Presenting Brew #5 – Oktobersaurus Fest!

It's not a proper marzen-style Oktoberfest lager, but a German Ale. Since it wasn't a proper Oktoberfest, I figured I could get away with adding some additional hops, so I threw in an extra couple ounces of Hallertau towards the end, just so it's a tad nobler. It's clarity is much better than I expected, even in a warm bottle, so that's good. It was still not completely finished carbonating as of last weekend, so I hope it's ready to go by this weekend. Or by the end of October, for that matter. Either way, it should be a great fall beer. Come over and try it soon!

brewlog: Bottles of Grit

Something strange has occurred the past couple times I've prepped bottles for beer. Here's my process:

First, drink the beers in the bottles. This is the best part.

Next, I sort the bottles by label and bottle type. If a bottle has a plasticky label that I know will be a bitch to remove, or is a non-standard shape (Red Stripe, Founders, Sierra Nevada), I set it aside and return it properly. Anything else gets added to the pile of good, usable bottles.

When I've accumulated a significant amount of bottles (approximately 28, give or take a few depending on number of 22oz bottles), I put them into a couple of five gallon buckets I have, throw some Oxiclean in there, and fill them up with water.

Let them sit for a day or so, in the garage since it's warm out. Then spend some time outside with my dogs as I remove the labels and rinse the bottles.

OK, it all makes sense, right? However, this time, as well as the time before that, the bottles developed a gritty sort of film on them as they were sitting in the Oxiclean bath. The thing about this film is that it is tough to get off. I had to furiously scrub with a microfiber cloth to get rid of the grit on the outside, but then I got worried about grit existing on the inside. Last time there was no grit on the outside. So, this is where I got creative.

I didn't think to take a picture until I was halfway done.

I soaked the bottles in the hottest water my faucet could make in the utility sink. Then I took out my bottle scrubbing brush and went to town. This was a lot of work though, and my arm got tired. So, I MacGyvered myself a solution.

MacGyver would be proud

It cleaned all the bottles in a flash, and they are now grit free and spotless!

I am still puzzled as to what caused the problem in the first place. Looking at it scientifically, the only variable that changed was the temperature, so my theory is that Oxiclean at high heat bonds to glass that it comes in contact with for a long period of time. Maybe I need to scale back the amount of Oxiclean I use in higher heat. Or change nothing and get to play with a drill brush again. Probably that.

brewlog: Glass Shatters

I know this blog has been silent for a while, but I tend to only think to do this when I'm really excited for something or something has gone wrong. Unfortunately, we're looking at the latter here.

First and foremost, I shattered my carboy. Well, to be honest, gravity did the falling and the floor did the shattering, but I saw it unfolding before my very eyes.

Broken Carboy

I had just gone into the brewing supplies closet to put away my notebook, and did not close the door like I usually do. I don't know how setting a notebook on top of my kettle caused so much of a disturbance, but it caused enough to send the carboy falling. It landed mouth first and bounced, and in my head I said "Oh great, it bounced, it survived the fall!" but it landed on the rounded edge on the second hit, and went to pieces. Luckily, a lifetime of broken shit at the store trained me in how to pick up broken glass, so I emerged unscathed. I'll be buying a new carboy and a proper carboy stand once I get paid later this week.

b[rew]log: Batch #4, moving on up!

So, batch #4 made its way from bucket to carboy today. It fermented super vigorously in the bucket. the morning after I finished it, I checked it and the krausen had clawed its way into the airlock, so I had to grab an empty jug and create a blowoff tube for it.

Also, I had my first taste of batch #3 last night, and that one surprised me. In the end, it came out looking and tasting very much like a golden ale, but with noticeable "wheatiness" to it. I can't really describe it well, so you should come by and have one if you're interested!

Batch #4 is an IPA, and it definitely smells like it. The 6.5 ounces of hops probably have something to do with that. I am going to swing by Brewing World today to pick up some hops for dry hopping, and let that sit for another week before they make their way into the bottles. I'm super excited about this one, I think it could be my best yet.

b[rew]log #8: Adventures in Brewing

So.. that alcohol taste in beer #2 got even stronger. To the point where it is undrinkable. It tastes more like rubbing alcohol than beer. Unfortunately, it will have to see its way to the drain. It's my first casualty of brewing.

The good news is that batch #3 is already well on its way. When I was buying supplies, I bought the wrong kind of malt. I didn't let it stop me though, and I went ahead and brewed anyway. So, I'm not really sure what style this new beer technically is, but I've got more hope for it. I sampled it as I transferred it into secondary this afternoon, and it tasted good. The strangest thing is that it was supposed to be a golden ale, before I fucked up the recipe, and now it is a deep reddish color, so we'll see how it ends up. I'm intrigued by it. I also decided to dry hop with a half ounce of Saaz hops that I had on hand. More on that later.