Florence, SC

I'm officially moving to Florence, SC for a job and that means I get to brew again starting in June!  I've also signed a lease on a house so I'll be able to get back to a propane burner outside, and can do 5 gallon boils if I want.  I'm still not sure if I want to go back to that much beer because I really liked brewing more frequently in small batches.  I'm sure I'll mix it up a little bit.  The only down side about Florence is that there is no homebrew shop.  I'm going to have to order online like I used to a few years ago.  Shouldn't be a problem, just something to think about now.

I got a water report from Florence recently so I can tweak my water if necessary.

Florence Water Report 2013

Turbidity - <1 NTU
Calcium, Total - 8.9 mg/L
Magnesium, Total - 1.08 mg/L
Manganese, Total - <0.005 mg/L
Alkalinity - 35.4 mg/L
Hardness, total (calculated) - 26.7 mg/L
TDS - 77.8 mg/L
Phosphorus, Total - <0.10 mg/L

Upcoming brews

I'm finally getting back to brewing!!  New job, new location and I'm going to be back and brewing.  I'm itching to go back and I've been thinking about what I want to brew.  It's going to be fast and furious to start  because I want to get some sours brewing so that I can set them and forget them.

My first brew is going to be a Citra pale ale.  I want a lower ABV (~4.5-5%), light beer that's crushable for summer.  I have the whole leaf Citra hops from Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp, so I'm going to use those up.  A dose at 60 minutes, then flameout, whirlpool and huge dry hop.  I'm shooting for 3 gallons of this.

Next up I want to do ~3 gallons of a berliner.  I'm going to do my usual sour wort method then once it is done, add fruit (Pineapple and ???) to 2 gallons and I want to try a Gose with the other gallon.  

Those should be quick brews and during that time I want to put together 5 gallons of a sour.  I'm thinking that I would like to get a pesudo-solera going such that after 6 or so months I can take ~1 gallon off, refill it, and then I'll have sour beer almost constantly.  I'll probably do my Sour Brown recipe that I did before because I liked it so much.

Lastly, I want to get a 3 gallon better bottle and start another sour-ish project.  This time I'm planning on making a simple Blonde base beer, sour it using my sour wort method, then pitch a 100% Brett culture to ferment it, provide it with a little funk, but not take forever.  I'm thinking about using a new yeast company, Yeast Bay and try their Brussels Brett culture.

So that's what's in my head right now.  After those, I'm looking forward to rebrewing my winning Kolsch recipe, honing in on an awesome IPA, and then re-brewing one of my favorites, my Sweet Stout.  

We have label approval!

It's finally here!  The day that I've been waiting for since I went to Sierra Nevada Beer Camp is here, label approval.  It certainly took long enough to go through the bureaucratic nonesense but that doesn't matter because it's approved and coming to Tall Paul's soon enough.  

Cigar City Hunahpu's Day 2014

So I've been to Hunahpu's Day in 2012 and 2013. The first two years I went it was a non-ticketed event, first come, first serve style fest in the parking lot of their brewery. We were in line around 6 AM each year and each year we got farther and farther back in line due to the increasing demand. Once inside, you bought $5 tokens which could be exchanged for beers at the fest (8-12 oz pours depending on the beer). I had great experiences both times, my only fault being that in 2013 it was obviously way too busy but getting there so early and leaving as late as possible, there really was only a 1-2 hour window where things were uncomfortably busy and during these hours I tended to go to my cooler with my friends and open bottles to share.

This year Cigar City sold what we were told was 3500 $50 tickets to get into the fest where it was a beer fest style event. When you walked in they scanned your ticket, checked your ID and gave you a band, then gave you a separate band for Hunahpu bottle sales. You also got a glass 5oz sampler at the entrance, each brewery had a tent/jockey box and they poured you a 2-4 oz taste. It was essentially all you can drink from 11-5. From 11-4 you could pick up 3 bottles of Hunahpu at $20 a pop at a designated station where they would cut off your band and from 4-5 you could get up to a case.

We were told by multiple CCB employees this year not to show up early as they would be setting up, plus there was no benefit because you couldn’t even bottle share before 11 or they would kick you out. With that being said, my group got antsy and our cab came quicker than expected so we were there around 10:15. We walked up to the gate, waited ~5 minutes and got scanned/banded and were in. People were already there and the line for Toppling Goliath was already 100 people deep. We got set up and hopped in a line around 10:50 and started getting pours at 11. Around 11:30 we looked outside and there was a line of people waiting to get in at least 500 people deep. This line didn’t let up until ~2PM. Around 1, it began to get very hard to move and if you wanted beers near the entrance (we were set up near the back), it could take ~10 minutes of fighting through crowds to get up there. Around 2:45 I noticed the Hunahpu bottle sale line was long and hopped in it with 2 friends. You can see the photo I took from the back of the bottle line below but we fought our way through an absolute sea of people, with no apparent line (just a mass of people in front of the sales tables). 45 minutes later we were at the front and got our whole allotment, went back and enjoyed the rest of the fest. 

It wasn’t until I got home that I was reading online of extra ticket sales and forged tickets making the event estimated at 6000 people, some people waiting 1.5 hours in the line to get in and missing out of a lot of beers, at 4 when they opened the bottle sales up to get a case, a large amount of people weren’t able to get bottles and were literally shut out (they closed the warehouse door in peoples faces), fights breaking out in lines and general chaos. Now they are refunding everyone their $50 entry fee, making another batch for the people that were shut out and cancelling Hunahpu’s Day forever. 

I personally had a great time, I went with 9 other people who had a great time and we tasted a lot of great beer with my highlights being:

Toppling Goliath KingSue and Mornin’ Delight (maple syrupy stout goodness)
J Wakefield Kryptoweisse (Berliner with Kiwi, clean lacto sour)
Burnt Hickory Red Velvet Cake (Huge cherry)
Westbrook Gozu and Mexican Cake
Cigar City Rum Barrel Aged Penultimate Push
Perennial Abraxas and La Boheme (Abraxas tapped at the end of the fest when a lot of people had left. There was no line for this beer, I just kept going back for more and more. Great beer)
Cigar City Pancake Brown (Pancakes with maple syrup. Couldn't have much but spot on flavor)

Terrapin MooHoo with Raspberries

Arizona Wilderness Pappy Barleywine

Asheville Trip

I went up to Asheville this past weekend as a bit of a vacation as SWMBO has a cabin in nearby Waynesville, NC.  We got to Waynesville on Friday and stopped by Frog Level and Tipping Point breweries.  Frog Level had a surprisingly awesome space with a back porch complete with a running creek next to it.  It was a little too cold outside, but on a nice day with the mountains in the background it would have been an awesome place to get a pint.  The beer was solid and I tried the Bug Eyed Stout, Catcher in the Rye Ale, Nutty Brown, and Salamander Slam IPA.  

We also visited Tipping Point brewing that night for another pint and shared a pint of the Hiking Viking Blonde and Punch In The Face IPA.  Both were very average.

The real trip began by arriving in Asheville around noon the next day.  Wicked Weed was a new brewery I had heard good things about in the past and it just so happened they were releasing their GABF Gold medal winning Brett beer, Serenity, for the first time.  We hopped in line to get some bottles and got to taste a few beers also.  We had Freak of Nature DIPA and a sour called Malice.  I had one sip of Freak of Nature and knew Wicked Weed was legit.  It is like a slightly bigger flavor Pliny with a similar cleanliness and bright hop profile.  More on Wicked Weed in a bit.

We grabbed our allotment and went on a little brewery tour.  First up was Wedge which has an awesome outdoor space, but their tap list was lacking.  I had an Oatmeal Stout and half of an Iron Rail IPA before leaving.  Our next destination was Burial Brewing.  This place is a tiny operation, maybe only 2 BBL, but they had some neat beers on tap.  Their Donut Stout was an awesome sweet stout and was served with a donut hole on the side.  I enjoyed their beers and this was probably my second favorite brewery I had during this Asheville trip.  

Our next stop was Hi-Wire brewing, a newer operation.  It was packed but we got a seat and a flight.  This brewery's beers are the definition of forgettable.  They're solid examples of classic styles, but you're never going to remember them or recommend them in a town like Asheville.  One cool thing about their brewery that I saw was that I believe they're using old dairy equipment to brew their beer.  They seemed to have a big mash tun and some fermenters that were previously dairy equipment if I'm not mistaken.

All we could keep thinking about when we were at these breweries was that we needed to get back to Wicked Weed to try all of their stuff. Our first impression was so good that we dropped our dogs off at the hotel and beelined to Wicked Weed.  We sat down at the bar around 6 PM and didn't leave until we had tried every beer (something we regretted the next day).

Wicked Weed specializes in west coast IPAs, Belgians and Sours.  I have to say that every beer I had was excellent but Freak of Nature, French Toast Stout (Vanilla, spiced sweet stout), Black Ruffian Black IPA, Saison V (liquid raspberries), Black Angel Sour and  Genesis Grand Cru were some of our favorites.  It's really quite amazing that a brewery as new as them can have such good sours at their age, but they pulled it off.  I haven't even mentioned the atmosphere and decor, but picture inside being accented with wood and stone and then an upstairs and outside outside area complete with tables, firepits and more wood.  The only place I'd rather get a pint is Stone Escondido and I consider that beer paradise.  I can't say enough about Wicked Weed between their beer, service, decor and atmosphere.  I would move to Ashville just for them.  

That completed my trip (aside from another trip to Wicked Weed in the morning to fight a hangover/drink more great beer) and it was another successful visit in the books.  Can't wait to go back and hopefully it doesn't take 5 years this time.

Professional Tips and Tricks

Every so often a professional brewery makes a beer that you take a sip and say "wow".  Sometimes it's just a well executed style, but other times its so unique you have to know how they did it.  As a homebrewer, we have freedom to experiment without worrying about wasting a whole batch because at the end of the day if we try something on 1 gallon, it's a few bucks down the drain if it doesn't work out.  

If I come across something really unique but can't find anything about it online and want to know how to do it, I'll shoot the brewery an email.  Some breweries are really great about sharing inside info, but some others like to keep things to themselves, which is totally ok also.  Here I'm going to put down all of the tips I've picked up from professional breweries so I don't lose track of them.

Ballast Point Victory at Cereal - On when to add the Captain Crunch

"We add it to the finished product. It is really straight forward. Just add a ton of Capt. Crunch to Victory at Sea and taste until the flavor is appropriate (usually 4 days). Then you rack the Victory off of the cereal". 

- James Murray

Cask & Larder Watermelon Gose - On how they get the awesome watermelon flavor

"Its 2 days of souring in the kettle from a 45% grist wheat (flaked and malted) on Lacto home grown from pils malt... short boil and 8 ibu boil hop addition.. salt added at end of boil.. scottish ale yeast fermentation.. watermelon extract added at end of fermentation just prior to carbonation.. its a all natural distilled watermelon from Treatt .. same company that supplies Cigar City with the Cucumber extract for their seasonal Saison.. they are based out of lakeland if you can bug them for a sample... please dont tell them i said so..  hope this helps...they offer 2 kinds one is heart of watermelon the other is rindy...was looking for a balance between sour, salt and fruit .. it sold very quickly and think redlight is sitting on the last keg... my twisted take on a winter beer...too much bacteria and wild yeast in doing it at home with raw fruit unless its added to a huge beer that might be sour already (lower pH and high alcohol)"

Russian River Sours - On bottling carbonation levels

"we carbonate Supplication to about 3.25 vol/Co2.  We like this level for the mouthfeel but also it gives us room on both sides in which we know if we come up a little short we'll still be good but more important if the Brett in the beer keeps carbing the beer a little we know we have room on the high end before we are too high in Co2.

Also, and I'm sure you know this but it is a good idea to use a wine yeast on a sour/barrel beer to ensure the yeast can perform in the acidic environment."


On adding fruit to a berliner - Johnathan Wakefield

"During primary only, puree is the way to go but it really depends on the fruit. It can be a real pain in the rear on the transfer to either bottle or keg just because the puree may not be able to be fully filtered out."

 Adding coffee to beer - Modern Times Jacob McKean

"I prefer adding whole bean coffee to cold (38 degrees), uncarbonated beer (i.e. secondary fermentation). I've tried every other method, and I'm convinced it's the best way to go, but I'm very focused on aroma. Black House gets the equivalent of 2oz of coffee per 5 gallons of beer."

Adding coconut - Michael Tonsmeire and Modern Times Brewer Alex

 "For the coconut I'm planning on taking a page from Alex's playbook: unsweetened, home-toasted, added post-fermentation. Dried unsweetened coconut. Might add a touch of coconut extract at kegging if it needs a boost. Yup my original Indra Kunindra homebrew i did vodka extract ran through coffee filters to remove fat Works Great"

Brewing a beer like Serenity from Wicked Weed - Head of Brewing Operations Walt Dickinson

"Well, barrels play a key role in that beer and that is tuff to recreate at the hombres level.  That said if I were to try and make serenity at home I would do this... Build a simple grist, 70% 2row, then the rest can be a combo oats, wheat, and/or rye with a touch of either carapils or crystal.  I think 20-30 Ibus with a decent whirlpool addition is nice.  Then ferment 100% Brett.  White labs brux or brett III are great.  Knock out warm (80 F).  After primary move to a plastic bucket with 6 or so medium toast oak cubes that you have boiled the tannins out of... Don't add the water just the cubes.  Let age for 2-3 months in bye bucket.  Don't break the pelicle!  Then bottle and wait another 2-3 months.  It's that easy... Ha.  Good luck man.  Cheers."

New Hop Varieties

Hop breeding and farming is a seriously cool topic.  Since craft beer has expanded, the farms have had free reign to go all out in producing the biggest, dankest, most delicious flavors and combinations of hops to use.  With everyone trying to get an edge in craft brewing, no matter how weird the hop is, some brewery will be willing to use it in an experimental beer.  Who knows, maybe it will lead us to the next Citra (which was an experimental hop for the longest time).

Lately the following hops have come out of the breeding programs.  Azacca is being used a bit and is why it has a name.  People love this hop and Societe had a really successful Bachelor beer brewed solely with this.  Cigar City used Vic Secret in a single hop pale ale and I got to try it and it was tasty.  I really want to get my hands on some of these when I get back to brewing.

Azacca (ADHA 483)

AA Range: 14 - 16%
Beta: 5.4%
Cohumulone: N/A
Total Oil: 1.8 ml/100g
Characteristics: Fresh citrus, tangerine, mango, grapefruit, piney, spicy, pineapple.
Other Notes: Sounds like this is the best-suited of this new lot (from the ADHA) for American IPAs, so it's no surprise that it's the first to get an actual name.

ADHA 484

AA Range: 11 - 12%
Beta: 3.5%
Cohumulone: 46.8%
Total Oil: N/A
Characteristics: Cedar, wood, bubblegum, spice.
Other Notes: Intriguing descriptors here. Sounds appropriate for English beers, or oak-aged beers.

ADHA 527

AA Range: 14 - 15%
Beta: 4.5%
Cohumulone: 36.8%
Total Oil: N/A
Characteristics: Anise, licorice, spice, mint, floral.

ADHA 529

AA Range: 11%
Beta: 3.2%
Cohumulone: 25.5%
Total Oil: N/A
Characteristics: Sweet coconut, lemon, mint, green herbal tea.

ADHA 871

AA Range: 13.4%
Beta: 4%
Cohumulone: 27.4%
Total Oil: N/A
Characteristics: Floral, citrus, strong mint, herbal, mellow spice, sage, slight lemon.
Other Notes: Should be a contender for some saisons.

ADHA 881

AA Range: 16.3%
Beta: 7.3%
Cohumulone: 35.4%
Total Oil: N/A
Characteristics: Banana, pear, peach, herbal, spice.
Other Notes: First time I've seen banana as a hop descriptor!

Vic Secret

AA Range: 14 - 17%
Beta: 6.1 - 7.8%
Cohumulone: 51 - 56 %
Total Oil: 2.2 - 2.8 ml/100g
Characteristics: Pineapple, passionfruit, pine. Earthy when used in boil. "Lighter and less dominant than Galaxy."
Other Notes: The grower notes: "the clean, distinct fruit and pine characters of Vic Secret are best accessed by dry hopping or whirlpool additions." Also, not really the best name for a hop.