Big Brew Details

Bull Falls Brewers Homebrew Club "BIG BREW BLONDE ALE"

The beer is brewed and the day a success!
Original gravity kettle 1 - 1.047
Original gravity kettle 2 - 1.053

Big Brew notes for next time.

PICTURES HERE

Please check back often as this page is being updated almost daily......

Saturday, Sep. 20th, 2008 - 8823 6th Ln, Athens, WI - watch for signs on County Road A

8am - Blessing of the grain (yes, with actual clergy!)
8:30 am - Milling of the grain (mills, drills, and people to help grind the grain and feed the mills are needed!)
9:15ish am - dough in
9:45ish am - mash
11:00ish am - sparge
1ish - boil should start. Approximately 90 minute boil (we're not sure yet what our boil off rate will be)
Lunch (chicken & ribs ready) - 1pm
We hope to be filling carboys by 3:30 pm
5:30ish pm - Supper
Dusk - bonfire

All u can eat & drink - $10
Can't stay long? Make a donation for what you consume.
Taking beer home? See prices below...

La Rae Denfeld Memorial Food Drive

La Rae Denfeld, wife of fellow member Brian Denfeld, lost her battle with cancer recently. In lieu of flowers the family requested donations made to the food pantry at Neighbor's Place in Wausua. Some club members discussed doing something special for Brian and La Rae and thus was born the La Rae Denfeld memorial food drive.

We are requesting everyone attending the Big Brew to please bring at least 2 items off of the list found HERE . Cash donations accepted as well.

All items will be collected and donated to Neighbor's Place by Bull Falls Brewers Homebrew Club in memory of La Rae Denfeld.

We have a lot to be thankful for this weekend - incredible weather, fantastic food and beverage, the freedom to brew, and the opportunity to spend time with each other. Let's all recognize our good fortune and generously pass it on to others who need help in memory of a wonderful lady.

FOOD
We are pleased to announce that one of our members, Ted Zinn, will be preparing his award winning ribs! He will be slaving away all morning to have them prepared by 1pm. This is a great opportunity to learn some BBQ techniques from the "Zinn"-master!

We will also have a 50 piece bucket of chicken from a local tavern.

Finally, we ask everyone coming to please bring a dish to pass that will compliment the main course (one dish per family is fine).

Plates, silverware, cups, etc. will be provided. Power will be available for crock pots, roasters, etc. If you need to keep your dish cold, please bring whatever is needed to keep it at the proper temperature.

NOTE: Breakfast will not be served, though there will be donuts and other potluck items arriving as we move through the morning.

BEVERAGES
There will be a 1/6th barrel (approximately 5 gallons) each of Red Eye's Bloom and Bull Falls Brewery's Holzhacker lager, and a party pig of Hereford & Hop's Cleary Red. Everyone is encouraged to bring homebrew, cider, liquor, wine, soda, or commercial beer to share as well of course! We're also planning on having a cornie keg of rootbeer or some other soda on tap.

SCHNAPPS
"Scnapps at a big brew?" you say. Bull Falls member Scott Burton will give a demonstration on making schnapps, then give you the opportunity to make some of your own! Just bring a bottle of cheap vodka, some sugar, Loranns flavoring of your choice (available in most grocery stores or Scott will have various flavors on hand), and a vessel(s) to take your schnapps home in and Scott will help you with the rest (and we're all hoping Scott has some samples to share!) You will get 2 liters of schnapps from 1 liter of vodka and 1 pound of sugar.

RAFFLES
We will be raffling off a number of items during the day.
    - Wyeast Smack Packs
    - Various malts (2 row, specialty, etc.)
    - Various hops (whole and pellet)
    - 1 year membership (for 2009) in Bull Falls Brewers Homebrew Club
    - Bull Falls Brewery glassware and gift certificates
    - Red Eye and H&H beer/gift certificates
- O'so beer

BREWING
Oh yeah.... we're gonna brew too! We're really kicking it up a notch and brewing the largest batch of beer this club has ever attempted! We have to split it into 2 boil vessels its so big!

We'll be crafting a blonde ale, shooting for a starting gravity of 1.048 and 20 IBUs using perle, willamette, and cascade hops. (Thanks Red Eye for the willamette and H&H for the cascade!)

HERE IS THE RECIPE

We will have a slurry of White Labs WLP001 (California Ale) yeast on hand (thanks Red Eye for the donation!) and oxygen. If you want to try a different yeast you will have to supply it yourself.

Special thanks to Mike Zamzow (Bull Falls Brewery) for the use of his chiller!

You supply your own clean and sanitized carboy(s).

   Cost: (Each person will pay as their carboy(s) are filled - All members go first. Everyone, including guests, will get their first carboy filled, then we'll go to
additional carboys. Hey, we've got 200 gallons...you're gonna get beer!)
        Members: $5 per carboy (5.5 gallons)
        Non-members: $15 first carboy, $10 every additional

        Membership has its privileges. Consider joining the club at the Big Brew! Membership is just $20/year.

*As of this writing ALL the brew has been claimed. If you didn't get a request in, bring a carboy anyway. You never know if someone won't show or we might make a bit more than we planned.*

LATE RUNNINGS
At the last big brew our efficiency was better than estimated and some members thought it was a shame to not drain the late runnings and find a use for it. We considered trying that with this big brew, but we had enough requests for beer that we have to use both boil vessels. We don't know whether or not there will be any sugars left worth getting out of the grain when we're done sparging, but if you'd like to do something with it you're welcome to. Bring your own homebrew setup, some form of brewing sugar, and go to town. Or just run it into a bucket and take it home. Whatever you want to do, just remember, its up to you to do it.

NEED TO STAY?
Have a bit too much brew during the Big Brew? Jeff has plenty of space so bring a tent, sleep in your truck....whatever you need to be comfortable outside.

BAD WEATHER?
Really shouldn't be a problem. Jeff's brewhouse is basically a 3 car garage with an additional workshop on the back that is another 15 feet deep or so. Plenty of space! Even has a bathroom!

ITEMS TO BRING
Food drive donations (be generous!)
Clean and sanitized carboy(s) if you're taking brew
Chair(s)
Card/picnic tables (Jeff doesn't have any so we're counting on all of you to bring some)
Dish to pass
Scnapps making equipment if you wish to make some
Homebrew, commercial brew, or whatever beverage you like
Cash to cover the day's activities
Equipment for late runnings if you wish to collect them

And a willingness to help! Pulling off a big brew is a lot of work! Not just getting everything you just read prepared, but also cleaning up, grinding grain, doughing in, cleaning out the mash tun, scrubbing vessels, etc. Plan on pitching in and sweating a bit. HELP WILL BE NEEDED the following day! (And the Pack plays Sunday night so no excuses!)

Any questions, please contact The Prez