Yes I have been Brewing Too

I was just noticing that it has been sometime since I've posted anything about actually brewing. Well I have been trying to brew around every 4 to 6 weeks. Since my last Brew Day post I've done an American Pale Ale, Robust Porter, Black IPA and the old staple Cream Ale (with a slight adjustment). I'm going to do another APA next. I always seem to do the Cream Ale and APA back to back because of trying to use up the small amount of hops in the Cream Ale. I pick up some grains and usually some Cascade and I'm good to go. For those interested, here are the recipes for

American Pale Ale
Cream Ale  - I wanted to get the adjuncts up to 20% so I adjusted the flaked corn to 1.75 lbs and the Crystal 10 to 0.50lbs to lighten the color.

Robust Porter
----------------
Batch Size (G):           5
Total Grain (lb):         13.500
Total Hops (oz):          2.00
Original Gravity (OG):    1.064  (°P): 15.7
Final Gravity (FG):       1.016  (°P): 4.1
Alcohol by Volume (ABV):  6.29 %
Colour (SRM):             32.5 
Bitterness (IBU):         18.2   (Tinseth)
Boil Time (Minutes):      70

Grain Bill
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10.000 lb Pale Malt
1.250 lb Crystal 40
1.250 lb Munich
0.750 lb Chocolate
0.250 lb Black Patent

Hop Bill
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1.00 oz East Kent Golding Pellet (4.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes
0.50 oz East Kent Golding Pellet (4.7% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes
0.50 oz East Kent Golding Pellet (4.7% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes


Single step Infusion at 154°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 64°F with Wyeast 1056 - American Ale


Black IPA
----------------
Batch Size (G):           5
Total Grain (lb):         13.875
Total Hops (oz):          4.00
Original Gravity (OG):    1.074  (°P): 18.0
Final Gravity (FG):       1.015  (°P): 3.8
Alcohol by Volume (ABV):  7.76 %
Colour (SRM):             28.2
Bitterness (IBU):         63.3   (Tinseth)
Boil Time (Minutes):      70

Grain Bill
----------------
11.000 lb American 2-Row (79.28%)
1.500 lb Crystal 10 (10.81%)
0.750 lb Carafa II malt (5.41%)
0.625 lb Special Roast (4.5%)

Hop Bill
----------------
1.00 oz Warrior Pellet (16.7% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.4% Alpha) @ 30 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.4% Alpha) @ 15 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.4% Alpha) @ 2 Minutes (Boil)
0.75 oz Warrior Pellet (16.7% Alpha) @ 2 Minutes (Boil)
0.50 oz Cascade Pellet (6.4% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)
0.25 oz Warrior Pellet (16% Alpha) @ 0 Days (Dry Hop)

Single step Infusion at 150°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 65°F with Wyeast 1056 - American Ale
I dry hopped for the last 4 days that I had the beer in the fermenter.

Four Leaf Mash Paddle

Every gift I got for Christmas this year was beer related. I got a refractometer, a weldless fitting to convert a keg to a keggle and other miscellaneous stuff. But by far the coolest thing was my personalize mash paddle from my father-in-law. Its a 36" paddle made of unfinished maple. It has a nice long handle that would make stirring the mash a breeze. Can't wait to try it out in a few weekends.

Breweries - Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. - Pleasantville, NY

While back home in NY for the Christmas holiday I took a run up to Captain Lawrence Brewing Company which is tucked away in the small town of Pleasantville, NY. Most people would even know the brewery was ever there. But by the number of folks lined up for growlers, they sure have a true local following!

I had been there once before but forgot a camera. I wanted to make sure to get there on this trip home because it is likely the last time I get to this location. They are in the process of moving the brewery a few miles south into the town of Elmsford, NY (which will make it even easier to visit when I go home to NY). By the lines of growler patrons, there is no doubt they need a bigger place to handle retail sales and tastings.

Here are a few pictures from inside the brewery. It is one large open room in a warehouse.

They have quite a few barrels, even more than what you see here. Scott Vaccaro (Owner/Head Brewer) is a big fan of aging in barrels.

While I was at the brewery I picked up a growler of their Kolsh and a bottle of the Saison. I also was able to find at the local supermarket their 5 Year Anniversary Beer called "5 Years Later", their 2008 GABP Gold Winning "Xtra Gold American Tripel Ale", an their "Imperial IPA"

I have not opened any of them yes as we just recently got home. But if its anything like their beers I've tasted at the brewery, I'm sure they will be awesome!

Carboys, Why?

I used a carboy for the first time today. A co-worker gave me a 5 gallon one a while back but I never used it. I like the ease of buckets and using the carboy today confirmed that. The carboy is being used to secondary a cider that I plan to age for a few months before kegging. To clean it was a pain in the butt. The previous owner left some stuff behind so I had to rig up a wash cloth on the end of a bottle brush to try to scrape it out. Wasn't that easy. Also, I was also terrified of dropping it when it was covered with soap.

The work it took the clean and the fear of scattering glass seems not worth using a carboy for a normal 2-3 week fermentations. During that time you will have no issues just using a plastic bucket. They are so much easier to clean and no fear of breakage. I can see using carboys for longer-term storage as I am with this cider, but unless I'm in a pitch for space (which usually isn't an issue), I don't ever plan to use a carboy. I know some people may give me crap about that, but hey, that's just my opinion.

Air in your beer lines?

Though I don't have the collar on or the shanks installed yet, I have a chest freezer stocked with 3 kegs right now. They are all connected via picnic taps.

With the newest keg that I put in, it poured mainly foam and there was a ton of air pockets in the beer line (clear so I can see them).  I know many first think "you need to balance your system". I'd agree with that if it wasn't for the fact that the other two kegs work just fine. The air pockets in the line really is what confused me too. If the system was unbalanced, it shouldn't foam up until you pour and the resistance kicks in and not leave air pockets in the beer line.

I posted a question on the Northern Brewer forum (my go to forum) and someone gave me a suggestion to check my o-rings. I took the keg apart and I was missing o-rings between my dip tubes, both gas and beer lines, and the keg. It had been a while since I used this keg and I remember after the last batch in this keg I pitched the o-rings because they were worn out but never replaced them.

I had some extra o-rings laying around, replaced them and BINGO we have a good pour.

So the next time you have foam in your beer lines and you know your system is balanced, the o-rings may be worn/damaged or in my case, just fully missing.