BK BREWERY Temporarily Down.........

As sad as it is, the BK BREWERY is temporarily shutting down operations while it searches for a new home. There might be a rogue series brew or two but nothing that substantial during this time. Thank you for you continued support and i will let you know as soon as i begin brewing again in the BK BREWERY!

BK BREWERY UPGRADES AND NEWS

So this weekend was a busy weekend for the BK BREWERY. On Friday the biggest beer to date was brewed, the BK BELGIAN TRIPPEL. Everything went super smooth for this brew and the brew system is starting to work like a well oiled machine. Also on last Tuesday i (along with the help of a friend for the circuit board) finally finished my homemade magnetic stir plate, pictures coming soon. this was used to create the yeast starter for the Belgian trippel. On Saturday the BK BREWERY posted an ad on craigslist selling one of the 50 lb co2 cylinders i had bought. I purchased two 50lb co2 cylinders and an older regulator for $100, then sold one 50 lb co2 cylinder (the crappier looking one) and the regulator for $120 so i got a 50 lb aluminum co2 cylinder for free plus 20 bucks! Then on Sunday the BK BREWERY invested in its future by buying a 15.5 gallons stainless steel keg for $40 that it plans to convert into a brew kettle. This gives the BK BREWERY the ability to produce 15 gallon batches of each brew. Most likely BK BREWERY would only produce 5-10 gallon batches but versatility is always coveted. now to figure out how to clean up the keg and cut the top off and add spigots and thermometers, and stuff. ANOTHER project for the BK BREWERY........

Till next time..................

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!

DIY CARBONATOR CAPS

DIY CARBONATOR CAPS
Many of you saw these caps I built, and many asked how to make them and what they were. So here you go, build your own!

Here’s what I did

1.) Gather materials. Here’s what you’ll need.
a. Soda bottle caps
b. An awl or a punch
c. Drill & 19/64” drill bit (whatever size your valve stems are)
d. Tire valve stems
e. Sealing washer (optional)

2.) Punch a centering hole in the bottle cap.

3.) Drill hole in cap same diameter as shank on valve stem. Clean up plastic burs with a knife.

4.) Insert valve stem and secure with sealing washer and nut. I only used a sealing washer because the nut supplied with these valve stems had a small diameter and it allowed the top of the cap to flex a little, so I put a washer to stiffen it and seal the top, probably it’s not needed but eh I’m building them not you! :-P.

5.) Enjoy your own carbonator caps!

6.) My cost and where purchased.
a. Soda bottle caps – Who doesn’t have any of these lying around? If not ask a friend!
b. Stainless steel valve stems – these I purchased on eBay 5 for $25 shipped, so $5.00 each. You could use aluminum or probably even the rubber pull through style to save money, I just like stainless and everything else in my brewery is stainless why skimp here?
c. 5/16” Sealing washers – home depot, 4 for $.88 cents yeah sucks to buy 2 bags to get 5 but what are you going to do?
d. Time – 1 hour

GRAND TOTAL
5 caps
$26.76 - total
$5.22 - each

You can get the commercial carbonator caps online for $15 + shipping or for $20 + tax at the homebrew shop. They are all plastic and they only fit 1 type of bottle. With these DIY carbonator caps you can modify them to fit any cap whether it be a Costco sized 3 liter bottle or the 1 liter Aquafina bottle, or to pressurize a growler for longer shelf life in the fridge, or if you’re like me you can start pressurizing everything! OJ, juicy juices, milk, anything with a cap big enough for the valve stem! Warning carbonated milk is a BAD idea…..trust me.

PART 2
Then many of you asked me if I had a special tank of CO2 to pressurize these caps with? Nope, all you have to do is splice one of your CO2 lines coming off your tank. I added a distributor valve so I can shut off lines when not in use but it could be as simple as splicing it with a “T”. My initial setup has dual regulators, with one side having only 1 line so I modified that one with the distributor valve and a standard air chuck. See pictures.

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!

LOOK AT ME I"M A BREWMASTER

So my friend set up his camera to take a picture every 4 seconds while i brewed, then made a video of the shots. it stopped taking pictures before transfer to the fermenter and pitching the yeast, but this is pretty sweet and we'll do another for other brews.

THE BACKGROUND MUSIC IS HILARIOUS!

MY FIRST YEAST STARTER FOR A BROWN ALE

So here it is, my first yeast starter for an OG 1.076 brown ale I'll be brewing on sunday. made 1800ml of starter with a gravity of ~1.050, its a little higher than the 1.040 standard but for higher gravity beers such as this brown ale i have read and i'm hoping the slighty higher gravity starter will not shock the yeast when they get in the wort of 1.076.

Why make yeast starters?
The quantity of yeast in a Wyeast "smack pack" typically isn't anywhere near enough to give you a fast, healthy fermentation. That's why it is a good idea to make a starter. The idea behind making a yeast starter is to provide the small number of yeast cells from a Wyeast package with an ideal environment in which they can build up their health and numbers, with no competition from other competing microbes. Then, when the contents of the starter are pitched into your wort, you will get a shorter lag time, and a faster fermentation. This in turn will result in a cleaner tasting beer, and reduce the chances of infection, because your yeast will take over quickly, leaving little time for unwanted microbes to gain a foothold.
Even the "pitchable" liquid yeasts (e.g. Wyeast XL packs, and White Labs vials) will benefit from a starter, especially if the yeast is more than a couple of months old, or will be pitched into a high gravity (> 1.070 OG) wort.

WINNER'S OF THE NEXT BREW POLL

You asked for it and you got it, my next brews and brew for the big long beach COL will be my sweet Clementine heffeweizen, and my very own BK Brown Ale. i hope you all are at least half as excited as i am! the brown ale should have a ABV of around 9% but it'll be a sneaker because of all the different exotic sugars, such as brown sugar, molasses, Belgian Candi sugar, and maple syrup. it will be well balanced with 3 different hops and taste delicious! The heffeweizen will also be very fruity and delicious, the ABV will be around 4.8% it will be crispy, and i'll be using a grain called cara hell, don;t be fooled by the name this grain is light a delicous and will give this brew a light a creamy head, maybe also throw in some crystal 10L for a sweeter note, and balance it out with 2 different hops. These brews will be some pretty darn good brews, i hope you will enjoy them

As always enjoy responsibly (especially with the brown ale its a doosy!)

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!