Draught System

Sometimes pictures are better...

Glycol

Countrymen we have been swimming in glycol.  You see the Birdsall Boys have it in their head that they can do anything.  And nine times out of ten, they can.  But ever so often some force of nature will contrive to prove the theory wrong.  Like a blue jay raiding the eggs in a Robins nest, our old Perlick Glycol chiller took our day and smashed it on the ground.   We couldn’t figure out what was wrong.  We tried multiple scenarios, disconnecting and reconnecting parts and tubes.  No matter what we did we couldn’t make it work.  Jump forward eight hours later and you have two very disgruntled, tired and confused dudes.  Right before quitting time we decided to call Perlick, the makers of the glycol machine that wouldn’t.  And the kind fellow at Perlick asked, “Did you prime the pump?”  Ten minutes later the glycol machine worked.  I think the lesson here is even if you think you can do anything; you still have to read the directions.

Johnny

GEEK

My fellow proletariat, the road to completion is paved with potholes.  It has been a bumpy ride this week.  Projects seem to creep by and their elusive finish seems just out of reach.  But we must remember that the projects that are presently stealing all our time are the whole reason The Birdsall House exists.   The Birdsall House, first and for most,  is here to showcase the diverse flavors of the American Craft Brewer.  And The Birdsall House Boys are working on their draft system.  The Mahogany draft tower is almost complete.  A couple more passes of oil and shellac and we will be mounting this Beauty to the bar.  And just in time, because the draft line installer (Tim) is waiting for the carpenter (me) to hurry up and finish.   All the beer geeks out there should be sure to ask for a tour of the system when they come by.  And for those of you that don’t know what a beer geek is let me define.  A beer geek is someone that takes their love for craft beer to a hobby.  Many of the beer geeks out there have stuck away in a corner of the basement or garage a little handmade system to make their own brewed concoctions. And a beer geek is definitely someone that will drive 30 minutes to stand in the 15 degree cold in a line for the newest release from Captain Lawrence Brewery in Westchester.  If you read Tims last posting you will now have figured out that the Birdsall House boys are beer geeks.

Johnny

Drink Local

We saw our friend and neighbor, Scott Vaccaro, owner & brewer of Captain Lawrence Brewing Co. in Pleasantville, NY today and we are now in possession of a few bottles of Golden Delicious.  GD is one of Scott's limited release beers.  This batch is an American Tripel, dry hopped with Amarillo hops and aged in apple brandy barrels.  Yum.  Captain Lawrence is a world class brewery and we're glad it's right in our back yard.  Captain Lawrence brews will be featured on our Grand Opening (sorry, still waiting to set the date) &  these bottles of Golden Delicious are the first of many bottles we plan to age in our cellar.  At over 10% ABV Golden D. is a perfect candidate for our Vintage program.

The draught system should be ready to go next week, all of the lines have been run in the basement and we're now working on the Mahogany draught box that will be on the bar (she's going to be a beauty).  When everything is tied together in the box we plan to hook up a keg of Captain Lawrence for her maiden voyage.  I'll try and document the rest of the install with lots of pictures.  As far as we know, few people have ever attempted to install a 20 line draught system from the ground up without contracting a company to do it for them.

Cheers,

Tim

Hump Day

Hump day and all is well.  We continue to march forward on the draft system.  The Alchemist has finished the inside of the box and hopped up Johnny has only the front of the draft box to clamp and biscuit join together.  Beer shall flow in the near future.  The hard working boys from union beer stopped by.  For those of you not in the know they are the kind fellows that distribute some very awesome craft brew through our fair land.  Craft beers that will hopefully be sliding down your discerning gullets very soon.  The evening has finished creeping in and is in full swing and my little dog, BillyJean, is awaiting my arrival and her final walk around the yard to see which neighbor dogs hiked there leg to say hello.  Tomorrow should bring the beginning of the end of the last large project on the list.  And with a little luck we will be getting you all a date when the doors will swing open.  Cheers and Salutations!

Johnny