100 Gallons of beer and 2 feet of snow

I have been trying to increase my brewing production slowly every year. Last year i really didn't brew much due to moving and not having the time to dedicate to a day of beer making. This year I set my goal to reach the 100 gallon mark, and over the weekend I reached that goal by brewing my 100th Gallon IPA. Its really not much different from my other IPA's, just the addition of Melanoidin malt which will give it a redness.

 Just over 15 lbs of grain will make this my normal over-the-top alcohol beer that i love. Then add some Cascade hops to the Lauter Tun for that nice bitterness, and this one should be good and ready for the new year.

 This is the 3rd beer I've brewed in my new brewshop configuration, now that the weather had turned cold, and I am really liking it. Next year im planning on having a new garage and a new permanent brewshop so this is helping me to figure out what works best for me.

 It snowed the whole day while brewing but the brewshop kept warm with the burner going, it was actually quite toasty in there.

 Above was last weeks IPA which I siphoned off into a carboy for clearing and the new batch was poured onto the left over yeast. Pouring the new beer onto yeast that was used in a previous batch results in a quick start to the fermentation process. Normally it wouldn't really get going until the next day, this can create off flavors by allowing bacteria to settle in, but with this method it takes off right away. This is a video after just 2 hours.

As the yeast feeds on the sugars, it creates alcohol and co2, which you see bubbling out of the bucket and it the jar of sanitized water.

 Like i said, it had snowed all brewday thanks to the lake effect snow band parked right over top of us. This is how it looks right after brewing as Riley and I played outdoors before it got dark

And this is the next morning, we now have about 2 feet of snow on the ground and more coming. I can't wait to get the skis out tonight!

Cold Rain and Snow

It has been raining, i mean pouring, for the last 24 hours. When i woke up this morning I notice the backyard looked alittle different. It was still raining so i got an umbrella and the dog and I went out to see what was going on. When we got around the garage i noticed the lower yard had about 5 feet of water in some places. We now have a lake!!! I waited until it was light out and took the camera out to take some pics. It had receded about a foot in the last hour but was still pretty high.

I never thought the water would make it up to the grapes. I doubt it will have any negative effects on them though. The pond project though needs to be rethought, as the water completely submerged the lower pond. Good thing this part of the project has been taking awhile to complete, now i will have to figure out how to build it up higher. Maybe I'll make it smaller and build up the sides more to make it deeper.

Atleast the fish in the middle pond are happy, If i would have finished the lower pond this past year like i had planned those fish would have been long gone. Plus all the nasty water would have been pumped into the upper ponds, What a mess that would have been. As i was leaving for work the rain had turned to snow and it was starting to stick.

And now its just getting down right nasty.

Anyways, its been awhile, I won't say I've been busy, just hadn't felt like blogging lately. Nothing really going on, just been getting ready for the winter. I ran the Buffalo Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, and finished in a time of 32:52 which is a PR in the 8k.

Then finished the race off with 6 beers before the crowds came in and was out the door of the convention center by 10am. Then it was off the Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving drinking, i mean dinner. That race finished my running year in which all 5 races i ran were PR's, I'm hoping i can carry this momentum into next year. Hope Everyone had a great Thanksgiving!!!