Fury & Foamy

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Monday night, Izzy & I finally tasted our Pumpkin Chocolate Porter, as we couldn’t wait any longer (and it’d had plenty of time to carbonate in the keg) and let’s just say that Halloween party-goers are in for a treat. It’s a nice Baltic style porter with a little pumpkin puree in the malt bill & chocolate malts leading to some interesting characteristics. It’s not too heavy and has a good mouth feel to it… easy to drink all day, or more than likely night. Hopefully there’ll still be some left to share at the Learn to Homebrew Day Party too, but we shall see.

 

Wednesday morning, we also helped brew an East Bay IPA at Elevation 66 Brewing with Big Ben & Don Jon (Super Dave has had some late nights with the Giants’ playoff run) and it was pretty standard. We did share some of our homebrew (Bock, ChocoNut Stout & Cali Common) and got some good feedback on how to improve them in the future, but overall they said they were pretty damn good… and we’d have to agree.

 

Wednesday night, Jackie D & I visited a new establishment called Hopwater Distribution on Nob Hill which boasts a 30-tap selection, all of California-based craft breweries… and it’s actually a VERY nice place. It was much quieter than I would’ve expected with the Giants game going (then again, it might just be because nobody knows of the place yet) and the selection was impressive with everything from a saison to an IPA to milk stouts and everything in between to choose from. They also had some… decent snacks. Not exactly enthralling but… decent. I’d highly recommend checking it out before it becomes super-douchey. It definitely has that kind of potential.

 

Later, we were invited to a special preview of the new blockbuster “Fury” starring Brad Pitt, Shia LeBeouf & Michael Pena… directed by David Ayer (“Harsh Times” & “End of Watch”). It’s a pretty simple premise, set during the closing days of WWII in the German front, there’s a five-man team of tank operators with a tried & true leader (Pitt), three men who’ve served years with him, and then the new kid who’s only been in the army for two months & is an innocent soul. Well, War is Hell as you might’ve guessed… and from the harsh director of “Harsh Times” comes a pretty gritty & grimy yet realistic story about this team going through the last mission when Germany is absolutely desperate, and to save thousands of lives, these men have to protect a major crossroads to the Allied trade route… and German tanks are FAR superior to American. Basically, the atmosphere set in this movie is pretty f**king amazing. You feel like you’re in the tank with them. It’s always dirty, grimy & gray (save for one scene that starts out pretty damn clean… and then ends as grimy as it gets, you’ll know when you see it). The personal conflicts going on with the leader & the noob are done pretty well… and the other three main characters have their own minor things… but they’re essentially there for exposition & showing what noobs can turn into after three years in the sh*t… and Pitt’s character trying to save the new kid from that… but also realize that until he’s sent back home, their lives depend on them being focused Nazi killing machines. The movie is intense. If you liked “Saving Private Ryan” but thought it had it’s moments of being a little too Spielberg-y, then this is the movie for you. It’s definitely a guy movie… lots of blood & guts… but Jackie D enjoyed it as well, just mentioned that it was really harsh. I highly recommend that you check it out if you like the genre… but be warned, don’t take the kids… even if tanks are pretty f**king cool.

  

Thursday night, I received a few goodies in the mail… more books about homebrewing!!! I obviously haven’t read through them yet… but first up is “Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery” which… as is pretty self-explanatory, a book about Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione (star of the briefly ran show “Brewmasters”) and his adventures in turning a hobby into a multi-million dollar business venture that’s ever expanding & lessons that he learned along the way. Obviously I’m a little interested, though I’m sure things/laws have changed since he started out. The other two books are “CloneBrews” by Tess & Mark Szamatulski & “Brewing Classic Styles” by Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer, both of which are essentially recipe books for making nearly 300 different beer recipes ranging from standard stuff you can find in any supermarket to award-winning homebrews to exotic & experimental recipes that the experienced authors just tried at home. I’ve taken a quick glance through some of their offerings… and you may be seeing them made on this blog pretty soon.

 

Well, I’ve got some reading to do… so until next time, have a great weekend everybody!!!

Honey Amber Transfer & Steve-Toberfest!!!

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

It has been a little bit of a busy week… but you know that’s how G’s do it. During the week, I went apartment hunting with Jackie D to help her try to do the impossible… which is find a reasonably sized one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco for under $3,000 a month… preferably under $2,000 but let’s not get too crazy. This IS San Francisco that we’re talking about. The city were the average selling price of a home went up over 30% this year when the national average was 1.4%. F**king insane… For what I pay as my share with three roommates in a townhouse… The Wingman pays less than HALF for a six-bedroom on acreage in Utah.

 

Anyway, we checked out a few places… and they were mostly in the Tenderloin the first few days… and they were pretty ridiculous. About 400 square feet studios… for about $1,800+ a month… and not exactly the finest amenities… and crackheads abound on every single block in that area. We were still optimistic with the search… but yeah, she was definitely looking into the roommate thing for a moment... and then on Friday, she luckily found a place that was half-decent... and "only" $2,300 a month... so yeah, she jumped all over that a few hours before she flew back to Philly. YAY!!! I'm excited for her... and I think she is too... but she's also running numbers in her head... I can tell. So excited for her return!

 

As for my apartment, the bathroom is still being redone… in fact, now COMPLETELY redone like even under the floorboards and everything since they found a bigger leak problem… so I should have it back by the end of next week. Fingers crossed… and in the meantime, all of my stuff is now in about a third of the space since the workers need to be able to walk entirely through my bedroom to access the bathroom… but yeah, it should be even better when they’re done. Allegedly they’re going to jack up the shower head to suit my six-foot-eight frame… but we’ll see if they even raise it to accommodate your average six-footer. Before it was… I don’t know… Asian influence? So yeah, fingers crossed.

 

Saturday, Izzy & I had some homebrewing duties to tend to… starting with the transfer of our future aware-winning Honey Amber Ale to the secondary fermenter…

 

Fancy bubbles from cleaning secondary carboy...

Mmm... look at that gorgeousness...

and the beer color...

How does it get that color?

This is the sediment taken out during

primary fermentation

Cleaning activity...

Then, since we had an open primary carboy, why not fill it up with our next batch - Blood Orange Hefeweizen!!! Based on a recipe from Dogfish Head Brewery’s owner in a Popular Mechanics article, it sounded pretty interesting… and since we were able to pick up some blood oranges in Watsonville last weekend, and the rest of the ingredients at homebrew shops, so decided to give it a try. The recipe is obviously pretty similar to our first batch of Bavarian Hefeweizen that we made in November… but with the addition of blood oranges into the wort & fermentation for a different colors & taste components… as well as about double the hops of our Bavarian Hefeweizen.

 

However, due to a few factors, we were simply NOT feeling it... and it wasn't essential... so we decided to not make the new batch & then we spent the weekend dogsitting for Izzy's aunts because... well, they have a teenage daughter who could do it but... she was busy... by being there 90% of the time... except when she went to Target... allegedly... let's face it, she's a teenage daughter who just doesn't want to do anything. Good for her. Regardless, we had fun anyway. We did squeeze the blood oranges from last week & got some zest... so it'll be well preserved for next week's batch to be brewed.

 

Now we will soon have the Oktoberfest Lager, Honey Amber Ale AND Blood Orange Hefeweizen doing their thing… and they should all be ready in time for our next big party. What is the party you ask? Why… it’s $TEVE-TOBERFEST!!! What is that? Well, it’s going to be my 33^rd birthday celebration… complete with ample beverages (like the 15 gallons of previously mentioned beer that I currently have fermenting& about 20 more gallons in other kinds of booze ready for drinking), some oompah music, Falco, and Izzy & I are going to try to make some amazing German foods like pretzels, spaetzle, some legit brauts and all that kind of stuff too. There will also be the triumphant return of… DAS BOOOOOOOOT!!! Details will be coming soon… but prepare thy selves for Epicness!

SF Beer Week 2014 - Part Two

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 

Yes… SF Beer Week has completed! Officially it completed on Sunday, but I’m pretty sure I’m not alone when I saw that it was celebrated well into the following day in honor of our Founding Fathers on President’s Day! Well, here’s a “quick” recap of how we celebrated the last half of Beer Week… $teve & Dizzy style…

 

Wednesday – Elevation 66 Brewery Assist

 

Wednesday morning, we arose at 4:15 AM to go join Super Dave & Big Ben at Elevation 66 Brewing and help them with a batch of their East Bay IPA. Since this was our third time helping out, we got to do a little more than last time… and hopefully by about a dozen more times they’ll probably just put us to work & supervise drinking their breakfast beers… but let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. Once again, they shared little tricks of the trade… and they had a recent issue of Beer Advocate magazine… and there were a few things that peeved Super Dave. See, Super Dave used to work with Pyramid Ales a few years back… and the person that they interviewed/referenced in the article about union workforce wasn’t even there three years ago… and she wasn’t even there when Pyramid ran into a bit of an issue (big recall on large batches of tainted nasty beer) but… okay, apparently it was just a horribly written article because it didn’t really say anything solid, just a lot of conjecture beating around what really happened, kind of blaming the incident on unions, and the cover girl wasn’t even there for it. I assume it was because she was a blonde with tig bitties alone.

 

Our super-sized boiling pot...

Mmm... smell-o-vision hops...

Hot girl cleaning out hot spent grains...

Super Dave & Big Ben are also “traditionalist” brewers… in that, they aren’t into all the new-fangled recipes like chocolate this & apricot that… they just want to make great beer. Their recipes are magnificent in their simplicity. They’d read something like “Two-row malt, some specialty grains, hops, same yeast for all beers they make, period.” However, with the different recipes, they are able to create some great beers from IPA to Kolsch to Stout… and a few variations involving barrel aging or using rye, etc. So when we were reading another article about breweries that open twitter accounts to come up with recipes… and the “brilliant” ideas that come from it are Blood Orange Green Tea Sours (no joke) or Chocolate & Banana Ice Cream Stout or something like that… they were not impressed. Luckily they feel the same way about beer that we do… it should be beer. There are some things to be said about giving what the customer wants… but they want good beer too. If they’re wanting Blood Orange & Green Tea in their beer… then they’re probably not a discerning pallet… nor will they probably be repeat customers because you’d probably make them a ridiculously horrible beer. Dogfish Head makes some… interesting beers… but that’s part of their appeal & they’re fairly established… but they also have 90 Minute IPA available anywhere that you can try their more unique selections too… and even then, it may not necessarily be your “cup of tea” but it’s a good beer that’s gone through their meticulous preparations & screening processes. Elevation 66 Brewing is VERY small… but they make great solid beer on a consistent basis… and that’s why they’ve been doing pretty well for themselves. I’m truly honored to be learning from them… and hopefully someday we can make them proud with our adventures.

 

Thursday – Bourbon Barrel Porter Tasting

 

Thursday night, after struggling to find advertised Dogfish Head Ales at Hops & Hominy and a theatre showing of “The Thin Man” at El Cerrito Theatre being sold out… Dizzy & I decided to just grab some Indo-Nepalese food, rent “The Thin Man” (review on my other blog), grab a few Dogfish Head brews at BevMo & head to my place for a little early Valentine’s Day celebration. However, that’s not why you’re here… to hear about our relationship… you’re here for the beer, not the gang bang. The Dogfish Head that we were “allowed” to try (single bottles only) were Midas Touch (alleged 2,700 year old ancient ale recipe from a drinking vessel near the tomb of King Midas that kinda tastes like a mix of beer, honey & wine ABV 9%) and Palo Santo Marron (unfiltered brown ale aged in 10,000 gallon handmade Paraguayan wood vessels ABV 12%). Both were really good… obviously not the traditional kinds of beers that Super Dave & Big Ben would probably love… but Dogfish Head does usually make fine brews though sometimes just REALLY out-there exotic & semi-pretentious. Still though, I’d try them again for the right price.

 

We also shared one of our Bourbon Barrel Porter bottles since they were about ready, being almost nine weeks since the original brew day. We were a little skeptical with how it was going to taste for a few reasons. First, due to the holidays, the primary fermentation was four weeks instead of the usual two weeks in the recipe. As mentioned in previous posts, this shouldn’t be a huge issue… but a mild concern. Then it spent about three weeks in secondary fermentation… and luckily there was still some good yeast action (bubbles in the airlock) at first, but then really slow towards the end. Secondly,  we added high alcohol bourbon & yeast tends to die out when the alcohol content reaches a certain point. That was my thought for the slow bubbling towards the end. Thirdly, there’s always a little concern in the bottling process when you mix in the sugars to reactivate the yeast, hoping that it’s all uniform through all the bottles, hoping that all the yeast were already dead from OD’ing on fine Maker’s Mark Bourbon, and just that all the steps along the way were done in a manner that will produce the best beer possible. Yeah, I’m kind of a Nervous Nellie when it comes to MY booze.

 

Well, let me assure you now, that after the first taste test of our BB Porter… that it’s pretty f**king FANTASTIC!!! Comparing it to other professional level barrel aged porters & the like, there’s the smooth malty porter flavor and that smoky essence from the wood chips & the bourbon aromas going through your nasal passages… and a little added bonus is the distinct hoppy notes. See, because this was only “aged” in our setup for about two months, the hops are MUCH stronger (though still fairly low on the IBU scale) than those that are really barrel aged… because those are usually aged in the barrels for 8-12 months, sometimes more. The bitter notes from hops tend to lose their potency fairly rapidly. That’s why many of the IPA’s in their bottling have some notes on them that say stuff like “Keep refrigerated” or “Enjoy as soon as possible for maximum hop flavor”. It’s not JUST because they want you to drink it & then get another six-pack the next day (though it’s definitely a good angle) but it’s because they want you to get the most out of your hoppy beverage… and not think that their product is sh*t because you didn’t enjoy it in a timely manner. Beer isn’t wine… unless it’s barleywine or stuff like this… but those aren’t made for their hoppiness. Now you know… no need to thank me, just pay it forward. I’m merely the messenger.

 

Bourbon Barrel Porter
All-Grain Kit	5 gallons
Ingredients
Mash Ingredients	9.5 lbs	English Maris Otter
	1 lb	Weyermann Pale Wheat
	1 lb	English Chocolate Malt
	1/2 lb	English Black Malt
	1/2 lb	English Dark Crystal
Hops	1 oz	Chinook (60 mins)
	1/2 oz	US Goldings (15 mins)
	1/2 oz	US Goldings (5 mins)
Yeast		Danstar Windsor Ale Yeast
Secondary Ferm Add	2 oz	Medium-plus toast American Oak cubes
	16 oz	Maker's Mark Bourbon
Mash Schedule	Single Infusion
Saach' Rest:	152*F for 60 mins
Mashout:	170*F for 10 mins
Cook Date/Primary Ferm	12/15/2013
Secondary Ferm	1/12/2014	4 weeks (later than normal 2 wks)
Bottled	2/2/2014	7 weeks (typically 6 wks)
First Taste	2/13/2014	9 weeks
Reaction	Fantastic! Hoppier than most barrel aged on pro level
	May get better with age too, still young
	Possible new favorite thus far
Adjustments?	Real barrel next time? Not just wood chips & Maker's Mark?
	Experiment with other liquors?

 

So yeah, our porter was pretty fantastic… and we’re also pretty excited to see how it might improve with a little age. Also, we were really psyched about sharing our Homebrew with the Guild at an event later in the week, so that they could give us notes on our process & beers that we’ve made… and with this being our first all-grain recipe… ugh, just SO EXCITED!!! I feel like we’re doing so good for how new to the game we are & learning so much from so many great people and published or online resources. YAY US!!!

 

Well, that should do it for this entry. Next time, we'll talk about our Valentine's / President's / Chinese New Year / SF Beer Week Closeout Weekend with a few festivals, tastings, sharings, parties & whatever we run into. Have a great weekend everybody!!! Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Brewmasters & Joining the Guild

October 15, 2013

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

 
 

Over the weekend, we also watched “Brew Masters” starring Sam Calagione & the rest of the crew at Dogfish Head Brewery of international fame based in Delaware. The show only lasted six episodes, one of which was never aired in the U.S. apparently, but the other five are on Netflix. The story is that… the show was cancelled because “Big Beer” may have threatened to take out their advertising… but whatever case, the ratings were kind of low too. I didn’t even know about it until a few weeks ago. Each episode focuses on the development of one of two of their unique beers… usually starting with the inspiration behind it or the (sometimes convenient) tie-in with another company or event in the industry… then going through the research involved, experimentation of various ideas, sometimes travels to different places around the world (must be sweet to be rolling in dough like that), some problems along the way… and then finally the end product, a craft beer. Regardless of whether I’d try the beer that they made (Chicha still makes me vomit at the thought) the whole process was pretty sweet to watch however doctored for TV it might be… and also, Sam’s a pretty charismatic guy to narrate a show like that… though I kept thinking of Zac Bagans from “Ghost Adventurers” for some reason. Not nearly as douchey though… so I really enjoyed the show. Too bad that “Big Beer” had to shut ‘em down… like they’ve tried to do with several of their most popular beers like Punkin’ Ale & Chicory Stout. Merciless in those billion-dollar industries… but still, check out the show if you can.

 

After the VGCs, we headed into town to the Main Street Brewery and sampled their Raspberry Hefeweizen & all-day IPA which were on special… as well as their Cajun Fries & Nachos, which were all pretty amazing. We watched a little bit of the 49ers game… Yes, I gave up football for the VGCs because I’m amazing… but yeah, pretty nice place. I’d recommend it if you’re in the area.

 

Tuesday night, Dizzy & I went to the San Francisco Homebrewer’s Guild Meeting at Anchor Steam Brewery to meet some of our peers in this Homebrewing adventure. We showed up & they had some of the great Anchor Steam brews on tap… complimentary to attendees. Yeah… great beer too. We mingled & met a few of the members… and most of them have been doing it for 8… 15… 20+ years off & on. So then they asked how long we’ve been doing it, “Six weeks.” I think we got a little bit of credibility already coming to meetings like this when we’re so new to the game & so passionate about it… so yeah pretty sweet.

 

The Guild had some special guest speakers come to talk about “Sour Beers” (the purposely sour kinds) and a lot of the talk was more scientific than we have ventured into yet, but having read the books I was right there for most of it. I’m sure it’ll make even more sense down the road when we have a few brews under our belt. Afterwards, we mingled some more & tasted some of the other brews that members brought along for feedback (pretty good). Next time we may have to bring in our Red Ale & perhaps our Pumpkin Ale or Hefeweizen to get some feedback on how to make the beer even better. You know, whether it’s stuff like Irish Moss for clarity or maybe add a dash more hops or anything like that. These guys & gals seem to be pretty legit. Also, with membership, we get a 10% discount at brewshops… which is cool because we were going to go shopping this weekend anyway. BONUS!!! The meetings are monthly and we’re already pretty excited about going back.

By the way, did anybody catch that Utes pounding of Stanford over the weekend? First big win since the Sugar Bowl over Alabama for the Utes! Congrats! Have a great day everybody!!!