Quest for Beer

Somewhere along this quest I found people -or should I say misfits of like minds. The point became very apparent "this is not about beer!" ..not about capability, defiance, or my own delusions. The opportunity is about living with purpose seeking ones passion and simply just being. The quest for me is re-birthing faith. I find I am less productive and just a wreck outside of community. The current apparatus is brewing beer before now I was into audiophilia, vinyl, roasting coffee, and just plain working. However, I have a low alcohol tolerance and would rather not practice drunkenness. The fear is a regard for holiness. The connection is thin but one must draw the line, tap-out at some point. Integrity is on the line, dignity and long-term addiction. I digressed -back to the sense of community. I make beer and because I can. The obsession consumes my thoughts. I seek self control. I have cut back the desire to brew. I am learning the community is greater than its product. A sense of belonging, sharing, giving, being loved by, and equipped is greater than what is consumed/produced. I am working with the liquid muse at the moment I am harvesting yeast from bottles. I have seen some success in this hobby. Moreover, I am surrounded by great friends -like minds obsessed creatives.

Professional brewing immersion course with CH.   

Audiophile listening session with JJ & DS.   

Yeast Harvesting with bottle dregs.   

Works Cited:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+21:34
http://domras.homebrewcomp.com/domras/Results.htm
http://www.boredpanda.com/must-see-powerful-photos/
http://imgur.com/7ZOJI

Brew-Rig Pit Stop

Maintenance is sometimes overlooked in home brewing operations. Time allocated to repair is not as critical for the hobbyist. I have done a better job cleaning keggerator beer lines and racking beers than servicing burners. The propane burners for the rig are rusted. They have seen many boil overs thus clogging the air/gas mixing ports. Deconstructing and cleaning should restore mixing ratios allowing for a cleaner flame. Taking the burner apart is simple one screw passes through the burner to the heat shield. Scrapping out the gunk with a wire brush will also extent the burners life. I plan to upgrade to Bayou Classic Banjo burners when the turkey fryer burners rust to pieces. Going natural gas would be nice but for now I like the portability of propane brewing.

The rusted propane burner   

Cleared clogs with wire brush   

While in MRO mode I also emptied the keggerator for cleaning. Using a submersion pump line cleaner is run through to break up beer stones followed by an extended rinse cycle. I also pump sanitizer through then allow everything to dry before reloading.

Beer line cleaning: Sanitizing Cycle   

Born On Date

Milling grains for the Last Brewday of 2013   

The last brew for the year is fermenting nicely. I am pondering brewing for 2014 while mourning the loss of my mom. Born on September 15th it seemed quite fitting to pull from the cellar her born on date. This beer is great, well carbonated, and chilled. I am convinced mom would love it. As for the brew schedule I'm planning to shift focus to clean fermented Lagers and Ales. The beers most people drink. I have been on a quest to understand and create wild beers and sours. These are the least consumed beers of the entire market. Judging from my cellar they have taken over. I'd like to keep this under control and more refined next year. The sour pipeline will be limited to two brews. I will start working on a Flanders Red and keep the House Guest going. The remaining brews will be easy drinking beers. The challenge will be getting more flavor with less malt. It will also be nice to have beer on tap that needs no introduction. I'm looking forward to the coming year. Having bottled what remains in kegs I have some brewing to do. Thanks for your support!

Birthday Beer Born On 09.15.2012   

Sour Beer Fermented with Cherries   

Bottled Remains of Black Cherry Kriek   

Of Art & Beer

What you see in this photo is not beer. It is art a sculpture created to free the imagination. The work Untitled 1968 by Robert Grosvenor is installed at the OMI Sculpture Park.   

This year was like a slow climb with fear. The vantage point a paradox shift: learn the politics and embrace the landing. Serving as 2013 President of North Texas Home Brewers Association has taught me to fear no beer, mead, or cider. Being pressed down and measured has yielded joy along with friendship, trust, perseverance and patience. This practice returns some reward what remains are strong ties between family and the ever present support of friends.

2013 Competitions:
Dry Stout - Bluebonnet Brew Off - 1st Place
Black Cherry St James Kriek - Alamo City Cerveza Fest - 1st Place
American Farmhouse St James Saison - Lunar Rendezbrew - 3rd Place
Black Cherry Mead - Lunar Rendezbrew - 3rd Place
Straight Unblended Lambic - Limbo Challenge - 3rd Place
German Dinklebier - O'Zapft Is! - 3rd Place
Ocotberfest - O'Zapft Is! - 1st Place

Works Cited:
http://www.aaqeastend.com/contents/omi-international-arts-center-the-fields/
http://www.artomi.org/
http://www.aaqeastend.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/IMG_9879-940x627.jpg
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn

Vote for Homebrewer of the Year

When you are voting no one peeks at your ballot. Yet, everyone wants to know what's going into your home brew. Given the freedom of information act our 44th President was asked the same question. What are you home brewing? Later the Obama Administration released two beer recipes a Honey Ale and a Honey Porter.

Homebrewers around the country are now brewing versions of these White House Ales. As a home brewer myself it's nice to see the president brewing. Now that it's election day I wonder who I would cast as Home Brewer of the Year. The Obama administration is on the ballot but after spending National Learn to Homebrew Day brewing & teaching answering questions; I see people are missing the details.


I answered questions new brewers have when thinking of all grain brewing. What kind of equipment is needed? What temperature should I mash at? Those questions were easy: hold the mash at 150F for 60 minutes in a large pot, pull out the bag of grains, boil with hops for 60 minutes then cool with a chiller. The equipment needed is dependent on the batch size, and brewing process. Noone asked about fermentation, yeast pitch control, or aging.

People peeked into the kettles searching for a recipe. I was brewing an American Stout. Not one person asked how the sweet wort would transform into beer. We chatted brewing politics about malts & hops forgetting how it would convert. My plan was to work with Scottish ale yeast for its esters and residual sweetness. I would ferment hoping that the hop additions would pair nicely with malt. If all went well the batch would yield a well hopped American Stout with an foreign export quality. The brewday ended with me questioning other brewers. I was looking for ways to speed up my process. Cooling, cleanup, and transferring take more time than necessary. I am thinking the next upgrade will be a heat safe pump for mash vorlauf and whirlpool cooling.

BTW, I received a care package containing a t-shirt and two sour brews. I am looking forward to using yeast from the House Saison. SSF, Thank You! +1 Homebrewer of the Year Nominee

Yellow Dog, Black Dog

For those in the know consider a man's best friend while I consider life as a brewmaster. Confined to the garage I am a homebrewer making tiny 5-10 gallon batches. While making small scale beer I have rebellious freedom to brew what I want. When DS asked that I produce something for Capital Audiofest I was inclined to brew something new. I picked his two dogs as a source for inspiration.

Yellow dog the mischievous Labrador Retriever seemed to have its way with packing materials. I would brew a hop forward American Wheat a style DS does not typically drink.

Appearance:
Usually pale yellow to gold. Clarity may range from brilliant (kristallweizen) to hazy with yeast. Big, long-lasting white head.

Flavor:
Light to moderately strong grainy wheat, which can linger into the finish. May have a moderate malty sweetness or finish quite dry. Low to moderate hop bitterness, which sometimes lasts into the finish. Low to moderate hop flavor citrusy American or spicy/floral noble. Esters can be moderate to none. No clove phenols, although a light spiciness from wheat is acceptable. May have a slightly crisp or sharp finish. No diacetyl.

Mouthfeel:
Medium-light to medium body. Medium-high to high carbonation. May have a light alcohol warmth in stronger examples.

Overall Impression:
Refreshing wheat beers that can display more hop character and less yeast character than their German cousins.

Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) style guide for American Wheat beers. Yellow dog has these characteristics but is more like a witbier.
| 5.1% ABV

Black dog the consistent Rottweiler seemed stern but approachable. I would brew low gravity Porter approaching the Stout style. The lower hops would be more agreeable with DS.

Flavor:
A roasted malt character with notes of coffee in the finish. Medium not overly malty has the impression of dark chocolate. Hop flavor it low balances roasted malt flavors. Diacetyl low to none. Fruity esters low to none.

Mouthfeel:
Medium-light to medium body smooth with medium carbonation

Overall Impression:
Very dark with roasted bready notes accented by coffee or chocolate.

Notes from a beer of my own creation. Black dog is a porter with some roasted barley.
| 5.3% ABV

Once the ales reached proper carbonation DS found transportation. I am waiting to hear back from the show.

Works Cited:
http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style06.php#1d

BrewRiot 2012

This year I had the opportunity to server at Brew Riot 2012. I heard about neighborhood beerfest from fellow homebrewers. All of which were preparing beers for competitive donation. The preface was homebrewers and pro-brewers battling for bragging rights. The event benefits Dallas' revitalization of the Bishops Art's District. Divided into two sections everyone has a vote. The formal panel of judges selected winning entries based on beer style while the people's choice award is cast by marble. The team collecting the most marbles wins. The challenge for each team is to offer a wide varying of great beer.

This year I served beer with team Homebrew Headquaters. The decision to join was by happenstance. I was chatting with the team lead who happened to need some help. We decided my Wild & Bretted Bier De Garde would go well with their collection of fresh beer.

Preky Porter: Coffee Porter
White Summer: Witbier
BlackmanBrew: Bier De Garde
AHT: Pale Ale
Agent Orange: Soda Pop
Nice Pear: Pear Cider

Wednesday to Sunday was enough time prep the keg. I needed to crash it as much as possible then jumper for transportation. Onto the keg lees I racked a blended saison that tuned out peppery and malty. In the coming months the base beer should present a considerable amount of fermented hay with a balanced sour.

A brettanomyces beer with wild yeast is not for everyone. While serving people had love and hate responses. Wine drinkers were partially interested while farmhouse analysts slowly lost their marbles. I noticed the beer had less earth in the nose post crashing. The finish was smoother as well; however lower carbonation and more malt.

I spent the day behind the booth serving others with short trips to the Atticus Fonzworth Brewing behind us. They were serving an Extra Foreign Stout which caught my attention. My first pour of the day was a Jack Daniels barrel aged Triple by the Dallas Brewing Company. What a treat. I'm glad I had it early otherwise the delicate Belgian profile would be lost. I visited Dallas Home Brew for two pours of loving a 25% Rye Sasion and German Alt. Hats off to the rye it was just shy of sticky on the palette. There was one other booth visited but I'd fail to say I've forgotten.

Press Links:
http://sidedish.dmagazine.com/2012/05/21/beer-photos-brew-riot-2012-in-the-bishop-arts-district/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/brewriot/

Benevolent Offerings

A benevolent offering is usually collected specifically for those in need seeking assistance from the church. In this case The Church of Hi-Fi Audio Saints has shown benelovence for my 2012 series of homebrewed beers. The audio church is an assembly of do-it-yourself audio junkies who gather once a year in Dallas to showcase their creations. The event is open to storefront vendors and commercial audio as well.

I am family with the DIY crowd and so it made sense to offer handcrafted homebrewed beer in celebration of exotic audio. I had prepared a Trappist Rye, an aged Porter, and a Nutty Brown ale. The very promising Trappist Rye was youngest of the bunch. Brewed one month prior it's moderate Belgian phenols and rye spicy presence would be best in the coming months. The ale was force carbonated on-site while on lookers snapped photos of the keg shaking. The nutty brown was a hit for all who wanted an easy drinking beer. The porter was 9.6% ABV with a sneaky dark lightly roasted profile. Of the many who sampled I was glad to be in the company of highly capable geeks who happened to enjoy my offerings.  Thanks for your loving support!

CB2

Cold Box 2 is a used chest freezer complete with a wood collar. The build was a continued effort to confine my beers to the garage. This is spring cleaning for the brewery. My expiring beers have been purged and I've blended a series of saison brews into one keg. The blend was a balance of peppery phenols with a heavier malt presence. I added some sugar and a fresh round of yeast. This should allow the beer to finish dry and refreshing. I'm planing to revive the aroma by dry hopping. The art of blending is often missed in homebrewing. I suppose much of the beer is consumed or not worth the effort of storing. While commercial brewers often blend batches for consistency and quality control.

The new beer is fermenting. I pulled the spear from a sanke keg and used a #10 stopper with an airlock. The locking ring required a small pointed object to dislodge. I used some clamps to compress the ball valve while removing. Be sure to lay the keg on its side to empty the contents.

Patron Saint In Prague

When I found out my brother was visiting Prague for the weekend I pleaded for photos and beer. The photos he knew well but the subject of beer would be an adventure. Described as a conservative lag I was asking him to return with less than religious spoils. The region of Czech is well known for their hops, the use of Pilsen malt, and lagers. I wanted to sample fresh commercial beer. The charge was left open. I would remain happy with just photos from the trip.

Patron Saints are believed to be able to intercede effectively for the needs of their special charges.

Master 13° brewed by Plzensky Prazdroj is a semi-dark amber with brilliant clarity and caramel complex aroma. At 5.2% ABV there is enough hops to stretch into the finish for a caramelized toasted malt flavor. Quality is clean leaving no trace of phenols. Master 13° is a well balanced amber colored Czech beer boiled with fewer hops than Pilsner Urquell.


Pardubicky Porter from the Pardubice brewery has been around since 1871. This is Czech Republic’s premiere Baltic Porter. The flavor is deep fig with a velvety sweetness maybe black strap molasses. The pour is a deep ruby brown. The hops are low. Full to medium in body the finish is shy of sweet.

I received a five pack of beer, a souvenir stein, and an engraved shot glass. Even more awesome are the two beers above each were a malty lesson on hop usage. Unlike the late flavor and dry hoped American beers these focused malt quality. The hop presence was from early bittering hops at low additions. I also noted and clean biscuit touch on the palette which may be a well modified English Pale Malt.

una mas cerveza

I'm finding great joy in the small victories of life. Like making new friends of old acquaintances. The moment of truth is we are all sometimes full of ourselves: prideful, arrogant, or staunch. Only when we are in need do we change fate. I am speaking to myself. I've often walked into a bar full of strangers and drank in silence. Other than an occasional plea "una mas cerveza" I reserved my neighbor's right of self indulgence. Enjoy a beer. Un-tie. Relax. The open bar atmosphere is fun for the occasion. I was in CoCo Bongo of all places. The well shots were galore and the lite-lagers came pour after pour. Sinking into life I found conversation. My neighbor and I worked at the same company. We traveled together yet moved in different circles. The trip a team building measure allowed us shared laughs. We established new business, closed old ties, and enjoyed the show. CoCo Bongo is one hell of a party!

Year End Review

Unloaded the cellar of small batch experimental brews and decided to make words of them. Their recipes called for rye, peated malt, hops, and a wide range of yeast. Of the beers sampled five were artisanal sours along with five standards. Two will be carried forward as full sized brews the others reworked. I’ve become obsessed note taking below are my comments.

Rye grass aroma with no hops includes some spicy clove character. Flavor is rye forward tangy and tart with medium light body. Rye malt slickness remains in the finish.

Fields of hot grass aroma with a light earthiness. Flavor is complex with deep sun kissed tart citrus. The finish puckers but goes down well.

Lacking carbonation yielding a sweet malt forward aroma. The essence is sour with a light bubble gum ester. Flavor is pleasant and non-offensive. As a farmhouse ale the finish is medium and gentle.

Lacto nose with a hint of malt aroma. There are some detectable caramel notes but this ale needs more time and lacks complexity.

Heavy hop aroma with no supporting malt. An easy drinking beer lacking body. Flavor is one-note but the finish is crisp. (Approach the next brew with more malt for addition body and aroma.)

Belgian styled ale with spice sour notes more than lacto. The body is medium with puckering finish. Exceptional and highly drinkable.

Sweet malt aroma heavy on the peat. Caramelized malt flavor with well balanced body.
(Clean up the flavor profile brew again.)

Low hop aroma. Highly drinkable session beer with a slight huskiness.

Low noble hop aroma with lightly fruity esters. Pilsner malt flavor with balanced approach to bittering hops. (Brew again offering more aroma.)

Caramel malt aroma notes with low to no hop presence. Flavor is bitter with cumbersome German ale finish.

Stuck Mash

A white-pasty-oatmeal-mucus brought my brewday to a halt. It formed under the false bottom during the mash. Attempts to clear the dip tube by piping, pumping, flushing, and forced air were to no avail. The entire grist was transferred to a secondary mash tun. Thus adding an additional hour to my all grain brewing process. With a willingness to "wing it" I had a wort which could also double as Maibock and a starter for a complex farmhouse Saison. I had every intention to produce a flawless styled Saison. After the transfer I forged ahead boiling and cooling. The brew a Farmhouse Specialty ale is currently fermenting.

The brewday also marked my anniversary as a home brewer to celebrate I pulled a gift from SSF of OverCarbed.com. The Local Mead was created one year prior. Therefore fitting the occasion. I recovered from an extended brewday with this craft honey wine.

The pour presented as a still cloudy blond with sweet aroma. Escaping with the aroma the was warm yeast with floral notes. The finish was dry with a touch of wild flower. I liked its mouth feel coating and sweet. Unlike malt honey is lighter on the tongue. I had found inspiration to brew its rival thus ending the brewday on a good note.

North Texas Homebrewers Association

Time to step it up and join the ranks of organized home brewers. My local club the North Texas Homebrewers Association –NTHBA.org has a long standing membership of great brewers. The club has been around since 1985. Last year I joined to receive the brewers discounts and could be seen hovering around meetings sampling homebrew. The social aspect helped me find comfort as a homebrewer. This group of like minded friends has been a blessing. In 2012 I'll serve as club secretary. The note taking and editorial responsibilities will be made fun. We are expecting to be the best home brewing club around. I’ve started with my own alias.

"TheMacheteMasher" shall be my moniker.
Yes, I mash with a machete. The idea arrived out of necessity during a brewday and I have been slicing the grist ever since. The ladies and gents of NTHBA have seen my random and experimental style of brewing. I’d like to think I’m making better beer and learning along the way. The masters of style are insisting I brew within BJCP guidelines and practice consistently.

I’ll continue working with my Kolsch recipe. I would like to see it brilliantly clear. The fruitiness is spot on but the color could be lighter on the SRM scale. The next piece of work will be the my Saison. I’ve stumbled for precision but every Saison I’ve brewed has its demons: excessive body, low phenols, overly hopped, etc. The Saison style is forgiving of such but I’d like a more repeatable process. As for the experimental brews I’ll continue hacking with random yeast. The goal is to have fun while brewing.

Bottling Day

Running low on keg space and needing to clear out some kegs approaching empty today was a day of bottling. Rather than taking a dreaded approach I've prepared to gift these bottles to the people who encourage my efforts. The Christmas season of giving is here so if you've made the list enjoy and let me know what you think.

My process for bottling has simplified meaning I don't unless it's needed. My beers are finished in the keg and goes into bottles as inventory control. I've thought of corking and aging but I've not geared up. The 750ml bottles seem great for the specialty sours and experimental brews. They require greater patience than my kegged beers also corking is an extension of this elegance. A secondary plus using larger bottles saves time on bottling day. The 12 ounce bottles are more laborious: wash in the sink, sanitize in a deep pot, fill in a shallow pot, then cap with a crown. The overflowing remains are captured as elixir for my toil. I like to think of it as a sustainable measure lowering the brewhouse carbon footprint.