Beer: Christmas Was Good to Me

Christmas this year was amazing. I can't even describe how appreciative and grateful I am for all the amazing people in my life. I did not expect to get even half the stuff I got and the whole day was full of family, food, and friends. 

I cannot wait to use the Draft Brewer Dual CO2 Regulated Keg System. I still need to get a freezer before using it, which I might already have squared away due to having awesome friends. It seems there was a theme this year. Most people who know me know that homebrewing has taken over most of my free time. It's an addiction. The science behind it is so interesting. I've never been a reader in my life. I could never, EVER finish a book. I read a 600 page book in a couple of weeks a little while ago. I couldn't put it down. My wife also got me some awesome power tools so I can finally finish some of the house projects we have going on.

So have I mentioned how awesome my wife is? She took a total of 6 hours to get me 4 bottles of beer from one of my all-time favorite breweries Tree House Brewing Company. They opened on the Tuesday before Christmas to release some pretty amazing beers. Harmony is an absolutely delicious IPA and Bear is an amazing hoppy brown. More to come about the future endeavors with the new equipment!

Beer: The New England 1020 (Update)

It's that time! I bottled the New England 1020 IPA last night and it tasted delicious. The FG got down to 1.010 which is better than I expected. Overall it's a solid 5.8% ABV IPA. I had hoped for a lot higher but lack of attention to detail during mashing results in lower efficiency. I'll post tasting notes once it's done bottle conditioning! 

Beer: Stein Beer

We decided to take a shot at brewing a beer in the stein brewing method. All I have to really say is this was one of the most fun brew days we've ever had. There was just so much awesome crammed into one day! We decided to go with a simple Kölsch recipe to start with and then if it was successful, do something a little more complex. We hit a 1.052 OG which was very close to what we were hoping for. Only issue we had was the Wyeast Kölsch smack pack had a hole in it when we smacked it. And yes we did cook steaks on the rocks and potatoes in the fire. It was amazing.

Hopefully we'll have more pics, but here is what I have so far!

Here is the link: http://imgur.com/a/1csBh

Original Gravity:

1.055

Final Gravity:

1.014

ABV (standard):

5.42%

IBU (tinseth):

24.37

SRM (morey):

4.11

Fermentables

Amount	Fermentable	PPG	°L	Bill %
10 lb	American - Pilsner	37	1.8	90.9%
0.5 lb	American - Carapils (Dextrine Malt)	33	1.8	4.5%
0.5 lb	German - Munich Light	37	6	4.5%
11 lb	Total

Hops

Amount	Variety	Type	AA	Use	Time	IBU
1 oz	Domestic Hallertau	Pellet	3.9	Boil	60 min	16.7
0.5 oz	Domestic Hallertau	Pellet	3.9	Boil	45 min	7.67

Mash Guidelines

Amount	Description	Type	Temp	Time
4.5 gal	170F to warm mash tun and dough in at 161F	Infusion	150 F	60 min
3.5 gal	Bring to boil and sparge as much as needed	Sparge	170 F	10 min
Starting Mash Thickness: 1.5 qt/lb

Other Ingredients

Amount	Name	Type	Use	Time
15 each	Granite Rocks (Fist Size)	Other	Boil	60 min

Yeast

Wyeast - Kölsch 2565

Attenuation (avg): 75% Flocculation: Low Optimum Temp: 56 - 70 °F Starter: No Fermentation Temp: 65 °F Pitch Rate: 0.35 (M cells / ml / ° P) 90 B cells required

Beer: All I want for Christmas is a Brew Kit

Check out this article I wrote for Modern Man Jack!

All I want for Christmas is a Brew Kit — Modern Man Jack

Beer: Stein Brewing

In a couple of weeks we are going to attempt an old school brewing technique called stein brewing. The concept is pretty simple. We are going to be using hot rocks (granite) to heat up the boil kettle. Not many people do it anymore and we just thought it would be a fun day of fire and activities. Sixpoint Brewery did one a little while ago and made a quick video about it.

We are going to make sure to post a bunch of pictures and hopefully get some video of the day! We're sticking with a basic Kölsch recipe and maybe in the future, try out a stout. It'll add some smokey and sweet caramelized flavors that are going to be real nice. Here is another video by Basic Brewing about the method. Cheers!

Beer: The New England 1020 (Update)

I transferred The New England 1020 IPA last night and it tasted absolutely delicious. Still have a little ways to go on dropping that gravity down, but overall very impressed with the Yeast Bay Vermont Ale strain I used. It is sitting at 1.020 and would like to get it to at least 1.012 if I can. If not, oh well! As Charlie Papazian says, "Relax, don't worry, have a homebrew". More updates to come later! Cheers!

Food: Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving was a success! All that planning and it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye. Everything came out exactly the way I wanted. Turkey was a bit dry, but not bad.

The rub consisted of sazon, adobo, garlic, paprika, salt, pepper, and olive oil. I used the chicken stock from the practice chicken I made a few weeks ago. The gravy was absolutely delicious! (Thanks Regina and Barb!) We also had garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, homemade Duffy stuffing, carrots, Puerto Rican pork and rice, cranberry sauce, and pearl onions. For desserts, we had chocolate pudding pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie, chocolate cake, ice cream, homemade whipped cream, brownies, and a variety of cookies.

A couple days later I made another stock with the turkey. Of course, the leftovers made PLENTY of turkey and stuffing sandwiches. My wife isn't a fan of leftovers so I am still trying to consume as much of it as I can by myself. It's pretty difficult. I feel like I've gained 20lbs already. 

 

I also broke out the Apple Pie Ale, as well. It came out great! I don't really have any complaints about it thus far. Very well rounded and delicious. I can't wait to do it again! Cheers!