Northbound Smokehouse: Smoky, Meaty, Goodness!

The other day Matt, Anna, Sj and I decided to celebrate Anna's birthday by doing a crawl of several Minneapolis breweries.  Despite being an avid beer fanatic, the long and endless winter here, paired with the distance from my home in the West has precluded me from visiting many of these newly opened breweries.  With an end to the glacial winter in site, we headed off first to South Minneapolis and Northbound Smokehouse.

Unlike the veritable glut of production breweries and taprooms now springing up in the Twin Cities, Northbound is a genuine Brewpub.  The old stand-bys of Town Hall, Great Waters, Rock Bottom and Barley Johns were all founded over 10 years ago, and this is the first brewpub to open since then.  As a guy who likes his food (see all my posts about beer dinners...) I was excited to hear about this place.  Now I'm sad that it took me so long to get out there and try it!

Upon opening up the car doors to walk over to the brewery, we were all hit by an amazing smoked meat aroma that caused instant belly rumblings and excessive salivation.  That smell can not be properly described for print, but stimulated that hind-brain where the Homo Habilus or Australopithecus still dwells, ready to club some animal into submission and throw it on a smoky fire.  The stated goal of the brewpub is to house smoke locally sourced meats, served up with high quality craft beers.  Located in the Oak Building, it is at the NW corner of 38th St. East and 28th Ave South.  The pub itself has an understated look with the name stenciled on the windows and some minimalist local brewery posters on the walls inside.  Everything is new looking and uncluttered, with clean lines and comfortable stools and chairs to sit on.  The general feel of the place is a comfortable corner bar and restaurant, but lacks a little character to differentiate it from others.  They do have a large patio area that will soon be crowded with locals, eating and drinking their hearts out.

Two chalk boards quietly post the current tap list.  They were serving five of their own beers, so all of us got samplers to test out our server's skills.  They also had several local guest beers on tap: Indeed, Schells, Surly, Fulton and Lift Bridge.  Their brewer, Jamie Robinson, apparently used to work at Town Hall, so I had high hopes for the beers.  Their current seasonal was the Small Ball--a sessionable pale ale made with Glacier hops, and very drinkable.  My favorite of theirs was the Porter, made with a small percentage of smoked malt--but not enough in my opinion!  The honey wheat was remarkably good for a style that is usually a throw-away at brewpubs.  The Light Rail Pale and the Big Jim IPA were both respectable but not outstanding.  Overall the house beers were all well crafted and clean, but I wanted a bit more out of them.  I think they should really embrace their smokehouse roots here and have a legit rauchbier or a gratzer rather than focus on the lighter ales.

Laine showing off her mad skills

What makes this place stand out is the food.  Sj and I split the Smoked Porketta sandwich which was amazingly smoky and flavorful.  We also split the Smoked Beef sandwich with horseradish and smoked Gouda.  That was meat heaven on a plate.  The cajun fries were some of the best I've had in the Twin Cities.  The down side to stopping here first on our pub crawl was that all of us ate way too much and had little room left for more beers!

Glad I had my lactaid...

Our server (wearing a Dangerous Man shirt,) immediately picked up on the fact that were   beer tourists and pointed us toward other local places to visit as well.  She was very knowledgeable about Northbound beers, as well as other local beers and breweries.  This was a very good place to have lunch and some beers.  I would be here a lot if I lived anywhere near the area, and highly recommend it.  About the only gripe I have with the place is that the decoration in the bar is a little generic--I think they would do well to play up their brand a bit more.  I have also been to another smokehouse (Black Dog in Champaign, IL) that serves pretty much everything on the menu smoked, including most of the appetizers, and I want the Northbound guys to take it to that level!  Go big or go home!

Bon Jovi, Beer and Plenty-O-Cougars

Last weekend my wife and I went to the Bon Jovi concert at the Excel Energy Center in St. Paul.  Not being a big sports guy, this was the first time I've ever been to that venue and it was quite an experience.  I can honestly say I had a nice day.  It has been a long time since I've really been down to that area of St. Paul, about 10 years to be exact, back in Residency at Children's Hospital.  Parking was a bit of a zoo, especially since a lot of the concert-goers may have started their partying before arriving at the show.  Deathrace 3000 comes to mind.  Though that may just be how folks drive in St. Paul... I wish I could say I love this town... We eventually made our way to a shady parking garage and paid our $15 dollars to the not-so-pleasant guy at the entry.  Still cheaper than parking anywhere in Chicago though.  We walked beneath lowering gunmetal skies, accompanied by large groups of people, to the accompaniment of whoops, hollers and shrieks. 

After being politely patted down for firearms and contraband booze, we were allowed into the enormous structure that is the Excel Center.  This place was a leviathan of a building, yet was a veritable logjam of humanity, all trying to find their friends, get loaded up on drinks, and finding their seats.  Having never been there, Sj asked for directions to our seats and were directed no less than four times to differing areas by the "helpful" staff.  During our extensive explorations we did randomly arrive near the concession stand that was serving craft beers.  They did have Summit Maibock, Extra Pale, and Alaskan Amber (which we both purchased.)  Yes I can nearly buy a 6 pack of this for the $7.50 a bottle cost at the event.  Also in the craft beer pavilion were Bud Light Platinum and Heineken...not, Not, NOT craft beer!  Overheard while in line..."Oh, wait, this is the line for that craft beer," voice dripping with a combination of disdain and horror.

We eventually plunged our way through the throngs of drinking and drunken fans to find our seats on the main floor.  All around us were crowds of people, most drinking mixed cocktails or Bud Light.  I felt that SJ and I were among the younger members of the audience, and coming perilously close to 40, this was somewhat surprising to me.  More cougars than the Minnesota Zoo.  Lots of bad prison-house tattoos, horribly died blonde hair--teased to a ludicrous elevation, and clothing that may have originated in the junior's section.  And lots of bad beer, staggering and cigarette-hoarse screams rounded out the picture.  With some of my crowd-mates there may have been some bad medicine involved.  Looking up at the rows and rows of this crush of humanity, I briefly had my breath taken from my lungs.  There is something overwhelming about being such a tiny grain of sand in a huge ocean-side beach. 

Bon Jovi was fantastic!  This is a man who has been entertaining audiences and giving a legitimate rock and roll experience for 30 years now.  He knows how to get a crowd going and to keep their interest.  I haven't seen many Minnesota audiences get that into the music: standing the whole time, clapping, whistling and shrieking.  Slippery When Wet was the first cassette tape I ever owned, and I listened to it until it literally melted in my Walkman.  Sj actually saw him in concert in '87 and said he was even better this time.  I believe it.  Not just older, but wiser and with more experience under his belt, the last man standing put on a SHOW.  Lots of old classics were performed during this show, but several that I didn't know well kept it interesting.  With the recent release of his new album, several of the songs were brand new, and stood up well to his classics.  At one point in the performance he started doing Dancing in the Streets followed by Start Me Up by the Rolling Stones.  He hammed it up impressively, with Mick Jagger chicken walk and facial expressions included!  I can not believe that a guy in his 50's can be sprinting and bounding around the stage for 3 hours straight like that!  The blast of sound from the speakers and the crowd were almost felt more than heard--and Sj pointed out an ESL interpreter to me during the show.  I guess that the hearing-impaired folks can feel the music and rhythm, I just hadn't ever thought about that before. 

Once the lights came on and the fulfilled crowds began the disperse, Sj and I made our slow slog to the clogged exits.  With suitable timing, the rains came to wash away our sins...and drench us to the bone as well.  Nice cold Minnesota spring rain.  Knowing that we didn't really want to fight the crowds to the cars and risk our lives with the drunks, we sprinted through the sheeting and frigid rain over to Great Waters Brewpub.  It has been a while since I was there so we shared a sampler of 11 beers--a nice way to do samplers!  We found out during our brief time there that Tony, our old server/bartender from Town Hall Brewery has been promoted to head brewer there!  Very cool, and I expect good things to come from his takeover.  I'll see if I can get a proper interview and review of the beers once he gets rolling.  I have the feeling that most of the beers currently being served were not his creations.  Overall, most were pretty good, but only one made me wish I could drink more.  That beer was Emma's Springtime ale, a very estery Belgian Dubbel named after our favorite little girl, Emma German, with proceeds going towards Children's Hospital Cancer research.  Go Princess Emma!

By the time we left the brewery the rain had increased in intensity to a veritable downpour of monsoon proportions.  Like nearly drowned rats, we started the car heaters and began our long trip down the lost highway to Waconia by way of 4th Meal in Chanhassen.  Yes my dirty little secret is Taco Hell.  A long and wonderful night, combining both our past and present in an unusual and memorable montage.  By the time we got home it was after 1:30, but hey, I'll sleep when I'm dead right?  I think I'll stick to smaller venues for shows though...Bryant Lake Bowl is more my style.

(Oh, and if you hadn't realized I'm a super nerd yet, I managed to fit about 10 Bon Jovi song titles into this post...  :)

Start Me Up! Apologies to the Stones...

Let's talk about yeast starters today.  This mysterious process is cited by nearly every pro brewer interview and in just about every BJCP score sheet you are likely to receive, but let's demystify it a bit.  When I started brewing back in the 90's, yeast was just a questionable packet of dried stuff, stored at room temp for possibly months or years, and if you were lucky they would differentiate between ale and lager strains.  With the advent of liquid yeasts, (and more recently higher quality dried yeasts,) potential quality and uniqueness of homewbrews improved exponentially.  Now we have access to ester producing Belgian and Hefe strains, Brettanomyces, cider yeasts, etc.  The two most commonly available liquid yeasts are White Labs (coming in a pitchable vial) and Wyeast (with their smack packs.) 

As we homebrewers get geekier about our hobby we want to imitate the pro brewers and use their fancy techniques that set craft beer apart from "homebrew."  One big way to do this is to improve our yeast handling.  As a rule of thumb, most beers under 1.055 or so will do just fine with a pitched vial or smack pack, provided you oxygenate the wort well and keep the fermentation temps where you want them.  If you are not doing those things, then I recommend you do so, but also not a bad idea to use a starter to improve your yeast activity and health.  I usually use a starter when going above the 1.055 gravity beers, and even do a stepped starter for lagers.

Process:  Everyone has a little different process for these.  I'll tell you what I do and you can feel free to comment if you have other techniques or ideas!  My basic starter is usually a 2 Liter pyrex flask, filled about 2/3 of the way full with charcoal filtered water from my fridge.  I add 1 cup of light dry malt extract, swirling vigorously until dissolved--that can take a while, but you don't want the stuff sticking to the bottom of the flask and burning during the boil.  Go ahead and put it on the stove top and get it heated up.  Using a good heat-proof glove, and not the "For decorative use only!" oven mitts I used to use, keep the starter swirling until all the DME is dissolved.  As it is getting close to a boil add a few drops of Fermcap (Simethicone, similar to what they give babies for gas...) to prevent boilovers.  Words of wisdom here: the tapered top of these flasks will result in nearly instantaneous boilovers without that Fermcap, spraying hot and frothing barley water all over your stove and "upsetting" your spouse.  The bottle will last you for years and can be put in the boil for your regular brewing as well.  The Fermcap breaks the surface tension and prevents a lot of the foaming and bubbles, but still keep a close eye on your boil.  Keep at a rolling boil for about 15 minutes, this is mostly for sanitizing the DME of any nasties hiding in there.

Don't forget your tin-foil hat to prevent alien mind probes...

Throw some tin foil on top of the flask and immerse in cold or ice water bath.  Ideally you want it around room temp before adding yeast.  Too hot or too cold can stress out the yeast and make for a less successful starter.  I usually dip my yeast packet or vial in sanitizer and then dump it on in.

Chillin' out

The whole idea of a starter is to do a few things.  The first is to rouse the dormant yeast and get it alert and active--like having your morning coffee.  The second is to get the yeast to multiply and give you more active yeast ready to ferment your wort.  Small starters (1 L) will usually get the yeast going, but doesn't have the volume to really increase the amount of yeast.  2L and above will result in more actual yeast proliferation which is why that is my standard.  In addition, in order to get to a point where the yeast wants to multiply and to ferment wort, it needs oxygen.  This step is very important for starters as well as your batch of beer.  I use a stir plate for my starters, and use a foam stopper in the top to keep out fruit flies and dust.  This will allow air/oxygen entry to the starter, as well as keep the yeast swirling in suspension and active.  Do not use an airlock, as this will prevent air entry.  If you don't have a stir plate, you can periodically swirl the starter, but you aren't going to get as good of a result.  I recommend using an oxygen stone to oxygenate the starter if you can't stir it.  You can make your own stir plate out of computer motors, magnets and cigar boxes--you-tube it!  I have a 1940's looking 30 pound behemoth that Kent gave me about 5 years back--this thing will probably function longer than I will.  For really big beers and lagers you may want to step up your starter and do a second larger batch--I'll write that up next time I do one.  You will also need a stir magnet for a stir plate--get more than one just to be safe.

Using a stir plate, my starters usually are done fermenting within 24-48 hours, so you do need to plan ahead for these.  If you do a last minute starter (previous night) you will still have a healthier and active yeast than not using one at all.  I also like doing the starter as a way to tell if my yeast is still functional before adding it to my beer.  I have had a couple of vials/packs that were DOA, and the starter never got going--but I had enough time to go buy new yeast before my brew day.  I also keep a couple of dry yeast packets in the fridge as back-up--no starters needed for those.

If your starter is still active and foaming at the time you are adding to your wort, then just add the whole thing.  If you have reached the point where it isn't foaming anymore, I would stop the stir plate and give it 5-8 hours to settle out, then carefully decant 3/4 of the clearer top "beer" down your drain.  I usually use a butane creme brulee torch to quickly sterilize the lip of the flask before doing this and adding to final wort.  Great for creme brulee as well!  A trick I recently learned is to hold a magnet to the outside of the flask while decanting/adding to the wort--this will hold your stir magnet inside the flask instead of dropping down the sink drain (done that) or into your fermenter (and also done that.)

With a good starter and properly aerated wort, you should see activity within 12-24 hours.  By cutting down lag time, you have a quicker production of alcohol that keeps down any spoilage bacteria, as well as a large number of good yeast to overwhelm/compete with any wild yeasts that may have made it into your batch.  Be aware that this process can result in a more vigorous fermentation than you may be used to seeing...watch carefully and use a blow-off tube.  Your wife will do bad things to you, (or nix your budding homebrew hobby,) if you spray fermenting beer all over the clothes in her closet.  I'm not speaking from experience here.  Really.  I mean it....ahhh, you got me!

For the pictures here, I was actually doing two separate starters with different yeasts for a split 10 gallon batch (see here for details on that experiment.)  I used a stir bar in each and just switched them off on the stir plate every time I went downstairs to my mad-scientist lab.  This worked very well and both were done in under 48 hours and ready to pitch into my beer.

Good luck and feel free to comment!

McCoy's Public House Steel Toe Dinner 4/4/13

McCoy's Public House opened in St. Louis Park quite a while ago, before the big craft beer boom in this state.  At first they were touting themselves as a brew pub and some good friends of ours invited us to go there (knowing I was a big beer geek.)  I was disappointed to find out that the beer was not brewed there, but shipped from a facility in another state entirely--and I was disappointed in the quality of that beer as well.  The food was fairly good at the time, but nothing to get me racing back there.  I'll admit I left this place off my radar and forgot entirely about it until recently.

Just a few short weeks ago, my friend Nick Collins started working at McCoy's as the bar manager, and this prompted us to take a trip out there and get a baseline reading of how the place was doing.  We were actually fairly impressed with the food and prices, getting there for brunch and having chicken and waffles that were spot-on.  The beer list is extensive with a lot of taps and bottles to choose from.  They have thankfully let go of the McCoy's beers.  The beer menu was a little wacky, with some beers in the wrong category as well as a few unseasonal beers available.  Based on my visit last night the beer menu is looking better already and some cool beers are popping up there!  You can also get a four-drink sampler if you can't make up your mind...I am a sucker for these!  It looks like the restaurant wants to expand their craft beer selection and do more beer-related events like firkins and beer dinners--certainly the right direction to go in my mind!

Just after arriving at McCoy's, Nick was thrown into the deep end and asked to help organize a beer dinner, and that was music to my ears!  They managed to get Steel Toe Brewing on board, which makes sense since the brewery and their new tasting room is less than a mile away.  You have probably heard me say it before, and you probably will again: Steel Toe is one of my favorite breweries and Jason Schoneman makes some incredibly, consistently tasty beers.   This was actually Steel Toe's inaugural beer dinner and I feel excited and proud to have been a part of it.  One day when Steel Toe is a giant regional brewing behemoth like Summit or Great Lakes, I'll be able to say that I got in at the ground floor...

Upon arrival we were escorted to a back room where they had assigned us seats at communal tables.  I love this type of set-up for beer dinners because it encourages the diners to talk to their neighbors...something that Minnesotans are notoriously uncomfortable with!  We ended up talking quite a bit to a young couple seated next to us and had a great time hanging out with them.  We arrived slightly early and had a chance to talk a while with Jason, who is always entirely pleasant and laid-back.  I guess there were some late additions to the dinner so the poor guy had to sit at his own small table... sort of like getting stuck at the kids' table at a wedding.  Before the dinner began he gave a little talk about the history of his brewery and answered some questions.  I always love hearing this info directly from the brewers and appreciate him coming to this event himself--especially since he is knee deep in electrical work and installation of new fermenters in the brewery right now! 

We started the dinner with a glass of Provider:  an unfiltered pilsner-esqe ale with a citrus character, notes of yeastiness and a pleasant malt backbone.  This was paired with seared baramundi and crispy pork shoulder with a thai inspired rice noodle salad and pea shoots.  I wanted more of that sriracha sauce!  And more of the pork shoulder! 

Between each course Jason was able to give us a bit of background on each beer and then Chef Peter Hoff talked briefly about each course before rushing back into the kitchen to finish preparing our food.  My picture of the chef was blurry, (probably because he moves so fast,) so you will have to believe me that he really exists.

The second course was a flavorful take on chicken-fried steak, but using lamb instead of steak!  Madras curry reduction, local honey, pears, and tart apples made this a complex dish with bursts of heat, sweet, and savory.  The dish was paired with Size 7 IPA and apparently the lamb was braised in the beer as well.  I'm a big fan of this IPA and could drink it every day if I lived just a little closer to the taproom.  I should mention at this time that McCoy's did not skimp on the pours, bringing out a full pint of this beer, and usually topping up your glass if you so desired during the dinner.  Good job guys!

Third course was an incredible smoked beef tenderloin with a risotto made partially from Steel Toe spent grain.  The chef did some complex cheffery to get the flavor from the grain without leaving husks to get caught in our teeth.  Caramelized fennel, wild mushrooms and a roasted onion/Rainmaker jus also populated the plate, adding intriguing earthy and liqourice notes to the overall dish.  This was, of course, paired with the Rainmaker--probably my favorite of Steel Toe's regular line up.  A bitter and malty Imperial Red ale, the beer ends dry enough that you can keep on drinking and paired very well with the food.

To wrap up the meal we were brought a snifter of Steel Toe Lunker.  I have blogged about this beer before (and waiting in line for its release) and it is one of my favorite beers to come out in the last several years.  A perfectly balanced barleywine aged in Templeton Rye whiskey barrels, it clocks in at a brawny 10.6% ABV.  I would have gone to this dinner just for the glass of Lunker.  The desert was a sticky toffee pudding with vanilla bean whipped cream and coconut candied cashews.  The flavors in the desert played nicely with the beer, but my distended abdomen prompted me to focus my attention on the beer and leave behind some of the food.  Priorities...

As a veteran of many-a-beer-dinner, I think this was a very successful example.  For the price ($45 including tax and gratuity) it was a steal, giving us more than our money's worth in good beer, companionship and well-prepared cuisine.  The service was quick, efficient, and friendly.  About the only thing I would have changed would be having a meet and greet beer available before the first course for those who arrive early to sip on while making the acquantance of their neighbors.  The lack of such a beer may actually have been due to the limited number of options Steel Toe had available, but I would highly recommend one for their next beer dinner.  Speaking of which, McCoy's next foray into beer dinners will be Great Lakes 5/23/13, so keep your ear to the ground and sign up when it is posted.  Many thanks to Jason, Chef Peter, Nick, and all the other McCoy's folks who put this on--keep 'em coming!

Hefe-Wit: An Experiment in Splitting Batches

A friend and reader of this blog has requested seeing more of my personal homebrewing musings and experiments.  Since the arctic tundra outside is starting to warm, the permafrost layer lowering and the glaciers in my yard shrinking, brewing season is upon us!  I'm a wimp when it comes to brewing outside in the frigid Minnesota winter, and do the majority of my brewing exploits in the warmer month.  Yes I said "month."  Keep in mind that this is Minnesota.  A lot of my friends brew only in the Winter and have no free time in the Summer due to over-scheduling, but they are doing it WRONG!  So without further ado--Mark, this entry is for you! 

My first batch of the warm season (high of 36 yo!) was an experimental batch of wheat beer.  A good friend of mine donated some Rahr white wheat and some Moravian Pilsner malt to me a while ago and I needed to use this awesome grain before it goes south.  A little quirk of genetics has left me with the amazing superpower of getting migraine headaches when I drink wheat beers, inherited from my mother who has the same issue.  Because of this unusual defect in my genetic make-up, this style is not on my quick-list for brewing or drinking.  But I have six taps at home and Summer will soon be upon us, and many of my friends and family will be clamoring for a refreshing lawn-mower beer, so why not use this evil grain to serve the masses?  To be honest I'm still not sure if the problem I have is wheat related or perhaps from the estery wheat beer yeasts.  Some Belgian beers get me as well, but often have similar yeasts and include wheat.  I may have to finally break down and do some ill-conceived experimentation and see what happens to me.

I had enough grain to do a 10 gallon batch, so my idea was to split the batch into two separate 5 gallon carboys and make a slightly different beer out of them.  I have done this many times, using different yeasts or adding fruit to half of the batch, but this time I was going to try something a bit off the wall.  I started by creating a fairly simple grain bill:  the above mentioned grains and a bit of Munich malt to add interest.  I was aiming somewhere right in between the typical grain bill for German Hefeweizen and a Belgian Wit.  I have the corresponding yeasts for those styles in starters and ready to get fermenting.  The part that had me a little perplexed at first was the addition of spices to the brew.  Belgian Wit (think Hoegaarden or Celis White, or Blue Moon if you lack imagination) typically uses orange peel and coriander as complimentary spicing, adding a refreshing citrus quality to the beer that the German Hefe lacks.  Usually the spices are added near the end of the boil, so I thought about running half my beer into the first carboy, then adding spices to the remaining in the kettle and running it into the second carboy.  However, having not brewed this style before, I had no idea how much of the spices to add. 

Recipes I've found on line vary greatly and differ depending the freshness and quality of your ingredients.  Most recipes call for the bitter orange peel that comes as a dusty, dessicated and mummified packet from your local homebrew shop.  I opted for fresh orange peel, zesting a blood orange and a grapefruit because I happened to have them in my fridge.  The blood orange is not as bitter, so I felt that the grapefruit would add some of that character, as well as make this a little more interesting.  I added the combined zests to a small container of vodka.  I will let this sit for a week or two (until the primary fermentation of my beer is done.)  The flavor and aroma from the zest should be leached out by the neutral spirit and I can then run this through a coffee filter and add incrementally to my beer before bottling.  In this way I can get just the right amount of flavor from the spice without over or under-doing it and spoiling a whole batch.  I did the same thing with some Penzey's ground coriander and will add it at the same time.

I have used the alcohol tea method successfully a few times before with chipotle peppers and hibiscus flowers.  I hope to get a fairly good approximation of a Belgian Wit from using the technique here.  The other half of the brew will be a typical German Hefe that my wife will hopefully like!   

There are some other tricks to this particular batch.  Using wheat in a beer can add some difficulties on certain brew systems (mine included.)  First off, the wheat has a smaller kernel than most barley, and will not crush as well at the regular settings on your mill.  I recommend crushing your other grains, then resetting the mill for a finer crush and running your wheat through it.  The other big issue is stuck sparges.  I have not had this issue on my current system but did have it once on my old Igloo cooler set-up and that was a huge mess.  Since wheat malt has no husk, it doesn't filter the the grain bed like barley and your mash can compress into a firm hunk of dough.  Not cool.  I usually throw a half to full pound of rice hulls into the mash when using wheat, oats, etc in a batch.  Keep in mind the hulls can absorb some water, so you may need a little extra strike water for the batch than you usually do.  One other thing I have run into with using the Moravian pilsner is that it is less modified than many of the current brewing malts, resulting in it taking a longer time to convert its complex starches to fermentable smaller sugars.  Give it more than 60 minutes to mash, and you may even want to do a protein rest if you can. 

Wheat wort results in disgusting spoo!

So far so good, but the proof will be in the final result.  With any luck I'll end up with 5 gallons of German Hefe and 5 gallons of Belgian Wit, and neither will give me a skull-busting migraine headache.  I'm hoping also that the Belgian Wit will be ready in time for the May JAB Belgian Madness so I can have more than one Belgian ale to bring.

Hefe-Wit Recipe:

8.5# Moravian Pilsner
8.5# Rahr White Wheat malt
0.5# Munich
1# Rice Hulls
1.5 oz Hallertau hops 4.3% AA at 60 minutes
WL German Hefe yeast
Wyeast Belgian Wit yeast

Mash at 125 for 30 minutes, then step up to 152 for 60 minutes (took me 15 minutes to rise to that.)
Sparge 30-40 minutes.
Boil 90 minutes.
OG 1.052
Ferment at 64 for Hefe and 68 for Wit.

Fermenting away!

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Next Up:  Review of McCoy's Steel Toe Beer Dinner

Using the Blichman Beer Gun

A few years ago my wonderful wife presented me with a Blichmann Beer Gun as a Christmas gift.  I'll be honest I let it languish for a while in the basement brew area before I had the need and time to try it out.  Billed as an easy one-man job, my first experience using this alone was not a great one.  I thought a quick talk about the process would help those looking at purchasing such a device, so here goes!

Why do you need a Beer Gun?  The only reason I can think of is to have the ability to run beer from your keg into bottles.  The main reason I do this is to get a couple of bottles for competitions.  One could fill growlers with it too, but it is just as easy to just use a short length of tubing and fill those from the tap directly.  The cool (and complicating) thing about the Beer Gun is the ability to purge the oxygen out of the bottle, substituting it with CO2, and subsequently preventing oxidation of your beer.  This is important if you plan to age the beers or need them in great condition for a competition a few months away.  I know people who fill directly from the taps, but this has only left me with a big mess and inconsistent carbonation levels.

What is the Beer Gun?  Basically it is a long tube with two trigger mechanisms, one for CO2 and the other for beer flow.  The beer line hooks up to the back of the gun:  make sure this is hooked up before you connect the other ball-lock end to your keg or you will be sorry--as beer quickly flows and snakes all over the place.  Hypothetically of course.  The other connector hooks a gas line to the base of the "handle" of the gun with the other side of that line going to your CO2 tank.  To make this work you really need two tanks, or have two regulators on your single tank so you can change the pressures on the beer keg and the gas flowing into the gun.  I recommend using about 6-8 PSI for both.  Some people suggest increasing the PSI of the beer the day before you do this by a point or two above where you usually keep it.  If any carbonation is lost during the filling you don't end up with flat beer.  This does work, but I'm usually too lazy to think that far ahead! 

More set up?  Now that your lines are hooked up (and sanitized I hope!) the hard part is keeping everything sterile and not spilling beer everywhere.  I now keep a sanitized bucket/plastic container nearby to "holster" the gun in without contaminating it by laying on a surface.  Keep a bucket of sanitizer nearby for your caps.  Get your capper ready.  Have bottles pre-cleaned and sanitized and placed in the freezer with a hat of tin foil or rubber banded cling wrap.  I usually keep about 8 of these in my freezer just in case I have left this process to the last minute...which is nearly always.  The cold beer hitting the cold bottle limits foaming.  I have done this with warm bottles and had a huge problem with foam.  Just prior to firing up the Beer Gun grab your bottles out and place them in a larger bucket (to catch spills.) 

Filling the bottles?  Now you are ready to go!  The process works incredibly fast and easy from here--as long as you have a partner to help out.  One person takes off the foil and holds up the first bottle at an angle while the filler places the nozzle of the gun all the way to the bottom of the bottle.  Pull the gas trigger for a few seconds forcing in CO2 and oxygen out.  Release.  Pull the front beer trigger and start filling the bottle with beer.  You want to minimize turbulence and foaming here or you will get oxidation and lose carbonation.  When the beer is about a third of the way up, set the bottle down in the bucket and finish filling from there.  When just about to the top, pull the nozzle up to the top and stop filling.  It is fine if you spill over a bit.  Your helper should have dropped the caps in the sanitizer by now and be ready with the capper.  He caps on the foam, and moves on to the grab the next bottle for repeating this process.  Afterward you will need to do some clean up on the wet sticky bottles. 

What if you don't have a helper?  You can still do this, but it gets more difficult.  You can pull off all the foil at once, filling each bottle in a row.  When done, holster the gun and quickly cap all the bottles.  This does increase your risk for oxidation since the beer has been open to the air for a few minutes and the protective foam may have dropped down.  Probably not a big deal, but we homebrew geeks hate to risk making our beer less perfect than it could be.

Trouble?  Lots of things can go wrong with the process, but all are fixable.  The biggest issue is mess: keep a couple clean/sanitized buckets around to catch and contain spills.  Have a lot of rags and paper towels around.  CO2 leaks and empty tanks are lousy to discover at the last second so check that stuff out before you get started.  You will feel/hear a small amount to leakage through the body of the Beer Gun--another reason to get this done quick and turn off that gas.  Overly carbonated beer in the keg can lead to foaming.  Always use the poppet on top of the keg first and release all the pressure--then changing your input gas PSI to about 6-8, just enough to push the beer, but not enough to make it foam.  If your beer was over carbonated to begin with, you may need to do a little shake/purge/shake until it is closer to desired.  That may stir up sediment though...

Does all this sound like a lot of work and set up?  Of course it does!  This device is still much better than the old counter pressure fillers though.  I'll admit, this can be a pain to set up and clean up after so you have to really want it.  I often have a good beer on tap that I could put in competition, but my innate laziness precludes me from going through all this effort.  I do like having the option available, but feel that having a couple guys in the club with one of these is probably good enough.  I use mine four times a year or so for my own use, but a few more times for friends.  This is a good gizmo to have access to, but I would invest in one later in the game...after you have upgraded your equipment to all-grain and bought your stir plate for starters!

Oh, also for my readers:  I have changed the settings on the blog so it should be easier to post comments here!  I'd love to hear what people have to say about the subject, the blog or beer in general!

Next Up:  Hefe-Wit

Barleywine and Old Ales: Age has its privilages

My friend Dave was kind enough to invite me to participate in a small group beer tasting over the past weekend.  He has quite the cellar of old beers that were hoarded up before the birth of his sons, and was in need of help to clear them out.  Sj and I were more than happy to help him out with this serious problem.  It was a very relaxed and chill atmosphere out on Dave and Sarah's sun-room, with a bunch of our oldest JAB members in attendance...quite reminiscent of when our club was small enough to be able to all fit in my gazebo for meetings!  Some of the guys (Kent, JD, and Kramer) we don't get to see much these days and it was a great excuse to hang out again.

We started out with some smaller bottles, knowing that they wouldn't spread as far.  The first was a tiny little can of barleywine from 21st Amendment that looked a bit too much like an energy drink (they are bottled at Cold Spring where they make many of those...)  A Rampant IPA and a huge bottle of 2008 Chimay Blue soon followed, though we didn't finish off that mammoth bottle until later.

The next step was a vertical tasting of Fuller's Vintage Ale with Dave supplying the 1998, 1999 and 2000, and myself contributing a 2008 vintage Christmas present.  This is classified as an old ale and each recipe differs somewhat.  I believe that 1997 was the first year they made this beer so getting to try these 15-17 year old beers was quite a treat.  The 1998 had very little carbonation, but a lot of raisiny sweetness.  The 1999 was a bit more carbonated and was my personal favorite.  Amazing to age that long and still be this drinkable!  The 2000 was also very good, but a bit lighter to me.  The 2008 foamed out of the top and had a subtle twang to it that may have been a minor infection with wild yeast.  Not too sour considering its age though.

Then the high point of the evening: a Thomas Hardy vertical.  Considered by most to be the quintessential English Barleywine, Eldridge Pope Brewery started producing these back in 1968.  1999 marked the final production at that brewery and thereafter the beer was brewed at O'Hanlan from 2003-2008.  Since then the beer has been gone, but a recent website attests that the beer will be brewed again soon.  Thanks to Dave and Kent we were able to try the 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, and 2007 vintages.  Sarah suggested that we tell each other about big events in our lives from those years and this was a fun way to get to know more about each other, as well as to put some perspective on just how long these beers had been lurking in Dave's cellar.  The oldest was 18 years old!  In 1995 I was just barely legal to drink and didn't care much for beer in the first place.  That one had no carbonation and Jon pointed out that it tasted like a liquid Tootsie Roll.  1996 had more carbonation and I believe it was my favorite of the bunch.  By the 2007 batch the carbonation was better, and really had a lot of character.  None of them were undrinkable and most very good, which is pretty amazing considering their age. 

We topped off the afternoon with amazing pulled pork sandwiches (which I certainly needed after all those barleywines.)  Dave pulled a 2008 growler of Town Hall's Twisted Reality Barleywine out for dessert.  I am shocked at how well the beer held up considering most growlers lose carbonation in a week or so.  That is a testament to the quality of Town Hall's brewing and bottling technique.  Chris G. was with us and was in contact with Hoops via text, as well as with one of the Maltsters from Simpson's who supply grain for most of those beers we tried.  Kind of cool to have a closer connection to the beer you are trying. 

This was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon and a good excuse to see some old friends.  And I do mean OLD!  I might have glimpsed quite a few other ancient cobwebbed and nitre-crusted bottles lurking in Dave's cellar...  Perhaps we will try these one day in the far future along with some current barleywines and reminisce about the good old 2010's.

Have any of you readers had any great aged beers that we should be cellaring?