Big Ol' Something-or-Other

I got to spend some time in the garage on Sunday and brew some beer which was a nice treat. I've been so busy this passed year that brewing has been sparse and the supplies are dwindling. I think this is technically my first "kitchen sink" beer I've ever brewed. No I didn't brew it in my sink. Basically I brewed a huge beer with what I had on hand. Good thing is, it is probably something I would have tried anyway.

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
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Batch Size (Gal): 5.50 Wort Size (Gal): 5.50
Total Grain (Lbs): 25.25
Anticipated OG: 1.127 Plato: 29.52
Anticipated SRM: 20.2
Anticipated IBU: 65.2
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes


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Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 6.47 Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.080 SG
Final Gravity 1.100 OG
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Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
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25.7 - 6.50 lbs. Pale Malt(2-row) - Great Britain - 1.038 - 3
3.0 - 0.75 lbs. Crystal 125L - Great Britain - 1.033 - 120
65.3 - 16.50 lbs. Munich Malt - Germany - 1.037 - 8
4.8 - 1.20 lbs. Flaked Oats - America - 1.033 - 2
1.2 - 0.30 lbs. Rye Malt - America - 1.030 - 4
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Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
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3.00 oz. Cluster - Pellet- 5.00- 48.5 - 60 min.
1.00 oz. Styrian Goldings - Pellet- 3.75- 8.5 - Mash H
1.00 oz. Styrian Goldings - Pellet- 3.75- 6.2 - 30 min.
1.00 oz. Styrian Goldings - Pellet - 3.75- 2.0 - 5 min.

I pitched SafAle US-05 & SafAle T-58 (supposedly the strain used in De Struise Pannepot)

Beer-Low in Heavy Metals / Wine-High in Heavy Metals

This article was just released explaining how Wine is high in heavy metals.

Heavy Metals Found in Wine
Red, White Wines Carry Dangerous Doses of Toxic Metals
By Daniel J. DeNoonWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 29, 2008 -- Red and white wines from most European nations carry potentially dangerous doses of at least seven heavy metals, U.K. researchers find.
A single glass of even the most contaminated wine isn't poisonous. But drinking just one glass of wine a day -- a common habit in Europe and the Americas -- might be very hazardous indeed, calculate biomolecular scientist Declan P. Naughton, PhD, and Andrea Petroczi of Kingston University, London.
Naughton calculated "target hazard quotients" (THQs) for wines from 15 countries in Europe, South America, and the Middle East. The measure was designed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine safe levels of frequent, long- term exposure to various chemicals.
A THQ over 1 indicates a health risk. Typical wines, Naughton found, have a THQ ranging from 50 to 200 per glass. Some wines had THQs up to 300. By comparison, THQs that have raised concerns about heavy-metal contamination of seafood typically range between 1 and 5.
"I was surprised at this finding, and would be very interested if regulatory authorities and food-safety people will look at this," Naughton tells WebMD. "The wine industry should look at ways to remove these metals from wine, or to find out where the metals come from and prevent this from happening."
The metal ions that accounted for most of the contamination were vanadium, copper, and manganese. But four other metals with THQs above 1 also were found: zinc, nickel, chromium, and lead.
Some 30 other metal ions were measured in the wines, but THQs could not be calculated because safe daily levels for these metals are not known.
All of these oxidating metal ions pose potential problems. But the manganese contamination particularly worries behavioral neurotoxicologist Bernard Weiss, PhD, professor of environmental medicine at the University of Rochester, N.Y. Weiss was not involved in the Naughton study.
"From the point of view of just one of these metals in wine, manganese, I would be concerned," Weiss tells WebMD. "Any time you see numbers like they have in this study, you begin to scratch your head and wonder about the effects over a long period of ingestion: Not one glass of wine last Tuesday, but a glass a day over a lifetime."
Manganese accumulation in the brain, Weiss notes, has been linked to Parkinson's disease.
Safe Metal Levels in Wines From Italy, Brazil, Argentina
Wines from three of the 15 nations studied had safe levels of heavy metals: Italy, Brazil, and Argentina.
Based on the maximum THQs for wines from each nation, here's the list of the worst offenders:
Hungary
Slovakia
France
Austria
Spain
Germany
Portugal
Greece
Czech Republic
Jordan
Macedonia
Serbia
Hungary and Slovakia had maximum potential THQ values over 350. France, Austria, Spain, Germany, and Portugal -- nations that import large quantities of wine to the U.S. -- had maximum potential THQ values over 100.

The good news is that Beer is Low in Heavy Metals
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Want to Make Some Beer!

The mission of the Bay de Noc Brewers homebrew club is to facilitate the sharing of information about brewing beer at home amongst all club members in order to promote the brewing of high quality beer in our members homes. The distribution of this knowledge will facilitate all club members in becoming more knowledgeable abotu beer and the brewing process assisting them in creating higher quality beer at home. The club itself is therefore founded as a means to facilitate this transfer of knowledge between members and to make this knowledge readily available to anyone interested in learning about our craft.

Our local homebrew club, The Bay de Noc Brewers, is on the web now. So if you are located in the U.P. and are interested in getting involved in the homebrew community go to our website and sign up for our mailing list. You will then be kept in the loop as to the happenings of our club. We get together on a regular basis and we have a lot of fun trying each others beers and usually some very good craft beer as well.
http://baydenocbrewers.org

I'm sipping on this beer from Flossmoor Station Brewery that Matt Van Wyk gave me to try. He calls it "Sarge". It is a Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout brewed with chocolate and espresso. At first sip it was like the "Sarge" hazed me for not being ready.

This beer pours jet black with a head so dark it almost has a purple tint to it. Definitely intriguing. The head doesn't last too long as it settled to a ring around my glass.
The nose is big with bourbon but the espresso and chocolate notes make themselves present as well.

The flavor is amazing. Upfront is the huge bourbon and deep roastiness. I get a great chocolate flavor on the sides of my palate and that leads right into the espresso. Everything about this beer is intense but not overwhelming. There is some alcohol heat that is nice--enhances all of the other flavor like salt would to food.

The mouthfeel is full bodied--coats the mouth nicely leaving a long and enjoyable finish but not cloying at all. Medium carbonation.

I don't think you would want to sit and try to drink more than one of these nor do I think that was the intention for this beer. This is clearly a beer to drink on a frigid snowy day or a cold and rainy day like today is in the U.P. I'd say go and pick this up and try it but I don't think there is any more in existence unless you can shake some out of Matt Van Wyk--head brewer at Flossmoor Station Brewery.


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Now playing: DJ Shadow - Strike 1
via FoxyTunes

Homebrew Club in Marquette, MI

I am starting to compile a list of people who are in the Marquette area and are into homebrewing or who would like to learn about homebrewing. I think that in a town like Marquette there should be plenty enough people to start a homebrew club. So if you are one of those people that were curious about homebrew clubs in Marquette and came across this site in a search to learn more about beer. Please leave me a comment letting me know so I can add you to my list of people who appreciate better beer. You can e-mail me at brianrichards700@hotmail.com and just let me know that your interested. If you want you can even leave your phone number and I will keep you informed on the progress of a club. As of right now there are only a few people and it would be great to have at least 10 or so. We'll see if we can make it happen.