Wheatster

Today I'm trying to brew a batch of hefewizen. It'll be the most wheat I've ever used: 5# wheat with 5# 2-row. I've had some problems with different grains clogging my sparge-tun, which has holes that are 1/16". So we'll see how this one goes. Most of the flavor will be from the yeast. I've got a hefewizen ale yeast, which is said to impart a banana-clove like flavor. There was an American version that plays down these flavors, but why would I want to do a thing like that? The other flavor component, the hops, are minimal with just an ounce of halertau, which is only like a 4.5% AA hop. So this should be an interesting beer.

BREW-HA!

Our trip was a success. We attended one wedding, visited four breweries, and drank a lot of beer. The wedding brew was a success. In addition to the Black Butte Porter clone I had brewed for the to be wed couple, I brought an equal amount of IPA, as well as a few oatmeal stouts and brown ales. There was also some home-brewed cider that James' brother brought. It was the first home-cider and now I want to try it. The wedding was beautiful. It took place at the Leach Botanical Gardens in Portland. If you're in the area, I suggest you check it out because it is a beautiful place. The day after the wedding we began checking out the breweries in Portland. I had a few in mind but my dad handed me a pamphlet that listed all of the breweries in Oregon, highlighting all in Portland. There are 138 listed in Oregon with 48 residing in Portland. So there were a lot to choose from.

My wife is the sly raccoon , so I picked the first place based on that. It's called the Raccoon Lodge and Brewpub and their brewery is called Cascade brewing. In my opinion, this was the coolest brewery we were to visit on the trip. Maybe it was because we visited them at 11:00 in the morning or maybe it was the fact that they cask condition and had two sour beers on tap!

Also when the bartender saw our enthusiasm, he brought us a sample tray of all of their beers.

I had the Noyeaux, the sourer of the two sours, at 8.5 ABV it was a blend of Belgian blonds, and aged in white port barrels with raspberries and toasted pits of apricots. It was a very complex beer that kind of tasted like sour candy. Sandra had the Busta Brown, which was a 7.5%er and as dark and roasted as any good porter. Grandpa Frank had a No Doubt Stout, which was a very thick and delicious stout at 6.5%. Of the samples, the other one that stood out was

the Cascade Imperial IPA, which had 8.5% ABV and 72 IBUs and is hopped with columbus, centennial, and chinook: the three Cs strike again.

The next brew-pub we visited was the Laurelwood Pizza Company. Some of their beer is

all organic and all is very tasty. Here we got a taster wheel with 8 samples. I had the Workhorse

IPA, which had 7.5% ABV and 80 IBUs, it has three dry hop additions. Grandpa Frank had the Space Stout that has a lot of coffee flavor. It has the same stats as the Workhorse with 7.5%

and 80 IBUs. Laurelwood must like the coffee flavor in the dark beers because one of their seasonals was an Espresso Stout, which unfortunately we did not try. Aunt Denise joined the tasters this trip. She and Sandra both had the Free Range Red, one of their all organic beers. It had 5.9% and 60 IBUs, with a medium body that has caramel sweetness. At this point we needed some food to keep us going, so we ordered a few pizzas. The crust at Laurelwood is

made with the leftover grain from their Tree Hugger Porter and instead of using sugar

they use malt syrup. It was pretty tasty.

The final stop in Portland we were to make was at the BridgePort Brewing Company, one of

Portland's oldest breweries and who you might know from beers, such as BridgePort IPA, Ropewalk, and Blue Heron. Here we only had the sampler tray. Of the samples I liked their ESB

the best, maybe because I've never had it.

On our trip to Moscow, we made a return to the first craft brewery I grew to love, the

Coeur d'Alene Brewing Company's Alehouse. I was sad to see that they were out of their

Scottish, but not too sad to drink a Pullman Porter and Rockford Bay IPA. Sandra got the

Vanilla Bourbon Stout and the Rockford Bay IPA and we took home a growler of the IPA.

All in all a pretty good trip.

Road Trip

It's spring and time for a road trip. This time my wife, the sly raccoon, and I are going to Portland to see my sister and James get married. As I've posted before, I'm bringing ample supply of homebrew. I also hear that someone on James' side is also bringing homebrewed beer. It should be a good beer-filled weekend. Also if you know anything about Portland, you know that's it's a beer town. While there I think we'll pay a visit to a brewery or two. I was thinking of the Bridgeport and Laurelwood breweries. Both of which are very cool. Laurelwood is a local distributor and they cask age a lot (if not all) of their beer. Bridgeport is cool because it is the oldest Portland based brewery. We are also making a stop in Moscow to visit the Coeur d'Alane alehouse, which has a stout with vanilla and bourbon-- It's delicious. Stay tuned for more details.

Spent Grain Cookies

Last night I made some cookies with the spent grain from the ESB I made the other day. Barley is grain that you can use a lot like oatmeal. I've been making bread out of it, but I felt like branching out a little. The one thing to beware of is extra moisture involved when using spent grain for baking. I followed a recipe for bread that called for 3 cups of spend grain and had to add so much flour that it ended up making 3 2 lb. loaves. I might suggest drying it out in the oven for a little while. Here is the recipe if you want to try it. The grain addition makes whatever you've got just a bit heartier.

Extra special bastard

Today I'm brewing my last entry in the hausbrau battle. It's an ESB that's being a bastard. It's pretty simple mostly 2 row and crystal, but the kicker (I think) is the torrified wheat. During my sparge, it just stopped about half way throug

h. A stuck sparge. Like a duck in the muck. So I ended up pouring it through a colander. I don't know if this will really f up everything or not. It's weird; first you have the mash (where you hold grain and water at a temp for a time) and then the sparge (where you rinse said grain with hot water) both of which take sugars from the grain and put them into the water. I wonder how much you get from either and if a half sparge is enough to produce a decent beer or if this batch is going to taste like shit.

Local Beer Locale

My obsession for local beer has many reasons. The big one is to bring the giant down. The reason the giant sucks so much is that all they produce is one product. I'm talking about the big three Budwieser, Coors, and Miller among others. They're all almost exactly the same beer. A fan of these may be able to tell you the difference but the point is that they are all the same kind of beer: pilsner. It's light, refreshing, and what the people wanted. Times are changing (at least I hope so) and it's not so hard to find beer that comes in different varieties. The giant breweries do have a very consistent product; it's just all the same. This is due to their highly mechanized process. It's where small breweries have more flexibility, but because their systems aren't as mechanized they have to keep an eye out for quality control ( I think this amounts to not falling asleep at the wheel).

At any rate, here in Boise we have four breweries that are attached to restaurants. Tablerock is located in downtown Boise at 705 Fulton St., The Ram is also right downtown at 709 E Park Blvd, Highlands Hollow is just north of Hyde park at 2455 Harrison Hollow Lane, and finally the Sockeye is by the mall at 3019 N Cole. Highlands Hollow and the Sockeye are two especially cool breweries and it seems that they are kind of hard to find unless you know where to go. I know that the Sockeye has live music regularly and they always have one or two brewer's whim beers, one of which is usually Belgian or another high gravity beer. The Ram is a corporation but they still produce some tasty beers.

Also in Ontario, OR there is Beer Valley, which is not attached to a restaurant. Beer Valley distributes all of their beer, but you can find most of it at the Boise Coop . You can also get it on tap at the Bittercreek Ale House, where you can also get beer from Sockeye, Highlands Hollow, and sometimes Tablerock. You can also find Highlands Hollow at Papa Joe's on Capital and Sockeye at Solid in Bodo. So check these out if you haven't done so already and let me know if there are any breweries that are your favorites and I'll try to visit them.

All Idaho HausBrau Battle

As a home-brewer, it's fun to see how your stuff stacks up to other beers. This of course includes many tastings and evaluations, which are both informative and delicious. The next of the opportunities, and one of the biggest maybe in the state, in taking place here in Boise. It's the All Idaho HausBrau Battle and it's coming in May.

This competition is for anyone who is any Idaho resident who brews one of the styles of beer being judged and brews it in their home (i.e. no commercially produced beer). The categories include American IPA, Extra Special Bitter/ English Pale Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Maibock/Helles, Saison, Blonde Ale, and Organic American Amber Ale. Contestants can enter as many times in one or more category. Entree fees are $6 for the first beer and $3 for any after that. To enter you have to bring 3 ea 12 oz bottles, unless you participate in the organic category where you must bring 8 ea 22 oz bottles. All of this will be held at the Stonehouse on the 22nd of May. Entries are due on the 15th of May by 5:00.

One of the fun parts of this competition is the public judging for the organic Amber. This is why there has to be so much beer entered for this category. The public judging costs $10 and includes beer and dinner, so it seems like a pretty good deal. You also have to buy a judging card to participate in the judging, which is $5 and gives you 10-15 samples. All other beers entered will be judged by certified BJCP judges. Some of the prizes sound pretty enticing: a chance to brew at the RAM, to get your beer on tap around town, or to be entered into the GABF Pro-AM competition in Colorado (the biggest beer competition in this part of the world).

I've got an oatmeal stout, an IPA, and hopefully an ESB to enter.

For more information on how to enter visit www.boisecoop.com/idaho-hausbrau-battle-for-homebrewers-and-beer-lovers-alike

Beginning of a good thing

As this is my first post, I should probably tell you what's going on. This is my attempt to record all of my thoughts on beer in a semi-organized manner. These thoughts include what I'm brewing, what other people are brewing, recipes that I've tried that include beer, beer festivals, and really anything else beer related. I've been brewing at home for something like 3 years. I didn't start keeping track until October of 2007, when I tried to brew a mocha porter with the bitterest hops I could find. It was really bad, but with documentation I've improved. Let this be an extension of that. I'm a cook/ dishwasher at Old Chicago. I go to school at college of Western Idaho on the BSU campus for culinary arts. I hope to brew professionally in the future.

This is my closet, which has been converted to a makeshift brewery. I've got an oatmeal stout that's been bottled and is ready to drink on Monday. I've got an IPA in secondary fermentation that I dry-hopped with a 1/2 oz of Cascade pellets. I've got a mead made from 15# of clover honey and has been sitting for 9 months. I've got a Black Butte Porter clone that I brewed for my sister's wedding at the end of the month. Lastly I've got a few bottles of my brown ale that are dwindling.