The Chocolate Hezechiah ART

GUEST BEER! Celebration Ale. I GOT A KEG woot!

Thanks to Bill at the distributor and John at the store. I have a keg of my fave beer of all time on tap in my house. !

Celebration Ale

GUEST BEER Life and Limb

Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head collaborative beer. 10.5% maple strong dark beer. 30Cases came to Georgia. 3 to the Total Wine in Kennesaw. I bought 5 Bottles. It's good stuff.

Chicago Trip!

Rick Nielson's Brew Pub in Bucktown. Good beer... decent pizza.

Our favorite fan... "Postal" ... pre freak out. I was afraid to get a pick while he was going off. He's NUTS!

BREWERY UPGRADING

BREWERY UPGRADE A Pump!

Okay... Sorry Mr. Siphon... yr OUT. (okay... so is the picking up the brew keggle and lifting it up to drain it in to the carboy.) I'm experimenting with a new beer sculpture i'm putting together and will be posting pics soon.

GUEST BEER Thanksgiving Style

Happy Thanksgiving from the Burnt Hickory Brewery. That said.... Here's my GUEST BEER.

NEW GLARUS Belgian Red. A beer so good... it's almost impossible to imagine!

Only problem? Don't try to sell it in a bar in NYC. NEW GLARUS SPOTTED COW BUST!

GUEST BEER. Bell's Two Hearted Ale.

Michigan's Bells Brewery ships their NUMBER ONE to GA. I've smuggled this back from Wisconsin for years... Like Dogfish...etc... GA is now getting the beer we deserve. This is a major one. Sightings at Tower on Piedmont.. and a confirmation that Savannah Distribution had it.. so seek it out.

the NEW Old Wooden Head UPDATE

okay... the limited Old Wooden Head is in bottles. Trying for a Barleywine style... my gravity was off... lower... so... okay... in the secondary i add plugs of Chinook and Centenial and end up with one the best OWH's yet. (This is try #5 at a decent recipe... and this is the first one i've liked.)

past OWH's. 1. Fall 2008. Grapefruit... and cloudy. no balance. 2. Spring 2009... Good. some oxidation... 7 % ABV. 3. Summer 2009... Skunky and skunky sweet... major oxidation... 4. Fall 2009... the lost batch... gooey oily... yellow cloudy... it's on tap here at the house... but i think it's going into bottles.. and forgotten... 5. Fall 2009... the latest.

Kennesaw Mountain Cream Ale. NEW STYLE

Courageous Conductor NEW LABEL bottling soon.

DOGFISH PUB

Dogfish Brewpub in Rehoboth. The Randall in full action

DOGFISH HEAD visit! EXCLUSIVE!

WORKING TODAY.

Working today in the Brewery.

Dead Angle Update.

DEAD ANGLE APPLE ... brewing day. UPDATE in Recipe.

Dead Angle Apple Ale19-A Old Ale

Size: 5.24 galEfficiency: 75.0%Attenuation: 75.0%Calories: 350.5 kcal per 12.0 fl oz
Original Gravity: 1.104 (1.060 - 1.090)Terminal Gravity: 1.026 (1.015 - 1.022)Color: 23.17 (10.0 - 22.0)Alcohol: 10.38% (6.0% - 9.0%)Bitterness: 51.8 (30.0 - 60.0)
Ingredients:15.0 lb American 2-row2.0 lb White Wheat Malt2.0 lb Crystal 60.5 lb Roasted Barley1.0 lb Light Brown Sugar1.0 oz Nugget (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min1.0 tsp Irish Moss - added during boil, boiled 16.0 min2.0 ea White Labs WLP028 Edinburgh Ale1 tsp Nutmeg (ground) - added dry to secondary fermenter1 tsp Cinnamon (ground) - added dry to secondary fermenter1.0 gal Organic Apple Cider - added dry to secondary fermenter
Schedule:Ambient Air: 70.0 °FSource Water: 60.0 °FElevation: 0.0 m
Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.5.2

DEAD ANGLE Apple Ale. NEW BEER.

Ok... Kinda just showing off my label. The beer isn't even in the brewing stage... that'll be next week. I'm gonna try for an Apple Pie... kinda a feel of the Dogfish Punkin Ale... only Apples.

Here's the Recipe.

Original Gravity: 1.082 (1.075 - 1.110)Terminal Gravity: 1.021 (1.010 - 1.024)Color: 21.3 (12.0 - 22.0)Alcohol: 8.18% (8.0% - 11.0%)Bitterness: 37.9 (20.0 - 35.0)

Ingredients:15.0 lb American 2-row2.0 lb

White Wheat Malt2.0 lb

Crystal 60.5 lb

Roasted Barley2.0 lb

Light Brown Sugar1.0 oz Nugget (13.0%) - added during boil, boiled 60.0 min

.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 20.0 min

.5 oz East Kent Goldings (5.0%) - added during boil, boiled 1.0 min

1.0 tsp Irish Moss - added during boil, boiled 16.0 min

1.0 ea White Labs WLP005 British Ale

1 tsp Nutmeg (ground) - added dry to secondary fermenter

1 tsp Cinnamon (ground) - added dry to secondary fermenter

1.0 gal Organic Apple Cider - added dry to secondary fermenter

Here's a quote on the name..from the web

Wave after wave of Federals advance towards the salient in the Rebel line on Cheatham Hill. Withering gunfire kills hundreds of boys, mostly from Illinois and Ohio. Incredibly, McCook and some of his men make it to the Rebel line, only to be shot, stabbed, or captured by the Graybacks. Later both sides would refer to this area as "The Dead Angle."

So let's see how it goes... hopefully on draft and bottles by end of October 2009.

GUEST BEER August 27th Hoptober!

New Belgium "Hoptober" . Got this today here in Kennesaw. I'm not a huge fan of the NB krew... but... i do like this beer alot. It's very pale... but some real hard malt kick... and it's very hoppy. I don't know the specs on the thing... but here's a few links. HERE and HERE

KOLBs FARM STOUT update.

the Repitch of champagne yeast worked...and the beer is carbonated great. it's now about 6 months old.. and the reviews are coming in.

Fighting Joe EXPLODES

Well... the Raspberry Hefe is gone... in a POW. over carbonated beer at more than 75 degrees storage will explode. RIP Fighting Joe Raspberry! I will keg from now on... and use my Beer Gun to counter presser fill those bastards.

BEEN AWAY. Work. What a drag.

Ok. it's been awhile since i posted here on the blog. i was immersed in a huge HD workflow/shoot/edit/deliver. some beer... and... i did get a kegerator. so i was happy. the image above is the blast fan i was using to settle my laptop's operating temperature down so it wouldn't kick on me. ugh.




Then there's this. At SEC Media Day. (i was working on a hour long College Football show ... see a sample here.)




but that picture above goes down as one of the best mic stands ever. ha.

i'm back to brewing starting tomorrow. going to the homebrew store.

GUEST BEER August 16th RACER 5

Bear Republic's Racer 5. A killer IPA from California. Got this on a recent trip to Asheville. Word has it... that it might be coming here to Georgia.

Cannon Dragger in the keg.

The second version that was kegged only. month in keg... clear and good.

Fightin Joe's Party Hefe #2 Bottled.

More Hooker Luv! This time it's Raspberry. 2 pounds of fresh raspberries purree'd and added at secondary fermentation. This wheat ale is completed hopped with amarillo hops.

kegged 1 gallon. Bottled 48 12oz's

Tecumseh's Fire Strong Ale

Kegged this strong ale today. OG 1091... FG 1015. ABV 10.0 percent. I'm gonna make limited bottles of this one using the Beer Gun counter pressure filler set up i've bought and have been
working with. Forced carbed at 30PSI... Will let stand for a week... then cool.... then hit the bottles.

BEER TRIPPIN # 3 Furthermore "Knot Stock"

Grabbed a sixer of this too. Furthermore's "Knot Stock" a black peppered pale ale. what a great idea for a beer. it's spicy and really interesting. i love this one.

BEER TRIPPIN # 2 Ale Asylum "Ambergeddon"

Thanks to a tip from Dan from Killdozer... this a beer that makes me love Wisconsin MORE!

Ale Asylum in Madison is a small brew pub/package brewery that produces and delivers in small quanities to the immediate Madison area. I scored this at LE CORK in Mt. Horeb on the way to the House on the Rock.

A layer of yeast in the bottom.... a good sign that it is done "homebrew" style... it's a sweet hard beer similar to Sierra Nevada's pale ale times 2... maybe 200... i love this beer.... and just LOOK at that label !whoot!

BEER TRIPPIN #1 Founder's "Cerise"

I'm posting alot from my recent trip to NW Illinois and southern Wisconsin.

Here's a review of a beer i got there...and smuggled back home to the cabin in the Georgia mountains.

Founder's Cerise

"Using only fresh Michigan tart cherries, this beauty tantalizes with intense flavors combined with a no hesitation malt bill. Adding fresh cherries at five separate stages of fermentation achieves the ultimate balance between tartness and sweetness. "

from the Founder's website. Been a fan of this Grand Rapids' brewery for awhile now. Awesome beers... now ... i grabbed a 4 pack of their cherry ale. It's tart... subtle... and pretty good. It's a hard sell when i just had a bottle of New Glarus' Wisconsin Red.... but it stands up. I'm debating a cherry beer... here for myself. hmmm.

...and the Winner is.... WHA?

Well... Get this... the 2009 Brewmaster's Open of Alpharetta was this weekend. Homebrewers from all over the South sent in their entries...and the Judges have named... yes... The Courageous Conductor the Silver Medalist in the Porter category!

FROM THE LIST!

Table 12 - Porter (12 Entries)
1 . Bob Carlton, Brewmasters of Alpharetta Alpharetta,GA

BrewDepot Porter
2. Scott Hedeen, The Burnt Hickory Brewery Acworth,GA
The Courageous Conductor
3.Nick Hudson, Carboy Junkies Birmingham,AL
Chocolate Rye Porter

ok.. the rest of my children... went un rewarded.. but i'm just SO happy for this "aling ale" to get some recognition!

Here's a history of all the trauma this beer went thru to get this award.

1. Extreme Blowoff and clogged airlock... went uncovered for 2 day during primary! (i was away for the weekend!)

2. Auto Siphon broke... had to manual siphon... i literally SUCK... no pun... at that.

3. The Carboy for secondary cracked open when i placed it on the tile floor... i lost about a half of a gallon of beer.. huge mess... had to quickly transfer to new carboy (good thing i clean my carboys really well... after i empty them!)... it aerated... it was in trouble.

To think.....i even debated throwing it away!

anyway... congrats to the other winners...and here's to next year!

Huzzah!

Cannon Dragger Pale Ale.

Wm J. Hardee's Tactical Pale Ale may have been the worse name of ALL time. SO... i'm trying a new one for the batches of my Casade hopped California style pale ale.
CANNON DRAGGER.

Old Wooden Head Version Three ARTWORK

Brewery Update. Beers are MONSTERS.

Working today and tomorrow here in the brewery. Several projects going on.

1. Bottled the latest version of Old Wooden Head IPA. it's a raging one... the OG was 1075 .

here's the recipe!

18lbs American 2 row.

4 lbs Crystal malt.

1 lb White wheat malt

30 mins at 130

45 mins at 155

1oz Chinook 90 mins of boil

1 oz Warrior 60 mins of boil

1 oz Columbus 30 mins of boil

1 oz Centennial 10 mins of boil

1 oz Centennial 2 mins of boil

FORGOT THE IRISH MOSS !? (oh dear. WTF huh?)

White Labs 001 CA ale. (propregated 3 days... got about a 6 oz slurry)

Added 2oz of Centennial Cone/Plugs in secondary.

OG 1075

FG 1005

ABV 9.5%

WOW.

ALSO... i'm gonna produce 2 brewings of the Hardee's Tactic Ale back to back.

moved Hardee 1 to secondary it's at 1010. (OG 1062. it's 7.3! MONSTER!)

Working on a duplicate tomorrow to get in the tanks.

MORE!

Hop Rhizomes coming from Delaware. Let the hops gardening begin!

HOPS! i moved the 3rd version of Old Wooden Head to the secondary... Gravity at 1009... and with a OG of 1075... it puts the alcohol level at 9%. Added Centennial Cones (2 ozs) to the secondary as a dry hop... plan to bottle in a week.

Return of THE FIGHTING BISHOP!

The Bishop is RE-Born.

In secondary fermenter now. I've reworked the Belgian Abbey FIGHTING BISHOP as a dark golden high gravity number.

RECIPE FULL GRAIN
MALT
8 lbs of Belgian Pils
5 lbs of American 2 row
2 lbs of Belgian Caravienne
2 lbs of Belgian Cara Pils
2 lbs of Belgian Aromatic
HOPS
Goldings @60
Hallertau @ 20
Saaz@ 2

EXTRAS
5lbs of CORN SUGAR!! @ begining of boil

Corriander Seeds 1 0z
Ginger 1 oz
Chamomile 1 oz
Grains of Paradise 1 oz
(all crushed... and added at 15 mins)

Irish moss @ 10

YEAST
White Labs Trappist WLP500

MOVED TO PRIMARY... OG 1093

MOVED TO SECONDARY

BOTTLED 6 Gallons FG 1020

ALCOHOL
9.3%

LIGHT.... reading

Hey. I'm laid up with Sinus Surgery. UGH. Don't panic! i'm still on the beer hunt.

READING
It has been ten years since its first edition, making the Handbook of Brewing, Second Edition the must have resource on the science and technology of beer production. It recounts how during this time, the industry has transformed both commercially and technically and how many companies have been subsumed into large multinationals while at the other extreme, microbreweries have flourished in many parts of the world. It also explains how massive improvements in computer power and automation have modernized the brewhouse while developments in biotechnology have steadily improved brewing efficiency, beer quality, and shelf life.
In addition to these topics, the book, written by an international team of experts recognized for their contributions to brewing science and technology, also covers traditional beer styles as well as more obscure beverages such as chocolate- or coffee-flavored beers. It includes the many factors to be considered in setting up and operating a microbrewery as well as the range of novel beers and beer-related products currently being considered by the brewing industry. It also describes new avenues that challenge the brewer’s art of manufacturing a quality beverage from barley-based raw materials.
Thorough and accessible, the Handbook of Brewing, Second Edition provides the essential information for those who are involved or interested in the brewing industry.

At 872 pages... nothing could be cooler.

BUY

NAB PDF like I did

View inside the Brewery!

there's a glass of Hardee's Tactics Ale and a pic inside the brewery. Mash Tun and Lauter Tun system on left... supplies and right.

Blood Orange Honey Hefe Weizen. FIGHTING JOE!

Joe Hooker knew how to party. Well.. this beer ...a Hefe Weizen... made with Blood Orange zest... and 2 pounds of Orange Blossom Honey... will be a great beer to fire some guns off with. Doncha think?

Starting OG 1051

New Terrapin Side project! MONK's Revenge

Wow. This is something else. An old friend msg'd me yesterday saying it was hard to notice IBU's over 60... well something is over 60 here.

from the Terrapin Website.
This Belgian IPA has a malt bill of a Belgian Tripel and a hop bill of a Double IPA. The yeast I chose for this beer comes from one of the 7 Trappist breweries.
Believe it or not, this is the first time in my professional brewing career that I have used dextrose (corn syrup) in a Terrapin brew. True to style no doubt.
“Monk’s Revenge” otherwise known as the “Big Nasty” has all the flavor and aroma of a Double IPA while hidden beneath lies the malt character of a fine Belgian Tripel.
I hope you enjoy my interpretation of this very fun style.
Cheers! Spike
Monk’s Revenge: Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale Malts: 2-Row Malt, Pilsner malt, Munich, Special Aroma, Pale Crystal, Acidulated Hops: Magnum, Columbus, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, Cascade, Simco Adjuncts: Dextrose
OG: 19.7 ABV: 9.8% FG: 2.1 IBUs: 99