BIG50 Batch #3

[MixnMatchBrew]

Batch #2 is done and in the fermenters.

Going forward we will co-ordinate better.
The rig runs very well now and I think we will be able to hit our targets better going forward.

I'm looking for future brew masters who want to run and organize a brew day on the BIG50 system. Your role would be to design the beer, run the brew rig and help co-ordinate the ingredient purchase etc.
A day or two before brewday you will come help me organize and load everything needed for the day on the trailer. If you want to team up with someone that is fine!

Anyone interested in taking a share of beer will help with the brew day and contact me via email at [email protected]
We will itemize the cost of the brew and collect money at brew day.

I'm going to leave off on deciding what we will brew. Start posting some thoughts here what you think would be fun to run through the big brew rig.

Wayne.

[Bill Lawrence]

Well, I get the distinct feeling that the club has alot of new members many of which are just getting started (welcome by the way). Since you asked for ideas I'll just throw this out there for your consideration. Why not pick a style to brew that is coming up in a future COC (all the remaining beers are ales and only one of them is probably not the best for beginners, that being the Olde ale at the end of the year). Get the education dude to work up a presentation about the style you'll be brewing and formulate a recipe. Get all the newbees to go in and find somebody who knows what the hell they are doing to run your beast (Orlando would be great, he's absolutely a fanatic and will show the new guys how to do it the right way but of course there are others). Once you get brewing, have the education guy lecture their young asses about the style, why the receipe is the way it is etc. Maybe even provide a few commerical examples to let them get a feel for the good stuff and get them excited about the beer they are making. Once the beer gets made, have them enter it into the COC so they get some experience entering a contest. Once you are done, the new guys will have gone through the entire process, met new people and gotten some competiton experience plus received some feedback on their beer. By the way, I recommend the porter, it's a more forgiving style and they can also enter their beers in the Limbo if you choose to do a Brown Porter. By the way, before you even get started on me, I am usually tied up on Saturday mornings and besides, you don't want the new guys picking up any of my bad habits.

[bpillmore]

I was looking forward to meeting you in person, Bill. Great idea on the big batch. I would definitely be up for helping brew a batch and fermenting 5 gallons at home.

Thanks!

The Newest Newbie

[slackerlack]

Bill has some fantastic suggestions Wayne. This sounds fun. LETS DO THIS!

-Jonathan

[egens]

Good idea, Bill. The porter isn't till August though, so that leaves the question of what to do with the monster rig on the 18th. It'll be too late by then to brew for the March 3rd dead line for the Stouts. But we could do Scottish and Irish Ales, with the bonus that these could also be ready for the Celtic (entries are due April 12th.)

[MixnMatchBrew]

I am not planning on running and organizing a brew on the 18th.

If someone is stepping up to organize and brew on the rig that day they will need to decide very quickly so they can contact me.
I'll transport and help get the rig and gear prepped but the rest will be on the volunteering "brewmaster"


Wayne.

[ejonsson]

How about doing a big batch of Black IPA for the Big Batch Brew Bash in May? It would be great to see someone from this club win that. The Houston clubs really flood that competition with entries. We could produce 9 or 10 entries from one batch on the Big 50. In addition to the winner getting their beer brewed as a future Divine Reserve release, they also give out a Heavy Hitter award, which is a keg of Saint Arnold beer, awarded to the club with the most entries.

If we were to do a big batch for the BBBB, it would need to be in February, since we won't have a brew day in March, because of Bluebonnet activities, and the April brew day will be too late. I am willing to run this if the interest is there.

[egens]

So I had done some e-mailing with Wayne, and Barrett and I were looking at doing a Scottish 70/- for COC and Celtic. Both of which are due April. When is the BBBB due? The website doesn't seem to have been updated. It'd be cool if we could find a way to do both, if not we'll need to figure out which we want to do.

[ejonsson]

The entry deadline for BBBB is May 11th.

[egens]

So basically first weekend in April would be the latest date for that.

[RobDrechsler]

Erich
just look at the BBBD web and they're not showing a style.. you have insider info?

[ejonsson]

My info about the Big Batch came from Orlando, our Lone Star Curcuit rep. Apparently, the Big Batch organizers informed the Lone Star Circuit reps, but have yet to update their website.

[egens]

After a brief discussion at the COC judging, Barrett and I will be doing the Sottish 70/- on February brew day, and Einar will do a Black IPA on the April brew day.
Here's a link to my proposed recipe:

http://hopville.com/recipe/1097606/scot ... big-brew-3

Let me know if you want to take 5 gallons.

The finished beer should be valid for both the up coming COC and the Celtic Brew off. So if you take some, please enter it, and get me your score sheets along with some quick notes on what you did with it (doesn't have to be fancy, just yeast strain, start if any, temp control if any.) I'll compile the data in a usable form. Let's use this as an opportunity to run some experiments and figure out what works.

[BrotherhoodBrew]

I am down for 5 for sure.

[MixnMatchBrew]

I'm in for 5 gallons. We need to get together late next week to get the gear together.

Wayne.