Meet the newest addition to Regular Guy Brewing

Over the course of the last two years, you have had the chance to get to know the three of us behind Regular Guy Brewing. Between our posts and tweets, avid visitors have probably been able to glean quite a bit of insight into who Justin, Brian and I are as brewers and individuals.

Well now we have a new member of the team that I would like to introduce.

Some call him…TIM.

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Or, if you prefer to go by full names: Thermal Interchange Manifold

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Monster EPA dry hop

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Oh my god, you guys, oh my god. Friday night the Regular Guys got together and got some work done. I’m talking about a ton of work. Most of the work was brew tech related and Seth is going to fill you in on that. What I’m going to tell you about is our yet-to-be-named EPA.

First of all, the EPA had a VERY active fermentation. Brian said that it was so active that the top actually blew off twice! Not just once, TWICE! Luckily he was home both times and barring a mild heart attack, he was able to get the lid back on quickly. Here’s a picture of the EPA in primary.

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The remnants of the krausen show just how active the fermentation was. This beautiful beverage isn’t even ready yet and I’ve gotta tell ya, the aroma was quite possibly the best smell that has ever entered my nose. No harsh fumes, no hot alcohol tones, this is going to be a beast. Especially after you see the amount of hops that went into secondary!

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Holy cow that’s a lot of hops! We went with a glorious mixture of Columbus and Simcoe hops. Next picture!

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This is the Columbus and Simcoe hops welcoming our EPA into their home. Remember how I said up there how our EPA’s aroma was the “best smell that has even entered my nose?” I lied. Our EPA mixed with the Columbus and Simcoe is the best smell that has ever entered my nose!

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And here we have the final product. The hops are soaking up the EPA and are going to do their magic. It will bathe in the hop addition in secondary until Friday where we’ll transfer to the keg for carbonation and soon after, we’ll be able to enjoy.

I really can’t wait to try this version of the EPA. Seth did a lot of hard work recalculating and reworking the recipe to make it just right and I have full confidence that it’ll turn out great.

Until next time…

Sketchin’ out some brew-tech!

It’s Friday, and is the custom amongst the powers behind Regular Guy Brewing, tonight we will be getting together to do some brewery business.

No actual brewing of beer is on the agenda, but we will be tending to a few necessary logistical issues that will allow us to improve our brewing process going forth.

fridgetruck]First off, we are sad to report that the refrigerator which we had converted into our temperature controlled fermentation/carbonation chamber…which was thoroughly documented last July…has died. It was a tough loss to take. Tears were shed. Brian was particularly distraught, and spent days reeling in anguish following the discovery. But as a group, we have persevered. We have picked up the pieces and moved forward.

Tonight, we welcome a new addition to the Regular Guy Brewing arsenal of zymurgical weaponry…a small chest freezer that my wife found for us on a buy/swap group on Facebook. 35 bucks later, and we have a new chamber for our yeasties and carbs to do their thang in. Continue reading

Harsh Perspective…

Sometimes things happen in life that put your concepts of reality into some very harsh perspective. Something you think is important one moment can suddenly and instantaneously become trivial and petty. Other things can become even more important, even vital, when illuminated under the proper light.

Last night, I saw such a light.

longmireI was at home, sitting on the couch next to my beautiful wife. It was about 11 o’clock and she had just nodded off for her usual pre-bedtime nap. I had just pulled up an episode of one of my favorite shows to watch while also doing a bit of brewery research on my phone. The dog had her head in my lap and, much like my wife, was sound asleep. The house was still for the moment. No noises could be heard other than the calm, yet raspy, tones of Sheriff Walt Longmire. Continue reading