Trombone Battle

This video (and others) can be found here.

Oktoberfest 2009 - Rooney

The Billy Penn Brewery would like to thank everyone who made this year's Oktoberfest a success. We're still compiling pictures as they get submitted to photobucket.com. We'll continue to post more as they come in, but until then here's a preview.

WANTED!!

This rapscallion broke into a private Oktoberfest party without paying his entrance fee. Supposedly, he was with the police that arrived over the noise complaint...

This photo, showing the suspect fleeing from the scene of his crime, was recently sent to authorities by an anonymous source.   Authorities caution that this bear is considered to be Drunk and Mischievous.  If you see him, please contact the Billy Penn Brewery immediately.  Please do not try to apprehend this Pooh by yourself.

Finishing Touches

Prosit!!!!!

final touches

Food Prep is Complete!

Tators

The Bier Garten is Assembled

We had to perform construction through the rain Friday night, I'm glad we have the lights and banners up. If any of you wish to help with final preparations, the calendar on the right has the remaining events.

Biergarten Building

6 Days to go!!

The Spent Grain Dinner Rolls are Done!

The Spent Grain Dinner Rolls are a specialty of Ryan's, with the recipe known only to him. What we can tell you is that this modified version of a Rye Dinner Roll, contains the spent grains from the Oktoberfest beer to add texture to the roll.

Typically, the Oktoberfest beer wort is prepared with single infusion mash the at 152 F for 45 min, with 15 min at 170 F, and a grain bed sparge at 177 F. We achieve roughly 55% conversion efficiency, meaning of the starch that is present we successfully convert 55% of it to fermentable sugars for the yeast. However, we do not hit a high enough temperature to extract many of the tannins, and a majority of the lipids and proteins stay with the grain bed as well.

What is the point of all this? Glad you asked, removing the starch from the barley increases the concentration of the nutracuticals that are present in the spent grains. So, not only is the Spent Grain Dinner Roll a delicacy that ties the meal together, but it is healthier for you too!!

At the Billy Penn Brewery, we believe our Oktoberfeset Party should not just make you happier, it should make you healthier!!

Dinner Roll Making

Enjoy the pictures of Ryan "Man Candy" Luckey making the dinner rolls this year! And thanks to Scott for storing them in the deep freeze for the week.

The Sausage is Stuffed!

On September 3rd we gathered at Ryan's for an afternoon of making the 150 lbs (600 links) of sausage. As you know, we take great pride in preparing everything for the Oktoberfest party. If you want to see pictures of the pig killin', you'll have to ask Ryan to show them to you. We tasted this years batch and I think everyone will enjoy it more than last years. We have also developed a "beer gravy" to keep the sausages moist in the roasters without disrupting the crisposity achieved from grilling them. Enjoy!!

Sausage Making

We do apologize for the shirtless wonder on the album cover...

August 28, 2009 Brew Night: Jad's Hefeweissen

We used a modified version of Jad's Hefe recipe to brew the last of the 11 batch for the Oktoberfest party. From now until then, it is nothing but preparing the Bier Garten and making the foods.

Brewers In Attendance:
Shane Rooney
Ryan Luckey
Erik Waiss
Evan Leonhardt
Scott Sboda
Allan Gossman
Eric Newgard

What We Tasted:
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)
Spaten Oktoberfest 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)
Lefthand Oktoberfest 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)
Red Hook Late Harvest Ale 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)
Boulevard Bob's '47 2009, 2008 (Website|Rate Beer)
Beck's Oktoberfest 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)
Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest 2009 (Website|Rate Beer)

Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru (Website|Rate Beer)

We also had a cigar night and on the tasting menu were:

Rocky Patel Decade Torpedo

Casa Magna Colorado Robust

Drew Estates Acid Natural Figurado (Consensus favorite for it's "chocolate cake" character)

CAO MX II Robusto

Enjoy the pics!

brewnight

Sauerkraut 2009 Update 2

The Billy Penn Crew had a canning session for the 1st 40 pounds of sauerkraut, which was made from ordinary, everyday cabbage. Ryan claims this batch to be "fantastic" and much better than last years. Next, to can the 50 pounds that just finished fermenting, made from a special Dutch variety developed specifically for Sauerkraut production. We have high hopes for this batch. We are also hopefully that Ryan will find his sleeves again.

Enjoy the pics!

Sauerkraut Canning