A Beer and a Dog

"Why should I blog about brewing?", I asked. "Nothing like a beer and a dog...", So Sayeth Virtual Wayne.

Friday, November 20, 2009

06A v4.0 has stopped bubbling....

I believe that I will rack to the secondary before I go to work this Ayem. Trish was not real happy with the dryness of the last couple batches of Cream Ale ("6A" as she calls it, a reference to the alpha-numeric style ID on the cap label). I'll rack to secondary sooner than usual and bottle after two weeks. Perhaps that will assuage her disappointment. And if this is the last batch of beer that I am ever able to brew, at least she will be happy.

Bonus Nachos!
-CyberDave

And remember what the Virtual Philosopher, (Wayne Patrick Hammond) 'Virtual Wayne' once said to me:

"Dave, it's too late to undo the past, but you can still undo the future!"

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

New Cream Ale brew: v 4.0 Münich Cream Ale

It's been a while since I brewed... I decided that this Monday was the day to do it yet again. I planned to make it from mostly Münich malt, but I only had 5.44 lbs. left. And so I used up the rest of my Pale Ale malt and 2.75 lbs. of my Pilsner malt to make up the diff. And this time, I am using Fermentis American Ale 05 dry yeast to ferment with. This also has 2lbs. of corn meal in the grain bill so I had to cook this adjunct prior to mashing the rest of the grains.

If you have never had the safety plug blow on your pressure cooker,let me tell you: It is a glorious sight and sound! I had 2 lbs of corn cooking on med. with the 10 lb setting on the pressure relief valve in place... but the thing didn't do it's 10-lb dance. When suddenly...
Pow~!
Trish had retreated to the back of the house to escape my 'right wing' tv program (C-Span) only minutes before the cataclysm and when it went off, she came sailing out of the bedroom yelling for the dogs to evacuate the area, amid admonishments aimed at yours truly. She didn't see the sweet geyser of corn ejecting from the safety hole, but when she came back from securing the WonderDog Continuum, she saw it's aftermath. Picture this: She wasn't a happy camper for she had spent the best part of the day before cleaning the kitchen. "No more pressure cookers for you!", she said, adding that to the list of forbidden objects she began for me years ago. Double boilers? Verböten! Pressure cookers? Verböten! Well, at least I can still play with knives and guns.... and brew beer!

I've left the scene of the crime to start the next rest and set the timer on my phone to alert me to go heat the next measure of water. Still have more cleaning to do as well. Whether I clean the site to the molecular level or just get the great gobs, it won't be enough. Trish will clean it again. It looks like it is going to be a long day....

After all was done, the carboy held 5 gallons of sweet wort and this morning it was merrily bubbling away. I removed the blow off tube and installed an airlock filled with Bowman's Vodka. I also have about 3 liters of wort the last of the runnings from the lauter tun, to can for starters. I'll just have to use a canning pot rather than a pressure cooker.

Not one of these.. these... FAUX CyberDaves... but the TRUE CyberDave!


About CyberDave

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Contract engineering, working in the field in which I truly love: Mechanical Design.

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"Bonus Nachos!" as we say on my planet. "And CHEERS!"