Going All-Grain or: How my garage smells like puke

posted by Jon

Thanks to a substantial investment by Ryan W, KSB has made the jump to all-grain. I've got pictures of the whole set-up that I will post at a later date.

Last week Saturday we brewed our first all-grain batches, Sorry to Say DIPA and Ponzi Scheme Berliner Weisse.

Hello? Is there anybody in there?

posted by Jon

Yes. I know. KSB has gone AWOL. No worries, mates. You'll get your beer.

I've been getting a bit burnt out with the idea that I have to brew at least one batch a month. It's been too long though. I miss it. The plan is to have one day a month for the next three months when I brew two batches to get caught up. After that I will still probably do two beers at a time. It's just easier that way.

Next Saturday, April 14, we will be brewing Sorry to Say DIPA and Ponzi Scheme Berliner Weisse. Ryan A is brewing a DIPA on Friday with a friend so we will be brewing from the same basic recipe in order to compare once they are ready. The Saturday brew day will likely last most of the afternoon/evening. Feel free to stop by. Bring beers to share if you feel inclined.

One of the nice things about brewing 6 beers between March and May is that they will all be ready in late spring or summer. We'll be shying away from the Imperial Stouts and Belgian Quads for a bit.

Just nod if you can hear me.

Coffee, Jamil, Ronnie's Legs, Triple crown, Cider and Oxygen-absorbing Caps.

posted by Jon

This weekend has become a weekend of bottling. By this afternoon I will have bottled 3 batches of beer in a 24 hour period. Let's backtrack a week. A week ago I got a Christmas gift. It was the book Brewing Classic Styles by... (more after jump)

2 Batches, 1 Day

posted by Jon

Last Saturday Ryan W and I spent the afternoon/evening brewing and drinking. We sampled a bunch of IPA's and DIPA's that I had bought in Florida. We also sampled a few homebrews and 3 Floyd's Arctic Panzer Wolf, a DIPA brought to us by some new friends.

There is No vember

posted by Jon

November didn't exist this year. No Knoll Street posts, no beers brewed. Actually, that second part isn't true. We brewed our September beer in November. November's beer will be brewed in December. Tomorrow, actually. December's beer will also be brewed tomorrow. Come on out. Have a beer. Brew with us. Now jump.

Bottle Rinsing Rant

posted by Jon

So I'm kind of getting tired of cleaning out bottles that are returned to me without having been rinsed. I just timed how long it takes to rinse out a bottle by adding a bit of hot water, putting my thumb over the top, shaking it, dumping it out and repeating that process twice more. It took a whopping 23 seconds. That's less than 3 minutes per month. Please make this a habit.

Even with this post, I'm sure I will still continue to get bottles with stale beer and 3 months of mold growth in the bottom. I was thinking that maybe I would charge per dirty bottle returned to me. The problem is that I imagine some of you would rather pay a little more than make a habit of cleaning, which still leaves me to do the cleaning. What I think makes more sense is that I just stop cleaning your bottles. I'll just mark which bottles came from which person. When you crack open a nice IPA and have a massive chunk of red and black mold floating in it, you'll have no one to blame but yourself.

2011/12 lineup

posted by Jon

Trying to finish up planning for the current year. I will post my thoughts and edit as I get input.

Sep 11: "Gourdon Jr." Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Oct 11: Barleywine
Nov 11: Imperial Stout
Dec 11: Winter Warmer/Old Ale
Jan 12: Belgian Pale Ale
Feb 12: American Pale Ale
Mar 12: Berliner Weisse
Apr 12: Belgian Wit
May 12: India Pale Ale
Jun 12: DIPA/IIPA
Jul 12: Belgian Strong Ale
Aug 12: Stout