My New iPhone is Available

After a couple months of development, I've created my first iPhone App to help you track and rate the beer that you've tried.  As many of you know, my son and I are avid home brewers and we also like to sample a lot of different beers.  The problem is that we had trouble remembering what  we have had, where we've had it, what we thought about it, etc.  Over the last couple of weeks, I've been teaching myself how to build iPhone apps, and my first app is one that allows you to track your beer.  It's not as fancy as other apps (I'm not a UI guy), but is very functional (you can even store pictures of the beer - or as Chris Varnes found out - bitter beer faces).  In usual database geek fashion, all of the information is stored on a database on your iPhone. 

Plus, it's only $2.

If it works out well, I'm going to see about allowing users to download their information to a web site where I can post results by geography, etc.

It has been officially released in the iTunes store, and can be found at the following link.  Feel free to try it out and see what you think.

iPhone App Purchase

Andrew's Double Chocolate Stout - 2-24-2013

Today I bottled the double chocolate stout that Andrew made back in January.  He made a batch with a friend, and we had a total of ten gallons.  There was lactose and two cans of Hershey's cocoa (powdered) in it.  When I siphoned it from the carboy into a bucket for bottling, you could smell the chocolate in the beer.  It's going to be very strong, and probably will sit a bit heavy given the strong flavor.  We got 9 of the 22 ounce bottles, and 36 of the 12 ounce bottles.  2 weeks in the bottle, and then we get to taste it.

Bottling Activities - 01-13-2013

Today, I finally bottled the Brick Warmer holiday red ale.  It was fermenting a bit longer than required because I didn't have a lot of time over the holidays to bottle it.  Red ales are one of my favorite styles of ale, so I'm looking forward to tasting it.  There was a spice pack with orange peels that was included for fermentation, so I'm expecting a rich flavor.  Some of the spice packs add a lot of flavor to the beer, but also make them "rich" in flavor, which means that they fill you up much faster than other ales.  For example, my Novemberfest recipe had a spice pack that included cinnamon and nutmeg, and the beer is very good, but it also fills you up after just one.

Double Chocolate Stout - 12-30-2012

Today, we went to visit a guy with his own brew room, and made a double chocolate stout using all grains.  It was the first time I've made an all grain batch of beer.  It takes a lot more time than using extracts and malts because all of the sugars come from the grains.   You have to run water through the grains and maintain the water temperature.  It requires a bit more precision.  It was definitely fun, but definitely longer.  We also had a chance to sample some of his other beers and met his two dogs, who like to drink beer.  Photos below.

Honey Amber - Version 2

On Saturday, 12/22/2012, I went to the homebrew store and the liquor store and picked up more oak chips and Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon.  My amber ale that fermented with the oak chips that were soaked in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon was so popular that I decided to make another batch of that ale.  It was also one of my personal favorites.  The oak chips soak in the bourbon for 2 months, so it will be at least February before I can make this batch of beer.  Add 4 weeks for fermentation and another two weeks in the bottle, so it probably won't be until April when it's ready.

My Beer of the Year

It's official!  The feedback on the Honey Bourbon Amber Ale is the best I've received of anything I've made this year.  All of my tasters have really liked it.  I'm going to have to make that one again.  Gotta get some oak chips and some more Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon.  Have to soak them for two months before I can make the beer.  A three month process, but worth the wait.

Non-Alcoholic Sangria - 12-14-2012

Today, I gave out multiple samples of my home brew, sangria, lemon cello, and a non-alcoholic sangria.  At the request of some of the samplers, I am attaching the recipe for the non-alcoholic sangria

4 cups cranberry grape juice
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
1 pear, diced
1 apple, diced
3 cups carbonated lemon-lime beverage

Refrigerate all ingredients except the lemon-lime beverage for 2 hours.  Right before serving, add the lemon-lime beverage.

Holiday Cheer!!!

Today, I was finally able to bottle my home brew that has been fermenting for 8 weeks.  It was a seasonal called Saison De Noel.  It was fairly complicated because it actually had a "malt schedule", which is basically putting in different malts during different times of the cooking process.  I was used to a "hop schedule", which is hops at different times of the boil, but this was the first "malt schedule".  It had a lot of ingredients in it, and was very aromatic when I was bottling it.  

I also bottled a Lemoncello that has been fermenting for several weeks.  I was able to find 12 oz wine bottles that I could cork.

I made a non-alcoholic Sangria, which is a recipe I made last summer and was very popular.  

Last, but not least, I made the real Sangria recipe.  This one is loaded with wine, triple sec, and brandy.  The taste is fantastic.

The plan is to distribute these to friends and co-workers based on preference.  It's been a lot of fun making everything.  I love the process of experimenting with different recipes and combinations.  I probably missed out on a career as a chemist, but I think I like it better as a hobby anyway.

Brewing Activities - 12-2-2012

Today, I made the final kit that I ordered a couple of months ago.  It's called the Brickwarmer Holiday Red.  Reds are one of my favorites as far as boldness of taste and not as strong on the hop end of things.  This one had the malt added all at the beginning of the boil, while the other winter and seasonal ales had the malt added in different phases.  Also, this one had a spice pack of sweet orange peel that is in during the fermentation.  The aroma is excellent!  I think that has been my favorite part of making the winter and holiday ales is the fact that the aroma and spices are very pleasant to the smell.  More than likely, bottling will be the end of December, and then distribution in mid-January.

Here are the ingredients

.5 lb of English Dark Crystal
.25 lb Baird's Carastan
.25 lb Pale Chocolate

6 lbs NB Gold malt syrup
1 lb Wheat dry malt extract
1 lb Amber dry malt extract

1 oz Brewers Gold (60 minutes in boil)
1 oz Styrian Goldings (10 minutes in boil)
1 oz Sweet Orange Peel (add at the end of the boil)

Honey Amber - 11-25-2012

Today, we bottled the beer I'm probably most excited about.  I took an Amber recipe, and added oak chips that had been soaking in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon for two months.  As I was bottling, I noticed a very slight "oaky bourbon" scent to it, which is exactly what I was shooting for as far as flavor goes.  I got 10 of the 22oz bottles and 28 of the 12 oz bottles.  It will be in the bottle in my garage for about another two weeks, and then it's time for a taste.

Over the weekend, my daughter and I opened up our Bery Blonde, which was a blonde recipe with strawberries and raspberries added to it.  My first taste of this was a couple of weeks ago, and it was OK.  However, it appears that as it ages in the bottle, the flavor gets better.  It still has the consistency of cider, but the flavor gets better with age.

Also, the feedback on the Novemberfest (actually Oktoberfest that didn't finish by the end of October) has been excellent.  It had a spice pack with some nutmeg, cinnamon, and orange peels in it.  It has a very bold and strong flavor, so you can't drink a lot of it.  However, it's very smooth.  I was pleased the way that the spices and the hops came together to form a good flavor.

Beer Stock as of 11-23-2012

I did a complete inventory of all of my beer stock this morning while getting it organized.  In the table below, you will see all of the different recipes we have made.  This does not include the Amber with Oak Chips soaked in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon or the Seasonal Ale, which are currently fermenting (5 gallons each).

Right now, we have 2,104 ounces of beer in our available stock.  If you figure that we average 6 22 ounce bottles and 35 12 ounce bottles per batch, we have made 552 ounces of beer per batch.  At 15 batches (75 gallons before fermentation), we have made 8280 ounces of beer.  Given that I only have 2104 ounces of beer left, that means I've given (not sold) 6176 ounces of beer to family, friends, and co-workers.

Holiday Ale Bottling - 11/18/2012

Today, I bottled the Holiday Ale with a friend.  It has a combination of orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg flavors.  The smell was fantastic.  If the smell is any indicator, the taste of this batch of beer should be fantastic.

Brewing Activities on 10-28-2012

I'm late posting this entry that updates my brewing activities from last weekend.  I took an Amber Ale recipe, and then added oak chips that have been soaking in Wild Turkey Honey Bourbon for the last two months during the fermentation process.  The yeast has been very, very active the entire week, and I'm anxious to see the results of this effort.  The taste should be fantastic as I did not add any bourbon to it.  I just added the oak chips.  So the oak bourbon flavor should not be very overwhelming.

Here is the recipe.  I got the kit online from Northern Brewer.

Grains

.5 pounds of Victory Malt
.5 pounds of Briess Caramel 60

Malt

1 pound Pilsen dry malt extract
6 pounds Munich malt syrup - added at the last 15 minutes of the boil

Hops

1 oz German Perle
1 oz Hersbrucker - added at the last 15 minutes of the boil.

Yeast - Safale US-05 Ale Yeast

Rather than just add the dry yeast to the wort, I decided to start it with a cup of warm water and some honey (since I was using Honey Bourbon).  I feel this gave the yeast a huge kickstart to the fermentation process, and should enhance the flavor.

Brewing Activities - 10/21/2012

Yesterday, I went to Pint Defiance in Tacoma, and got a mini growler of Deschutes Chasin' Freshies Fesh Hop IPA.  It was very tasty, but also very, very hoppy.  In my opinion, almost too much hop flavor.  It was a different taste, which was interesting.  I would hope a deeper malty flavor with as much hop flavor as is in this beer.

Today, we bottled the Oktoberfest ale, which we are calling a Novemberfest because it won't be ready until November.  There was a significant boil off for this batch, so I only got 5 of the 22 ounce bottles and 31 of the 12 ounce bottles out of this batch.  The smell was really good, and the hop aroma was light.  The flavor should be strong, but less hoppy than some of the other beers I've brewed.

Also, I made a recipe I got online called Saison De Noel.  It is based on dark grains (Belgian Aromatic, Weyermann Carafa, Weyermann CaraAroma).  It's also loaded with a variety of malts (Candi Syrup - first time to use for me, Pilsner Malt syrup, Pilsen dry malt, and corn sugar.  What is interesting is that there is one round of US Magnum hops at the beginning of the 60 minute boil.  The dry malt is added 45 minutes into the boil, and then the corn sugar is added after the boil is done.  I'm anxious to see how this one turned out.  A bit different than anything else I've made.

Lastly, I took the grains and am making bread out of them.  It will be a darker bread, but the smell is quite good.  I'm anxious to see what it tastes like.  We use the same bread recipe because it's mostly grains, and the bread that comes out is always good in flavor.  The bread isn't necessarily good for sandwiches because it's very crumbly.  However, it's very good warm with either butter or garlic and olive oil as topping.

Activities on 10/14/2012

We brewed a Holiday Ale, which had a combination of wheat, rye, and chocolate grains.  Then, it also had a spice pack with orange, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  A bit light on the hops, but the smell is fantastic.  Started the fermentation last night, and it is happily bubbling away.  Really looking forward to how this one tastes!

Coming up

Bottling my Oktoberfest beer next weekend
Making an Amber with oak chips soaked in Bourbon for the last two months
Two different seasonal winter ales.

Hooray For Beer

You gotta love this song from Bowling for Soup...

Bowling For Soup Hooray For Beer lyrics

I was lost and down
Before you turned my life around
I never knew a love like this could happen
And they said I was too young
But when I turned 21
You gave me hope that's everlasting

Now everything is going my way
The sun's shining all around me
Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray For Beer!

And sometimes when I wake
You seem like a mistake
My stomach's turning circles, my head is pounding
But at 5 o'clock
You say it's time to rock
And I can't resist, I gotta be around you

Now everything is hunky dory
The stars are shining all around me
There's a happy ending to my story now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray For Beer!

I could hold you in my hands forever
Or at least until you're gone
And then I'll order another one

Now everything is going my way
The sun's shining all around me
Bells are ringing and the birds are singing now
I wanna tell the whole world

Hooray For Beer!
I'm really glad you're here
Let's make this moment last
You feel so right
Wanna be with you all night
Shout it out
Hooray!
Hip hip hooray!
Hooray For Beer!

Oktoberfest Beer

Today, I made an Oktoberfest beer.  By the time it's finished (i.e. ready in the bottles), it will be November, so I guess I'll have to call it Novemberfest.  As usual, the smell of the grains was fantastic.  It's based in some carmel malt grains, which are sure to make some very tasty bread.  The hops and hop schedule were somewhat lower than other beers I've made, but definitely strong enough for my wife to notice.  As part of the brewing process, I have come to notice that women are very sensitive to the smell of hops and "hoppy" beer.  Even with just a small bit of hops in this beer, it was noticeable.  It should be ready to go in about 6 weeks.

Lots of Bottling - 9/22/2012

Today, I bottled two different 5 gallon beers.  My first one was a toasted rye ale that I have made before and was very popular.  The second one was an IPA that is hopped only with Simcoe Hops.  Both smelled great, but the IPA has a very strong aroma.  They both will be two weeks in the bottle, and then available for samples.  As I type this, I'm drinking an IPA from a brewery in Central Washington called Old Schoolhouse.  Very tasty.

As far as bottling goes, I got 6 22oz bottles and 35 12oz bottles out of each batch.  Not bad as far as quantity goes.

I also picked up supplies to make an Oktoberfest beer tomorrow, and some friends are going to be picking more fresh hops to be used in one of my creations.

Weekend In Spokane - 9/14/2012

On the weekend of 9/14, I was invited to spend the weekend with my "sister" and her family in Spokane.  After a night at the fair, consuming things like french fries, cheesesteaks, a deep fried twinkie (with chocolate sauce), and deep fried butter (with raspberry sauce), I was treated to a tour of different orchards and farms.  Two great things happened.  For the first time, I picked my own hops.  They were Cascade Hops, and my "nieces" helped me pick them.  Second, I found an orchard that I could easily convert into a brew pub.  They had a front structure that could be a pub and restaurant, and a back structure where they harvest apples that could easily be converted to a place to brew beer.  I'm looking forward to using the hops in my next creation.

On Saturday, my "sister" and "brother-in-law" took me to a brewery in downtown Spokane.  It is called the Steam Plant, and is an old steam plant (with original equipment) converted to a restaurant and bar.  I had the sampler, which I thought would include about 6 samples.  Imagine my surprise when it contained 11.  It included a "peach ale", which was light, but outstanding.

Great weekend!

PS.  I almost forgot to mention something.  We uncorked the latest apertif creation, which combined cab sav wine, vodka, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries.  It was very smooth and a good combination of flavors.

"Bery Blonde" Review

This evening, I opened up a bottle of my "Bery Blonde", which is a combination of a blonde ale with a mix of raspberries and strawberries in it.  I added them during fermentation, and then also added small pieces of raspberry and strawberry to each bottle.  It was definitely one of my more experimental batches of beer, so I wasn't sure what to expect.  I had read mixed reviews of fruit based beers on the different brewing web sites, so I knew there was a chance it wouldn't come out very good.

I have to say that overall, the flavor wasn't bad at all.  Because I added the berries to each bottle, I had to pour it into a pint glass in order to avoid getting parts of the berries in it when I drank it.  I would say that there is more than a "hint" of berry flavor, but it isn't overwhelming.  It was a bit tart from the raspberries, which I read can happen, and that the tartness fades as the beer ages.  So, I have several bottles of it that I'm planning to save to try after a couple more weeks.

It wasn't my worst creation, but was a bit less than I was hoping for.  I would like to try it again at some point and make some adjustments to the recipe.