Saturday 23 August 2014

August -- Let's get some beer in!

Alright then! Welcome back to the brewery. Been a bit of a time between drinks. Sorry 'bout that. Grab one of the Pale Ales from downstairs and pull up a seat. The TCB Brewery has a story to tell.

Winters are dark in this town. I find myself getting up some mornings with very little to offer to the world. It's 5:30am, and the sun has a long way to go before it shows its face and mine looks as dark as last September's Porter. I'm in the car with Wally and his little mate and we're eating cheesy rolls and listening to Pitbull. Dark days, indeed! Hang on, tight! Grab the wheel! There's a chance for a break and a stroll and maybe a coffee in about an hour. But not yet! It's 6 degrees and not even 6am!

The weekend sneaks around and before you know it, it's brew day again, Thank God for brew day! Haven't had a beer since Tuesday last, so time to get one in the pot! Whirl up a brew! Get the three boys faces over the boil smelling the hops! Ben's turn to stir? Michael needs to get on the grill? Chris should grab another ale from the fridge? Hang on, lads! Hold tight, boyo! 

Maybe hold hands ... 

maybe! 

It's a tight trio!

Until something goes wrong ...

And we have a man down ...

Fuck!

...

Half way down St Georges Rd and we learn that Ben is on the way to the Doc's to get the back straightened and the spine aligned. There's a crack. Not in the spine -- but that ear-splitting crack you hear deep in your head when you hit a bone that no-one else can feel. The brain chills, and you think for one brief moment that that's it, you've fucked it all up because your shower floor hadn't been cleaned for three months. Shiver and shake! Quiver and flake! Hire a cleaner. Get it done. Save a life! Yours! 

Shame, really! Ben no doubt had a few beers to share.

...

So Ben is out.

But Michael and Chris are left!

What could possibly go wrong!


The boil went on early. Michael had it going at 9:30am. By the time I got there it was on a steady rolling boil.

And then Michael came back from the hospital at about 2pm

And by 2:30pm we had reached the right temperature. I might have been inside for most of the morning with Lucy drinking coffee (beer) and baking friands while waiting for Michael to come back from the hospital. Time well spent!

But anyways, like! #

Back to the brew, and these are the hops we are building around this ale.

Did I tell you yet what we're brewing?

It's a clone of the Hop Hog

We pinched the beer off the internet

It's from a group called the Merri Mashers.

Bunch of wankers, I reckon,

Here's what Grape & Grain looks like at 10am on a Saturday morning

And here's the grain in the back seat. No booster or baby capsule needed!

The pot is on, the grain is ready. Micky is still at the hospital.
So while the others are doing boring shit like getting their back checked for fractures, I thought I'd do a proper important job like sort out the beer..

All the ESB needed sorting

3 ways each -- that's almost 2 slabs per man! Tasty!

Probably should pour one while their out!


Michael's back!


And he's working on getting the Brewsmith recipe correct and proper!

Try the ESB!

Proper!

It's turned into something else, this beer! It's not an ESB

You'll remember that we used our own wild yeast on this ferment. It turned this beer into almost a Saison. We're not sure what it is. I'm drinking it right now ( yes, right now!) and it is fresh and bright and summery. I've given it to a few mates and they love it. Monica hates it, but then, she hates any beer that is stronger than a weak, insipid, tepid glass of Corona! 

hello pretty face!

There's Jerky for lunch

Hello Captain!

I used to live across the road from a "Correction Centre" in Fitzroy. Some nights, I could hear the pain that people were paying for. Loud and clear from my balcony seat. Never seemed to be worth the dollars, I thought, from where I was sitting. Maybe their seat was a little more closer to the action. 

We had lunch to make! With gloves on!

Ben wasn't around, so the sandwiches were going to be a little rough

Wallaby was on the menu

with beetroot that had been boiling for over three hours

We got a sandwich together. It was good, but all it really did was remind us of how much we missed Ben.
No one cooks a sandwich like Ben!
So back to the brewery 

Grain in!

Looking tasty, already!

Loadsa hops on this brew. It's a Hop Hog clone, so the match had to be accurate

Check it

Smelling good

umm ...
weighing out the hops

steady

and get the measurements right 

 i *heart* hopz
the boil is on


brewery selfie ###
Mash out planning

How do you get the grain out?
Lift it!

Drip It!

Add it!

Pout It!

Clean It!

Shake it!
Drink it!

Clean it!

Sterilise It!
Whirlpool it!

Rockstar it!