Fat Tuesday with Fett Vater (Fat Daddy) Homebrewligan Extraordinaire!

Good morning beer fans and a Happy Mardi Gras to you!  I'm currently sipping on one of my own beer-gone-bad concoctions, it's my Lavender Saison, a recipe from Austin Home Brew Supply that I decided to "doll up" with an infused tea from all of the fresh organic lavender plants that I had in full bloom at the time.  The result:  a beer that pulls back the memory of having your mouth washed out with soap....only with a high alcohol content, which barely makes up for the burps that follow.  My fix, which is actually one of my favorite breakfast drinks now, is to juice a Texas Ruby Red grapefruit and top it off with the aforementioned disaster.  It's bright, fresh and goes with any of your more delectable breakfast foods.  I had a 3 minute poached egg atop one slice of dark brown rye, toasted with cream cheese, thinly sliced red onion, lox, capers and fresh squeezed lemon.  Perfection, if I do say so myself.  Which brings up something I've been milling over...breakfast beers?  What is your favorite?  I was going to share this concept with some my co-workers when I got shut down by their opinion that a breakfast beer was dark and brewed with coffee.  I held my tongue, but I'll speak my mind here.  Don't mess with coffee in the morning.  I like mine strong and organic with full-on 1/2 and 1/2.  I like a coffee porter in the afternoon when I'm getting pooped.  But I like coffee in the morning, to be just that...coffee.  Feel free to share your thoughts!  There is no wrong answer.  Beer-good.

Anyway...back to the present blog.  It's been way too long since I sat down to bang out a few musings  on brewing and quite a bit has happened since last I did.  Namely, I began working at the home brew store here in Austin and have brewed many a beer since and have slowly been using my whole paychecks to purchase the pieces to convert my chest freezer into a keezer.  The affable fellow I'm writing about today is the reason I got hired, is the source for inspiration and help with the keezer and one of my newest favorite people in town.  Adam writes the blog for us at Austin Home Brew Supply and has been brewing for 9 years.  

The thing about home brewers that I love is the absolute uniqueness of their process and their being.  The more I get to know them the more it is absolutely impossible to categorize them...not that I would aim to do so, but it's like the adage about brewing itself: if you ask 10 homebrewers a question, expect 10 or more different answers.

Adam knows so much about beer it's insane.  Yet, he admittedly says that when it comes to brewing, he mostly does it off the cuff...and that's what I wanted to observe.

Adam and Django on the deck, straining da beer.

I showed up around 1 in the afternoon and he had everything sanitized and the propane set up on the back deck. We popped open a few beerz and got started, while listening to Megan Lynch (new to me and man what a voice) and talking about well, everything.

Adam's first homebrew was a Shiner Bock clone, something I can hardly imagine him drinking now,  the reason being, he knew the taste and wanted to judge his home brewing accordingly.  He sez it was drinkable.  I've yet to brew a bock so what do I know?   He brews a few times a month and picks something up new from the grocery store each week...which is one of the great things about beer culture right now...so many new beers to explore and love!  Yes, I'll have another, thanks!

I'm going backward in time with these photos,  sparging on the left and the glorious wort on the right.

By the time we got to this stage though, I was keeping up with Adam on the beers and as strong of liver that I am, I forgot to take notes or anything...doi.

Sure, I'll have another beer.

Adam and I are both parents and we swap war stories occasionally and he keeps us in stitches at work with tales of his youngest, Danger Boy.  When I asked Adam the obligatory question all home brewers wanna know...do you have a disaster brew story?  Adam had more than one...this alone might deter the average novice, but not Adam.  He learned the hard way the value of proper sterilization and had to replace all of his plastic tubing.  Another time he used the chloramine rich city tap water, creating a lovely old band aid off flavor.  Ew.   But the best story, the one I'm sure I'll never-ever hear again involves Danger Boy.  I get a kick out the antics of Danger boy...things horrifically scary like when he opened up the gas line on the propane tank and let it all drain out, or when he sliced open the outdoor hose and turned the water on...there wasn't an explosion and Adam caught the water before flooding under the house...but the attack on beer is too much, and, should be a warning to all folks who have imps and tricksters as spawn.  Danger Boy simply popped off the air lock and poured catfood into the precious beer, spoiling it for homebrewligans and felines everywhere.  Hide your beer, place it out of reach, do whatever is necessary!  Still, Adam brews.  Why yes, I'd like just one more!  

I had a fantastic time, laughed so much and drank so much I hardly remembered to ask all the questions I'd come with, but this last moment cracked me up most because of the shear joy of being squirted unexpectedly!  We both got it in the face!

There will be more Adam blogs to come...I love his beer, and I love his Home Brewery name...Fett Vater, Fat Daddy or Big Daddy...which fits in perfectly on this most hedonistic of silly holidays!  Thank you for the fun and for letting me hang out and learn more about brew and more about you!

Adam and the Mrs. at Flying Saucer

Adam is a sci-fi fan and loves to give his beers names that spin off of his favorite stories and characters.  The first beer I had of his was C3PA, and on this day he brewed an El Dorado hop-heavy IPA...I'm still waiting to hear the name he'll bless it with!  Adam blogs at Austin Home Brew Supply and does customer support.  He and Melissa live in Round Rock, both have theatre backgrounds and are currently engaged in raising some very interesting and talented kiddos.  They're such a great couple!  

Happy home brewing and...

Cheers! 

~Cheryl

Homebrewers Chris and Whitney, A Dynamic Duo!

  This past week was Austin Beer Week and Saturday was a particularly interesting day with lots of Homebrew educational opportunities.  Adam Lipscomb of Austin Homebrew Supply did 2 demos in the parking lot, there was a south Austin demo at a private home, the Dewberry's along with other Homebrew Celebrities were featured at a Homebrew Forum at Craft Pride and I attended the north Austin Homebrew demo at the home of Chris Rauschuber and his lovely wife Whitney Roberts, off Duval Road.  Another Austin Zealots member Brian Reynolds, showed up with a smaller, mobile unit and brewed in the driveway.

  I arrived early, which was good because by the time things got going there were so many interesting people to talk to that the atmosphere became one of sheer delight and well...a fantastic beer garden party!
Before that happened though, I got to talk with the couple a little about where they were going with their brewing, and they are most definitely brewing up a plan!

  Whitney, who's from Dallas and attended SMU was sitting at the picnic table out front studying for her upcoming Cicerone test.   She currently works as the operations manager of the Austin Brew Bus Tour Company.  Chris, whose day job is with Homeaway, was laying everything out for guests and preparing to brew.   Together they are the perfect host/hostess combination of graciousness plus brew & brew-business know-how.

  Chris started brewing over 9 years ago, after one year of doing mini-mash he turned to all grain brewing.  He prefers malty German style beer but has vowed to keep something on tap for Whitney at all times-what a guy!  Here is his very impressive set up:

This is when, as a novice home brewer, you realize you are completely out of your element.  The name of this rig is a 20 gallon "Boiler Maker" and he ordered it from Austin Homebrew Supply.  It's supplied with natural gas and an octopus of tubes connect the various vats for easy transfer, cooling etc.  I imagine that had I not gotten totally distracted  by some pretty fascinating folks, I could have learned a hell of a lot, but I am a newbie and I'm not in a hurry.  What I love about the homebrewing community, though I don't know if this is everywhere, but certainly in Austin, is that they are the kindest group of helpful folks I've ever come across in any hobby I've tackled.  And anyone who knows me knows that I only stick with things 2-5 years, or as long as it takes to get to a proficient level.  Yes, I've made art always, and will always have an organic garden and will always knit/crochet in winter, but the beer making hobby, seems to be more of a lifestyle. The friendships I'm observing developed through the love of brewing appear to run very deep.

Have a second look at the tap wall above.  All along the top are medals and other awards; the ribbons just fly away so they're kept indoors.  There are 6 taps on a  chalkboard 1.) Barrel Aged Imperial Stout 14%! 2.) Oktoberfest 6.4% 3.) Munich Helles 4.9% 4.) Nelson Pale Ale and 5.) Nelson + Citra 4.7% and  6.) a Smoked Altbier 6.0%, that he brewed for Whitney's Birthday.  The two of them will be pouring their Helles and the Smoked Altbier at the

 Austin Home Brew Festival  on November 15th at the Getaway Motor Club.  It'll be my first time to attend such an event!   Today he's brewing a Dunkelweizen, and the smell is like fresh bread!  I digress...it's easy to get distracted in this room though...whiskey barrel on the floor, various kegs, their feisty rescue dog Jack and just out of sight to the left is his computer--he's an immaculate record keeper.  (Note to self:  what the heck, I'm so fly by night, this is going to be a challenge!)

What I didn't have the thought to ask, but what Whitney clearly saw that I needed to understand is...what's behind the wall?

The cold room!  Tons of beer on shelves, in kegs, in boxes, the mothership of the operation...essentially.
Below you'll see the connections behind the taps with all of the various gauges and readings...this is Chris's world, and it's great!  He designed it and hired a contractor to help him build it...the ultimate party-bar...but more seriously, a calculated logging of past beers and I'm assuming some real gems.

This is Chris's second brewing location...he used to brew out back on his porch, which leaked...so he called it "Leaky Porch Brewery," which I like...not much of a chance having that name stolen.  

The couple are clearly one in their passion for exceptional beer and have plans to open a brewpub here in Austin very soon!  With Chris as brewmaster and Whitney, Cicerone and manager extraordinaire, this promises to be a raving success!  I can't wait to scoot up to the bar and have a taste!  Thank you for opening your home and hearts to share your craft and artistry!  Cheers!

Happy Home Brewing!

~Cheryl