Tag Archives: brewing

Happy New Year!

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New year, new beer!

What better way to ring in 2020 with a batch of hoppy APA. The fire was lit around noon and another hoppy creation was concocted. The last NEIPA turned out pretty well so we continued the same tropical hop profile. I think it may turn out a bit cloudy initially with the London Fog WLP but it’ll settle out in a week or so.

  • First look at the color
  • Flame-out and whirlpool additions

The sample of OG soon-to-be-beer sure smells like we didn’t screw it up. See you in a few weeks. Don’t worry, we’ll stuff some Sabro down your throat soon.

Hazy NEIPA on the horizon

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There must be some technical glitch on the site because it looks like I haven’t made a beer in two years. I think I missed one completely but in the past two years I’ve spent more time on the road than at home and brewing has taken a back burner. Fortunately I haven’t gone two years without drinking beer…

Back in the fight, I decided to take a crack at my current favorite variety. A juicy, hoppy, New England IPA. Roll your eyes all you beer snobs and complain that juicy is an incomplete adjective. I dusted off the equipment, cracked a cold one (the chef can’t die of thirst), and 10 oz of hops later (most late additions) we have something in the works.

Cream Ale in the works

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In an attempt to take advantage of a break in the action (my busy schedule), I made a leap and whipped up a version of an American Lager mixed with a Cream Ale. Hopefully I’ll be around to keg it and enjoy it…

The goal was something outside the standard beer types sitting around the house. Something light. Something cold. And something that could be enjoyed (en masse) on a hot summer day.

A stout is on the horizon

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Look! In the distance… I can see something… something dark and stormy lookin’

No better way to ring in the Thanksgiving holiday with a bunch of ho-made (wink) pretzels, some beer cheese dip, a glass of Novemberfest, and another 5 gallons of the good stuff. In these busy, tumultuous times remember beer is not the answer. Beer? is the question and the answer is “yes.”

Novemberfest: the newest of holidays

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Happy Oktoberfest Novemberfest! It’s what you celebrate when you miss the required beer birthday (or conception day?) for an Oktoberfest. Grind, mash, boil, hop, cool, and ferment. It’s that easy right? Pilsner, Vienna, Munich, Aromatic, Crystal 20/40, and CaraPils were crushed and put to work with Tett. Old Safale Number 04 is working to make sugar into alcohol as I write this.

Prost! …in about 6 weeks.

Must… have…. IPA…

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It’s been nice becoming forcefully reacquainted with the many other styles of beer in the world over the past year. I used to have a fridge stocked full of IPAs that would share some real estate with the occasional out-of-towner. However, the relocation of the brewing facilities from West to East Coast means that the copious amounts of IPA aren’t as readily available as they used to be and the ones that are available…. well let’s just say, the East doesn’t do West Coast IPAs. There are some exceptions to that statement but only some.

Ramblings aside, while I have enjoyed drinking styles I neglected for a few years, that empty place in my heart/belly/fridge could only be filled with an IPA. Match. Burner. Boil. Hops. Yeast. An IPA is born. Single hops and lots of them! See you in a few weeks!

Whirly Bird’s first keg

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1.041 went into the carboy and 15 days later there was but 1.002 left. Everything went much quicker than I expected but I guess that’s what this type of yeast does (WLP565). First day of spring and Whirly Bird Brewing Co rings it in with our first batch of beer in a keg. Now the real waiting game begins… when to pour that first glass…

A farmhouse in the making

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The match has been lit and the burner has once again come to life. Pilsner, Vienna, wheat, rye and aciduated malt are well on their way into making a Farmhouse Ale with the help of some hops and some yeast.

The goal is a sour-ish farmhouse (saison) and keg it but we’ll see how everything shakes out.

A nut brown is comming!

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First all grain brew is complete. We’ll see what sort of success story this turns out to be. No significant hiccups in the brewing process. Pretzels were great, beer didn’t boil over, and the cigar held its ash quite well.

This one features the usual Pale Malt, plus a bit of oats, wheat, Crystal 20/60/80, and a little chocolate. Did I mention it’s a nut brown? Complete with a pound of roasted pecans!

Rye’s in the future

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God, has it been that long? Last beer put out was Whirly Bird’s Suspicious Stout. The final bottle of that brew is long gone. The boiler has once again been lit and another batch is on the way. This particular beer is to be a Rye-PA of sorts. Due to a lapse in memory (thought I didn’t have a false bottom but I did) this batch was a partial grain. Last time I swear.

Mix of malted rye, caramel 80, and chocolate for the grain plus a whole lot of rye LME. Throw in a fair amount of hops and some WLP001 and you’ll get yourself a beer in a few weeks. That is of course if you enjoy a cigar during the process.