Brewery Visit: Thimble Island Brewing Company

Drinking: Cinnamon Cocoa Drafty Kilt by Monday Night Brewing

Listening To: Star Wars Epic Battles playlist on Spotify

Over Christmas vacation in Connecticut I had the time to stop at a local brewery and check things out. After a quick Google search, I found one about 20 minutes away - Thimble Island. Located in Branford, CT, the story of Thimble Island strikes a chord with me - Just a pair of guys from the tech industry trying to make a beloved hobby into a profession. 

I usually enjoy touring the breweries I visit, to see what equipment they have and how they use it, but unfortunately TIBC was not set up to offer tours of their new facility yet. They did, however, offer flights of beer! They had about 8-12 beers on tap, and also offered bottles and growler fills to go (pay attention Georgia!). I had previously tried and enjoyed their Mutually Assured Destruction Russian Imperial Stout in a bottle from a local package store, so I sampled four other brews: 

The Ghost Island DIPA was a solid beer. Good hop aroma and flavor, but not overpowering, with a nice maltiness to balance. I like hop, so it could have used a bit more in my opinion, but I think this would go over very well for folks that are not a fan of the super hoppy West Coast styles.

The Windjammer Wheat Ale was also very good. Good citrus notes and a bit of a bread or biscuit to it as well. Very clean otherwise.

The Dark Pumpkin Porter was a bit of a disappointment for me. It was by no means bad, but it did not have the depth of spice I am used to getting from a pumpkin. I think this was more a result of expectation than reality. I went in expecting a heavier spice taste, and was disappointed when it was not there. It left me feeling like it was a bit empty, or missing something.

The Coffee Stout was very meh in my book. Again, not a strong flavor with the coffee, which fell short of my expectation. There was also a slight acidity to it that I found unpleasant. It also did not have the mouthfeel that I expected from a stout. A good stout, in my book, coats your mouth a bit to give some lingering flavor. This beer went right down like a pale ale or pilsner might, but without the hop profile to linger behind, again leaving me with the impression that something was missing.

The M.A.D. Russian Imperial Stout was fantastic. Very smooth for an 11%, nice dark flavors, and a great finish. I picked up a 4-pack of Bourbon Barrel aged M.A.D. on my way out of the brewery that I am really looking forward to.

Overall, I would give Thimble Island a thumbs up. A couple of the beers I tried fell short of expectation, but that may be as much my fault as theirs. I also have a penchant for beers that are remarkable in some fashion, be in a strong flavor or a unique ingredient, and while their beers were good, the only one I found remarkable was the M.A.D. Russian.

Cheers to a couple guys living the dream!

I'm back!

As part of my pending resolution to get back to brewing in 2016, I plan to give blogging a go again. My plan is to post not only about my homebrewing, but notable beers I drink, or beer related projects I do.

#readyfor2016 #hashtagswerentevenathingwhenididthislast

Second Draught

4/15/12 - Hoggetowne's Oatmeal Stout

Recipe

• 6.6lbs LME (Dark), used Briess Porter LME
• 8oz flaked oats
• 12oz 55L Crystal malt
• 8oz Chocolate Malt
• 4oz Roasted Barley
• 2oz Willamette Hops
• 1 pack of Coopers yeast
• OG 1.050, 29 IBUs

 Boil

 I decided to go with a full volume boil this go around - all six gallons. On my first brew I did a partial and my wort cooler was half exposed at the end of it, which I was not a fan of. This recipe felt a bit easier, but I think that is at least partially because I have a little experience under my belt now. The malts, barley and oats needed to be steeped at 150 F, similar to my first recipe. With the extra volume though, I was able to more easily manage the water temperature. This time around I also purchased a reusable nylon grain sack, rather than using cheesecloth. The temperature actually ran a little hot on me this time through, staying about 155-160 F for the first 15 minutes of the steeping. I ended up just cutting the gas off completely for the last half of the steeping, and the liquid maintained its temperature just fine.

After the 30 minutes was up the grain sack got pulled and I brought it to a boil, then added the 6.6lbs of LME and half (1oz) of the hops, thus starting the timer on the 60 minute boil. At T-30 I added the last of the hops - unlike my last brew, which had hops added once more at T-15. This being an Oatmeal Stout, it should be less bitter. The later hop additions add more bitter.

At T-15 I set in my new and improved wort cooler, so it would have time to sanitize before cooling. I was talking with some of the brew shop folks about brewing outdoors in the summer here in Florida, and they said that I would have trouble getting my wort cooled to 70 F with just hose water, as hose water runs around 80 F in the summer. So I talked to a few other brewers and got some ideas, and ended up getting a second wort cooler which I had connected to the first in a chain. The water hose connected to the first cooler which sat in a bucket of ice water, so water would run through and cool off before it ran into the second cooler which was sitting in the brew kettle. The set up worked very well, with the single caveat that I did not get enough ice, so the wort, true to the word of the brew shop employees, only cooled to about 74 F. The second small disaster was me dropping my thermometer and having it shatter. I ended up using a digital kitchen thermometer, which I have always been leery of, simply because I don't know how exactly they work.

I did not do a yeast starter this go around, I just pitched the dry yeast straight in to the carboy. My temperature was a little high; I could, and maybe should, have waited a bit before pitching the yeast. We'll see how it goes. The OG read a little high again at 1.052, but my volume looked a little low in the carboy so I just added a half gallon more of water.

In the words of Peter Griffin, "Now we play the waiting game..."

Bottling Day

Bottling Day went pretty smooth, I think, but let's see if bottles explode before we make a final decision. I had meant to take some pictures of the process, but once I was cleaning up I realized I hadn't. All said it was about a three hour process, from pulling out equipment to putting it away cleaned. The auto-siphon and racking cane were by far the MVPs of the day - both of those tools made this an extremely easy process. I ended with 24 regular 12oz bottles and 9 liter flip-top bottles.

The Final Gravity (FG) of the brew was 1.017, which means 3.3% ABV. Most beers are 5-6%. Lower than I thought it would turn out - something I will discuss with the brew shop at a later date. I tasted a bit from the draw I tested the FG on - it tasted like a beer! A flat beer, as this has not carbonated yet, but a good sign I think.

Now to plan my next brew...

Fermentation Day 14

I was gone for the weekend, but everything looks to have been fine. 68 F and more stuff settled on the bottom. Bottling one week from today.

Fermentation Day 6

Just a thin layer of foam left. Bubbling appears to have ceased completely. There is no longer any perceptible "activity" in the liquid. Holding steady at 70 F.

Fermentation Day 4

Bubbling has slowed down, and it looks like the foam, or krausen, is beginning to recede. Still about an inch there, but the "action" in the liquid is more of a fall to the bottom and less of a swirl. Temp about 70 F.