View Full Version : Belgian Beer disaster...
shinomaster
12-05-2005, 11:29 PM
Today I worked a long and joyful retail day. As a reward for my toilings I cooked for myself a tasty dinner and decided to open a good sized bottle of Ommegang Belgian style ale to wash it down. When the cork came out, brown beer foam gushed all over the bottle over my hands and on to the floor of my small apartment. I panicked!! I foolishly thought for some reason that putting my thumb over the bottle opening would help keep the beer in the bottle and off of my apartment walls, but no...it didn't help at all....
Beer then started to spray up my nose (yuk) and on my celing and all over my kitchen untill I put the faulty container in my sink. What a disaster!! Not only for the loss of beer but for the mess!! Nothing is worse to clean up than beer, I thought as it dripped on me from my ceiling.
I didn't win any cross races this year either ...so I had absolutely no business at all spraying beer around like that...what a poser!
Be warned.. this could happen to you! :confused: That bottle was in my fridge for two days and cared for like a baby..
bluesea
12-05-2005, 11:39 PM
Ama no To (http://www.esake.com/Store/bin/US-lineup/Asamai-USA/asamai-usa.html)
shinomaster
12-05-2005, 11:41 PM
Momokawa...in Oregon makes some good stuff too..I make guinomi. :banana:
pale scotsman
12-06-2005, 07:01 AM
Bad Shino, wasting beer like that. :beer: Hmmm, wonder if armadillos can make it through this?
CNY rider
12-06-2005, 07:20 AM
Shino this is a wound that cuts near to my heart. I am sitting in my office a mere 4 miles from the Ommegang Brewery. It's a wonderful place. They have multiple festivals during the year that involve drinking their obscenely great beer.
We do have an annual road riding event in August, the Magical History Tour. I did the Mountaineer Century this year, a beautiful ride with lots of climbing.
I'd invite anyone who wants to participate to come over for a weekend in August. When we're not riding the Ommegang will flow.
PS do they sell Hennepin where you are, or just the original abbey ale?
Oh, not good. That's the craft brewer's worst outcome (get it? ha ha!). Sounds like a dirty bottle and some wild yeast.
I had a gusher batch of homebrew once. The fermentation stuck and I happily sugared, aerated and bottled a batch that always wanted to be C4 when it grew up. When I opened the first one a month or so later 10 ounces of a 12 ounce beer ejected themselves onto my kitchen ceiling. I thought it was a fluke, so I opened a second. Fortunately I was smart enough to open the second one in the sink.
I ended up throwing the whole batch out before bottles started popping.
Ommegang is great stuff. I like Old Vos.
bluesea
12-06-2005, 08:34 AM
Momokawa...in Oregon makes some good stuff too..I make guinomi. :banana:
Wow...the third one from the left.
ergott
12-06-2005, 08:44 AM
Bad Shino, wasting beer like that. :beer: Hmmm, wonder if armadillos can make it through this?
I see a few good one there :D
b3bicycles
12-06-2005, 08:59 AM
I've read some sad post on this forum before but I had tears in my eyes as I read this one! Good beer going to waste, I can't even type anymore.
johnmdesigner
12-06-2005, 09:09 AM
Shino this is a wound that cuts near to my heart. I am sitting in my office a mere 4 miles from the Ommegang Brewery. It's a wonderful place. They have multiple festivals during the year that involve drinking their obscenely great beer.
We do have an annual road riding event in August, the Magical History Tour. I did the Mountaineer Century this year, a beautiful ride with lots of climbing.
I'd invite anyone who wants to participate to come over for a weekend in August. When we're not riding the Ommegang will flow.
PS do they sell Hennepin where you are, or just the original abbey ale?
That sounds like a great idea...count me in.
I really miss that area of NY state since I had to give up my house in Morris.
Have been to the brewery several times. Really like the Rare Vos.
ClutchCargo
12-06-2005, 09:24 AM
but next time, whip out yer trusty 9mm and shoot the b#st#rd ! He'll think twice about assaulting you with all that deadly foam next time !
Oh, sorry. Wrong thread.
GregL
12-06-2005, 09:33 AM
Don't forget that the Cooperstown Brewing Company is located just a few (4-ish) miles from Ommegang in the outskirts of Milford. I grew up on Otsego County Rt.33 (River Road) about half-way between the two brewery locations. Unfortunately, the breweries came along many years after I had moved from the area. I enjoyed visiting them and sampling the products whenever I was home to see my family.
The roads around Milford are terrific for cycling. The Magical History Tour looks great, but they need to change the route to climb the NW face of Crumhorn Mountain. Finishing that climb at the end of a century would call for more than a few beers!
Regards,
Greg
Dekonick
12-06-2005, 10:41 AM
wild yeast - ooohhh soooo much fun...
To prevent wild strains (used to happen alot when I used to bottle, now I just keg with Coke kegs...) try this -
Go to the local brew pub and ask for some yeast - We use a pitcher. The places we go are really cool about sharing yeast. Take that pitcher of yeast and toss it into your wert - and here is the trick - get an aquarium air stone, some tubing, and an oxygen cylinder with a litre flow regulator. Let the O2 flow in the wert for the first few hours at 1-2 lpm - the stone should fizz.
This gives your good yeast a boost and you have some serious fermentatioin :banana:
Hrmph - guess it is time to break out the brewing supplies...haven't made a batch in a year or more!
Oh - yeah - the above assumes you are making 15 gallons or more at a time. It is much easier to mash 15-20 gallons than the typical 5. Cheaper to buy grains in bulk - and the beer is usually better IMHO.
Weather here sucks for riding - salt on roads... <40 F...
May as well brew! :p
Oh, not good. That's the craft brewer's worst outcome (get it? ha ha!). Sounds like a dirty bottle and some wild yeast.
I had a gusher batch of homebrew once. The fermentation stuck and I happily sugared, aerated and bottled a batch that always wanted to be C4 when it grew up. When I opened the first one a month or so later 10 ounces of a 12 ounce beer ejected themselves onto my kitchen ceiling. I thought it was a fluke, so I opened a second. Fortunately I was smart enough to open the second one in the sink.
I ended up throwing the whole batch out before bottles started popping.
Ommegang is great stuff. I like Old Vos.
Aquarium gear no good unless you think of it as throwaway. Get a stainless steel air stone from... wait for it... Wiliam's Brewing Supply. The ceramic ones don't like the wort and get brittle right away.
Dekonick
12-06-2005, 08:54 PM
I do - I use em and toss em.
I also use a 55 gallon plastic trash can as my primary fermenter - replace it every season.
I'll check out Williams.... :) :beer:
also noticed I was spelling wort wert - Oops! We need a spell checker!
shinomaster
12-06-2005, 09:19 PM
I'v had a everything they make from Ommegang, Rar Vos Hennipin , Three Philosophers, all good...I even have an Ommegan glass with a gold lip. First beer diaster though...
Blue Fish Which cup do you like?
Dang, you're making some big batches!
david
12-07-2005, 04:23 PM
Nothing is worse to clean up than beer...
why would you want to do that?
shinomaster
12-07-2005, 04:24 PM
Oh I don't know...sticky floors are gross.
david
12-07-2005, 09:22 PM
Oh I don't know...sticky floors are gross.
give it a few months. the roaches will have it all cleaned up by then.
learned that in college.
Dekonick
12-07-2005, 09:54 PM
The 55 gal can is mostly to keep the active frementation under control...think about sticky floors from blow off - This is open fermentation (well, a trash can lid but no air lock) anything less than 55 gal would blow off and make a mess.
Huge batches, but thirsty friends!
55 gal fermenter = 3 5 gal kegs. a 5 gal keg lasts a long time in a fridge with CO2 tap system. Cheap to build, and good beer. Brewing like this is more for the fun of it anymore - 10 years ago it was done of necessity as beer availability in the US sucked. Now you can find good beer just about anywhere. :beer:
Side note - started brewing after I moved back to the US from Brussels and couldn't find anything that didn't taste like piss (bud, etc...)
guess I should get back to work...reports to fill out...argh!
William
12-08-2005, 05:29 AM
Aquarium gear no good unless you think of it as throwaway. Get a stainless steel air stone from... wait for it... Wiliam's Brewing Supply. The ceramic ones don't like the wort and get brittle right away.
I've got everything you need. ;) Also a really good Imperial Stout recipe that someone on the forum gave me a year or two ago, sorry, I don't remember who :crap: . I get the William catalog every month or so plus their monthly news letter. Good stuff.
William
manet
12-08-2005, 05:54 AM
ommegang is a curious place. they are located in the
cooperstown area, 'cause of available farm property
and a WATER supply. to my chagrin it has NOTHING to do
with the natural occuring hops that this area of otsego county
is known for. they ship all the hops in. good beer, so i'm told.
their barn, while quite stunning from the outside is just a front, an architects
postcard. the innards of course have tubes and tanks of S/S
for brewing, but other than that, might just as well be in some new jersey mc mansion.
and further to piss me off, a few years ago when we were putting
together local bike races, they said no. they sell friggin' duval cycling
jerseys in their shop (for a very shiney penny!) no help for cycle cross + road races.
BAH!!
if you're in Cooperstown. He's new over at Bassett... if you see some crazy guy on a Concours with blue decals riding around in the winter looking for all the hills he can find, say hi to my pal Gary.
Fermenters: I have a couple 6.5 gallon glass carboys I use for primary and a couple 5 gallon ones for secondary. I use glass because it cleans better and doesn't allow oxygen through itself. For blowoff I use a hose in a stopper to a bucket full of water. If I'm making anything with big gravity I have to otherwise I find the airlocks all over the cellar. The cats really like the blowoff setup, they'll spend all day staring at the bucket as it farts and grumbles.
Kevan
12-08-2005, 07:41 AM
What kinda man are you??? You oughta be ashamed of yourself... and you call yourself an American. Any true-blooded American knows the only way to tame wild suds is to quickly clinch the neck of the bottle in your teeth and start slugging down the liquid geyser.
Okay, I too have my limits. My cousins would then get down on the floor and lap-up what was spilt, but then they're rednecks. I use a straw.
bcm119
12-08-2005, 01:53 PM
As a side note, the ommegang Abbey Ale is being contract brewed this year by their parent company, Duvel, in moortgart Belgium. Its the same exact recipe, so it would be an interesting comparison to try the Duvel-brewed version next to the Ommegang version. The Duvel-brewed Abbey ale is available only in the 750's and you can spot it by its red lettering, as opposed to the usual white lettering.
The only variable would be the water, so it might be interesting to see how good Ommegang's own water really is. Apparently their aquifer provides softer water than the typical limestone bedrock New York water, and supposedly tastes more like Belgian water. I don't know if thats really true; I think water isn't as big a deal as many brewers would have you believe. You can mask a lot of so-so water with a little gypsum, and off flavors usually come from the yeast, not the water.
Dekonick
12-08-2005, 02:03 PM
Belgian water is pretty darn hard. (at least in Brussels and surounding area's)
We had a serious water softner setup and consumed huge quantities of salt to soften the municipal supply.
Never tried brewing there as there was no need...heck the Bierhuis Oud Beersel was 300meters from my house. They went out of business a few years back - a true shame to have a brewery like that go under. Ill miss the Geuze.
Duvel is good, but anyone try Lucifer? It is as close to Duvel as you can get in a beer that you can buy in keg. Local Victory Ale in PA also brews a great one called Golden Monkey - don't drive or ride after even one!
:)
can't wait for spring....
bcm119
12-08-2005, 02:20 PM
Never tried brewing there as there was no need....
Thats how I feel about living on the west coast, or the northeast for that matter. I never brewed a beer that was as good as some of the best local craft brews. You just don't have enough control with 5 gallon batches.
PS Golden Monkey is tasty.... as is Victory's pilsener, which tastes like Urquell minus the oxidation. Best american pilsener imho.
Dekonick
12-08-2005, 05:36 PM
Yeah - Victory is great stuff. I love the Pils, and the hopdevil - heck I love all of their beers. Unfortunately, it makes spring a little harder to ride... :rolleyes:
I actually prefer Victory Pils to Jupiler - and Jup is pretty darned good for a 'pinche'
Twee Pinches....!
sorry - I my flemish is pretty bad.
you prefer victory pils to jupiler? drink ten of each and tell the jerk which one you prefer.
jerk
of course the beer to have is the one that costs 20bf a can:
Dekonick
12-08-2005, 08:16 PM
Victory pils is a derned good pils - perhaps comparing it to jupiler was a hasty statement as I love jupiler... on a hot day in MD Victory wins tho... Maes Pils has never been a favorite but it is cheap! Well - it is better than anything mass produced here in the US.
Jerk - where in Belgium did you live/grow up? Anyone who drinks Maes is obviously a native...
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