5.17.2012

Best Session beer for a Summer BBQ? POLL



I'd really like to encourage everyone to give me their opinion on what would be their drink of choice at a summer time BBQ.  Think pool party, bikini's and lots of skin!

                           PLEASE USE THE POLL ON THE LEFT OF THE PAGE

Actually, I'm talking about a bunch of dudes at my HBC's Summer BBQ where we'll be doing our first club only contest for Session beers.   So, think dudes and families and back yard games like croquet, bags, lawn darts, etc!

I'm not going to divulge what I'm thinking about brewing for the event as I know there are a few people from the club that read this blog.  I would however like your opinion on what you'd like to drink at a Summer BBQ to see if it will sway my current direction that I'm thinking for my recipe in my deep cavernous mind.  (Lacto Starter, with a huge pitch of Brett Drie at 48 hours, Maybe a bit of 3711, Saison Wort, aged on Rubarb and a tiny bit of Oak)  oops.



5.07.2012

Rustic Wild Saison | 11 Gallons split 3 ways (ECY20, ECY02, 100%Brett)

“Our individuality is all, all, that we have. There are those who barter it for security, those who repress it for what they believe is the betterment of the whole society, but blessed in the twinkle of the morning star is the one who nurtures it and rides it in, in grace and love and wit, from peculiar station to peculiar station along life's bittersweet route.”
Tom Robbins,Jitterbug Perfume

I must preface this by stating that Jitterbug Perfume is one of my favorite books.   It's a book that I find so interesting that I've read it three times, underlined passages, dog-eared pages, and even busted out my highlighter. 

Tom Robbins has a very unique way of using metaphors that make you think "How did he just do that?"  This book has interesting themes; paganism, immortality, transcendence, beets, the making of perfume, travel, history, food, culture, social class, sexuality, and individuality!

I also must say that Saison's are my favorite style of beer.  Not only is each Saison a unique individual, but when brewing and designing them it allows me to express my own individuality as a brewer and an artist.   Each new Saison I do is an expression somehow of myself.   One time I asked my Uncle what I should brew next...what he said had a profound affect on my brewing path..."Don't brew anything for me, I always like to see what you're going to brew next."  He wanted me to continue to express my own individuality through my brewing.    He didn't ask me to brew a DIPA for him (although I know he wanted me too)......he liked taking the journey along with me as I decide what I'd like to brew as if he each beer I brew was like peering into my soul.
  
I decided this weekend to do a Kitchen Sink style Rustic Saison.  You really find out who you are when you look at all of your left-overs, your extras, the things you save,  and those things that you buy extra off because you want to use them over and over again! This recipe is all of those things.

5.03.2012

Barrel-aged Project | Filling Up The Barrel!



Last weekend my homebrew club and I FINALLY filled up the Honey Wine Barrel that I have in my basement.   I have a whole host of pictures to put up that one of our members took during the process.    I guess I'll go down the process of what we did.

1.  DRAIN THE BARREL - First I had to empty the barrel of the acid wash that I had in the barrel.   The barrel was completely full of water and a mixture of citric acid and potassium metabisulphite.  












2. RINSE - Next we noticed that there was a bunch of sediment on one corner of the bottom of the barrel....Oh SHIT! Is it mold? what is it?  I almost had a heart attack at this point.    We decided to give the barrel a quick rinse, dump it out and see how it looked then.    Once done, we realized that yeast sediment had settled at the one corner.   At this point, the barrel was ready to be filled!  The idea is to fill it up as fast as possible at this point so we got to work!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...