The word is in! Folks are into “Steel Beam”. I did a limited release to the faithful who have been supporting 18th Street Brewery from the start. I handed out four 22oz & 1 case of 12oz bottles and got some great feedback. Time to catch you up from last weeks brew day. I brewed “Back Door” Blonde Ale I used 1/2oz of Juniper Berries, 1/2oz of dried Chamomile and I used the wicked Rouge "Pacman Yeast". This beer has a OG 1.070, after fermentation it should round out to about 7.0% abv. I chilled it down after the boil and had a simple of the wort all I will say is wait and see!
In the bottle “Azucar Payaso” Amber Ale 5.0% ABV and of course I had a simple and its so good it will make you want to smack your mama. You can taste the sweet raw brown sugar and the vanilla, it’s very nice. Release date is still in April, but I’m might change my mind and release it in May that’s why you need to read the “BLOG”. $10 donation for “Azucar Payaso” the money will be used to make upgrades to our brewery.
Also in the bottle is “Bad Buddha” Honey Brown Ale 3.5% ABV. I had a simple bottle or two last night and its drinking very nicely. Release date is still 2/28/11 Donation for 12oz $3 22oz $5
Next in-line is “Bust Yo Mouth” IPA I had a sample and WOW! I didn’t want to stop drinking it, again you be the judge. I need help with this beer, I have 9 gallons of goodness and the questions I ask you is this. Should I bottle this beer which would mean time and money or should I keg 5 gal and auction it to the highest bidder. And bottle the remaining 4 gallons in 22oz bottles. Feedback please!
After some thoughts and ideas from friends and other brew folks about the direction of 18th Street
Brewery. I want to give you an overview of the operation. (1) Budget: My CFO gives me $200 a month to run the brewery which pays for all grain, bottles and specialty ingredients. It’s not a lot of money, but I use all of it to make great beer. At this point it’s not about making money it’s about making great high quality beer on a small scale. (2) So far the brewery has not debt and that’s the way I will keep it, we own all of our equipment out right. (3) We own our building which means we don’t pay rent. (4) The beer is flowing and we me and you 18th Street fans are having fun. We still our waiting for our license to come back from the Feds & State, so after a meeting with friends & Blanca the CFO of 18th Street that lasted 4 hours long hours, we said to help me keep making fresh beer on a small scale and more of it, we will start asking for donations for high gravity beers. Which means anything above 5.0% abv or higher, all of the donations go right back into making great beer and upgrading the brewery. So that’s why you see the donation amounts next to release dates, remember it’s a donation folks you still can get great beer from 18th street and don’t have to donate 1 dime.
Brewery. I want to give you an overview of the operation. (1) Budget: My CFO gives me $200 a month to run the brewery which pays for all grain, bottles and specialty ingredients. It’s not a lot of money, but I use all of it to make great beer. At this point it’s not about making money it’s about making great high quality beer on a small scale. (2) So far the brewery has not debt and that’s the way I will keep it, we own all of our equipment out right. (3) We own our building which means we don’t pay rent. (4) The beer is flowing and we me and you 18th Street fans are having fun. We still our waiting for our license to come back from the Feds & State, so after a meeting with friends & Blanca the CFO of 18th Street that lasted 4 hours long hours, we said to help me keep making fresh beer on a small scale and more of it, we will start asking for donations for high gravity beers. Which means anything above 5.0% abv or higher, all of the donations go right back into making great beer and upgrading the brewery. So that’s why you see the donation amounts next to release dates, remember it’s a donation folks you still can get great beer from 18th street and don’t have to donate 1 dime.
Upgrades, Co2 tank has been shipped and we should have it this week, this will help with getting beer in kegs, also on order is a The Counter Pressure Bottle Filler is a device that allows us to bottle beer after it has been chilled and carbonated in the keg. Without counter-pressure on the keg and bottle we would get a lot of foam, making bottling difficult. The counter-pressure bottle filler creates a pressurized atmosphere, which eliminates nearly all of the foam.
In the coming weeks spring and summer, yes summer beer will be hiting the brew house. And I’m about to get crazy with this idea which will be called. "Bitches Brew Day" I'm looking to auction a brew day at 18th Street Brewery in April, 5 spots will be offered you the high bidder will bring in your grains & fermenting bucket and brew your own all grain batch of beer. 5 people! ya I got balls! will take turns and help each other out one at a time on the Brew Magic system. This will be a brew day that will start at 8:00 a.m. and end when then last bucket of beer is in the fermenter. 18th Street Brewery will pony all the yeast for this event with food and o ya! beer lots of it. I will post the date & details of this event on Friday 2/25.
Really enjoyed the Steel Beam! I wasn't sure what to expect with an EPA... IPA's are sometimes a little too hoppy for my taste. Well the Steel Beam was just wonderful! Somewhere between a saison and an IPA, I found it clean and refreshing yet complex all at once. Very nice!
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