Author: Brooklyn Brewsers

August Meeting: Draft Systems

Our meeting is coming up on Monday. Francis will be joining us to talk about all things draft systems. He has been working with Pipe Dreams since he retired from bartending our monthly meetings at Brouwerij Lane (wait, you worked there other days too?). It should be quite informative.

That leaves plenty of time for general home-brew sharing. As always, if anyone has something they are working on for an upcoming competition and would like the group’s feedback, just let us know, sign up on the google spreadsheet, and bring some beer to start off the meeting!

See everyone on Monday evening. Enjoy your weekend!

Sour Stout

Jeff’s sour stout won the June 2015 in-club sours competition.  He shares his recipe and some thoughts here.

A few years ago, I had The Bruery’s Tart of Darkness a few times within a short period of time.  I remember thinking how smooth and clean it was and how well the acidity paired with such a dark beer.

Last year, I finally got around to trying to create a beer in a similar vein.  This was also the first time it had occurred to me to utilize a kettle sour, followed by a 100% Brett fermentation.  This would allow for a more complex beer, yet still keeping it as a quick turnaround sour.

I’m calling this a sour stout, mostly for lack of a better descriptor.  However, there isn’t as much roast character as I would normally expect for a stout.  While gathering the grains, I became worried about the level of roast and cut my dark malts in half.  I am happy with the result and would brew it again as is.  But if you would like the deeper roast character of a proper stout, this beer would definitely hold up to it.

Sour Stout recipe

Brewed 9/30/14
Kegged 10/29/14

5.9% ABV
14 IBU
37 SRM

13.0P – 2.9P
1.056 – 1.012

6 lbs 2 Row – Rahr
2 lbs Flaked Oats
1 lb C60 – Briess
1 lb Golden Naked Oats – Simpsons
8 oz Chocolate Wheat – Weyermann
8 oz Carafa II

Mash @ 148 for 60 mins
5g CaSo4 + 5g CaCl2 added to beginning of mash.

Kettle sour for 24 hours.  Chill to 120F, pitch a handful of uncrushed grain and hold between 100-120F.  (I wrote a more detailed kettle sour primer on Brooklyn Homebrew’s blog ‘The Boilover’.)

Boil 60 mins.
1 oz Styrian Goldings – 60 mins

100% Brett Trois pitched at ale pitching rates.

Ferment at 65F for 2 days, then ambient (70-73F) for remainder of fermentation.

*You could lower the pitching rate and/or raise fermentation temperature if you prefer more funk than fruit from your Brett.

Brewnity Picnic at Croton Point Park

(From the Bronx Homebrewers…)

Hello there fellow brewers and beers lovers!

Summer is finally upon us, which means it’s time to gear up for the annual Brewnity Picnic at Croton Point Park, which will be hosted by the Bronx Homebrewers this year. The picnic will be taking place on Saturday, July 11th starting at11am and ending at sunset.

This is one of the most fun events of the year and is not to be missed. In the true spirit of Brewnity all local club members and their guests are invited. The picnic is potluck style and BYOB. There will be prizes for the following categories:

Best Meat Dish
Best Veggie Dish
Most Quaffable Summer Brew

We will be able to grill on-site and will have a tap board draft system on hand (and plenty of ice) so if you do have beer to share, all you need to bring is your keg(s) or bottles. We have limited taps available so if you are planning on bringing a keg it is important to sign up on the spreadsheet. In addition if you are bringing a pin lock keg make sure to bring your own connections. Any and all unique/interesting/delicious commercial beers are absolutely welcome too! The more we have to share, the merrier! It’s one of the very few local parks where you can drink openly outdoors without need of brown bags/secret stealth.

Croton Point Park is a little less than an hour away on Metro North (departing from Grand Central and getting off the train at Croton Harmon station), and to get to the picnic site you can either walk from the train station (20 min or so) or we’ll be arranging drivers to shuttle people to and fro at a couple of specific times during the day. We’ll be asking for a $5 contribution per person to help cover the cost of the site rental and basic stuff like plates/cups/napkins/ice/etc. Bringing your own drinking vessel will defray costs and be more environmentally friendly!!

In addition to celebrating beer and all it’s goodness we will also be raising money for Breast Cancer Research. We are looking for donations that will be auctioned and raffled off at the picnic. Please fill in items or services that you would like to donate on the spreadsheet below.

More reminders and details to come, but for now, please save the date and add your name to the sign-up sheet (even if you aren’t yet sure what you might be bringing). We need to try to get an accurate head count. Sign up sheet here:

Brewnity Picnic 2015 Sign Up

to recap:

What: Brewnity Picnic hosted by the Bronx Homebrewers
Where: Croton Point Park (click for google map), Pavillion 2
When: Saturday, Jul 11. From late morning (11am) until sunset
How to get there: Car of MetroNorth to Croton Harmon station (www.mta.info/mnr)
Parking Fees for drivers: $5 for residents, $10 for non-residents
What to bring: Homebrews, tasty dishes to share, $5 per person, outdoor fun things, games, etc.
Sign up here
Why: Because it’s awesome and gosh darn it so are you!

Hope to see you all there!

Beers,

Josh and the Bronx Homebrewers

Brunch with The Mad Fermentationist, Michael Tonsmeire

Long Island Beer & Malt Enthusiasts graciously opened up the below event to us, scheduled for this Sunday. It looks like a great time. The bar is walking distance from the LIRR rail road Massapequa stop.

The Mad Fermentationist himself is coming to Long Island to speak to LIBME and we’re pairing it up with a badass brunch at the Good Life.

Also, on Saturday March 28th, from 4 to 8 pm, Michael Tonsmeire will be signing his new book American Sour Beers at Bitter & Esters. At this free event Michael will be talking with homebrewers, discussing various fermentation techniques and answering questions. Michael will gladly try your beer and rumor has it he may bring some of his own beers to sample as well.

Michael Tonsmeire is an award-winning homebrewer, certified beer judge, beer blogger (TheMadFermentationist.com), and has written articles for various magazines about brewing sour beers. He consults as “Flavor Developer” for Modern Times Beer (San Diego, CA), for which he develops the recipes, process, and microbes to produce sour beers. Tonsmeire resides in Washington, D.C. where he works as an Economist.

NHC First Round / Regionals

As mentioned at last night’s meeting, registration to compete in NHC 2015 opened up yesterday and will end on February 8. You do not need to brew by then—this is just to register. Entries will be judged using the 2008 BJCP style guidelines; the new style system is not in effect yet.

At this point, all you need to do is enter the number of beers that you’d like to enter (up to six) and select a primary judging center and alternates. You’ll receive a notification by Feb 17 with the number of entries that you’re permitted to enter, along with your judging center.

For those selected, you’ll need to drop off or ship two 12 oz bottles for each entry between March 2 and 11. If you move on to nationals, you’ll be notified where and when to ship three additional 12 oz bottles. The drop-off and shipping location for NYC is Singlecut in Astoria, 19-33 37th Street.

For those who are already AHA members, check your spam or promo folders, as you should have received a link yesterday to the registration page. If not, sign up for AHA if you’d like to enter.

Full details are at http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/competitions/national-homebrew-competition/competition-information/

Volunteer for Peekskill Hop n Harvest festival (10/4)

In a few weeks (October 4th) Peekskill Brewery is doing their annual Hop n Harvest festival in Peekskill, NY. The brewery is looking for some volunteers to do 4 hour shifts and in return get some beer and Peekskill Brewery swag.

Here’s the email from Peekskill:

Hi!

Pete Lengyel suggested I contact you concerning our annual Hop n Harvest festival here in Peekskill on 10/4.  We need

volunteers to work 4 hours shifts for the event to pour beer.  Lunch is provided and each volunteer gets a t-shirt, a growler, and a growler fill for their time, as well as beverage tokens for the event.  If anyone is interested, please reply to Lauren McFadyen at lafmcfadyen@gmail.com and she will get you on the schedule.

Thanks everyone!

I know a few of us will be attending/volunteering so if anyone else wants to do the same go ahead and email Lauren.

Brew n’ Chew VII (10/5)

Next month on October 5th Diamond Bar is holding it’s famous Brew n’ Chew event yet again. Homebrewers and chefs alike will compete for the best beer/food combo while all proceeds for the event go to Grow To Learn, a NYC based organized working to create and maintain gardens throughout public schools.

This year our very own Ryan McMahon is participating with PJ’s girlfriend Cara Baker to compete for the main prize. Tickets are already on sale for $20 and will be $25 at the door. Hope to see some of you there!

For more information check out the Diamond Bar event page.

What: Brew n’ Chew Homebrew/Food Competition
When: Sunday October 5th, 2014
Where: Diamond Bar (43 Franklin St, Brooklyn, NY 11222)