Now, it's up to the judges...

My beautiful and lovely wife, Jenn, drove down to Salem today to drop off the beer for the State Fair Homebrew competition. The awards are announced at the end of August during the fair, so we'll let you know how things go.

We are very excited. We entered the Roid Rage into the Imperial IPA category. We have no idea how many other people enter this thing - so it will be a learning experience. We entered the Band Camp in the American Pale ale category. We also entered 3 labels that our friend Pete did into the label competition.

I tried the Band Camp last night. It still needs a few days to fully carbonate. It has a nice color. You can taste the ginger. I'll reserve final judgement until later next week.

We will rack the Super Bee to the secondary this week for sure. We want to make sure the fermentation is at least 95% completed. Shawn said that sometimes with honey - it can be sneaky. You think it's done, but its really not. In that case it would leave the beer sweet - more like malty honey juice than actual beer.

New Company Logo Unveiled!

Many thanks to my friend Pete for his winning design. As advertised, Pete will get free beer for life. My sister, Heather, also contributed some design ideas. Thanks for all your support. Pete also made some 2nd generation label designs too. I will release those at some point in the future.

OGBC Now in the Kegging Business

Old Growth now has kegging equipment. On Saturday I was able to retrieve all of my gear from an old friend I hadn't seen in a long time. Surprisingly, everything I left with him he managed to keep together each time he'd moved since last I saw him. Apparently my gear followed him to 3 different homes. I can't believe he held onto it the whole time.

Now folks will be able to enjoy OGBC products on tap, once kegging begins.

Ah, and it also means anytime Greg or I need a dose of cold Roid Rage, we need only stumble down into the trusty garage and push a button.

Life is good.

-S

Band Camp Summer Ale in the bottles!

Band Camp Summer Ale was bottled on 7/23/08.

End gravity sat at about 1.058, putting it at about 5.5% ABV.

Shown in the photo is Greg's original label, in all its radiant beauty. Never mind the incorrect date stamp. Greg received some new labels for our beers recently (from a friend of his) and I'm sure he's wanting to show them off to everyone. I won't spoil it, but I will say they are excellent and professional, yet they also quite succinctly capture the spirit of the originals.

Band Camp Summer Ale will be ready to drink in about a week.

-S

Super Bee Wheat Fermenting...

Latest Happenings...

Band Camp Summer Ale should be bottled on Monday 7/21.

We plan on submitting Band Camp and Roid Rage to the Oregon State Fair. They have an annual home brew competition. The entry deadline is the last week of July. If we win anything, you can bet I'll be putting "Award Winning" somewhere on the labels! Also - they have a label design contest - so we'll see how that goes.

Super Bee Wheat is fermenting away. Because of the amount of honey in that one - we plan on it taking a little longer than usual to go through the primary - then at least 2-3 weeks in the secondary. It will be well into August before that one is done.

We'll probably do another round of Roid Rage next. See if we can duplicate our first edition. Consistency is the mark of a master home brewer.

I got a fridge from a former co worker for the garage. Hopefully, we plan on converting that into a kegerator sometime in August.

We haven't gotten any logo ideas yet - so everyone better get on that!

Super Bee is buzzing!

After a very hot afternoon in my kitchen and some minor technical challenges, Super Bee Wheat is on its way!

Apparently, my kitchen stove top does not do a very good job of boiling large quantities of liquids. It took FOREVER for the water to get boiling. It also didn't help that it was about 95 degrees in my house.

We used 2 pounds of Orange Blossom honey and 1 pound of Poison Oak honey - so we shall see!

That's one of the things I like about brewing. It's like Christmas morning - you never know how things are going to turn out.

This one time, in band camp...

Band Camp Summer Ale was racked to the secondary last night. It has a light copper color so far. Within a couple of hours of racking, clarifying had already begun. It should be light and refreshing. It was dry-hopped as well, so there should be some fruity tastes and smells to come out of it. There won't be too much in the way of bitterness.

Expect it to be ready for bottle-conditioning in about a week or week and a half.

-S

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey

This stuff is for real. 94 proof. The color of magma! The taste is soooo smoooooth. Such a long slow burn- really warming. Each label is hand written. If you drink bourbon, you will love this. If you drink scotch, you will love this. American single malt at its finest. Highly recommended.

Check their site: Stranahan's

Logo Design Contest

The name Old Growth Brewing comes from the term "old growth forests" that once dominated the Northwest. To me - it means really big trees and pristine wilderness. A place undisturbed by the activities of men. It is where the BIG boys play!! A place where nature still rules.

So - I am going to have a contest to help design the logo. The only guideline is that some shade of green be used. So get your creative juices flowing!!! Think about giant sequoias, doug firs, redwoods! These are the tallest, oldest living things on the planet! Think snow melt fed mountain streams, moss covered rain forests!

I retain the right to not pick any ideas submitted or to "pick and choose" parts from several ideas. I am the judge and will solely determine the winner. That person (or group) will get free beer for life.*



*Some restrictions may apply.

Roid Rage IPA

This is our flagship beer. Lots of hops, floral aroma, not too much bitterness, caramel color. This beer is a great example of a Northwest style India Pale Ale. Around 7% alcohol, this beer packs quite a punch.

So far, everyone has said they like it. It is very easy to drink, and goes down way too fast.

A long time ago...

...in a garage in Beaverton, Oregon, a dream was born.

This is the initial post of my latest creation: Old Growth Brewing Company.

I have a lot of ideas and we will see how this blog evolves.