Did the first semi-regular Thursday at Schaeffer Farm ride today, didn't end up going out with a group but ran into several while out and about.
Great riding day, did 14.6 miles, though my garmin is getting really flakey now about powering off. Almost not worried about uploading new data, really only curious about my calories/HR.
Went to DFH with a few regulars afterwards and enjoyed a 75 and burger, AWESOME!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Impreza Black Porter
Okay, I FINALLY re-racked the porter from the primary to the secondary fermenter. Phew! I took the FG reading before hand and got a reading of 1.012 that I adjusted for temperature to 1.011. That gave a rough conversion of 1.049 - 1.011 = 4.8% Alcohol. The yeast were uber done, I only wish I could collect them for reuse, but I don't have a clue how while using glass carboys, maybe an advantage of bucket primaries.
The Hefe is phenominal, I had a 12 oz today while working on stuff around the house and this time I gave it a good swirl, and the yeast really jumped forward this time, vs non-swirl previous tries. Still tastes great, but it's a bit darker in the pint glass than I realized. The head/carbonation is great. The banana came up a bit with the yeast, but not badly.
I took in 10 bottles for guys at work to give it a try. Curious to see what the beer drinkers vs non-beer drinkers think. Gotta take notes tomorrow.
Hell's Kitchen is brutal this year and so far I don't see any uber strong competitors yet. A few potentials but no real masters. Oh well. I think too many real chef's just don't want the hastle of trying on there. And I can't blame them.
Gonna hit Schaeffer Farm tommorow after work if all goes well. Which it should! I'm stoked! Off to fill my bladder infact.
The Hefe is phenominal, I had a 12 oz today while working on stuff around the house and this time I gave it a good swirl, and the yeast really jumped forward this time, vs non-swirl previous tries. Still tastes great, but it's a bit darker in the pint glass than I realized. The head/carbonation is great. The banana came up a bit with the yeast, but not badly.
I took in 10 bottles for guys at work to give it a try. Curious to see what the beer drinkers vs non-beer drinkers think. Gotta take notes tomorrow.
Hell's Kitchen is brutal this year and so far I don't see any uber strong competitors yet. A few potentials but no real masters. Oh well. I think too many real chef's just don't want the hastle of trying on there. And I can't blame them.
Gonna hit Schaeffer Farm tommorow after work if all goes well. Which it should! I'm stoked! Off to fill my bladder infact.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Beer West
While on my westward trip I got to try several good/great beers:
New Belgian Brewery's Wheat - Dunno the name but it was pretty tasty, but light for a wheat, a nice smooth beer that we enjoyed in the aeroport.
Alice's Hefeweizen - Nice but perhaps the most banana flavored hefe I've ever had. I kept expecting a banana slice in the bottom!
Faultline Brewery - We hit here with some friends on Thursday! Awesome brewery. I had a great hefe, then a cask conditioned Pale ale that was outstanding. I also enjoyed a few sips of my wife's Dunkel weizen. The Kolsch was reported to be good too, from an admitted non-beer drinker. The food was kinda lame, but I know their burgers are good.
Hiked Windy Hill OSP in Woodside and hit alice's on the way back, great food and beer!
Also did a run out on the steven's creek trail and that was nice.
DAMN RAIN WON'T END! It's raining again today and supposed to tommorow, so right now that means the earliest ride I can hit will probably be thursday! wahhhh!
Took a big bottle of Altima Hefeweizen over to the inlaws for tasting at passover and everyone who tried it seemed very impressed and I can only think it's improved a bit in the last 2 weeks again, now with a month in the bottle! Should be racking the porter tonight, more on that later!
New Belgian Brewery's Wheat - Dunno the name but it was pretty tasty, but light for a wheat, a nice smooth beer that we enjoyed in the aeroport.
Alice's Hefeweizen - Nice but perhaps the most banana flavored hefe I've ever had. I kept expecting a banana slice in the bottom!
Faultline Brewery - We hit here with some friends on Thursday! Awesome brewery. I had a great hefe, then a cask conditioned Pale ale that was outstanding. I also enjoyed a few sips of my wife's Dunkel weizen. The Kolsch was reported to be good too, from an admitted non-beer drinker. The food was kinda lame, but I know their burgers are good.
Hiked Windy Hill OSP in Woodside and hit alice's on the way back, great food and beer!
Also did a run out on the steven's creek trail and that was nice.
DAMN RAIN WON'T END! It's raining again today and supposed to tommorow, so right now that means the earliest ride I can hit will probably be thursday! wahhhh!
Took a big bottle of Altima Hefeweizen over to the inlaws for tasting at passover and everyone who tried it seemed very impressed and I can only think it's improved a bit in the last 2 weeks again, now with a month in the bottle! Should be racking the porter tonight, more on that later!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Death and Taxes
Well due to stuff at work today I finally got my car tagged. Way over due, also got a spiffy new MD license too! Yah!
After that it was like noon and way too late to make it worth while to go to work. So I went to Schaeffer and Road like the wind! A nice yellow loop out and back skipping 1 of the more annoying parts but doing 1 section out and back that I don't always due, almost 8 miles and change I think at an 8.6 pace according to my cyclcomp. My damn garmin keeps dieing at the start of rides lately. Though it was fine at wakefield later. While out doing the white loop and whoopdies, on my 2nd pass of the whoops while making a nice corner I had an epic fail, the bead came off one side of my front tire and i had no pump. A while later a friendly fellow let my try his...No dice. Too weak. Damn I gotta find a GOOD pump for that, as the UST's are a REAL biatch! Gotta pay more attention to the air pressure I guess.
Back home and got more water and fixed the wheel.
Back out to Wakefield. Rode a nice lap by myself then met with the group and did a nice lap of accotink! Nice I'd never been there before, some more climbing than regular wakefield I think...More on review...:) Yah definitely some bigger climbs!
MD TAX SUCKS! WTF is up with this LOCAL INCOME TAX CRAP! And my payroll didn't withhold for it, gotta go see them after this trip. We took a miserable beatign this year. It sucks ASS!
After that it was like noon and way too late to make it worth while to go to work. So I went to Schaeffer and Road like the wind! A nice yellow loop out and back skipping 1 of the more annoying parts but doing 1 section out and back that I don't always due, almost 8 miles and change I think at an 8.6 pace according to my cyclcomp. My damn garmin keeps dieing at the start of rides lately. Though it was fine at wakefield later. While out doing the white loop and whoopdies, on my 2nd pass of the whoops while making a nice corner I had an epic fail, the bead came off one side of my front tire and i had no pump. A while later a friendly fellow let my try his...No dice. Too weak. Damn I gotta find a GOOD pump for that, as the UST's are a REAL biatch! Gotta pay more attention to the air pressure I guess.
Back home and got more water and fixed the wheel.
Back out to Wakefield. Rode a nice lap by myself then met with the group and did a nice lap of accotink! Nice I'd never been there before, some more climbing than regular wakefield I think...More on review...:) Yah definitely some bigger climbs!
MD TAX SUCKS! WTF is up with this LOCAL INCOME TAX CRAP! And my payroll didn't withhold for it, gotta go see them after this trip. We took a miserable beatign this year. It sucks ASS!
Monday, April 07, 2008
DNK Brewery Notes
Impreza Black Robust Porter -
Ingrediants -
6.6 Lbs Muntons Amber Malt (LME)
8 Oz Crushed Crystal Malt (60L)
4 Oz Crushed Chocolate Malt
4 Oz Crushed Black Patent Malt
1 Oz Cluster Bittering Hops 7.9% Alpha Acid
1/2 Oz Willamette Finishing Hops 4.2% Alpha Acid
2 Gals Distilled Water - Boil -
2 Gals Distilled in Fermenter
1.7 Gals Spring Water in Fermenter (1 to begin, .7 to bring up to 5 gallons total)
11 Grams Yeast - Nottingham Brewing Yeast
Sanitizing -
3 Gals of Water, 3 Table Spoons of No Rinse Sanitizer
Rinse Brewed Pot with 1 Gallon Boil.
Fermenter - 3 gals water, 1 and change caps Iodophor for 20 mins, then dripped dry.
Brewing
Preboiled water before steeping grains at 170'ish for 20 minutes. Temp may have been higher. Thermometer reads different at mount vs center of pot. Swished water around with spoon while trying to minimize disturbance of malt bag. Let bag drip without squeezing/etc. brought Wort back up to boil and added 2 cans of Amber Malt. Added hops and boiled for 55 Mins, added chiller with 10 minutes left. Added aroma hops with 5 mins left. At end of boil used chiller for 3-4 minutes to bring wort temp to about 80 degrees. Next time I will stop a bit higher unless my water in the fermenter is warmer as it was about 62 degrees. Set the pot up on my worktable in the basement, and put the fermenter below and the big funnel in. I still need a bigger one, the trub required I clean it out 5 times I think. Or a better way to get the siphon to not pick up the damn trub. Between a bit of line cleaner, gravity reading and trub/etc I lost about 3.5 cups after brewing. Lost about half a gallon I figure to evap during brewing. Sprinkled in the Yeast and gave it a good sloshing before corking and putting on the lock.
Original Gravity 1.049 (rated by recipe 1.050 to 1.055)
Fermentation
Good fermentation going by the next night and it's going strong now. Nice almost 2 inches of foam.
Ingrediants -
6.6 Lbs Muntons Amber Malt (LME)
8 Oz Crushed Crystal Malt (60L)
4 Oz Crushed Chocolate Malt
4 Oz Crushed Black Patent Malt
1 Oz Cluster Bittering Hops 7.9% Alpha Acid
1/2 Oz Willamette Finishing Hops 4.2% Alpha Acid
2 Gals Distilled Water - Boil -
2 Gals Distilled in Fermenter
1.7 Gals Spring Water in Fermenter (1 to begin, .7 to bring up to 5 gallons total)
11 Grams Yeast - Nottingham Brewing Yeast
Sanitizing -
3 Gals of Water, 3 Table Spoons of No Rinse Sanitizer
Rinse Brewed Pot with 1 Gallon Boil.
Fermenter - 3 gals water, 1 and change caps Iodophor for 20 mins, then dripped dry.
Brewing
Preboiled water before steeping grains at 170'ish for 20 minutes. Temp may have been higher. Thermometer reads different at mount vs center of pot. Swished water around with spoon while trying to minimize disturbance of malt bag. Let bag drip without squeezing/etc. brought Wort back up to boil and added 2 cans of Amber Malt. Added hops and boiled for 55 Mins, added chiller with 10 minutes left. Added aroma hops with 5 mins left. At end of boil used chiller for 3-4 minutes to bring wort temp to about 80 degrees. Next time I will stop a bit higher unless my water in the fermenter is warmer as it was about 62 degrees. Set the pot up on my worktable in the basement, and put the fermenter below and the big funnel in. I still need a bigger one, the trub required I clean it out 5 times I think. Or a better way to get the siphon to not pick up the damn trub. Between a bit of line cleaner, gravity reading and trub/etc I lost about 3.5 cups after brewing. Lost about half a gallon I figure to evap during brewing. Sprinkled in the Yeast and gave it a good sloshing before corking and putting on the lock.
Original Gravity 1.049 (rated by recipe 1.050 to 1.055)
Fermentation
Good fermentation going by the next night and it's going strong now. Nice almost 2 inches of foam.
Sunday, April 06, 2008
DNK Brewery in Action
Tonight, DoesnotKnow Brewery fired back up with it's latest creation. But first an important news bulletin:
Beer Updates:
DNK Brewery - Golden Altima Hefeweizen - First Bottle Opened - The first bottle of DNK's first brewing was popped tonight at about 5:45 PM in preperation for tonights brew project. Golden Altima is based on Brewers Best Hefeweizen Kit. With a modification of using SafBrew WB-06 Yeast. Notes on it.
Appearance - A bit dark for a Wheat, but a nice yellow color none the less.
Smell - A bit of banana, a bit of nutiness, and a nice yeastiness after it warmed a bit.
Taste - Banana and Clove at first, but then as it opened up the yeast flavor picked up a bit. Finished super smooth with a very nice level of hopiness so the sweetness at the front didn't over whelm you and make you only want 1.
Body - Nice got a finger and a half, after the pour the glass showed nice carbonation for a while even on the sides. Smooth drinking, not overly alcoholic on smell or taste.
Drinkability - I could certainly pound a couple of these or enjoy one of the big 22 oz'rs I've got waiting. Another few weeks in the bottle will only improve this beer I think.
New Brew - Brewers Best Imperial Stout.
Boiled 2 gallons of distilled water for the Wort/MiniMash
Let the temp fall to 160 Degrees and sunk in the Malt Bag of Sugar, Chocolate and Patent Malt. 20 Mins and let drip out. Kicked the burn back up and brought it up to a boil. Added 2 Tins of Muntons Amber LME, added 1 oz of hops. Boiled for about 55 -60 mins and added the aroma hops. 5 Minutes later fired up the submersion chiller and cooled the wort off. Inside it goes. Cleaned the Primary Fermenter Carboy with Iodophor this time. 1 cap in 2.5 gals of hot water and let drip dry upside down. 2 Gallons of Distilled and 1 spring added to fermenter then racked. By the end of racking I'd lost about 3 cups to trub, and drip loss and flushing the lines of the siphon a bit. Then had to add about 3 quarts of water to the carboy to bring it up to a full 5 gallons due to evaporation loss and the trub/etc. Specific gravity was measured at 68 degrees at 1.050, right on the bottom line of what it should have read out of 1.055. Set in the stopper, added the ferment-lock and wrapped it in the ski-jacket to keep it at a nice toasty 68'ish degrees and to protect it from the light.
The process went a LOT simpler this time and prep and cleanup was much better. Tomorrow I just have to really finish drying everything. I cleaned up all the gear, and sanitized the major stoff for storage. To speed up the process a 2nd person would be a huge help. The trub blocks my funnels filter a bit and my attempt to pre-filter didn't cut it as the mesh on the strainer was still to big for most of the trub. Not bad, 4 hours or so fully start to finish. In the future I bet I can ram it down to 3 or maybe even 2.5 with a bit of help.
Full Notes to come tommorow. I'm pooped.
Beer Updates:
DNK Brewery - Golden Altima Hefeweizen - First Bottle Opened - The first bottle of DNK's first brewing was popped tonight at about 5:45 PM in preperation for tonights brew project. Golden Altima is based on Brewers Best Hefeweizen Kit. With a modification of using SafBrew WB-06 Yeast. Notes on it.
Appearance - A bit dark for a Wheat, but a nice yellow color none the less.
Smell - A bit of banana, a bit of nutiness, and a nice yeastiness after it warmed a bit.
Taste - Banana and Clove at first, but then as it opened up the yeast flavor picked up a bit. Finished super smooth with a very nice level of hopiness so the sweetness at the front didn't over whelm you and make you only want 1.
Body - Nice got a finger and a half, after the pour the glass showed nice carbonation for a while even on the sides. Smooth drinking, not overly alcoholic on smell or taste.
Drinkability - I could certainly pound a couple of these or enjoy one of the big 22 oz'rs I've got waiting. Another few weeks in the bottle will only improve this beer I think.
New Brew - Brewers Best Imperial Stout.
Boiled 2 gallons of distilled water for the Wort/MiniMash
Let the temp fall to 160 Degrees and sunk in the Malt Bag of Sugar, Chocolate and Patent Malt. 20 Mins and let drip out. Kicked the burn back up and brought it up to a boil. Added 2 Tins of Muntons Amber LME, added 1 oz of hops. Boiled for about 55 -60 mins and added the aroma hops. 5 Minutes later fired up the submersion chiller and cooled the wort off. Inside it goes. Cleaned the Primary Fermenter Carboy with Iodophor this time. 1 cap in 2.5 gals of hot water and let drip dry upside down. 2 Gallons of Distilled and 1 spring added to fermenter then racked. By the end of racking I'd lost about 3 cups to trub, and drip loss and flushing the lines of the siphon a bit. Then had to add about 3 quarts of water to the carboy to bring it up to a full 5 gallons due to evaporation loss and the trub/etc. Specific gravity was measured at 68 degrees at 1.050, right on the bottom line of what it should have read out of 1.055. Set in the stopper, added the ferment-lock and wrapped it in the ski-jacket to keep it at a nice toasty 68'ish degrees and to protect it from the light.
The process went a LOT simpler this time and prep and cleanup was much better. Tomorrow I just have to really finish drying everything. I cleaned up all the gear, and sanitized the major stoff for storage. To speed up the process a 2nd person would be a huge help. The trub blocks my funnels filter a bit and my attempt to pre-filter didn't cut it as the mesh on the strainer was still to big for most of the trub. Not bad, 4 hours or so fully start to finish. In the future I bet I can ram it down to 3 or maybe even 2.5 with a bit of help.
Full Notes to come tommorow. I'm pooped.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Fountain-Hell.
Nope, not a typo in the title. It's just a statement of fact. More than most other places in the area, fountain head kicks my ass. The climbs beat me up, often take 2 tries to clear, but I did make it up 3 hills I only pushed up last time.
I did nearly go over the bars coming down shock-a-billy, but instead I opted to run into the highside wall/edge and ended up just scratching my arm, and I knocked a bolt out of my front shifter. I went back and re-sessioned the first loop and did it much better on my 2nd try interms of climbing and such.
Gonna have to try and get out there every other week this spring/summer till I can ride it in a solid hour and maybe a bit of change.
Next week I'm hoping to get out to Rosaryville and ride with the Rosaryvillans.
Also gonna try and hit schaeffer and maybe black hills again next week.
I did nearly go over the bars coming down shock-a-billy, but instead I opted to run into the highside wall/edge and ended up just scratching my arm, and I knocked a bolt out of my front shifter. I went back and re-sessioned the first loop and did it much better on my 2nd try interms of climbing and such.
Gonna have to try and get out there every other week this spring/summer till I can ride it in a solid hour and maybe a bit of change.
Next week I'm hoping to get out to Rosaryville and ride with the Rosaryvillans.
Also gonna try and hit schaeffer and maybe black hills again next week.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thwarted Ride - Cars are EVIL!
My attempt to ride at Little Bennett for FNL was thwarted by my evil car. I made awesome time home, got change, got my gear and made great time up to the park. Yet fate had a dirty trick in store for me. As I pulled into a parking space there, a horrible noise emanated from the engine area of the car. A horrible feeling shudder also was invoked. As I turned the car off, it rolled into a resting place. An inspection showed no major visible issue. A restart and attempt to back up confirmed the issue seems to be with moving the transmission from park to another gearing. Uhoh.
What really burns me up? I just got it back from the dealership with major $$$ work, that afternoon. It had gone MAYBE 50 miles....maybe. And so I was thwarted from riding since I knew it would take forever and an age for AAA to get out to me and to haul it into the shop. I'm really hoping that the issue was caused by their work, something not being installed quite right. However I have the horrid sinking feeling it may just be a gross transmission failure. FCK!!!!! I really wanted to get 1 more year outa that car before trading it in for a new/newer ride. Ugh. I did basically get 8 years out of it. But what I've sunk into it over the last year is WAY too much.
Damn, I was really looking forward to a FNL with the regular gang of Dave, Yeuq, and Edward. I actually felt like I'd be riding very well and wanted to see how the new and improved ride dealt with the tough climbs at LB.
What really burns me up? I just got it back from the dealership with major $$$ work, that afternoon. It had gone MAYBE 50 miles....maybe. And so I was thwarted from riding since I knew it would take forever and an age for AAA to get out to me and to haul it into the shop. I'm really hoping that the issue was caused by their work, something not being installed quite right. However I have the horrid sinking feeling it may just be a gross transmission failure. FCK!!!!! I really wanted to get 1 more year outa that car before trading it in for a new/newer ride. Ugh. I did basically get 8 years out of it. But what I've sunk into it over the last year is WAY too much.
Damn, I was really looking forward to a FNL with the regular gang of Dave, Yeuq, and Edward. I actually felt like I'd be riding very well and wanted to see how the new and improved ride dealt with the tough climbs at LB.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Racing Around the trees.
Originally I was planning on racing next week at the Wakefield Dualathalon, but right now the running part is making me a bit skeptical of it. However I might decide to jump back towards it. However other events are on the horizon that are sorely tempting.
The main race I'm contemplating is the 12 Hours of Lodi Farm down in Fredericksburg Va in the beginning of May. I do want to get out and try a pre-ride in April sometime before I reg to see how hard the course is, I've had a few people say it is kinda tough but I'm not super stressing over the difficulty. I'd like to find 2 other fellows to race for a three man team, though a 2 man would be alright I guess.
I might try for Greenbriar Challenge if I don't end up trying for Lodi.
Greenbriar would be very challenging also but would only end up being 2 laps, however it has some heavy duty climbing that is quite hard, the big red one is veyr rocky and challenging and there so many people out there I heard that passing and stuff become a heckofa challenge. Who knows I might go out there and try and ride it again course wise vs the ride I did in january and see if I suffer as bad this time.
Oh yah Scary Movie 4 is crack...:) The bit with charlie sheen in the beginning is hillarious!
The main race I'm contemplating is the 12 Hours of Lodi Farm down in Fredericksburg Va in the beginning of May. I do want to get out and try a pre-ride in April sometime before I reg to see how hard the course is, I've had a few people say it is kinda tough but I'm not super stressing over the difficulty. I'd like to find 2 other fellows to race for a three man team, though a 2 man would be alright I guess.
I might try for Greenbriar Challenge if I don't end up trying for Lodi.
Greenbriar would be very challenging also but would only end up being 2 laps, however it has some heavy duty climbing that is quite hard, the big red one is veyr rocky and challenging and there so many people out there I heard that passing and stuff become a heckofa challenge. Who knows I might go out there and try and ride it again course wise vs the ride I did in january and see if I suffer as bad this time.
Oh yah Scary Movie 4 is crack...:) The bit with charlie sheen in the beginning is hillarious!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Tuesday Night with and without lights
After work I dropped into The Bike Lane and picked up my newly repair LM Arc light. Not bad, $15. Just shipping, they really hooked me up considering it wasn't bought from a warrantied dealer.
Then I hauled posterior and went directly to Wakefield to get in a good pre-ride before the night ride. It was nice and sunny but with a noticeable breeze for sure. I geared up leaving the hydration pack in the car and headed out. Did 2 quick loops on the new phase 4 to start with on my gps. Then I rode all over the park with a few stops at the car for water and a cliff bar. Around 6:15 I returned and waited for the big ride to get going. We ended up with about 17-18 riders there with a small intermediate group and 12-13 casual. We broke into 2 groups and i went out with Tom's group. Great ride, we did some stuff I hadn't done in the direction he chose and it made several boring places much more interesting! I swept after the first 4 or 5 miles from the Bowl onwards.
In the end I racked up a solid 18 and change miles. Not bad, with a moving pace in the mid 7's. I'm looking forward to hitting Schaeffer probably on Thursday and see how I do there. Much more hilly than Wakefield but faster in general I think. We'll see I guess. On a downer note I noticed a low-mid allergic reaction to the damn cliff protein bar. Damn it, gotta find a new source of quick, easy post ride protein.
Then I hauled posterior and went directly to Wakefield to get in a good pre-ride before the night ride. It was nice and sunny but with a noticeable breeze for sure. I geared up leaving the hydration pack in the car and headed out. Did 2 quick loops on the new phase 4 to start with on my gps. Then I rode all over the park with a few stops at the car for water and a cliff bar. Around 6:15 I returned and waited for the big ride to get going. We ended up with about 17-18 riders there with a small intermediate group and 12-13 casual. We broke into 2 groups and i went out with Tom's group. Great ride, we did some stuff I hadn't done in the direction he chose and it made several boring places much more interesting! I swept after the first 4 or 5 miles from the Bowl onwards.
In the end I racked up a solid 18 and change miles. Not bad, with a moving pace in the mid 7's. I'm looking forward to hitting Schaeffer probably on Thursday and see how I do there. Much more hilly than Wakefield but faster in general I think. We'll see I guess. On a downer note I noticed a low-mid allergic reaction to the damn cliff protein bar. Damn it, gotta find a new source of quick, easy post ride protein.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
DNK Brewery - Bottling Complete
Tonight we bottled.
My super wyf, Jenna, came in and was a HUGE help in bottling, she filled and capped I think all but the first bottle technically. We did:
24 - 12oz
13.8 - 22oz - The final bottle was full to just above where the neck started.
The final gravity on this brew ended at 1.010. I'll do the ABV calc tommorow, but I put it in the low 4.x range. Smelled great going into the bottles. I can only hope we got the "fill" right. The 24 are in a cooler and the 22's are in a box in a trashbag.
Yah BEER!
I hate washing and sanitizing bottles. UGH!
My super wyf, Jenna, came in and was a HUGE help in bottling, she filled and capped I think all but the first bottle technically. We did:
24 - 12oz
13.8 - 22oz - The final bottle was full to just above where the neck started.
The final gravity on this brew ended at 1.010. I'll do the ABV calc tommorow, but I put it in the low 4.x range. Smelled great going into the bottles. I can only hope we got the "fill" right. The 24 are in a cooler and the 22's are in a box in a trashbag.
Yah BEER!
I hate washing and sanitizing bottles. UGH!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sparging Away
Not that I'm there yet, I've been reading up on All Grain brewing over the last 2 day or two and I'm definitely intrigued. I've got at least a good portion of the gear to do fly style sparging/mash. However after reading I'm thinking I might want to go for a more batch style.
So in consideration of that I've got a few idea's on deck,
Fermenter - German style Wheat Beer - Ready for bottling, hopefully tonight/definitely tomorrow.
To Brew - Imperial Porter - Extract with some Malts/etc to steep in it.
Next Beer to Brew - Since I've got at least 2 weeks from when the stout goes in the fermenter till it hits the 2nd fermenter. I've got 3 weeks to plan my next beer after that. My goal is to always have 2 beers in some state of progress. My next beer question is what to brew:
Another Wheat - Maybe a raspberry, dunkel-berry, Blood Orange Hefe.
Stout - Something like a Oatmeal or Guinness
Amber - A cherry-amber
Any suggestions? Dunno if I want to go more than partial mash at this point, but for the right thing I might try a full mash. Who knows.
So in consideration of that I've got a few idea's on deck,
Fermenter - German style Wheat Beer - Ready for bottling, hopefully tonight/definitely tomorrow.
To Brew - Imperial Porter - Extract with some Malts/etc to steep in it.
Next Beer to Brew - Since I've got at least 2 weeks from when the stout goes in the fermenter till it hits the 2nd fermenter. I've got 3 weeks to plan my next beer after that. My goal is to always have 2 beers in some state of progress. My next beer question is what to brew:
Another Wheat - Maybe a raspberry, dunkel-berry, Blood Orange Hefe.
Stout - Something like a Oatmeal or Guinness
Amber - A cherry-amber
Any suggestions? Dunno if I want to go more than partial mash at this point, but for the right thing I might try a full mash. Who knows.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Trailwork
Got another 4 hours of trailwork done out at Wakefield today out on Phase 4. Ran the canycom for an hour or so, did some tamping on a few new sections of trail. Then I did my task of hercules, and hauled about 20 buckets of aggregate concrete material to two low spots that needed filling as they puddled to much for the trail designers. A bit of wood hauling for a new bridge, then ran a few more laps of the canycoms to haul material for tommorow.
Beer bottling has been delayed till at least Friday right now. Alas.
I was filthy and wet when i got home. :)
Beer bottling has been delayed till at least Friday right now. Alas.
I was filthy and wet when i got home. :)
Monday, March 17, 2008
DNK Brewery Update
Well Well, yesterday I finally pulled the airlock/stopper from the fermenter and took a sample of the brew. Turns out its already in the Final Gravity target zone of 1.014 to 1.010, it was reading at 1.011.
So after removing the gravimeter, I promptly poured off a bit of the sample to a cup. And yep, its beer. Took a few sample sips and it has a nice wheat-y-ness and should be really good here in a few weeks after bottling. I might try and bottle Tuesday or maybe Wednesday evening.
Ugh, that means sanitizing bottles I suppose. I guess I'll do at least a case of 12's and probably a case of 20's and see whats left.
Cleaning the bottles now, very dusty with bits of crud in them from storage, fortunetly they are clean of residue so far it seems after a brief inspection and sniff test.
So after removing the gravimeter, I promptly poured off a bit of the sample to a cup. And yep, its beer. Took a few sample sips and it has a nice wheat-y-ness and should be really good here in a few weeks after bottling. I might try and bottle Tuesday or maybe Wednesday evening.
Ugh, that means sanitizing bottles I suppose. I guess I'll do at least a case of 12's and probably a case of 20's and see whats left.
Cleaning the bottles now, very dusty with bits of crud in them from storage, fortunetly they are clean of residue so far it seems after a brief inspection and sniff test.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Insert Clever Title Here
Damn it, I had a great idea for a title here yesterday, but alas it flitted off into the ether.
Yesterday I was out at Wakefield putting in a ton of work on the new Phase IV area. There were 7 of us out working like nuts. We put in about 300+ feet of new trail armoring made up of crushed concrete aggregate. I also near the end I went off with Eric to cut a tree out of the bowl trail. Alas it was so big and eric's chain was so dull we had to simply ramp it. Turned out pretty nice.
Didn't stay for the evening/night ride since the wyf came home 2 days early. We spent a nice evening together and passed out after some excellent sushi at a place on Wisconsin Ave near Friendship Heights.
Yesterday I was out at Wakefield putting in a ton of work on the new Phase IV area. There were 7 of us out working like nuts. We put in about 300+ feet of new trail armoring made up of crushed concrete aggregate. I also near the end I went off with Eric to cut a tree out of the bowl trail. Alas it was so big and eric's chain was so dull we had to simply ramp it. Turned out pretty nice.
Didn't stay for the evening/night ride since the wyf came home 2 days early. We spent a nice evening together and passed out after some excellent sushi at a place on Wisconsin Ave near Friendship Heights.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
No Tubes, Better than I thought.
My new wheels I got last month (newsed) make use of stans no tubes system. The rear wheel has held pressure very well most of the time, but the front has been a real pain, often deflating entirely in 12 hours or less and loosing a good bit over 3 hours, even while riding.
So I picked up a container of Stans recently and Monday I finally took the time to reseal the tire. Actually Sunday while brewing I undid one side of the bead and took that side off the rim. I then removed as much of the dried goo from the edge area on the tire and the rim as possible. Monday I added 2 very full measuring things of Stans. I sealed it up and with a bit of work re-inflated it to 35lbs. I then spent 10 mins doing a VERY thorough job of their shake and turn procedure to seal the tire/rim and any holes. I then did 2 long cycles of the laying it on the side, then I repeated the shaking and side laying. I inflated it to 40 lbs and remounted it on the bike. And when I rechecked this morning, Viola! Tire was super solid still. I'm gonna drop the pressure and ride tonight and see how it does.
Then I just need to get that front break adjusted in right!
So I picked up a container of Stans recently and Monday I finally took the time to reseal the tire. Actually Sunday while brewing I undid one side of the bead and took that side off the rim. I then removed as much of the dried goo from the edge area on the tire and the rim as possible. Monday I added 2 very full measuring things of Stans. I sealed it up and with a bit of work re-inflated it to 35lbs. I then spent 10 mins doing a VERY thorough job of their shake and turn procedure to seal the tire/rim and any holes. I then did 2 long cycles of the laying it on the side, then I repeated the shaking and side laying. I inflated it to 40 lbs and remounted it on the bike. And when I rechecked this morning, Viola! Tire was super solid still. I'm gonna drop the pressure and ride tonight and see how it does.
Then I just need to get that front break adjusted in right!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Brewery Update
DNK Update
So yesterday morning I checked on the fermenting beer and found it to be slow going, nearly 12 hours later. I attributed it to a couple of factors. My basement runs around 60 degrees right now. And will until into July when it finally hits the 70's. Also my basement gets some ambient light during the day. So I decided to warm the carboy. After searching my basement I found my wife's ski jacket. I wrapped it up nice and tight and left it alone. A check last night and things were progressing nicely, nice big gas bubbles releasing every couple of seconds. And a bit faster even this morning. There was at least an inch of "stuff" ontop of the brew from where it was a light film the morning before.
Ahhhh. Beer.
A co-worked mentioned his brews coming out a bit more bitter than they should and after discussing their brew-procedure I figure I had it pretty well figured. After a re-read of CJHB I confirmed my thoughts. Turns out they aren't straining the wort before fermentation. Ewww. I know how much crud I removed. I do need to find a better strainer setup. Mine was way to slow.
So yesterday morning I checked on the fermenting beer and found it to be slow going, nearly 12 hours later. I attributed it to a couple of factors. My basement runs around 60 degrees right now. And will until into July when it finally hits the 70's. Also my basement gets some ambient light during the day. So I decided to warm the carboy. After searching my basement I found my wife's ski jacket. I wrapped it up nice and tight and left it alone. A check last night and things were progressing nicely, nice big gas bubbles releasing every couple of seconds. And a bit faster even this morning. There was at least an inch of "stuff" ontop of the brew from where it was a light film the morning before.
Ahhhh. Beer.
A co-worked mentioned his brews coming out a bit more bitter than they should and after discussing their brew-procedure I figure I had it pretty well figured. After a re-read of CJHB I confirmed my thoughts. Turns out they aren't straining the wort before fermentation. Ewww. I know how much crud I removed. I do need to find a better strainer setup. Mine was way to slow.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Technology Re-tread
I must be technological a re-tread, fine for most uses, but has already been worn down once from usage. And always a bit suspeect.
So I finally turned on comment notification here, sorry especially to DT for my not replying a bit more quickly. Oh well.
Beer is now fermenting. Just a bit slowly I suspect since it's a bit cold in my basement. I could alost lager beers in there!!!
Riding due to rain is a bit limited as I ddon't feel like going out and slogging ANOTHER 40 on the canal. The rain/freeze/defrost cycle is keeping the top layer pretty damn moist. With yesterdays winds things dried out a bit but still not enough. Guess I'll go suffer at the gym this afternoon.
So I finally turned on comment notification here, sorry especially to DT for my not replying a bit more quickly. Oh well.
Beer is now fermenting. Just a bit slowly I suspect since it's a bit cold in my basement. I could alost lager beers in there!!!
Riding due to rain is a bit limited as I ddon't feel like going out and slogging ANOTHER 40 on the canal. The rain/freeze/defrost cycle is keeping the top layer pretty damn moist. With yesterdays winds things dried out a bit but still not enough. Guess I'll go suffer at the gym this afternoon.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
DoesNotKnow Brewery Now Open!
Thats right folks! Does Not Know Brewery has opened in my backyard in lovely, chilly, windy Bethesda, MD this morning.
I started brewing my first batch of beer this morning on the newsed rig I got earlier this week. I started out with a Brewers Best Wheat Beer. I'm using a different yeast to give it a more German/European styling than american. The wort smells great and only has about 20 minutes left. So here is my log:
Start around 1pm
2 Gals Distilled Water in Wort/Brew Pot
2 Cans of Muntons Wheat LME (1.5 Kg)
1 OZ Mt Hood Bittering Hops at 5.2% (28.35g)
Boil for 55 Minutes
1/2 OZ Mt Hood Finishing Hops at (5.2%) (14.17g)
Boil for 5 Minutes
The submersible wort cooler will go in at 15 mins total left, and will be hooked to my outside cold water line, which is FREEZING cold. Probably 40 Degrees.
Chill to 70 Degrees.
Siphon to Carboy through filtered funnel to remove and trub.
At 70 Degrees Take Original Gravity Reading
Original Gravity Reading: 1.044 - 1.041's
Fermentor Temp: 59-61 degrees.
Primary Fermentation Started 3:15 PM (Yeast added)
1 Packet Safbrew WB-06 - Dry Wheat Beer Yeast (11.5g)
Pitch yeast directly to wort in fermenter and agitate
Damn it smells good in my basement.
Siphoning could really use to be a 2 person job. Or a better anti-trub tip on the siphon!
I started brewing my first batch of beer this morning on the newsed rig I got earlier this week. I started out with a Brewers Best Wheat Beer. I'm using a different yeast to give it a more German/European styling than american. The wort smells great and only has about 20 minutes left. So here is my log:
Start around 1pm
2 Gals Distilled Water in Wort/Brew Pot
2 Cans of Muntons Wheat LME (1.5 Kg)
1 OZ Mt Hood Bittering Hops at 5.2% (28.35g)
Boil for 55 Minutes
1/2 OZ Mt Hood Finishing Hops at (5.2%) (14.17g)
Boil for 5 Minutes
The submersible wort cooler will go in at 15 mins total left, and will be hooked to my outside cold water line, which is FREEZING cold. Probably 40 Degrees.
Chill to 70 Degrees.
Siphon to Carboy through filtered funnel to remove and trub.
At 70 Degrees Take Original Gravity Reading
Original Gravity Reading: 1.044 - 1.041's
Fermentor Temp: 59-61 degrees.
Primary Fermentation Started 3:15 PM (Yeast added)
1 Packet Safbrew WB-06 - Dry Wheat Beer Yeast (11.5g)
Pitch yeast directly to wort in fermenter and agitate
Damn it smells good in my basement.
Siphoning could really use to be a 2 person job. Or a better anti-trub tip on the siphon!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
oy....Runner Jealousy
Somedays I'm jealous of runners. Well you ask why be jealous?
NO Frickin Driveline Maintenance - I spend at least 10 mins after every ride cleaning the driveline on my bike and once a month at least I spend at least an hour fully cleaning the chain, lubing it, cleaning the cog set and the chainrings up front. Maybe all told closer to 2 hours. Also clean and lubing the derailers various parts.
Cleaning the bike in General - During the winter it's really just been dry cloth wipedowns and removing the dried mud off all the major components, another 15 minutes after most rides, and sometimes more.
Storing Gear - Helmets, Shoes, Boots, Jackets, Socks, Tights, Shorts, Parts, Lights, etc.
Camelback - Cleaning out the damn bladder is a pain. Reloading consumables in the pack (Gels, Bars, GU, Supplements, etc)
Washing the Gear - Runners have a similar range of gear, so I'm not so jealous here. Though the nuts who run year round in the thin shirts and tops do seem to get one over on all of us.
Bike - Jeez, I've upgraded major components on my ride this year including lights, gps, wheels set, tires, cogset, brakes (front and back).
Argh! On the other hand I love the advantages of bikes. I cover a lot of ground and the wind of motion can be nice, sure on mountain biking I can average anywhere from 6 mph to 9 or so. On trails I can run anywhere from 13 to 18 mph. Zoom!
My feet and knees take a LOT less pounding damage. I enjoy running somewhat but after 5 miles my knees are miserable these days. Though biking does make my knees hurt in a different way, I think I need to raise my seat.
I can frickin COAST! HA!
And really, I don't MIND the bike maintenance, it fills my need for tinkering quite well, its just the time to do needed work is sometimes a bit tough to find, and runners just pull on gear and shoes and can go. In the warmer months its a bit better but still mountain biking is way to gear dependant. I plan on being out west in april and I want to ride, but that means probably at least packing my helmet, gloves, shoes, and pedals. Plus maybe other gear. We'll have to see.
NO Frickin Driveline Maintenance - I spend at least 10 mins after every ride cleaning the driveline on my bike and once a month at least I spend at least an hour fully cleaning the chain, lubing it, cleaning the cog set and the chainrings up front. Maybe all told closer to 2 hours. Also clean and lubing the derailers various parts.
Cleaning the bike in General - During the winter it's really just been dry cloth wipedowns and removing the dried mud off all the major components, another 15 minutes after most rides, and sometimes more.
Storing Gear - Helmets, Shoes, Boots, Jackets, Socks, Tights, Shorts, Parts, Lights, etc.
Camelback - Cleaning out the damn bladder is a pain. Reloading consumables in the pack (Gels, Bars, GU, Supplements, etc)
Washing the Gear - Runners have a similar range of gear, so I'm not so jealous here. Though the nuts who run year round in the thin shirts and tops do seem to get one over on all of us.
Bike - Jeez, I've upgraded major components on my ride this year including lights, gps, wheels set, tires, cogset, brakes (front and back).
Argh! On the other hand I love the advantages of bikes. I cover a lot of ground and the wind of motion can be nice, sure on mountain biking I can average anywhere from 6 mph to 9 or so. On trails I can run anywhere from 13 to 18 mph. Zoom!
My feet and knees take a LOT less pounding damage. I enjoy running somewhat but after 5 miles my knees are miserable these days. Though biking does make my knees hurt in a different way, I think I need to raise my seat.
I can frickin COAST! HA!
And really, I don't MIND the bike maintenance, it fills my need for tinkering quite well, its just the time to do needed work is sometimes a bit tough to find, and runners just pull on gear and shoes and can go. In the warmer months its a bit better but still mountain biking is way to gear dependant. I plan on being out west in april and I want to ride, but that means probably at least packing my helmet, gloves, shoes, and pedals. Plus maybe other gear. We'll have to see.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)