Date: November 2012
Vermont Pride: The Green Mountain Mashers
Digital and Plus Members OnlyOur most exciting event so far was last year when we brewed a wee heavy in tribute to Greg. We chose the wee heavy because Greg literally wrote the book on Scotch ales for the Classic Beer Styles series.
Wine Barrel Table: Give an old barrel a new life
Digital and Plus Members OnlyIf you ever come across a discarded barrel . . . here is a great use for it. Get step by step instructions to build a table from a used wine barrel.
Crystallization: Forming the ice in your eisbock, baby
Digital and Plus Members OnlyTo make a good eisbock (or any other kind of ice beer) it is helpful to have a good understanding of how ice crystals form, and to be able to effectively manage crystal formation within the beer.
Captured By Porches Brewing Co.
Digital and Plus Members OnlyDear Replicator,My homebrewing partner recently brought me back a few bottles of local beers from Portland, Oregon that we can’t get in Colorado. One of the most interesting beers was a porter from an oddly named brewery, Captured by Porches. It was their Punctured by Corpses Undead Porter. I’m a fan of a good porter
Temperature Controllers
FREEOne of the most important processes to control in your homebrewery is the temperature of your wort and beer. Here is a rundown on temperature controllers.
Electric Homebrew: Go gas free
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThere are more than a few ways to brew a beer, and one of those ways is with an all-electric homebrewery. if you are considering moving away from propane, take some advice from two dedicated all-electric homebrewers.
Jamil’s American Barleywine
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThe balance of bittering versus malt sweetness should always be toward the bitter, but expect the beer to become more and more balanced as the beer ages and the bittering drops out.
American Barleywine: Aged in the USA
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAmerican barleywine is rich and strong. It has a big malt flavor and aggressive hopping, but it still has a balance between the malt character and hop character.
Poe’s Boston Bitter
Digital and Plus Members Only“Fill with mingled cream and amber, I will drain that glass again. Such hilarious visions clamber through the chambers of my brain. Quaintest thoughts – queerest fancies, come to life and fade away: What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today.”
– Edgar Allan Poe
Old Cthulhiar (a.k.a. Very Old And Very Peculiar)
Digital and Plus Members Only(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.078 FG = 1.017IBU = 41 SRM = 32 ABV = 7.8% Ingredients13 lbs. (5.9 kg) British pale ale malt8.0 oz. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)2.0 oz. (57 g) crystal malt (120 °L)5.0 oz. (0.14 kg) aromatic malt3.0 oz. (85 g) chocolate malt2.0 oz. (57 g) black malt3.0 oz.
Greg Noonan Memorial Wee Heavy
Digital and Plus Members Only(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.083 FG = 1.019IBU = 29 SRM = 20 ABV = 8.3% Ingredients13.75 lbs. (6.2 kg) Maris Otter malt0.75 lbs. (0.34 kg) Carapils® malt0.25 lbs. (0.11) roast barley malt1.25 lbs. (0.6 kg) Munich malt0.2 lbs. (91 g) Belgian Special B0.5 oz./14 g Magnum whole hops (60 min.)0.33 oz./9.4 g Goldings
Proper Racking Techniques
Digital and Plus Members OnlyFortunately for homebrewers there are convenient ways to move beer around without ruining your homebrewed suds with the ill effects associated with oxygen. As you mention in your question, one handy method to help reduce oxygen pick-up during racking is by using carbon dioxide as a blanketing gas. While this method is handy, it does