Brewing & Grilling
For early April, we had unusually warm weather this week. With Bean wrapping up his Spring Break, I was lucky enough to plan a 4 day weekend with him which overlapped this sneak peak of summer. So with ridiculously hot weather, what are two men about town supposed to do? If you guessed brew and grill, well you must have visited this blog before!
We decided to brew a Scotch Ale, which Bean found on my iBrewMaster App. I am fairly certain he picked it by the name, Buzzy Bear, and not by the recipe composition or style.
Thanks to a fast trip to Brewtensiles, we picked the grain, of which Bean crushed all 11 grains. Since this was so last minute, I didn't even have time for a yeast starter. This was extreme brewing at its best.
Well one thing is for certain, it's a hell of lot more fun to brew when it's 70 degrees out versus 20 degrees! I also find I clean things a lot better when I'm not worried about getting frost bite. The temperature change from our February brew session to today is massive.
We went through the science of brewing, as Bean moved from mash to sparge.
He became the master of the vourlaf and worked the mashtun valve to get the first runnings into the kettle.
As we moved into the boil, Bean worked the kettle to avoid boil over and dropped in the hops and irish moss. By the end he was an old pro and even got some time behind the lens.
Compared to my last batch, the Double IPA: Hopular, this Scotch Ale was straightforward with a grain bill of 2 row, wheat, and a touch of black patent. My pre boil measurements was only two one hundredths below target. Thanks to Bean's help, this batch looks to be a success.
But whoa, we're not done yet folks. Since it seems I can't brew without BBQ, I awoke the 26 inch Weber from it's winter hibernation and fired it up for 3 racks of baby back ribs.
I really like the 26 a lot, but I'm still working on mastering it. It seems when I go indirect, I have trouble getting equal burns on both sides. I used the modified minion, but one side always burns much slower. Fortunately, I easily keep 250, but something isn't right. This will require further investigation. Or perhaps a modified grate like the 22.
With a little Double Bastard...
and some hungry friends, this turned out to be a great day from beginning to end.
I could easily enjoy a whole summer of this.
We decided to brew a Scotch Ale, which Bean found on my iBrewMaster App. I am fairly certain he picked it by the name, Buzzy Bear, and not by the recipe composition or style.
Thanks to a fast trip to Brewtensiles, we picked the grain, of which Bean crushed all 11 grains. Since this was so last minute, I didn't even have time for a yeast starter. This was extreme brewing at its best.
Well one thing is for certain, it's a hell of lot more fun to brew when it's 70 degrees out versus 20 degrees! I also find I clean things a lot better when I'm not worried about getting frost bite. The temperature change from our February brew session to today is massive.
We went through the science of brewing, as Bean moved from mash to sparge.
He became the master of the vourlaf and worked the mashtun valve to get the first runnings into the kettle.
As we moved into the boil, Bean worked the kettle to avoid boil over and dropped in the hops and irish moss. By the end he was an old pro and even got some time behind the lens.
Compared to my last batch, the Double IPA: Hopular, this Scotch Ale was straightforward with a grain bill of 2 row, wheat, and a touch of black patent. My pre boil measurements was only two one hundredths below target. Thanks to Bean's help, this batch looks to be a success.
But whoa, we're not done yet folks. Since it seems I can't brew without BBQ, I awoke the 26 inch Weber from it's winter hibernation and fired it up for 3 racks of baby back ribs.
I really like the 26 a lot, but I'm still working on mastering it. It seems when I go indirect, I have trouble getting equal burns on both sides. I used the modified minion, but one side always burns much slower. Fortunately, I easily keep 250, but something isn't right. This will require further investigation. Or perhaps a modified grate like the 22.
With a little Double Bastard...
and some hungry friends, this turned out to be a great day from beginning to end.
I could easily enjoy a whole summer of this.
Mike Lang
