Brewing in South Bend this Weekend

Here comes more beer!!! I am finally brewing again...I missed the month of May. But the plan this weekend is 10 gallons...so I'll take care of June as well...but hopefully not another dry spell.

The beers up this weekend are...a Strawberry Hefeweizen...the strawberries will be hand picked this weekend and added next weekend. An Oatmeal Stout...I've had the ingredients for a while...just haven't gotten around to brewing the kit. And the annual summer cider...this one will be an Apple with Blueberries added in. I'm excited for these...and we'll try something else out. Little Chipmunk will be brewing in a different city. I am headed to South Bend to brew with my girlfriend. Looking forward to combining a few of my favorite things this weekend...and in about a month, I let you know how they turn out.

First 1/3 of 2014

So I haven't kept up my resolution to blog weekly, but I have kept up with my resolution to brew! My goal for the year is 60 gallons...i.e. 5 gallons each month. So far this year we have seen "Awake from Slumber" a Dunkelweizen brewed with Maple Syrup, "Amusing Red-Headed Chipmunk" the second round on an Irish Red bearing that name. I just put into bottles my second round of "Awww Nuts..." a Nut Brown Ale.

My fourth "beer" this year was "Racing Chipmunk", Root Beer. I brewed this for St. Tom's annual Keggarokee event during Grand Prix week at Purdue. This was a milestone for me because it was my first experience kegging and force carbonating. It turned out very well. The root beer turned out very smooth and almost creamy compared to the normal sharp bubbly of store root beer. Everyone gave the root beer great reviews and it went very well with ice cream for Root Beer Floats.

What beers do I have on deck? I think the next two are going to be a Strawberry Hefewiezen I am waiting for strawberries to come into season...may even hand pick these at a berry farm. My girlfriend is pumped about this one excited to help pick, possibly help brew, and more than willing to help consume.

The other beer on deck is also a new experience. It is a Chocolate Stout brewed with Peanut Butter. This will be my first All-Grain brew which will help me to use the two newest tools in my repertoire, a mash tun made from an IGLOO cooler

and a homemade wort chiller.

What else? One of my endeavors this summer is going to be to try a batch of wine. I figure I already have most of the tools...and the process is very similar...so why not give it a shot. It will most likely be something sweet, and I may never do it again...but I want try it out to be able to say I've done it.

2014 at Little Chipmunk Brewery

In 2013 I brewed 51 gallons of beer...and helped with another 17.5 gallons. I have found a hobby that I enjoy doing and that I enjoy sharing with others.

The goal for 2014 is to try a few more interesting combos and to up my brew/yr to 60 gallons. The target is to be brewing at least once a month and to reach my goal I need to brew at least a 5 gallon batch every month. So there will be a lot of beer coming through my apt.

What to look for in 2014:
    - A Scoth Ale (cloned off of Skull Splitter from Orkney Brewery)
    - Another milk stout (cloned off of Mackeson's Triple XXX Stout)
    - More grain brewing than last year...and possibly some all grain brews
    - Another Christmas Ale...this year's seemed to turn out pretty well
    - Root "Beer"...may be featured at St. Tom's Keggerokee Event this year for Grand Alternative
    - Stickers?