Brewer's Fest

Last Saturday we made the annual trip to downtown Harrisburg for Brewer's Fest sponsored by Troegs. This an outdoor activity, rain or shine, and some of the best craft brewers show up here. The entire event benefits the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, so you get to feel good about feeling good.

Some of the highlights were:

Oskar Blues. This brewery continues to impress me with their consistent good tasting beer. They push the limit of styles, with Imperial Reds (G'Knight) and stout (Ten Fiddy), and cram more hops than previously thought possible in the Gubna.

Duquesne Brewing Company. This small newcomer revived the old Rolling Rock Brewery, and their one on-hand brew was refreshingly good. Even better, is the relatively inexpensiveness for a case of it.

Straub. Even though it always seems like your grandfather was the only one who drank the stuff, it still is one of the freshest beers around. Of particular interest was the Special Dark. Those who typically turn their noses up at darker grogs, really should put this one on the "Need to Try" list.

Nodding Head. Every time I try one of their beers I am reminded why I don't like it. Always unimpressive, and the bobble head is more annoying than anything else. Sorry, not digging this one.

Dogfish Head. I love how Sam always tries something different, incorporating odd and unique ingredients. The Brown Ale is still great, the Festina Peche is still terrible.

Original Sin Cidery. More often than not, I steer clear of ciders. The sickeningly sweet ones more than something dry and less sugary. Their Pear Cider was outstanding, and I will look to make a batch of it myself.

Obviously I didn't try every beer there....or did I and I just can't remember??

Brown Ale

I have really grown to enjoy brown ales. The complexity produced by the roasted grains and malts are impressive, and limited only by the imagination of the brewer. Even with an extract recipe, I can't wait to try this. Brewed 4 weeks ago, it is currently getting some quality time in the secondary. Once bottled, I think I will be hard-pressed to wait the full two weeks before sneaking a taste.


Bear's Bollocks
Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin

Recipe Specs
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Batch Size (G): 5.0
Total Grain (lb): 8.250
Total Hops (oz): 2.00
Original Gravity (OG): 1.054 (°P): 13.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.014 (°P): 3.6
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 5.31 %
Colour (SRM): 29.0 (EBC): 57.1
Bitterness (IBU): 34.1 (Average)
Brewhouse Efficiency (%): 70
Boil Time (Minutes): 60

Grain Bill
----------------
6.000 lb Liquid Malt Extract - Light (72.73%)
0.750 lb Crystal 60 (9.09%)
0.500 lb Carapils (Dextrine) (6.06%)
0.500 lb Special-B (6.06%)
0.250 lb Black Roasted Barley (3.03%)
0.250 lb Chocolate (3.03%)

Hop Bill
----------------
1.00 oz Styrian Golding Pellet (7% Alpha) @ 45 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)
1.00 oz Styrian Golding Pellet (7% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (0.2 oz/Gal)

Misc Bill
----------------

Single step Infusion at 151°F for 30 Minutes.
Fermented at 68°F with Wyeast 1469 - West Yorkshire Ale

Season of the Ninja

Two weeks ago, I tried my hand at a Sapporo style lager. For summer, few things are as refreshing as the Japanese brew with some great sushi. Since I don't have a full sized secondary fridge for lagering, I go the more low-tech route. Once the primary fermentation is complete, I transferred to my secondary which is placed in ice water in a cooler. Every day, ice is added to keep the temperature down. Then, I transferred to the keg for a final two weeks of lagering in the kegerator. It does not produce quite the lager like the filtered commercial version, but I am pretty excited to give this a swig.

Ninja

Original Gravity (OG): 1.058 (°P): 14.3
Final Gravity (FG): 1.015 (°P): 3.8
Alcohol (ABV): 5.70 %
Colour (SRM): 5.8 (EBC): 11.4
Bitterness (IBU): 41.0 (Average)

52.94% Dry Malt Extract - Light
23.53% Flaked Rice
23.53% Rice Syrup Solids

0.2 oz/Gal Sorachi (11.8% Alpha) @ 25 Minutes (Boil)
0.2 oz/Gal Sorachi (11.8% Alpha) @ 12 Minutes (Boil)


Single step Infusion at 151°F for 60 Minutes. Boil for 60 Minutes

Fermented at 48°F with WLP802 - Czech Budejovice Lager

In the Meantime

Since we have planted only one grapevine this year, and it will be a little while until there is a full harvest, I have decided that we will make do with other fruits to make some wine. In a few weeks, several large mulberry trees will be ripening at my in-laws. For those who have experienced mulberries in season, it is a love-hate relationship.

The juice and fruit is bright, sweet, and purple. It's a lot like honey; you can't get close to them without getting it all over the place. With a few reluctant volunteers, we will attempt to make a full 5 gallon batch. I have resigned myself to the fact that nearly every item used in the process will most likely need to be trashed due to the juice staining everything it touches.

We will need approximately 20 pounds of berries to get to the 5 gallon mark, and probably 5-6 pounds of sugar since the berries won't contain all that much natural sugar that will ferment.

I've read to give it two years in the bottle, but we will see about that. In the meantime, I'll be caught purple-handed.

What A Difference A Year Makes

Last spring I made a batch of elderberry wine from concentrate. No oak, nothing fancy. I wanted to try my hand at making it, because years ago my late grandmother talked about elderberry wine. It sounded like the perfect compliment to a hot summer day and something on the grill. So not long after bottling, we popped one to see what it was like. My disappointment paled in comparison to my wife's totally disgust. Since I figured that it was one of those batches that you end up giving away, I did just that. I gave away a case of the stuff.

This past weekned, I decided to give it another shot. At worst, I would have an empty bottle. So I poured a glass and WOW!! The bitter, stingy sourness was gone. All that was left was a wonderful, semi-sweet berry that was bright, and danced on your palate. What's more, my wife was really upset that we had not given it a chance to mature and instead basically handed it out.

All in all, a valuable lesson was learned. If in doubt about a wine, wait. If it doesn't get better in a year, wait another. Some of the best wines never reach drinkability in the lifetime of the vinter.

First of Many

A few weeks ago, my wife and I planted our first grape vine. It is a small, 2 year old Concord. The weather here has been wonderful, and the vine is growing like a weed. Just this past weekend, I installed the first wire to help train the vine. Stay tuned, as we will be posting pictures shortly.