Sep 2009
Hellsmoke, Weizenbock, and Stout Experiments
Saturday 26 September 2009 Filed in: Hellsmoke
Porter |
Stout
Experiments | Long Island
Potato Stout | Wheatley
Hills Weizenbock
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.
Yeast at Work
Friday 11 September 2009 Filed in: Hellsmoke
Porter
Friday, September 11, 2009
A view from the top of the fermenter of the foam produced by the yeast happily working away turning the wort into Hellsmoke Porter:
I've got some problems with my bottling mechanism (mechanics? physics? I'm working on it), but I'm hoping to fix it ASAP. There has also been some movement on the system upgrade (10 or 12-gallon batches to 3-barrel batches, aka 93 gallons). More on that as things develop.
A view from the top of the fermenter of the foam produced by the yeast happily working away turning the wort into Hellsmoke Porter:
I've got some problems with my bottling mechanism (mechanics? physics? I'm working on it), but I'm hoping to fix it ASAP. There has also been some movement on the system upgrade (10 or 12-gallon batches to 3-barrel batches, aka 93 gallons). More on that as things develop.
Back in the Brew House
Tuesday 08 September 2009 Filed in: Hellsmoke
Porter
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
After battling a bout of the flu that kept me away from my usual weekend brewery duties, finally got back into the brew house on Monday. Pulled out the old smoker and brewed two batches of Hellsmoke Porter, the yeast are now happily at work in the fermentation room. Gotta keep them yeast happy!
After battling a bout of the flu that kept me away from my usual weekend brewery duties, finally got back into the brew house on Monday. Pulled out the old smoker and brewed two batches of Hellsmoke Porter, the yeast are now happily at work in the fermentation room. Gotta keep them yeast happy!