Brew Batch #164 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Alpha variant

Reinke's Revenge Alpha α aka B.1.1.7 variant hit the keg this afternoon with a fine FG 1.040-0.001@52F to yield a 11.8% sipper. Since we're highlighting the wonderful world of CoVid variants with Reinke's Revenge going into our 3rd year, what could be finer and more appropriate than taking the Fuggles already used in the recipe and dry-hopping it to death (or at least ventilator for a while). Looking at Omicron tweaks for 2022, but what could be more American.....and yet South African🤔

Brew Batch 163 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Delta variant

Well, that CBB multi-generational pitch it it's job. FG into the keg was 1.028-0.001@54F makes it a great 12.2% sipper. But that would only make it Reinke's Revenge and since this is Delta we'll be commemorating this virus laden hell we're all living in with some Bhut Jokolai (from India where delta was first identified) and some Carolina Reaper peppers (since it's still the most dominant variant in the US). Gonna have to watch the soak time on these because once "Pirate Bomb" level is met, I'll need to pull those bad boys out. No need in possessing actual fire breathing ability. 

Brew Batch 164 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Alpha variant

I know what you're thinking. Beat-12's already brewed Reinke's Revenge this year. And yes, you'd be correct. But as the Covid madness tarries on, why not tip the hat to the variant that started it all.... Alpha α aka B.1.1.7. This one has the same base as Δ and last year's CoVid edition but instead let's dry-hop it with a hefty amount of Fuggles shall we? OG 1.130-0.001 @59F should give it a nice antimicrobial effect. 

FOAM Cup 2021

 

FOAM cup 2021 came and went with 2 Beat-12 entries in it, Vanilla Cyanidine and It Ain't Helen...Georgia. The competition was deep with 475 brews and part of the High Plains Brewer of the Year circuit. (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, or Minnesota). Vanilla Cyanidine oddly enough after garnering a 29 and 29.5 in previous comps it seems to have settled a bit with the best feedback being "Reminiscent of a warm cherry pie with melty vanilla ice cream". The 38 overall got it a 🥉 though! Then my lowly 2nd brew attempt on It Ain't Helen...Georgia. RP@OTB said don't change a thing on batch#1, so I didn't (except for the yeast, had to try the Munich 2203 on it). The consensus on it was to lower the bitterness a touch, which is easy to do, but overall the brew was to style with good bread/crackery notes and a clean crisp finish. 39 overall, 🥇! So OK is no longer an elusive state on the medal board and I've got to say there's a masterful difference in the BJCP cert'ed scores. They were in depth scrawls of consciousness by people that were "in" the beer moment.  That I can truly appreciate and the scores were even posted early. Both entries got a 40 from one judge or the other, so super proud. 

Brew Batch 163 Reinke's Revenge 2021 CoVid Edition (cont'd) Delta variant

The day after International Stout Day couldn't be any more special or appropriate without brewing Reinke's Revenge. Since we as a species are still in the thralls of CoViD, it seemed only fitting to continue last year's wildly successful series with another this year. So building off of last year's base coming in with OG 1.120 +0.000 @66F, I give you Delta (B.1.617.2). And to celebrate it's East Indian "influence" this one will be pepperized to the heights of PAAs Pirate Bomb! ca 2017, but I'll save the additions until kegging. 

Brew Batch 162.5 Au Naturale (formerly known as At The Kiddie Table)

So going forth this batch will be known as Au Naturale.  Reason being is in my haste to get it chilled and fermenting on that monster Omega B63 pitch I forgot to boil it. Fear not, this is apparently how it's been done before (kind of). So "no boil" beer is beer that the wort either does not reach boil or only boils for a short amount of time. So, the sparge was at 163F for about 2 hours therefore it's pasteurized going into the bubbler. Most milk pasteurization is basically 145F for 30 minutes or 162F for 15 seconds so that part's covered. FG 1.006+0.000@ 64F to yield 6% so it ain't table bier anymore either. Plus I dry-hopped in on 1oz of Moutere and 2oz of Pacific Jade. Regardless of how it turned out there's only 4 gallons to quaff. 

Small Engine Guys

We at TnDC aren't just brewers, we're Renaissance Men, or as we age that's the goal. Building better brew equipment or just trying new products occasionally and posting the "wow's" and poo's" about them happens as well. I've noticed I tend to "fix" more things the older my kids get and this was a "fix" for Daddy. My Husqvarna 125B leaf blower was in desperate need of some TLC with regards to fuel lines and maybe even a new carburetor. Well, that's when I found Small Engine Guys. This guy saved me $140 and the video was so easy, I have the spare carb saved for later just in case it's needed. I implore you to take in this guy's videos and purchase through his links. I'm so stoked about my blower starting the first time, every time and running like a scalded dog that I'm redoing my 125CD weed eater today as well. 

Brew Batch #162 It Ain't Helen...Georgia

I'll say this, the FG was quite a surprise as I never really saw the Munich 2203 kick up. Lager yeast is truly a different animal. But into the keg it went this morning at 1.006-0.001 @46F to give a slightly lighter abv than last time 5.25%. It has a beautiful color and may actually make it into a gullet before month's end after all. 

Brew Batch #162.5 At the Kiddie Table

So when it's brew day at your local brewery and they have 5 gallons of second runnings left from a quad they're doing, you gotta take those, right?! So at home with a monster pitch of B63 Omega I had left over from Southie-12 with an OG of 1.050 +0.002@ 82F. Not sure it will qualify for table beer abv levels but it was mashed at 153-154F so we'll see where it finishes. 

Brew Batch #162 It Ain't Helen....Georgia

Yeah, we at Beat-12 Brewing are behind on this one but my old brew buddy said a great lager can be made quickly with enough yeast and good technique. So by the end of October we should be able to quaff this one down. No changes to the recipe as research has shown it to fit the palate bill rather well. Now the comp circuit hasn't been as easy to please. OG 1.044+0.001 @78F. Should be a little better than last batch on the abv. Put double pitch of Munich 2203 on it this time. 

Brew Batch #161 Octohop v1.5

LA3 won't be repitched after this batch. Lost about a gallon to trub and hop matter but this one wafts well out of the bubbler into the keg. FG 1.010+0.000 @65F to chew it's way down to 8.3%. Right on track with last version. Have enough odds and ends of 2oz packages that I may have 2.0 ability when this one sips away. 

Brew Batch #161 Octohop v1.5

Rebirth! 2 years later as I mistakenly skipped this little beauty in 2020 (right along with the rest of humanity) . V1.5 because 4 of the 8 dry-hops changed and not the entirety. Leaves wiggle room for v2.0. Started with a good bittering base to get IBUs to 80 as usual, then whirlpool and dry-hopping included Comet, Simcoe, Eureka!, Huell Melon, Jarrylo, X09326, X04190 (2020 US Contessa) and X06297 (Lotus) OG 1.072+0.001@80F. Sure hope that LA3 chews it up. 

Brew Batch #160 Teenage Dirtbag

This one finally finished fermenting after almost continually exploding from the bubbler with a double pitch of CommonBond multi gen 001 yeast. (my bad). Had to ferment at 58F for a bit to keep it under control but as of this morning, 5 full gallons went into Lil' Le' Arthur? to age a bit on what's left of that mega bourbon. FG 1.004+0.001 @77F for a solid 10.2%. Not sure what it'll be called by the barrel owner on exit but I did over brew and have a gallon to top his barrel off during maturation and possibly keg a little of the original for sampling. 

King of the Mountain 2021

 

KOTM was put on by Little Mountain Homebrewers Association and seems to be another wash for me in the state of OH. Not sure about scores because sheets haven't' been posted, I just know that Nonanal got a 325 and WBI received 275. Wonder if they forgot the (.) when posting? Nonetheless, I'm still clamoring for some jewelry in the Buckeye. And Fedex didn't help matters either with crappy delivery times. 

Limbo Challenge 2021

Part of the Lone Star Circuit, The Limbo Challenge was all about making sessionable beers. So I slid Vanilla Cyanidine and KeeWeePee 2.0 in and hoped for the best. I'm learning quickly that though my wife likes the fruited sours, BJCP judges not so much. VC schlepped a 29.5 with a "nice" base beer but the vanilla and cherry seemed to much. KWP 2.0 got a 50!! But so did every other beer in the "Lawnmower" category, which was simply a BOS pick. Ah, TX eludes the medal board but the comp was well run and I couldn't have asked for better communication from Jimmy "The Data Guy".

Brew Batch #160 Teenage Dirtbag

Being a huge Wheatus fan, this one only seemed natural. This is a wheatwine recipe I've had tucked away for quite sometime and just now had good reason to at least beta batch it. A friend has a freed up 5 gallon Balaton bourbon barrel, so this one will fill it for a good soak. I made extra to top it off over it's metamorphosis in the barrel, so I'll be able to try the base beer as is. OG 1.082+0.001 @78F. Should finish around 10% thanks to a healthy 001 pitch from CBB.

Red Apron

Got one of those coupons for Blue Apron but found the meal prep service I really want 😄

New Jersey State Fair Homebrew Competition 2021

 

SCUBA put this event on and the awards were handed out at the Sussex County Fairgrounds. I can mark The Garden State off the medal list cause When Doves Rye (33B) got gold in it's category to make it to mini-BOS then received bronze overall with a monstrous 40. I'll retiring it like The Cosby Show (on top of ratings). Vanilla Cyanidine had the judges confused between a good Berliner base and the lactose/dark cherry combo, 29 overall. So I'm not sure if I'll put it in the next one or swap out for Nonanal. I have to hand it to SCUBA, this was a well communicated and executed event. The scores AND sheets were posted within an hour or the live awards ceremony. Regardless of honors, any comp that can manage that with 293 entries is seasoned and runs well. 

Brew Batch #159 WBI (aka Wheat Beer Incident)

It's back and loving life at a nice high CO2 volume. 1.002-0.001 @57 to give that wheat body-filled 5% that you can crush to. Just in time to end one of the hottest weeks this summer. Bring on August!

Brew Batch #159 WBI

You know and love it "Mista Wwyan" Wheat Beer Incident. The recipe born out of nasty that won gold (multiple times) 1.040+0.000 @75F. A seasonal thirst quencher. Repitched the WLP 300 on this one too to see how it does as compared to Wyeast 3068. 

2021 Red, White & Brews

Coming out of quarantine with a brand new True beer dispensing fridge the kids have longingly named "Mista Wwyan" and only one beer on tap at the time, Dingo Took My Baby, my all Australian pale ale.  It scored meh at 31. The Non-BJCP scored me lower than the certed professional brewer but I tend to side with the Non in this instance. He picked up phenolic tones, which I am now tasting in the beer as it sits. Needless to say, I hope it was a onetime poo-poo on my brewing process where the Aussie yeast didn't kick up as quick as it should've (cause I'm brewing it again with this propped up strain) and not a gram-negative colonization. None of the grains were smoked so those couldn't be the culprit. Had to either be contamination or the yeast. Regardless, this was such a smooth comp by the Long Beach homebrewers to enter I'm already looking forward to it hopefully next year. Scores posted only a couple of hours after the awards ceremony and sheets appeared this morning. And I just commented on Untappd the other day how some brewers "can't even brew basic BJCP categories well". Someone pass me a beer for the crow I'll be eating. Only a comp of 114, so I better up my game quick.

Brew Batch #158 KeeWeePee v2.0

Finishing at 1.004 + 0.000@61F, KWP 2.0 gives the perfect abv I was searching for at 4.6%. V2.0 because it has a totally revamped hop profile (all New Zealand though). V2.1 will follow V1.1's footsteps and have a dry-hopping of the Rakau and Waimea in this version. Can't wait to brew it already, this one has some nice promise on the swill sip. 

Brew Batch #158 KeeWeePee v2.0

Totally dropped the ball on posting this one at first. Went 2.0 with Wakatu followed by light doses of Rakau and Waimea. Going to "2.1" it later with dry-hopping and I'm excited about pitching some fresh Czech pils yeast to use about 10 times through the summer and fall. OG 1.038+0.001@72F. 

Brew Batch #157 Dingo Took My Baby

Propping that wonderful Australian yeast from White Labs again on an Australian pale ale that hit the keg today with FG 1.002+0.000 @60F. This makes it a solid 6.5%abv. For pale ales that's a little high but it also crosses into the IPA range except that the IBUs are only 43. I'll enter it in a comp to see what happens score-wise, but the Pride of Ringwood, Galaxy and Summer combo is a distinct profile. 

Brew Batch #156 (and 156.5) Nonanal & Vanilla Cyanidine

A nice big batch of sour base yields 2 great experiments. Nonanal kegged 6/14 after being on 49oz of strawberry puree for 7 days with 4oz of white chocolate flavoring in the hopes of getting at least in the same ball park as SG's strawberry vanilla truffle sour. 6/16 I kegged the other 5 gallons after it had been on 61oz of dark cherry puree with 4oz of vanilla flavoring. It will affectionately be known as vanilla cyanidine, as cyanidine is a chemical compound responsible for that "cherry" smell. Both finished at 1.010 +0.000@ 63 to give a set of 5.6% summer sippers. 

2021 Beach Balls 5k

It's been quite some time since I've been on a regular "balls" routine. Quarantine should've helped but they would've all been local "balls" runs. Plus I've been rehabing a compressed nerve in my left foot with tarsal tunnel for about 6 months now. Started with the Quarantine Balls 10K. So I started at the Marina House where we were staying and just figured I'd run The Grand Hotel property onto the paralleling sidewalk the adjacent neighborhood was on. It was a humid glorious scenery filled morning with little to no breeze. Most in the area are or have had to redo their piers thanks to an active hurricane season last year, so I figured I'd just run till the sidewalk ended (not really certain where that would be). And it damn sure did. This was obviously an out and back but there's no foot pain, just unused thighs, calves and lungs. 

Brew Batch #157 Dingo Took My Baby

Using my new Pride of Ringwood hops to create (hopefully) a supreme Australian pale ale. I’m also going back to Wallaby Water (pronounced Wa-duh) and try them there for a unique twist. OG 1.052 + 0.002@ 85F, as I try to convert the OTB 🐍 over to my pump. Forgot about that when I broke it out this morning. 

Brew Batch #156 Nonanal

It's not what you think, but definitely subliminal. Nonanal is one of the compounds that makes strawberry smell and taste like strawberry. Look it up, I cant make this stuff up. So with mimicry being the ultimate form of flattery, I'm trying to emulate SG's Strawberry Vanilla Truffle and maybe beta it for a local brewery. But with some new refrigeration and dispensing equipment in hand I gotta fill it up. So this is kind of batch 156 and 156.5 as it's a 10 gallon sour base. First 5 gallons gets 49 oz of strawberry puree and minimum 4oz white chocolate flavoring. Not sure if I'll dip some nibs cause that'll push the cost up if it's scaled up. The other 5 gallons may get Meyer lemon puree or kiwi and bananas? OG 1.042-0.001 @45F. Should make for a nice 5%er

Colonial Cup 2021

Coming out of Covid the comps are slowly opening and as this one was postponed last year,  I wanted to give it a whirl. Only had When Doves Rye and No Taters on in time and they represented well but alas fell short on the jewelry.  When Doves Rye (33B) topped out at 35 with scores saying "great color and it'll be smoother in a year". No Taters, a crushable IRA, slid into a 36 with scores of "a touch too bitter for the style" but good clean ferm (the Simcoe is my guess). The only catch an IRA and 33B RIS medaled ahead of me. Ugh, South Carolina still eludes but I'm just getting started. Thanks for a well organized comp. 

Funk You, Funk Me. Funk it for Always...(that's the way it should be)

Not actually brewed by Formation Brewing Co, yet fermented in full by us. On 2/11/21 when Andrew McNally at CommonBond Brewers had about 16 extra gallons of his Zelda Blonde wort, RP and I put 10 gallons on Safale 05 and my 6 or so on some Wyeast 2565. Though Le' Arthur has lost most of his barrel character and his spirit has yielded doesn't mean that he is useless. Time to create FBC's House of Funk. So as of now those 16 or so gallons of blonde ale now sit on a blend of MO microflora harvested from Side Project Balaton #1 and Monday Night's Beyond the Clouds Brett dregs. We'll see what we see in the next 12-18 months. 

Brew Batch #155 No Taters

FG is 1.002-0.001@ 53F to give a perfect 5%. The color is spot on and the touch of bitter from the Simcoe seems in line. There's a nice caramel malt tone to it. I can't wait to see what this is like with some CO2 conditioning to give it a creamy tight head.

Brew Batch #155 No Taters

(Totally forgot to hit publish on this, but) FG 1.002-0.001 @57F to give it a solid 5% quaffability. I like this recipe but am somewhat concerned on how the Simcoe for bittering will come across as opposed to more traditional hops like Willamette or Kent Goldings. Either way this one is headed to a comp if they open this year. 

Brew Batch #155 No Taters

It won't be ready for St. Paddy's day but it's my earnest attempt at all-graining a recipe I haven't done in probably 15 years. OG 1.040+0.001 @ 73F is just about expected but I know good yeast can make up the difference. Hopefully, this'll be my Killian's but better. 

Brew Batch #154 I like Big Oats! v1.0

 (and I can not lie)...Kegged today as part of a beta to support one of our local breweries. The color is a fantastic pale whitish indicating the oat dump worked well. Aroma is that of kaffir limes or subtle lemons but on the sip Calypso has won out. It's a piney resinous WC haze if there is such a thing. FG 1.012 to give it 7.6% abv but so smooth you'd never know it. Version 1.1 is a change in hops. 

Brew Batch #153 Not Old Spice

Slid into a keg today and man did that AMG work its magic! It is D-RYE. My only concern at this point is the hop selection. I may have come off better using different new age hops instead of Amarillo or even perhaps Comet. I'm hoping the orange of the Amarillo plays well with the tangerine and blueberry of the Comet and Mosaic, but I sense a touch of "comet grass" in the nose. Either way, FG 1.000-0.001@ 56F and it's an eye-popping D-BIPA (Double Brut IPA). May be the 1st of its kind?

Brew Batch #152 Reinke's Revenge 2020 CoViD Edition

Added 2 cups of pecan flour for a 2 week soak and kegged on maple and pecan flavoring today with a full ghost pepper suspended in a stainless strainer. My only concern is that FG 1.054+0.000@ 59F tells me the yeast may have petered out a little. Or did the flour add more sugar to the beer that the yeast didn't have tie to convert? Either way this will be a 10% peppery sweet libation. (just realized I never posted this as I was looking for previous notes 12/13/21😄)

Brew Batch #154 I Like Big Oats! v1.0

(and I can not lie) a little beta batch to see what Calypso, Loral and HBC 342 taste like with a big up tick in oats on the usual haze recipe. Loral has the Glacier and Nugget parentage with a floral/herbal perception, HBC 342 is a citrusy melon release with a possible Simcoe substitution and Calypso all over the place depending on where it’s used. I’m hoping they play well together but with all at alphas around 12% with decent myrcene levels it may be a pine bomb.  OG 1.070. 

Brew Batch #153 Not Old Spice

Enamored by the brut IPA, I tried one myself AND split a 10 gallon base with my buddy at OTB to do with as he sees fit. This one was a slight departure from my haze bombs with the addition of corn and no bittering hops. Instead all hops were post boil in a 10 minute whirlpool. I'll let this ferm all the way out then throw some AMG on it to really dry it out. Numbers were a touch better with OG 1.062+0.000@68F.