14th Brew - Bohemian Pilsner - May 3 2008

I have given the Big Brew some thought and have decided not to travel this year. The logistics of packing everything up, unpacking at the site, re-packing when finished, and transporting the fermentor back without spilling is just too much.  Thus, I will be celebrating National Homebrew Day this year at my house with my own brew. All are welcome to come.

There have been a couple developments since my first email that should make this brew interesting:

1. I have acquired a small upright freezer to be used to temperature control my brews, specifically for lagers. This is needed because lagers need to be fermented between 45-55 degrees Fahrenheit (unlike ales which typically ferment between 65-75). The freezer also will allow for cold conditioning (a.k.a. lagering) when fermentation is complete, which is helpful for conditioning the beer, flocculating suspended yeast, and cold filtering (eliminates chill haze).
2. As a result of the above, I have decided to make a lager. My first ever. In light of the upcoming summer, I have chosen to make a traditional bohemian pilsner.
3. I received new flow meters from Switzerland last week (old ones were broken). I have been working diligently in my spare time to get the Marriotsville kegbot ready in time for the brew. With any luck it will be operational in time. The current implementation will have flow meters without valves and use a fingerprint scanner to identify users instead of an iButton.

That’s about it. I still have plenty of Belgian Strong Ale and Barley wine on tap now, and the last brew is pretty much ready to go. I just have to filter it and keg it.

I hope to see everyone here celebrating the important National Homebrew Holiday.