Constraints can be a good thing

Our banana hefeweizen is still hanging out in the carboy, and it looks pretty good. It should, considering that it's been there for three weeks... or has it been four? At any rate, it's been relaxing in the corner of the kitchen for a while. I could have bottled it by now.

If we had enough bottles.

We don't, however. Only about three dozen or so 12 ounce bottles. Even though this batch will have a bit smaller yield than the rest of our batches, that's probably ten to twelve bottles too few. Part of me is anxious to get it bottled, because every day it's in the secondary is a day longer before we can drink it. The rest of me is keenly aware that, within reason, the longer the beer sits there, the better the beer will be in the long run.

Of course, we can't brew anything else quite yet either, but I'm okay with that. Brewing alone is probably not quite as fun as brewing with friends. Though I have to say, the thought of having total control over a brew is tempting indeed.... Triple IPA, anyone?

A house is not a home.

Unless, of course, that house is a brewhouse, which, for the first time since Martin Luther King Day, my house is. Dana and I brewed a pretty straightforward Banana Hefeweizen last Thursday, to sort of get back in the swing of beer-making, after an extended layoff, for a variety of reasons that would bore you all to death. We didn't create this recipe from scratch or anything - we didn't have time to make a run to the good brew store - so we kept it pretty much by the kit. We did use real bananas, though, in addition to letting the yeast create some of that characteristic banana flavor. It's in the primary now, should be ready to go right as spring takes a hard turn towards summer.

This is what boiling bananas look like.

Other news - Konigsbock, our Maibock, is lagering in the bulkhead after spending some quality time in my bedroom carbonating. Our beleaguered brown ale, Catch Me If You Can, is finally in the fridge, after taking a long long time to reach any semblance of respectable carbonation. That one should be ready to roll by Marathon Monday at the latest, though I feel like such a hearty beer will feel well out of season in the Spring. I'm sure it'll be enjoyable, but it's almost certainly going to be a brew to have with a big meal.

We are also endeavoring to grow our own hops. Dana's family has large... tracts of land and we have ordered a half dozen rhizomes to plant in about a month's time. I can't remember for the life of me what varieties we chose, but it was a pretty good balance of bittering and aromatic hops. Dana, if you could, post the varieties in the comments. Someone out there might care.

Past that, we are generally formulating plans for the summer brewing season. We could definitely use some ideas, so if any of the 4-7 of you who read this have any crazy ideas to throw at us, we're all ears. Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for news about our first ever tasting party. It's a ways out, but it's in the works.

Brew News

Last night, after a solid two weeks in the primary fermenter, I transferred the maibock into the carboy. It is sitting, wrapped in the same jacket as the primary was, in the bulkhead. Temperature seems to be fluctuating a bit more in the carboy than it did in the primary, but I attribute that to the carboy being glass as opposed to the plastic of the bucket.

The beer itself is... interesting, at this point. Fermentation had slowed down to a crawl in the primary, but the yeast re-awoke upon entering the carboy, and fermentation has gone back to a slow but consistent pace. The aroma was sweet, but not cloying, with an underlying maltiness. The color was coppery, and not particularly clear. That should change over time, as the yeast keeps working and the detritus settles at the bottom. This should lead to the final product being considerably more golden as well.

Let's hope this looks a bit better in a few weeks.

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In other news, with the primary clear, it's time to consider what our next brew will be. My birthday is March 11th, and St. Patrick's Day is just after that... Hm.

Got a suggestion? Get creative, post it in the comments! If we use your selection, you may even get some free beer out of it!

Cheers!

Alcohol sweater...

...more like alcohol parka.

Weather appropriate dress is important in the winter.

Shazam. Right on point.

Behold, as we brew a Maibock... on video.

Here is our recipe, which I came up with based on a couple hours of researching Maibock (pronounced "my-bock") brews that homebrewers before us made.

Steep 1lb Munich light at 150°F for 30 minutes

60 min. boil
6.6 lb Light LME
3.0 lb Light DME
2 oz. Liberty hops (1.5 at 50, .5 at 10)
12 fl. oz. honey

White Labs German Bock Lager Yeast

Theoretical Result - 8.0% ABV, 31 IBU, 7° Lovibond (OG 1.080, FG 1.019)
Actual Result (so far) - OG ~1.078

In less technical terms, it is a strong pale lager, with a good malty character, a hint of hops. Optimally it will come out golden-amber, with a thick, foamy head. It should be somewhat comparable to Rogue Dead Guy, if you happened to have had that. Anyway, without further ado, here are the videos.

 

Happy Brew Year!

We here at Wild Card Brewery have a nice little contest for you, our loyal friends and readers, to start off 2011 right.

As you know, we have made four brews to date:

*Bare Bones Amber Ale
*It Takes Two To Tangelo
*Silver Crown IPA
*Catch Me If You Can

Here's the thing - we are pretty bad as artists. So we're offering you a shot.

Here's the deal.

Make us a label. For any of the four brews we've made. It can be any art style you want. It just needs to be able to either fit or be scaled to 4"w x 3"h.

The two best labels for each beer get their choice of the following:
*Two 12oz bottles of the beer they designed the label for.
OR
*The ability to name a future brew

We don't have a lot of options for prizes - we are homebrewers, after all.

The Master

All entries can be submitted via email at cokes311@gmail.com, in person, or on our Facebook page

So bust out your inner Bob Ross and show us your best work



Contest entries should be submitted by March 1st. Winners, assuming any of you participate, will be notified around St. Patrick's Day.

Cheers!