The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival
GPBF2009
The Great Pumpkin Beer Festival 2009 is almost here! I have never got to go in the past, but when you boast something like pouring beer straight out of a gigantic pumpkin, you can count me in! Nine beers by the Elysian as well as other Washington beer and beers from Allagash, Russian River, and Southern Tier – all amazing world class brewers! If you are in Seattle and here this weekend, I’d have to question your sanity if you’re not there!
Add comment October 8, 2009
Crooked Rooster — A Belgian Pumpkin Ale
So I got the idea for this beer reading the latest Zymurgy (by the way, if you are not a member of the American Homebrewer’s Association, you most certainly should be). AHA’s National Homebrew Competition was covered with an awesome sounding beer in the Spice/Herb/Vegetable Category: “Mashing Pumpkins Spiced Saison”. Now beers like this are why I homebrew.
So it was love at first sight and I needed to get down to the homebrew store. I got my grains, but to my dismay, there was no Saison yeast to be had. But no need to panic, that’s what RDWHAHB is all about, right? So I decided to go with the trusty Wit yeast for some of the spicy phenolic character to bring out the nutmeg. Here is what I ended up wit (heh):
Batch Size: 10.00 gal Boil Size: 12.27 gal Estimated OG: 1.060 SG Estimated Color: 11.2 SRM Estimated IBU: 19.1 IBU Brewhouse Efficiency: 80.00 % Boil Time: 60 Minutes Ingredients: ------------ Amount Item Type % or IBU 15 lbs 15.0 ozPale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.77 % 12.1 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 % 12.1 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L (80.0 SRM) Grain 3.85 % 12.1 oz White Wheat Malt (2.4 SRM) Grain 3.85 % 1.80 oz Goldings, B.C. [4.20 %] (60 min) Hops 11.6 IBU 0.95 oz Saaz [7.70 %] (20 min) Hops 7.5 IBU 0.33 cup Nutmeg (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 2.00 lb Pumpkin (Mash 60.0 min) Misc 4.00 items Cinnamon Stick (Boil 5.0 min) Misc 6.00 items Cloves, Whole (Boil 10.0 min) Misc 1 lbs 8.3 oz Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM) Sugar 7.69 % 1 Pkgs Belgian Witbier (Wyeast Labs #3944) Yeast-Wheat Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Light Body Total Grain Weight: 18.22 lb ---------------------------- Single Infusion, Light Body Step Time Name Description Step Temp 60 min Mash In Add 27.33 qt of water at 164.6 F 153.0 F 10 min Mash Out Heat to 168.0 F over 2 min 168.0 F Notes: ------ didn't take OG Wild ferment on 2 gallons Outdoor: 13 2/3 brix
I was hoping this one would be good. I’m a big fan of pumpkin, but am not impressed with most pumpkin beers. They are mostly budweiser with a little pumpkin pie spice. But this beer was something special. A real Winner. It sports a light copper color with a light and refreshing taste but a suprisingly robust mouthfeel that screams pumpkin! It is truly one of my favorite beers to date, and sadly, I just took the last sip. It was quite poetic as I went to poor a glass before sitting down to write this that I heard the all to familiar “Hissssss” of the last glass.
It may have been short, but it was quite the trip with this beer. I may just be crazy, because this beer only weighed in at about about 5.5%ABV, but I think there was a little extra kick in there. Needless to say, I’m brewing this again. SOON.
Sidenote: You may notice in the notes that I also had a little extra, so I threw it in 1 Gallon jugs and let it go WILD! I put one in the fermenter and one in the porch just to see what would happen. I started by puting a coffee filter over the top to keep out bugs and the like, but that proved to be too much of a barrier. So I just decided to go big or go home and opened them up to whatever would like to go all primordial on my wort. When those finish fermenting, I’ll let you know if this is a good idea or not. I’m hoping for the best. Next time I try this, I will probably stick an airlock on at the first sign of activity to limit the sheer mass of bugs (I am referring to the big ones and the microorganisms here) I get in the fermenter.
3 comments October 7, 2009
More Pumpkin, Please!
I’ve recently decided to promote fall to my favorite season. It’s not necessarily the weather, maybe a bit to do with the colors: but mostly it’s about the beer. I simply love a good Octoberfest beer and wait anxiously for their return each September. But even more so, I await the arrival of the pumpkin beers. There is something magical about throwing a little pumpkin in the mash, or boil, or just dumping a fresh wort right into a pumpkin!
That last point is my mission for this year. I have a lone pumpkin growing out in my garden, destined for greatness. The goal is to set this baby on my thanksgiving table, full of beer, and perhaps even a tad carbonated (if I get so lucky).
Add comment October 7, 2009
Update
So if you haven’t checked it out, drop by Hoppybrewing.com and check out the progress. I’m slowly getting the database set up so that I will have a fully searchable database of batches and all the pertinent data surrounding them. I’m also working on getting the css set up so that it will look good. But function over form for now, I want to get things working before I make them beautiful.
I have this weekend to work on the new site and get it going. I’ll leave this sit up for now, at least until we can import everything over to there from here.
Cheers!
I tried to get all fancy and have come back for some good, old-fashioned blogging. Maybe this way I’ll post instead of coding.
Add comment April 3, 2008
Nightengale Honey Ale – Batch 010
Well, this is batch number 10. It’s hard to believe it’s only been that many. So in my quest for a light yet flavorful honey lager, I’ve changed names from SB² to Nightengale Honey Ale. I think that the name needed to reflect the presence of honey, and a reference to a visionary leader, Florence Nightengale, to truly shine.
Here’s the recipe:
Date: Mar 27
5 lbs 2-row Malt
1 lb Crystal-10 Malt
1/2 lb Honey Malt
3 1/2 lbs Clover Honey
2 oz. Cascade Plug hops @ 60 min
1/2 oz. dried sweet orange peel @ 15 min
1 tsp Irish Moss @ 15 min
San Fran Lager Yeast (Steam Beer Yeast) (Wyeast liquid yeast)
I did a single step mash because I did this batch after work and didn’t have a bunch of time to get it done: 75 min at 155°. I sparged with 175 degree water (5 gallons). I boiled in the keggle for 60 minutes, adding the hops and orange in there, and then cooled it and pitched the yeast at 70 degrees.
It was a real pain draining the keg after boiling – I forgot to put in the copper mesh strainer on the inside, and so the drain got plugged by hops and I had to just dump the liquid out the top, which made a wonderful mess. I won’t forget that again. But at least this time I did end up with 6 gallons after my boil, a little more than I needed, which was perfect.
The OG was 1045, which is exactly what SB² was – I’m excited to give it a month and see how it tastes!
1 comment March 29, 2008
Better SB Squared
Next up in the beer arena is going to be SB² again. This time I am dropping the ginger and hoping to pick up more of the orange peel flavor. In addition, I am planning to use Steam Beer yeast. This yeast is actually a lager yeast, but you ferment it between 60º-68º instead of colder temps. This is what Anchor Steam Beer is famous for. The other change I am going to make is I am going to add some wheat. I’m not sure quite how it will work out yet as far as proportions, but I’ll figure it out and I plan on brewing tomorrow since I am gone this weekend to Mt. Rushmore and I need to crank some beer out before then!
Add comment March 27, 2008
Orange Ginger Mead – Batch 009
So I caught the brew bug last night at about 4:30pm, right before I left the office. I had some honey and yeast already sitting at home, so tonight was a mead night. I had been looking for something interesting to make and had decided a few days ago that a ginger mead needed to be attempted. So I swung by the local Food Co-op, picked up some ginger, and headed home.
Not being a simple man, I knew I needed one more ingredient to make the mead really shine. I was searching the cupboards when I noticed the fruit basket out of the corner of my eye. A lone orange was calling to me. My quest was complete. Here, then, is the recipe:
7 ½ lbs Colorado Wildflower Honey
½ lb fresh thin-sliced Ginger
Zest of one medium-sized orange
Additives:
1 ½ tsp Yeast Nutrient
3 tsp Yeast Energizer
Lalvin K1-V1116 re-hydrated in 105º water for 15 minutes
I brought 2 gallons of water up to about 178º and then removed it from the burner (to avoid scorching the honey) and added the wildflower honey. At the same time, I added the orange peel and the sliced ginger. I let that sit at 155º for 30 minutes. Then I cooled it down to 70º and transferred it into my 3 gallon carboy, ginger and all.
The OG was 1.084.
I’ll let it go for a month, then rack it off the ginger and orange peel. It sure does smell amazing though! I can’t wait for this one to age a bit! I now have 8 gallons of mead either in the primary or secondary, plus about ten 12 oz bottles left from batch 001. I should have a decent supply now, as soon as some of those in the carboys get settled and then bottled.
2 comments March 26, 2008
Hoppybrewing.com
It’s official! I just bought hoppybrewing.com and the blog will be moving there shortly. Until then, check here and I will work out the rest when the time comes!
1 comment March 26, 2008
New Domain
With any luck, I’ll be moving the blog by this weekend to a new domain. I’m looking around for some good ones. Too bad brewbeer.com is not available – it’s a lame site too, I wish I could have it. Anyway, be looking forward to that and a decent looking blog in the upcoming weeks.
Add comment March 25, 2008
Clementine’s Molasses Porter – Bottling 007
Happy Easter! I am celebrating by breaking out a bottle of homebrew and getting down to business.
I’m bottling Clementine’s Porter today. I’ve decided to do 3 gallons with the normal proportion of dextrose sugar, but for the other 2 gallons I am priming with molasses (at the rate of 1 cup per 5 gallons). I’m only doing two gallons of the molasses-primed stuff because I think it may overpower the beer. But it may be perfect – who knows…
I also have planned a ginger mead with a hint of orange. I am really trying to stockpile my mead and keep up with production so that I don’t have to ration so carefully and can feel free to drink it when I have the urge to do so.
FG 1.011
I’ll go ahead and stick this with the 007 post.
Add comment March 24, 2008
