
- Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen IPA Tripel
- Mad River Steelhead Scotch Porter
- Tripel Karmeliet
- Allagash Curieux
- Bottleworks Van den Vern Grand Cru
- De Dolle Arabier
- De Dolle Dulle Teve
- Left Hand Milk Stout
- 't Smisje Grande Reserva
- Weihenstephaner Korbinian
- Weihenstephaner Vitus
- Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot
- Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale
- Founders Pale Ale
- New Holland Night Tripper
- Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock
- Lagunitas The Hairy Eyeball
After a great time at Vintage Estates, we hit the road and drove straight to East End Brewing in Pittsburgh - making it just in time for growler hours at 5pm. There weren't many people to show up between 5-6, so we hung out and chatted with Scott and Richard, tried a few samples (including the soon-to-be-released Monkey Boy, a German Hefeweizen). I left with a growler each of the Best Bitter and the Dubbel Trubbel.
We left Pittsburgh and headed home. After dropping Justin off and stopping home for a bit, it was time to head uptown to The Coney for the March meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers Club. The article about our club, published in the local paper last month, helped get us six new members last night! We talked about the hop shortage, tried some great homebrews and the two East End beers, and I ended up staying until midnight.
In all, a great beer day!
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Just the Cure for Some February Blahs!
Last night, the Indiana Homebrewers Club "exec board", as we semi-jokingly call ourselves, met at Dave's house for a February meeting pre-meeting planning session and, of course, tasting.
I was a bit late, and by the time I showed up, everyone was gnoshing on some good eats with some bombers waiting to be cracked. I can't remember who brought what, but there was some nice spicy sausage, Gruyere and Havarti cheese, then some St. Andre triple cream and a Spanish bleu (forgot the name) wrapped in grape leaf. Some apples and pears provided a sweet touch - and the hot appetizer for the evening was pieces of pheasant (courtesy of Eli) and pepperocini (sp?) peppers wrapped in bacon. Good stuff ... except for the piece of steel shot that I almost cracked a tooth on. The downside of shot game!
Anyway, in between discussion and food, we did manage to have some beers. Justin, who'd been in CA for a meeting, brought back several bottles of Russian River. Dave provided a Lost Abbey, Eli some Oskar Blues, and I brought a bottle of Belgium's finest. Our tasting list last night:
1. Lost Abbey Lost & Found, 750mL (Dave)
2. 2004 Westvleteren 12, 330mL (Nate)
3. Russian River Damnation, 750mL (Justin)
4. Russian River Redemption, 750mL (Justin)
5. Russian River Salvation, 750mL (Justin)
6. Oskar Blues TEN FIDY, 2x12oz cans (Eli)
All very tasty stuff.
I was a bit late, and by the time I showed up, everyone was gnoshing on some good eats with some bombers waiting to be cracked. I can't remember who brought what, but there was some nice spicy sausage, Gruyere and Havarti cheese, then some St. Andre triple cream and a Spanish bleu (forgot the name) wrapped in grape leaf. Some apples and pears provided a sweet touch - and the hot appetizer for the evening was pieces of pheasant (courtesy of Eli) and pepperocini (sp?) peppers wrapped in bacon. Good stuff ... except for the piece of steel shot that I almost cracked a tooth on. The downside of shot game!
Anyway, in between discussion and food, we did manage to have some beers. Justin, who'd been in CA for a meeting, brought back several bottles of Russian River. Dave provided a Lost Abbey, Eli some Oskar Blues, and I brought a bottle of Belgium's finest. Our tasting list last night:
1. Lost Abbey Lost & Found, 750mL (Dave)
2. 2004 Westvleteren 12, 330mL (Nate)
3. Russian River Damnation, 750mL (Justin)
4. Russian River Redemption, 750mL (Justin)
5. Russian River Salvation, 750mL (Justin)
6. Oskar Blues TEN FIDY, 2x12oz cans (Eli)
All very tasty stuff.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
A Warm January Day: Brewing, Tasting, Homebrew Club
Some days just beg to be taken advantage of ... and today is one of those days. This is going to be one long post; edited periodically.
10am: Filling up the brewing keg with filtered water and got the burner going. It's a bit windy on the porch, but sunny and warm.
11:30am: Just started the mash for my Commonplace Coffee Porter in a converted picnic cooler. 12 lbs 2-row pale; 1 lb British chocolate malt; 12 oz 60 °L crystal; 6 oz. dextrin malt; 4 oz. black malt; and 1 oz. roasted barley. Added 14 qt of 155° water and brought mash up to ~144° Letting it sit for 30 min.
While that's steeping, I'm trying out the connections of my newly-crafted wort chiller (same one from before, just better fittings). ... :( ... one of the hoses will fit but the other won't. That's confounding, as they're both garden hoses, and both fittings are the same. Well, the input hose is leak free, so I'll just have to hold the output over the porch railing. Back to the drawing board for that!
12:10pm: Just added 6 qts of 200° water to bring mash up to around 150° which is a tad low. In keeping with what I did last time, I'm going to take a few quarts of the mash and boil, then add back to the mash. I think it gives it a bit more maltiness - like a decoction mash.
12:15pm: Just finished adding the water above when the phone rings ... it's a reporter from the local paper wanting to know if he and a photog can come to tonight's homebrew club meeting. This day is just getting better and better. Time for a lunch break.
1:30pm: The starch test was good, ready to sparge. Forgot how much my keg cools down, so I have to wait a few minutes to get my sparge water up to temp again. I'll wait while sipping a Stone Pale Ale.
1:45pm: Startin' the sparge.
2:30pm: Sparging is done. Pulled off approximately 6 gallons of wort, then started the burner.
3:25pm: Windy out ... took a bit longer to get the boil going. After the hot break, added Cascade and Northern Brewer (used 3/4 oz. each) in a hop sock. Let 'er go for 45 minutes. Added the irish moss, and put in the wort chiller to sanitize.
4:40: Started chillin'. Got the primary bucket ready & sanitized.
5:05: Chilled to about 90°, transferred to primary bucket. Got just under 5 gallons, so I added a bit of cold water to bring to 5 gallons. S.G. at 80°F was 1.058, so that's 1.060 at 60°F. Pitched Wyeast 1056 and locked up.
7:00pm: Went up to Dave's for a pre-meeting meeting. We (Dave, Justing, and Eli) sampled a Three Floyds Dreadnaught and a 'black lager' homebrew. From there, we all went up to the Coney for the January Indiana Homebrewers Club meeting, where we watched a DVD on all-grain brewing after getting some pictures taken for the local paper. After the video, we sampled four different beers from various members.
All in all, quite a nice beer day.
10am: Filling up the brewing keg with filtered water and got the burner going. It's a bit windy on the porch, but sunny and warm.
11:30am: Just started the mash for my Commonplace Coffee Porter in a converted picnic cooler. 12 lbs 2-row pale; 1 lb British chocolate malt; 12 oz 60 °L crystal; 6 oz. dextrin malt; 4 oz. black malt; and 1 oz. roasted barley. Added 14 qt of 155° water and brought mash up to ~144° Letting it sit for 30 min.
While that's steeping, I'm trying out the connections of my newly-crafted wort chiller (same one from before, just better fittings). ... :( ... one of the hoses will fit but the other won't. That's confounding, as they're both garden hoses, and both fittings are the same. Well, the input hose is leak free, so I'll just have to hold the output over the porch railing. Back to the drawing board for that!
12:10pm: Just added 6 qts of 200° water to bring mash up to around 150° which is a tad low. In keeping with what I did last time, I'm going to take a few quarts of the mash and boil, then add back to the mash. I think it gives it a bit more maltiness - like a decoction mash.
12:15pm: Just finished adding the water above when the phone rings ... it's a reporter from the local paper wanting to know if he and a photog can come to tonight's homebrew club meeting. This day is just getting better and better. Time for a lunch break.
1:30pm: The starch test was good, ready to sparge. Forgot how much my keg cools down, so I have to wait a few minutes to get my sparge water up to temp again. I'll wait while sipping a Stone Pale Ale.
1:45pm: Startin' the sparge.
2:30pm: Sparging is done. Pulled off approximately 6 gallons of wort, then started the burner.
3:25pm: Windy out ... took a bit longer to get the boil going. After the hot break, added Cascade and Northern Brewer (used 3/4 oz. each) in a hop sock. Let 'er go for 45 minutes. Added the irish moss, and put in the wort chiller to sanitize.
4:40: Started chillin'. Got the primary bucket ready & sanitized.
5:05: Chilled to about 90°, transferred to primary bucket. Got just under 5 gallons, so I added a bit of cold water to bring to 5 gallons. S.G. at 80°F was 1.058, so that's 1.060 at 60°F. Pitched Wyeast 1056 and locked up.
7:00pm: Went up to Dave's for a pre-meeting meeting. We (Dave, Justing, and Eli) sampled a Three Floyds Dreadnaught and a 'black lager' homebrew. From there, we all went up to the Coney for the January Indiana Homebrewers Club meeting, where we watched a DVD on all-grain brewing after getting some pictures taken for the local paper. After the video, we sampled four different beers from various members.
All in all, quite a nice beer day.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
The Ad is Placed
So the Homebrewers Club ad is now circulating in town! Hopefully, we'll garner some more interest for our January and February meetings!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
2nd Homebrewers Club Meeting A Success
Last night was our second homebrewers club meeting. A few people couldn't make it, and we didn't get any new members this time. But we still had about 15 people. The highlights can be found here.
Time to recruit more people!
Time to recruit more people!
Monday, November 12, 2007
2nd Indiana Homebrewers Club Meeting - Preview
So tomorrow night is going to be the second meeting of the Indiana Homebrewers Club and I'm very excited. The last meeting was a great success - with 20 people showing up. Tomorrow, we're going to have (hopefully) that many and maybe a few more.
We'll start with a homebrew tasting: five or six of our members have agreed to bring a six pack of their product to share a taste with everyone. I'll be one of those sharing, and will take a sixer of my Commonplace Coffee Porter (which I need to make more of next week, hopefully). After the tasting, one of our members is going to give a presentation on the basics of extract brewing (with slides and everything!). Should be a good time, and I'll comment more later on the meeting.
Did anyone brew or teach a friend to brew back on 11/3? I couldn't, unfortunately.
We'll start with a homebrew tasting: five or six of our members have agreed to bring a six pack of their product to share a taste with everyone. I'll be one of those sharing, and will take a sixer of my Commonplace Coffee Porter (which I need to make more of next week, hopefully). After the tasting, one of our members is going to give a presentation on the basics of extract brewing (with slides and everything!). Should be a good time, and I'll comment more later on the meeting.
Did anyone brew or teach a friend to brew back on 11/3? I couldn't, unfortunately.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
How Many Homebrewers Are Out There?
I pose this question not as a survey, though you're welcome to comment and share information, but rather as the rhetorical thought that popped into my head when some friends and I were contemplating a homebrew club in our little town.
As it turns out, a lot.
The inaugural meeting of our Indiana Homebrewers Club met last Tuesday at The Coney here in Indiana. Other than word of mouth and a few fliers posted at perhaps two establishments in town, we had done no real advertising. Despite that, the attendance was amazing.
Most people had done some brewing, a few had not yet brewed. The majority were doing extract, and a few of us are familiar with partial mash and all-grain. There seemed to be a current of excitement in the room as people mingled and met fellow enthusiasts; almost a bit cathartic to find out that "hey, I'm not the only person who likes to homebrew".
Our first 'regular' meeting will be in a few weeks, and one of our more experienced brewers is going to give a presentation on the basics of extract brewing. Several of us are going to bring six-packs of homebrew to share at a small tasting.
I hope that attendance will keep around this level, and that we can craft a club that meets everyones needs. It promises to be quite an adventure.
PS - don't forget that this coming Saturday is Teach A Friend to Brew Day!
As it turns out, a lot.
The inaugural meeting of our Indiana Homebrewers Club met last Tuesday at The Coney here in Indiana. Other than word of mouth and a few fliers posted at perhaps two establishments in town, we had done no real advertising. Despite that, the attendance was amazing.
Most people had done some brewing, a few had not yet brewed. The majority were doing extract, and a few of us are familiar with partial mash and all-grain. There seemed to be a current of excitement in the room as people mingled and met fellow enthusiasts; almost a bit cathartic to find out that "hey, I'm not the only person who likes to homebrew".
Our first 'regular' meeting will be in a few weeks, and one of our more experienced brewers is going to give a presentation on the basics of extract brewing. Several of us are going to bring six-packs of homebrew to share at a small tasting.
I hope that attendance will keep around this level, and that we can craft a club that meets everyones needs. It promises to be quite an adventure.
PS - don't forget that this coming Saturday is Teach A Friend to Brew Day!
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Spring Is Here!
What a beautiful weekend this was! Sunny, warm weather - perfect for grilling and smoking (salmon, that is), yard work, and good beer.
Last Tuesday, the core of the Indiana Beer Club met here for a small tasting. We did a few wheat beers (Bells Oberon, Troegs Dream Weaver), Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, and a great vertical of Stone Old Guardian from 2005-07.
Friday night, my wife and I met some of her classmates at Amici's Restaurant and Pizza in Ebensburg. I was floored that they had 14 taps, and even more so to find 2 beers that I'd not yet had. That's saying something for Ebensburg! The Brooklyn Antwerpen Ale was a decent lighter Belgian ale, but not on par with traditional fare from the land. Amici's is worth a visit for a good meal - entrees range from 12-27.
Last Tuesday, the core of the Indiana Beer Club met here for a small tasting. We did a few wheat beers (Bells Oberon, Troegs Dream Weaver), Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, and a great vertical of Stone Old Guardian from 2005-07.
Friday night, my wife and I met some of her classmates at Amici's Restaurant and Pizza in Ebensburg. I was floored that they had 14 taps, and even more so to find 2 beers that I'd not yet had. That's saying something for Ebensburg! The Brooklyn Antwerpen Ale was a decent lighter Belgian ale, but not on par with traditional fare from the land. Amici's is worth a visit for a good meal - entrees range from 12-27.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
February Beer Club Meeting
You can see the full lineup here. I think it was a great success and we had 11 people at Jon & Lacey's house.
If the homebrewing article runs on Sunday in the Gazette and our new guests spread the word, we'll have to figure out where uptown we can meet. Ahh, the price of progress ;)
If the homebrewing article runs on Sunday in the Gazette and our new guests spread the word, we'll have to figure out where uptown we can meet. Ahh, the price of progress ;)
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