I have to apologize to everyone that actually reads this blog for the dearth of posts lately. It doesn't mean I haven't been busy or even beer busy (and hence having a wealth of beery material with which to regale). I have been immersed in beer over the past few weeks (there's a visual for you). I have been studying for the BJCP exam, judging beer at the World Expo of beer (both commercial beers and homebrews) and making beer pretty steadily, as well as entering my beers in competitions (which, sadly, has not yielded any hardware).
Recently the club (Lapeer Area Brewers) participated in Big Brew/National Homebrew Day at Replays Sports Tavern in Lapeer. We brewed thirty gallons of beer on that historic day! There were five brewers and we brewed several different kinds of beer, from Irish Stout to American Lager. A good time was had by all!
Today, I kegged the result of Big Brew, an American Pale Ale. Here are the details:
12 Lbs. 2-Row American Malt
4 Lbs. German Pilsner Malt
2 Lbs. English Crystal 45
1.5Oz. Nugget (60 Minutes)
1 Oz. Cascade (20 Minutes)
.5 Oz. Cascade (0 Minutes)
Mashed at 153 for 60 minutes. Boiled for 60 Minutes with above hop additions. Chilled and racked into Glass Carboys and pitched two Safale 05 yeast starters. Fermented for two weeks at 60 degrees. Racked today into two kegs, one with 1 ounce of Amarillo dry hops, the other without. Original Gravity was 1.048 and Final Gravity was 1.010.
Color is a light amber, IBUs at about 30, ABV around 4.5%.
Frankenmuth, chicken dinners and the World Expo of Beer awaits!
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5 comments:
Had me some Red Hook over the weekend.
I sampled thirty or so beers over the past weekend! Some very fine beers, too, I must say!
sounds like an awesome brew!
Good luck with the exam! THats something I have been thinking "I should get off my ass and do that" for some time now..how long did you study for it?
Also any specific materials really help you out in your preperation?
Cheers,
Brian
Brian,
Yes, it is something I've been wanting to do for some time, too. I chickened out about two years ago after taking a sensory evaluation class just for that purpose. It's just as well, though because I wasn't prepared. I wasn't quite prepared this time, either!
I took the exam yesterday and I think I passed (70%) but won't know for several months :-(
I have a wealth of study materials and links to give you, should you decide to take it. Let me know and we can correspond via email (are you on facebook?)...
Hey Brother, good to hear you felt like you did well! I am on facebook, if you search for "Brian Mitchell" choose the one in Chicago who has a picture of himeself and his wife in front of a sunset ( I checked..I'm the only one ;) ). Please do look me up! And definetely keep me updated, I want to start studying for the exam and could greatly use your help. Cheers! Brian
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