Lucile Street Brewing

2009-09-30T23:32:00.001-07:00

Goodnight Lucile Street.

Lucile Street Summer Festival 2009 - Recap

2009-08-06T12:52:00.000-07:00

I'd like to give a couple of quick shout outs...

Jake, we couldn't have fed the masses without. Thank you for sharing your culinary expertise. I guess all those years in chef school paid off.

Jonny D, thanks for supplying the sound equipment and doing a great set!

Sans Absol, I was a little skeptical when Mickey suggested that you all play, but I was wonderfully surprised. You guys did awesome! Thanks a million.

Morgan, Oh Morgan. The shirts turned out great. I can't thank you enough! I'm wearing my Lucile St boxers right now :)

And to everyone else thank you so much everyone for coming out. The festival was a huge success. Now here's some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Saturday Schedule of Events

2009-07-31T09:27:00.000-07:00

Here's a rundown of the planned times for things to go down...

12:00pm Bocce Ball Tournament Begins
12:00pm Cribbage Tournament Begins
12:00pm Monkey Ball Tournament Begins
1:30pm Blue Angeles
3:00pm Live Music
4:30pm More Live Music
6:30pm Rib Feast!

The temperature is rising and things are really starting to cook

2009-07-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

We're rapidly approaching the festival and as it's looking it's going to be a hot one. There are a couple of updates for everyone out there...

If you're interested in getting a Festival T shirt the lovely Ms. Nomura is going to have her silk screen set up. You just need to bring $10 and a blank shirt to screen the image on. She'll even screen the shirt off your back! (image left)

We're going to be doing hamburgers and hot dogs throughout the day. I'm encouraging everyone to bring their favorite side dish or dessert. There has also been rumor of a vegan spread for those out there who prefer.

As I said earlier it's going to be a scorcher so if anyone has a temporary gazebo or other means of shade we'd love it for you to bring it on over. The most shade the better.

To any of you who are coming from outside of the neighbor hood I strongly recommend you employ mass transit to get there. With the main seafair events happening just to the east parking is going to be VERY limited. You can either hop on Metro route 7 or better yet check out the new Link! It's about a mile walk from the Columbia City station to our house, but if you get there early it shouldn't be too hot out yet.

One last thing is that this year we're also encouraging a $10 donation. This money just helps go to covering the expenses for the festival. Anything left over goes to more brewing equipment and ingredients so we can continue to provide you with local home brewed ales. We really appreciate and want to thank you in advance for your continued support.

Cheers!

Outdoor Living

2009-07-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

We're getting closer to being able to spend all of our time outdoors. Last night we built up a pretty decent picnic table. It was sweltering when we started. I have to shout out to Matt and Jeremy for putting up with my sometimes erratic mood. I don't do well in hot temperatures. But we powered through it and the end result is sweet. Now we just need to get the outdoor kitchen and tiki stand done!

Festival Beer Preview

2009-07-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

The festival is only 17 days away! Here's a preview of the three of the beers that I brewed for this year’s event. A lager and two Belgians, perfect for drinking on a hot August day listening to some live music and eating barbecue. Adam made a couple pale ales, no specifics on those yet; he mentioned something about a medicinal boot.

Keep checking back as we post more information and details about the event.

California Common
5.5% abv

Color
Light gold, straw
Aroma
Malt, spice, and pine
Flavor
Crisp, clean, malty and medium bitterness
Overall
A solid beer that has the clean crisp flavor of a lager and medium bitterness of an ale.

Recipe Specifics
Original Gravity: 1.055
Final Gravity: 1.015
Yeast: Wyeast 2112, California Lager
Alcohol by Volume: 5.5%
IBU: 34
Ingredients: Pale, Crystal, Munich, Victory and Chocolate Malts. Chinook Hops

Abbey Single
4.8% abv

Color
Gold. The Caravienne malt provides a rich saturated color.
Aroma
Apple, Plum and mild spice. The fruit aromas come from the yeast and the spice from the Styrian Golding dry hop.
Flavor
Mild bitterness, crisp, mild malt sweetness. The Caravienne adds a touch of caramel sweetness at the finish.
Overall
A good low alcohol Belgian style beer. I didn’t have much info on this style of beer, so I made it up.

Recipe Specifics
Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.013
Yeast: White Labs 540: Belgian Abbey IV
Alcohol by Volume: 4.8%
IBU: 27
Ingredients: Pilsner and Caravienne Malts, Styrian Golding and Saaz hops

Belgian Wit
5.1 % abv

Color
Cloudy gold. The yeast stays in suspension creating the signature hazy look of a wheat beer.
Aroma
Pineapple, apple, bubblegum and plum. The fruit and bubblegum is definitely present, but not overwhelming.
Flavor
Tart, crisp, peppery. The flavor begins tart and finishes very dry.
Overall
This is a very tasty beer; I am pleased with the fruit aroma that developed without the addition of any fresh fruit. It is a true to style Belgian wit.

Recipe Specifics
Original Gravity: 1.050
Final Gravity: 1.011
Yeast: Wyeast 3924, Belgian Wheat
Alcohol by Volume: 5.1%
IBU: 26
Ingredients: Pilsner and Wheat malts, Flaked Oats and Saaz hops

MOORE inside out

2009-06-16T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is not beer related, but definitely worth checking out......

STG Presents MOORE INSIDE OUT

A Free Public Event

An artistic intervention at The Moore Theatre including over 50 performance, visual and musical artists exploring the historic venue

SEATTLE – Seattle Theatre Group (STG) and 4Culture Site-Specific present Moore Inside Out, a Free Sheep Foundation curated event, free and open to the public on Saturday, June 20, 2009 from 6pm – 10pm at The Moore Theatre. Moore Inside Out will present new, site specific and experimental works from Seattle’s most innovative artists throughout the venue including non-public places.

The Moore, Seattle’s oldest operating theatre, will be turned “inside out” as the public explores over 50 performance, visual, and musical artists performing an artistic intervention throughout the facility – backstage, through the halls, and up the balconies; artists will be exploring the layers of meaning and possibility of this historic place.

Built in 1907, The Moore Theatre has housed vaudeville acts, revivals, political meetings and musicians ranging from opera singers to Soundgarden, boxing matches to dance and theatre. For one night only, these performing histories will emerge simultaneously, interwoven as a mysterious and menacing, fanciful and fantastic topography of the theatre.

Featuring installations by Lead Pencil Studio, Susan Robb, Iole Alessandrini, Susie Lee, Beliz Brother, Gretchen Bennett, Megan Mertaugh, Laura Curry + Lori Dillon, Jason Puccinelli, Keeara Rhoades, Wen Marcoux, Robb Kunz, Jesse Higman, Stefan Gruber, Joshua Lindenmayer, Video
Ego, Heumer, Baldman, NKO, and No Toucing Ground.

Performances by Orkestar Zirkonium, Harlequin Hipsters, "Awesome”, Seattle School, Hidmo
Jason Webley, Byron Au Yong, Kaleb Hagan-Kerr, Butoh - Joan Laage, Sheri Brown, Douglas Ridings, Kaoru Okumura, Dub Marronics (from Kyoto), Ezra Dickinson, Karn Junkinsmith with Paul Hawxhurst, Rachel Kessler, Lucia Neare, Scratchmaster Joe, OrangeMan.

Moore Inside Out is programmed to acknowledge the Moore Theatre’s role in the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific (AYP) Exposition of 1909, and celebrates its continued role as a hub for creativity and innovation. This event is one of many in the region celebrating and recognizing the AYP centennial this summer.

ABOUT FREE SHEEP FOUNDATION:

Free Sheep Foundation has curated architectural investigations with shows like Motel #1: Bridge Motel, the Belmont, the Tubs Memorial project, and the 2400 3rd Ave Gallery Intervention projects. Focused on presenting site-specific performance and installation works, Free Sheep Foundation is dedicated to commenting on the cultural landscape of the city, our relationship with collective memory, and the meaning of modern urbanism.

ABOUT 4CULTURE SITE-SPECIFIC:

4Culture Site-Specific is a unique collaboration between 4Culture, the network King County Local Arts Agencies, and King County artists. For over a decade, 4Culture has brought contemporary performances to communities throughout King County through the King County Performance Network (now called Site-Specific.) In 2005, the Network began a new focus on site-specific performances, taking contemporary art out of the theater, and integrating it into the daily life, work and play of audiences.

ABOUT STG:

STG is the 501 (c)(3) non-profit arts organization that operates the historic Paramount and Moore Theatres in Seattle, Washington. Our mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of our region’s cultural identity while keeping these two landmark venues alive and vibrant. STG presents a variety of shows from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and Jazz or comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows – at both historic theatres in Seattle and at venues throughout Puget Sound and Portland, Oregon.

Summer Festival Update

2009-06-03T12:56:00.001-07:00

Does everyone remember the festival? We're rapidly approaching the Aug 1 date for this years Lucile Street Summer Festival. The planning went on a short hiatus due my broken foot, but it's all back on track now. We are going to be in the yard still this year. The cost for a street permit was a little high to make worthwhile. Here's an idea of what we're going to have going on:

BBQ Cook Off
This was a little haphazard last year so we're going to be stream lining it a bit. We will still need anyone interested to register before hand. There is no minimum requirement for number of people on a team but the max is going to be five. There will be five categories again: appetizer, cold side, hot side, main dish, and dessert. The major change this year is that we will be having judges determine the score. There will still be a people's choice award but the overall standings will be determined by a panel of judges to be announced at a later date. All participants will need to make enough of each entry to accommodate 20 "tastes". The registration fee will be $20 per team (there will be prizes). If you're interested in participating send us an email and we'll get you registered and signed up for any further updates.

*** CORRECTION: The BBQ Cook Off has been cancelled due to lack of interest. Everyone is welcome to bring things to throw on the grill. Side dishes would also be appreciated. We're going to be having the fabulous Jake serving as our grill master. Nick will also be providing a "Vegan Buffet". Send us an email if you have other ideas for feeding the masses. ***

Deep Fry Mania
David has stepped up to save the deep fryer. We weren't going to it, but he insisted that it wouldn't be the same without it (I agree). I'm not exactly sure what he has planned just yet, but if there is anything you definitely want to see cooked in a vat of oil just bring it and we'll make sure it happens.

Live Music
So far we've got Jonny Durango confirmed to play again. There is also some speculation that we might see and collaborative effort from Casey and Morgan. I'm hoping that my cousin will be able to come down and do a jazz set of some kind. Also Jonny said he knows some others that might be interested. If any of you would like to or know anyone who would like to perform please contact us ASAP! We'd love to you!

T Shirts
I'm currently working on designs for a festival t-shirt with Nomura Love. Haven't set a design or a price yet. I'm also hoping to convince the lovely Nomura sister to set up shop for a little while and make some of their other designs available to the festival goers. Maybe even get some kind of silk screen while you wait going on.

Art
This year I'm trying to incorporate more art into the festival. What we have so far is doing a large collaborative mural in the front yard on stretched sheets. You might have to see it to fully understand this one. But keep in mind there will be outlets for your creative side.

Games
We will have some gaming competitions set up through out the day. Cribbage, Darts, Monkey Ball, etc. If you have any ideas about fun games to play let us know. Depending on the response we may also do a poker game later in the night as a small fund raiser.

Beer
There will be some beer. :)

So that's kind of what's up so far. I'm not exactly sure how we're going to work out the financing in the end. Would be nice to recoup some of the expenses so we could spend it on brewery improvements. I'm open to idea about that as well. I will keep you all posted as things start to progress further.

Cheers

ATTEMPTED ROBBERY ON LUCILE STREET!!!!

2009-06-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Okay so I'm hearing that around 4pm today our neighbor came out on his deck to find four people attempting to climb in through our side window. Two people trying to get through the window and two people on look out. At the sight of him they took off running. I don't have a full description of the event. As soon as my neighbor gets back I should be able to get more information.

I want to warn everyone in Hillman City: Be vigilant! The best defense we have against crime is each other. Keep an eye out.

Also a special thank you goes out to Buffy. We can't thank you enough. Way to stay ready.

Finally a message to the perpetrators. We will be installing some pretty serious spike strips. You've been warned.

A Warning to Solicitors

2009-05-19T20:54:00.000-07:00

Don't come knocking on my door at 8pm. Don't tell me that you're not trying to sell me something and then ask if I have a security system. I will call the police. Sorry this warning came as an after thought, but now you know.

Save the date!

2009-04-08T14:10:00.001-07:00

So I got the information I needed from the city about getting a street use permit for the festival and it seems like it's feasible. We just need to raise a little money to make sure it can happen. Right now I'm playing with some ideas about how to do that but I wanted to make sure you all are saving the date, August 1st. For those of you who aren't familiar with the scene you can check out a recap of last year here.

Also I wanted to give my personal congrats to Jeremy for the recent competition!!! WAY TO GO!!!!!!!

Cascade Brewers Cup

2009-04-08T09:14:00.001-07:00

The results are in from the Cascade Brewers Guild's annual competition. There were 193 entries total and out of my four entries, two placed in their categories. I am pretty pleased with the results and feel encouraged to enter another competition. I also am looking forward to getting me written feedback sheets on the beers I entered. The unbiased feedback will be very helpful in improving my techniques.

The results:
2nd Place - Strong/Smoked/Wood Aged Ales - Barleywine (Imperial IPA)
3rd Place - Specialty Ales - Vanilla Bourbon Porter (10/2007)

Bravo IPA

2009-04-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

I tried out the Bravo hops yesterday in an American ipa. They are 15% alpha acid so I used them as the bittering charge with Simcoe as the flavor and aroma. Both have a piney citrusy flavor profile so I think they will pair nicely. I hit all my numbers and volumes, I had forgot how easy it is to make a single infusion five gallon batch.

I also attempted to create a whirlpool during the end of the boil/chill period by recirculating through the pump. The point was to collect the hops in the middle of the kettle (bottom of the whirlpool) to prevent it from going into the fermenter, but I think the immersion chiller got in the way. It's possible to do, just needs some tweaking.

Saison!

2009-04-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

I brewed up 10 gallons of the saison yesterday. The new thermometer addition to the mash tun helped immensely. I now have much better control during step mashing. This means better beer!

It was warm and sunny.

Draft Beer

2009-04-02T09:05:00.000-07:00

After several long months the kegerator is back up and running. I made some access improvements and cleaned all the lines. No more going to the porch for a beer!

On tap:
Dubbel Overhead Abbey
Grand Cru

March Madness!

2009-03-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

Alright so I finally got my brewing caught up yesterday. I got 20 gallons done. Here's how it all went down:

Round 1: Sounder IPA

This IPA was a mutation of one of the beers that I did for the Election (Biden IPA), but I mixed up the hops some and made some slight changes to the grain bill and have decided to name in honor of Seattle's new MLS team. (Go Sounders FC!!!)

Sounder IPA 10g
22# Two Row Pale
2# Crystal 20
1# Aromatic
1# Flaked Oats

2oz Warrior 60
2oz Cascade 30

Safale US-05
2oz Mt Hood 5

I've got all kinds of computer problems so I don't know what my OG was supposed to be but it came in at 1.062, which seems about right because before the minor changes it was supposed to come in at 1.063.

I also used the cake from the last pale ale for this one. I wasn't even boiling the second beer before it started to spew yeast everywhere. 24 hours later its still fermenting like a fiend. Hopefully it will be done in a day or so at this rate.

Round 2: Porter?

So the second beer I'm not as solid on, but still optimistic. Like I said I don't have the software that I usually use to write my recipes so I was kind of shooting in the dark with this recipe. It is based off the old recipe for the Pumpkin Porter (without pumpkin).

Porter?
22# Two Row Pale
2# Crystal 40
1# Brown
1# Chocolate

2oz Halletauer
2oz Fuggel
1oz Tettanger

Safale US-05

I was shooting in the dark with the gravity here and somehow came out with 1.068! That's about 10 points higher than I think I want, but we'll still make it good. I also think that I'm going to take 5 gallons of it and try adding cranberries. I have a lot of them I don't know what to do with. It could be good.

Well that's the scene here on Lucile Street. Time to think about chili.

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Rainy (Snowy?) Day

2009-03-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

So I was going to brew today, but when I woke up it was snowing. It quickly turned to rain however the back yard is a mud slide so I opted to pass on brewing today. Just means I'll have to get twice as much done next weekend.

The real reason for this post was to send out a thank you to Columbia Citizens for recently giving us a shout out. We appreciate the nod and welcome all our new readers! We're currently working on a plan to do a tasting in the future (probably May or June) so all of you interested can come and get a couple samples and see our operation.

I also want to remind everyone about the Lucile Street Brewing Facebook page. There is a bunch of great pictures up there from our various brew sessions. We've deleted the Myspace page due to lack of interest and consolidated everything there. Wwell not everything yet, I'm having trouble with some of the pics, but we'll get em up there..

Tolerance Pale Ale: March 8, 2009

2009-03-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Alright I finally got out and brewed again. It was a decent session all-in-all. It'd been a while so I made a couple of rookie mistakes that I kicked myself for afterwards, but ob la di, it'll still be beer.

It was the first time that I used the new brew shed and I must say it's pretty awesome. Having the water everywhere you need it without having to move the hose is amazing. The only down side is the water is all VERY cold and I lost feeling in my fingers for a good while after cleanup. However there is a plan to fix that that has me kind of excited.

I made the Tolerance Pale Ale recipe again. It's a solid pale ale. Here's the stats:

10 Gal Batch

18# 2-row
2# Cara-Pils
1# Crys 40L
1# Flaked Oats

60 minute mash @152F

60 minute boil
1oz Super Alpha 60
1oz Riwaka 45
1oz Riwaka 5

S-05 American Ale Yeast

Finally, I've got to know, what does everyone think of the brewin' overalls? Pretty bad ass yeah?

InaugurAle

2009-01-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

I brewed up some celebration IPA in the spirit of Tuesday's inauguration of President Obama. It is filled with chinook and cascade hops with a 1.072 original gravity (7.3%). A straightforward american style ipa. The weather was beautiful and football was on the tv. We also deep fried, so much deep fry.

New Blog!

2009-01-15T10:24:00.000-08:00

Check out the new blog about food:

lucileskitchen.blogspot.com

Dark Medicine

2008-12-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

I finished off 2008 with a batch of what will become the second half of the sour barrel. The Dark Medicine, a sour brown ale. The snow has finally melted and hose has thawed. The nozzle and faucet were lost in storm-I'm sure there was some voodoo involved.

All in all it turned out to be a successful brewing year. I brewed more belgians, started step mashing, made a brew shack and began sour beer. I look forward to the new year improving the brewery and sour beer!

Tap List 12.28.08
Biere de Garde
Apple/Pear Cider
Noel
IPA

Did you see what god just did to us, man?

2008-12-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

Sour Glue

2008-12-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

I had a fairly productive weekend. The interior plumbing is installed and complete. It works really well, we no longer need to connect the vinyl hose to the laundry room faucet. There is a spigot on the outside of the shed for incoming water, and three inside. One for the carbon filter, immersion chiller and the future utility sink. I am paranoid about the residual smell of the pvc glue, hopefully we don't go blind drinking the beer.

I also brewed ten gallons of Belgian Pale. Five got the Antwerp ale yeast and the other five got a Brettanomyces/Sacchoramyces blend which will be the start the sour barrel project. The cake from that beer will then be used to ferment the Dark Medicine, which will also go into the barrel.

Bring on the Tolerance!

2008-12-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Got 10 gallons of Pale kegged last night. Brewed it back on the International Day of Tolerance. So I don't want to hear about any discrimination going on while it's being drank. Also hoping to get 5 gallons of cider kegged before the weeks end. Holiday Ho-down here we come!

Tap List 11.30.08

2008-11-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

Biere de Garde
IPA
Dubbel
Obama Porter

Rye IPA

2008-11-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

I brewed the rye ipa yesterday afternoon. Ran out of propane during the mash but crisis was averted. I hit the gravity and everything turned out well. Hopefully the raccoon spares us from his voodoo.

Rocks

2008-11-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

I finished up the gravel patio in front of the brew shed this afternoon. It should cut down on some of the mud. I am pleased with how it turned out. The gravel was supplied by Sayers Fuel north on Rainier and the timbers had previously been used to transport some artwork. We really need to do something about that crazy patterned wood.

Tap List 11.18.08

2008-11-19T14:53:00.000-08:00

- Obama Porter

- Tripel (kegged 12.29.07)

- Dubbel

- Imperial Wit

Welcome!

2008-11-19T14:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the official Lucile Street Brewing Blog (LSBB). This will be a space to keep everyone informed on the current brews and improvements being made to the brewery.