Fourth, sometimes annual, 'Pull My Finger Brewhaha'

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Fourth, sometimes annual, 'Pull My Finger Brewhaha'

Unread postby Mike » Thu Dec 29, 2005 12:58 pm

I am making Brunswick Stew today and tomorrow.........smoking the ham today..........make the stew tomorrow.

I have been doing barbeques for 20+ years. I have cooked for as many as 165 people in an annual event. This last year was under 50 people, the smallest ever............at my request..........doing for 165 peeps is a hell of a lot of work.

Anyway, I have never made Brunswick Stew before in all those years, until today and tomorrow. The stew is for my brewing party coming up in January or early February........still got to coordinate it so that the 6 or 7 guys can all get together.

We have had three previous 'Pull My Finger Brewhahas'. Sometimes there is more than a year twixt them.

We (I should say 'they' in the smoking seegars stuff cause seegars make me look and feel like Death eatin popcorn) will smoke seegars, make beer, drink beer, eat good food (I always do the cooking, in the past it has been babyback ribs, venison, or beef), do the 'pull my finger' juvenile stuff (no chance of me ever growing up............just ask my wife) and have a wonderful time.

When the beer has been bottled for a month or so we then have a 'Pull My Finger and You're Dead' party, courtesy of the wives of the beer making guys. The ladies gave the tasting party its name. The men act almost like adults at this party.

Our goal (my brewing partner and me) this year is ambitious. We are going to make a Sierre Nevada Celebration type ale. It will be highly hopped of course and have some nice spices included.

Brewer, if you know of a good Celebration Ale recipe, pass it on to me.

Front and back from the two of previous brewing parties tee shirts are included.
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Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
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Unread postby Brewer » Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:47 am

Mike,

That is TOO COOL! Very nice, and I'm sure a fun time is had by all. Do you and your buddies brew all grain recipes, or do you use malt extracts? I've never had the time to go all grain, so I use malt extracts, along with specialty grains. I'm gonna check my recipes for a SNCA recipe for ya. Hopefully in that way, I can make a small contribution to your Brew-Ha-Ha! :D
Bob
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Unread postby Mike » Fri Dec 30, 2005 12:18 pm

Brewer,

I have done the full catastrophy all grain brewing one time. I now prefer to use malt extract and the adjunct grains. Thanks for looking for a recipe for me, I have started looking around too.

I finished my Brunswick Stew this morning and it is excellent, better than I had hoped for in a first effort. I smoked the ham 11 hours yesterday, that smokey flavor really sets off the stew!

Ending up making about 2 gallons so I can share some (my 87 YO uncle just loves Brunswick Stew to go with his scotch or bourbon), have some for my wife and I, and still have enough for the brewing party. My brewing partner is coming over this afternoon to sample the stew, watch some football and drink that Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock that I gave him.

Brewer, I will let you know when the BrewHaHa will take place on the off chance that you might be in Atlanta.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
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Location: Savannah, GA

Unread postby Brewer » Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:10 pm

Mike,

Here's a recipe I found at Brewer's Den. If you give this a try, let me know. Or if you come upon another recipe that works, let me know. Either way, don't be shy with your hops!

Independence Day
Reminiscent of Sierra Nevada Celebration
Kit Price: $29.95 (Dry Yeast) $34.40 (Liquid Yeast)

Ingredients for 5 Gallons:

* 0.25 lbs. Ex Light DME
* 6.8 lbs. Can pale malt extract
* 1 lb. Light crystal
* 1 lb. Medium crystal
* 2.5 ozs. Centennial
* 1 oz. Northern Brewer
* 1 tsp. Irish Moss
* 1 Wyeast American Ale #1056 or Nottingham
* 1 cup Priming sugar

Optional (not included in the kit):

* 1/3 oz. Burton Water Salts

If you are using the Wyeast, two to three days prior to brewing, you will need to start the liquid yeast. Inside the packet, you will feel a small pouch. Press down on the pouch with the heel of your hand until it pops. Shake the foil envelope vigorously for a few minutes, and then place the envelope in a warm (not hot) spot until the packet swells one to two inches. Once the packet has swollen, you can brew the beer. Thoroughly clean and sanitize anything that will come in contact with the fermenting beer, except bottles and caps which will be sanitized just prior to bottling. Place the cracked grains inside a muslin-boiling bag.

Place the grains into a large stainless steel or enamel pot (sufficient to hold 2+ gallons). Add 1 gallon of cold water, turn on the heat and bring to a boil slowly. Bring the grains to approximately 160 degrees (F) and steep for 30 minutes to make tea. Remove the grains from the pot.

Let the malt cans stand in warm water while you heat the grains in order to make it easier to remove it from the can. Open the cans of malt and empty the contents into the pot. Then add the dry malt and bring to a boil, stirring often in order to avoid scorching the ingredients. Once the wort has started to boil, if you are going to use Burton Water Salts to harden the water, add the contents of the package at this point and bring to a new boil. While you are boiling the wort, place 3 gallons of cold water into the primary fermenter. Once the wort has started to boil, add the Northern Brewer hops. Thirty minutes later, add 1 oz. of Centennial hops and Irish Moss. Twenty minutes later, add 1 oz. Centennial hops wrapped in the muslin boiling bag and boil for 10 more minutes while stirring and watching for boil over. When you are done with this process, cool the hot wort and transfer into the primary fermenter and top off to the 5-gallon level. Cover to prevent contamination and wait for the temperature to reach 70 degrees F. Take a hydrometer reading and note the results. Add the Wyeast American Ale #1056 to the wort. If using Nottingham, add yeast to 1 1/2 cups of warm water and allow it to become active (approx. 10 minutes) then pitch. Place the blow off hose into the lid and allow it to hang down into a jar that contains enough water to cover the bottom of the blow off. Allow the beer to ferment for 2 days in the primary fermenter, then siphon it into the secondary fermenter. Fill the airlock 1/2 full with water or vodka and place it in the secondary fermenter. Allow the beer to ferment for an additional 5 to 14 days. Use your hydrometer to check the specific gravity. Fermentation is complete when the specific gravity remains the same for 2 consecutive days.

Once again: sanitize all of the equipment that comes in contact with your beer, including the caps. Dissolve the priming sugar in a cup of water by bringing it just to a boil. Then pour it into the bottling bucket. Using the final 1/2 oz. of Centennial hops make a hop tea and pour it into the bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the secondary fermenter into the bottling bucket. Fill and cap the bottles. Let the beer stand at room temperature for 3 - 5 days, then move to a cooler area for 3 to 4 weeks (the hardest part, but worth the wait). If you don't have a secondary fermenter, don't worry, the beer will be just fine. You may wish to use the blow off tube for the first few days, then place the airlock on the primary fermenter.

* Starting Specific Gravity - 1.054
* Finishing Specific Gravity - 1.014
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Unread postby Mike » Mon Jan 02, 2006 9:52 am

Sounds like a good place to start Brewer. But there are several spices in CA too. Maybe some orange peel, cinnamin, and coriander.

As to the hops, the last number of batches of beer I have made I put in a lot of hops and then dry hop as the beer is fermenting. Have you been dry hopping? If not, do so, it really adds a lot to the flavor and nose of the beer!
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. - Dylan Thomas
Mike
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Posts: 2231
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 5:36 pm
Location: Savannah, GA


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