Just an update on some of my brewing from over the past few weekends.

• Brewed the Two Hearted Clone last Saturday.
  • OG finished a little lower than I would have liked, but nothing terrible at 1.062 (was shooting for 1.065)
  • Lag time of about 8 hours. Also added 8 drops of FermCap to keep down on the krausen.
  • Dry hopped with 2oz of Centennial hops this weekend and moved into the closest for one week on the hops.
• Moved the Pliny the Elder (Imperial IPA) clone from a carboy into a bright keg.
  • Unfortunately the pelletized hops clogged up my ball lock, so I had to just open the keg and rack it in.
  • Finished out at 1.014 from an OG of 1.088. I tasted it and was quite impressed. I had the girlfriend taste it and she said even at this point, it’s better than Hopslam.
  • Noticed a bit of fusel alcohol aroma as it warmed. Hopefully some of this will age off a bit.
• Brought the Mango Blonde down to 37° last weekend.
  • Transfered to bright keg this weekend and added 6lbs of mango. Looking back at it though, should not have moved this into the bright tank. I think I’ll just swap dip tubes.
  • Also, fitting 6lbs of mango into the keg lost me about a gallon of beer. Not a big deal.
• Chilled and carbonated the La Fin Du Monde clone.
• Bottled 20 bottles of my Oatmeal Stout and 14 Bottles of the Southern English Brown. Dumped the rest of the Oatmeal Stout.
  • Had a lot of foaming with the Oatmeal Stout, I think it was due to the keg being warm.

This weekend I tackled a Raspberry Wheat beer. 47.9% Pils, 47.9% White Wheat and 4.3% Crystal 15. One additional of Willamette at 60 minutes to bring it to 18 IBUs. I’ll add 3lbs of raspberry puree after primary fermentation has ceased.

I also did overnight mash for this beer. I’m trying to avoid brewing on Sundays and thanks to the awesome Repeal of Prohibition festival I was busy Saturday afternoon. So I began my mash right before heading for dinner on Friday night, came home and brought the temperature up to 174 with my heatstick and left it overnight. I woke up early on Saturday morning and began heating my sparge water. The temp on the mash dropped to 153 overnight, so I used the heatstick to bring it back up to 170. Did my sparge and then boiled. I was hoping this would make a 6 hour brew day only 3-4 hour day, but thanks to a 90 minute boil it was closer to 4.5-5 hours. Still made for an interesting experiment.

Oh, this was also my 6th batch in 6 weeks. Whew. Talking a Belgian Wit this weekend and then taking off a few weeks from brewing. I’m sure it’ll make Irene happy.

Hopefully this snow isn’t putting a damper on your beer festivities this weekend. You have the Super Bowl this weekend, a fine beer drinking opportunity, as long as you’re able to wake up the next morning. Or you also have Mardi Gras, which seems to be your best bet if you’re looking for tremendous amounts of beer and maybe the occasional breast. I on the other hand will be homebrewing this weekend (Saison) where there will still be a tremendous amount of beer but a much less likely amount of breasts.

Stuff from around the web

• Anheuser-Busch’s profits up 12%, but they still missed analysts marks.
• William of Year of Beer tries his hand at the Hopslam.
• There are few things I like more than beer, cheese and cupcakes, so what’s better than a beer cheese cupcake?
• The Beer Philosopher gives a rundown of the Super Bowl and throw in some beer for good measure.

Beer Releases and News

• Andrew from Bon Vivant Wines informs me to some beers he has in his stock:
  • Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Sierra Nevada Bigfoot 2008
  • Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Sierra Nevada ESB
  • Great Divide Brewing Company - Great Divide Samurai
  • Great Divide Brewing Company - Great Divide Porter
  • Great Divide Brewing Company - Great Divide Hercules IPA
  • Great Divide Brewing Company - Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Imp Stout
  • Dogfish Head Craft Brewery - India Brown Ale
  • Uerige Obergärige Hausbrauerei GmbH - Uerige Altbier (Classic)
  • Augustiner-Bräu Wagner KG - Augustiner Bräu Maximator
• Jerad from Piasa Winery lets me know about some beer beers he has to offer you:
  • Founders Brewing - Pale Ale
  • Two Brothers Brewing - Imperial Cane & Ebel Rye
  • Boulder Brewing - Obovoid Empirical Russian Stout
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Brouwerij Het Anker - Gouden Carolus Easter Ale
  • Boulevard Brewing Company - Boulevard Irish Ale
  • Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs - La Montagnarde [Brasserie Des Rocs Ambree]
  • Arcadia Brewing Company - Arcadia Hop Mouth
  • Arcadia Brewing Company - Arcadia Hop Rocket
  • O’Fallon Brewery - O’Fallon Whiskey Barrel Smoked Porter

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Feb 4 - Beer on the Bayou with Schlafly Beer
• Feb 8 & 9 - Cod and Cask Festival at Schlafly Tap Room
• Feb 13 - Amber Beer Tasting at Whole Foods
• Feb 14 - Valentines Beer Dinner at Newstead Tower Public House
• Feb 29 - New Belgium Beer Dinner at Whole Foods

I’ve just been told that Hopslam is now available at the Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton.  Paul only received 8 cases, so you better get it while you can.  Here’s this week’s Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• Bill and Ian give their feelings on Newstead Tower Pub.
• The Post Dispatch covers beer dinners in St. Louis.
• Ken Jennings visited the Tap Room, how was I not made aware of this?
• Year of Beer tries out the Schlafly Tripel.

Beer Releases and News

• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Spoetzl Brewery - Shiner Bohemian Black
  • Bell’s Brewery, Inc. - Bell’s HopSlam
  • Arcadia Brewing Company - Arcadia Hopmouth Double IPA
• Jerad from Piasa Winery let’s me know about some beer beers he has to offer you:
  • New Holland Brewing - Mad Hatter IPA
  • August Schell Brewing - Carmel Bock
  • Allagash Brewing - Allagash White
  • Founders Brewing Company - Blushing Monk
• Jerad also let me know that The Rotten Apple has these beers on draught:
  • Lagunitas Brewing Company - Lagunitas Pilsner
  • Founders Brewing Company - Founders Centennial
  • Lagunitas Brewing Company - Lagunitas IPA
  • Lagunitas Brewing Company - Lagunitas Censored
  • Brouwerij Het Anker - Gouden Carolus Noel
  • Founders Brewing Company - Founders Pale Ale
  • Great Divide Brewing Company - Hercules Double IPA
• Chris at Randall’s Wine & Spirits in St. Louis alerts me to some new beers sets he has in stock, just in time for the holiday season:
  • Bell’s Brewery, Inc. - Bell’s HopSlam
  • Uerige Obergrige Hausbrauerei - Uerige Dopplesticke
  • Brauerei Heinrich Reissdorf - Reissdorf Kolsch 4 Packs
  • Dortmunder Actien Brauerei - Dab Original
  • O’Fallon Brewery - O’Fallon Smoke 22oz
  • Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers - De Dolle Dulle Teve
  • Brouwerij De Dolle Brouwers - De Dolle Extra Export Stout
  • Coors Brewing Company - Blue Moon Rising Moon
• Chris is also expecting these beers in today at the Fairview Heights Randall’s:
  • Rogue Ales Brewery - Rogue Brutal Bitter
  • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Sierra Nevada ESB
  • Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. - Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine
  • Brouwerij Liefmans - De Boomgaarden Tropicale Mango Lambic
  • De Proefbrouwerij - Andelot Cuvee Mystique
  • De Proefbrouwerij - Belgiume Lunatique
  • Great Divide Mixed 12 Packs
  • Clipper City Mixed 12 Packs
  • Boston Brewing Company - Sam Adams Triple Bock
  • Anheuser-Busch Brewing - Budweiser Chelada Tall Boy

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Feb 4 - Beer on the Bayou with Schlafly Beer
• Feb 13 - Amber Beer Tasting at Whole Foods
• Feb 29 - New Belgium Beer Dinner at Whole Foods

Thanks to Paul from the Wine and Cheese Place for alerting me.  Bell’s seasonal Hopslam will be available tomorrow in St. Louis.  Only 60 cases have arrived in St. Louis, so all of you lupulus lovers better get some quick because you know this one will be sure to go fast.

Here’s a quick commercial description:

A biting, bitter, tongue bruiser of an ale. With a name like Hopslam, what did you expect? O.G.: 1.095, IBUs: 70, 10%ABV