Yet ANOTHER batch of IPA...

On Sunday I brewed yet another as above. This was using the grain that I received from BRH and HB supplies for attending the Teach A Friend to Home Brew day the other week. I racked to the carboy at around 100°F and left it to cool to room temp for a while, pitching the yeast before I went to bed. Couple days later I took a look and the airlock was fill of matter where the fermentation action was aggressive and began blowing bubbles up into the airlock. Here, on Thursday, the bubbling has ceased for the most part.

On the previous batch which is in the secondary, it is about time to bottle. I've shaken the carboy to encourage the hops to loft to the bottom of the carboy each day and they are about all gone from the surface of the wort. Tomorrow I shall bottle, after I get in from work. After cleaning that carboy I will await Sunday when I will rack the latest beer to the secondary.

I should have beer up into the fall should I live so long. We will see about that as well...

American IPA in secondary...

This is the one that I made at TAFTHB... The previous batch has been in the bottle for a week now... and I'm down to about 4 beers in the fridge... Going to have to brew more often.

El Jefe brought some Dortmunders from Great Lakes Brewing company with him from his trip to Cleveland and he gave me a couple. BOY! were they most excellent! I HAVE to get the freezer working again so I can make some more Lagers... and when I do, Dortmunder will be one of the first ones that I make...

Teach A Friend to Home Brew day

We held the yearly TAFTHB day at Blue Ridge Hydroponics & Home Brew Supply on Williamson Road on the 22nd and despite getting rained upon twice not counting sprinkling, a good time was had by all. Two of our members (me included) brewed all-grain beers, and one brewed an extract beer. We also gave out samples of beers that members had made and explained to visitors the doings of making your own legal alcohol, namely beer. In addition to beer, I took my last bottle of mead, but I didn't put it on the table for tasting. Just didn't.

At least I didn't wind up with a horrid sunburn on my neck as happened at Big Brew on the 1st of May. I brewed another batch of (14B.) American IPA and followed the rule: Don't drink while you are brewing and thusly didn't forget any of the five out of six hop additions that the recipe calls for. The final hop addition will be an ounce of Cascade hops in the secondary for dry hopping.

The store owners supplied the ingredients for brewing and so this was a 'Free Beer' for me. I'd brought my own grist to save time and was reimbursed with the grain bill after things had quieted down. Chris said that business was good that day which is why he is willing to supply the ingredients to the brewers for the soiree. So, now I have grist for another batch of 14.B and only have to wait for a open carboy for fermenting. I'll bottle the Big Brew beer tonite, but have to wait for the TAFTHB to go to the secondary before I start a new one. Only need to buy the hops for the next one. Woo-hoo! We're on a roll this spring!

Racked American India Pale Ale to secondary

Racked the 14.C v1.0.0.1.0 to secondary this AM, just about forgot to add the dry hops. 24 days in secondary, that should be 3 June 2010 for a bottling date. This is probably the batch that I will take to the 'fambly reunion' type unit that Georgia has planned out for the end of July. It oughtta be just ready to put into the fridge by then. Bwa-hahaha! 14.C = American India Pale Ale alpha numeric designation.

Cheers!

CyberDave

Big Brew is upon us

To celebrate the day that Jimi Carter signed the law making home brewing beer legal once again, brewers gather on the first Saturday in May to brew - and to raise a glass to Jimi. (And thanks, Billy!) Brother Billy was probably the man on the inside tormenting Jimi for that action.

And so this Saturday we will gather at a home brewer home boy's home to brew, eat, drink, and be festive. BeerTown has the state by state state:

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/pages/events/national-homebrew-day

...and The 'Guild has registered as the local site. Word around the campfire is that the hosts are making Gumbo... using a recipe from their native Louisiana. Oh is it good.

I will be brewing a five gallon batch of American India Pale Ale, beer number 14.B in the panoply of beers spec'd out in the BJCP Style Guidelines. Look it up.

More after it occurs....

American IPA bottled.... only one thing left on my Bucket List...

I've decided (after discussion with my Home Brew Home Boyz) that all of my American Amber Ale, the last two batches, should have been Brown Ales. OK, and so be it. POOF! Ain't gonna change the labels on the survivors, tho; I can scrape 'em off when I share with friends and tell them the tale of adventure.

So, I was at the store the other nite and an Island Boy, trying to assimilate after coming to America, came to the counter with his American girlfriend. He was wearing the always present hip-hopper's flat brimmed baseball style cap, a shirt with some rap artist's visage emblazoned across the front & back, bling, and a grille on his teeth. I was wearing my always present Hawaiian motif shirt. The chap began laughing and GF asked him what was the cause of his gaiety... He said, "He looks funny! His shirt makes him look funny!" No malice intended, he was just truly struck with amusement. I smiled and sold him his Hennessey without comment, for this was a rare occurrence at the likker store: The black calling the kettle 'Pot'.