Beer Garden in Hayes Valley

Great weather in SF? head to the Biergarten. It's a beer garden with a goldbrau, oktoberfest, and a weizen...something. $12/liter. They've recycled (3) of those shipping containers and they serve food and beer out of them. We lined up at 2:45pm, and I got my first beer at 3:30 ish. It's probably idea to go a little bit earlier. Nonetheless, 3-4 hours of great time out in the sun in the middle of the CITY!

Cinco De Mayo

We hosted a Cinco de Mayo tequila party. Here was the line-up:

Note that I'm not the best at describing hard alcohol. One thing most had in common was that they were sip-worthy, and salt and lime was optional.

• Tres Agaves Anejo - spicy and oaky, very flavorful
• Herradura Reposado Tequila - sharper spicyness, warm down the throat
• Sauza Blue - Don't remember much about this. 
• Kirkland Anejo - mild-spice
• Dos Manos Blanco - clean and smooth, this was my favorite
• 1800 Silver - also clean and smooth, this was my 2nd favorite
• Bandolero Silver - wasn't a fan... was pretty good in the margarita mix though
• Don Augustin Blanco - hint of persimmons 

Morningwood Cabernet Sauvignon

I had this Morningwood that was begging to be dealt with. Elisa was gone so I wasn't going to get any help from her this time around. So I decided to take matters into my own hand. 

sicko, I'm talking about my most recent bottle of wine I opened.

The nose was great, ripe plum, lots of pepper. The wine had high acid, and intense fruit... a little too intense. The tannins lingered with the ripe juice that made me scrape the back roof of my mouth with my tongue. 

You can find them on Treasure Island. Elisa and I actually had a pleasant experience wine tasting on Treasure Island a few months ago. We stopped by (4) tasting rooms, and one of them is a co-op type, where winemakers share equipment and all make their own wines. If you're in SF, and want to go on a quick wine-tasting trip without the 1-2hr drive up North, I suggest Treasure Island.

http://www.westgatewines.com/about.htm

http://www.tiwines.net/

http://winery-sf.com/

https://www.fatgrapewinery.com/

April 2012 - Brew Toys!

So I'm 5 batches in, and realized that there is too much StarSan in my Pale Ale. Once I noticed it in this, I can notice the same taste very subtly in all my other beers. This is a little upsetting to say the least. Anyway, I need to use this sanitizer less liberally. Therefore, I ordered the following new brew toys.

The bottle tree. It'll help me drain out the sanitizer a lot better.

The Sulfiter. This is for sanitizer use efficiency. And while I was using it, I managed to build a foam wall.

While we're on the bottling topic, I have another lesson learned. DO NOT use these bottles that have the thin second lip. The standard bottle capper won't grip the bottle low enough, and you end up with a loose cap.

 Don't use the one above. The ones below are ok. Notice the difference in the thickness of the 2nd lip.

Hop Rhizomes are here!

I got my hop rhizomes in the mail yesterday. (2) Willamette and (2) Glaciers. Here's a picture with one of each.

The only problem is that I live in SF. And while we have a small 'yard', it's on the North side of the house so no sunshine. Therefore, I'm sending the Willamette hops to Corning with Elisa. That's right, this ho-bunk-hill-billy-country town that is close to Chico (where Sierra Nevada grows their hops). Elisa's grandma has a green thumb, so I'm bribing her with some of my beer to take care of these bines. I will take the Glacier hops to my family's place in San Jose. I'll have my sister take care of them there.

They say not to expect much harvest out of your first year, but I'm looking to milking out anything I get.Some reference links if you're interested:

• Midwest Brewing
• Brew TV Episode 17
• Brew TV Episode 45

Pale Ale 002 - Bottling

I bottled the Pale Ale 002. I set up the bottling line on the dining room floor.

And here we are, bottling away.

Later, I was examining all my bottles in the light to triple check the bottles. While I was doing this, one of the tops just broke off.

1 bottle down.

Fix for non-matching bulkhead fitting to false bottom fitting

Update on the non-matching hose fittings for my mash tun bulkhead and false-bottom. Previously on my post from earlier this month, I talked about building my own bulkhead for a mash tun and ordering a false bottom. I realized that the bulk head fitting and the fitting on the false bottom were two different sizes. Instead of going out to buy a new fitting on the inside, I decided to get creative with tubing.

I created a fix for the nonmatching fittings. I got 2 types of tubes.

1/2" diameter silicone tube, and a 3/8" reinforced tubing.

Fit one right into the other, and shove it in good.

and voila! Pure creative brilliance.