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.