Doo Dah...... Congrats!
What I did for beer today
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Interesting...like something out of pre Rheinheitsgebot medieval Viking Europe
..Muggle Wart, Death Bane, witches breath and all kind of things that taste... bitter...and kill you 
Congratulations!
After nearly three months lost to work going off the rails, it has been a busy weekend in my hooptie brewery.
Yesterday, I killed off last Spring's bag of pils malt by brewing an adjunct CAP. Today, I brewed a best bitter and pitched Verdant IPA yeast for the first time.
I also killed a white whale that I've been chasing for nearly thirty years. Well, close.
For nearly thirty years I've been trying to replicate the (I now understand to be) badly age, oxygen, and travel damaged Franziskaner Hefeweizen that I treated myself to while in college in early 90's PDX. Back then, Franziskaner was a big, stupid riot of banana and bubble gum with nary a hint of clove in sight. Beer wasn't supposed to taste like that, but Franziskaner didn't give a #(%*@. As a gigging punker at the time, I liked that. Really liked that. FU beer!!!!!!!
Over the past thirty years, I've tried every yeast strain, every pitching rate, every fermentation and mash profile. I've tried it all and it all failed to deliver that beautifully damaged beer. However, Omega's Bonaza yeast has finally delivered the goods--well, close to it. It doesn't have the bubblegum thing going on, but next year I'll ferment it much warmer.
The key thing is this: After thirty years, I finally got a dart on the dartboard. Whoooohoooo!!!!!!
Yesterday, I killed off last Spring's bag of pils malt by brewing an adjunct CAP. Today, I brewed a best bitter and pitched Verdant IPA yeast for the first time.
I also killed a white whale that I've been chasing for nearly thirty years. Well, close.
For nearly thirty years I've been trying to replicate the (I now understand to be) badly age, oxygen, and travel damaged Franziskaner Hefeweizen that I treated myself to while in college in early 90's PDX. Back then, Franziskaner was a big, stupid riot of banana and bubble gum with nary a hint of clove in sight. Beer wasn't supposed to taste like that, but Franziskaner didn't give a #(%*@. As a gigging punker at the time, I liked that. Really liked that. FU beer!!!!!!!
Over the past thirty years, I've tried every yeast strain, every pitching rate, every fermentation and mash profile. I've tried it all and it all failed to deliver that beautifully damaged beer. However, Omega's Bonaza yeast has finally delivered the goods--well, close to it. It doesn't have the bubblegum thing going on, but next year I'll ferment it much warmer.
The key thing is this: After thirty years, I finally got a dart on the dartboard. Whoooohoooo!!!!!!
well i don't really know what i originally wanted to say, but if you're trying to make bad beer on purpose, as long as you add yeast to it, it still counts!
well i don't really know what i originally wanted to say, but if you're trying to make bad beer on purpose, as long as you add yeast to it, it still counts!
Thanks for saying that, that's the thing that has been driving me crazy about the past twenty years of this white whale fishing expedition: I'm intentionally trying to make a bad beer! Happily, Omega came to the rescue with Bonaza and all's well that ends well!
After dithering for a few days, finally did up another batch of hard seltzer; this time with enough yeast nutrient to choke a horse and (because somebody on the interwebs said to) 5g of potassium bicarbonate, which BTW smells like ammonia when it hits sugar water. This batch will sit in my spare room for at least two weeks until I test it, or longer if I forget about it. Also, just for shitz & giggles, had the husband do a blind taste test of the American Strong batches I have on tap right now, to help me decide which one goes to competition this weekend. And now I know why I married this man 16 years ago; he chose the right one, that got me a blue ribbon at WA State Fair and commented that the newer one would do well with some aging. I see bottling in my future.
Seatazzz, I enjoy reading your posts and respect what you have to say, so you're the first brewer (out of the countless seltzer posts I've read) that I can ask this question to: Why ferment seltzer? Doesn't it make more sense to just mix a keg-sized glass of vodka/everclear and soda and call it good? I'll admit I've never had a hard seltzer, so perhaps there's something I'm missing?
I appreciate your time.
I appreciate your time.
I have a friend who I am probably going to do a 5G keg of seltzer for her wedding; she’s a low-carb nut. Anyhoo, all of the local fermented microbrew seltzer taste like…well, you sit on it, and so I thought everclear, H2O, fruit juice, and CO2 would be good.
Is it the challenge of making a good one?
[QUOTE="JAReeves, post: 9157690, member: 257263"
Is it the challenge of making a good one?
[/QUOTE]
I suppose. I can't help but think about it as a mixed drink--how else do you get the alcohol up to where it needs to be? And for that matter, how do you get the alcohol tasting the way it needs to taste without distillation?
If you can pull it off, you're a better brewer than me and you deserve a reward. Let's call it the Annie Johnson Award. She's the lady that demolished the 2013 NHC beer contest with a light lager. That's punk AF.
If you're not raising a glass to Annie F'ing Johnson, you're not a real homebrewer.
Is it the challenge of making a good one?
[/QUOTE]
I suppose. I can't help but think about it as a mixed drink--how else do you get the alcohol up to where it needs to be? And for that matter, how do you get the alcohol tasting the way it needs to taste without distillation?
If you can pull it off, you're a better brewer than me and you deserve a reward. Let's call it the Annie Johnson Award. She's the lady that demolished the 2013 NHC beer contest with a light lager. That's punk AF.
If you're not raising a glass to Annie F'ing Johnson, you're not a real homebrewer.
Woke up, kissed the wife and kids as they headed out to the zoo, made coffee, looked at the lawn. Can't mow until the dew lifts.
In the meantime, getting ready to bottle a strong Voss pale and a 70/- SMaSH.
In the meantime, getting ready to bottle a strong Voss pale and a 70/- SMaSH.
Good points. Yes, I could just make carbonated water and add everclear or vodka, and add flavoring; but where's the fun in that? I guess I'm making it harder than it should be (pun intended) but I do like a challenge. Kinda reminds me of the meme of the guy sitting around looking depressed, that at least two members here have labelled "me between brewdays". I just like to brew.
Your post reminds me of a few years ago when some friends of ours were making "moonshine"; in quotes because all it was, was everclear, rum, sugar, and peaches or apple juice & cinnamon sticks (I wound up making two batches); left to sit in mason jars for a few weeks, then drunk. Literally. That stuff got me absolutely messed up. But it was too easy. Brewing, be it beer or seltzer, or cider (which yes isn't brewing but I use my brewing equipment so I'm calling it that), is my hobby and passion.
I think so. I've made four batches so far; first one was crap, second one crap but a little better, and third one not so much crap but smelly. I've got my back up about this and have challenged myself to get it right or die trying (not literally), pretty much the same thing I did when I started homebrewing. And let's admit it; doing it this way is so much cheaper than schlepping off to the liquor store to buy Everclear (or any cheap vodka would work, I guess); all I'm spending is my time, and less than 4lbs of table sugar which is cheap as hell. Yeast, nutrient, I have on hand anyway.
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I seriously will never get this seltzer craze
. Water, a tad of (like <2%) juice, some tasteless white alcohol and a couple rolls of alka-seltzer thrown in.... To each his own....i guess...
@seanjwalker1 is my hero. Definitely need to get him in on the next round of Fellowship of the Homebrew.I seriously will never get this seltzer craze
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First Fresh Hop Ale of the season. Northern Brewer with golden promise, flaked barley and biscuit with Kolsch yeast. Was targeting 1042 but ended up with 1050 OG. Depending on the space in my fermenter, I'll probably add some "hot liquor tank" water to bring it down a bit. Northern Brewer ripens up the earliest here, and I've done a labor day fresh hop ale for the past 5-6 years.
Not a good harvest this year. We had a heat spell at the same time my soon to be ex wife turned off the irrigation system without telling me. Northern Brewer yielded about a pound. The Willamette, which I don't care about will yield about a dozen cones. Tettnanger I'm guessing will clock in about about 1/2 pound in a few weeks. The East Seattle Goldings are doing the best, probably too many bines up, small cones and that may be 1-2 pounds worth in a few weeks.
Not a good harvest this year. We had a heat spell at the same time my soon to be ex wife turned off the irrigation system without telling me. Northern Brewer yielded about a pound. The Willamette, which I don't care about will yield about a dozen cones. Tettnanger I'm guessing will clock in about about 1/2 pound in a few weeks. The East Seattle Goldings are doing the best, probably too many bines up, small cones and that may be 1-2 pounds worth in a few weeks.
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Wables
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Kegged 10 gallons! Not a big deal for some, but it was for me. A year and a half ago, the brewery that I bought my 2-row from closed. I quit brewing for a while…then my employer of 20 some years closed up shop. No brewing for me for a long while. Anyhow, re-employed for the past few months, and the LHB store, more of a wine store, started selling sacks of 2-row. I’m back into the brewing game again, and will likely be buying a e-brew system this week!
Keg a dortmunder yesterday and brewed an IPA. I started late and with the ground water being warm it was almost today by the time I pitched the yeast.
Today entertained myself by checking the IPA and watching the airlock slowly come alive. Also cleaned a keg to fill with another beer I thought might be ready but the krausen has not dropped yet and it is still bubbling fairly steady so I will save that for another day.
Today entertained myself by checking the IPA and watching the airlock slowly come alive. Also cleaned a keg to fill with another beer I thought might be ready but the krausen has not dropped yet and it is still bubbling fairly steady so I will save that for another day.
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I seriously hope that your face doesn't turn that color..you know..after ingesting all those wild 9th century assassins ingredients
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Supply recon to the LHBS to hopefully brew an Irish Red Fri or Sat. Maris Otter, Crystal 20L, Carared, roasted barley, dextrine,
choc malt and Nottingham yeast and East Kent Goldings.
Yay! Can't wait to see that epic new brew kettle of yours in action!
Came home to pull the PRV on the two I've got force carbing, to find that the PRV on one of the lids is wonky. Used the only other lid I have that isn't on a currently in-use keg, and crisis averted, although very late. Have to get these two bottled off no later than Saturday morning to make the entry deadline for competition. I've done worse; three years ago for the state fair I was bottling the morning of entry deadline, and handwriting all of the entry forms and bottle labels, and barely made it. I've since discovered editable PDF versions of both, I type a hella lot better than I write.
Set up my new Inkbird ITC-608 temp controller on my new 15cf freezer.
Went to Total Wine and bought a bunch of beer I’ve never tried before.
“Shhhooooosh, be wery, wery qwiet. I’m hunting beer.”
“Shhhooooosh, be wery, wery qwiet. I’m hunting beer.”
Where's the fun in that? I get you
While I don't share that particular passion, I do understand the passion.
It's fun.
So right now in the kegerator I've got 2 kegs of American Strong (one on tap, one aging), one of Blackberry Seltzer, one of Sabro/Citra IPA, one of WF lager, and one Bodhizafa clone (yes I can fit six in there); the Bodhi SHOULD have been done two pints ago, but is APPARENTLY a magic keg that is laughing maniacally at my feeble attempts to empty it in order to have a free tap for one of the beers I gotta get bottled off. Yah I know, 1st world problems, but I need this keg empty so I can get going on the next ones. Jeez. Guess my night's work is set. Yes I know I could leave that last 1/4-1/2-full pint-or more (the keg feels empty, dammit) and just move the tap to the one that needs to be bottled but I got standards here.
Put up with BS at work.
Did putting up with BS lead to a beer-oriented experience, or was it just fantasizing about beer while other people talked at you?
bobeer
Fermentation Specalist
After about an 8 month non intentional break from brewing I'm back in the game with a fest style ale. I had a few 10 lb bags of different kinds of German base malts so I threw a little bit of all of them together and added some hallertauer mittlefrueh throughoutthe boil. Hoping it's a good one!
Both and now I am enjoying a few brews and thinking/debating/deciding if I should say "Keep This Job And Shove It" or retire due to the POTUS's latest idiot directive.
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Yeast used? Nice crush.
bobeer
Fermentation Specalist
I tried to prop up some old wlp0029 but it did nothing on the stirplate so all I had fresh was a pack of s04 haha. Need to go to the lhbs and reup on my yeasts! Should turn out tasty though.
Same happened to me around Christmas with a California Common yeast.
bobeer
Fermentation Specalist
Damn, I have some 9 or 10 month old Cali common yeast I was hoping would still be viable. Fingers still crossed!
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Blessed be the Brew God's!!!
I'm chilling a bottle of the Galaxy SMaSHer ale we bottled last week. Got to test it weekly from here on out.
If it's good, I'll likely be testing it daily (maybe twice daily) so I can track how good it is.
If it's good, I'll likely be testing it daily (maybe twice daily) so I can track how good it is.
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Only 4 hours, Irish Red chugging away at 66° !
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