StarSan - Sanitizer and Leak Finder

I'm not sure if its bad luck, carelessness or a combination of both that has caused issues with CO2 the last couple years. I’ve had issues with a keg lid, o-rings and a hairline fracture in a regulator that all lead to leaks in my kegging system. Those I don’t believe I did anything wrong. However, not fully tightening the gas socket on the keg was my fault.  

I went to check on my 10 lbs CO2 tank today since I just filled those Porter kegs and to my disappointment it was empty. I filled it just 2 months ago so I know something was wrong. Now it became a game of find the leak. This is where StarSan comes in! 

Because of how easily StarSan foams up, it’s the perfect medium for looking for leaks because it bubbles like crazy. So I carefully went through each connection on my system looking for leaks. Nothing after 3 kegs. Finally I got to the gas socket on the 4^th keg and it started to bubble. I tightened it up and the bubbles stopped. Problem solved. This does teach me to check all of my connections one last time after filling a new keg. 

I learned a trick today when I talked to the guy at the CO2 place about my leak. He said, turn on the CO2 tank, lets it fill the entire system and balance out and then turn off the gas at the CO2 tank. If there is a leak, you’ll see the pressure slowly start to drop on the regulator since you are not forcing in any more pressure from the tank. If there is no leak, it should hold pressure in the regulator.

So I hope I go downstairs later or tomorrow and still find that everything is still OK.

Vanilla Porter

I'm a rather conservative brewer. Because of the amount of time it takes to go from grain to glass, I typically avoid putting "non-grain" flavors into my beers with fear of overdoing it. I decided with this last batch to step out of my comfort zone a little. I like having my Robust Porter around for winter. One of my wife's favorite beers is Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter. So I figured, maybe do a split batch and try putting a fresh vanilla bean in. If I screw it up, its just half a batch. I wasn't going for a clone, but hoping for a smooth vanilla tasting/smelling porter.  

I did some research and a lot of what I read said that you should use 1 whole vanilla bean for every 5 gallons of beer. The impression I get is that a little bit bean goes a long way. Since I was going to split the batch, I only needed half a bean. Too bad they don't sell half beans as it cost me $6 for one bean at Whole Foods! 

For those that have never seen one, here is what a vanilla bean looks like. Sort of like a brown, shriveled up string bean.  



What you want to do is expose as much of the inside of the bean to the beer. That is where all the good stuff is. I cut the bean lengthwise and scrapped out all the contents. It wasn’t what I expected. The inside of the bean is like the consistency of a very fine coffee ground. I cut up the pod too into small pieces to again allow as much of the inside of the pod make contact with the beer.



I dumped the entire bean and it insides into a Better Bottle. I then racked half of the porter right on top. Figured by putting the bean in first that it would help mix it up fully as it racked.

As early as the next day, there was a nice vanilla aroma coming off the beer. I can see how you can easily overdue it though! The plan was to have the beer in contact with the bean for at least 10 days.

I just racked the beer to kegs yesterday so I have yet to taste a fully finished product. But there is a nice, clear vanilla aroma and a slight vanilla in the finish. So far, so good. I’m very interested to see if the flavors changes at all once it is carbed up like does the CO2 enhance or suppress the vanilla.

For those that want the recipe, is pretty much Jamil’s….

10 lb American 2-Row (74.07%)
1.25 lb Crystal 40 (9.26%)
1.25 lb Munich I (9.26%)
0.75 lb Chocolate (5.56%)
0.25 lb Black Patent (1.85%)

1 oz East Kent Golding Pellet @ 60 Minutes
0.5 oz East Kent Golding Pellet @ 10 Minutes
0.5 oz East Kent Golding Pellet @ 5 Minutes

Vanilla bean added after beer was fully fermented and left it in for 10 days.

Drink Local - Support Craft Beer "Sellers"

Though I love everything about homebrewing, I admit that compared to some of you, I've been less passionate about the craft beer scene. I don't check-in every beer on Untappd or drop everything to go try the newest "must have" beer on tap. I do however admire craft brewers that make that leap from homebrewing to pro-brewing.

I've recently decided that I'm going to start writing a business plan for a brewery. Part of my 10 year plan? Perhaps, or maybe just the daydreams of a guy that loves to brew.  I truly don't know. Writing down every detail into a structured format as it comes to me is a discipline that will help me in other aspects of my career (I shared a document I wrote with my group’s VP about how the retail energy business is similar to the craft beer industry and he loved it!).

As I started my business plan research, it gave me a new appreciation for the professional craft brewer, or really what they are -- craft beer sellers. They are not in the business of making beer; they are in the business of selling beer. Anyone can learn to make beer, but not everyone will be fortunate enough to successfully sell it.

I also now appreciate the phrase "Drink Local.” I see people post it on Twitter and I never really gave it much thought. But when you think about what it means, it’s incredibly important. It goes beyond trying the new local  beer just to try it; it’s about supporting local/regional business over the long-term. Every time you buy a pint/bottle of something local, you play a role in giving that brewery the chance to brew (or actually sell) another day. No different than supporting a "mom-and-pop" restaurant vs. a nationwide chain.

As quickly as craft brewers are popping up around the country, there is the unfortunate reality that many of them will fail. And likely, they didn’t fail at brewing beer, they failed at selling beer.

This awareness now changes how I will drink craft beer. When I have the opportunity to go out, or when I travel, I make every attempt to purchase at least one local/regional beer. It is very easy to play my part in supporting the local craft beer seller.

If you have friends that are scared to drink anything that doesn't say Bud, Miller or Coors on it, buy them a local craft beer to try. I have successfully changed minds of people and maybe you can too. By doing this, you not only open their mind to a whole new world of beer, but you also support local businesses.

There are tons of ways to find local breweries. I've found PubQuest and Craftbeer.com to be pretty helpful when travelling.

If you happen to be in Cincinnati, here's a list** of local breweries to support:

Blank Slate Brewing
Rivertown Brewing
Mt Carmel Brewing
Triple Digit Brewing
50 West Brewing
Great Crescent Brewery
Christain Moerlein

**I hope I didn't forget anyone! Let me know if I need to add any!

 

 

 

Awards in Back to Back Competitions!

Coming off of my third place medal for my Cream Ale in the light hybrids category at Dayton Draft's Brewfest, I got another 3rd place award for my Munich Helles in the light lagers category and Honorable Mention for my Black Lager in the dark lager category at CMI's Oktobersbest competition. I was happy to be able to place in my clubs competition!

The funny thing about the Munich Helles is that a day after the competition I went to take a pint off the tap, I was able to get 1 pint and another few drops out before the keg was kicked! I was so close to not being able to enter that beer. I'm glad I did!

Award Drought is Over!

I don't brew to win awards, but when I do it feels good! Though it was a few weeks ago already, my Cream Ale took 3rd Place for the Light Hybrid flight at the Dayton Draft's Brewfest! It was this same competition that I took my first (and only) award with last year and I haven't placed since. So its nice to have the drought over.

Funny thing is that the Cream Ale was my lowest scoring of the 3 beers I entered. I don't have score sheets back yet, but I was able to get a sneak peak into the final scores to see how the other beers scored. I can't wait to see the feedback I got to see how I can improve. I enter competitions to get feedback!

The other funny part about this cream ale is that it was the first time with this recipe. I tried to take on the SMaSH approach. Cream Ale's are supposed to be "simple" yet flavorful. My previous recipe had some crystal malts for color, etc and those are not really needed. So I really trimmed the recipe down to the basics. I was really happy with the results. It was a slighty variation of a Jamil recipe.

Here is what I did for a 5 gal batch

Grain Bill
----------------
4.25 lb American 2-Row (42.5%)
4.25 lb Pilsner (42.5%)
1.50 lb Flaked Corn (15%)

Hop Bill
----------------
0.50 oz Cluster Pellet @ 60 Minutes
0.50 oz Hallertau Pellet @ 5 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 150°F for 60 Minutes.
Fermented at 63°F with Wyeast 1056 - American Ale

I'm now a BJCP Judge!

After nearly 5 months of waiting, I finally got my BJCP tasting score and I passed. Barely, but I passed. So I'm now a Recognized BJCP judge. I have a big problem detecting diacetyl and I know I got dinged heavy one beer for that.

Not going to have to wait too long to break in the new rank as I'm heading up to Dayton, OH this weekend to judge in the Dayton Drafts Brewfest. I won my first award at this competition last year so I'm excited to be a part of the judging this year.

Hopefully I can blog this weekend that I took another award!

First Hop Harvest

So after 2 years of growing I had my first hop harvest. It was a very small amount, just 0.4 ounces of Cascade after being dried, but I'll take it. Just enough to add to a beer and say I used my own hops to suppliment.

 

I had a few hop cones on my US Tettnag, but they ended up dying in the heat. I'm hopefully that what I learned about the plants this year that I can do much better next year!

DIY Stud Finder - I Know, Not Homebrew

Ok, so I know that this post isn't related to homebrewing, but I came up with the idea because of homebrewing so I figured I'd share.

A few years ago while putting up some baseboards I put a nail right through a water line (which homebuilder had WAY to close to dry wall) and I had water shooting into my bathroom. Calling a plumber on a Sunday wasn't cheap. Since then, I've been a little gun shy about putting nails in the wall where I suspect pipes may be. Well I just replaced all the floors in my house so I also had to replace all the baseboards. I debated going out and buying a stud finder but I didn't want to spend the money.

I then had the idea that maybe I could just use a magnet to find the nails in the studs. The stronger the magnet the better. Then the light bulb when off. I had the earth magnets that I took out of hard drives to build stir plates (yes, here is the homebrew connection). They worked perfect. I'd pass them over the wall and the magnets would have a strong pull to the nails in the drywall and just hang there.

So if you got an old harddrive laying around, take out the earth magents and you'd have yourself a free stud finder.

SMaSH Brewing - Is Simple Better?

Drew Beechum of the famed Maltose Falcons did a talk at this years NHC about SMaSH brewing. SMaSH stands for single malt and single hop. Many of us spend so much time trying to load our beer with various malts and hops in search of that perfect homebrew. Does it really make a better beer?

That is open for debate. But Drew makes a case on why simple is better and I thought I'd share it with the group. It was enough to convince me to give it a shot and maybe I'll do some write up on what I find.

Burrs continue to Pop Up

My Cascade plant is the only one that has any burrs this year. I'm not that disappointed. I'm just happy that I can see it for the first time from at least one variety. Burrs continue to pop out at ever leaf level as it climbs.

A lot of the cones have brown tips. Not sure what that means so I'm going to have to research. Wonder if it could just be the intense daily heat and sun that is just scorching them. Either way, there appears to be plenty of burrs that I should take at least some harvest this year, even if just a few ounces. I'll take that!

Cascade Has Plenty of Burrs

I continue to heavily water the hops in this near 100 degree heat and they seem to love it, especially the Cascade. I noticed the other day that burrs are starting to form. Very exciting! I thought I saw some burrs last year, but I now know they were just the arms forming. None of the other plants are showing signs of burrs but I'll settle on just one variety this year as a start. Maybe those other plants will surprise me before the end of the season.

Hops Need Water....Duh

Last spring was one of the rainest times in Cincinnati history. I had poor drainage for my hops and my US Tettnang spent much of the spring under water. I felt that was a reason for a disappointing first season. My plants (4 varieties) didn't get that tall and I didn't even get one cone.

I built up the bed last fall and felt I gave my hops a much better growning enviornment and they started off this season great. But as of 2 weeks ago most of my plants were only around 6 feet tall. What was I doing wrong? I'm now certain it was a lack of water during this current spring. I was so afraid of overwatering after last year that this year I likely didn't water enough.

Now that it is in the mid 90s everyday, I've tried to get out there and water daily and the hops are taking off! The Cascade and Mt. Hood are easily growing  a few inches a day and the Cascade is putting out a ton of arms. Everything I've read said that they need plenty of water. I tried to keep them wet during this past spring and early summer, but it wasn't anywhere close to enough I now know.

So my plan is to continue to water them daily while its hot and hope for the best. Now for next year, a much stricker watering schedule earlier in the spring. Though I know I won't have a great yield, I'd love to at least get some cones this season! Time will tell.

Breweries - Captain Lawrence Brewing Co #2. - Elmsford, NY



A few months back I posted about Captain Lawrence Brewing Company and being glad I got some pictures before they left Pleasantville. I was able to check out the new facility in Elmsford recently. Wow! Massive compared to the Pleasantville locale.

Just like Pleasantville, the new location is tucked in the back of an industrial area and if you were not looking for it, you'd not even know it was there. However, as soon as I turned off the road and saw the silo, I knew I was in the right place.

As I came around the back side of the building, you get a look at a new beer garden they've put together. It would be awesome to sit out on a nice evening and put back a few pints of some fresh beer that you just picked up from inside.

As soon as I stepped into the new building I was blown away by the size of the tasting room. I was used to the small room and bar they used to have. There is plenty of room now for folks to grab some beer, stand around and chat and not feel crammed.

Just off of the tasting room is a glass door with a fenced off area that you are free to walk out and check out the production facility. They were in full bottling mode that day!

I'm assuming they added some capacity just by the pure number of vessels I saw.

Before leaving picked up a growler of their "Freshchester" (Pale Ale and play on words of the County of Westchester).

Overall was really impressed with the new facility and I'll plan to try to stop and an pick up a growler everytime I'm back in my home town.





BJCP Tasting Exam

Today I took the BCJP tasting portion of the exam. It really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I feel we were lucky in the fact that we got all beers that were reasonable and you can take a good guess if they are in style even if you didn't know all the specs from the style guidelines.

Gordon Strong was one of the two proctors/graders. So yes, my score has to be in line with Gordon's score for me to pass.....ugh. The proctors spent time with us after to discuss what they thought of the beers and their scores. I think I did fair. I wrote a lot on each one, so even on the 1 that I didn't score in line with them with I hope that I'll get a fair amount of credit for talking about various aspects on what I did pick up.

My issue is diacetyl. I have a blind spot for it. While other folks in the room thought this Irish Red was a diacetyl bomb, I just picked up mainly caramel. I actually found it nice and scored the beer pretty high. The proctors did say it went back and forth for them as the beer sat between too much diacetyl and caramel. I'm hoping I get some credit for talking about the caramel.

Oh well. Its done now. Now I wait for months to get scores back.

Either way, this entire experience has been great. I've learn a lot about the brewing process and mainly about controlling flaws. Pass or fail, I'll be able to take that knowledge into the brew sessions and that is exactly why I did this process.

Don't Cry Over Leaked Beer...Though I wanted too

Been a while since I posted so thought I'd post about a few things...

Hops
Things are progressing nicely. All the plants look healthy and have plenty of bines. None of them are as impressive as I'd hope for as warm as the spring started, but I'm being patient. I put some compost down a few weeks ago. I may try some basic fertilizer like Miracle Gro soon to see what happens.

Brewing
Been brewing around once a month. Nothing in the fermentor now as I kegged 15 gals of beer and cider last week. So my kegerator is full with 5 kegs for the first time ever. I still need to post some pictures of that finished kegerator project. I plan to brew again the weekend of May 12.

Cider
Finally kegged a cider. Have had it conditioning since the middle of November. I back sweetened with 1 can of apple juice concentrate because it was bone dry and pretty tart due to the type of apples.

BJCP
I've been studying to be a BJCP judge. I passed the new online entrance exam a few weeks ago. I'm taking the tasting portion this upcoming Saturday. If you plan to take the online exam...know your styles!! The exam was very difficult. So know your stuff and use the study guide. Did I mention, know your styles!

Reason for Post Title As I mentioned above, I kegged a bunch of stuff last week. Well I got home from a trip this past weekend and I to check on the progress of the carbonation. To my sadness, there was a ton of beer at the bottom of the kegerator. Come to find I have a leak in my beverage connection. After I soaked it all up, I measure 2 gallons of lost beer! It's a Munich Helles and my first attempt at a lager. I've been waiting on this beer since January. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed. But oh well, guess I have to brew more to fill the keg.

Hop Spider

Sometimes I wonder why I started brewing when I look at how crazy I am with having to be exact with almost everything. One of the things I'm trying to work on now is knowing exactly how much water I need to use to mash, sparge, trub waste, absorption, evaportation, shrinkage, etc to get exactly 5 gallons in my fermenter. I've build a spreadsheet to track each brew day so I can refine the process.  I know I'm not a pro brewer and I should maybe chill out a little, but I love to keep stats and to perfect a process.

Another part about accounting for hop matter is that I harvest my yeast to save money. If hop matter gets into the fermenter then there is likely hop matter in the yeast cake. The more "junk" in the yeast cake......blah blah blah.

So as part of my wanting to nail my water volume as well as having a cleaner yeast cake, I want to limit the amount of hop matter that makes it into the fermenter. I have been straining and trying leaving trub behind, but I need to account for that water lose and I'm still getting some hop material.

To take care of the hops, I've decided to build a Hop Spider. I take zero credit for the idea or the build. I saw an article in the December 2011 issues of BYO written by John Brooke. I'm not going to repeat any of the process because you can get the article online. Click here for the article on BYO.COM.

I'm using it for the first time tomorrow. Hopefully it works!

Hop Season 2012 Underway!

The 2012 hops growing season is officially underway. The constant rain and highs in the mid 70s for almost a week now has allowed all 4 varieties of hops to break ground. The Casacade definitely has the best head start with the US Tettnang not far behind. The Mt. Hood and Willamette are just barely showing their eyes. I'm very excited for this season as it is year two. I'm so hopeful that I will get my first cone as last year I had a ton of foliage but no cones. Here's to a great growing season!

Hop Growth Already? It's only February!!!

It has been very mild this winter. We've only seen 2" of snow/ice in the Cincinnati area and there are many days where the temperatures are 10 to 20 degrees above normal. I can see that some of the local trees and roses are already trying to show signs of wanting to bud. I thought, what the heck, I'll go out and look to see if the hops are doing anything. We'll...ummm, they are!! Its only the first week of February and they are starting to show their heads. My plan is to put a layer of soil on them this week so if we see any snow or any extreme cold for the balance of winter that they may get some protection. I don't like that the rhizome is this exposed. Its has been a very rainy winter and it looks like the soil is starting to erode, so I should cover them up anyway to replenish what has been washed away.

Breweries - Fountain Square Brewing Co. - Indianapolis, IN

Fountain Square Brewing Company was the last stop on our Indianapolis Brewery Tour (see bottom of post for list of breweries seen that day).  This brewery is new to the craft beer scene as it had its grand opening a week before we got there. You can still see they are getting their tap room and sitting area all set up, but I was not going to hold that against them at all. They had all of the beers you'd expect for a small craft brewery. A pale ale, an amber ale, a stout, a porter and so forth. All of the beer was really well done.

Here's a picture of the brewery...

There are a few more breweries in Indianpolis we'd like to see, but we had some time constraint this day. When we get back to those, I'll make sure to blog about it.

Indianapolis, IN Brewery Tour

Stop #1: Flat 12 Bierwierks

Stop #2: Sun King

Stop #3: Fountain Square

Breweries - Sun King Brewing Co. - Indianapolis, IN

The second stop on our Indianapolis brew tour day was Sun King Brewing Company. Many many folks think of Indianopolis and the local brewing scene they think of Sun King. Any by the amount of people in the brewery that day, the locals really enjoy it.

We were able to try out every beer (6 total) they had in their tap room. I was surprised that they didn't have anything really out there as far as styles or flavors that day. I know they have won some award for some outside the box stuff. They offered a lot of what I'd call "gateway" craft beers such as their "Sunlight Cream Ale" and popular "Osiris Pale Ale". They did have a beer they call "Malus Pi" that was made with locally grown crab apples.

Something I really liked about Sun King is that they can all of their beer and they self distribute. The self distribution limits their reach, but they are growing slowing and trying to expand to all 4 corners of Indiana.

After trying out the beers we had the chance to go on a brewery tour. Here are some pictures....

The Grain Mill

The canning line in the front with the fermenters in the background.

They use all rubber kegs in their company colors. They say they are lighter and stack much easier than its stainless steel counterpart.

The mash tun.

There are a few more breweries in Indianpolis we'd like to see, but we had some time constraint this day. When we get back to those, I'll make sure to blog about it.

Indianapolis, IN Brewery Tour

Stop #1: Flat 12 Bierwierks

Stop #2: Sun King

Stop #3: Fountain Square

Breweries - Flat 12 Bierwerks. - Indianapolis, IN

In the not so cold of winter, a buddy and I took a drive up to Indianapolis, Indiana and stopped by 3 of the local breweries. First stop was to Flat 12 Bierwerks. Though we didn't get in to see the brewery floor (they only give scheduled tours on Sunday's) we were able to try out a few of their beers in their tap room. They had a nice set up. Many of the styles that you'd expect from a small brewery. The beer that I found most unique was the Glazed Ham Porter. No, it didn't taste like ham, but it did have the caramel-ish flavor that you'd expect when you eat glazed ham.

For a "small" brewery off the beaten path, I'd give them a thumbs up and worth a try if you are ever in Indianapolis.

There are a few more breweries in Indianpolis we'd like to see, but we had some time constraint this day. When we get back to those, I'll make sure to blog about it.

Indianapolis, IN Brewery Tour

Stop #1: Flat 12 Bierwierks

Stop #2: Sun King

Stop #3: Fountain Square

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
----------------
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
----------------
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.