Star Garnet Cascadian Dark Ale

Bandwagon boarded...

There is always the next big trend in beer styles in the brewing industry, some I am avoiding on purpose, some I'm planning on trying and in this case, there are ones I can't resist.  The Cascadian Dark Ale, or Black IPA is not anything new, Stone has been making an excellent one for a few years and Idaho's own Laughing Dog was the first one I ever tried.  Recently the beer style has become a bit more common with bigger breweries like Widmer and Deschutes releasing their own versions.  The name is still up for debate, Black IPA tells you exactly what it is, a dark beer that is hopped like and IPA, but I have a hard time with that name because having the words "Black" and "Pale" in the same style is a bit oxymoronic.  Northwest brewers started using the term Cascadian Dark Ale, which I like, but is very region-specific and Boise is Northwest or Inter-Mountain?  Beers bearing both styles have gotten label approval, so I'll just have to decide when I submit for approval.

The name, Star Garnet, I think it works great for the styles of beer.  Star Garnets look like just a dark (almost black) gem, then hold them up to the light and there is a four or six point star in the gem.  You see a Black IPA and think a dark chocolaty or roasty stout, but you drink it and bam...northwest hops all over the place.  I like to think of myself as a genius, on the other hand, I could be trying entirely too hard on names...

Star Garnet
Style: Black IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale
Malts: American 2-Row, Black Barley, Chocolate Malt, Crystal, Munich, Roasted Barley
Hops: Amarillo, Summit
IBU: 70
ABV: ~ 6.8-7%

I am not just making a Stout and putting a bunch of hops in, the Stout I just made has plenty hops already and that isn't the point.  The specs may look similar, but as I have said before, there are a lot of things the information I provide doesn't cover.  I think this style would be a great year round beer, but I have no idea how many tries it will take to get this one right, so we'll see.

Gotta Hop

Update

Everything is starting to move a lot faster and this is me doing my best not to ignore the blog.  I mentioned in the last post that I got some new fermenters, they work great so far and I will put up some pictures next week after I get some more gear for the pilot system.  I hope to brew a batch or two next week, but I injured myself the other day playing soccer and to say I "hobble" around would be generous.  The next batch is going to be the first run at my Star Garnet Black IPA, but I'll save the details for the brew day post.

The brewing system is on order, I signed the contract and sent the deposit today.  The expected delivery is at the end of September, so a month or six after that I will be up and running.  I ended up ordering a brand new 15 barrels brewing system with 15 and 30 barrel fermenters, it is awesome.  My guess is that the feeling I have right now is similar to anyone who has purchased a house, stoked and scared because it is going to be awesome, but I also just spent a crap-ton of money.  I'll let you know if the analogy is correct if I ever have money to buy a house.

Another big meeting I had was with Central District Health Department.  They do the initial plan review before you can go submit for permits.  Besides the fact the meeting took forever (my architect said it was over twice as long as his normal plan reviews) it went great and once I bring back more information on Monday I should be good to go.  A building permit to start construction should follow, but I'm not holding my breath for that to be done in a timely manner.  For the record, I don't hate dealing with all the bureaucracy, it's just that...I'm not going to finish my sentence since this blog is public.

I am actually really busy right now, but when I take a step back, I think everything I did this week is a big exercise in "hurry up and wait."

Projected Brewery Opening: I'll let you know the week before it happens

Gotta Hop

New Pilot Fermenters

Yesterday I got in two new fermenters for my pilot system and now its time to fill them up.  The fermenters are stainless steel cylindro-conicals, complete with tri-clamp fittings or in other words, badass.  They are basically little versions of the 15 and 30 barrel fermenters that will be coming in a few months.  As happy as I am for getting these, it is going to do two things for you, first I can make more beer, so actually having a tasting is more likely to happen (I currently go through the beer I make entirely too fast to get any event set up).  Second, it means that I can make better beer.  Although there are a few items I still need to get to fully outfit the pilot system, there is great benefit to these.  I am going to be able to dump trub and yeast, so the beer wont have to sit on that stuff for longer than it should.  I am going to be able to harvest a cleaner yeast and subsequent batches will benefit from that.

Payette Pale Ale

Style: American Pale Ale
Malt: American 2-Row, CaraPils, Crystal
Hops: Bravo, Cascade
IBU: 35
ABV: 5%

The fermenters are larger than my current stuff, so I am double batching into these.  Looking back, I have never actually made a double batch on this scale, although it will probably be much easier than triple batching at Schooner Exact.

I spent the early part of this week in San Diego meeting with equipment suppliers and taking a side trip to the Stone World Bistro and Gardens.  I will post something about that soon and anticipate placing an equipment order the first part of next week, stay tuned.

Gotta Hop

Stout Pilot

Stouts don't scream "summer beer" but can be just as refreshing as some other lighter colored beers.  This is a beer that I have neglected for a long time, partly because I feel good about the beer recipe.  Today is as good of time as any to brew it again and start making some final adjustments on the beer.  I have ignored the stout to the point I don't have any ideas for names for it, ideas?

Payette Brewing Stout
Style: American Stout
Malts: American 2-Row, Black Barley, Crystal, Chocolate Malt, Flaked Barley, Special B
Hops: Centennial
ABV: ~ 5.5%


Gotta Hop

USA vs England

I don't know if there is any other opening match that I would want to see.  Sure it would be great to have an easier group (I don't think that's possible), but I would love to beat England.

The USA is going to have a difficult time with England. I expect a win, would be happy with a draw and realistically think they will go down 3-1.  Here is the bottom line problem for the US in this game, Onyewu is not 100%.  When the US have a counter attack style of play, especially against better teams.  We don't have the skill across the board to win the possession battle and be in the attacking half of a majority of the game.  Here is why Gooch matters so much, the US is going to sit back in their own half and pack it in to stop England.  Without the 6'4" 220 Onyewu anchoring the defense, I don't think we can hold off the likes of Rooney for 90 minutes.  I think we can score some goals, we have shown the ability in the counter attack with  our speed up top to catch teams out of position and put the ball in the net.  Without the defense winning a lot of battles in the back, those opportunities wont present themselves often.

On the positive side, the English are historical choke artists in international play.  Reading their roster is scary, but it rarely translates into success on the field.  For the US, Landon Donovan is playing at the highest level of his career and spent the last 3 months proving he can play with everyone in the Premier League.  Pairing him on one wing with Clint Dempsey on the other, could really give the English problems in the midfield.  I have been a Jozy fan since he was on the Red Bulls, but still want to see him deliver against top competition, why not on Saturday.

Prediction: USA 2 England 1

Beer:  Nothing imported, I might go as far as saying no beer styles that originated in England.  I'll be drinking a PBC Blonde until its gone, then...well the game is at noon, so that will probably be all.  Since none of you can get any PBC Blonde yet, I recommend Deschutes Twilight or Anderson Valley's Summer Solstice, excellent beers for both the morning and the rest of the summer.

World Cup

Ladies and Gentlemen, tomorrow marks the beginning of the best sporting event in the world, as a result, much of the communications coming from Payette Brewing Company will be soccer related.  Brewery news will continue to be posted at the current rate of slow to quite slow.

In a full disclosure brewery note: Depending on how you look at it, the World Cup starting means I fell short of my goal for PBC I wrote down three years ago.  My goal was that I wanted to be able to watch the 2010 World Cup at Payette Brewing Company.  Technically I could watch TV at Payette Brewing Company, but the brewery is not finished, so that is up for interpretation.  Either way I am pretty proud of myself for being anywhere near my goal based on an arbitrary date I wrote down over 3 years ago.

I am going to do some previews for the USA games, because those are all that really matter.  I will be watching as much as possible (my flexible employment is great for that) and there are some great matches people should watch, but I'm an American, so that is all that matters.

A note on my analysis/previews: if you want "professional" analysis, go to espn.com, stay here if you want thoughts from a washed-up soccer player/beer drinker/red-blooded American.

Coming tomorrow...USA vs England preview, including beer recommendations, predictions and first-rate analysis

White Pine IPA

Other times I have written Outlaw or Pistol Flip, I am just trying out different names and seeing how they fit.

White Pine IPA
Style: American-Style IPA
Malt: American 2-Row, Crystal, Honey Malt, Munich
Hops: Centennial, Chinook, Columbus
IBU: 60
ABV: 6.3%

To fit the name, I am looking to get more of a pine character from the hops in this IPA than the last few batches which have been stronger in the citrus side.  Based on the feedback from the last three batches I made and shared with people, I am close, but the hopping schedule just isn't there yet.  In my mind there are two balancing acts you have to play with IPA hops.  First there is the bitterness/flavor/aroma aspect, I like an IPA that is equal in all three, so no part of the drinking experience lacks.  The second is the relationship between the contributions of the individual hop varieties, this is tough because all varieties are not created equal.  Putting in equal amounts of all hops wont give you equal contributions in bitterness/flavor/aroma.  I guess I just need to keep making and drinking IPA's, damn.  The malt is another balancing act, but I like where I'm at with the malt, it is strong enough to hold up to the hops, but not sweet enough to take over.  You need some substance there, but IPA's are all about the hops, right?

I should have some new fermenters for the pilot system in soon, meaning I can make more and better beer.  The 15 barrel stuff is still a ways off from getting here and from me being licensed etc.

Gotta Hop

Back in Action

After a May that took me all over the country, my travels are over for the foreseeable future, so now I am really getting down to business.  First order of business for June, brew.  For the first time in a while, the amount of beer in the pipeline and on tap is getting low.  As with all the beers I have been brewing recently, I am trying to nail down the flavors for opening.  The Payette Pale has been in the works the longest and the beer that I am most comfortable with, but it has been 4 months since I made it.  Now that I am using the water that will be used for my big batches, this beer is into the fine tuning phase.

Payette Pale Ale
Style: American Pale Ale
Malt: Carapils, Crystal, Pale
Hops: Bravo, Cascade
ABV: 5%
IBU: 30
Playlist: Tool, A Perfect Circle, Motley Crue, GnR