#111/123 Russian River Consecration

Dark Ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels from local wineries. It is aged for 4 to 8 months with black currants, brettanomyces, lactobacillus, and pediococcus added to each barrel. Rich flavors of chocolate truffle, spice, tobacco, currants, and a bit of Cabernet. Very full-bodied, sip slowly!

Availability

Pub draft and bottles, local distribution draft and bottles, limited draft and bottles to most distributors, seasonal

Original Gravity: 1.078 Alcohol by Volume: 10.0% Color: Reddish brown Sourness: High

Steep
8.0 oz	Acidulated Malt
4.0 oz	Special V
4.0 oz	Carafa
90 min Boil
8.0 lbs	Ultralight Malt Extract
0.5 lbs	Dry Malt Extract
1.0 lbs	Dark Belgian Candi Syrup
1.0 lbs	Corn Sugar
0.5 oz	Styrian Goldings	??? IBUs
30 min
1.0 oz	Sterling	??? IBUs
1 min
1.0 oz	Sterling
Yeast
1.0 pkg	Abbey Ale

Fermentation Schedule

Primary
72°	2-3 then free rise
76°	to finish out (Target Gravity 1.016)
Secondary Part I  7-8 weeks
	Brettanomyces
?? lbs	Black Currants
Secondary Part II 4-6 months or until desired sour level is reached Vinnie does not bottle if the gravity is over 1.008
	Lactobacillus
	Pediococcus
	or
	Roeselare (WY3763) which contains boh bacteria
Secondary Part III Until desired oak level is reached
??	Consecration Oak Chunks

Sour
A Lesson on Sour Ales at Russian River Brewing

Matching specific wines to specific beers.  tend to use French oak

Beer	Wine Barrel	Flavors	Barrel Aging
Suplication	Pino Noir	cherries - dried fruit - sour	12-18 months
Temptation	Chardony		9-15 months
Concecration	American oak Cabernet Sauvignon	dried curents fruit	6-9 months

Mashing at 159-160 degrees

Underpitch yeast Belgian yeast

Spin to get belgian yeast out

Add Brett

Barrels

The Barrels are used about 3 times for 4-12 months:

• 1/3 first use
• 1/3 second use
• 1/3 last use - There is probably pretty little gained by the third usage.

MoreBeer Russian River Brewing:

• Part 1 Brewsculpture
• Part 2 Beginning to now
• Part 3_Hops) 
• Part 4 Sour Barrel Program

part 3 

Mike "Tasty" McDole's Russian River Brew day

http://www.slideshare.net/bschmaltz/r-rsour-beerpresentation

Sour Beer Beersmith podcast 

http://sourbeerblog.com/russian-river-consecration/

http://www.brewingkb.com/homebrewing/60-gallon-consecration-clone-brew-day-3962.html

Vinnie Cilurzo of Russian River Q&A! - Embrace the Funk

http://embracethefunk.com/2011/08/02/vinnie-cilurzo-of-russian-river-qa/

Fermentation Nation - Rare Barrel
http://fermentationnation.net/2015/08/episode-19-charlotte-oktoberfest-jay-goodwin-of-the-rare-barrel/

Embrace the Funk Recipes
http://embracethefunk.com/brewing-recipes/

Videos - Milk the Funk
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Videos

#110 Affligem Noel

Affligem, in the hop growing area of Aalst, is the oldest abbey in Flanders, founded in 1074. It is said that the Benedictine monks of this abbey introduced hops to Belgian brewing. Their brew house was destroyed in World War II and the brew master asked a nearby brewery, Brouwerij De Smedt to brew their beer. Because De Smedt had modern brewing equipment, the abbey s brew master, Friar Tobias tailored the Affligem beers to be brewed the modern way. This is called Formula Antiqua Renovata , (Ancient Recipe Renewed).

The Christmas Ale, brewed once a year is a potent, warming beer, dark and chocolately like the Dubbel, buttery and full of honey like the Tripel. It enters with a creamy, tightly beaded head with Belgian lace and a lovely deep garnet color. The nose, a complex blend of alcohol, malt, subtle hops, spice (cinnamon) and chocolate promises the flavor, which mimics the aroma. It finishes dry, with a hint of chocolate and cinnamon. A wonderful Belgian beer to celebrate the holiday season.

The following is based on the recipe from Beer Captured by Szamatulski.

Ingredients

Steep 155 for 45 minutes
1.75 lb	Belgian Pale Ale Malt
4.0 oz	Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM)
4.0 oz	Biscuit Malt (26.0 SRM)
2.0 oz	Chocolate Malt
8.0 oz	Cara Munic Malt
2.0 oz	Honey Malt
Boil (60 min Boil)
7 lbs	Extra Pale Extract
1 lbs	Clear Candi Sugar
2 lbs	Extra Light DME
4 oz	Malto Dextrin
60.0 min
0.75 oz	Styrian Golding (some suggest .93 oz)
0.50 oz	Challenger (some suggest adding this at 90 mins instead)
15.0 min
2 lbs	Extra Light DME
0.50 oz	Styrian Golding some suggest 1/8 tsp cinnamon
5.0 min
0.50 oz	Styrian Golding
Fermentation
1.0 pkg	White Labs Trappist Ale 500 WLP545

BV: 9.1%, IBU: 26



Belgian Strong Ale

#99 New Glarus Brewing Wisconsin Belgian Red

This is a great fruit beer that is worth trying if you ever get to Wisconsin.  This is the top rated fruit beer on Beer Advocate. Wanting to make this at home, I have search the internet for the best recipes and have brought the information from those site here to allow other to compare.  I make no claim of ownership of these and have given proper reference to each of these so that you can also use the original sources in your desire to make a great beer.

My 1st batch didn't really have the amount of Cherry flavor that I was hoping.  It is still a nice drinking beer.  I will probably try to add some dried sour cherries to the next attempt.

1st Batch		2nd batch
3.00 lbs	Wheat Malt	3.00 lbs	Wheat Malt
2.50 lbs	DME Golden Light	2.50 lbs	DME Golden Light
6.0 oz	Crystal 40L	6.0 oz	Crystal 40L
0.5 oz	Roasted Barley	0.5 oz	Roasted Barley
1 oz	Hallertauer pellet (60 min.) aged 2 hrs 150*	1 oz	Hallertauer pellet (60 min.) aged 2 hrs 150*
1 ea	Trappist Ale WLP 500	1 ea	Trappist Ale WLP 500
32 oz	Cherry Juice Concentrate	49 oz	Vintners Harvest Sweet Cherry Puree
		80 oz	Kirkland Tart Montmorency Dried Cherries
Steep @ 150ºF - 20 minutes
Fermentation		Fermentation
Ferment at 65ºF - one week. Secondary cherry juice concentrate Secondary fermentation at 65ºF  Add oak chips during the final week to 10 days.		Ferment at 68ºF - 14 days. Secondary Cherries -  14 days Add oak chips during the final week to ten days.

Included below are the the best Wisconsin Belgian Red recipes that I have found to date:

• Zymurgy July/August 2007 by Amahl Turczyn Scheppach
• BitBucket from Kirkland, Washington on ratebeer
• Michael from the Brewing Network

Microbus Brewery has a good write up from brew day.

Zymurgy July/August 2007
All-Grain			Extract
5.0 lb	Two-Row Pale Malt		4.0 lb	Light Malt Extract
2.0 lb	Wheat Malt		1.5 lb	Wheat Malt Extract
6.0 oz	40L Crystal Malt		6.0 oz	40L Crystal Malt
0.5 oz	Belgian Roast Barley		0.5 oz	Belgian Roast Barley
1.0 oz	Hallertau aged hops (1 year)		1.0 oz	Hallertau aged hops (1 year)
4.0 qt	Knudsen Just Tart Cherry Juice		4.0 qt	Knudsen Just Tart Cherry Juice
0.25 oz	Boiled, toasted oak chips (optional)		0.25 oz	Boiled, toasted oak chips (optional)
	Belgian Wheat Ale or Ale Yeast			Belgian Wheat Ale or Ale Yeast
Directions
Mash @ 156° 60 min Sparge and Lauter - 4.5 gal			Steep @ 150° 30 min
Fermentation
Secondary with cheery juice and ferment for 1 week Chill to 32-35 and lager for 4-6 weeks Oak Chips during last week
Bottling
Heavy champagne-styl 750ml bottles with .75 cup of corn sugar/ 5 gallons

BitBucket from Kirkland, Washington on ratebeer

3.50 lbs	Pale 2-Row
1.50 lbs	Crystal 20L
2.00 lbs	Wheat
0.50 lbs	Special B
1 oz	Hallertauer leaf hops* (60 min.)
1 ea	Abbey Ale yeast - White Labs WLP 530 - or - Wyeast 1762
32 oz	Montmorency Cherry Juice Concentrate
8 oz	Black Cherry Juice Concentrate
.25 oz	French or Hungarian Oak Chips
Note
* The hops should be aged. If aged hops are not available, substitute by heating new hops in an oven over low heat (150 degrees) for 2 hours, then let them rest for 24 hours before use.
Mash
Mash @ 154ºF - 60 minutes Don’t run off more than 5.25 gallons. You’ll need headroom when you add the concentrate.
Fermentation
Ferment at 65ºF - one week. Secondary cherry juice concentrate, avoiding any aeration. Secondary fermentation at to 65ºF until fermentation is complete Add oak chips during the final week to ten days.
Total concentrate should be enough to make 2.5 gallons of juice. This translates roughly to the pound of Door County cherries in each 750ml bottle. You could bump the malt up a bit if you want a higher alcohol brew.

Michael from the Brewing Network
6 lbs	Pale Ale malt (your choice) or use 100% Breiss Wheat extract
4 lbs	Wheat Malt (your choice) or use 100% Breiss Wheat extract
8-9 HBU hopping (I use Crystal and Willamette)
1 oz	Crystal @ 20 min
1 oz	Willamette @ 20 min
1 tsp	kettle finings at 10-15 @ min
1 oz	Crystal @ 7 min
1 oz	Willamette @ 7 min
	Close lid at KO for 15-20 min, then chill to 60°F
	Wyeast 3787 Belgian Trappist Ale yeast (at least 5-6 oz per 5 gal)
Secondary
20# of dark red cherries per 5 gallons *OR* 1 can Oregon Fruit Co. Sweet Cherry Puree  Age 1 month

Wisconsin Cherries

#96 Westvleteren 12 (XII)

Discussed as potentially one of the best beers in the world, this was one of the beer that I felt that I needed to try.  I used the recipe from Candi Syrup and converted it to an extract.  If the beer is really that good, the it will be good with extract as well.  Don't be a snob.

** This was more than I was prepared for when I started.  This is much more about controlling the temperatures during fermentation than anything.  If you do not have a temperature controlled fermenter, then this is more than you are ready.  The recipe requires that you control the temperature for 12 weeks with temperatures changing from 50°F to 85°F at different stages.  My suggestion would be a BrewPi.

** You need a big starter.  I wound up with my first stuck fermentation this time and realize that this was due to lack of planning on my part.  We will work to save this, but we could have done better.  I will probably create a controlled fermenter or two for the future after this experience.

All-Grain			Extract
12.0 lb	$	Belgian Pilsner – Dingeman’s		9.0 lb	$31.00	Pilsen LME
2.0 lb	$1.99	Belgian Pale – Dingeman’s		2.0 lb	$	Belgian Pale – Dingeman’s
0.1 lb	$2.49	Dingemans Debittered Black Malt		0.1 lb	$	Dingemans Debittered Black Malt
0.15 lb	$2.29	Dingemans Special B Malt		0.15 lb	$	Dingemans Special B Malt
3.0 lb	$6.49	D-180 Candi Syrup		3.0 lb	$	D-180 Candi Syrup
1.0 oz	$	Brewers Gold @ 60 min		1.0 oz	$	Brewers Gold @ 60 min
1.0 oz	$	Hersbrucker @ 30 min		1.0 oz	$	Hersbrucker @ 30 min
1.0 oz	$	Styrian Goldings @ 15		1.0 oz	$	Styrian Goldings @ 15
WLP 530 or WY3787 “Westmalle” Strain –2250 - 2500ml stir-plate starter.
Notes 90 Min Boil
Chill to 65°F Oxygenate for 90 seconds Let rise to 85°F over 5 days and then fall to 70-72°F over the next 5 days. Secondary
Rack to secondary at 1.012-1.014 and keep cool 50-55°F for 10 weeks
90 Min Boil
Bottle prime with a re-pitch starter of WLP530 Abbey Ale and D-180 at 38-40g/gallon Cellar for 6 months

Beersmith has a similar recipe

American Homebrew Association Membership

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The American Homebrew Association is the official US organization for home brewers interested in being part and participating in the larger community. It allows for some awesome benefits (listed below) including compeitions, free copies of Zymurgy Magazine, as well as pub/brewery discounts!

Key Local Benefits

Dogfish Head Alehouse - 15% off Food and Merchandise

Lost Rhino Brewing Co -10% Off Food & Merchandise 

Corcoran Brewing - Free Tastings & $2 Off Growler Fills 

Port City Brewing Co. - 10% Off All Brewery Merchandise

Mad Fox Brewing Co -10% Off Food

Vintage 50 Restaurant and Brew Lounge -10% Off Food  

Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats (Rehoboth) - 15% off Beverage, Food & Merchandise. (Does not apply to Beer Dinners or Mug Club Membership.)

BJs Restaurant & Brewhouse-Vienna - 10% Off Food & Merchandise (not valid during Happy Hour) 

Maryland Homebrew - 10% Off Purchases 

Northern Brewer - 5% Off Online Purchases

AHA Benefits:

Zymurgy magazine

The longest running homebrewing magazine just keeps getting better! Zymurgy can help you Brew Better Beer with six issues per year.

eZymurgy

All the excellent content you've enjoyed in Zymurgy magazine is now available in digital format. Access archived issues, take notes, mark favorite pages and use interactive links, all in eZymurgy.

HomebrewersAssociation.org

The American Homebrewers Association website was created just for the modern homebrewer.

• Members-Only resources, available exclusively to AHA members: Ask the Experts, Commercial Calibration, AHA conference Audio Presentations, eZymurgy and Zymurgy archives.
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AHA Rallies

These fun events, hosted by Brewers Association members, are free to AHA members. Most rallies feature special release beers, VIP brewery tours, a chance to meet the brewers and door prizes. See AHA Rallies to find a rally near you.

AHA National Homebrewers Conference

The world's largest educational homebrewers gathering. Join hundreds of your fellow homebrewers at this fun-filled annual event! AHA members receive discounts on registration. See National Homebrewers Conferencefor more information.

AHA National Homebrew Competition

The world’s largest beer competition. Enter your best brews to compete for the Homebrewer of the Year award! AHA members receive discounted entry fees. See National Homebrew Competitionfor more information.

Government Affairs & Homebrew Legalization

The American Homebrewers Association works with local homebrewers to legalize homebrewing in states where homebrewing is not yet legal. As a part of the Brewers Association, the AHA also alerts members of issues affecting their local breweries and the rights of beer connoisseurs.

Great American Beer Festival® Members-Only Tasting Session & Entrance

The Saturday afternoon session of the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) is open exclusively to AHA and Brewers Association members! AHA & BA Members also have their own entrance to the festival for the evening sessions of GABF.

Great American Beer Festival® Pro-Am Competition

Award-winning AHA members team up with Brewers Association Member Breweries for this unique competition held each year at the GABF. See Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am for more information.

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Every AHA member's voice is needed when it's time to elect your AHA Governing Committee. The AHA Governing Committee helps guide the AHA and two representatives sit on the Brewers Association Board of Directors.

AHA Club-Only Competitions

The Club-Only Competitions program offers registered AHA homebrew clubs an opportunity to compete nationwide with other homebrew clubs. Each competition concentrates attention on a specific style of beer or mead, giving clubs the opportunity to educate their members in these styles by focusing on them at club meetings or tasting events.

Club Resources

The AHA Clubs Program supports nearly 1000 registered homebrew clubs worldwide.

Book Discounts

AHA members receive pre-publication discount offers on all new releases from Brewers Publications.

Lallemand Scholarship

The Lallemand Scholarship is awarded to a member of the AHA, and provides full tuition to the World Brewing Academy's Concise Course in Brewing Technology, held at the Siebel Institute in Chicago, Illinois, and valued at USD $3,035. The winner also receives a USD $1000 stipend to assist with travel and accommodation expenses.

BrewTechTalk Email Forum: BrewTechTalk is a volunteer-run email forum for AHA members

Note: This is a non-returnable / non-refundable item. Each code is unique to you and once they are given out they may not be re-used.

Monthly Update 2014_08 Oktoberfest

Sorry for the delay in the newsletter, I have been trying to work out my affiliate relationship with Northern Brewer and MidWest Supplies.  Until further notice, I will limit my promotion of their establishments.

Oktoberfest
The Oktoberfest begins in September and ends in October (hence the name) on the first Sunday in October, or on October 3, whatever is later. It lasts for at least 16 days.

So, in "good" years the Fest will be extended to catch the 3rd October - the Day of German Unity, a bank holiday - on a Monday or Tuesday. This will happen in 2016 again (hoorah!).
The next dates are:

• 2014: September 20 - October 5
• 2015: September 19 - October 4
• 2016: September 17 - October 3

There was a good podcast a couple of years ago by Gordon Strong about brewing pumpkin beers that has good insight into the design and brewing of the seasonal beer.

Use the logo links on the bottom for your orders. Let me know your thoughts.

More Beer
Check out the deal of the day and use code BEERDEAL for a discount
Russian River is currently available
Pliny the Elder
More Beer is now carrying Maris Otter Malt Extract for English brew

Adventures in Homebrewing
FOUR 3 Gallon Cornelius Style Pin Lock Used Kegs
Beer Clone Recipe Kits

Northern Brewer
No longer receiving early updates

Midwest Homebrewing and Winemaking Supplies
No longer receiving early updates

Austin Homebrew
10% off top 5 recipes | AHS Texas Red, White IPA, Blonde Ale, Kalamazoo IPA, Orange IPA | Code top5ahs

BPong
Find Everything Needed For Your Next Beer Pong Party At Bpong.com!

BrewDemon
Free shipping on all beer & hard cider kits at BrewDemon.com. Hurry, sale ends June 9th! Coupon Code: ABOUTDAD
Save $15 on the Signature Pro Beer Kit, Plus Free Shipping at BrewDemon.com. Hurry, sale ends June 9th!

Starbucks
Save 5% on Your Order for Existing Customers!

Local Events 8/28 Terrapin Beer Co. and Virginia Imports Beer Tasting | Wine Cabinet - Reston, VA 6pm 8/30 Virginia Scottish Games and Festival | The Plains, VA 9am - $25 for Whisky tasting 9/1 Herndon Labor Day Festival | Herndon, VA 9/13 Brew & Bourbon Classic | Laurel Park, MD 1-6pm 9/18 German Beer Night | Dulles Airport, VA 6:30-11:45pm 9/20 Beer, Bourbon and BBQ | Tysons, VA 2-6pm 9/27 Total Wine Autumn Equinox: Fall's Beer Harvest | Chantilly, VA 3-5pm  $15/person 10/4 Capital City Oktoberfest | Shirlington, VA 10/2-4 Great American Beer Festival | Denver, CO (I know that this isn't local, but we should still go) 10/18-19 NOVA Brewfest | Bull Run, VA 11-7pm $25 online

This post can also be found on the newsletter

#108 Pumking

Still in search for the perfect pumpkin beer. This attempt was Pumking from Austin Homebrew.

Amount	Description
8 lbs	LME
2.5 lbs	Base Grains
.75 lbs	Specialty Grains
4 oz	Lactose
7.2 oz	Maltose
1 TBS	Mccormick Pie Spice
1 Packet	Pie Spice from kit
1	English Ale Yeast
11 drops	Graham Cracker Flavor added at kegging

Tasting Notes: The initial glasses from the keg have too much spice. The cinnamon is a little too over-powering. The assumption is that this will become less noticeable over the next week or so from being in the kegerator.

CO2 in the Outer Banks

Finding CO2 in the Outer Banks, OBX, is definitely more difficult than I would have imagined.  After calling bars, welding supply, brew thru, and breweries.  The following were the only places that we were able to find CO2 while on vacation.  If you are reading this and find more locations, let me know and I will update this posting.

In addition to CO2, Napa also provides exchanges for Argon and other gases.

Napa 1704 S Croatan Hwy Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948 (252) 441-7163
Reds Carolina Outfitters 3836 N Croatan Hwy, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949 (252) 261-6681
NAPA Auto Parts - Pleasant Ridge Auto Parts 1011 US-64, Manteo, NC 27954 (252) 473-3466

1. 1. 
      

Terminated from the MidwestSupplies.com affiliate program

I have been terminated, with no ability to contact anyone.  There is still the ability to apply for new vendors, but not previous affiliates.  Looks like we will be promoting other homebrew supplier sites going forward.  

Below are the messages that I have received.

-------------------------

July 1, 2014

midwestsupplies@affiliatetraction.com

Dear XXXX,

You have been terminated from the MidwestSupplies.com affiliate program. Please remove your links, as you will no longer be eligible to receive a payout for leads or sales generated.  For additional information, please contact Seth Bernabei directly.

Thank you,

Seth Bernabei

-------------------------

July 2, 2014

vendors@afftraction.com

Thank you for reaching out. Unfortunately, at this time Midwest supplies has decided to significantly reduce their affiliate program to only a handful of exclusive publishers. We will notify you if their policy changes in the future.

Kind regards, 

AffiliateTraction

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