Next week I have a 5 day weekend. And you know what that means..

Yes! Brewing!

I’m going to try to make two batches: An Oktöberfest and perhaps another batch of Classic American Pilsner.  Mmmm…. to both!  I bottled my CAP on Sunday and it should be ready to sample by the end of next week, tho’ I had to use DME to prime for bottling as I was out of corn sugar.  I had a Brewing Throw-Down with Jeff, who has never brewed ‘To Style’ before.  So we did.  His is excellent!  He kegged his.  Thus, his is carbonated already.

We’ll see what The High Command says about me brewing twice next weekend… I’m sure that she won’t be TOO happy a camper over it, but it MUST BE DONE!

Cheers!
CyberDave

CAP Brew Down!

Brew Down at Jeff’s!  Yarr.  The He Man Woman Haters Club (and don’t get the wrong idea… Cindy F. refers to our gatherings thusly…) held the first Brew Down (with apologies to Bobby Flay) yesterday, Saturday the 25.  A good time was had by all….

…Club Logo

“I brew crazy beers, and I’ve never used guidelines!”, Jeff said the other week.

“Ah, but CAN you brew to guidelines?”, I asked in a festive mood.  “Is that a challenge?”, he asked… “Yes!  I challenge you to a Brew Down, brewing to style guidelines of a beer.  I challenge you to….. CLASSIC AMERICAN PILSNER!”

And so it all began.  Jeff, Carl and I met at Jeff’s at around 9:00 AM on Saturday.  Jeff brewed using extract and I brewed using all grain. Jeff, Carl & I began at around 10:00 AM with me cooking 2 lbs of white corn meal in a pot for thirty minutes and Jeff hydrating his extract and adding 1.5 lbs of flaked maize in a grain sack. 

After 1/2 hour I added 2 gallons water heated to 137° F and added 2 gallons of 122° water to the barleym, then added the mush to the mash tun, and then as well for the first step at 122° for 30 min.  Jeff was doing a single step infusion.  After 30 min, I added 2 gallons of water at 187°, then another 2 gallons at 193 for mashout.  I think.  I might have forgotten the mashout (beer was involved) but some people say that mashout isn’t really needed.  So, whatever…

In all past attempts to do CAPs, I had added the mush to the mash before adding the water and got a stuck mash, requiring emptying the tun into a bucket and cleaning out the bottom.  This time I had John S. hold the plastic false bottom down while I added the 2g. 122° water, then purged the air from the tube to keep the false bottom from floating up during mixing.  That seemed to take care of the stuck mash issue.

Over the course of the day, we were joined by John S., Bryan S.. The Original Doug, and Alex & Cindy, who live near John S. and are also members.  We had pizza and beer and BACON JAM! on crackers.  Oh, the food & beverages were most excellent!

During the day, Brother Carl made some repairs to equipment and served as Still Hand when and extra set of paws was required.  Thanks again, Carl! It would have been more difficult without your assistance had you missed the soiree.

At the end of the day Jeff had 2 5 gallon batches, one of which he added California Ale yeast and the other and mine split a starter of Pilsner yeast.  I was packed and ready to return at about 7 PM, with Doug and Alex still there.  The Cindys had mysteriously disappeared… a shopping expedition, and were still out on patrol when I left.

A grand & glorious day it was. Cold, but we had wonderful fellowship and excellent consumables!

  

  Start                                               Doug, Bryan, Carl

       

       Cindy                           Ready to pack into car.

Last of my beer is bottled… now I can die peacefully

Or not.  Depends upon things.  The ESB turned out to be around 5.7% ABV and I’ll test it next week.  Finally, one that is within style guidelines as far as ABV are concerned.  I’ve been boiling off too much liquid here lately and the last few batches have been over the top.  Good, tho’.

Next project will be another Mead… haven’t done a mead since 2005 and it is about time to do another one.  This time, I’ll stick it away in some dark forbidding corner once it is bottled so’s I don’t drink most of it before it is ready, like I did last time.  We learn these things by experience.

Beer Bottling Setup

 

I use several handy items to assist me in my beer bottling task that have proven to be extremely handy.  You know what they say: Frank Zappa is the Mothers of Invention.

A ‘milk crate’ for supporting the bottling bucket.

One of my bench vices with a short piece of 1x1 lumber clamped in it with a large paper clip type of deal clamped upon the end to hold the Bottling Wand;

And of course the capper.  Notice that the capper is mounted upon a piece of 1x4 lumber that is C-Clamped to the bench.  I love C-Clamps. They make life so much easier.  Hats off to Mr. C for the wondrous invention!

Not shown are the re-tasked Typewriter table that weighs too much and has plastical wheels that aren’t nearly sturdy enough, but was too good an item to toss.  I place plastic shopping bags with two six-packs of bottles on that little darlin’ for transporting to the finishing area, whether it is the freezer for Lagers or the other side of the basement where the temperature seems to be more consistent on the floor than anywhere else in the basement.  I do a half case at a time, placing a new bottle under the tube as I place the filled bottle on the bench, placing the cap lightly upon it for capping.  It is the way of my people, you see.

The plastic shopping bags are handy in case something spills and, as happened one time in my old freezer, a preventative to having to clean up moldy crap where the oft-used cardboard sixpacks take on a life of their own.  Boy, was that a mess to clean up….

 

Cheers~!

CyberDave

OK. Back to beer.

Oktöberfest is in bottles at 60°F in the freezer unit and the ESB is finally in the Secondary.  I did the two tasks the same day, one after the other.  I DID however, neglect to pour the sanitizer into the carboy before racking to the Secondary but I suspect that the hot water will have undone any nasties that might have been in it and since beer was in it just before, there won’t be a problem anyway.  Hopefully.

Next beer won’t be a beer at all, next brewing session will be MEAD!  About time that I made more mead.  Huzzahs all ‘round!

Bwa-haha! Back on line with this blog…

As it seems, my problem was security.  I set up security thingys that caused Live Writer to tilt.  Having undone that, I can now post to my brewing thingy again.

Cheers!

OktöberFest is bottled. Now we wait...

Despite forgetting the recipe when I brewed this at Microbe Festus, this looks like it is going to be pretty good and it is within style guidelines, which is what I wanted to do this time rather than another over the top version. It should be ready to drink in.. Oktöber. I got 52 12-oz. bottles with a little left over to sample. Wasn't bad at all. If I have an op to go to Bramwell this year, I'll enter it into the contest. My brethren will probably judge again this year so they will probably know that it's mine. None of them are the types to dis a beer so that their beer will get better scores, nor give mine better scores than it deserves. They are honest. Don't know about the other judges from elsewhere... ya never know.

I'll wait to share this with my fellow brewers til after that contest. They will have to make do with yet another batch of my ESB and some of my over the top Oktöberfest from earlier in the year as those are the only styles that I've made in 2011. Fine tuning.

Cheers!