Bad Ben's Brewing Blog

Update and Sierra Nevada

2009-11-06T13:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I brewed my Robust Brown Ale a couple of months ago, and it is tasty. I've taken it to several events (where it was well-received), so I'm almost out of homebrew, for now.

On the commercial front, there are some interesting beers out for Autumn from Sierra Nevada.

Sierra Nevada has another edition of Torpedo out, now.

It's always tasty, but at 7.2% ABV, it's definitely not a session beer.

Then, there is Anniversary Ale.

I've enjoyed all of Sierra's anniversary offerings since 2007, and this one is really nice. Complex, yet extremely drinkable, and not overly powerful. It's on the high side of a session beer. 2 to 3 bottles per session.

Every year, I also await the arrival of their Celebration Ale...especially the on-tap version. In the Kansas City area, look for it to be on tap (in mid-December) at possibly: Barley's, Grinders, or Flying Saucer.

And, I can't wait for this:

Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head to release “Life & Limb” Collaboration
Chico, CA (08/12/09)—This fall independent craft brewers Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head, will release two collaborative beers. Limb & Life—a draft-only beer—will debut in October; with Life & Limb 24oz bottles and limited draft to follow in November.

I would also like to try their new year-round release, Kellerweis Hefeweizen. The Sierra Nevada PR group says about it, "Several years ago, the brewers began working with a unique Bavarian hefeweizen yeast strain unknown in this country. This amazingly flavorful yeast was so exciting that they began working on a recipe for a traditional German hefeweizen with the Sierra Nevada twist."

It will be interesting to see how SN interprets a Bavarian hefeweizen style. I haven't seen this product locally, yet. I'm sure it will show up, somewhere.

By the way, I don't work for Sierra Nevada, and I have no financial interest. I've always thought that they've produced a quality product, though.

Cheers!

What's New on the Bad Ben Beer Front?

2009-06-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

My love (Sophia) and I enjoy a beer at Flying Saucer.
Photo credit: S.O. Cindy Busjaeger.

Well, I have 3 beers on tap, right now: Ersatz Schneider Weisse, Summer IPA, and my Belgian Uber Saison. Everybody seems to love the Weisse...(but I'm really not a huge fan of the style). I at least know that I did a decent job on it. The IPA and Saison round-things out nicely, but it would be nice to have my Brown on tap, as well (sigh).

The KC Beer Bloggers got together when Lee was last in town a little over a week ago. It was a nice, easy-going night. Good times.

There are some things happening around town on the professional brewing scene....more, later.

You'd better not over-imbibe!

Two Brew Weekends in a Row

2009-03-23T16:49:00.000-07:00

One week ago, me and my wonderful assistant brewed a 2nd batch of the brown that was so well received. I've already transferred it to secondary fermentation.

This past Saturday, we brewed a nice Belgian style ale.

Portage and Future Brown-out

2008-12-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm transferring my latest Porter from secondary fermentation to kegs, today. I'll force-carbonate one of them when it's chilled enough. I may have a glass of Porter to drink by tomorrow evening!

The Belgian Brown is still in primary fermentation, and will probably stay there until Thursday or so.

A Different Shade of Brown

2008-12-14T14:24:00.000-08:00

On a suggestion by my son, I brewed a Belgian version of my American Brown Ale.

All went as planned, and we'll see what comes of it.

A Pisces Scales Up

2008-12-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

Eight days ago I brewed a Robust Porter. It's the latest version of my Sherpa Porter. Not to brag too much, but my Porter seems to be enjoyed by a lot of folks that know their beer. And it doesn't just rest on it's laurels...it gets consumed.

I'll be transferring it to secondary carbonation this afternoon. I should have performed this yesterday, but was a little tired from working (on a Sunday), damnit!

In other news on the homebrewing front: I'm going to be collaborating with a local/regional "commercial enterprise" to scale up one or more of my homebrew recipes at a craft brewery for submission into the 2009 GABF Pro-Am competition. Hey, entering the competition will be Beeriffic enough, but having a commercial beer made from my recipe(s) will be the true honor. The acclaimed veteran head brewer of this establishment likes my stuff! (That's the real honor).

Other news: My experimental I.B.I.P.A. (Imperial Brett India Pale Ale) has a very pleasing flavor profile. It turned-out better than I thought it would; it's quite refreshing. I had it with some Maytag Blue Cheese last night, and they paired well together. This project took a while, though...waiting for 2 years worth of fermentation and conditioning was a test of my discipline, all right. And so was stopping at just one glass of IBIPA, even though I was really stoked about it.

I've got a couple more vessels of experimental stuff much more on the fringe than this latest beer, though. But I've got to wait. Discipline, discipline!

100 Miles for a Beer!!!

2008-10-07T13:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you know that my passion for good beer compliments my passion for running long distances in the woods.

The recent article in the Pitch described me thusly:
"Ben isn't the kind of guy most athletes would peg for the cover of Runner's World. Far from the sinewy Kenyans who dominate distance running, Holmes has boyishly cut blond hair and a smile that makes his round face scrunch. He's an accomplished athlete, but he moves with the casual swagger of a bar buddy. A slight bulge around his middle betrays a love of beer almost as deep as his affection for running. "

Some of the runs that I do might sound a little crazy. The 100-milers are a case in point. Running 100 miles within 20 to 30 hours might seem like a delusional dirge-like death march of a run...but actually it's more of a spiritual journey for me. It is my church. It's how I stay centered in this nutty existence.

So...

I have decided to dedicate my next Rocky Raccoon 100-mile trail race (in February 2009) to the American Cancer Society. I've finished RR100 six out of the past six years' worth of attempts. I'm dedicating Lucky Number Seven as a fundraiser for cancer.

Just days prior to running my first Rocky Raccoon 100, I found out that my dad had inoperable systemic cancer throughout his entire body. They gave him 3 months to live, and he lasted 10 months, and had a horrible, "lingering death" that my family and I witnessed.

So, I always have him on my mind when I run this race, and I also think of all of the friends, family, and coworkers who have battled this horrible disease; many of whom are no longer with us. If you can find it in your heart to donate something...anything, it would be appreciated. I don't think there are any of us who haven't been touched by this killer, either physically or emotionally.

You can read about my last Rocky Raccoon 100 here.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben

Taste Rant

2008-09-03T07:24:00.000-07:00

I've noticed over the years something about taste and the people who have "discerning" taste.

For instance, the person that orders and enjoys the varying flavors of differently roasted coffees (without sweetener, milk, or cream), can taste and appreciate a subtle beer or wine flavor. Or how a red wine person can easily appreciate a Belgian-style beer. Taste over effect. These folks tend not to drink to excess, and tend not to be smokers. They savor their food and beverages.

On the flip side of that coin, there are the people who don't seem to have discerning taste at all. They order their coffee as "fluffy-sweet" drinks, only. They order Rum and Coke and other sickenly-sweet drinks. Effect over taste. Folks that think "Turning Leaf" makes a great wine. And drink green-bottle Heineken and think the skunky flavor is something that they should enjoy or "get used to." Or think that Beck's or Corona are "premium beers" because of their premium price. And follow-up a bar session by slamming-down Jaegers.

On the homebrewing side, I'm always amazed by the would-be brewers that want to "clone-brew" a version of Corona or even the insanely-overrated Fat Tire Ale. WTF? I just don't get it. Why get into homebrewing in the first place, if you're just going to try to copy the Shit Beers of the World? Find another hobby...cooking, maybe. You could attempt to "clone-cook" the perfect copy of a McDonalds Quarter-Pounder, or clone-bake the perfect version of a f*cking Twinkie. And then wash it all down with a Rum and Coke.

Gute Träume Kölschbier

2008-08-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a good little brew day last Sunday. I decided to brew at the last second, after running with some buddies on trails in WyCo Park.

I decided to brew a simple version of my Kölsch recipe, since I had the materials on hand. I think a homebrewer should always have a Kölsch or Pilsener on tap, along with a Porter or Stout. Simple session beers for variety's sake.

Here's the guts of the recipe:

Gute Träume Kölschbier v3.2
Style: Kölsch
Type: All grain Size: 10.5 gallons

OG: __1.046 FG: __1.010_(est.)
Alcohol: 4.0% v/v (3.2% w/w)
Color: 3 HCU (~3 SRM)

Grain:
9 lb. Weyermann Pilsner, 1.7-2L
9 lb. Maris Otter, Crisp -3L
2 lb. Wheat Malt

Hops:
2.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (60 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (45 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (30 min.)
1.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (20 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (10 min.)

Yeast:
Wyeast Scottish Ale, 1728 XL (activator pack).

As I said, it's a simple recipe (and I used a single-infusion mash, too). The Scottish Ale yeast attenuates well, and brings out some malty notes with few estery issues.

The yeast really took off. I'm going to have to transfer to secondary fermentation tonight...just three days after brewing.

Other Bad Ben Nanobrewery News:
Currently on tap: Porter, Maibock, Double IPA, and a 2-year-old Belgian Brett.
I took the Barleywine off-tap to save it for later.
The Uber-Saison that I brewed 3 weeks ago is almost ready for tertiary conditioning.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben

Hotter Than Hell Brew Day

2008-08-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

I brewed last Saturday, and holy-crap it was hot! I brew in a west-facing garage, and I couldn't get started until 1 p.m., because I helped put-on a little race that morning.

On this particular brew-day, it was 100 degrees F, with 68% humidity. For those of you from drier climates, this type of weather can kick your butt (or even kill you), if you're not prepared. I just treated it as "heat-training," and drank a few pints of water for every beer that I drank. I had some salty snacks available to keep the ol' electrolyte balance up. I also used an old window-shaker air-conditioner; I sat in front of it while doing some tasks, and as much as I could.

Milling Grain

I had invited Christy and her boyfriend Greg over. Christy is an extract brewer (from Colorado originally), and she wants to learn the all-grain brewing process. (Both of them went up to Oregon for the Oregon Brewer's Festival, also). My son, Matt came over for a little while, and Jim (another brewer) came over, too. It's crazy how I always get a crowd on the hottest or coldest brewing days of the year! Christy's dog was the only sane creature in attendance; she begged to go into the air-conditioned house, so we relented and let her stay and play in the house.

Brew Crew

I've been on a brewing roll, lately, and I'm not going to let some nasty hot weather get in the way! I'm trying to re-stock my normally well-rounded offerings. I usually like to have at least 5 different homebrews on tap, but currently only have three: a 1-year old Barleywine, a Maibock, and a Porter. I also have a 5 year old Barleywine, but I rarely give out samples of that.

Garage Fridge Offerings

Failure is not an option!

The Porter (at 4.8% alcohol) was the only "session-like" beer on tap for brew day. It was hot enough that some folks had a "hoppy beer" on their minds, instead of a dark Porter. I came up with a special strategy for the hop-minded: I poured a small amount of hoppy Barleywine into a glass, and then topped it off with a Boulevard Pale Ale, keeping the alcohol percentage in the neighborhood of 6 - 7 %, instead of kick-in-the-head range. We grilled some chicken, had some fresh veggies, and also chips and hummus to top it all off. A nice day, despite the heat.

Mashing-in

Hot work!

The homebrewing part went very smoothly. I brewed yet another version of my Über Saison, which always has an interesting grain profile, but this time I used some off-the-shelf Wyeast, instead of my own privately cultivated "BadBenomyces cerevisiae." The cooled wort's original gravity ended up hitting 1.072. It's now bubbling-away in the primary. The Double IPA that I brewed 2 weeks ago is in secondary fermentation, and I'll transfer it to tetiary conditioning soon enough. Hopefully, I'll have it on tap within a week or so.

Happy trails and cheers!

Bad Ben

Oregon Brewer's Festival & PCT 50M

2008-08-01T15:04:00.000-07:00

For the third year in a row, I flew up to Portland Oregon, to attend in the Oregon Brewer's Festival, and participate in the PCT 50-mile trail run on and near Mount Hood.

This year, my son Matt and I went. We flew up on Wednesday, after work. It was our intent to meet up with my nephew Andy, but we were surprised when Andy's dad (my bro) Jim drove down from Spokane on Thursday.

The Holmes' Bro's. Matt and me in front, Jim and Andy in back.

Don't run over that Emo kid! You've already hit your scoring limit!

Our fist stop after our plane ride was Lucky Labrador Brewing, off of Hawthorne.
Good beer, good food, and lots of friendly doggies!

First Beer while in Portland. Cheers!

Watching it happen doggy-style, at the Labrador.
They don't call it the "Lucky" Labrador for no reason.

Wednesday night was filled with a night of Glorious Debauchery...in wondrous Stumptown Style.

On Thursday morning, we hooked-up with Greg and Christy, and hit the Bijou for breakfast, Whole Foods, and then Powell's books, before heading to Rogue Brewing for a breakfast beer.

Greg & Christy, (AKA "Lecompton G" and "Mountain MudBabe")

My breakfast at my favorite breakfast place in the entire universe.
I've been going here since 1990 or so. (One of the wait staff that always recognizes me thought that I lived in Portland, until I told her otherwise, a few years ago).

Keith Moon, back from the dead, serving us breakfast beers with 'tude at Rogue, in Beervana, Oregon.

"Roguesque Beerscape," by Matt Holmes.

From Rogue, we wandered about Downtown Portland, and showed-off some of the sights. (Yes, there were a few Trail Nerd stickers still up from last year's all-city pasting). We showed-up at the Oregon Brewer's Festival (OBF), right after 1 p.m., or so.

Good times!

Serving station at OBF.

This girl is serious about her hops. I guessed right...she used Willamette Hops for the tattoo model. (I know my hop varieties).

Friday was reserved for rest and recovery, and letting my brother Jim get to know Matt a little better. We went to our favorite resort in Welches, Oregon, while Greg and Christy went to Cannon Beach (and then met us later at our digs, to sleep for the night).

Saturday...RACE DAY! Five Trail Nerds were there to run the race: Greg Burger, Gary Henry, Danny Miller, and Bobbi Ashwandi-Thomas. The rest were there to cheer us on, pace us, (and maybe ignore us and head to Hood River for a brewery tour to arrive back at the finish line 20 minutes late).

I hadn't really trained for this race, and I was out of shape. I've only been averaging 25 miles per week of running for the past 2 to 3 months, due to being busy and other issues. But I figured, what the hell, it's only a fifty-miler...right?

Upon arrival at the race, I gave the two female race directors (Olga and Monika) Mud Babe shirts. They proceeded to wow the race audience by stripping-off their tops and donning the stylish gaments forthwith.

The weather was perfect for racing: 52 degrees at start time, sunnyall day, and it never warmed up past the mid-70s. Compared to KC, the humidity level was "dryer than a popcorn fart." PERFECTCONDITIONS!

Near the start / finish area.

Me, getting my gear & shit ready for race.
No drop bags necessary for a short 50!

We're off!

Danny "Sandbagger" Miller did well. He nearly dropped out at the turnaround point on the mountain, but after sitting and regaining his insanity, proceeded to recover and start blazing down the mountain like a luge on teflon-coated ice. He soon passed Greg and me and ended up finishing in 10:14 or so.

Me, coming into Timberline Lodge aid station (at mile 25).

Scoring some tasty watermelon for fuel!

Greg "Lecompton G" Burger and I played leapfrog all day long. Three miles from the finish we decided to pace each other in, and finished together with arms raised shouting "Trail Nerds and Wu Tang Clan forever." We finished in 10 hours, 37 minutes.

Yep, I wore lucky number 69!

Gary "Luddite" Henry and Bobbi (AKA BAT) took the early 5:30 a.m. start. Gary finished in 11:07, and Bobbi a few hours later.

After the race, most of us repaired to a the Ice Axe brewpub (Mt Hood Brewing) on the Mountain, and proceeded to infuse mass quanities of food and "cool amber emulsion fluid" into our calorie-starved bodies.
We met a couple of other addled souls (other finishers), and fed the mosquitos out on the patio until they popped in little blood-soaked explosions.

Greg, Gary, Danny, Matt, me, Christy, Jim, Andy.

Well, that's about it. We had a lot of fun, and then flew back on Sunday. My left hip was a little tweaked, but other than that, I'm feeling fine. Nothing that some good ol' homebrew can't fix.

Happy trails,
Bad Ben

Brew Vote: What To Brew?

2008-04-11T12:54:00.000-07:00

What should I brew next? A nice Porter or an IPA?

I want both on tap (soon), but can only brew once this weekend.

The MaiBock is just about ready. I'll check on it's condition this weekend.

Complete Douchebags

2008-04-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

The new Cordish Company's Power & Light District is only for complete douchebags, I guess. It's now "headwear non-inclusive."

I was turned away from 2 locations because I was wearing a FlexFit hat, (a KC Trail Nerds running club hat). They wouldn't let me enter, unless I took off my "gangsta-style hat." Yeah, maybe I looked like an idiot with my hat and runner's jacket on. But at the same time, a redneck idiot wearing a "tubed-out" and frayed circa 1990s OldSkool NASCAR hat, sporting a 1995-style goatee, and wearing a tee-shirt with the sleeves ripped-off, was let in without a problem.

The offending "Gansta" hat (left).

A DRESS CODE that caters to Bud-swilling redneck mothertruckers...WTF??? This is just weird. Who do they think will spend more money? (Well, possibly he will, when he gets tanked-up, and buys a round for the bar). But who do you think tips the staff better (or at all)? Rednecks, as a rule, refuse to tip.

FUCK DOWNTOWN. At least that part of downtown. I'll still go to Grinders and the Bulldog and other haunts of mine. I'm voting with my dollars and with my feet.

HAT FASCISTS!!!!!!!!!!

XXXOOO,

Bad Ben

MaiBock Brew Day

2008-03-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

My friend Greg and I split the costs on a batch of MaiBock for our brewing session this past Sunday afternoon. It was a good brewing session, and we hit our temperature targets exactly. The finished Wort's starting gravity was 1.071, so the (eventual) finished product will make you stand-up and sing in German, after a couple of pints.

This MaiBock and a (July) Pilsner are the only two lagers that I plan to brew this year. I may throw in a Dunkel or an Eisbock for good measure, though. I like well-done (and tasty) lagers, but I'm pretty much an Ale Guy in my NanoBrewery. I just find most lager styles to be less-interesting than ales to produce and drink. I also like to experiment and push the limits of the Ale World, especially with my Belgian recipes.

I plan to brew a couple of session beers next. I think I'll replicate my last Porter recipe, first. I've tweaked my "Sherpa Porter" recipe over the years, and now it's just about perfect. The last batch was loved by one and all who tried it. Following-up with a Kölsch would be nice. Having a Kölsch right at the start of warm weather gets me thinking of Summer.

In the heat of the Summer, I like to have a Pilsner on hand. My favorite version of Pilsner is the Northern German style, with the higher hops content. When brewing, you've got to include German Noble hops and higher-sulphate water (than the other Pilsener or Pilsener styles) to pull-it off right. It should be as crisp-tasting as biting into a Granny Smith apple, with a refreshing lingering bitterness. Yummy and refreshing.

My favorite commercially available (on-tap) example is the Leavenworth Friesian Pilsener by brewer Jenn Gridley at Fish Brewing in Olympia Washington. If you travel to the Pacific Northwest, it's on tap in the SEATAC airport at Anthony's, when it's in season. Give it a try. If you like this style, you won't be disappointed.

I Hope Spring is Around the Corner

2008-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

This Winter has been a tough one (weather-wise) for a lot of folks in this part of the country. I know that I can't do anything but whine about it though, so I'll just shutup now.

On a lighter note, I went to a Trail Nerds Post-Psycho party last Friday night, and it also happened to be my birthday. I took a keg of my hoppy Sucker Punch IPA to the party at Shane's house. A fitting name, since the party ended with a macho display of who could take the hardest punch in the gut.

I fared pretty well with the macho-drunk-white-guy bullshit. I still do massive amounts of crunches, and I can still deliver a nasty punch. For the record, I pulled my punches, somewhat...these are my friends, after all.

I drank more than usual at the party. As my friend Gary says, "sometimes you've got to push the limits to see where the limits actually are." (I had a Designated Driver, by the way). I didn't make my next morning's run, and had to make up for it (partly) on today's run. I promise not to do that to myself again (for at least a couple of years).

I took the morning off from running, partly from imbibing too much, but also from being generally run-down, overextended and tired. I decided I was on the edge of getting the flu or something, so I had a "sleep-in and be a total slacker" day. I feel much better today.

What a BURP!

2008-01-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

My annual Beer Utilization and Reduction Party (BURP) was definitely fun to host, and it appears to have been a lot of fun for the attendees. I had a good line-up of homebrew, and several guests brought homemade beer and wine and some delicious potluck items. We had some darn good food to chomp on, that's for sure!

Depending upon one's tastes, I had a wide range from which to choose. Alberta and Jackie Rager, who are the Midwest's premiere BJCP beer judges (and BJCP trainers), really liked my "Sherpa Porter" and "Event Horizon Barleywine." (Alberta is not a big fan of Belgians, but can appreciate them). It's nice to have a good review of my beers, especially by knowledgeable peers! I also let her and a few others sample my aged, 4-year-old Barleywine down in the NanoBrewery, and it was well-received.

Many wine drinkers enjoyed the Belgian offering and the Barleywine. For hop-heads, my Cascade dry-hopped "Sucker Punch IPA" was fresh and ready for a "teeth-scrapingly" fresh hops experience. (I had just kegged it the night before, and force-carbonated right after my morning run with the Trail Nerds).

For more pedestrian tastes, I had my "Plain Jane American Pale Ale" on hand, for a "maltier" and less excessive experience. Alberta and Jackie brought a homemade Gewurtztraminer wine and a "Cyser," just for fun. Debbie Webster brought some homemade margaritas, for those so inclined. A "Jayhops" homebrewer (Mark) brought some bottles of homebrew, and I got to sample (and spill) a very nice Milk Stout that he had artfully made.

One-half of the KC Beer Blog team made it to the party, and a couple of brewing friends that I haven't seen in a while were there, too. There was a lot going on, so I may have missed something. In fact, there was a whole bunch of folks I didn't talk to that were watching the KU basketball game. Some of them came and left without me seeing them, I'm sure.

After the majority of the guests left, about six of us repaired to the great room to discuss and solve all of the world's problems. The last guest left at about 2 a.m., which (I assume) is the mark of a successful event. Once again, I ended up with more varieties of beer in the house than I started with, so I'll be looking for some "reductional help" yet again, soon.

Cheers and Happy Trails,

Bad Ben

B.U.R.P.

2007-12-31T09:03:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's that time of year again. Time for my annual "Beer Utilization and Reduction Party." This is when I make a valid attempt to rid myself of some of my homebrewing stock, to make room for new brews. (Brewing in 10-gallon batches contributes to this unique problem).

Once again, this party will have a weird mix of folks: homebrewers, pro-brewers, mountain bikers, trail runners, and road runners. (No coyotes, though). As in the past, it can be a really good time.

Party Time: 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Date: Saturday, December 43rd, 2007 in the "Bad Benian Calendar," (otherwise known as January 12, 2008).

Location: My House (just drive into Johnson County, and look for the beige house in the culdesac...can't miss it).

Food and Beverages: I'll have Chili to eat, and (at least) 5 beers on tap. If you don't like beer, bring another beverage or a counselor.

Beers available will be: My Uber Saison (Beaucoup Belgian Farmhouse Ale), an aged 4-year old English-style Barleywine (Tenacious Curmudgeon), a younger American-style Barleywine (Event Horizon), a Robust Porter (Sherpa Porter), and an in-your face hoppy IPA (Sucker Punch IPA). I may bring out some more stock as the evening progresses.

Please bring your choice of ONE of the following:

1) Snack food, or any potluck item.

2) *Beer, mead, or an interesting wine; (ESPECIALLY if it's homemade or craft made). No Budweiser or anything like that, please, (unless that's all that you'll drink).

Also bring:

A semi-good looking Significant Other, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, mistress, gigolo, stripper, or reasonable facsimile, thereof. Or you can bring a friend or just yourself.

NO KIDS or UFC Cage Fighters, PLEASE.

NOTE: If you plan on imbibing like a frat-boy or whorority-chick, please BRING A DESIGNATED DRIVER; or you can stay-over and sleep on one of our nice inflatable air beds and have our big, slobbery dog lick your face all night. (Don't worry, he's been neutered).

*Homebrewers: For mini-kegs I have an extra CO2 bottle and hoses, if you have the proper fittings.

If you want more information (like an address, or the type of new laptop that I'd like you to purchase for me), you can get my e-mail address from my profile. If you can't find that, you've already had enough beer to drink. Don't ever come to my BURP party with a headstart, or your liver will definitely explode.

Cheers and happy trails,

Bad Ben

Beer Blogger's Summit...World Peace Declared

2007-12-30T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a little piece of World Peace while we met at 75th Street Brewery, anyway.

Lee and Lady Margaret from Austin helped put together this meeting of (addled) minds in Kansas City, on a fine Saturday afternoon. Also in attendance were Muddy Mo and Bull E. Vard. We talked beer, politics, music, OBF, Beer Geek TV, running and the vast selection of items available at Red X. My son Matt stopped by also, and we ran into Chimpotle, as well.

Lee broke all known Missouri laws and introduced us to a bottle of North by Northwest Brewery's "Kodiak IPA." For an IPA with 6% ABV, it sure tasted much bigger than that. It appears that Cascade hops were used to dry-hop and finish this tasty brew. It's definitely one of the best beers that I've had from Texas, (normally referred to by me as the land of "sweet tea" and sweet beer). But Austin is really in its own little world, compared to the rest of Texas, ala Lawrence, Kansas.

What a nice summit! We'll have to do this again.

Good Brew Day

2007-12-24T20:30:00.000-08:00

Well, another batch is in the fermenter. I had 3 folks stop by to enjoy some beers during the brew. One of them was from New York.

I cranked up two space heaters, and the garage reached a balmy 60 degrees F, at one point. It was a decently sunny day, and my dog (Fester) enjoyed laying in the sun and watching for any scraps of food to drop.

I hit my mark for my "session" IPA, with a starting gravity of 1.050. It will be hoppy, but not too overt. A good brew day, all in all.

"F" the APA

2007-12-22T20:55:00.000-08:00

To heck with the APA. Because of the "hop crisis," I'm brewing an IPA on Monday, instead. Bring on the Columbus and in-your-frigging-face hops!

By the way: Anyone that likes good brew is invited (if you're in the Kansas City area). Show up around noon. I'll be well underway, by then. You can bring some munchies or food, if you're so inclined. And dress warmly. On tap, I'll have a fresh Robust Porter, a 4-y.o. Barleywine, a fairly new Barleywine, a Belgian Farmhouse Ale, and a Oak-aged Imperial Stout; maybe more!

You can get my e-mail address from my profile. If you can't find it, you deserve to wallow in self-pity and stale Budweiser.

Cheers and happy trails,
Bad Ben

On Tap, Plans, and Smokestack Series

2007-12-12T12:13:00.000-08:00

Right now, this is what I have on tap at home:

My Uber-Saison, which I call "Beaucoup Belgian Farmhouse Ale." - Yum...Tasty!

A barleywine that I brewed in November 2003, "Tenacious Curmudgeon." - Wonderfully complex!

A recent, 3-month old American Style Barleywine, which I call "Event Horizon." - Yowza!

That's right, no low-gravity stuff at the ol' homestead.

It's soon to be rectified, though. My latest batch of "Sherpa Porter" should be pouring by this weekend. Not that it's very light...it'll finish at about 6.5%ABV. I did pick up the grain for a simple American Pale Ale, the other day. I'll see if I can find the time to brew it on Sunday afternoon. I haven't brewed an APA in a while. I need a good "session ale" at home, so I don't have to buy a commercial version.

By the way, I've tried all of the new "Smokestack Series" of ales from Boulevard Brewing here in Kansas City. The beers are packaged in 750 ml champagne bottles with cork-and-cage closures. The first four in this series to be released are "Boulevard Saison," a farmhouse ale, "Long Strange Tripel," a Trappist-style abbey beer, "Double-Wide I.P.A.," and "The Sixth Glass," a Belgian-style quadrupel ale. My favorite of the Series is the Double-Wide IPA. It tastes like a well-made homebrewed ale (like an IPA that I might make). The Saison is just "okay" for a Saison, and I think the Tripel is a little too one-dimensional. The Quad is a nice one, though. So two really nice brews (out of four) ain't bad. I can't wait to see what else they'll be offering, in the near future.

Things are looking up (here), beer-wise.

Beer Geek T.V.

2007-11-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

There's a new, fun web site out there for all of us "beercentric" folk: Beer Geek T.V.
It's part of Beer Geek dot com.

My son and I were interviewed for Beergeek.TV at the Oregon Brewer's Festival, this past Summer. You can check it out here. We're about 3/4 through the video. The rest of the video is great to watch, because it gives you an idea of how fun the OBF is, and why I always try to make it to Portland for it, every year on the last full weekend of July. You can read more about my last fun OBF trip (with photos) here.

On the nanobrewery side of things:
I'm dry-hopping my Barleywine with Fuggles and EKG. I had also pitched some additional champagne yeast, but I don't know how much more attenuation I'll get out of it; apparent attenuation is at 82%. Two days ago, the specific gravity was at 1.020; down from a whopping 1.120! That's an ABV of 13.4%.

My Belgian Double is already in two "corny" kegs, and one of them should be fully conditioned and carbonated, by now. I'm going to taste it tonight.

I've purchased the ingredients for my annual "Sherpa Porter," a Robust Porter that I keep tweaking the recipe on, every year. This year, I've tweaked it a lot, and I'm interested in the result. I'm going to shoot for brewing it this Sunday; it's the only chance I'll have for 3 weeks.

Happy Brewing,
Bad Ben

Barleywine Brew Day

2007-10-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

On September 30th, I brewed a ten-gallon all-grain batch of barleywine. The last time I brewed a barleywine was in November of 2003, (and I still have some of that batch left).

This recent batch had a starting wort gravity of 1.120 on brew day, so it'll be a monster. I included the following grains in it: Maris Otter, Klagas 2-row, Castle Caramel Munich, Cara-Vienne, and small amounts of two new available grains: Crystal Rye Malt and Simpsons Golden Naked Oats.

There's over a pound (total) of hop flowers in this 10-gallon batch. I started with 2-ounces of Nugget hops for bittering, and have a lot of Fuggles and Kent Goldings for the rest of the hop bill. I'll also dry-hop with Fuggles and Kent Goldings.

Shane, Cody, and Keith showed up to keep me company, for the last half of the brew day. Cody had just finished 2nd in a 50-Kilometer run, so he only had half a beer and went and sacked-out in Shane's car...he was pretty darn tired. It was a fun day.

It is finally ready to transfer to secondary fermentation tonight (Oct 15). The little yeasties have been going nuts for two straight weeks! I'll check the gravity during transfer, and see if there's a need to add any champagne yeast.

Here are some photos of the brew day operation:

The bottom (inside) of my mash tun.

Mashing-in.

Hitting a mash temperature of 152 degrees perfectly.

Recirculation through the mash. Here's my cheap-ass flow control system, (a set of needle-nose vise grips with silicone tubing on its jaws).

Enjoying a glass of my Harvest Double-IPA on brew day.

Brew Your Own

2007-09-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

I'm in the September/October issue of Brew Your Own Magazine, as the featured homebrewer.

My son is also mentioned, and there's a photo of me, my nephew, and my son enjoying ourselves at the 2006 Oregon Brewer's festival.

Pick up a copy, if you don't subscribe. (Barnes & Noble usually carries it).

It's kind of cool, and (I think) an honor.

Michael Jackson has left This Mortal Coil

2007-08-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Michael Jackson, the "Beer Hunter," was a legend. He recently left this mortal coil and our worldly existence.

Michael had so much energy for beer, malt beverages, and people, and was a genuinely nice person. He was a true gentleman.

I got to meet him personally in 1994. It was at Big Time Brewery in Seattle, at 7 a.m., and he was leaving for the airport to go back to the U.K., but he still wanted to check out our beers for a possible new book project. This, after a whirlwind weekend tour of Seattle and the Northwest's breweries and brewpubs. He gave us an honest assessment of our beers, had some coffee and chit-chat, and then left. He didn't have to do this for us (at an un-godly time in the morning), but the man had said that he would, and he did. I still cherish the photo of all of us on that day.

In the photo was Mark Irvin from Spokane's Northern Lights Brewing, Dick Cantwell (currently of Elysian Brewing in Seattle), Brian Johnson (formerly of Fort Spokane Brewing, Spokane, Washington), and me.

Michael, whatever dimension you're in, I know that you are enjoying yourself thoroughly!

Happy trails and cheers,

Bad Ben

OBF 2007

2007-08-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I attended the Oregon Brewer's Festival.

We flew up to Oregon for a family vacation again, which included a lot of walking, beer tasting, fine food eating and a good, long run.

The high points of the trip were:

Bumping into old friends Dave Buhler and Dick Cantwell (from Elysian Brewing), and attending their little party at Stumptown Coffee...the Avatar Jasmine IPA was exquisite.
Tasting more than a few really good beers. One of my favorites was this year's version of Pliny the Elder.
Spending some quality time with my wife, son, nephew, and friends.
Being a complete lush for a couple of days.
Breaking my nose and still having fun.

I wrote a more in depth report of some of our fun on my other blog.
Here are some photos from the trip:

Thurday Afternoon at OBF

Laurelwood visit

Rogue!

You've got to stop at Powells, when in Portland.

Recycling can be a drag!

Street signs

The Trail Nerd pour at OBF

Bridgeport...(I still miss the old Bridgport).

Afternoon beers at Laurelwood.

Nice shirt!

Matt, my son.

My trip up the mountain.

Strong IPA & Kölsch

2007-06-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

The strong IPA that I brewed a month ago turned-out very tasty for what it is...a high-IBU hop monster from Parallel Hell. It dried-out to a gravity of 1.010. I burned through a keg of it this past Saturday at my 100-mile racing buddy Raul Flores' retirement party. It was well-received; Raul likes hoppy beers. (Retiring at the age of 51...sheesh)! I put a warning sticker on it to warn "beer newbies" and fools, since it has a 8.15% alcohol content (by volume).

I also had about 3 gallons left of my ESB on tap, and the rest of that keg played-out within a couple of hours. I'm glad, too, because it was getting "a little long in the tooth," and I'm not a huge ESB fan. I guess that's why I don't brew that style very often. I'd rather brew a brown or something else interesting, if I want to have a "mild" beer style around.

This past Sunday, June 3rd, I brewed a Kölsch-style beer for the Summer. One of the 5-gallon kegs will go to another buddy to help him win a BBQ competition, and the other will be for personal consumption. I always like to have a Kölsch and/or a Pilsener around for the hot Summer months.

I used a version of an old recipe of mine that I tend to like. For the 10-gallon batch, it included:
9 lb. Weyermann Pilsner, 9 lb. Maris Otter Crisp, and 2 lb. White Wheat Malt on the grain bill. I performed a single-step mash. For hops, I used Tettnang and Hallertau Mittelfruh hop flowers for that "Noble" nose. I used my "secret" Kölsch yeast, and pitched a healthy starter. It's bubbling away in the glass fermenter like crazy, and should be ready in time for my friend's BBQ date.

By the way, during transferring I got a taste of the Brett-inoculated Saison that will be my next Lambic. Woo-hoo! This new Brett Baby is going to be tasty!

Happy brewing, everybody!

Nanobrewery Goings-on

2007-05-13T05:48:00.000-07:00

I brewed a strong IPA yesterday. It went well, other than I forgot to recirculate through the wort, and add Irish Moss. (I shouldn't start drinking and gabbing with friends before the boil). It'll turnout okay. I'll just do my 3-fermenter shuffle over the course of the next month, and it will flocculate-out most of the particulate/haze. I'll probably use gelatin for fining, as well. (I usually don't use gelatin, but oh well).

The gravity of the finished wort was 1.072. I wanted a hoppy (non-Midwest style) IPA, so I used Columbus, Amarillo, and some Centennial. With the higher gravity, it'll be well-balanced at about 100 I.B.U. of bittering.

In the malt bill, for the pale malt, I used half Harrington 2-row and half Maris Otter Crisp 2-row. I also added 2 lbs of Vienna, 2 lbs of crystal 40, and 2 lbs of Rye malt, just to make it interesting. I'm always experimenting. This will be a non-traditional and strong hybrid IPA. Maybe it'll get better gas mileage, being a hybrid and all.

Next weekend, if I get time, I'll do my traditional Spring/Summer brewing of a Kolsch-style. I've got to get another "session beer" on tap; my ESB won't last too long.

And So it Goes...

2007-04-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, April 11th, a wonderous voice and author fell silent.
And so it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut 1922-2007

I read a lot of books in my youth. I would stay up past 3 a.m. many times to finish a good book. I stumbled onto my first Kurt Vonnegut novel at the tender age of nine. I couldn't get enough of his material, especially where I lived at the time, (on Air Force bases). So when we went to "town," I would scour all of the libraries and used and new book stores for his books. My mom didn't mind; she always encouraged my reading habits. Little did she know that "Science Fiction" and other genres of books might contain the "F-word" in them, or promote differing / off-kilter views on life, the universe, and everything.

This man had a lot to do with how I turned-out as a "thinking" adult. So you can partially blame Kurt Vonnegut for this pile of conscious meat called "Bad Ben."

Read More on My Other Blog.

High-brow Brews, Right here in River City

2007-03-14T10:13:00.000-07:00

The local Macro-brewery (Boulevard Brewing Company), is doing some interesting things. They will produce 400 cases of fancy and robust Belgian-style & oak-aged beers, bottled in traditional champagne bottles with champagne corks and wire cages. See article.

Boulevard recently became the 10th largest craft brewer in the nation, despite being distributed in only eleven Midwestern states. They really do a good job, too.

Special Note: Before I went on a trip to Belgium back in 2000, Boulevard's brewmaster (Steven Pauwels, the Belgian Brewer formerly from Brugge Brewing) gave me his business card to flash around. It got a lot of (brewing) doors opened for me in Belgium! I almost had to purchase an extra ticket for my liver, for the return trip.

At Boulevard Brewing Co., Belgian-born brewmaster Steven Pauwels tests fermentation inside a bourbon barrel. Pauwels and a team of beer makers are planning a Smokestack Series — high-end craft beers with limited production and numbered releases.
Photo by: JIM BARCUS - THE KANSAS CITY STAR

UpppppDate

2007-03-06T20:57:00.000-08:00

Just a quick catch-up on what's going on at the ol' Nanobrewery.

The ESB is a little stronger than desired, but really delish. Did I just say delish? Holy shit, I'm either watching way too much "Rachel Rae," or I'm becoming a snobby homebrewing flamer! Well, lets just say that the ESB is "really drinkable and tasty."

The Saison turned out fantastic! Tart, complex, but still subtle. Yummm. It's the kind of brew that you've got to take your time with, let it breathe and warm up somewhat, and just sip and enjoy. One or two full 12-ounce fluted glasses, and you're completely satisfied. See, you don't have to hammer down copious volumes of brew to enjoy yourself. It's all about the flavor, folks.

With this batch of Saison, I portioned-off 5 gallons of the 10-gallon batch into another carboy, and inoculated it with a Lambic Brett (bacterial culture). One to two years in a damp, cool corner of my basement, and we're off to Belgium, (right here in Kansas). Which is funny, because the town that I live in was settled by people from Belgium. Spinach farmers from Belgium, in fact. Hmmm. A spinach farmhouse ale, maybe? No effing way!

I've been putting off kegging the Amber Belgian Ale long enough. I'll get it done by the weekend. Then I'll just have to brew again. I'm thinking of another session beer of some type, but haven't decided, yet. Suggestions are welcome.

Later.

Saison, ESB, Belgian "Amber" and other News

2007-01-20T17:28:00.000-08:00

Once again, I've been too damn busy to blog on this beer blog. I've been working, running, volunteering, and etcetera. I HAVE BREWED, THOUGH. So bugger off! (He said politely while sipping an Mocha Imperial Stout).

On January 7th, I threw a bunch of leftover grain together, with some leftover noble hops, and a healthy starter of BadBenomyces cerevisiae, a Belgian Abbey-style yeast. What came out was a rich amber-colored potpourri of a Belgian ale that had an original gravity of 1.075.

Exactly one week later, my son and I brewed on a day that was colder than an Eskimo f*ck, even with a couple of burners going and a supplemental kerosene heater. My son (Matt) has brewed professionally before, but is still trying to get the hang of brewing on the "home-concocted pile of metal" that my Nanobrewery is. His goal is to make a few successful batches with his buddy, Kevin this year. Since he and I introduced Kevin to "decent brews" a couple of years ago, he spends way too much of his fledgling family's income on bottled Belgians and such. I'm helping him build a cheap kegerator, and have given him and Matt free reign to brew on the Nanobrewery, if they can hack it.

But, I digress...back to the "Eskimo f*ck" brew day. My son had previously made a request to brew a "session" beer of some type, because all of our stock on hand is now strong, 7 to 9 % beers. I had recently scored some of the new Wyeast "Yorkshire" ale yeast, so it was a natural to do an ESB. The brew day went real well. We had the garage TV going with the playoffs on it, and drank coffee until everything was settled and the brew kettle's flame was struck. Matt was taking careful note of everything I was doing, and was fastidiously cleaning anything that we were finished with. It's nice to have a brewing apprentice!!! Roxy was there also, lending a hand, as usual.

So now, I've got three 10-gallon batches in the fermentors, which includes the "Winter Saison." About the Saison...it's spent an inordinate time in secondary fermentation. I'm going to split it into two 5-gallon sub-batches. One of them I will condition, then force-carbonate. The 2nd 5-gallons will go into a carboy, and I'll throw in some Brett yeast and some additional malt-derived sugar, and let it do it's thing for a while in a dark, forgotton corner.

What else is going on?
The beers I have on tap are tasting great, especially the Scottish and Mocha Imperial Stout. The 2nd 5-gallon cornelius keg of Sticke Kölschbier is cold chillin' and hasn't been touched. The Harvest IPA is almost gone. I've got some oak-aged imperial stout, some (vintage 2003) barleywine and some other homebrew in storage.

In a month, I'm going to be a BJCP tasting judge at a regional contest. I was invited by the organizer (who's the Midwest's premeire BJCP trainer). I feel honored to participate, even though I shun homebrew clubs and contests, as a rule. She wants me to enter my Mocha Imperial Stout and "any beers I have kicking around" also, but we'll see. I don't want to sound smug or anything, but I normally shun contests, because I know that I brew good beers, and I don't need constant validation by my peers. Also, I hate putting beers into BJCP categories; probably because I think it limits true brewing creativity. Don't even get me going on homebrewers who only get their rocks-off brewing cloned recipes! To use an analogy; why drive a stock piece-of-shit Chevy, when (with a little coaxing and creativity) you can drive a 263-MPH Bugatti?

Later, and Happy Brewing!

Matt brewing with 'tude on a warmer day.

Yummy Bits and a New Saison

2006-12-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

I've been a lazy blogger, but I've had an interesting couple of months at the ol' Nanobrewery.

My Mocha Imperial Stout and Scottish 90 Ale are on tap and delicious. (My "Scottish 90" is just slightly stronger than an 80, hence the name). The Stout has a very complex taste profile. Or at least that's what some homebrewing buddies and a few "red wine snobs" have told me. I just know that I like it a lot. The Scottish has exquisite mouthfeel and flavor. Both of these brews are exceptionally tasty. I limit myself to up to one 12-ounce glass per day, to prevent "self-mummification."

The high-gravity Sticke Kölschbier turned-out okay. It's a good beer in its own right, but not one that I'd drink on a regular basis. I guess I'm more a fan of the taste of a normal-gravity Kölsch-style ale, with it's inherent clean/crisp body and taste, and the resultant refreshing quality of that style.

The hoppiness of my Harvest IPA has finally settled-down somewhat. It's not so much of a hoppy punch in the face (when you take your first sip), anymore. It's a beer that I'll have one small glass of, (maybe) once per week, using it mainly as an aperitif. My buddies drink the sh*t out of it, though. I guess I only like real hoppy ales in the Summer.

On November 24th, I brewed what I call a Winter Saison, with a starting gravity of 1.074 / 18 degrees Plato. I used two yeast varieties. One home-slanted variety that I've used before, and an actual wine yeast, namely Wyeast Bordeaux. They are still very active, even though I've transferred to secondary fermentation. At the time of the transfer, the gravity had been reduced to a specific gravity of 1.032 (or 8 degrees Plato).

After the transfer to secondary fermentation, In the Belgian tradition, I rejuevenated the yeast somewhat by raising the temperature of the fermentation vessel over the course of two days, from 20 to 24.5 degrees Celsius. The fermentation has now resumed a more vigorous state of activity. I can honestly say that I'm excited about having a Belgian on tap, once again. I'm still looking at 3 more weeks or so until I can taste it, though. What a good way to usher the New Year in!

The grain profile of the recipe was different from most of the Saisons I've brewed in the past. The grain bill consisted mainly of Maris Otter British pale as the main ingredient. Smaller quantities of the following malts were used: Weyerman Munich, Weyermann Rye Malt, Weyermann Vienna Malt, Simpson Crystal 75, and a "skosh" of Castle Aromatic Malt. The color is close to 16 HCU (~10 SRM). At the end of the boil, I included the zest of 1.5 large Navel oranges, and the zest of 1 small white grapefruit. Black Malabar pepper and Grains of Paradise were also added. IBU was 27, and I used Styrian Goldings and Saaz hops.

The brew day became quite the neighborhood gathering. By the end of the boil, 8 people were still there, talking so loudly that I thought the other neighbors might complain.

Brew Day Photos:

Brew Day Setup, aka "White Trash Theater"

A closeup of my hodgepodge, homemade & amateur-welded equipment.

Lovely Roxy, the "Perfect Woman" for Brew Day.
She loves cigars and strong drink, (and the occasional tip or IOU).
Trudy Nepstad contributed this to my garage brewery about 5 years ago.
Thanks, Trudy!

Nanobrewery Update for Oct '06

2006-10-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while, so here's an update for my nanobrewery:

In early September I brewed a "Sticke" version of a Kölsch-style beer. My son and I tried the first samples of the finished brew last night. It is definitely well-balanced and yummy. This keg I will serve as-is, but the other keg I'll probably dry-hop for an extra bit of "umph" & aroma.

This past month, I've also brewed a Scottish Ale and a Mocha Imperial Stout. The Scottish will be going to tertiary conditioning tonight, and the stout will be in the primary until at least tomorrow.

The Mocha Imperial Stout is an experiment, like many of my beers. At the end of the boil, I used 6 oz of Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Cacao Nibs and 5 oz of (ground) Starbucks Café Verona Coffee for this 8-gallon batch of Imperial Stout.

Inventory:
In the past month, I've run out of 2 Belgian styles: my Strong-Dark, and the Saison.
I'm also down to the last of the Oak-aged Whisky Barrel Imperial Stout that I brewed on Dec 26, 2005. It is almost perfect, so I bottled some for posterity. The Hop Harvest IPA is doing fine. It's slightly unbalanced and overly-hopped (to me), but my friends always go for that tap handle. I still have about 3 pints of the May 5th Big Brew Day "Poor Richard's Ale" (18th-century period beer) left. I need to feed it to my neighbors (or drink it myself), to give me some tap room.

What to brew next? I have the heavy styles covered. I think I need a lighter brew on tap. I'm thinking about a lager; specifically a crisp, slightly-hoppy Northern German style Pilsener. More than likely, I'll brew another couple of Saison's, though.
Any other suggestions?

This weekend, I'll take a keg of the "Sticke" Kölsch and the IPA to a race that I will be supporting.
I plan to run in the Heartland 50-mile trail race with a couple of trail-running buddies. Afterward, my friend Raul and I want to set up a "gypsy" aid station about 4 miles from the finish line of the 100-mile trail run event, (which will still be going on for many hours after we finish the 50). We're going to call it the "Mirage Aid Station." There will be hot soup, food, water, loud music, half-crocked aid station volunteers, and 2 styles of ale on tap. What more could an ultrarunner want at mile 96 of a 100-miler?

Homebrewed Kölsch Variant

2006-09-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to find time to brew again this weekend. I'm going to brew a Kölsch-style beer with more of a hop profile and a higher gravity. I'll still use "noble" European hops, though. It will basically be a "Sticke" version of the style. I'll also use a Scottish Ale yeast, instead of a Kölsch yeast. I've used this yeast before for Kölsch, and ended up with good results.

I always like making up my own recipes and messing with the rules of a style. It makes life interesting, and I've made many a fine beer, this way. Yum, yum...can't wait!

Here's the basic recipe:

Gute Träume Sticke Kölschbier (version #7)
Style: Kölsch variant.
Type: All grain
Size: 11.5 gallons
Grain:
20 lb. Turbo Pilsner, 1.7-2L
9 lb. Maris Otter, Crisp -3L
3 lb. Wheat Malt
Mash:
Single Step Mash at 152-155F for 70 min. Actual temp:_________
start recirc. 50 mins into mash.
Batch sparged at 170F
Boil: 80 minutes
Hops:
2.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (60 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (45 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (30 min.)
2.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (10 min.)
2.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (10 min.)
Yeast:
2 ea Wyeast Scottish Ale, 1728 XL (activator pack).
Fermentation:
Primary fermentation in glass at 72F for 5-6 days.
Secondary fermentation in glass at 72F for 5-7 days.
Tertiary fermentation/conditioning in glass at 60F for 5 - 14 days.

Back To Homebrewing!

2006-09-05T07:42:00.000-07:00

I'm back to homebrewing again, after a 3-month hiatus. I haven't brewed since early June! I brew outside, and we've had a very hot & humid Summer which was more conducive to passing-out from heat exhaustion, rather than brewing. The weather yesterday (on the Labor Day holiday) was perfect...80F was the hottest temp observed. I would have brewed on Sunday, also, but my back and left hamstring were injured severely on my last big running event. A few days ago, I couldn't even tie my own shoes, let alone do any of the tasks involved with homebrewing. (I'm much better, now).

Homebrewing Technical Talk:
I decided to brew a "Harvest India Pale Ale," using my crop of this year's hops from my back yard. Last year, I had enough hops for three 10-gallon batches of hoppy brew. This year, my hop crop sucked, because of the extreme heat and humidity, (but with little rain). Oh well, I still had enough hop flowers for a "brutal" addition to this IPA, which is a borderline Imperial IPA with a 1.072 starting gravity. (Imperials start at 1.075). I could have had a higher starting gravity, but I sparged more wort out of the mash tun's grain bed to try to get a higher pre-boil volume close to 14 (or so) gallons. All of the hop flowers suck-up a lot of water, and also the long boil time will evaporate-off a lot of H2O. I succeeded; the total wort volume was about 11-1/2 gallons post-boil, which will come out to be about 10 gallons final volume for the kegs, after time spent in primary fermentation, secondary fermentation, and conditioning.

My hop vines in the back yard are all intertwined, so I have no idea of hop variety or alpha-value specifics for this particular brewing session. All that I know is, there were these varieties in varying amounts that I added to the brew: Cascade, Centennial, Columbus, Willamette, Saaz...a regular "smorgasbord / potpourri" of hops. I love the element of surprise, when I'm brewing my annual harvest ale(s). Last year's version was magnificent!

OBF Fun

2006-08-01T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the Oregon Brewer's Fest (OBF) was fun. My only regret was: I couldn't meet up with the Beer Bloggers, for "family" reasons. I spent all of Friday with my Portland-area family members, and got caught up. It was probably for the best, as I was running a 50-Mile trail run near Mt Hood on Saturday morning.

My son, my nephew and me hit the Brew Fest hard all day on Thursday. There were a few standouts, and a few crappy beers, but most of them were enjoyable. The weather was perfect, that's for sure. I'll post some more about the experience later.

Nanobrewery News and BURP Update

2006-07-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well, my BURP party (last Saturday night) turned-out to be a blast. I wanted to reduce my homebrew stock somewhat, but we only drank about 10 gallons of it. I'm left with about 45 gallons of homebrew, which really isn't too bad of a problem.

On tap that night were the following brews:

Bad Ben's Brow-beater Brown Ale - An American Brown Ale (and a good session beer)
Poor Richard's Ale - An experimental ale that I brewed for Big Brew Day
Spring Fling IPA - A very-hoppy IPA with an ABV of 6.7%
"Saison in the Sun" - A citrusy Belgian-style farmhouse ale...(my personal favorite)
And last, but not least by any measure, my Belgian Stong, Dark Ale (which has an ABV higher than 9%, right now).
I also had some of my Oak-aged Imperial Stout on hand to sample, at the end of the evening.

Tasting Notes from the BURP: The craft beer "newbies" preferred the Poor Richard's Ale and the Brown Ale. Both are fairly mild in flavor, so that's no surprise. The beer "experts" preferred the IPA and the two Belgian-style ales. The red wine "experts" fell in love with both Belgians, also. It was fun to see discriminating wine-only folks enjoy the complexities of a good Belgian-style ale. They also enjoyed the oak-aged Imperial Stout.

Food: The entree consisted of marinated and grilled chicken wings, and also some grilled turkey. A big salad was available and others brought potluck items.

All in all, it was a very fun and successful party, and I ended up getting about 4 hours of sleep prior to my run the next morning.

One more party? Last night, I had about 25 folks over for a "Wednesday Night Run." It's a scheduled run that people show-up at to run and then eat a potluck dinner at the host's house. It's also a 25-year old Kansas City tradition in the running community, and is sponsored by my running club. I had 4 of the above beers on tap in my beer garden, and the weather turned-out to be just perfect. I'm through with hosting parties for at least a couple of months. I'll be in the mood again though, by September, I'll bet.

Nanobrewery update: As soon as we get a cooler-weather weekend, I will finally brew my Imperial IPA. This next weekend isn't looking too good for that. Maybe the next will be a little better. One can only hope.
Cheers!

Annual BURP (Beer Utilization & Reduction Party)

2006-06-28T13:16:00.000-07:00

As some of you might know, I do a little bit of homebrewing. Every now and then, I end up with too-much beer for personal consumption, and I occasionally have to ask my friends to help me with my problem. That's why we're once again hosting...

Bad Ben's 2-1/2 Annual "Beer Utilization and Reduction Party" (BURP).
Date: This Saturday night, June 31st...(also known as July 1st)
Time: 6:37 PM until 11 PM
Where: My house. I can e-mail directions.

The theme of this year's party will be "Fashion-Challenged." If you want to participate in the fun, please wear a psychotic clothes combination. (To all I.T. folks and software engineers: well, just come as you normally would dress for work). If you don't want to participate in the fashion extravaganza, please try to wear some beer-related or W.C. Soccer clothing.

We'll provide some "hearty munchables" and will have several homebrewed beers on tap, along with a few bottles of decent wine.
Please bring your choice of ONE (or more) of the following:

1) Snack food, or a potluck item.

2) *Beer, mead, or an interesting wine; (ESPECIALLY if it's homemade).

3) A semi-good looking Significant Other, sister, boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, mistress, gigolo or reasonable facsimile, thereof. Or you can bring a friend or just yourself.

NOTE: If you plan on imbibing like a frat-boy or whorority-chick, please BRING A DESIGNATED DRIVER; (or you can stay-over and sleep on one of our nice air beds and have our big, slobbery dog lick your face all night).

*Homebrewers: For mini-kegs I have an extra CO2 bottle and hoses, if you have the proper fittings.

Father's Day Brewing

2006-06-16T13:48:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Father's Day weekend. I plan to homebrew on Sunday, after a nice, long run with some buddies. (Yes, my injury is healed, and I'm back to running trails, once again).

I'm finally going to brew the Imperial IPA that I purchased the ingredients for, (weeks ago).
The cartoon is courtesy of a fellow runner & blogger, Dice.

Beer Review & Nanobrewery Update

2006-06-09T08:12:00.000-07:00

I bought a six-pack of Great Divide Brewing Company's "Denver Pale Ale" the other day. I've tried many of their other beers, but finally got around to trying their English style pale ale. I would describe it as crisp and non-affronting. It's a decent pale ale, but I'd rate it (style-wise) as 1/2 way between an American Pale Ale and and English Pale Ale. (Not that that's bad). It's not a bad choice for a Summer session beer, (otherwise known as a "lawnmower" beer).

Nanobrewery update:
The Poor Richard's Ale that I brewed recently was a success at a runners gathering, the other night. It's a good session beer, and I'm growing more fond of it every time I have a glass. At first, I didn't want to brew a beer with corn in it, but it turned out to be very OK.

My Spring Fling IPA will be on tap by Saturday night. I can't wait to give it a try. Sometime next week, I'll keg & carbonate the Belgian-style Saison. The "pre-tastings" of this brew (when I checked the specific gravity) really got me (and my son) excited.
It's going to be a good Summer for beer drinking at the Ol' Homestead!

OBF, Nanobrewery Update, & Beer Quotes

2006-05-17T07:56:00.000-07:00

Some of us Beer Bloggers are going to meet in Portland, Oregon at the Oregon Brewing Festival (OBF). We haven't decided upon the date or time, but we are narrowing-down the place; possibly the Rogue Public House in the Perle District. You can keep up with the discussion on Sudspundit.

Bad Ben NanoBrewery Update:
I transferred the Saison to secondary fermentation last Saturday; it's gravity is at 1.016.
Yesterday, I transferred the "Spring Fling" IPA to the secondary. It's gravity is at 1.010, with a starting gravity of 1.068. I'm dry-hopping it in the secondary, then I will transfer it to tertiary conditioning to get it crystal clear, although it is already pretty clear.
Tonight, I'll transfer the Poor Richard's Ale to the secondary. (I should have done this 5 days ago, but what the heck, I've been busy).
On tap, I have my American Brown Ale, the Oak-aged Imperial Stout, and the Belgian Strong Dark Ale. All of them are quite tasty! I had 3 mugs of Brown Ale last night after a hard & fast 10-mile trail run. Note to self: Don't do this again on a weeknight.

Some fun Homer Simpson Beer Quotes:

Son, a woman is like a beer. They smell good, they look good, you'd step over your own mother just to get one! But you can't stop at one. You wanna drink another woman! -Homer Simpson

Homer: Got any of that beer that has candy floating in it? You know, Skittlebrau?
Apu: Such a beer does not exist, sir. I think you must have dreamed it.
Homer: Oh. Well, then just give me a six-pack and a couple of bags of Skittles.

Oregon Brewer's Festival: Participating Breweries

2006-05-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

The OBF (Oregon Brewer's Festival) has finally published the breweries that are coming to the fest.

Here they are:

21st Amendment Brewery
Alameda Brewhouse
Alaskan Brewing Co
Amnesia Brewing
Anacortes Brewery
Anderson Valley Brewing Co
Ballast Point Brewing Co
Bayern Brewing
Bear Republic Brewing Co
Bell's Brewery
Big Horn Brewing Co
Big Sky Brewing Co
Big Time Brewing Co
BJ's Restaurant & Brewery
Bottoms Up Brewing Co
Boulder Beer Co
Boulevard Brewing Co
Boundary Bay Brewery
BridgePort Brewing Co
Butte Creek Brewing Co
Deschutes Brewery
Dick's Brewing Co
Elysian Brewing Co
Eugene City Brewery
Fearless Brewing Co
Fish Brewing Co
Flying Fish Brewing Co
Full Sail Brewing Co
Golden Valley Brewery
Great Divide Brewing Co
Green Flash Brewing Co
Hale's Ales Brewery
Hazel Dell Brewpub
Iron Springs Pub & Brewery
Jack Russell Brewing Co
Kona Brewing Co
Lagunitas Brewing Co
Laurelwood Public House & Brewery
Lost Coast Brewery
Lucky Labrador Brew Pub
MacTarnahan's
Magnolia Pub & Brewery
McMenamins
Moylan's Brewing Co
New Belgium Brewing Co
New Old Lompco Pub & Grill
North Coast Brewing Co
Old Market Pub & Brewery
Pelican Pub & Brewery
Pike Brewing Co
Pyramid Breweries
Raccoon Lodge & Brew Pub
Red Hook Ale Brewery
Rock Bottom Brewery
Rogue Ales
Roosters 25th St Brewing Co
Roots Organic Brewing
Russian River Brewing Co
Scuttlebutt Brewing Co
Siletz Brewing
Silver City Brewing Co
Skagit River Brewing Co
Snipes Mountain Brewery
Sprecher Brewing Co
Standing Stone Brewing Co
Steelhead Brewing Co
Stone Brewing Co
Tenaya Creek
Terminal Gravity Brewing
Walking Man Brewing
Water Street Brewing and Ale House
Widmer Brothers Brewing Co

It should be a good time in PDX this July.

Big Brew Day Plans

2006-05-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Next Saturday, May 8th, is the American Homebrewers Association's "Big Brew Day." I'm a registered Big Brew site. With my own equipment, I intend to brew two 10-gallon all-grain batches at the same time. I haven't done that before. We'll see how much I time I can put into preparation for it, or I may just do my usual (one) 10-gallon batch.

I still haven't decided what to brew, although their all-grain recipe for "Poor Richard's Ale" looks interesting. If I brew a Kölsch, I won't be using their recipe; it will be another version of my own Kölsch recipe. The second brew will be something special. I have to decide by tonight, so I can get my yeast starter propogated in time.

Either way, I'll start brewing at 12 noon. First though, I'll have a nice, long trail run with some buddies. On tap for Brew Day, I'll have a few of my homebrews to sample, which will include: the last dribbles of my IPA, an American Brown Ale, an oak-aged Imperial Stout, and a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. We can also finish-off some bottled versions of Belgian-style ales that I brewed last year.
If you're in town, drop me a line for directions, and come on by.

Homebrewing Notes from the Weekend

2006-05-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday my wife was called into work. I decided at that point to spend some time homebrewing, since I'd planned to spend the day with her, originally. I brewed an IPA, because I'm running out of the IPA that I have on tap. The basic recipe is below.

The Oak-aged Imperial Stout is finally kegged and carbonated. My son and I enjoyed having a few glasses over the weekend. What a wonderful elixer! It is a very complex and tasty brew that has been 5 months in the making. I just hope we don't drink it all before I have a chance to see how it will age further.
Now for the IPA recipe:

Spring Fling IPA
Beer: Spring Fling IPA
Style: American style India Pale Ale
Type: All grain Size: 11 gallons
Color: 10 HCU (~7 SRM)
Bitterness: 71 IBU
OG: Est:1.067 Observed: 1.068
FG: Est:1.015 Observed:
Alcohol: 6.7% v/v (5.2% w/w)
Water:
Grain:
6 lb. Klagas 2 Row Pale, Great Western
17 lb. British pale (Maris Otter)
1 lb. Weyermann Munich Malt
1 lb. Briess Crystal 40L
1 lb. Cara Pils
2 lb. Rahr White Wheat malt
Mash:
70% efficiency
156° for 80 minutes.
Boil:
80 minutes
Irish moss and yeast nutrient last 15 minutes.
Hops:
2 oz. Magnum (10.8% AA, 60 min.) Flowers
1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 45 min.) Flowers
1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 45 min.) Flowers
2 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 30 min.) Flowers
1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 30 min.) Flowers
1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 15 min.) Flowers
1 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.) Flowers
Yeast: Use large starter of Wyeast 1056
Brewing notes:
Chilled to 75° in 10 minutes with counter flow chiller.
1) Primary fermentation in glass at 72F for 5-6 days.
2) Secondary fermentation in glass at 72F for 10 days. Dry hop with 2 oz. Cascade pellets.
3) Tertiary conditioning for 3 - 4 days, add gelatin at this point for fining.
Carbonation: 2.2 volumes Keg: 9.0 psi @ 40°F

My Own Private Beer Garden

2006-04-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

My hops this year have really taken off. I have some planted on one side of my house, and I also have these planted on my deck in pots. They've already grown 9 or 10 feet, since April 1st. It makes for a nice little beer garden to complement my Nanobrewery. My son and I like to sit out here with the dog and have a couple of beers while we bullshit. (The dog abstains from drinking; he's more interested in chasing squirrels). My son and I built this pergola/arbor last Spring. We work well together; it only took us 6 hours to build it (while drinking some tasty Scottish Ale). We call it our "White Trash Tornado Shelter."

Nanobrewery update:
The Belgian Saison that I brewed last Sunday is still chugging-away in it's primary fermenter. It will need at least another 4 - 6 days there, before being transferred to the secondary. The American Brown that I brewed a month ago is delicious. It turned out to be a wonderful "session" beer. The Belgian Strong Dark Ale needs to be transferred to kegs and carbonated. I'll do that this weekend. The Oak-Aged Imperial Stout also needs to be transferred and carbonated. With the IPA and Imperial IPA, that will make for 5 decent beers on tap, (six, if I include my barleywine downstairs).

It's supposed to rain all of this weekend. If it does, I'm tempted to brew again. If I do, I will brew another Session Beer, since I'm top-heavy with heavy, heady beers. Next Saturday, May 8th, is the American Homebrewers Association's "Big Brew Day." I'm a registered Big Brew site. With my own equipment, I intend to brew two 10-gallon all-grain batches at the same time. I haven't done that before.

This week, I made reservations for our trip to Portland, Oregon in July. My wife and son will go with me, and our foster son will drive over from Spokane to meet us. We'll spend some time at the Oregon Brewer's Festival, which I haven't been to since year 2000. While I'm there, I'll also run in the the PCT50 trail race, on the Pacific Coast Trail. It includes the beautiful Mount Hood as part of it's 50-mile course. Check out some of the photos from the race web site.

Homebrewing (yesterday)

2006-04-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally had a chance to homebrew yesderday. I've been really busy in all corners of my life, so I've been aching to homebrew a new batch of beer. I brew outside, (in my driveway and garage). It was fairly hot and humid on Sunday, but bearable.

This time, I brewed a Belgian Saison. I like this style of ale, because I can really go nuts with it. For the primary base malt, I used a German malt that I've never used before...Turbo Pils (from Durst). It's highly-modified and perfect for single-infusion mashing. It worked well with the other ingredients, and my final gravity came out just right, at 1.070. I ended up using a home-spun Belgian yeast starter from my "resident yeast collection." I also tried a dash of a new (to me) spice, Galanga (from Thailand). I adjusted the amounts of my other spice additions: Grains of Paridise, Indian Black Malabar pepper, fine Indian coriander, and a skosh of Indian fennel. I'm not a huge spiced beer fan, but in incremental amounts, spices can really complement many Belgian-style ales.

My son stayed for most of the brew and helped out. While brewing, I also did a lot of other stuff during the "down times" of mashing and brewing. So much for just relaxing! I racked 10-gallons of my brown ale (finally) from the tertiary fermenter to kegs. It will be fully carbonated and ready to try, by this evening. I also installed some new outdoor lighting, did 3 loads of laundry, and some other yard chores. So when my wife came out to nag me and to try to make me feel guilty for "loafing around" all afternoon, I had the moral high ground. I didn't argue, or even let her know what I had completed; (I let her figure that out later). Instead, I casually dispensed an IPA from a keg in my garage fridge, sat down, smiled, and lit a big Fonseca cigar. She disappeared in disgust. My son and I clinked glasses. Mission accomplished!

Hops update: My hop plants on the back deck have climbed to the top of my pergola, and are advancing over the top of it. In two weeks, they have grown over 9 feet!!! Last year, I ended up using them in 3 batches of beer, culminating with a really nice harvest Imperial IPA.

Nanobrewery Update

2006-03-17T07:58:00.000-08:00

The photos are of a Saison that I brewed in March of 2005, (that we polished-off on last Sunday's brewday), and there's one of Good Ben enjoying the same Saison, and a closeup photo of the hat he's wearing. My son, ever the artist, painted the hat while I brewed that day.
Brewery Update:
The Brown Ale that I brewed on the "tornado day" is almost ready to transfer to secondary fermentation. Either Saturday or Sunday will be the day. I transferred the IPA that I brewed for James to kegs and carbonated. I had a taste of the IPA last night, and it's a winner! It's fairly aromatic and hoppy, and has a very crisp and clean finish. The Strong Dark Belgian Ale will be ready to transfer to tertiary conditioning by next week, I think.

Homebrewing During Tornado(s)

2006-03-13T09:43:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, I homebrewed my all-grain brown ale during several tornado-warning siren sessions. We had quite the session of "White Trash Theater." Earlier, I had been out in the woods when the first tornado hit the area. You can read more about it on my other blog.

Missouri Man Makes Gluten-Free Beer; available nationally (in U.S.) May 1st

2006-03-09T08:49:00.000-08:00

Read or watch the video regarding this man's quest to help millions enjoy beer who can't now, because of a medical condition called celiac disease.
Here's the web site for his beer, called Bard's Tale Beer.

I have a friend who has the same medical condition. I'm going to make him a batch of gluten-free sorghum malt beer, sometime within the next two months. I think it will be an interesting homebrewing project. From the tasting notes at the 2004 GABF, Bard's Tale did ok, with a couple of caveats:
Date: 2-Oct-2004 (44-5471)
Package: draught
Place: Great American Beer Festival, Denver CO
Score: 15 points
Appearance (3)Pale golden. Nice thick head.
Aroma (3)
Smoky, grainy.
Mouthfeel (7)
Medium body. Really sweet and herbal and smoky, with an unfortunate diacetyl note.
Overall Impression (2)
Real interesting beer.

I think I can brew a less sweet version with no diacetyl notes. Bard's has an IBU rating of 20. I think 30-35 would be more appropriate, and I'll use noble hops to do it. I don't know if I'll brew an ale or the lager, at this point.

Randy Mosher writes about brewing with sorghum in his book Radical Brewing. I'm going to re-read what he has to say about it. I'll come up with my own recipe and post it in the near future.

Have any other of you bloggers brewed a sorghum malt beer? I'd be interested in some feedback.

American Brown Ale Recipe

2006-03-07T07:50:00.000-08:00

I'm going to brew an American-style Brown Ale, sometime this weekend. I want to have a different offering for a "session beer" available in my beer fridge.
Here's the basic recipe that I came up with:

Bad Ben's Brown Ale
Type: All grain
Size: 11 gallons
Color: 51 HCU (~22 SRM)
Bitterness: 50 IBU
Alcohol: Approx 5% by volume

Grain:
10 lb. American 2-row pale malt
7 lb Maris Otter British pale malt
1.5 lb. Belgian CaraMunich
13 oz. Belgian chocolate malt
6 oz. Flaked barley
1 lb. White Wheat Malt

Mash:
70% efficiency
Single-infusion @ 152°F for 60 minutes.
Recirculate through mash bed for 20 additional minutes.
Mash-out at 170°F
Sparge with 170°F water.
Boil:
80 minutes
Irish moss last 15 minutes.

Hops:
2 oz. Centennial (10.5% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Mt. Hood (4.5% AA, 30 min.)
1 oz. Cascade (6% AA, 15 min.)
1 oz. Mt. Hood (4.5% AA, 15 min.)
1 oz. Cascade (dry hop in secondary)
1 oz. Mt. Hood (dry hop in secondary)

Yeast: Wyeast 1056, large starter.
Ferment at room temp for 5-9 days in primary.
Secondary fermentation for 7-10 days.
Tertiary conditioning for 4-7 days.
Carbonation: Force-carbonate and serve from cornelius kegs.

Party...Fermentation Updates

2006-03-06T06:54:00.001-08:00

The bachelor party was a resounding success!
The toll:
60 loud and obnoxious attendees.
1 each shitload of food (eaten).
11-gallons of homebrew drank.
1 bottle of Stoli.
1 bottle of Belvedere (Polish vodka).
A large dent in the large bottle of "Most Wanted" single-batch vodka.
1-1/2 bottles of Basil Hayden's.
1 large bottle of Maker's Mark.
59 wounded livers.
1 happy Russian bachelor, who fell asleep on the floor and had his face painted by *Total Dickheads.
(Some photos may follow).

Brewing note:
The Belgian is down to 1.025 specific gravity (from a starting gravity of 1.092). It's slowly fermenting with a Trappist yeast, now. I may raise the fermentation temp to 80F for a while (to finish the job).
The IPA that I brewed for James 2-weeks ago is down to 1.012. It will probably finish at 1.009 or so. The yeast is still somewhat in suspension. I'll transfer it again to tertiary conditioning (within the next two weeks), to clarify it some more.

*Total Dickheads = Good Ben, my son, and me.

Getting Ready to Transfer Some Brew, Tonight.

2006-03-02T11:26:00.000-08:00

Preparing for a brew transfer tonight: I cleaned 2 corny kegs and a glass 15-gal Demi-John this morning (before going to work). They are all soaking with PBW and water in them. I'll perform the rest of my sanitization protocol when I get home.

I have to transfer the Imperial Stout to kegs this evening (after I run 12 miles with the Trail Nerds). I want to have at least 1 corny keg of Imperial Stout force-carbonated before Alex's bachelor party on Saturday night. I will age the other keg with some French Oak chips (that have been soaking in Maker's Mark Whisky).

The glass demi will house my most-recent Belgian for the duration of it's final fermentation. I was going to leave it in the stainless steel "Sputnik" fermenter, but I couldn't off-load the latest round of dead yeast from the bottom sanitary valve...(it's clogged). So, I'll transfer it to glass. No big deal.

I'll have to check my stock of beer in the horizontal chiller downstairs. I'll need some more for Alex's party. I should have a few oddball kegs in there. I need to finish-off some of those soon, before they get too long in the tooth.

You may have seen the photo before. It's of my Nanobrewery Ale Fermentation Area (NAFA). This time of year it's at room temperature, which is 68F (20C). I have an electronically-controlled heat wrap for the SS fermenter, that I'll use at the end of it's final fermentation.

How Now, Brown Ale?

2006-02-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

I just figured out that I've NEVER brewed a brown ale. Charlie Papazian's article and recipe for an American Brown Ale in the Mar/Apr edition of Zymurgy has inspired me. I think I'll brew my own version of this for my next "session beer" to have on tap. Session beer is defined by:
"Any beer that contains no higher than 5 percent ABV, featuring a balance between malt and hop characters (ingredients) and, typically, a clean finish - a combination of which creates a beer with high drinkability. The purpose of a session beer is to allow a beer drinker to have multiple beers, within a reasonable time period or session, without overwhelming the senses or reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. (Yes, you can drink and enjoy beer without getting drunk.)"

I've never felt a need to have a brown ale on tap. I absolutely hate the sweeter versions of the style that lots of clone-happy extract brewers love, (like Newcastle). Mine will be crisp and clean, with a twist, (no doubt). I've tasted some very nice versions of this style over the years, but nothing comes to mind as "outstanding" or especially memorable. I would like to at least try to brew a "very decent" tasting beer that some would say is at least memorable.

For the last 2 years or so, my session beer of choice to have on tap has been a Kölsch. Non-beer-snobs who are scared to venture "out of the box" usually like my versions of a Kölsch, so it's a nice beer to have on hand. It's also a nice palate-cleanser between high-gravity beer tastings. It's just always been a decent beer to have around. (I used to have American Pale Ale on tap for the same reasons).

I'll try a brown, for a while, instead. I'll let you all know what I come up with for a recipe. I won't be able to brew it for a couple of weeks, though, due to time constraints. Darn!

Party for a Friend

2006-02-24T14:48:00.000-08:00

I'm going to have the ol' homebrew flowing for a bachelor party next week. I'll have a Kölsch, an Imperial Stout and a Belgian on tap. The party will be for my buddy Alexander. I'm going to be best man at his wedding in April.

My big Russian friend Alex and I have been through a lot together. We've done 100-mile trail runs together, had way too many drinks together (more than a few times), and have gotten up at 5 AM to train on long cold runs (with hangovers), always talking about life and its intricacies.

He has a great sense of humor, is very soulful, and is strong as a fucking ox. He also has a penchant for drinking my beer and falling asleep with his arm around my big, furry dog.

Picture of one of My Kids

2006-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

Last night's entertainment:
Here's a (semi-blurry) photo of my latest Imperial IPA, which turned out darn wonderful. I made it with my own homegrown hops, so it's a true "harvest" ale. I was watching the Winter Olympics at the time of the photo, and had a glass of my Kölsch to warm up for this powerful brew.

Cheers!

Back To Brewing!

2006-02-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

Finally, I'm going to homebrew again! I'll actually be brewing an IPA for a friend's relative's wedding. He will purchase the ingredients and help me brew this Sunday. It's going to be cold in the Bad Ben Nanobrewery this weekend. I'll be cold enough to freeze my snot.

I've had a busy two weeks. You can read about it on my other blog.

I had some buddies and volunteers over last weekend after "the big race." The Hyperdrive Imperial IPA and the Gute Träume Kölschbier were well received. Oh yeah: we also had a free keg of Miller Lite from a race sponsor.
The photos show some of the festivities.

Well, Maybe One More Post

2006-01-31T10:53:00.000-08:00

Q: How can you tell if a man likes Moosehead?
A: By the antler marks on his thighs.

No More Posts 'til After Race Day

2006-01-30T15:03:00.000-08:00

I probably won't post for the next 7 or 8 days.

I'm really busy at work and getting ready for my trip to do my next 100-miler. Lou Joline (73) will be my traveling companion. We've traveled together many times before to 50 and 100-mile races, most notably when I paced and crewed for him at the Leadville Trail 100 in 2004. He'll be doing the 50-miler this weekend, and take it easy waiting for me to finish the 100.

I've also been busy entering registration data, and doing last-minute stuff for my own race, which will take place 1-week after the 100. Today, it passed 140 entrants; almost 100 more than the last (inaugural) year. Why do I have to make January & February so stressful each year???

I'll bottle some beer to take with me on the trip. I'll also be smug with the fact that I have three 10-gallon batches of beer fermenting away and waiting for me when I come home.

Furious Fermentation

2006-01-27T10:25:00.000-08:00

Holy crap! The new Belgian is still percolating away in primary fermentation at a crazy rate. I had 1 day of "lag time" after brewing on Sunday, when nothing really happened. By Tuesday morning though, it was fermenting so furiously that I had to add a second blow-off tube! I figure 10 days for primary fermentation on this baby. The "special yeast" is doing its job well.
Tonight, I think I'll transfer the Kölsch into a tertiary fermenter, and move it into "cold conditioning."

Bad Ben's Nanobrewery Ale Fermentation Area (NAFA)

2006-01-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

Here's an up-to-date photo of my Nanobrewery's Ale Fermentation Area. (Yes, I use NAFA to launch my Sputnik).

The Belgian Dark Strong Ale is in the Stainless Steel "Sputnik" Fermenter, the Kölschbier is in the (middle) glass 15-gal Demi-John, and the Imperial Stout is in the glass 15-gal Demi-John on the left. My wife has her knitting and I've got this. One Knitwit and one Beer Nerd, a happy couple make.

Normisms

2006-01-24T12:44:00.000-08:00

Normisms (from Cheers):

Sam: Hey, what's happening, Norm?
Norm: Well, it's a dog-eat-dog world, Sammy, and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear.

Woody: Would you like a beer, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: No, I'd like a dead cat in a glass.

Woody: What's going on, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Another layer for the winter, Wood.

Coach: How's a beer sound, Norm?
Norm: I dunno. I usually finish them before they get a word in.

Woody: How's life, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Oh, I'm waiting for the movie.

Coach: What would you say to a nice beer, Normie?
Norm: Going down?

Sam: What'd you like, Normie?
Norm: A reason to live. Gimme another beer.

Coach: What's doing, Norm?
Norm: Well, science is seeking a cure for thirst. I happen to be the guinea pig.

Coach: What's shaking, Norm?
Norm: All four cheeks and a couple of chins, Coach.

Coach: What'll it be, Normie?
Norm: Just the usual, Coach. I'll have a froth of beer and a snorkel.

Woody: What can I do for you, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Elope with my wife.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, there's a cold one waiting for you.
Norm: I know, and if she calls, I'm not here.

Sam: What's up, Norm?
Norm: My nipples. It's freezing out there.

Sam: How's life Norm?
Norm: Ask a man whose got one.

Sam: What are you up to Norm?
Norm: My ideal weight if I were eleven feet tall.

Woody: What's your pleasure, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Boxer shorts and loose shoes. But I'll settle for a beer.

Woody: How are you today, Mr. Peterson?
Norm: Never been better, Woody. ... Just once I'd like to be better.

Woody: Hey, Mr. Peterson, you got room for a beer?
Norm: Nope, but I am willing to add on.

Sam: Beer, Norm?
Norm: Have I gotten that predictable? Good.

Sam: Well, look at you. You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.
Norm: And I need a beer to wash him down.

The Belgian is in the Fermenter

2006-01-23T07:59:00.000-08:00

I had a decent brewing session, yesterday. I finally made the time to brew my new all-grain batch of Belgian Dark Strong Ale. A couple of neighbors dropped by, and my son Matt, Kevin, and brewing-newby-Doug rounded-out the visitors.

I changed a couple of things regarding the recipe (at the last minute), but most of it was true to form. It ended up with a starting gravity of 1.092. That's right at 22.00 Plato scale! This will indeed be a big beer. It now resides in my homemade stainless steel fermentation vessel for the duration of fermentation. I'm doing something different, this time. I started with an initial wort temperature of 60F. I will let it rise slowly to room temp of 68F and leave it alone for 10 days or so. Then I'll heat it slowly to 85F, to kick the rest of my "special yeast combo" into high gear. Then I will condition at a lower temp for quite a while. The goal is to "sneak up on the yeast" and not get such a violent eruption of activity, like I did last time. Of course, I will have the requisite yeast dumpings and additions along the way.

On tap for the session was my latest Imperial Rye IPA. It has a whopping 9.2% ABV, and will bludgeon your noggin and make your liver write bad checks, if you don't treat it with the respect it deserves. My son found that out the hard way. Normally, he has a fairly high tolerance. He came home after working a shift and drinking coffee all day. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and it was now 5:30 pm. He had three 13-oz glasses over the course of an hour, and it hit him like a ton of bricks. Thank goodness, there were no other casualties for the session.

By the way, the Imperial Rye IPA was the first beer that I've produced that I transferred into a total of FOUR fermenters during the fermentation/conditioning process. If you want to know how I do it without infecting or oxygenating along the way, I can give you fairly detailed instructions.

During the brewing session on Sunday, I also had a Kölsch-style beer and my crowd-pleasing Black IPA on tap. I still have a couple of items that I need to soak and clean up, namely the brew kettle and its fittings, but everything else is squared-away.

This Weekend's Homebrewing Activities

2006-01-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well, this weekend I think I'll finally brew my Belgian Dark Strong Ale. I have all of the ingredients ready to go. Should I brew on Saturday or Sunday? Hmm, I haven't figured that out, yet. I'll have to juggle my running and home-chores schedule to make room for the 6-hour time segment.

I'm also sanitizing & readying two corny kegs for receiving my Imperial Rye IPA out of it's tertiary fermenter. I'll force-carbonate the kegs after they cool, and maybe get to drink some of it by Sunday. I ended up dry-hopping the batch with 6.5 ounces of leftover Zatek-Bor (Bohemian) hop pellets. Zatek-Bor hops are really hard to find outside of Eastern Europe. It will be interesting to see what kind of aromas and tastes prevail with this fun brewing experiment.

Granite City's Beer Still Sucks

2006-01-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Well, my beer snob son and I went to Granite City at Zona Rosa in North KC this past weekend, to try to give them another fair shot. Short story: Their beer still sucks! The food and service are great, but the beer is just awful.
I think it's actually gotten worse!

We also had to sit next to a guy at the bar who thought he was some kind of all-knowing-beer-official. He kept droning on and on to his girlfriend about how good the beer was at Granite City, while she was trying to swallow the swill without actually puking. He and the bartender, (who apparently knew nothing about beer, either), kept spewing out beer facts. One of the notable "facts" was, "stout has absolutely no carbs in it, and it has 10-times the alcohol content of India Pale Ale!" Holy shit, it was hard to keep from popping this All-knowing Yuppie Shithead in the mouth. I figure he was being punished enough though, by having to drink the beer, (albeit unknowingly).

By the way, the bartender poured our first samples as "double pulls", once again, (mixed with light lager). I told him to pour them down the f*cking drain. We left with our beer glasses 3/4 full.

To end on a "nice" note, 75th Street Brewery has a nice seasonal offering. They produced a very tasty example of an Imperial Stout. I had an early sample 2 weeks ago, and it was very good then, but it has improved more, since. Try it, if you are in town...before it disappears.

Granite City is Planet Mediocrity

2006-01-13T12:28:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try out Granite City Food & Brewery, again, and give it another shot. Granite City is a chain restaurant/brewpub that (from its web site), appears to be more interested in opening new locations and the price of their stock, rather than brewing decent beer. Here's what I found the last time I visited:
On the way back from the airport in November 2005, we decided to try the new Granite City Brewpub in North Kansas City at Zona Rosa Shopping Center. The food and service were decent, and the food portions were huge. The place had a sterile, suburban atmosphere, though. If you love Applebees' atmosphere, then you will think Granite City is "just divine."

I tried the IPA, and it had some problems, but it was drinkable. It was more of an American Pale Ale style, than an IPA, though. The stout had a thin mouthfeel, and was more of a porter style.

The staff that I talked to appeared to know nothing about the beer. I asked our waiter and another waitress what the "specialty brew" tap handle was, and the only answer I could get was, "all of our beers are special." So I went to the bartender and got the SAME ANSWER! I pointed at the "Specialty Beer" taphandle and asked, "WHAT IS THE BEER IN THIS PARTICULAR TAP?" She said that she finally understood, and said they had no specialty beer on tap, at present. Finally, an answer!

Then I asked for a sample of the Maibock. She poured half of a shot glass of Maibock, and the other half with light lager. I said, "what the heck are you doing?" She said, "I'm giving you a double-pull." She explained that they give double pulls on many of their beers that are "more powerful or complex" because the general American public can't take the extreme nature of the tastes involved. (You can actually order all of their beers that way)!

Cross this operation off of my list of SERIOUS brewpubs. I will be back, though, (to each of the 3 KC locations), to check out the beers from time to time. I want to give it a fair shot, anyway. Maybe they were just having training issues, but I'm real skeptical. I won't even list them in my list of Kansas City brewpubs, unless they get their shit together. (I don't list Rivermarket Brewing and a few others for the same reason...their beers suck, and I can't in good conscience, recommend them).

My Recipe for Belgian Dark Strong Ale

2006-01-12T11:38:00.000-08:00

"Good Ben" asked if I would post my recipe for Belgian Dark Strong Ale that he enjoyed at my brew-ha-ha, last Sunday. Actually, here's the latest version of a "Dark Strong" that I'll be brewing next, which will be very similar to the last:

Belgian Dark Strong Ale II
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale, 18E
Type: All grain
Size: 7.5 gallons
Water: Charcoal-filtered tap water, with approx. 3 gallons distilled H2O, (to reduce alkalinity).
Grains and adjucts:
8 lb. British pale malt (Maris Otter)
18 lb. (Highly-modified Belgian) Pilsener Malt
2 lb. Cara Munich malt, Dingeman
1 lb. Biscuit Malt - 23L, DWC
2 lb. Cara Vienne (Crystal) 19-27L, Dingeman
1 lb. 8 oz. Aromatic Malt - 26L – DWC
3 lb. Rye Malt - Weyermann, 1.4L
1 lb. Carafa (de-bittered Black Patent Malt)
8 oz. Chocolate Rye Malt
1 lb Dark Jaggery (palm sugar from India)
3 lb Rice Hulls (for mash filtration and preventing a "stuck mash")
Mash:
73% efficiency, single infusion.
Mashed at 154-158 for 100 min
Start recirc. through mash bed to clarify, last 20 min of mash
Batch sparged at 170F, 5.5 gal volume (approx).
Boil:
120 minutes
Add 2 tbsp Irish moss at 90 min into boil.
Last 15 minutes of boil:
Add 0.10 oz Black Malabar pepper (ground)
Add (secret ingredient #1)
Add (secret ingredient #2)
Add 0.25 oz of fine Indian Coriander (ground)
Add 0.15 oz of grains of Paradise (ground)
Add...oz of (secret spice)
Hops:
2 oz. Amarillo Plugs (9% AA, 60 min from end of boil)
2 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 45 min.) Specially Aged Bohemian Hop Pellets
1 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 30 min.) Specially Aged Pellets
2 oz Bad Ben's Homegrown Green Hop Flowers (my special mixture, 30 min.)
1 oz. Saaz (3.75% AA, 15 min.) Specially Aged Pellets
2 oz Bad Ben's Homegrown Green Hop Flowers (my special mixture, 15 min.)
2 oz. Saaz (Dry Hop in secondary fermentation)
Yeast and Fermentation:
For initiating primary fermentation:
One pack of Wyeast Abbey Yeast II, 1762 XL, smacked 3 hrs in advance.
1 starter of unspecified yeast, started 36-48 hrs in advance (from my own preferred yeast culture...from 3 different sources). Add yeast energizer and aerate vigorously for a long time.
Primary Fermentation in SS or glass for 5 to 9 days.
_________________________
Secondary fermentation in SS or glass for 14 days, add 1 pack of Wyeast Trappist High Gravity-3787 yeast
Also add 1 tbsp "special homemade yeast energizer", and add 2 oz Saaz hops at this time, for dry hopping.
_________________________
Tertiary Fermentation for 30-60 days in SS or Glass, add 1.5 oz of medium-toasted French oak chips at this time.
_________________________
Carbonation: Force-carbonate or bottle condition to between 2.4 and 3.0 volumes of carbonation.

Now that I've posted and read it, I realize there's a little work involved with producing it.
It's a labor of love, though.

What Shoud I Brew Next?

2006-01-11T13:29:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to figure out what to brew next. I think I will brew a smaller (8-gallon) batch of high-gravity beer in "Sputnik", my homemade stainless steel fermenter.

I currently have three 10-gallon batches in various stages of fermentation.

I think I should brew another Belgian Dark Strong Ale. The last one went over well with Belgian lovers. I'll start working on the recipe tonight!

First Brew Day of the New Year

2006-01-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 8th was my first Brew Day of the New Year. I always brew in the area just outside of my garage door, so it's nice if the weather cooperates, which it did. I was still hyper from the morning's activities, and I was definitely ready for a few beers.

Several folks showed up: New homebrewer Doug, "Good Ben" & Allison, Matt, and Kevin.

I brewed my latest version of a Kölschbier. Kölsch is always a popular beer to have around. Both beer connoisseurs and non-beer-experts alike seem to enjoy a good Kölsch-style beer. I put three different beers on tap, including a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. We all had a good time and the stories got crazier as the beer took ahold of our senses. I'll defer the brewing part of the session to the pictures. Any Questions?

Nanobrewery Update

2006-01-05T08:28:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I transfered the rest of my Belgian Winter Warmer to bottles; there wasn't much left. I may enter that and my Belgian Farmhouse Ale in a contest, somewhere.

Tonight I'm going to transfer the Imperial Stout into a 14-gallon glass carboy and pitch some champagne yeast. In about 7 to 14 days I will then separate the 10-gallon batch into two 5-gallon carboys. One will have medium-toasted French Oak chips in it (that have been soaked in Maker's Mark Whiskey), and the other will not. It will sit and condition in tertiary containers until I see fit to transfer to 5-gallon corny kegs. Then I'll force-carbonate da bitches. I spoiled myself and
bought an additional carboy carbonating setup, so that I can gang-carbonate 2 carboys at a time. Hmmm. Gang...force...quite the harsh language for a simple homebrew operation.

The Imperial Rye IPA is still sitting and conditioning, but I think I'll transfer it into kegs this weekend.

Last night, I drank a small bottle of Duchesse De Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe (a traditional Flemish red ale). It's on my list of my favorite beers of 2005. Then I sliced some Spanish cheese and tried a little of my Bitch-Slap Black Ale, which is a black IPA. That beer is a huge hit with my son and with my friends. It's getting a little long in the tooth, but still tastes great. I finished the evening watching the movie Solaris while sipping a small glass of Jameson's 12-yr. I deserve it...I didn't drink anything Sunday or Tuesday, and had only one beer on Monday night. Even though the critics panned Solaris, I enjoy that movie (and the strange soundtrack). It's a perfect slow-going "sipping movie."

This weekend, I may brew my 6th version (in the last year) of a German Kölsch. This one will be much different than the others. I won't use decoction mashing, I will use a single-step infusion mash and the secondary fermentation will have massive dry-hopping. Here's the basic recipe:

Gute Träume Kölschbier v6
Brewer: BadBen
Type: All grain Size: 10.5 gallons
Grain:
9 lb. Weyermann Pilsner, 1.7-2L
9 lb. Maris Otter
2 lb. White Wheat Malt
Mash: 73% efficiency.
Single Step Mash at 152F for 80 min.
Charcoal-filtered tap water, with 1/4 of total volume distilled H2O, (to reduce alkalinity).
Batch sparged at 170F, 5.5 gal volume (approx).
Boil: 80 minutes 11.5 gallons
Hops:
2.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (60 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (45 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (30 min.)
1.0 oz. Tettnang Hop Flowers (15 min.)
1.0 oz. Hallertau Mittelfruh Hop Flower, German (15 min.)
2.0 oz Hallertau Hop Pellets (Dry Hop in Secondary)
2.0 oz Tettnang Hop Pellets (Dry Hop in Secondary)
2.0 oz Saaz Hop Pellets (Dry Hop in Secondary)
Yeast:
Kölsch 2565 starter with approx. 200 billion cells.
Fermentation:
Primary fermentation in glass at 65 – 72F for 5-6 days.
Secondary fermentation in glass at 55-58F for 20 days.

It should be an interesting and aromatic final result.

New Brewing Blog...First Post

2006-01-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

Greetings! I started this blog to separate my running exploits from my brewing exploits. The intent is to still post about brewing on my other blog, but to go into more depth regarding brewing on this blog. To start out, I'm reposting my last brewing-related blog:

HOMEBREWING News from the Bad Ben Nanobrewery:
Monday, December 26th at noon, I started working on my latest batch of homebrew. I finally had the time to brew my most recent version of an Imperial Stout. The weather was perfect and the brewing session went well. Alex came over to keep me company for a while. He had brought some munchies, and we commenced having a good bullshit session. I was on a time deadline for brewing this batch, because my wife and I were going over to the next door neighbor's for a friendly game of Uno at 6:00 pm. A 10-gallon all-grain batch usually takes me every bit of 6 hours to complete, especially when there is so much grain involved (for an imperial-style stout). I got finished at 6:03 pm, and just had the brew kettle left to clean. Alex helped me haul the heavy stuff back into the house before he left for home.

I changed the recipe of this stout somewhat from my last posting. I didn't add the cocoa, and I jumped-up some of the other ingredients for an even larger grain bill. I'm also going to split the batch after primary fermentation into two 5-gallon batches (for secondary fermentation). One batch will age in whiskey-soaked French oak, and the other I will leave alone to it's own devices. The final wort starting gravity was at 1.084 (20.23 Plato), which was a little lower than I expected, but I had cut my boil time to only 1 hour, instead of a planned 80 minutes, due to the time constraints.

I also finally transferred my Imperial Rye IPA to it's secondary fermenter. I ended up dry-hopping the batch with 6.5 ounces of leftover Zatek-Bor (Bohemian) hop pellets. Zatek-Bor hops are really hard to find outside of Eastern Europe. It will be interesting to see what kind of aromas and tastes prevail with this fun brewing experiment. (Remember that I used the last of my homegrown hops in the original boil). It is already down to 1.014, so it's almost completely finished with fermentation. It might eek down to a final gravity of 1.012, I figure, for an alcohol percentage of 9.3 percent (by volume)!

Happy Trails and Cheers!
Bad Ben