Tommy's Two Stone Porter

Latest home brew recipe which is currently fermenting for the holidays:

3/4 lb. chocolate malt

1/2 lb. Caramunich malt

1/2 lb. 60L malt

1/4 lb. roasted malt

1/2 lb. dry wheat malt

3 lbs. dry dark malt

3 lbs. amber malt

2 oz. Cascade hops (boiling)

2 oz. Nugget hops (finishing)

1 vial White Labs British Ale yeast

OG: 1.067

FG: ???

Brewed with my favorite nephew, Tommy, in mind. He's nearly 18 months old now, and getting REALLY big. The "Two Stone" reference is to the British weight measurement of "stone". He's a big kid, and I swear he easily weighs 2 stone (about 28 pounds) at only 1 years old.

<- Here's a photo of Tommy & his Dad (my brother)

The brew should be ready for drinking right before Christmas.

Fisticuffs Red

First of all, Barack Obama was inaugurated as our 44th President of the United States yesterday morning. That definitely started out the day right. I watched it in the conference room at work on the big screen projected up on the wall with my co-workers. Pastries were brought in and tasty Stumptown coffee was consumed. It was fantastic.

Noland and I brewed up an Amber last night, with the need to have proper beer available for consuming during next month's Chili Fest. Photos here document some of what happened. They include, "Hop-filled bag boiling in the wort", "Counter-flow chiller ready to perform", "Noland shaking the White Labs yeast vial for pitching", and "The vase I broke while dragging a hose around the house". The amber is being called "Fisticuffs Red", and should be ready just in time for the Chili Fest at Das Bell Haus. The Crafts WILL be taking home 1st place this year.

Fisticuffs Red

7 lbs. Light malt extract

1 lb. Amber dry malt

1 lb. Crystal 40L

1/4 lb. Roasted black barley

3/4 lb. Corn sugar

2 oz. Yakima Golding whole leaf hops (60 min. boil)

2 oz. Mt. Hood whole leaf hops (15 min. finishing)

1 vial White Labs California Ale yeast