Batch #18 - April 21, 2009 (Lefse Blonde)

All three of the brewmaster's were together for this brew!

We used Buhl water and brewed this 5 gallon Norweigan style ale for Jon's heritage. We brewed in the garage as it was pretty windy outside but the temperature was nice in the 40's.

Below is brewmaster Ron and Jon chillin' the wort.

We left the wort to chill in the cool running water and went inside for a bit to eat. We cam back later and brought it inside, took out gravity reading and added the yeast.

The S.G was 1.066

I think the wort was to cold because the yeast appeared to stay dormant abter being added. So, after the first 24 hours, I turned on the heat in the room to bring the temp up to 68 degrees. They yeast woke up and was very excited to be there! The wort orginally had a green tint from the hops but as the days go by, the color is turning brown.

May 2, 2009 - Moved to secondary fermenter. Oh yes, the time is getting near!

Batch #17 - April 18, 2009 (Nut Brown Ale)

Yes, Brew season 2009 has begun!!!

You need to drink beer when you make beer!!!!


We started this year out by brewing at Ron's place. It was a very nice day, the temps were around 42 which were 10 degress colder than at my place. Hey, it's like that up North!

We loaded up our brewing stuff and headed north. We got set up in the garage quickly as Ron had already pre-heated the water. We had it boiling quickly and we were on our way to another great batch of beer! We missed our fellow brewmaster Jon, but we have a suprise for him as I brought back the makings for a special brew his wife wanted to buy for him.

We used Chisolm tap water for this brew and we brewed 10 gallons. We used the London variety of liquid yeast for the batch.

S.G. 1.044


Here is Ron and I putting the wort into the brew buckets.



A special thanks to the wives for hosting and for taking pictures along the way.

Batch #12 - August 30, 2008 (English Brown Ale)

We brewed 5 gallons of the English Brown Ale using Buel water.

S.G. 1.064

September 10, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter

October 2, 2008 - Bottled the beer using the BB caps

F.G. 1.006

December 2008 - International Research Lab

Although the holidays are the times when you should spend with family and friends, we felt that this would be the best time to perform some research abroad. So, wanting to keep a low profile, we headed for Mexico! There we had the opportunity to do a lot of research, during the day and at night.

We dressed inconspicuously so as to not bring attention to ourselves while we were engaged in our research. Jon, the academic one of us, prefered to gain knowledge as he researched beer. Ron and I, well, we are not of the academic types, so we researched with more of a hand on approach to beer as you can see in this picture.

Needless to say, we had a fantastic time in Mexico and yes, all 17 of us were there and loved every single day. One of the best vacations we have had...

Batch #16 - November 8, 2008 (Aussie Light Ale)

November 8, 2008 - We brewed two batches (10 gallons) in our modified keg using Buhl bottled water.

S.G. 1.028

November 16, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

December 20, 2008 - F.G. 1.008. Bottled the beer using plastic bottles and B & B caps.

Batch #15 - November 8, 2008 (Red Hood E.S.B.)

November 8, 2008 - We brewed 5 gallons using Buhl bottled water.

S.G. 1.060

November 16, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter (Pale).

November 20, 2008 - F.G. 1.012. Bottled the beer using Red caps.

Batch #14 - October 4, 2008 (American Amber)

October 4, 2008 - We brewed this 5 gallon batch by boiling two gallons of Buhl bottled water in one of our brew pots. We added the rest of the water after the boil. We used 2 yeast packets on this batch.

October 11, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter (plastic pale).

November 8, 2008 - Bottled the batch using Grolsh bottles and White caps.

F.G. 1.010

Batch #13 - October 4, 2008 (American Cream Ale)

October 4, 2008 - We combined two 5 gallon batches in our "legal" modified keg and boiled all 10 gallons of Buhl bottled water. We then split the batch into 2 6.5 gallon plastic pales. We needed to add 1/2 gallon of water due to evaporation and we added 2 yeast packets to each pale.

October 11, 2008 - Moved the batches to the secondary fermenter. They were put into the plastic carboys.

November 8, 2008 - Bottled the 10 gallons using the BB caps.

F.G. 1.008

The beer tastes great :-)

Batch #11 - August 30, 2008 (Steam Style Beer)

August 30, 2008 - Boiled 5 gallons using Buhl bottled water.

S.G. 1.054

September 10, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

October 2, 2008 - F.G. 1.006. Bottled with the red caps

Batch #10 - June 15, 2008 (Corona knock-off)

June 16, 2008 - Boiled 5 gallons using Buhl bottled water. The fermentation went wild and bubbled out of the 6.5 gallon fermenter! This is a vigorous fermentation to say the least.

Juse 24, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

Jule 30, 2008 - F.G. = 1.020. Bottled using the green caps.

Batch #9 - June 15, 2008 (American Cream Ale)

S.G. = 1.042.

June 24, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

July 8, 2008 - F.G. = 1.014.

Batch #8 - May 3, 2008 (Brewer's Best Full Bodied Weizenbier)

S.G. = 1.070.

May 13, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter (glass).

June 15, 2008 - Kegged the beer with F.G. 1.018.

Batch #7 - May 3, 2008 (Jon's Pale Ale)

As you can tell by now, we love Jon's Pale Ale (Brewer's Best Classic English Pale Ale). This is great beer, so refreshing and good anytime of the year!

S.G. 1.060

May 12, 2008 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

June 15, 2008 - Bottled.

Batch #6 - October 28, 2007 (Flat Tire, like Fat Tire)

We steeped the grains for 30 minutes at 160 degrees and put the grains in before the water was boiling. We then added the extract, returned the pot to heat and boiled for 60 minutes.

S.G. = 1.040.

November 4, 2007 - Moved wort to secondary fermenter (glass)

January 5, 2008 - Bottled the beer.

F.G. of 1.000.

Batch #5 - September 30, 2007 (Honey Nut Brown Ale)

We steeped the grains at 160 degrees for 30 minutes. Added the honey for 30 minutes.

S.G. = 1.056

October 8, 2007 - Moved to secondary fermenter (plastic).

October 28, 2007 - Bottled the beer with the final gravity reading of 1.012.

Batch #4 - September 30, 2007 (Octane IPA)

We steeped the grain for 30 minutes at 165 degrees. We used the plastic Ale Pale as our primary fermenter.

S.G. = 1.060.

October 7, 2007 - Moved to the secondary fermenter and boiled the oak chips.

F.G. = 1.020.

October 28, 2007 - Bottled the beer and used the yellow caps.

Notes: Malt extract syrup - put in warm water for ease of pouring.

Batch #3 - August 11, 2007 (Jon's Pale Ale)

We brewed 5 galons using Buhl bottled water. We doubled the yeast in this batch.

S.G. = 1.060

August 14, 2007 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

August 19, 2007 - 1st gravity reading = 1.010. The beer is very clear and tastes great!

August 20, 2007 - 2nd gravity reading = 1.010.

August 22, 2007 - Bottled beer!

Batch #2 - August 11, 2007 (Continental Pilsner)

All the brewers were together to brew this batch. This was one of the batches that we took to Pokegama with us. After a long night of drinking beer and playing smear, one of our brewmaster's fell under pressue....

We all know it is bound to happen from time to time ... Until next year at Pokegama !!!

August 11, 2007 - Brewed 5 gallons using Buhl bottled water. We doubled the yeast of this batch to see what would happen.

S.G. 1050 Temp 70 degrees.

August 14, 2007 - Moved to secondary fermenter. The noted color is butterscotch.

August 19, 2007 - 1st gravity reading = 1.012

Tastes great, a little foggy in glass.

August 20, 2007 - 2nd gravity reading = 1.012

August 22, 2007 - Bottled the beer. It tastes great, a little foggy but it tastes soo good!

Batch #1 - June 9, 2007 (Pale Jon's Ale)

For our very first batch, we researched different varieties of beer using the Midwest Brewers magazine. We weren't sure of the hoppiness, bitterness, color, head, or what we really liked or wanted in our own beer. Hey, we were newbies at this, and decisions take time :-} We finally decided to go with the Brewer's Best Kit: Classic English Pale Ale (known internally as Pale Jon's Ale) as brewmaster Jon was sick for this part of the journey. For water, we only use Buhl water.

For this first batch, we brewed in my kitchen (also the last time). We were very careful to not cause a big mess with a boil over however, we didn't realize that our JennAir electric stove couldn't take the heat from the large stainless kettle. The white paint got scorched and dulled a bit from the heat. My wife, although understanding of our dream to brew our own beer, minced no words explaining to me, her brother and brother-in-law that "her" kitchen was off limits!

You should always have a beer in hand when you are making beer! I know, our first beers were mainstream commercial but, we had beer! One of the great things that happened when we started this journey is that we began trying different craft beers each and every time we brewed. Different styles, flavors, colors, all of it. This is something that I had never considered before, tasting different beers. Man, I didn't know much about beer then, but I do now!

Here are the highlights of what we did.

June 9, 2007 - We made beer!!! Well actually, it's not really beer yet.

June 12, 2007 - Moved to secondary fermenter.

June 15, 2007 - Bottled

June 29, 2007 - Chill and serve!