Sad Time

I don't know what is sadder.  My lack of posting as of late or that no one seems to visit.  Maybe I have visitors, but no one leaves comments.  Anyways, on to what new.

Pumpkin beer was a hit.  Very short lived, but had lots of positive feedback and then it was gone. As with any beer that I craft there is always a reserve that I save.  That brings up the idea that I have had for many months now.  I will be having a reserve party every few months to have these reserves sampled and see how they hold up through time.

The next beer is almost ready to go.  Moved into the keg and a few bottles today.  This is a red beer and will be tapped in a couple of weeks.  I will be hosting a poker tournament which will feature this lovely brew.  I will have a few Bud Lights on hand for those who do not drink good beer.

No pictures this time, been busy.  I would suggest leaving comments on this or a few other past post if anyone would like to see more updates.  Otherwise, just contact me in person to see whats going on.

The Label

Ladies and Gentlemen, I post for you the first official label of the Decatur St. Brewing Co.

The art work is provided by the one and only Melvin Lambert of Phoenix, AZ.

The beer still needs time. But I will be printing this label and pasting it to the bottle soon.

Check back soon.

Pumpkin spice is all that nice...

Okay so since the pumpkin is in the bottle I have had time to do my math and final alcohol of this beer is 7.0% ABV (alcohol by volume). That isn't bad, but could have been better.  Seems like there was still some fermentable in the final measurement, but it was close enough.  This is the first full batch return to the bottles since getting the kegs and I am a little worried that the carbonation is going to be lacking, hence moving to the kegs for forced carbonation.

On another note I have moved one step closer to going to a full mash instead of the partial mash I have been doing.  I will post more on that later.  Have a good night to everyone.

Now we wait...

The pumpkin ale is in the bottles.  Looks mighty fine! Here are some pictures from bottling day:

Ended up with 36 bottles, which isn't bad considering most of the starting volume was from the pumpkin.  This beer has an amazing orange color. The taste is still to spicy (cinnamon and cloves), but you cant even tell there is alcohol in this beer.  That is a little scary since its around 7.2% ABV.  I think a couple weeks in the bottles with mellow out the spice and make this an excellent fall beer.  Still no label to show with this yet, still working on it as well as the artist who is working on the image for this particular brew.

May start working on my red beer this weekend, need to check if I have an empty keg to clean and that all the seals are well.  Last time I checked one was leaking CO2 so it wouldn't stay carbonated.  This is all for now.

Oops! To Strong

Racked the Pumpkin into the secondary.  It is tasting mighty good.  Has a slight pumpkin taste on the back end and a nice beer taste up front.  Added the spice to the secondary so that it should have more of the pumpkin pie taste to it.  Will taste it again in a week to see how its turning out.

So I was shooting for a drinkable 5% ABV and it turned out a little bit more than I was hoping for.  I was worried about the fermentation as it didn't seem like it was doing much the first few days, so I was going to add some more yeast.  After the test tonight, I have decided that adding yeast will not be needed.  This will be a true home brew and will be closer to 7%.  I know that many of the lighter drinkers may be deterred by the stronger beer, but it is still turning out to be a good brew.  I look forward to enjoying this with friends and family over the fall season.

Things to look out for:
- 2010 Pumpkin Spice updates- 2010 Redheaded *@#! brew ingredients are in my possession
- 2010 Winter Special- Talk of 2011 Oktoberfest brew
- Possible 2011 entry into contest (local or national)

Hey Pumpkin

The pumpkin beer is a little tough to brew, there are way more steps involved and trying to do it on a week night by myself was difficult to say the least.  Alas, it did get done.  Took some pictures of it today, looks like fermentation has stopped already and has me concerned slightly. Going to check gravity on Wednesday, hopefully it has dropped considerable.  If it has not, I may need to just throw in some more yeast in the secondary.

 Still working with an artist on the label, should have some rough drafts by Friday I am told.  Keep an eye out on the blog and I will post the final label after the initial reveal of the beer.



Apparently, the woman of my life does not agree to the bottling I was planning on and is wanting me to keg it.  The kegs are reserved for the staple beers I am working on.  I suppose I could use this to my advantage to get more kegs.  However, its not easy to carry a keg to a party and keep it cool. Plus, I wouldn't be able to show off the label.  To bottle or not to bottle is now the question.  I still think I am going to bottle as I want to share it with many people (friends, strangers, co-workers, etc.) and not have to carry a keg around with me to do that.

I am also considering doing a neck label, but don't think I really want to. However, this would give me more room on the main label for the artwork and could allow for more detail.

Things to look out for:
- 2010 Redheaded *@#! brew ingredients are in my possession
- 2010 Pumpkin Spice updates
- Talk of 2011 Oktoberfest brew
- Possible 2011 entry into contest (local or national)?

Cooling Off

It's finally starting to cool off again. This means it is time to start brewing again. First on the agenda is going to be a specialty beer. Then, I shall get back into working on a main line up for possibly a future venture.

Gee gally!! What ever specialty beer could I be brewing? Well it is that time of year were there could be many choices. I was thinking about an Octoberfest beer, however, it is a little to late to be starting that. Next reasonable choice is a pumpkin beer.

I have given it a name already without even starting the beer. I shall call it "Hessian Pumpkin Spice." Why Hessian you might ask? Doesn't everyone hate stories behind names? Okay well it's all about the story of "Sleepy Hollow." The headless horseman was in fact a Hessian solider that had is head shot off by a canon ball while helping the British in the Revolutionary War. Somehow, the story became a part of Halloween's folklore, which I can only imagine came from the story of Ichabod Craine where his hat was found next to a shattered pumpkin. Hessian's happen to be German, and most beer is known to start there. So, hence the name. Hoping that I can get a label for this beer with the headless horseman depicted on it, then the story will not be so hard to explain.

The brewing shall commence on 9/22/2010. The brew should be ready by Halloween, and most importantly a party that I shall be attending. I will be bringing most of it to the party with some comment cards to get outside the friend circle input on the many features that make up a beer. First time I will have ever done this so good or bad comments will be welcome.

So then, I shall leave this post out there for the world to see and continue on my merry way. More posts to come with the brewing activity.

Belgian Lace

So what does a well crafted and pallet pleasing beer look like when you are done with it?

Like this:


This is what many beer enthusiast call "Belgian Lace." It is sought after by many of beer masters. It is a sign of a well crafted beer. It also shows the the glass was properly cleaned before pouring. All this in just my 6th attempt at brewing beer. It helps that this is the Belgium Ale that got tapped last weekend. Belgian beer making Belgian lace, who would have thought?

First Tasting

To start it off the tasting was good. To end it only 2 people enjoyed the fruits of my labor and time. That is not to say that only 2 out of everyone in attendance, because only 2 people attended. Save myself of course. I did hold true to giving a demo of how the brew is crafted and brewed a blond ale. This is fermenting as we speak and the tasting will commence in less than a month.

Blonds by nature are enjoyed in the summer, so I only saw it fitting to start that one now as by the first day of summer this will be ready to enjoy. I have looked into brewing a redhead for my next demo, or more commonly known as an Irish Red Ale. This is speculation at this point, as with the success of the Belgium Ale, I may brew another batch of that to keep it on tap.

The Apfelwein was certainly tasty. I feel I have let my self down, by not letting it age til November like I had planned. However, the reason is two fold. One is that I am very impatient, and two is that I feel I am going to need the keg soon. Such a shame to drink semi ready brew just to have a place for the next one. This either means I need more kegs or I need to hit the bottles again with something.

Sorry no pictures this time of the event. Didn't get the turn out I was hoping for. Look for the invites soon if you are known by me. Or else look out for the responses I post about whats going on in the world of Decatur St. Brewing Co. Sneak peak "Beer Camp" and that flavor profile of the Belgium Ale.

The Keg Fridge

So I promised pictures of the kegerator, so here they are:

Front on

From the Side

Inside

The Kegs

And I know that I wasn't suppose to taste test the Belgian until Wednesday, but I just couldn't wait. Tap went on as you can see in the keg picture above on the center keg and out pours the sweet golden brown liquor.

It is down right tasty. I will be opening up the tasting to anyone who wants to try some this coming weekend, which will be the 29th and 30th. Call me or text me if you want to come over. I am home most nights so stop on by and enjoy a glass or two. Since this is homebrew I can not legally sell you a pint and for the most part it is free. However, if you would like to see the taps to continue to flow without interruption, donations are accepted. If you would like a taste profile of this "Dangerous Belgian" brew, keep an eye out for future posts. Since I just tapped the keg, it is warm so I can not in good faith provide an accurate taste profile.

Family comes first, then friends. I don't expect five gallons to go very fast, but its not going to be around long either.

Next brew, starting this weekend as well is going to be a blond beer. This will be lighter and more of golden color compared to the Belgian pictured above. Come by and see how its made. Brew time will start at 12pm on Saturday.

Belgian Will Be Ready

Sorry, still no pictures of the kegerator. Looks pretty darn cool. I love it. Still need to get some taps for the front so I don't have to open it to pour a smooth, cold pint.

On the happy note today I kegged the Dangerous Belgian. I feel like I should be saying, "I caged the Dangerous Belgian today." It is smooth, creamy, rich, flavor full, and will get you plastered fast. I am really picky about what beers I can enjoy, and this one takes the cake. It is a clear amber color. Has a sweet candy like aroma, my guess is from the candy used to brew it. It is not yet carbonated, so no head descriptions or jokes till then.

First official pour is going to be private, I would say Wednesday of next week. If it is what is expected, this will become a permanent fixture for the Decatur St. Brewing Co. Also, public pouring will then begin the last weekend of May and will continue till its gone.

Thinking about doing a brewing/tasting party. If anyone cares to offer suggestions, please comment. Hoping for DDs(wifes or girlfriends) to get involved too. If not I alway have extra floor space.

Next post should have some pics of the kegerator with a full keg in it getting carbonated.

You Have To Start Somewhere

This is the obvious, but this is the first post to my blog. I was going to brew an new batch of beer. However, time did not permit. I had some house chores to do. Of course, I have a beer that is in the secondary right now. Its a Belgium Ale. Last I tasted, it was really tasty. I think this will be a keeper and may be the start of my beer tastings for friends and family.

I have completed the work on the keg fridge today though. It's not yet a kegerator, as it does not have taps coming out of it yet. I will be ordering those soon. I did buy a used almond color fridge and turned it black on the outside. Looks really nice and gets cold on the inside. I have not placed anything in it yet. I do have an Apfelwein that is still aging, but will is technically ready for consumption. Then once the Belgium Ale is done that will be the first keg in the fridge. I am hoping that I can get a second beer on tap before I have my first beer tasting party. However, I am thinking that maybe I will have a tasting on Memorial Day weekend.

Until I have decided on tasting party time.