Drinkers with a Running Problem

Home Brewers... (Read 1606 times)


Prince of Fatness

    Toast one pound of the malt at 250 for 25 minutes and another quarter pound at 350 for 30 minutes.  Stir the malt at the halfway point.  The kitchen smells great when I toast malt.

     

    This is the final product showing the color from toasting the malt.  At ~4.8% ABV, this is a tasty session bitter.

     

    Not at it at all. 


    Prince of Fatness

      So last year we had a Labor Day picnic that was such a hit that it has be requested that we make it an annual event.  One of the things that went over was my homebrew.   So now I need to brew 10 gallons and have it ready for Labor Day.  I will break it down to three batches.

       

      5 gallons of potato cream ale

      2.5 gallons of watermelon wheat

      2.5 gallons of brown IPA

       

      Since the IPA is the highest gravity I will brew it first, this coming weekend.  The others will be brewed with the next two to three weeks.

      Not at it at all. 


      Former runner

        I'm enjoying a People's Brewing "Coffee Mr. Brown" tonight courtesy of the Indiana State Fair Brewers cup. I brought home a case of commercial beer and a case of homebrew. Judges may get cash for their effort but the stewards get to bring home the extra beers. The selection is random but you can end up with some special brews not available in stores. I also managed to sample some Upland sours during the award ceremony. Caleb Staton was there judging on Saturday and served some of their beers while the best of show was being judged. Second year in a row they won best of show.

        I'm happy to report the barrel aged Flanders Red that sat in my basement for 18 months ended up with a second place in the sours category. The lambic we brewed the same day is still in the barrel while we figure out what to with it. We'll probably end up blending it with another batch to bring the bitterness down. I have a 5 gal keg of the Flanders to be served at the Brew Haven festival next month. It's the second year with our local homebrew club co-hosting. The beer list is getting better by the day and should be a good time.

        Ross


        Prince of Fatness

          5 gallons of potato cream ale

          2.5 gallons of watermelon wheat

          2.5 gallons of brown IPA

           

          Brown IPA brewed on the 8th.  I need to dry hop that one in another week or so then bottle a week later.

           

          Watermelon Wheat boiling right now.  Just a 60 minute hop addition so I get a break.  I will add juice strained from a watermelon to the fermenting bucket a week before bottling.

           

          Potato Cream Ale gets brewed Saturday.

           

          On schedule to have these ready for my Labor Day picnic.

          Not at it at all. 


          Prince of Fatness

            Potato beer.  Interestingly I found an article on adjuncts on BYO's website.  Here is an excerpt on potatoes.

             

            Here is an adjunct that is often overlooked yet is one of the cheapest and easiest-to-prepare starch sources around. You have to cook the potato before use, even though a tater’s gelatinization temperature is low enough that it does not require pregelatinization. An uncooked potato is hard to grind up. If you microwave the potato for three to seven minutes, depending on the size of the tuber, you will have a nice, pliable, easy-to-mush-up starch. A more important reason for cooking the Idaho rock is that these little starch bombs have an enzyme in them called polyphenol oxidase. The polyphenol oxidase is responsible for the change in color when you cut into an uncooked potato and leave it for any amount of time. The potato turns either a reddish color or a brown-purple color. The red color might enhance the beer, but the purple color would likely not enhance the aesthetic qualities of the beer.

             

            This was not my experience when I brewed with potatoes last year.  I simply grated the fresh potatoes, skin and all, with a cheese grater as if I was making hash browns.  I threw them in the mash with the grains.  There was no altering of color and the potatoes converted as I hit my target gravity.  I used Yukon Golds for that batch.

             

            I will use Purple Majesty potatoes tomorrow.  These are purple throughout.  I want to see if I get any color from them.  I have had mashed potatoes with these and you lose a lot of color by boiling, but here I will be mashing.

             

            Here is the BYO article.  Click.

            Not at it at all. 


            Former runner

              I guess I should have read that article before drinking my popcorn pilsner last night. Should be interesting to see what kind of color you get from those potatoes. I'm thinking of brewing a batch with potatoes and hops from my garden. It will probably be a few more weeks before either are ready.

              Ross


              Prince of Fatness

                I'll try to get some pictures.  Here are some from last year.  I am basically using last year's recipe as I got quite a few complements.  I'll try to get pictures when sparging so you can see the color.

                Not at it at all. 


                Prince of Fatness

                  Mashing now.  It was hard to tell any color difference but it may take time for the colors to leach out.  I'll know when I sparge.

                   

                  I have some pictures and will take more along the way.

                  Not at it at all. 


                  Feeling the growl again

                    Purple hued beer would indeed be unique.  If this works I may need to get ahold of some beermaking supplies as I have those potatoes.

                    "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

                     

                    I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

                     


                    Prince of Fatness

                      Purple hued beer would indeed be unique.  If this works I may need to get ahold of some beermaking supplies as I have those potatoes.

                       

                      Pictures will follow, but really there was no difference from last year when I used the Yukon Golds.  There is too much water to dilute the color, me thinks.  The potatoes definitely lost color.  They were white when I sparged.

                       

                      Anyway the yeast is pitched and I hit my target gravity.  Should be good to go.

                      Not at it at all. 


                      Prince of Fatness

                        Pics...

                         

                        Grating the potatoes

                         

                         

                        All of these go in

                         

                         

                        Crushing the grains

                         

                         

                        Adding potatoes to the mash

                         

                         

                        First runnings, not much color added

                         

                         

                        Ice bath, for Trent

                         

                         

                        Just about ready to pitch the yeast

                         

                        Not at it at all. 


                        Prince of Fatness

                          Brown IPA brewed on the 8th.  I need to dry hop that one in another week or so then bottle a week later.

                           

                          Watermelon Wheat boiling right now.  Just a 60 minute hop addition so I get a break.  I will add juice strained from a watermelon to the fermenting bucket a week before bottling.

                           

                          Potato Cream Ale gets brewed Saturday.

                           

                          Brown IPA gets bottled tonight after a week of dry hopping.

                           

                          Watermelon Wheat gets bottled early next week.  I added 3 cups of juice strained from a watermelon last night.

                           

                          Potato Cream Ale gets bottled late next week.

                          Not at it at all. 


                          Prince of Fatness

                            Watermelon Wheat gets bottled early next week.  I added 3 cups of juice strained from a watermelon last night.

                             

                            A bottled the Watermelon Wheat this evening.  There was airlock activity soon after adding the watermelon juice which was to be expected.  A week was plenty of time for the sugars in the juice to ferment out.  When I opened it up tonight I noticed a nice pink krauzen ring in the bucket.  The sample tasted good.  Watermelon was subtle, but definitely there.

                             

                            Not at it at all. 


                            Prince of Fatness

                              Potato cream ale was bottled yesterday.  Not even a hint of purple color from the potatoes.  Tasted good, tho.

                               

                              Anyway, the work for the Labor Day picnic is done, other than sampling the beer in a couple of weeks.

                               

                              Not at it at all. 


                              Former runner

                                Well despite the heat I managed a decent hop harvest this year. I don't have an exact weight yet but i think it's my best Willamette harvest yet. The cascade look to be a couple pounds dried. Not bad for 4 potted bines. Now I just need to see how many potatoes I can get for my cream ale. The Willamette are the small strip at the top and the rest are cascade. I may try some other types next year since the Willamette don't seem to like the Indiana climate.

                                 

                                Hops 2012

                                 

                                The difference between Cascade (left) and Willamette (Right).

                                 

                                Hops 2

                                Ross