Racking the Crazy 8 Ale to the secondary

Saturday, November 26th, I racked the Crazy 8 Ale to the secondary. I am planning to bottle it next weekend. It should be ready to drink by Christmas. I still also have the Holiday Ale in a carboy but probably won't bottle it until after the new year.

I opened a bottle of the Vanilla Porter on Friday. It is very drinkable but could use another couple of weeks in the bottle to mature. I will probably open a botle next weekend... just to check.

Mid-November brew day

The temperature reached the upper 60's on Saturday  November 19th. For this to happen in mid-November in Kansas City it takes a southerly breeze and that's just what we had. Winds were blowing out of the South at 25-30 mph which brings a nice Autumn day but can make outdoor brewing a challenge. Not only can the wind make it tough just to keep the propane burner lit but temprature regulation is a constant battle. I have always done my brewing outdoors but decided I would try brewing in the garage rather than fight this wind. My garage has a couple of windows so I opened them and left the overhead door about half open for ventilation. The more controlled environment definitely made a difference. Without the wind there were less burner adjustments required and no re-lights needed. Clean up was also easier as there was no scorching at the bottom of the kettle. I like brewing outside and will continue to do so but will probabaly be doing a lot more inside for the more controlled brew day.

The Vanilla Porter is now in the bottle

On Saturday, Nov 12th, I bottled the Vanilla Porter. The final gravity was 1.015 which will result in just under 5% abv. A taste of the pre-carbonated beer gives a malty beginning with a nice vanilla flavor at the finish. The beer seems a little drier than I anticipated. It is probably a result of the yeast. I also used this same yeast in the Spiced Holiday Ale brewed the same day. It will be interesting to see if it gives similar results.  I have ordered the ingredients for the next beer, Crazy 8 Amber Ale. If the weather stays good I will brew this weekend. With the Holiday Ale aging in the secondary I wanted something that would be ready to drink a little sooner. I have been brewing stouts and porters lately so an amber should be a nice change of pace.

My first twosome

Saturday, October 8th, I brewed two different beers. They are both are brewed with dry malt extract (dme) and specialty malts. The first is a Brown Porter. I will add a couple of vanilla beans to the secondary to make a Vaniila Porter. I brewed this same recipe in the fall of 2010. It turned out pretty good so I didn't make any changes to the recipe this time. The second beer is a Spiced Winter Ale. I used my Scotch Ale recipe as the base and added a winter ale spice kit from Northern Brewer and about a half ounce dried sweet orange peel. The Scotch Ale has a low hop content so the hops should not interfere with the spice.

Our last night in Michigan



No beer for you :-(



After leaving the Livery we headed back to the campground. Again there was nobody at the check-in location so we picked up a self check-in form and went to our campsite. I quickly got a fire started and lit some charcoal in the grill. Once this was done I opened a couple of beers we had picked up on our travels for us to enjoy while we prepared our dinner. Just about this time the Park Ranger showed up to check us in and collect the campsite fees. He spotted the two full bottles of beer sitting on the picnic table and zealously went into action. He informed me that Michigan parks are "dry", no alcohol is allowed in the park, open or otherwise. He watched as I dumped out the two beers. But he was not stopping with that. He found three more beers in a cooler that had to be emptied. It was fortunate that I had only put a few beers on ice. We had been on the road for a week, collecting beers along the way. It was bad enough throwing away five good beers but if he had asked to look in our vehicle we would have had to leave. The ranger let me know bringing alcohol into the state park is punishable  by a fine of $160. He wanted me to know he did me a favor by just making me pour out these beers. I don't want to encourage illegal behavior, but, if you like a beer or glass of wine with your meal or while sitting around the campfire, do what Michiganders already know, put your drink in a cup and hide the bottle.

Vacation Day 6: On the move again

We got up early and headed south. We were going to Three Floyds Brewing in Munster, Indiana. Before we left Michigan we found a campground where we would spend the night. There was no one working at the entrance so we drove on in and selected a site. We took showers and were ready to continue our journey. We stopped at the park entrance expecting to pay for our campsite but again it was unmanned. We made our way to Three Floyds. The brewery is located in a small business park. They are in the business of good beer, good food and good fun. We enjoyed a couple of beers that are only available at the brewery along with an order of frogs legs, that is not something you find everywhere. It was all very good. We left with 4-22 oz bombers and a couple of shirts and headed back to Michigan.

Once back in Michigan we stopped at a small brewery in Benton Harbor called The Livery. Of all the breweries we stopped at this is the only one I considered disappointing. It wasn't going to be the biggest disappointment of the day however.

Vacation Day 5, Part 2: Holland, MI

Lake Michigan

It was mid-afternoon when we got back to Holland. We were both a little worn out from all of the driving of the last few days. We took a few hours of down time for a nap and a little reading. After that we headed in to downtown Holland and the New Holland Brew Pub. The place was very busy but the people at the bar made room for us to squeeze in. The first thing we did, of course, was order a couple of beers. With a couple of beers in front of us we perused the menu. A friend from Michigan had told us we had to have perch while we were there and it was onthe menu. The decision was made.

Cask beer

Beeeeer

New Holland beer at home