"AllRight Then"

Got to get our brew for June done yesterday just before the storms let loose. Quite lucky timing, looking back on it now. This brew is a continuation of our pale ale. The last batch came out too dark, and the flavor wasn't quite what we were looking for. This one has come out with a much better color and we tweaked the hops to enhance the flavor. We're tentatively calling it AllRight Then Pale Ale. It is in the carboys now fermenting, I'll repost when we bottle.
As soon as we finished up brewing yesterday we took a road-trip. We had to drive down to Winston-Salem to take Carrie's mother to pick up her new car. While we were there we visited Foothills Brewpub. Justin had been there before, but it was a first for everyone else.
It was a nice brewpub: open and exposed brick walls, wooden floors, restaraunt up front, bar & brewery in back. Since we had the kids, we were up front. They have several different beers, more to Justin's liking (hop-head) than Carrie's. Though we both did agree that their Total Eclipse Stout was pretty good, and we brought home a growler of that. Their Torch Pilsner was drinkable, but had a strong aftertaste that reminds one of "commercial crap" beer. Can't quite put our fingers on which one, but we all agreed that it was there. Their Pilot Mountain Pale Ale reminded us of Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale. I'd like to see them both in a side-by-side tasting to see just how closely the taste really is. Justin also had a glass of their Seeing Double IPA and really liked that one. It is one of their seasonal beers, which Carrie was sad to not see their Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout currently available, and was just as sad to find that they didn't even had any of the t-shirts for that beer in stock since the logo was pretty snazzy.
Back home today we went out and took inventory of our hops that we have growing. The Cascade and Magnum hops are doing really well, with the Kent Golding finally seeming to be getting a foothold in growing. We were really late in planting our Fuggles hops, but they've broken the ground already, so now we're just waiting for them to take off. We will try to take some photos of the hops to post. The dogs have really given us a challenge with growing the hops, as they keep getting stuck in the twine. Talk about hair of the dog beer!!
And, finally, we've had to invest in a college-style mini-fridge. Our last batch of Pale Ale (or not-so-pale-ale) was exploding when you opened it because, due to summer heat, it was getting over carbonated sitting back where we keep beer. We're hoping that a day or two of chilling will stop the exploding problem. Luckily, it only "exploded" when you opened it, so no bottles have been lost and no real damage done. Also, it was our not-so-pale-ale, one we weren't too impressed by, so it could've been worse .... though the loss of any beer is always a sad and solemn occaission. Hopefully this will work though and solve the problem. Of course, living in our nice, 100+ year old house brings about the usual "delight" - needing to find a converter plug. The plug for the fridge is 3 prong, the available outlet is only two. A trip to Walmart this morning only yielded an empty box, not yet re-stocked, and so alas, no remedies - yet!!

A New Brewery

The notice of a new brewery opening up nearby is like a cross between being told Christmas is coming when you weren't expecting it, and a Pavlovian bell being rung. It gets us giddy as children and has our mouths watering with thirsts that suddenly need quenching. And, of course, for us words such as: organic, artisanal, traditional, and authentic, leave us quivering with desire.
If you haven't guessed where we're referring to yet, it is none-other than Shooting Creek Brewery (http://www.shootingcreekbrewery.com/). The much-anticipated "mini-microbrewery" is slated to open Saturday, June 14th, 2008. It is a moment highlighted on our calendars.

Why should this one be any more exciting that any other brewery? Well, it is located in Floyd, VA so it is only a stone's throw from here. It is, according to Shooting Creek's blog, the first producer of "legal" grain alcohol ever in Floyd; the building structure and brewery were handbuilt by family and friends; they are a "mom & pop" outfit - no outsourcing, they did it all themselves; and, most importantly they "will be first farm brewery to open in Southwest Virginia – they would hope to encourage more microbreweries around the region to open –it’s about brewer’s brotherhood." Now if that doesn't make you giddy with excitement, well, you just need to get giddy!

The owners of Shooting Creek Brewery already own a wonderful organic farm, 5 Penny Farm, (http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M8028) where the brewery will also be located & whose produce we delight in finding at the Salem Farmer's Market. Now, if only they could sell the beer there!!

Don't be shy, let us know what you think of Shooting Creek Brewery. Let's all toast to them and hope that they have much success! CHEERS!!!

Big Brew Day

'Today was Big Brew, the anniversary of Jimmy Carter once again making homebrew legal. We weren't able to make it to the Guild's meeting today, but we did manage to brew some of our own - and of course, we toasted at noon in honor of the celebration.
Today we brewed our first Brown Ale, affectionately title "Back Porch Brown #1." To add to our normal all-grain set-up, we added for the first time today a second burner - so we could use one for heating the hot water and one for mash temperature control. All went well if you don't count the following: the wort chiller hose still has a leak, and when we were funneling into one of the carboys Tristan, our 21 month old son, stuck his hand into the brew. What can we say, we train them young and they're curious!! ha ha ha.
This is our first try at a good Brown Ale. We figure that a good brown ale is essential because in our society Americans have a pallete that has been bred to appreciate the taste of a good brown ale. Often, when training novice brewers how to brew ale, the first ale taught is a basic Brown Ale. With this being the case, brewing a Brown Ale is essential. We've chosen to name our's "Back Porch Brown."
Today we also added our second burner for the process, which could've eliminated the need for an insulation jacket, though we still used the jacket in order to save propane and constantly running the gas. Eco-thoughts: tis better to insulate than to waste gas! (Ok, even my immature mind snickered at that one ..... if you didn't, grow up and get a little immature .. laugh more! It is funny!!)
Either way, is a photo:

Ten gallons of sweet "Back Porch Brown #1" fermenting. I've been trying to upload a good photo of it all brewing, but for some reason it just won't upload. Don't you love the age of computers, blogs, and all that technological shit???
Hope you toasted to the day that once again we were all allowed to homebrew legally once again. And we hope you toasted to those who said "Fuck this shit" and brewed anyway all along - because, in all honesty, where would we really be without them??
No matter which way you view it, brew on!