JUST ARRIVED BK BREWERY PINT GLASSES, $5 EACH!

Just arrived, BK BREWERY pint glasses for sale $5 each! These glasses feature the BK BREWERY logo designed by the owner and operator of the BK BREWERY, me. A special thanks to my graphic designer/ sister Jessica for cleaning up the logo and formatting it in illustrator, it was a big help.

The tiger logo was chosen for its symbolism of determination "the eye of the tiger" which is very important at the BK BREWERY which is determined to continually improve and make the best tasting brews. Also because i like tigers, they are bad ass, and i had a tiger stuffed animal when i was a kid. These glasses are 16oz. Libbey pints which feature the highest standard glass material, and the safe edge rim & foot guarantee. Also you'll be happy to know these pints are made in the U.S.A

So if you're going to enjoy a pint of delicious BK BREW, what better way to hold it than to pour it into your very own BK BREWERY pint glass! Cheers!

If you would like one please contact me, either by comment on this blog post, facebook, or e-mail my gmail account, with the quantity you want and i will bring them the next time i see you, don't forget your paper Lincolns, and thank you so much for your support!

As always, we here at the BK BREWERY want to remind you to enjoy responsibly!

LIKE A PROUD FATHER

So today I attended my brew club meeting and brought my newest blueberry honey wheat beer there for sampling. Now the club I joined is “The Strand Brewers Club” SBC for short, they are the local club in the area, and a bunch of great guys and girls who are as passionate about brewing as I am. Also they have a number of members who are BJCP certified and in fact a man by the name of Jim W. who is rated as one of the top 40 judges in the U.S. So my blueberry honey wheat beer is fairly green, ass it was brewed a month ago and has only been aging for about a week. But I bottled one and brought it to the meeting to see if anything was wrong with it such as off flavors or recipe formulation or anything that might be wrong with it. These guys are incredible they were basically able to read my recipe back to me while only tasting the beer. “Oh so you use some crystal malt eh?” holy crap! I only used .5 lb whish is hardly any for a 5 gallon batch. Anyways so their tasting notes were great constructive criticism, but the main thing was the beer was good! They actually liked it, and thought it was a good beer Jim was the only one who tasted that I used blueberry flavoring not actual blueberry as he said he could taste the chemical-ness of the extract flavoring and while it wasn’t bad he just said he could tell I used flavoring as opposed to the real fruit. He was the only one who detected that all the others liked it and thought it was a good brew, one guy actually said I should add more flavoring; which I think I will do to get more blueberry across. So what does all this mean? Well it means a lot to me, after I poured the first sample I was nervous as the first day of school, this was it, time to see if I actually know what I am doing and my brewing process is sound enough to produce good quality beer. After the first sip I cringed a little waiting for the critique, and with a nod the first words were “this is good” and a wave of relief swept over me. Then I started pouring for everyone who wanted a sample trying to hit the BJCP certified members for more feedback. After the first 22 ouncer emptied it was unanimous, it’s a good brew! Like a proud father I stood there with such a sense of accomplishment and pride in my work it overwhelmed me. Now I didn’t cry but inside I wept a little J what a feeling to know that all this money, time, effort, and money I put into this hobby is actually worth it and my process is sound and appeals to beer aficionados is amazing. It makes me want to brew more and brew crazier. The hardest part is having sound practices and sound processes to make good beer, it takes attention to details cleanliness, and sanitation. So now having this information and knowing I’m doing the right thing and my stuff is legit I am enthused, I am excited, and I am invigorated into making more, better, and tastier brews! May ALL of you one day enjoy a BK brew!

WINNER OF NEXT BREW POLL: HEFEWEIZEN

With the most votes a hefeweizen will be brewed now its time to pick the style of the style :-) 4 choices and as much information as I could provide.

1.) Widmer Bros. Clone
Description: widmer bros. clone. Typical American style hefe.

2.) "Sweet Clementine" Hefeweizen
Description: A fruity hefeweizen, light and finishes clean, brewed with real clemetines and named after the song "sweet caroline" which is traditionally sung at every home red sox game in the middle of the 8th inning.

3.) Bavarian Dunkleweizen
Description: a cross between a porter and a hefe this dark wheat beer has a mild chocolate malt flavor with some smokey and spicy character.

4.) BK Brewery House Hefeweizen
Description: Should be a golden/amber, cloudy beer with a thick, clinging, fine-bubbled head that lasts all the way to the end of the glass. Aroma of vanilla and citrus fruit, along with some spicy, clovey notes typical of the style. On the palate should be smooth and creamy, with just enough sparkle to make it lively on the tongue without being too gassy and maintaining a velvety smoothness. very little sweetness and the finish should be dry, leading into a slightly hoppy, vanilla aftertaste. (Own Recipe, but took things i liked from other brews)

VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVORITE HEFE!

RUNNER UP OF NEXT BREW POLL: BROWN ALE

With the second most votes a brown ale will be brewed, now its time to pick the style of the style :-) 4 choices and as much information as I could provide.

1.) Newcastle Clone
Description: Newcastle Clone. Newcastle Brown ale is very sweet with notes of nut. No bitterness, some malt, really sweet

2.) Moose Drool Clone
Description: The name sounds a little iffy, but it's really the best Brown Ale you'll ever taste. That's why Moose Drool is far and away the best-selling beer brewed in Montana.
It's chocolate brown in color with a creamy texture. A malty beer with just enough hop presence to keep it from being too sweet. The aroma mostly comes from the malt with a hint of spice added by the hops.

3.) Indian Brown Ale
Description: A cross between an IPA and a brown ale this is a stealth beer and its higher alcohol levels are well masked by a fair amount of body. Indian Brown Ale has the color of an american brown ale, the hopiness of an IPA, and the caramel sweetness of a scoth ale.

4.) BK Brewery Brown Ale
Description: Should be nutty with a delicate roasted character finishing with a touch of malt sweetness. Well balanced hop/malt. (Own Recipe)

VOTE NOW FOR YOUR FAVORITE BROWN!

BEER STYLE GUIDE

Have a request for the brewmaster at the BK BREWERY? Find a style you like HERE.

ICE MAKER HOOKED UP AT THE BK BREWERY

So since my kegerator HAS an ice maker i decided i should USE the ice maker, lets face it you never know when you need ice. so i also used my filtration system i built to run the water through before freezing so the ice will be more potable. had to rig up a female GHT ball valve to a 3/8" barb and just hose clamped it in the ice maker hose after cutting off orignaly compression fittings.Boom! simple and useful!

ICE HERE GET YOUR ICE!!!

Next Beer Strawberry Blonde!

so after deciding to make the blueberry wheat ale, the next ingredients i ordered are for a very light and refreshing strawberry blonde. i remember liking petes strawberry blonde so hopefully it will taste as good. plus a lot of the ingredients to make "summer" beers are on sale right now so that had something to do with it too! i guess its a fruity season some lets make some fruit beers!

Received some brew equipment

so today i received some brewing equipment to add to the BK brewery. new pressure relief valve for my kegs cause they were old and leaky so just replaced those, new gas in and gas out posts as a backup incase one keg has an issue with either post, and a new tool i'm really excited about, a winethief. now a wine thief for those who don't know is used to draw sampled from the fermenters while using a hydrometer to check the gravity, or sugar content, of the beer. this is the only true way to measure and know the fermentation has completed. you CAN wait a certain amount of days to make sure fermentation has completed, but why wait extra time, and why not know when its done. i also recieved some carboy caps, but it hink i will just use stoppers so mayb these will be sent back.

on order i have a bunch of stoppers, a plastic racking cane, and some 5/16" id hose so i can make a makeshift counter pressure filler so i can bottle my brews from the keg, and send them to competitions, friends, and family. also still waiting for my ingredients to get here for my next wheat ale, should be here tomorrow!! and now thinking i am going to do half blueberry wheat and half strawberry kiwi wheat. just need to decide when to add the flavorings.

NEED TO BUILD A FERMENTING RACK

So I’ve been experiencing some beer loss when i rack from different vessels, so I decided I’m going to build a fermenting rack. Basically my theory behind this is since I need to tilt my carboys at an angle to get as much beer as I can before I start picking up sediment then why not build a rack to hold them at that angle throughout fermentation. My only current worry is whether the airlocks will work at a slight angle so I’ll need to play with that. Also whether it will have any adverse affect on the yeast, but I wouldn't think it would. But definite benefits are the yeast cake will pack tighter and out of the way in the corner and I can get better efficiency, and I won’t have to hold a full 5 gallons of beer at an angle while I transfer. This will hopefully improve the process and make things easier, I’m going to try it on the next brews and see how it works…..