Well, it has been way too long, my December has been very busy, so I have not had much time to update the site. I have added some photos of transferring the Ten Year Stout to kegs, transferring the Wagging Cape Winter Ale to the secondary fermenters and brewing Rainy Day Rye. That covers a few of things that have happened since the last log. We kegged the Ten Year Stout on December 2nd. Marc and I were both surprised at how well it turned out, and we will definitely be brewing it again. My keg got tapped on the 8th, Danika's last day of class, for a party. Everyone had favorable comments and the keg ran out pretty early, so I would say it was a success. The Wagging Cape got transferred the same night we kegged the stout, the 2nd, it is ready to be kegged now, but Marc and I have not had time to do so yet. We sampled it when we did the transfer, it tasted a bit off, but hopefully it is better now after fermenting some more. We found time to brew a batch of rye ale on the 4th, Rainy Day Rye, since it rained the whole time we were brewing. It has an interesting color and seems to be separating more than normal, the top is almost clear and the bottom is very dark. I talked to my dad when I was home for the holidays about building a stand with three burners to be part of a brewing system. He thought it would pretty inexpensive to build the stand out of tube steel. I need to check how much it will cost to finish converting the kegs I have into brew kettles. Two will need false bottoms, and all three will need a spigot and a thermometer. I have thought about using weldless fittings, but I think in the end it will be much better to just find someone who can weld some stainless fittings onto the kegs. I guess that is it for now, hopefully we will keg the winter ale soon and transfer the rye to the secondarys.

We just got back a while ago from the Issaquah Brewery, they had the kegs of hazelnut this time, so it is now what is on tap. We named the homebrew from the 14th, we had thrown around the name Wagging Cape Winter Ale and decided to go with it since we couldn't come up with anything better. So I suppose I should tell the story, not too much to tell, Jakob at one point during the brew decided Dax would look better with a cape, so we attached a cape to her, which went well past her tail, and since she never stops wagging it we had a wagging cape, it was quite funny. I still need to get the photos up from the brew session, none with Dax and cape unfortunately. Hopefully I will be able to spend some time on them this weekend.

It has been a while again, there are a few updates. The keg of XXXXX ran out on Friday. We went to the Issaquah Brewery on Wednesday to pick up a couple of kegs of Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar, but they did not end up having them, so the kegerator is again without beer. I spent a rather large chunk of the day yesterday converting one of the kegs I was given into a brew pot. I used a Dremel to cut an eleven inch hole in the top, then I drilled another hole in the top by a handle to allow a racking cane to be slipped in. I have a lid for it that fits well. I also made a racking cane out of copper, it took longer to make the racking can than it did to convert the keg. Marc and I went to the brew store yesterday and we picked up grain, yeast, etc to brew a WinterHook clone, which we brewed this morning. It was pretty uneventful, and we still have yet to name it.

We got all positive comments a the party about the pale ale, which I think were genuine since the keg got finished off. Marc and I did a taste test against Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale and it is much more hoppy than ours, so the next time we will add some more hops.

Well the weather was great so Marc and I brewed the imperial stout today. Pretty much uneventful... I think that is a good thing. The last time Marc brewed this recipe was ten years ago to the month, so we christened it Ten Year Stout. The brewing went well and I think it will turn out pretty welled based on the sample we had before transferring it into the primary fermenter. I also got to taste the Pris Barbie Pale Ale today. Marc and his wife tried it last night and said it wasn't all that great, not bad, but not real good either. I tried it today and thought it was pretty good, and after trying it again today, both Marc and his wife thought it was pretty good. He turned the CO2 up and set the fridge lower, so that may have had something to do with it tasting better. I guess we will have a real test tonight at the party when a number of people will get to try it.

Well, it has been a busy week, let's see if I can remember it all. Marc (and family) finished his keg of Elysian on Friday or Saturday and put the keg of porter in his kegerator to chill. He tapped it on Sunday night and drank the first glass (of mostly yeasties). I went over to his house on Monday to try it, but on my way there I stopped by my sister-in-laws to pick up a couple of kegs I am going to convert into brew pots. The porter turned out pretty good there is room for improvement but we were both happy with it. I let a few of my friends have some and they all thought it was pretty good. On Tuesday I won an auction on eBay and procured a couple more soda kegs. Thursday night I went over to Marc's to keg the Pris Barbie Pale Ale and have some more of the porter. We got the pale ale kegged and before I left I was going to fill a growler to give to a friend of ours whose hops we used to make it, and after the growler got about an inch in it, the kegerator started to sputter, it had run out after less than a week. I guess it couldn't have been that bad. My soda kegs from the eBay auction arrived today, hopefully we will fill them with beer soon. Marc and I went to the homebrew store to pick up grain to brew an imperial stout tomorrow if it is not raining too hard. Tomorrow night we are taking one of the kegs of pale ale to a Halloween party.

My new Murphy's Irish Stout tap handle and N2 faucet arrived today. I got it off eBay for $20.50 (+ $8.50 S&H), about half of what I would have paid for just the faucet. Now all I need is the tank and regulator and I can get a keg of Hale's Cream Ale. I put the faucet on the kegerator (currently Pike XXXXX Stout is in it) to try it out, and it makes a nice thick head with CO2, but once it settles the beer is pretty flat, I guess I will put the other faucet back on until I get a keg of N2 beer.

We got the porter kegged last night. After both trying a bit we agreed that it seems to have turned out pretty well. We will probably tap it this weekend. There has been talk about brewing an imperial stout next, but both of our schedules have been quite busy so we aren't exactly sure when that will be.

Marc transferred the pale ale to the secondary fermenters on Friday. My new Winterhook (used actually) tap handle arrived today. I got it for $2 (+ $6 S&H) off eBay.

I am not sure what Marc did to the yeast, it has really been in overdrive. When he checked the fermenters this morning they had both overblown. He cleaned everything up and re-capped them, but tonight they are still at it.

Marc and I brewed a ten gallon batch of the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale knock off yesterday. Mia gave Dax a Barbie to "play" with, and after a few minutes she looked like Pris from Blade Runner, so we decided to name the brew Pris Barbie Pale Ale. So, Dax helped with that, but later decided to kick the wort chiller of the deck (chasing a ball of course) about twenty minutes before the end of the boil. We glued it back together (during which we forgot to add the Irish moss, so it is a bit cloudier than it should be) and clamped it. Surprisingly, it held up, it leaked a bit at first, but than actually stopped leaking after a while. I would have to say it was a successful day, there is now ten gallons of Pale Ale (and five of porter) fermenting in Marc's basement (along side his new kegerator, I think secretly he wants to be just like me). Here are some photos from the brew process.

Marc and I went to Homebrew Heaven today and got some brew supplies. I bought my first piece of homebrew equipment, a soda keg and some of the fittings I need to make it work with the kegerator. It looks like we will be brewing a ten gallon batch on Sunday of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale knock off.

The kegerator now has a keg of Pike XXXXX Stout. Marc's kegerator shipped, so it is probably just a matter of time before I need to get a new tap handle. I may try to get out to RedHook and buy a handle from their store.

Well, the parts the kegerator was missing when I got it finally came. It only took them a month and half. I think our party last night was a success, Jason had a beer this afternoon, and when he went to get his second, he got less than half a glass before it started to sputter. Hopefully it will be easier to get the next keg than it was to get the last two.

Marc transfered the beer last night to the secondary fermenter. He tested the alcohol content, and it was 3.1% by weight and 3.9% by volume. He also did an interim taste test, and to quote him, "... it will be a fine tasting beer! Really well balanced." So, now all that is left (besides drinking it, of course) is to wait a couple weeks and then keg it.

Well, it was a beautiful day today, so Marc and brewed the porter. It was the first time brewing for me, and it was pretty interesting. There was quite a bit of standing around and waiting for things to boil or cool off... and now we have to wait for it to ferment. Here are some photos from the process.

Marc and I will be starting a porter tomorrow (provided it doesn't rain). I am looking forward to learning some of the tricks of the trade. I have had one of Marc's past brews it was quite good, so I am hopeful something good will come of the porter.