Thinking about All Grain

So in a conversation with Caspito yesterday, I mentioned that maybe we won't do all-grain next week. Well, I think I've changed my mind. And I think I'm going to buy the setup today. I've been doing some research and come across one that seems like it's in a reasonable price range, seems pretty sturdy, and allows for long-time use. Check it:

Its 35-quart capacity (which translates into roughly 8.75 gallons in math easyspeak) will be plenty big for brewing. The large top of the burner will help prevent boil-over, since it's not 10 gallons, this will be very very helpful to keep things clean. I'm waiting to hear back some info from some BA'ers, and then I'm going to go to Lowes in Pleasant Ridge tonight or tomorrow to check out the thickness and feel, and go from there to see if I should get it. If it feels good, I'm in. I'll have to keep you updated on that one.

Thoughts?

Celebratorale

So wondering what it would be like to throw a party for our friends and lovers wherein Wu and I provide our own homebrews to drink, for some time now, it has at long last transpired. My words are confounding at times today, even to myself. Drunk donkey right now.

anyway

we had this party last week: anyone who came was offered the chance to mix and match their own six pack of our brews for the low cost of eight dollars. in chicago you can't get six packs of craft or micro beer for under nine. ten and half percent sales tax and all. we didnt charge tax because we didnt profit, and even if we would have, it'd all have been bootleg cuz thats our style.

Everyone got way too drunk, especially the hosts. One of the foremost chefs at my work fell in love with our Phenomagavely, a chicago take on the DaveDave Border Jumper. We raked in almost enough to break even and immediately reinvested it all again here and here. who dey.

all in all a success. At this point we're not looking to make money, just trying to share the wealth. home made beer is the shit, point blank, and those who have not tried it wont understand. on top of that not many people realize just how creative and off the wall you can be with beer. a fucking pine nut beer? anything is possible yo. i'm sure we all just want the world to know its true. (and there is a certain satisfaction that comes with having people drink enjoy and get drunk on something you orchestrated (ie. the facilitation of yeast activity in an environment conducive to alcohol generation as well as pleasing to the human palate(ie. the brew)))

right now i am sipping off a bomber of the Ambermensch, double fermented brown sugar straddling strong amber ale. Mi piace molto.

and on and on he drones. remember kids: always have fun, even when it hurts, and never stop doing drugs. peace

(editors note: "drugs" denote all psychoactive ingredients, including the more mundane, socially sanction, more "responsible" drugs like caffeine, nicotine, tryptophan and aspirin. it is up to the individual to decide if the "harder" drugs (like alcohol, THC and cocaine) are things they want to put in their body, and even then only after careful deliberation and the weighing of benefits to detriments. in short: If it works for your life, it probably works. peace)

Incredible All-Grain Read

For us, for the Chicago Branch, and for many other home brewers around the world, making the step into brewing itself, is one thing. Making the leap into all-grain brewing is a much more daunting and oftentimes unattainable and simply out of scope based on the complex write ups that many books and websites have. After a few discussions with local home brewers, I had a small idea of what was going on, but not enough understanding to move forward. I have recently been shown a website that captures the idea of all-grain brewing in an incredibly accessible way.

You can find the link ::here

Some key things to consider is that the brewing world sometimes finds itself caught up in its process description (read, sparging, lautering, striking, pitching, primary, secondary, wort, etc.) and doesn't give the opportunity to allow outsiders to focus on the actual how and why of brewing. This link breaks a lot of those things down for you really well. For instance, Striking is based on Strike Water, which is the heated water that is mixed with the grains originally that lead to the breakdown of the sugar enzymes while in the mash tun. Striking is the action of "putting the water into the mash tun," essentially.

In other words, just read it. It's awesome and it will make you want to drive immediately to the brew store and start all-grain today.

The Mad Fermentationist

Hey Guys, I found a sweet blog documenting one mans journey through brewing. He's got some really great ideas and full recipe posts. Definitely some information for thought.

::link_the mad fermentationist

New Passion For Brewing

Boys and Girls, look forward to plenty more updates, TONS more insane beers to be made and a huge new appetite for brewing.

Check the comments section for some brewing ideas I have and feel free to add your own!

Man God Remix

This afternoon we're brewing what will be the beginnings of the official blend of Man and God. We've modified the Man recipe ever so slightly to account for both a four gallon batch and a switch to a beer closer in resemblance to a Russian Imperial Stout. Don't worry, our Man is still there, but not for long! Once we rack to primary, Man will run its usual course accompanied by WYeast 1084 for a few weeks. After that, we will blend the 4 gallons of Man with 1 gallon of God in secondary, and pitch Brett and Lactobacillus yeasts to create what will hopefully become one of the greatest and maybe even the first ever (tentatively classified) Imperial Coffee Sour Russian Barley Wine. It doesn't make much sense... yet, but it will. Oh, how it will!