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.