A Late-September Omnibus Blog Post

Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the
stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be
your conductor this evening.

There are entirely too many things to catch you all up on if I dedicate an individual post to each, so I’m launching the first ever “Inspirations From Inside of a Mash Tun Omnibus Post.” There are many ways to look at this, and being that I am a visual person, I like to picture the Knight Bus from Harry Potter. This omnibus moves quickly, the muggles will never see it, and it’s going to be a bump-y ride. Take ‘er away Ernie. (Blogger’s Note: That’s two HP references in as many weeks… what is going on?)

Also, by way of facilitation, I will frame this omnibus as a question and answer style of exchange.

Do any home brewing lately?

Yes, though it wasn't my home. I was recently invited to help launch a new home brewing venture in Centreville, VA called Donaubles Brewing Co. The home brewer long intended to start brewing beer, and decided the stars were finally aligned, though a watchful hand of a seasoned veteran never hurts. We brewed-up a 5 gallon batch of Irish Red Ale, which is currently resting comfortably in primary fermentation.

This may or may not have actually happened.

A few things to note: This was a partial-mash brew, and being that I've been in an all-grain frame of mind as long as I have, I struggled to recall much of the partial-mash process without consulting the directions. I also hadn't brewed from a kit in while, so it was a re-learning experience for me. Also, if you are setting out to home brew yourself, you ABSOLUTELY MUST acquire a turkey fryer or similar type of single burner propane fueled cooking surface to boil your wort. We had a pot of 2.5 gallons of water on his kitchen cook-top and it sat there for 45 minutes, and only reached 170 degrees. Once we finished steeping the grains, we moved the boil kettle over to his turkey fryer, and within minutes… boiling.

Do brewing kits go bad?

Probably not. Obviously, it will depend on the kit, and how the ingredients are packaged, but for most kits, the yeast is powder, so it won’t go bad, and the hops and extract are vacuum sealed, so they won’t go bad. The only real wild card is the grain. Grain bought in a kit is pre-cracked so all you have to do is add to the water and let it sit. Like so many food items, fresh-cracked equals maximum flavor (think black pepper or coffee beans). But also like most food items, just because it isn't fresh-cracked doesn't mean it will taste bad – it just means it won’t have as much flavor. Same principle applies to your brewing kit grains – they may be a little stale, but for the purposes of home-brewing (especially out of a kit), the difference in the finished product will be negligible.

Ever try Mr. Beer?

People, please. DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE!!!

I have never made beer using a Mr. Beer system, and I do not own one. I have, however, tried the finished product. It’s not good. I tried some Mr. Beer that was made by someone who pays a meticulous amount of attention to process and following instructions, so I know that this beer was made the way it was supposed to be made… to the letter. The finished product was barely palatable. It was very tart and thin, with practically no body at all. It felt like drinking a liquor drink as opposed to a beer. But not a good liquor drink - a very flat, thin, unsatisfying liquor drink. I maintain that Mr. Beer is to brewing what the Easy-Bake Oven is to baking. Now I have proof.

Any new breweries to rant and/or rave about in the local area?

It is an exciting time to be living in the Northern Virginia area if you’re a beer fan, as there is a lot of growth (not just Donaubles Brewing Co in Centreville). Earlier this year, Bad Wolf Brewing Co opened their doors in Manassass, and the reviews are strong. Bad Wolf has a fairly newish business model, where they brew small batches, serve until the kegs are floated, and then move on to the next style. There is a lot of turnover, so chances are, there will be something new and different every time you go. Their place is small too, and coupled with the small batch/quick turnaround of the beer, it creates a very intimate brewery experience.

Sometime in the next few weeks (we hope), a new brewery is coming to Lorton, VA called The Forge Brew Works. I don’t know a whole lot about them yet, as they aren't open yet, but it looks as though their operation will be small too. They tried to launch in late August, but are somewhere stuck in the big-government-bureaucracy of Fairfax County. However, the last report was favorable, and they are predicting that they might open this coming weekend.

How are the pumpkin beers?

I love pumpkin beers, but it is getting hard to find the ones I've never had before. That doesn't mean that my local craft beer doesn't have lots to choose from, but rather that it has the same ones to choose from, and I've already had them. Yesterday, I went to my local Total Wine, and I noticed that the pumpkin beers available on their singles shelf were all in bomber form, and I wanted to build my own six pack. I also noticed that many of the six packs of pumpkin beers were missing one or two, as though I wasn't the first person who wanted to mix and match pumpkin beers. In the end, I did what the Romans had been doing and built my six pack out of other six packs that I’m not sure were intended for that purpose, but Total Wine got their money and I got my beer, so I suppose all’s well that ends well. Still, would it kill the distributors to bring in greater selection? The answer is yes, it would kill them, but the problems with the distribution chain is a topic that demands its own post, and cannot be sufficiently deconstructed within a paragraph of an omnibus post.

So wonderful. Want to drink them all!

This is starting to feel like I’m the head coach of a football team conducting a press conference.

Any random epicness you’d like to write about?

A fellow beer quester came up with an idea the other day which I think has legs. He has proposed that we drink a new beer every day for 365 days in a row. This is similar to the “Big Year” concept if you’re a birder. I think the idea is solid, but I warned him that it will be hard to find 365 new brews given the fact that, according to my Untappd profile, I have 585 uniques and I fear I am on the verge of exhausting the local market. Though, I could always reset myself and drink 365 different beers in a row. Either way, the idea has legs.

A Big Year is a tough thing to accomplish

What do you have to do differently on defense if you want to make the playoffs?

Playoffs? Don’t talk about… playoffs? Playoffs? I just hope we can win a game. Another game.

Any shameless plugs?

First of all, all of my plugs are shameful, as a rule. If you aren't already on the Craft Beer Drinkers Alliance train, you should check out their Facebook page and see what all the fuss it about. These guys are local Northern Virginians, but they are servicing a national audience at this point. It’s growing a lot faster than this blog, and there’s a lot of helpful knowledge to be shared. Check them out.

Also, follow me on twitter @SousBrewer to stay up-to-date on all the beer drinking shenanigans in real time. 

Well, I think that wraps up this first ever omnibus blog post. It could have been worse, right? At least nobody got thrown under the omnibus.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!