The NonconFERMist

Low risk brewing after the hiatus...

2013-05-27T23:34:00.001-04:00

Started cleaning out the brew garage. I'll wait while you recover from the shock of that statement.

Feeling better? OK

Seriously, it looks like brewing is on the agenda again. Every so many years I need a break, but, I have a few annual commitments I brew for and hopefully that will get me back in the swing of things.

I have plenty of ingredients. I'm thinking of something quick and easy with low alchohol, but flavorful. Back to the old english ale yeast I think. Will have to dig into the freezer for those hops I bought last year or the ones from the year before. The first brew after a hiatus always comes with some experimentation. The hops may have faded a bit, I might be a bit rusty and I want it NOW!

In the back of my head I have some ideas about upcoming brews once I get dialed in again.

elderberries
my first sour beer
saison
lots of low ABV stuff
local honey
some braggot in the distant future with local unfiltered unpasteurized cider
my Dad's hops
my hops from last year
choke cherries

Cheers!

Hop Resources Updated

2013-03-19T22:18:00.004-04:00

No this is not hops. Just a a picture from a walk in the woods.

You can always find this over there on the right under Quick Reference. I just fixed some broken links. Looks like most of these sites are still up and running.

This link IS about hops.
http://www.nonconfermist.com/2007/10/hops-growing-resources.html

teresa's next door

2013-03-18T20:24:00.003-04:00

very
dark
beer

I wish you all a wonderful new year.

2013-01-01T22:09:00.001-05:00

and have fun brewing beer
growing hops
just being you

Bahl Hornin’

2012-12-20T18:01:00.000-05:00

I'm drinkin' an Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale and on the label there's a bear with horns which after all these years I finally noticed (I'm not very observant). It also says "Bahl Hornin' since 1987". Pre-Internet I would have held that strange sayin' in my head for a long time wondering what the hell it meant. Thanks to our Internet thingy which is almost like a Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy I can just look it up. (BTW read the books)

This is what I found

I love this world. Oh, and I like the beer.

A Winter Solstice Story: The partial mash brew kit from Midwest arrived!

2012-12-17T19:50:00.003-05:00

I have been asked by Midwest if I would like to review one of their kits and well, since they sent it to me for free. What the heck. This is the first in a series of posts reviewing their product. Now where were we?

It was a cool Winter's night about a week before the Solstice. Had just finished typing to the rep from Midwest, "no it hasn't arrived yet". The dogs were bothering me. Barked at them a bit and hit send. I thought, "Was that the delivery guy?". I sprang to the front door to see what was the matter. And there it was in the cool LED glow of our holiday decorations, a brown box that said "FRAGILE" (say Fraj-eel-aaa). Italian I think. Decided to bring it in anyway and here is what I found.

A brand spankin' new Dubbel 'em Up partial mash kit with the following;

Instructions
6 lb. Belgian Pils malt
3.3 lb. Light Malt Extract
1/4 lb. Aromatic
1/4 lb. Biscuit
1 lb. Light Candi Sugar
1 oz. Hallertau
1 oz. Saaz pellet hops
priming sugar
Wyeast Activator pack of Ardennes yeast was included which would be optional when ordering I think.

It wasn't a lamp in the shape of a woman's leg, but, something much better. Something I can use. Something that could transform into a beautiful elixir of magical wonder, fermentables and stuff to ferment with.

Now I just need to set a day to brew :-) And clear a path to my brewing stuff in the garage. And clean out a carboy. And probably get rid of that infected beer that's been out there for a while. And...

Advice: Homebrew Gift Ideas 2012 Edition

2012-12-06T22:58:00.002-05:00

(phtoto from a day in the woods hunting)

NOTE: Direct product links below are referrals to Amazon.

How the heck do you buy for a homebrewer? Where do you buy? What are all of those weird things they use?

First, if I were you I would look into buying something at the local homebrew store if possible. Typically these folks are very knowledgeable. They depend on a healthy local homebrew culture. That means you. Also, good local businesses are good for your local economy. The American Homebrewers Association lists shops who have registered with them. You can also try a search in Google Maps.

For online purchases go here for general Amazon Homebrew Stuff. There are many other online retailers you may find useful as well. Also, there are tons of websites about homebrewing out there.

If you want my advice on what to buy, try any of the suggestions below or make requests in the comments. I'll do my best to steer you in the right direction.

Zymurgy Magazine Subscription - I find reading something that isn't on a screen enjoyable every now and then. This magazine has been there since the early days and something you'll find many homebrewers subscribe through.

Cornelius Keg CO2 Charger - For the homebrewer who kegs, but, doesn't want to take the whole CO2 canister. My Dad uses one to serve out of keg I refill for him.

New 2.5 Gallon Ball Lock Keg - Just purchased two similar to these. Much easier to transport than 5 gal kegs. Definitely more expensive than a reconditioned keg, but, that's why somebody ought to buy one for that special homebrewer.

2.5 Gallon Mini Draft System (New Keg) - Nice little package of the charger and keg together with spigot. I used a setup like this at my Mom's holiday party over Thanksgiving.

The Carbonater - A used soda bottle with the standard PET size screw top and one of these and you can carbonate anything. Helpful for taking some beer with you and keeping it fresh and pressurized with CO2. Makes it possible to save smaller amounts of homebrew. Also allows you to try different carbonation levels with your beer. LOVE this thing.

Regular 5/16" Auto-Siphon - Makes it easy to transfer beer to and from containers. Really makes life easier.

Taylor 1470 Digital Cooking Thermometer/Timer - Magnetic back, long tether, simple, effective, accurate ... sure I'd like something fancier, but, this was cheap and is more than adequate.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing Third Edition - Think of it as a Wikipedia article for everything about homebrew, before the Internet. There are other books. I have them. None of them have the character and authenticity of Mr Papazian.

The nice folks at Midwest Homebrew Supplies...

2012-12-06T21:49:00.003-05:00

(photo from recent trek hunting in the woods, or maybe it was more like photographing)

The nice folks at Midwest Supplies asked if I would consider writing about one of their kits. I agreed to and in turn they are sending me a complementary kit. I'll let you know when it comes in and post a full write up of the experience. The goal for me would be to provide useful information about their kits from a beginners perspective. This falls in line with my belief that anything that makes it easier for folks to brew there own beer is a good thing.

If you have questions you would like answered, let me know.

Hello, anybody out there? Hope you all are doing well where ever you may be out there.

[Creeeeek]. Anybody home? Hmmm....kinda dusty around here...

2012-11-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

Been taking a break from brewing, but, it's time to brew again. Time to brew a quick beer for a holiday party. English Ale yeast and simple grain bill with just a bit of hops. Then fermented for a few days and chilled and kegged at the last possible moment.

White House Released the Recipe...

2012-09-05T17:58:00.003-04:00

Just like any good homebrewer would.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/09/01/ale-chief-white-house-beer-recipe

Well, it take a petition to get to happen.

Starting a brewery...not so fast...

2012-08-28T22:17:00.000-04:00

Before an empty room in the township building we presented our case to the board. We were seeking a special exception to the zoning ordinance for residential neighborhoods for a home occupation, a brewery. After about an hour of answering questions our request was turned down. Needless to say we are disappointed, but, it wasn't unexpected. Everything seemed to focus around manufacturing in a residential area.

So, it seems our dream is put on hold for now. A big thank you to those of you who wished us luck :-) The silver lining, we can still make homebrewed beer.

#homebrew sign the petitition http://tinyurl.com/d3dluaf

2012-08-24T12:19:00.001-04:00

Go sign the petition...

http://tinyurl.com/d3dluaf

(Just testing the translation to twitter.)

Sign the petition: Release the recipe.

2012-08-24T12:09:00.002-04:00

This seems as valid as any other governmental activity, don't you think? Keep the hope alive :-)

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/release-recipe-honey-ale-home-brewed-white-house/XkpkYwc0

I reckon' I'll get to startin' a brewery...

2012-08-22T15:04:00.000-04:00

That's right my wife and I are exploring starting a brewery. If you've ever looked into such a thing, you'll understand why I use the word "exploring". Let's see we'll need money, time, permission, permission, permission, permission, a market full of interested customers, support, business skills, marketing skills, oh hell you get the point. There's like a million things you need. Oh, I almost forgot, brewing skills.

First stop, local Zoning Board meeting. This whole things reminds me of getting in the car with my younger sister when we were kids. She would ask, "Is this a short road or a long road?" Of course we could answer her. After all we knew where we were going.

This situation is a little different and I'm OK with that :-)

Homebrew: What the White House can teach the country about brewing beer.

2012-08-22T14:43:00.003-04:00

Do you think more people should understand what it takes to make beer? Do you get strange looks from people when you say you make your own beer? Do people ask you if it is legal to make your own beer? Well, the White House has been making their own beer and now some folks have asked that the recipe(s) be released to the public.

I'd love to hear more about this in the news and I'd like people to see that they could make beer just like the White House does.

Here is a petition. Sign it if you like. They need your signatures.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/release-recipe-honey-ale-home-brewed-white-house/XkpkYwc0

Here is the Reddit post where someone states they also made a separate FOIA request
http://www.reddit.com/r/Homebrewing/comments/yjlp9/so_i_submitted_a_foia_request_for_you_today/

More info on the whole topic at the Huffington Post.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/21/white-house-beer-recipe-obama_n_1818531.html

Site funding: Thank You!

2012-08-22T12:47:00.003-04:00

This site is funded by me. I pay for the domain and other miscellaneous fees. You will see advertising on some of the pages in the forms of Amazon referrals. I typically only make recommendations for items that I have used and found useful. Hopefully this provides some value to you by helping you find things to make better beer, grow hops, etc. In return I get enough money from these referrals to cover my fees more or less.

So, in essence this site is funded by my readers as well. Thank you for using the link at the top of the site or on various popular pages to shop at Amazon. I do appreciate it and I don't take it for granted.

Adam Beck

Picking Cascade hops in Western Pennsylvania...

2012-08-13T14:17:00.000-04:00

If these Cascade plants are any indication the Allegheny Mountains might be a good climate for growing hops. My father's plants are covered in cones. The location is up on a hill with well drained soil, lots of sun and pretty consistent breeze. As you can see from the photo this isn't a very tall planting. I think the vinyl fence is about six feet tall. The only care given to these was some mulch. No pruning back at the bottom of the bine. No extra watering. Fairly dry Spring and Summer too. Some minor damage from Japanese Beetles.

We picked only the ones that were ready or close enough about a pound I think. We didn't weigh them.. Should be enough for the flavoring/aroma additions in the next batch of beer. Maybe I'll use them green/fresh instead of drying them.

Berliner Weisse brew session draft 1.0

2012-07-31T11:48:00.000-04:00

Hope you enjoyed Mr. Peek and his dancin' man. LOL Something I ran across while looking up some music to learn.

I'll use this space to plan my next beer, something like a berliner weisse. Grain bill will be American two row with some German wheat malt. Hops will be negligible. Beersmith will help me with that calculation. Yeast will be lactobacillus either from some uncrushed grain or from a White Labs vial.

By the way I added links to the resource page here.

Steps...

Draft 1.0

Day Before

Write recipe
Prepare yeast starters
Grow up for as long as necessary
Clean brewery in preparation for brew day

Brew Day

condition grain with water (maybe, still debating continuing to do this)
mill grain
heat water in HLT
mash in
hold at temp
heat sparge water in HLT
sparge * run into kettle
cool down to 115
need to boil this at some point huh
innoculate wort with lacto
wait 48 hours
taste wort to see if it is acidic enough every 8 hours or so
keep around 105 - 115 for lacto to work best
when ready, chill to 70 for yeast pitch
rack into fermenters
finish with US05
check gravity over next few days
keg or bottle

Oops...looks like Ol' Joe Clark didn't get embeded. Here it is again...

2012-07-30T21:02:00.001-04:00

Richard Peek on the banjo.

Pause for a station break: 'Ol Joe Clark and the Dancin' Man by rpeek

2012-07-29T19:28:00.002-04:00

Thought you might like a little distraction :-)

Berliner Weisse Resources

2012-07-29T15:39:00.002-04:00

Just had a great example of a sour beer in the Berliner Weisse ballpark at Tired Hands.

Looking for some stuff on Berliner Weisse? Here you go. If you have other stuff you would like to see added just leave a comment with the details.

Notes on my attempt:
http://www.nonconfermist.com/2012/07/berliner-weisse-brew-session-draft-10.html

Podcasts
Basic Brewing - March 10, 2011 - Berliner Weisse Andy Sparks and the Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire, share their homebrew Berliner Weisse beers and talk about brewing the nicely tart ales.
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=basic-brewing-radio-2011

July 26, 2012 - Sour Mash - Berliner Weisse Montreal home brewer Sean Coates turns a stinky mash into a refreshing, tart summer brew.
http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=radio

Links
Discussion over at HomeBrewTalk
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/berliner-weisse-full-sour-wort-314653/

Do a search for Berliner at The Mad Fermentationist
http://www.themadfermentationist.com/

Homebrew Talk Wiki
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Berliner_Weisse

Summer slipping by...

2012-07-24T11:43:00.000-04:00

Summer seems to be slipping by. The above photo is from a local fair here in Pennsylvania. Well, the Saison was a hit at out 4th of July picnic. Always happy to share my beer and not poison somebody ;-)

Next beer will be something like a berliner weisse. Studying up on that one. Got some tips from Jean at Tired Hands Brewing. Lactobacillus will play the key role here. The question is how will I go about it? Sour mash? Innoculate with packaged yeast? More reading.

Saison pic...

2012-06-22T23:52:00.001-04:00

Mmmm yeasty... and cold crashing beer to flocculate yeast...

2012-06-22T14:41:00.002-04:00

Decided to hook up that ol' kegerator with a Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor to see how much electricity it's sucking down. Already ditched two old refrigerators because they were costing me a fortune.

Soon, I'll have some clear beer. Well as long as the yeast does its thing.

Saison kegged and waiting...

2012-06-21T12:39:00.000-04:00

A couple days ago I kegged the Saison. It looks more like a Whit with all that yeast still in suspension heheh, but, even with the yeast, it still tastes good. With temperatures hitting the mid to upper 90s and the garage being in the 80s, I don't have a way to cold crash it right now, so I might put together my fermentation chamber today or hook up an old kegerator temporarily. (It uses too much electricity so I've been avoiding using it.)

Need to plan the next brew. Will probably be the same recipe, but, with a lower mash temperature for a more fermentable beer. Might try a different yeast this time or split the batch. The T-58 is very nice with fruity esters and very slight peppery flavors, but, I'd like to push the envelop a bit more.