Falling Timber Brewing Company (TM)

Welcome to the Pub

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:53:00 +0000

Years ago, I used to write. The occasional short story, more often journal type writing. I have thought about writing , especially since the advent of blogging, but have not been too serious about it.

I created this website/blog with the intent of only focusing on my brewing hobby. But why am I restricting myself only to brewing and beer? Part of the reason is my dislike of using one forum to discuss yet another. Take for example music. So many bands use their music or status as musicians to promote a cause or particular line of thinking. Using the band to promote say breast cancer awareness is one thing, it's yet another to use your music or position to bash the president or save the world. Seriously, STFU and sing. That's what you get paid for.

So I didn't want to clog up my brewing website with random garbage, crap, etc... As you can see, I've done a great job at that. Then I thought why not use this as an online pub and make good use of the website that I am paying for. (Blogger is free, but the www.fallingtimberbrewing.com link is not).

So, maybe you'll see more on this site in the future.

What is up with me?

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:41:00 +0000

Sold off some of the brewing stuff. Downsizing. I have a brown ale that really needs to get bottled soon.

My other hobby.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:40:00 +0000

I've been spending more time with this lately and am looking forward to a lift, new rims, and some rock-sliders.

Brewing

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Haven't done much lately in regards to brewing. Have a beer that needs to get bottled. I'm likely going to be downgrading my brewery and selling off some of the equipment. I can't keep up with the demand of 4 taps, and I don't drink that much. But I don't want to leave the hobby fully.

Still Brewing

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 19:47:00 +0000

Haven't done too much with brewing lately, but it's time again.

About a month ago I made 5 Gallons of Belgian Wit, which I would have been drinking now, except I ran out of CO2 and didn't rush to get my tank filled. Also the 10 G batch of Barleywine/IIPA I made out of a ton of left-over hops and random things like molasses and brown sugar. I dry-hopped half, and the other half spent three weeks on oak chips. It's kegged now, and it's time to get it on the gas.

Tomorrow, I'll be making up something ESBish. Another off the cuff recipe where I have a vision in my mind of a malty beer and just did some reading on various malts to see what flavors they would impart. This beer will also feature a pound of grain that I toasted in the oven as well.

Hopefully the finished product meets my expectation.

With fall coming up, my tastes are starting to lean toward malty darker beers and I'm not as interested in the lighter summer styles.

Beer is a seasonal thing.

I am a homebrewer.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:59:00 +0000

Members of the largest home brewing forum on the internet collaborated on a video to pay homage to the spirit of home brewing and to emulate the I am a craft brewer video. I should have spent the time to film something for this. Props to the guys at HBT who filmed and who spent the time editing this into the final product. CHEERS!

Double Batch Brewday

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 23:51:00 +0000

Brewed 10G of IIPA/Barleywine yesterday (the double style is because I don't know what I want to call it yet. Had one of those brewdays..... Read more here.
Also brewed 5G of HBT member Brewtopia's White Heat Belgian Wit.

Yes, I still like beer.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 19:38:00 +0000

I haven't been brewing late. Too much going on, but I plan on throwing together a 10G batch of Witbier next weekend. It will be the first time using the 20G trash can fermenter.

Brewery Update.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:55:00 +0000

The Red Rye Ale is on tap and carbonating. It's good now, but a bit on the bitter side.

Time to start those summer brews, an American Wheat and IPA are probably next on the docket.

I AM A CRAFT BREWER

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:38:00 +0000

Brew Day Video

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 02:48:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:46:00 +0000

This is my newly redesigned hop trellis. I like it better than the flimsy set-up I had last year. I have two more to build after the other rhizomes start to sprout.

Brewing Update

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:33:00 +0000

Built a new immersion chiller for 10G batches recently, just need to brew a batch to test it out.

Next brew is a Red Rye Ale sometime in the next week or so.

What's up at the Falling Timber Brewery.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 01:24:00 +0000

Waiting for that Belgian Pale Ale to get carbonated, and I'll be kegging the California Common this weekend.

Next brews, another IPA and probably a porter. Found a great recipe at Homebrewtalk for an IPA with Belgian ale yeast.

California Common, Brew Disaster.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:32:00 +0000

Yesterday I brewed up my California Common (Anchor Steam Clone). Great right up until the end. Hit 75% efficiency with my new Barley Crusher.

Second time using my new converted kegs. In the past I used a bazooka screen to filter the hops out at the end of the boil, but last batch (Belgian Pale Ale) I just drained the boil kettle through the dip tube and the hops created a filter and things were good. This time, the dip tube got clogged with hop junk and I ended up having to pour the wort through a mesh bag into the fermenter, spilling about a gallon in the process. Hopefully the rim was sanitized enough. Hopefully I sanitized my hands well enough when I was trying to dig the hops out of the valve.

Either I made a great beer that I'll never duplicate or I'll have a California Sour.

What's Brewing?

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 03:32:00 +0000

Last Sunday it was a Belgian Pale ale. This weekend, I'll be brewing a California Common and probably doing some work on my new immersion chiller.

The New Keezer.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 04:53:00 +0000

4 taps of liquid goodness. The box on the wall is to hold the CO2 tank and temperature controller, my youngest daughter is an artist and drew on the wood before I cut it.

What's Brewing

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:40:00 +0000

The IPA and stout are on tap. Stout is decent, and the IPA is OK, but didn't have the grapefruit and orange I was looking for. Different hop bill next time. Getting ready to stimulate the economy with my tax return and buy the equipment to do 10 Gallon batches and put two more Perlick faucets on my kegerator.

Falling Timber Brewery Update.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:05:00 +0000

Brewed two beers on January 3rd, an IPA and a Stout. Two AG batches, one day in 8 hours. Not bad at all. It would have went much faster with an extra burner and second larger pot. The IPA will be dry-hopped this weekend for a week or so, the stout will go into the keg if the gravity has dropped lower than where it was at 1.022 about a week ago.

Problem solved now as I have just come across two old 15.5 gallon sanke kegs which will be converted to a brewpot and HLT in the next week or so. Have quite a few brews in mind in the next few months, not sure how many will actually get done. Next up is probably going to be a Belgian pale ale.

Happy New Years....Resolutions

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 00:18:00 +0000

Time again to make those New Years and Brewyears resolutions, most of which will probably fall by the wayside in a matter of weeks.

New Year's Resolutions

1) Lose some weight, exercise more: I've made this one every year. Not much luck. I used to want to get down from my current weight (now about 220) to 175#, now I've decided I'd be happy if I get down below 200 and maintain it.

2) More family time, trips, etc.... More individual time with my sons. We need to get out and do "boy" stuff more often. Maybe some hiking and camping which will help with #1 and beats the hell out of going to the gym.

3) More date time with SWMBO. I can't remember the last time the wife and I have been to a movie or dinner by ourselves.

4) Start the "debt snowball" after income taxes and get my debt paid off sometime in 2011.

Brewyear's Resolutions

1) Better record keeping.
2) Fermentation Temperature Control (I have the refrigerator, it needs paint and a temp controller).
3) Perfect my house IPA.
4) Enter competitions.
5) Keep homebrew on tap at all times.

Keeping track of beers I've had.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 22:50:00 +0000

One of my biggest shortcomings is record keeping. I don't keep decent records of the beers I make, nor do I keep track of the beers I've drank. Sometimes it is by choice. Writing a review while drinking a new beer can take away from the experience of actually drinking it, especially when trying to follow the semi-standardized format of Appearance, Aroma, Taste, Mouthfeel and Overall Impression as I am actually trying to enjoy the beer.

The biggest hindrance in my opinion is not having a place to keep all of my notes. The back of envelopes, bills, and LHBS receipts are not the best locations to write tasting notes. I saw this product in the newest issue of Zymurgy, and it looks like it could potentially be a solution, but then I asked myself, what happens when I run out of room?

I'm thinking a simple notebook would be the best solution for me, the biggest problem is being consistent in using it.

Worshipping the Sacred Cow

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:11:00 +0000

As part of a recent brew swap, I received a bottle of Sacred Cow IPA from Arbor Brewing, in Ann Arbor MI.

Opens with a pronounced his and pours with an excessively thick, creamy white head. A bit overcarbonated. Citrus grapefruit and pine aroma. Flavor is strong with bitter grapefruit, and light pine. I personally like it a lot, but it might be bitter for some IPA lovers. The grapefruit forces it's way through the carbonation, not much in the way of malt.

Overall I'd rate this beer slightly above average. The flavor was pleasing to me, but the over-carbonation took away from what could be a far better beer.

Naked City Brewing

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:27:00 +0000

If you check out the links on the right side you'll see a link for the Naked City Taphouse in North Seattle as well a list of thier current beers on tap.

Naked City Taphouse is a joint venture between two great guys, Don Webb and Don Averill of Seattle. I met Don Webb online a couple years back when I first joined Homebrewtalk. Once I moved back to Western Washington from Hawaii I had the opportunity to meet both Don's and have followed the foundation of Naked City from the beginning when it was just an idea and then moved into reality.

Currently, due to licensing, they are currently a taphouse serving 25 beers on tap as well as a food selection, but will eventually brew beers onsite as well. They do brew a small amount of their beer offsite at this time and rotate it into the line-up. Read about the building of the taphouse and see some great build pics here.

I haven't had the opportuntiy to make it over there yet, but recommend anyone living in or visiting the Seattle area drop in for a pint or two. If either of the Don's are in, let them know McKBrew from HBT told you to drop by.

Iron Horse Brewery Black IPA

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:12:00 +0000

Great Beer Reviewed Here.

Keeping up with the Beer sites.

noreply@blogger.com (McKBrew) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:13:00 +0000

I am discovering more and more beer sites lately, and having a heck of a time checking them all out, let alone keepinging up with them all.

Seems like I'm finding more and more on Twitter (actually they are finding me). I chose one homebrew forum, even though there were several and now I just need to decide what beer sites are the best and which ones aren't worth my time.

I tried my hand in the beer site game and had lofty ambitions of brewer interviews, commercial brewery tours, etc... (www.brewcompass.com), but realized that I don't have the time or financial resources to do it right and more importantly, I'd just be doing something that was already done. I have a hard enough time keeping up on my own blogs.

For those of you with up and coming beer sites, best of luck to you and I wish you success.