BrianThinksBeer

I'm Brian, I blog about beer. I'm an East coast homebrewer and amateur reviewer.

[brianthinksbeer]

My New Brewstand

Here's my new brewstand, (brewsculpture, whichever) it's not quite done yet but I figured it was close enough to completion that I could post it. I still need to solder the copper pipes that support the burners, actually affix the burners and pipe in the propane lines. It's built out of 1-in square tubing and all together is stands 1 foot (30 cm) high and is about 5-ft, 2-in (157.5 cm) long. 

I'm not going to make detailed instructions on how to make it, I've sized out all the components and have dimensions displayed (in both metric and imperial) on a SketchUp 8 drawing to show the configuration of the bars. Its fairly simple, 12-inches high and 16-in wide so all the 12-in bars go vertical and the 16-in go horizontal and have pictures on all the important details, any other questions feel free to ask through tumblr or email me at [email protected]. . 

  Design notes

I made the stand only a foot high mostly to save on material costs but also because it with the keggle in place it will put the top at a pretty comfortable waist height for pouring grains into the mash tun. The low centre of gravity that accompanies the shorter design is an additional benefit for me just because I have a rather large dog that is basically a bull in a china shop when he gets a tennis ball

The material for the burner mounts is completely aesthetic, I liked how the copper looked and happened to have a bunch left over from a previous project that didn't work out.

I used a high temperature gloss paint, it said on the can that it was intended for barbecues so I think it should work out for this project but I'll do an update this if its not.

I'm not a metal worker, in fact this was really my first major welding project and as such I really didn't have too much faith in my welds that's why I configured the structure like it is, I think this configuration maximizes the length of the the load bearing welds

I couldn't really find any definitive sources on how close a burner should be from the kettle I have this at 1.5 in away and haven't soldered the elbows on the top of the mount so I can lower the height if I want. I'll post the exact measurements for my mounts once I actually use them and decide what I like the best.

DISCLAIMER

If you don't know how to weld I wont be teaching you here, it's not really hard and there are plenty of ways to learn, really just be smart about it, welding naked next to large piles of gasoline soaked sawdust is not recommended. 

Components list

5x 1in square tubing 8 ft length (thickness 100/1000")

2x 23 tip propane jet burners

copper pipe mounts:

~15 ft copper pipe: 0.5" dia.

16x 90deg elbow, 0.5", copper

8x T, 0.5", copper

Tools

Saw with metal cutting blade

MIG welder

Grinder

Wirebrush

Measuring tape

personal protection equipment (welding mask, gloves, fire extinguisher  etc.)

Other notes on construction

I constructed mine by making the ends first, I recommend doing it this way so there

Be careful soldering the copper pipes, in order to get into the corners you need to paint first then attach the mounts

Picture descriptions

Final* Product

SketchUp 8 diagram

Basic frame done, just the ends

Pre-cut keggle for perspective

Rest of the frame finished

With both pre-cut keggles for perspective

Closeup of burner mount and how the keg sits

Pre-cut materials

Dimensions in metric and imperial units

*nearly

[brianthinksbeer]

The way I take pictures for my tumblog here is a lot different from how I use instagram. In my most of the pictures I take here that accompany my reviews I try to make the images as accurate as possible so as to not misrepresent the beer by making it look either darker or lighter than it is to me at the time I drink it. I like to also get pictures of the bottle, label and cap because I really think that the presentation of beer has an impact on how the beer is received and those are all part of that.

Instagram isn't like that for me, I've been having a lot of fun with it taking what I intend to be fun or interesting pictures, the different filters change a lot how the beer looks. 

I think I'm going to try to make it a regular thing to post my favourite pictures from the week every Monday. 

Here, in no particular order, are favourite 10 since I started using instagram 

1.  Lunch, peppered salami, applewood smoked cheddar and a delicious Martello Stout by Garrison

2.  Bet you didn't know Moosehead had a legit cask ale.

3.  Its always sad when the keg runs dry. That's the last of my Cookie Wheat ale until I make more.

4.  Garrison has released a new beer to celebrate their 15th anniversary, it uses 15 different malts and is fantasticly delicous unfortunatly it's expensive as all get out

5.  Just a little preperation for the end of the world

6.  Cork of a bottle of Fin du Monde

7.  I tried to capture the yeast swirl as best I could. La Fin Du Monde

8.  I love the way the light shows through the head, Garrison's Martello Stout

9.  Welding up my new brewstand,

10. Barking Squerrel by Hop City

[brianthinksbeer]

Quick Update

I haven't posted anything in a little over a week, it's not because I haven't done anything, its because I haven't finished anything... Also it was Christmas.

I maybe have too many projects on the go but they're all progressing at pretty steady paces. In order of completeness; I'm creating an arduino controlled, digital temperature probe with a custom led display, constructing a new brew stand/sculpture with some bitchin' new propane burners, building a new mash-tun, new boil kettle and on top of it all I've also got my two most recent brews all kegged, carbed and ready to go for a New Years eve party tonight.

I'll post full DIY things as soon as they're done.

[brianthinksbeer]

Picaroons Winter Warmer

Winter Warmer, 7.5% ABV

Fredricton, NB

Appearance 5/5

There's a thick, off-white head with a body that's really clear, dark reddish brown in colour

Aroma 8.5/10

It smells rich with smokey burnt caramel aromas with a nice bit of alcohol in the end

Taste 10/10

The taste is quite a big complex flavour, it starts out with a caramel and then leads into some lightly-burnt/toasty, smokey malt with some strong bitterness with a nice warming alcohol flavour right at the end

Palate 5/5

There is a large body with medium-like carbonation, 

Overall 18.5/20

This is just a really great winter warmer, it's quite a pronounced flavour that as you get further through the glass and the beer heats up slightly the alcohol notes become exponentially more pronounced but not in a bad way at all.

[brianthinksbeer]

Quick Drop Cream Ale

4.000 kg - 83.6% - Pale Malt

0.171 kg - 03.6% - Crystal Malt 60L

0.094 kg - 02.0% - Chocolate Malt

0.510 kg - 10.7% - Wheat Malt

Magnum [14%AA] 60min

Northern Brewer [8.5%AA] 10 min

Mashed at 67degC

Boil 60 min

Yeast: Wyeast 1318: London Ale III

The origin story of this recipe is I think pretty common to anyone who has been brewing for a while but it's short and I like to tell it. As it usually goes it was a recipe I got it from a random place and have now changed it so much that I think I can call it my own without feeling too guilty about it.

I read in a copy of (I think) BYO magazine an extract clone recipe for a cream ale I hadn't tried from a brewery on the west coast, what stood out to me was that it had a little bit of chocolate malt added into the grain bill to darken down the colour and add a hint of chocolate flavour. That intrigued me enough that I wanted to make it.

Right off the bat I didn't have the capacity to use a pseudo lager yeast that it had recommended and I didn't have the right hops either but I brewed it with what I had. Since then I've experimented with different hops and different yeasts, I think I've settled on the Northern Brewer hops, I like them in the mix. I've increased the chocolate malt and added wheat malt which wasn't in the original recipe at all in order to bump up the head retention. I haven't decided on which yeast I like on it yet but I'm leaning towards the Wyeast 1813 London Ale III strand. 

So that's where the recipe stands now, it may be a little odd and I should maybe stop calling it a cream ale at this point but I think that it's the brew that gets the most positive reception when I offer it out.

[brianthinksbeer]

Maudite (on lees)

Unibroue

Belgian Dark Ale, 8% abv

Chambly, PQ

Appearance 4/5

A strong off white head with a hazy orange colouration that becomes a lot hazier and darker when i added the yeast on the second pour that had much more yeast in it 

Aroma 10/10

There is an initial crisp burnt caramel smell leads into a big blast of of sweet malt and yeast with some light dark fruit 

Taste 10/10

It tastes rich, fruity-yeasty, malty and caramel-like, slight hints of alcohol in the end (but way less than you'd expect for an 8%abv) beer followed by a toffee bready linger

Palate 4/5

A big body, nice smooth high carbonation the yeast adds a bit of character

Overall 19/20

A magical beer, really, its just fantastic 

[brianthinksbeer]

Housekeeping/Getting Things done

Hey, So I hope you guys can forgive me for being a little bit slack with this blog for the past week or so, I’ve been finishing up final projects for this semester of school and then going through exams. Now that I’m done until the new year I’ve got a couple of things coming up that I'll list below:

There should be lots of reviews coming up soon, I’ve got two different winter warmers in the fridge, a mixed six from Garrison ready to review as well as a Maudite review which is done that should be up later tonight.

Last weekend a friend of mine and I pushed through two brews in the same day and so I have those recipes I just need to type up they should be up within a day or two.

I’ve had a lot of fun with Instagram for the past couple of weeks and taking fun, artistic, hipster type photos of beer that I’ll make a photoset of one I get a up to a good even number of them.

I’ve been working on an awesome new brew stand that will hopefully be finished before the new years and I’ll have a post similar to the beer box post I did.

And I should also add that I have at least one more ‘thoughts’ type post coming up soon but we’ll see how that goes. 

Sorry If none of you guys care about this, I’m really just posting this here to keeping myself accountable

[brianthinksbeer]

Pump House Oktoberfest

Marzen (5.6% ABV)

Moncton, NB

Appearance 5/10

The colour is hazy orange with zero head, honestly, in the time it took for me to finish pouring the beer and pick up my camera it was gone

Aroma 6.5/10

A really strong sugary, sweet malt aroma dominates the nose with some light caramel and toffee notes in the background

Taste 7.5/10

There is an initial big strong sweet caramel malt and some honey and toffee flavours in the background with a slight tingle of bitterness right in the end

Palate 2.5/5

Mouth feel is somewhat grainy, dry and has a high-ish carbonation with a medium body

Overall 12/20

Kind of a flop beer, while there are no distinctive off flavours its just not impressive, its really too sweet, over carbed and simply not enjoyable

[brianthinksbeer]

Beer Can Cure the Common Cold - Sourcefed 

I'm writing that down.

More accurately hops help defeat the common cold (which makes sense), but catchy title is catchy. 

[brianthinksbeer]

Rickard’s Cardigan Winter Spice Lager (5.2% ABV)

Appearance 3.5/5

Slightly hazy, darker yellow in colour with a white head that doesn’t really have a whole lot of staying power

Aroma 8.5/10

Really spicy; cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Wintery spice smells without a whole lot more behind it.

Taste 9/10

A prominent strong cinnamon sugary taste comes out strong in the taste that transitions into a solid nutmeg flavour with a little bit of alcohol in the back end.

Palate 3.5/5

A little bit grainy but I think that’s par for the course with spiced beer, the carbonation is medium to high

Overall 17/20

A surprisingly enjoyable wintery beer, it’s spicy, good and is definitely something nice to have in the fridge that compliments the season.

Note, the packaging is awesome on these, it really took me by surprise opening up the 6-pack and seeing 6 button bottle-caps and then realizing that there were various different cardigan labels on the bottles really made me laugh

[brianthinksbeer]

Gahan's Limited Edition Sydney Street Stout

Stout, 5.2% abv

Appearance 5/5

A thick tan head with a pure black colouration, so black in fact that you can only just barely see red highlights at the very corners of the glass, 

Aroma 8.5/10

A big fresh smelling malty chocolaty aroma with hints of burnt malt and light caramel notes in the background

Taste 9/10

Big roasty chocolate malt taste with lighter swathes of toffee and caramel and burnty bitter malt bits in the background

Palate 3.5/5

A pretty thick big body with a really nice medium level of carbonation and the linger lasts forever

Overall 19/20

Just a flat out good stout, it has all the best components of a good stout, and none of the bad, while I think that the title "premium" on the label is a bit silly for a craft beer (its all premium by definition right?) it is a really good beer hand here's hoping Gahan will eventually take the limited edition label off the beer and add it to their continuous roster. 

Note, this is the beer from the instagram glamour/super-filtered shot here

[brianthinksbeer]

So I've started using a brianthinksbeer instagram, I don't think I'll be connecting it to share directly into this tumblr but I'll probably use it during brewdays to take lots of pictures and I don't want to get too spammy. I'll probably also use it to have some fun playing with filters and beer, as delightfully displayed above, from time to time. Link below and there should be a link in the sidebar of my main page.

instagram.com/brianthinksbeer

Also that is a picture of a glass of Gahan's Sydney Street Stout, review HERE

[todayinhistory]

December 5th 1933: Prohibition ends

On this day in 1933, Prohibition officially ended in the United States upon the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution. Utah was the final state to ratify the amendment, and this gave the measure the required 75% of state approval. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment of 1920 which had imposed Prohibition, which banned alcohol in the United States. This is the only time in US history when one amendment overturned another.

[brianthinksbeer]

qhrumphf answered your question: Ever heard of a Niambic beer?

It’s the first time I’ve heard “Niambic”. I’ve seen “pLambic” ( for “pseudo-Lambic”) used a few times.

I can't be sure but I'd put some money down that the name would be a result of combining 'Niagara' plus 'Lambic'. As in a Lambic from the Niagara region. 

[brianthinksbeer]

Amsterdam Brewing Co. out of Toronto Ontario working with three other brewers have apparently brewed a traditional a lambic style beer (I hadn't realized that lambic was regionally specific). They apparently plan on aging it for 3 years in oak barrels, I'll have to mark my calendar. 

[brianthinksbeer]

Picaroon's Harvest Ale 2012 (Wysmykal Farms, Cascade)(5.5% ABV)

Picaroon's did a really cool project this year where they made basically the same beer with but with hops from different local hop farms. This one has cascade hops from Wysmkal Farms. 

Appearance 4.5/5

A light golden clear appearance with a largish white fluffy head which dissipates a little too quickly but not so fast that it's a real problem. 

Aroma 9/10

A really nice fresh hop floral aroma with some nice honey/malty backnotes

Taste 8/10

A fairly complex mix of malt, bitterness, alcohol and hop taste which lingers for quite a while

Palate 5/5

Medium body with low to mid carbonation

Overall 18.5/20

A good beer, the only real problem I think I have is that I think the maltiness and body and alcohol could have been toned down only slightly to provide a better canvas to showcase the hops, and a more prominent hop flavour would be nice

[brianthinksbeer]

I'm sure this was meant as a sort of Christmas gift set but I'm such a sucker for glassware. Can it be a present to myself?