Dry Hopping...

It's as good as it sounds!  Last night we dry hopped the Octane Wayne with 1 oz Amarillo, 1 oz Simcoe, and 1 oz Citra.

Amarillo, Simcoe, and Citra

Dry Hopping!

Black Friday? More like Brew Friday!

What better way to beat the crowds on the craziest shopping day ever than by dropping the "s" and having the craziest HOPPING brew day EVER!!!  Black Friday we are going to be brewing up this years batch Octane Wayne IIPA by popular demand.  OW features 1 lb. of hops!!! We add hops every chance we get during the making of this glorious beer.  We start out by first wort hopping with 2 ounces. Follow that up with an ounce of bittering hops and then we add 7 ounces in the last 15 minutes of the boil for flavor and aroma. After we are done fermenting, we use another 6 ounces during dry hopping!  "Don't make me go nitro on your ASS!"

Cheers,

Philip

Ruby - Imperial Red Ale

Whats up Fluke Brew followers!

Sorry for the delay on this post, but better late than never as my Great Grandpa's Nephew's Son's Sister's Neighbor used to say.

A couple months ago Flop and I set out to create an Imperial Red Ale this was inspired by the recent addition to the Fluke Brew Crew, my new pup Ruby.

Ruby, guarding the first wort runnings.

We researched the style and found some recipes that seemed to be similar to what we wanted in our Red Ale. Those characteristics we were looking for are: good maltiness/body, pronounced hoppiness, and a Ruby red color. From the recipes we found, we gained some good ideas that helped us develop our own recipe. The hops in this beer include: Northern Brewer (bittering), Columbus (aroma), and Amarillo Gold (dry hopped). This is sure to beer a great winter beer with enough kick to warm you up in this Minnesota winter!

Lots of Hops!

Fermentation is almost complete and last time I tasted it, the flavor pretty fantastic. This beer will be dry hopped soon and we're expecting to have it in the keg within a week. We'll let you know how it tastes! Well that's all folks! I need to get back to work...

Cheers!

Luke and Ruby

Sippin' on Summits at the Springsteen Concert

Enjoyed a few Summit EPAs last night at the Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert!!!   They played no stop for over 3.5 hours!!!  Over the course of the night Bruce crowd surfed the pit, brought an 88 year old on stage and danced with her, and had the crowd going all night!  No wonder they call him the Boss.

Cheers,

Philip

Spooky Wagon Pumpkin Ale

Spooky Wagon Pumpkin Ale

Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer

Type: All Grain	Date: 10/30/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.000 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 6.090 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Fluke Brew ( 5 Gal/19 L) - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.460 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 4.750 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 73.5 %
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:

Ruby Imperial Red Ale

Ruby Imperial Red

American Amber Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 9/12/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.000 gal	Brewer: Philip Dunn
Boil Size: 8.195 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing 5 Gal - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 6.500 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.500 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.0 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:

Hop Yard Build & Harvest! 2012 Part 4

A few months have passed since the last Hop Yard update. It is a busy time of year for us but we managed to find time to harvest our first batch of home grown hops. I will cut straight to the stats and spare you the agony of reading on anymore.

Our totals looked like this...

September 1st we harvested 6oz of mature, Cascade hops and used them to wet hop our first attempt at a Harvest Ale which turned out great.

Roughly a week later we harvested the remaining Cascade hops which totaled another 2lb of wet hops. After drying this equated to roughly 13oz of dried, leafy hops.

Finally, in the third week of September, we harvested the Centennial hops which equaled out to 0.5lb wet and after drying resulted in 1.5oz of dry leafy hops.

Monster Cascades ready for harvesting

Busy Week and a Broken Flask

Hey everybody!

Sorry for the lack of activity lately.  This fall has been crazy busy and unfortunately brewing has been put on the back burner.  To get back into the mix we have a big week planned.  Wednesday we will be brewing up another batch of the DangerRoss Pale Ale.  Followed by a double brew day Saturday,  where we will be brewing up our famous Octane Wayne IIPA and a new Pumpkin ale recipe.  In conjunction to brewing, we will have some meat cooking on the smoker.

Last night we made a starter for our upcoming brew day on Wednesday.  Everything was going smoothly and we were only 10°F away from pitching our yeast, and THEN....

Just Chillin'

OUR FLASK BROKE!!!

Broken Flask!!!

Luckily no brewer was hurt during the incident and the starter was saved.  We carefully transferred the starter to a growler, ensuring no glass ended up in our beer.  Look for more updates from our upcoming brew days!

Cheers,

Philip 

Battle for Cold Springs, MN Best Black IPA

It is finally time to settle the question, what is the best Black IPA brewed in the small town of Cold Springs, Minnesota?  Cold Springs is a small rural town with a population less than 5,000 people.  Despite being such a small town, Cold Springs calls itself home to two large breweries, Cold Springs Brewing Company and 3rd Street Brewhouse.

Seasoning my new Smoker

Here is a quick video of me seasoning my new Weber Smokey Mountain smoker for this weekends brew day!  In the lineup we have a harvest ale made with our own hops.  Also, I picked up a couple racks of locally naturally raised baby back ribs to smoke.  Saturday is looking to be a good brew day full of good food and drink!

Cheers,

Philip

Brew Kettle Upgrades!

It has been over a year since we had made the jump to all grain brewing! It is now time to make a couple brew kettle upgrades.  We will be adding a thermometer, a bulkhead with ball valve, and a sight gauge.  These upgrades will make it easier to for taking temperature and volume measurements throughout the brew day.

Stainless Steel Bulkhead and Ball Valve

Brewmaster in Chief

Even the leader of the free world is a home brewer:

http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-tap-white-house-home-beer-023924580--finance.html

Hop Yard Build 2012 - Part 3

Wow, it's already August! Summer flies by when you are having fun growing hops and brewing beer along with all the other fun stuff to do. In the last update back in May, we had finished the trellises, laid manure, formed the hills and finally transferred the hops outdoors to their real home. I had mentioned last time that with all the hot weather we have had this summer, it took some trial and error to find the right balance of watering to keep the plants happy. Many of the larger plants had a bit of a setback due to the sudden change in environment. We are happy to report that they have all made a full recovery and are doing very well, especially the Cascades. Some of which are easily 14-15 feet in length!

The largest Cascade plant

Lots of leaves!

Fluke Homebrew is now on Facebook!

Fluke Homebrew is now on Facebook! It's about time, right? My grandmother even has a Facebook.  Check us out and don't forget to "Like" us!

Fluke Homebrew Facebook

Beer aged in Templeton Rye Whiskey Barrels

Rye whiskey is unarguably what America was founded on. During the Revolutionary War, whiskey was used as a form of currency. Americans love their whiskey so much, that back in 1791 the Whiskey Rebellion was started over an increase in tax that was levied against it. The true test of time occurred during the Prohibition era of the 1920's and 30's, when all alcohol sales were banned in the country and made rise to bootlegging and mobsters like Al Capone. It was said that Templeton Rye whiskey (a.k.a. "The Good Stuff") from Carroll county Iowa was Scareface's favorite.

Brewin' and Que'n

Que'n some chicken shish kabobs

Experimental IPA #1

Hey Fluke-sters!

Follow along with us as we develop a new recipe for our house IPA.  This is going to be an on going experiment to create a hop explosion that is still well balanced.  We want a beer that has huge hop flavor and aroma but without the extreme bitterness.  That's why we loaded the flame out and dry hopping schedules with almost 10 ounces of hops!!!

Cheers,

Fluke Brew Crew

Experimental IPA

American IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 7/25/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.500 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 7.675 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.980 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.250 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 73.2 %
Fermentation: Ale, Three Stage no aging	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

BOM for Keezer Collar

Due to popular demand, I assembled a BOM for the keezer collar build we did back in March. Not that kind of bomb, but a Bill of Materials.

Bee's Knees Brown Ale

Bee's Knees Brown Ale

American Brown Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/18/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.500 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 7.110 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 60 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.980 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.250 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 76.1 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Monday Brew Day!

We have been on a little bit of a hiatus here at Fluke Homebrew.  Between vacations, graduations, and starting new jobs, brewing beer has been put on the back burner.  It is time to brush the dust off the brew kettle, and boil up a batch of ESB tonight after work with my mates!

Extra Special Bitter

ESB

Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/18/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.500 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 7.279 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 69 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.980 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.250 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.3 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Hop Yard Build 2012 - Part 2

Update time for the hop yard build! As of this past Saturday, the trellis system is built, rows are dug and formed into mounds, the irrigation system from Mister Landscaper is hooked up and running and the hops themselves are all planted.

Picture Time!

Finished trellis structures.

Saturday morning bad weather Brew Day!

This rainy Saturday morning, the Fluke Crew brewed up a batch of their Black Rye IPA summer seasonal.  The wind was not cooperating with us today and we ended up having to brew in the garage with the door open.  Anyways here are some pictures from this mornings shenanigans.

Windy Rainy Brew Day

Black Rye IPA

Black Rye IPA

American IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 4/27/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 7.28 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 69 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing 10 Gal - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.98 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.3 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 50.0
Taste Notes:

Almost ready to move outside!

Getting used to the great outdoors.

With the weather finally starting to stay a bit warmer it is starting to get close to time to move the Cascades and Centennials outside to their real home in the ground. The plants are well on there way and some are already too tall for the 3 foot stakes I put in the pots to train them a bit. Overall I am very satisfied with the rhizomes I received from Northwest Hops. All the trellis supports have been constructed and we are basically just waiting on the weather to get them outside to really start growing. At this point we are shooting for somewhere around the first week of May, which is why I am getting them acclimated to the outdoors a bit prior to the transition.

NEW TAP HANDLES!!!!

I want to thank John and Allisson from Best Brew Tap for everything! I had an absolutely astonishing experience working with you. Every step of the process was a joy and I could not be a more satisfied customer. I look forward to working with you in the future, hopefully the near future. Thank you so much!!!

Simply the BEST!

Survey Results

The results are in! Thank you for everyone who took the time to complete our survey. After analyzing the results we came up with the following seasonal beer schedule:

Spring Seasonals:

• Pilsner 
• Red Ale 
• Scottish Ale 

Fluke Homebrewing Seasonal Survey

Hey Fluke Brewing fans!  Now is your chance to have you input on what will become our seasonal beer lineup.  Please take the survey below. We will take results and formulate our season beer lineup.

Cheers,

Philip

Hop Yard Build 2012 - Part 1

This past winter, the idea of growing our own hops to use in our home brew recipes came up several times. We were debating on where and what we could plant and whether or not it would be successful in a place like Minnesota.

My main resource for planning the hop yard

After a substantial amount of time and effort put into researching and reading up on methods and tips for growing hops at home, it turns out Minnesota is in fact a great place to grow many common hop varieties available to the public. We came across a family-owned and operated hop farm by the name of Northwest Hops located in Hubbard, Oregon, "Home of the Hubbard Hop Festival". They are a great resource for the home brewer or anyone looking to start planting and growing their own hops. Some of their strains of rhizomes have been said to be traced back over 80+ years so you know you are receiving quality product from them and the knowledge that comes with generations of farmers.
I borrowed a book from Philip which does a great job of outlining everything needed to successfully grow your own hops at home. It is called The Homebrewer's Garden, which can be purchased from Amazon as well as other bookstores. It has been a great resource for planning the hop yard.
I chose to start with Cascade and Centennial rhizomes. My reasoning for this was they are relatively resilient strains and do well in most climates. They are also fairly resistant against diseases like powdery mildew, downy mildew and some common virus strains that can affect hop plants as they grow.

Illuminated Bar Signs for your man cave

Best Brew Taps prototype Sign

John from Best Brew Taps came up with a new prototype illuminated bar sign.  He liked Fluke Homebrew's logo so much he used it to make the first one. Check out the sign HERE!  Make sure to go and order some custom wood tap handles from him at bestbrewtap.com

Cheers,

DangerRoss

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale Review

Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening, and welcome to the first review from the second round beer trade with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing.  I am pleased to introduce you to Double Barrel Ale by Firestone Walker Brewing Company out of Paso Robles, California.  This Amber Ale / English Style Bitter is fermented and conditioned in oak barrels, hence the name Double Barrel Ale.

 According to Firestone Walker, "Our patented Firestone Union uniquely incorporates 60-gallon American oak barrels into the fermentation process that yields beers of extraordinary character and complexity. This system improves the fullness of the palate, balances hop character and lends a clean briskness to the finish. The influence of the toasted oak also imparts unique hints of smokiness and vanilla, as well as a subtle fruitiness to the flavor profile."

Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale

Jefe's Hefeweizen Recipe

Jefe's Hefeweizen

Weizen/Weissbier

Type: All Grain	Date: 2/28/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal	Brewer: Philip Dunn
Boil Size: 7.28 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 69 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing 5 Gal - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.98 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.3 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Steel Toe Tour!

Two Fridays ago Flop and I went out to St. Louis Park, MN to check out Steel Toe Brewing, and pick up some of their "Size 11" Double IPA and some growlers. We ended up sampling all the beers at Steel Toe and went on a brewery tour.  Towards the end of the tour, it became a Q&A session where a bunch of local homebrewers got to ask Jason (Owner/Brewer of Steel Toe) a bunch of great questions.  At the end of the evening we pick up a growler of Dissent, Rainmaker, a couple pint glasses, some t-shirts, and a whole bunch of 750ml bottles of Size 11!!!

Keezer Collar Build!

This weekend I started and finished my keezer collar build!  The hardest part was waiting for everything (paint, glue, liquid nails, etc) to dry.  Enough words more pics:

Sneak peak

Another successfull beer trade!

Second Beer Trade Contents

I received an awesome lineup of beer in a recent trade with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing!
I can't wait to crack these open and give them a review!  Check back for more on these three very fantastic beers.


Cheers,

Philip

DangerRoss Pale Ale Brew Day!!!

It's Friday evening and we are having a brew day!  Tonight we are brewing up the pilot batches of the DangerRoss Pale Ale.  Wait to see this beer on tap this June.  We have big plans for you this summer. 

Boiling Hops for the DangerRoss Pale Ale!

BEER!

Cheers our beers to the Big Fork,

The Brew Crew

DangerRoss Pale Ale Recipe

DangerRoss Pale Ale

American Pale Ale

Type: All Grain	Date: 2/25/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal	Brewer: Philip Dunn
Boil Size: 7.28 gal	Asst Brewer: Fluke Brew Crew
Boil Time: 69 min	Equipment: Fluke Brewing 5 Gal - All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.98 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 75.3 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Great Divide Titan IPA

In the liquor store tonight I was looking for a new local beer to try, when I stumbled on this 6 pack of Great Divide Brewing CO's Titan IPA. Great Divide Brewing CO [GDBC] is located just a few blocks down from Coors Field in the LoDo district of Denver, CO. GDBC is a fairly young brewery being established in 1994, but they have already established an impressive trophy case. Great Divide beers have earned twelve Great American Beer Festival medals and 4 World Beer Cup awards. Not bad for a young, small brewery out of Denver, CO. They are a brewery which describe themselves as, "brewing some of the globe's most balanced yet assertive and flavorful beers."

Titan IPA

Rush River Double Bubble

Shout out to McChain and his roommate Andy for hooking my up with a 6-pack of Rush River Double Bubble. I hope you guys are enjoying the sampler I brought over last week!

Rush River Brew Company Double Bubble

Cheers,


Philip

Mendocino Imperial IPA Review

Mendocino Imperial IPA

In a recent drinking session with Flop and Adam, we tried out this California-born IPA. The Mendocino Brewery was founded in 1983. I found this beer on the specialty shelf at MGM in Mankato and bought it just to try something new. Mendocino Brewery describes this beer as such - Imperial IPA - This full bodied Imperial IPA is brewed with massive amounts of premium varieties of hops such as Amarillo, Cascade, Simcoe and Crystal and paired with a rich blend of luscious Munich, caramel and 2-row pale malts. The result is a perfect balance of luxuriant malt and heady, exhilarating hop flavor. After primary fermentation is finished, we dry hop our Imperial IPA with copious quantities of the above mentioned hops. It is then cold conditioned for a few weeks. The result is an outstanding and unforgettable hop aroma. Starting with an original gravity of 20 Plato and finishing at 8.0% alcohol by volume, this Imperial India Pale is a hop tour de force!

Nice carbonation and head

Pliny the Elder Review

Pliny the Elder Bottle

In a recent beer trade conducted over HomeBrewTalk.com with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing out of Las Vegas, Nevada, I acquired myself a bottle of Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder!!!  This American Double IPA is considered to be the best of the best!  Take it for what it's worth, Pliny the Elder has a score of 100 out of 100 on BeerAdvocate.com with over 2,570 reviews.  I have wanted to try this beer ever since I first heard about it.  Three and half years later I finally have obtained myself a bottle of the highly sought after Pliny the Elder.  Again, thank you rlhvegas for contacting me.  First brewed in 1999 by Russian River Brewing Co. of Santa Rosa, California, Pliny the Elder is brewed in small batches and is supposed to be drank fresh.  Highly hoppy beers do not store well.  The hop aroma and flavor diminish over time, thus the reason for the small batches.  With supply low and demand high, an urban legend originated around this beer.  It was not until 2004 until Russian River starting brewing Pliny the Elder year round, and in 2012 I finally get to taste the legend! 

Hopslam Ale Review

During a recent brew session, I was able to sample a bottle of the coveted Hopslam Ale from Bell's Brewery, Inc. located in Galesburg, Michigan. The reason Hopslam is such a sought-after beer is in part due to the fact that it's a winter seasonal only released once each year around the months of January or February and also because stores have a limited supply for customers. It can be found on draft or in bottles at select locations in select Midwest and Eastern states. Hopslam is classified as an Imperial IPA because of its relatively high ABV (10%) as well as its hoppy aromas and flavors.

Bell's Hopslam Ale

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Recently I participated in a beer trade conducted over HomeBrewTalk.com with rlhvegas of No Limit Brewing out of Las Vegas, Nevada.  Over the exchange of numerous private messages and emails, we settled on a trade consisting of Russian River Brew Company's Pliny the Elder and Double Jack by Firestone Walker Brewing Company in exchange for a variety of Surly beers.  I want to thank rlhvegas for initially contacting me about a trade. Firestone Walker's Double Jack is a highly acclaimed Double India Pale Ale big brother to Union Jack.  Firestone Walker's Union Jack won gold medal in the category of IPA at the Great American Beer Festival two years in a row.  Double Jack is brewed with the same malt bill and hopping schedule as Union Jack but instead of collecting 50 barrels of wort, only 35 barrels are collected.  This condenses the sugar content in the pre-fermented beer (called wort) making it a Double IPA.  The Brewmaster at Firestone Walker is Matt Brynildson and he is known globally in the brewing industry.  His previous work at Goose Island Brewing Company located in Chicago, Illinois helped him gain his reputation.

Firestone Walker Double Jack

Dry Hopping Octane Wayne V1.1

Update:  It was been 7 days since we brewed version 1.1 of the Octane Wayne IIPA.  I took a gravity reading this morning and it was within 0.5º Plato of it's final gravity.  After listening to an interview with Matt Brynildson, I learned that hops will help your yeast flocculate in high gravity beers.  In the interview he stated that at Firestone Walker Brewing Company they will dry hop up to three different times to get the aroma and hop flavor into their high alcohol beers.  The hop oils are dissolved by alcohol and it takes a more vigorous hopping schedule to get the aroma and flavor.

Overview of Dry Hops

Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

Stone Oak Aged Arrogant Bastard

American IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 2/18/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 6.00 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brewing
Boil Size: 8.00 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 90 min	Equipment: Fluke Brew Co. 5 Gal All Grain
End of Boil Volume 6.50 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.75 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 72.9 %
Fermentation: My Aging Profile	Taste Rating(out of 50): 0.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Octane Wayne Double India Pale Ale

Double Octane Wayne IPA

Imperial IPA

Type: All Grain	Date: 1/7/2012
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal	Brewer: Fluke Brew Co.
Boil Size: 7.13 gal	Asst Brewer:
Boil Time: 69 min	Equipment: Fluke Brew Co. 5 Gal All Grain
End of Boil Volume 5.98 gal	Brewhouse Efficiency: 70.00 %
Final Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal	Est Mash Efficiency 63.6 %
Fermentation: Ale, Single Stage	Taste Rating(out of 50): 30.0
Taste Notes:
Ingredients

Recent Brew: Imperial IPA Octane Wayne v1.1

This past Friday we brewed up a second round of an Imperial IPA we call Octane Wayne. Currently waiting while it ferments, can't wait to taste it!

Boiling away

-Adam

The Beginnings

Well, here is the first blog post for Fluke Brewing!

I'm getting really excited to try one of those Myrcenary Clones! And the Oak-Aged Arrogant Bastard brew is coming up next weekend!

-Luke