br∞ry

February 11, 2009

New Brew: British Steel Reserve

We don't make too many English styles, but here goes...

In a solid liquid tribute to Judas Priest, we dubbed this un-styled bastard ale British Steel Reserve. It features a few across-the-pond hops I won in a raffle back in December: Phoenix, Bramling Cross and First Gold. Phoenix did all the kettle bittering at 10% alpha acid, then we mixed the Bramling Cross and First Gold 50/50 for two later additions. A pound of flaked oats were also mashed with the UK 2-row and Amber malt.

Well, I think our efficiency woes are a thing of the past! We destroyed our pre-boil target by a couple Brix. I might chalk up the awesome sugar pull to the drill on the mill. We got a much finer grind with the DeWalt hooked on in comparison to the last batch's hand-cranked grist. If the Windor yeast has good attenuation, this bloke could very well put a hurtin' on your arse.

It took nearly a full boil before we were graced with "Living After Midnight" on the Sirius metal channel. During the lull, we tossed the very un-British American football around with awkward abandon. All that exercise made us peckish for some tucker. So, in a fitting homage to Mr. Rob Halford, we ate an awful lot of sausage.

OG=1.061 IBU=30 SRM=7.6

January 24, 2009

Barack on track

Pardon the lull. We've been recovering from our slashed wrists which were resultant of a few setbacks. Oh, but sometimes we can learn from our mistakes...sometimes.

First the bad...
This Monkey's gone to Heaven. Organic peanut butter has fat in it too! In hindsight, it may have not been the best idea to plop it into the primary fermenters. After a couple weeks of fairly drinkable peanutty beer in the kegs, something went very south. We ended up with 9 gallons of scrumptious vinegar.

Then the mediocre...
Maybe it's just me, but I don't think GATORALE (the beer for the drunken athlete) went over very well at the MD. Homebrewers Guild party in December. I recall some dirty looks. Yes, it was chocked full of powdered original lemon-lime Gatorade! We even dry-hopped a keg to try and Cascade-up the aroma. Some folks purportedly liked it. One thing we did learn --- yeast REALLY likes Gatorade.

And now...Change we can believe in!
We're elated to report our last two brews are resounding successes. First was a Barack Friday - a lovely little brown ale which included a cereal mash of buckwheat. At over 6% ABV, this one sneaks up on you and redistributes your underpants to the less fortunate.

Hot on the new president's tail was In-tact Hymen Chocolate Stout. Oddly, we left her unviolated by not busting up any cherries (the original plan). It turned out so well, that we could not adulterate its silken chocolateyness with the fruit. Thanks to some 86% cacao and the runner being thrown out at home, it became one of the quickest-drained kegs in Broory history.

October 15, 2008

New Brew: QUR'ANBERRY!

We've pissed off the Catholics and effed with the Jews!
So here's a beer even a MOOZLUM could use!

Yes, it's QUR'ANBERRY! An exciting new brew chock full of those tangy-assed little red berries. It should make for the perfect quaffing beer to wash down your filthy turkey on your pig-dog capitalist American Thanksgiving Day. Yes, you can cut BOTH hands off, but you'll be searching for a straw once this one gets poured. First, we boiled & pureed two pounds of fresh cranberries which went into the mash. The rest is basically a Wit application minus the coriander at the end of the boil. We've replaced it with a little orange marmalade, just before plopping two cans of whole cranberry sauce into each of the carboys.

I have a gut feeling that this one's going to be such a hit for the holidays, people are going to be hitting us WITH SHOES!! We might even prevent a urinary tract infection along the way.

Cranberries Frappe! Nature's warning colors on full display.

Jim kindly offers to paddle everyone's asses until they're the hue of cranberries.

OG=1.052 IBU=23 SRM=6

October 4, 2008

New Brew: Rhesus Peanut Butter Monkey Brown

Do you like it creamy, or relish the chunky?
Has your jar of Jif been filched by a monkey?
"That son of a bitch!" You fumingly utter.
"A purloining primate stole my peanut butter!"

Did you know that doggies love eating it too?
Smear it neat places and see what they do!
George Washington Carver sure knew of its uses.
His memoirs are loaded with peanut abuses!

For homebrew and peanuts, we thank Jimmy Carter:
President, farmer and infamous farter.
Yes, during his term he was known to clear rooms
With regular sessions of beer and legumes.

By the spoonful, on toast or in your Pad Thai!
To hell with your allergies, give it a try!
"Dames are like peanut butter," my pappy once said.
"Once their top's off, they're easily spread."

So join us this day on the best porch in town...
The thesis is Rhesus Peanut Butter Monkey Brown.
But since real peanut butter is oily material,
We're mashing our grains with some more breakfast cereal*.

* Aw, hell. We used the real stuff anyway...

OG=1.057 IBU=27 SRM=20

July 13, 2008

Miscellanea!

Pack N' Sprankles!

I'm going to Raper!

If this RV's rockin'...

We're gonna need this

Like a timebomb...

Waiting to go off...

At any moment...

That moment.

Your filthy cat is on my pizza

Your filthy angel is on my teat

No wife for a week? No problem!

Helps to have small hands

Home of the state champion Macaques!

Lucky kids go to Disneyland. Special kids go to Kennywood.

Someone throw Jesus a giant life preserver

Let me think...

Wheeee!

GOETTAFEST!!!

We endured another near-miss tornado to stuff ourselves with all things Goetta in Covington, KY.

Rob asks Tom how much toilet paper he has at home

Hot, delicious balls

Better Goetta extra napkin

Tom samples the Philly Goetta Cheesesteak

I must have it

And so I did

This man insists that hisun is 'n fact slightly bigger

Not responsible for damages caused to your toilet

Aww, we had to...

Dessert: A break from Goetta --- crawdads

A taste of Louisiana in Kentucky of all places. Actually, there's also a Covington LA.

Pig: Some assembly required

Brewin' down the haus in Newport

We brewed two batches at Tom's of Newport: KPA - a Kentucky Pale Ale with a touch of Knob Creek bourbon, and Kentucky Hot Brown - an American brown ale with local honey and habanero chiles...