Poppin' Bottles

Brewmasters Eric and Marshall cordially invite all of our tastemaster friends for the popping of our first batch of Stuy Town Nut Brown Ale.  This fête de l'année will take place on Thursday, December 10th from 8 - 11 pm at the EVBC HQ.  Please bring a six pack of your favorite nice beer to share with our incredibly witty and beautiful friends.  PBR and High Life won't cut it.  Good stuff for good friends.


RSVP here.  The EVBC salutes you!

Brewmaster Eric gives thanks for MS Paint

Brewmaggedon 2 arrives, locals feign interest

I address you tonight not as a Brewmaster of the EVBC, not as the leader of domestic brewing Operations, but as a citizen of humanity. We are faced with the very gravest of challenges. B.M. calls this day "Brewmageddon 2" - the end of all things. And yet, for the first time in the history of the planet, a brewery has the technology to prevent its own extinction. All of you praying with us need to know that everything that can be done to prevent this apocryphal disaster is being called into service. The human thirst for excellent beer, brewey knowledge; every step up the ladder of science; every adventurous reach into Brooklyn; all of our combined modern technologies and imaginations; even the Brew-wars that we've fought have provided us the tools to wage this terrible battle. Through all of the chaos that is our history; through all of the wrongs and the discord; through all of the pain and suffering; through all of our times, there is one thing that has nourished our souls, and elevated our brewery above its origins, and that is our liquid yeast. No, I'm just kidding, its courage. The dreams of an entire fanbase are focused tonight on those two brave souls, day drinking and watching various disaster themed movies while trying to specifically measure out the most exact portions of hops and malts, conducting the trickiest of calculations. And may we all, fans of the EVBC the world over, see these events through. God speed, and good luck to us.

All I know is that I know nothing (about brewing)

"I decided that it was not wisdom that enabled poets to write their poetry, but a kind of instinct or inspiration, such as you find in seers and prophets who deliver all their sublime messages without knowing in the least what they mean. " Socrates


This weekend, I realized I'm a lot like Socrates. I'm white, bearded, slightly overweight, prefer to wear sandals and am often accused of corrupting the youth. Then again, all I really know about Socrates is what I gleaned from my drunken viewings of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It's far more likely that the real Socrates didn't carry around his bag of trusty hops with him, just in case someone needed to brew on a moments notice. Lucky for you, my fellow brew-thusiasts, I never leave home without a satchel full of East Kent Goldings - just in case!

But it's not just about the hops kids, no siree...EVBC-fever is far more than that! Over the past week or so, I flipped through William Moore's "Home Beermaking - The Complete Beginner's Guidebook" in order to further educate myself on the science and art of brewing. I've learned a lot so far - and I decided to roll out some of this knowledge on the pros at Brooklyn Home Brew while we picked up supplies for this Wednesday's "Brewmaggedon 2 - This time, it's personal." How smart I sounded, asking 'bout the difference between IBU and HBU, determining which malted barley was best for our Avenue A-le and even going so far as to correctly describe why liquid yeast is better than dry yeast (cause it costs more, that's how you know things are better, cause they cost more).

All my genius of course was blown to smithereenies when the kindly shop keep reacted quite negatively to our using of an aluminum brew pot during round one...apparently a no-no in the brewing world. B.M. and I marveled at the ease with which our beer could be siphoned going forward were we to use proper sized tubing...apparently we've been making do with a less efficient method of beer-movement. The real humility didn't set in though until I had to ask how to open the bathroom door...apparently P-U-L-L means using force to move an object towards you instead of away. My bad on that one.

What was supposed to be a quick trip for a brew kit turned into a life lesson - remember, no matter how much you think you know, there's always more to be learned. Also, wipe your feet before coming inside, because frankly you're making a mess of the brew shop. I have to disagree with Mr. So-crates slightly on something though...maybe I don't need to know that I know nothing about brewing, but instead just need to keep studying, keep reading, keep brewing and keep drinking (for learning purposes I assure you). I think that's what Socrates was angling for anyways.

WAR!

"Anybody can become angry -- that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way -- that is not within everybody's power and is not easy." Aristotle

Tastemasters! A challenge has been issued...our beloved East Village Brewing Company attacked. The sanctity of our union assaulted. The loathsome curs at the Oregon based brew company known only as "Alameda" have stumbled into a minefield they could not have possibly foreseen. For months now our motley crew desired a land of opportunity and prosperity for Brewmasters of all generations to come together and as one create a greater class of brew-thusiast, the likes of which the world has never before known. But alas, the road to greatness is fraught with disaster and the first road block to happiness, arisen. Alameda has seen fit to create a seasonal brew they call "East Village Amber".

Sure, they are an established and respected brew pub. Sure, they operate on the west coast and have little to no overlap with our desired market share. And sure, their yelp.com post speaks nothing but the the finest of their character and service - but their spiteful moniker mocks our every step. From hells heart, the stab at us. Lightly we shall not take their affront to the EVBC lifestyle! East Village awesomeness is ours to enjoy, nay, our birthright!

Fear not, my darlings, for ours is a love borne of devotion and faith. Brewmaggedon 2009 saw the inception of the upstart local brew crew empowered by the desire to run with the big dogs. Through our fandom on Facebook and followship here in the blogosphere, our verein is steeled against the mordant barbs and spears of such West-Coast pretenders to the throne! With our sweet ass logo in place, Brewmaster Marshall and myself shall guide the precious flock through these troubling times. So sang the prophet Greg Graffin, "Victory! Instinct over intellect... Victory! It comes from deep inside!" Dig deep, friends, dig deep... thus begins a great brew war steeped in the classic East Coast-West Coast battlin' tradition. Alameda has called upon us to rise to greatness...they serve us with a phantom menace for the ages. Tupac to our B.I.G...Tybalt to our Romeo...Backstreet to our N'Sync (you're goddam right we get Justin).

Your devoted and faithful Brewmasters shall not sit idly by whilst our bitter rivals best us with their "actually being a brewery" status. Thus we invoke "Brewmaggedon 2 - This time, it's personal". Come Wednesday next, B.M. and I embark on our second round of brewey greatness. And just in case you get any ideas, you Alameda thugs, we're calling Marshall's DAD.

The Manhattan bound EVBC-pride train is arriving - next stop, Avenue A-le.
Cry me a river, mother f-er. Shit. Just. Got. Real.

Getting with the times...

I know the EVBC has been around for a weeks already, and people have wondered, "Hey - why don't you have a Facebook page yet?  I'm dying to be a fan there."  Well we've heard your cries through the virtual wires, and have unveiled our EVBC fan page here.

There's also our nifty, new logo as well.  Hope you like it because the customized t-shirts, coozies, visors, buttons, portable coolers, slap-chops, snuggies, and rotisseries have already been ordered.

Specific gravity

nerves racked, we measure
how strong our brew, i wonder...
six percent - success!

Capped!

B.E., our trusty Brew Apprentice Mike, and I completed the final step of the brewing process tonight - the capping of the bottles.

First we boiled some water and added some special sugar to make a simple syrup, which will eventually give it that frothy carbonation.  Then we added the beer to the syrup, and hooked up this ingenious little tube and valve to the container.  After filling up 47 bottles, we capped them all off with this great bottle capper.

Now all we do is sit back and wait for the beer to be ready.  Estimates range from 2-4 weeks.  Stay tuned here for details on the official "Uncapping Party" at the EVBC Brewery!

Adventure! Excitement! EVBC!

"On a Friday night in season, you can buy or sell anything from moose meat to ketamine, and hear some of the most arrant lies ever put to language." Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policeman's Union

Tastemasters! Exciting days at the EVBC! Brewmaster Eric has recently returned from his trip to the savage jungle land of Central America. After tirelessly machete-hacking his way through several coconuts in the tropical isles of the Kuna Yala, and bravely dancing with the local fauna in El Valle, B.E. returns successful from his search for spices and flavors from the storied Panama countryside. After bravely venturing where no man (in the EVBC) has gone before, Brewmaster Eric brought to EVBCHQ dozens of ideas for new brews...at least four of which seem viable!

In other brew-thusiast news, secondary fermenting wraps up this weekend. Brewmaster Marshall and I will be setting down to bottle our inaugural batch of Stuy Town Brown Ale this Sunday, meaning the brews-day clock is ticking down to zero hour at a fevered pace. I spent this afternoon hunting for local home brew shops that had bottle supplies, and found that my traveling days were far from over...I had to go to Brooklyn! Not Williamsburg, mind you, where the hipsters have tamed the wilds and settled the land like so many French missionaries to Africa before them.

Nay, I ventured to Brooklyn Homebrew in Sunset Park off the R train - a very recently started home brew supply shop housed on the second floor of a charming Brooklyn brownstone. I was greeted by what seemed to be a husband and wife duo with matching ring finger tattoos (totes adorbs!) and walked into a living room filled with specialty grains, buckets of hops and the soothing sounds of the Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl". While I'm more partial to the Diesel Boy cover of the same, the joyous orchestra of sights, sounds and smells overwhelmed my senses...my faithful backwoods-Brooklyn-journey rewarded. I walked among the half-dozen bearded and bespectacled Brooklynites, spoke their brewey language and lived to tell about it!

Tastemasters, like with any great trip to unknown faraway lands, I returned home a changed man. I learned of a great local brewshop a mere 45 minutes from Manhattan, had under my arm two cases of amber tinted bottles and found my beer-making resolve redoubled. During tomorrow's bottling, B.M. and I will discuss potential debut party dates, and soon your patience, my darlings, shall be rewarded with brew.

There once was a brewmaster poet...

In celebration of secondary fermenting, I've whipped up some bawdy limericks for everyone's enjoyment.

The Ballad of B.M.
If you run into Brewmaster Thompson /
Don't ask 'bout his brew-making johnson /
It mixes the grains /
But oft fails to drain /
Any question'ble jetsom and flotsam.

So cries the Brewmaster
Brewmaster Eric doth pout /
When'ere he hears tastemasters shout /
"Your siphon tubes' clipp'd /
And we hear you're equipp'd /
With a racking cane terribly stout."

Brew Day

Meant to blog this 2 weeks ago, but I've been so busy that I just didn't have the time. Sorry to disappoint the EVBC faithful! But, alas, the brewing post is here!

Two Fridays ago, B.E. and I spent a beautiful New York City afternoon brewing the first batch of Stuy Town Brown Ale. After some running around the city for the last few things we needed, we jumped right into the process. As you can see from the photos, there are a number of steps involved with the grains, yeast extract, hops, and finally the fermenter. If you're interested in learning more about the process, we recommend checking out this website for some videos.

Here are the rest of the photos from Brewmaggeddon.

Finally we moved the wort from the primary fermenter to the secondary fermenter bright and early this morning.  This means that the beer will be significantly clearer once it's finished.  We plan on doing the last step - transferring the brew to bottles - this weekend.  Then it's just 2 short weeks until it's sippin' time.  Clear your calendars for a Stuy Town party!