Cool Stuff at the end of August...... just not cool in TX!

8/30/13 ...

So it's the end of August.  Cool weather must be around the corner, right?  Maybe if you live in Alaska like my brother.  I see it's in the 50's there this week.  No wonder he's not down here visiting.  It's 103 in Austin, but it only feels like..... well, 103.  I hope to have a brew day this 3-day weekend, and I'll post it if I do.  For today, I cleared my camera memory card and thought I'd share a few cool things I came across.

It's amazing sometimes the amount of stale beer stuff that's out there.

I mean REALLY?...... ash trays, mirrors, lighted mirrors, neon signs, lighted signs... I don't know... any number of things (crap) I wouldn't have in my house from the beer companies.  And, if I would have some of it, my wife would definitely NOT have it in the house.  I am OK with that because 1) I grew up, and 2) my wife's opinion is usually better than mine when it comes to what goes in the house.  If her opinion is really way off..... it's not..... it's still is the best idea, and "really what I was thinking, too" (I've also been married a while).

Anywho, this item may fall into the ugly lamp that has horses and spins and throws light across the room..... category with some people.  I dig it, and definitely don't feel that way.  I even sprung it on my wife!  (and she was ok).  

I came across this lamp.... coolest thing ever.  Here's their website

It's a bottle from a turn of the century brewery set up with a bunch of piping and a big red valve (on/off switch)..... most of these breweries went under at some point after prohibition.  This one is from 1899.  They have several form factors with the lamps.  Everything from hanging lamps to floor lamps, etc.

It's got a 40watt bulb inside.  The bottle is clear, but they've sandblasted the lower portion of the bottle to diffuse the light.  They also have vintage brown bottles, and I may purchase one to see if I like the brown light better.

Another cool thing...

my Amber Ale!

This guy started out 2-1/2 months ago (brewed on 6/16/13).  It tasted green / raw for a while, but has matured into a wonderful amber ale.  It's very malty, but like a sweet old friend with whom you like to sit and chat.  I may play a little with the recipe, but this one is a solid, every-time / everyday kinda beer. Always waiting in the wings as the go-to....

Brew: 6/16/13
OG: 1.055
FG:  1.012
ABV: 5.6%
SRM: You tell me.   ?12
IBU: 27
Batch: 12ga

Recipe:

• 87%  2-Row Brewers Malt
• 5%    C60  
• 4%    Munich (9SRM)
• 3%    C120
• 1oz     Magnum (14.7%AA)      60min
• 0.5oz  Centennial (8.7%AA)     10min
• 0.5oz  Tettnang (6.1%AA)        10min
• US-05 (2 pkg)

I did use some gelatin finings to clarify in secondary (keg).  My usual process / equipment is: conical, rack to secondary keg (cut dip tube), crash with gelatin finings, may serve from secondary or rack to serving keg.  If I rack to serving keg, I will usually run through filter (0.5um).

So that's all for now, I will go through my equipment one of these days, and will hopefully post a new brew day event after this needed 3day weekend.

Big DIPA

It's been a while since I brewed anything.  Summer is winding down, and have been spending a lot of time with my girls.  Have tried some good beer recently, and it got me inspired to brew something up.

Usually I am not one for overly hopped beers, however, a friend gave me a bottle of Pliny the Elder which you cannot get here in Texas.  I was very impressed with how good PTE was, and also recently tried Firestone's Double Jack.  Another good over the top hopped beer, or perhaps I could use their actual Double IPA nomenclature.  Perhaps my taste buds are changing, or perhaps these are simply two REALLY good DIPA beers that have better flavor and balance than most.

Custom Mash Paddle

Anyway, I set out to brew something along the lines of these beers.  Since the last brew, I've added a few pieces of equipment.  I got a Monster Mill 3, and have it rigged with my 1/2" drill with variable speed control.  Works FANTASTIC.  Other new additions are a Hop Spider for the boil kettle, an inline filter / trub strainer between boil kettle and pump, and a dry hopper - which I will definitely use on this batch of beer.

I am still working on the best repeatable workflow for the brewery.  The Blichmann Tower of Power / RIMS results in very clear wort going to the boil kettle, The Hop Spider and trub strainer will hopefully result in very, VERY clear wort into the fermenter.

For this batch, I took a look around the web for big double IPA recipes, and checked this blog as well for ideas.  I settled on a recipe that would result in around 8% ABV, 100-IBUs, and taste - well - good.

Here's what I came up with...

Grist:
88%   (26#)    2Row
4%     (1.5#)   Carapils
2%     (10oz)  C40
5%     (1.5#)   Dextrose - in boil kettle


Mash was basically Single infusion / 151F for 70min

Hops:
50ml Hop Extract @ 90 min (10-IBU/5ml/5ga batch = 100-IBU / 2 (10ga batch) ~ 50-IBU)
10ml Hop Extract @ 45 min
2oz Simcoe - 30 minutes left,
5oz Simcoe and 2oz Centennial (7.9%AA) - @flame out.

Hop Extract (HopShot from NorthernB)

Hop Spider @ work

Brew day was pretty easy / uneventful.  I used the trub filter, and the wort was pretty clear going into the conical. I was impressed with how easy the hop spider and trub filter were to clean after brewing.

7oz flame out hops

The taste of the wort was hoppy (shocker), but damned if it wasn't some malty/hoppy goodness.

OG 1.076-1.077

I recorded 076 as OG, but looking at this photo - it may have been 077, oh well.  I hydrated 3 packages of US-05; not sure why I hydrated them except the manufacturer has hydration instructions, so I guess I picked that method based on manufacturer recommendations.  The fermentation took off within 8-10 hours, likely due to the high sugar content; this will be in the 8-9% EtOH range.