GABF pics!

Starting out at the Sierra Nevada booth.

The Belgian trippel was really amazing!

Waiting in line for the Utopias

Grandma Beach and I enjoying Pagosa Springs Brewing.

My first taste of Samuel Adams Utopias!

So many choices!

Drinking buddies!
From left to right: My father-in-law Richard, Uncle Kevin,

myself, and Grandpa Beach

GABF pics coming soon!

Stay tuned, tomorrow or the next day I will have pictures from the festival. The family really impressed me with their ability to drink for 4 straight hours!

The Great American Beer Festival

The GABF is only 3 days away and my game plan for the event is almost complete. With so many beers and so little time (when there are 2,100 beers, 4 hours is considered so little time) you need to enter the event knowing where you want to go and what you want to try. I have compiled a top 20 list including favorites such as Stone Brewing, Russian River, Sierra Nevada, Alaskan Brewing, and Dogfish Head, just to name a few. I will be attending the Saturday afternoon members-only session with my family and I hope to try many beers not available to the Florida market. If you have any suggestions on which breweries to visit while I am there, please do not hesitate to let me know!

First official AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition!

I have entered my first AHA/BJCP sanctioned competition! This will be a great opportunity to get some real feedback from a BJCP judge and may help refine some techniques and recipes. I decided to enter both my German Rye Beer and my Imperial IPA. I entered the German Rye in Category 23 (Specialty Beer) as a Rye Pale Ale given the reviews at the intra-club competition, some saying that it was a bit hoppy for the style. If you would like to view the details of the competition, here is the link: http://www.saaz.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=60. I will post the results as soon as they come in!

Homebrew #14: Pumpkin Ale

PUMPKIN ALE
September 12, 2009

Brew day for the Pumpkin Ale was successful! After initial concerns regarding the acquisition of any pumpkin whatsoever (apparently even canned pumpkin is seasonal and not available this time of year at Publix), I was able to find some organic canned pumpkin at my local natural food store. I grated my own fresh cinnamon and nutmeg for the wort, and once the boil had finished, the whole house smelled wonderful. The beer is in secondary right now and I will bottle this weekend.

• 6 Gal. Water
• 4 lbs. Light LME
• 2 lbs. 2-Row Barley
• 0.5 lbs. Vienna Malt
• 0.5 lbs. Biscuit Malt
• 0.5 lbs. CaraMunich Malt
• 0.5 lbs. 40L Crystal Malt
• 1 lb. Canned Organic Pumpkin + 2 lbs. to secondary
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 10 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon + 0.25 tsp. to secondary
• 1 tsp. Ground Nutmeg + 0.25 tsp. to secondary
• 0.5 tsp. Ground Ginger
• 0.25 tsp. Allspice
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

The pumpkin was roasted in the oven on a low broil till lightly browned, then added with the grains to the mash. Mashed at 155F for 45 mins. Full 60 min boil for extract and mash/hops. The spices were all added at 5 mins. till the end of the boil. Beer was racked to secondary on Day 10 and I added another 2 lbs of canned pumpkin along with an extra 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon and nutmeg to boost the flavor.

Homebrew #13: Oktoberfest

OKTOBERFEST
August 22, 2009

This is my first real attempt at making a true lager, and what better style to tackle than an Oktoberfest/Marzen. My first Oktoberfest recipe back in April was really an ale, but since the purchase of a 3.9 cu ft mini-fridge in August, I now have the ability to properly store and age a lager. This opens a whole new world of possibilities with my brewing, especially the ability to brew a very crisp, clean beer. This beer is currently in it's second week of fermentation, and because of the extended time required to age lagers in cold storage, it may not be ready for another 4-6 weeks; probably the longest 4-6 weeks of my life.

• 5 lbs. Light LME
• 2 lbs. Pilsner Malt
• 2 lbs. Munich Malt
• 0.25 lbs. Cara-Munich Malt
• 0.13 lbs. Chocolate Malt
• 1 oz. Tettnanger hops @ 60 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 10 mins.
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ 0 mins.
• 2 tsp. Irish Moss
• SafLager S-23 dry yeast

Step infusion mash up to 145F for 30 mins, hold for 15 mins. then @155F for 15 mins. Full 60 min boil. Wort chilled to 60F, yeast added, then brought down to 48F for fermentation. Diacetyl rest on Day 13, transferred to Secondary on Day 16. Temperature lowered to 40F over 4 day period.

Homebrew #12: Imperial India Pale Ale (IPA)

IMPERIAL IPA
July 11, 2009

After the failure of my first and only attempt at making an IPA and because the upcoming club competition style was IPAs, I felt it was time to give the style another try. When it comes to IPAs and the hop selection it seems that anything goes. Fortunately, the American Homebrewers Association just released their annual poll of the best commercial beers available in America, and the #1 beer was Russian River's Pliny the Elder IPA. The article also included a clone recipe provided by the creator and owner himself, Vinnie Cilurzo, so I decided to use that as a reference point for my own recipe. A normal IPA recipe may include anywhere from 8-13oz. of hops in a batch, but I decided to go with 21oz. I was able to do this by using a large portion of lower alpha acid hops in the form of East Kent Goldings. I was lucky enough to find them on sale for 50% less allowing me to use more than normal. The lower AA hops ended up producing a very well balanced and not over aggressive flavor and bitterness. The aroma was sweet and citrusy, and the flavor was BIG, just was I was going for. Another very successful batch!

• 4 lbs. Light LME
• 3.5 lbs. Light DME
• 0.5 lbs. Cara-Pils Malt
• 0.5 lbs. 40L Crystal Malt
• 0.5 lbs. Biscuit Malt
• 1 oz. Columbus hops @ 90 mins.
• 1 oz. Magnum hops @ 90 mins.
• 0.5 Amarillo hops @ 90 mins.
• 1 oz. Columbus hops @ 45 mins.
• 1 oz. Centennial hops @ 45 mins.
• 1 oz. Centennial hops @ 30 mins.
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 30 mins.
• 2 oz. Centennial hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 oz. Cascade hops @ 0 mins.
• 1 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 0 mins.
• 3.5 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 7 days till bottling (dry hop)
• 2 oz. Cascade hops @ 7 days till bottling (dry hop)
• 2.25 oz. East Kent Goldings hops @ 3 days till bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Cascade hops @ 3 days till bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Fuggle hops @ bottling (hop tea)
• 1 oz. Hallertau hops @ bottling (hop tea)
• SafAle US-05 dry yeast

Grains mashed @ 155F for 45 mins. Full 90 min. boil for extract/hops. Fermented @ 76F and transferred to secondary on Day 14. Bottled on Day 21.