tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74143977820519008352024-02-07T16:36:22.502-08:00Beer and Brewing JournalMy beer and brewing notes mixed in with general beer related politics, sociology, history, science, and general commentary.
Please note that any beer critiques in this blog only reflect my personal taste at that time. If I do not like a beer, it does not mean that I believe that beer or brewery sucks. I understand that my taste is based on mood, weather, and many other elements. I also understand that beers can be heavily affected by elements out of the Brewer's control.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-44378533107640485992008-06-19T10:27:00.000-07:002008-06-19T10:29:01.309-07:00this site has been moved!I am up and running on the beerobsessed.com domain. If you are not automatically redirected please go to:<br /><a href="http://beerobsessed.com/blog">http://beerobsessed.com/blog</a><br /><br />see you there!22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-11219052706384337342008-06-12T08:44:00.000-07:002008-06-12T20:53:27.613-07:00Jolly Pumpkin: Oro De Calabaza<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtM-2Io4MNsNAZF0SP8xnJ8MMgAKHPglQM7-Wie8L8s6mqYxvufxqagtu-9GRJme472vJnYr4FHt2m6LgFQGmtueeN0FSOC-Y_c7BOlEMtKdmTfr6gwCK89M0wuyiuaJBTsITDtF94QnV/s1600-h/oro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211042100213321538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigtM-2Io4MNsNAZF0SP8xnJ8MMgAKHPglQM7-Wie8L8s6mqYxvufxqagtu-9GRJme472vJnYr4FHt2m6LgFQGmtueeN0FSOC-Y_c7BOlEMtKdmTfr6gwCK89M0wuyiuaJBTsITDtF94QnV/s320/oro.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Last night I finished my last Jolly Pumkin. I originally purchased three different 750's and a single <a href="http://beerobsessed.blogspot.com/2008/01/jolly-pumpkin-galore.html">mentioned here</a>.</div><br /><div>Here's a quick review of their Oro de Calabaza:</div><div></div><div><strong>color:</strong> straw to yellow with big, puffy, billowy head like duvel.</div><div><strong>aroma:</strong> belgian characteristic, candy sugar, tart, fruit, wood? or was I expecting that...</div><div><strong>taste:</strong> carbonation, tart/sour belgian goldon strong, pineapple and subtle wood</div><div><strong>after:</strong> wood (subtle), dry<br /><strong>overall:</strong> I like my goldon strongs straight up and drinkable: prankster, duvel, and damnation. </div><div>While this is a very well made beer, all of the Jolly Pumpkin beers are well made beers, I don't like the play between wood and the golden strong style. I like the golden strong style straight up, smooth, and drinkable. There is a reason that it is known as a great "hair of the dog" beer. A little tart is interesting but also takes a little away from what I like from the style. I have to say my favorite Jolly so far has been the Noel beer. They avoided the typical holiday jacked up spice route and went with subtle cherries and wood with nice malt (as I recall). I just remember enjoying the hell out of that beer. La Roja is very nice as well. Of the three Jollies i've had, here is my personal ranking:</div><ol><li>noel de calabaza</li><li>la roja</li><li>oro de calabaza</li></ol><p>...to add, I like the subtleness of the Jolly Pumpkin beers. It seems like wood beers these days tend to be over the top, too much wood. The tartness is to my liking as well (not too over the top). I would definitely drink these beers more if they were easier to get out here. </p><br /><p></p>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-7265549159877997492008-06-11T12:36:00.000-07:002008-06-12T11:01:33.728-07:00Brew day: American Amber Ale<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YQSXwXC-OQ_3GoMt8SP5X-W5kvIFh0mvPZz8XKBmvcmPVL-AO3WM5VQ_PwHdUMYit_QvPpoDTNJIaqLk0JdJi_YSdrSthL8RatgaVkxu00zNcMTuuIftPz-4LWJydKSDAzICHZ7qIad_/s1600-h/JZ+amber+hops.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210721521367786626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3YQSXwXC-OQ_3GoMt8SP5X-W5kvIFh0mvPZz8XKBmvcmPVL-AO3WM5VQ_PwHdUMYit_QvPpoDTNJIaqLk0JdJi_YSdrSthL8RatgaVkxu00zNcMTuuIftPz-4LWJydKSDAzICHZ7qIad_/s320/JZ+amber+hops.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>Decided that I need to start using my stash of magnum and cascade so I took <a href="http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=12&products_id=26&zenid=d125d602d25f59a8b4dbe9a951da70ca">JZ’s recipe</a>, changed out the hops (calculated ~35 IBUs) and then converted to mini-mash.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-v-OSGdQvOm-REXGt9Q_oAqdPqEvybo24AmEF5M215XyRhnfIo0RXndsZ9OuEonCti5EeIdzAO_w97KdL9876UO8A4YRnNa4U2t0Xej3LlIgGA4NZQss0Rs-W0iRcqJ2l1FR4lWKQxGz/s1600-h/JZ+amber+mash.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210721609671636690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL-v-OSGdQvOm-REXGt9Q_oAqdPqEvybo24AmEF5M215XyRhnfIo0RXndsZ9OuEonCti5EeIdzAO_w97KdL9876UO8A4YRnNa4U2t0Xej3LlIgGA4NZQss0Rs-W0iRcqJ2l1FR4lWKQxGz/s200/JZ+amber+mash.jpg" border="0" /></a> I figured the mini-mash would only add another half-hour to my day since the little amount of water will come to temp quickly and I batch sparged. I used light DME to make up the difference in gravity (….4.25 pounds worth).<br />I didn’t hit my projected OG of 1.052 and ended up with 1.056 instead. No biggy, but the seemingly wanton nature of my refractometer readings is bothering me. Supposedly the thing has auto temp control….and I cool the wort on top of it. Not sure why my readings seem to be all over the place. In the end, I know my kettle pretty well and with the immersion chiller in the pot, I need to have the water level at about 6.5 gallons. So I got close to the OG I needed...by eyeballing it.<br />Due to water restrictions I am now cutting over to ice water recirculation at 120 degrees (instead of 90 degrees) when chilling the wort. This saved many gallons of water and didn’t really call for too much more ice.<br />Since we are having warmer weather in Berkeley, I worried about whether I would need to cool the ferment or not. The basement ranges between 66-75 degrees now, so I cooled the wort to 65 degrees, got it in the carboy and let it settle. Since the carboy is sitting on concrete and I put a wet t-shirt around it, it held at 66 degrees for pitching.<br />Come morning the t-shirt was still moist and the yeast had started up to the tune of about a ¼ inch of kreusen. Temp was still 66 degrees. Figure I’ll check tonight when the yeast is producing the most energy. If I am still 66 degrees, I’ll move to a heat wrap and do a warm temp control when necessary, to get it to, and keep at 67 degrees. If it has moved in temp up to 68 or higher, I’ll leave it on cool temp control, which will trigger a fan that is positioned to blow on the carboy. I can also add a pump to pump water over the carboy if necessary.</div><div>UPDATE: temp was holding at 66 with an air temp of 76.....so I put on the heat temp control with a dry shirt around it. Now happily fermenting at 67 degrees.</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210721347465301506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBWy-O0yrQMoq2kNAuHRq86C-lsEFFLxG7VC-PEsyR_wHFUSD9VZ7QOSHLITBKoD7j6t8Z6ti85v2CYX9VO4sXeltBkbXMhh5niD-YLzNsf4A4SOwI0CH_1h_rzKLYCXm1mGKu-Ra8Fjl/s320/JZ+amber+double+pot.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p align="center"><em>double pot for warming mash without scorching</em></p><p align="center"><em></em></p><p align="center"><em></em></p><p></p>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-11922561411985012432008-06-05T14:36:00.000-07:002008-06-12T11:04:01.197-07:00Gordon Biersch SF and fresh Kölsch out of the tank<div align="left">I have the highest respect for Dan Gordon. His mission in life is to bring the beers of Germany to the U.S. by brewing them here and serving them fresh. All done in accordance to Reinheitsgebot. 100% the way they are brewed in Germany. This includes a decoction mash for most beers that causes the brew day to be 10 hours. Dan backs up his strict guidelines with the highest level of brew education achievable in the world. His post-graduate work was at Weinstephan in Munich.....a demanding four year course where, " a passing grade is equivalent to A level work at UC Berkeley".<br />If you want to hear more about Dan, I highly recommend listening to any of the three times he visited the <a href="http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/sundayarchive.php">Sunday Session</a> on The Brewing Network.<br /><br />Dan's west coast man in charge of brew operations, including SF, the Northwest, and Hawaii is John Tucci. No slouch himself as he fleshed out his brewing education at Paulaner in Munich. He’s a perfect fit at GB. And thanks to a co-worker that grew up with John, we had the chance to take a private tour of GB-SF brew operations yesterday.<br />We started off with a couple of pints to warm us up….I had never tried the GB scharwzbier, so I did. Nice, mellow and obviously to style. I love Köstritzer and I would say the GB Schwarz is a hair mellower than that one. We were readied up to go tour the brewery and we were instructed by John to bring an empty glass with us for a tasting…most of us had one. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fn3XociP9vlWiW3XZUOdHlQVfbEuoajZygdIA7SzRRLBMkqMY2HzWFVoSvgjB7rd2jGQS5OzGDPpolb7sHDOHhNE3NxTmR5kP_Nh6yO3A5sRIPFNR59_VDp7R9pc7P3CmCtH_jSdP6FO/s1600-h/IMG_1144.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208836683649427218" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0fn3XociP9vlWiW3XZUOdHlQVfbEuoajZygdIA7SzRRLBMkqMY2HzWFVoSvgjB7rd2jGQS5OzGDPpolb7sHDOHhNE3NxTmR5kP_Nh6yO3A5sRIPFNR59_VDp7R9pc7P3CmCtH_jSdP6FO/s200/IMG_1144.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Down the stairs we went to the basement where all the fermentation and lagering takes place. BTW, GB-SF has a 25 barrel brew system….kind of unusual in that they have two kettles that do some back and forth. The mashtun also serves as the boil kettle. They mash, pump 80% of it to the lauter tun, then deconcoct the remaining 20% in the mash tun. When this is done, they bring the remaining, deconcocted mash over to the lauter and sparge. Then, the runnings get pumped back to the mash tun where they boil and hop. Back and forth. In the basement, we went through a VERY short door that led us to the bottom of the fermentation tanks (60 barrel tanks, they brew twice to fill it and have 10 barrels of headroom….and no kreusen blowing all over the place). I have to say, this is probably the most cramped setup I have seen. They fit this system in the spaces the best they could but there is a lot of bending down during the processes of brewing beer here. A tall guys nightmare. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8INOkc1dzs5JmQNZLW-3XWBqKpoPxnxoo7PU18a4tqNlLxnANoC-lnCEjZYKaB3Hi9OqZZxkybqm1RoGCp3rzNpP7jhWHUfBjuzoHKkdhyphenhyphenKesSFUvc_tS3fQqJgbcYBTkZli6hpTYvZC6/s1600-h/fermentors.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208837029734160882" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8INOkc1dzs5JmQNZLW-3XWBqKpoPxnxoo7PU18a4tqNlLxnANoC-lnCEjZYKaB3Hi9OqZZxkybqm1RoGCp3rzNpP7jhWHUfBjuzoHKkdhyphenhyphenKesSFUvc_tS3fQqJgbcYBTkZli6hpTYvZC6/s320/fermentors.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"></p><div align="left">From here, we went into the lagering space, in the basement right under the bar/eating area of the restaurant. Tanks were horizontal and tucked neatly into a space very short on headroom. Here is where the treat of the evening started.<br /></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208837231569778050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxXL6hcpuAM8nvtHeguZO2cwMlDhMjcNaEpTiJ7Gdzjlvl9nyxsw9p2F7husndHAJlGw0PTOUK9ckfz49cBC0m7Ufu4f2cV6SqagOM5HFw-5vn2IHZMKPLBDbyiGXCv4xu40psy-yrpSyJ/s320/off+the+tank.jpg" border="0" /> <p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-tjoT-kRLiEjAbgXnV8jTn7UFFNH9G2Ddt4i44ocmlUvA1ZXhpGuioQilA1kZFjBq3-1BNjvFB4QY_gqpd96V2xSmwqJN5QEf0hSSL-3eas-fXGGPjGCmWVhZPUidZqvK2r9pH3AZJuH/s1600-h/kolsch.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208837522736568482" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-tjoT-kRLiEjAbgXnV8jTn7UFFNH9G2Ddt4i44ocmlUvA1ZXhpGuioQilA1kZFjBq3-1BNjvFB4QY_gqpd96V2xSmwqJN5QEf0hSSL-3eas-fXGGPjGCmWVhZPUidZqvK2r9pH3AZJuH/s200/kolsch.jpg" border="0" /></a>John had the next seasonal in the lager tanks, their Kölsch. This is where he took our empty glasses and topped them up with some feisty young beer. Wow, it was great. Tangy and yeasty. Grainy and thick but most of all, damn good. I could have spent the rest my time there but the room was around 40 degrees and I was wearing a t-shirt. This Kölsch will be put on around the 24th of June and I can’t wait to go back and try it to compare.<br />After this, it was back upstairs for more beer. I pretty much stuck with the Marzen for the rest of the night as GB Marzen is one of my all time favorites. </p><br /><p>Thank you Michael and John for the tour. It was a great time, very educational, and very satisfying on the palette. Shout out to Rich, also a brewer at GB. Met him at the Commonwealth beer event last winter and was impressed he still remembered me.<br /></p><p></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208844031879428466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTGVcleSTnxVpbrWEP8izhUM97UEd_5AjAN-yUUmdIj6nVI2woU6hyphenhyphen8pLSrrgOFyi8Mj8nh-Vm5pYha-hFXn2Kelusd2D-UP7syzS1qOx1bmxnomc5AWlTnqG1nVAdUInNy8esbD0R0CH3/s320/brewer+and+blogger.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><em>beer blogger and beer brewer</em> </p><p align="center"><br /></p>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-7341648517311207132008-05-30T09:13:00.000-07:002008-05-30T10:18:15.280-07:00Wet Hop Ales in the Spring<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCUi5BV7EOIE79SISW_jQOR1RGOz6MW48xeKyPLC2zztHQm3R1nVZAPIAYxryTJERg3cRAt-mj8FF6RbPR28fKiV3cdljo3OKXilUxQbKNe_1HEhVcDYK4UVNY7Tz2AOiDc2oFoeMIB_h/s1600-h/SN+fresh+hop+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206221036259005266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCUi5BV7EOIE79SISW_jQOR1RGOz6MW48xeKyPLC2zztHQm3R1nVZAPIAYxryTJERg3cRAt-mj8FF6RbPR28fKiV3cdljo3OKXilUxQbKNe_1HEhVcDYK4UVNY7Tz2AOiDc2oFoeMIB_h/s400/SN+fresh+hop+1.jpg" border="0" /></a> Wet hop beers are great style of beer that are usually only available in the fall during hop harvest time. They are called “wet hop” or “fresh hop” because they hops are cut off the vine and put in the beer within 24 hours or so. This gives the beer a very fresh and smooth hop character that you do not get from ordinary dry hops. Imagine the smell of a spice, like basil, that is dried. Now imagine basil when you pick some fresh and smell it. This will give you an idea of the difference in aroma.<br />Many production breweries and brewpubs will do a fresh hop ale. It is a tough brew mainly because they are only given about 24 hours notice from the hop farm that there hops are being sent out to them (at a shipping cost of hundreds of dollars), the brewers have to be ready to brew at a moment’s notice. It is a beer that is made purely out of the love of brewing.<br />Once a year is long time to wait for these special beers, so leave it to Sierra Nevada to source hops in the southern hemisphere, where it is now fall, so we can experience wet hops beers in the spring! Their Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop Ale is a great beer and a wonderful example of this style of beer. It seems to be widely available in the bay area. I have seen it not only at Safeway but 7-11 as well. Here is a pull from Sierra Nevada’s website about their trilogy of fresh hop beers:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">“Our latest hop experience is a trilogy of fresh hop ales representing our journey following the hop harvest around the globe. Simply said, we were in search of a way to expand our offering of fresh hop ales throughout the year rather than limiting it to just the fall season. So we scouted the planet exploring new regions to source fresh hops and also explored ways to maximize the oily, resinous qualities of the hops from each harvest as we transported them to our brewery in Chico, California.<br />To make this project happen, we selected hops from regions where the hop harvest occurred at different times of the year. Southern Hemisphere Harvest uses hops from New Zealand that are harvested in our spring. Our Chico Estate Harvest uses hops grown at our brewery in Chico, California that are harvested in late summer. And our original Harvest Ale uses hops from Yakima, Washington harvested in early fall. The result is three fresh hop ales that will be released at different times of the year, each providing a unique experience with hops from different parts of the world. We aptly call this trilogy of fresh hop ales our Harvest Series.”</span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206221120743317042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkKhpc7Om5IOfUA96uMvgp6qUguJ_R-m2z5p1qnxymPIIo0WskOt3Y8gaJNdS2kvgNp3IOmGjJMW6-trX4HyDBcIBsBtDCF8reUBjhgJgJI_glF6MXi0mEiR1peFYGMC-3vrfMu0a7FAL/s400/SN+fresh+hop+2.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjti8WlgXqa14WuDFxfupD8hqf09AuiXVIQkf0pcjOxFZizwg-ompjgYbCfhUgix1d_eMTyU0pEPKQ9kHbHfpZvQSFAvtTu_nFpzmZt6qz41zFNklPiKESGRouum5ioZkG0nqO1DHsCzn0E/s1600-h/SN+fresh+hop+1.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-61857773143224822622008-05-29T09:09:00.000-07:002008-06-12T12:55:40.834-07:00Brew Notes: American Wheat Beer<div align="left"><span style="font-size:75;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205832926787869986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIpM5ZpunMvBpgCdVLoK1g0nVjB6Yf24p3O6BfPC1w_5vu4HvnvlxvkyrWCNmQ-ywFRVRqhXV_hU1DyumJTRlf3LXL5LUABNwdXYENvdp-8yrDfR_OA1C9i_-LMwW5FZZ_bk1YSAKF6g9T/s400/P1010012.JPG" border="0" /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Ingredients don't get much simpler than this: Wheat dry malt extract and Cascade hops.</span> </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><br /><p align="left">Last Sunday I brewed a batch of American Wheat ala <a href="http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/archive/Jamil08-27-07.mp3">JZ’s recipe</a>. In this, Jamil mentions a couple points that I stuck with: </p><ul><li>Resist the temptation to add specialty grains…go with just base barley and wheat. </li><br /><li>Use a Kölsch yeast strain for a crisper, more stand out beer.<br /></li></ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8jClgdj9BhbtUw_18qVbCK_EuZNLHuN8iqwC8bHjZa49UYfACrNxToNeVpRrHamPLg3XmSdpqyOlNfIGg2lz6-aJfMuXMj4Im-9jg7rkAOtkt2zLRh5mbCwuBq0jIqSRqHkNxVlrcGFJ/s1600-h/P1010015cropped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205835207415504178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="325" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8jClgdj9BhbtUw_18qVbCK_EuZNLHuN8iqwC8bHjZa49UYfACrNxToNeVpRrHamPLg3XmSdpqyOlNfIGg2lz6-aJfMuXMj4Im-9jg7rkAOtkt2zLRh5mbCwuBq0jIqSRqHkNxVlrcGFJ/s400/P1010015cropped.jpg" width="199" border="0" /></a>It was a pretty standard brew day. I propagated up a 1 liter starter of the Kölsch yeast the night before and boiled up the ingredients the next day. I pretty much hit my numbers all the way through….I was targeting a post-boil gravity of 1.052 and according to my refractometer I was spot on. When I took the final hydrometer reading later in the day, it was showing 1.058. I swear the wort was cool enough when I did the refracto reading but I guess this is something I need to note and adjust for in future brews.<br /><br /><p></p><p></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205836173783145794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH8pcmVYf4vu8MpYjci4kQfYTljy3tb_EUyAVnoF7XoNfO4PO1azEuGucosmUxsiUgO-ATjVCNqnVc0Zn-sBYk-AeeQoPnaKIb3NSM6Tby974aGMnu4_rSUCcbjZ6vQPJF1TwWaiQD7AvA/s320/P1010014cropped.jpg" border="0" /></p><p>The boil (above) and the almost extinct Cascade hops (below), the bigger dose for bittering at the beginning of the boil and the smaller dose for aroma at end of boil. I calculated the bittering units to about 22 IBU for this batch.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205836525970464082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTmp5Ofmf2NpLfF56VYFQXFcMgmss8gFk0QL-qvy7fZ2KT0oRK9b2oQ89MgN2Vi33bOu3dX1DzWI093lge1OXJbLxpAMBD-szf6K_PCn6nc9lIRmnCvpI3lWC8QDxcQ1QK6cB5RZD6SrLi/s400/P1010011.JPG" border="0" /><br /><p></p></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-29616694720764049062008-05-22T08:00:00.000-07:002008-05-22T08:00:03.360-07:00DUI enforcement stepped this Memorial Day weekendMemorial weekend or not, obviously you should never drink and drive. To help reinforce this, many Bay Area counties will have DUI checkpoints setup along with more patrols on the streets and highway looking for intoxicated drivers this weekend.<br />I had the experience of going through a DUI checkpoint this last holiday season. While I did have a couple drinks prior in the evening and definitely felt OK to drive, it was a nerve racking experience nonetheless. I was quickly interviewed by an officer and was allowed to proceed. In the end, I was glad they were out there doing their job.<br />Please be safe this weekend and every other day too.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-34294171400127338992008-05-21T09:12:00.000-07:002008-05-21T09:13:52.788-07:00Where the hell have I been?It has been over a month since I have posted The quick answer is that I have been busy with things related to beer.<br />The longer answer is that I have wanted to build some better web infrastructure around my love of beer. Blogspot is great but I have a lot of ideas on how I could be more involved within the beer community and it will take more tools and training to stage this onto the internet. Last month, I secured the www.beerobsessed.com domain name. I will eventually be posting to this using both wordpress, for the blog portion, and a homebuilt website for everything else I have planned.<br />I do have a desire to work with the internet professionally so I've had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in classes getting up to speed on how to build a site from the ground up, including how to develop and deliver databases to the web. These new skills will give me a lot more freedom to utilize different forms of media as I see fit. Stay tuned as I will have plenty to unveil in the future. While my friend Greg said only one sentence that got me blogging in the first place, it was my friend Brian that got all of these new ideas going. Thanks guys…(much) more soon.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-82385845948142143742008-04-08T10:32:00.000-07:002008-05-30T10:19:27.220-07:00Sam Adams RecallThis has been posted over the last 24 hours on different blogs and newsites. I pulled this from Lew Bryson's blog:<br /><br />"Boston Beer has announced a voluntary recall of bottles that may contain small bits of glass. <strong>Check all your bottles of Samuel Adams beers for the following code at the base of the bottle: N35 O-I .</strong> <strong>These are the only numbers that matter: if the bottle has an N35 code, take it back to your retailer.</strong> "<br /><br />Please see the Sam Adams recall notice <a href="http://www.samadams.com/cidefault.htm">here</a>.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-43415620382227667662008-04-07T15:45:00.001-07:002008-06-12T12:56:27.271-07:00Food with your beerHey why pair a beer with your food when you should pair food with your beer!<br />One dish I love making is my italian sausage sandwich. Boil some italian sausages in budweiser, cut up some peppers and onions, fry them up, heat up some buns, and you're golden. Add a thin strip of mustard and ketchup and start eating.<br />I was drinking my Irish Red homebrew when I decided to cook this up. The food paired nicely with the beer. My Irish Red is not that bitter which works out great with this meal since their aren't any particular strong, overpowering flavors....mainly just sweetness. The sweetness of the sandwich marries nicely with the low bitter, malt forward ale.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5186639635293892162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjULyD2X3GDC3U7CxpwMVAFxw679QzPVXIjV55aZ1Hb74WZFuHowjMeYrPI0IBH36FQG6E9oEmbhd3qEEc3TigDaWhno0FlEFdB7y4XKgR8vidl9QktWFL0S3S1aUJzbmMkYAXAo0zWj0q/s400/beer+food.jpg" border="0" />22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-39797463790573656232008-04-04T10:23:00.000-07:002008-05-30T10:19:46.793-07:00My local store makes a correctionWell, <a href="http://beerobsessed.blogspot.com/2008/03/couple-of-retail-beer-faux-pas.html">as I mentioned below</a>, I was bummed when my local store pulled a bunch of local craft beers from the shelf and replaced it with some imported beers. They have an imported beer section so it was odd to plop them in where they did. I talked with the store staff a couple of times about this and who knows, maybe others spoke to them too.<br />Well yesterday I go in and much to my surprise and pleasure, the imported beers were pulled (and placed with the imports) and replaced with Allagash Triple Reserve and Allagash White.<br />I would still like to speak with the buyer because they originally had Moylans in this spot. I don’t know if there is a distribution issue or if the buyer just wanted to try something else. Anyway, good news and glad we could help.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5185448980165127730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8-c6yLIgNGv1aqlkIV-qbkxb8skYhv2eGDlB44Q4XzKakv5tTYD-EOiBQMQ2f8Iwx7-b_zLv00awl4LVVuh4pqjoGP0fzTpZxuvy8Rpu-EqFcKCY2nx5Fd65OXa5uO6BIIILwSZICUitu/s320/allagash.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-72951667288295825552008-04-02T18:41:00.000-07:002008-04-02T20:11:55.073-07:00Death of the Brother David wax seal.....Anderson Valley responds<a href="http://beerobsessed.blogspot.com/2008/03/death-of-brother-david-wax-seal.html">In my post below</a> about the disappearance of the Brother David wax seal, Anderson Valley Brewing Company has posted a comment:<br /><br /><em>Hi there,Thanks for writing about Brother David's. I'm the GM here at AVBC and I thought I would let you know about the wax.</em><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Turns out there was an issue I didn't know about:</strong><br /><em>We have had complaints from people that the wax was hard to get off and was leaving a funky smell behind, so we decided to discontinue it.</em><br /><br /><strong>and one we have all been affected by:</strong><br /><em>The price increase was due to higher cost such as transportation and ingredients. Barley is up about 75% from last year and hops are up 400% (if you can get them)Thanks for all the support and Bahl Hornin!</em><br /><em></em><br />Anyway, pretty cool that I got a response from AVBC. I appreciate them taking the time to comment......also let's me know some folks are reading!22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-15338305028845027772008-04-01T21:11:00.000-07:002008-04-02T20:09:05.457-07:00Gordon Biersch Dunkelweizen arrives in stores<div align="left">As originally reported by <a href="http://www.brookstonbeerbulletin.com/dans-dunkleweizen/">Jay in the Brookston Beer Bulletin</a>, GB Dunkelweizen has now hit store shelves. I picked up a six pack on sale at Safeway for 6.99 (all GB is on sale here again for this price). It’s pretty exciting that GB has decided to do seasonal beers as now we can experience a wider range of German styles brewed fresh here on the west coast. I also appreciate the fact that they are mass producing another unfiltered beer.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184498847499906594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4V9pIyqJmgiGhWuLl2ePvZLZhRGu-u1PDj8hyphenhyphenEgqi56jOxVRTd3-Vi8pybPMxatVOKSK15LgaPnzu3lcVdsCaLfGepRznTMYgMkO-jj0Xn8LW5DY5Ccv2rH4t2PjM8vhZ4b1-xUHT7czD/s320/six+pack.jpg" border="0" /></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-2742244587838541762008-03-31T14:01:00.001-07:002008-03-31T14:05:50.949-07:00Whole Foods – “whole markup”?….not for beer!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGGiRpK0RCCsqqh89pTeuC6mhQ_pbF3iDc9WziUm80kSHhJh6aziRfUwiuX1uVlOI0ol2bIRjLl4sBT9Ch6W505H4gZ3AETGb0IPX2S2O35ZmyPZ2_q6X7cblr-XHotElTva70k1C8E-u/s1600-h/whole+foods+receipt.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184013971461991922" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGGiRpK0RCCsqqh89pTeuC6mhQ_pbF3iDc9WziUm80kSHhJh6aziRfUwiuX1uVlOI0ol2bIRjLl4sBT9Ch6W505H4gZ3AETGb0IPX2S2O35ZmyPZ2_q6X7cblr-XHotElTva70k1C8E-u/s400/whole+foods+receipt.jpg" border="0" /></a> On my way back to the house Saturday, I had just time enough to swing by a Whole Foods to see what they had beer-wise. I assumed everything would be pretty costly there as the nickname of the store, Whole Markup or Whole Paycheck, goes. I have to say I was pretty impressed and saw some of the best prices I have seen in a bit. First of all, Boont Amber for 7.49…..same price as Trader Joes…and I never believed that Whole Foods would equal it. Couple other deals, as the receipt shows: Red Nectar Ale for 6.49 and Köstritzer for 2.29 (hopefully it is fresh).<br />I guess my opinion of Whole Food's prices (for beer) have changed for now.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />…oh, and Sierra Nevada Bigfoot for 8.99 a six pack. Unheard of. Must be a mistake…but one you should take advantage of.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184014405253688850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGss5-Bi22btnCiwng7dnHL1lNU55e0oNA1GkDGN2aY_nLXL7GggW-5DrmW3kmADleO192Ss6MuVsHbzdzzOF3DZMZgE3H84MGlOmBoKoLuaRkPz5u3qU5nb3e1eMSVoBqafekxjoTGVge/s400/0329081245b.jpg" border="0" />22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-78949487847227061482008-03-25T13:33:00.000-07:002008-03-25T16:06:18.185-07:00The death of the Brother David wax seal?Upon popping the top off of a bottle of Anderson Valley’s Brother David Triple, I quickly realized that I didn’t cut off a wax seal first. Previously the Doubles and Triples came with a wax seal over the top. A very nice touch. I went and looked at a recent photo (below) and there you are, I guess they are done with the wax seal?<br />I haven’t found any info on the web about this but my assumption is that since the Brother David line isn’t the big bread winner like Boont Amber, combined with increases in barley prices, that they decided reduce cost? The counter to that would be that they did raise the price of Brother David by about a buck. So I have no answers on this one yet.<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181819152979422642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUDf67RgD0nT_pbx_jmotDr2wiiOeg2LaKa_uuUY2mdso9KsrmyJRsF4MB_kRimAb592QMZP6qcdSZ5sYRE0DflsCWoKl7ju7IiYqds6xpI3hty2DM8zD-cjWnyQ_yVqTy5KFVBMKdkxwY/s400/brother+david+no+wax.jpg" border="0" />22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-32592846301264137312008-03-19T15:53:00.000-07:002008-03-19T16:01:33.942-07:00Found on the street…<div>Saw this bottle on the way to and from work. Didn’t know the brand so that’s what caught my eye. I’m sure it isn’t a sought after craft brew but I researched nonetheless: Looks like Regia is from El Salvador and gets so so rankings on the beer review sites. I guess in the end I could have just come up with that since you don’t often see bottles of Unibroue or Ommegang sitting around empty on sidewalks.....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHud2Je230ePsfVVxgNysu5FMHjqJp6-DwhEyL7IgIwF_vN9lb6KV9aCHkHgbgvqLukGn7sNTlDgL_bfINAym0_OC0ZLxJSsfX5MuPhO7HGh0RAx1KF_qzz18GvKFFRAlN8_qGYyWQBAv/s1600-h/regia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179591727105142178" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoHud2Je230ePsfVVxgNysu5FMHjqJp6-DwhEyL7IgIwF_vN9lb6KV9aCHkHgbgvqLukGn7sNTlDgL_bfINAym0_OC0ZLxJSsfX5MuPhO7HGh0RAx1KF_qzz18GvKFFRAlN8_qGYyWQBAv/s320/regia.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-20576070601622224322008-03-17T08:46:00.001-07:002008-03-17T09:41:29.796-07:00Don’t buy in bulk?At some stores it doesn’t pay to buy in quantity…..<br />In one of my previous posts about deal shopping for beer, I mentioned to always be aware about pricing deals on quantity. In other words, the 12 pack may be cheaper than the six pack. So you might as well stock up.<br />Turns out it is equally important to watch this for the opposite reason as well. My local bevmo, which I have many complaints about, has made it a better deal to buy Gordon Biersch six packs over 12 packs. Note the two photos below. Six packs are $6.99 and twelve packs are $14.99. Holy crap, you get charged an extra buck for trying to buy in bulk! Watch those prices…. <div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178737660918749266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-VttUsIIi4mvKYOw_FoFBgmsbw7SZNUusZcsOHGfFcCPvJUsYj05RP3Zm9J_9VJps4LslDGAO6sHesCSkiLS65Jy56RDGE9Ry595Mo-87H9jcqBxpwS0f803POawwY1-LtFyAOnYNromV/s400/Bevmo+gb6.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178737751113062498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwUkrtj7ShfnsfLU38NfmUGs0PddFVpQpD-F28rxK-ctoXMF00JMHHiJ13QBtYJnUEsaHXJkxPvKrjKojECISSfUuge8wRchdvIboXNsbVBXbPeUPpLcrGkxJ-pzKYxIINoykwMiAM3_w/s400/Bevmo+gb12.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div></div></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-76983341418803227822008-03-12T10:50:00.000-07:002008-03-12T12:28:50.362-07:00Reminder of Trader Joes prices...With the increase in beer prices this year, it's always good to keep in your head what beer prices are at Trader Joes as they probably will not be beat in pricing....I assume they negotiate good deals because they are buying large quatities for their stores.<br />They don't have a large selection but they do have some key companies. I didn't include the German beers (I need to do that) or Chimay, since I am not a big fan of Chimay....but I believe it was 7.99 for a 750ml of red label. The following are six pack prices:<br /><strong>Anderson Valley Brewing Co.,</strong> Hop Ottin' IPA and Boont Amber: 7.49<br /><strong>Mendocino Brewing Co.,</strong> Red Tail Ale and White Hawk IPA: 6.99<br /><strong>North Coast Brewing Co.,</strong> Acme IPA and Pale 6.79<br /><strong>Full Sail Brewing Co.,</strong> Pale Ale and Amber: 5.9922oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-90599795974395142362008-03-11T10:53:00.000-07:002008-03-12T12:27:56.252-07:00The Junket…a great German deli and beer stop<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kZ8_B9HT8SpvLEY3BFom5igLNzOaosMlsGU9svb9J1129PEc_6imq3f0vgMVTqobiv-pcfyKfCdT-Cg1DrrSoWBEEu2WB7rVtUN4CdEJfujjx14BR3Tg-_eHys3y0zYvP8CGpasf1w_K/s1600-h/the+junket.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176544079386761234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7kZ8_B9HT8SpvLEY3BFom5igLNzOaosMlsGU9svb9J1129PEc_6imq3f0vgMVTqobiv-pcfyKfCdT-Cg1DrrSoWBEEu2WB7rVtUN4CdEJfujjx14BR3Tg-_eHys3y0zYvP8CGpasf1w_K/s400/the+junket.jpg" border="0" /></a> I have to thank my wife for this find! She kept telling me about it and I finally went for myself. It was tough to actually find the place, even though it is very local for me. The storefront is pretty non-descript and set near the back of the non-descript El Cerrito mall.<br />What’s great? They have a pretty decent beer fridge for a deli: Most German beer styles in 500ml bottles, some Fullers, and some American Craft. The wonderful thing is that the have Köstritzer on tap! Available in Schwarzbierbrauerei glassware in third, half, and full liter! Excitedly, I ordered a half liter with a corned beef sandwich. Since it was only 11:30am and I had my 18 month old daughter in tow, I of course worried that I would get a nasty look from any lurking neo-prohibitionists. No chance. I saw other customers happily taking their lunch to their tables with lager in tow. Wonderful. I ate my sandwich and drank my Schwartzbier and chased my escaping daughter around the deli.<br /><div><div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">The woman I ordered from I believe was Cindy, one of the owners. Very nice and very helpful.Can’t wait to go back next weekend and have my sandwich and Schwartzbier….or if it is hot, perhaps a Kölsch.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8YWRbOMHAys6z_OQYzYh5pM-ZRxywSK4emc-pTesIuSd6BOSpKEmhIJHTIbGLdvyRlkvgHb8wad8Fw66FtfBsnJ7X4qcM8lVAhQvIQ2QiKNUu9L_APRVZd6CmEZodtQ0x5nwOu0xxMSg/s1600-h/the+junket+card.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176544951265122370" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy8YWRbOMHAys6z_OQYzYh5pM-ZRxywSK4emc-pTesIuSd6BOSpKEmhIJHTIbGLdvyRlkvgHb8wad8Fw66FtfBsnJ7X4qcM8lVAhQvIQ2QiKNUu9L_APRVZd6CmEZodtQ0x5nwOu0xxMSg/s400/the+junket+card.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></div></div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-64055542439349899172008-03-11T09:40:00.000-07:002008-03-12T12:33:10.726-07:00Nut Brown Ale…further notes<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPPa-Ncgl50wi0BA4vpqjSd5Q_-I3mLZtGyVYy32cnUALJ7Qx6j0wOvl_ufHRzgBymQbEHRG7PucWhgsUXgNqfHDSYs6aZDCwdaTLPKt9Rz4DH0WEhZRt70lmikSSbqco9rouFw9TlX5h/s1600-h/nut+brown+ale.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176528681929005026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsPPa-Ncgl50wi0BA4vpqjSd5Q_-I3mLZtGyVYy32cnUALJ7Qx6j0wOvl_ufHRzgBymQbEHRG7PucWhgsUXgNqfHDSYs6aZDCwdaTLPKt9Rz4DH0WEhZRt70lmikSSbqco9rouFw9TlX5h/s320/nut+brown+ale.jpg" border="0" /></a> Looks like spring is here. My basement can only keep my fermentations down to 68 degrees at this point. During the winter I had the luxury of being able to ferment down to the lowest Ale fermentation temp necessary. I do like 65 degrees as this keeps the fruit flavors more in check. Nothing wrong with 68 however and that’s what we’ll go with. I’ve adjusted my temp controller to 67 so that it will only cool to 66 before the heat kicks in, although I doubt it will get that low. In a couple days, I’ll start raising the temp control a degree every other day so that I’ll keep the yeast from going dormant too soon and hopefully get some good attenuation.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCAwHGpBt05TMqGkaZ-vYccVCdloqb1V0FBjjus9mKCrnENKkASgZxcpEKnCKiGszT5WfzJ30_fkFvkIn2tVM62TLf2JRWP0we9oN8BaE8x6vSWFRf3QMPQf_CzPnNF7Z8QpjGp5rqKgW/s1600-h/nut+brown+ale+w+Sophia.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176528900972337138" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCAwHGpBt05TMqGkaZ-vYccVCdloqb1V0FBjjus9mKCrnENKkASgZxcpEKnCKiGszT5WfzJ30_fkFvkIn2tVM62TLf2JRWP0we9oN8BaE8x6vSWFRf3QMPQf_CzPnNF7Z8QpjGp5rqKgW/s320/nut+brown+ale+w+Sophia.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Here’s my daughter wondering why there are burps and bubbles coming out of that bucket.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-37636446570616105892008-03-10T12:44:00.000-07:002008-03-13T08:19:11.619-07:00Brew Notes…Nut Brown AleBrew day went smooth thanks to having the entire day free (read: no stress or hurried process).Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day and it definitely felt like spring. Total brew day was about five hours including cleanup.<br />I bought a new bucket for sanitizer when making starters. It fits in the kitchen sink and I can completely submerse my 2000ml Erlenmeyer flask in it. I felt like I needed to up the clean process a little for my starters and having this big bucket of sanitizer, instead of a salad bowl, helps.<br />Again, like last brew, I didn’t have enough water in the boil (gravity was too high). I need to remember not to get caught by this, especially since I didn’t measure gravity until I had 10 min left in the boil. I added about half gallon of water to get gravity to 1.056 but it took 5 minutes to get water back to boil and I had two hops additions left. So my 5 minute addition was more like a 9 minute addition….big deal. I just need to remember to check gravity with 15 plus minutes left. Good news is that I hit my numbers.<br />I used the WLP002 English Ale Yeast. The tube did seem like it had a lot of yeast in it. In fact it seemed to have more in it than when I first brought it home (hmmm). Tube was very thick as there wasn’t too much liquid left. The yeast itself seems thick in general. (note: after researching the yeast on the white labs website, it turns out this is very typical for this yeast strain. It is a highly flocculent yeast and coagulates in the shipping tube). When I stopped my stirplate in the morning the yeast settled out quickly and was almost a past at the bottom of the flask. When I started the plate again, the yeast starting kicking around in big chunks. The fermentation seems similar to the Irish Ale yeast. About four inches of kreusen in the morning…..no super kreusen coming out of the carboy, like the Edinburgh yeast.22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-50264535657975600772008-03-07T12:37:00.001-08:002008-03-07T12:40:18.159-08:00Ledgers…the best in the east bay!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSzrSuyXnTxAdRgnC7mD9tN25SbxXhISs1-Wl1F8UKqfZncTMYf5JyxMfZhVmK_CbP1SsXVRQ8mLXMSej0aELg5_O0NsaTLFywZ_th50cbOot9u_BcB7edUvWoGEOVP_-DvJKL7fI0EGv/s1600-h/ledgers.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175101739174451154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHSzrSuyXnTxAdRgnC7mD9tN25SbxXhISs1-Wl1F8UKqfZncTMYf5JyxMfZhVmK_CbP1SsXVRQ8mLXMSej0aELg5_O0NsaTLFywZ_th50cbOot9u_BcB7edUvWoGEOVP_-DvJKL7fI0EGv/s320/ledgers.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I have to give props to Ledgers. They are simply the best store in the area for beer. Below I mentioned being lucky to find the Anderson Valley 20th Anniversary beer at a Bevmos. Just as soon as I posted that, I realized that I didn’t check out Ledgers. Of course it turns out Ledgers has a good half dozen cases of the beer.<br />Storeowner, Ed, is a great guy. I have had a couple of different conversations with him at the store. He is friendly and will listen to requests. A few months back, he started getting most styles from Lost Abbey. I know I asked for it! Ledgers is also the only place I have seen Ommegang’s Ommegeddeon.</div><div>It has a “bottleshop” feel to it since everything is individually priced. Ledgers is located at the corner of Acton and University in Berkeley.</div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-59922486143191794832008-03-04T12:24:00.001-08:002008-03-07T15:23:43.278-08:00A couple of retail beer faux pas…..Here is the craft beer selection at my local beer stop. Right around the corner from it is a smaller but just as well thought out selection of English, Belgian, and German imports. So overall, not too shabby for a small space.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173987816181517026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8A4gXuGVmhWkaJ_SAfCyrtOs6-13yvpjxVAopLIyGf5lAux4S0BxT4TY42Q8PdZTiGAzi8hVc99g7SWABJX3-_DpwKthEWGiwwNdNcpNyj3x9WhOVls-9Cz-ZtB0LACe1AqD5H3ys_NMe/s320/0303081720b.jpg" border="0" /><br />One day they pulled what was mainly Moylan’s bombers out of the local craft brew section and replaced it with some imported German beer. Not only did they lose great beer from a local craft brewery but also they put in something that belongs in their import section around the corner. That beer hasn’t sold much from what I’ve seen (I haven't heard of Reutberger). I talked to the staff about this but no change yet. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173987936440601330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt28sLZgBDKtDvDPsXADAaCTu5l3dcif7tvhKj8n6iMWyTx6OjgkJuvnxhHY04wg7KyygpNMD9W-rlhO39iMqKZFBnt5sSVd21nI3tlrDRrV-qOhIrnV0uwQ66nY2xMt84jXR8kI3O1aHf/s320/0303081718b.jpg" border="0" /><br />Right to the left of this, I notice the bottles of Smirnoff ice….I guess the stocker figured that the bottle was roughly the same size as the others. Sad contrast to the wonderful Brother David’s next to it.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173988086764456706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW1by3C7VmnJYdPichJ6S1isbFhuQJS0l66whYjhvAQ3NfZOrJWYemoLxhutn38UrqAYV70xTxp98cs5o6I_hRsy0whxgLlDBtBBjd6Xu1GLXC3nsDCqP5WwH0no1aPJnMCM3Sg8zrVAQj/s320/0303081720a.jpg" border="0" />What to do. I'll talk to them again and see if they need a volunteer to run the beer section....22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-15965242457676562972008-03-03T09:13:00.001-08:002008-03-04T12:31:37.566-08:00Found! Anderson Valley DIPAI had some spare time so I stopped off at the Orinda Bevmo to look around. This is one of more favorite Bevmos since they seem to always have something new or unusual. They didn’t disappoint. Near the end of my browsing, I fortunately spotted the bombers of Anderson Valley 20th anniversary Double IPA! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173564771809196722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNfoLNf3lpRQBLWehfbIlFRT1tI-oo07VnLCQT-wmnjsSJOeQHpKA0J2e7TjdVIB5kMWj74N9v3bfjvpdWW3U_NdftpkgQI74XzYA3F48JE0I-22ivanOfHzYOee_rnN34A2_bBmppoBJM/s400/anderson+DIPA+cleaned+up.jpg" border="0" />I bought two bombers but I ended up going back the next day and buying two more. On top of it, this Bevmo had a blowout on Three Stooges bottle openers….only 25 cents each! I bought five.The Anderson Valley 20th has a beautiful label that really stands out. I appreciate this because it really makes you look forward to the beer that is inside. As usual, I already had a couple beers prior to trying my first bottle, so I didn’t have the best sampling conditions. What I do remember was a wonderful aroma that was a good balance of hops and malt. The taste had lots of hop goodness with less malt taste than in the aroma. The finish was a swirl of hop flavors that were tastefully present (not too bitter) and pleasant linger. Looking forward to the next three bombers! If you can find this one, buy it!22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7414397782051900835.post-16407143662223004242008-03-03T09:00:00.001-08:002008-03-12T12:36:52.280-07:00Beer special of the weekAs we all know, beer prices have gone up. I have seen retail prices on six packs higher than 10 dollars. The good news is with a little thought and research, you can actually save more money and avoid the end effect of hops and barley prices going up.<br />Here is a shot of Gordon Biersch six packs from Safeway. Retail price of $8.29. Kind of an “ouch” but not too bad relatively speaking. <div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173561572058561170" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwQCgiVBi8UnxmZkjOyt9frohFy3_3A1tZRkhj9HUemmr3fHnu1ylBqR5jOAUknmE_VXsRvnhLoB8L47fg6ipnpAlGL2RJsXClVtpwIr0PEJ0foYQHi4ZCzEgilam61BqOkJbC7CNETR1Y/s320/gb+6.jpg" border="0" /></p><div>Now look at the 12 pack prices of the same beer, one shelf below (the empty slot is where the Marzen was). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173561722382416546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBP9sEWjaZQUHAJgCX0x-4WLiVJSt1KK7zSBsB5EebnOVCMG6r5bZc84znSaesFzf9yWzor0syw6e0czH-hTvXKpAFoyppss3tCv_5U5HF6bgT54OQf3wZFKHnf5sLlkXMzIv9eOiwumJx/s400/gb+12.jpg" border="0" />The $12.99 for a 12 pack translates to 6.50 a sixer for the same beer…..of course you have to commit to a 12 pack…not a stretch. So for the price of a 12 pack you are saving 3.59 over the price of two individual six packs. Hops and barley prices be damed! </div>This takes the use of a Safeway card to get the special price but I am still using the phone number from my wife’s old apartment….I am not sure how long the specials run but both Andronicos and Safeway last at least a week if not more. BTW, Andronico’s, as pricey as they are, had a long running special on all Lagunitas beer for $6.99 a six pack, so I never take this store out of the running.</div><div>The main point here is don't stick to your favorite six pack of beer and that's it. Be open to what is on sale and keep an eye on 12 pack and case prices. You can keep the cost of beer down this way.</div>22oz Bomberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16406913422643467073noreply@blogger.com0