Brew Day Endurance!

While the challengers at the 2009 Ironman Championships pounded away - swimming 2.4 miles, cycling over 112 miles, and running 26 miles, in Kona Hawaii, I decided that I would not only have the Ironman playing over the stereo and on the screen all day but would also make it a marathon brew day!

2 Brews - 1 day! When we went to the store to pickup fresh hops and yeast, we noticed they had some box brews on sale so we decided to pick one up. $30 didn't seem too bad, and I have been looking to immerse myself in some darker beers to learn to appreciate them a little more lately. So I picked up a Brewers Best Dunkelweisen. I like Hefeweisen, so the darker maltier cousin should taste relatively good. The brewer at Brew & Grow in Roselle let us sample some of the brews they had on tap there, so I tried the Pumpkin Ale (I'm a longtime fan of pumpkin ales). It was good - but I would've enjoyed just a touch more pumpkin/spice flavors, otherwise it was really delicious. Then off to home, it's brew time!

First was the Ginger Pale Ale - I think it turned out relatively well, and the homemade immersion cooler I had made earlier this week worked to turn the temp down in the wort very quickly! Had a little issue with the siphon to the carboy, but otherwise was a decent time. I tried some different things with the sanitation this time, and used Starsan for the first time. It seemed to work moderately well, and I'm hoping everything I've read on it proves to be true. The GPA is fermenting away in the closet as I type this, and I absolutely can't wait to get things rocking.

A short break to watch some more Ironman, and clean the pot and tools, and we were ready to get going for round 2! I debated on putting off the next batch until today (Sunday) but decided to go ahead with it on Saturday evening. Got the water boiling up, poppped open the kit and prepared everything. The house smelled of a dark wort, and it smelled delicious! I think I could still smell it this morning! The second batch went much smoother - although as the evening wore on, I realized I forgot to add the maltodextrose during the boil. Ouch. I decided to continue on despite, and talked to Ean from Blue Tape Black Marker, and he said the only thing it would really affect would be alcohol content for the most part. Some quick googling also seemed to confirm that, and the rest of the process went along flawlessly.

At the end of it all, got things cleaned up and made a few notes:
1. Need to pickup a propane burner that I can use in the garage - the stovetop is very hard to brew on.
2. Brewing multiple batches in one day is tough, and tiring! Thank goodness I had a little help from my last batch of homebrew to keep me motivated ;)
3. I think it would be useful to try and come up with some sort of 'system' to my homebrewing to help eliminate the possibility of forgetting any ingredients in the future ;)

All in all, it was a great brew day - and 2 wonderful beers are fermenting away in the closet wrapped in their respective blankets. In a couple weeks time it will be bottling time!
*Pictures to come later!

I also wanted to give a HUGE shoutout to David Bailey - a former SX/MX champion who was paralyzed years ago in an MX related accident. He is a former Ironman Champion himself in the wheelchair division, and was competing yesterday. He pushed himself hard, and finished strong mounting for a 2nd place. If his past Ironmans are any indication - he's already thinking about next year, and getting that top spot on the podium. And if his previous championships prove anything, they prove he's completely capable. My hats off to him, and all of the contestants who finished (and those who didn't finish but made the cut) the 2009 Kona Ironman. Congratulations!