Hello All,
Most of this should have gone out last week, but server problems made sure
that didn’t happen. Anyone out there interested in providing me with an
internet connection?
So I added a few more things and am sending the mail out this week.
Hopefully I’ll be back on schedule now.
Lots of little things to report this week. Last week I got bogged down in
updating the catalog so there was no email. The Del Mar Fair competition is
now seven weeks away so there is still plenty of time to brew those winning
beers. Only seven Months left until Christmas, so if you want to be
drinking your own spiced mead or champagne for New Years, get going now!
Cheers
Tom
CONTENTS:
BALLAST POINT
DEL MAR FAIR
NEW STUFF/FOR SALE
NEW YEAST
WARM WEATHER TIP
PUB UPDATES
INGREDIENT OF THE WEEK
RECIPES
JOKE
BALLAST POINT
We finally went on tap at Newport Bar and Grill in OB and at the Brigantine
in Del Mar. Check out the tasting bar for all the latest updates. The
Ballast Point Bagpipers are scheduled to play the second Friday of
May–I’ll give out as many details as I get ahead of time. And we now have
our own Cask Conditioned Copper on tap. It is the same beer as the special
but with an addition of Cascade in the keg as well as brown sugar for
natural carbonation. And the kolsch is gone, so the porter is back on tap.
DEL MAR FAIR
The first round of pamphlets for the Del Mar Fair Competition had incorrect
dates listed. The new flyers are yellow. The date is June 29th and forms
must be in June 13th. If you have any questions, call the Fair Entry
Office at 792-4207 or the Fair Hotline at 793-5555. You can also reach
them on the web at:
http://www.delmarfair.com
Good luck!
NEW STUFF/FOR SALE
A few new items to report:
KilnCoffee Malt- this is a French grain that is supposed to have a mild
coffee flavor. The color rating is 170L so it can’t be all that roasty.
I’ve never used it, but you can count on a report soon.
Magnum and Ultra Flower hops: Magnum is a high-alpha (14%) acid bittering
hop with interesting aroma possibilities. Ultra is a moderate alpha acid
(6.1) hop that falls into the German vein in terms of aroma.
And we still have a few rhizomes left, though we are out of Cascade and
Northern Brewer.
And a customer has some used all-grain brewing equipment for sale. If you
are interested call Anthony at 587-1451.
Lastly, we got a few new pint glasses in stock.
NEW YEAST
White Labs, the company that makes our pitchable yeasts, is coming out with
some new Ale strains. The first is the East Coast Ale which is the same
yeast Sam Adams uses on its Stock Ale. The other is the Irish Ale yeast
which is ideal for stouts, dark beers and any recipe calling for a london
style yeast. I’m used them Thursday with Paul and I’ll let you know the
results. I will have all the floculation/attenuation numbers by the
weekend at both stores.
At for a limited time we have the British Ringwood strain available again.
This is a nice medium attenuating yeast that gives off a small amount of
diacytel (buttery-type flavor) found in Karl Strauss’ Amber Lager.
WARM WEATHER TIP
Now that things are heating up for the Summer it becomes hard to simply
ferment your beer at room temperature. Rather than give up on brewing
there is an easy way to control temperatures. Home Depot, Wal Mart, etc…
all sell large 25 tubs for about $4 a piece. Put your fermentor in the tub
and fill it with tap water. If your tap water is especially warm, add a
little ice. Take a reading with a floating thermometer and keep the water
bath as close to 70F as possible. you might need to add some ice to keep
it cool, but it will insulate your beer well.
PUB UPDATES
I got some better info on the Carlsbad Pub from Lee Chase at Stone Brewing Co:
for the record : the carlsbad public house is actually going to be Pizza
Port/Carlsbad Brewery. it may be a few more weeks till they are on line
though. They are doing a fair amount of re-doing to the pub, restaurant, and
kitchen….a notable addition to the new Port is the expanded bar area
where one can drink without having to take up an entire bench. There is
also talk about an oatmeal stout, which I feel should be heavily pushed by
potential patrons.(you and I,etc.) gottago, cheers. lee
And one note now that Summer is approaching: Beware bland seasonal ales.
Many breweries sem to feel that Summer is a perfect excuse to release
tasteless golden colored imitations of decent beer. Don’t be fooled. You
can still make great beers all through the warm months without having to
succumb to light beers.
Yes, I do indeed hate Pete’s (not so) Wicked Summer Ale in case you were
wondering.
If you are looking for a good beer my bottled beer suggestion for the week is:
Hacker-Pschorr Munchener Dark Alt
Find it at Beverages and More. It is a wonderful, malty and complex beer
without having the high alcohol content of bocks.
Bev & More also is supposed to have a new mead in stock–other than the
sub-standard Chaucer’s. When I try I will let you all know how it is.
INGREDIENT OF THE WEEK
Caravienne
This a lighter colored Belgian crystal malt. Its color rating is about 24
Lovibond. It has a unique toffee-fruity flavor to it. It works well in
almost any Belgian or french style ale. It can also be used to add a
different flavor to your basic pale ales. This grain is also very
aromatic. And like all Belgian crystal malts it is made from pure two-row
malted barley instead of six-row.
RECIPES
I did a lighter-colored Pale Ale in this week’s class. It should have a
nice hop aroma to it with a bit of caramel flavor underneath a nice nutty
maltiness.
8# Pale Malt Extract
1# 20L Crystal
.5# Toasted Malt
1.5 oz Pride of Ringwood - 6.9% AA - Boil
1 oz Willamette - Finish
California Ale Yeast
Champagne Mead
I make a batch every New Year’s Eve for the following year. What better
way to celebrate?
1 can Chablis Grape Juice Concentrate
8# Orange Blossom Honey
Lemon Zest
2 packs Champagne Yeast
No nutrients needed, since the grape juice will provide them. Boil the
honey for 3 minutes skimming the foam off the top. Add grape juice and
lemon zest after turning off heat–steep 5 minutes, cool and pitch yeast.
Transfer to a secondary for aging and bottle with 1 heaping cup of corn
sugar in Champagne or strong beer bottles.
Let sit in bottle at least 2 weeks before drinking for carbonation.
JOKE
I’m not one to spread unsolicited jokes, but this one was too good to pass
up. Enjoy.
Irish sobriety
An Irishman walks into a bar in Dublin, orders three pints of
Guinness and sitsin the back of the room, drinking a sip out of
each one in turn.
When he finishes them, he comes back to the bar and orders three
more. The bartender asks him, “You know, a pint goes flat after I
draw it; it would taste better if you bought one at a time.” The
Irishman replies, “Well, you see, I have two brothers. One is in
America, the other in Australia, and I’m here in Dublin. When we
all left home, we promised that we’d drink this way to remember the
days when we drank together.” The bartender admits that this is a
nice custom, and leaves it there.
The Irishman becomes a regular in the bar, and always drinks the
same way: He orders three pints and drinks them in turn. One day,
he comes in and orders two pints. All the other regulars notice and
fall silent. When he comes back to the bar for the second round,
the bartender says, “I don’t want to intrude on your grief, but I
wanted to offer my condolences on your great loss.” The Irishman
looks confused for a moment, then a light dawns in his eye and he
laughs. “Oh, no,” he says, “everyone’s fine. I’ve just quit drinking.”