Another Year of Beer

I've written in this blog's past about deciding what will be the next seasonal.  I had some time this evening to finally sit down and come up with 2011's seasonal schedule. 

Some of my seasonals will be making reappearances:  Oktoberfest, Doppelbock, Maibock, Double Red, the Saison and the Pumpkin--(what's with you people and your love of Pumpkin beer??)

I've got several newcomers in the works as well.  I've tentatively scheduled a Scottish Heavy, an Altbier, a Dortmunder Export and a Weizenbock.

What's more, once the brewery expansion project is complete, I'll be able to add two or three more seasonals to our brewpub lineup.

Maybe there's a beer you'd love to see?  Yes, there will be an IPA again, and I may choose it through a contest again.  Let me know your thoughts.

Going World Wide

As a homebrewer, I use a great piece of software called "BeerSmith".  I've found that it works extremely well for brewing commercial size batches, so I use it all the time at St. Francis.  I sent its creator, Brad Smith, an email a while back letting him know that I use his software at the brewery and I'm very happy with it.  He wrote back saying that he started a podcast and he's interested in interviewing me.

We're doing the interview this evening.  I'll be appearing, via Skype, along with George Bluvas, the Director of Brewing Operations at the Water Street Brewery in Milwaukee.  George is a great guy.  He's my age, and has been doing this a lot longer than I have.  We took two very different paths to our positions.  Tonight's podcast will focus on going from homebrewer to pro.

Anyway, once Brad edits out all my lies and umms and errs, you'll be able to catch the interview online at:  http://www.beersmith.com/blog/category/podcast/

No Worries, Mate!

I just finished up the porter.  Thanks to Sous Chef Greg, I took an unplanned tack. 

Initially I was just going to dump the cocoa into the brew kettle.  Greg suggested I mix it with water before adding it.  Instead I drew off buckets of hot wort and whisked in the cocoa.  Then I added it back to the brew kettle.  Finally, I whirlpooled the whole thing for about 10 minutes before transferring to the fermentation tank.

I think it went well.  A fair amount of cocoa was left behind in the brew kettle, but a lot made it to the fermenter.  The heat exchanger didn't clog, and it cleaned up easily afterward.

My yield will be a little less than I would hope for, but I'm not going to filter this ale, so that will help my final yield.

The numbers turned out slightly higher than I was shooting for, but if I erred on the right side.  It just means the ABV will be a little higher than anticipated, and our customers don't seem to mind that!

Christmas Ale 2010

As I mentioned earlier, this year's Christmas Ale will be a chocolate hazlenut porter. 

I've never done a porter on a commercial scale, so this one will be interesting.  It also has to potential to be promblematic.

In addition to six different malts, I am also using unsweetened cocoa powder:

"So Scott, what's the problem?" 

Well, there could be several: 

Number one, I'm dumping most of this right into the brewkettle.  This will allow it to mix well with the wort and sanitize it.  But, it can make a layer of chocolately sludge that will turn the inside of my heat exchanger into an M&M.

Number two, if you've ever tasted unsweetened cocoa, you know how bitter it is.  This will add an astringency to the beer which I hope will mellow with time and be balanced by the malt.

Number three, there is fat in the cocoa.  Fats play havoc with head retention in beer.  This is the least of my worries.

As for the hazlenut--I picked up some natural extract from a local ingredient company.  It smells wonderful, but a little goes a long way, and it will be very easy to ruin this batch.  Therefore, I will have to add a little at a time in the fermenter and taste test each addition.  Actually, this part of it doesn't sound too bad!

The tapping of this ale will occur on December 15th.  Unlike its predecessor, you will be able to take home growlers for your Holiday parties.



What Are You Doing New Year's......

.....New Year's Eve?

Well, here's an idea.

The St. Francis Brewery is announcing its first Private New Year's Eve Party.

Friday, December 31st, 9:00 pm to 2:00 am.

We're shutting down for the evening and settting up for a private party, and you are all invited.  Your ticket price includes:

• Open Bar
• Appetizer and Dessert Buffet
• Live DJ and Dancing
• Party Favors
• Champagne Toast at Midnight
• A Bus Ride Home (within a 10-mile radius)

Yes, we're renting a bus for the evening to provide you a safe ride home.  Come pick up your car on Saturday morning and help cheer on the Badgers in the Rose Bowl.

All of this for only $75 per person.  You'll need to purchase tickets in advance, so stop in to the brewery or call us at 414-744-4448.  Semi-formal dress required.

Coming Home

And, boy am I ready!

I've mostly kept my personal life out of this blog.  The focus has always been the brewery and brewing, as it should be. 

After all, this isn't Facebook!

But, I will say that I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with my extended family out here in Virginia.  Once again, my daughter-in-law did a beautiful job with the meal as I spent the day utterly useless on the couch watching football. 

We packed a lot of fun into our week here, but I am excited about coming back home and getting into the brewery again.

As you all enjoy your Black Friday crowds, I'll be bombarded by huge amounts of radiation while the TSA takes naughty pictures of me. 

A Little Market Research

When I venture around this great country of ours, I like to check out what the local craft breweries are doing.  The last time I was in Virginia, I visited many breweries.  Most were good, some were not.  I did revisit a couple on this trip so see if there have been any changes.  So far on this trip I've tried:

Gordon Biersch (Virginia Beach, VA)--two years ago, a couple of beers on their sampler were infected.  This year, all of their beers were very well-made.  Some general notes--yes, it's a chain.  I do not hold that against them, as a national chain gave me my start in commercial brewing.  However, they have a much stronger "chain vibe" than Rock Bottom.  There were no references to their Brewmaster on the menus or table tents.  There were no local references to their beer names.  It felt a little more like a beer factory.  On the plus side, they were very busy.  They have a large menu.  Another interesting note is the ABVs of their beers hovered around the low to mid 5%'s.  The top ABV was 7%, and was described a "powerful". 

Weeping Radish (Grandy, NC)--Just stopped in for one pint there.  Didn't have the sampler.  When I was there last time, I took the tour.  This place has a pretty cool story.  The owner is a German immigrant.  He bought a bunch of land just north of the Outer Banks to farm.  His brother talked him in to adding a brewery to the project.  This working farm/restaurant/brewery is largely self-sustaining.  Most of ther food served is grown there.  They also have an old-school butcher who processes their livestock and turns them in to some of the best sausages I've ever tried.  Oh, and the beer's good, too!

Williamsburg Alewerks (Williamsburg, VA)--Again, this was a return trip.  Last time, the Brewmaster had just been replaced, and the new Brewmaster's beers were not on tap yet.  The beers were fine, but nothing really stood out.  On the revisit, all of the beers I tried were very well-crafted and true to style.  I picked up a mixed case to share during our Thanksgiving meal.