Official Maryland Big Brew Day 2008 Info 2/23

[Kevin Dean]

I think that 98EXL pretty much said 'Brew Beer' though several of us are planning to do IPAs.

*knock on wood*

98EXL hasn't been on the forums since 1-30-08. People are certainly free to kick back for a week, but has anyone heard from the guy? The brew day is drawing closer and his departure was a bit... abrupt, I'm hoping everything is alright.

 

[balto charlie]

I don't know what to think. Does anyone know 98?? Should we have a plan B? Perhaps get a second head count to see who is still in. I'll leave it to the AG guys to come up with recipes.
There's a club brew, Wootown brewers, on March 22 that I plan on going to. It has HUGE SS cookers. Charlie

 

[jezter6]

I'll try to hit him up on his blackberry tonight and see what's up.

 

[CallMeZoot]

I think that 98EXL pretty much said 'Brew Beer' though several of us are planning to do IPAs.

So we're not shooting for everybody to brew the same beer? That probably simplifies things a bit, should I just pick up some ingredients for one batch of whatever I feel like brewing?

There was talk about bringing extra carboys or jugs and swapping wort at the end of the day -- are we still shooting for that or will it be every-brewer-for-him(her)self?

chris.

 

[jezter6]

Sadly, I'm unable to get in touch with 98EXL in any other form. I tried his blackberry, but his phone was off or otherwise unable to get contact, so right now we're in limbo.

I have another possible event to go to that weekend, so if I don't hear anything soon, I'm probably going to bail on this and let us reschedule a brewday for March/April timeframe.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I called his cell and got it went directly to voice mail. I'm still going to buy my stuff and hope the best. I'm really worried now, I don't think he'd randomly vanish for anything good.

 

[jezter6]

Well, unless we hear from him soon, looks like February is a bust. I've got a party to go to that evening anywho up in PA, so I'm going to bail out of this one for now.

Let's hope we can come up with something for next month. Sadly, all I have is a townhouse, so I don't quite have the room for a good event like this.

 

[balto charlie]

Well, unless we hear from him soon, looks like February is a bust. I've got a party to go to that evening anywho up in PA, so I'm going to bail out of this one for now.

Let's hope we can come up with something for next month. Sadly, all I have is a townhouse, so I don't quite have the room for a good event like this.

This is a bummer. I can offer my home in Catonsville IF the AG guys organize the recipes and order the ingredients. Everyone else can pitch in $$ for the stuff.
I have an old detached garage if weather sucks. I also have a huge covered porch but the ceiling might make brewing there hard, don't know. We can at least sit on the porch and brew next to it. If one of the AG guys wants to scope out the place to see if it will work, drop me a line. I have NO AG gear except a propane tank or 2. So it's up to the AG folks to keep this ball a rolling. If nothing else my home is more centrally located. Let's organize it now or end it now so we can plan next weekend. So post up if you are still in. Charlie

 

[jezter6]

I propose we cancel this one, and rethink things for either 1-2 Mar or 8-9 Mar. We're close to a week away, no firm recipes, and a lot of suggestions and ideas but no clear cut answers.

Anywho, that's just my $0.02.

For next time, I propose the following (based on equipment, times subject to change):
9:30am - Mash in 10g recipe #1.
10:00am - Mash in 10g recpie #2.
11:00am - Begin boil recipe #1.
11:15am - Mash in 10g recipe #3.
11:30am - Begin boil recipe #2.
11:45am - Mash in 10g recipe #4.
12:30pm - Finish boil #1 & cool.
12:45pm - Begin boil recipe #3.
1:00pm - Finish boil #2 & cool.
1:15pm - Begin boil recipe #4.
2:00pm - Finish boil #3 and cool.
2:15pm - Finish boil #4 and cool.

That gives us 40 gallons of wort, or 8 carboys. Maybe with a little break between #4 and any other brewing, or additional equipment we could get a few others in. I saw old_townie has a monster pot, so 2 brews in that could end up netting us 6-8 more. That should be well enough to get us into enough for everyone.

So, 4 brews in my equipment and 2 in townie gives us 6 recipes at a minimum. We should get 6 AG people willing to 'run' each batch and make sure it works. Hopefully these would be recipes they've done before and can vouch for. Then once we have how many carboys of each brew being made, you can sign up for what you want to take home. The guys who 'run' get dibs on the first 6 carboys they want.

I will volunteer to run a batch of Irish Red or Alt (pending demand). I would like to get a carboy of Ed's Haus Pale if someone does it (which I think they should).


We have ~14 brewers that expressed interest, with another 50% in SWMBOs, brew friends, etc. Do you have place for ~21 people with 3-4 boil kettles going?

 

[Kevin Dean]

I have no space at all, I keep half of my brewing crap in the basement and that's because my room is in overflow mode now.

It's a bummer that this isn't going to work out.

 

[balto charlie]

I propose we cancel this one, and rethink things for either 1-2 Mar or 8-9 Mar. We're close to a week away, no firm recipes, and a lot of suggestions and ideas but no clear cut answers.

Anywho, that's just my $0.02.

For next time, I propose the following (based on equipment, times subject to change):
9:30am - Mash in 10g recipe #1.
10:00am - Mash in 10g recpie #2.
11:00am - Begin boil recipe #1.
11:15am - Mash in 10g recipe #3.
11:30am - Begin boil recipe #2.
11:45am - Mash in 10g recipe #4.
12:30pm - Finish boil #1 & cool.
12:45pm - Begin boil recipe #3.
1:00pm - Finish boil #2 & cool.
1:15pm - Begin boil recipe #4.
2:00pm - Finish boil #3 and cool.
2:15pm - Finish boil #4 and cool.

That gives us 40 gallons of wort, or 8 carboys. Maybe with a little break between #4 and any other brewing, or additional equipment we could get a few others in. I saw old_townie has a monster pot, so 2 brews in that could end up netting us 6-8 more. That should be well enough to get us into enough for everyone.

So, 4 brews in my equipment and 2 in townie gives us 6 recipes at a minimum. We should get 6 AG people willing to 'run' each batch and make sure it works. Hopefully these would be recipes they've done before and can vouch for. Then once we have how many carboys of each brew being made, you can sign up for what you want to take home. The guys who 'run' get dibs on the first 6 carboys they want.

I will volunteer to run a batch of Irish Red or Alt (pending demand). I would like to get a carboy of Ed's Haus Pale if someone does it (which I think they should).


We have ~14 brewers that expressed interest, with another 50% in SWMBOs, brew friends, etc. Do you have place for ~21 people with 3-4 boil kettles going?

I have a LOT of space. Huge yard, driveway, parking pad, patio etc So #'s are not a problem. I would still like to see this happen on the original date.

 

[balto charlie]

I have no space at all, I keep half of my brewing crap in the basement and that's because my room is in overflow mode now.

It's a bummer that this isn't going to work out.

It can still work. You're an AG brewer. I figure we need you at least one more AG guy to commit and this can happen. There were originally 14 or so people intersted. If this is like most internet happenings the numbers dwindle as event time nears. So Kevin are you still interested?? Jetzer are you definitely out? Calling any of the other AG guys??? Charlie

 

[jezter6]

Let me talk to my buddy and find out which event we would rather attend.

 

[claphamsa]

Im still interested! but im not an AG brewer, im an AG wanna learner....

 

[DraconianHand]

March 1, 2, and 9 are all good for me (right now). I am an AG and can commit if a date is set. Unfortunately, I don't have the equipment to brew 10 gallon batches. My stove top is 5 gal and my system is too bit for me to move.

 

[DraconianHand]

Want kegs? Go here.

Continue with discussion of MD Big Brew Day.

 

[CallMeZoot]

Still interested, but I'm another AG-wanna-learner, and only have the gear to do a 5 gallon batch.

chris.

 

[jezter6]

My roommate and I were discussing this again this morning on the way to work. I think we'd prefer to move this to 2-3 weeks down the road. We'd like to get recipes SET in stone, and contact a LHBS either up by us or down by some of you south Baltimore types, and get all the grains and hops ordered for a big brew day. I know that some stores are limiting the amount of hops per order, so we may have to source from different places to get all the stuff we need. Let's take this weekend and next weekend to get highly organized this time around and have everything done in advance.

What do you guys think??

 

[old_townie]

I'm still down for next sat. lets talk what we're bringing. While i Do have the big kettle, my MLT maxes out at a 10 gal batch.... We could use multiple MLTs on one kettle. OR we could decide that someone closer can bring more reasonable gear, rather than me bringing my kettle that is bigger than my car...

 

[balto charlie]

I figured out what we have:
Zoot w/ 5 gal capacity
Kevin w/ 5 Gallon Capacity(he might be a maybe)
Drac w/ chillers and Mash cooler
Jetzer huge capacity(he's a maybe)
claphamsa and me: spectators and cheerleaders

If Old townie (28 gallon mega) pot shows interest and combines w/ Drac this could be a 10 gallon batch.

SO: w/ out Jetzer and oldtownie we can only do 10 gallons of beer at a time but we could double and have 20.
Jetzer makes a good point on getting ingredients. With hops being as they are, we will have to secure from different stores &/or different buyers. This might pose a problem.
So: Here's where I stand, I still offer the house for those interested, if the number of people and gallons are small, so be it. If folks want to wait then I'm good with that as well. Time in March often becomes crazy for me. I willl run into is my kids spring break, Easter and outdoor trips(climbing, paddlings etc). BUT my oldest is starting to brew and he might get a kick out of it so we'll see. Also I committed to brewing w/ Wootown in late March.
Charlie

Edit: Old townie is in!! See What Drac has and see what you 2 can do!!

 

[DraconianHand]

I'm still down for next sat. lets talk what we're bringing. While i Do have the big kettle, my MLT maxes out at a 10 gal batch.... We could use multiple MLTs on one kettle. OR we could decide that someone closer can bring more reasonable gear, rather than me bringing my kettle that is bigger than my car...

Well, it looks like next Sat isn't happening. Our host appears to be MIA.

Jezter,

Your plan sounds good, I am not in any rush. I would prefer to have an organized event to a slap-together one.

 

[jezter6]

Me too. Which is also why I want to have the recipes organized so that we can get bulk malt where possible. My LHBS sells by the sack at a fair price, and I've heard that Maryland Hombebrew does as well. However, some stores are out or have limited quantities of certain hop varieties, that we don't even have recipes for yet.

Goal:
1) Optimize recipes to use the same basic base malt and buy a sack of it cheaper than buying individual items.
2) Optimize time by planning recipes/equipment to be mashing while boiling so we get the most amount of beer done per hour spent standing around getting drunk.
3) Enough to get all participants a carboy of wort to go home with. Pitch your own yeast at home, dry hope at your own leisure.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I'm probably going to be out, honestly. The main reason why I wanted to go to this thing is to meet some of you guys and have a very relaxed, laid back brew day. The more organization that goes into the batch, the less relaxing it will be for me.

I can brew a beer I don't really wanna drink on my own every week. It's a rare occasion that I get to meet over a dozen guys that love homebrewing and get to waste a day talking shop and having fun. With less than half of the expected numbers, a host (and active member) MIA, and being committed to a style I don't really like, the "fun" factor has been drained quite a bit.

I'm totally in the for the next laissez-faire brew day that I can make it to in a reasonable time though.

 

[jezter6]

I'm probably going to be out, honestly. The main reason why I wanted to go to this thing is to meet some of you guys and have a very relaxed, laid back brew day. The more organization that goes into the batch, the less relaxing it will be for me.

I can brew a beer I don't really wanna drink on my own every week. It's a rare occasion that I get to meet over a dozen guys that love homebrewing and get to waste a day talking shop and having fun. With less than half of the expected numbers, a host (and active member) MIA, and being committed to a style I don't really like, the "fun" factor has been drained quite a bit.

I'm totally in the for the next laissez-faire brew day that I can make it to in a reasonable time though.

I think the reason I'm trying to be (somewhat) anal about the organization is so that we CAN have a relaxed brew day. I'm more concerned about showing up for a brew day with everyone bringing random ingredients, someone forgetting the hops for a planned batch, and turning it INTO a non-relaxing day. Unless everyone loads up their own equipment and brings their own batch, we're all going to have to rely on a few people to bring big equipment to do >5g batches, and the ingredients for those batches.

What 'style' is committed to that you don't like? I made a suggestion for one brew that I would like to do, but there's plenty of options floating around...and probably 6-8 different possible recipes to be done.

I certainly understand that with a bunch of people backing out, we don't want to get all harumphed up for a 3-guy brew day, which is why I thought rescheduling would help out to give more notice to people and be able to better plan your availability.

In that respect, I'd almost like to plan out an April or May brewday in advance so that people can talk to SWMBOs and make sure they don't have any conflicts now.

 

[claphamsa]

I just wanna learn

 

[MULE]

I hope all is well with 98.

 

[Kevin Dean]

I hope all is well with 98.

Me too!

I think the reason I'm trying to be (somewhat) anal about the organization is so that we CAN have a relaxed brew day. I'm more concerned about showing up for a brew day with everyone bringing random ingredients, someone forgetting the hops for a planned batch, and turning it INTO a non-relaxing day. Unless everyone loads up their own equipment and brings their own batch, we're all going to have to rely on a few people to bring big equipment to do >5g batches, and the ingredients for those batches.

It's a catch 22 there. IF we plan that some people bring something, and someone backs out that ruins the entire day. If we all bring our equipment, then we each get a batch AND a style we like. Personally I LIKE the idea of "everyone bring their own stuff" - I mean, that's how it is every brew day for me anyway.

What 'style' is committed to that you don't like? I made a suggestion for one brew that I would like to do, but there's plenty of options floating around...and probably 6-8 different possible recipes to be done.

I was speaking specifically to IPA but I think this pretty much applies with any style we all agree to do. I use Maris Otter as my base, even for a modified Ed's Pale Ale mainly because that's what I have around here. I'm not going to piss and moan about "having to use" 2-row but most people here DO use two-row, so we're breaking from our norms. Again, I'm not dead-set on doing any specific thing in terms of recipe and I was referring to a makeshift brew in place of the 23rd, not a new, planned brew day.

I certainly understand that with a bunch of people backing out, we don't want to get all harumphed up for a 3-guy brew day, which is why I thought rescheduling would help out to give more notice to people and be able to better plan your availability.

I have no problem setting up a new brew day. My complaint was that we're attempting to salvage this one in which case I can only see it being a nightmare.

In that respect, I'd almost like to plan out an April or May brewday in advance so that people can talk to SWMBOs and make sure they don't have any conflicts now.

You hosting? Seriously, I'm all for a re-schedule. I was really REALLY excited to do this.

 

[balto charlie]

Hey Guys: Well I tried. Too many people out at this point. I think we are down to 5 gallons of beer. Well I guess we could do 5 batches of 5 gallons...just kidding. March is a crazy month for me but I'll see what I can do. Charlie

 

[budbo]

I'm AG, have 10 Gal capacity but the 23rd is bad for me 1-2 March I can do

 

[jezter6]

Me too!



It's a catch 22 there. IF we plan that some people bring something, and someone backs out that ruins the entire day. If we all bring our equipment, then we each get a batch AND a style we like. Personally I LIKE the idea of "everyone bring their own stuff" - I mean, that's how it is every brew day for me anyway.



I was speaking specifically to IPA but I think this pretty much applies with any style we all agree to do. I use Maris Otter as my base, even for a modified Ed's Pale Ale mainly because that's what I have around here. I'm not going to piss and moan about "having to use" 2-row but most people here DO use two-row, so we're breaking from our norms. Again, I'm not dead-set on doing any specific thing in terms of recipe and I was referring to a makeshift brew in place of the 23rd, not a new, planned brew day.



I have no problem setting up a new brew day. My complaint was that we're attempting to salvage this one in which case I can only see it being a nightmare.



You hosting? Seriously, I'm all for a re-schedule. I was really REALLY excited to do this.

If I could host, I would. I live in a townhouse in a little townhouse village. I've got no room to but 5-8 people let alone 14+, or I'd do it in a heartbeat.

The goal with getting the ideas in advance is that we put 1-2 people in charge of the ingredients...guys who are a confirmed GO. Then everyone who wants to participate can bring a few $ and take home a carboy. I'm attempting to rely on the smallest number of people possible so that nobody backs out with a part of an ingredient.

Either way, I think if we can push this just 1 or 2 weeks, we can make it happen. Between my roommate and I, we can probably get a bulk grain purchase at my LHBS and come up with grain, we just need to find hops. Hops are expensive, and often not available in quantity, which is why we need to plan in advance to make sure our suppliers can get them to us in time for brew day.

Half of this is to just have fun, the other half is to teach a little about AG to the extract guys that want to learn. I don't think worrying about if a recipe uses MO or 2-row is something that we should be worrying about. Making simple beer AG that tastes good I think is the goal.