#79/90/152 PEACE COFFEE 2ND CRACK STOUT

Northern Brewer and Peace Coffee Stout.  Missed the grinding of the coffee until it was almost too late.

SPECIALTY GRAIN (20 min mash)

0.5 lbs English Dark Crystal 

0.5 lbs Chocolate Malt 

0.5 lbs Black Malt 

FERMENTABLES 

- 6 lbs NB Gold malt syrup 

- 2 lb Briess Gold DME 

HOPS & FLAVORINGS 

1 oz US Fuggle (60 min) 

1 oz UK Fuggle (60 min) 

4 oz Peace Coffee 2nd Crack Blend (grind coarsely and add to kettle at flameout) 

YEAST

Safale S-04

This has a great smell after kegging.  Now we waiting until after the Christmas party to try this one.

#78 Rebel Rye Porter

Northern Brewer's Rebel Rye was provided as a free kit during one of their specials.

SPECIALTY GRAIN (20 min steep)

0.75 lbs English Medium Crystal 

0.5 lbs English Black Malt 

FERMENTABLES 

2 lbs Amber dried malt extract 

6 lbs Rye malt extract syrup 

HOPS & FLAVORINGS 

1 oz Nugget (60 min) 

1 oz US Fuggle (30 min) 

1.5 oz Cascade (5 min) 

SPECIAL INGREDIENTS 

2 oz US Medium Plus Oak Cubes (add to secondary) 

16 oz rye whiskey (not included) (add to secondary) 

YEAST 

Safale S-04

Suggestions have been for bulleit rye.

I lost a lot of beer on this one during fermentation.  The carboy was not big enough to handle the strong fermentation.  There is now 3 gallons remaining for the brew.

#33/71/77 NB Smashing Pumpkin Ale (#33/71/77/107)

Northern Brewer Smashing Pumpkin Ale recipe

So, I made two different batches this year.  I will follow with an update as to the difference in the two recipes in the future.

SPECIALTY GRAIN  0.5 lb Briess Caramel 40  FERMENTABLES  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (60 min)  1.0 lb Pilsen dried malt extract (60 min)  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup late addition (15 min)  1 oz Cluster (60 min)  1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (0 min)  Safale US-05 Ale Yeast.

The FG was expected to be 1.012

SPECIALTY GRAIN Mash (60 min) 0.5 lb Briess Caramel 40 25 oz  Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin 2.5 lb Butternut squash - sliced and baked for 40 minutes FERMENTABLES  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup (60 min)  1.0 lb Pilsen dried malt extract (60 min)  3.15 lbs Amber malt syrup late addition (15 min)  1 oz Cluster (60 min)  1 tsp McCormicks Pumpkin Pie Spice (2 min) 1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice (0 min)  Safale US-05 Ale Yeast

I changed how I prepared the butternut squash.  This time I created slices and then stacked them with space similar to a Lincoln log house.  During the previous effort the pumpkin stuck to the pan.  

#36/75 AHS Christmas ALE

Austin Holiday Ale -

It’s an amber ale using seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace.  It’s an amber ale using seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace. 

Specialty malts: Crystal 40L, white wheat, chocolate malt
1.5 lb Base Grains
1.75 lb Specialty Grains
4 lb DME Featured
Hops: Saaz, Cluster
Seasonal spices: cinnamon, nutmeg and mace

O.G. = 1.052
F.G. = 1.014
ABV 5.0%
174 Cal / 12 oz

#74 Canadian Ale

This one is not designed to any particular Canadian beer, but based on the AHS Canadian that I made last year.

4 lbs	Golden Light DME	$21.00
3.3 lbs	Briess Pilsen LME	$9.99
.75 oz	Centennial (60 min)	$1.50
.25 oz	Centennial (5 min)	$0.50
	Safale US-04	$3.99
		$36.98

#73 Dogfish Pumpkin Ale (73/106)

My attempt to at Pumpkin.  Modified from the BeerSmith recipe Punkn Beer with the goal of something similar to DogFish Punkin. blade mace and vanilla bean in as well.

Steep
13 oz	2 Row
60 oz	Pumpkin (Libby's) Large Can
1 lb	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
1 lb	Special Roast
Boil (60 min)
6 lb	Golden Light DME
1 lb	Brown Sugar
4 oz	Maltose
7.2 oz	Lactose
Hops/Additions
1 oz	Hallertauer (45 min)
1 oz	Hallertauer (5 min)
1 1/2 TBS	Pumpkin Pie Spice
Yeast
American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)
OG	1.077
FG	1.011
ABV	4.7%
IBU	7.1
Calories	260

	#106 (2014) Update - This was better

Steep  (60 min) 162F
13 oz	2 Row
2 lbs	350F 2 hour baked Butternut Squash
29 oz	Pumpkin (Libby's) Large Can
1 lb	Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L
1 lb	Special Roast
Boil (60 min)
6 lb	Golden Light DME
3/4 lb	Brown Sugar
??	Molases
4 oz	Maltose
7.6 oz	Lactose
Hops/Additions
1 oz	Hallertauer (45 min)
1 oz	Hallertauer (5 min)
2 TBS	Pumpkin Pie Spice
Yeast
American Ale (Wyeast Labs #1056)

#72 AHS Pumpkin Ale Mini Mash

An amber ale with butternut squash and pumpkin spices.

AHS Pumpkin Ale

O.G. = 1.052 (should have measured)
F.G. = 1.013 (actual 1.020)
5.1% ABV 
173 Cal / 12 oz 

2.5 lb Base Grains, 
1 lb Specialty Grains (Crystal 60L, Caramunich)
4 lb Dry Malt Extract

4 lbs of butternut squash (cubed, baked @ 350 for 1 hour)

Kent Golding (hops)
pumpkin ale spice pack ( cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and sweet orange peel)

McCormick pumpkin pie spice might be a good addition this year.

#70 Dragon Blood (Triple Berry Skeeter Pee)

I made my next batch of Skeeter Pee but this time the taste was non-existent.  I let this one sit in secondary for much longer and tasted it before adding the sugar at the end.  I also had a problem with the FG at 1.020. So I decided to create something similar to Dragon Blood as written up by DangerDave.

ABV: 10.4%

Ingredients:
Amt                   Name                                           
16.0 cup              Washington, DC
7 lbs                 Sugar, Table (16 cups)
                      DB (20 cups)
0.33 cup              Lemon Juice
Primary (Stir Ingredients)
64.00 oz              ReaLemon
0.75 tsp              Tannin
                      DB (1 tsp)
1.00 tsp              Yeast Energizer
                      DB (2 tsp)

3.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient
                      DB (4 tsp)

Primary (~2 days)
1.00                  Yeast Slurry
Primary (~4 days - 1.050 SG)  (vigorously mix)
32.00 oz              ReaLemon
3.00 tsp              Yeast Nutrient
1.00 tsp              Yeast Energizer
Secondary (0.995-0.998 SG) (degas)(This never happend.)

Change to the plan.
10 days
6 lbs                 Kirkland - Rader Farms Frozen Berries 
                      Blueberries
                      Marionberries
                      Raspberries

Bottling/Kegging
2.50 tsp              Potassium sorbate (sorbate)
0.50 tsp              Potassium metabisulfite (Kmeta)
2.30 lb               Sugar, Table (Sucrose)6 cups of sugar

2 Tap Kegerator - What will it cost?

This topic seems to come up a lot from my buddies in the neighborhood.  This is a good topic not to have with the wife.  Make sure to keep beers on tap that her and her friends like and she may ignore the cost.  Making beer is a hobby and not a cost saver.

I chose to use the bar style although my two brewing buddies both went with fridge styles.  I have made 2 fridge styles, 3 keezers (freezer as a kegerator) with collars, and now 2 cabinet/coffin keezers.  I like the look of the bar style keezer, but it does come with significant about of work and expense.  My 10 tapper that I am building will probably run me $1000 before I add the beer parts.  Fortunately, I have all of the beer parts that I am just moving over from previous kegerators.  In the process, I hope to recover $650+ from previous kegerators.  This leaves me with an upgrade that should keep me at about $350 additional cost for a way cooler kegerator.

Below is a good estimate of what you should expect to spend.  This should give you some baselines for evaluating the offers on craigslist.  The pre-assembled kegerators from refrigerators are typically pretty beat up and can only be scrapped for parts.  My buddies have purchased a number of beat up kegerators online to get some of the useful parts and then trashed the remaining items.  Most people bought cheap stuff and then didn’t maintain it.  The tanks are typically out of inspection and worthless, the beer line was never cleaned, the refrigerator doesn’t work, and who knows what else. 

Also, make sure that you know where you are going to put the kegerator.  The small fridge style units like the mini fridges struggle with temperature control, they cannot be put in a hot location.  They can also struggle indoors as they get older.

The lower estimate uses a number of cheaper parts with the second set of columns give an option for where prices can range for better parts.  Each of these are beginning prices.  If you go to a local homebrew store, you will pay a premium for each of the parts.  If you shop online, you will get hit with shipping.  Since some of these start to really increase the weight almost no one will give free shipping.

Start with a basic unit of one of the following and then add the parts from the table below.  The choice of drip trays changes depending on which style you use.

Item                                                                      Initial Cost                          Final Cost           

Converted Fridge                                             $ 200                                      $700-$900

Freezer with Collar                                          $ 200                                      $700-$900

Freezer with Cabinet and Coffin                $ 450-1100                           $850-$1,700

Qty	Price (Low End)	Total Low		Price (High End)	Total High	Description
12	$0.82	$     9.84		$       1.00	$   12.00	Gas Hose 5/16 Red Bevlex ($0.82 /ft)
20	$0.70	$   14.00		$       1.00	$   20.00	Beer Hose ($0.70 /ft)
2	$17.00	$   34.00		$     22.00	$   44.00	Shank 3 1/8” (each)
2	$15.00	$   30.00		$     45.00	$   90.00	Perlick $45 or $15.00  for cheaper faucet
2	$1.50	$     3.00		$       1.75	$     3.50	Beer Nut
2	$1.50	$     3.00		$       2.50	$     5.00	Tail Piece to connect shank to Beer Line
2	$0.19	$     0.38		$       0.32	$     0.64	Beer Shank Washer
2	$6.00	$   12.00		$       6.00	$   12.00	Barb Gas Ball Lock
2	$6.00	$   12.00		$       6.00	$   12.00	Barb Liquid Ball Lock
1	$70	$   70.00		$  120.00	$ 120.00	Regulator (2 Guage w/Y splitter or 3 guage)
1	$70	$   70.00		$  160.00	$ 160.00	CO2 Tank ($50-$170)
1	$90	$   70.00		$     90.00	$   90.00	Temp Controller (Ranco or Johnson)
1	$26	$   26.00		$     32.00	$   32.00	CO2 Tank Refill for first batch
1	$5	$     5.00		$       6.00	$     6.00	Faucet Wrench
1	$8	$     8.00		$       0.40	$     0.40	Clamps
2	$3	$     5.00		$       3.00	$     6.00	Tap Handles Economy
Total		$      372.22			$      613.54