The Reason We Call it Craft Beer

Whether you are aware of it or not, there is a surge of homebrewing and commercial brewing throughout the US right now. As a brewer, this is a fantastic thing to observe considering it was back in 1979 and the wonderful President Carter that gave us the ability to brew at home, which were the seeds for a craft beer explosion we are reaping right now. 

That term "craft,” however, seems to have been confused amongst brewers big and small. I wanted to address this particular issue as a lover of good beer and as a brewer, so please bear with me while I dive in to my various aspects of this topic.

As a lover of good beer, I am excited with what I am seeing right now. For example, there are a number of beers coming out recently that are taking on new and unique ingredients that are typically reserved for other styles (i.e. the black IPA, smoky hefeweizen, Belgian IPA, etc). This is an awesome direction to take beer as it forces the masses of consumers and brewers alike to view the ales & lagers of the world as being capable of so much more. This has been refined over and over by the best of the craft community, such as Dogfish Head, New Belgium, Boulevard, and New Glarus to name a few. Their efforts to try new things while still staying true to the basics of brewing is not only good for the industry as a whole, but it gives us something we haven't had in a long time: new choices.

The varieties of things I have seen in the last 3 years are not limited to the use of the traditional ingredients, like malt, yeast, and hops, however. There are more and more users of fruits and spices, trading hops for some of their predecessors (i.e. juniper berries, ginger, etc), and finding unique recipes of old to reintroduce to the public. This is, again, what I like seeing, even if I don't like the actual beers themselves. The goal is to continue pushing the boundary of what is considered beer and redefine it for the next generation, all while keeping the basics of beer in sight. 

What worries me comes down to a fear of too much variety with no substance. As a consumer, I am seeing more and more coming out of the world of craft beer, and while that makes me happy, I am a bit nervous that we have a bubble building in the industry. I could very well be wrong, but as a lover of good beer, the last thing I want to see is something that hinders my access to the quality brews from around the world. If the variety gets too big, we may see a contraction instead of an expansion in the craft market, which could have long term downsides. 

The other perspective I have on this is that of a brewer, and it doesn't differ very much from the former. I personally love the creativity that comes from brewing, the ability to choose not only the style I am going to make, but the malts, the yeast, the hops, and any extras. I get to control the title, the ABV, the IBUs, and the overall delivery of the beer. This is true for every brewer, and I am always supportive of an out-of-the-box idea, because we never really know what will happen until we try. 

Reaching for the stars is great, but not at the expense of the basics. The direction I have seen several brewers taking lately is to try things that are not just unusual but ridiculous. From mushrooms and carrots, to cupcakes and candy bars, there are some very odd and off-putting ideas being floated around. Do I think it is a bad idea to experiment once in a while? Hell no! But the key to any experiment is to have a control, as any grade school science class will tell you. Without a comparison, how do you know if it is any good? Therefore, I would be more interested in trying variations on beers from a brewer, as they develop them over time, as opposed for going for the gold medal right out of the gate. 

So, my assessment as a brewer is one of caution as well. Be mindful of the basics and the tradition that is inherent in brewing, knowing that you can take a left instead of a right here and there. No one begrudges the creativity of the brewer that tries something unexpected, but many are leery of any beer made without the basics totally understood. 

I guess that makes both of my perspectives essentially the same, just for different reasons. As a consumer, I don’t want the variety to spread the industry to thin. As a brewer, I want other brewers to be more respectful of the basics before experimenting, and do it in phases. Overall, I guess that makes my message a simple one: slow down and enjoy what you have before trying to fix the wheel.

Going back to my earlier reference, the term craft beer is meant to imply that there is an art to brewing, which has a respect for the traditions, but allows for innovations. Brewing has evolved a long way in a few thousand years, and to forget that would be a shame. Without the respect for the basics, the entire concept fails and we are back to the days before 1979, and I for one refuse to consider the muddled urine the “big 3” make as my only option.

With that said, who wants to try a bourbon, bacon, and banana stout?  I never said I didn’t have a sense of humor, did I?

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Fire Build Oatmeal Stout

Well folks, I am back at it, and this time I'm stepping up my game a bit. I already have the LBDPA going, but I got my new carboys in the mail (yes, another set), so I decided I needed to keep the brewing going. Therefore, I give you Fire Build Oatmeal Stout.

It is going to be a milder stout, nothing imperial about it, but it is going to bring some complicated flavors to the game. For starters, I'm dialing down the malt on this recipe to a respectable quantity, but also keeping true to the style by adding some strong hops in small quantities. I think this will give the stout an overall balance that is very important with the amount of sweetness it may carry.

I also added some vanilla extract to the very end of the boil, just because I love the taste of vanilla in a stout, mostly because the sweetness of the malts mixed with the aroma of vanilla just make a stout jump out at you. The vanilla here is some decent stuff, but I wasn't willing to drop the cash for the vanilla beans or even some of the Mexican vanilla, but it is something I may consider if this batch goes really well.

Another fun thing this recipe is going to be getting is some aging with wood. I have some French oak chips that I will beging to soak in bourbon this weekend, plus some wormwood chips that are going to be boiled before being added to the carboy. Then, for 2 weeks, the stout will sit on this bed of extra flavor and coloring to add some unique complexities to the entire profile.

Well, that is all I have today.

As always, drink well, and be merry. Slainte!

Update 1: Well, a valuable lesson was learned on this brew. I pitched my yeast and as far as I can tell, everything was going just fine. Little did I know that the air lock was slowly becoming plugged, therefore becoming a cork. At 7:45 AM on a Sunday, I was informed that my beer was oozing all over the floor. After the short trip home, I was able to see the issue, and fixed it very quickly. I removed the blow out hose from the LBDPA and replaced it with the airlock, after it was cleaned of course. Then, the joyful task of getting out the ammonia and cleaning the brew room took place and lasted about 45 minutes. No, it wasn't fun, but it was a valuable lesson to say the least. Going foward, blow out hoses are a must for the first 4 days if not longer.

Update 2: I added the extra sugar to the carboy today. It was probably somewhere around 2 oz, but I wasn't worried about being accurate. This was an effort to 1) make up for the lack of beer from the episode over the weekend 2) add some ABV to make it a bit more "fun" 3) why the hell not? As I checked on it a few hours later and a few hours after that, the process appears to be moving along nicely, with a very gentle bit of extra fermentation taking place. I'm debating if I want to add some brown sugar to it now as well. Decision, decisions. Maybe I will wait for that on the next run of this recipe.

Update 3: Well, I still wasn't satisfied, so I added some high-end molasses to this batch. I added it roughly 12PM, but by 3PM it was fermenting like crazy. It is going so fast and hard now, but I figure it will slow down within 24 hours. I am going to let it settle down and then rack it 2 weeks from the day it was brewed. Then, when it goes into secondary, it will be sitting on some French toasted oak chips that have been soaking in bourbon for 1 week and some wormwood strips that have been boiled to release the oils in the wood. This is going to be a fantastic beer!

Update 4: This beer has been racked and is now on the French Oak chips that soaked in bourbon for 1 week and some boiled wormwood. The wood should impart some unique flavors and additional aromatics to the beer, in addition to upping the ABV (not a bad thing at all). The smell is a bit strong with the bourbon, but I anticipate this will mellow out as time goes on.

Update 5: Wow! This smells incredible! Complicated and woody, and there is a velvety aspect to the aroma, which I suspect is a result of the wood aging, malts, and bourbon mixing together. This is going to be a seriously complicated but fun beer. I'm so excited to try it, but I am giving it a full 3 weeks on the wood, so I need to wait until the 29th for a third racking to allow some filtering of the particulates from the wood and will only be 4-5 days in duration. Then, we will be bottling this brew and waiting another 4 weeks to sample it. Patience is a virtue, so they tell me.

LBDPA

OK, ladies and germs, I have some big news today. It is not only another brewing day, but this is Coren's first official beer! She has selected a black IPA, which she has dubbed the Little Black Dress Pale Ale.

To say that I'm having a total blast with this particular batch is completely understating the obvious. She bought the Brewer's Best IBA kit, but I spiced up the recipe for her just a bit, in order to make it a bit more interesting. We have 8 ounces of hops going into the actual boil of the beer and 4 more ounces going into dry hopping. Not only that, we also are adding some molasses and some chicory to the mix (I know, right?!).

Well, since we are in the midst of the boil, I am going to end the post here, but I did want to at least let the world know how excited I am about this particular batch, especially due to the inspiration and source. Great job on the recipe Coren!

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Update 1: When I got a chance to see how this was doing, I came into a world of fermentation. This is crazy fermentation! I am going to be adding the molasses either today or tomorrow, but at this rate, it may have to be sooner. Oh, and to really solidify the image of this particular batch's vigorous fermentation, I had to take the airlock off and use the siphon hose as a blow off vessel with a bucket of water. The water was bubbling so much, the entire room has a lovely hoppy aroma. So excited!



Primary fermentation 18 hours later

Update 2: The molasses is is added, only 2 days after brewing. The yeast starter has totally done what we wanted! The only thing I can say I learned from this batch is that the chicory should have been added with a grain bag, mostly because of how much it gummed up the process of the transfer. I am slightly concerned about it sitting on the chicory for longer durations, but nothing we can do about it now but wait and see. I'm anticipating the fermentation will just about finish by Thursday at the latest with the additional fermentables, so I should be racking to the secondary carboy that night, which means the first of four dry hoppings will take place. I figure every 5 days I'll add some more hops to it to help with the flavor and aroma, which hopefully will combat any extra tartness from the chicory.

Update 3: The fermentation has essentially reached its apex and subsided. I am seeing the color getting darker, which not only is pleasing, but it makes for a rather happy Coren. The krausen you see in the picture has completely dissipated and I'm waiting a few more days for any additional cleansing to take place. Then we will rack it to the 5 gal carboy and begin the 4 oz of dry hopping, with 2 oz per go. I anticipate this being done with this next phase in approximately 2 weeks from today when I rack to the bottles. The hop gods are smiling on this brew!

Update 4: Coren is a very happy girl after this past weekend. Not only was it Labor Day weekend, which meant an extra day to sleep in, but she racked her first beer! We moved it over the to the 5 gal carboy on Saturday and added the first 2 oz for dry hopping (Zythos and Cascade) and I will add the final 2 oz tomorrow night. We will be bottling after I return from Schlafly's Hop in the City festival on 9/15, and then it has another 3 weeks to condition before she gets to taste it. The racking was a really good idea because it was terribly needed with the amount of yeast in this batch, not to mention the extra amount of grains that settled. More updates to come with this one!

Update 5: The dry hopping is done on this bad boy and I couldn't be  happier. The best part is, when Coren smells this, every time she has a huge smile on her face that tells me, we did what she wanted. I am going to be out of town for a bit, but as soon as I get home we will be racking to bottles.

Update 6: The festival in St. Louis was insane (post on that to follow). I am please to announce that LBDPA is officially bottled and conditioning at room temp right now, and will stay there for 3 weeks. We will follow that up with a sampling and transfer the bottles to cold storage for further conditioning. We did an unconditioned taste sample and there is a lot going on in that beer, but I do see it finding its balance as it ages. Time will tell, but at least Coren is happy with her first custom partial mash recipe. Slainte!

Update 7: We tasted this for the first time after 2 weeks in the bottles and I'm cautiously optimistic. The hoppy flavors are so outrageous on this and clearly need time to calm down, which I'm hoping is going to happen after a few more weeks in bottles (2 or 3 more, then 1 week in the fridge). The malty flavors of this beer are present, but masked considerably right now, but they are fighting to show themselves. Now, the body, color, aroma, and head on this are so delightful and amazing, I just want the bitterness to settle down just a bit before I will call this a success.

Brewery Name

Ok, this is a point of frustration for me at this stage, so I'm going to vent. The brewery name or title of my brewing company that I want to have going forward is something I get asked about a lot, but I have no answers. None. Zilch.

This "writer's block" that has found me refuses to let go and it is becoming a sore point in my brewing thoughts. There are a number of names in there, but none that speak to me directly. I'm not going to use a name that I am not totally behind, because it needs to say something about me.

I think I have suggested to Coren about 50 names by now, but none that grabbed me. This reminds me of when I was younger and writing papers in high school and college. There were two rules that applied then: the paper should be as long as it needs to be to give your conclusion and the title shouldn't be forced. Well, if I take the advice from a time long long ago, then I need to reconsider the situation, but maybe I can mix in a little bit of my adult knowledge too.

Situation - I cannot think of a title for my brewery/operation.
Complication - I'm being pressured to create an answer by more and more bystanders.
Question - What should I name my brewery/operation?
Answers -

1. Nothing; wait until I arrive at the name naturally
2. Use one of the names I suggested already
3. Let someone else choose

Ok, so if I dig into any of these answers, I would ultimately end up either disappointed (2 & 3) or not achieving the purpose of this exercise (1). But, if we apply the ol' writing logic to it, there is only answer 1.

Well, if that is the case, the meaning of this exercise is to be patient and let the name come to me. No use in titling something until I have something worth calling it. Well, that leaves it there. I will leave it to the whims of the universe to help me arrive to the best name when the time is right.

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Beer Review Challenge

Ok, I'm ready to evolve my beer geek status into providing some honest feedback to others that are curious. I'm not going to claim any form of expertise in the arena people have been doing for quite a while longer, but I will always provide true, honest, and unbiased reviews.

So, here is my challenge to you, the world at large. Send me a comment here or on twitter (@chitownproud) and let me know what beer you would like me to review for you.

Now, the rules of the challenge are really simple. First, don't give your opinion to me before I try the beer, so I can avoid any/all bias before I try it. Second, give me a little time to get the beer (which may not always be possible, but I will make every effort) AND to provide my review. Lastly, if you disagree with me, that is totally fine, but let's keep it respectful and cordial.

If I haven't gotten a challenge by the end of a work week (yes, that means Friday), then I will select a beer I have either never had or haven't had in a very long time and provide a review. To avoid me picking things you don't like, just send me a quick note!

That is about all I got, but I look forward to your responses.

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Equipment Wish List

Ok, time for a wish list post. These are some of the items I would LOVE to have for my brewing going foward and my ETA on getting them. One small caveat before we start is that my absolute priority at the moment is to secure enough for a major down payment on a townhouse somewhere on the water in Northern IL or Wisconsin; I have to feed my kayaking habbit somehow.

So, item one on my list is a wort chiller, but I'm already torn. Do I go with the traditional copper coil or the plate version. I know that I may not have the ability to choose the plate until further down the road, but still, I like to be forward thinking. I am probably leaning towards the coil right now, but we will see what the time & budget fairy have to say. ETA: 6 months

Next, I am going to be exploring some options as far as larger blow off set-ups, like batches of hoses poised into a single blow off bucket. The reason for this is selfish, which I happliy admit, because I won't have to be as attentive to the airlock. The other reason for this is as basic as basic can get: it means I can make more beer, which means I would be able to have seasonal and annual recipes in rotation. ETA: 6-8 months

A small option that I will ALWAYS list as a homebrewer (which I expect to be regardless of reaching the status of brewmaster/owner), is to add more and more carboys. I last posted about 2 extra 5 gallon carboys that I got for a steal (still happy about that). Well, I plan on doing it again, but this time I will add a 6.5 gallon to the order. That will give me approximately 25 gallon secondary fermentation volume and 13 gallon primary volume. The true goal for 2013 is to reach 40 gallon secondary and 32.5 gallon primary volume, or for those keeping count 8 5 gallon carboys and 5 6.5 gallon carboys. ETA: ~ 2 weeks for the next purchase; 2013 for full capactiy

Something that I realized the value of after going through far too much effort to lager via an ice bath is a fridge, or wine cooler. Yeah, I know, but learning by going through this gives me that appreciation for the automated temperature management system a whole new appreciation. So, that is the bad news; the good news is that I am finding that there are quite a few of these on the internet and at really great prices. I'm actually emailing someone about possibly getting one right now, and I may very well be able to get it for less than $50! If I do, watch out, because I will be making lagers like it is going out of style. ETA: 1 month

One of the biggest pieces that I am thinking of right now is an all-grain set up, but this is going to be one serious long-term investment and saving project. The aforementioned fairy will be seriously watching this one for a while, as the cost will be between $2500-3000, so it is going to be taking a back seat for a while. ETA: TBD (Totally budget determined)

The last piece, which is something I keep getting told by other brewers is a way to make life seriously way more worth living, is a kegging system. This one I am really excited becasue this is going to be ramp up my ability to streamline my brewing and racking processes. Cost-wise, this is going to really slim me down to only having to clean/sanitize brewing equipment and the kegs themselves. Here is the real value: NO MORE BOTTLES (unless I draft some beer off for a present). The cost of this one is a bit high, but it pays me back really quickly. At $250, plus the cost of the CO2 charging, it is a small investment that I'm more than happy to explore. ETA: Maybe for my birthday in December (Hint Hint)?

There are tons of little things I would add to this, but this is where my mind is at for the future with larger items.

More updates with Feelin' It Pilsner to follow!

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Update 1: I got the new 6.5 gal and what was supposed to be a 5 gal. Well, the source ended up sending a 6 gal instead, which I'm not going to complain about. After a nice strong rinse with some PBW and StarSan, these boys are ready to go!

Beers In Progress & Updates

Greetings once again friends! Here are the new tidbits of joy about my pursuit of brewing great beer and becoming one of the lucky few to do what they love.

I am definately getting more comfortable with my brewing, and I'm starting to think long term. What does long term mean? Along the lines of potential locations for a brewery (my mind is focused on old brick buildings, a water wheel or by a creak would be icing on my cake). I am also starting to decide on potential names for my brewery, which Coren is helping with. I'm so picky about the details, but I know it will come to me when I'm ready.

I also just got 2 more carboys in the mail (massive discounts make me a happy boy). The next options I have been debating over is another point of contention. I have mulled over the Scorched Earth Ale, a black IPA (Coren's making this as her first beer, so news to follow soon), a Belgian Dunkelwiess, a stout, a barleywine, and an Oktoberfest. Well, it just so happens I just finished up my recipe for Loose Lederhosen Oktoberfest, so I think it is a safe bet that will be one item to use up one carboy. As if the timing was fated, my pilsner is FINALLY going into bottles, so I will have yet another carboy up for grabs (decisions decisions). Coren's black IPA will be one for sure, but that still leaves one more. I do want to start planning out Plowed Porter for brewing, but since the inspiration for that was Coren, it only seems fair to have her involved in its development, so I may need to wait about 2 months for the season to be right.

That leaves me with a single carboy to use, and I think the Dunkelwiess will be the one I look to next. I'm open to suggestions, but I'm trying to do this in a evolutionary style. Challenges are not something to be avoided, so bring on any and all comments you have here or on Facebook.

That is all I have for now, but stay tuned for more news to come, including some surprises when we get closer to the fall and winter!

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!

Loose Lederhosen Oktoberfest

Well, I've gone and done it again. I took the advice of some brewer buddies and some friends and this is the new recipe: Loose Lederhosen Oktoberfest.

It is a classic style Marzen, with Munich & Vienna malts, and uses Hallertau & Tettnanger hops for bittering and Tettnanger for aroma.

I am really excited about this one, and plan on brewing it as soon as I get the missing piece: a proper lagering chiller. I may have zeroed in on a sweet wine cooler that can do 45-65, which I can always drop even lower by adding some ice. Once I get this part figured (working on a lead via Craigslist), I will be brewing.

It is going to hit, potentially these stats:

Original Gravity:

1.056

Final Gravity:

1.014

ABV (standard):

5.55%

IBU (tinseth):

20.77

SRM (morey):

10.41

As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!