Epic Fail : (

It's been two weeks since my first batch of IPA went downstairs to ferment, and a lot has happened.... well, a lot of waiting and drinking beer anyway.  Last Thursday night Christian and I went to happy hour with another associate from work.  We started out at Fratello's, and had three rounds of their Scottish Ale to get started.  Feeling a buzz, and not wanting a good time to come to an end, we moved to Chadwicks on College Ave.  First, I'll admit Christian likes this bar a lot more than I do, but he discovered something that changed that;  Upland Brewing Komodo DragonFly Black IPA.  Apparently it's named after a mysterious flying dinosaur reported to have attacked a man in the area of Lake Monroe near Bloomington Indiana.  This beer really threw me!  It's pitch black like a stout or porter, but hoppy as any IPA.  It's 6.5 ABV and 65.5 IBU was malty, and had plenty of snap for this hop-head.  It tasted really good, and upstaged the Scottish Ale in my opinion.  I had to go back for a few more sample pints, which left me a little worse for wear at work on Friday.  This brings us to Friday night, TK brought 2 more growlers of Central Waters in to work.  I was not feeling the greatest, but I was not about to refuse.  One was a their Satin Solstice Stout, and the other was Happy Heron Pale Ale.  I say "was" because Christian, Nick, and I polished it off.  Not bad for coming off a hangover.  

Tonight has been two weeks since my first stab at brew went into the fermentation vessel, and it's time to bottle the beer.  I've been very excited for tonight to arrive, but my enthusiasm has thinned like a glass of Budweiser Select 55 full of ice cubes in the sun : (  Bleh, that description made me heave a little.  This step was not easy!  I'd practiced siphoning over the weekend, and I was glad that I did.  I thought I had it down pat, and was ready. 

At first glance it looks about right.  It's the color of beer, with a thick layer of trub at the bottom.  Everything was sanitized, and I mean everything.  I heated and dissolved some honey in water, and filled the tubing with sanitizer.  I had a few problems siphoning.  If that 2 foot long piece of tubing wasn't completely full of sanitizer from the start, it wasn't going to provide a continuous flow.  It took me a couple of attempts.  The real key is to not allow the sanitizer to flow down the raking cane into the beer, which would ruin everything.  I've decided that I'm going to deviate from the instructions a little next time around... if there is a next time.  Rather than transfer the beer via siphon to a pot with diluted honey, and transferring it from there to the bottles, I'd rather pour a little dissolved honey in each bottle, and transfer the beer directly.  Why?  The kitchen pots I used were not ideal for the raking cane.  I had so much trouble keeping it in the pot due to the angle it was at.  Also, I think it makes more sense because the honey is going to be metabolized by the yeast to add more alcohol, and also add a fizz of CO2 when you open the bottle.  Why not make sure equal amounts of that solution make it into each bottle?  Honestly, tonight really made me question the process of bottling altogether.  I think TK was right about using a corny keg, CO2 tank, and a keg-o-rator  from the beginning.  TK is wise.  Another conversation he and I had today was regarding the quality of water used for brewing.  He suggested using spring artesian well water rather than PUR charcoal filtered city water.  It's makes sense.  City water is treated with chemicals that might not lend to brewing.  This is something I'll keep in mind next time. 

Epilogue:
Tonight was frustrating.  Home brewing is not an economical way of filling your fridge with brew.  You have to enjoy making it, and experimenting with the recipe.  If two weeks from now I don't open the first bottle and taste an IPA as good as or better than anything I've tried in the past month, I'll be considering changing the title of this blog to "The rise and fall of home brewing".  Due to evaporation during the mash, I have less beer than I believed I'd end up with.  I think I have an hour of work stuck into each bottle I've produced; not to mention all of the weeks of waiting.  I can purchase a six pack of Central Waters for what $9.  I'm saddened that this is where my mind is at, but it's the truth.  Tonight's blog beer has been New Glarus Moon Man.    

Beer of the week : Central Waters Illumination Double IPA

As an unexpected treat TK, one of our coworkers brought in a growler of Illumination double IPA to sample.  Happy Monday : )  What is a double IPA?  It's a strong, very hoppy pale ale.  These beers have higher amounts of malt and hops. They typically have a higher ABV (alcohol by volume) and much higher IBU (international unit).  Apparently there are also Triple IPA's brewed with 100% more malt and 200% more hops than a normal IPA.  This is a style of beer that hasn't been around for very long, and is one of the fastest growing styles in the craft beer industry.

This particular beer is 9% ABV, and after eating only a light lunch at work it didn't take more than a pint glass to feel a good buzz.  Two, and I would recommend calling a ride.  Christian's first comment was how there was less bitter aftertaste than expected.  I would agree, except I might not be the best judge being that my taste buds prefer a hoppier beer that's somewhat on the bitter side.  Partial as I am to a normal IPA, I thought Illuminated had a fantastic flavor with lots of snap.  Apparently Central Waters only make Illumination in a very limited batch in March, and I believe TK told me it might not be coming back any time soon.  I hope that is not the case : (  Thanks TK. This beer was way too much up my alley.  I'm going to have to try something a little more exotic next week.

Waiting is the hardest part

48 hours later

It's Friday; I just went downstairs to take a peek.  The beer is bubbling.  I can see why the blow-off tube is needed; the fermentation vessel might explode otherwise.  Thinking ahead to the next batch, I decided to pick up a few things: a gallon pitcher with quart measurements, a spray bottle to fill with sanitizer/water solution, some additional beer for the empty bottles ; )  I stopped at Homebrew Market in Appleton tonight.  They sell the corny keg/ CO2 equipment TK was telling us about at work last week.  I'm sure it is the way to go, but we're just testing the waters at this point.  I haven't even finished my first batch yet.  I bought some more sanitzer LD Carlson Easy Clean, which is sodium percarbonate, sort of like OxyClean.  It mixes a tbsp to one gallon of water, and doesn't require rinsing afterward.  They were all out of bottle brushes; I'll check back next week.

I've been thinking about what to do with this blog.  Christian and I both wanted a way to keep notes on our experiments with beer, for ourselves to glance back, and to share.  I would also like to use it to talk about all things beer while waiting for the batches to ferment. I've also decided on one rule for myself.  Rule #1:  I will only write on this blog while drinking beer.

How did this come about?  Years of field research, and countless after-work happy hours.  A few months ago I started reading "A History of the World in 6 Glasses" by Tom Standage.  It tells the story of beer and other globally-distributed beverages and how they have influenced the course of history.  Did you know the oldest recipe known to exist is for beer?  It was most likely discovered accidentally as people tried to store food.  Sumerian pictograms dating back to 4000 BC depict figures drinking beer from a large pottery vessel through straws; ancient beer had chaff and grains floating on the surface, so straws were necessary.  In 2500 BC when the pyramids were being constructed every man, woman, and child, laborer and pharaoh in ancient Egypt was given a ration of beer.  It was an interesting read. Beer has definitely shaped my life, and influenced my decisions - both good and bad : ). Christian discovered the SBES; a more-or-less secret society of beer worshiping individuals who meet at different locations on a monthly basis to commune and quench their mutual thirst.  I guess after that, this was just the natural progression.

I made a list of my favorite beers, and it occurs to me that half of them are IPA's.  Some are not available locally, and it's rare to find any of them in bottles at most area pubs, let alone on tap, and that's where Pabst comes in.  I discovered Shine On a few months ago, and it's a different taste for me.  It has a distinct fruit/citrus flavor.  I think it's also become a fast favorite because proceeds from this Central Waters beer go toward funding sustainable energy. I need to broaden my beer drinking horizons.  I'd like to try a new beer once a week, and comment about it on the blog.

Working on the first batch!

The Mash
I read over the instructions a few times and watched the video a few more.  The included parts and stopper look different from the video, and the printed instructions don't provide the best visual for assembling the parts.  I think I have it figured out.  The parts are sanitized in the sink.  The sanitizer is the C-brite pack, which should be rinsed off with water after soaking.  I did this in advance, and let them air dry over the next couple of hours.  I opened up the first Ranger, and took a sip ; )  Electric range is probably not the best for this, although I think it could be difficult to hold the temperature to the 144-152 degree Fahrenheit range on gas as well.   Mashing was easy enough, athough I stepped out of range with the temp a few times. Time for a Ranger.

The Sparge
This part was a little crazy.  My advice: save yourself a headache, and pick up another pot large enough to hold a gallon and a half of liquid.  Two isn't enough at the point where you're holding mash at 170 degrees, heating water (4 quarts of it!) up to the same temp, and need a third pot to make your lauter tun.  Larger pots would help after adding the additional water passed through the grain mash; I had to pick up the strainer to stop it from overflowing!  Time for another Ranger.

The Boil
This part went pretty smoothly.  I was cautious about letting it turn into anything above a low boil, as I was worried about my pot overflowing, or burning off the sugars that with the help of the yeast later become alcohol.  That's my worst fear in all this; what if my beer is less than 6.8% : (  The hops smell delicious, especially the Columbus hops!  The oven timer is a must to time the adding of hops 6 times over the course of the hour long low boil.  Time for another Ranger, and almost time to cool down and start fermentation.

Fermentation
The ice bath begins.  I'm not sure if I should be sanitizing the thermometer after using it for the grain mash and water earlier?  I just rinsed it in the sink.  The brew pot needs to drop to 70 degrees.  I used a cooler of slush snow from outside (great idea Christian!) and cold water.  It took about 10-15 minutes.  At this point the instructions recommend that you strain the wort one more time to add oxygen to the yeast, and to remove any remaining grain/hop crud that might be in there.  I strained it into a clean pot.  Then I made an error.  I placed the funnel in the top of the glass fermenter, and tried to pour directly from the pot.  I failed!  and spilled probably half a pint on my shoes before it occurs to me that the large plastic pitcher in the cupboard would pour much easier ; )

It still seems like a lot of hop crud made it through the strainer.  I add half the pack of yeast to the wort, attach the screw topper and tubing to the fermenter, and fill a dish with water/sanitizer solution for the blow-off.  I used a small clamp to hold the tubing in the plastic blow-off dish.  It says to keep the beer in a dark place; I wonder if the basement is dark enough?  I might place a large cardboard box over everything to be on the safe side.  By the time I get it down there it doesn't look so good : (  It's starting to separate like a black and tan.  Hopefully the sediment that made it through the strainer doesn't ruin my first batch of IPA.

It's arrived!!!!!

Last week Christian (my coworker and fellow beer enthusiast) discovered Brooklyn Brew Shop.  We both ordered beer making kits, with different ale mixes.  Anticipating it's delivery, I picked up a few additional things I needed to get started, along with some New Belgium Ranger IPA to have while I work on the brew ; )  Time to get started!