Too Long

It's been a long time since I blogged. But I really haven't done anything too exciting in the realm of beer lately. I missed some good Octoberfest seasonals. I haven't brewed enough. The one I have brewed is struggling to ferment. Plus I focused on Gin for like 2 weeks.
In any case, I still love beer, I just haven't loved writing about it lately. To my loyal followers, thanks for hanging in there with me. I will try to come up with something interesting soon.
This concludes November's Blog.

G.A.F

On draft for today???? The 44th Annual German American Festival. Although, I do not claim to be German American, I do claim to like to drink beer and eat brats, sauerkraut balls, french fries, landjäger and other fine, fried, festival foods.

As in years past, there will be no shortage of running in to friends and laughing and having a good time. This is the best festival that is thrown in the Toledo area. According to their website, The purpose of the German-American Festival is to promote and enhance the German and Swiss cultures as well as generate revenue to support the German and Swiss cultural center in Oregon and a wide variety of scholarship, athletic and other philanthropic programs in the Toledo area......Can't wait to support that.

So what is on tap there?
Labatt Blue Light and from Germany: Hofbräu Dunkel plus Warsteiner, Warsteiner Dunkel, Warsteiner Oktoberfest, König Ludwig Weisse, Spaten Lager, Spaten Dunkel, Spaten Oktoberfest, Spaten Optimator, Franziskaner Weissbier, Franziskaner Dunkel, Paulaner Oktoberfest, Paulaner Hefe Weisse, Paulaner Salvator, Hofbräu Original, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier, Bitburger, Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Ayinger Oktoberfest, Hacker-Pschorr Sternweisse, Hacker-Pschorr Weisse, Erdinger Hefe, Köstritzer Schwarzbier and Köstritzer Oktoberfest.

I will be washing das boot, hopping on the shuttle and having a great time.

Happy 250th Anniversary.........

......To us, the loyal Guinness Beer Drinkers.

To mark its 250th Anniversary, the fine people at Guinness have done it again. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than it already was, it did. It has been created to celebrate the signing of the lease for St. James Brewery in Dublin, Ireland, where Arthur Guinness himself began the greatness.

This version of the famous black nectar is carbonated, as opposed to "nitrogenated" (not to be confused with being flat). This gives it a completely different mouth feel but takes away that signature look as it settles in the glass. But looks and chemistry aside, it is worth it once you take that first smooth sip.

I found it to be a little maltier than the norm (draught, can, or bottle), but a great roasted aftertaste came through and all I wanted to do was take another sip.

It is a little on the expensive side, at about $10 for a sixer. But you won't have a chance to loose your house or child's college fund to it because it is only supposed to be available for a limited time (about 6 months I hear). Plus it is better to spend money like there's no tomorrow than to spend tonight like there's no money!

So raise your glasses for a toast to the Man himself. Enjoy! Sláinte!

Brew Day - English Brown Ale

Today I thought I would document my home brew session. I have purchased a kit this time because when I stopped by my supply store, I didn't have any other recipe in mind. So I went with the Brewer's Best kit as it has never led me astray. In keeping with my tradition of reminding myself why I home brew, I have my 2 Miller Lite 24 ounce tall boys by my side.

I have chosen not to follow the provided directions exactly. I came up with a method I call MicroMashing. For anyone who knows about home brewing, it's like an Extract / Specialty grain method. Instead of leaving the grains in my pot for 20 minutes at 160, I keep them in my Fry Daddy "Mini Mash Tun" for an hour at about 150 after heating my strike water to 170. This method really seems to extract a lot of sugar and flavor. That is the main difference though. I have included some pictures including my brew house set up. It isn't much but I do have some upgrades on order.

(pausing to make sure that I don't get a boil over.)
(missed it and added the Hops anyway)

So now I have conversion, sanitation and flavoring going on. The wife says it smells like feet but I disagree. But no matter who it right, I am still in the garage.

55 minutes have passed. Time for finishing hops, Irish moss and dipping the chiller in for sanitation. 10 minutes on the timer.

All done, Reading 1.060 which is a little higher than expected for my SG if you are keeping track. Should result in about 7-8% alcohol. Temperature is a little high so it may be closer to 6.5 by the time it is all done. Either way it will be tasty.
I will have to do a follow up for sure.

Here's the main setup / control center. It allows for brewing, blogging and drinking.....


Here's my home made wort chiller. It isn't counter flow, so it takes about 20 minutes to go from the boil down to about 80, then I can add enough cold water to top off the fermenting vessel and get it down to about 70....

Ithaca Apricot Wheat

On draft this week, Ithaca Beer Company's "Apricot Wheat". I made this random selection off the shelf among other singles because it was a hot summer afternoon and it seemed like a good idea. As I set out to learn about it, I discovered a few interesting things. First of all, this is a new beer to Ohio. Having only been in this state for less than a month, I think I got lucky enough to find it and try it. Something else I liked about the company.....they are a really small brewery. There are 9 employees listed on their website. They encompass the whole company from - ownership, to the office, to brewing and packaging. I feel glad to be part of helping them grow and hope this brand takes off here in the Buckeye State. Also, their story reminds me of the Samuel Adams story in that it started off small and grew. Good luck to the Ithaca Beer Co. crew.

Now on to the beer itself. As you can tell from the photo, it certainly looks like a nice think Wheat. This one is a little different though. There is a mix of barley in there with the wheat giving it a look that matches the name, but a flavor that surprises the taste buds. I poured the beer into the glass and watched the thick head pile up, then settle down a bit. I took a deep sniff of it. What a great aroma! Wheat beer and fruit - apricot to be precise. As the beer warmed just a little, a wonderful, but not overwhelming, apricot flavor came right through rounding out the wheat. It finished with a nice, but not overly bitter hoppiness. I definitely recommend this beer to anyone who loves fruit beer or wheat beer.
I look forward to trying their "CascaZilla" and "Brown Ale", and possibly even buying a T-shirt!!


KT's Comments:
"I liked it"

Top List

I figured a specialty passion like beer must have a source. So as I sat thinking about why it is that I like beer - make that love beer - so much goes back to the beers on the following list:
(in no particular order)

• Newcastle - because it's just a great all around beer. It goes great with so many meals and just has a great taste.


• Honey Brown - now this may not make it to the top of many lists, but it was the first "dark beer" that I ever tried. In fact it was even on draft there. It will always hold a special place on my top list.


• Guinness - What's not to like about Guinness? Plus it makes interesting conversation with those who think it's tar in a glass. It is so much more than that.


• Sam Adam's Boston Lager - Jim Koch is just living the dream. He may have revived craft brewing in America (unfounded opinion not fact). Plus it's just good beer.


• Old Dominion Oak Barrel Stout - this was the first beer I had that combined the goodness of stout with the complexity of oak. It's like when worlds collide, only with great results instead of catastrophic results.


• Lagunitas Imperial Red - the first really hop heavy beer that spoke to me. Not like an IPA but more punch than an Irish Red.


• Blue Moon - because I needed a wheat on the list and because it's a great summer beer.

So I guess it's a Top 7 list. I wasn't sure how many I would come up with when I started. Please try as many of those as you can and let me know what you think.

Belly Up

Hi, and welcome to On Draft. The reason I hope you are here is to learn something about the wonderful creation that is beer. Well now that you are here, let's get to it.
So what's On Draft? Well, most recently I decided that a passion like this needs an outlet. I love beer. I make and drink my own and that of many others. This is where I plan to let out all the information I have about the processes, products, and ponderings. I will call it my BrewLOG.
In the future, there will be notes on my home brews & tastings of other brands that I have tried, recommendations, recipes, and bar stool logic.
So thanks for stopping by, come back as often as you like to see what's On Draft.