BrewBattle 3(?): The Return of the Brew?

grum posted a pic said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 4:51am ET

@marklog, @kevin, @bluebeatpete, @evbarnstormer, @NigelF (and I'm throwing in @becca because they seemed interested in the saison thread, as well as @moose and @hollboll because they were previous judges, and @JonT for shits and giggles)...

I haven't been around for a while due to that foreign thing called LIFE, which also prevented me from brewing since September. Also my equipment was in disrepair.

But now I have some pretty new toys...

It'll be a couple weeks before its fully up and running but what say you all?? Shall we battle yet again??

11 comments, 17 replies
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evbarnstormer said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 6:03am ET:

Wow, your new toys look awesome. How big is that?

I'm game for another contest

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- @evbarnstormer it's only a one barrel capacity brew house. But that's still a big upgrade from 5gallon batches. XD
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 11:40am ET
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Kevin said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 7:28am ET:

I'm up for it. I still owe @moose a real hefeweizen, which I have already brewed -- just need to ship it.

Maybe it's time we do an IPA challenge?

Are you opening up a nano brewery @grum? Do those fermentors have glycol jackets?

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- @Kevin not yet... My cobrewer and I want to really get our recipes down. But soon* hopefully!
  
  And no, they are not glycol jacketed. Those were an extra $2000 EACH. They are sized to fit in a stand-up chest freezer though.
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 11:41am ET
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CaptAmehrican said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 8:29am ET:

I think you need a judge and out of the kindness of my heart i offer to be a judge.

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tagbiker said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 8:37am ET:

As someone with a case of home brewed saison right now, I thought this sounded like a nice thread. If anyone is in the area, Texas craft brewers guild is holding Firkin Fest 3 next to St Arnolds brewery in Houston this saturday. I have been to the first two and have tickets for this one, VIP at that. They have some pretty good stuff and its a fun event. Salut!

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marklog said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 8:43am ET:

I'm in, especially if it's an IPA contest as I (and @evbarnstormer) owe an IPA into our club contest by mid-June.

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bluebeatpete said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 11:34am ET:

I'm in - but not if it's an IPA. I dig a good IPA but have no desire to brew one.
My suggestions are Brown ale, Wit or Hefe.

Going by the reaction to my saison, @Moose doesn't like bitter beer My saison was't truly bitter either, just a relatively high amount of low alpha acid hops...

I think this contest is already rigged in favor of @grum Good Lord, that's some nice equipment!

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- @bluebeatpete I second this, I'd rather not do an IPA. Seattle is way too over saturated with them anyway. =P
  
  I think a wit or hef would be great heading into summer, but I know that's what we did for BrewBattle I. If people really want to do an IPA, I'll play ball.
  
  I was going to suggest a lager of some sort, but I dunno if everyone has the capability for fermenting at lower temps.
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 11:48am ET
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- @bluebeatpete also I'll be just getting used to my new equipment, so I'm sure growing pains will be a handicap. ;)
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 11:49am ET
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- @bluebeatpete @grum maybe we should let @moose make a few category selections and go from there. What kind of time frame are we talking?
  
  Also I am out if it's lagers. Even my one gallon swamp cooled experiment was a huge pain.
  
  evbarnstormer said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 12:12pm ET
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- @bluebeatpete It is true, I don't like bitter beer. All IPA is a scourge that should be thrown into the ocean. I'm happy with most other crap though.
  @evbarnstormer What about a Reinheitsgebot Rally? I'm not a homebrewer so I have no idea if that is a good idea or a bad idea, I just know it's topical.
  
  Moose said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 12:32pm ET
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- @Moose I'm down for anything minus lagering.
  
  marklog said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 12:37pm ET
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- @grum Lagering is not much of an option in Texas. I've done a clone of Budvar once-triple decoction and all and it was spot on and superb. At this point, my beer fridge has other shit in it and can't be used for lagering.
  
  I forgot the BrewBattle I was a hefe, since I only brought them what I had on hand, cause I live close by...
  
  bluebeatpete said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 1:47pm ET
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- @bluebeatpete Okay, it's abundantly clear that lagering is a no-go. ;)
  
  We could also do blondes? I am thinking something light, since summer is on its way.
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 2:20pm ET
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- @grum Light and summery sounds good. I'm ok with a blonde.
  
  bluebeatpete said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 2:30pm ET
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- @grum @bluebeatpete ditto
  
  marklog said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 3:46pm ET
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- @grum cream ale?
  
  Kevin said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 3:55pm ET
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- @Moose I agree with your assessment of IPAs: better left unbrewed
  
  compunaut said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 3:58pm ET
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marklog said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 1:26pm ET:

What about this. No style, @moose just picks his favorite? We know he doesn't like bitter, so we make the beers and he drinks the beers and whatever he likes the best gets a free year of VMP?

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DrunkCat said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 2:45pm ET:

Now that's taking a hobby seriously. What did all that cost?

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- @DrunkCat This system (1 bbl [barrel, 31 gallons] brewhouse + 2 1 bbl fermentors) set me back just shy of $5,000, but it was split between my cobrewer and I.
  
  We also have to buy some other things like pumps and fittings and tubing and a plate chiller and electronics to run the heating elements on, so I'm estimating another $1,000 or so.
  
  We also intend on opening a brewery, and what we're buying now we'll lease to our brewery when we open it.
  
  grum said Thu, Apr 28th 2016 at 10:42pm ET
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- @grum I figured that wasn't a homebrew set up.
  
  Kevin said Fri, Apr 29th 2016 at 7:57pm ET
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Kevin said Tue, May 3rd 2016 at 1:31pm ET:

So what's the deal here @grum ?

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- @Kevin I think the majority is okay with a blonde ale? So I think we should just go with that.
  
  I know I won't have my equipment up and running until probably Wednesday after next, so maybe we should aim for mailing in mid-June? Just so everyone has the time (and I can work any kinks out of the control panel we're building).
  
  grum said Fri, May 6th 2016 at 12:10am ET
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- @grum sounds good.
  
  Kevin said Fri, May 6th 2016 at 9:48am ET
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Kevin said Wed, May 25th 2016 at 12:59pm ET:

Is this still on?

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Kevin said Mon, Jun 6th 2016 at 9:22am ET:

I believe I’ll win by default…

https://instagram.com/p/BGUH54fPbYz/

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