February 02, 2012
Table Top Brewing is offering 5% off of all our inventory February 2nd thru 9th in celebration of Cincinnati Beer Week! Stop on in and see all Table Top has to offer! We are hosting several Cincinnati Beer Week events as a Official Venue! Learn more about Table Top Brewing Beer Week Events at the Official Cincinnati Beer Week website at http://www.cincinnatibeerweek.com
February 02, 2012
Taught by Table Top Brewing co-founder/co-owner Tom Wehner. The class will be held from 11:00am to 2:30pm. A full demonstration of beer making using a kit will happen, along with equipment demonstration. Learn more, get your questions answered and see how it's easy to make your own great tasting beer! We will be making Table Top Brewing's Crystal Amber Ale kit. Simply RSVP by emailing Tom@tabletopbrewing.com and you are registered.
Table Top Brewing's Cystal Amber Ale
Recipe
Description:2-Row/Crystal Malt with a caramel medium rich flavor and a deep copper amber color.
There is a slight bitterness from the hops with a balance of malt flavor.
60 Minute Boil in Brew Pot
30 Minute Steeping of Grains at 150 ºF
6 lbs Sparking Amber Liquid Malt Extract (LME)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 L Malt (steeping grain)
0.25 lbs Caramel 80 L Malt (steeping grain)
1.0 oz Northern Brewing Hops (Bittering) @ 60 Minutes
0.5 oz
0.5 oz
Yeast: Muntons Ale Sachet
OG: 1.052 – 1.057, IBU: 23-28
February 01, 2012
This past Monday, I had the privilege of appearing on the Fox 19 Morning News show. Excecutive Chef Jackson Rouse from smoQ and I went down to do some food and beer pairings, as well as talk about Cincinnati Beer Week happening February 2nd thr 9th and the 5th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest! We had some great food and beer pairings, including two homebrews-both winners of the Cincinnati Malt Infusers' Oktobersbest homebrew competition! Ellzebelle, a Belgian Stout was brewed by the Cincinnati Malt Infuser's own Will Magnuszewski and won the 2010 Oktobesbest homebrew competition. Will then brewed his winner at Rivertown Brewing! It went to the 2011 Cincy Winter Beerfest as the Official Beerfest Beer, then out to Denver, Colorado with Rivertown Brewing as a Pro-AM entry at the Great American Beer Festival!
The other homebrew was the 2011 CMI Oktobersbest Homebrew Competition winner! Local homebrewer Scott LaFollette won, beating out 264 other entries with his Brett Stout, a Russian Imperial Stout barrel aged with Brettanomyces. Scott, a member of the Bloatarian Brewing League and the Cincinnati Malt Infusers has brewed his winning entry out at Rivertown Brewing as well. It will be at the 5th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest as the Official Beer, then go on out to the 2012 Great American Beer Festival as a Pro-Am Entry! Scott is also starting his own craft brewery, called Blank Slate Beer. It just goes to show how you can make your own great homebrew and do wonderful things with it! We have everything you need at Table Top Brewing to do just that, so stop on by!
If you want to see the Fox 19 Appearence, you can find it at: Fox 19: Cincinnati Beer Week & Cincy Winter Beerfest.
Speaking of Cincinnati Beer Week, we have three great events scheduled now! First up is our Table Top & Yelp! Homebrew 101 event happening on Friday, February 3rd from 6pm-10pm! This event is now full, but you can sign up for the waiting list at Yelp! by clicking here. On Tuesday, February 7th, Bob Wimberg, historian and author of Cincinnati Breweries will be in store to talk about Cincinnati's brewing history and sign copies of his great book, beginning at 6:00pm. This serves as a warm up to our Cultivating Hops Seminar, beginning at 6:30pm with Table Top co-owner/co founder Tom Wehner. This seminar is FREE and you will receive one FREE hop rhizome to take home and grow, simply for attending.
We will also be at the 5th Annual Cincy Winter Beerfest on February 10th & 11th! Each day, Tom will be conducting a homebrew demonstration at our booth. Stop by and check it out! For those of you interested in entering the Cincinnati Malt Infusers' All-American Ale Competition, you can do so at this link: http://allamericanale.brewcompetition.com/index.php
November 30, 2011
Taught by Table Top Brewing co-founder/co-owner Tom Wehner. The class will be held from 11:00am to 2:30pm. A full demonstration of beer making using a kit will happen, along with equipment demonstration. Learn more, get your questions answered and see how it's easy to make your own great tasting beer! We will be making Table Top Brewing's Crystal Amber Ale kit. Simply RSVP by emailing Tom@tabletopbrewing.com and you are registered.
Table Top Brewing's Cystal Amber Ale
Recipe
Description: 2-Row/Crystal Malt with a caramel medium rich flavor and a deep copper amber color.
There is a slight bitterness from the hops with a balance of malt flavor.
60 Minute Boil in Brew Pot
30 Minute Steeping of Grains at 150 ºF
6 lbs Sparking Amber Liquid Malt Extract (LME)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 L Malt (steeping grain)
0.25 lbs Caramel 80 L Malt (steeping grain)
1.0 oz Northern Brewing Hops (Bittering) @ 60 Minutes
0.5 oz
0.5 oz
Yeast: Muntons Ale Sachet
OG: 1.052 – 1.057, IBU: 23-28
November 25, 2011
November 16, 2011
Brewing one of our own - Cystal Amber Ale
Recipe
Description: 2-Row/Crystal Malt with a caramel medium rich flavor and a deep copper amber color.
There is a slight bitterness from the hops with a balance of malt flavor.
60 Minute Boil in Brew Pot
30 Minute Steeping of Grains at 150 ºF
6 lbs Sparking Amber Liquid Malt Extract (LME)
0.75 lbs Crystal 60 L Malt (steeping grain)
0.25 lbs Caramel 80 L Malt (steeping grain)
1.0 oz Northern Brewing Hops (Bittering) @ 60 Minutes
0.5 oz
0.5 oz
Yeast: Muntons Ale Sachet
OG: 1.052 – 1.057, IBU: 23-28
November 11, 2011
Sunday, November 13th we are going to watch the Bengals crush the Steelers, brew up some beer and have some fun! We invite you to come on out and watch the game, as well as homebrew with us! We will be brewing up an American Pale Ale behind the store using propane burner, having a few homebrews, and maybe playing some cornhole. Bring your brewing gear, and brew with us or just come out to watch. We will kick off brewing about 12:30pm and plan to wrap up about an hour or so after the Bengals have wrapped up the Steelers. Hope to see you there!
October 27, 2011
Best Homebrew in Town
BYOB - Brew Your Own Beer
September 19, 2011
September 15, 2011
Free Beer Class - Learn to Brew Beer
Date: October 1, 2011
Time: 10am - 300pm
Location: Table Top Brewing Brew House
Address: 4312 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211
513-330-8806 (store)
We may brew two beers at one time. I created a new 10 gallon mash tun and my mash enough grains for two brews. It all depends on the weather. One will cook on the electric burner and the other on the turkey fryer burner. Both will have the same grains, but we will change the hops and the yeast. One may be a stout and the other a Imperial Black IPA.
Tom
September 07, 2011
These hops where picked this past Labor Day weekend and shipped directly to Table Top Brewing.
I will be drying these Citra Cones the next two days and packaging in 1oz bags.
Don't delay they will go fast. I will start selling them on Friday the 9th.
Table Top Brewing.
Note: Some will be saved for the Wehner Brewery opening by Spring of 2012.
Special thanks to Jennifer, Hopunion LLC, Yakima, WA
August 12, 2011
August 11, 2011
Fantastic News
We are expanding into the spirits (white lightning). Our number one yeast "Turbo Yeast" directed us into this avenue. This yeast produces 20% in 5 days. The maximum is around 22%.
We will be selling our new fuel distillery and associated equipment and parts. The new production unit will be in our shop next week. We will perform training classes on how to use the new fuel distillery and what rate of fuel alcohol per hour discharge. We will have informtion and links for proper permits.
August 10, 2011
New store pictures and now you can't miss us. We have a 19ft ballon of a mug on top of the building. See the mug and store pics.
We have two new coolers to store yeast and hops. Each refrigerator is dedicated and this gives us more room to store hops and yeast.
Bold items are new.
The hops freezer will hold 30 different varieties as follows:
1. Hersbruker
2. Hallertau
3. Tettnang
4. Fuggle
5. Saaz
6.
7. Ahtanum
8.
9. Spalts
10. Perle
11. Cascade
12.
13. Northern Brewer
14. Brewers Gold
15. Centennial
16. Chinook
17. Nugget
18. Magnnum
19.
20. Millenium
21. Palisade
22.
23. Citra
24.
25. Simcoe
26. Falconers Flight
27.
28.
29.
30.
The yeast cooler will carry the follows brands:
1. White Labs liquid yeast (beer and wine)
2. Wyeast liquid yeast
3. Muntons dry yeast
4. Coopers dry yeast
5. Fermentis dry yeast
6. Lalvin Wine dry yeast
7. Red Star Wind dry yeast
We double the number of grains from 25 to 53 varieties.
We have a great selection of spices to spruce up the flavors in the beer or wine.
We also carry kegs and kegging hardware.
Stop on in and see the new selection and the two East Kent Goldings Hops!
Cheers!!!
TomApril 06, 2011
East Kent Golding Last Blog
Week 24 (September 20, 2011) This is the last blog for East Kent Golding 2011 (Dent Golding)
Today I harvested the hops from the two plants and the cones are drying. I picked just under a pound so on average each plant yielded a 1/2 pound. This is really good for 1st year plants. Within the week I will be cutting down the hops and wheeling the two pots outside. Hop roots require a minimum of 6 weeks at 38 F or colder. Next year I may bring the two pots in early to get an early start.
I hope to grow two Cascades next year outside. I hope you enjoyed the weekly updates. Please comment on the blog and any suggestions for 2012.
Cheers
Tom
Week 22 (September 7, 2011) Special Hops Offer!
If you purchase $20 or more you receive one 1oz bag of homegrown leaf hops for free as supplies last. In store only!
Labor Weekend if over and the growing season is almost to the end. I've harvested all 52 plants at home and have the two at the store left for harvesting. Since I planted the East Kent Golding about a month late the hops are just about ready for picking. Some are ready and some are not. It’s time to pick when the hops turn a greenish white or the pedals tips turn brown. This year’s production was a little short. I moved a few plants and cut out the rhizomes to make more plants. Next year all of the hops will be 2 -5 years old and majority 3-5 years old. Next year should be a good crop is the weather works out. This year the rains were too much and slowed down the growth. The way my yard is sloped the hops where flooded or very wet for a month or so. I am going to dig up my two fuggles and expand up to 6 fuggles next year. I am putting up two new poles along my brick wall to help shade the wall during the hot summer months. Here are a few hoppy pictures:
You can see in this last picture the hop clones are greenish white and a little fluffy. These will get harvested next week.
I will post one more blog after harvesting to show the hops after drying. Here is picture from home. I had two 10ft long tables fully loaded. A hell of a lot of picking.
I have fresh Homegrown hops for sale. The hops are packaged in 1 oz bags and I am selling the hops for 75 cents per ounce. In store only. Centennial are sold out and there at still Cascades, East Kent Golding and Sterling.
Week 19 (August 10, 2011)
It's been a few weeks and the flower cones are everywhere on the two plants. It is unbelievable how fast and how long the East Kent Golding's grew the 1st year. Once again this is not typical for the 1st year. The two plants are working great as a window shades and it looks cool. Here are a few pictures.
Each little bud will transform into a cone.These two pictures where taken above the counter which is on the other side of the two planters.
A couple nice groups of hop cones.
The home hops garden is doing very well. Soon it will be time to bring down the wires and start picking thousands of hop cones. It looks like I will have a lot of Magnum Hops this year.
Week 16 (July 20, 2011)
The hops have stopped growing and now producing a great number of flower cones. There are a 100 plus new cones and it will look neat in a few weeks when they grow into 1 - 2" long cones. This will be one of the last overview pictures. Starting next week I will be posting flower cone development.
Close up view on the two East Kent Goldings
View from the counter that I get to see everyday. It is also working very well as a green blind.
Close-up of a new cone flower.
Week 15 (July 13, 2011)
Great news! The East Kent Golding’s are finally starting to flower (cone). The flower heads are popping out everywhere. The hops are still growing, but will slow down to concentrate on flowers. Soon we will be able to smell and feel the hops. The flowers will turn into a cone shape flowers. The following are the three (3) signs to determine the cones are ready to pick:
The fuzz star like ends are the beginnings of the hop cones.
Week 13 (June 29, 2011)
Now the two hops are across the store and turning around heading back along the rope. The branches are all over the place. There are no sign of flowers/cones. The East Kent Golding’s at home are flowering and cones are starting to form. Since the store plants only get a little direct sun in the evening I am afraid they might not flower. Next year I might have to move them outside. I guess time will tell. I will be picking some Cascade Hops this weekend. Look for fresh Cascades Leaf Hops in the store next week. I should get around a half pound of hops (8 - 1 oz bags). See blog labeled "Hops 2011" for home garden pictures.
Hop vines going across the 3 windows and double doors and heading back to the planters.
Hop vines hanging from the rope. This window is just left of the planters.
Week 11 (June 15, 2011)
In a few more days the two hops will make it to the end of the store front and will have to turn back. This makes the plants 23-25 feet long. I tried to capture it all, but no way. Hope you are enjoying the pictures.
Week 10 (June 8, 2011)
The hops are now 19-21 feet long and still growing. Some of the lateral branches are over 5 feet long and dozen are coming out. Still no flowers since the plants are still in the growing mode. First year plans typically do not grow 21 feet the first year. If you get 12 - 15 feet you are doing great. I guess the great potting/topsoil is the main reason. This will be the last update until there are some flower cones to show. If you are interested please stop in and see for yourself. Next week I will post some flower cones from the cascade hop plants at home. Cheers!
Week 9 (June 1, 2011)
June is already here and we moved straight to dog days of summer. Where is the middle ground that is sunny and 70's? The hops just keep on growing with more branches, longer vines etc. The mildew is slowing down. I may need to spray one more time. No flowers yet. I hope there is enough sun for flowers. I guess time will tell. The home hops are doing great. Some of the plants are over 21ft tall and the cascades already have flowers. The two fuggles are now a few feet tall and should be in good shape to transplant next spring and hopefully get six rhizomes. I planted more rhizomes in each of the corners of the fence so I should get even more flowers in the future. I'm going to let them grow along the fence top. At one end will be two Mt. Hoods and the other end will be East Kent Goldings. In the 3rd picture the two lateral branches are hanging from the top rope. The 1st picture shows the branches hanging. Maybe next week there will be a close up of a new flower.
PS: I have new pictures of the home hops. I hope to post this week.
Week 8 Pictures (May 25, 2011)
I have good news and bad news. Both EK Golding’s are growing great. They both have made it to the door window. That is at least 12 feet long. The lateral branches are coming out all over the vine and some are 3 ft long. East Kent Golding's lateral branches max out around 5 ft. Most of the flowers come from the lateral branches. We should have a lot of flowers. See the 3rd picture. The bad news is that both plants have Downy Mildew. This is a first for me. The cool damp cloudy weather is the cause. I stopped the watering a week ago and the dirt is still damp. We need some sun drying days. I applied a fungicide yesterday. This should stop the downy mildew. I checked the plants at home and so far so good. No mildews signs yet. The two new fuggles are growing good and the last East Kent Golding is starting to come up. This makes a total of 50 plants at home and 2 in the store.
Week 7 Picture (May 18, 2011)
The two East Kent Golding’s are still growing in length. Both are around 12ft long and both are starting to grow lateral branches. This is good news since a majority of the flowers form on the lateral branches. This means we should have a few flower cones the 1st year. There is only one picture since the shots are getting hard to take with the window glares. Since the lateral branches are starting the main vine growing should slow down. My guess the plants will max out around 15-17ft. We need some sunny days!!! Some of the leafs are looking thin and a little wilted.
Week 6 Pictures (May 11, 2011)
The hops are doing better than expected. It appears you can grow them indoors if you have the room and proper lighting. The pictures are not the best since the plants are at the end of the pole and onto the rope. East Kent Golding #1 jumped from the right pole over to the left pole. The 2nd vine from EKG#1 is now going up the pole and should make it to the rope by next Wednesday. I do not see anymore new vines coming out. It looks like the three vines will be it for this 1st year.
The 47 plants at my home are doing great. Only two new rhizomes did not come up, one East Kent Golding and one Fuggle. I will take some pictures for next week weekly blog. The plants loved the record rains. Now I hope the fungus and mildew stays away. I do need to weed soon.
Week 5 Pictures (May 4, 2011)
If you have not been in the store lately you are missing it. The past week the hops have grown 3f. The East Kent Golding's are going to grow somewhere between 12 and 15 feet. Not bad for the 1st season. As you will see EGK #1 2nd vine is starting to grow which is slowing down the 1st vine. EGK #2 only has one vine and it is the tallest of the three vines. The height difference is the 2nd vine on EGK #1. The hops will be on the rope by tomorrow and hopefully start growing across the front of the store windows.
East Kent Golding #1
East Kent Golding #2
Week 4 Pictures (April 27, 2011)
The East Kent Golding's are still growing. The two plants are 3ft tall and half way up the 6ft pole. I will have to install the rope across the front very soon. This is almost 3.5 inches a day, not bad for 1st year plants. With the size of the hops and the window glare I only took one picture. The two plants are already started twisting up the pole. EKG1 still needs a little help. This vine likes to grow up the window.
The home hops garden is very wet with all of the monster rains, but all 45 plants are growing the fastest ever. I have only one E.K. Golding not coming up yet in the garden and the two fuggles under the deck. The last E.K. Golding might not come up. I let the rhizome out for two days and it dried up some. I hope the fuggles come up; this is my first two. With all of the rain I am sure most of the plants will grow somewhere between 20 and 30 feet. I do have concerns with mildew and wilt. Hopefully we get some sun and have a few drying days before the next rain shower.
Week 3 Pictures (April 20, 2011)
Week 2 Pictures (April 13, 2011)
Week 1 Pictures (April 6, 2011)
Table Top Brewing is growing two East Kent Golding Hop rhizomes inside the store near the window facing the south west. The two East Kent Goldings rhizomes where planted on March 30, 2011. Yesterday, both rhizomes broke ground and today each have two vines peeking out. We will be taking pictures weekly with a report on progress. Table Top Brewing is using two large garbage cans with wheels as the planters. We put around 3 inches of 1" round rock at the bottom, then added 3 " of construction paper to adsorb the excess water. The dirt is a combination of Miracle Grow potting soil, top soil, peat moss and 15 lbs of spent grain. We filled the planters to the top and added two grape vine poles to each planter for the hop vines to climb up. Once to the top of the window the hops will grow horizontal across the front of the store.
June 29, 2011
Time is flying. The next beer class - How to brew beer - partial mash extract
Date: Saturday July 9, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00pm Brew all day
Hope to see you there. Send an e-mail to tom@tabletopbrewing.com ASAP before class is filled.
Please send me what we should brew in this class. Open field (Lager, Ale or Belgium style). I am leaning to a fall beer since it is time to brew fall beers. Maybe a late summer like a Blonde Ale, Kolsch, maybe an IPA. I'm always open to brew the "Heaven in a glass" InCinn Lager. If you can guess the one style of beer from a unique yeast that I have not brewed you will receive 5% off the next order. 1st 5 e-mails.
Hint: Coat of Arms
Tom
Answer:Saison Ale Yeast based beer. We have one WLP565 in stock. This was one of the best beer classes ever. We justed picked the day before and dried overnight 3 different hops. The three hops used are Cascade, Centennial and Magnums. Each type was put in a bowl and everyone was able to smell and touch each and what each gives to the beer.
June 16, 2011
The hops at home are growing great. There is a total of 52 plants growing. Pole #1 has Mt Hoods (8) on the left and Magnums (8) on the right. Pole #2 has Centennial (7) on the left and Cascade (8) on the right. Pole #3 has Sterling (8) on the left and East Kent Goldings (7) on the right. The 3 poles are fenced and the 2 corners on the left have Mt Hood (2) and the 2 corners on the right have East Kent Goldings (2). From the ground to the deck are 2 Fugges.
All three Poles 1-3 left to right
Pole #1 Mt Hood and Magnum
Pole #2 Centennial and Cascade
Pole #3 Sterlings and East Kent Golding (Mack Goldings)
Fuggles
Cascade (1 plant -3rd year)
Cascade closer look
Cascades Flower Cones
Mt Hood Rhizome for next spring. This is a 4 ft rhizome running about 1 inch in the ground from the base and popping up. Next spring I will cut the rhizome at the base and pull it out of the ground. I will cut the 4 ft rhizome into 3 to 4 inch section. Each section will product a new plant in 2012.
May 25, 2011
Cheers!
The results are in for the beers, two seconds and a thirds. I am sure they mixed one up with someone else. They said it was contaminated and I know from the tap it was not. The comments didn't fit the beer either. Here are some of the comments from the judges.
Here are the comments for the judges:
Wit Beer (White Ale): Rolled Gently. A nice drinking beer! Low Bitterness (Wit beer should be low, but I lost points)
Vienna Lager (Light InCinn Lager): Large creamy head with long retention and good clarity. No
Weizen (German Wheat):smelled a little bananas and clove. Fabulous color, very happy big taste- balanced. Free of any major off flavors. A little light on hops character. Maybe a different category and it would be great. Maybe I should have submitted this as a wit beer?
Cheers, Tom
May 17, 2011
Salute our heroes this Memorial Holiday. Brew your favorite beer with your friends and family.
Memorial Holiday
It is
the VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.
It is
the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is
the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is
the VETERAN,
not the politician,
Who has given us the right to vote.
It is
the VETERAN,
who salutes the Flag.
It is
the VETERAN,
who serves under the Flag.
ETERNAL
REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON
THEM.
Be proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve
God Bless America
May 11, 2011
The National Homebrew Day/BIG BREW was held at Rivertown Brewing. It was a big success! A lot of club members from all over made it happen. We had 103 people attend the event and 345 gallons of beer was brewed! Give a big thanks to our good friends at Rivertown for their support. The next time you buy some beer try Rivertown Brewery selection. They have some great beers. We all had a great time and for once this spring the weather held out.
Here are some pictures: The two clubs shown are "Bloatarian's Brewing League and CMI (Cincinnati Malt Infusers). Note: Very soon there will be a new page within the web site for weekly/monthly activities. This will include events from both clubs.
Here are their links:
Inside RiverTown's Brewery. The place was packed!
Some of the outside crowd and cheer for Big Brew Day!
April 30, 2011
4 lbs 2-Row Malt Grain (add to IPA Kit)
6.6 lb. Light LME
1 lb. Golden DME
1 lb. Caramel 40L
8 oz. Victory
1.5 oz Columbus Hops (14.4% Alpha Acid) (60 min)
1.0 oz Cascade Hops (5.0% Alpha Acid) (60 min)
0.5 oz Centennial Hops (8.7 Alpha Acid) (60 min) (add to IPA Kit)
1.0 oz Cascade Hops (5.0% Alpha Acid) (5 min)
0.5 oz Centennial Hops (8.7 Alpha Acid) (Dry Hop) (add to IPA Kit)
1 yeast packet from kit
April 22, 2011
INTERNATIONAL BITTERING UNITS (IBU's)
This is a measure of the bitterness of a beer in parts per million(ppm), or milligrams per liter(mg/l) of alpha acids. You can estimate the IBUs in your beer by using the following formula:
Percent utilization varies because of wort gravity, boiling time, wort volume and other factors. Homebrewers get about 25% utilization for a full one-hour boil, about 15% for a 30-minute boil and 5% for a 15 minute boil. As an example, 1 ounce of 6% alpha acid hops in 5 gallons of wort boiled for one hour would produce a beer with 22 IBUs:
The following are types of beer with O.G.(Original Gravity); Alcohol; IBUs; and SRM (Color)
SPARKLING ALE Bitter Ale O.G.: 1.044 - 1.050; Alcohol: 5 - 6%; IBUs: 25 - 26; SRM: 5 - 10.
ALTBIER - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 28 - 40; SRM: 10 - 19.
American Lite - OG: 1.024 - 1.040; Alcohol: 2.5 - 4.5%; IBUs: 5 - 15; SRM: 1 - 4.
American Standard - O.G.: 1.035 - 1.046; Alcohol: 3.5 - 5%; IBUs: 5 - 17; SRM: 2 - 8.
American Premium - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5%; IBUs: 13 - 22; SRM: 2 - 8.
American Dry - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4 - 5.5%; IBUs: 15 - 23; SRM: 2 - 4.
American Dark - O.G.:1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4 - 5.5%; IBUs: 14 - 20; SRM: 10 - 20.
American Malt Liquor - O.G.:1.048 - 1.064; Alcohol: 5 - 8%; IBUs: 5 - 14; SRM: 1 - 3.
BARLEY WINE - O.G.: 1.090 - 1.120; Alcohol: 8.4 - 12%; IBUs: 50 - 100; SRM: 14 - 40.
Belgian Pale Ale - O.G.: 1.047 - 1.070; Alcohol: 4.5 - 8.5%; IBUs: 25 - 35; SRM: 8 - 10.
Flemish Brown Ale O.G.: 1.035 - 1.055; Alcohol: 5 - 6.5%; IBUs: 25 - 50; SRM: 10 - 30
Belgian Red Ale - O.G.: 1.052 - 1.056; Alcohol: 5.5 - 6%; IBUs: 10 - 25; SRM: 10 - 18
Saison - O.G.: 1.048 - 1.080; Alcohol: 5.5 - 7.5%; IBUs: 20 - 40; SRM: 3.5 - 10.
Belgian Strong Golden Ales - O.G.: 1.060 - 1.070; Alcohol: 6.5 - 8%; IBUs: 30; SRM: 3 - 5.5.
Belgian Strong Dark Ales - O.G.: 1.070 - 1.096; Alcohol: 8 - 11%; IBUs: 25 - 35; SRM: 25 - 35.
Ordinary Bitter - O.G.: 1.035 - 1.038; Alcohol: 3 - 3.5%; IBUs: 20 - 25; SRM: 8 - 12.
Special Bitter - O.G.: 1.038 - 1.042; Alcohol: 3.5 - 4.5%; IBUs: 25 - 30; SRM: 12 - 14.
Extra Special Bitter - O.G.:1.042 - 1.055; Alcohol:4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 30 - 35; SRM: 12 - 14.
Bock - O.G.: 1.064 - 1.074; Alcohol: 6 - 7.5%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 20 - 35.Helles Bock or Maibock - O.G.: 1.064 - 1.068; Alcohol: 6%; IBUs: 20 - 35; SRM: 4.5 - 6.
American Bock - O.G.:1.045 - 1.052; Alcohol:4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 18 - 25; SRM: 4.5 - 12.
Dopplebock - O.G.:1.072 - 1.120; Alcohol:7.5 - 14%; IBUs:17 - 40; SRM:12 - 35.
Eisbock - O.G.:1.092 - 1.116; Alcohol: 10 - 14%; IBUs: 26 - 33; SRM: 10 - 40.
Mild Ale - O.G.: 1.031 - 1.037; Alcohol: 2.5 - 3.6%; IBUs: 12 - 37; SRM: 17 - 34.
English Brown Ale – O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol:4.5 - 6.5%; IBUs:15 - 30; SRM:12 - 30.
American Brown Ale - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6.5%; IBUs: 25 - 60; SRM: 15 - 22.
Common Beer - O.G.: 1.044 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4 - 5%; IBUs: 35 - 45; SRM: 8 - 17.CREAM ALE - O.G.: 1.044 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 - 7%; IBUs: 10 - 22; SRM: 2 - 4.
Munich Dunkel - O.G.: 1.050 - 1.058; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6%; IBUs: 18 - 30; SRM: 10 - 23
DORTMUNDER / EXPORT - O.G.: 1.050 - 1.060; Alcohol: 5 - 6%; IBUs: 18 - 35; SRM: 4 - 6.
FRUIT BEER - O.G.: 1.030 - 1.110; Alcohol: 2.5 - 12%; IBUs: 5 - 70; SRM: 5 - 50.
HELLES - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 18 - 30; SRM: 2 - 5
HERB BEER - O.G.: 1.030 - 1.110; Alcohol: 2.5 - 12%; IBUs: 5 - 70; SRM: 5 - 50.
IRISH ALE - O.G.: 1.036 - 1.064; Alcohol: 4 - 7%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 7 - 14.
KOELSCH - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.045; Alcohol: 4 - 5%; IBUs: 16 - 30; SRM: 3.5 - 10.
Lambic - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.054; Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBUs: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 15.
Gueuze - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.056; Alcohol: 5 - 6%; IBUs: 3 - 23; SRM: 4 - 13. Faro -
Kriek - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.054; Alcohol: 6%; IBUs: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 15.
Framboisel - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.054; Alcohol: 6%; IBUs: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 15.
Peche - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.054; Alcohol: 6%; IBUs: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 15.
Cassis - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.054; Alcohol: 6%; IBUs: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 15.
MAERZEN / OKTOBERFEST - O.G.: 1.050 - 1.065; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6.5%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 7 - 14.
English Pale Ale - O.G.: 1.043 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 20 - 40; SRM: 6 - 12.
American Pale Ale - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 20 - 40; SRM: 4 - 11.
India Pale Ale - O.G.: 1.050 - 1.070; Alcohol: 5.5 - 7%; IBUs: 30 - 60; SRM: 6 - 18.
Bohemian Pilsner - OG: 1.044 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4 - 5.5%; IBUs: 25 - 45; SRM: 2 - 5.
German Pilsner - O.G.: 1.044 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4 - 5%; IBUs: 30 - 45; SRM: 2.5 - 4.5
Robust Porter - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.058; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6%; IBUs: 25 - 40; SRM: 25 - 35
Brown Porter - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 20 - 35.
RAUCHBIER - O.G.: 1.048 - 1.060; Alcohol: 5 - 6%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 10 - 20.
SAHTI - O.G.: 1.080 - 1.100; Alcohol: 7.5 - 8.75%; IBUs: 20 - 30; SRM: 10 - 20.
SCHWARZBIER (BLACK BEER) - O.G.: 1.040 - 1.052; Alcohol: 3.5 - 5%; IBUs: 20 - 35; SRM: 25 - 40
Scottish Ale - Light 60/- O.G.: 1.030 - 1.035; Alcohol: 3 - 4%; IBUs: 9 - 15; SRM: 10 - 17.
Heavy 70/- O.G.: 1.035 - 1.040; Alcohol: 3.5 - 4%; IBUs: 10 - 17; SRM: 10 - 19
Export 80/- O.G.: 1.040 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4 - 5.5%; IBUs:10 - 20; SRM: 10 - 19
Scottish Strong Ale 90/- O.G.: 1.072 - 1.085; Alcohol: 6 - 8%; IBUs: 14 - 35; SRM: 11 - 25.
STEINBIER (STONE BEER) - O.G.: 1.048; Alcohol: 4.7%; IBUs: 27; SRM: 9.
Dry Stout - O.G.: 1.036 - 1.055; Alcohol: 3 - 6%; IBUs: 25 - 40; SRM: 35 +.
Foreign Stout - O.G.: 1.050 - 1.070; Alcohol: 5.5 - 7%; IBUs: 25 - 60; SRM: 35 +.
Imperial Stout (Russian) - O.G.: 1.075 - 1.095+; Alcohol: 7 - 9+%; IBUs: 50 - 90+; SRM: 20 - 35 +.
Sweet Stout - O.G.: 1.038 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBUs: 15 - 25; SRM: 35 +.
Oatmeal Stout - O.G.: 1.038 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBUs: 15 - 25; SRM: 35 +.
STRONG ALE / OLD ALE - O.G.: 1.060 - 1.075+; Alcohol: 6.5 - 8.5+%; IBUs: 30 - 60; SRM: 10 - 16.
TRAPPIST ALE (ABBEY BEER) - House Brew - O.G.: 1.060 - 1.065; Alcohol: 6 - 7%; IBUs: 25 - 40; SRM: 10 - 25.
Special (Dubbel) - O.G.:1.075 - 1.085; Alcohol:7.5 - 8%; IBUs:30 - 45; SRM: 10 - 30.
Extra special (Triple) - O.G.:1.090 - 1.100; Alcohol: 8 - 10%; IBUs: 20 - 50; SRM: 20 - 30.
Vienna - O.G.: 1.046 - 1.052; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5.5%; IBUs: 18 - 30; SRM: 8 - 20.
Weizenbier (or Weissbier) - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5%; IBUs: 8 - 14; SRM: 3 - 9.
Hefe-Weizen - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.055; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5%; IBUs: 8 - 14; SRM: 3 - 9.
Dunkel Weizen - O.G.: 1.045 - 1.055+; Alcohol: 4.5 - 6%; IBUs: 10 - 15; SRM: 17 - 22.
Weizenbock - O.G.: 1.066 - 1.080; Alcohol: 6.5 - 7.5%; IBUs: 10 - 15; SRM: 7 - 30.
Berliner Weisse - O.G.: 1.028 - 1.032; Alcohol: 2.5 - 3.5%; IBUs: 3 - 12; SRM: 2 - 4.
American Wheat Beer - O.G.: 1.030 - 1.050; Alcohol: 3.5 - 5%; IBUs: 5 - 17; SRM: 2 - 4.
Wit or Belgian White Beer O.G.: 1.044 - 1.050; Alcohol: 4.5 - 5%; IBUs: 20 - 35; SRM: 2 - 4.
Graetzer - O.G.: 1030 - 1034; Alcohol: 3 - 3.5%; IBUs: 50March 24, 2011
Class notes: The class went very well and thanks for everyone that was there. Here is a picture on the wort fermenting that I took at 10:30 am. We pitched the yeast around 8 pm the following evening. Since I am fermenting in the glass 6.5 gallon carboy I took a picture of the yeast kraeusen head. Since most homebrewers ferment in the 6.5 gallon fermentation bucket the krausen head is missed. Note: I have an old shirt over the carboy to keep the light out.
Primary fermentation refers to the initial, active phase when the yeast is forming the kraeusen head. During this stage the yeast is actively fermenting the malt sugars to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Primary fermentation i s generally over when the kraeusen head disappears.
March 16, 2011
Dear Homebrewers,
I wanted to update everyone on the White Ale. This beer is better than I every dreamed. I am submitting this beer and three others to the American Homebrewers Association 33rd Annual National Homebrew Competition. There are nine judging centers across the United States. I believe this is the largest homebrew competition. Please check out the site at
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org
Wings of White Ale
Judging Sheet per friend
Aroma (as appropriate for style) 11-12/12
Comment on malt, hops, esters, and other aromatics
One of his best aroma beers. Not real strong but very pleasant aroma
Appearance (as appropriate for style) 3/ 3
Comment on color, clarity, and head (retention, color, and texture)
Golden yellow with a slight haze.
Flavor (as appropriate for style) 20/20
Comment on malt, hops, fermentation characteristics, balance, finish/aftertaste, and other flavor characteristics
Very very drinkable with a smooth pleasant aftertaste, well balanced and very good flavor
Mouthfeel (as appropriate for style) 3-4/ 5
Comment on body, carbonation, warmth, creaminess, astringency, and other palate sensations
Light body, good carbonation, good astringency feel with a very light touch of bitterness at the end.
Overall Impression 9/10
Comment on overall drinking pleasure associated with entry, give suggestions for improvement
Total 46-48/50
My two cents: I am not sure on the Mouthfeel. White Ales are light and this is light, a great spring/summer beer. I hope the judges remember the category and judge per that category. This is my biggest concern. I think this has a good chance to make it into the finals.I have worked on this beer for 5 years. This is by far the easiest drinking beer that I have created. The Frohes Wheat is also very drinkable.
I've submitted the following beers:
1) Category 15a German Wheat and Rye Beer (Weizen/Weissbeir) Name: Frohes Wheat (all grain mash)
2) Category 3a European Amber Lager (Vienna Lager) Name: InCinn Lager (all grain mash)
3) Category 16a Belgian and French Ale (Witbier) Name: Wings of a White Ale (partial mash)
4) Category 12b Porter (Robust Porter) Name: Double Chocolate Mint Porter (all grain mash)
Competition Dates
| 2011 National Homebrew Competition – Important Dates | |
| Entry Deadline | Monday, March 21 - Wednesday, March 30, 2011 |
| Online Registration | Open |
| First Round Competitions | April 2 - 17, 2011 |
| AHA Mailing for Final Round |
before May 20, 2011 |
| Final Round Entries Due | Monday, May 23 through 5 pm Monday, June 6, 2011 |
| Final Round Competition | Thursday, June 16, 2011 |
| Awards Ceremony | Saturday, June 18, 2011 in San Diego, CA |
I will let you know how each beer faired. Hopefully all four beer pass the 1st round.
Don't forget that we are selling Rhizomes. All pre-orders must be in soon. See Rhizomes blog.
March 10, 2011
TTB is offering rhizomes for sale. I will be accepting pre-orders until March 25th. Please e-mail or stop on in. Order must beplaced by March 30th. No shipping of rhizomes, only for pickup orders.
Available Rhizomes for sale
Brewers Gold,
Prices: = $4.95 each
Please e-mail your name, phone number , type and quantity.
Orders will be ready for pick-up by April, 9, 2011
Read on to learn more about hops and tips on planting.
February 24, 2011
Cascade Hops - It all starts with the rhizome. A small four inch stick with buds on it. See pictures of the rhizomes, first few sprouts and fully grown. I will be adding pictures all season long on my garden. I should be up to 48 plants. I will be adding more cascades and fuggles this year.
Tom's Garden: Mt. Hood, Magnums, EK Golding, Centennial, Cascades, Sterling and Fuggles.
Special Note: I will be growing two EK Golding in the store. The planter will be under construction very soon. Stop by during the season to check out the progress.
Regular rhizomes take at least 1 year to become established. The second year will produce a good crop. The third year will produce a full crop. It varies with the type of hops.
Planting
The soil should be tilled to create a weed free area. A strong support system is needed for the plant to climb on. Look for space along fences, garage, or property lines. Plant in early spring once the threat of frost is gone but no later than May. The soil should be worked into a fine, friable condition prior to planting.
Plant 1 rhizome per hill with the buds pointed up and cover with 1 inch of loose soil. Hills should be spaced at least 3 feet apart if the hills are of the same variety and 5 feet apart if they are different. The first year the hop plant requires frequent light watering.
Hops is a perennial andlays dormant during winter and is rather unaffected by freezing temperatures. The vines will not break ground until soil temperatures have risen to the point where most spring flowers appear. A minimum of 120 frost free days are required for the hop to fully ripen a crop of flowers. Once out of the ground the vines need to be supported off of the ground.
Hop is dioecious, producing male and female flowers on separate plants. The hop is a female plant with flowers (burrs) produced on side arms that develop along the stem.
Most female flowers develop and ripen predominately between mid-August and mid-September After the flowers ripen, the vine will continue to build reserves until it totally dies back with the first good frost/freeze of Fall.
The hops plants require a lot water and nutrients. Note: In July, the lowest 4 feet of foliage and lateral branches can be removed to aid in air circulation and reduce disease development. This really helps around here since we have high humity days.
The only big issue I found is the Eastern comma butterfly. It likes to lay its eggs around 4 feet off the ground. The larva loves hops leaves. Pruning will remove this issue.
February 12, 2011
This years Cincinnati Winter Beerfest is hosted at the Duke Energy Center Convention Center located between 5th and 6th street. The main entrance is located at 5th and Elm Street. Hours are from 7:30 to 11:00 pm. Sample over 170 beers.
Go to: www.cincybeerfest.com for more information.
If all goes right Table Top Brewery will be brewing a Vienna Lager in the Nano Brewery this evening.
Last night we had a blast. The place was packed and I heard tonight the crowd will be huge. The band on stage was fantastic. I have no ideal who they where. The band is located adjacent to the booth. I never made if over there. Tomorrow I will post some pictures.
Hope to see you there and stop by the booth. We have 10% discount cards to hand out.
Thank you for being at the beer fest. If you missed it, please mark it in your calendar for next year. I will try to post future activities.
Tom
February 09, 2011
We have great news. We are in process of testing the new wort cooler design. The preliminary test went well. The current design required approximately 2 hrs to cool from 212F to 85F. The new design reduces the wort cooling time under an hour. This will shorten the overtime brewing time under 2 hours. An extract/steeping grain brew will brew for 60 minutes, then cool the wort under an hour and pump the wort to the fermentation vessel. We have new hardware on order for final testing. Our goal is releasing the new design by the end of March. The new design will allow us to create any size Nano Brewery. Once we finalize the Nano Brewery (12 pack) we will up scale to a 5 gallon size brew. The 5 gallon Nano Brewery will be able to brew all extract version recipes. The cooking pot will be able to handle a few pounds of steeping grains. The exact poundage is not determined yet.
PS: We kegged the Double Chocolate Porter yesterday and racked the Kolsch Lager and the White Ale. The White Ale will be ready in a couple weeks. The Kolsch will take longer. This time the beer has a stronger sulfur smell from the lager yeast and it needs some conditioning and lagering..
February 08, 2011
This White Ale is looking good. The 6.5 gallon glass carboy (1st stage) fermentation is finished. The average temperature was 68 F. The Final Gravity (FG) = 0.011.
I will 2nd stage ferment in the 5 gallon glass carboy for one/two weeks. It depends when a korny keg is available.
Tom
February 02, 2011
Does anybody know what beer Punxsutawney Phil likes? I know Samuel Adams chimed in last year with its' Noble Pils. Are there any others? I got it, the beer that I brew in class tomorrow will be a White Ale and I will call it Punxs Phil Ale ®. It will be a seasonal beer released every year on February 2nd.
February 02, 2011
This past week I brewed two beers. The first is a Double Chocolate Mint Porter. There are two secret ingredients in the brew. I used a very good cocoa from Fawn Candy. I will be racking this brew tomorrow to make room for the class brew on the 3rd. This is the second production of the porter. The first was a huge success. Thanks Fawn.
I created the second brew yesterday. This brew is for St. Patrick’s Day. Of course it will be green. The style is a Kolsch, but I add some Hollmeyer Honey to sweeten it up. I also added some Oat Flakes to be a little healthier. This will be a young beer when introduced. Time schedule is tight.
When: February 3, 2011,
Where: Table Top Brewing – Private room
Time: 5 to 8 pm
Hope to see you there. I am not sure what to brew. I am thinking of a Cascadian Dark Ale (Black IPA) or maybe something more seasonal since spring is right around the corner and brew a White Ale. I will post this reccipe once created.
November 27, 2010
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