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I never graduated past 8th grade humor. A bunch of malt extracts to make at home.. @mollynoise by c_4d http://instagram.com/p/XfHhsgzHly/
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After months of hunting this puppy down, I finally got my hands on one. I had no idea this beer would be in such high demand! I had to sweet talk the guy at BevMo to go into the back and steal a bottle for me out of the reserves.
Like many places, I hear, the BevMo I went to limited it to one bottle per customer so I convinced my girlfriend to get one too. Now, I’ve heard some people don’t really like it and I’ll put my opinion of the beer up here after the GoT premiere, but even if the beer isn’t mind blowing I’m sure it’s still a solid beer. Besides, someone on a forum said it was akin to eating your officially licensed G.I. Joe cereal in your G.I. Joe pajamas watching G.I. Joes on Saturday morning. And, yes, I would have to whole-heartedly agree with that. It’s more about the experience and I think both HBO and Ommegang are aware of that.
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It’s IPA time! Recipe and brew day follow along to come!
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Something I learned about CO2
I don’t even know why I’m sharing this but I learned something a few days ago about CO2 and kegging. In my fit of joy of having kegged my first original recipe and force carbonating it perfectly, we poured ourselves several glasses of the delicious brew (recipe and review to come) and happily drank through the night.
Several days after I go back to the keg and the CO2 is kaput! Gone! What happened? Well, for starters I left the gas on, which I’m sure doesn’t help. Also, I didn’t check any of the seals for leaks!
What did I learn? Don’t get so excited about kegging your beer that you forget to take care of the basics! Now I have a nearly full keg just sitting in the fridge going flat and I’ll have to get my tank filled, force carbonate AGAIN and…ugh.
Oh here’s another thing! The last guy that filled my tank said that I needed to get it hydro’d and that he’d fill it “just this once.” Great! One more thing keeping me from enjoying my beer.
Cheers to the dumb mistakes we sometimes (in my case often) make!
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How Beer Gave Us Civilization A fantastic and life-affirming article for all brewers!
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First keg ever tapped and getting force carbonated!
This beer has a generous amount of 2-row pale, some Gambrinus honey malt, red wheat and flaked barley. A little lemon peel for a nice citrusy kick and some styrian goldings for a nice floral aroma makes this one to get excited about.
COMING SOON: A picture of us and some friends drinking this beer (That is if I did everything right).
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Just got the brain of the temperature controller in (Elitech STC-1000), time to get some temperature controlled fermentation going!
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Winter is coming...err... this spring? As a huge fan of Game of Thrones as well as Belgian style ales, I have to say this wait period for the new season of GoT has been especially trying. “Why?” You ask? Because one of my favorite breweries (Ommegang) partnered with HBO (one of my favorite entertainment providers) to come out with a Belgian dubbel… YES! My brain exploded throwing beer and sword schrapnel!… Dangerously delicious.
No one I know has tasted it but apparently Paul Schrodt from Esquire says its “a good TV beer. The taste is extremely easy-drinking: malty, vaguely fruity, a little spicy, but nothing overpowering. It goes down especially smooth for being 6.5 percent ABV."
I read something back when this brew was announced that the grist falls somewhere in line with a Blonde Ale with Hallertau hops to bitter and Styrian Goldings for aroma with some lemon peel and paradise seeds with, of course, Belgian yeast to lend that "vaguely fruity” flavor. Now, that could have changed or I could have pulled that out of the ether somehow but it may not be too far off. We’ll see when this bad boy hits the shelves right about… NOW! GO GET IT! GIVE ME SOME!!
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Alright! It’s time to start getting serious and control the temperature of our fermentation. Temperature controllers, I’ve found, can cost you close to $100. Many of you might say, “That’s it? What’s the hold up go swoop one up!” and to you I say “Los Angeles + 2 Doggies + Girlfriend = Is there a cheap DIY option?”
Lucky for broke ‘ol me this guy on YouTube has just that. For about $30 you can assemble your own temperature controller. So, yeah, I save 70 bucks and get to risk my life fiddling around with electricity! I just ordered the STC 1000 (Distant cousin to the T-1000…), which is the actual brains of the operation. I’ll post more as the parts come in…
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This is what the US Grant Hotel in San Diego keeps in the mini bar! Thank you guys!!!