Brew Day.... Boiling Point



The time finally came..... BREW DAY!

Fortunately brewing took place before we got a snow storm, blizzard warnings, freezing temperature and now high velocity winds.  We have a brick house, and I can still feel the wind blowing from inside.  Brew day was a little windy too, but at least the sun was shining.


Brew Gear

I was brewing from a partial grain kit that came with my homebrew gear that I picked up at the local homebrew supply store.  It was a pale ale, and I was told that I could have switched it out for a stout or something more complicated, but it was my first time.... let's feel the water before we jump in, right?  I had told a few buddies about brewing, and they were all gung-ho about pitching in, or at least standing around for moral support.  I thought noon would be a good time to start, but everyone slept in and I was almost done with the wort boil before anyone showed.  Ah well...  homebrewing is an individual sport.

Getting my boil on...

I didn't keep track of the ingredients that came with the kit, but in the future I plan to keep you all updated with the recipe I am using.  Considering that it was a Pale Ale, according to the recipe, I picked up a few savory brews of the same style.  I didn't even attempt to make notes that day, mainly because we were outside, and I was constantly running back into the house to wash or sanitize something that I needed.  PIMA to be sure...

Pale Ale Bonanza!

Brewing buddy

Overall it was a fun experience, and it didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would.  The longest waiting part was waiting for the wort to cool enough to pitch the yeast.  I wish I had used a yeast starter, because it would have been quicker to pitch into the wort and it may have been more effective.  After getting the wort into the carboy, I placed the blow off tube into the carboy and into the bucket I used to sanitize everything.  Unfortunately, the blow off tube was too far down in the carboy and it ended up siphoning off about a gallon of brew.  DANG!

We had strong bubbling for the first day, and I replaced the blow off tube with the airlock the next evening.  Bubbling still continued but died off after only two and half days.  I'm not completely sure why, but I think its that I haven't been able to hold the temperature of the carboy above 68 degrees.  The yeast probably died off before it had a chance to finish fermenting.  You can probably see it all sitting in the bottom of the carboy here.

Primary Fermentor... see about a gallon missing from the top.

Since fermentation stopped completely or at least so we thought, we decided to rack the brew to the secondary fermentor after only 5 days.  This time I did take a gravity reading, but it was coming up as 2.000.  Maybe I read it wrong, but that seems really high.  We did eventually get a good siphon, and yes I know that you shouldn't start the siphon by sucking on the hose, but that's an upgrade I'll make a point of getting soon. 

Starting the siphon

After racking, there was some bubbling through the new airlock, but that faded overnight.  We racked as much as we could, CW was a big help.  The only leftover was the brew used for the gravity reading and a about a coffee mug full.  We both tasted it, and it tastes like beer already, similar to a pale ale but a little weaker.  It's not bad by any means, but considering the brews I've been purchasing and reviewing here, it's really weak.
 

Leftovers... Oh Yeah!

I'll put up some photos and another post after I move the brew to bottles.  I've been keeping all the bottles I've purchased, with the exception of green or clear bottles.  Brown bottles are best to keep light out.  Eventually I want to got to kegs, and I have a plan for a kegerator and a portable kegerator in the works..... homebrew at the family swaarey.... I'm excited.

Do you have any first batch blues?  What did you brew?  What went well, and what went wrong?

Old Schoolhouse Brewery Ruud Awakening IPA - Beer Review

Found: Main Market Co-op
Brewery: Old Schoolhouse Brewery (Winthrop, WA)
Beer Name: Ruud Awakening IPA
Beer Style: IPA
ABV%:  7%
Price: $5.99 / 1 pint 6 oz

Gold color with a hazy clarity.  Pour results in two fingers of coarse bubbled head that leaves fine lacing down the full glass.  Aroma gives heavy floral hoppy scents with hints of grapefruit but very clean smell.  Strong piny hop flavor with hints of citrus and bitterness.  Very fizzy mouth feel, light and smooth with a hoppy punch in the middle that carries through the end.  Bitter finish.  A very nice beer, great for a spring day.  CW thought it was TOO hoppy and wouldn't be able to finish a full pint.



NW Bearded Brewers Grade:

 Cider Wench's Grade: 

Brew Day.... History

The kit I bought from our local home-brew supply came with a recipe for Pale Ale.  Now I've been diving a little into the IPAs but what is a Pale Ale..... let's find out.

The English Pale was widely produced in England in the 18th and 19th centuries, and were originally served with little to no carbonation from hand pumped cellar kegs.  Pale ales can trace their beginnings to early industrial England, when the availability of coal fuel and high quality steel allowed for the production of pale colored malts.  Before this, the kilns used wood that was difficult to control, which would result in darkly roasted or even burnt barley.  The coke, produced from a processed form of coal was easier to handle, giving the desired effect of a far paler ale than any brewed to date.

Bass, Pale Ale... the standard

Two of the great brewing regions of England, Tadcaster and Burton on Trent were the epicenters of pale ales.  Pale ales from these areas of England are considered the pride of British beers (the "hardness" of the water around Burton on Trent has been fabled as the secret ingredient).  Pale ales are bronze to copper in color, hop flavored with a dry, crisp taste and slightly sweet.

I'm no beer connoisseur... at least not yet, and the majority of my information came from researching the web.  If y'all have any other information, or corrections... please let me know int the comments.

Also, please feel free to comment for any other reason too... :)

NW Bearded Brewer

Information for this post was retrieved from the following sites: About.com and Beersmith.com

Dogfish Head Midas Touch - Beer Review

Found: Bottles (Beer and Wine Store)

Brewery: Dogfish Head

Beer Name: Midas Touch

Beer Style: Ancient Ale

ABV%:  9%

Price: $3.79 per bottle

Pouring shows a golden color with a slight haziness dispersing the light through the glass.  One finger of fine bubbles of white head that  lasts for 3-4 minutes leaving a super-fine lacing on the glass.  Aroma of fruits, berries, and yeast.  Flavor gives of sweet honey, hints of barley (reminds me of a barleywine style brew), and a little bit of tartness.  The Cider Wench (CW) tasted grapes like in a dessert wine.  Very smooth with a medium body, some mild fizzyness and a warming effect in the end.  The 9% ABV left us flat on our keisters after sharing just one bottle.  This is an extremely drinkable brew, and if I ever find it in a 6-pack CW gave the green light (I just have to convince her to share).  The Ancient Ale line from Dogfish Head has definitely grabbed our attention, we both want to try Chicha some day.

NW Bearded Brewer's Grade:                                                    

  

Cider Wench's Grade:

J.K.'s Scrumpy Hard Cider Farmhouse Organic Orchard Gate Gold-Cider Review

Found: Yokes Fresh Market
Cidery: J.K.'s Scrumpy
Cider Name: Hard Cider Farmhouse Organic Orchard Gate Gold
Beer Style: Farmhouse Style, Organic (all right in the name)
ABV%: 6%
Price: $6.59 for 22 oz

Wow, this was not at all what I was expecting. At first taste I was turned off, because it didn't "taste" like what I expected. It pours much darker than "other" ciders and is hazy. It has a strong apple aroma and tastes so much like fresh pressed cider at an orchard. I was surprised to read that it contains 6% ABV. The more I drank the more I fell in love.

I did a quick Google search and found there website. I love the story of this cidery. The cider has been made on a family owned farm in Flushing, Michigan for over 100 years. The ingredients are fresh apple juice and yeast...that is IT! The apples are grown, harvested and press all on their farm.

The difference in taste compared to a mass-produced cider is undeniable. I could drink this all day long. It is sweet, but not sweet like commercial apple juice. It is like biting into a fresh crisp apple. It also has a bit of tartness, which I like.

I recommend this cider to anyone....and give it the Real Deal.

NW Bearded Brewer gives it the Grizzly Adams.

Brew Day.... Preparation

Ever since CW gave me the go ahead for home-brewing, I've been scouring the internet for information on how best to get started.  In the course of tracking down pertinent information, I've found that "helping" out on a brew day with someone who has already brewed before is extremely helpful.

I get to home brew?  Oh Yeah!

Quantum Leap back about a month..... My buddy Dave had called me up and invited me to his birthday party.  Dave and I were roommates back in college at Washington State... GO COUGS!  I met him and a bunch of guys from my old platoon at a bar downtown.  One of the men there was Dave's long-time friend Nate, who had actually stayed a weekend in our apartment in Pullman for a football game, but I've never been good with remembering names.  After several hours and a few bar hops later, I ended up ordering a Guinness.  This struck up a conversation about beer and brewing with Nate, an avid home-brewer.  Nate said that he was going to have a brew day coming up in February, and he would give me a call.

Flash forward again to the present.  I've already starting blogging about beer, and I've already picked up my home brew kit from Jim's Homebrew in town. I was sitting in class and got a text from Nate.  It had been a while since I Dave's birthday bash, and I wasn't even sure if he would remember our conversation about brewing.  I was in!  I asked if I could bring my buddy Dan (occasional partner in crime and other shenanigans) since he would be most likely to help me during my upcoming brew.  Good to go.....

Victory, Storm King Stout.... nice.

Nate was brewing a dunkel, and I'm not sure what makes it a dunkel.  By the time we had got there (we got a little lost on the way, Dan doesn't know how to work the navigation on a smart phone apparently) Nate had already sanitized most everything, and started heating the water for "mashing in".  So while waiting we tried a few stouts that I had brought, and we Dave, Nate, and I started swapping stories of our time in the military.  After the water started to boil, Nate placed his grains in a grain bag and then it was time for a 45 minute boil.

Sierra Nevada, Stout... also delicious

A few more yarns were spun while the mash boiled.  Then Nate pulled out the grain bag and placed it in a wire strainer and took a large measuring cup of  boiling water and poured it over the grain.  This is called sparging, and its so that all the malty goodness comes off the grain and into the wort (young beer).  Notice that Nate is doing most of the work, I could say we but that would just be a lie.  We were there for  moral support and educational purposes.

Boiling away.... notice the hops on the left side of the kettle...

Some more boiling, add some hops, boil, hops, boil, hops.... and then 15 minutes more of boiling.  When the wort started to boil, Nate started sanitizing a 5 gallon carboy and the blow off tube.  At this point, Nate's kitchen began to smell quite a bit.... smelled like VICTORY!  We could definitely smell the dark malt and the pinch or so of Irish moss that was added near the end.  I'm not sure why Irish moss is an ingredient.  I'll look into that too.

The boil finished, and Nate had already prepped the sink with cold water and ice.  This is to bring down the temperature of the wort so that it is appropriate to pitch the yeast.  When the wort was cool enough, we used a metal strainer, funnel and a spatula to pour the wort into the carboy.  I had suggested removing the hops from the wort with the strainer, and apparently Nate hadn't done this before.  He said he usually just left the hops in and they would settle with the yeast in the primary fermenter.  It was interesting to see how quickly the strainer got plugged up.   Once in the carboy, we read the stick on thermometer and unfortunately the wort had gotten down to 64 degrees (optimal temp is  between 68 and 72).  So Nate filled the other sink with hot water , and we waited for the temp to rise.  The wort finally came up to 68, and Nate put the yeast in.  It was a little time consuming since he was using dry yeast.  He had to put a little in at a time, and swirl the wort in the carboy to mix it in.  Nate said he usually uses the liquid yeast with makes it easier, and I've heard using a yeast starter is beneficial when using dry yeast.

Cooling down the wort...

 

Temperature is key to successful brewing...


Well, the blow-off tube was set, and Nate used a jacket to keep the carboy temp stable.   Now the waiting game.....

I'm really excited about this weekend.  I've been keeping an eye out on the forecasts, and we're suppose to have some sun and some warmth before it gets cold again.  I'm going to do my brew day on Sunday and hopefully I can get some of the fellas over for a hand and to hang out.

More to come on that....

Samuel Adams Winter Lager - Beer Review

Found: Alberstons
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Beer Name: Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Beer Style: Seasonal
ABV%: 5%
Price: $12.99 per 12 pack ($1.08 per 12oz bottle)

This has been the beer of the winter season for me. I've really been enjoying this beer since it first started coming out last fall. I'm sure that production of this beer is about to end for the year. I will miss it, and be looking forward to when the leaves start to fall again. A quality beer, which should be no surprise.

Dark amber in color but amazingly clear all the way through the glass (Samuel Adams Perfect Pint / new acquisition). Pour produces two fingers of head, dirty white with some fine and large air pockets. Aroma of spices, yeast and a hint of citrus notes. Flavor of malt, caramel, spicy, floral hop notes finishing with a hint of bitterness. Smooth drinking with a round body.


NW Bearded Brewer's Grade:

Hard Cider

Lets talk Cider. When I tell people I like cider, I typically get an inquisitive look, you can tell they are thinking, "What the heck is cider?"

My love of cider started very young, maybe too young? I first tried "hard" cider when I was 14 years old. My family was on a skiing trip in British Columbia. We stopped for a drink after a long day of skiing. I ordered cider (hot cider) and everyone else ordered a beer. When they brought out "hard" cider we didn't correct them and I went ahead and drank it. I remember thinking it tasted like fermented apple juice. Ok, dumb blond moment, but I was 14 and didn't know any better. That probably was my very first real experience drinking, so what did I know about alcohol? Verdict, not sure why people would want to drink that? It wasn't very good, but I also thought beer smelled and tasted gross and wine…oh that was nasty! (Yes, I had "tried" these before but in very very small quantities).

Fast forward 6 years. I still didn't like beer or wine. If I was going to drink…I drank Vodka or Rum, mixed with either soda or juice. I was studying abroad in Salzburg, Austria. Yes, I was in beer country and I didn't like beer. I have to admit, that over time I did learn to love it, but that story is for another day. This story is about cider. One evening I got dragged to an Irish pub in town. Some of my classmates had become regulars there and thought I might enjoy a night out.

Delicous cider!

I remember the bartender asking what I would like and for some reason I felt like going against the grain that day and said "I don't like Beer! What else do you have?" There was a sparkle in her eye as she asked "Have you tried cider?" Umm that crap I had back in the day…people drink that over here? Yes…I had lots to learn. I figured, well it might be better than beer, so I should try it…and I was hooked. She brought me a pint of golden deliciousness. It was Strongbow on tap (in my opinion the only way to drink it). I was in HEAVEN. I quickly became a regular there…having a cider almost every night. I would walk in, give the head nod and they would bring me a cider. Oh…it was the life. For the rest of my time abroad, I almost exclusively drank cider. When I got back to the states, I had a very difficult time finding it and when I did…well it lacked the quality and taste I had come to love.

I am now on a mission to search the state for cider and good cider at that. I want to try everything this region has to offer (which is actually A LOT). I will be reviewing everything I find and sharing the joy of cider with you! I hope you follow me on my NW Cider Journey!

The Cider Wench

Too little research...

I swear I didn't plan on this...

Apparently, there is another person who is already calling himself The Bearded Brewer.

He is from Minnesota and he runs the Bearded Brewing Company.

You can check out his blog here.  He even has a sweet logo (left).

I haven't been told to stop using my code name yet, and hopefully we can avoid any misgivings as I am a simple man with no current aspirations to create a brewing company. Also, I'm not from Minnesota.

Anyway, we will be contemplating changing the name of the blog and my code name as well.

Thanks for your patience, sorry for any mix ups....

The NW Bearded Brewer

Beer: A short history

If one wants to brew beer, which I do, it's good to know a little about the history of beer. One important moment in history is the creation of the German Beer Purity Law, better known as the Reinheitsgebot.

In a nutshell, the Reinheitsgebot stated that the only ingredients allowed for the creation of beer would be malt, hops, yeast and water. NOTHING ELSE! If anyone chose to go against the Law, let's just say "They are of no concern to you".

Today's brewers, especially those in the U.S. are going way out on a limb by adding new and interesting ingredients into their brews, and trying brew styles from all over the world. True the Reinheitsgebot is no longer the standard to which we raise our glasses, that doesn't mean that craft brewers aren't honoring the spirit of the law, in the purity of their beer.

So raise your glasses, and raise them high!

Prost!

Image retrieved from: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/09/oktoberfest_2010.html

Beer Review Guide

As a fan of tasty beers, I thought I should learn to enjoy them a little better. Now I'm no Michael Jackson (famous beer author and enthusiast), but I have devised my own word styles to describe various beverages and I think I've come up with quality rating system.

I present to you The NW Bearded Brewer's Beer Grading system!

The Real Deal – This beer meets all your needs, and makes you want to ask for more.





The Grizzly Adams – This beer is a little wild and a little out there. You gotta respect that.

The Flavor Saver – This beer wants to be part of the “cool” group, talking about being a craft beer and full of flavor. Unfortunately, it is still a little douchey.




The Pierre – This beer tries to convince you that it is superior in every way, but in the end it’s just a dirty frenchman.



The Pencil Stache – This beer wants to chat with your kids on the internet. KEEP IT AWAY!




Stay tuned.... This could get interesting.

Images retrieved from: http://thewhalerclassic.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/beards.jpg

Welcome to the Thunderdome!

One of my favorite movie lines, by far....

Seriously though, Welcome!

A while ago, my wife suggested that I needed to hobby. By some miracle, I got her to agree to letting me start Home Brewing. Unfortunately, I was let go from my job and that postponed my plans for creating the "nectar of the gods" at home.

In the interim, the wife (aka The Cider Wench or CW for short) got me into blogging. After a few entries, she began to tell me that my posts were entertaining and that I should combine blogging with my other passion, BEER! Thus, The Bearded Brewer was thrust into being!

Through some light research, I've noticed a serious need in the beer blogging world, the need for information on Washington beers and breweries. Along with enlightening the masses to Washington's fine brews, I make it my personal mission to bring you our adventures through the world of Beer.... and occasionally Cider.

There's nothing like a proper pint...

Slainte! (Irish for "To your health")  

The NW Bearded Brewer