Working My Other Job

I have still been brewing regularly but have been slacking on the updating posts since this is a busy time of year at my other job.  I think I have got exactly what I am looking for with my Porter, Wheat and Honey Wheat and they will be ready for the next judging.

I have have been talking with my father about setting up our own bee hives for honey production, and getting wood kegs for the secondary fermentation to mellow the flavors in the craft beer.  These are the exciting times when I am changing the setup to prepare for the next level.

Another Attempt at the Porter

After all of the issues this past weekend with the new mash tun I decided to switch out the false bottom with the kettle screen and try the Smoked Porter again.  This time everything went as planned.

Sprage Cooler on Top, Flowing Through Tun into Wort Pot

This also was the first time I could try out the new sprage cooler that I purchased which after a couple of tweaks worked perfectly.

Nice Even Flow - Wish it Fanned Out More However

I was able to keep a constance flow when fly spraging compared to the uneven flow of the spoon method that I was using before.  Plus using the cooler allowed me to keep the sprage water at a more constant temperature.  I would suggest this purchase if you can afford it.

Kegging, New System & Mash Lock

This weekend I made my first attempt at kegging my beer.  I read the instructions and even watch a couple You Tube videos on the process before I started.

Transferring was a breeze and I decided to try my hand at force carbonation instead of the sugar bottle conditioning that I have been trying.  With this method you need to cool the fermentor down before applying CO2. 

Then once finished with the transferring you place the whole kegging system into the fridge at 10 psi for a couple of days then test. 

I have recently purchased a new mash and spraging system but the two batches I have ran through it so far have led to grain lock.  This last time was so bad that I ended dumping the entire batch.  Need to figure out the problem with my set up.

Brewing, Bottling and Transferring Over the Weekend

Over this past weekend I had to transfer the Kick Ass Sassafras into the secondary, bottle the Smoked Gobbling Porter and use up some older grains in the extract based Touch of Everything.  The Touch of Everything was a way of using up some extracts I purchased a while back, some older grains and the last of the hops in the freezer.  This batch will also be my first attempt at kegging beer with forced carbonation vs bottle conditioning.

Barely Can Walk Through

I am running out of room quickly in the breakfast nook but Sharon says I can't have anymore of the house.  I may have to create storage out in the garage just so I can move around more easily than now.  Sadly, it is so much easier to have everything in one place ... oh well.

New Equipment

This week was one of purchases:  I bought a refrigerator for the kegging of the beer and a 10 gallon mash tun and spraging cooler to better extract the grains during mashing.  I tried the mash tun just the other day on the new batch of Kick Ass Sassafras but thanks to a smaller false bottom and my vigorous stirring in the grains, the bottom slightly lifted thus allowing grain under it.  This led to a sprage lock and I had to hand dip the wort.  Lesson learned.

New Fridge and Mashing Equipment

Got the results back from the contest ... the porter fared excellent but needs to be smokier, the Smoking Wheat had a slight metallic taste ... unsure the cause but will find out, and need to be even more smokier, and lastly the Sweet Sharon still isn't fairing very well in the contest, but everyone that tries loves it.  I will change the base recipe the next time. 

Slowly Taking Over the Kitchen -- It's Mine, All Mine

All of the judge's notes have been taken into consideration and adjustments have been made to the recipes to improve their flavors.

Brewing Another Porter

Yesterday I started brewing another smoked porter with a couple of slight changes to improve the recipe.  So far I like what I have produced but still it isn't exactly what I have been looking for in the flavor department.  During the last three batches of other styles of beer I have been extending the secondary carboy time to extract a slightly higher alcohol content and improve their flavors.  Additionally, with the bottle conditions I am extending the amount of time the beer conditions to further enhance the flavors and mouth feel.

Sweet Sharon in the Secondary - Yeast Working Away

I recently purchased a couple of carboy bags which in addition to blocking the light has allowed me to use ice packs to slow the fermentation of the yeast and control the temperature.  Ideally I would like to purchase a dedicated cooler to better control the temperatures, but first I have to get a refrigerator to start the kegging of the beer ... on hold for funds right now.

The Breakfast Nook is Mine Now -- And Even More Room is Needed

I wanted to tell anyone reading this about a warning.  Currently, I have been using the kitchen sink to cool my wort, but over time and thanks to the weight of the wort I have noticed a slight separation in the caulking.  I am going the beef up under the sink and find another way to cool my wort using the wort chiller I purchased.

First Club Meeting

Ever since I started brewing I wanted to join a local brew club to meet other like me and people that have much better brewing skills than I to glean new ideas in making beer.  Well last night I went to my first meeting and joined Inland Empire Brewing Club.  It was fantastic.

I first got to meet several new people and have them test some of my beers to get their input.  Then they had a speaker, Patrick Rue, a brewer and owner of The Brewery discussed some of his beers.  After tasting several of his beers I realized just how far the micro brewing has gone in the country and what level I need to go if I wasn't to be successful ... his beer were clean , flavorful and just darn fantastic.

After he spoke the allowed several brewer to have their beers tasted and get the Club member's reactions.  They had some that were kit brewers to others that seasoned brewers ... all were welcome.  Normally, I personally am not a IPA drinker I tasted a couple that were quite nice last night.  The climax for me was when a couple other brewer got me to showcase a couple of beers for the tasting too.  I poured Kick Ass Sassafras, Sweet Sharon and Moose Musk ... all received well and got some great feedback.

What a great bunch of future friends.