The newest member of our Electric Brewing Systems

For several years our customers have been begging Dave to make an all inclusive electric brewery controller that incorporates the temperature controllers for the hot liquor tank and the pump.

Well, he finally did it and I must say, I think it is his best design yet.

With the original EBC we introduced a control unit that gave brewers the ability to control the heat and pump for brewing all electric.  It had the ability to attach Ranco controllers to automate the hot liquor tank temperature and to also control the pump which recirculates the wort to maintain the mash tun temperature.  It had a big downside though. There wasn’t a way to control the intensity of the boil.  This forced brewers to go with a smaller heating element so that the boil off rate wasn’t insane.

Then Dave found a way to use triacs to modulate the power giving brewers “volume” control and the EBC II was born.  It was a huge improvement.  This allowed the brewer to use a larger heating element to get to a boil quickly and then back down the power for a reasonable boil off rate.  We loved this improvement and so did our loyal EBC brewers! The EBC II still relied on the use of Ranco controllers to automate the system.

The EBC III incorporates the functionality of the Ranco controllers into the unit itself, simplifying the setup for brewers.  It also incorporates quick disconnects for the temperature probes and a twist lock for the power cable allowing you to disassemble the EBC III for easier storage.

Everything about the EBC III is better.

• Easy assembly and dis-assembly
• The power cords are now made by us to you can request several different lengths.
• The temperature probes are 4″ long stainless steel that can fit into existing thermowells or directly into the vessel with the weldless option that is included.
• The temperature probes have a quick disconnect at the EBC III and the vessel, allowing you to keep the probe in the vessel without leaving the cabling attached.
• The temperature probes react very quickly to temperature changes. Much better than than the current Ranco controllers.

For those who want a system that incorporates automation, the EBC III is the way to go.  Of course not everyone will go for the EBC III. It does have a higher price tag than the EBC II with 2 Ranco controllers. But hey, if you want SEXY, it is going to cost you more.

We have put together a video explaining how to use the EBC III. We will also have a video soon of the EBC III in use.

I’ve tried a few recipes in an attempt to get a good gluten free beer. Until recently all I had to work with as the base was sorghum. the results were always disappointing.  The sorghum has a lot of iron and the metallic aftertaste was not pleasant.

My latest attempt uses a brown rice extract made by Briess Malting.  The results at this point are far better than the sorghum attempts.  I’m trying to get a good craft style beer such as an American Pale Ale that has a great hop character to help me stay away from the consequences of drinking my favorite beverage.

The brown rice extract and malted oats are available at our store. The sprouted Quinoa and toasted buckwheat I found at Whole Foods in the bulk section.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

6.00 lb Brown Rice Syrup (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Buckwheat – Roasted (3.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Oat Malt (2.0 SRM)
1.00 lb Quinoa – Sprouted (1.0 SRM)
0.50 oz Chinook Hops [13.00 %] (60 min) 21.8 IBU
0.50 oz Chinook Hops [13.00 %] (15 min) 10.8 IBU
0.50 oz Citra Hops [11.10 %] (15 min) 9.2 IBU
0.50 oz Citra Hops [11.10 %] (5 min) 3.7 IBU
0.50 lb Brown Sugar, Dark (50.0 SRM)

1 packet US-05 Yeast

Steep grains at 150° for 45 minutes in a grain bag using enough water to fully submerge the grains. It’s best if the grains ahve room to “swim” around the liquid.  Remove from water and sparge (sprinkle evenly) enough water at 170° to get around 3 gallons of water. Discard the grains.

Bring to a boil and add the Brown Rice Syrup. Stir till dissolved and add hops according to the schedule above.

Remove hops and cool quickly. Add to sanitized fermenter and add enough water to get to 5 gallons.  Make sure temperature is below 75° and sprinkle yeast on top of wort.

Ferment for 1-2 weeks and bottle with 3/4 cup priming sugar to carbonate the beer.

This beer isn’t carbonated yet but the flavor at bottling time was immensely encouraging.  The intense grapefruit character from the hops was exactly what I was targeting.

Please keep in mind that when purchasing items from our store that this is a homebrew store.  It is loaded with several varieties of barley, rye and wheat grains that are crushed in the store everyday. We can’t guarantee that the oat malt and brown rice syrup won’t come in contact with products containing wheat.  You may wish to crush the oat malt yourself as all the malts at High Gravity are crushed on the same mill.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

So here are a few sites that are informative and easy to navigate. Go forth and educate yourself.

Wine Paring:

www.foodandwinepairing.org

E&J Gallo Winery Winery Food Pairing Guide

Beer Pairing:

CraftBeer.com

The Homebrew Chef

Wegman’s Guide to Beer and Food Pairing

Draft Magazine’s Food Section

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies

I would like to talk to you today about supporting your local homebrew shop.  A few things have happened recently and because of them I feel it is important to discuss why this is such an important topic.  Not just because I own a homebrew store.  If that were the case I wouldn’t be telling you to support you local homebrew store.  I would be telling you to buy everything from me.

First, let’s talk about relationships.  Having a local homebrew store builds relationships.  As an owner, I meet and make new friends that enrich my life.  As a brewer and or winemaking customer, you meet others with the same interests and in return, you make new friends that enrich your life.  Having a store where you get to interact with others is a great benefit that those being forced to order through the internet don’t have.  It is a source of happiness and I really mean that.

Second, let’s talk about keeping it local.  Supporting your LHBS keeps the money local.  Sales tax goes to the city, county and state.  Wages go to the employees who then spend their earnings, helping with the local economy again.  Purchasing from your local homebrew store hopefully gives them the revenue to grow and continue to carry all the things you want to be able to buy on short notice.

Third, let’s talk about service.  I know that there are items you can buy on the internet that are less expensive.  I know that everyone wants to get the best deal they can get but having a local homebrew store needs to have to support if you want it to be there next year.  Honestly, homebrew store owners aren’t making a fortune doing this.  We are doing it because we truly love the hobby.  So when a customer says he found a conical fermenter for $15 dollars cheaper and wants us to match the price, it is a frustration.  It is a frustration because we provide so much more than just product.  We provide service.  The same person that demands we meet the price of some eBay store or he/she will purchase from them is the same person that will come into their local homebrew store two weeks later and take up an hour of their time discussing the benefits/disadvantages of making a yeast starter or why Hallertau hops should be used instead of Saaz. You get the picture.

Sometimes we just can’t match the price of the online competition. Now if it is a massive amount of savings I can’t blame a customer from making that purchase.  We all have pocketbooks that we have to balance.  But if the difference is small, please consider purchasing it from your LHBS and not threaten to take your business elsewhere.  Take a moment and think about what it would be like not having them nearby to service and take care of you. It is what we live for and enjoy doing more than anything.  It would be just as devastating to us to not to be able to serve you as it would be for you not having us there. Also, in the end, the LHBS that is small and doesn’t have everything you need just might be able to grow and change that. Wouldn’t that be cool.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
High Gravity Homebrewing & Winemaking Supplies
Tulsa Homebrew Examiner
High Gravity’s Facebook Fan Page

In order to leave a comment you will need to register an account and login.  I hate doing this but the hundreds of spam posts that I have to weed through everyday is getting to be too much.  Requiring a registered account will virtually eliminate them.

Thanks for understanding…

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Entries from FOAM Cup 2009

Being an organizer for homebrew competitions sometimes makes you forget that not everyone has entered a competition before. So I thought it would be a good idea to go over some common questions I get about entering competitions.

Do I need to be present in order to enter?

No, you don’t need to be at the competition.  In fact, most competitions receive entries from all over the country so being present would be impossible.  To be honest, you would probably be a bit bored watching judges methodically going over the beers writing their feedback.

How do I enter?

Most competitions have online registration to enter your beers.  This is really the best way to enter your beers.  You go to their website, register and create your entries.  Once you have created your entries, you will print the bottle labels and attach them to your beers. It is very straight forward once you know what you are supposed to do.

The FOAM Cup website is http://FOAMCup.us

What bottles can I use?

Virtually all competitions accept green and brown bottles between 12-14 oz.  Clear bottles are not acceptable. The bottles usually are allowed to have raised lettering but the bottles MUST have all labels and identifying marks removed.  However, all competitions have their own rules so you should always read their requirements before entering.  If your bottle cap is labeled you should mark it out with a sharpie.

How many bottles to I need to send?

You will need at least 2 bottles per entry.  Some competitions ask for 3 bottles.  Check the rules for the exact requirements.

Why so many bottles?

One bottle is needed for the actual judging of the beer in its category.  If your beer wins a gold medal then the second bottle is used for the “Best of Show” judging.  The BOS takes all the gold medal winners and they are all judged against each other to determine who the best of the best is.  Some competitions are so large they have to split the categories into smaller groups. The top 2-3 beers form the smaller groups are then brought together and the winner is selected from these beers.  It is referred to a mini best of show round.  Sometimes these competitions request three bottles so that they can have a fresh bottle for the mini BOS and still have one for the actual Best of Show judging.

What if I don’t know what category my beer should be entered in?

When in doubt, track down the local expert.  Bring your beers to a homebrew club meeting and ask for advice.  If you have a local homebrew store, take your beers there and ask them for feedback. (If they seem irritated by your request, start using a different supplier.  Homebrew shops are there to help homebrewers and should never act putout when advice is needed.)  Beers are judged against a defined set of style guidelines.  You can have an excellent beer but if it is a pale ale and you enter it as an American Light Pilsner, it is going to score poorly.  For a complete description of the BJCP style guidelines go to http://www.bjcp.org.

How are entries identified?

Entries are initially identified by the bottle label that is printed and attached to the bottle with a rubber band by the person entering the beer.  Once an entry is received, the entry is checked in and the bottles are marked on the bottle caps with an anonymous number along with the style category and sub-style it belongs to.  The bottle labels are removed prior to being judged so the judges have no idea who the brewer is of beer they are judging.  This is only way to be truly impartial.

What can I expect from my score sheets?

Well, since we all can’t win the gold, what other reason would we have to enter competitions? The answer is feedback.  The mission statement for FOAM Cup is feedback feedback feedback.

Beers are evaluated by certified beer judges that can help point out what is wrong and what is right about your beer.  They will comment on aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel and give an overall impression of your beers. Keep in mind that your beer is being judged against standardized style guidelines.

When will I get my score sheets back?

That depends on the competition.  The FOAM Cup announces the winners the evening of the competition and score sheets are mailed back along with prizes and medals the following week.  This is generally that way most competitions work.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Thanks to Inter Wine for this information.

Just the other day a customer asked for clarification on how to pronounce Amarone. I wish I had known about this website then.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

When a customer wants us to recommend a wine, we generally ask them what kind of wines they like. The typical answers are “I like sweet wine.” or “I like dry reds.” Well, that is a pretty broad statement. A Merlot is a dry red but so is a Cabernet. They are like night and day. It takes several more questions to help them figure out what they may be interested in.

Well, I just found a quick little quiz on the Food & Wine website that can help you figure out what your wine style is:

Which do you drink? 2007 St. Francis Wild Oak Chardonnay ($25). Photo Courtesy of St. Francis Winery. Whole Milk Go for richer, more full-bodied wines—California Chardonnay, for instance. Chardonnay Pairings Skim Milk You like lighter-style wines, such as Chablis.

Which juice do you prefer? 2008 Indaba Sauvignon Blanc ($10). Photo courtesy of Cape Classics. Grapefruit Juice You like things with high acidity—for whites, that means varieties like Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. Sauvignon Blanc Pairings Orange Juice You prefer sweeter, riper flavors, so stick to Chardonnay, say, or Viognier.

Which would you rather have on a steak? 2007 Perrin Nature Côtes du Rhône. Photo Courtesy of Perrin & Fils. Cracked Black Pepper Try spicy Old World reds, like Syrah and other Rhône varieties. Old World Pairings Béarnaise Sauce You want a lush, smooth California Merlot.

Which sounds more appealing? 2006 St. Francis Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel ($22). Photo courtesy of St. Francis Winery. Black Truffles You’re a fan of earthy, funky umami flavors. Drink Pinot Noir, especially from the Old World. Pinot Noir Pairings Blackberries You love fruit. New World reds are your thing: Australian Shiraz, California Zinfandel.

More Wine Tips from Food & Wine:

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

The beer turned out to be a nice amber color and had a great hop character. The candy syrup added a pleasant caramel quality and the American hops balanced the beer nicely. I was attempting to make an American Amber Ale and I really feel it turned out great. If I were to give it to someone to drink and didn’t tell them it was gluten free, they wouldn’t know. As a BJCP judge, I would give it a score in the low 30′s, a respectable score. I’m very excited.

I made a few mistakes in this first attempt. I over-sparged. We normally brew 10 gallon recipes and I made the mistake of eyeballing the volume in the kettle. This resulted in 7 gallons of wort to boil down instead of 6. To make up for it I added another pound of dark candy syrup to bring the gravity to what it should have been. I also should have precooked the rice. Even thought the rice was sprouted, it was too hard and I don’t think I got much out of the rice. So, I’m going to give it another try with the correct volume and precooking the rice. I will post my results for that one when I finally get it done.

I’m also ordering brown rice syrup from Briess to use for an extract version.  Once I get them both tested out I will offer them as kits.

Here is the recipe from my first attempt:

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew

Oklahoma and the Fellowship of Oklahoma Alemakers (FOAM) took nine medals in the first round of this year’s American Homebrewers Association National Competition. FOAM is part of the Old West Region and judging took place on April 23rd & 24th, 2010.  The AHA Nationals are judged in 2 rounds, the first of which is in 9 different regions and the medal winners from the 9 regions are entered into the final round which will be held at this year’s Homebrewers Conference to be held on June 17-19th in Minneapolis.

Dave and I judged at this year’s first round for the Old West Region. I have to say I didn’t have a bad beer in all the entries that I judged.  The Old West Region had the most entries of all the regions with 748 registered entries.  It is comprised of three states, Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado.  The competition was tough.  Judging took place on April 23rd and 24th. Winners were posted this morning, April 29th.

Here are the winners from Oklahoma:

Shawn Scott of McAlester, OK and a member of FOAM won second place for his Bohemian Pilsener. He also won third place for his German Weizenbock and third place for his Old Ale.

Duane Evans of Owasso, OK and a member of FOAM took second place for his American Brown Ale.

Peter Polczynski of Tulsa, OK and a member of FOAM took first place for his Baltic Porter.

Jeff Pursley of Bixby, OK and a member of FOAM took second place for his Belgian Dubbel.

Jeffrey Swearengin of Tulsa, OK and a member of FOAM took third place for his Semi-Sweet Mead. He also took second place for his Pyment Mead.

John Karmazin of Claremore, OK and also a member of FOAM took third place for his Fruit Melomel.

All the winners receive points towards the Homebrew Club of the Year.  Last year FOAM placed 9th in the country.  With this year’s medals FOAM is looking to move up in ranking.  Congratulations to all the Oklahoma winners and wish them luck in the final round.

Cheers,
Desiree Knott
desiree@highgravitybrew.com
http://www.highgravitybrew.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-16115-Tulsa-Home-Brewing-Examiner
http://www.facebook.com/highgravitybrew