Took advantage of a near 50F day to get some outside brewing time in. 10 gallons of Marzen and 10 gallons of Dunkel into the basement for some lagering.
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Happy Camp Hellesbock. 1 month before I can crack one open.
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I see Home brewing in my near future, even though I don't really drink.
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I don't drink a whole bunch either Chad.. So the 2 cases this makes.. Last me quite a while.
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I told the old lady about my plan to home brew after we move, she just rolled her eyes
"another one" she say's. Time to start researching.
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Just bottled my first gallon, a smoked wheat ale. Should be ready just in time for the big game.
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^^^
a smoked wheat ale, sounds tasty, don't think I've ever tried that before. Just read your signature, I don't always drink beer, but when I do its a New Castle.
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Anybody manage to get entries registered for this year's National Homebrew Competition? The site was fubar yesterday, but I was successful in submitting entries to the Atlanta regional: a chocolate cherry stout, dark saison, American brown, and an IPA (with a Two Hearted Ale malt base + DFH 90 hopping schedule, currently being dry hopped.)

After last year's judging disaster in Pittsburgh, I swore off the AHA comp, but decided to test my luck in a different region. Maybe I'll at least get some valid feedback this year :-) For $12/entry, I hope so.
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A fellow homebrewer sent me the link yesterday. I didn't enter anything though. I wish I had realized that the homebrewers conference was in Philly this year, might have tried to get tickets. Guess I'll save my pennies for Belgium comes to Cooperstown this year.

I'd be interested to hear what the judging disaster was? I had a pal that was very worked up that his beer scored a 38 in our homebrew comp but got a 27 in the NHC.
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I had heard lots of negative feedback about the quality of the judging in the Pittsburgh regional last year. My anecdote: I entered 6 beers, a total of 12 judging sheets returned. Less than half of my judges were ranked BJCP. Three of my forms only had scores, without any commentary in the sections to back them up. Two of my beers (completely different categories) were judged by the same 2 individuals: a Novice and a volunteer. Both of their written comments critiquing both beers were almost exactly the same on each of their sheets. This was not what I had ever encountered at NHC, so I was quite disappointed, especially after AHA had jacked the entry fees. So I wasn't upset about the scores themselves, just in the lack of value in the judging.
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Send a few my way and I will judge them for you :-)

Just ordered my first beer making kit last week, looking forward to the weather getting nicer so I can get to it.
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I have been brewing/kegging every weekend for the past 9 weeks ;o). Don't have the clipboard in front of me to tell you exactly what in which order but the stand out of batches would have to be a DFH 90 min clone as well as IIPA I came up with using the Tricerahops grain bill and 8 oz of Belma and Cirta hops. DFH was so good it popped in 3 weeks so I brewed another kit this past weekend. All of this and I still have 4 empty kegs to fill muahahhahahahaha.
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Thanks for the details Gerard. Not a good thing to hear.

Ten gallons of a Kern double citra clone and ten gallons of a simcoe IPA into fermenters today.
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Used 5 gallons of syrup in a 10 gallon oatmeal stout batch today.

I call it syrup, but it came out of the arch of the system friends evaporate on. It is a little more watery than syrup and darker in color (SG 1.088). Has a strong flavor that should come through in the beer, and it was free. No way I'd dump 5 gallons of syrup in a beer at current prices! Hope it works out.
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I'm a home brewing noob. I just opened my first bottle from my first batch today, an Irish stout. It's tasty but needs more time to develop some more carbonation.
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Got three going now
5 gal - Belgian Dark Strong (1.100 OG on WLP500)
55 gal - Oud Bruin (1.087 OG primaried on WLP500, now sitting in a Jack Daniels barrel on WLP665)
5 gal - Belgian Dark Strong (1.096 OG on WLP500)

Next week I'll knock out a 10 gallon batch of Classic American Pils.
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Does everyone know about St. Lou Stu winning a silver medal at the The fifteenth annual Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing Championship event for the 2012 calendar year. Take a look at Category 7 here.

There is a master brewer among us!
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Just put 10 gallons of a Hop Rod Rye clone in primary. Sitting on a cake of pacman from a simcoe pale ale. I expect this one to ferment out very quickly.
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Tomorrow we're brewing a all-grain batch of a Peanut Butter Chocolate Stout. Can't wait to try this one.
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That sounds very interesting Bob. Keep us posted on how that turns out. As for me it looks like my centennial hops are ready to be picked so as soon as they are dry im looking at working on a nice pale ale.
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