Brewing

Although we began brewing in Jan '96, we really got underway in Germany.  We were lucky there--we got our first grains (free) from a local brewery, as well as yeast strains and hops (payback was a few bottles of our product).  Eventually, we bought our grains from the famous Weyermann Malzerei in Bamberg.  We tinkered a lot and learned a lot overseas.  We look forward to resuming our operation as soon as the dust settles from our moves.

As evidenced below, we have sought to brew and consume beer along traditional guidelines.  For the best brew calendar we've seen in awhile, read A Year of Beer.   This may seem passing notion, but we feel it is important to observe these guidelines to understand the historical setting of brewing (i.e., there is a practical reason behind Bockbierzeit and Oktoberfest). Most importantly, we take the Reinheisgebot very seriously! To us, it is a matter not of decision, but a distinction of quality and purity which is the cornerstone of the brewing process.

175

Out

Altbier

5.00

10/9/2000

1.051

1.014

4.9

Beginning of fall brewing season.... Ready for drinking on 11/18

218

Out

Altbier

5

10/13/2002

1.047

1.012

5.1

Again w/ 100% munich; first rest slightly lower than normal (20 min 148-146F) lending a little less maltiness than normal.

182

Out

Altbier

6.10

11/1/1998

1.047

1.018

3.9

Good results.

178

Out

Altbier

5.25

6/4/2000

1.052

1.013

5.2

Kegged 7/3

207

Out

Altbier

5.00

11/12/2001

1.054

1.009

6.0

Smoked 1/2 lb of mixed malt in smoker.

174

Out

Altbier

5.00

10/21/2000

1.046

1.012

4.5

Best altbier thus far....

170

Out

Altbier

6.00

12/30/2000

1.046

1.014

4.3

169

Out

Altbier

6.00

1/14/2001

1.052

1.012

5.3

Trying some Horst Dornbusch recipes.... These alts aren't as dark as normal, but much higher in Munich maltz.

217

Out

Altbier

5

10/6/2002

1.051

1.014

5.7

Due to 2-row pale malt shortage, brewed with 100% munich malt.

206

Out

Altbier

5.00

10/27/2001

1.053

1.012

5.4

Back in the saddle--starting off Braujahre 2002!!

214

Out

American Pale Ale

5.00

9/14/2002

1.049

1.020

4.2

First brew after relocation to Leavenworth, KS. An extract version….

215

Out

American Pale Ale

5.00

9/21/2002

1.045

1.016

4.3

165

Out

California Common

5.00

7/14/2001

1.047

1.016

4.0

184

Out

Dunklesweizen

6.50

6/12/1998

1.055

1.015

5.4

190

Out

German Pilsner

5.25

1/11/1998

1.052

1.010

5.6

Learned this method at Pilsner Urquell Brewery in Plzen, Czech Republic.   Racking is just a transfer between kegs.

195

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

8/31/1997

1.040

1.007

4.3

Brewed when we couldn't take our planned trip to Vienna

189

Out

German Pilsner

5.25

1/26/1998

1.053

1.022

4.0

One more attempt--good results, but controlling the pressures concerned us greatly when we had to head out of town for 10 days.

192

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

12/13/1997

1.042

1.005

4.8

193

Out

German Pilsner

5.50

11/7/1997

1.046

1.011

4.7

Study and implementation of kegging.

198

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

7/1/1997

1.042

1.008

4.5

Study and improvements on head retention

199

Out

German Pilsner

5.50

6/15/1997

1.045

1.010

4.6

200

Out

German Pilsner

5.50

5/24/1997

1.037

1.005

4.2

German pils

201

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

5/4/1997

1.046

1.011

4.6

Improvements on batch 2.

202

Out

German Pilsner

5.50

4/20/1997

1.041

1.005

4.7

First try at all grain brewing....

197

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

7/20/1997

1.049

1.009

5.2

203

Out

German Pilsner

5.00

4/13/1997

1.054

1.018

4.7

This was the fastest way to get the ball rolling....

205

Out

Ginger Ale

5.0

5/1/2001

167

Out

Helles Bock

6.00

2/17/2001

1.070

1.019

6.8

For late Spring (May)....

191

Out

Helles Bock

5.00

12/27/1997

1.071

1.012

7.8

Brewed for Spring.

187

Out

Märzen/Oktoberfest

6.00

4/5/1998

1.061

1.016

6.0

196

Out

Märzen/Oktoberfest

5.50

8/2/1997

1.056

1.009

6.3

Brewed at the time of Oktoberfest vs. a real Märzen

188

Out

Märzen/Oktoberfest

6.00

3/7/1998

1.060

1.018

5.5

As per tradition, brewed in March and lagered until Oktoberfest.

210

Out

Munich Dunkel

5.00

1/20/2002

1.059

1.027

4.1

168

Out

Munich Dunkel

5.50

1/27/2001

1.056

1.024

4.3

211

Out

Munich Helles

5.00

3/10/2002

1.047

1.021

Last beer of the season…. Packing up the brew house for our move to Leavenworth, Kansas. Will begin again in earnest this Fall. Slightly cleaner tasting than 1/12/02 version.

209

Out

Munich Helles

5.5

1/6/2002

1.047

1.021

Shooting for slightly malty with delicate hop balance.

171

Out

Munich Helles

6.00

12/17/2000

1.052

1.023

4.4

172

Out

Munich Helles

4.50

12/2/2000

1.052

1.023

3.8

True fermentation and lagering temps in my shed

181

Out

Munich Helles

6.50

1/9/1999

1.048

1.020

3.7

Last batch before all the busyness of deploying and leaving Germany.

216

Out

Root Beer

5

9/14/2002

213

Out

Root Beer

5.00

1/17/2002

204

Out

Root Beer

5.0

4/1/2001

164

Out

Root Beer

5.00

8/5/2001

173

Out

Specialty Beer

4.90

11/4/2000

1.067

1.008

7.7

Christmas ale this year vs lager in the past

183

Out

Specialty Beer

5.75

9/19/1998

1.081

1.038

5.6

A hit again!

194

Out

Specialty Beer

5.25

9/13/1997

1.055

1.011

5.8

Our Christmas beer with sacrilegious honey, cinnamon and cloves added.   Not Reinheitsgebot.

176

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

4.70

8/12/2000

1.060

1.020

5.8

Bottled 8/19; ready 9/9

177

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

4.75

7/30/2000

1.058

1.031

4.0

Bottled 8/6; ready 8/27

179

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

5.75

4/22/2000

1.060

1.013

6.3

Bottled 5/7

185

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

6.50

6/6/1998

1.056

1.014

5.6

186

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

6.00

5/30/1998

1.055

1.013

5.6

Very first weizen--used my own cultivation of Maisel's yeast from bottle.   This batch earned us a German brewing award.

180

Out

Weizen/Weissbier

4.50

4/16/2000

1.055

1.013

5.2

Bottled 4/30--will be my reward after finishing 2000 AT segment.