Noble Square Brewing is moving!

Yes, that is right Brewbuds, Señor Brew™ is packing up the brewery and moving it about an hour north of its current location, to beautiful, wonderful, beautiful Thousand Oaks.

One of the first things Señor Brew™ did was to check out the water in the new location.  As you can see from this water report, the water looks mighty fine for brewing.  He hasn't run it through a water spreadsheet yet, but it looks like for most styles he'll be able to use it right out of the tap, after treating it for chloramines, and adding some calcium for yeast health.

The new location has natural gas piped out to a built in grill in the back yard, so Señor Brew™ should be able to use his amazing wok burner.  I believe that there are electric outlets in the same spot, so he can use his electric HLT heater as well.  Señor Brew™ can't wait to get the first brew in the new place going--probably a session ale, something that can be fermented out quickly to be ready for the housewarming party.

Then, just for fun, Señor Brew™ decided to look up who some of his neighbors might be.  According to this wikipedia article, notable current and former residents include Megan Fox!  I doubt she still lives there, but if by some chance Señor Brew™ runs into her, he will be sure to invite her over to give her a tour of the brewery and show her the keg named after her.  Then he'll tap that (keg).

2012 Home Brew Competitions

Hello Brew Buds!  Señor Brew™ intended to post this calendar before any of the competitions listed actually occurred, but he didn't. Sorry!

It's not a comprehensive list of competitions by any means, just the events that Señor Brew™ intends to compete in this year.  As you can see, most are in Southern California, where Noble Square Brewing is now based, but a few are national, and of course the list includes the Chicago Beer Society competition, where  Señor Brew™ is a member in exile.

The dates are an approximation of when Señor Brew™ needs to send in his entries, not the actual date of the contest.  If you're entering any of these competitions yourself, first of all, good luck. You'll need it competing against  Señor Brew™--look at all of his shiny ribbons at the top of the page! Secondly, check the sites for the competitions for the actual dates--Señor Brew™  may have them wrong, they may not be available yet, or he may be sending them in the early part of the entry window due to other circumstances.

America's Finest City, San Diego  entries were due 2/22 (Sr. Brew™ entered but did not win).
National Homebrew Competition entries were due 3/5 (entered, first round begins in April)
Mayfaire, Los Angeles entries due 4/12
California State Fair, Sacramento entries due 4/27
Orange County Fair, Costa Mesa entries due 5/12
Sam Adams Longshot, Boston entries due 5/25
Los Angeles County Fair, Los Angeles entries due early July?
Pacific Brewers Cup, Los Angeles entries due 9/6
California State Homebrew Competition, San Francisco entries due mid October?
Spooky Brew Review, Chicago entries due mid October

Please note that some of the above links go to last year's competition site if the 2012 site is not up yet.

It's Good To Be The King

It is good to be the king, especially when you're Omega King.  I finally got around to dry hopping and bottling a portion of the Omega King IPA.  I even made labels this time for the bombers I bottled as you can see from the above photo.

The only difference I made in the recipe was to use all 2-row barley for the base malt instead of a mix of 2-row and pilsner malt.  With all the hops in the recipe, I don't know if I could even tell the difference.

This beer was originally designed to be a clone of 3 Floyds Alpha King.  I'm not sure how close it is, I know I probably tweaked the recipe along the way.  I should do a side-by-side taste test to see how it stacks up.  The problem is, I don't know if I can get Alpha King in a bottle out here in California.  I can't say I've looked for it.

My label uses the font from the Alpha King label; I created my own letters if they didn't appear on the original.  The photo was scanned from a Disney book--all the mermaids are singing to the king. Having half a dozen young ladies in bikini tops sing to you is not a bad thing, even if they're half fish. In hindsight I should have photo-shopped a beer in the king's hand--I'm sure he would have been enjoying a nice IPA during the mermaid serenade if it were not a Disney book.  Unfortunately the labels are already printed and affixed to bottles.  I'll have to make that change for the next run.

At least one of the bombers is going be to sent out to my buddy Pete, who got me to formulate the recipe the first time.  He's a big fan of Alpha King, and I wouldn't have brewed this beer if it hadn't been for him.  He's got three little girls, so they'll probably enjoy seeing Ariel on the label too.

I've got a case of regular sized bottles ready, so stay tuned to this blog to see how this batch fares in upcoming competitions.  The recipe can be found by clicking the "Omega King" link in the first paragraph.

iBrewmaster app for iPad

I've started inputting some of my brew recipes into iBrewmaster, an app for the iPad. I've had it for quite some time, but haven't used it extensively. It seems very well put together, and the developers are constantly coming out with improvements to it.

It allows you to input your recipes, and it will estimate your IBUs, original and final gravities, alcohol by volume, and all kinds of other cool info. It even let's you tweak your recipes for individual batches.

You can customize your inputs, such as your brewhouse efficiency and the alpha acid levels of your hops.

My only fear is that I'll damage my iPad during a brew session, so I keep it far away from the action. It's not like I've damaged electronic equipment while brewing before.

Señor Brew™ wins a ribbon!

Fall Down Go Boom barleywine took 2nd in the 2011 Pacific Brewers Cup held by the local brew club, Pacific Gravity.  It scored a 41, which is usually high enough to take first, so someone must have scored unbelievably high in this category.  Señor Brew™ also entered his Oktoberfest, Slippy Piggy's Oktoberfest, in this competition.  It didn't score as well, which is strange, because this beer went on to take first in the 2011 Spooky Brew Review, the Chicago Beer Society's annual competition.  More on this to follow.  The barleywine was brewed right around New Year's Day, using the first runnings from the Superbowl Stout brew, before the dark malts were added.  The recipe for both can be found here.  (Both Fall Down Go Boom Barleywine and Superbowl Stout have taken home ribbons this year). Look for the Oktoberfest recipe in my next post.

What Brew Blogs Do You Follow?

Hello Brewbuds!

Señor Brew™ has a quick question for loyal readers of this blog.  What other brew blogs do you follow?  No, Señor Brew™ is not going to get jealous and hack the other blogs with TOS attacks (something he read about on the intertubes).  The reason for asking is because he recently cut a number of blogs from his "follow" list, because they hadn't written a new post in over a year.  Damn lazy brew-bloggers!

Señor Brew™ would like to replenish his list with new and exciting brew blogs and thought the readers of this blog might have some mighty fine suggestions for other blogs to follow (since they obviously already have excellent taste in what to read on the worlb wibe web).

Here is Señor Brew™'s current follow list--please take a gander (or goose, "what's good for...yadda yadda"):

Bearded Brewing Blog (a guy with a beard brews in Minnesota)
Brew Dudes (two dudes who brew co-author this one)
Chibebräu (Russ Chibe, meteorologist/lawyer/homebrewer, esq.)
HolzBrew (I forget, but it's well-written)
Homebrewed Beer (Ithaca is gorges)
Matt & Meg's Beer Brewing Adventures (Married couple brews together and don't mention fighting)
Monday Night Brewing (3 guys in Atlanta who homebrew with a plan to go commercial, which they have!)
Ted's Homebrew Journal (Another Chicago Homebrewer as are Russ, Matt and Meg above)
 
P.S.  The photo at the top of this post was blatantly stolen from the Monday Night Brewery Site, but I'm giving them a plug here, so I think it's ok.

Ooh, it's so shiny!

I realize it has been a long while since I've posted here to Noble Square Brewing dot blogspot dot com, so I wanted to throw at least something up to avoid having the website go the way of the dodo or myspace. Now it's more like the coelacanth, you thought it was extinct, but no, it's back. 

The above is a photo of my HLT (a.k.a. Hot Liquor Tank, a.k.a. the keg in which I heat up my mash and sparge water).  I finally got a hold of some bubble insulation, cut it to size, and duct taped it together, forming a tight jacket around the HLT.  It looks so shiny!  I have used it to brew since (hopefully more posts about that to come), and I have to say, it was an easy way to get the water hotter faster.  (Water hotter faster--say that 3 times fast, wait I just did, it's not that difficult).  The HLT is pictured upside down for storage, I don't brew with it that way, you big dummy Lamont.

Anyway, if any of you other homebrewers out there heat your water electrically, I suggest you insulate.  You'll heat your water faster, using less electricity, saving time, money, and the unicorns.  I don't know if this will work for gas heated HLTs, the insulation could melt.  Time to look up if I spelled coelacanth correctly.



Superbowl Stout takes 2nd!

Señor Brew™ just saw the results from the Inland Empire Brewing Company and Superbowl Stout took second place in its category.  I think this was a smaller competition, and had hoped to take home a 1st with a shot at best of show--the stout was really that good, although it could have degraded a little during or after bottling.

The results of the Maltose Falcon's Mayfaire competition are also in, and according to their website, Superbowl Stout didn't even place.  However, Señor Brew™ still isn't entirely sure that the beer was entered in the competition.  The entry fee cheque has yet to be cashed, and there was a screw-up with how the entries were picked up.  More on this to follow, especially if it turns out that the brew was not entered.

Stout Specifics

I had to look up some of the details I missed in my original Super Bowl Stout recipe posting since the Inland Empire Pro Am competition required a full recipe.  I thought I would post them here in case I need them in the future.

The Alpha Acid percentage of the hops:

Magnum  10.4% AA
Northern Brewer 10.5% AA

Yeast used:
WLP 013 London Ale Yeast (1/2 gallon starter)

Fermentation:
14 days at ~68F

I know, it's a boring post for everyone else, but at least it's not about wine coolers.

You Can't Win if You Don't Play

"You Can't Win if You Don't Play"...catchy slogan for the Illinois lottery, a game that is rigged in favor of the house.  You can't lose either, but they don't mention that.  Now homebrew competitions, that is another story; ideally the best beer should win.  But you still need to enter competitions if you want to win.

So what did Señor Brew™ do?  He bottled up some of his delicious Superbowl Stout and entered it into two competitions.  Or at least he thinks he did.

The first is the Maltose Falcon's Mayfaire competition.  This is the one Señor Brew™ is not too sure if he's in or not.  There was a problem with entries being picked up from the local home brew shop (LHBS) too early.  Señor Brew™ dropped off his entry before the cutoff time, but apparently the entries had already been picked up.  After email conversations with the competition organizer, he thinks he's in.  We will know for certain when the entry fee cheque is cashed.

The second is the Inland Brewing Second Annual Pro Am Competition.  The coolest thing about this competition is that the winner of Best of Show gets to brew his or her recipe on their 7 BBL system, and is also entered into the Great American Beer Festival's Pro Am competition.  Wish Señor Brew™ luck!

Barleywine Update

Just a quick update on the barleywine that was brewed in conjunction with my Superbowl Stout as part of a split batch.  It is kegged and cold conditoning in my mini-fridge.  I drew samples to measure final gravity and do a tasting--it tastes awesome!  Final gravity was 1.025, which puts it at 9.3% alcohol by volume.  I plan to get a hold of some smaller bottles (7 or 8 oz.) and bottle this one to save for special occasions.  I need to come up with a good name for this one--any suggestions, readers?

Revised Super Bowl Stout Recipe

OK, Señor Brew™ was way off in his Super Bowl prediction, but the sweet stout he brewed was a huge improvement over last years batch, and a major hit at this year's Super Bowl party.  So without further ado, here is the new and improved recipe:

(I don't remember if I mentioned in a previous post, but this was a split batch--I used the first runnings for a barleywine, and added the dark grains and used the second and third runnings for the stout--so you really get two recipes in one here).

Superbowl Stout/ Yet to be named barley wine
10 gallons stout/ ~2.5 gallons barley wine

Grains
18 lbs 2 row
2 lb pale chocolate
14 oz Carafa
1 oz roasted
1 lb cara munich 120L
2 lb cara vienna 20L

Additional ingredients
1 lb lactose sugar (stout)
8 oz turbinado sugar (barley wine)

Mash--single infusion 1hr 150F
Using only the 2 row and cara malts
Draw off ~ 2.75 gallons for barley wine.
Add additional malts and water
20 min additional mash
sparge ~11 gallons for stout

Hops--Barleywine
.5 oz Magnum 60 minutes
.5 oz Northern Brewer 30 minutes

Hops--Stout
.5 oz Magnum 60 minutes
1 oz Northern Brewer 30 minutes
.5 oz Northern Brewer 0 minutes

Sugars were added 15 minutes before end of boil
Lactose for Stout
Turbinado for Barley Wine

Stout
O.G. 1.055
F.G. 1.021
abv 4.6%

Barley Wine
O.G. 1.094
F.G. ???  (It's still in primary)
abv  ???

Posting this, I think it's time to draw a sample of the barley wine to taste and measure the F.G.  I should also look up the alpha acid percentages for the hops.  Stay tuned for further updates.  And yes, as a Bears fan, Señor Brew™ hated to post a photo of the Packers celebrating their win, but what can you do?

Superbowl Prediction 10-21

Actually, it's not a prediction of the score of Super Bowl XLV  (that's 45 to you non-Romans).  It's not a prediction at all.  It's the final gravity of Noble Square Brewing's Super Bowl Stout--1.021.  If that sounds high to you, keep in mind that this is a milk or sweet stout, with unfermentable lactose (milk sugar, hence the name) added to the brew right at the end of the boil.  It ended up just about where Señor Brew™ wanted it to, with a nice body and residual sweetness.  It got kegged tonight, and is force carbonating under high pressure to be ready for the big game tomorrow.

I took a look at my old Super Bowl Stout recipe, and realized that it was much too roasty for a sweet stout, so it has been reformulated.  I'll have to dig out my notes to find the new recipe, which I'll post later.  In the meantime, if you visited this blog to get an actual Super Bowl prediction, I'll give you one.  We will go with the final gravity, 10-21, Green Bay 10, Pittsburgh 21.  Happy Super Bowl everyone.

Brew Stand!

Señora Brew™ must have read the Christmas wish list post because she got Señor Brew™ some wire shelving for Christmas for his brewery!  Actually, she probably didn't read the last post, she might have gotten upset about the sexy Santa's helpers comment and put coal in Señor Brew™'s stocking instead.

So above is the photo of the new Noble Square Brewing setup--I used the shelving to create a 3 tier stand.  I have slightly modified it since the photo was taken, substituting an iron stand for the cinder blocks under the kettle.  I was getting some soot from an incomplete burn from the burners adjacent to the cinder blocks--they weren't drawing in enough air.  Now it's open to all sides, no soot and quick boils.  I brewed my Superbowl Stout on the system, and it was so easy.  No more lifting a full mash tun to a higher level so it can drain in the kettle.

You can see the natural gas burner under the brew kettle.  I ran a final test and it brought 12 gallons of water from 60F up to boiling in 38 minutes.  Fast!  In fact that's faster than the Blichmann Engineering top tier burner, and they're using propane (which burns hotter than natural gas).  I have to say, I'm very happy with this burner and system.  Thank you Señora Brew™!

Señor Brew™'s Christmas Wish List

Señor Brew™  has put together a Christmas wish list of things he wants to implement in the Noble Square Brewery this coming year.  He doesn't expect Santa's little helpers pictured above (or anybody else for that matter) to actually gift these things, they'll be stuff that he buys or builds himself:

New 20 gallon brew pot--since he is brewing less often, brewing a larger quantity at one time is ideal.   Upping the kettle to 20 gallons will allow him to do full 15 gallon batches without worry of boilover.  Señor Brew™ can then convert the current 15 gallon kettle to the HLT, and convert the 15.5 gallon keggle that is currently the HLT to a mash tun.

That means he needs to build a 3 tiered stand to safely hold these larger components, or a 2 tiered stand and pump.  A stand is already necessary, we have to figure out how to incorporate the new natural gas burner that is up and running.  With a pump, we'll also be able to use a Therminator style plate chiller, so we'll add that as well.  (This is a WISH list after all--Señor Brew™ will be happy if we get a third of these upgrades implemented this year.)

How about some easily implemented improvements that we should have already had for a long time now?  Like bubble wrap insulation for the HLT (instead of covering it with the grill cover, like we currently do).  If we convert the keggle to a mash tun, we'll need a false bottom for it.  There's an old one lying around the Noble Square Brewery somewhere--it was used in the old days when we mashed in a 5 gallon igloo cooler.

I'm sure there are other upgrades Señor Brew™ would like to implement, but that's a pretty good wish list for right now.  We don't want Santa to think he's greedy and put him on the naughty list.  Although speaking of naughty, he wouldn't mind if Santa's helpers stopped by Christmas eve for some Christmas brew and cookies.