BEER

[Worm of Despite]

BEEEEEER


There, I said it. That's what I've always wanted to say in this thread. Good bye.

[Zarathustra]

Now you got me wanting to get my homebrewing gear back together, Malik.

You should! I didn't even know anyone else here brewed. How much have you brewed? When was the last time? Were you an extract, partial mash, or all-grain brewer?

Ali, I see your nudge. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do about that trip. Planning a camping trip months or even weeks in advance is very difficult, because of weather. If it rains that weekend, it will really suck. Sitting in separate, damp tents isn't really the best way to spend time to get to know one another. I guess I'm just dreading making the decision, and then have it turn out to be a the wrong one. Having people drive all that way for nothing would be depressing. Anyone else want to decide? I suck at organizing these things.

The boys are off for spring break this week, and Ki took the week off too. We were thinking about taking just a family trip to either Cumberland Falls or Mammoth Cave, but the weather isn't looking good.

[Menolly]

Ali, I see your nudge. I'm having a hard time deciding what to do about that trip. Planning a camping trip months or even weeks in advance is very difficult, because of weather. If it rains that weekend, it will really suck. Sitting in separate, damp tents isn't really the best way to spend time to get to know one another. I guess I'm just dreading making the decision, and then have it turn out to be a the wrong one. Having people drive all that way for nothing would be depressing. Anyone else want to decide? I suck at organizing these things.

Malik, I still don't know if I'll make it myself. Justifying the cost of airfare to Hyperception is...difficult.

But, if you have been following the Seafest thread, then you know not all Watchers will be camping. I doubt if it is raining that any of us will be socializing at the campground, and will only return there to sleep. We'll either hang at Cag's, or at the hotel of whomever stays at one, when we're not off traisping around doing things in Denver.

Or so I would imagine it to be...

[aliantha]

Guys, Denver's climate is semi-arid. The rainiest June EVER saw a total of 4.96 inches. For the whole month. In 1882. www.crh.noaa.gov/bou/include/showProduc ... entdir=cli

Bottom line: I don't think we have to worry about a rain-out.

[stonemaybe]

M23 wrote:

Planning a camping trip months or even weeks in advance is very difficult, because of weather. If it rains that weekend, it will really suck. Sitting in separate, damp tents isn't really the best way to spend time to get to know one another

Bring a really REALLY big tarpaulin, put tents up quite close together in two rows with a narrow 'corridor' between them, with all the doors facing in the same general direction. Then throw the tarpaulin over all the tents (peg it down) and put rugs and blankets down in the 'corridor'.

Doesn't matter if it rains then, as long as you have hash cake. Honestly.

[Zarathustra]

Bring a really REALLY big tarpaulin, put tents up quite close together in two rows with a narrow 'corridor' between them, with all the doors facing in the same general direction. Then throw the tarpaulin over all the tents (peg it down) and put rugs and blankets down in the 'corridor'.

Doesn't matter if it rains then, as long as you have hash cake. Honestly.

Now you see, that right there is the kind of planning, forethought, and taking action that I didn't want to have to do. That sounds like work.

Hash cake?

[Menolly]

Hash cake?

If it's cake, we can discuss it in the Galley, right?

...right???

[Mortice Root]

I got my first book on beer recently, and have to say, I really enjoyed it. I have a book by the "Eyewitness Companions" series, entitled "Beer" (there's a surprise ) by Michael Jackson (no- not the pop star ). It's a pretty enjoyable read, well written, and even pretty humorous in parts. There's brief sections on the history of beer, how beer is made, the basics of different styles and some tips on pairing certain styles of beer with particular foods. The last 2/3 of the book is a general list of brewery's from around the world, listed by country and region of the country, and each entry highlights one or two beers from the brewery in question. Not exhaustive, by any means, but a good primer. The book probably wouldn't have much utility for someone who already has extensive beer knowledge, but as far as introductory reading goes, it was pretty darn good.


And on the recommendation of the book I picked up some Pilsner Urquell for the first time. This is a brew from the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic and lays claim to being the "original" pilsner beer. This was pretty darn good stuff. Very crisp, nice head, a little bitter. Very nice.

I also tried another brew from the New Glarus brewing company, here in Wisconsin - their Wisconsin Belgian Red. This is a fruit beer, brewed with wheat and Door County cherries - quite a lot of them. Sometimes fruit beers come across too sweet - this one wasn't. It had a nice, pink-tinged head and a pale ruby color. Strong aroma of cherries without being over powering. And a very good taste - definetly cherries was the strongest flavor, but it was more tart than sweet, and it blended well with the wheat beer. Good stuff.

[Zarathustra]

Pilsner Urquell is a fine beer. Yes, that's the first Pilsner. Up until they brewed that one, all beer was "dark." That's why pale ales are actually darker than what most people drink, because pilsners were the first truly brilliant beer.

It's amazing to me that I can pick this up at Walmart. It's reasonably priced, too. People who have had it in Europe say the unfiltered version is much better, and what we get is a second-rate version. Others complain that the quality of the stuff in Europe has declined, too. I don't know. I just know it's a subtle, delicious, slightly hoppy beer that all American macros have tried to copy, but have only produced faint imitations with less malt, less hops, and the addition of adjuncts like rice.

[Damelon]

Now you got me wanting to get my homebrewing gear back together, Malik.

You should! I didn't even know anyone else here brewed. How much have you brewed? When was the last time? Were you an extract, partial mash, or all-grain brewer?

Sorry, I hadn't noticed your, much, earlier post. Shame on me.

I brewed with what the homebrew store, since closed, called an intermediate kit. It had extract but also had the some of the ingredients like the barley and hops separate. It's been a while since I last brewed, probably 7 or 8 years. I never got to the all grain stage. I loved the weiss and porter beers I brewed and probably made all told about 10 batches. I've still got Charlie Papazian's book about. It seems like the fall is the time that I get the brewing bug. It's a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

[Zarathustra]

Fall is the time . . . if you don't have air-conditioning.

Yeah, the Papazian book is the only one I've ever bought.

All-grain isn't really much harder, and it's a lot cheaper. It also opens up a whole world of styles and ingredients. Check out batch sparging. It's easy, if you're interested.

[Damelon]

I've had this homebrewing supply site bookmarked for some time. For when the itch gets too strong, I guess.

What I'd like to do is get a set up where I could brew in the garage so it could ferment down there. I live in a split level ranch with the garage and stove are on different levels. It's a pain lugging the brew around. I haven't really looked into it but maybe one of those turkey fryer setups might be made to work for homebrew.

[Zarathustra]

I still do it on the stove top in a 21 quart brew pot. Careful lugging around glass fermentors full of 5 gallons of beer! You can end up in the emergency room. Your link showed plastic buckets, so maybe you're fine.

I've got a process down for all-grain that's basically calculation free. I use 10 pounds of crushed grain (crushed at the store mill, when purchasing) for my base malt. I use anywhere between 1-4 pounds of specialty grain. I put it all in a grain bag, and then put that in a rectangular cooler. I use 1.3 quarts of water per pound, and mash at 153 degrees (usually) for an hour. I pour this off, sparge (rinse) with 180 degrees (comes down to 170--which is the target). I don't have enough room in my brew pot for all this wort. So I boil it down in three pots until it can fit in one. Then proceed like normal.

This will make a brew about 4.5%-5.5% ABV. If you want to go bigger, you can add a couple pounds of LME or DME (malt extract). Basically, you're just soaking grains in hot water, then rinsing. Easy. A cheap cooler, a grain bag, and you're ready to go. If anyone wants more detailed info, I can provide the links where I learned all this stuff.

[Cagliostro]

I worship at the church of Guinness.

Aside from that, I have done some homebrewing, and have ended up with some especially good stuff, although it has all been from kits. Surprising how even if I buy the same kit from the same store, it still turns out wildly different in taste. I have a new girlfriend that hasn't experienced the "joy of homebrewing" yet so I feel I could get away with it at least once more. I'd love to do more and get experimental with it, but alas, the space it takes for storing bottles and the smell tends to turn off those living with me. And Carla isn't a beer drinker either. Although she has been sampling my Guinness whenever I pop one open these days.

[Prebe]

Surprising how even if I buy the same kit from the same store, it still turns out wildly different in taste.

You need to wash your hands dude!

[Zarathustra]

Ha! Prebe is partially right. Cleanliness is important because the taste of the final product is so easily influenced by bacteria, or even wild yeasts. You won't produce something harmful, but you might produce something that tastes like crap. At the very least, you can easily introduce off-flavors that merely make the batches different.

But there are many, many factors which influence the taste of beer. The fact that commercial breweries can produce a consistent product (especially light macro-lagers like Bud) is mind-boggling. They've really got their quality control down to a science. Literally. The lighter, lower ABV a beer is, the harder it is to hide the flaws. So I've got to give brewers like Bud credit.

Variation in taste can come from slight changes in:

hop addition timing
variable quality of malt extract
mash temperature (for all-grain)
speed of cooling wort prior to pitching yeast
amount of yeast used
type of yeast used
introducing oxygen while wort is still hot
temperature of fermentation, including ambient temperature of the room
bacteria infection
amount of priming sugar used for carbonation (affect body more than taste, but can still be perceived as taste to newbies )
amount of oxygen "contamination" while bottling

All these factors can make one batch taste different from an "identical" batch using the same recipe. But I just see this as freedom for variation, and don't worry too much about producing consistent results.

[Zarathustra]

I just brewed my second black IPA. Actually, I think I'll call it a "chocolate IPA," since there's not really a style category for this recipe. I brewed it with chocolate malt, which gives it the black appearance and smooth roasty taste. Columbus, Cascade, Amarillo, and Kent Goldings hops. Should come in at 7.5% ABV.

[Menolly]

*pout*

...I wanna try it...

[Mortice Root]

Malik wrote

I just brewed my second black IPA. Actually, I think I'll call it a "chocolate IPA," since there's not really a style category for this recipe. I brewed it with chocolate malt, which gives it the black appearance and smooth roasty taste. Columbus, Cascade, Amarillo, and Kent Goldings hops. Should come in at 7.5% ABV.

Where's the "yummy" emoticon?

Menolly wrote

...I wanna try it...

Me too, Menolly. Me too....

[Cagliostro]

This thread makes me want to homebrew for the next fest and have SRD related labels and names.

Who wouldn't want to tuck into a six of Ur-vile Sputum Stout? How about Pitchwife Porter? Aliantha Ale? Glimmermere Lager? Earthblood Red?

Anyone else fancy a try?