March Maintenance

I suppose it's possible that I'm the only person in the world that
didn't realize March pumps require periodoc oiling. Shameful but true, I've been listening to my pumps occasionally squeal for months. After a little digging (much thanks to the helpful folks at Homebrewtalk.com) I found a pdf document from the manufacturer describing what oil, where to add, and how often to do so. My pumps are again smooth and quiet, just like their first use. So here's a heads up to all brewers with magnetic drive pumps...oil those guys twice a year with 20W non-detergent oil (4 to 5 drops in each resevoir will do). Happy brewing.

Interesting find

Last week I discovered a beer I never seen before. Sitting at the bar in Walnut Creek's Maria Maria restaurant, I found myself scanning the tap handles and bottled beer as I usually do. I typically order any beer I've never heard of. This day I was in for a treat as I asked the bartender "What's that beer with the diamond shaped label hiding in the back of your cooler?" Xingu, was her response...to which I replied, "Say that again?" Apparently it's pronounced (shin-goo), and it's an interesting beer. I don't know what I was expecting from a Brazilian beer, something wild and earthy I suppose. But that wasn't the case, this very dark beer is smooth. It's labeled a Black Lager, but I suppose it could also be a Schwarzbier. Hop aroma is light, and malt aroma is medium. Some carmel and toasty notes come through, with an apparent sweetness that is balanced (not cloying), and a killer smooth finish. I'll definitely buy this beer again.

From Russia With Love

St. Pauli Girl Beer has a new 'St. Pauli Girl' for 2008. Meet Irina Voronina, a Russian model and actress who now calls Los Angeles home. Her resume includes recent roles in movies such as Reno 911: Miami, Epic Movie and Balls of Fury, as well as series regular appearances on Cartoon Network’s “Saul of the Mole Men”. Qualities not necessarily translated to a resume include blond hair, blue eyes, 5'10" height, and 35”-25”-36” measurements. Irina will soon be on her promotional 2008 tour (details not yet announced).

More photos of Irina, as well as past St. Pauli Girls from 1977 to present can be found on the St. Pauli Girl website.

Late hopping - aroma therapy

I blogged a while back after a trying a new (well, new to me) IPA from Avery Brewing. I enjoyed the malt to bitter balance of this beer, but what made an impression on me was the aroma: big in the nose with a great hop bouquet. After some brief correspondence with the brewery I learned they employed late hop additions without the use of dry hopping. This was welcomed news to me, as I've always found dry hopping a pain. In this spirit I made an IPA based on a past recipe I've had success with. Instead of dry hopping, I used combination of first wort and late additions. For this 5 gallon recipe I slammed 4 ounces in the last 5 minutes, 3 ounces of which were at flame-out (or 0 minutes boil).
I fermented this IPA on a yeast cake from a Pale Ale and it took off with a vengeance. The bubbling stopped after 3 days. Today (Day 8) I racked into a bright tank where it will settle at 34F for a week or so, then time to carbonate. I'm hoping to retain a big aroma in this beer and maybe stop dry hopping altogether.

Your mother was a hamster...

...and your father smelt of elderberries! That's right, elderberries. As a follow up to my cider experiment, see Cider Times Two below, I'm making a fruit cider from a combination of apple juice and elderberry juice. Why elderberry? Why not. I found a health food store close to home that sells local, organic, and unfiltered juice made from heirloom apples picked in Sebastopol, CA. Originally I had planned to make the fruit cider with pomegranate juice, but when I found the elderberry I just had to try it. The color prior to fermentation is a beautiful deep ruby. If the cider clears properly it should be one pretty drink. OG was 1.067, and I'm fermenting with Red Star Cote des Blancs from Lesaffre Yeast Corp.

Goodbye beerstone: A shameful admission

According to Wikipedia, "Beerstone is a scale of calcium oxalate (C₂CaO₄) that can occur in tanks, kegs and other metal components used to brew or store beer." After today's brew session (a seriously hopped IPA at over 80 IBU's) I decided to finally clean the beerstone that had accumulated in my brew kettle. I'd like to say I do this every brew, every other brew, or even once a month. The sad reality is I tend to let it build up enough that I just can't do another brew until it's clean (I'm guessing every 10-12 brews, which is about 6 months for me). A nice soaking with PBW at 160 degrees for around 15 minutes was all it took to loosen up the muck enough so that I could easily wipe it with a sponge. The kettle is clean now, and hopefully I won't wait quite so long to do it again!

Cider times two

Let the cider experiments begin. I've encountered many recipes that include raisins, cherry juice, cinnamon, sugar, and clove, but I want my first attempt to be straight forward. My only experience with hard cider was a cider tasting at my homebrew club. We tasted around 12 hard ciders (though a few were perry as I recall). This tasting was years ago, but I do remember gravitating toward the sweeter ciders with high carbonation and residual apple flavor. Excessively dry or sour ciders didn't suit my palette, so I'm trying to make a sweeter example that retains some apple profile. I bought organic, unfiltered apple juice that contains no preservatives from a local fancy pants grocery. The juice's OG was around 1.040, so I bumped it up to 1.055 with apple juice concentrate. I split the juice into two 1-gallon batches, using two yeast strains: Cote des Blancs dry yeast, and Saison Ale yeast. It should be quite interesting to see the differences based on yeast alone. I will monitor gravity closely, and stop it early to retain my desired sweetness and flavor.