PhuckenTed Spring IPA contest update

Little update, I finally brewed this. I meant to do this about 2 weeks ago as part of my secret weapon of letting it lager for a while, but that's not going to work as well now. I'd give the info on my recipe, but I know that some of the other competitors read this, so more details to come later if it turns out any good. One thing I will say is that I brewed it unfiltered/no irish moss, so it's a hazy IPA. I'm sort of wishing I would have thrown in some irish moss now that I look at it ferment. Irish moss for those who don't know is a clarifying agent which helps make the beer clearer. When irish moss is not added it's hazy and typically you can't see through it.
Some pictures:

Now you'll notice the scale out and one of the rules was no scales. Let me explain. Some of the hops I bought were cheaper if I bought them by the half pound, so I did. The way I see it I could have spend the extra money to buy single oz's, so I should be able to measure out at least 1oz amounts then split them from there, which is what I did. Those were only some of my hops that I used. 9oz total of hops in this bad boy.

Just your normal brewing shot. Nothing special going on here.. not even a boil yet.

Overall it was a fun contest. I don't have any action shots of me rolling the dice, but I will say out of 12 rolls I never hit 6 once. Sort of weird. The summer challenge has yet to be determined, but we're talking about a seasonal. Depending on the rules I would like to make an American Honey Wheat this summer. If I could use my family's wheat that would be awesome, but there's a lot of work to do in order to make the wheat into brewing quality. 

On another note I will say is I think I've been jumping the gun a little too quick on some of my beers to start pouring. I'm going to have to let stuff sit a little longer because my beers seem to be better towards the end of the keg then the beginning. My Irish Red for example has really picked up some flavors and is a whole lot better then the beginning. Needless to say I'm going to let Sophie's Stout sit for a little while longer in the keg before I actually tap it. 

Anyways, it's been snowing for the last 48 hours and I should go and yet again snowblow my driveway. Until next time!

Prost!

-Ryan

Letter to my Senator and Representative.

As many of you know, Minnesota has quite possible the dumbest liquor laws around. We can only buy beer, wine, and liquor in a liquor store. The liquor store has county mandated hours and a state mandate that they aren't open on Sundays. Also when it comes to breweries there is a whole cluster fuck of laws that I've started looking into. For example, if you're a package brewery you cannot sell your own product on site. If you're a brewpub you can only sell your product on site and cannot sell it in any other store or bar. Minnesota really is producing some damn good beers, but our laws are really prohibiting these companies from expanding in what I feel are logical ways. Surly would like to create a new 20 million dollar brewery with a restaurant, bar, and event center. Unlike the Minnesota Vikings who are asking tax payers to flip millions of dollars for their new home, Surly is asking for $0. They just want to be able to create this new brewery, which requires the change of some 80 year old laws.

I've felt pretty strong about a few political things which I try to keep out of this blog (one of which I was reminded of this morning while watching Good Morning America), but as a homebrewer I emailed my senator and representative. I strongly encourage my Minnesota readers to join me in doing the same. Go to this website to find out your local senator and representative: http://www.gis.leg.mn/OpenLayers/districts Remember that you want to email the State ones, not the national ones which say "US". Below is an example of the letter I sent to mine:

 I'm writing you on behalf of the current liquor law changes which I've heard are being proposed.

The first one is the Surly Brewery expansion. I fully support their cause. I believe that currently our liquor laws on where beer is able to be sold are holding back Minnesota based companies from expanding. Breweries such as Surly and Summit could benefit by the legislation changing 80 year old laws. I would also like to see smaller brewpubs be able to sell their beer to other restaurants and stores using the current distribution method. As a homebrewer of beer myself, I've looked into what it takes to start a brewery. I feel that with today's laws I'm hesitant to jump into such an endeavor. If I knew that the state did not hinder me to expand my business if it should take off, then I'd be more interested in making the investment. In the beer brewing world, our great state is offering a lot to the American people. I would like to see us promote those businesses and allow them to grow. Not only is the business going to be benefiting, but also the state from the taxes and additional jobs these companies will produce. Surly, unlike some other major companies, is not asking for tax breaks or handouts. They simply want to expand.

The other change which I fully support is allowing liquor sales on Sundays. This "blue law" has run its course in time. I believe it's time to accept that it is the 21st century and prohibition ended in 1933. The taxes which the state will collect by changing this law seems like a no-brainier to me. We're hurting for money and this would be one simple way to collect additional taxes without a lot of effort or burden on the people of Minnesota. If you can buy beer in a bar on Sunday, why not allow people to purchase it at a store? Please vote yes. 

So please join me in changing these laws.

Prost!

-Ryan

UPDATE:

I got an e-mail back from Representative Carlson:

Thank you for writing to share your thoughts about the proposed Surly Brewery Company expansion. I want to share some information with you about what is happening in the legislature in regard to this issue.

As of today, there have been no bills introduced in either the House or the Senate that would allow for Surly Brewing Company to expand on their proposed scale.   However, I am aware that the president of Surly Brewing Company has been meeting with legislators to discuss the proposed expansion to their facility and I look forward to the opportunity to speak with him. I will continue to monitor this issue as the session progresses. In the event that legislation regarding this issue comes before me on the House floor, I will certainly keep your views in mind.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future about this or any other issues.

Sincerely,

 

Lyndon Carlson

State Representative

Adventure in a Pint

Erin along with the help of other's got me a kick ass b-day present. She was **very** upset that it was so late, but as we know with brewing.. good things come to those that wait. Here's what she got me:

Awesome. Beer in the glass is the I-Paul-A.

Prost!

-Ryan

Superbowl Sunday - Sophie Stout rd 2, Kegs, and I-Paul-A

Hello All!

It's been a while since I last updated. Been busy and with the weather in the single digits and my lack of a nice heating system in the garage, the brewing has hit the cold months halt. This last Friday it warmed up close to 32, so I had to take that time to brew. So let's get on with some updates:

I-Paul-A:
This beer has had a long journey. After having the thermometer issues in the middle of my mash, I managed to save this beer. After I pitched the yeast back on 12/30/10 I let it sit for 5 days until I put it into a 2nd fermentor to dry hop. I really shouldn't have done that, it was just way to soon. I was so ready to start drinking this beer that I didn't remember the golden rule of just relax and let the beer do it's thing. After sitting on the dry hops for 2 weeks I ran into a bit of a problem. I still didn't have my 3rd keg, I had no free kegs, and I was going to Florida to visit my Dad and Step-mom and enjoy my birthday in some warmer weather. I decided I'd throw it in my fridge to lager. For my birthday my brother got me a keg, so I was all set to keg this bad boy. I finally kegged it and plan on tapping it today during the big game. I did have a sip off of it that was used for the final gravity reading. This beer is full of hop smells. It was really good and I'm very excited to taste the finished product. Here's the final numbers:

Measured Original Gravity: 1.060 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.018 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 5.48 %
Bitterness: 115.3 IBU

Keg Project:
It's done!!!

 

With that said, I'm always looking for beer-related stickers to add to my kegs. If you're somewhere feel free to grab some for me please!

Sophie Coffee Stout Round 2:

The first round of the Sophie Coffee Stout was a huge hit. Before old man winter leaves us I figured I better brew a 2nd round. Come summer I typically move away from the dark stouts and porters. On Friday I went to a new brew store (for me, not new physically) and picked up the stuff I needed for the Sophie Stout. I went to Brew & Grow in Spring Lake Park, MN.  The people working there were **extremely** friendly, even with me walking in wearing Green Bay Packers gear. My only issue: Clearly this place is for the extract brewer and I have a feeling they don't get a lot of all-grain brewers coming in there. They pre-package their grain and sell it by set weights. The grain profile for the Sophie Stout calls for half pound and other odd weights. I could have re-measured some of it, but I just brewed it this time with an extra pound of grain. That extra pound means extra sugar which means it will be a little stronger then the last batch. I also picked up a new thermometer while I was there. Here's some pictures from the brew session:

 New thermometer in action. Works great.

The scale that my father-in-law gave me. On the right is some homegrown hops that Paul hooked me up with. 

Once ounce of hops.. a lot more then I thought it would be.

4oz of Coffee. This coffee was bought in Florida at a Hot Pepper shop.

I had a little issue with the yeast kicking off on this beer, I think in part because the start gravity is 1.072 (Pretty dang high). I'll keep you all up to date with how this one turns out. 

Green Bay Packers and the Superbowl:

As many of you know, my wife is a **HUGE** Green Bay Packer fan. I never really watched football until I started dating her. She has converted me to be a Packer fan. As I'm writing this it's 5 hours before kickoff. Needless to say, even with it being 29 degrees out, in Wisconsin tradition I'll be grilling some brats. Bought them fresh at the local meat market, Hackenmuller's, and they've been soaking in beer for the past 12 hours. Should be some good stuff.   

With that said, I need to go dig-out my grill as it's covered in snow. 

Go Pack Go!

-Ryan