Brew Your Own

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

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

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:

1. 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.
2. Tasting more than a few really good beers. One of my favorites was this year's version of Pliny the Elder.
3. Spending some quality time with my wife, son, nephew, and friends.
4. Being a complete lush for a couple of days.
5. 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

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

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...

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

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

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.