I use a combination of  beersmith and manual calculations for my brew day, and recently I noticed that there was a difference in the rate of water absorption by grain between my own calculations and beersmith.  I was using a value of 0.2 g/lb and beersmith was using 0.12 g/lb.  Previously there wasn’t a way to adjust this value, but it has been added in version 2.  See Here.  You can access the setting under Tools|Options|Advanced Options: Grain Absorption.

The problem is, the adjustable value is in units of fluid ounces of water to ounces of grain, and this value is usually stated in gallons to pounds.  The following is how the math works for converting these units:

Beersmith Value: 0.96 fl oz of water / 1 oz grains

• 1 US fluid ounce =  0.0075 US gallons
• 1 ounce = 0.0625 pounds
• 0.0078125 gallons of water / 0.0625 pounds = 0.12

0.12 gallons of water / lbs of grain is the rate that Beersmith is using.  I want to adjust mine to 0.2 gallons / lbs.

solve for x:

• x gallons of water / 0.0625 pounds = 0.2 gallons/lbs
• x = 0.2 gallons/lbs * 0.0625 lbs
• x = 0.0125 gallons

now convert:

• 1 US fluid ounce =  0.0075 US gallons
• x fluid ounces = 0.0125 gallons
• x = 0.0125 / 0.0075
• x = 1.67
• 0.0125 gallons of water = 1.67 fluid ounces

So the new beersmith value would be Beersmith Value: 1.66 fl oz of water / 1 oz grains.

Hope that makes sense.

Tags: conversion, grain absorption, math

 

A quick abbreviated Periodic table showing the chemical composition of beer and the electron orbitals of each element.

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I have noticed a trend recently on blogs, podcasts, and in conversations, which seems to speak loudly towards a general backlash against how many craft beers are now coming to market. Don’t get me wrong, increased choices between brands and styles are two very positive results of the craft beer movement, but it can also cause the market to be watered down. Several people have said to me that they have lost the drive to drink beer recently. These very people (myself included), just last year, were raving about their latest beer experiences in long winded diatribes. With so many new brands and beers showing up at the bar, store, and brewery, it is getting increasingly harder to decide which beer to drink, and because of this we are more and more often drinking a mediocre beer. This constant mediocrity causes us to lose a bit of the passion we once held.

Which brings me to this idea of mediocrity. I can remember the day when we only had a half dozen choices for microbrews at the store, and we loved every one of them because they were not an American Light Lager. At this time, craft beers were all on a level playing field. Times have changed. We now have refridgerator after refridgerator of microbrew choices. Not only that, we have several breweries that continually set the mark extremely high with the uniqueness and quality of their beers, and every other beer has to live up to that standard. The competitive high mark is no longer “Not an American Light Lager.” Instead, it is set by the great beer within the craft beer industry. This changes things dramatically. There is a switch in our brains that starts to now say, “huh, this craft beer version of a particular style doesn’t taste as good as that other exceptional version of the style.” So then our brains tell us that that beer is not very good. Even though, just a few years ago that same beer would have been awesome. I’m not sure this is good or bad. It definitely forces competition and the drive to create a beer that is on the next level, but it also opens up a rabbit hole for our senses to get lost in.

With this new personal realization under my belt, I have decided on a new approach to beer:

1. Hone my brewing skills to make great beer that I want to drink.
2. Find my “go to” beers, and drink those, instead of trying something new every time.
3. Only try a new beer when you hear you should by someone you trust.
4. If all else fails, drink Local brews.

Tags: choice, mediocrity

 

I recently got back from a 3 week trip to Australia, and I’m hoping to write a post on the beer I tasted along the way. The trip is my main excuse for not posting to this site for awhile. My other excuse is that I’m not really into reviewing or writing about beer these days. My main passion lies in brewing beer, and learning about brewing beer. Beer reviews…not so much. So, going forward you can expect posts here to be on how to brew beer, and what I learn along the way about the brewing business.

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It is Wednesday. I’ve made it half way through SFBeerWeek. Life is good. Having a handful of events under my belt, I can say that this year has been great so far, even with the hiccups and annoyances that have transpired. The one thing that has been immediately obvious since the Gala on Friday, is that there are a ton of beer enthusiasts in this city. Which brings us to hiccup number one. My girlfriend and I arrived at the Yuerba Buena Center about fifteen minutes before the doors were to open. The line wrapped down the stairs and onto the sidewalk. Within minutes, the line grew to around the corner. Soon thereafter, the announcement came that the event was at capacity. At capacity? There was a mob of people outside–good standing citizens who purchased tickets to the event, and we were not going to get inside? Event coordinators marched up and down the line asking if there were any VIP ticket holders in line, because they would apparently be allowed in. Then came the grumbling from the line. “Did you hear what they did with Groupon?” Several members in line proceeded to explain that SFBeerWeek sold pre-sale tickets to the event at two price points: VIP ($65) and Early Bird General ($45). Several weeks later, they allowed a deal with groupon to offer VIP tickets for $55. So essentially, there was an event filled with people who purchased their tickets after the pre-salers, and the pre-salers were stuck out in the cold. After several outbursts from the line, another event coordinator came outside to tell us that the fire Marshall had deemed it too crowded, but that there were actually two rooms. They were trying to shuffle the people from the main room to the secondary room in order to allow more people inside. She mentioned that Yuerba Buena had given them a number for capacity (for which they based ticket sales off of), but that this number did not jive with the Fire Marshall. The cold line shuffle was a slow process, but my girlfriend and I finally got in about an hour later.

Inside, our bitterness faded with the first sips of beer. There was a bluegrass band playing in the corner, and forty or so brewery tables wrapped the walls or formed a circle in the middle. I won’t go through a review of everything we tried, but here are the beers that we deemed at least 3-out of-5 stars worthy:

• High Water Hop Riot IPA
• Lagunitas Fusion Beer Week Beer
• Sierra Nevada Grand Cru (30th Anniversary)
• Iron Springs Black Rye and Double Pale
• Triple Rock 7-fifty
• 21st Amendment 21rock
• Firestone Walker Robust Porter and Oatmeal Stout
• Moonlight IPA
• Rubicon IPA
• Anchor Old Foghorn
• Marin White Knuckle

The Best of Show, in my opinion, was the Fusion Beer Week Beer from Lagunitas. Man was that an awesome beer! Made with Pale Malt and Toasted Wheat, and weighing in at 9.25% ABV, apparently 280 IBUs, and dry-hopped with 4 lbs of Citra per barrel.

Russian River was tapped out by the time we made it to their table. There were also some disasters being served up that tasted like canned corn, or were heavy on diactyl, but I won’t mention who they were. We also started to notice that some people were using plastic cups, because the event had run out of commemorative glassware to hand out.

As we were leaving the venue, en route to the Toronado for the Ninkasi event, we quickly realized that there were still people waiting in line. This was deeply troubling, and we later found out that some ticket holders did not get in at all. Ugh.

When we arrived at the Toronado, the event had not yet begun, and it was fairly crowded. The friends we were meeting had moved next door to the Noc Noc, so we joined them for a pint, and then called it a night.

Saturday did not exist.

Sunday arrived with new vigor. After a game of tennis, we met up with some friends at Chile Pies & Ice Cream for Beer and Ice Cream Floats. We all tried the Bison Organic Chocolate Stout with Chocolate Ice Cream, and I have to say it was better than I thought it would be. From there, we walked to 9th and Irving for the Breweries of Tomorrow Nanobrewery Festival at the Social Kitchen and Brewery. Again, we arrived around fifteen minutes early, and found ourselves about thirty people back from the start of the line. By the time they begun letting people inside, the line was massive. I was okay with it though, since this was a ticket-less first come first serve event. Inside, we met several friendly people, had great conversations about beer, and tasted some excellent brews. My favorites were probably Clara Street’s Black IPA, Clara Street’s Black Lager, and Elizabeth Street’s Chocolate Milk. I was surprised that many of the Nanobreweries didn’t bring a Beer of Tomorrow. Most stayed with the strict and popular styles of today. One brewery, 510, did serve a Pepperment beer that was undrinkable to me, but I give them props for trying something out of the box. All in all, it was great to see Social Kitchen and Brewery supporting home brewers who are striving to become nanobrewers. As we left, once again there was a line of people still trying to get in.

Monday was Valentine’s Day.

On Tuesday, I headed out after work to Zeitgeist for the Bear Republic Event. I had time for one beer before I needed to meet my girlfriend at Pi Bar, so I chose their Cafe Racer DIPA. A nice example of a west coast balanced double ipa. We got to Pi Bar early enough to grab a table and order some Pie. It was Deschutes Brewery night, and we ordered up a Hop Henge and a Black Butte XXI. The Black Butte XXI was an explosion of malt flavors from caramel, to coffee, to roast, in the form of an almost molasses viscosity–enjoyable but I couldn’t drink much more than the short pour. One of the Deschutes Brewers, Brian, sat down next to us and we struck up a conversation. The brewery seems like a great place to work, with good people. Brian was pleasant and passionate about his craft, and he invited me to stop in and say hi the next time I was in Bend. He tracked down a sample of Dissident for me, and I was blown away by it. Such subtle Lactobacillus and Brettanomyces qualities with a great aroma and perfectly layered malt profile. I love that beer. We finished up with a Red Chair and a Abyss.

We left Pi Bar feeling very satisfied, and walked down Valencia Street to Heart, who was having a Firkin mini-fest. They had around seven firkins (casks) pouring, and we chose the Linden Street “Black and Blue”, which was a traditional schwarzbier with Blue Bottle coffee, and Stillwater’s Existent, a Black Saison. I enjoyed the Saison, and would make the comparison to it being the black ipa of the saison world with very little roast, and just enough dark malt to add color. The blackness didn’t diminish from the ethereal Saison spice characteristics. On the other hand, I did not care for the Black and Blue. This beer tastes like a strong shot of espresso, burning your face off.

And that brings us to today…

Tags: Bear Republic, Deschutes, Heart, Nanobrewery Festival, Opening Gala, Pi Bar, SFBeerWeek, Social Kitchen, Zeitgeist

 

After some contemplation, I’ve decided to go to the BN Winter Brews Festival this year. It looks like it will be 61 and partly cloudy, which will make for a great day, and even though Strong Beer Month, and SF Beer Week are right around the corner, it will be a good excuse to get outside and possibly meet some new faces. There should be over 30 breweries to choose from, and apparently all will be serving either seasonals or one-offs.

Flyer information:

(BERKELEY) January 15, 2011 – The East Bay-based craft beer radio company, The Brewing Network, back for its 2nd Annual Winter Brews Festival to jump-start the local craft beer appreciation season.

With more than 30 world class breweries on tap, visitors will enjoy unlimited tastings from breweriessuch as the 21st Amendment, Gordon Biersch, Lagunitas, Magnolia, and Triple Rock. This Winter Brews Festival promises to expose beer lovers, new and experienced, to a variety of tasty beers, as well as raise awareness and funding for two local non-profi ts; the Coral Reef Alliance and BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls).

The 2nd Annual Winter Brews Festival will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in Berkeley on Saturday, January 29, 2011, from 12pm to 4pm. Tastings will feature a wide variety of local brews and unique innovations from some of the best brewers around, many of whom will be pouring their own beers giving visitors an opportunity to learn more about how the beer is made.

Rain or shine, they’ve got you covered. And with the Downtown Berkeley BART station just two blocks away, this afternoon event will be sure to satisfy locals wanting to enjoy some beers for a great cause. Tickets are $35 pre-sale, or $40 at the gate and include unlimited pours and a commemorative glass.

For pre-sale tickets that save you $5, go to http://winterbrewsfest.eventbrite.com/

Breweries Include:

• 21st Amendment Brewery
• Firestone Walker Brewing
• Speakeasy Ales and Lagers
• Moonlight Brewing
• Magnolia Gastropub and Brewery
• Triple Rock Brewery
• Drakes Brewing
• Uncommon Brewers
• Lagunitas Brewing
• Gordon Biersch Brewing
• Firehouse Grill and Brewery
• Stone Brewing
• Iron Springs Pub and Brewery
• Black Diamond Brewing
• Lost Coast Brewery
• Bison Brewing
• Sudwerk Brewery
• Shmaltz Brewing

Tags: The Brewing Network, Winter Brews Festival 2011

 

Marsh and I recently started exchanging beer.  The Idea: I’ll ship him some of my recent homebrew efforts or rare Northern Californian bottles, and in return he’ll ship me unique beers from New Mexico and the surrounding area.  In the end, we’ll end up with beer we wouldn’t have been able to try otherwise, while keeping in touch and having fun.  Sorry for the above photo. I need a better camera. I’ve also decided to review each bottle I receive on this blog (drum roll).

First up: Marble Brewery’s Imperial Red Ale.

Website:

“Brewed with royalty in mind, no expense was spared in crafting our Imperial Red. Generous additions of our favorite hop varieties blend harmoniously with long layers of dark caramel malts. 9.0% ABV.”

Examples of Style:

Stone’s 13th Anniversary, Oskar Blues’ Gordon, Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale, Rogue XS Imperial Red

Aroma:

Huge grapefruit / passionfruit nose. I’m really impressed with how much aroma comes off this thing.

Appearance:

Garnet Red with a thick white almost creamy head with some nice lacing.

Flavor:

Very bitter, slight alcohol, caramel, sweet. Caramel cuts through the hop flavor and leaves only a bitter malt taste with a lingering citrus note on the backend. Clean fermentation, almost no yeast character. Not at all balanced.

Mouthfeel:

Medium Body with tight carbonation. Almost no warmth from such high alcohol (9%).

Overall Impression:

The caramel malt profile in this beer is far less than to be expected for the style. I’m left thinking that this is really a Imperial IPA with red coloring. Marble has made a extremely bitter beer here, with not much of a malt backbone to balance it. The aroma is great, and the ABV lives up to the Imperial branding. There are so many IBUs in this beer I get that enamel eroding feeling in my teeth. Once this beer warms up, and my palate becomes a bit more destroyed from the hops, some of the more subtle malt tones become more pronounced, and make it more enjoyable. In a lot of ways this beer reminds me of what Gordon turned into recently (G’Knight), and leaves me longing for that original Gordon recipe. Overall, not a bad beer and well brewed, but for my personal palate, far too bitter.

Tags: Imperial Red Ale, Marble Brewery

 

The good folks at the Brewer’s Association have updated their Style Guidelines for 2011. There is an article here or grab the pdf. I popped in here to state my joy at the fact that they have come to their senses about the Cascadian Dark Ale v. Black IPA debate, and have updated the guidelines to just American-Style Black Ale. You don’t know how much this pleases me.

There are several other changes including categories for Rye Ale, Belgo-American Style Ales, German Boch, and Belgian-Style Flanders Oud Bruin/Oud Red. Samurai Artist, from the New School Brewing Blog, has a great article that covers what you should know.

Tags: American-Style Black Ale, Brewers Association, Style Guidelines

 

I’m excited for this year’s SFBeerWeek. Last year I got the flu the night of the Opening Gala, and it lingered throughout the week, so I wasn’t able to hit the events in full stride. This year, I plan on pacing myself, and being healthy. I’ve already purchased my tickets for the Gala, and I hope to see a lot of happy faces there.

Tags: Opening Gala, SFBeerWeek 2011

 

Pintley.com

There is a new kid in town who goes by the name of pintley.com. They want to provide beer lovers of all types a platform where you can rate the beers you have tried in order to get more recommendations based off of your choices. The process works a lot like Pandora or Netflix. You have to create a free account, start clicking on thumbs up or thumbs down, or pint glasses in between to rate beers, and then automatically you will begin receiving recommendations based on your actions. There are several other features as well, such as posting to facebook, adding to your wishlist, and writing reviews. The best thing to do is create an account and try it out for yourself. I did, and it was fun. Oh yeah, and there is an iphone app as well.

The Homebrew Academy

The Homebrew Academy is a new homebrewer’s resource recently announced by BillyBrew, that will teach people who are interested about the ins and outs of homebrewing. This looks like it could be great for people who want to jump in but just can’t gather the motivation or direction.

“Realizing that there are a lot of potential people who are interested in homebrewing but are hesitant, I decided to start The Homebrew Academy. It is a step-by-step guide to brewing your first beer at home and making it taste great right off the bat. Videos will be used to walk students through the brewing process, but articles will be used when they’re best for the job, and interactive graphics make it a 2-way conversation.”

Ignore Beer Geeks

Jeff Alworth of Beervana had a recent post that I thought summed up a lot of what I’ve been feeling lately, so I thought I would share it with those who might not have read it.

Beer geeks, by dint of having tried hundreds or thousands of examples of certain styles, tend not to spend a lot of time seeking those styles out or discussing them. Our own Doc Wort has been on a years-long jihad against breweries who make only familiar styles. But spend a little time with the average drinker, and you are reminded how joyful the experience of drinking a great porter, say, really is. There’s a perverse kind of focus beer geeks place on certain kinds of beers–the barrel aged, the sour, the experimental.

Tags: Beervana, Jeff Alworth, Pintley.com, The Homebrew Academy