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Happy smoke beer day.
I had to go inside, it was too cold outside only 87°F.
I am drinking a home brew smoked Nürnberger red beer tonight.
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With you brother. It's like 94 real feel. Wish the hot tub worked

Anyway dumped $80 of chemicals and this darn pool is still green after the grandkids last week. I think someone pulled a Caddy Shack pool situation on me!

Here goes another Benjamin with help

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Batch # 200, brewed 3/17/24, 10 gallon batch;

10# Briess Pilsner
5# Fawcet golden promise
2.5# Briess rye malt
2.5# Briess flaked corn

FW, 1oz Northern Brewer

After 40 min boil, 1 oz Tetanger (80 minute boil)

Post whirlpool cool to 160F, .25 Mouteka in filter hop spider

S-189 in fermentor from previous batches,

SSG 1.056, ferment at 54F, 1.015 at trub dump & racking, keg spund carbonate

Sorry, I seldom bother to get final gravity after spunding, but suspect it is around 1.010

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Ya know, sometimes you just need to step back from the good stuff.🤔🍻
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A technician I deal with at work is nicknamed keystone Kenny, he has a nickname for me but I best not post that here, probably get a message from a mod. Anyhow, on topic, helping the wife make a metric $h!+ ton of cupcakes and cake for her stepfathers retirement party... so..

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Well, I’ve been called a “Big Fuzzy Wolf” before – but never a “Big Hazy Wolf”! That’s how it is around my family, don’t ask!

Golden Road Brewing is another California IPA brewer, but in Los Angeles, not in San Diego as you might have expected. Big Hazy Wolf clocks in at a mighty 9% ABV, and frankly, it seems like about 10-11% ABV, I’m getting a significant alcohol bite. Not a hop bite, a warming alcohol presence, sort of like some of my first batches of “too big” apple cider back in the day. So, Big Hazy Wolf needs to be watered back with some Budweiser NA 0% to use as a mixer, me thinketh.

Not a lot of head, not much lacing – and quite honestly, not a whole lot of haze – I think some of the proteins which help with head retention and lacing go missing in a lot of IPA’s as the push for higher lighter beer (dextrose) and higher hopping IBUs take a toll on the foam retention characteristics. Hence, a lot of IPA’s aren’t the big foamy presentations you might have on a Maßkrug of Bavarian Helles!

Watered down to about 6% with Bud NA, I think it is a better IPA. I wish these marketing fellas would back off on the 9-10% IPAs. I guess they are probably marketing mostly to the 20-sumthins. Dunno. Cheers!

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Dude, my neighbor is in his mid 40s and all he drinks are 9+ abv hazies... not saying it's healthy but he'd buy that in a second cause it's his jam. Me I'm like 6.5 to 7.5 but hey, to each their own, I enjoy a good beer no matter the style, I respect a well made beer. .. OT hb hazy, 7.2 I believe, daughter just put on gone in 60 seconds, my fav.
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Man what a night last night.

100 mesh started to filter out the haze interestingly, but clogged 3x, got a 60 mesh filter on the way. Damn 1lb of dry hops. I got maybe 3gal. It was hazier than it appears, but that was after filtering through the hops.

Going to brew saison or lagers next. NEIPA was a rough one to start with.
 

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Man what a night last night.

100 mesh started to filter out the haze interestingly, but clogged 3x, got a 60 mesh filter on the way. Damn 1lb of dry hops. I got maybe 3gal. It was hazier than it appears, but that was after filtering through the hops.

Going to brew saison or lagers next. NEIPA was a rough one to start with.
Brewing a proper hazy is like wrestling a bear, it's tough but once you you get the process down that fits your equipment it's a very satisfying feeling... not sure what that has to do with a bear, but whatever... tough style for a welcome back.. haha.. meantime the pros make it look easy, an equilibrium while Donnie shows some thug that he needs a role model..
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Sick days, mostly because I'm sick of work! Performance improvement plan, nahhhhhhh, that gives me a headache. The river, not so much.

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Love the Monterey area. Havent been in a while, but Carmel is a fave. So laid back and you can just grab a sandwich and a beer and find a spot to just enjoy the life.
 
Hmm. This is my Friday. Long ass week of on site meeting and beating high level managers over the head. A brewery I've had a couple of cans and I've been wanting to visit. Not far from new on site. I like these guys. Got the homebrew fresh taste you don't get from the mega micros.
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Elixir
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The Golf Standard
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I can remember the Blind Pig Brewery in nearby Temecula, one of the really influential breweries early on in the movement. I was just 3 years into the Temecula Valley when Blind Pig opened in 1994. Today, founder Vinnie Cilurzo carries on the tradition with his Russian River’s Blind Pig IPA. Temecula is about an hour North of San Diego. Vinnie made his second Brewery in Santa Rosa, about an hour North of San Francisco - and who can blame him... Both Temecula and Santa Rosa are also in wine regions, that’s something to think about.

This scrumptious beer is really a refined, interesting and flavorful IPA. Seems like everything is “right” on this beer, from the head, lacing, and the really interesting hopping – really an exercise in restraint, nothing too over the top with this brew. I love the Simcoe hops, they make this ale a standout. At 6.25% ABV, it’s completely balanced and drinkable. The Blind Pig label makes note of “Citrus and Woody notes” – Yup, I agree!

Really, this is a terrific IPA, this is one you should seek out and at least try. It’s part of our brewing heritage, we all need to take a lesson from this guy. Plus they use the same (favorite of mine) Weihenstephaner-type heavy glass bottles which I re-purpose. If you can get those labels off! Brew on!

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I can remember the Blind Pig Brewery in nearby Temecula, one of the really influential breweries early on in the movement. I was just 3 years into the Temecula Valley when Blind Pig opened in 1994. Today, founder Vinnie Cilurzo carries on the tradition with his Russian River’s Blind Pig IPA. Temecula is about an hour North of San Diego. Vinnie made his second Brewery in Santa Rosa, about an hour North of San Francisco - and who can blame him... Both Temecula and Santa Rosa are also in wine regions, that’s something to think about.

This scrumptious beer is really a refined, interesting and flavorful IPA. Seems like everything is “right” on this beer, from the head, lacing, and the really interesting hopping – really an exercise in restraint, nothing too over the top with this brew. I love the Simcoe hops, they make this ale a standout. At 6.25% ABV, it’s completely balanced and drinkable. The Blind Pig label makes note of “Citrus and Woody notes” – Yup, I agree!

Really, this is a terrific IPA, this is one you should seek out and at least try. It’s part of our brewing heritage, we all need to take a lesson from this guy. Plus they use the same (favorite of mine) Weihenstephaner-type heavy glass bottles which I re-purpose. If you can get those labels off! Brew on!

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Been to the Santa Rosa brewery a few times. Great pub food and fun place. Have not walked the downtown area yet, but will one of these days. Blind Pig is one of my faves and they now sell it at wines and more, so bonus. They also have an all Citra beer who's name escapes me right now that is good too.
 
Took the kids to BJ's Brew house last night. Order their Light switch Pils which was awful. Old and moldy! Opted for this instead which I finished only half. Had a Lager with HB pizza but the pool woes continue. Just ordered a sump pump to just drain the darn thing and start fresh.

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Just got home from a week of chaperoning 300 kids at my son’s high school band camp. I usually like to avoid saying or thinking I “need” a beer, but I think tonight I really do NEED a beer!

According to my phone I walked over 40 miles this week. And I filled and moved countless igloo coolers of ice water. On the plus side, I was in charge of driving the cart, so got to off-road across sidewalks and lawns at the University of Mount Union.
 
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