Adventures in brewing with Yarrow part 2

Today I moved the yarrow ale from the primary fermenter into a secondary fermenter.  This is done to get the beer off all the sediment that settles out while the beer is fermenting.  Mostly the sediment is yeast that has run its life cycle and settled to the bottom if a beer. If the beer is allowed to sit on the bed of yeast for too long, then the yeast starts autolyzing (eating itself).  This is not a good thing and makes the beer taste funny (Think cheesy beer).  

So, this move is always a reason for excitement, because it is the first chance I get to steal a little taste and see how the beer is shaping up.  I was especially excited for this batch since I've never brewed with Yarrow before and guessed at how much was needed and how long it should be boiled during the brewing process.  I'm happy to announce that the beer is tasting very nice.  It has a great yarrow aroma that hits your nose as you put the glass to your mouth and again in the aftertaste.  The yarrow provides a nice amount of bittering to balance out the sweetness of the hops.  The wheat malt I used is also adding to the flavor with a nice nutty flavor.  Mmmmm  this is making me thirsty...

For the homebrewers out there, after 7 days the gravity is now 1.022.  It should get down to about 1.015 when it is done fermenting.  For the non-homerbrewer out there specific gravity is the weight of a liquid compared to water.  So the starting weight of 1.060 tells us it was .06 units heavier than water.  A good portion of the sugars in the starting liquid have now been eaten be the yeast, which creates alcohol and carbon dioxide and in the process makes the weight of the liquid lighter.  When the number stops dropping, you know the beer is done fermenting.  This is handy because if you bottle beer before it is done fermenting, then you end up with nice little glass shrapnel bombs.

In another week or two it will be ready to bottle.  I can't wait to taste it completely fermented, cold and carbonated.

The impending rock and roll show

It seems like I've been waiting for months to play.  Tonight Shackleton (the music playing in the background silly) is playing at our favorite dive bar of all time, Burt's Tiki Lounge.  We have played a lot of other venues and Burt's might not have the best drinks, the best smell, or the most courteous bartenders (although they get my vote for best, just remember: 1) don't shout at them from down the bar, they see you and are working towards you 2) don't wave a couple of dollars trying to get their attention, see reason #1 and 3), Unless you are paying on a card, tip every time you get a drink, even if it is water), but it feels like home to us damn it!  Now that we have some bar etiquette out of the way, let's talk about the bands that we have the pleasure of sharing the stage with tonight.  Our friends and fans have had to sit through some pretty terrible bands through the years, but tonight is one of those rare nights when we are playing with good bands on a Friday night.

First, we have the other local support, Fail To Follow

Fail to Follow, or as we Sachez renamed them "Succeed to Lead" are one of the tightest punk acts around.  They have a anthem style akin to bands like Good Riddance, Pennywise, and Avail, but do create a unique sound all their own.  They always play great and are nice chaps to boot.

And then we have Cobra Skulls

Cobra Skulls are one hell of a rock band.  They meld a variety of styles (punk, reggae, rockabilly, and more) together and have an amazing stage pressance.  They are the kind of band that get people that haven't ever seen them or heard them before singing along and dancing.  They were listed in Alternative Press as one of "100 bands you need to know", bands that will "restore your faith in music".  

 As for Shackleton, all songs from our debut EP are available for purchase from our Reverb Nation site, as well as Myspace.  We are going in to the studio to record our first full length album in August.  We hear that a good number of people are coming out to support us tonight and that means a lot to us, we love all of you.

This could change things

There is a little electric car company out of Canada called ZENN, who is already producing low speed electric cars that are okay for driving around urban areas, or neighborhoods, but that is about it. That really isn't very exciting and I don't feel like spend $14,000+ to go 25 mph for about 30 miles per charge. What is exciting, is they are developing a new vehicle with a Texas based energy storage company which uses a revolutionary type of "battery" called a super capicitor. There is not a lot of information out there yet about EEStor Inc and their new technology because they are privately held and the target of hungry oil, auto, and utility companies that would like to purchase them and their technology and bury it somewhere deep where no one would ever find it. Their super capacitor is able to store up to 10 time the energy as a regular battery, can be charged in as little as 5 minutes, is contructed out of common elements, is less expensive then traditional batteries, and is completely nonhazardous. The uses of their technology are vast: storing and transporting renewable energy, powering everything from cell phones to houses, and of course cars. Okay, now go read about the ZENNcity. I tell you what, I'm going to start saving my pennies to buy one as soon as they are available, hell, I'm tempted to buy stock in the company.

adventures in brewing with Yarrow

I've been intending to brew a beer using yarrow for years, but hadn't gotten around to it. Well this year has been a great year for brewing and I had some nice big yarrow blossoms in my yard, so I decided the time had come. If you don't know what yarrow is, it looks like the image on the left. It is a very hardy flowering herb that grows all over the world. It was once widely used as a bittering ingredient in beer before hops gained popularity and is sometimes called "field hops". Years back I tried a beer brewed with yarrow and it was interesting stuff. Not only does it taste good (although different then you are used to), but the buzz that the beer will give is very different than normal. It's almost like drinking a big cup of coffee while you are drinking a beer. The recipe I put together is as follows:

5 gallons water

3.3 lbs (1 can) Cooper Amber Malt Extract

4 lbs Mutons Dry Wheat Malt Extract

12 oz. 20 Lovibond Crystal Malt

2 oz. fresh picked Yarrow blossoms

1 oz. Cascade Hops (used for aroma only)

Wyeast British Ale Yeast

If you want to know the times for each of these ingredients in the brewing process, then ask, but I figured that would be a bit much for most people. I brewed on Sunday and the beer was off to a nice fermentation on Monday morning, so in 10 day or so I'll be able to pull a taster to see how my experiment turned out. For those of you that want to drink it, well it should be aged and carbonated in about three weeks.