My turn to host has been overdue, and the Beer Model and I decided that we would go ahead and have Learn to Homebrew Day at our "brewery".
We also invited some non-brewers over to "Learn" on Learn to Homebrew Day. These people were also available to help us eat BBQ and drink beer.
I was a little more ambitious than I probably should have been, planning to brew two batches of beer, smoke a pork butt, and make some chicken wings.
I actually got started on Friday afternoon, preparing wort for a starter. I prepared the wort, and then put it in the fridge to cool. I forgot to actually pitch yeast to get the yeast working until early morning when I got up 2am to get a pork butt on the kettle.
For some reason, I had a little trouble getting the kettle temperature dialed in, but luckily Pulled pork is extremely difficult to screw up. This is one reason it is my go-to when I'm feeding a "crowd".
When I woke up later in the morning, the kettle "oven temp" was well over 350 degrees (usually I try to keep it at 275ish for pulled pork), and the internal temperature of the meat told me it was time to wrap.
So, even though the temperatures got away with me, it actually worked out about perfectly.
Of course, I had to get BBQ Sauce made before lunch was served.
I got my first batch of beer, X-Mas Ale 2024, started about 45 minutes before anyone else arrived in my old-style gott cooler.
Right after that, I got the water heating up for Pack o' Hooligans Stout in my Foundry.
I mashed in the Hooligans Stout a couple of minutes before the any of rest of the group arrived.
Wings went on the grill a few minutes after people were there.
Between keeping track of pork, wings and two batches of beer, it was a hectic day for me. On top of all that, I had to show people where beer was and explain the stories behind the beers.
I don't know how many times I started talking about beer only to get distracted by something that I had to do for the food or beer.
But ... all things considered, everything went well. The Beer Model "helped" by adding hops.
She actually did help get people set up with beer as well. I had a QR code set up with a temporary page talking about my beers on tap, but only a couple of people actually used the code.
We served food just after noon, which was about 45 minute or an hour after people had started to stop by.
That is about perfect.
For whatever reason, my X-Mas Ale mash / brew house efficiency was pretty bad. I'm not sure why. It has been quite awhile since I've used that old mash tun, but I don't think I did anything that explains why it would have been so low.
But, one thing about these group brew days is that I never expect things to go perfect, so I don't let it bother me.
And ... even though the beer will end up lower in alcohol than I intended, it will still be in the "British Strong Ale" range.
I'm sure it will be great.
The efficiency on Pack o' Hooligans Stout was pretty much right on plan, however, I got distracted and forgot that I was planning a 30 minute boil instead of a 60 minute boil.
So ... my hop bitterness addition went in longer than planned. It will be interesting to see if this actually tastes like a "Sweet Stout" as expected.
I might have to re-do this beer to feel good about counting it part of my BJCP Goal. We'll see how it turns out.
So ... not everything turned out perfect, but that is expected when I get together with others to brew beer, and so this Learn to Homebrew Day was a success.
The food was great. Everyone seemed to love all my beers on-tap. I got two batches of beer brewed. Everyone had fun. Clean up didn't seem to suck as bad as I thought it would.
Keep an eye on SheppyBrew.com and this blog to see how Pack o' Hooligans Stout and X-Mas Ale turn out.
And ... as always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.
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