Pacific Brew News

I just finished watching Good Eats with Alton Brown on the Food Network, they were doing a piece on homebrew (titled: Amber Waves). While I must say the show was informative, I could see some issues popping up with your beer if you followed his instructions step-by-step.

Alton did a great job highlighting yeast, fermentation, sanitation, hops and barley. Really, it was very well done. He missed a few terms, but if you watched the video below carefully you will notice I do too. Of course, in 30 minutes you’re not going to learn the subtleties of brewing, but you don’t need to. I mean, what homebrewer do you know had it figured out on their first batch? His equipment was good too. In fact, a few pieces of equipment seemed quite logical.

Where Alton began to fall apart was the actual process of brewing. I won’t rag on the specifics, if you’re a brewer and you saw the show, you probably have a pretty good idea what I’m referring to. No, instead I’d like to point you to a resource that will be the best tool you can have before you brew your first batch of beer: Basic Brewing.

James Spencer started Basic Brewing back when most of the US hadn’t heard the word ‘podcast’ and his show has been an online hit ever since. If you’ve not caught his shows, you need to – even if you’re not a homebrewer. James brings in guests you want to learn from, people with the experiences and reputations you know and trust. Not only does he bring the guest on, he actually knows how to interview them! I’ve had a couple interviews on our show – they’re painful! Listening to James, you’d swear you were listening to a high quality national radio program.

As if that weren’t enough for a free show, James also puts out a regular video podcast that rivals programming on television! In these shows he will frequently partner with Steve to create some wonderful dishes, paired and made with homebrew. The stuff is incredible.

In addition to the shows, James offers a few DVDs you shouldn’t be without.

• Introduction to Extract Brewing: This DVD has almost everything you need to make sure your first batch of homebrew is done right. I’ve given this to family and friends when they’ve wanted to start the hobby, it’s never disappointed. The info is thorough, but not overwhelming.
• Stepping into All Grain: For those who have dabbled in extract and want to move on, or perhaps those who’d like to jump right on in, this DVD is even more complete than the first. With menu options allowing you to select the methods you’d like to use, you can literally have this set up and playing while you’re brewing. To this day, I have not seen a better produced DVD for homebrewers.
• Low-Tech Lagering and Decoction Mashing: A DVD made for homebrewers who don’t think they have the means to lager a beer or do a decoction mash, which I believe is the majority of homebrewers in the US today. If this is you, don’t hesitate to pick this up.

Finally, to wrap up my sales pitch for a man I’ve not met, James has put together Brewing Logs that are really quite helpful. I haven’t ordered my 2008 book yet, but 2007’s made note taking simple, clean and concise – way better than the spiral pad I’d been using for years before.

I promise you this, if you take the info Food Network gave you and put it along side the info found in any one of these DVDs, you’ll certainly go into that first beer with more confidence and, most likely, a better finished product.

This week I bought a used B3 1000 Brewing Sculpture, and I can’t wait to use it. This sculpture is less than one year old, has many upgrades and looks to be brand spanking new – it was a great deal. The system consists of:

• Three 14 Gallon pots, with spigots and thermometers – Hot Liquor Tank, Mash Tun & Kettle – perfect for making 10 gallon batches
• 55k BTU propane burners
• Wort Chiller
• Mash Tun complete with false bottom & fly sparge setup
• Kettle equipped with Diverter Plate

Now, this will be a fun new development for me because it is a 10 gallon brew system. I have been brewing 5 gallon batches and hope the learning curve isn’t too hard to overcome for my holiday brewing (I give a lot of beer away for the holidays… a lot of beer).

I am in a bit of a confused state now, I have to admit, I don’t know how to break this thing in. I’m considering brewing a second batch of Northern Brewer’s Bourbon Porter (it’s pretty darned good), a Milk Stout (I really like this style, not sure how the family will like it though), my own “Pale Warrior” (an American Single Hopped IPA, using only Warrior hops) or something entirely different. Ah, the tough choices in life… right?

I am pretty stoked about this, to a point that is nearing embarrassing. I have walked out and looked at this thing-of-beauty more than a couple times, just to stare and wonder. I never thought I’d get one of these, couldn’t imagine being able to afford one. However, when someone is selling the complete system for less money than I could get the kettles, well, you have to rethink a few things.

There is some level of sadness too, don’t be fooled. I love my Gott coolers. I love the challenge they’ve offered me, the messes, the insanity of it all. I imagine I’ll make messes with this too, but I can’t imagine a bigger mess than that double IPA I made with Mike last year… when the false bottom became dislodged and we had to scoop out the mash with a measuring cup and everything within three feet stuck to us. As messy as that was, though, that beer came out wonderful.

In fact, I can safely say that most of the beer I have made at home has come out great – the extracts (which I still do on occasion), the partial mash and the all grain. There was that one year I made a pumpkin beer with real pumpkin that proved to be a really bad idea, but that was all for fun anyway.

If you’re interested in homebrewing, there’s one resource I think you should check out – James Spencer’s Basic Brewing. James is a great guy with all the right contacts to make sure you get the best information out there. Even if you’re already a homebrewer, I think James’ interviews are diverse and thorough enough that you’ll learn something. Homebrewing is fun, easy and often results in beers you’ll be proud to share with friends and family.

While I’m at it, if you’re new to brewing might I suggest you check out Northern Brewer’s website. Out of Minnesota, I think Northern Brewer has the best ingredients out there in the webosphere. If you’re looking for equipment, I think More Beer would be my first stop.

I do think I’ve figured out my first 10 gallon batch to brew, a Porter (man, I love a good porter):

• 17 LBS Rahr 2-Row Pale
• 2 LBS Simpsons Crystal 60
• 1 LBS Crisp Pale Chocolate
• 2 oz Chinook
• 2 oz Cascade