ohio kraft brew

Thanks to OKB…

ohiokraftbrew — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 05:25:42 +0000

It’s been way too long and this post is months overdue. A while back in July we had a summer tasting and the first tasting en masse with our new kegerator. We tried two new delicious beers – “Belgian White Men Can’t Jump” from “The Homebrewer’s Recipe Guide” and our very own “beer.i.am. Black I’d. P.A. So how did it go over? Judging by this email from an actual OKB guest (who shall remain anonymous), I’d have to say it went just as planned:

“thanks to you i now own a pair of purple pants. how? on my walk back from the okb tasting i wandered into a store and tipsily grabbed a pair that looked to be maroon. but upon returning home with a more clear head i realized, no, purple”

B.Y.O.K.B. (Build Your Own Kegerator for BEER)……..

ohiokraftbrew — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:17:27 +0000

So the absence of recent posts has not been without reason and certainly not for lack of continual and dedicated work on OKB’s part. We’ve somewhat purposefully held off posting for a while…..as we finished our new dual-tap kegerator system. Actually beer has been flowing from the taps for a few months now – we just wanted to wait until we finished our custom stainless bar top. Our first kegged summer homebrews (a cherry ale and an orange Hefeweizen – both variations from Extreme Brewing) have been delicious and the whole kegging process has been a great upgrade from all the bottling we were doing previously. In designing and building our system, we didn’t come across too many great step-by-step tutorials – not to mention how difficult it was trying to get exact cornelius keg dimensions, so….we put together some basic documentation of our process, if you want to see what’s involved…. read on…..

The whole process is actually quite simple and straightforward, though it may seem overwhelming at first. The first thing we did was to find an acceptably sized fridge or freezer for conversion. We went with a top loading freezer as opposed to a mini-fridge (since you’d have to remove a lot of interior molded plastic if you want to go with the refrigerator – especially if you want a 2-keg system). We brew 2 x 5-gallon batches each time we brew, so we also knew we wanted a 2 keg, dual tap setup. After a reconnaissance trip to Lowe’s to get interior dimensions of freezers, we then did a quick 3D model to make sure everything would fit.

After that, we ended up going with the Holiday® 5.0 Cu. Ft. Chest Freezer – it was compact enough to fit in an apartment while it had enough room inside for everything we needed. You could also look at Craigslist for a used freezer, but the price of this freezer was hard to beat brand new.

As for the kegging system itself, we used a Double Dual Cornelius Keg System from Midwest Supplies. It has a dual pressure regulator so you can maintain different pressures for each keg allowing for proper carbonation levels depending on your beer styles. A great chart for pressure/temperature/style relationships can be found HERE. More on force carbonating later. So we saved some money by getting the used cornelius kegs, but with a little scrubbing they cleaned right up. As you can see…..

…the kegs measure 8.625″ in diameter by 24.9375″ tall. This meant we had more than enough room for the kegs and the 5lb CO2 tank…….

Plenty of room for 2 kegs….

For distributing the beer, we chose 2 Chrome Axis Towers as opposed to a single dual tower (simply personal preference and the overall look we wanted). Again from Midwest Supply. Once we decided where we wanted them to be (take into consideration the kegs beneath and where you want your beer to pour) we simply measured, scribed, center-punched, pre-drilled, then finally hole-sawed (1″) to fit the threaded base through the top of the freezer.

Measuring/marking ctr. lines

Center-punch before drilling

Drill pilot holes

Hole-saw to the correct diameter

Finish the holes from the back-side

Voided warranty on the freezer!

Installed tap towers

Positioned perfectly

Good looking setup, but not done yet…

This almost completes the system, and the top could be fine as-is (though we opted to do a custom bar-top/integral drip tray – see further down) but you still need to control the temperature inside since it’s meant to be a freezer only and that would be (a) too cold for the beer and (b) not offer specific enough control over the temperature. So we now install a digital controller (similar to this ONE) which simply plugs into the wall, the freezer plugs into it, and a remote sensor measures the inside temperature, allowing the controller to cycle the freezer on/off as needed to maintain a specific temperature range. We mounted it on the rear, as neatly as possible – though mounting it on the side may be more desirable for easy access to read/control – again personal preference.

Measuring and center-punching for mounting the Temp. Controller

Sensor and extra wiring on the inside (you may want to put the end of the sensor in a jar/bottle of water for a more accurate temperature reading) Also, we sealed the hole off with a dab of silicone sealant.

Keeping the wiring neat & tidy

When we decided to build a kegerator/kegging system for our homebrew, we knew we’d want to trick it out a bit. Since we are all currently in apartments in the city, we also knew we’d have to limit the customization to the kegerator itself (as opposed to doing any built-ins), so we designed the system to have a custom laser-cut stainless steel top with an integral drip tray below the bar surface. (Special thanks to our good friends John and Jake Sasanecki at Tallmadge Spinning & Metal Co. in Akron, OH for the laser and brake-work ). As you can tell by the photos below, the installation for it is fairly straight-forward:

1×2 Poplar furring strips get cut to fit, then fastened to the top of the freezer with drywall screws and construction adhesive.

The spacing will allow the drip tray to be slid out for cleaning.

Collars are routed in for a close fir around the tap towers

Small square-drive fasteners are counter-sunk to finish the top off

The delicious fruits of our labours……

Quite literally – an Orange Hefeweizen…

….and a Cherry Ale!

O.K.B. any time in your haus!

Seasonal Brews

ohiokraftbrew — Mon, 24 May 2010 05:06:49 +0000

Summer is nearly here, so OKB is getting ready with some delicious new seasonal recipes as well as a few extra surprises for those lucky enough to make it to our next tasting. More to come soon…………..

Premier Brews

ohiokraftbrew — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:14:30 +0000

Been a long while on posts………our apologies – even OKB brewmasters have other commitments – hard to believe.

Anyway, we’ve had a couple premier brews in the bottle for a while now. While we haven’t had time to arrange another of our famous tasting events, we have had time to sample our own beer – of course. This time around we produced a spicy (Star Anise) stout – aka the Black Squirrel Stout (a nod to the rodent infested campus in Kent); Also in the works was a delicious cream ale – aka the Cuyahoga Creamer (a real tribute to good ol’ American brew). Hopefully we’ll be able to share some in the near future.

Sampling the Black Squirrel with some added Star Anise for aromatic inundation.

Perfectly Paired

ohiokraftbrew — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:12:54 +0000

It’s been a while since the last tasting and this time I have to say we really raised the stakes for ourselves. Not only did we sample two entirely new beers – the C.O.C.Wit (coriander, orange peel, and cardamon) and the Rhine Rye (a rye with peppercorn) (both based on recipes from our go-to guides, but with some OKB tweaks!) but Katie provided an amazing range of foods, perfectly paired with the really different beers. My favorite had to be the “Pastrami and caramelized onions with horseradish mustard cream on rye”!

Overall it was quite successful. Thanks to all that made it out – especially our special guests from Chicago….the Burger Fiend and Stephanie.

Pairing Menu

Amazing food

Pre-tasting Quality Control

The “Burger Fiend”

…late into the night.

OKB drinks…….

ohiokraftbrew — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:48:08 +0000

Ever wonder what we drink when we’re not brewing & drinking our own beer? Probably not….but we’ve added a new page OKB drinks….depicting a few beers we’ve been known to drink on occasion. Not meant to be a comprehensive listing – just some seasonally enjoyed beverages. We’ll try to update periodically.

New Brew

ohiokraftbrew — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:39:53 +0000

Team OKB has been busy lately – finishing up the last of the JPA and Sleepy Saison along with devising some new seasonal recipes for mid/late summer. We’ll be brewing up a Belgian Wit with a bit of a twist (secret ingredients) and a Rye Bock of sorts – both based on recipes from some of our favorite sources but with several of our own modifications. Check below to see the team in action on brew day:

Some of our special ingredients:

Mike + Matt busy in the lab:

Nate manning the stove:

Double-hung grain bags:

Finally, after wrapping up the brewing – reaping the benefits of previous batches, along with a delicious pairing by Katie and LB:

OKB travels…pt2 (Seattle)

ohiokraftbrew — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:49:37 +0000

A recent weekend getaway took us to visit some friends up in Seattle. Not only is the Pacific Northwest beautiful, but it’s home to a huge number of Microbreweries. Our friends Steve and Kristen were kind enough to take us around and share a few of their favorites. Maritime Pacific was an excellent little brewpub with some rediculously large sandwiches on the menu. There’s The Pike Brewing Company in the famous Pike Place Market which had some fantastic brews. I think my favorite beers though, were from Georgetown Brewing Company, out of Growlers that Steve and Kristen get refilled on site!

Brewing/bottling area at the Maritime Pacific Brewery

And once again, OKB helping to spread the word……another homebrewing convert. OKB will look forward to a beer exchange program with Seattle.

Post-party recap

ohiokraftbrew — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:28:27 +0000

As per usual, we’re slow in posting (and unfortunately in brewing as well lately). We still have some remaining Sleepy Saison and JPA in the reserves. Hopefully we’ll start a few new original recipes in the next week or two. In the mean time enjoy these shots of OKB just before I enjoyed drinking them…….

Just looking at our Sleepy Saison makes me relax…..catching a hint of Chamomile takes the edge off.

And here we have the crisp and hoppy JPA (Juniper Pale Ale with…..Juniper berries of course)

……and a little post production analysis. The JPA weighing in at a respectable 6.7%-7.0% abv. Not too bad!

Spring Tasting

ohiokraftbrew — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:32:21 +0000

Well, the OKB Spring Tasting was a success – it was well attended, featuring 4 (that’s right 4!) of our brews (2 porters from the late-winter “Brown Sugar Porter” and “Mr.Hare’s Porter” (both from “The Homebrewer’s Recipe Giude”) as well as 2 new spring offerings of our own conception – “JPA – Juniper Pale Ale” and “Sleepy Saison” (with Chamomile)). Through the evening, our guests tried all varieties and everyone seemed to come away with a favorite libation. Thanks to everyone that made it over!