That’s right kids … it’s time for another Brewerman brew day. To celebrate my birthday yesterday, and in preparation for the sometime-in-the-not-too-distant-future man trip (date and time TBD), I’m brewing the 5th edition of the Butterface IPA. The Butterface is an ever-changing recipe for a somewhat assertively-hopped American IPA. The original recipe used Chinook, Cascade, and Amarillo hops, and tasted so yummy.

Basically I stick with the same simple extract-based malt bill. 8-9 pounds of pale extract, and a pound of light crystal malts. Simple. This is really a beer that I learn hops with. In the 5 years that I’ve been making this beer (or any of my beers for that matter), I’ve never really focussed on Cascade. It’s only while writing this that I realize thatt I’ve always steered clear of Cascade because I thought it was so cliche. I think that I chose to really focus on Cascade this year because as I get older, I want to go with what works. Cascade is the typical workhorse NW hop. From what I gather in looking at IPA recipes, it just tastes yummy. And that, my friends, is what I drink beer for!

So I’m going to go with what works, and I’m going somewhat big. Six hop additions including 3 ounces dry hopped (one in primary and two in secondary). 8.5 ounces total for a five-gallon batch. Amarillo for bittering, and Cascade for flavor/aroma. Should be good. I’ll be doing the usual post updates as the beer progresses, so check back when curious. Think positive guys … the Butterface is coming!

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I learned homebrewing on a simple infusion system. It was essentially two plastic buckets with a form-fitting insulation sleeve that would be lowered over the bucket to keep it from bleeding off heat when the grain was sitting in with the strike water. My buddy and I settled into a pattern switching off between brewing an all-grain beer on his equipement, then brewing an extract beer on mine. When I moved I lost access to the all-grain system, and I now find myself in a position of not having brewed all-grain beer in over 2 years.

I think that it is due time to add a couple of hours to my brew days again. I’m going to go with a classic 10 gallon Gott or Igloo cooler infusion system. I’m going to build my own instead of paying the margin to someone else for the pre-assembled product. This will involve decisions about how to do the false bottom, and conversion of the spout.

While making these decisions, I’ll be shopping for two cheap 10 gallon coolers. Anyone who has a line on some, or has opinions about the valves/false bottom, please weigh in via comments or by emailing brewer at brewerman.com.

Good brewing!

Now I know that this isn’t the most-popular thing to say, but I’ve never been impressed with Zymurgy, the official publication of the American Homebrewers Association. If I had a choice of a homebrew magazine I’d want on a deserted island, it would be Brew Your Own (I’m assuming this island would not be deserted of homebrewing equipment!).

This past year was my first as a member of the AHA, and it was shaping up to be my last. I thought I’d join and get all kinds of useful homebrew-related stuff, including Zymurgy. I was a fan of Brew Your Own, and had been a subscriber to that magazine for three years. I thought that the “official” homebrewers magazine had to be better. I thought that it would be chock full of useful articles that would propel me to new heights of homebrewing success.

I thought wrong. All issues of the magazine I received since joining were OK at best. I really didn’t find anything that I was interested in. Yes, it’s great to have jokes about beer, food recipes, and discussions about beer culture including the movers and shakers of the AHA. What I wanted, however, was articles that would improve my brewing.

Since I didn’t get what I wanted, I was all prepared to let my membership lapse … until the latest issue. When I opened my mailbox, I got really excited. It was all over the cover … multiple articles about yeast, including one on storage and the best article I’ve read to date on making a starter (and that’s one thing that I’ve searched high and low for). This is a great issue, people!

I’m not super stoked on the fact that my membership has bought me only one solid issue of the magazine, but I guess that combined with the email forum makes it somewhat worth the price of admission.

It’s time to brew the Cloud Cover winter ale for the first time since 2004. This winter ale was last brewed two winters ago before the new year with my buddy, Chris Mack (miss ya Chris). Chris taught me how to brew in Seattle with a version of this beer based upon an attempt at cloning Deschutes Jubelale with some tweaks. Ours was to be a little less sweet, a bit more roasty, a bit more hop. A hoppy, roasty, winter warmer. It tasted amazing. That was the beer that got me hooked on home brewing.

Chris and I brewed together up until I moved to Bend, OR. about two and a half years ago. Since he had the all-grain equipment, and the recipe calls for a significant amount of must-mash grains, I didn’t brew the Cloud Cover last year. I still don’t have the all-grain setup I’m gunning for, but I’ve done enough preparation to do a partial mash extract version. Plus, I’m not willing to go another year with no Cloud Cover. This year’s version will be made with Rogue’s Pac Man yeast. One smack pack has been hiding in the back of my refrigerator, and it puffed up nicely despite the age. I’ve dumped it into a starter made with 1.25 cups of light DME yesterday, and it’s been pretty active.

I’m going to do a partial mash method specified in Brew Your Own. I will be posting the recipe in BeerXML format as soon as it is ready, and will add to this posting after each step.

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