Beer Obits

On beer coolers and Sanitizer....

2009-07-13T20:11:00.001-07:00

So handy tip.... when you put your carboy into the fermenter and use water from your santizing cup on the air lock be prepared to see ALOT of bubbles...

I swear I thought the damn thing was rabid!

Also it turns out that 60 on my regulator is about the perfect temperature for fermenting beer.

Whoa...

2009-07-11T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm still brewing beer...

This is more of a informal post on what I've been up to with beer since the last time I posted.

I did a kit amber ale in January that came out really really really well and everybody who tried it really liked it. That would be the one where Curtis is kissing the carboy. So I don't know if the goodness resulted from my skills or Curtis's affections towards the beer, but for now lets say it's my skills.

So in the six months that I've been not brewing beer, my favorite beer store went belly up, so Homebrew Depot in Mesa Az is no longer. It's a sad day for me... good thing I live in the greater Phoenix area. A quick google search and BAM! new brew shop! Brewers Connection in Tempe AZ. Staff of 3, all very very knowledgeable and a book of beer recipes from customers! I'm going to be trying one of those next time around.

As far as this batch goes, it's another amber since that's a good base to work from. This time I'm going to be working on Clarifying the beer to see if I can get rid of that oh so lovely cloudiness that I haven't been able to get rid of.

And as has become something of a tradition I've put out a open invite to all who want to learn and I have a few takers once again. It's always fun to share the love.

How not to brew beer...

2009-03-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

Ever wondered what it takes to really foul up a batch of beer?

Yeah me too... well these guys have it figured out.

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Brew_Your_Own_Beer

If you follow these instructions you deserve what you get.

Batch #4 Straight Amber....

2009-01-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

OK after the last batch I've gone back to basics... Straight Amber Ale with Amber yeast nothing special in anyway shape or form...

Nothing special other then my assistant... who now seems to be infected with the bug for brewing.

See the picture at the top of the post for proof.

In your world....

2008-10-01T20:30:00.001-07:00

The homebrew is good...

Batch #3 has gotten WAAAAYYYY better with a month of aging... like much smoother and no bitter after taste.

We tapped that way to early

yes I've been drinking my beer.... yes I just made a "funny"

It's not often....

2008-08-31T14:25:00.000-07:00

that you finish a keg in a evening with friends....

While the beer was good the next day was rough...

a full review once I find my center and think really hard about it....

The mysteries of fermentation.....

2008-08-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

3 batches of beer and three different experiences in the fermentation department. I have to say I did not expect there to be this much variation in how the wort gets converted into beer via the yeast.

The first batch was a text book case of fermentation. Within 24 hours there was alot of CO2 being produced and the air lock went nuts for about three days. By day 10 it had been quiet for 48 hours and I transferred the beer.

Batch 2, wasn't as by the book it took 36 hours for fermentation to really set in. When it was done there wasn't nearly the yeast layer on the bottom as there was from the first batch.

This third batch has just been goofy... it was 20 hours when fermentation appeared to be in full effect. The air lock wasn't bubbling at all and the beer was quiet most of the week. The funny thing was the air lock never did anything. And then last night I checked on the beer and I noticed two things. 1.) it smelled like Banana's in beer fridge. 2.) The bubble layer on the top of the beer was now two different shades of cream instead of one. once I started to pay attention to things a little bit closer I noticed that the air lock was bubbling not constantly, but about once every 4 to 5 seconds.

The other thing that I have noticed is the consitentcy of the color of the beer has not changed in the course of the last week. I do not know if that is a normal part of brewing since this is the first batch that has not been done in a water bath. So for thoses of you paying attention it's basicaly the first batch that has not been fermented in a trash can.

Also of note is the fact I'm using a live yeast culture instead of the normal powdered stuff. So this may be a side effect of that or it may be more along the lines of the wort was to hot when I pitched the yeast and the survivors have finally made it to a critical mass of fermentation.

And since this post is truly useless with out pictures I now provide you with a photo gallery of the beer from the last week.

Sunday July 27th at about 13:00 (Brew+ 13 hours). Notice the patchiness of the yeast layer. On the top of the carboy.

Please tilt your neck to the right to see this picture in the proper orentation. July 27th at about 20:00 (brew + 21 hours) notice the dark brown spots and the loose consitency of the yeast layer. I have no clue what that means. Also you would expect the air lock to be doing something at this point, however there was no activity at all.

The smells like banana's stage. August 3rd 15:00 (Brew + 7days 14 hours). The ar lock going every 4 to 5 seconds. Noitce the light cream areas on the yeast layer. Those are new and have been shift all day.

Batch #3... Dead Rouge Honey Ale

2008-07-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

The Dead Rouge Ale kit is in the carboy and fermentation is under way. I did a adjunct of 7 or 8 ounces of Mesquite honey from Flagstaff. I added the hone in the last 10 minutes of the boil at the same time as the aroma hops.

I'm interested to see how the beer turns out, I didn't pull back on any of the malt or candy I don't think it will be a overly sweet beer. You never know with home brew though that's part of the joy.

Also brewing in the backyard worked much better then brewing in the garage, more space and less cleanup after a boil over.

15 days in the carboy, and then the keg.

Tapping happens on the first monday night football game of the season.

And before I forget....

2008-07-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

I did finally resolve my carbonation issues with my last batch of beer. I need to remember it's ok to super saturate it the beer for a couple of days not the whole time it's conditioning in the keg.

So good to know. Also good to note is that conditioning should take place under gentle pressure (like the first beer).

Ok that is all.

Aren't you glad you get to read all of this Eve?

A little bit of this and a little bit of that....

2008-07-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Went to the Homebrew depot today and picked up a new kit. It's a licensed kit from the Rouge brewery in Oregon. I also got a nice validation from the owner of Homebrew depot when we were talking about kits and what people have done with them.

Turns out that kits in Homebrew are much more forgiving then the cake and cookie mixes you get from Safeway (lets not talk about my experience with cake and cookie mixes). Actually it was just nice to chat with such a experienced person about brewing in general.

So tonight when the sun goes down I light up the 60,000 btu burner and do up a batch of beer. I'm starting a little early on the teach a friend to homebrew, hey you never know what will come out of it.

Oh and as for the project for the cooler... that is on hold for that moment since I can't seem to get my stuff together to try pull it off. It's not like I don't have a ton of free time :)

Summer Project...

2008-03-19T20:40:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking recently about what kind of projects I want to do when the weather gets to warm to really brew beer well.

Greg sent me a couple of emails with a idea and I think this just may be what I do.

http://www.oregonbrewcrew.com/freezer/freezer.html

As I look around the internet there are a few more like this one, but the basic concept is the same.

The freezer I have hooked up is only 7C.F. so that I means I will probally forgo the fermentation chamber. I should be able to fit 3 Corny kegs in my freezer if I put the CO2 on the outside.

Of course if I do it right I could also put half and pony kegs in there.... mmmmm Fat Tire on tap.

OK bad thoughts... this could be deadly.

Stay tuned this could be fun.

Carbination baby.... it's what makes beer go fizz

2008-02-02T18:54:00.000-08:00

So with the latest batch of beer I have run into a unexpected problem.... To much carbination! So much in fact that when I pull a glass I have a glass full of foam rather then a glass full of mostly beer and some foam.

It's a disturbing situation to say the least.

How does one remove over carb from a keg of beer? I haven't quite gotten that one figured out yet. Right now I'm trying the remove the CO2 tank from the keg and releasing the pressure method. I'm going to give it a few days and see what I come up with.

I did have a similar problem with the last batch, but it was resolved by simply dialing back the pressure on the keg. This time that is not working nor is the cold glass trick. I'm not espcially worried about it since I'm not above dumping home brew and starting over.

Which I'm seriously starting to think about.

Though on the bright side Curtis did declare the beer "passable" which I think means if it's the only thing to drink in the house I won't bitch. John also declared "if this was cold it would be perfect"

At least I know people like my kit home brew... just wait until I start screwing with them when I do my own recipies :)

Third Review... Shiner Bock Brown Ale

2008-01-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Shiner Brewery in Shiner Texas makes a full range of Ales (at least that is what they say on their website, www.shiner.com). Shiner Bock is one of the few brews that comes out of the third greatest state in the union (the first two being Arizona and Colorado) that is generally avalible here in Phoenix.

In general Shiner Bock is about how you would expect a Brown Ale to be. Full of flavor but not to much bite. It's got a bit of sweetness to it, not like a fat tire but more subtle. It also has a hint of a smokey flavor like a porter again is very subtle to find it. Overall all a way above average beer that has come from much farther away then fat tire or the flying dog (~800 --> 900 miles to the Denver Ft Collins are as opposed to ~1100 miles for Shiner TX Ok it's not that big of a diffrence but you get the idea)

Shiner loses points for having a twist off top.. I know it's from Texas and all but come on even a good Texan in a dry county has to have access to a bottle opener (the whole dry county concept is the only reason I can come up with as to why a micro brew would even consider such a device acceptable). Also shave off a few more points for the beer being better out of a bottle then a glass, at the very minimum it should be equally good out of both if not better in a glass.

A good beer, just not the first one I would reach for.

Ok lets talk about cleaning....

2008-01-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

So if you've done any reading at all on the whole home brew process you have surely run across more then a chapter or fifty about how important it is to clean and sanitize your equipment.

The good news, it's easy to do and doesn't require alot of heavy elbow work, the bad news. You have the most ungainly group of items ever devised by man to clean. Did I mention the nooks and crannies? No? Oh you have nooks and crannies too.

Case in point #1 the Keg... because bottling is so much worse then kegging. Now for those of you keeping score at home this is the same keg that I kept batch #1 in and the keg I planned on putting batch #2 in.

The stuff in the bottom? The normal sediment you get with home brewing since your not filitering your beer like the micro/macro brews you get this lovely sludge in the bottom. The good news it's mostly beer (barely) and fine particulate matter so it's easy to rinse out. The bad news... remember the bit about the nooks and crannies? Now look down on the bottom of the picture... see the tube thats where the beer comes out of the keg... You need to clean that too.

I can already hear you crying with joy now.

It's not as bad as you think... the thing actually screws out first off and then you can get a special brush to clean the inside. If you goto morebeer.com it's called a line brush if you talk to the guys at homebrewdepot here in Mesa it's a "dip tube brush". So cleaning the keg isn't that bad at all and once you've got it disassembled it's really easy to clean. I think I may get a toliet brush (a new one you sicko) to clean the keg after the next batch clears out. Since all I really did this time was rinse it with water and gave the keg a once over with my carboy brush.

I am probably going to look for a deep socket set since the connectors on the top of the keg are hexagonal in shape and a socket wrench will fit around them. Lets just say it's a little unnerving pressurizing your tank to 25psi after hand tightening everything.

Of course if things had gone south on me I would have the start of a very nice sky light in my kitchen.

Batch #2 and other thoughts....

2008-01-07T20:42:00.000-08:00

I kegged Batch #2 this evening... I don't know how the fermentation took... there was about .25 of a inch of yeast on the bottom of the carboy.... I don't know if this is because of the yeast I used or the beer. The last batch had almost 2 inches of yeast.

I also planned on posting more photos and cleaning guide.. I think that is going to wait until tommrow night.

Batch #2 - A fine Scotch Ale

2007-12-31T11:39:00.000-08:00

OK so I wandered down to the homebrew store down the street and picked up another kit... this time it's a scotch ale. This should be intersting since the closesest thing I've ever had to a scotch ale is a irish ale.

And in a very uncharacteristic turn I am almost totally ignoring the instructions that came with said kit and doing the entire thing as I've been taught... it's either going to be a mess or it's going to be ok.

And I just realized that I'm supposed to let the water get to 180 before I put the grains in... Oh well

Can't drill the bottom...

2007-12-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

OK so I planned on this post being all about how I got a freezer hooked up a thermo regulator, drilled a few holes and bam! Had a insta kegarator, well my plans got foiled in a few resepects.

I had planned on going through the compressor compartment... which was to tight for a drill bit and I couldn't gurantee that I wouldn't hit the compressor and not break something when I broke through. And on top of that how do you explain to lowes the 4 or 5 holes in a freezer when you bring it back?

Exactly....

So for the time being in true do it yourself fashion, I've duct taped the thermo lead to the inside of the freezer and put the CO2 tank and keg in there.

When I actually get around to doing holes I will take pictures...

Results of Batch #1 of Obispo Brewery...

2007-12-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Kegging is done and the beer has been under CO2 pressure for 4 days. While it still needs to be under pressure for another 7 days before it's really done the beer is finally at a point that it's either going to be good or it's not.

But before we get to that point I wanted to talk briefly about kegging. The soda keg for the beer is one of the better decisions I made for this entire process. Aside from not having to screw with 48 some odd bottles and caps I also don't have to screw with a secondary fermentation vessel or additional adjuncts to my beer. As you can see in my picture I'm currently keeping my whole keg setup in a fridge.... this is a less then ideal setup since I lose my fridge for storing food (kind of a issue for me) and the cold humidity is screwing with the regulator... That part is what is causing more pain and misery then anything else right now. So for the weekend I will keep the beer in the fridge but will be purchasing a small freezer and doing some work on it to make it more suitable for beer kegs. More on that once I actually do it.

Now for the part that you have been waiting for... Results of the first beer tasting.

IT'S GOOD!!

The biggest concerns were spoilage because I for got to clean something or something was not quite right.... I'm happy to say that I had no problems in that department and have good beer!

Overall the beer is defintly a ale, a touch hoppier then what I'm used to in Ales, but no where near the level of a traditional IPA. The alcohol content is also a bit on the heavy side as I had a single 16oz serving and was feeling a little to good. A empty stomach may also have had something to do with that. Overall I'm very pleased with the results of this first batch.

In the next series of entries I show I get my fridge back and begin prep for my next batch.

Until next time kiddies.

Obispo Brewery batch #1

2007-11-18T14:34:00.000-08:00

First brew is in the Carboy and fermenting... turns out on my dry run I had closer to 4 gallons of water and not the 5 I had estimated to begin with.

All told it was 3.5 hours to from start to finish (finish being the carboy in a water bath).

At this point the only thing I'm worried about is the carboy water bath. The bath has been holding steady at ~78F unless I add ice to the bath then it drops to ~70F which is good. This particular ale doesn't like to ferment above 80F. The plan for the moment is to let the wort/beer ferment until Monday night and then transfer to a keg. I don't need to do a secondary fermentation since I'm going to be using a keg to infuse the CO2, however I still do question that particular move.

More on the kegging and CO2 process when I actually do it. Which reminds me I need to find a industrial gas supply company and get my CO2 tank either filled or swapped.

Pictures are up on Flickr... blogspot is to much of a pain in the ass to load pictures.

A "Dry" run...

2007-11-03T12:26:00.000-07:00

Doing a first "dry" run on the beer kit.... making sure that I have all the stuff that I need logistics that kind of thing.

Things to note...

Propane burners are loud and hot... should probally brew on back porch when time comes not garage unless it is a windy day.

20 minutes to bring ~8 gallons of water to 200F so around 15minutes for 6 gallons to 180F

Propane control knob has a small play region after 2 turns it's wide open.

Need to find a better thermometer... this one floating way low in the pot is not a good idea.

Oven mits are a really good idea all around

Ball valve on the pot is holding... small leakage only from the end.

Sink, test, and tighten chiller before starting boil...

7 minutes to 150F with 8 gallons of water.

May need to spray out side of kettle to help get water temp down. Need to get second hose.

Small Miracles...

2007-10-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I've finally purchased all of the pieces parts to start brewing... Never saw that one coming did you? ;)

Expect to see continued nothingness for a while until I get rolling which probally won't be until the end of the month.

The Second Review... Tire Bite Golden Ale

2007-08-12T19:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.flyingdogales.com/beer-tire-bite.asp

A lighter beer with a nice touch of hoppiness, no where near a IPA level of hoppiness. Enough to let you know that your not drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors

Very comparable to a Sam Adams Light.

Can be found in Phoenix at Bevmo and various grocery stores.

Time to serious... ish...

2007-07-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

OK finally time to get serious with this whole home brewing thing. Just the inital research is a bit intimidating. And when I say intimidating I mean there are a million and one ways to screw everything up and not know that you've done something wrong until it is far to late.

So I present to you now two resources that I have up to this point found exceedingly helpful in doing this whole home brew thing

-- Home Brewing For Dummies. It's a bit old but brewing isn't exactly something that changes every other week. A good general resource and how to.

-- Morebeer.com. Website a couple of quick how to video's and a FAQ section that really helps in some spots. Other spots it's a bit thin. The biggest thing with this is it lets you see what your working with so you can plan accordingly. Of course going to your local brewer supply store would achieve the same effect.

My other resource is Greg at work... and well he doesn't have a website and I'm not going to post his email so you need to go find your own brew geek.

One of these days....

2007-06-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I'm actually going to write in this damn blog more then 2 times a year!

I'm on the research hunt for home brew right now... probably will start doing the first honest to god batch in the late summer.

It's not going to be anything fancy that is for damn sure. Though this does bring up a good point... how fancy should one get?

I can get the super deluxe starter package with Keg and all or do I go more basic? The good news is that if I decide that I don't like home brewing I'm out $100 after I get done selling the pieces parts on eBay.

Deep pieces of food for thought...

The first review... Fat Tire Amber Ale

2007-02-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

Brewery: New Belgium Fort Collins Colorado

Type: Ale

From the Website: "Fat Tire’s depth of flavor, achieved with neither a disproportionate sway toward hops or malts, tandems well with a full spectrum of today’s engaging cuisines. Salmon, dry-aged cheeses, roasted chilies, omelets at midnight, sweet potato French fries and just about anything with grill marks or garlic are just a few of the edibles we like to partner up with our Amber Ale."

My Take: Fat Tire is one of my favorite beers. I'm starting with this beer since I know it better then I know most any other beer. It's a Belgium Style influenced Ale, but it lacks the bite of other Belgian style ales. To someone who is not used to drinking Fat Tire they would probably be struck at how strong the flavor truly is.

Whoops... Looks like I kinda forgot...

2007-02-08T19:30:00.000-08:00

Whoa... Looks like someone kind of forgot they started a beer brewing blog.

I still want to chronicle my home brewing "experiences" but, I haven't really had a chance to try it out and honestly I've been focused on other things.

I have been having a hankering to write about beer though. I don't know why I just do. So while I'm waiting to bring myself out of my self induced beer brewing funk. I will share with you the reader the beers that I love here in the desert's of Arizona.

Everything from large Macro brews (Coors, Bud, Miller) to local craft brews (Oak Creek, Four Peaks, Cavecreek).

Honestly this is just a excuse for me to go out and buy every beer I can and report back on it.

Knowing is.....

2006-11-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

GI Joe would say knowing is half the battle...

My research for home brewing is proving that knowing isn't even the start of the battle

I'm have a pretty good idea of what I want to do. In the overall scheme of things.

Kegging looks to be vastly more efficient over bottling in both ease and getting things carbonated. The biggest turn off to home brewing since I became interested has been cleaning all of those damned bottles.

The down side to kegging is it's a much higher upfront cost and I truly look at home brewing as something of a capital investment. If I do three or four batches a year at five gallons a batch that is just a bit more then four 12 packs of beer. So three or 4 batches over the course of the year would be about right for me.

The other thing with beer brewing is that unless you flat break something you can pretty much use it for freaking ever. They may come out with some new fancy thing but it won't help you do your job any better.

I guess the other question is how many kegs do I buy up front?

All good things

2006-11-06T21:06:00.000-08:00

All good things start someplace... this good thing starts here.

So if your a regular reader of my normal drivel you know that I have two loves in life. Beer and Linux.

I've always been interested in one way or another with home brewing and finally got a true lesson in it's "mysterious" ways not long ago. It was enough to push me over the edge and actually try it out.

With the research I've done so far I'm finding A LOT similarities between home brewing and the same kind of learning curve I faced with Linux. Lots of info all over the place you just have sort it all out and figure out what works best for you.

So with that I christen this blog "Beer Obits" get it... it's a "Beer Obituary" OK maybe that is just me and my humor talking there.

I'm sure I will update this blog every so often but not nearly as often as my other one.

Stay tuned I'm sure many bad batches of beer will ensue.