In the Mornin, I’m makin waffles…

So it would seem that July is definitely not my month for beer related activities.  On Sunday, the plan was to bottle the Lavender Mash, keg the Belgian Double, and brew the Koelsch (I just noticed recently that there is an E in there … mind you I can never spell anything anyway).  Despite my Sunday obstacles, I did manage to bottle.  Of course, I used up my entire stock of bottle caps so all I could bottle was the Lavender. 

Earlier in the day my wife had managed to slam her thumb while folding up our ladder.  Sure it was sore but she was taking pain pills.  Well that is until around 8pm when we figured that we should head to the hospital when she still couldn’t bend it.  Luckily, they could not find a break but by the time we got home, it was past time to brew.  I will now be brewing on Wednesday this week.  I will also finally keg the Belgian then too. 

Patti (she who provided the lavender) got her 6 pack last night.  She was quite pleased with the finished product.  Really in the end it was a decent beer (not my beer, but still).  The lavender is incredibly dominant but there is a nice herbal, spicy hop note that creeps into the background. 

Up and Running

I was finally able to pick up a new CO2 tank earlier today.  The best part of this, was being able to get a first sample of the fully carbed Dirty Rotten Scoundrel. 

DRS turns out to be quite tasty.  The pepper comes across as a taste enhancer more than something that stands out.  I do believe that the next time I brew this I may up the dose of pepper to see how much it changes the flavor profile.  In the end though, the malt profile comes across as caramel and rich.  There is a light floral, and spicy hop note, but in the end it is a good union of hops and malt to form a very drinkable beer. 

Tomorrow I will be brewing up the Kolsch (though still not entirely certain how I will end up hopping it).  I will also be bottling the Lavender Mash. 

Coming up I will be working on building the platform for the second kegerator.  I will also be kegging the Belgian. 

Alas, it is now time for a pint … perchance a DRS calls me at this time.

Music and brewing…

This seems to be a common theme with me.  For someone who isn’t really musically inclined (ya, I used to play the tuba over 25 years ago and I tried learning the harmonica, don’t forget singing off key), I tend to relate much of my life to music. 

I was watching Spectacle, a show hosted by Elvis Costello from the Sundance channel (I so love Netflix).  The episode I was watching was the interview with Lou Reed.  Sadly, I think many will have no clue who he is anymore.  Lou Reed was in a band called the Velvet Underground quite some time ago.  This is a band that is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  You can feel their influence even now in much of the music we all listen too (though you may not realize it).  But I digress…

Watching this interview I drew correlations to beer and my life (surprise surprise).  When you look at much of Lou Reeds solo work its very simple and straight forward (and usually pretty dark).  Imagine where we would be without the song “Walk on the Wild Side.”  Think about the last really great beer you had.  Not the one that was gimmicky, but the one that really blew your mind and made you think about what it was you had in your hand.  I am willing to bet it was a classically styled beer that was both simple and complex at the same time.  There was just something about that beer that really made you stop and think. 

So often we run across breweries that are trying all sorts of trickery (funky ingredients or obscene amounts of some ingredient) to try and stand out from everyone else.  It’s a case of hipsterism. Yes you are different, just like everybody else.  Give me a brewer/brewery that is willing to push the envelope in creating something that is perfectly executed with no gimmicks or trickery, and you will see a brewery that is truly unique and cutting edge. 

I am not sure if I stayed on point there, but what ever… Its time for a pint…

And here we go…

July has been an interesting month.  As of late I have been away too long, only able to post about once a week.  But soon it should all be changing. 

So (this is only slightly beer and brewery related) within the past two weeks my bike has been out of commission (no brakes) and my car is now at the shop.  This means no runs to anywhere beer related as its been enough of a hassle just to get everyone here back and forth to work and such. 

I am running low on CO2 so I am not yet able to bottle (no way to get a new tank currently).  And I have been doing routine maintenance to make sure I get quality brews (new primary and of course need more propane soon).  But the good news, I finally got the brakes done on the bike so I will be brewing this weekend. 

I am planning either a kolsch or a pilsner.  Most likely it will be a kolsch, ready in time for Indian summer in September and October. 

Time for a pint…

Interesting Reading

I just ran across this article.  It would seem that the shut down of the government is going to force the state of Minnesota to become dry.  Not only will Miller-Coors have to pull from the state but it would seem that retailers are also unable to renew their licenses. 

In this time when craft beer and alcohol in general seems to flow so freely, we tend to forget how much control the government really has over this industry.  Sadly for Minnesota, they can’t even get lobbyists to fight for them currently. 

Makes ya wonder, how long before there might be a strong moon shine business in Minnesota?  

Bottling

Considering how odd the past week has been, its amazing that I have gotten anything done.  I finally managed to bottle the Tequila Sunset.  Of course, I only did that because I needed to get Dirty Rotten Scoundrel into a keg and carbonating.  I now have roughly a case and a half of Tequila Sunset in storage.  I am debating on whether or not I will bottle the ESB.  Its been one that I am enjoying on draft so much that I might just savor it for a while. 

In the next few days I will need to check on the Lavender Mash.  It should be ready to bottle, if not now then very soon.  And I do intend to bottle that entire batch.  Which makes me think … I need to pick up more bottles again soon.

Kegging the Dirty Rotten Scoundrel, I was able to get a preliminary taste in.  Oh ya, I like it.  I am very anxious to see the finished version.  Currently, the pepper notes are present but not over powering. 

All of this reminds me that I really need to do the build out on the second kegerator.  Next week I will need to scramble again so that I can get the Belgian kegged and carbing. 

Well, its time for a pint…

Back to work…

The holiday is over and now its time to buckle down and get back to work again.  I am sitting in planning stages of what directions I want to move in currently.  As always there are so many beers I want to brew but not enough time to brew them all.  I have been considering attempting a Berliner style wheat.  But I also feel like I am in need of a good Kolsch or Pilsner again.  The weather is getting nothing but hotter right now and something light, drinkable, and refreshing would be perfect while sitting out watching the water splash around in the pool.

I just finished transferring the Belgian double (still annoyed I didn’t quite get a triple out of it).  So far it seems a bit interesting (yep all beers are a bit interesting till you make up your mind about em).  I am going to give it a week of lagering to mellow out the flavors a bit.  I still find being able to lager any beer for any length of time a boon to controlling the aging process of my beers. 

With that said, there is still more to come.  But for now, its time for a pint…

The life of beer

As many of us already know, good beer and good wine are living things.  Many times I like to savor the changes a beer goes through as it ages, especially the changes of my own beers. 

I noticed recently that I still had a 12 pack left of Autumn’s wheat.  In the spirit of needing to empty bottles (I am sure I need them for something), I have been making an effort to finish off the last of it.  In this process I noticed some interesting affects to the beer as it has aged.  The beer has gone from a citrusy pale ale wheat to now something a bit more akin to a Belgian Style wheat.  I pick up a bit more clove like flavors and banana and even a bit of candied orange.  Of course the hoppy is still there but now almost as an after thought. 

Maybe we should think on this as we do some side by side comparisons.  Or maybe its just time for a pint.