Sake log (take 2)

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021

Just keeping track of the initial sake experiments: Day 0 (2021-02-01) Preparing the rice. After a false start, I am planning to do things right. This time the rice will be soaked and steamed in preparation of day 1. 8pm – 2.5lbs of sweet, short-grain rice was rinsed and set up to soak overnight. It […]

Fresh Black Frost Fresh Black Frost

Friday, September 12th, 2014

Another version of the award-winning Black Frost. This time, with a fresh hop twist! The hops are in my yard and will be thrown in the boil minutes after they are picked. Since they are fresh, we will be using 4x the normal weight for a combined  total of 48oz. Recipe Specifics Style: 23 Specialty […]

Oatmeal, Buckwheat Stout Oatmeal, Buckwheat Stout

Thursday, May 22nd, 2014

Running low on stout … again. This recipe is based on the 16-ton stout, but scaled back for simplicity. There will only be 3 grain sources: barely, oats, and buckwheat. We need to think of a better name. Recipe Specifics Style: 13-C Oatmeal Stout Batch Size (Gal): 12.00 (for 10 bottled) Anticipated OG: 1.055 Anticipated […]

Scarlet fever Scarlet Fever (Beer)

Tuesday, January 14th, 2014

Let’s try something a little wild! This is based on Supplication by Russian River, but with significant alterations: Skip the carafa to keep the color light Use tart cherry concentrate. Easier to get and will turn it bright red! Use lacto from Nancy’s yogurt for a full sour without the bret funk! Plus the Nancy’s […]

Blackish Frost (CDA Experiment) Blackish Frost (CDA Experiment)

Monday, November 4th, 2013

It’s been a long, long while since we last brewed, but with the cold weather setting in I got the bug to do a spur-of-the-moment CDA. Instead of hitting the brew store, I literally scoured the basement for ingredients. There were many substitutions. Some of the grain was over year old – but still tasted fresh […]

Wil Wheat: Second Place

Thursday, June 14th, 2012

A few weeks back, I entered the Wil Wheat beer in a local competition. I knew that it was off-style when I created the recipe, but was interested in some feedback. Surprisingly it took “runner up”. The judging notes (below) reflect that it was a very well made brew – just too hoppy for a […]

Black Frost (An Epic CDA): v3 Black Frost (An Epic CDA): v3

Monday, May 28th, 2012

Our friend Joe has been really interested in brewing lately. In fact, he volunteered a bunch of time to help out during the Barrel Project brew day. We decided to get together and split a 12 gallon batch. Just by chance, Cascade hops went on sale. I grabbed 2 lbs and we decided to brew […]

Filling the barrel - oak aged beer project Filling the barrel – oak aged beer project

Tuesday, April 10th, 2012

Anyone want to join in on a brew project? My good friend Jamie picked up a full size Bourbon barrel. Now the plan is to fill it with Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Ale (clone) and let it oak age for a year. If you haven’t tried Rasputin, you really should – it’s a smooth, delicious […]

Another Cream Ale

Thursday, March 29th, 2012

I plan to brew a very high gravity beer in the near future – which will require a big yeast count. To get there, we need to brew a few lower gravity beers. This, along with the Wil Wheat should provide enough pacman cells for the big batch. Another Cream Ale? You bet. This stuff […]

2012 Slurp and Burp Open

Monday, March 12th, 2012

I have been brewing for a few years. Of course, if you read this blog, you probably already knew that. A large percentage of the posts revolve around brewing. A few weeks back, I submitted two beers to the Slurp and Burp Open – the largest home brew competition in the pacific northwest. My hope […]