BrewBattle 3(?): The Return of the Brew?
9@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
- Comment
Wow, your new toys look awesome. How big is that?
I'm game for another contest
@evbarnstormer it's only a one barrel capacity brew house. But that's still a big upgrade from 5gallon batches. XD
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?
@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.
I think you need a judge and out of the kindness of my heart i offer to be a judge.
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!
I'm in, especially if it's an IPA contest as I (and @evbarnstormer) owe an IPA into our club contest by mid-June.
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!
@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.
@bluebeatpete also I'll be just getting used to my new equipment, so I'm sure growing pains will be a handicap. ;)
@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.
@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 I'm down for anything minus lagering.
@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 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 Light and summery sounds good. I'm ok with a blonde.
@grum @bluebeatpete ditto
@grum cream ale?
@Moose I agree with your assessment of IPAs: better left unbrewed
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?
Now that's taking a hobby seriously. What did all that cost?
@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 I figured that wasn't a homebrew set up.
So what's the deal here @grum ?
@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 sounds good.
Is this still on?
I believe I’ll win by default…
https://instagram.com/p/BGUH54fPbYz/