Everyone knows that Michigan is known for their great breweries, but be sure to make it up to the northern part of the state to find these gems as well.

When my wife, Erika and I took a road trip to northern Michigan, not the Upper Peninsula, but rather the Traverse City/Leelanau area, we decided not to make an itinerary, but just explore whatever we stumbled upon. We were staying at The Snowbird Inn Bed & Breakfast and it was just before the tourist season began which meant we virtually had the place to ourselves, not just the B&B, but Leelanau.

View Michigan Trip in a larger map

Our first night we decided to venture into town. Sutton’s Bay for dinner then back to Leland and Fishtown for an after dinner drink. We nearly missed Leland as it is not too big of a town, but luckily we stopped and headed up to The Cove for a beverage. We walked in, sat at the bar to look at the menu. The first beer that jumped off the menu at me was Leelanau Brewing Company’s Good Harbor Golden. I immediately asked the waitress if they actually had it and she said, “Yes, we have one more.” I could feel the eyes of the other three people at the bar, I believe all of which worked there, upon me. I replied, “Well, can we have it?” She served it to us and encouraged us to go out onto the deck to enjoy the sunset which just so happened to match the label of the beer. One drink later and they told us it was closing time. Ah well, I guess when it is not tourist season things close early, and some places don’t open at all.

On day two we decided to drive down to Traverse City and start our day there and work back towards our B&B through the day. It was a beautiful day and we walked all over downtown Traverse City. There are a lot of shops, restaurants and bars in downtown. Great beer locations such as 7 Monks Taproom and Brew and breweries: Mackinaw Brewing Company, North Peak Brewing Company are located here. But one of the most memorable was an unplanned visit to Right Brain Brewery.

I had heard of Right Brain Brewery before, but had never had their beer until this trip. The night before I had one of their beers on draught up in Sutton’s Bay. When I entered one of the shops, M22, and started talking the staff about our little trip up north from Cleveland he told me Right Brain Brewery is a must. He even walked me out of his store to show me exactly where it was located, nestled in an alley down from the bank. Now we had an itinerary started.

We took the directions and headed down to Right Brain, but as we pulled up I saw the sign said “Closed”. Erika encouraged me to go out and read the hours on the sign. They would not be open until later that afternoon. As I began to walk away a man came out from the loading dock and asked me if he could help. I told him we were in from Cleveland (I also threw the beer blogger card out there) and had heard great things about the brewery and wanted to stop in for a pint, but they were closed. He told us to come on in and he would buy us a beer. Little did I know at the time that he was the owner/brewer of the Brewery, Russell Springsteen.

He walked us in, past the hair salon that is attached to the brewery. You see, this is part of their concept, Salon Saloon, “You sip, we snip”. It blends Russell’s former career as a barber with his current career. He walked us into the empty bar and a colorful array of ceramic mugs lined the wall behind the bar. These mugs belonged to members. Then, there was a huge list of their beers on tap. The list was most impressive due to the current brewing operation only using a 7 barrel system.

He offered us a couple samples which we enjoyed. We got to try the Spiney Norman IPA (all Simcoe IPA), Firestarter Chipotle Porter and Zaragoza IPA on cask with citrus. He took a phone call so I hurried to do a little research about him on my phone and then confirmed he was the owner. As he got off the phone he revealed that he was a little stressed with the upcoming move of the brewery and was waiting on a couple phone calls. That’s right, the brewery is on the move, 12 blocks south from the current location. Their fans will be happy to know that they are going to be able to brew more with an additional 15 barrel system.

As we sat and sipped on some tasty beer, we spoke about Cleveland some of the concepts here. He told us that Right Brain, like The BottleHouse, allows their customers to bring in their own food as well. “We are not chef’s or restaurant owners. We are a brewery, so we are going to do what we do best.” It sounds like a winning concept, after all, they are growing into a new facility.

Russell is a down to earth guy. There was nothing pretentious about him. He had a witty sense of humor as shown when we told him we were from Cleveland he asked “Where is that?”. Come on, everybody knows where Cleveland is. He seemed almost happy that I did not know who he was upon running into him outside of the brewery. By inviting us in and buying us a beer he went out of his way to make sure we left happy and it made a great impression on me. We continued our conversation which eventually led to psychic abilities. We figured we better leave because we could have just sat and spoke with Russell all day and not visited the many wineries that awaited.

After this serendipitous encounter, we headed out to hit the wineries on our way back north. My beer day was not yet complete, as later that night when we got back to our B&B, there was a note on the door from the Inn Keeper. She let me know her brother, Charles, who owns his own little brewery called Leelanau Brewing Company had left me a few beers out of his personal stash. Two 2007 Jolly Pumpkin Bam Biere and a Good Harbor Golden from his brewery. I’d say that was a good beer day.

We did hit North Peak while in Traverse City. I tried their Hoppin’ Roggen On Cask which is probably my favorite beer that I have had of theirs. On the way back to Cleveland we made a couple stops. We hit Frankenmuth for the hell of it and stopped in Ann Arbor to have lunch at Jolly Pumpkin. It was a great little road trip getaway, the one regret is that we did not get up to Old Mission Peninsula and Mission Table. I hear there are good things brewing up there. Next time we hit more breweries!

Also, thanks to Dianna Stampfler of Promote Michigan for some of the suggestions on where to go!

You know the drill kids, ClevelandHops is giving away a pair of General Admission tickets to this year’s International Beer Fest. Last year’s event was a blast and this one is sure to be just as spectacular. While planning your attendance, don’t forget to Get a Room.

 Here’s the deal. Just comment on this post or tweet the link with a @ClevelandHops mention to enter. I will be picking the the winner of the two General Admission tickets with the help of Random.org on Tuesday, May 8, so get your submissions in, early and often. Be sure to either include your name/email when commenting or follow me on Twitter so that I have a way to get a hold of you.

All Hail the Return of Hops!

International Beer Fest is Back for Another Round

(Cleveland, OH) The I-X Center proudly announces the return of International Beer Fest, the largest showcase and competition of world beers in the Midwest, held May 11 & 12, 2012, at the I-X Center in Cleveland. The event will feature three public tasting sessions with over 200 stellar breweries from around the world pouring upwards of 800 select beers – tickets are on sale now at www.ixbeerfest.com.

“It is a natural fit that Cleveland and the I-X Center host a beer showcase and competition of this caliber,” notes Robert Peterson, President, I-X Center. “As an exposition center with a proven track record of success, the I-X Center is thrilled to produce an event of this magnitude highlighting local, national and international beers and breweries. We are proud that International Beer Fest has quickly grown to become the largest beer centric festival in the Midwest!”

International Beer Fest features appearances by celebrity brewers, respected authors and entertaining personalities sharing enlightening industry insights on The SPEAKeasy, Brew U and Tasting Room stages. From discussions to demonstrations, renowned beer experts reveal how they have shaped the industry will meet patrons during interactive sessions (schedules can be found on www.ixbeerfest.com)

Tasting Sessions:
Session 1 — Friday, May 11 from 7-11 p.m.
Session 2 — Saturday, May 12 from 1-5 p.m.
Session 3 — Saturday, May 12 from 7-11 p.m.

Pricing:
Single-Session General Admission
(Choose from Session 1, 2, or 3): $45

Single-Session “VIP exBEERience”
(Choose from Session 1, 2, or 3): $75

ALL-Session General Admission
(Includes ALL 3 Sessions): $120

ALL-Session “VIP exBEERience”
(Includes ALL 3 Sessions): $200

Designated Driver Ticket – excludes alcohol sampling
(Choose Session 1, 2, OR 3): $10

To maximize the VIP exBEERience, only a limited number of tickets are available.

General Admission Ticket includes:

• Admission to selected session(s)
• 36 tasting tickets good for 2-ounce pours each
• Commemorative tasting cup
• Access to all public special appearances, demonstrations and educational programming
• Festival program

VIP exBEERience Admission Ticket includes:
ALL benefits of General Admission PLUS…

• 6 additional tasting tickets good for 2-ounce pours each
• Commemorative T-Shirt
• Access to VIP Brewers Lounge to enjoy select rare and/or limited edition beers
• Exclusive programming
• Opportunity to meet and mingle with prominent Brewers
• Complimentary hors d’oeurves and food pairings

More information about the event can be found on the ixbeerfest.com website.

Disclosure/Disclaimer: Tickets provided by the I-X Center. Winner will be picked on Tuesday, May 8th with number provided by Random.org. Winner will be able to pickup tickets at Will Call before the session chosen. Eligible entrants consists of commenters as well as twitter retweets and mentions that link to both this post and mention @ClevelandHops. Must be 21 to attend event. All other rules and restrictions of the event must be considered.

Last night, The BottleHouse opened it’s doors to the public for the first time. The opening of this new brewery, reported over a year ago on ClevelandHops, has been a long time coming for beer lovers on Cleveland’s East Side. The full operation of the brewery is not open, none of their own beer is on tap and the Brew-on-premise is not open yet, however there are numerous beers to choose from and the live entertainment inside the venue is reason enough to drop in.

Having done most of the build out themselves, Owners Brian Benchek and Dave Shubert took their time and only opened once they were ready. They did not purposely push off the opening, they put in a lot of time and energy to complete the project and would rather delay the opening than open at a level less than their standard.

The interior is spacious and welcoming. It is able to host a good sized crowd without feeling cramped. The live music is complemented by the good acoustics throughout. The bar area is humble in size but the beer garden seating in the main space is conducive to large groups and communal socializing. The warm colors and lighting give a comfortable feel to the place. The bar and some of the other furniture throughout are made from recycled materials. Large prohibition era/brewery photos are scattered throughout. The focal point in the bar is a large lighting fixture in the vein of Chihuly.

Beverage-wise, they feature a nice draught list, some bottles, a good round-up of whiskey and wines procured from the newly opened Wine Spot down the road. There are also tasting flights of draught beer available. The food is limited as it is supplied from local eateries. The BottleHouse has no kitchen.

Eventually, you will be able to schedule a brew session using their equipment and sample some of the house beers on tap. I look forward to that. Cheers, David and Brian. Congratulations on what looked like a very successful opening night and I personally look forward to stopping by frequently.

Yes, the IX Center’s International Beer Fest is coming up next month (May 11 & 12). Have you made your accommodations near the event yet? The fest’s website lists some hotel and admission packages including options for Standard and VIP admission to the fest. One of the packages is for the Cleveland Airport Marriott.

Cleveland Airport Marriott (W. 150th)
4277 West 150th Street
Cleveland , Ohio, 44135
216-252-5333

Packages for $165 (standard level) or $215 (VIP level) includes:

• 2 Tickets, good for any one session, to the International Beer Fest.
• Complimentary Parking Pass
• Breakfast for 2
• Shuttle transportation to the I-X Center (based on availability)
• Need to book by May 4, 2012

The best part of this package is the proximity to the event, the shuttle to and from and one of cleveland’s top restaurants, AMP 150, is housed in the hotel. Last year, we hit AMP 150 before the fest, hence the Stone Levitation.

As for the event itself, it is sure to be another great one. Last year’s inaugural event was a blast. The initial beer list was just released for the event. Many people are concerned about the list at this point, but if memory serves me right, they had the same concerns last year. But don’t fret, it will be updated more leading up to the event and I am sure there will be a killer list of beer, more than you could ever sample within the session time.

Also, a group of us will be volunteering to pour at the Real Ale (cask) station in the Saturday early session where over 25 casks of special brews will be served, so we look forward to seeing you.

Disclosure: The Airport Marriott & AMP150 are a client in my day job. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love good food, but the concept of the food truck always had one flaw to me… no beer. Chris Hodgson solves that problem for me by parking his culinary talents in a traditional restaurant space in downtown Cleveland called Hodge’s.

Hodge’s Cleveland
668 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216-771-4000

Hodge’s is the collaborative concept of Chris Hodgson and Scott Kuhn. Chris is a notable food truck chef earning local fame with Dim and Den Sum and Hodge Podge food trucks as well as national exposure with The Great Food Truck Race earning runner up on the first season. Scott is an up and coming restaurateur most recently opening Washington Place Bistro in Little Italy.

Located on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland, Hodge’s benefits from it’s proximity to the popular E. 4th neighborhood. It is continuing the eastbound sprawl which includes the recently opened, Colossal Cupcakes.

Some of the food truck roots work their way into the restaurant. Diners will be served a tater-tot amuse as well as cornbread with bourbon aioli. The cornbread with the aioli is spectacular. From there, the menu gets a little more sophisticated but approachable. The pickiest of diners should be able to find something on the menu. My favorite from the truck, the PBLT makes an appearance on the lunch menu where it can be ordered with tots or as a “lunchbox” with a soup and salad for $11.50.

The beer list reminds me a lot of the list at Washington Place. Most of the list is pretty safe, but as long as there are a couple options that I will be interested in, I am fine. Hodge’s will also be the only place, besides Market Garden, to offer Market Garden Brewery beer. Beginning today they will have Pearl Street Wheat on draught, perhaps my favorite of their brews. I am sure it does not hurt to have Market Garden Owner, Sam McNulty’s brother, William, behind the bar at Hodge’s.

Hodge’s will be open today at 4pm and through the weekend. Monday they plan on beginning their normal hours which will be lunch and dinner beginning at 11am everyday except Sunday. This might be a rather popular place after the Tribe’s home opener next Thursday, April 5. They will have live entertainment after the game with Disco Inferno as well as an appearance by some of Cleveland’s Food trucks.

Highlights:

Happy Hour from 2pm – 8pm all week.
Tuesdays are 2 for $40 (1 starter, 2 entrées & bottle of wine)
Locally sourced food including Chef’s Garden
Great patio and atmosphere
Good cocktail program

 More info about Hodges:
Food-truck owner Chris Hodgson opening brick-and-mortar Hodge’s Thursday, on Euclid Avenue: Restaurant Row

Last summer, my wife took a trip out to the East Coast to visit some friends and called me one night excitedly telling me about a beer she was drinking called Sweet Action, which I had not heard of at the time. After doing a quick search, I found it was from a Brooklyn brewery called Sixpoint Craft Ales, and I had to break her the news that we don’t get this back in Ohio. Well, that was until this week.

A few weeks back, I heard the great news that Sixpoint was indeed finally coming to Ohio with several release events scheduled the first weekend in March. I had planned to surprise my wife by taking her to one of the events without telling her about it beforehand, but she beat me to the punch. While the release events were scheduled for the weekend, the beer actually arrived at the beginning of the week, and the bar down the street from us put Sweet Action on tap which she just happened to discover when stopping up there to meet a friend. Surprise ruined.

Anyways, we still decided to go to one of the release events, which was held at the always awesome Lizardville last night. In addition to having all five of the Sixpoint cans available, they also had five of their beers on tap, including two of which are not canned. So yes, as you can see from the picture at the top, Sixpoint does cans, not bottles. Obviously from the look of the packaging, design was a big emphasis for Sixpoint, which is something many other breweries sadly ignore. In addition to the great look of the cans, they come packaged in four-pack cubes that make them really stand out from the rest of the market. All of the cans are 16oz, except for the high ABV Resin (as seen above) which comes in 12oz cans.

As I mentioned, Ohio is getting the full Sixpoint treatment, with all five of their core beers available in cans. This lineup includes the Crisp (pilsner), the Bengali Tiger (IPA), aforementioned Sweet Action (cream ale), Righteous (rye), and the newly canned Resin (double IPA). In addition to these, I learned from chatting with one of their reps that was at the event last night that Ohio would also be seeing all four of their seasonal beers, starting in the summer with the Apollo (American pale wheat), which I am really looking forward to trying. That will be followed by the Autumnation (pumpkin) in the fall, Diesel (stout) in the winter, and we’ll have to wait until next spring for the Harbinger (saison). In addition to the canned offerings, we can expect to see some of their other beers pop up around town on tap.

Last night at the release event at Lizardville, I enjoyed a sampler of all five of the beers they had on tap, and also the two other offerings in a can that they did not have on tap. Out of the two draft only beers, the Spice of Life Nugget and Spice of Life Simcoe, the Simcoe was the definite winner for me though both were good. I’ve just always been partial to Simcoe for the grapefruit and piney characteristics. The Crisp did not do much for me, but I have never been a pilsner fan, and this did nothing to change my mind. The Sweet Action was good, though I’d like to try it on it’s own sometime because for a hop head like me, when you’re lined up next to some IPAs, it’s hard to get my attention. The Resin was great in my opinion, though I did talk with some others who didn’t share my opinion. It has a sort of thick, syrupy taste with a definite piney quality that I can see might turn off some people. In terms of the cans, I had the Bengali Tiger the night before while brewing with Kyle, and it is a solid IPA. I was looking forward to the Righteous, but the rye flavor was a little too muted for me, though maybe my tastebuds were dull by then from all of the hops.

With new breweries seemingly popping up in the Ohio market every few weeks, it’s easy to get overlooked and lost in the shuffle. But Sixpoint is the first one to come along recently that got my attention and I look forward to trying more of what they have to offer and hope they stick around Ohio for a long time to come.

All grain brewing adds more involvement by the brewer themselves. Instead of the handy jugs or bottles of extract, you have to create your mash from scratch, this begins in the selection and milling of grain. Lucky for me, Warehouse Beverage is a few doors down and allows me to grind my grain with their mill.

So I decided to make the leap into all grain brewing. This means no more extract, all of the fermentables are supplied by first converting the sugars in the mash. To do this, you bring your water up to a temperature specified in the recipe of the beer you are brewing and then adding the grain and keeping the “mash” at that temperature over a specified time. My first mash for Black Nugget was to be held at 152° F for an hour. You don’t want your temperature too high or the grain will leach out non-fermentable sugars making your beer end up with a higher than target final gravity and tasting sweet. You don’t want your temperature too low or else you will not convert enough of the sugars from the grain and end up with a lower Original Gravity which means a lower final ABV.  I use a hydrometer, which is a test tube with a buoyant measuring device. Water will cause the hydrometer to measure at 1.000 (or it should). Measuring your wort before fermentation begins is the Original Gravity. Measuring after fermentation is the Final Gravity. Between those readings, you can determine your Alcohol By Volume (ABV). Here is more information about gravity and how to measure it.

Before venturing into all grain, my brother hooked up my 48 qt cooler to be my mash tun. He converted the cooler a couple of weeks ago and I was ready to roll. This past week, with some friends, I performed my first all grain brewing. I hadn’t tested the mash tun yet so this would be the inaugural run. I heated my temperature a little high, around 170° F and then added it to the cooler. It came down to about 162° before dough in. After mixing the grain, I closed the lid and left the thermometer probe in, covered with blankets and waited an hour.

Over the course of an hour, the temperature came down about 10°. The more stable this temperature is, the better for the beer and after discussing this brewing with my brother, that temperature loss concerned me a little bit. Now, on the fourth day of fermentation, I took a gravity reading and we are at 1.010. I also took a sip of the beer and everything seems to be in order. I will let it finish out a few more days, then take another reading and transfer it to secondary. After a week in secondary, I am going to dry hop for another week and then move on to bottling.

There are a number of things that can effect the temperature loss of the mash including the insulation of the cooler itself. Below are a  few things that I will do to improve the heat retention in the next brew.

1.) Add more water volume at mash in to fill the mash tun (less head space).
2.) Seal up the cooler and remove the probe. Insulate more.
3.) Preheat the cooler to lessen the temperature drop.

These are just some of the variables involved. Getting into all grain gives you more control over the brewing but also introduces new challenges. I will get to test these methods out soon as we will be brewing again on November 19th. Next up, Lola Winter Wit.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert brewer yet. Try my techniques at your own risk. Comments and feedback are welcome.

I was last in Portland back in 2009 and hit up some of the bigger names in the craft beer scene, including Deschutes Brewery, Hopworks Urban Brewery, along with awesome spots like the Horse Brass Pub, Belmont Station, and Green Dragon. In just the two years since my last visit, there has been a lot of growth in the craft beer scene in Portland, so the focus for the beer portion of my trip was to hit up some of the new spots, and ones I missed out on during my last visit.

Our first stop was a great new bar in town called Apex, which features a live beer menu on their website of all 50 beers they have on draft. To a beer/tech nerd like me, that is an awesome concept. And it is truly updated in real-time, since it also feeds the giant monitor behind the bar which serves as the tap list. They have a ton of Oregon beers, and mostly other west coast beers. And when I think west coast beers, I think of great IPAs. I enjoyed 2 great ones at Apex: El Toro Deuce & Boneyard Hop Venom, along with Moonlight Death & Taxes and Oakshire Overcast Espresso Stout on nitro. One great thing about the beer scene in Portland is that every place we visited did short pours, like 3oz or so for $1 or so. This is great for someone like me who wants to try a ton of stuff without getting hammered. I think during my visit I only ended up having a couple full pours. I wish this was a practice that was more widespread. Most places I know around here only offer flights which usually require more samples than I care to try, and the prices don’t vary based on your selections.

Our next stop was the new Cascade Brewing Barrel House which specializes in sour beers. Sours seem to be an emerging trend in beer, and unlike many of my friends, it is one that I am totally on-board with. This is an awesome little spot that is putting out some really great, unique beers. During my visit, I got a flight that included their Summer Gose, Nightfall, The Vine (’10), and Sang Royal (’10). All very unique, very sour, and very good.

The next afternoon, we crossed the river over into Washington and stopped at a little place in Vancouver called By the Bottle, which is a bottle shop with a cool little tasting room in the back. It’s a nice little spot that was a last-minute addition to our itinerary because we heard they had The Abyss from Deschutes on tap, which is one of my top beers. It was my first taste of the 2010 version, and I was not disappointed. We later stopped by Beer Mongers, a bar/bottle shop in town run by some really awesome guys. That evening, my friend’s regular tasting group was having a bottle share there that we dropped by for. The highlights were one of the member’s homebrews (Adrift Brewing) that was a belgian dark sour, Tart of Darkness from The Bruery, and a fresh growler of Speed Wobble from Barley Brown’s, an awesome little brewpub in Oregon. I brought along a bottle of Hoppin’ Frog DORIS (’10) that was surprisingly really disappointing. It was flat and rather lacking. My friend brought along the favorite of the night, the Firestone Walker 13.

The next day, we ended up back at Beer Mongers for their 2nd Anniversary party where they brought in special kegs of about 30 beers. The highlights of what I sampled included another Barley Browns, the Turmoil, which is a Black IPA that is the best I’ve ever had of that style, the Oakshire Very Ill-Tempered Gnome (’10), Burnside Bourbon Bacon Stout, and the best of show was the Mikkeller Bourbon Black Hole. For dinner, we hit up Hopworks’ new BikeBar (referring to the pedal variety). It turned out to be my lucky day because they just happened to have on tap the Barrel-Aged version of Ace of Spades, a double IPA, that was amazing. It was a really cool new spot for them, with a very bike-centric design and decorating motif. A must-visit for any cycling enthusiast.

On my last day, we started off at Upright Brewing, a new spot that is specializing in some really unique brews, with lots of farmhouse elements and barrel-aging. Their spot is tucked away in the basement of some commercial office, and features a tasting room that was just a small area with one guy sitting there with a few beers on tap, some picnic tables and a turntable with a crate of records. I got a sampler that included the Four, Five, Six and Seven (yes, very non-creative names for some otherwise great beers) and the Todo Modo. We then stopped by for my first visit to Hair of the Dog which have a great large tasting room in town. I tried out the Little Dog, Blue Dot, Fred, and Fred from the Wood. They make some great beers there that I wish would find their way to Ohio.

While it may seem that all I did was drink on my trip to Portland, that is far from the case. I managed to indulge in three of my other vices; food, coffee and rock & roll. During my previous visit, I hit up a ton of food carts since they have a cart scene there like no other. This visit, I just returned to two of my favorites – Koi Fusion for Korean BBQ tacos, and Whiffies Fried Pies. I’m pretty new to the coffee scene, and am told that Portland is one of the top cities for that too, notably as part of the Third Wave Coffee movement. We hit up Stumptown and Coava and had some of the best coffee I’ve ever tasted, and helped to kick off my new found interest in the “craft coffee” scene. And it was no coincidence that my visit coincided with Portland’s MusicFestNW. I was able to take in some great shows, including some free ones, including Archers of Loaf, Sebadoh, The Horrors, The Antlers and Explosions in the Sky.

Overall, it was a pretty epic trip. I’m lucky to have such great friends out there to serve as my hosts and tour guides. Portland is an awesome town like no other I have ever been to. I look forward to many more visits in the future, though it will be hard to top this one.

You can view all my photos from my trip over at Flickr.

For me one of the most tedious things to deal with in brewing, beside sanitizing, has been the temperamental nature of yeast. Certain yeast strains need to ferment at certain temperatures. Ferment too cold and it goes dormant, add it when your wort is too hot and you kill your yeast. I have been using dry yeast simply because I once pitched a liquid yeast which never started fermenting. Dry yeast is generally more forgiving, has more active yeast cells and activates pretty well. The problem is, they are sort of generic meaning that you will not get subtle nuances from your brew that your specific style should have unless you use an appropriate yeast strain.

Two of the key players in the field of yeast are White Labs and Wyeast. Each carries multiple strains (white labs, wyeast) which all have their own characteristics. It is best to choose a strain that matches the style of beer you are brewing.

Yeast is what makes beer beer. By eating up the fermentable sugars that the grains provide, the yeast creates alcohol. The faster the yeast starts working, the better your chances of having a bacteria-free brew. After you terminate the boil of your brew, you want to bring down the temperature as fast as possible. To do this, we use a wort chiller which hooks up to a garden hose and allows cold water to run slowly through the copper coils and then back out again drawing the heat out of the wort. I just received my wort chiller from the Grape and Granary in Akron. Great deal at $49.99 for a 25′ 3/8″ copper tube chiller. I couldn’t make one for that price.

Once the wort is cooled down enough, around 70-75°F, you want to add it to your fermenter and pitch the yeast. The less time between end of boil and fermentation the better. This cuts down on the possibility of bacteria and infection in your beer. If the good yeast gets activated well, it will kill off unwanted bacteria, but if the bacteria is active it will take over and ruin a whole batch of your beer.

I am no expert on brewing yet but seeing as the yeast is such a vital part of the brewing process, I have begun treating it as such. I have moved on to liquid yeasts, but have also started to do something that will improve my yeast to help insure faster starts to fermentation. This begins a couple days in advance of brew day. By creating a yeast starter, I can double the amount of yeast cells that I add to my wort when I pitch my yeast. This will help get fermentation going faster and it is also recommended for higher ABV beers to have a successful fermentation.

Here is my first formula for a yeast starter for Wyeast 1272 American Ale II that I am using to brew my Black Nugget.

Need:
Liquid yeast packet (or harvested yeast)
4 oz DME (calls for Plain Light but I used Amber)
32 oz water (boils down to about 18 oz)
Bottle stopper to fit 22 oz bottle
Airlock

Process:
Let yeast packet sit out for 3+ hours
Bring water to boil in sauce pan/mix in DME
Boil for 15 min (add some hop pellets if you’d like)
Cool to 70-75° (place pan in ice bath)
Funnel into 22 oz bottle
Add yeast packet (mine was Wyeast American Ale II 1272)
Place stopper and airlock and shake to mix

Of course everything should be sanitized first. I got activity pretty quickly on the day I started it and a nice yeast cake forming the next day. A couple days later I drained some of the starter and added some more wort to keep the yeast active. 24 – 48 hours later, pitch the starter into your cooled wort and let fermentation begin. Once you’re done with your brewing, you can harvest and clean your yeast and save it for future brews.

I am crossing my fingers for a successful pitch of my first yeast starter as I brew tomorrow.