Congratulations Suzann and Justin

Movie Review: Beerfest

When my wife told me that we got Beerfest in the mail from Netflix, I was excited. It is not often that a movie is dedicated to the hobby I love: beer. Boy, were my hopes dashed when I actually saw the film.

I had heard about the movie when I was researching my blog post about bierstiefels, glass boots that Germans drink beer out of, as they are featured prominently in the film. I knew then that it was a comedy, and with a name like Beerfest, I knew that it was going likely be a lowbrow comedy mostly about drinking.

The plot is as follows:

At the request of their grandmother, Todd and Jan Wolfhouse travel to Munich, Germany, to deliver their recently deceased grandfather's ashes to be with the family. While there at Oktoberfest, they stumble upon a fightclub like competition involving drinking beer, called Beerfest. There the two brothers find their long lost German cousins, the Von Wolfhausens. The cousins humiliate them throw them out of the event, claiming that their grandfather stole the recipe for the best beer in Germany from their family in Germany.

Upon returning to the states, the two brothers round up a dream team of beer drinkers from their past to train for and return to Munich to compete in next year's Beerfest. While training, they discover the secret recipe and along with other family secrets.

The story climaxes with their triumphant return to Beerfest, to compete against the German cousins for control of the recipe and the family's brewery in Germany.

Maybe I do not understand lowbrow humor, but really poorly executed German accents are not funny. Calling a bierstiefel "das boot" is not funny. Having one of the characters who is a scientist make a living at masturbating frogs could have been funny, but it was not. Turning the grandma character into a slut simply was not that funny. Drowning a main character in a vat of beer was not funny. It was all very absurd, and tried very hard to be funny, but simply was not funny.

I think I would have enjoyed the movie if I was like fourteen, where beer and boobs (which are also prominently featured in the film) are pretty much forbidden fruit. However, for some pushing forty like myself, the whole thing was lame.

Maybe I should have gotten drunk first -- I mean really drunk. That way I would have passed out and not remembered that I'd seen the film.

I'm my opinion, skip this one. As a result, I will not add it to my sidebar.

Pirates of the Caribbean Theme Song: Yo Ho (A Pirate's life for me)

In honor of international talk like a pirate day yesterday, and in keeping with my series on drinking songs, I looked around the web to see if I could come up with the lyrics for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride theme song. Lo and behold, I found several places that had them, like right here, here, and here. So, here you go in all its glory:

Yo Ho (A Pirate's life for me) (1967)
Lyrics by Xavier Atencio and music by George Bruns

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We kindle and char, inflame and ignite,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we're really a fright,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

We're rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
We're devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

We're beggars and blighters, ne'er-do-well cads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,
Drink up, me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate's Life for Me

Avast all ye landlubbers. It be international talk like a pirate day. There be no bottles of bubbly for me today. Fetch me a grog instead or I'll keelhaul ya, ye scurvy dawgs. Arrrr.

Fermentation Temperature Control, Part III: Refrigeration

As mentioned last time, one can control fermentation temperature by using an insulated box with two chambers, one to hold ice, the other to hold the fermenter, and having a fan hooked up to a thermostat to blow air from one to the other.

Quickly, though, the limitations of this system can be reached. First, it is hard to get to lagering temps. Oh, you might be able to reach lager fermentation temperatures, say 50°F, by changing the ice more often, but you can never get to actual lagering temps, say 32°F. Another limitation is that you only control the temperature of the air inside the insulated box; you do not control the temperature of the beer inside the fermenter. All the above can be done with refrigeration, though.

This is what you will need: First, one has to acquire the refrigerator or freezer. If it is a refrigerator, it should be able to be set down the 32F, for lagering. Next, a digital temperature controller needs to be purchased. Finally, a thermowell will finish off the equipment needed.

The whole thing will be put together like this: The refrigerator will plug into the temperature controller, while the temperature probe from the temperature controller will fit into the thermowell. The thermowell will fit into a bung and be set into the fermenter. As the beer warms up, the probe will tell the temperature controller to trip, turning on the refrigerator or freezer -- visa versa as it cools down.

With this setup, one has complete control over fermentation temperature. It works with ales; it works with lagers. In fact, dropping the temperature by two degrees a day to reach lager temperatures is as simple as pushing the down button on the temperature controller.

I have a setup like this that works with my conical fermenter, which I diagrammed for a previous post. A conical is not requirement, however. In fact, it will work just as well with a carboy.

Here are pictures my setup in action:

As mentioned above, this is a diagram of my setup, showing the conical, temperature controller, and thermowell.

This is a picture of the thermowell being placed in the fermenter.

Here is a close up of the airlock and temperature probe. The probe fits into the thermowell and the airlock beside it.

This is a picture of the fermenter in the refrigerator. The fermenter barely fits. In fact, I have to pull the back leg off and lean it against the back, blocking the two front legs with a piece of wood screwed down to the refrigerator.

Some Pictures from Brew Day

I know that I've promised part III of my series on fermentation temperature control. However, last Monday, Labor Day, was brew day. I thought that I've take a break and post about that. Rest assured, part III is coming.

So, on Monday, I made a California Common. The recipe is below:

8.0 lbs Pale Malt, two-row
1.25 lbs Crystal Malt, 60L, British
0.75 lbs Munich Malt, Belgian
0.7 oz Northern Brewer Hops, 60 min, 9.0 AA, 28.1 IBU
0.2 oz Northern Brewer Hops, 30 min, 9.0 AA, 4.1 IBU
0.2 oz Northern Brewer Hops, 20 min, 9.0 AA, 2.7 IBU
0.7 oz Northern Brewer Hops, 10 min, 9.0 AA, 5.3 IBU
1.0 oz Northern Brewer Hops, dry, 9.0 AA, 0 IBU
White Labs, San Francisco Lager (WLP810)

5.5 gal, 10.6 SRM, 83% Efficiency, 10 lbs, 40.2 IBU, 1.051 OG, 1.016 FG

Here are some pictures from the day:

Here is the setup: hot liquor tanks on top, mash tun in the middle, and boil kettle below. My heat exchanger is beside the setup on a chair

This is a picture of the sparge in action.

This is a picture of the boil. The copper lines with green hoses attached is my heat exchanger, which I sanitize by boiling. Notice the kettle is partially uncovered to boil off DMS.