Saturday, December 25, 2010
Bottling Rick's Red
So you know what this means, don't you? Rick's Red is finished, just in time for Santa to grab one! If you are a member, you're guaranteed some! I got to taste a little as I was siphoning it off and it's gonna be a good one!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Rick's Red
 |
| Putting the cooled wort and yeast into the carboy |
Monday, December 13, 2010
Appreciating Beer, Part Deux
Beer is fascinating because of the many different flavors and varieties available. Even in the Pale Ale category, a Stone Pale Ale is going to be very very different from a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale or a Ballast Point Pale Ale (all extremely delicious and some of my favorites). So when you're tasting a beer, how can you compare it to other beers you've tried. Some breweries give you stats on the side of the bottle or on the packaging somewhere, but for most people, all you know how to read is ABV - the alcohol content, and you only understand that because of how it relates to wine. "Um okay it's ABV 4%... that's like a quarter cup of wine". It would be very sad if beer was always compared to the stranger called wine, and not to members of its own family. So, I will teach you some of the basics of what different beer stats mean!
OG/FG
These terms stand for "Original Gravity" and "Final Gravity", respectively. Basically, gravity is a word that measures the density of the beer as compared to pure water (1.000 constant). The OG is measured before the yeast is added, and the FG is measured after the yeast is added, seeing how well a weighted thermometer type thing floats in your beer. The reason for this is you want to measure first of all how thick and dense your beer was before you added yeast (how much barley sugar it contained, basically how much body and potential alcohol content your beer has) compared to how dense it was after it fermented. The difference between these two numbers shows you how much sugar was turned to alcohol by the yeast. For example, let's say you get an OG reading of 1.060 and an FG reading of 1.014. You know from reading that that the beer lost a pretty good amount of weight through conversion to alcohol. The OG and FG correspond pretty directly to the ABV, as you'll read about soon.
IBU
"International Bitterness Units". Basically a measurement of how bitter the beer is. I'm not sure how they calculate this number, but it is basically a measurement of how bitter the hops in the beer are. Hops are a highly aromatic seasoning that when boiled, become bitter. The longer you boil them, the less aromatic and the more bitter they are. IBU 5 would be not bitter at all. IBU 120 would rip your face off. For example, in between are light lagers (IBU 8-12), pale ales (IBU 30-40), and IPA's (IBU 40-70).
SRM
"Standard Reference Method". Basically, this is the color of your beer measured in number. The color of your beer has nothing to do with how heavy or alcoholic it is. That is covered in the OG, FG and ABV. The color is solely based on how dark they roasted the grain and how much of it is in there, maybe. The number scale goes kinda like this: SRM 1-5: pale. SRM 6-12: golden. SRM 13-19: amber. SRM 20-30: brown. SRM 30-40: dark. SRM 40+: black.
ABV
"alcohol by volume". This is your standard alcohol measurement that you are probably familiar with. Beer usually falls in the 4%-6% range, but most delicious beers wander way outside of that range. Most of Pillbox Ales fall in the 6.5%-10% range. Beers above 11% are usually classified as barleywine because their alcohol content is in the range of wine. You'll notice that beers with higher ABV are served in smaller servings, partly because bars are concerned for your sobriety (doubtful), but mostly because beers with high ABVs are more expensive to make. The more alcohol in the beer, the more grain it took to make it.
Now that you know a little more about beer stats, cruise on over to my PAST BREWS page and look at the stats of my beers. Pay attention to the statistics breweries give you on their beers and take note of which ones you like and WHY. You are now a smarter human.
OG/FG
These terms stand for "Original Gravity" and "Final Gravity", respectively. Basically, gravity is a word that measures the density of the beer as compared to pure water (1.000 constant). The OG is measured before the yeast is added, and the FG is measured after the yeast is added, seeing how well a weighted thermometer type thing floats in your beer. The reason for this is you want to measure first of all how thick and dense your beer was before you added yeast (how much barley sugar it contained, basically how much body and potential alcohol content your beer has) compared to how dense it was after it fermented. The difference between these two numbers shows you how much sugar was turned to alcohol by the yeast. For example, let's say you get an OG reading of 1.060 and an FG reading of 1.014. You know from reading that that the beer lost a pretty good amount of weight through conversion to alcohol. The OG and FG correspond pretty directly to the ABV, as you'll read about soon.
IBU
"International Bitterness Units". Basically a measurement of how bitter the beer is. I'm not sure how they calculate this number, but it is basically a measurement of how bitter the hops in the beer are. Hops are a highly aromatic seasoning that when boiled, become bitter. The longer you boil them, the less aromatic and the more bitter they are. IBU 5 would be not bitter at all. IBU 120 would rip your face off. For example, in between are light lagers (IBU 8-12), pale ales (IBU 30-40), and IPA's (IBU 40-70).
SRM
"Standard Reference Method". Basically, this is the color of your beer measured in number. The color of your beer has nothing to do with how heavy or alcoholic it is. That is covered in the OG, FG and ABV. The color is solely based on how dark they roasted the grain and how much of it is in there, maybe. The number scale goes kinda like this: SRM 1-5: pale. SRM 6-12: golden. SRM 13-19: amber. SRM 20-30: brown. SRM 30-40: dark. SRM 40+: black.
ABV
"alcohol by volume". This is your standard alcohol measurement that you are probably familiar with. Beer usually falls in the 4%-6% range, but most delicious beers wander way outside of that range. Most of Pillbox Ales fall in the 6.5%-10% range. Beers above 11% are usually classified as barleywine because their alcohol content is in the range of wine. You'll notice that beers with higher ABV are served in smaller servings, partly because bars are concerned for your sobriety (doubtful), but mostly because beers with high ABVs are more expensive to make. The more alcohol in the beer, the more grain it took to make it.
Now that you know a little more about beer stats, cruise on over to my PAST BREWS page and look at the stats of my beers. Pay attention to the statistics breweries give you on their beers and take note of which ones you like and WHY. You are now a smarter human.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Wassailweizen - DONE!
The Wassailweizen is done! All members have their bottles and membership packages set aside, ready for pick-up/delivery. If you want it soon, come pick it up at my home! If you can handle waiting a little, I will be dropping them off as soon as I can.
I bought that secondary carboy I promised and will now be able to make better beer... and more of it! I also ordered ingredients for Pillbox's next brew: RICK'S RED. Rick is one of our stout members and designed an Irish Red Ale. I ordered the ingredients on Friday and they should be here soon. I'll begin brewing it as soon as possible and hopefully have another batch done by New Years! I can't wait to share it with all of you!
I bought that secondary carboy I promised and will now be able to make better beer... and more of it! I also ordered ingredients for Pillbox's next brew: RICK'S RED. Rick is one of our stout members and designed an Irish Red Ale. I ordered the ingredients on Friday and they should be here soon. I'll begin brewing it as soon as possible and hopefully have another batch done by New Years! I can't wait to share it with all of you!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
More Members Than I Know What To Do With
See over there on the left?
That's all the members who are signed up. You see, I brew in small 5 gallon batches, which comes out to about 8 6-packs. The problem is that most of these people want a 6-pack for every batch. With 13 members and counting, I'm 5 6-packs short every batch.
So I have decided I just need to brew a ton more beer.
I'm going to buy a secondary carboy. Thank you members! This is exactly the kind of problem I was hoping for, one that would force me and enable me to make more beer for more people who love it. I will still make unique, delicious ales in small batches but I'll be able to potentially make twice as much! Yes! Please consider becoming a member. There's lots of beer to get in on!
New membership options naturally occur, so just tell me how much beer you want and I'll point you to a package or custom design one for you. The first membership batch, the Wassailweizen, will be going out soon, so sign up now!
Happily,
Brendan
That's all the members who are signed up. You see, I brew in small 5 gallon batches, which comes out to about 8 6-packs. The problem is that most of these people want a 6-pack for every batch. With 13 members and counting, I'm 5 6-packs short every batch.
So I have decided I just need to brew a ton more beer.
I'm going to buy a secondary carboy. Thank you members! This is exactly the kind of problem I was hoping for, one that would force me and enable me to make more beer for more people who love it. I will still make unique, delicious ales in small batches but I'll be able to potentially make twice as much! Yes! Please consider becoming a member. There's lots of beer to get in on!
New membership options naturally occur, so just tell me how much beer you want and I'll point you to a package or custom design one for you. The first membership batch, the Wassailweizen, will be going out soon, so sign up now!
Happily,
Brendan
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Appreciating Beer
(I know this is a long blog. If you're not into that, skip down to the "Brown bottles = good" section)
Wine is seen as a high-class drink because people think wine has so many intricate flavors that only the very well educated are able to appreciate. I find it hard to believe that most people REALLY taste the difference between a syrah and a cab. I mean come on, be honest.
Beer is seen as the everyman's drink. Beer is for people who don't care about the intricacies offered by wine and who just want that robust, bubbly, hoppy, grainy taste. So they open up a can of Budlight and figure that's the best it's ever gonna get. The most marketed beers are the most popular. Corona, Budweiser, Newcastle, Miller, and Coors are the only options most people choose from even though they taste like urine if we're all honest. So if a person likes dark colored beer, they list Newcastle as their favorite beer of all time. My friends, this should not be so. Instead of throwing out a list of beers that are good you ought to try, let me just give you a vision and an education for good beer. You see, beer can be as much of a "high-class" experience as wine, you just have to know about it.
I will write a series of blogs containing my thoughts on how to appreciate beer as an art. Here's a tip to start you out.
BROWN BOTTLES = GOOD
CLEAR, GREEN and BLUE BOTTLES = BAD
A simple way of choosing good beer at the store is to look for beer in brown bottles. It shouldn't be hard - most beer is found in brown bottles. Avoid clear bottles (corona, newcastle) and green bottles (heineken, stella artois).
The reason is that beer can be chemically altered by blue light rays in a matter of minutes. The blue light creates a chemical reaction in beer, the product of which is the same chemical found in skunk spray. Gross. You don't notice it because that's what you think beer just tastes like. But next time you open up a corona, think of a skunk and you'll notice this time. Why do you think they advertise adding a lime to the beer? The citric acid counteracts that aroma. There's no hiding it, it's still gross. Brown bottles protect the beer from harmful rays so you're ensured better tasting beer. Not all beer in brown bottles is good beer, but at least it probably won't be skunked.
These companies know that this is bad for the beer. The reason they use these non-brown bottles is solely for marketing. If they can get the beer to look more appealing to you, you're more likely to buy it. Don't support a company that forfeits quality. Now you know better and you can begin enjoying better-tasting beer!
More advice on how to be an educated beer drinker to come...
Wine is seen as a high-class drink because people think wine has so many intricate flavors that only the very well educated are able to appreciate. I find it hard to believe that most people REALLY taste the difference between a syrah and a cab. I mean come on, be honest.
Beer is seen as the everyman's drink. Beer is for people who don't care about the intricacies offered by wine and who just want that robust, bubbly, hoppy, grainy taste. So they open up a can of Budlight and figure that's the best it's ever gonna get. The most marketed beers are the most popular. Corona, Budweiser, Newcastle, Miller, and Coors are the only options most people choose from even though they taste like urine if we're all honest. So if a person likes dark colored beer, they list Newcastle as their favorite beer of all time. My friends, this should not be so. Instead of throwing out a list of beers that are good you ought to try, let me just give you a vision and an education for good beer. You see, beer can be as much of a "high-class" experience as wine, you just have to know about it.
I will write a series of blogs containing my thoughts on how to appreciate beer as an art. Here's a tip to start you out.
BROWN BOTTLES = GOOD
CLEAR, GREEN and BLUE BOTTLES = BAD
A simple way of choosing good beer at the store is to look for beer in brown bottles. It shouldn't be hard - most beer is found in brown bottles. Avoid clear bottles (corona, newcastle) and green bottles (heineken, stella artois).
The reason is that beer can be chemically altered by blue light rays in a matter of minutes. The blue light creates a chemical reaction in beer, the product of which is the same chemical found in skunk spray. Gross. You don't notice it because that's what you think beer just tastes like. But next time you open up a corona, think of a skunk and you'll notice this time. Why do you think they advertise adding a lime to the beer? The citric acid counteracts that aroma. There's no hiding it, it's still gross. Brown bottles protect the beer from harmful rays so you're ensured better tasting beer. Not all beer in brown bottles is good beer, but at least it probably won't be skunked.
These companies know that this is bad for the beer. The reason they use these non-brown bottles is solely for marketing. If they can get the beer to look more appealing to you, you're more likely to buy it. Don't support a company that forfeits quality. Now you know better and you can begin enjoying better-tasting beer!
More advice on how to be an educated beer drinker to come...
Monday, November 15, 2010
First Tasting of Brew No. 11
Today Jono and I shared a bottle of our most recent brew, the Wassailweizen. It was a beautiful, cloudy light orange color. Since we bottled it last week, it had very little carbonation and no head. However, it was very cider-y, to the great enjoyment of our taste. The apple, cinnamon and clove came through very nicely! I will taste it in another week and see how it is then. This one has the potential to be a very delicious ale and may become your holiday favorite.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Magnetically Drawn to a Pillbox Membership
For those of you who need more incentive than frequent, delicious, homebrewed beer, all Pillbox Brewery Club members will be receiving a free Pillbox Brewery magnet! You know you want one.Memberships are fun! (and cheap):
Porter (6-pack of every batch) - $40
Stout (4 6-packs, one 12 pack of your own design) - $35
Amber (4 6-packs) - $20
IPA (2-packs of every batch) - $12
Pale Ale (email updates, club card, whimsical invites) - FREE
Email me or just send me a check with your name, address, and phone number!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Bottling the Wassailweizen
Today Jono and I bottled the much anticipated Wassailweizen! Here are some of the photos from our adventure along with some educational commentary on a process about which you may know nothing.To the left Jono is enjoying a taster of the pre-conditioned (non-carbonated) beer. It's always fun to try the beer at the early stages. It has alcohol and great flavor, but no carbonation. Although the beer always tastes premature at this stage, you get an idea of its potential. Jono compares it to seeing a child and imagining what they'll look like at 35.
This beer is super sweet and leaves you feeling as if you've just sipped cider. Cloves, cinnamon, apple, and orange flavors are all clearly present.
The first step to bottling your beer is getting the bottles clean. Because I recycle many of my beer bottles, we need to scrub the labels off, clean, rinse, and sanitize 50 bottles.
We add about 2/3 cup sugar to the beer, giving the yeast something to consume in the bottles. Their metabolic conversion produces ethanol and CO2 (alcohol and carbonation).
Following tradition, we had to take a break to enjoy our most recent brew, Jim Whitaker's Bitaker ESB. Delicious!
We fill each bottle carefully via that handy-dandy spigot. You want to leave about an inch of air space to allow for pressure change.
Sealing a cap on each bottle ensures sanitation and locks in the CO2 so that each beer is carbonated.
I hope you enjoyed learning about bottling! Hopefully I'll get to share one of these with you!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Membership Packages
**edited on Dec. 10, 2010 with current facts**
Good News!
Memberships to the Pillbox Brewery Brew Club are now available! Here are your options:
Stout Membership - $35 per year:
Amber Membership - $20 per year:
IPA Membership - $12 per year:
Pale Ale Membership - FREE:
Emails, updates, whimsical invitations to share a beer with me
A Pillbox Brewery member card, button pin, and poster
If you think of your own package, tell me what you want and we can work it out. Every member will be placed on an email list and given updates and invited to any of my brewing or bottling sessions. Also included in every membership is the option for free home-brewing lessons/collaboration.
If you would like to sign up, please send a check (or no check if you're doing the Pale Ale Membership) to
Pillbox Brewery at 433 2nd Street, Encinitas CA 92024 with the following information:
Name
Address
Phone number
Membership option
Good News!
Memberships to the Pillbox Brewery Brew Club are now available! Here are your options:
Russian Imperial Stout - $45 per year:
Your choice of 50 Pillbox Ales per year
Including one batch of your custom design
A Pillbox Brewery member card, magnet, newsletters and T-Shirt
Porter Membership - $40 per year:
Your choice of 50 Pillbox Ales per year
A Pillbox Brewery member card, magnet, newsletters and T-Shirt
Your choice of 40 Pillbox Ales per year
Including one batch of your custom design
A Pillbox Brewery member card, magnet, newsletters and T-Shirt
Amber Membership - $20 per year:
Your choice of 30 Pillbox Ales per year
A Pillbox Brewery member card, magnet, newsletters and T-Shirt
IPA Membership - $12 per year:
Your choice of 20 Pillbox Ales per year
A Pillbox Brewery member card, magnet, newsletters and T-Shirt
Pale Ale Membership - FREE:
Emails, updates, whimsical invitations to share a beer with me
A Pillbox Brewery member card, button pin, and poster
If you think of your own package, tell me what you want and we can work it out. Every member will be placed on an email list and given updates and invited to any of my brewing or bottling sessions. Also included in every membership is the option for free home-brewing lessons/collaboration.
If you would like to sign up, please send a check (or no check if you're doing the Pale Ale Membership) to
Pillbox Brewery at 433 2nd Street, Encinitas CA 92024 with the following information:
Name
Address
Phone number
Membership option
Brew No. 11: Wassailweizen
Inspired by Mrs. Lippman, this is going to be an amazing holiday beer! Imagine a delicious, sweet german hefeweizen walks into an alcoholic version of Mamma Lippman's holiday wassail. The result will be incredible!
Recipe:
6lb wheat DME
1lb british malted barley
1lb 40L malted barley
1lb carapils
1.5oz tettnaner hops @ 60mins
o.5oz tettnanger hops @ 17 mins
hefe yeast WLP300
0.5oz bitter orange peel
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tbs whole cloves
1 gallon apple juice
brewed: October 25, 2010
apple juice added: October 29th, 2010
bottled: not yet
stats: tbd
Recipe:
6lb wheat DME
1lb british malted barley
1lb 40L malted barley
1lb carapils
1.5oz tettnaner hops @ 60mins
o.5oz tettnanger hops @ 17 mins
hefe yeast WLP300
0.5oz bitter orange peel
2 tsps cinnamon
1 tbs whole cloves
1 gallon apple juice
brewed: October 25, 2010
apple juice added: October 29th, 2010
bottled: not yet
stats: tbd
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