Shut Up Already

I feel like for the last week or so I've been yapping on about pumpkin beer. Maybe it's because it's actually time to consume said style of beer with it being October. Here in Pittsburgh, it's starting to actually feel like fall weather at times. It's been a bit cool, but still has a tendency to heat up in the peak of the afternoon.

What the Hell Did You Put in This?

This weekend my dad and I racked over our homebrewed pumpkin ale into the secondary fermenter. Last year the ABV came in at around 7.5 percent. I tried a sample of the batch we were racking and there was this alcohol burn. I asked what the hell he put in this the week prior. So, we did another gravity test which we ended up having to do a few times. It kept coming out at around 10 percent. We finally settled that this might be a higher ABV than last year's batch. More sugar come out of the pie pumpkins we used? Very possible.

Regardless, the color seems to have taken the same copper/deep amber as it did last year. We shall see how the overall flavor develops. As it sits now, this is looking like more of a two-glass beer and done type of thing.

You've Got to try This

Behold.

October also marks the beginning of something I hope to make an annual tradition. I don't partake in a lot of beer trades between other members of the beer community online. This is mostly in part to the massive collection I have under my kitchen table.

As a matter of fact, I was told last year that there was a beer that I just had to try in Saint Arnold's Pumpkinator aka Divine Reserve No. 9. I tried it and had to get into the fetal position. It was that good. This year I'll be reciprocating with the member of the Texas branch of the Brotherhood of Brew, a group all about trying and sharing different beers. that insisted I try the beer in the first place.

The beer was as black as night and had this amazing nutmeg-like aroma to it. it was just awesome. I'm getting the shakes just thinking about it. Can't wait to try it again. I remember it also having one of the more unique bottle caps that I've ever come across as well. I plan on keeping the cap this time around. Speaking of traditions, one of my favorite drinking nights is the night before Thanksgiving. I saved the bottle for that night last year. It's possible that I make that my official Pumpkinator night.

Nice and Tart

I was helping the infamous Beer Snob Sr. move to his new and luxurious apartment Tuesday night. That's in part as to why I wasn't able to get anything posted on here yesterday. Let's be honest. There aren't many that missed me anyways.

Still, an idea for this post came out of my assistance. In gratitude, Beer Snob Sr. offered those of us that helped in said moving pizza and homebrew. His fridge was stocked with lager, white IPA and a hard cider.

In case you didn't get the reference.

I grabbed myself a cider and noticed it was quite flat. In my experience with the hard cider my dad and I have made, it takes at least six months to get any bit of carbonation present. This one had next to nothing. For the lack of carbonation, it still was nice and tart. Just the way I like my ciders.

The one my dad makes in time for Thanksgiving Day each year is a massive undertaking. He waits until nearby Trax Farms has unpasteurized apple cider and gets an "Ale Pail" full of it. We want it unpasteurized due to it having the natural yeasts already in it. We toss in the sugar to up the ABV. Then we add raisins and oak chips before letting nature take care of the rest.

The final product has a strong taste that's oak-like and boozy. Thus, we named it "Boot in the Ass." Beer Snob Sr. (not my dad if you're confused) always used Mr. Beer kits for his homebrews. Given the speed in which one is enabled to make a final product with some of those kits, I can understand why the batch of cider he had was flat.

I made a point to remind him that he had created alcohol, which in some cases is hard enough to do.  In my eyes, that's an above average cider. Obviously my palate isn't acclimated to the nuances of ciders (as I might be with beer) just yet. I've tried a a few of the local ones by Arsenal here in Lawrenceville as well as Jack's Hard Cider out near Gettysburg. All I know is that I like them nice and tart.

Congrats is in Order

It's party time in Alabama. Governor Robert Bentley signed the new homebrewing bill into law sometime yesterday. As Monty Python would say, I'm sure there was much rejoicing. Alabama is now the 49th state in the union to legalize brewing within one's own home (I'm fairly sure Mississippi has passed a similar bill, but it's not yet officially signed into law).


 I can't imagine a world without homebrewing. That's maybe because I'm biased and have participated in some of the aforementioned practice. It makes me wonder how the beer culture here in the Pittsburgh area would be different.

I've had friends dabble a bit in homebrewing. I know a few people that pretty much love their product each time that they rarely buy anything else concerning beer except for new kits to brew up. The TRASH homebrewer's organization typically has a big beer fair each year. I think the culture would be just a tad different if there was such a ban in Pennsylvania.

I've noticed that for some, homebrewing can act as a bridge to the plethora of craft beers available. We all know that there's one hell of a selection in this area. Now, since it's Friday. I'm due for some indulgence of fine ales as well as classic James Bond movies.

The Session No. 75: The Business of Brewing

Holy hell does it feel like last months Sessions post was just last week. April's was a good topic as is the one for May. I'm just not sure if I have much to contribute.

The May edition of The Session is penned by Chuck Lenatti of All Brews. His subject? The business of brewing beer. I've certainly assisted in many of mine and my father's homebrew concoctions. I've also certainly fantasized about being a brewer. After all, don't we look at a lot of our local brewers as if their athletes or celebrities? At least it comes off that way to me.

The closest I've come to gong all-in and starting a brewery is telling my father to stop being delusional and to snap back into reality. He'll consistently spew off into his own tangent claiming we should start a brewpub/brewery. That's definitely not happening anytime soon.

If the beer selection was up to me, it would mostly be pumpkin and blueberry ales. We would be running to the bank really fast. Thankfully there are braver people out there than I. They can also make some awesome beer.

To make it short and sweet, I have no business being in the actual business of brewing commercially. I'd much rather leave it to the professionals.

You Can Still Get Anything You Want

I posted pretty much the same thing on this day last year. Well, why not? This song is pretty much a Thanksgiving Day tradition on radio stations across the country.

As far as I know, WDVE should be playing the song at noon as it does every year. Just in case, you miss that or want to listen earlier I've once again embedded it for you.

Be sure to have a happy Thanksgiving. My family sure will. This is a special one since this is the first time that approximately 90 percent of the beer we will be drinking is homebrewed. Cheers.

 

Homebrew Pumpkin Ale Underway

Just wanted to give an update on the homebrew pumpkin ale recipe my father and I had been developing. We officially began the brewing process this past Saturday.

There's not any particular way to do it, but by preference. So, we decided to roast two pumpkins before ripping the meat off and mashing it. The pumpkin meat was the very first ingredient we added to the pot of water before we steeped our Biscuit and Crystal malts.

The pumpkin started the brew off with a buttery scent and golden color. We then strained the meat from the mix before adding more malt extract to tone down the color we thought the Biscuit and Crystal would give the body.

We used two kinds of hops (Sterling and Magnum) that we found in the recipe for Southern Tier Pumking, but tried to go as easy as we could so the brew wouldn't employ a ton of bitterness.

What we wanted to be strong was the spices. We took a load of typical pumpkin spices and precise measurements from a friend via Twitter that he uses in his yearly recipe. Once they were mixed and kept in a sandwich bag, the scent could be picked up from across the room.

The beer finally took on a deep crown color with what appears to be some red highlights once we finished the wort. I'm excited for this to finish. It's currently fermenting like hell. We're hoping to be bottle conditioned in time for Thanksgiving Dinner.

After the pumpkin meat was tossed in.

The color prior to adding the hops and spices.

Monday Rant: White House Honey Ale isn't a Big Deal

Hope everyone got to have some fantastic craft beer while celebrating Labor Day yesterday. I obviously took the day off from posting as this is a Monday Rant on a Tuesday.

Over the weekend the White House finally released the infamous home brewing recipes involving honey from the Rose Garden. If you want to find the actual source, along with the actual recipes of what's being brewed in the nation's most famous estate just click here.

From what I can gather, there was an online petition put together in order to force the White House's hand so that it would release the recipes for what's being brewed. I just don't understand what all of the madness is about. Who cares?

Is it really that important that we know the actual recipes for these beers? Why should any of this be considered public record? I find it intriguing that there's brewing taking place in the White House for possibly the first time in history, but I don't feel the urge to demand that I have the recipe, too. I'm quite content assisting my father in developing our own pumpkin ale recipe.

Politics Aside: Homebrewing in the White House

I bet it's in the West Wing. (Photo credit: HarshLight)

When learning about the specific branches of government while in grade school (Judicial, Legislative and Executive or those of you that need a quick refresher!) I was always fascinated with how our teachers described secret layers of the White House as something like an underground city.

The news that our current president has added a "brewing facility" just blows my mind. According to the USA Today, there has been some homebrewing done at the nation's most famous home.

Even more fascinating, to me at least, is the fact that this hasn't been publicized before with one of our presidents. After all, Jimmy Carter made homebrewing legal in 1979. That was over 30 years ago! Many presidents have had the opportunity to craft their own brews. I'm sure George Washington and Thomas Jefferson took advantage of some extra time back in the 1700's.

I'm not trying to discuss politics, nor try to get anyone to vote or not vote.Regardless of your political affiliation and Barack Obama's, it's still awesome that he's developed what has been called White House Honey Ale during his stay in the White House.

Can you imagine if Congress did this at the United States Capitol? Just take a second and imagine the great combination of styles from different states.