Saturday 26 March at 6 pm
Two weeks to the big party and the Beer Line Up is set. For those of you nonSOBs with less sophisticated beer palates I will certainly have some domestic beer. For the rest of you....The Pumpkin Ale was put on the Keg last night and is already getting there from a carbonation stand point. I have a Guiness Extra Stout recipe and an IPA recipe with IBU of 78 waiting in the wings to be brewed. I will need help emptying some kegs to make room for them.
Tapper Beer
#1 Bitter Chocholate Double Oatmeal Stout
#2 Raspberry Wheat
#3 Oktoberfest
#4 London Ale
P. Tap Pumpkin Ale
Depending on the weather I may open up the camper and have a two tap kegerator out there, would put the Pumpkin Ale Out there, Might try to squeeze in the IPA. But if anyone from the SOBs doesn't want to bring growlers they can certainly bring a keg and I will put it on.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Beer Geek 102 - Alpha acids
How do you get that just right amount of hops flavor and bitterness in your beer. It is not the amount of hops directly that matter, rather the amount of alpha acids.....
Alpha acids are a class of compounds primarily of importance to the production of beer. They are found in the flowers of the hop plant and are the source of hop bitterness. Alpha acids may be isomerized to form iso-alpha acids by the application of heat in solution. Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer from the addition of hops to the boiling wort. The degree of isomerization and the amount of bitter flavor produced by the addition of hops is highly dependent on the length of time the hops are boiled. Longer boil times will result in isomerization of more of the available alpha acids. The alpha acid "rating" on hops indicates the amount of alpha acid as a percentage of total weight of the hop. Hops with a higher alpha acid content will contribute more bitterness than a lower alpha acid hop when using the same amount of hops. High alpha acid varieties of hops are more efficient for producing highly bitter beers.
For example, this list shows a number of hop varieties with the highest percentages of Alpha Acids typically found in each variety (percentages are based on total dried weight). Alpha acid percentages may also vary within specific varieties depending on growing conditions, drying methods, age of the hop, and other factors.
Alpha acids are a class of compounds primarily of importance to the production of beer. They are found in the flowers of the hop plant and are the source of hop bitterness. Alpha acids may be isomerized to form iso-alpha acids by the application of heat in solution. Iso-alpha acids are typically produced in beer from the addition of hops to the boiling wort. The degree of isomerization and the amount of bitter flavor produced by the addition of hops is highly dependent on the length of time the hops are boiled. Longer boil times will result in isomerization of more of the available alpha acids. The alpha acid "rating" on hops indicates the amount of alpha acid as a percentage of total weight of the hop. Hops with a higher alpha acid content will contribute more bitterness than a lower alpha acid hop when using the same amount of hops. High alpha acid varieties of hops are more efficient for producing highly bitter beers.
For example, this list shows a number of hop varieties with the highest percentages of Alpha Acids typically found in each variety (percentages are based on total dried weight). Alpha acid percentages may also vary within specific varieties depending on growing conditions, drying methods, age of the hop, and other factors.
- BULLION 11%
- CASCADE 8%
- CENTENNIAL 11.5%
- CHINOOK 14%
- CLUSTER 8.5%
- CRYSTAL 5%
- EAST KENT GOLDINGS 7%
- EROICA 14%
- FUGGLES 5.5%
- GALENA 14%
- HALLERTAUER HERSBRUCKER 5%
- HALLERTAUER MITTELFRUEH 5%
- LIBERTY 6%
- MT. HOOD 8%
- NORTHDOWN 9.95%
- NORTHERN BREWER 8%
- NUGGET 14%
- PERLE 9.5%
- SAAZ 5%
- STYRIAN GOLDINGS 7%
- SUMMIT 19.5%
- TARGET 12.5%
- TETTNANG 6%
- WILLAMETTE 6%
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Beer Geek 101 Word of the Day - Zymurgy
Not only is this a great scrable word worth a ton of points. It is a term near and dear to the hearts of all home brewers. Zymurgy is the study of fermentation. So many things can affect fermentation that it truly is a science. Some of the things that affect fermentation that are critical for the homebrewer to understand.....
Temperature: typically warmer temps bring on faster fermentation, but ever yeast strain has a range at which it will reproduce and thrive.
Yeast strain: see above
Alcohol content. Some beers can only ever be a certain percent alcohol because going above this percentage is toxic to the yeast and therefore fermentation stops.
Contamination: If forced to compete with contaminating bacteria the yeast can lose and the outcome is not good (usually), lambics is a type of beer that purposefully introduces a certain bacteria to provide a certain taste. I am a big fan of Frambois - a French lambic.
Light: the darker the better. A closed room in a basement or a closet are your best bets.
If you have any questions, thoughts or stories about fermentation please comment below, let us at the Pearl City Society of Brewer's know about it, below or at pearlcitysobs@yahoo.com.
Temperature: typically warmer temps bring on faster fermentation, but ever yeast strain has a range at which it will reproduce and thrive.
Yeast strain: see above
Alcohol content. Some beers can only ever be a certain percent alcohol because going above this percentage is toxic to the yeast and therefore fermentation stops.
Contamination: If forced to compete with contaminating bacteria the yeast can lose and the outcome is not good (usually), lambics is a type of beer that purposefully introduces a certain bacteria to provide a certain taste. I am a big fan of Frambois - a French lambic.
Light: the darker the better. A closed room in a basement or a closet are your best bets.
If you have any questions, thoughts or stories about fermentation please comment below, let us at the Pearl City Society of Brewer's know about it, below or at pearlcitysobs@yahoo.com.
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