Hi everyone! Brewmaster Andy here, back with another foray into the world of homebrewing beer! Over the past year, I have continued to make even more additions to my brewery. I moved off the porch and into the basement by converting my kettle to run on an electric element, and I've recently moved my whole setup to a friend's airplane hangar complete with utility washing station and floor drainage system.

This year, I have four beers brewing - between the Giant Bomb panel, brewing for Cards Against Humanity, and another beer for a secret panel - featured here - I've been pretty busy!

Setup and Heating

These days, my brewery consists of the following equipment:

• A 15.5 gallon "keggle" with a sight glass, 5500w electric element wired to a 240v plug and a control panel, and a return valve
• A 10 gallon mash tun made out of a round beverage cooler, with a return valve and using a 12-inch stainless steel false bottom for filtering
• A custom made RIMS (Recirculating Infusion Mash System) tube with a RTD temperature sensor, mounted with a 1500w electric heating element and wired to a control panel
• Control panel with temperature control for the 1500w element and control for a high-temperature liquid pump

For today's brew (a super secret beer for PAX), I was brewing a hoppy pale ale. Anyone interested in the recipe can PM me!

I started my day by heating up the full volume of water I would need for this 5.5 gallon batch - 12 gallons. I filled my kettle and turned on the heating elements. One of the benefits to using an entirely electric setup is the quick and easy heating process. It's no joke heating 12 gallons of liquid to 168 degrees, but because my element is mounted in my kettle directly and is using the full 5500w to heat only the liquid itself, it only takes about 20 minutes.

Mashing

One of the most important parts of the brew day is the mash process. This is the process by which the starch in grain is converted to sugar, and is what makes the beer fermentable. For today's recipe, I needed to heat my mash to 154 degrees. The initial volume of water I had been heating is actually overheated, in order to compensate for temperature loss when adding the grain to the water. Once it's ready, I pump it over to my mash tun, and then slowly add the grain and stir gently.

I then need to set up a recirculation to maintain my temperature. The liquid is pumped out of the mash tun, into the pump, out of the pump, into the RIMS tube and past the temperature probe, out the RIMS tube, and back into the mash tun. The probe relays the current temperature to the temperature controller in the control panel toolbox, so that it knows when to fire the element to maintain temperature.

This recirculation process serves two roles: maintaining temperature, and clearing the liquid. At this stage, the liquid is called "wort."

This recirculation process will continue for an hour, during which I use a sous vide circulator to maintain the temperature of the other half of the initial 12 gallons of water that I heated. Once it's done, I pump the liquid into the kettle for heating.

Sparging

However, this isn't enough liquid to boil and create beer with, so I need to "sparge," or rinse, the grains to my desired boil volume. I do this by adding additional heated water and then pumping the beer into my kettle. I monitor the boil volume using my sight glass. The next several GIFs show this transfer process.

Boiling

Once I reach my desired boil volume (for this batch, 9.5 gallons), I take a measurement of my specific gravity using a refractometer. This measures a liquid's sugar content and let's me know if my numbers are on par for the anticipated alcohol % I planned this beer for.

As the beer comes to a boil, a layer of foam coagulates along the top of the liquid surface. I use a special liquid called "Ferm Cap" to reduce the chance of excess build up of this foam and a potential boil over.

After that, it's just a matter of adding hops at specific times and boiling for an hour!

I'll add more to the comments as the beer gets closer to being drinkable and as always, I am happy to answer any questions!

See you at PAX East!

Hey all!

Another PAX East is rolling around, which means that around these parts I am brewing beer in preparation for the Giant Bomb panel. A lot has changed in the world of Andy brewing beer in the last year - most importantly, I have an all new system for maintaining temperatures over the course of my brew day.

For the impatient - the video is at the bottom!

RIMS - Recirculating Infusion/Immersion Mash System

The new system is called a RIMS system. It stands for Recirculating Infusion Mash System - it's all about temperature control. Over the last six months, and electrician friend and I have put together an electric temperature controller that operates a 1500w hot water heater element mounted in a stainless steel tube. The whole setup looks like the photo at the right.

The control panel is the biggest addition. It uses a PID temperature controller wired to a 2 inch temperature probe to measure temperature from within the stainless steel tube as liquid is pumped through it.

It sounds like a waste of money, but it isn't. Brewing beer is about control of temperature - especially during the starch -> sugar conversion process. Being able to constantly maintain temperature over the course of that process is a huge help in getting the end result you are looking for.

Plus it's flashy as SHIT.

I use the RIMS setup for heating water at the beginning of my brew day, as well as for maintaining temperatures.

This Year's Beer

This year's brew video documents one of two planned beers. This one is a brew for Dan Ryckert. The name is super secret, but a few mods might drop some hints as to its quality. Suffice it to say, I am making the most Dan Ryckert beer I can think of.

Drew is also on the docket this year, so he will be getting a brew in his name within the next few weeks leading up to PAX.

As always, I'm happy to answer any questions not addressed in the video. See you at PAX East!

Video

Gallery

Quick tag shoutouts to the inspiration and assistance with this brew: @danryckert @drewbert

PAX East 2014 - The Brewening

As PAX East 2014 gets closer, I am once again preparing a handful of beers for this year's festivities. Those that know me know that I traditionally bring beers to the Giant Bomb panel at PAX East, and those beers are consumed throughout the panel. This year, I brewed three different beers - a super-secret beer for Patrick, a beer for Vinny, and a re-brew of last year's beer for Ryan.

Two of these beers got double batches for Max Temkin and the rest of the Cards Against Humanity crew.

During today's brew day, I put together this video for you all to enjoy! See you at PAX East!

At this point, writing this blog seems like just another coin tossed in a fountain. Everyone has shared amazing things about Ryan Davis, and my story isn't any more special than anyone else. I never worked with him, I haven't been visiting Giant Bomb since its inception, and I never watched him in the Gamespot days. But Ryan has meant a lot to me over the last few years.

When I first started visiting Giant Bomb and listening to the Bombcast, Ryan was the immediate draw. He was funny, engaging, and knowledgeable. The Jeff/Ryan power team was unstoppable. I laughed out loud in more inappropriate venues than I can count, and I was thankful for it. I watched mailbag after mailbag, wanting to come up with something to do for the guys that had given me so much entertainment over the last few years. Then PAX East rolled around.

On a whim, I decided to brew up some Giant Bomb themed beer for the guys. I'm not anyone special. I'm not in the games industry, I didn't expect anything to come of this; I just wanted to give something back to the guys that had given me so much over the years. When I finished the initial brewing, I sent a message to Ryan via Twitter, and just told him plainly: "I have ten gallons of beer for you."

Days passed, and I heard nothing. And then Ryan followed me on Twitter and sent me a DM:

The next day we were chatting logistics on the phone, and we settled on the most basic of solutions. I was to pack some beer in a backpack and drive to the Brattle Theater, where the Harmonix crew was hosting them for Rock Band night. When I arrived, I waited around for word that Ryan and co. had arrived, and approached him with my sketchy heavy backpack. It was like he had known me for years. He brought me up to the balcony where everyone was setting up, I poured beers for everyone, and we all started chatting. I have never met a group of guys that are more personable and in tune with their fans than the Giant Bomb crew, and Ryan is a shining example of a guy that can make you feel welcome instantly and talk to you like you've been friends forever on day one. At one point, I pulled him aside and asked him if he wanted me to head back downstairs for a few. I told him I didn't want to intrude. His response? "No no no, you're in now. You're good."

That's the welcoming bastard I love.

I don't want to get long winded, and I don't want to get hyperbolic, so I'm going to keep this to bullet points. These are things that Ryan Davis has done for me since that day when I sent him a twitter message:

• Welcomed me to the Giant Bomb/Whiskey Media family
• Introduced me to John Drake, Pope, Casey, and the rest of the Bomb crew, all of whom I consider friends
• Pimped my beer more than anyone
• Put me in touch with Joey Fameli from Tested, who I started a beer podcast with
• Introduced me to Pascual, Phil Reno, and the mod team, who I consider good friends
• Reached out to try and help get me a job when I lost my teaching position
• Remained endlessly supportive of my stupid brewing and dumb ideas, for which I am grateful

Ryan, wherever you are, know that when PAX East rolls around, I'll be brewing up a batch of this for the whole crew, and I'm gonna pour one out for you.

Hello all! I decided to put another video together after my last set seemed pretty popular. Brewing hard cider is a lot easier than brewing beer, and involves a lot less equipment and time. These videos will walk you through the process of crafting a 5 gallon batch of malty, delicious hard apple cider (around 6% ABV). Enjoy!

This week, we talk about Guild Wars 2, building a new PC, some beer news, and the benefits of giving beer to a dog!

http://ia600800.us.archive.org/28/items/TheBrewcast-Episode19-PoopJokes/TheBrewcast-Episode19-PoopJokes.mp3

Andy and Ben discuss dehydrated beer for camping, bears, The Witcher 2, Olympic beer chugging, and more! It's episode 18 of The Brewcast! Ask a question at our Formspring or drop us a line on Twitter, @overtheandyhill,@HDJoey, and@BenJaminYoMom

As always, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or through this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/KGPrM

Check out the latest episode

http://ia601205.us.archive.org/11/items/GiantBeercast-Ep.18-DehydratedBeer/TheBrewcast-Episode18-DehydratedBeer.mp3

Ben and Andy talk about Ben's stint as Batman, China's growing craft beer scene, and Eau de Slut. It's episode 17 of The Brewcast! Ask a question at our Formspring or drop us a line on Twitter, @overtheandyhill, @HDJoey, and @BenJaminYoMom

Episode 17http://ia600604.us.archive.org/16/items/TheBrewcast-Episode17-BenBecomesBatman/TheBrewcast-Episode17-BenBecomesBatman.mp3

Happy IPA Day! Ben and Andy celebrate everyone's favorite hops with a spirited discussion of IPA, Batman, and plenty of dumb stuff! It's the fifteenth episode of The Brewcast! Ask a question at our Formspring or drop us a line on Twitter, @overtheandyhill,@HDJoey, and@BenJaminYoMom

As always, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or through this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/KGPrM

Check out the latest episode here!

Take a look, it's in a book, a reading rainbowwwwwww! Andy and Ben get nostalgic and sample some IPA's and summer beers, as well as take a look at some beer news and user questions! It's episode fourteen of The Brewcast! Ask a question at our Formspring or drop us a line on Twitter, @overtheandyhill, @HDJoey, and@BenJaminYoMom

As always, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or through this RSS feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/KGPrM