Busy Brew-Related Day!

Wow... Not much to report in 2011 for my brewing - until yesterday!

The garage has been a mess, the weather has been miserable, and most of my gear was in dire need of a good cleaning. The obstacles that I needed to clear in order to get brewing were going to take longer than the brew day itself. Not exactly a recipe for motivation.

I knew that left to my own devices, a brew day would be a long time coming. A bunch of us have been talking about a group brew day, especially since I missed the one over the long MLK Jr. weekend back in January. So we put it on the calendar: my place, 4/17.

Since I finished the super-shelf in the garage a little over a month ago, and it has warmed up a bit now, I started to load it up! Of course, I did nothing all week long leading up to the weekend, so I had a bit of a scramble to get prepped. After going to the District Pinewood Derby with my sons, I spent about six hours pulling boxes and bins, then heaving them up the ladder and up onto the shelf. I did take a bit of a tumble off the ladder with a foot locker, but I managed to avoid the emergency room. Getting a lot of stuff up and out of the way helped make room for some organization.

I had been hopeful to get an early start on finishing things up on Sunday morning, but shopping with the family and a trip to the dump ate up a big chunk of that time... Fortunately, nobody was planning to arrive until mid-afternoon. Once I got home from the errands, I just set to work, chipping away at cleaning up the garage and brewing equipment.

I am embarrassed to admit this, but I had way more dirty brew ware than clean - and I haven't brewed since January. Buckets, carboys, kegs, pots, mash tuns... It was all filthy. Not to make excuses, but we have had freezing weather off-and-on right up through April, so I have not even had faucets uncovered or hoses connected outside yet this year - which makes it kind of hard to clean stuff. Now, I could have hooked things up temporarily to get the cleaning done, but I have used the chilly weather as an excuse, and now it was time to pay for my neglect.

All I can say is, "Thank you OxiClean!" I do have PBW, and it does work a bit better, especially in cold water... But it is quite a bit more expensive, so when I use the PBW, I like to recycle it. I have some OxiClean (non-scented) for the bulk cleaning of the really nasty stuff, when I am not concerned about re-using the cleaner. I think my laziness is self-evident in this post - that's what I love about PBW/OxiClean... Just dump it in, fill it up with water, and let it soak! Of course, it works quite a bit better if you don't let stuff dry and turn crusty.

All told, I cleaned 2x buckets, 2x kettles, 4x carboys, 6x kegs, and assorted smaller brewing bits. I was not quite done cleaning the equipment when the guys started to arrive. In fact, it was still soaking. But the garage was presentable! I finished the cleaning and we got to brewing! I brew alone so often, I had forgotten how much I enjoy brewing with other people!

Kris brewed up a batch of Cream Ale; Robert brewed up a batch of Bavarian Hefeweizen; and I brewed up a batch of Imperial Red Ale. Here are links to the three recipes:
>Cream Ale
>Bavarian Hefeweizen
>Bruise Brothers Redwing (Imperial Red) Ale
We drank quite a bit of good beer, including a few homebrews, while we brewed, and we were alternately entertained by my kids and throwing darts.

I am going to get my equipment cleaned up and try to brew a couple more batches this week... And I am excited to schedule our next group brew day!

The Hops Are Coming! The Hops Are Coming!

Well, they're sprouting up at least. I noticed right around the end of March that there were some green nubs poking up through the soil in my hop containers - and a little over a week later, they all have significant growth!

I got the twine hung, so that the bines have something to train along before they go too crazy. Last year, I had 3-4 twines running up at an angle to one central point (a 15' piece of rebar). This worked well (and my wife was happy with the aesthetics), but once the bines reached the top in around August, they got all tangled up. This made it more challenging to keep the hop sorted out when I harvested them.

This year, I moved the two pieces of rebar to the extreme ends of the area planted by hops. I strung a piece of aluminum wire horizontallybetween the two pieces of rebar (this is similar to what the hop farms in Yakima do). I tied each piece of jute twine to a zinc washer, then threaded that onto the aluminum wire. This will make harvesting the hops way easier, and will keep the bines from getting tangles since they will grow straight up this year.

Judging from the density of the shoots sprouting up in each container, this will probably be the last year that I can keep the rhizomes growing in them. I started the rhizomes in containers last year, because I was not sure if this location was going to be conducive to the hop growth - clearly it was, since I got well over a pound of hops in the first year! I actually had begun preparing the soil at the foot of the raised beds so that I could move the hops this year, but by the time I got around to it, they were already coming up. I didn't want to risk it, so I'll move them for next year.

I am excited to see if my yields increase this fall!

Feast or Famine... (AKA November Redux)

I think my last post was in June. Even before that, the posts were intermittent at best! There was not a ton to report as far as my usual topics go, though. Is it too early for New Year's Resolutions???

The looming Holiday Season jump-started my brewing again. Most tasks may be "like riding a bike" in terms of never truly forgetting how to do them, but brewing, like driving a manual transmission, is one best served by regular practice! It is not rocket science, but there are a lot of steps. The beer is better when things go smoothly.

Since I am a "yeast starter" guy, I need to start my timeline a couple days early in order to brew. I'm no stranger to brewing through the night after family stuff is done (hence the name of this blog), but planning is still necessary. Since I had a list beers I was planning on brewing in the late summer and early fall, most of my yeast was getting tired viability-wise. This added a few more days to the brewing timeline, because I had to step-up my starters.

Nevertheless - I finally got my Dunkel Weiss going a few weeks ago... It was my first Bavarian-style weiss beer, having only brewed an American Raspberry Wheat (for my wife) previously. I have heard all the stories about the vigor of this yeast (the Weihenstephan strain - WY3068), but was still not prepared! This yeast was relatively fresh, so I did my usual 2L starter.

Geyser is probably not the appropriate term, since it did not hit the ceiling... But I came home from work to find the foil off the carboy, and a steady flow of krausen flowing down the entire circumference of the carboy. I am glad that the carboy was in a milk crate and on a towel (and likewise glad that I found this before my wife)!

I am no rookie when it comes to blow-off mishaps. In fact, my wife has called me at work and even threatened to cut off my brewing of ales (fermenting in the house) as a result of vigorous fermentation accidents. Fearing the loss of hobby privileges, I have adapted my techniques to try to avoid these yeast-caused problems...

When I ferment in a 5-gallon vessel, I always use an appropriately-sized blow-off tube which flows into container of ample volume (2L minimum, emptied before I go to work!). Preferably, I ferment in 6-gallon vessels, and never put more than 5.5-gallons of beer into it. It has been quite a while since I had more than a couple tablespoonfuls of yeast krausen escape containment, which may be why this massive flow was such a surprise (FYI - keep your dog away if you expect that your yeast is making a break for it! I had to drag my lab away from licking up the expelled yeast!). I put about 5.25 gallons into the 6-gallon fermenter.

Having not been caught by my wife, I quickly changed out the towel, and took the vigorous yeast activity as a good sign (while at the same time dreading the future carboy-cleaning task). I did a little triage, and the fermentation was back on track. Then came the Thanksgiving-week storm... If you don't live in the Pacific Northwest, you might have missed it - but we got 4" of snow in the Puget Sound region, accompanied by high winds and power outages.

I pretended like I was concerned for the comfort of my family (OK, I was a bit concerned) as I kept the wood stove gong 24-7. I was worried about my 4 yeast starters and my Dunkel Weiss, and needed to maintain a suitable ambient temperature in the face of no power and sub-freezing outdoor temperatures! I dutifully kept logs on the fire, and occasionally sneaked a peak at the LCD carboy thermometers, aiming to keep their temps above 60° at least. I think I managed OK.

I mentioned the Holiday Season as a motivational factor. Since the very first year I homebrewed, I have given beer as gifts. At this point, I think that my friends and co-workers would be disappointed by anything other than beer (this is quite a compliment). And at our National Guard Holiday Party, it is a foregone conclusion that I'll provide baskets of homebrew for the family support auction. If you are a homebrewer, you know what I'm talking about - the list of people who want your beer grows...

By my reckoning, demand was going to exceed supply... I took stock of on-hand supplies and proven recipes. Next up: a partial-mash ESB that has become a bit of a stand-by! The partial mash was carried out in a 2-gal beverage cooler, and added to a the kettle with some DME for a full-wort boil. I love this recipe (based on somebody's take on Fuller's ESB - but in my mind, not really a clone), and like to brew it 3-4 times a year. It has also become one of the beers that I like to use to check out different yeasts... This time around I went with NW Ale (WY1332 - believed to be from Hale's in Seattle). At this point, it is probably very close to being done...

On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, I loaded up the wagon with brewing equipment and supplies for the trek to Seattle for an annual memorial brew day. I lost the best friend (a homebrewer) I ever had - the closest thing I had to a brother - on the 23rd of November, 2003 in Iraq; a family of lifelong friends lost their homebrewer almost two years ago on Superbowl Sunday (his birthday is in November)... We decided to make a commemorative tradition on Thanksgiving Weekend. This was our second year (last year we brewed a delicious Winter Warmer and a Robust Porter)...

Ferry traffic was crazy, and I arrived late. But things went fairly smooth for only my second brew session in months! I brewed a Rye Pale Ale, based on the Terrapin Rye clone on the Can You Brew It show on the Brewing Network (http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/597); Ben brewed an Amber Ale from Brewing Classic Styles. We drank the last bottles of each of our beers from last year, video skyped with our missing brew partner who's teaching in Viet Nam, and enjoyed the good company of family.

I missed the mark this past weekend... Several of my beers were not yet ready, and I needed to fill two raffle baskets. I have been lagering a batch of Classic American Pilsener for my Mom - but at least 24 bottles of it absolutely needed to find its way to her this time around (this is a long and entertaining story in itself). In my keezer, I still had a few gallons of beer left from late-summer brewing: a little over a gallon of Düsseldorf Alt brewed for a friend's retirement and a little over a gallon of an Imperial Rye IPA (a modification of Denny' Rye IPA). I counter-pressured this into bottles. I also had a few bottles of Pumpkin Ale (an attempt at an Elysian Night Owl clone, tasted and preferred on the Can You Brew It show - to the best of my knowledge, the only non-show homebrew tasted and discussed on the show) left from last winter. So, the baskets looked as follows:

• 2x 22oz Dunkel Weiss
• 2x 12oz Pumpkin Ale
• 1x 12oz Classic American Pilsener
• 1x 22oz Düsseldorf Alt
• 1x 22oz Imperial Rye IPA

After recovering from the power outage, I had fallen a bit behind, so I pulled some near all-nighters getting caught up leading into this weekend... Including a marathon bottling session where I bottled over 12 gallons of beer over Saturday night in order to have the beer baskets ready for Sunday. Maybe my timelines need a bit of adjustment?

I will definitely be in good shape for the rest of my bottled gifts leading into the holidays... I've already got the remainder of my bottled Dunkel Weiss and CAP, and should be adding the ESB and Rye Pale Ale shortly. I've got several recipes on deck, including a big batch of Pale Ale for a lautering experiment proposed by BYO magazine and Basic Brewing Radio. I'm torn between ending the year in a brewing flourish, still coming well short of my 100-gallon goal, or saving most of my brewing plans until after the New Year in order to get a jump on 2011's goal!

Breakfast Gives Rise to a Fun Idea!

So... My oldest son (7-1/2) was eating his breakfast, and he was reading the cereal box as he often does. I was pouring a cup of coffee when he shouted out, "Dad! This cereal could be beer! It's got wheat, malted barley, and yeast in it!"

"You must be so proud," my wife said to me somewhat facetiously.

Actually I was. I read the cereal box while sipping my coffee... Whole grain wheat flour, wheat four, malted barley flour, salt, dried yeast, soy lecithin. Hmmmm... "You know what buddy, you are absolutely right!" I replied. "What ingredients are missing?"

"Just the hops, Dad."

Yep. I am proud. I explained to him that the yeast might not actually be viable, since it may have been cooked as the cereal was processed. When he asked me why it was in there, I explained that yeast has some nutritional value, including vitamin B. I could see the wheels turning in his young head.

"So... Beer is kind of like food," he finally said. "Could you actually make beer out of Grape Nuts?"

After some thought, I replied, "I don't see why not... The only ingredient that would have a negative affect, as far as I know, is the salt."

After the disapproving glances and pointed glaring, my wife's face formed into a devilish grin. My first thought was how much trouble I was going to be in now... "You know what you should do? You should make up a batch of beer for the family camping trip, and call it 'breakfast beer'. Then when everybody likes it and it's gone, you can tell them you made it from cereal - they just drank their Grape Nuts!"

This actually sounded like a fun way to do it... I have read many forum posts about Grape Nuts beer, and beer from cereals in general. But for me, this beer would have a back-story!

I have begun thinking about the cereal, trying to get a handle on how much extract I can expect... It is unlikely that I could steep it and expect to get much more than the malted barley out (I would assume that this would be a bit like crystal malts). I am thinking of trying a small cereal mash added to a normal mash with some pale malt. I might also just try adding it into the mash with some pale malt. The difference in extract probably depends on how much of the cereal is actually wheat - it is not listed as malted wheat. Maybe it is negligible? Maybe I could make do with the simpler mash? That's why I want to try both methods...

Hop Trellises

In a recent post, I lamented the loss of my established hops due to a poorly executed move. In that same post, I also spoke of planting my new rhizomes. As I eagerly awaited bines to sprout, I contemplated trellis possibilities...

At my old house, I strung twine from my roof down to the ground - this gave me about 10' vertically. At my new place, the hops are planted away from my house in an area of raised garden beds. The trellis issue presented two problems. Of course, the first problem was the trellis system itself -what was I going to do? Secondary, and possibly more importantly, whatever trellis system I decided upon had to meet my wife's approval, since she is in charge of the aesthetics of the garden area.

What I really wanted to do was weld up a sturdy, permanent trellis... I felt that the unfinished steel would rust up nicely and complement the rustic wood of the raised beds and fenceposts. My wife thought that this plan would result in a "rusty monstrosity" which would undoubtedly be an "eyesore." (the quoted parts are her actual words) Likewise, any wooden trellis structure was likely to be a visual distraction.

I reluctantly concurred, putting off any truly permanent construction until next year when I plan on putting the hops into the ground (or at least planted more permanently).

In the end, I opted for simple. Material-wise I purchased two long 5/8" pieces of re-bar, 4 u-shaped 1/2" conduit brackets, two 1" screw eyes, 2 worm-drive hose clamps, and a spool of natural fiber twine. Planning-wise, I did not consult my wife (this simplified things greatly).

I used the hose clamps to fasten one of the screw eyes to the end of each piece of re-bar; tightening down the clamps as tight as they would go (along with a little bit of shaping of the clamp strap) added a sturdy circular eye to the 'top' of my trellis rod. Next, I test-fit the conduit brackets, and bent them to insure a secure and stable fit. I began by fastening only one side of a pair of conduit brackets for each trellis rod to the end boards of a raised garden bed. Before I mounted the re-bar to the garden box, I threaded 4 strands of ~20' of the natural twine through the eye at the top (this way, I avoided having to climb up a ladder to do that later). Finally, I fitted the re-bar into the conduit brackets and finished screwing them in. This resulted in a trellis that will be plenty sturdy for the hop bines, and hardly noticeable in the garden area.

Hop Rhizomes: Planting

My main order of hop rhizomes came in last weekend. In the rush to complete our move last spring, we left behind many plants that we had hoped to remove, pot, and bring with us to the new place... Sadly, my hops from last year were among those left behind. I had three varieties (Hallertauer, Tettnanger, and Cascade) which actually survived, and the Cascade were quite robust and productive.

I ordered several varieties again this year: Cascade, Chinook, Fuggle, Horizon... The first year I grew hops, I was not ready to put them in the ground, so I started them in containers (7-gallon nursery pots); they grew fine, had a decent yield, and I replanted them in the ground the following spring. The garden area at my new home is nowhere near complete, so I am starting hops in containers again this year.

I used the same 7-gallon nursery containers to plant them this time around. I remembered to print up weatherproof labels for each hop varietal - this ought to save me a bit of headache later! I partially blocked the four drain holes at the bottoms of the pots, then filled them with a mix of potting soil and enriched organic manure. After digging a 1-2" trench in the soil, I dropped the rhizomes in, mounding soil over the top.

It is spring in the Pacific Northwest, so keeping the soil moist will not be a problem. In fact, I think that part of why I lost some of my original hops was because they were too wet before the bines sprouted out of the soil. My gut tells me that finding a balance between a soil that will hold some moisture and a soil that drains well is the key, especially at the earliest stages.

I have the containers placed on the far side of my raised garden beds. This part of my yard will get around 16 hours of sun during the summer. Even now, they have sun from about 8 AM until 7 PM. I am going to rig a primitive trellis from re-bar and twine attached to the wall of my raised beds. This should be sufficient for the first year. Next year, my intention is to get them permanently planted in the ground somewhere in our garden enclosure with a better trellis system.

New Beer Annex: The Acme, Tacoma

I look forward to drill weekends... Not because I love donning the uniform, not because I love the Army, but because I love the guys I work with. I truly look forward to seeing them every month. One of the highlights is our Beer Club (this is a totally lackluster and uncreative name)... We get together and drink beer well into the night. It often becomes a prideful contest to see who can last the longest, but it is mostly about drinking and talking about good beer.

At the Holidays, my homebrew baskets for the unit fundraiser raffle have become legendary. People start asking if I will be providing baskets about three months in advance! I also usually provide kegs for barbecues, picnics, and special events after drill. I have rallied quite a bit of interest in good beer and homebrewing through such beer diplomacy... Over the past year, our gatherings have grown and grown, often attracting upwards of 20 folks; likewise the number of homebrewers in our midst continues to rise.

However, our unit moved from a location we had occupied for the past five years. We had established drinking routines: either drinking in-house with a variety of offerings brought in by revelers or a walk to the local dive bar just off post. Faced with a new location, one which we share with many other units (visibility is the enemy of discretion), all eyes were on me for a plan.

Google is my friend, even if many of the sites I wanted to visit were blocked by government internet filters! Using Google Maps, I was able to locate several local haunts within 15 minutes walking distance. The walking distance part is non-negotiable for me, because I don't want anybody driving after we've been out drinking. Several of the potential establishments were also music venues, so they were going to require a cover and be fairly crowded. We decided on a place, which from all appearances looked to be a good dive replacement, that was only 4 blocks away!

The Acme Tavern in Tacoma was two blocks north and two blocks east of our armory - can't beat convenience! And it was not a dive at all! They strive for the dive feel - shunning any trendy embellishments. Tables, chairs, bar games, a jukbox, pounders of Rainier and PBR, taps of American Macro-swill... And 4 local micro/craft taps! The bar tender was a super guy, and the local bar flies were friendly and welcoming.

We filled the jukebox full of quarters and waxed indecisive about what we wanted in the music queue... We drank four pitchers of Odin Brewing Co.'s Odin's Gift, and were sold on our new beer annex! If you haven't had a chance to try any of their brews, their tasting room is open most Friday afternoons... They are located in Seattle, near the Museum of Flight (9130 15th Pl. S. Suite F, Seattle, WA, 98108).

Odin's Gift is a ruby-colored dark ale. I don't know how they classify it, if at all, but it is definitely a pecialty beer. I detected juniper berries (I think) and rich dark-fruit malty overtones providing the sweetness to carry the alcohol (I'm guessing 7-8%), balanced by a just enough hop bitterness to keep it from being cloying... This beer had a lot of potential to be a one-pinter, given the fruity nose (from the dark malts and the juniper berries), but it was well-attenuated and finished much drier than I expected. This beer was like a juniper-cautious Alaskan Winter on steroids!