Wormholes

^^^^^^^The new Blonde straight from the filter^^^^^^^



Watch out for these things, sometimes they appear out of nowhere, suck you in and make you not update your blog for three weeks...

In case anyone has been wondering what's been going on here at Franklin's, I'll give you the lowdown. The last few weeks has seen some new beers,revisions and old "new" favorites return.

First things first I'm happy to report our new batch of Bombshell Blonde hit the taps a couple weeks ago and I'm really happy with the results. There were no big changes with this beer, only a slight modification, but the results are highly noticeable. The major change with this beer was the use of our new house yeast which I implemented a "pseudo lager" fermentation. Fermenting this beer at lower temps (mid 50s F) helps make this beer much cleaner,smoother,crisper and anymore adjectives you'd like to throw on here. The result is a beer that although technically an ale resembles a lager due to its decrease in fruity esters and cleaner,crisper finish.Its already gaining more sales then the its previous versions and the weather is just starting to warm up, look out summer!

We've also tapped a new Belgian-style Tripel named Tripel Bliss. At 9% ABV this interpretation is quite legit as it incorporates a mix of fruit esters,delicate spice, candy sugar sweetness and a touch of alcoholic warmth underneath it all. Made with primarily Belgian Pilsner malt and a large addition of sugar this beer has enough complexity to continue to develop as it ages but is highly drinkable even now at eight weeks.

Finally we've tapped our encore batch of Golden Opportunity, but who am I kidding, this beer will no doubt be making more regular appearances throughout the year as time/space allows.Enjoy it while its here, if history is any indicator, it won't make it through Maryland graduation.
Every job has its perks.

Big beers on the way

Its good to be back at Franklin's after a long weekend up North with family. Last week was a big brewing week here as a Belgian Tripel and a Double IPA made their way into the fermenters. So beware of big beers here in the future on Baltimore Ave, proceed with caution and sip away to your hearts content. I'm thinking the Double IPA should hit the taps in later March and the Tripel in April to help warm those bones from a record winter of snowfall.

Snow,liter flip tops and Rubber Chickens

I'm not quite sure how long I've been fond of Rubber Chickens, and frankly some things are best left a mystery. That said I've always found them to be timeless,humorous and one of life's great constants. If its possible to be an animated inanimate object then the RC is it. Apparently 30 foot tall RC's are hard to come by, thus why Franklin's has a beer called Rubber Chicken Red and not a giant RC perched on its rooftop overlooking Baltimore Avenue. This week I got to brew again(life is good) and the RC Red was my task. While transferring the wort(unfermented beer) from the kettle to fermenter I saw it, the beautiful fried egg of a beer or as I like to call it, the "trub cookie". Now don't let your digestive juices start flowing just yet,the trub cookie isn't really a cookie, besides what the heck is "trub" anyway? Well simply put its the material leftover in the kettle when the wort is transferred out. When it first starts to appear in the kettle as the wort volume lowers it makes its birth looking like cookie dough(hey its steamy in there and my imagination not to mention low blood sugar can get the best of me), hence where the term "cookie" derived.So check out the pic and take a look at a Rubber Chicken Fried Egg or trub cookie as I like to call it.

Well a little fun update to report,on Friday while the area was being threatened with a down comforter layer of snow, we received a drop shipment courtesy of the fine people up at Duclaw Brewing.We were able to get our hands on their former single head bottle filler and just under 2000 liter flip top bottles. So be on the lookout for some small specialty bottles available in our general store.

Golden Opportunity

Belgian season has begun. Our first Belgian-style of the year is in the fermenter as of this afternoon, Golden Opportunity should come in at about 6.5% and hit the taps in three weeks time. This beer has many distinctive firsts for me here at Franklin's, but the most interesting one is that it was the first beer that I got to use my new grain hopper on. Previously mashing in required two people, one in the cellar pouring no more than one 55 pound bag at a time of malted barley into the hopper which dropped into the mill and was then sent two stories up to the brew house and one at the mash tun controlling temperature and water flow. Now thanks to Papa Franklin and the boys over at Metal Fab Inc. who built us a stainless hopper that holds 1000+ pounds of grain,I can pour the malt in the night before and be ready to mill in the morning without the need for additional help. Here are some pictures of what she looked like on arrival and after being set up in place.

Genesis

Out of the dark and into the light with tears of joy. That was what I was feeling a few weeks ago when it finally sank in that I was moving south to Maryland to take on the new challenge of brewing at Franklin's Restaurant, Brewery and General Store. I'm happy to say now on January 23 2010( three weeks into the job)that the 16+ hour car ride without a radio,dining at rest stops on the Jersey Pike and a six hour interview with Mike "Papa" Franklin have been all been worth it and that feeling still resonates.

So with that said, onto the beer. The brewery itself despite its quirks is in good working order. There's a few odds and ends that need some touch up but overall its a setup that will produce good beer. Speaking of beer,I'm happy to announce that my first two batches, an American Strong Ale and a Porter are in the fermenter as we speak. Franklin's is planning a "Meet the Brewer Night" on February 9th at 6:30p.m. where we will debut these two new beers. I'm looking forward to meeting all the regulars and newbies.

Peace,Love,Beer-Mike Roy