I'm Thinking... 09/09/09 Barleywine

PM sent.

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Updated list of PM's I've received as of 03-02-09:

Amiaji
Beerrific
beerthirty
BierMuncher
CBBaron
conpewter
Couevas
deathweed
Doog_Si_Reeb
EvilTOJ
FSR402
HarvInSTL
jmulligan
Kilted Brewer
KingBrianI
korndog
Liquidicem
mmb
nealf
olllllo
Ridemywideglide
Saccharomyces
Stratotankard
TerapinChef
TexLaw
Warrior
wildwest450
xiang


First PM is going out today for those I've not heard from. Here's a repeat of the message.

If you are 100% committed to this swap, PM me with the following:

First & Last Name
Shipping Address
Reliable Email Address

• This window will be open for three weeks.
• If I don't hear from someone after the first week, I will PM that individual.
• If after 1 week of my PM I have not heard, I will PM again.
• Five more days of no contact and that person is out of the swap.

The last week of March or whenever I get everyone's information (whichever comes first) I will drop the data into my excel randomizer and create the shipper/recipient match ups and PM them to you.

**********************

Again Here are the swap parameters:

• You will send to three random individuals.
• You will receive from three random individuals.
• You will send a minimum of 44 ounces. (Generally the minimum is either 4-12 ounce bottles, or 2-22 ounce bombers.)
• No matter how much you send, two bottles in the package must be Barleywine.
• You may (and are encouraged to) send additional HB for immediate enjoyment.

So when it is said and done, we should each be in possession of 6 bottles of barleywine and hopefully a weekends worth assortment of other homebrew.

Here are a couple of handy links related to:
Packing and Shipping Tutorial.
Link for free boxes.

wow I thought it was brew ON 09-09-09, looks like I won't be participating in this one...kinda confusing.

BierMuncher said:

I mean c'mon...

The 888RIS event is coming along nicely and before you know it, we'll be looking for something to ring in the magic day of 2009.

This time we brew on (or as close as possible to) 09-09-08 in order to swap, open and enjoy for 09-09-09. This gives a full year for the barleywine to ripen.

I'd suggest we (again) look to the Pastor for a recipe (IE - Water to Barleywine).

Just throwing out an idea, but I'm looking for a reason to brew a barleywine.

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magnj said:

wow I thought it was brew ON 09-09-09, looks like I won't be participating in this one...kinda confusing.

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Reading the first post woulda cleared it all up..

Brew it anyway.. Just save it (for yourself) for a year..

Wow, I'm an idiot. I must have missed that bit in the 100+ pages. I plan on doing the 08-08-08 RIS, Maybe I'll do this sometimes too.

But this is the first I've seen the link for the free shipping boxes. I now have 25 on the way. Thanks, BierMuncher.

I didn't brew the 999, but I'll glady accept shipments anyway.

32 confirmed names and addresses as of 03/03 - 10:30AM Central.

Amiaji
bashe
Beerrific
beerthirty
BierMuncher
CBBaron
conpewter
Couevas
deathweed
Doog_Si_Reeb
EvilTOJ
FSR402
Glibbidy
HarvInSTL
jmulligan
Kilted Brewer
KingBrianI
korndog
Liquidicem
mmb
MNBugeater
nealf
olllllo
Ridemywideglide
Saccharomyces
Stratotankard
Sumo
TerapinChef
TexLaw
Warrior
wildwest450
xiang


I'm down to three names that have not confirmed yet so we're pretty well on our way.

• One name I don't hold much hope for as they have been MIA since 2/6.
• One has read my PM but no response.
• One has not read my PM but I'm confident in their commitment to the swap.

Unfortunately one member had to back out because of proximity. (Average cost of $60 to ship). On the upside, this member now has $180 to invest in homebrewing.

BierMuncher said:

Unfortunately one member had to back out because of proximity. (Average cost of $60 to ship). On the upside, this member now has $180 to invest in homebrewing.

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Not to mention the 3 poor fools that would have to ship to him.....ouch

Here is a distribution of swap members. No attempt was made to accurately depict city locations.



FYI - The worst case shipping would be a coast to coast. (VT to CA or MA to WA). In theses instances, a 13# package (about 6 - 12 ounce bottles) UPS ground shipping is $20.00.

On average, I expect shipping for a 6-8 (12-ounce) bottle package to be around $11-$16 each.

I'd given thought to dividing the country in half and reducing shipping distances, but I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. Thoughts?

well west side brewers seem to do things a little differnt then us east side guys so I would like to leave it as is.

I like seeing the MI brewers coming thru.

I think it should be OK as long as one person doesn't get stuck with 3 cross-country shipments. If it's split up to be like 2 close-medium distance and 1 long-distance I think it would be great. Although that is a lot of organizing.

BierMuncher said:

Here is a distribution of swap members. No attempt was made to accurately depict city locations.

View attachment 10075

FYI - The worst case shipping would be a coast to coast. (VT to CA or MA to WA). In theses instances, a 13# package (about 6 - 12 ounce bottles) UPS ground shipping is $20.00.

On average, I expect shipping for a 6-8 (12-ounce) bottle package to be around $11-$16 each.

I'd given thought to dividing the country in half and reducing shipping distances, but I'm leaning towards leaving it as is. Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I would leave it random. I would hate to see some dude in Vermont miss out on some fine California hooch, and vice-versa. What's with the blue star in NE by the way?

korndog said:

I would leave it random. I would hate to see some dude in Vermont miss out on some fine California hooch, and vice-versa. What's with the blue star in NE by the way?

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You're just hoping for a photo op in THAT thread!


I'm fine shipping where ever but since I'm in the kinda middle of the country maybe my vote doesn't count. *shrug*

BierMuncher said:

View attachment 10075

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WOW! Nice work BM!!!!!
Excellent pictorial distribution.

Looks like I would have been a loner regardless of the fact that I moved....
I am the only guy in Washington and I would have been the only guy in Nevada if I hadn't moved. :rockin:

Gotta represent!

BTW.......

I am at risk for extreme shipping distance, so my opinion counts most!

I am for complete randomness. It always seems like the biggest concentration of you guys is in the midwest, and I don't want to be segregated from all that great grog!!!

korndog said:

I would leave it random. I would hate to see some dude in Vermont miss out on some fine California hooch, and vice-versa

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My sentiments exactly, me being that dude from VT. I'd prefer to keep it random. We all seem to be into this swap for the long haul and have invested a good deal of time and effort for this unique swap.

mmb said:

You're just hoping for a photo op in THAT thread!

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I think it's a different Vermont person, but you are right; a guy can hope!

korndog said:

...What's with the blue star in NE by the way?

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That's my "haven't heard from but pretty sure he's in" guy.

Sound like the general consensus is go for it as is.

Hahaha. I was about to PM you and say I was out -- Mine is still in primary -- But how can I let you down, man??????

Tell you what. I have kegs empty, and full of PBW, I just have to replace some rings and StarSan them.

If I can get it kegged and on gas by this weekend, I will PM you back with my final "In"-ness. If I still can't get it onto gas, then I should just be drug out back behind the woodshed and shot.

Mind you, it smells good. I just haven't gotten the time to transfer it -- Plus I think something airborne keeps infecting my brews so I've been afraid to open its lid or take it out of its protective, dark cupboard I've kept it in.

I bought Bleach at the store last night, and I'm going to whip it into a spray bottle of diluted solution. Then I'm going to mist the entire basement, twice, before I open the Barleywine. I 'ent letting that bastard get infected.

Get some new tubing and take the cornie all the way apart. Clean the CO2 line and fittings as well.

I assume I am preaching to the choir, but it can't hurt.

Sadly they're getting infected before they ever see a keg. Between pitching yeast, and end-of-long-primary are when they're getting sick. The last one was a Bitter, OG in the 1.045 neighborhood, about 30 IBU. Was fine at yeast pitch. I peeked in the lid after 10 days, to chuck in 1/3 oz of dryhop (straight from the freezer), and it was fine. I checked after another 10 days, and a huge Brett pellicle was forming.

I tasted it after 2.5 more months of sitting with Brett on it, and it was very very very Brett-y and medicinal.

And that's the one reason I'm hesitant to try bugs.

If I ever get around to infecting something, I'm going to take it to my parents house first. Then infect it, age it, and bottle it there. Then leave all of that equipment there. And possibly shower before I leave.

TerapinChef said:

If I ever get around to infecting something, I'm going to take it to my parents house first. Then infect it, age it, and bottle it there. Then leave all of that equipment there. And possibly shower before I leave.

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Maybe take a bath in Star San? Sounds relaxing.

I'm trying my best to kick a **** keg so I have room in the kegerator to drop in the keg and force carb this beast. I better keep drinkin' because I can't wait to sample it cool and carbed.

I tapped mine this past weekend while brewing, it's DAMN GOOD... :rockin:
Now I need to untap it so I don't drink it all. My wife loves big beers and she said that this one was to much for her. At almost 15%abv I think I found her breaking point.

FSR402 said:

I tapped mine this past weekend while brewing, it's DAMN GOOD... :rockin:
Now I need to untap it so I don't drink it all. My wife loves big beers and she said that this one was to much for her. At almost 15%abv I think I found her breaking point.

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Gotta love when a woman tells you "too big".

I gotta get this chilled and on tap to see how it is carbonated.

I just pulled a draw off this after 8 days on Chinook/Cascade and American Oak Spirals. The dry hopping improved the beer considerably IMO, and the oak is just peeking through. Two more weeks on the wood and I rack and carb.

mmb said:

And that's the one reason I'm hesitant to try bugs.

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Oh I didn't *use* bugs in it, they just popped up. Of course, I didn't use an airlock on that batch, either. Maybe that's why they popped up.

Great, the entire state of Tennessee is resting on my back.

Oh well, I don't know what a barley wine is supposed to taste like, I think it's good.
My kick ass IPA's will more than make up for it.

I'm so dang nervous about this swap, I want everything to be perfect.
So, someone will be getting brand new bottles, oxygen absorbing caps, capped with a brand new bench capper. And to think i'm a kegger.

wildwest450 said:

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44 ounces is the minimum but if you want to ship a case to each recipient...that's fine too.

Alright, like others, I'm starting to panic as well.

I have had mine in the bottles for about 2 months. I cracked one after a month and it barely hissed... almost no carbonation.... I said ok, I'll give it time. I cracked another one last night to see how it's progressed... nothing! Not even a freakin hiss.... It is flat as the day it was bottled and tastes a little sweet from the bottling sugar. Now what???

I saw some posts many pages back suggesting yeast be added at bottling time. That post popped up a few days after I bottled so I missed that window of opportunity. Should I crack each one and sprinkle in a touch of dry yeast to get working on the remaining bottling sugar?

Here are some of the details:
Sat in secondary for a few months.
Bottled mid-January.
Bottles have been sitting upright in a dark bin with an ambient temperature in the mid to high 60s since mid-January.

Any suggestions are appreciated as I want to get these things carbonated before shipping them. (I knew I should have kegged the batch and bottled off the keg!)

I force carb and haven't bottle carbed in years.........but some people have tried dropping a single "grain" of dried notty in each bottle.

I haven't tried this, so take the advice with a grain of salt.

I force carb and haven't bottle carbed in years.........but some people have tried dropping a single "grain" of dried notty in each bottle.

I haven't tried this, so take the advice with a grain of salt.

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I did try this with NO success. I actually dropped several grains in each bottle, figuring it wouldn't hurt. I actually have less carb now, since some escaped during re-capping. So, now I plan to gently tip the bottles every couple weeks to stir the yeasts up a bit. If that doesn't work by summer, I will move the bottles to the garage, where they will sit in 80-85 degree heat for a few months, still tipping every few weeks. Won't touch another one until 9-9-09.

I've gotta cross my fingers and hope this works; I don't know what else to do...

Good news.

I have names, addresses and all other vital info from 33 confirmed participants.

We had a few that had to drop...but at 33...this is probably the biggest organized beer swap in the history of...well...uh...organized beer swaps. Not to mention the fact that we're swapping the biggest of beers known to civilization. :rockin:

I'll start dropping names in to my gonculator this weekend and hope to have assignments soon.

Remember there is no immediate hurry. I'm thinking that mid-to-end of April would be a good window to ship in order to avoid hot weather.

Those of you suffering from flat bottle conditioned beer...make sure your ambient temp is around 70-73 minimum. Think about dropping a few "pebbles" of dry yeast into each bottle. Those of you who keg and are still bulk aging...sounds like force carbing and then BMBF'ing is a safe bet.

Do your best to make your beers something you would serve to a paying customer. After all...

You are privileged to be participating in the biggest of the biggest beer swaps ever.

BierMuncher said:

44 ounces is the minimum but if you want to ship a case to each recipient...that's fine too.

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Oh can I get him for my swap?

I'm going to be doing the same thing. New bottles, caps and I have that same capper. It works great.

See, that is just bad feng shui. I'm bottling my almost year old beer in almost 8 year old bottles while using new caps so the ying and yang will be harmonious.

Yah... watched some BS decorating show with the missus last night. *blargh*

FSR402 said:

Oh can I get him for my swap?

I'm going to be doing the same thing. New bottles, caps and I have that same capper. It works great.

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Are there any tricks to that capper? It didn't come with directions, so I figure just put in a bottle and smash a cap on it.

I will be bottling some other beers shortly to get my bmbf technique down.

mmb said:

Yah... I forced the missus to watch some BS gay decorating show that I can't get enough of last night. *blargh*

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Fixed it for you.