Saturday, March 23, 2013

Crowded Stockroom

Well, the beer is piling up at my house.
Today I made a Dopplebock, funded by my winnings in Memphis. 
This is the biggest beer I've ever made at 1.087 and the 8th time I've brewed in as many weeks.  I mashed the 20 pounds of grain for it at 155 degrees.  I want this beer to be a thick, sipping beer to have around for a long time. The ABV I'm expecting will be at least twice that of an Ordinary Bitter so this beer will be consumed sparingly over several months.

I used the same pack of California Ale yeast for the other 7.
I made an IPA, a Pale, an American Amber, an American Brown, a different IPA, a Blonde and an Irish Red.  I know, an Irish Red with 1056?  We'll see what it tastes like when I package it this Thursday.
I harvested yeast from one beer as I brewed another and got some very fast starting fermentations.
I saved the yeast from the Red but I'll probably throw it out and reset that yeast next time I need it.
I want to make a Bitter this week but I need to get a few pounds of Maris Otter 2-row and a package of English Ale yeast.
My goal is to fill every bottle and keg I've got now and brew fewer "regular" beers during the hot months to concentrate on Belgian beers and Bohemian Pilseners.
Plus I want to finish my business plan for BCB.
Those lofty goals, along with my responsibilities as a husband and father should keep me hoppin' through the Summer and into the Fall.
Peace, Love, Beer

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Reds, Browns, Blondes and Business Plans

I bottled my American Brown today.  It really tasted good so I can't wait for it to carbonate.
But the Winter conditioning room (the downstairs bath) is getting a bit crowded so I moved a Pale and an Amber to the stock room.  Right now I have an IPA in the fermenter and the Brown ale in there. Tomorrow's Blonde will join them when I make it.
I received my competition results today.
Don't get too excited, it was a mix bag.  Some scores were really good.  Others surprised me for being fairly low despite my personal assessment of the beers.  I guess you fall in love with your own work and lose your objectivity.
Oh well, I'll gladly take the prizes that came along with the medals.
Thanks to the generosity of my friends at Rebel Brewer, I'll make beer on into the Spring.  They supported the Memphis competition by providing gift certificates to all the medal winners.  Tom and his crew there do a great deal to expand and improve home brewing in Tennessee.
Finally, I think it's time to finish my business plan for Bluff City Brewing.
I'm approaching it with a casual urgency.
Don't misunderstand.  I'm as interested as ever to go pro.  I have thought about it for years.  The thing is, I meet a lot of people who like my beer.  But when I meet possible angel investors, I'm not seen as a plausible risk because I'm not ready to hand them a plan detailing a path toward successfully achieving my business objectives.
Hopefully, that will soon change.  My new project is to finish a 5-year business plan for Bluff City Brewing,... or Bellevue Brewing, or West Nashville Beer Co., or whatever it will be called as soon as possible.
Maybe I can get it finished before 5 more breweries open up in the city.
Good Beer To You.