More Upcoming!

I’ve got my next SEVEN beers planned out!  I’ve already discussed a few of them, and the next two will be my Cascade APA (recipe and procedure already blogged, brewing is just delayed a few weeks), and the very next one will be Coffee Oatmeal stout!

After that I’ve got (in no particular order…)

• a nice English Mild on the way, coming in at low ABV and hopefully high flavor, this will be my first usage of Bramling Cross Hops
• a mega-hoppy IPA, called Benchwarmer IPA, inspired by two posters on BeerAdvocate.Com, using some combination of colombus, chinook, northern brewer, and willamette hops
• Juniper Pale ale, a moderately hopped APA with a touch of Juniper berries added near the end of the boil
• Elderberry Wheat, which should be slightly purple in color and a bit tart in flavor.  This American wheat is a real experimental brew, we’ll see how it goes!

I’ve got my eight gallon fermentation vessel now, ready to brew stouts, barleywines, double IPAs, and anything else with higher gravity (and the potential for a large krausen).  This piece will also allow me to have multiple batches fermenting at once.  Along with this I’ve just gotten a three gallon better bottle, allowing me even more access to making split batches and secondary fermentations for experimental purposes!

My next brew day will be bottling day for my English Special Bitter.  I’m anticipating that to be in about one week from this posting.

A few days after that I’ll be bottling my Bleach Blonde Ale / Blueberry Bleach Blonde Ale.  I’m really anxious to see how that one came out, as not only was it my first attempt at liquid yeast and making a starter, but it’s my first experiment with using fresh fruit!

Once those are bottled, Coffee Oatmeal Stout will be brewed next.  The coffee will be added as a cold brewed addition to a secondary fermentation.  I plan to split this batch as well, putting half of it on vanilla beans in secondary fermentation.  I haven’t decided the exact amount of vanilla beans to use yet, but it won’t be a lot.  I’ve got the beans and they’re potent!  I just want a lightly vanilla flavor, nothing overpowering.  I don’t want the vanilla to clash with the coffee.

And finally, I’m participating in a homebrew BIF on beeradvocate.com.  We’re exchanging homebrew, and a few local commercial beers too.  Always anxious for a BIF!

Lots of good beer stuff coming soon, I can’t wait to taste it!

Cheers!

One Awesome Box – Story BIF

The Story BIF was an event where everybody had to send a box of beer, plus a story, to their recipient.   The story had to include each of the beer’s names somewhere in the story as part of the criteria.  I’m rather proud of my story, especially since I won the bonus box (voted on by the forumites).  However, the real story here was the EPIC haul I got from Alewatcher!  Here’s the links:

Story, part 1

Story, part 2

The Haul

Here’s the pics and list of what Alewatcher sent me, truly Epic!!

Pic 1 from left to right
Stone sublimely self-righteous
Stone smoked porter
JP Oro de Calabaza
DFH chateau jiahu
Ducheusse
DFH fort– 07
DFH Red & White
Stone Vertical Epic 10
Stone IRS
Surly Coffee Bender
Surly CynicAle

Pic 2;
FFF tulip pint (my favorite style glass for IPAs)
Summit unchained imperial pumpkin porter
DFH olde school
RR temptation
Weheinstephaner Heffe
Sam smiths Yorkshire stingo
Weyerbacher Insanity (bomber)
Pannepot 07
DFH 120 minute IPA- I think from 07
NG Enigma
Yahoo Sue

Absolutely the best box I’ve gotten yet in a BIF.  Thanks Alewatcher!!

Math Trade 5

The Math Trade 5 is a BIF event where each person offers up three “puts,” and then bids on four “wants” for each beer you’ve put up for trade.  Neorunner then does some magical, mystery mathematics and tries to match everyone up with both a target for the beer they offered, and an incoming beer that they wanted from their choices.  This is the fifth math trade event, and the second one I’ve participated in.

You are not guaranteed to connect in this trade.  Each person can put up to three puts, and bid on four beers they want per put.  If you don’t put up anything that someone else wants, you’re not going to wind up connecting. Also, if everybody in the universe wants the beers you’re bidding on, you also may not connect.  You can connect up to three times if you are lucky, if you offer beers that people really want, and if you choose wisely.

My plan on this round is to bid on beers that I don’t think are going to be SUPER sought after, thus increasing my chances of connecting.  I won’t be bidding on Kate the Great, Darkness, Dark Lord, Hunaphu, or anything super-rare.  I’ll be bidding on beers that I think are pretty fair trades for my puts.  I believe my puts are great beers, but I realize they aren’t super rare whales!

On the first round that I participated in (math trade 3), I only connected once, offering up Boulevard Bourbon Barrel Quad.  My other puts may not have appealed enough to connect.  Still, I was happy.

This time I am offering up 2008 Schlafly Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, 2011 Bouelvard Saison-Brett, and Fantome Saison.

The puts are in, and the next step is selection.  A spreadsheet with all the beers will be posted online.  Each person selects four beers they want per put that they offered.  When that is completed, the next step is Math!

Don’t ask me what math actually gets done, I don’t know and I’m not worried about it.  However, when that math is done, we’ll know who hooked up with what.  That’s what I’m waiting for!!

I feel confident that I will connect on this one, especially with the saison-brett.  Wish me luck!