OK, so I'm not irish, but it is christmas, and what's more festive than red ale and green hops?
Found the grain bill and inspiration for the hops from a Smithwicks clone. Only 5 more months...
8lbs Marris Otter
.75 Crystal 60
.5 Carapils
.16 Roasted Barley
60 1oz Kent Goldings 5%
20 .5oz Fuggles 4.5%
5 .5oz Fuggles 4.5%
Preheated with 2 gals boiling
3 gals @ 167 for a 154 mash 1 hr 1.3:1 ratio
1.5 gals boiling mashout 15
3 gals @170 sparge
FG 1.045
Wyeast 1084 Irish Ale @68
Fermenting happily @64
1/3/10 - Moved to secondary 1.010. Not really red, we will have to see in a pint glass. Curious why fg is so high again. Perhaps the higher mash temps?
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
INTP
I am working on a post here. For now, I am amassing resources and I have too many computers and browsers for that job.
Pretty much perfect.
http://www.intp.org/intprofile.html
This should be required reading material, should I ever happen upon a girlfriend:
http://homepage.mac.com/bahlberg/iblog//B1386252977/C707866389/E1956473041/index.html
http://www.personalitypage.com/INTP_rel.html
http://intp.tribe.net/
Pretty much perfect.
http://www.intp.org/intprofile.html
This should be required reading material, should I ever happen upon a girlfriend:
http://homepage.mac.com/bahlberg/iblog//B1386252977/C707866389/E1956473041/index.html
http://www.personalitypage.com/INTP_rel.html
http://intp.tribe.net/
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Potbelly Porter
Great day of brewing. Not even any mini disasters and I will take that every time. Porter turned out fantastic, though way over gravity 1.058 (planned 1.052). 1.3:1 liquor/grist ratio 4 gals @169 1 hr for 155. 1.75 gals boiling added and let sit 15 minutes. Got 4 gals runoff at 1.064 adjusted. Batch sparge with 3 gals @ 170 for 15. 65.2% efficiency!
Finally got to use brown malt!
10lbs British 2 row pale
.5 Chocolate
.5 Brown
.25 Black Patent
.5 Crystal 60
.25 Carapils
Changed up the Hops quite a bit
60 1oz Challenger 7%
10 1 oz UK Kent Golding 5%
5 .5oz Fuggles 4.8
3 .5oz Fuggles 4.8
Pitched Wyeast 1028 @70
1/6/2010 - Just had to comment for when I looked this up again. Friggin fantastic. Wouldn't change a thing.
Finally got to use brown malt!
10lbs British 2 row pale
.5 Chocolate
.5 Brown
.25 Black Patent
.5 Crystal 60
.25 Carapils
Changed up the Hops quite a bit
60 1oz Challenger 7%
10 1 oz UK Kent Golding 5%
5 .5oz Fuggles 4.8
3 .5oz Fuggles 4.8
Pitched Wyeast 1028 @70
1/6/2010 - Just had to comment for when I looked this up again. Friggin fantastic. Wouldn't change a thing.
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Friday, October 02, 2009
F*in Percentiles in SQL
The thousands of readers of this world class blog recognize my affinity for math and unconditional love for those who proclaim it's value. This week was a banner week in this department as I was able to dedicate portions of several days to working with percentiles and debating the utter failures of various methods with people who care only for equations, not if they make any logical sense. All work fairly well enough with large datasets, each having their quirks. Unfortunately for me, many times I am asked to calculate p90 on a 4 record set. The interpolative options skew significantly to the outer bands in these cases IMNSHO. Excel method is the closest to representing the actual dataset.
In case any developers are out there who are asked to create percentiles in sql, and have reached the end of their rope by finding this heinous blog, here are some of your options. Wish me luck, I am guessing that next week may involve creating the other 4 sas methods.
This is my least favorite. It appears to be known as SAS v4 or MiniTab
create PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPercentile_Minitab]
@PVal float,
@PType varchar(255),
@JobID int,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
create table #ptemp
(id int IDENTITY,
val decimal(8,2)
)
declare @RecordCount as int
declare @TargetRow as float
declare @Difference as decimal(8,2)
declare @m as decimal(8,2)
declare @val as float
declare @val2 as float
declare @intcheck as int
declare @sqlCommand as varchar(max)
--set the records up since identity is needed.
insert into #ptemp (val) select x from table Y
set @RecordCount = @@identity
set @TargetRow = (@RecordCount + 1) * @Pval
set @intcheck = convert(int, @TargetRow)
If @TargetRow = convert(float, @intcheck) begin --no need to make up numbers, get crazy and use an actual value
set @ReturnVal = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck)
end
else begin --time make stuff up
set @val = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck)
set @val2 = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck + 1)
set @Difference = @val2 - @val
set @m = @targetrow - @intcheck
set @Difference = @Difference * @m
set @returnVal = @val + @Difference
end
end
Version 2 is known as the excel method. Math nerds hate this. Perhaps because it makes the most sense and allows for a way to check your work?
create PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPVal_Excel]
@PVal float,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
DECLARE @percentile FLOAT
SELECT @percentile = @pval;
WITH emp_sal(base, prev_rank, curr_rank, next_rank)
AS
(
SELECT base,
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) - 2.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [prev_rank],
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) - 1.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [curr_rank],
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) + 0.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [next_rank]
FROM #somewhere
)
SELECT @ReturnVal =
CASE
WHEN t1.base = t2.base THEN t1.base
ELSE t1.base + (t2.base - t1.base) * ((@percentile - t1.curr_rank) / (t2.curr_rank - t1.curr_rank))
END
FROM emp_sal t1, emp_sal t2
WHERE (t1.curr_rank = @percentile OR (t1.curr_rank < @percentile AND t1.next_rank > @percentile))
AND (t2.curr_rank = @percentile OR (t2.curr_rank > @percentile AND t2.prev_rank < @percentile))
end
My personal favorite is this one (seriously, no sarcasm here). I like it because it uses actual numbers to slot results, not "interpreted" numbers which by definition skews results. I realize it is slightly less useful, but at least it isn't a lie.
alter PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPVal_ActualPercentile]
@PVal float,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
-- SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from
-- interfering with SELECT statements.
SET NOCOUNT ON;
Set @ReturnVal = (select max( expr1 )from (select top (@pval) percent val as expr1 FROM #somewhere where base is not null order by val asc) as expr2)
END
In case any developers are out there who are asked to create percentiles in sql, and have reached the end of their rope by finding this heinous blog, here are some of your options. Wish me luck, I am guessing that next week may involve creating the other 4 sas methods.
This is my least favorite. It appears to be known as SAS v4 or MiniTab
create PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPercentile_Minitab]
@PVal float,
@PType varchar(255),
@JobID int,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
create table #ptemp
(id int IDENTITY,
val decimal(8,2)
)
declare @RecordCount as int
declare @TargetRow as float
declare @Difference as decimal(8,2)
declare @m as decimal(8,2)
declare @val as float
declare @val2 as float
declare @intcheck as int
declare @sqlCommand as varchar(max)
--set the records up since identity is needed.
insert into #ptemp (val) select x from table Y
set @RecordCount = @@identity
set @TargetRow = (@RecordCount + 1) * @Pval
set @intcheck = convert(int, @TargetRow)
If @TargetRow = convert(float, @intcheck) begin --no need to make up numbers, get crazy and use an actual value
set @ReturnVal = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck)
end
else begin --time make stuff up
set @val = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck)
set @val2 = (select val from #ptemp where id = @intcheck + 1)
set @Difference = @val2 - @val
set @m = @targetrow - @intcheck
set @Difference = @Difference * @m
set @returnVal = @val + @Difference
end
end
Version 2 is known as the excel method. Math nerds hate this. Perhaps because it makes the most sense and allows for a way to check your work?
create PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPVal_Excel]
@PVal float,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
SET NOCOUNT ON;
DECLARE @percentile FLOAT
SELECT @percentile = @pval;
WITH emp_sal(base, prev_rank, curr_rank, next_rank)
AS
(
SELECT base,
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) - 2.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [prev_rank],
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) - 1.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [curr_rank],
(ROW_NUMBER() OVER ( ORDER BY base ) + 0.0) / ((SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #somewhere) - 1) [next_rank]
FROM #somewhere
)
SELECT @ReturnVal =
CASE
WHEN t1.base = t2.base THEN t1.base
ELSE t1.base + (t2.base - t1.base) * ((@percentile - t1.curr_rank) / (t2.curr_rank - t1.curr_rank))
END
FROM emp_sal t1, emp_sal t2
WHERE (t1.curr_rank = @percentile OR (t1.curr_rank < @percentile AND t1.next_rank > @percentile))
AND (t2.curr_rank = @percentile OR (t2.curr_rank > @percentile AND t2.prev_rank < @percentile))
end
My personal favorite is this one (seriously, no sarcasm here). I like it because it uses actual numbers to slot results, not "interpreted" numbers which by definition skews results. I realize it is slightly less useful, but at least it isn't a lie.
alter PROCEDURE [dbo].[sp_CalcPVal_ActualPercentile]
@PVal float,
@ReturnVal float OUTPUT
AS
BEGIN
-- SET NOCOUNT ON added to prevent extra result sets from
-- interfering with SELECT statements.
SET NOCOUNT ON;
Set @ReturnVal = (select max( expr1 )from (select top (@pval) percent val as expr1 FROM #somewhere where base is not null order by val asc) as expr2)
END
Friday, September 25, 2009
moe.
I am rocking out to Timmy Tucker>Recreational Chemistry from moe. I don't like moe much at all with microphones on. Maybe I love moe with the microphones turned off. This band has befuddled me for 5 years.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Violence
This deserves its own post. Fermentation of Double Chin Ale 2.0 is unbelievable, to the point of worrisome. Blowoff tube went in Sunday afternoon. I think I inserted it a bit deep because there was tons of krausen and liquid in the bottom of the tube by monday am. Reset the tube a bit higher and dumped the liquid. Got home last night and there was a bubble into the quart mason jar about every 1-2 seconds with a violent, bad chinese for lunch, gurgle and woosh every 30 seconds. This morning (tues) is no different. I feel somewhat foolish looking at a sealed plastic bucket and laughing like Beavis, but hey, I gotta be me.
There has to be a reason for this. 1.060 isn't all that much in the way of gravity. Perhaps because it was mid to upper 80's in the house saturday when the smack pack was doing its thing? Temp still says 72 on the strip on the bucket.
Thursday night switched back to the regular water lock. Yeast still working their mighty magic. 8 sec bubble spacing after switch.
There has to be a reason for this. 1.060 isn't all that much in the way of gravity. Perhaps because it was mid to upper 80's in the house saturday when the smack pack was doing its thing? Temp still says 72 on the strip on the bucket.
Thursday night switched back to the regular water lock. Yeast still working their mighty magic. 8 sec bubble spacing after switch.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Disc Golf
This is just a place holder more than anything else so some day if I ever look back, I have a date.
I started playing disc golf last week. Technically, I started playing with Shemp and Blazo about a month ago before the Gov't Mule concert. It is really up my alley. Woods and enough technical to be interesting and minorly obsessive.
So far I have played South Mountain three times, great lunchtime getaway. I also played Jordan and Lehigh Parkway this weekend. My original problem was a hard hook to the right, 100% opposite of my golf swing. I seem to have that mostly straightened out, no pun intended.
Distance is what kicks my arse at this point, though I am seeing gradual improvement. I was getting 45-50 paces which is a pathetic 150' at jordan. Yesterday at the parkway, I had a couple 62's which is about 190 ish. I can't believe these guys throw 300. I feel like I am giving it all I have in the throw, so I guess it will be a technique thing.
I started playing disc golf last week. Technically, I started playing with Shemp and Blazo about a month ago before the Gov't Mule concert. It is really up my alley. Woods and enough technical to be interesting and minorly obsessive.
So far I have played South Mountain three times, great lunchtime getaway. I also played Jordan and Lehigh Parkway this weekend. My original problem was a hard hook to the right, 100% opposite of my golf swing. I seem to have that mostly straightened out, no pun intended.
Distance is what kicks my arse at this point, though I am seeing gradual improvement. I was getting 45-50 paces which is a pathetic 150' at jordan. Yesterday at the parkway, I had a couple 62's which is about 190 ish. I can't believe these guys throw 300. I feel like I am giving it all I have in the throw, so I guess it will be a technique thing.
Damn songs
I have a fairly wide appreciation of music, but a fairly narrow band of bands and songs I listen to in my truck and when I program. These times to me are when I am most in tune with myself. Warren, Allmans, Dead/Jerry/Grismon, Widespread Panic, more Warren, DMB, Bela Fleck, Floyd, Moses Guest. make up 90% of the menu.
Some days different songs strike me. Today, my fancy Sirius beeped at me for "My Morning Jacket" who have some great songs and and some not so great (Austin City Limits was an interesting one for them) so I rustily moved from 17 to "The Loft", cause I was in that kind of mood. Soulful, slow, borderline depressing without being depressed kind of thing (this last clause was to be the core of this post). Song was decent, but not memorable. Then this British girl came on, as I was deciding whether I was going to switch back to Jam on or Howard, and it gave me pause. It was "Cure-esque" if there is such a thing. Her name is Kate Nash and the song was "Nicest Thing". It was about the most heartfelt thing I have heard in a long time. Things like that are why I love music. Usually a riff, or beat, or lyric will strike something in me which resonates. This was kind of opposite, it was like I was being pulled in to what resonated with her, instead of her pushing to me. I obviously can't really explain it. It isn't earth shattering new musicianship by any means and I am sure the lyrics have been done a million times before. Sounds much like Cure "Lovesong" I would say.
Song is basically "He's not that into you". Instead of being campy and pop relevant, it is a mixture of deep soulfelt sorrow and moderatly positive, forward-looking hope? I think I like most that she doesn't once say she loves him, but with swarovski clarity answers what love is to her, and if I were being honest and open, to me.
All I know is that you're so nice,
You're the nicest thing I've seen.
I wish that we could give it a go,
See if we could be something.
I wish I was your favourite girl,
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world.
I wish my smile was your favourite kind of smile,
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style.
I wish you couldn't figure me out,
But you always wanna know what I was about.
I wish you'd hold my hand when I was upset,
I wish you'd never forget the look on my face when we first met.
I wish you had a favourite beauty spot that you loved secretly,
'Cos it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see.
Basically, I wish that you loved me,
I wish that you needed me,
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.
I wish that without me your heart would break,
Yea, I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake.
I wish that without me you couldn't eat,
Yea, I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep.
Look,
All i know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen
And I wish we could see if we could be something
Yea, I wish we could see if we could be something
So enough about the dumb song that amazon got 0.99 richer from, and the girl who obviously laid it all out there. It's all about me, here and now, as I blog to me myself and I.
Last time I felt like this, it was a similar kind of song, with Warren covering the U2 tune "One" acoustically. I really obsessed about that one for a while, but as a song, not the lyrics. It took me a week or two to read the lyrics and then I felt weird. I don't go to therapy and don't plan on it. I think I was born with the tools to figure shit out. Realizing some things can't be figured out is a sign of maturity I think. I do have to wonder though if these 2 songs say something about me on a subconscious level, if there is such a thing. Why such a strong, palpable draw? I do think underneath there is something to it obviously.
On the exceedingly rare occasion I have these kind of talks with actual real people, rather than just myself, I get the lecture about setting standards too high, or establishing unrealistic expectiations so as to have an impenetrable barrier. There may be some truth to it I guess. I was married to someone who was never the one, not for a day. I never once felt the way Kate Nash does with the close exception of a girl from college. Is it really wrong to hold out for what she feels? I don't think so. Life is short and I am quite happy with it as it is now. I won't close the door on the possibility of relationshipy things in the future, but I know damn well what it will be like. Thanks Kate. I'm a feeling a little "deep" today because of you which I am not sure how to take, but I have some validation that others have innards similar to mine.
Some days different songs strike me. Today, my fancy Sirius beeped at me for "My Morning Jacket" who have some great songs and and some not so great (Austin City Limits was an interesting one for them) so I rustily moved from 17 to "The Loft", cause I was in that kind of mood. Soulful, slow, borderline depressing without being depressed kind of thing (this last clause was to be the core of this post). Song was decent, but not memorable. Then this British girl came on, as I was deciding whether I was going to switch back to Jam on or Howard, and it gave me pause. It was "Cure-esque" if there is such a thing. Her name is Kate Nash and the song was "Nicest Thing". It was about the most heartfelt thing I have heard in a long time. Things like that are why I love music. Usually a riff, or beat, or lyric will strike something in me which resonates. This was kind of opposite, it was like I was being pulled in to what resonated with her, instead of her pushing to me. I obviously can't really explain it. It isn't earth shattering new musicianship by any means and I am sure the lyrics have been done a million times before. Sounds much like Cure "Lovesong" I would say.
Song is basically "He's not that into you". Instead of being campy and pop relevant, it is a mixture of deep soulfelt sorrow and moderatly positive, forward-looking hope? I think I like most that she doesn't once say she loves him, but with swarovski clarity answers what love is to her, and if I were being honest and open, to me.
All I know is that you're so nice,
You're the nicest thing I've seen.
I wish that we could give it a go,
See if we could be something.
I wish I was your favourite girl,
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world.
I wish my smile was your favourite kind of smile,
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style.
I wish you couldn't figure me out,
But you always wanna know what I was about.
I wish you'd hold my hand when I was upset,
I wish you'd never forget the look on my face when we first met.
I wish you had a favourite beauty spot that you loved secretly,
'Cos it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see.
Basically, I wish that you loved me,
I wish that you needed me,
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.
I wish that without me your heart would break,
Yea, I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake.
I wish that without me you couldn't eat,
Yea, I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep.
Look,
All i know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen
And I wish we could see if we could be something
Yea, I wish we could see if we could be something
So enough about the dumb song that amazon got 0.99 richer from, and the girl who obviously laid it all out there. It's all about me, here and now, as I blog to me myself and I.
Last time I felt like this, it was a similar kind of song, with Warren covering the U2 tune "One" acoustically. I really obsessed about that one for a while, but as a song, not the lyrics. It took me a week or two to read the lyrics and then I felt weird. I don't go to therapy and don't plan on it. I think I was born with the tools to figure shit out. Realizing some things can't be figured out is a sign of maturity I think. I do have to wonder though if these 2 songs say something about me on a subconscious level, if there is such a thing. Why such a strong, palpable draw? I do think underneath there is something to it obviously.
On the exceedingly rare occasion I have these kind of talks with actual real people, rather than just myself, I get the lecture about setting standards too high, or establishing unrealistic expectiations so as to have an impenetrable barrier. There may be some truth to it I guess. I was married to someone who was never the one, not for a day. I never once felt the way Kate Nash does with the close exception of a girl from college. Is it really wrong to hold out for what she feels? I don't think so. Life is short and I am quite happy with it as it is now. I won't close the door on the possibility of relationshipy things in the future, but I know damn well what it will be like. Thanks Kate. I'm a feeling a little "deep" today because of you which I am not sure how to take, but I have some validation that others have innards similar to mine.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Back in the saddle
Ah, Labor Day weekend. Time for some sweet labor. Kicked off the weekend in grand fashion with the latest iteration of America pale ale. Slight modifications from last time. Ditched the .5 lb crystal 20 and added .5 wheat. Swapped Nugget for Warrior. Swapped the Amarillo for Cascade.
11lbs American Pale 2 row
1.5 lbs Malted Wheat
.5 lbs Munich
.5 60 Warrior
.5 12 Cascade
.5 12 Chinook
.5 4 Chinook
.5 0 Cascade
Should deliver 42 IBU
Preheated MLT with 3 gals boiling water this time. That was perfect.
4 gals at 166 gave me 153 on the nose which is what I was shooting for. 60 mins later it was 151.
First runnings were 2.5 gals @ 1.080. I really should have gone with my gut and used rice hulls. there was standing liquor at the far end of the MLT. Not sure if the hulls will up that initial run or not.
4 gals @172 for sparge. Held for 15 minutes and ran off. 1.030
Start of 6 gal boil 1.050
End 1.058
I'll take that.
I hope I can milk the Double Chin until this one is ready for some side by side comparisons. My hopes are that it will be slightly less sweet and a bit lighter color. Double Chin screamed cascade from the first taste so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.
Chilled wort down to 95 with chiller then put it in fermenter and put whole thing in beer fridge. Still waiting as I write this pitch the Northwest Ale Yeast.
Efficiency 60.3 with SRM of 4.8 according to http://www.brewheads.com
Unlike last time, this took off like a bat out of hell. Pressure in the airlock before I went to bed. Bubbling at 4 secs when I woke up. Got back from disc golf and there was a bulging bucket with the depressed part of the lid filled with foam. Installed the handy dandy blowoff tube and it is dare I say violently fermenting. Very very strange. Pitched at 72, it dropped to 70, now back up to 72. No idea why this is happening, but is smells great. We shall see rabbit, we shall see.
Sept 14 - moved to secondary and dry hopped with 1 oz cascade plugs. 1.014. First impressions. No bitter bite at all, I think the warrior was a good call, but should have gone heavier. Could have significantly upped the IBU's I am guessing but it should be nice and drinkable.
Sept 22 - Tasted it and it is going to be good. Light on the aroma so added another ounce of cascade plugs and weighted it down with a ton of glass beads. This should be interesting.
11lbs American Pale 2 row
1.5 lbs Malted Wheat
.5 lbs Munich
.5 60 Warrior
.5 12 Cascade
.5 12 Chinook
.5 4 Chinook
.5 0 Cascade
Should deliver 42 IBU
Preheated MLT with 3 gals boiling water this time. That was perfect.
4 gals at 166 gave me 153 on the nose which is what I was shooting for. 60 mins later it was 151.
First runnings were 2.5 gals @ 1.080. I really should have gone with my gut and used rice hulls. there was standing liquor at the far end of the MLT. Not sure if the hulls will up that initial run or not.
4 gals @172 for sparge. Held for 15 minutes and ran off. 1.030
Start of 6 gal boil 1.050
End 1.058
I'll take that.
I hope I can milk the Double Chin until this one is ready for some side by side comparisons. My hopes are that it will be slightly less sweet and a bit lighter color. Double Chin screamed cascade from the first taste so hopefully this is a step in the right direction.
Chilled wort down to 95 with chiller then put it in fermenter and put whole thing in beer fridge. Still waiting as I write this pitch the Northwest Ale Yeast.
Efficiency 60.3 with SRM of 4.8 according to http://www.brewheads.com
Unlike last time, this took off like a bat out of hell. Pressure in the airlock before I went to bed. Bubbling at 4 secs when I woke up. Got back from disc golf and there was a bulging bucket with the depressed part of the lid filled with foam. Installed the handy dandy blowoff tube and it is dare I say violently fermenting. Very very strange. Pitched at 72, it dropped to 70, now back up to 72. No idea why this is happening, but is smells great. We shall see rabbit, we shall see.
Sept 14 - moved to secondary and dry hopped with 1 oz cascade plugs. 1.014. First impressions. No bitter bite at all, I think the warrior was a good call, but should have gone heavier. Could have significantly upped the IBU's I am guessing but it should be nice and drinkable.
Sept 22 - Tasted it and it is going to be good. Light on the aroma so added another ounce of cascade plugs and weighted it down with a ton of glass beads. This should be interesting.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Double Chin Ale Kegged
Kegged the double chin yesterday. Really different, very earthy, dark and warm in taste, with a solid malt profile Nice break from the cascade rat race of late. 1.008fg
Put into serving fridge on 20psi 7/23 20:00.
Put into serving fridge on 20psi 7/23 20:00.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Beer Tasting
Out of here tomorrow for a visit with the little brother to drop off baby stuff and hang out, then down to Lake Cayuga for a couple of days R&R for the mind with the college crowd. I self nominated for the beer tasting selection at my new favorite place, Abe's Cold Beer. Should be interesting. Weather doesn't look great, but nothing does in comparison to the last 10 days. Who cares, insobriety is an all weather affair.
12oz x3
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA
Lagunitas IPA
Southern Tier Hop Sun Wheat
Bells Porter
Bells 2 Hearted Ale
Shastafarian Porter
Stone IPA
Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin
Breckenridge Summer Ale
Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale (kolsch)
Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout
Bombers x1
Pennichuck Fireman's Pale Ale
Port Brewing Hop 15 Imperial IPA
Hoppy Brewing Stony Face Red
Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout
Hoppin Frog Silk Porter
Rogue Seahorse Pale Ale
12oz x3
Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA
Lagunitas IPA
Southern Tier Hop Sun Wheat
Bells Porter
Bells 2 Hearted Ale
Shastafarian Porter
Stone IPA
Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin
Breckenridge Summer Ale
Ballast Point Yellowtail Pale Ale (kolsch)
Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout
Bombers x1
Pennichuck Fireman's Pale Ale
Port Brewing Hop 15 Imperial IPA
Hoppy Brewing Stony Face Red
Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout
Hoppin Frog Silk Porter
Rogue Seahorse Pale Ale
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Singletrack Zen
My my my, how I forgot how nice it is to pump some pedals over the river and through the woods. For the first time in a long time mounted the trusty steed and hit Jacobsburg. Did much better than I thought I would, but way short of the pre-hammy paces and endurance of old. I need to get this back into the rotation now that the leg is 100%. No more excuses. Not much other than this allows me to focus strictly on the now, out side of the bike.
Sunday, July 05, 2009
Chinook/Amarillo Pale Ale
"Hmm. That's different", he says with a cock of the head and dives back in for more. Racked the Chinook/Amarillo Pale Ale to secondary. OG 1.016. Still had a nice frothy Krausen, but not too high. Bubbles were 4-5 seconds all week, slowed to 10 friday and was about 18ish today. I thought about keeping it in primary longer, but I like the idea of some fermentation going on in secondary to push out the O2 with CO2. Still very turbid in appearance as I expected. The finish is late and long which I like, earthy and what do you know, spicy as advertised. Thinking less old bay, and more cumin-y? Can't really place it. It almost seemed hot pepper spicy when it went into primary, but it has lost that edge now, which I think I am glad about. It definately needs to be dry hopped, but with what? Initial immediate reaction was cascade would work well with it and brighten it up a bit on the front end. I may do some sniffing around that new Japanese hop. Not sure whether to stay in the earthy end since it is well placed in that category, or th change it up a bit. I don't want more Amarillo I don't think and the Chinook doesn't really smell hoppy to me.
I think I may really like this northwest yeast.
This beer needs a name. Something like 38th unparalleled maybe since I saw Dean and Mouse as it was in primary. I think I am settled on the Patton Porter for a name, lemon wheat will be a standard brew this time of year, so that needs a name as well. Hell, the brewery still needs a name, Imbecile brewing is funny, but I'm not going to proudly write it on a bottle.
I think I may really like this northwest yeast.
This beer needs a name. Something like 38th unparalleled maybe since I saw Dean and Mouse as it was in primary. I think I am settled on the Patton Porter for a name, lemon wheat will be a standard brew this time of year, so that needs a name as well. Hell, the brewery still needs a name, Imbecile brewing is funny, but I'm not going to proudly write it on a bottle.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Disasters, check
Well, I hit the gravity. I also shorted out 3 digital thermometers via various assininities, and managed to be more worried about the gravity than the wort flowing into the primary and the hose blocked up on the hop bag i was running it through and spewed 1.5 gals onto the garage floor. Dang. 4.5 gals in the fermenter at 1.057.
Note to self: Put 5 gals of darn near boiling water into the cooler the night before.
"": Buy a waterproof thermometer.
Better yet, figure out how much heat loss occurs overnight and preheat the strike water the day before so brew day starts with the dumping of the grain, right after the de-spackling of the teeth.
Note to self: Put 5 gals of darn near boiling water into the cooler the night before.
"": Buy a waterproof thermometer.
Better yet, figure out how much heat loss occurs overnight and preheat the strike water the day before so brew day starts with the dumping of the grain, right after the de-spackling of the teeth.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Supplies, check
It's brewing weekend. I have to say that makes me happy. The idea of keg #2 in the kegerator just makes me plain ol giddy. There is certainly question as to whether keg #1 of WKE Wheat will pull a Michael Jackson on me in the next 3 weeks, but hey, it would delay me dropping another $75 on a faucet, shank and gas splitter. It should be ready to tote along to the finger lakes as well. I win.
Shopping list complete for Pale Ale #3
Box of chalk for cool new blackboard painted freezer door to identify the liquidy goodness within.
11 lbs American 2 row Pale malt
.75lb Malted Wheat
.5lb Munich
.5lb Crystal 20
New Yeast: Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale
I don't know squat about this yeast and don't read much about it, so it should be interesting.
Hops bill has been all over the place for this one. Had some Nugget left over from Uber PA so that was the bittering. I wanted Amarillo again, but needed to mix it with other varieties so it was not so one dimensional. Originally it was Cascade, Glib suggested Centennial which is how I went to Keystone. I got there and Judy says, stick you head in there and smell some bags. That was the start of a good night in college, but a perfect suggestion in my current state. Oh what glorious scent is this? Chinook? I thought old bay for some reason, which seems ridiculous, but anyone who knows me in summer, knows I have a weakness for the sodium laden yellow can. That's a nut tickle from Madam Karma, so into the basket with you.
New MLT will make the maiden voyage tomorrow. I picked up a 70qt Coleman Extreme for $38 or something and converted it over using the 5gal igloo parts.
Getting stoked already.
Oh, I built the latest iteration of the brewing spreadsheet which now includes a standard brewday variable log to make it easier to find things, and hopefully remind me to take all the measurements.
Also put together a strike water calculator and liquor:grist ratio calculator which should both come in quite handy.
Shopping list complete for Pale Ale #3
Box of chalk for cool new blackboard painted freezer door to identify the liquidy goodness within.
11 lbs American 2 row Pale malt
.75lb Malted Wheat
.5lb Munich
.5lb Crystal 20
New Yeast: Wyeast 1332 Northwest Ale
I don't know squat about this yeast and don't read much about it, so it should be interesting.
Hops bill has been all over the place for this one. Had some Nugget left over from Uber PA so that was the bittering. I wanted Amarillo again, but needed to mix it with other varieties so it was not so one dimensional. Originally it was Cascade, Glib suggested Centennial which is how I went to Keystone. I got there and Judy says, stick you head in there and smell some bags. That was the start of a good night in college, but a perfect suggestion in my current state. Oh what glorious scent is this? Chinook? I thought old bay for some reason, which seems ridiculous, but anyone who knows me in summer, knows I have a weakness for the sodium laden yellow can. That's a nut tickle from Madam Karma, so into the basket with you.
New MLT will make the maiden voyage tomorrow. I picked up a 70qt Coleman Extreme for $38 or something and converted it over using the 5gal igloo parts.
Getting stoked already.
Oh, I built the latest iteration of the brewing spreadsheet which now includes a standard brewday variable log to make it easier to find things, and hopefully remind me to take all the measurements.
Also put together a strike water calculator and liquor:grist ratio calculator which should both come in quite handy.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Keg legs
I am swooning, weak in the knees, and laughing at memories of nicknames from college girls past all at the same time. There could be no other title for this post.
Last Wednesday Jun 17, 2009 was a banner day in the annals of Imbecile Brewing Co, it's memory shall be celebrated every day, in perpetuity. My lemon WKE wheat had been in primary long enough. My bottle supply was a tad low. My unused refrigerator in the garage was on my nerves and my thrift (aka vacation account paid a week of expenses instead of the general fund) had left a budget surplus in May. My uber pale ale is having some carbonation issues in random bottles. What a bummer to reach for a cold one after a long hard day of interweb surfing and find a slightly syrupy, flat as a pancake, pale ale greeting me. Hmm, how do these things merge into a single vortex of pleasure say you? Read on.
"Mmmm, Draft Beer" says Homer.
Yup, after some research on the topic and yet another visit to Keystone to see Josh, I walked through downtown Bethlehem on my ergo break with a Cornie under one arm, a #5 co2 tank in the other and a box chock full o regulator, hoses, clamps, seals etc squeezed between. A gigantic shit eating grin plastered upon my melon left no question as to how the mood ring would glow.
"Late lunch" he quips to boss man as the door hits him in the ass. Co-workers nod their knowing approval. 7 miles later, refrigerator fires right up after 2 years, got cold and stayed that way. Turn and burn back to Paycheckville, USA.
Oh the joy, oh the pleasure, oh the ease of pumping primary directly into keg, sealing said device, snapping on an air hose and walking away to paint! Ok, you got me, I checked it and rolled the keg around every 15 minutes to hear the regulator say "splurrsh" as it pumped it's 30lbs of goodness into the whoreish and greedy wheat. 24 hrs later, lots of pressure and head, still somewhat flat underneath. Next morning, woohoo! (It was only a small glass boss man). Backed pressure back to #12 and have been enjoying the goodness ever since.
Now for the beer review of WKE Wheat.
Outstanding shaving creamesque head, beer is very very turbid, almost with a touch of grey, but to be expected with 60% wheat. Lemony nose comes through, head has a slightly bitter and familiar flavor with it, and to a lesser extent the finish. It reminds me of the lemon pith, which I will not do again and stick with just the zesting. It is drinkable though with very low alcohol, as was expected with the wke OG. In the words of Hanna Montana who I listened to 50 times this weekend, next time i need to pump up the party a little.
Verdict? Another $34 to the coffers of Keystone along with my grain bill so my Amarillo Pale Ale this weekend can be keg #2 on tap.
Projects:
Rip out crisper drawers and replace with wooden bottom so it will support second keg.
Pick up #20 co2 bottle from Jimbo that had a previous life as a nitrous tank in the parking lot of the Electric Factory. Ah the irony there.
Get a shank and faucet so the door doesn't have to be opened 50 times a week, err I mean occasionally. Me thinketh this one. Shall I buy 1 or 2?
The mantra RDWHAHB just evolved.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
WKE Wheat
Inspiration hit me out of nowhere friday afternoon at my desk. I had enough of checkbox validation schemes for the new survey system and hit Penn Pizza for a Sam Adams Summer Ale. I drank a case of it last summer and it was good. I needed a new beer style to brew and was in need of checking my efficiency. I wasn't feeling the grains of paradise though, so after work hit Keystone.
5.5lbs American Wheat
4.5lbs American Pale
.5lb Rice Hulls
1056 American Ale 12-May 09 (Wanted the american wheat, but out of stock. Judy says it shouldn't matter that much)
1 lemon
1oz Tettnang 4.7% pellet
1oz Saaz czech 3.4% pellet
To make a long story short, OG came in at 1.040 again.. How in hell is this possible? That's 52.5 efficiency, and I was spot on with everything I wanted. I hit 1.040 with the uber pale ale with 7.5lbs of grain and hit the exact same thing with 10? Something is amuk, it most certainly is me.
3.5 Gals 168 Strike brought grain temp to 154 for Liquor:Grist of 1.33. I preheated the Mash Tun and it held the entire 45 mins. 1.25 Gals boiling water brought it to 169 and I held it for another 15 minutes. Ran that off over 30mins with adjusted gravity of 1.054. Sparged with 3 gals at 169 and held for 15 minutes before starting runoff.
8:30 3.5 gals 122deg water into mash tun to preheat
9:10 Transferred preheat water to HLT
9:27 Added hot liquor and 10lbs grain and .5lb rice hulls in about 4 alternating layers 157 initial temp
9:30 Re-Stir 154deg
10:17 Added 1.25gals boiling water temp to 168. Mash tun Full so lid upside down
10:27 Started run off
10:37 Put back a gallon and started first runnings
10:53 Collected 3 gals first runnings. 1.048 at 107. Added 3 gals 169. Mash temp to 162
11:08 Start second runnings after running 1 gal back
11:30 Fired brew kettle after collecting 3 gals second runnings. Added 1.5 gals to mash at 170 for backup
11:50 Boil
12:00 1oz Tettnang 4.7% pellet
12:15 Ran off .75 gal 3rd runnings to top rivets of brew kettle.
12:50 Yeast nutrients and .5 oz Saaz. Almost added whirlfloc, wouldn't make much sense in a wheat...
12:55 Zest of 1.2 lemon
1:00 Knockout and .5 Saaz
1:15 started chiller Forgot to log what time I started running into primary.
3:15 pitched yeast at 72
1:00 Flameout
June 11- Gravity reading of 1.004. Zested 1 more lemon in. It had a good lemony nose and decent lemon flavor. So I can't complain. Looking forward to it. Broke open an uberpale ale and it was flat flat. Starting to get concerned. Need to drop another in the fridge to rule out a bad seal.
June 17 KEGGED! Specifics are ABV 4.6% 133 cals
5.5lbs American Wheat
4.5lbs American Pale
.5lb Rice Hulls
1056 American Ale 12-May 09 (Wanted the american wheat, but out of stock. Judy says it shouldn't matter that much)
1 lemon
1oz Tettnang 4.7% pellet
1oz Saaz czech 3.4% pellet
To make a long story short, OG came in at 1.040 again.. How in hell is this possible? That's 52.5 efficiency, and I was spot on with everything I wanted. I hit 1.040 with the uber pale ale with 7.5lbs of grain and hit the exact same thing with 10? Something is amuk, it most certainly is me.
3.5 Gals 168 Strike brought grain temp to 154 for Liquor:Grist of 1.33. I preheated the Mash Tun and it held the entire 45 mins. 1.25 Gals boiling water brought it to 169 and I held it for another 15 minutes. Ran that off over 30mins with adjusted gravity of 1.054. Sparged with 3 gals at 169 and held for 15 minutes before starting runoff.
8:30 3.5 gals 122deg water into mash tun to preheat
9:10 Transferred preheat water to HLT
9:27 Added hot liquor and 10lbs grain and .5lb rice hulls in about 4 alternating layers 157 initial temp
9:30 Re-Stir 154deg
10:17 Added 1.25gals boiling water temp to 168. Mash tun Full so lid upside down
10:27 Started run off
10:37 Put back a gallon and started first runnings
10:53 Collected 3 gals first runnings. 1.048 at 107. Added 3 gals 169. Mash temp to 162
11:08 Start second runnings after running 1 gal back
11:30 Fired brew kettle after collecting 3 gals second runnings. Added 1.5 gals to mash at 170 for backup
11:50 Boil
12:00 1oz Tettnang 4.7% pellet
12:15 Ran off .75 gal 3rd runnings to top rivets of brew kettle.
12:50 Yeast nutrients and .5 oz Saaz. Almost added whirlfloc, wouldn't make much sense in a wheat...
12:55 Zest of 1.2 lemon
1:00 Knockout and .5 Saaz
1:15 started chiller Forgot to log what time I started running into primary.
3:15 pitched yeast at 72
1:00 Flameout
June 11- Gravity reading of 1.004. Zested 1 more lemon in. It had a good lemony nose and decent lemon flavor. So I can't complain. Looking forward to it. Broke open an uberpale ale and it was flat flat. Starting to get concerned. Need to drop another in the fridge to rule out a bad seal.
June 17 KEGGED! Specifics are ABV 4.6% 133 cals
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Why why why
Why can't i remember this? I use it all the time, it's simple and i have no goddam recall. Placing here for reference.
Update from:
update tblx
SET tblx.YEGoal = jj.yeg
FROM tblx ke
INNER JOIN jjttmp jj ON (ke.id = jj.storeid and ke.type = 's')
Update from:
update tblx
SET tblx.YEGoal = jj.yeg
FROM tblx ke
INNER JOIN jjttmp jj ON (ke.id = jj.storeid and ke.type = 's')
Friday, May 15, 2009
North bound and down!
Leaving for vacation to Newboro! Still unpacked, but just got the uber pale ale transferred to secondary so my priorities are straight at least. 1.006. This is turning out to be quite an experiment. Smells outstanding. Bitterness is there, doesn't seem overwhelming at this point as I feared with such a low OG. Lesh Philling, tastes fucking great. Definately a light beer, could fit the bill for a post lawn mowing beverage when ice cold.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Uber Light Pale Ale
RDWHAHB, RDWHAHB he says. Brewhouse efficiency, was about 64.3 to as low as 57 ish. Not exactly sure on volumes and that makes a big difference. Ended up at 1.040. Pretty far off the 1.046-48 I thought I would hit. We shall see how it turns out. According to here that kind of efficiency should have seen me with 9 lbs pale malt, not 7.5. Glad I did not go with 6.5!
7.5lbs Pale Malt
0.62lbs Malted Wheat
.5 Munich Malt
.687 Crystal 20
5:40 Fired 3.5 gals in HLT
5:58 Hit 152, left 3 cups in hlt.
6:08 Stirred 151
6:21 150
6:28 150 Stirred in 2 cups boiling water, no change
6:42 149
7:00 148 Fired 3.75 gals sparge water
7:20 168 batch sparge
7:27 160 uncovered
7:38 Ran off 1 gal then emptied
7:57 added 1 gallon 168 with 6 in brew kettle
8:13 boil
8:23 .5oz Nugget (60min)
8:36 added 3 quarts of 3rd run
9:07 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient in 1/2 cup warm water to hydrate and added whirlfloc to kettle (15 min)
9:12 added yeast nutrients (10 min)
9:15 (7 mins) added 1 oz each Willamette and Cascade
9:22 Flameout, 1 oz Cascade 0 min
15 minute rest
9:37 Chiller in
10:45 Pitched Wyeast 1056 70f
Update: May 23 dryhopped 1oz of cascade. All the marbles in 1 bag still didn't get it to sink.
7.5lbs Pale Malt
0.62lbs Malted Wheat
.5 Munich Malt
.687 Crystal 20
5:40 Fired 3.5 gals in HLT
5:58 Hit 152, left 3 cups in hlt.
6:08 Stirred 151
6:21 150
6:28 150 Stirred in 2 cups boiling water, no change
6:42 149
7:00 148 Fired 3.75 gals sparge water
7:20 168 batch sparge
7:27 160 uncovered
7:38 Ran off 1 gal then emptied
7:57 added 1 gallon 168 with 6 in brew kettle
8:13 boil
8:23 .5oz Nugget (60min)
8:36 added 3 quarts of 3rd run
9:07 1/2 tsp yeast nutrient in 1/2 cup warm water to hydrate and added whirlfloc to kettle (15 min)
9:12 added yeast nutrients (10 min)
9:15 (7 mins) added 1 oz each Willamette and Cascade
9:22 Flameout, 1 oz Cascade 0 min
15 minute rest
9:37 Chiller in
10:45 Pitched Wyeast 1056 70f
Update: May 23 dryhopped 1oz of cascade. All the marbles in 1 bag still didn't get it to sink.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Hmmmm
If spam, like love, is blind, do women get endless emails regarding v/agra and Peni$ enlargement, or do they get their own dedicated marketers? Do spammers pull up to the checkout window and say "just the middle age dude's please" when they get their list?
Why don't I get a single email asking me if my tits are saggy or my ass cheeks are full of cheese?
Why don't I get a single email asking me if my tits are saggy or my ass cheeks are full of cheese?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Water Quality
I got a call back from Easton Suburban Water Authority about water quality. The woman was really nice (Erin?).
Last year is published here: http://www.eswater.net/report_2007.pdf
Here is what I done learnt about 2008.
Calcium 15.7 ppm
Hardness 54
ph 7.15
Sulfate 23.1
Supposedly bicarbonate is calcium + magnesium and magnesium is a property of hardness and calcium? That will take a little bit of research.
Reason so soft she said was because we drink from the Delaware, not from ground water, so the water does not absorb nearly as much minerals as other cities/wells may.
Last year is published here: http://www.eswater.net/report_2007.pdf
Here is what I done learnt about 2008.
Calcium 15.7 ppm
Hardness 54
ph 7.15
Sulfate 23.1
Supposedly bicarbonate is calcium + magnesium and magnesium is a property of hardness and calcium? That will take a little bit of research.
Reason so soft she said was because we drink from the Delaware, not from ground water, so the water does not absorb nearly as much minerals as other cities/wells may.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Amarillo Pale Ale
This is more of a placeholder because I have what I thought was piles of notes to put in for my first all grain batch.
Starting at the end, I bottled today. 1.008 FG. It is outstanding. Amarillo hops really gives it a unique aroma. Should be a real easy drinking beer. Perhaps 5 more ibu's next time? We will see.
April 19- Dryhopped with 1 oz Amarillo plugs split between 2 muslin bags. Put 8 marbles in 1 bag and it did not sink.
April 11- Moved to secondary.
April 4- Brew day.
There was a lot of confusion on my part as to the grain bill. I have notes for both 9 and 10 lbs of pale malt and changed it at least 4 times. I need a new system to log this stuff.
UPDATE: Keystone Homebrew Supply asks for my phone number for a reason. Josh looked it up and it was in fact 10 lbs of Breiss pale malt
Grain Bill
10lbs 2 row Pale Malt
1lb Crystal 40
Water
Put 3 gals hot tap water (119F) into Mash Tun for 30 minutes to get the temp up. Then moved that 3 gals to the HLT.
Process
Alternated adding small parts grain bill and 3Gals 164F water to the mash tun. Stirred and capped.
7 mins 147F. Too Low.
15 mins added 2 qts boiling water and stirred. Temp to 154. Perfect.
45 mins started runoff after recirculating 1 gal. 1.054 @152 Temp adjusted this was 1.070
60 mins Batch sparge 3 gals 168F water. Mash temp 166
95 mins started runoff after recirculating 1 gal and lit brew pot. SG temp adjusted was 1.038
120 mins had 18 cups extra but ended up using 8 of them. to cover for evap
-virtual timer reset to run in reverse now-
70 min boil
60 minutes 1 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
30 minutes added 2 more cups of mash water
30 minutes added .5 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
15 minutes anded 1 whirlfloc tablet
4 minutes added 1 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
0 minutes added .5 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
Pitched Wyeast 1272 American Ale II
1.054 FG @ 68F
Starting at the end, I bottled today. 1.008 FG. It is outstanding. Amarillo hops really gives it a unique aroma. Should be a real easy drinking beer. Perhaps 5 more ibu's next time? We will see.
April 19- Dryhopped with 1 oz Amarillo plugs split between 2 muslin bags. Put 8 marbles in 1 bag and it did not sink.
April 11- Moved to secondary.
April 4- Brew day.
There was a lot of confusion on my part as to the grain bill. I have notes for both 9 and 10 lbs of pale malt and changed it at least 4 times. I need a new system to log this stuff.
UPDATE: Keystone Homebrew Supply asks for my phone number for a reason. Josh looked it up and it was in fact 10 lbs of Breiss pale malt
Grain Bill
10lbs 2 row Pale Malt
1lb Crystal 40
Water
Put 3 gals hot tap water (119F) into Mash Tun for 30 minutes to get the temp up. Then moved that 3 gals to the HLT.
Process
Alternated adding small parts grain bill and 3Gals 164F water to the mash tun. Stirred and capped.
7 mins 147F. Too Low.
15 mins added 2 qts boiling water and stirred. Temp to 154. Perfect.
45 mins started runoff after recirculating 1 gal. 1.054 @152 Temp adjusted this was 1.070
60 mins Batch sparge 3 gals 168F water. Mash temp 166
95 mins started runoff after recirculating 1 gal and lit brew pot. SG temp adjusted was 1.038
120 mins had 18 cups extra but ended up using 8 of them. to cover for evap
-virtual timer reset to run in reverse now-
70 min boil
60 minutes 1 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
30 minutes added 2 more cups of mash water
30 minutes added .5 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
15 minutes anded 1 whirlfloc tablet
4 minutes added 1 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
0 minutes added .5 oz 8.5 AA Amarillo pellets
Pitched Wyeast 1272 American Ale II
1.054 FG @ 68F
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Man boobs
So you want to learn to grow a set do you? Here is my attempt last night.
Take your child to Friendly's, it's friday for god's sake.
Take 3 pieces of factory grown chicken.
Roll said poultry in batter.
Deep fry.
Soak them in bbq sauce
Smother them in ranch dressing.
Envelop them in gov't cheese.
Smoosh the boob explosive between two pieces of sourdough bread.
For good measure, soak said bread in butter, not that healthy margarine shit.
Grill it.
Serve with deep fried potatoes, then offer El Lard-o a free sundae to wash it down with as his prize.
Jiggle your fat ass home with a smile and watch cartoons with your kid.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Splinters
I met the single most sexist person of my life, which this year, gets the fat, round number of 20 years ago. He was my college professor and a genius. He repulsed me so much I made sure I was in line early on several occasions to make sure I got into one of the 4 sessions I had with him. He had a way with words, some of which I annoyingly slip into conversation to this day, with a cheesy Pakistani accent of course. "Who said what to who?" Still not sure what that meant, but I incorporate it anyway. Anyhow, he had this thing about women staying where they "belonged", in the home and fulfilling their sole useful purpose of driving the global economic engine with their wasteful spending, and raising of "the splinters" who would some day grow up and increase the depth of said economic pool. He was single and smoked 3 packs of Players Black a day. A man with that attitude and habit was not long for this world. Given the expression of some of my female classmates, I wouldn't be surprised if he met with an un-natural demise.
Splinters, part of something larger, but known for being an enormous pain in the body part of your choice relative to size. Kind of creative I suppose. My life has been filled with splinters this week. I miss Princess, it's one of the very few things I detest, nay hate, about being divorced. I haven't seen her in 2 days. When last we saw our hero, he was stressed out with deadlines and wasn't the best dad he could be, and I hate that. I hate that I stew about it after she is gone, I hate that I can't go back and change time. I wasn't a bad dad, but I wasn't an attentive and deeply patient dad, which means I wasn't the best I could be and that's the only acceptable standard.
Princess was a long time in coming, and I/we traveled a long and winding path to receive that gift. I reconnected with an old friend/flirt/flameless from college on facebook in early Feb. Someone I had not thought of in years, but her name jumped off the page one day on some god forsaken fb page. I read Flameless's info, I read her blog, I read an amazingly heartfelt open letter to her unborn, unknown child that welled my soul like I was some hormonal pre-menapausal splinter producer. Flameless and her husband were traveling the same winding path as I EXACTLY 6 years prior, only they didn't see the end in sight yet. Like me, they didn't even really have a map. We started emailing, talking about adoption and experiences of the winding road and I gave her Barrister Steve's info, caveat emptor galore. Flameless's road immediately overlay mine and was weeks away from fulfillment. Flameless finally had her long sought tracking number, though from an admittedly expensive and unreliable parcel service. Tuesday night saw Flameless with a newborn splinter in her arms named Audrey. For those in the know who traveled the winding road, the pain doesn't come from the splinter, it comes from the road rash. I am flooded with memories, emotions and other feelings I have not dealt deeply with in a long time. That feeling in my arms of a helpless and very, very sick infant. A dependent, with whom I shared no genetic link or history, but one which instantly merged into my soul and to whom I could only promise a future. Knowing.
Being I feel as if I am running a deficit, do I score any karma repair points for a referral? Either way, I miss my baby girl even more than usual. Princess is getting the shit squeezed out of her @ 4:59, you can bet your ass on that.
Splinters, part of something larger, but known for being an enormous pain in the body part of your choice relative to size. Kind of creative I suppose. My life has been filled with splinters this week. I miss Princess, it's one of the very few things I detest, nay hate, about being divorced. I haven't seen her in 2 days. When last we saw our hero, he was stressed out with deadlines and wasn't the best dad he could be, and I hate that. I hate that I stew about it after she is gone, I hate that I can't go back and change time. I wasn't a bad dad, but I wasn't an attentive and deeply patient dad, which means I wasn't the best I could be and that's the only acceptable standard.
Princess was a long time in coming, and I/we traveled a long and winding path to receive that gift. I reconnected with an old friend/flirt/flameless from college on facebook in early Feb. Someone I had not thought of in years, but her name jumped off the page one day on some god forsaken fb page. I read Flameless's info, I read her blog, I read an amazingly heartfelt open letter to her unborn, unknown child that welled my soul like I was some hormonal pre-menapausal splinter producer. Flameless and her husband were traveling the same winding path as I EXACTLY 6 years prior, only they didn't see the end in sight yet. Like me, they didn't even really have a map. We started emailing, talking about adoption and experiences of the winding road and I gave her Barrister Steve's info, caveat emptor galore. Flameless's road immediately overlay mine and was weeks away from fulfillment. Flameless finally had her long sought tracking number, though from an admittedly expensive and unreliable parcel service. Tuesday night saw Flameless with a newborn splinter in her arms named Audrey. For those in the know who traveled the winding road, the pain doesn't come from the splinter, it comes from the road rash. I am flooded with memories, emotions and other feelings I have not dealt deeply with in a long time. That feeling in my arms of a helpless and very, very sick infant. A dependent, with whom I shared no genetic link or history, but one which instantly merged into my soul and to whom I could only promise a future. Knowing.
Being I feel as if I am running a deficit, do I score any karma repair points for a referral? Either way, I miss my baby girl even more than usual. Princess is getting the shit squeezed out of her @ 4:59, you can bet your ass on that.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Maff
Math is a frustrating thing. A dark and mysterious art saturated with rules and conditions. There are many practicing wizards of this nonsense, and I have never been invited to their party. I don't even know where it's held for god's sake. To some, this may not seem like a big deal. For me, it is an ongoing frustration and insecurity. See, I'm a computer programmer. I take blobs of unrelated "things" and shake them up real well in an electron based game of boggle and spew out silly nuggets that someone thought was a good idea and will make them ONE-MIIIIILION-DOLLARS. Companies large and small seem to love the result and continue do drop off the money bucket every week, of which a pittance spills out and pays off my second mortage in a semi-timely manner.
Everyone I work with, both now and in the past, is a certified wizard in this evil coven. Mr Burns has 2 ph.d's in statistics and something else from Penn. My partner has undergrads from 'Blue in both math and CS, PM has degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensallaer and an MBA with CS focus. BOSS lady from previous life has MS in finite math, whatever the hell that is. The list goes on.
I barely received a bs in...wait for it..wait for it.... marketing! Woohoo, at a state school no less! As everyone knows, marketing is the comfort food consumed by drunken college students to ensure an eventual graduation date and doom themselves to a job scamming their family members into term coverage. I know people change, but I barely like talking to people anymore, especially strangers. What spaced out guidance counsellor convinced me of this heavenly match?
Somehow I jumped ship, but that's a time burner for a different day. I have enough of a pile of 1/2 done posts to churn through.
Why do I hate maff? Here's why, 3 people blew 2 hours each, 2 people blew 1 hour each on the following 3rd grade problem. The collective cost of their education exceeds $700,000 and that's not inflation adjusted. My $9,000 education failed me. I still disagree with the outcome, but I also know I am wrong.
Round 55.649999 to 1 decimal place. 9 rounds the 4 to a 5 and takes the 6 to a 7 right? Ennh, of course not. Answer is 55.6. Why did the decimal section in 5th grade math take weeks and weeks? I think my state funded education failed me. I'm bitter for some reason. But you probably couldn't tell.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Porter II Bubble Report
Well. The curious case of the missing bubbles has been somewhat solved. First bubbles sighted at 2pm Tuesday, 15 sec's apart. Moved fermenter from back basement to finished side to get it up to temp. Gauge on side of the bucket still says 66, but it said 63. I guess that made enough of a difference.
3-7 20:00 0 63
3-8 20:00 0 63
3-9 08:00 0 63
3-9 20:00 0 64 Moved to finished side
3-10 08:00 0 64
3-10 14:00 15 66
3-10 19:00 4 68
3-11 08:00 3 68
3-11 18:00 2 70?
3-12 20:00 3 70
3-13 8:00 8 70
3-14 08:00 32 70
3-14 13:00 Transferred to secondary
3-14 20:00 54 68
3-7 20:00 0 63
3-8 20:00 0 63
3-9 08:00 0 63
3-9 20:00 0 64 Moved to finished side
3-10 08:00 0 64
3-10 14:00 15 66
3-10 19:00 4 68
3-11 08:00 3 68
3-11 18:00 2 70?
3-12 20:00 3 70
3-13 8:00 8 70
3-14 08:00 32 70
3-14 13:00 Transferred to secondary
3-14 20:00 54 68
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Porter Deux Brew
What a great day. Spring fever hit hard as temps were in the 70's after shoveling 4 inches on Monday. What better way to celebrate than to get my brew on with the porter. 8am found me at Cabelas becoming the proud new owner of a stainless steel 30qt pot, and the cabelas fish cooker base. More than I wanted to spend, but oh well. I look at it as an "hey, it wasn't cancer" present. Used 70$ in cabelas points so it evened out.
Brew went well, up until boil almost started and I realized I was 1 oz short of fuggles. Keystone was open and hazed me appropriately. I could no be happier with the outcome so far. Pitched at 63 degrees!
Burner only used about 2 lbs of propane??? Is that possible?
2:25 2.5 gals in steep pot with grain bill of .5 Crystal 60, .5 Chocolate, .5 black patent and .75 Carapils
2:56 152 degrees
3:10 cranked up stove to Med High
3:13 158 degrees. Fired burner outside with water level up to 2 inches below "min fill mark"
3:30 Moved hot liquor to brew pot. Sparge 1.5 gals @ 172
3:42 Pot level up to bottom rivets.
3:50 Emergency shut off and race to Keystone for 1 oz of fuggles because I am a dumbass
4:26 Pot fired up. Added 6 lbs of dme which took to within 1 inch of the top. Took time with heat to avoid boilover
5:05 Tossed 1 oz bramling cross pellets in a bag and stated count down
5:50 1 oz fuggles and whirlfloc. Whirlfloc damn near caused boilover.
5:58 .5 oz fuggles
6:02 .5 oz fuggles
6:05 flameout and chiller in
6:55 Started transfer, wort at 64
7:20 Pitched pretty weak bag of 1028 London Ale at 63 degrees dated Jan 20 that smacked at 1pm. This yeast better not screw me by being old.
OG 1.055
Tasted a shot of the liqor at 152, post 152, 158 and sparge. Pretty interesting profiles. Could definately tell it was thicker at 158, but that may just have been due to time.
March 28, 2009- Bottling day. I have to say, it is good as it is. I think the carapils did the job. I will be interesting to see how the carbonation and rest change things, but at the moment, I couldn't be happier with a flat warm porter and I am drinking the schwag as I speak. FG 1.013
Original Extract 13.55
Apparent Extract 3.32
Real Extract 5.25
Specific Gravity 1.021
Apparent Attenuation 75.5
Real Attenuation 61.3
ABW 4.4
ABV 5.7
Cals/12oz 188
Brew went well, up until boil almost started and I realized I was 1 oz short of fuggles. Keystone was open and hazed me appropriately. I could no be happier with the outcome so far. Pitched at 63 degrees!
Burner only used about 2 lbs of propane??? Is that possible?
2:25 2.5 gals in steep pot with grain bill of .5 Crystal 60, .5 Chocolate, .5 black patent and .75 Carapils
2:56 152 degrees
3:10 cranked up stove to Med High
3:13 158 degrees. Fired burner outside with water level up to 2 inches below "min fill mark"
3:30 Moved hot liquor to brew pot. Sparge 1.5 gals @ 172
3:42 Pot level up to bottom rivets.
3:50 Emergency shut off and race to Keystone for 1 oz of fuggles because I am a dumbass
4:26 Pot fired up. Added 6 lbs of dme which took to within 1 inch of the top. Took time with heat to avoid boilover
5:05 Tossed 1 oz bramling cross pellets in a bag and stated count down
5:50 1 oz fuggles and whirlfloc. Whirlfloc damn near caused boilover.
5:58 .5 oz fuggles
6:02 .5 oz fuggles
6:05 flameout and chiller in
6:55 Started transfer, wort at 64
7:20 Pitched pretty weak bag of 1028 London Ale at 63 degrees dated Jan 20 that smacked at 1pm. This yeast better not screw me by being old.
OG 1.055
Tasted a shot of the liqor at 152, post 152, 158 and sparge. Pretty interesting profiles. Could definately tell it was thicker at 158, but that may just have been due to time.
March 28, 2009- Bottling day. I have to say, it is good as it is. I think the carapils did the job. I will be interesting to see how the carbonation and rest change things, but at the moment, I couldn't be happier with a flat warm porter and I am drinking the schwag as I speak. FG 1.013
Original Extract 13.55
Apparent Extract 3.32
Real Extract 5.25
Specific Gravity 1.021
Apparent Attenuation 75.5
Real Attenuation 61.3
ABW 4.4
ABV 5.7
Cals/12oz 188
Friday, March 06, 2009
Shopping
Today is shopping day for what I hope to be a brewing day tomorrow. Tonight a turkey fryer is the objective. Went to Keystone for the ingredients of Programmer Porter Deux.
1/2lb Crystal 60
1/2lb Chocolate
1/2lb Black Patent
3/4lb Carapils
1oz Bramling Cross Pellets 7%
1oz Fuggles plugs 4.5%
[edit] 1oz Fuggles plugs 4.5%
6lbs Muntons Light DME 8 ebc/3.5 L
1028 London Ale Jan 20 2009.
1/2lb Crystal 60
1/2lb Chocolate
1/2lb Black Patent
3/4lb Carapils
1oz Bramling Cross Pellets 7%
1oz Fuggles plugs 4.5%
[edit] 1oz Fuggles plugs 4.5%
6lbs Muntons Light DME 8 ebc/3.5 L
1028 London Ale Jan 20 2009.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
ESB Bottleing
Little brother J came down from Rochester last night and we had a great time with some BBQ and broke open the first Malbec. BBQ was outstanding, and the Malbec hit the spot, though I must admit it is lacking a little something, it is a really easy drinking wine. I will enjoy the next dozen, but I think another couple months of aging is in order.
ESB cleared significanly, so it was time to bottle. FG was 1.010. Drinking one now flat and warm and it's pretty good. No hop aroma to speak of, I think it may be a dry hop candidate if I do it again.
ABV 5.5, abw 4.3 Apparent attenuation 78.1%, real attenuation 63.4%, calories 177/12oz.
Surgery is on wed am. This should be ready by the time I am off anti-biotics.
ESB cleared significanly, so it was time to bottle. FG was 1.010. Drinking one now flat and warm and it's pretty good. No hop aroma to speak of, I think it may be a dry hop candidate if I do it again.
ABV 5.5, abw 4.3 Apparent attenuation 78.1%, real attenuation 63.4%, calories 177/12oz.
Surgery is on wed am. This should be ready by the time I am off anti-biotics.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
ESB Transfer
Transferred the ESB to secondary. It has been a week, it should have stayed in primary longer, but I have to admit, I would like to see a little fermentation in secondary for purely visual purposes. A LOT of trub came through in the end as evidenced by the picture. I wasn't going for "every last drop" either. There was basically no solid cake on the bottom. We will see, live and learn. Hopefully it compacts down and clears. Gravity is 1.018 It taste's pretty good, a bit light, but seems balanced? I think I would like the color a little more red, but it is hard to tell at this point.
Maybe Jason can help me bottle in 2 weeks when he is here.
Bought the porter book Dean recommended and read it cover to cover last night. What great insights. I think next bacth will be Porter redux. Up crystal from .5 to 1lb, chocolate from .5 to .75 and maybe back the patent down to 5oz. I may also put 1 lb of british 2 row in. Also up the partial mash temp to 157ish.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cioppino Vino
Very exciting wine day with Bob and Kat. We bottled what should prove to be our best attempt yet with the cab. It is clear, but so dark you can barely see through it. Very strange. Taste is really good, though obviously young. I have a feeling it should go 6 months or so, though 1 test bottle will have to be broken out early i am sure.
Went with a new style kit and started off a merlot. This one included grape skins (and branches and other sordid items) and 3 different kinds of oak. Grape skins when reconstituted smelled exactly like raisins obviously, but it took a minute to register. OG was ridiculous at 1.110. (Cab was 1.086 and malbec was 1.082 I believe).
Tasted the malbec finally as part of a fruits of the labor tasting with some of Kat's outstanding Cioppino. I have had a lot of the Shiraz obviously so that was nothing new, The cab was really interesting so green. But the malbec, I have to say it turned out pretty well. Massive differences between out of the bottle, vs through aerator, vs 30-45 minutes to breathe. Not sure if this will change over time, or it just happens to be a function of the wine. I think I will let my bin sit another 3 months before cracking one open.
Went with a new style kit and started off a merlot. This one included grape skins (and branches and other sordid items) and 3 different kinds of oak. Grape skins when reconstituted smelled exactly like raisins obviously, but it took a minute to register. OG was ridiculous at 1.110. (Cab was 1.086 and malbec was 1.082 I believe).
Tasted the malbec finally as part of a fruits of the labor tasting with some of Kat's outstanding Cioppino. I have had a lot of the Shiraz obviously so that was nothing new, The cab was really interesting so green. But the malbec, I have to say it turned out pretty well. Massive differences between out of the bottle, vs through aerator, vs 30-45 minutes to breathe. Not sure if this will change over time, or it just happens to be a function of the wine. I think I will let my bin sit another 3 months before cracking one open.
ESB Bubble report
1-24-09 10:00 35 secs (12hrs after pitch)
1-24-09 13:00 5 secs
1-25-09 8:00 Holy Krausen! Had a blowout so switched to a blowoff
1-25-09 17:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 7:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 21:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 7:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-27-09 18:30 7 secs through blowoff
1-28-09 9:30 6 secs through blowoff
1-29-09 8:00 6 secs through blowoff. This is getting ridiculous
1-29-09 22:00 8 secs through blowoff.
1-30-09 8:00 6 secs through blowoff.
1-30-09 23:00 7 secs through blowoff.
1-31-09 8:00 8 secs through blowoff.
-Transferred to Secondary-
1-31-09 21:30 8 secs bubbler
2-1-09 9:30 13 secs
2-1-09 20:30 18 secs
2-2-09 21:30 24 secs First signs of clearing, but still heavy yeast with a lot of movement
2-3-09 20:00 23 secs
2-4-09 7:00 17 secs
2-5-09 8:00 22 secs
2-5-09 21:00 27 secs Still a LOT of yeast in suspension and carbonation is very evident
2-6-09 17:00 33 secs
2-6-09 21:00 36 secs
2-8-09 9:00 60 secs. For the first time yeast at the bottom is moving down and not up. Significant clearing, but not enough to bottle.
2-8-09 22:00 79 secs
1-24-09 13:00 5 secs
1-25-09 8:00 Holy Krausen! Had a blowout so switched to a blowoff
1-25-09 17:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 7:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 21:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-26-09 7:00 5 secs through blowoff
1-27-09 18:30 7 secs through blowoff
1-28-09 9:30 6 secs through blowoff
1-29-09 8:00 6 secs through blowoff. This is getting ridiculous
1-29-09 22:00 8 secs through blowoff.
1-30-09 8:00 6 secs through blowoff.
1-30-09 23:00 7 secs through blowoff.
1-31-09 8:00 8 secs through blowoff.
-Transferred to Secondary-
1-31-09 21:30 8 secs bubbler
2-1-09 9:30 13 secs
2-1-09 20:30 18 secs
2-2-09 21:30 24 secs First signs of clearing, but still heavy yeast with a lot of movement
2-3-09 20:00 23 secs
2-4-09 7:00 17 secs
2-5-09 8:00 22 secs
2-5-09 21:00 27 secs Still a LOT of yeast in suspension and carbonation is very evident
2-6-09 17:00 33 secs
2-6-09 21:00 36 secs
2-8-09 9:00 60 secs. For the first time yeast at the bottom is moving down and not up. Significant clearing, but not enough to bottle.
2-8-09 22:00 79 secs
Friday, January 23, 2009
I'm special
Spur of the moment decision to get my brew on this weekend with an ESB. All went well. Steeped for 30 mins at 153. Took a long time to get up to temp.
6lbs Muntons extra light dme
1/2lb Crystal 60
1/2lb Breiss Victory 20
1oz UK Challenger pellets 60mins
1oz Kent Golding 2 mins
Wyeast Thames Vly 1275 pitched at 76
Whirlfloc 15mins
OG 1.050
Spoke with Dean on facebook, he is up to 200 gals a year with an amazing setup. He is prodding for a full boil burner. Maybe when the weather warms.
6lbs Muntons extra light dme
1/2lb Crystal 60
1/2lb Breiss Victory 20
1oz UK Challenger pellets 60mins
1oz Kent Golding 2 mins
Wyeast Thames Vly 1275 pitched at 76
Whirlfloc 15mins
OG 1.050
Spoke with Dean on facebook, he is up to 200 gals a year with an amazing setup. He is prodding for a full boil burner. Maybe when the weather warms.
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