Monday, March 11, 2013
Beer Pairing Dinner
We hosted a beer pairing party last Saturday where we invited guests to bring dishes that paired well with our home brew selections. Fun times were had by all and the food pairings were delicious along side our beer. We had 12 beers available that evening!
2013 America's Finest City (AFC) Homebrew Competition 2013
Liz and I participated in the America's Finest City (AFC) Homebrew Competition last weekend by both entering beers and judging (we're both BJCP Certified Judges). The results for AFC were revealed at the February QUAFF meeting and we took home two medals:
1st Place - 15C: Weizenbock - Predestination
2nd Place - 4C: Schwarzbier - Knight Rider
This provided us with an opportunity to obtain feedback on many different beers that we are entering in the National Homebrew Competition next month. The vast majority of entries scored in the low to high 30's. So although only two placed, we know that in another competition any of those other entries could easily place as well. Competitions tend to be a bit of a "numbers game" or a crap shoot. The more entries you have, (assuming high quality), then of course the better the odds of placing. I expected that our English Special Bitter and Saison would medal (which ended up scoring 38 and 37 respectively) but they didn't.
Beers fair differently in each competition. We haven't had a beer place in multiple competitions, but we're placing in many different categories. For example, the Belgian Dark Strong that took 1st in the QUAFF Strong Ale Competition with a 38, received a much lower score in the AHA Un-Session Competition (28). But then it scored fairly well again in the AFC at 34 with a lot of praise. So you just never know how well a beer will actually perform in competition. We're looking forward to the NHC competition in the coming months. The organizers of AFC did a fantastic job to try to pair judges properly so that all the beers were judged fairly and I'm very grateful to them for making the extraordinary effort to organize the AFC competition.
1st Place - 15C: Weizenbock - Predestination
2nd Place - 4C: Schwarzbier - Knight Rider
This provided us with an opportunity to obtain feedback on many different beers that we are entering in the National Homebrew Competition next month. The vast majority of entries scored in the low to high 30's. So although only two placed, we know that in another competition any of those other entries could easily place as well. Competitions tend to be a bit of a "numbers game" or a crap shoot. The more entries you have, (assuming high quality), then of course the better the odds of placing. I expected that our English Special Bitter and Saison would medal (which ended up scoring 38 and 37 respectively) but they didn't.
Beers fair differently in each competition. We haven't had a beer place in multiple competitions, but we're placing in many different categories. For example, the Belgian Dark Strong that took 1st in the QUAFF Strong Ale Competition with a 38, received a much lower score in the AHA Un-Session Competition (28). But then it scored fairly well again in the AFC at 34 with a lot of praise. So you just never know how well a beer will actually perform in competition. We're looking forward to the NHC competition in the coming months. The organizers of AFC did a fantastic job to try to pair judges properly so that all the beers were judged fairly and I'm very grateful to them for making the extraordinary effort to organize the AFC competition.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Pliny the Younger 2013 Release
On February 1, 2013 we trekked to San Francisco to move a friend to San Diego and while we were there we went to Santa Rosa/Russian River Brewing Company for the first day of the 2013 Pliny the Younger release! We spent 4 1/2 hours in line - 3pm to 7:30pm and passed the time chatting to the many craft beer enthusiasts that braved the long line as well. We finally made it in and boy was it worth it! The experience of drinking Pliny the Younger on the first day with so many other exuberant people is not to be missed. Without further ado, the pictures!
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| Pliny the Younger! |
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| Pliny the Younger Sign on the windows |
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| The front of the incredibly long line, which at one point stretched all the way down the block and quite aways around the corner (several hundred feet). |
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| The Line continued. |
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| My lovely wife and Jon's wife Lindsay - our DD who we are eternally grateful and indebted to. |
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| My wife and I in front of Russian River Brewing Co - we were about 45 minutes from getting in at that point. |
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| Pliny the Younger in hand! |
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| Pliny the Younger being enjoyed side by side with a Pliny the Elder! |
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| Well into the night of enjoying Pliny's - Curtis & Jon |
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| Curtis & Jon enjoying the Pliny's |
Monday, January 7, 2013
15 Minute IPA
I had the hair-brained idea last night to brew an experimental 1 gallon test batch of an experimental IPA. I'm looking to get a lot of tropical fruits, specifically, Pineapple out of the aroma. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on it, so I brewed an extract batch with some Crystal 40 steeped grains, and boiled for just 15 minutes with the new hop variety - Zythos and fermented with WLP 575 Belgian yeast. Dry Malt Extract has already been boiled so a full 60 minute wort boil isn't required. Between all the set up, brewing, cooling, and clean up, the batch only took me 1 1/2 hours! I'll probably start doing more extract test batches in the near future considering how quickly it can be done.
It's currently fermenting, but I couldn't believe the amount of bitterness that was extracted in just 15 minutes. It was probably the most bitter IPA I've brewed. I've been slowly moving towards less early bittering charges and higher amounts of late addition hopping to extract more hop flavor and aroma. After performing this test, my next all-grain IPA will be conducted with a 60 minute boil and all late addition hops (15 minutes and less).
It's currently fermenting, but I couldn't believe the amount of bitterness that was extracted in just 15 minutes. It was probably the most bitter IPA I've brewed. I've been slowly moving towards less early bittering charges and higher amounts of late addition hopping to extract more hop flavor and aroma. After performing this test, my next all-grain IPA will be conducted with a 60 minute boil and all late addition hops (15 minutes and less).
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| 1 Gallon extract test batch boiling away on the stove top. |
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| The 1 Gallon Wort |
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Brewery Tour Round Up
I never finished my Beercation series. Here's are lots of photos from the rest of the breweries we visited.
Anderson Valley, 21st Amendment, Moylan's, Russian River (3 straight days at RR!), Bear Republic, Lagunitas.
Anderson Valley, 21st Amendment, Moylan's, Russian River (3 straight days at RR!), Bear Republic, Lagunitas.
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| Anderson Valley - Mash tun |
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| Anderson Valley - Brewery Control Panel |
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| Anderson Valley - giant hop back |
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| 2st Amendment |
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| 21st Amendment - Brewery |
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| 21st Amendment Mezzanine Bar |
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| Liz tasting her beer |
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| mmm! |
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| 21st Amendment |
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| 21st Amendment |
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| Moylan's |
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| Moylan's |
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| Moylan's |
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| Bear Republic Brewing Co. |
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| Bear Republic Brewing Co. |
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| Bear Republic Brewing Co. - check out the foot long handle bar mustache on that guy! |
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| Lagunitas Brewing Co |
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| Lagunitas Brewing Co |
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| Lagunitas Brewing Co |
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| Lagunitas Brewing Co - Outdoor fermentors |
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| Probably my favorite brewery ever - Russian River Brewing Co. |
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| Russian River Brewing Co. |
2012 Year in Review
2012 was a great brewing year for Liz and I. We got 30 batches in the books, 3 ribbons (1st Place and Best of Show Honorable Mention at the SD Fair for the the Pale Ale and 1st Place in the QUAFF Strong Ale Competition for the Belgian Dark Strong), became an active member of QUAFF, became BJCP Certified Judges, took a great Beercation, visiting 13 breweries, and finished the year with getting a Brew Dog - Nelson. Here are a few photos showing some of the highlights of the year:
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| Another double brew day |
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| 2012 San Diego County Fair - 1st Place/Honorable Mention Best of Show - Pale Ale |
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| 2012 QUAFF Strong Ale Competition - 1st Place Belgian Dark Strong |
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| Judging at the BJCP sanctioned 2012 Temecula Valley Homebrew Competition at Black Market Brewing Co. |
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| Our new brew dog - Nelson! |
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| My Head Brewer (Liz) with Nelson |
Friday, September 28, 2012
How to make Candi Sugar to add to a Belgian Dark Strong (and an ESB)
Hey Readers!
This is Curtis' official Head Assistant Brewer. I had some extra time on my hands recently and decided to design and brew my own batch of beer. Well, actually I designed two and did a double brew day. I settled on a Belgian Dark Strong and and English Pale Ale (also known as an ESB, which stands for Extra Special/Strong Bitter).
When I started researching about Belgian Dark Strong beers, I found that it is common to use Belgian candi sugar. I thought that would be complicated, but a little research assured me that it was quite simple.
Here is what you need for 1 lb. of candi sugar:
-1 lb sugar
-1/8 tsp. citric acid or 1/2 TSP. lemon juice
-1/3 C. water
-a little time
Things to consider:
-If adding very hot candi sugar (250F) to boiling wort (212F), be careful as it may cause a boil over.
-If you get your candi sugar to a "hard crack" level, you can let it cool, break it a part, and freeze it until you brew again.
This is Curtis' official Head Assistant Brewer. I had some extra time on my hands recently and decided to design and brew my own batch of beer. Well, actually I designed two and did a double brew day. I settled on a Belgian Dark Strong and and English Pale Ale (also known as an ESB, which stands for Extra Special/Strong Bitter).
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| ESB I ended up making a small batch of candi sugar (1/2 lb) and adding it to the ESB. Although this is not typical for an ESB, I did it anyways. In return I got the most amazing ESB I have ever enjoyed. The candi sugar gave it some complex characteristics of caramel, toffee, and malt that is apparent in both the aroma and flavor. With some East Kent Goldings hops for balance and Crystal 120L for some subtle dark fruit character, this is a very drinkable beer that will need to be brewed again soon! |
When I started researching about Belgian Dark Strong beers, I found that it is common to use Belgian candi sugar. I thought that would be complicated, but a little research assured me that it was quite simple.
Here is what you need for 1 lb. of candi sugar:
-1 lb sugar
-1/8 tsp. citric acid or 1/2 TSP. lemon juice
-1/3 C. water
-a little time
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| Add sugar, water, and citric acid in a pot. |
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| Stir over medium heat. |
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| After a few minutes, it will look like this. KEEP STIRRING! |
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| Several minutes later, you'll get something that looks like this. DON'T BURN YOURSELF and KEEP STIRRING! |
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| When your candi sugar is the desired color, put the top on and count to 10. This will bring the temperature up to around 300 F so it can become a "hard crack". This is not necessary if you will be using it right away. However, if you want it to break apart into pieces, it needs to be that hot. |
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| Use a silicone mat (since I did 2 1/2 lbs of sugar for the Belgian Dark Strong, I didn't want it to make a mess, so I used a 9x13 dish underneath) and allow to cool in the fridge. Don't use wax paper! The candi sugar will stick to it and then you'll have paper in your beer. |
-If adding very hot candi sugar (250F) to boiling wort (212F), be careful as it may cause a boil over.
-If you get your candi sugar to a "hard crack" level, you can let it cool, break it a part, and freeze it until you brew again.
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