Update 4-14-2012

I know.  I am quite inept at continuous updates to this blog… but I try.  Honestly.  For starters, I have updated my “What’s On Tap” page.  Secondly, I’ve added a picture of my completed brewstand to the Photos page (a full album of the build can be found at the link a few posts back).  And thirdly, I’m here to update you!

Ok, well, the last update was back in November after Black Betty (Bam-ba-lam).  She was a great beer.  I did send it off to a competition, but the judges said it wasn’t hoppy enough.  I disagree and thought it had a nice balance, but, such is the way.  Anyway, that beer has long since been tapped out.

Back in December I brewed my famous Pumpkin Ale.  Not the BCS one I did last year, but the good recipe from 2009 & 2010.  The one where I actually cut up and roast pumpkin to add to the beer.  It turned out great, although I brewed it late and still had the majority of a keg left after the holiday season had passed (and by then, who’s really in the mood for pumpkin beer?).

Ok, then I brewed the Tallow mead with my homebrew club in January.  February I made a “dark steam ale” which was an experimental recipe to make a black steam ale, but it didn’t turn out well.  Then I brewed an imperial chocolate coffee oatmeal stout… which turned out just phenomenal (more on that later).   Then recently I’ve brewed my American Pale Ale and just last week brewed a black IPA.

So that’s the update.  I’m going to call this post a win and start a new one to talk about individual beers.

 

Cheers!

Update: 11-22-2011

Greetings all ye who happened to stumble upon this site.  Even you, guy who was just trying to Google pictures of parched fowl and somehow landed here…

A lot has happened since my last update, so I feel obliged to tie up some loose ends.  First of all, the Black Betty turned out fan-damn-tastic!  The malt had a good subtle roast note and was complex enough to keep my attention and then… BLAM… hops.  I just kicked this keg the other day.  For my first foray into the Black IPA series, I think it went well.  I did enter it in the Bluebonnet Brew Off, where it got good scores, but didn’t win any awards.  Judges said they thought it needed more hop presence.  I disagree.  I like it just the way it is.

After that, myself and a friend of mine who is a fellow homebrewer and CIA club member, Caleb, decided to team up and brew a couple beers for the Dixie Cup.  We had aspirations of winning team awards, but it was not meant to be.

In total we brewed:

Once You Go Schwarz, You Never Go Pils – Schwarzbier:  Caleb and I love this beer, but the judges did not.  That was a dissapointment.  I think it averaged a 28.

Why The Helles Not? – Munich Helles:  Judges liked this one, and it made it to the second round… but no medal.  Averaged 36, I believe.

Alt’erior Motives – Dusseldorf Alt:  We brewed this one to play the odds (least entered beer style last year).  It also fared poorly.  Averaged 26, I think.

Uncle Pliny Touched Me – Imperial IPA:  A Pliny clone.  Surprisingly, the judges thought it was too hoppy… averaged 32, if I remember.

All in all, it was fun to brew some different styles and brewing with 2 people tends to make brewing easier (especially bottling day).  We split what was left after the entries were in and I’m just about tapped out of everything.  So… time to get back to brewin’!

Last week I brewed my Holiday Pumpkin Ale.  I’ll dedicate my next blog post to that one as I feel this post has gone on long enough.  I’d like to brew on Friday (off for Thanksgiving) but can’t decide on what to brew.  I’m kinda feeling like something with chocolate in it.  Or, Bugeater’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Amber.

Stay tuned for updates…

 

 

Tasty’s Amber Update

Last Friday I transferred my batch of Tasty’s Amber to a secondary/bright tank and added the 2 oz. of Centennial dry hops.

Gravity was looking good, down to around 1.010-12. Right where I wanted it.

As for the taste… not too bad at all! I was a little concerned about the hops in this one. There was no 60 minute hop addition, so all the bitterness had to come from flavor/aroma hops. The IBU’s were only in the twenties… which I wasn’t sure about for an American Amber. But, all in all, the bitterness was just perfect!

I’m excited to sample the aroma after kegging. I’ve never dry hopped with 2 ounces before (and especially not with hops as pungent as Centennial) so I’m curious about the hop aroma and what that will add to perceived bitterness.

It’s getting kegged on Saturday (5/29) so it should be ready to drink by next weekend! Cheers!

Frontier Fiesta Beer – Success!

Another year of Frontier Fiesta is in the books… thank God.

So, as luck would have it, my Frontier Fiesta Amber actually turned out really nice!  I guess it just needed a week to let the flavors meld a bit.  I’ll bet that after a week or two more it would have been even better, but this beer was born for a purpose… and it’s purpose was served.

Originally I thought the beer was thin and watery… but, once again, I have to remind myself that you can’t judge a beer immediately after fermentation!  It was a very nice smooth drinking beer.  Aroma was fairly neutral with some sweetness.  Visually, the beer was a murky amber orange color.  I think the yeast I used didn’t flocculate out very well, but whereas it was murky, I think the suspended yeast gave it a hint of character and mouthfeel.

As for the taste… I thought it was a fine beer.  Very unassuming and very crowd pleasing.  There wasn’t any residual sweetness (great for a beer you are drinking during a warm day at a BBQ cookoff) and the hops were just enough to keep the beer in balance, but not come through on the flavor too much.  There was a small hop bitterness lingering on the back of the tounge in the aftertaste that one person said was reminiscent of lime.

All in all, the beer was just what I wanted it to be.  A very easy drinking, well balanced crowd pleasing beer that you could enjoy multiple pints of.  I didn’t want to shock anyone with hops or blow their minds with caramel/toffee flavors.

Everyone who drank it (except the one guy who made the comment about the lime flavor) really enjoyed it!  Looks like I may keep that recipe on hand for future Frontier Fiestas!

Update – 2/8/10

Had a big day yesterday… I had 2 beers sitting in secondary, ready to be kegged… just needed an open tap in the kegerator.

Well, the Oatmeal Stout finally kicked (last pint was bottled to send to my cousin for a homebrew exchange), so that freed up a tap!  So yesterday I transferred both beers to keg and went ahead and put one of them on tap.

So… here’s where I stand with what’s on tap:

1) Dubbel Duck – Belgian Dubbel Ale
2) Duck Pond Brown – Brown Ale
3) MallardSteam – Steam Beer
4) Spiced Amber Ale

The “Spiced Amber” is actually my holiday pumpkin beer… but, due to the funky off flavor it got during fermentation, it tastes more like a spiced amber ale than a pumpkin beer… so I’m calling it that.

On deck I have a keg of Darkwing Duck – Dark Ale.  Just a nice little extract beer I made for fun.  (See previous blog posts for more info).

Seeing as how the other kegs on tap are fairly full, I’m not sure when Darkwing will get on tap.  Need help draining the reserves… any takers?

Wort’s Happening With Thirsty Mallard

Wort’s happening… see what I did there?!  See!?  Because “worts” sounds kinda like “what’s”!  So original…

Ok… so the Steam Beer is in the secondary.  Actually, it needs to get into the kegerator, I’ve just been too busy to move it.  But that’s alright… a little aging won’t hurt it.  Upon transferring to secondary I gave it a taste and it was pretty damn good!  I’m really looking forward to having this beer on tap.  I’m considering filtering it… but I think, in true Steam Beer tradition, I won’t.

I’ve been mulling over names for the beer.  I like MallardSteam and Old Prospector.  I’d like to make the name/label to have a connection to the California Gold Rush of 1849 since that’s the origin of steam beer. 

I also brewed another beer… something nostalgic.  Check my next blog post for that update. 

Alright… so as for inventory… right now on tap I’ve got Dubbel Duck (Belgian Dubbel), Duck Pond Brown Ale, Thirsty Mallard Oatmeal Stout and technically the spiced holiday ale with the funky off flavor is on tap, but probably won’t be for long.

The Oatmeal Stout is a few pints from kicking.  I’m going to try to bottle what’s left for competition (Bluebonnet Brew Off) to free up space for the Steam Beer. 

So that’s wort’s happening!  (HA!)

Holiday Spiced Ale Update

As I mentioned in my previous post… something is wrong with my beers.  I’ve changed alot of variables and I think I’ve found the culprit… but in the tangle… I lost some good beers.

The Holiday Spiced Ale has fallen in those ranks.

Last year this beer was a delight!  It was smooth and delicious and tasted like drinking a pumpkin pie beer!  This year… well… this year it tastes like a spiced hot mess.

On the plus side, it’s the same off flavor I’ve had in most of my recent beers, so I know there is a consistent problem… I just have to find it.

In the meantime, I’m letting the Holiday Spiced Ale age for a while in hopes that it will become drinkable… but I’ve got low hopes.  Looks like a batch I’ll be giving to the dead homies.

Bah humbug!

Brown Ale Update

Yesterday I checked my gravity on the Brown Ale.  It was sitting at about 1.012, which is about where I want it.  I gave it a little taste, too.  Tastes fairly good, but seems thin.

I had to remind myself that the beer isn’t even two weeks old yet… so don’t get discouraged!  On the plus side, I didn’t taste any infections or major flavor flaws.  I think after a month of sitting and letting the flavors meld and condition, this beer will turn out just fine.

Dubbel Duck – Update

Saturday I transferred Dubble Duck from a secondary to keg.  While transferring I gave it a little taste…

The overly spicy, yeasty flavors are gone now, which is good.  It was quite overpowering to start.  Unfortunately, the yeast I used seems to be the type that has a real earthy, dirt like flavor.  Not a flaw, just a particular flavor that you get in some Belgians.

I don’t like it.

Right now it tastes like drinking moss.

I”m hoping the carbonation helps and that some more time will help meld in some other flavors.  It’s a good beer, for a Belgian, just not to my tastes.  We’ll see how it turns out.  Should be ready to drink in November.

Beer & Brewing Update

Well faithful readers (HA!), I know the blog has been sparse lately.  Shame on me.  I guess you could call this my “beer off-season”. 

With my triathlon training (visit my tri blog at: www.jeffthetriathlete.wordpress.com) I have been limiting my drinking to weekends only (usually).  Combine that with the fact that I just moved and am getting my new house set up for the last few months, which means I haven’t brewed or bought much good beer (no beer fridge yet).

But, alas… I must update, at least a little.

Ok, so let’s see… the only homebrew I have right now is some Oatmeal Stout left over from February… but it’s close to gone.  I’ll be hosting a brew-in with my homebrew club, the Cane Island Alers, next weekend.  I’ll be making a Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  I may make a quick extract hefe, too… just to try and replenish the supplies, but we’ll see…

Aside from that… not much else to report.  See why I haven’t blogged recently!

Hopefully, now that the move is over and triathlon season is coming to an end, I can get back on track…