by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
March 14
We bottled the Red Ale last night - 52 bottles. They are bottle conditioning now (we added priming sugar to carbonate, plus they need to age in the bottle). We expect they will bottle age for around 3 weeks, but its difficult to predict how long it will need.
From our taste testing, this seems like it wll be a malty beer, with a good hop bitter balance, not overly sweet. There was a little more roasty flavor than I thought there might be, but the carbonation might help wash that out.
FYI, with this batch, I "harvested" the Scottish yeast I used after the fermentation was over, "washed" it and have stored four jars of it for future use. This is our first effort at managing our own yeast - rather than just buying it - another element of truly handmade beer.
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
February 28
Racked the Red Ale from its primary fermenter to our secondary bright tank. It had fermented drier than I thought it might - 1.010 specific gravity. With two pounds of crystal/caramel malt and a mash temp of 154 I thought it might be higher, but the scottish yeast really did a good job of attenuating.
And the really fun news - it actually turned out red! And it tastes pretty good - for flat and warm beer that's only a week old . . .
We had been thinking we might dry hop this beer, with more of the organic east kent goldings that we already used in the boil. But, after tasting it, i think its good the way it is - a nice hop bitterness balanced by the Munich malty-ness. It will need to sit in the secondary/bright tank for at least two weeks
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
February 20
Brewed a Red Ale today, the two main styles of red ales are usually referred to as either Irish or American. We brewed this one to neither style or type exactly. First, we used Munich malted barley as our base malt - this will give a maltier, richer flavor to the beer than the more traditional two-row or maris otter malted barley. Secondly, we used english hops, specifically East Kent Goldings for all three hop additions (bittering, flavoring and aroma). This will be more bitter and hoppier than an Irish Red, around 30 international bittering units. We will also dry hop the beer when it is done fermenting, with more East Kent Goldings to give it even more aroma. Finally, we used a scottish variety of yeast, Edinburgh from White Labs, which will not attenuate or dry out the beer as much as most American style red ales. We're fermenting it at 67-68 degrees. Now we wait!
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
January 3, 2010
Wow, I haven't updated this blog for two months! There have been beers and photos added in The Beers section for you to check out. The current lineup of beers that are ready to drink include:
Drinkability Isn't a Word Light Beer
WPA (Wheat Pale Ale)
Abundant Field Belgian-Style White Ale
Cream Stout
Cherry Stout
In other news, last night, we went out for burgers and I had two wonderful beers from a small Chicago-area brewery, Metropolitan Brewing. They specialize in lagers, which is unusual for craft brewries. You can find out about this small brewery (and where their beers are available) at http://www.metrobrewing.com/main/index.html I enjoyed their Krankshaft (Kolsch) and Dynamo (Amber Lager).
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
November 7, 2009
Although its been ready for a few days, I've been fighting the flu and haven't been able to rack the AWA (American Wheat Ale) to the secondary/bright tank until tonight. It looks, smells and tastes good (for young beer not ready to be drunk yet). It has a final gravity of 1.008, right on target, with an alcohol by volume of 5.47%
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
October 27, 2009
Today, we brewed a new batch, a recipe we created, that we are calling a CWPA - Chicago Wheat Pale Ale. More info to follow soon.
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
October 20, 2009
Brewing has traditionally been seasonal - Oktoberfest beer in the fall, stouts and scotch ales in the winter, Saison in the spring, and kolsch in the summer.
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
October 17, 2009
Racked the sweet stout from primary fermentation to what's sometimes called the bright tanks (two glass carboys in our case) - split the batch in half, with 3 lbs. of pureed sweet cherries in one of the bright tanks. The carboy with the cherries began showing signs of active fermentation almost immediately (within 15 minutes) - the yeast will eat its way through the sugar in the cherries, leaving that batch with an undertone of cherry (which we hope will compliment the roasted barley flavors and slight sweetness) and a higher alcohol by volume.
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
October 11, 2009
Bottling day for Abundant Fields Witbier! Unlike many brewers, I enjoy bottling. Some brewers go into kegging because of how much they dislike bottling, but I've got our process locked in and it only takes about an hour, from start to finish. One key is that we rinse bottles clean after we enjoy their contents, so they are easier to clean before bottling. I also use the miracle product hyped by the late Billy Mayes - Oxiclean! Soak the bottles in Oxiclean and rinse well, and they are ready to go. We also use a pump called a Vinator, which shoots saniitizing solution (idophor) into the bottle and hang the bottles on a bottling tree to dry.
In any case, Abundant Fields Witbier is now in the bottle, conditioning in a warm place and we'll open one up in about two weeks, to see how its developing. Stay tuned.
by Jim Vondracek on 12/29/10
September 28, 2009 Singing Boys Brewing makes organic beers, using certified organic malts, grains and hops. I want to share two links with you related to organic brewing. The first is to Seven Bridges Cooperative in California - www.breworganic.com They have great information on organic brewing (and coffee roasting) and if you are interested in brewing, they sell kits, equipment and ingredients - all organic, of course. The second link is to The Beer Activist blog at http://beeractivist.com/ a interesting blog about drinking beer and saving the world. Finally, check out a fellow artisanal brewer in Minnesota who also brews organic beers at http://www.beardedbrewing.org/
