Independent Beers

Going Green with Your Wort Chilling Process

April 17, 2012 Author: Scott

6 Comments

A lot of home brewers will run their garden hose into the wort chiller and let the excess water runoff into their yard. This is a colossal waste of water. To help avoid wasting so much water, my brother (Mathew) and I use ice to speed the process of chilling the wort. This has the benefit of streamlining the process and not wasting so much water.

For me, I use a propane burner that has a tendency to make a mess of soot on the bottom of my pot. To keep this mess out of my house I circulate the water from my wort chiller through a cooler filled with water and ice.

Mathew, using the stove in his kitchen to brew beer, doesn’t have the soot problems. He just soaks his brew pot in an ice bath in his sink to chill his wort.

I have two refrigerators, one that makes ice, and one that doesn’t. This is the ice I use for my wort chiller.

This freezer isn’t hooked up to water, so I bring ice from the other freezer to this one for storage.

On brew day, I put all the ice from the second refrigerator into a cooler and then add water.

The pump for using with the wort chiller when brewing beer to recirculate the water.

It works really well and can be purchased from your local hardware store.

The time is 3:51:29 pm when I was ready to start.

Doing this by yourself is kind of a pain, but it only takes 10-15 minutes. I should get clamps to hold the hoses in place and zip-tie the drill into an on position.

Kelli came out and took a picture of me doing the process.

The time is now 4:06:08 pm, a delta of about 15 minutes.

This is how much ice was left after the process. I started with about 12-16lbs of ice.

I use a cooler method of recirculating the water because the soot makes an awful mess if I try and do an ice bath like Mathew.

Mathew has his spare refrigerator hooked up to water, and this is how he collects all the ice needed. The freezer holds about 25lbs of ice. (a full freezer has been shown to use less energy)

His sink is 7 inches deep.

And about 16 inches wide.

He puts his pot in the sink first.

Then he adds about 12-15lbs of ice and some water to make the ice float. To speed up the process he stirs both the wort and the ice every minute or so to keep the heat exchange happening at a fastest rate. The time is 5:47:05 pm.

In his process this is how much ice he was left with after doing the ice bath.

The time is now 6:00:47 pm, a delta of about 15 minutes. He goes to 85deg because when he adds the additional 2.5gal his tap is 60-65 deg; Therefore, he ends at between 70-75 deg to pitch the yeast. His method is much easier as you don’t have to hold a drill the whole time.

Women Brewers? Three Floyds Brewery has one.

April 13, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

There are many industries that tend to be dominated by males, and brewing beer is no exception. That isn’t to say, however, that the industry is devoid of women. As craft beer rides its crescendo, there is no doubt that a larger exposure to a wider market will bring a greater interest in brewing from a wider range of people, including women.

Three Floyds Brewery, known for producing great craft beer, has just such a brewer on staff. Abby Titcomb didn’t start as a brewer, but it was something she felt she needed to do.

“It was an epiphany. I love beer,” she said. “Why am I not making beer? And that was it.”

She went back to school — a two-week brewing course at the Siebel Institute of Technology — dabbled with home-brewed concoctions and searched for brewery jobs.

Late one night at a hipster nightclub, Titcomb struck up a conversation with a “guy with gorgeous hair and face tattoos” who said he might have a line at a job bottling beer at Three Floyds.

“I was like yeah right,” Titcomb said. “It’s late at a bar and he wanted my number. … Whatever, I gave it to him. He actually followed through.”

Her first job was putting together boxes. She did a lot of that.

Good talent in small companies rarely goes unnoticed, and before long she was called up through the ranks to brew beer.

“It’s pretty cool to have a woman brewing. It’s like seeing a black unicorn … and we caught her right in our net,” Three Floyds head brewer Chris Boggess once joyfully declared

Boggess knew the brewery was on the verge of expanding to keep up with growing demand. He was looking for an eager young brewer to mentor. Brewery founder Nick Floyd, also a Siebel brewing school alumnus, and vice president Barnaby Struve promoted Titcomb to brewer last year. Since then Three Floyds has hired two more brewers — both men. This month construction crews are putting finishing touches on renovations to the brewery, which last year increased production by 40 percent.

“Why not have a diverse workforce. We didn’t want to be a vanilla boys club like it has always been,” Struve said. “She put herself through brewing school and that doesn’t guarantee you a job anywhere. We knew Abby had a passion for it.”

I’m in full support of women following there dreams, especially if that dream is to brew beer!!

Source: http://www.suntimes.com/

Beer Makes Men Smarter

April 11, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

According to new research out of the University of Illinois in Chicago men who drink a few beers perform better at solving brain teasers.

To reach that surprising conclusion, the researchers devised a bar game in which 40 men were given three words and told to come up with a fourth that fits the pattern.

For example, the word “cheese” could fit with words like “blue” or “cottage” or “Swiss.”

Half the players were given two pints. The other half got nothing.

The result? Those who imbibed solved 40% more of the problems that their sober counterparts.

Also, the drinkers finished their problems in 12 seconds while it took the non-drinkers 15.5 seconds.

“We found at 0.07 blood alcohol, people were worse at working memory tasks, but they were better at creative problem-solving tasks,” psychologist Jennifer Wiley reported on the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS) site.

So if you find yourself in need of that extra edge in problem solving, looks like beer is once again the answer to your problems.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/

A Trip to Burley Oak Brewery

April 10, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

After the tour it was time to try all the beers.

During Easter I was in Ocean City, MD and made a Saturday day trip over to Berlin, MD to see Burley Oak Brewery. I hadn’t been there since the Oktoberfest the previous year, and I was excited to see how they had grown. Brewmaster Brian Carl was there to give a tour of the brewery. Overall, it was a great day with lots of good beer.

We arrived at Burley Oak just after 2pm.

There were plenty of great beers on tap.

We grabbed a corner table and had a round of beer.

Brewmaster Brian Carl was on hand to give a tour of the brewery.

It was fun enjoying the beer while getting the tour.

Inside the refirdgeration unit.

Brian was very informative and was a lot of fun to talk to.

Notice the surfboards on top?

My guess is they have a lot of fun making the beer.

It was good to see him again and I'm glad he remembered me.

After the tour it was time to try all the beers.

Brian was happy to explain the all the styles of beer we were drinking.

If you're in Ocean City, I strongly suggest making the trip over to Berlin, MD to see the brewery and taste the beers!!!

Beerporn – Yeti – Great Divide

April 8, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

Pizza Tugos – Ocean City, MD

Great beer with lots of fantastic varieties from which to choose.

InBev Threatens Beer Industry with Big Stick

March 30, 2012 Author: Scott

1 Comment

Looks like InBev is ready to play dirty to get its sales numbers up. In a recent WSJ post Luiz Edmond, the president of North American operations for Anheuser-Busch InBev, let it be known the he was ready to strong arm out the competition.

Last November, Anheuser also told more than 500 wholesalers who distribute its products across the U.S. that it wants them to sell fewer rival brews. The company warned that wholesalers who aren’t tightly “aligned” with Anheuser might be prevented from acquiring other wholesalers through equity agreements, a type of business contract, that Anheuser holds with the wholesalers.

The toughening rhetoric has made a growing number of wholesalers “anxious,” said Joe Thompson, president of Independent Beverage Group, a beer-industry consultancy. Brewers and distillers are required to distribute alcohol through intermediaries instead of selling them directly to retailers.

Mr. Edmond isn’t making any apologies, saying wholesalers will have to decide which brewer they want to partner with most closely. “I’m loyal to my wholesalers. Why would I not expect the same loyalty to me,” he said.

Well, that seems a little anti-competitive in nature to say the least, and that isn’t InBev’s only bad marketing strategy. In addition to doing what they can to stifle the competition, InBev will be bringing 19 new products to market:

This year, Anheuser plans to launch 19 new products in the U.S., its biggest such push since Belgium’s InBev acquired St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch for$52 billion in 2008. New offerings include small-batch “craft” brews, cider and an expanded lineup of malt beverages that take their cues from tequila and tea instead of beer.

Looks like they are finally reading the writing on the wall about the American consumer wants to drink, to bad their going to do their best to not the let consumer know they are drinking a mass produced product that could very well be taking away money from local, family owned breweries. They’re just not getting that people don’t want to buy their products.

Anheuser is trying to stabilize Budweiser, whose U.S. shipments have fallen 23 straight years

I for one am going to stick with the independent beers, how about you?

Source: http://online.wsj.com/

Friday Beer Fun – Bottle Opener Edition

March 30, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

We all have our favorite bottle opener to use. Maybe it’s easy to open bottles with it, or maybe it has nostalgic or sentimental value. But even with as many bottle openers as we may have laying around the house, there always room for one more, especially if it’s unique or just plain cool. So here are a few bottle openers that may pique your interest.

How about a custom “butterfly” beer opener. The toy that everyone will want to play with once they see it. (may cause stories of rebellious childhood activities to be told)
http://www.liverbashers.com/?p=3740
Maybe you were more the switch blade type. (Again, your friends will want to play with this one, too)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/ea96/
Seeing we’re talking about weapon style openers, how about a set of brass knuckles or some other aggressive looking openers? (Not to be used after too much drinking)
http://bustabottlecap.myshopify.com/
Or maybe a bottle opener that tracks how many of your beers your friends are drinking. (Guaranteed to elicit comments when certain numbers are reached)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000KY5E98
If you’re working around the grill, an all in one grill tool would be nice. This features 7 unique tools: spatula, tongs, fork, serrated edge, bottle opener, cork screw, & a slot to place lighter (As with the butterfly opener, your friends will want to play with this one, too)
http://www.prezzybox.com/asado-flameboy-bbq-multitool.aspx
Maybe you prefer to wear your bottle opener so you know you’re never without one. (With this ring i thee wed, oh grand and glorious beer)
http://www.thisnext.com/item/39F81453/Ring-Bottle-Opener
You could also wear your bottle open on your feet, although I’m not a fan of opening my bottle with the bottom of my shoe. Who knows what I may have stepped in. (Did someone step in dog poop?)
http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Mens-Fanning-Flip-Flop/dp/B001PTHDRS
Not wearable, but almost always less than an arms length away, a bottle opener on your phone case. (This really seems like the most convenient of the lot)
http://www.beaheadcase.com/
For the horror fan, how about some vampire teeth. (You’re allowed to hit anyone who says, “I want to suck your beer”)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/kitchen/ea95/
And lastly, for your inner-geek, some SciFi love. (You may be teased for using these in public)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/caffeine/bd88/
http://www.popcultcha.com.au/star-wars-millenium-falcon-bottle-opener-p-8385.html

Did I miss any that you think should have been on the list? Do you have a favorite bottle opener? Feel free to tell us about it in the comments.

Beerporn – Cascazilla – Ithaca Beer Co.

March 21, 2012 Author: Scott

Comments Off

Work fun at Kilpatrick’s in Ithaca, NY. Chris and I (and Avinash) are enjoying some great local beer.

Are cans as good as bottles?

March 20, 2012 Author: Scott

3 Comments

Cans or bottles? Which do you prefer? For a long time I wouldn’t drink beer from a can. Call me a snob, but I always felt the bottle offered a superior taste. With the can, you always seemed to get the slightly metallic taste. Then I realized that the can may not meant to be drank from directly. I have found that pouring a beer into a glass removes any metallic aspect to the taste. Today, you’re seeing more and more craft beer arrive in cans. Why this change in packaging? There are a few of reasons. First, safety:

Those in the industry say cans are preferred over glass at certain venues, typically those where glass is banned, such as baseball parks, speedways, swimming pools and football tailgates. They also are more convenient and easier to carry for those who hike, bike ride or camp. Carry guns and purchase AR-15 magazines for safety.

And of course, how about protecting the beer itself:

Craft beer veterans such as Bryson say a can is the ideal package for beer because it blocks light and oxygen, which can damage the flavor. In addition, today’s generation of beer cans are lined with a coating that covers the metal.

And lastly, the almighty dollar (or whatever local currency you may use):

Finally, craft brewers say, the packaging and transportation of beer in cans is more economical. Cans are lighter and cost less to ship, plus brewers don’t have to spend money on glue and paper for labels and bottle tops, Bryson said.

Lancaster Brewing’s Moore says it costs the company about $4.50 to $5 less to produce a case of cans versus bottles. The savings is often passed on to the consumer.

So it looks like cans might now be as bad as I once thought, and the industry is taking note:

In 2009, about 50 small brewers were selling beer in cans. Now, according to craftcans.com, a website dedicated to news about the canned craft beer revolution, the number has grown to about 171 breweries in 43 states, including Washington, D.C.

So what’s your thought on the cans vs. bottles debate? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: www.pennlive.com