trials and tribulations on beer brewing

It's now been six months since I started all grain brewing. It honestly feels like a world away when I think about it. I still recall the heady days of extract and partial brewing, using liquid malt extract, steeping grains and brewing batches that only suicidal maniacs with no taste buds would dare to drink. Thankfully, those extract days are gone and I now have twenty batches of all grain brewing under my (beer belly) belt.

And although my extract beers of yesteryear sometimes didn't work out, my all grain experience so far has been nothing short of phenomenal. So good, in fact, that at times I felt like sending a Tweet off to Barack Obama telling him that his White House Ale just doesn't cut the mustard compared to my brews. But seriously, I have to admit my focus so far has been directed at my grain bill profiles. How does a particular type of malt fit into my recipe? How does it change the taste of my beer? How much grain should I add?

Grain bill

Already being an extract and partial grain brewer I did understand malts. But I guess moving to all grain was still somewhat of a big step to take. I constantly read, viewed and talked about all grain brewing so that the transition wouldn't be as harsh as I had anticipated. Heck, I've even read truck loads of posts on forums about people screwing up their first all grain.

I didn't want to be that same person screwing up their first all grain. In fact, I needn't of worried about screwing up at all. My good friend and fellow brewer, Kyle, has always been available to chat to me. He'd always point me in the right direction or provide an educated opinion. Mind you, I may not of listened to him half the time but his advice was always there. As it turns out despite a few minor hiccups and an extended first all grain brew day back on Anzac Day, everything went fairly smoothly.

Unlike my first brew day. Ooops!

Fast forward to the present. Right now, I have managed to brew twenty batches of beer. That's not too shabby considering I didn't brew any time during the month of August. Regardless, the first nineteen of those were single batches (approx 19L). However, my latest adventure saw me delve into the realm of doing a double batch (approx 38L). It was something I had wanted to do for a while, but never really got the opportunity.

After finalising my new 70L mash tun it was time to get the ball rolling and do a double batch. It is interesting to note that I was almost as nervous doing this double batch than I was doing my first all grain. Well, I wasn't quite that nervous but I was very cautious in my approach. Trying to boil 47L of wort in a 70L stainless steel pot on a 32 jet Mongolian burner isn't something to mess around with.

70L pot and 32 jet burner

I guess the six and a half hour brew day also had something to do with it, too. Maybe it was the fact I was stone cold sober? Being cautious is great but I eventually managed to sift through the tasks as I would normally without too many issues. I was at least glad that I had chosen to brew my infamous Chocolate Wheat beer. A delicate array of Pilsner malt, Chocolate Wheat, Pale Chocolate and Carafa Special II.

70L mash tun

But sadly, as my twentieth batch of beer was complete I knew in my heart that it would be my last brew for 2012. You see, not only am I off to the USA in a short while but two beers were already about to go in the kegs. I just couldn't justify brewing another batch and throw it in the keg.

Well, I technically could've done another two or three batches. I have a whole bunch of bottles that I could fill, but that requires time and effort. Unfortunately, that time and effort has to be spent finalising my trip. With the trip getting closer it is time to step up a gear by dotting the I's and crossing the t's.

If only I had time to bottle

So, as my brewing closes for 2012 there has been a great sense of achievement. My all grain brewing experience has simply been fantastic. I've learned a lot about different grains, hops and yeasts. I've also managed to learn a bucket load about my equipment and getting to know their idiosyncrasies. 

I freely admit that I'm now looking forward to 2013 and getting back into brewing once I return from the US. There will be so much craft beer to drink, so much to learn, so many ideas to gather and lots of new experiences to absorb. With all that I can come back to Sydney safe in the knowledge that my brewing will become a whole lot better.

The Germans are coming.....

The German folk love Oktoberfest. So do I. In my first year as an all grain brewer it dawned on me that an Oktoberfest beer was needed to be brewed. So, to get into the spirit of things I decided that a nice, sweet malty beer was required. As I love wheat beers the thought of brewing an Oktoberfest Hefeweizen made me lick my lips with joy.

Not only did I lick my lips, I was also wild with anticipation. My newly acquired keg system was going to have another round of beers being introduced to it. I have to admit that it's been a great acquisition. Since my humble beginnings in extract brewing I have bottled from day one. Since August of this year, I have used kegs. It's been a Godsend. That feeling of getting fresh, tasty beer from your own tap has to be one of the best feelings ever.

Beer on tap. Yay!

As feelings go, my newly created recipe for my Oktoberfest Hefeweizen gave me goosebumps. I had tried a malt for the first time: Dark Munich. It was a fortuitous purchase, but it came in handy for this recipe. I had also tried for the first time a yeast strain called: Wyeast 3068 Weihenstephan. What was to become of this new recipe, I wondered?

While I wondered how it'd taste, and while I waited for the beer to ferment, it gave me an opportunity to try out another new recipe. This time for a Chocolate Stout for my flat mate who'd requested it. Well, as it happened my Stout turned into a Chocolate Brown Ale. Oops. Beggars can't be chooses, right? I thought I had run out of Roasted Barley, but as I later found out this was not the case. Still, I knew it was going to be a great beer.

German lass not included

And as both great beers completely fermented and were kegged it was time to get into the fun that is Oktoberfest. My mate Dougal and I decided to book a lunch at our local German restaurant, Essen. After all, for $65 per person you get "Half a litre Beer in a souvenir stein, 3 course menu with all the German favourites, German cold cuts with brezels and home made pickles, sausage platters with sauerkraut and dumplings, schnitzel platters with roesti, salad platters, salmon in puff pastry with spinach and ricotta, apple strudel with vanilla sauce."

Full yet? Reading the menu alone made me gain 2kg around the waistline. Still, with our reservation confirmed and our bellies empty we knew that this was going to be a great lunch.  Our only problem was with what beer to start off with? Well, the only thing to do when you're in a German restaurant before a major meal of this magnitude is to start the lunch off with a couple of wheat beers. Boy, was that a great decision. 

Double trouble? Oh, yeah.

Indeed, the decision to attend the Oktoberfest at Essen was made even better by the live music. Lederhosen is a must when German live music is being showcased. Funnily enough, as we entered Essen and sat down at our reserved seating our arms and fists were swaying to the beat of those German tunes made so famous.

As the crowd applauded the perfectly sung German waltz, a voice from behind the microphone yelled: "Thank you, folks. Here's one I'm sure you'll all sing along to." Huh?! It was the most Australian of accents I'd ever heard. An Australian during Oktoberfest in Lederhosen singing in German...at a German restaurant? It was so outrageously funny that I almost wet my pants. I'd really thought I had seen everything.

Actually, I hadn't seen everything. I was made to laugh even more while our entree arrived. Our German waitress wore an apron that pictured big boobs in typical German dress that showed cleavage. As I pointed this out to her, while smiling from ear to ear, she laughed and carried on serving our entrees. I have to admit that she really didn't need any help in showcasing her boobs as they were quite big to begin with! Lucky us, eh?

A great start to Oktoberfest celebrations

And luck was definitely on our side when we started digging into our entree. A combination of breads, pretzels, cold meats, pickles and condiments. What a fabulous start to our journey. The bread was nutty and sweet, the pretzel was salty yet buttery in typical German style, the cold meats delicate and superb while the home made pickles were to die for.

Had we actually died and gone to heaven? Well, if we had gone to heaven then we definitely came to the right place....and we were at least thankful that heaven consists of Germans during Oktoberfest. As soon as we obliterated our entree, next up was the main meal. It was at this point we also had the opportunity to get our half litre of beer in our souvenir stein.

Prost!

That half litre of beer was a Radeberfer Pilsner. A crisp yet malty beer that defines the Oktoberfest quite perfectly. What's more, the main course that came out was something to behold. An overly huge pastry crust that covered salmon with spinach, veal and chicken schnitzel with cream and mushroom sauce and more sausages than you could poke a stick at. Let the feast begin!

But where to begin the feast? The succulent salmon delightfully packaged within a pastry filled with spinach? The veal and chicken schnitzel that looked so beautiful that it made Hayden Panettiere look like a Myer wax doll? What about the sausages? They looked so mouthwatering that my drool could've been used as a third condiment.

The new German frontier

The only way to stop my drooling was to swig a couple of mouthfuls of the Radeberger Pilsner. At least it gave me a chance to decide where to start. As it happens, Dougal took the first step and starting slicing the salmon. Great maneuver. It was split in half, then one half was split again with each piece planted onto each of our plates.

And with that first movement, our eyes wandered to the sausages. Deep underneath the sausages was sauerkraut. So, a few sausages and some sauerkraut later we pinched a smidgen of schnitzel and put a dollop of both cream and mushroom sauce all over our food. It was a degustation of astronomical proportions.

A perfect combination

As our sensations were in overdrive, our taste buds on high alert and our beer drinking skills in top gear the eventful feast fit for two Kings was almost complete. We had just finished our Pilsner and were on the cusp of ordering the same wheat beers to finish off the day. But, before we entered into the final stretch we felt our hearts drop.

Actually, our hearts skipped a beat. It sighed with great sorrow, too. As other guests slowly departed, the music slowing down and our bellies becoming increasingly full a glistening light shone into our eyes that were as glazed as a Krispy Kreme donut.

Wait for us!

We looked out the window and saw a truck with numerous kegs at the back of it. It was a sight to behold. We were so jealous that we were living in hope that these kegs were wheat beers assigned to Dougal and I. But, alas, our hopes were dashed when the truck decided to move on, driving into the distance never to be seen again.

And while were were crying over our lost kegs, the final installment of our 3 course meal had arrived. The magnificence of an apple strudel with vanilla sauce landed on our table with the elegance of a ballet dancer. This divine piece of food craftsmanship was the perfect way to end our superb Oktoberfest lunch.

Ja, danke!

It indeed was a perfect way to end our German feast. Going home after that was just wasn't fair. I had Oktoberfest still in my mind and I needed a fix. But what? Ah, I know! My Oktoberfest Hefeweizen was just the thing to sooth my ever increasing desire to do something "German."

That something German was pouring my first ever attempt at an Oktoberfest beer. It was a recipe I created specifically for this festival and I can definitely say I will be brewing this again. Apart from the fact I didn't pour it correctly, the sweetness obtained from the Dark Munich malt was just enough to make this a very special beer. I was quite pleased at the fact this was one drinkable beer.

Oktoberfest Hefeweizen

Strictly speaking this isn't a Hefeweizen, rather a Dunkelweizen. It's much darker than a Hefeweizen but not as dark as a Dunkel. It's more amber than anything else. Still, at 5.16% alcohol by volume (abv) my Oktoberfest beer allowed me to indulge in my never ending fantasy of all things German.

Ironically, my other beer on tap had nothing to do with Germany or my German theme I had so much attempted to keep. A Chocolate Brown ale the beer my flat mate wanted to drink was indeed a departure. Regardless, at 5.43% abv it ended up that I had a this delicious beer as well. Very subtle notes of chocolate with the blend of specialty grains lifted this beer into the stratosphere.

Chocolate Brown ale. Yummy!

Those stratospheric heights, sadly, ended two days later. That's how long it took to finish off two 19 litre kegs. It took two blokes with two free nights to finish off these wonderful beers. The Chocolate Brown ale was so good that it was the first to go, with my Oktoberfest beer being the next to finish.

But although my Oktoberfest keg has gone, what hasn't gone is the Oktoberfest spirit. In true German style I will brew a pure Hefeweizen and put it on tap. It will allow me to keep the grand memories of Oktoberfest clear in my mind while licking my lips at the opportunity to drink yet another wheat beer.