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| Fred's homebrewing sculpture |
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| The broken stool |
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| Pouring grain from a sturdy ladder |
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| Starting the sparge |
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| Pouring the wort into a straining bag |
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Our third NIHB member meeting on November 4, 2006 drew the largest crowd so far. It seems that everyone really wants to brew beer (big surprise!), so that was just what we did. It seems appropriate that our first brewing meeting was on Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day, which is the first Saturday in November each year. The attendees included nine club members and four visitors. Laughing Dog's brewers Fred and Jerry loaned us equipment, space, and plenty of advice.
The agenda was all about brewing a batch of beer using all-grain techniques. Fred Colby (Laughing Dog's Master Brewer) loaned us the brewing sculpture that he used for home brewing back before he opened a commercial brewery. Now that equipment resides at the brewery and mostly gets used to pilot experimental batches for Laughing Dog Brewing.
The recipe was based on the "1981 Boulder Christmas Stout" recipe from Charlie Papazian's Microbrewed Adventures. The recipe was for a 5 gallon batch. Thanks to Brian Krahmer and Casey Brooks for bringing the necessary ingredients. Thanks also to Blaine Jacobs and Marshall Rooney for bringing bottles. Fred suggested that we increase the batch to 10 gallons and even gave us the additional ingredients we needed to do so. Thanks to you too, Fred!
By the time we were done augmenting, the recipe wasn't exactly what was published in Papazian's book, but it follows pretty closely. Fred fired up ProMash to formulate the new recipe and gave us a look at how the software works at the same time.
The meeting was a long one. Fred and I got started with heating the water at about 10:15 AM, and members started rolling in at the scheduled start time of 11:00 AM. With all grain brewing, you spend a lot of time waiting for the next step, so members had plenty of time to share brewing stories and lore. We also broke out the samples that several members had brought to the meeting. Everyone got into the spirit of relaxing and having a home brew.
By the time cleanup was done, it was nearly 5:00 PM, but everyone seemed to have a good time. In fact, there was general agreement that brew meetings are the best way to go, in spite of their length. This is a club of brewers, so we should get together to brew!
Just about everyone got involved in the brewing process. In fact, you could say we had too many cooks in the kitchen! It was chaotic, but great fun. We experienced our share of problems too.
For example, while adding grain to the mash tun, member Brian Krahmer stepped up onto a plastic stool with a bucket full of grain. The stool promptly broke into three pieces, sending Brian and the grain to the floor. Fortunately, Brian missed hitting the sculpture on the way down and was more embarrassed than hurt. We scooped up the spilled grain and got a sturdy ladder to replace the broken stool.
As a result of the accident, someone suggested that we name the beer Broken Stool Stout. After considering the various definitions of the word stool (specifically the one that is gastronomically unappealing), the name was changed to Broken Step Stout instead.
The next problem came when we tried to drain the wort out of the kettle and into the fermenter. The fresh hops blocked the drain valve in spite of the whirlpool, so two members had to physically lift the 10-gallon kettle and pour the wort into the fermenter directly. Two other members held a straining bag open so we would prevent the solids from getting into the primary. At that point, it was nice to have so many hands available to help out.
The final difficulty occurred when the straining bag stopped draining because it was stuck with particles. The two members stuck holding the bag experienced the other definition of "strain" as they struggled to hold onto the heavy sack of stuck wort. Fred saved the day by rinsing his hands in sanitizer and squeezing the wort out of the bag. Of course, this was all too much for the bag seam to handle, and a small break appeared in the bottom. We got a few solids into the primary after all.
After all we had experienced, I think everyone had their doubts about how the beer would turn out. Fred and I racked the beer to carboys on November 24, and I'm happy to report that we both thought it came out extremely well. I have high hopes for how it will taste after finishing.
The fourth club meeting will most likely be some time in January, 2007. The location is yet to be determined, but members Casey and Scott have volunteered the use of their facility, which is capable of brewing a whopping 60 gallons at a time! We could send everyone home with a carboy.
If you have thoughts or suggestions on the next meeting, whether it is for a location or for the kind of beer to brew, please post your comments on the NIHB forum.
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