A couple days ago (March 22nd) marked the 1st birthday of this blog, so naturally I've been reflecting on the events of the past year, and what a crazy one it's been!
Brewing and blog-wise, I wasn't as active this year as I wanted to be. My goals were to post something at least once per month and to brew just as often. I wanted to upgrade to a 3-tier all-grain system, add a few more carboys to accommodate my increase in brew days, explore barrel-aging, move from bottling to kegging, and find a job in the beer industry. Adulting got in the way of all the fun, and almost none of these things happened. I did buy one extra carboy and switched to all-grain in the form of Brew-In-A-Bag, which is better than nothing! It just so happened that the year I decided to get serious about my brewing, life threw us a few curveballs. If you know me personally, or have read my other posts, you know what those curveballs are, so I won't discuss them here.
We did manage to close out the last 12 months on a high note, though, and finally bought a house a little over a week ago! It's in a great neighborhood, has a big yard for our doggies, and plenty of space. Best of all, it has a HUGE garage with a nice shelved area that I've already claimed for my brewery space (we aren't completely moved in yet, so pics will come later).
Needless to say, I am so excited about what's to come in Drunken Borracho's 2nd year! All the goals I didn't reach this year seem much more possible now, and I'm itching to crank out our first batch at the new place. If all goes according to plan, it will be my first entry to a homebrewing competition taking place in May (freaking out just a little!).
Of course, this blog would just be a journal if it wasn't for those of you who take the time to read it, so THANK YOU for joining me on this journey. I hope you all decide to stick around for a while.
Cheers!
Friday, March 24, 2017
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Whatcha Cookin?
I said that when we moved to Texas, I was going to make the switch to all-grain brewing and upgrade my equipment, and I did- sort of. I had a full 3-tier system in mind when I said that, but limited storage in our apartment meant that I had to do something different. After a little bit of research, I opted for the Brew-In-A-Bag Method instead. All I needed was a big ass pot, a propane burner, mesh bag, and a paddle, so off to the store I went. This is when things got interesting. Anyone from the South knows that these items, minus the mesh bag, are also needed for crawfish and/or seafood boils. Crawfish season was already over when I was buying the stuff, so the guy in line behind me at the register got curious. The conversation went something like this:
Guy: "Whatcha cookin?
Me: "Beer"
Guy: *laughs*
Me: "Seriously, I homebrew"
Guy: "Oh, you can do that?"
Me, trying to pay and get out of the store: "Yup, it's fun. Have a nice day."
Next step was to go to the homebrew supply for the mesh bag and ingredients. It was August, so I was buying stuff for the 2nd edition of our anniversary brew, 9 Year Itch. This was my 1st visit to the (only) shop in my area. They had everything I needed, and it was a good experience so far, so I decided to ask for advice. My last regular shop was a great place to ask questions and get tips and they never made me feel stupid for asking, so why should this place be any different, right? HA!
Me: "This is my first try at BIAB, any tips for me?"
Store Employee: "Yeah, don't do it." (Really?!)
Me: "I have limited space, so this is pretty much my only option for all-grain right now."
Store Employee: "That's too bad. Your efficiency is going to be really low. I would suggest getting a mash tun as soon as you can."
Needless to say, I walked out of there a little disappointed. When I got home, I turned back to the good old Internet and homebrew forums and found a ton of pointers! (Not all HBS stores are created equal, my friends, but that's not the point of the story.) Flash forward to brew day. We decided to set up by the pool, which is close to our apartment, but far enough away to satisfy the 10-foot rule for open flames at the complex. August is HOT in Galveston, so as the day went on, lots of people
passed through the pool area. Almost every time, we ended up in a conversation similar to the one I had at the store:
People:"Whatcha cookin?"
Us:"Beer"
P:*cue laugh* "Really? Is that legal?"
U: "Yeah, take a look."
P:"Oh wow, that's cool!" Or "Well if you need a taste tester, I'm in Apt #___" *Wink, wink, awkward laugh.*
(I joke about it, but I really love people's reactions, and you know I love talking about beer and brewing to anyone that asks.)
The brew session went well, and we made it to the waiting period. Now, 9 Year Itch is a big beer at an estimated 9% ABV, so I expected it to take some time. I didn't expect to learn a lesson about stuck fermentation. I check my numbers at 2 weeks and 3 weeks in before I bottle, just to make sure fermentation is over and my target has been reached. Well, after 4 weeks, my gravity readings were still the same as week 2, and way too high for the beer to be considered done. Back to the internet, and it was confirmed- fermentation was stalled, but there was a way to start it back up again! All I had to do was add more yeast, Saison yeast to be exact. This strain is a monster and will eat any fermentable sugar in the wort, even if conditions are less than perfect. 2 weeks after adding it to the carboy, my numbers were right where I needed them to be, and it was time to bottle. Well, due to the extra samples I took before I realized fermentation had stalled, as well as the extra trub from the 2nd yeast addition, I lost about a gallon worth of beer. Did I factor this is when I was preparing the priming sugar? Of course not! In fact, I used extra because I wanted it to have the high carbonation levels characteristic of Belgian beers. Luckily, I didn't get any bottle bombs in the batch, but the majority of them were gushers. We have learned, and instructed everyone who got a bottle, to open the bottle over the sink and immediately pour it into the largest cup they could find (so much for proper glassware). I'm also lucky that none of these issues affected the taste in a bad way, there was just less of it to enjoy. The beer was still delicious, and we are down to our last few bottles.
The moral of the story: brewing comes with its share of challenges, but it's always worth it in the end. And that's why I love it.
Guy: "Whatcha cookin?
Me: "Beer"
Guy: *laughs*
Me: "Seriously, I homebrew"
Guy: "Oh, you can do that?"
Me, trying to pay and get out of the store: "Yup, it's fun. Have a nice day."
Next step was to go to the homebrew supply for the mesh bag and ingredients. It was August, so I was buying stuff for the 2nd edition of our anniversary brew, 9 Year Itch. This was my 1st visit to the (only) shop in my area. They had everything I needed, and it was a good experience so far, so I decided to ask for advice. My last regular shop was a great place to ask questions and get tips and they never made me feel stupid for asking, so why should this place be any different, right? HA!
Me: "This is my first try at BIAB, any tips for me?"
Store Employee: "Yeah, don't do it." (Really?!)
Me: "I have limited space, so this is pretty much my only option for all-grain right now."
Store Employee: "That's too bad. Your efficiency is going to be really low. I would suggest getting a mash tun as soon as you can."
Needless to say, I walked out of there a little disappointed. When I got home, I turned back to the good old Internet and homebrew forums and found a ton of pointers! (Not all HBS stores are created equal, my friends, but that's not the point of the story.) Flash forward to brew day. We decided to set up by the pool, which is close to our apartment, but far enough away to satisfy the 10-foot rule for open flames at the complex. August is HOT in Galveston, so as the day went on, lots of people
passed through the pool area. Almost every time, we ended up in a conversation similar to the one I had at the store:
People:"Whatcha cookin?"Us:"Beer"
P:*cue laugh* "Really? Is that legal?"
U: "Yeah, take a look."
P:"Oh wow, that's cool!" Or "Well if you need a taste tester, I'm in Apt #___" *Wink, wink, awkward laugh.*
(I joke about it, but I really love people's reactions, and you know I love talking about beer and brewing to anyone that asks.)
The brew session went well, and we made it to the waiting period. Now, 9 Year Itch is a big beer at an estimated 9% ABV, so I expected it to take some time. I didn't expect to learn a lesson about stuck fermentation. I check my numbers at 2 weeks and 3 weeks in before I bottle, just to make sure fermentation is over and my target has been reached. Well, after 4 weeks, my gravity readings were still the same as week 2, and way too high for the beer to be considered done. Back to the internet, and it was confirmed- fermentation was stalled, but there was a way to start it back up again! All I had to do was add more yeast, Saison yeast to be exact. This strain is a monster and will eat any fermentable sugar in the wort, even if conditions are less than perfect. 2 weeks after adding it to the carboy, my numbers were right where I needed them to be, and it was time to bottle. Well, due to the extra samples I took before I realized fermentation had stalled, as well as the extra trub from the 2nd yeast addition, I lost about a gallon worth of beer. Did I factor this is when I was preparing the priming sugar? Of course not! In fact, I used extra because I wanted it to have the high carbonation levels characteristic of Belgian beers. Luckily, I didn't get any bottle bombs in the batch, but the majority of them were gushers. We have learned, and instructed everyone who got a bottle, to open the bottle over the sink and immediately pour it into the largest cup they could find (so much for proper glassware). I'm also lucky that none of these issues affected the taste in a bad way, there was just less of it to enjoy. The beer was still delicious, and we are down to our last few bottles.
The moral of the story: brewing comes with its share of challenges, but it's always worth it in the end. And that's why I love it.
 |
| CHEERS! |
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Did You Miss Me?
I'm finally back! Last time we hung out, I was getting ready to move from California to Texas with my Coastie husband. Well, let's just say our move turned out to be much more . . .eventful than we had planned. It started off with the discovery that our travel trailer (and home for the next few months) had been stolen from its storage space. Along with that came all the fun of changing plans, filing police reports, dealing with insurance, and deciding what the hell we were gonna do for a place to live when we got to our destination.
With everything that was going on, I was worried that 9 Year Itch wouldn't be brewed on time to qualify as our anniversary beer, because who wants to brew beer in a hotel room? After going through plans B,C,D,E, and F, though, we finally got into an apartment and brewday was only postponed by 3 days, mostly due to the heat. I'll give more details on that in my next post.
So here we are, 6 months after my last post and 5 months after arriving in Galveston. In that time, we've managed to have some actual fun in between all the crap we had going on. We've brewed 2 batches of beer (3 if you count my little 1 gallon batch of ginger beer), attended a 3-day beer fest, several Oktoberfest celebrations, reestablished our status as regulars at our favorite bar, and visited a few breweries that popped up since we've been gone. Clearly, I have a lot to write about, so the posts should be a little more regular now. Thanks for being patient while I got my shit together!
Wanna see pics of our adventures while waiting for the next post? Click here to go to my Instagram profile.
With everything that was going on, I was worried that 9 Year Itch wouldn't be brewed on time to qualify as our anniversary beer, because who wants to brew beer in a hotel room? After going through plans B,C,D,E, and F, though, we finally got into an apartment and brewday was only postponed by 3 days, mostly due to the heat. I'll give more details on that in my next post.
So here we are, 6 months after my last post and 5 months after arriving in Galveston. In that time, we've managed to have some actual fun in between all the crap we had going on. We've brewed 2 batches of beer (3 if you count my little 1 gallon batch of ginger beer), attended a 3-day beer fest, several Oktoberfest celebrations, reestablished our status as regulars at our favorite bar, and visited a few breweries that popped up since we've been gone. Clearly, I have a lot to write about, so the posts should be a little more regular now. Thanks for being patient while I got my shit together!
Wanna see pics of our adventures while waiting for the next post? Click here to go to my Instagram profile.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Can't We All Just Get Along?
A few days ago, I was driving to Reno to attend a wedding, and saw some Budweiser billboards that left a bad taste in my mouth. One said "Not A Fad," the other, "Not Overdone." It seems that the Super Bowl ads they put out for the last two years didn't satisfy their need to continually bash on the craft beer industry, so they've decided to continue the shit talking through billboards.
Normally, I wouldn't let things like this bother me, but they're talking about something I'm passionate about. Craft beer is anything but a fad, and it sure as hell is not overdone. The craft beer industry is a place for creativity and constantly pushing limits. It's not for sissies, as Budweiser insinuates in their ads. We know what it is to "brew the hard way." There are a lot of failed experiments and stories of things gone wrong, especially in homebrewing. Craft beer is also a very supportive industry, from what I've seen. Brewers collaborate with each other, promote each other, and celebrate each other. A fair share of them are buddies that started as homebrewers with a dream, and worked hard to get where they are today. Most homebrewers wouldn't think twice about sharing tips and tricks with others.
So to Budweiser, I ask- why the hate? Sure, you're a huge macrobrewery and proud of it, but you had to start somewhere, just like the rest of us. I know you get bashed on by beer snobs, too. That's no reason to target an entire industry. Not all of us judge (or even care about) the beer choices of others. Everyone is free to drink what they want. So why not take a note from your booming competition and show some class and support, rather than alienating yourselves from a great bunch of passionate people?
By the way, you readers may have noticed that I didn't include any pictures or video links to the ads in this post. That was on purpose, because I don't want to help spread their message any more than I already have. If you're really that curious, though, a quick Google search will show you all you need to see.
To end on a positive note, I had the opportunity to taste yet another one of those so-called "overdone" craft beers at the wedding I went to. Props to Great Basin Brewing Company for their Wild Horse Ale (altbier)! I only wish the keg would've lasted long enough for me to have more than one serving.
Normally, I wouldn't let things like this bother me, but they're talking about something I'm passionate about. Craft beer is anything but a fad, and it sure as hell is not overdone. The craft beer industry is a place for creativity and constantly pushing limits. It's not for sissies, as Budweiser insinuates in their ads. We know what it is to "brew the hard way." There are a lot of failed experiments and stories of things gone wrong, especially in homebrewing. Craft beer is also a very supportive industry, from what I've seen. Brewers collaborate with each other, promote each other, and celebrate each other. A fair share of them are buddies that started as homebrewers with a dream, and worked hard to get where they are today. Most homebrewers wouldn't think twice about sharing tips and tricks with others.
So to Budweiser, I ask- why the hate? Sure, you're a huge macrobrewery and proud of it, but you had to start somewhere, just like the rest of us. I know you get bashed on by beer snobs, too. That's no reason to target an entire industry. Not all of us judge (or even care about) the beer choices of others. Everyone is free to drink what they want. So why not take a note from your booming competition and show some class and support, rather than alienating yourselves from a great bunch of passionate people?
By the way, you readers may have noticed that I didn't include any pictures or video links to the ads in this post. That was on purpose, because I don't want to help spread their message any more than I already have. If you're really that curious, though, a quick Google search will show you all you need to see.
To end on a positive note, I had the opportunity to taste yet another one of those so-called "overdone" craft beers at the wedding I went to. Props to Great Basin Brewing Company for their Wild Horse Ale (altbier)! I only wish the keg would've lasted long enough for me to have more than one serving.
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