Long Island Potato Stout
Potato Peels and Smoke
Monday 07 June 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
The recent test batch of Long Island Potato Stout yielded a valuable lesson -- peel the potatoes! A rather unfavorable quality came about in this batch, as opposed to the earlier one where I peeled the potatoes that were boiled and mashed before adding to the mash. So, it's a pain in the butt, but I'll be peeling the potatoes from now on. This is a dumped batch, but lesson learned.
I'll be interested to see if others agree with me that the Grodziskie (Vlad the Inhaler) that I'll be pouring this coming Thursday could use more smoke. Despite smoking all of the wheat over oak for two hours, I dont' think there is enough smoke character. It is present in the finish, and the beer seems sufficiently tart (as Grodziske is purported to have been), but I want more damn smoke.
And that Thursday pour will be at the Bellport Country Club during the Charity Beer & Wine Tasting and Food Pairing from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. See Dave's (Bellport Cold Beer & Soda) blog at http://blog.bellportbeer.com/ for details. All of the Long Island breweries will be there, it promises to be a terrific event for a number of good causes.
The recent test batch of Long Island Potato Stout yielded a valuable lesson -- peel the potatoes! A rather unfavorable quality came about in this batch, as opposed to the earlier one where I peeled the potatoes that were boiled and mashed before adding to the mash. So, it's a pain in the butt, but I'll be peeling the potatoes from now on. This is a dumped batch, but lesson learned.
I'll be interested to see if others agree with me that the Grodziskie (Vlad the Inhaler) that I'll be pouring this coming Thursday could use more smoke. Despite smoking all of the wheat over oak for two hours, I dont' think there is enough smoke character. It is present in the finish, and the beer seems sufficiently tart (as Grodziske is purported to have been), but I want more damn smoke.
And that Thursday pour will be at the Bellport Country Club during the Charity Beer & Wine Tasting and Food Pairing from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. See Dave's (Bellport Cold Beer & Soda) blog at http://blog.bellportbeer.com/ for details. All of the Long Island breweries will be there, it promises to be a terrific event for a number of good causes.
Potatoes, Smoke, and Hoses
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
While waiting for the rest of the parts of the new three-barrel brewery to be delivered, I brewed another test batch of the Long Island Potato Stout on my old ten-gallon system Saturday. Used Russet potatoes this time, had used the Yukon Gold variety last time. There should be more sugars available from the Russets, I'm aiming to get a similar level of dryness in the finished beer while using fewer potatoes (which have to be cleaned, boiled, and mashed before adding them to the brewery mash).
Transferred and took a reading of the Grodziskie test batch, hit about where I was targeting at 3.6% ABV. This promises to be an interesting sessionable beer. Will be bottling it up soon, with fermentation to occur in the bottles. I'm planning on bringing these to the Bellport charity beer event that Dave of Bellport Cold Beer & Soda is having on June 10th.
Over the last few days, a number of boxes arrived from the manufacturer of my new system: The new mill is finally here, along with various clamps and hoses, etc. Will be taking another inventory tonight to be sure I have everything, and finally start setting about hooking up the new beast.
While waiting for the rest of the parts of the new three-barrel brewery to be delivered, I brewed another test batch of the Long Island Potato Stout on my old ten-gallon system Saturday. Used Russet potatoes this time, had used the Yukon Gold variety last time. There should be more sugars available from the Russets, I'm aiming to get a similar level of dryness in the finished beer while using fewer potatoes (which have to be cleaned, boiled, and mashed before adding them to the brewery mash).
Transferred and took a reading of the Grodziskie test batch, hit about where I was targeting at 3.6% ABV. This promises to be an interesting sessionable beer. Will be bottling it up soon, with fermentation to occur in the bottles. I'm planning on bringing these to the Bellport charity beer event that Dave of Bellport Cold Beer & Soda is having on June 10th.
Over the last few days, a number of boxes arrived from the manufacturer of my new system: The new mill is finally here, along with various clamps and hoses, etc. Will be taking another inventory tonight to be sure I have everything, and finally start setting about hooking up the new beast.
Dry
Wednesday 07 October 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
That batch of Long Island Potato Stout turned out as dry as I had hoped, it will be conditioning and carbonating prior to getting it out in bottles. Word on when and where to follow. I'm looking forward to feedback on it.
The next brew in my experimental stout series will be a true Oyster Stout, using oysters from Long Island's east end. (The Potato Stout used organic potatoes from Sang Lee Farms in Peconic.) I finally got formula and label approval last week from the TTB on the oyster stout, but I'll probably brew it after my equipment takes a brief road trip to Brooklyn on the 18th. (More on that later.) So, it will be another batch of Weizenbock to be brewed this coming Sunday.
Hellsmoke Porter will be heading out in kegs, some bottles after that. Again, word on when and where to follow.
The next meeting of the Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts is tonight at the Black Forest Brew Haus, in Farmingdale from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Come on down!
That batch of Long Island Potato Stout turned out as dry as I had hoped, it will be conditioning and carbonating prior to getting it out in bottles. Word on when and where to follow. I'm looking forward to feedback on it.
The next brew in my experimental stout series will be a true Oyster Stout, using oysters from Long Island's east end. (The Potato Stout used organic potatoes from Sang Lee Farms in Peconic.) I finally got formula and label approval last week from the TTB on the oyster stout, but I'll probably brew it after my equipment takes a brief road trip to Brooklyn on the 18th. (More on that later.) So, it will be another batch of Weizenbock to be brewed this coming Sunday.
Hellsmoke Porter will be heading out in kegs, some bottles after that. Again, word on when and where to follow.
The next meeting of the Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts is tonight at the Black Forest Brew Haus, in Farmingdale from 7:30 to 9:00 PM. Come on down!
Hellsmoke, Weizenbock, and Stout Experiments
Saturday 26 September 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
We had to cancel our vacation to California, but I've been getting some work done in the brewhouse this week. I brewed some of the Wheatley Hills Weizenbock a couple of days ago, and will be kegging up Hellsmoke Porter from earlier in the month this weekend.
Meanwhile, I've been working on a series of Stout experiments. Yesterday's was a batch of Long Island Potato Stout using local Long Island potatoes that are boiled, mashed, and then added to the mash of grains to add some dryness to what I anticipate to be a dry stout. The potatoes in this batch are the Yukon Gold variety, organically grown at Sang Lee Farms of Peconic.
Why organically-grown potatoes? Conventionally-grown potatoes rely heavily on the use of chemicals and pesticides -- not great for you or the environment. It is a challenge to grow potatoes organically, though, so they are not as inexpensive or as easy to find as conventional potatoes.
We had to cancel our vacation to California, but I've been getting some work done in the brewhouse this week. I brewed some of the Wheatley Hills Weizenbock a couple of days ago, and will be kegging up Hellsmoke Porter from earlier in the month this weekend.
Meanwhile, I've been working on a series of Stout experiments. Yesterday's was a batch of Long Island Potato Stout using local Long Island potatoes that are boiled, mashed, and then added to the mash of grains to add some dryness to what I anticipate to be a dry stout. The potatoes in this batch are the Yukon Gold variety, organically grown at Sang Lee Farms of Peconic.
Why organically-grown potatoes? Conventionally-grown potatoes rely heavily on the use of chemicals and pesticides -- not great for you or the environment. It is a challenge to grow potatoes organically, though, so they are not as inexpensive or as easy to find as conventional potatoes.