Stephen and I are off to the National Homebrewers Conference, in Oakland, tomorrow. The conference is being held at the Oakland Marriott City Center, and there is a BART station right across the street, so the family is joining me to take in the sights of the city. Stephen and I are staying one night longer than the family so that we can take in the Grand Banquet and National Homebrew Competition Awards Ceremony. We’ll be heading home on Sunday (Father’s Day) where we’ll be showered with the love of our children and partner parenting units. I will need to stop on the way home, at my local AT&T retail store, to pick up my new 32 GB iPhone 3GS (happy Father’s Day from me to me:)
The conference schedule looks interesting and comprehensive. I can’t wait to hit the conference floor. I just hope my liver holds out for three serious days of all things beer and homebrewing!
Blue Moons Wit Tap Handle
My keg of Blue Moons Belgian Wit is almost gone, so it is time to brew another batch. I like to have this ale on tap all the time for converting non craft beer drinkers. It’s always well received by everyone and is a very refreshing summer brew. Stephen and I will be brewing this ale Friday afternoon (I have some comp time coming:) and he’ll be taking 5 gallons of the wit and then trading 5 gallons of his recently brewed Cream Ale to me. We both win! With only 5 gallons on tap, I may need to brew this again over the summer and I also need to throw together a batch of my German Hefeweizen.
Last year, I had to use Sterling hops to bitter, because I couldn’t get Saaz on short notice. I have Saaz for this batch, so I’m back to the original recipe. I’m also backing off on the coriander just a wee bit for a more subdued spiciness.
Here’s the updated recipe:
Blue Moons Wit 2009
16-A Witbier
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 05/01/09
Size: 10.08 gal
Efficiency: 70.0%
Attenuation: 70.0%
Calories: 290.52 kcal per 16.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.065 (1.044 – 1.052)
Terminal Gravity: 1.019 (1.008 – 1.012)
Color: 5.79 (2.0 – 4.0)
Alcohol: 5.96% (4.5% – 5.5%)
Bitterness: 20.9 (10.0 – 20.0)
Ingredients:
12.0 lb Pilsner Malt
12.0 lb White Wheat Malt
2.0 lb Oats Flaked
1.0 lb Rice Hulls
1.5 oz Czech Saaz (5.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.5 oz Hallertau (4.5%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
2.0 oz Bitter Curacao/Bitter Orange (Peel) – added during boil, boiled 15 min
3.0 tsp Fresh Orange Zest – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
0.75 tsp Corriander crushed – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
2000.0 mL Starter White Labs WLP400 Belgian Wit Ale
Mark's Bigfoot Barleywine Tap Handle
I’m a couple weeks overdue brewing this year’s barley wine. Last year, I brewed a barley wine on Valentines Day (nothing says, “I love you”, like barley wine:) and it turned out really nice. It came in at 13.8% ABV, a bit big for a barley wine, and tasted wonderful after aging. The nice sherry tastes came out after about nine months of resting. This year, I’m staying true to the same recipe, minus some Cascade hops for flavoring (can you imaging any decent brewer not having some Cascades on hand – I’m so embarrassed! – I do have some on order from Hops Direct 
, and I’m brewing pretty much the same ale.
My longest buddy ever, Eric, will be coming in on Amtrak Saturday morning (and joining us for a Stockton Thunder Hockey game that evening:) and brewing with me. Hopefully both Stephen and Brad will stop by for moral support (and an ale or two:). Here’s the recipe – only slightly altered from last year:
Mark’s Bigfoot
19-C American Barleywine
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 2/14/08
Size: 5.28 gal
Efficiency: 70.0%
Attenuation: 70.0%
Calories: 535.29 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.156 (1.080 – 1.120)
Terminal Gravity: 1.047 (1.016 – 1.030)
Color: 18.64 (10.0 – 19.0)
Alcohol: 14.8% (8.0% – 12.0%)
Bitterness: 142.5 (50.0 – 120.0)
Ingredients:
1.0 tbsp 5.2 pH Stabilizer – added during mash
10.0 lb Pale Ale Malt(2-row)
10.0 lb Maris Otter
0.5 lb Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
0.5 lb Crystal 60
0.5 lb Pale Chocolate Malt
6.0 lb Ultralight Extract (MoreBeer)
2.0 lb Corn Sugar
1.25 oz Summit (17.0%) – added during boil, boiled 60.0 min
1.0 oz Centennial (10.5%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
0.75 oz Nugget (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 20.0 min
1.0 tsp Wyeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
1.0 ea Whirlfloc Tablets (Irish moss) – added during boil, boiled 15.0 min
2.0 oz Amarillo (8.5%) – added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
2.0 oz Centennial (10.5%) – added during boil, boiled 5.0 min
2.0 oz Summit (17.0%) – added dry to primary fermenter
2.0 oz Nugget (13.0%) – added dry to primary fermenter
2000 Starter with 2 vials White Labs WLP099 Super High Gravity Ale
and 1 vial White Labs WLP002 English Ale
I’ll be mashing in about 9:30 a.m. Additionally, I’ll be lucky to hit the numbers outlined above. My best guess is that the barley wine will come in at about 13% ABV.
- Black Widow Stout Tap Handle
Tomorrow I’ll be brewing a dry stout. Typically, this is one ale Stephen and I share – we each take five gallons. We’ll be doing this again, me giving Stephen five gallons of stout, and me being the lucky recipient of five gallons of his wonderful Brew Barn Brown Ale. We both win!
This will be the sixth time I’ve made this stout, and in the past it has been called Stout Mark. The last time I brewed it I renamed it Black Widow Stout and I think the name is more appropriate because if you drink too many of them it will bite you!
The only major change I’m making to the tried and true recipe is the addition of one pound of Belgian de-bittered black malt. Supposedly, it adds very little in the way of flavor (no roastiness, chocolate or coffee flavors), but merely darkens the ale. This is one of the things Stephen and I have been trying to do to this ale since we first brewed it. A one pound addition takes the SRM from 28.5 to 33.5. We’ll see how it goes. Anyone out there used this stuff before?
Here’s the recipe:
Black Widow Stout
13-A Dry Stout
Author: Mark Ranes
Date: 2/7/09
Size: 10.32 gal
Efficiency: 70.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 283.63 kcal per 16.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.064 (1.036 – 1.050)
Terminal Gravity: 1.016 (1.007 – 1.011)
Color: 33.69 (25.0 – 40.0)
Alcohol: 6.29% (4.0% – 5.0%)
Bitterness: 36.6 (30.0 – 45.0)
Ingredients:
11.0 lb Pale Malt(2-row)
11.0 lb Maris Otter
1 lb Chocolate Malt
1.5 lb Roasted Barley
1.0 lb De-Bittered Black Malt (Mout Roost 1400)
1.0 lb Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt
1 oz Northern Brewer (9.0%) – added during boil, boiled 90.0 min
.5 oz Nugget (13.0%) – added during boil, boiled 30.0 min
1.0 oz Northern Brewer (9.0%) – added during boil, boiled 30.0 min
2 ea Whirlfloc – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1 tsp Yeast Nutrient – added during boil, boiled 10.0 min
1.0 oz Northern Brewer (9.0%) – added during boil, boiled 0.0 min
2000 ml Starter with 2/vials White Labs WLP004 Irish Stout
I’ll be lighting the burners shortly after 9 am.
