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JoKing

44, Male

New Plymouth

New Zealand

Profile Information:

Favorite Beers?: Aventinus, Fullers ESB, SNPA, SN Celebration Ale, Stone Ruination, Green Flash West Coast IPA. Epic Porter. Epic Mayhem. Pliny the Elder. Ballast Point Sculpin. Rodenbach Grand Cru. Way too many to list these days.

Hops in beer is great.
Favorite Breweries?: Mine! *edit* Actually mine!!!! Liberty Brewing Co.

Croucher Brewing, Hallertau, Cock and Bull, Epic Brewing, Steam, Galbraiths, Anchor, Stone, Green Flash, Russian River, Yeastie Boys, Ballast Point,
Favorite Bars/Pubs?: My kitchen!

As above. As well as any pub that serves real craft beer. RCC!!!!!

Hashigo Zake, Malthouse, Andrew Andrew, Hallertau.
About Me:: Been homebrewing since I was a kid. My first brew was Brown Sugar and Bakers yeast at the age of 12 Inspired by a science project. Since then I found out that you could buy real home brew kits. I did 2 when I was 14 at my mate Shasta's place. They weren't too bad. I gave it a miss until I was 20, and did a few more - but they didn't taste like craft beer so I found out how to Mash.

My wife and I now run the Liberty Brewing Company which currently supplies All Grain Brewing ingredients to the masses. Eventually, I'd love to take this a step further and supply my beer said masses too. We'll see.

Now it's done. Liberty Brewing Co. has laid it's first few batches down with great success. Our aim is to brew seasonally and focus on quality ingredients to produce exceptional beers.

Comment Wall:

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Bambule

Hey Joking. I tasted two NZ IIPAs last night by Renaissance and 666 and I couldn't help comparing them to Naked Poppy.
Although the hops were all completely different it would have stood up really well in the company of these beers, I'm even more impressed now!

Jun 20, 2009
Bambule

Hey there, Wouldn't mind having a taste of your Black Beauty Porter if you can spare any when your down south in July. I can of course make it worth your while with a bottle of my American Stout and of course a Dubbel.

Jun 26, 2009
Bambule

Yeah! How often does that happen. Having the last few pints and realising its only now at its peak and you've wiped out the rest of it while it was still green.

Jun 26, 2009
Ian

G'day Joking. Your suggestion to my cans query of Sawmill was a grand one. I got a 24 mixed pack and I love it - the pale ale, pilsner and wheat beer go down a treat.
Cheers,
Ian

Jun 29, 2009
Ian

You're right and I do let the breweries know my appreciation of their product, though I've not done so with Sawmill yet. The painful part was the $30 courier hit - though I did receive the beer the next day. I guess one just has to order enough to make it worthwhile! But their beer is not just OK beer in a can, it's bloody good beer.
The problem is that I'm building a little yacht (20') and it tends to be a bit consuming and I just haven't got around to really getting into my new AG brewing gear. And now our income is diminished until the B&B season picks up again in summer, I have the dilemma that I just can't get enthusiastic about generic slop on special and the good stuff costs - and I need my evening beer fix. So either I must eat less ot get brewing again!
Cheers,
Ian

Jun 29, 2009
Ian

The thing is that, as a B&B who spreads beer evangelism to visiting foreigners might otherwise think that NZ beer was Tui and Steinlager, we get wholesle rates from the various breweries generally. So whilst I'd save courier fees buying locally, I'd pay more for the beer and if I order enough in one hit it still pays to buy direct. The South Island stuff doesn't cost that much in freight though.
I have all the ingredients of a bitter recipe which I got from Stu, so that's the next project.

Jun 29, 2009
Bambule

Hey man, Great to catch up. I drank the Black Beauty last night, reminded me alot of Renaissance Porter, except perhaps without the alcholic warmth of that beer. Maybe you set me up to look for faults, but I liked it allot, much better then any porter I've brewed. If anything it ended a bit flat in the finish which is a shame as it starts so well, the hops don;t hang around. Maybe some cara munich or carafa in there maybe like Renaissance? Definitely catch you in Taranki come November.

Jul 19, 2009
John Christie

Thanks, yes her indoors thought that was a funny trick ha ha Shes a good bloke she likes her or should I say our beer........ need more hops though

Jul 21, 2009
studio1

hey buddy. Just wondering how your braided hose is setup in your mlt? Do you just have it sitting freely in there, or in some sort of loop configuration? I've noticed quite bad channeling down the sides of my grain bed when fly sparging, and therefore eff at around 65% to 70%...wondering how I can get this up a bit.

Jul 23, 2009
studio1

yeah, i thought so. I notice mine was clinging to the edge of the bucket.....hence channeling. Will try it out!

Jul 23, 2009
Bambule

Hey, so many beers: so little time, no need to rush to them. The American Stout is just on the down side of his peak of hoppy glory which is a shame but it did indeed have 500g of black in there. I tried to nullify that a bit by adding some bicarb soda and its not too over powering in my opinion. The dubbel I wish I could try in another year, so every day you leave it is fine.
Missed out on an Emersons tasting last night as the train had derailed! Ahh the agony.

Jul 25, 2009
Pilgrim

Hi Jo,

I sent you an eMail from my home address but not sure if you got it, so here it is again:

Hey Jo,

I see you're heading down to Beervana. When are you going down?

I'm heading down after work on Friday 28th. I'm volunteering for the Saturday afternoon session and attending the Saturday evening session. I was going to post on the forum the week before to see if anyone was interested in going for a few beers on the Friday evening at say the Malthouse or one of the other 'decent' bars.

If you've got time to call in on the way down, or the way home, you'd be most welcome to pop in to inspect the 'Pilgrim's Rest' :-)

Cheers
Pete.
pilgrim@inspire.net.nz

Jul 31, 2009
denimglen

Any chance of you sharing the secret of your 'patented perlick creamer faucet'? I think this will go down well with my USMild that's about to go on tap, I could exchange the secret for a bottle :-P

Aug 5, 2009
denimglen

Aha! I thought that's why you might be doing - a psuedo-restricor-disc like those that come in the real stout faucets. I tried sticking a small ball of copper scrubby in there to create some turbulence and/or nucleation points but it didn't do too much.

Yup, I've got Perlicks now, so will give it a shot. I dunno about that +14C though :-P I'm set at 10C so I'll play with it and see what happens, if need-be I'll let 'er warm up.

PM me your address and a bottle of the American Mild will turn up on your doorstep in a week or two. I tasted the hydro sample today, is kinda like a low gravity American brown.

Aug 5, 2009
Mike Neilson

Aug 5, 2009
denimglen

Just give me your address asshole, it's only like 3.1% - there won't be any left in four weeks, and also, I'm slack as fuck and can't guarantee my appearance at WBC.

Aug 5, 2009
denimglen

Haha only just saw your comment now.

Carbonating at the moment, once she's ready I'll send some down.

Shot bro.

Aug 9, 2009
Toot

No worries

Aug 9, 2009
Bambule

Dude, you must think I'm the rudest prick! I was told a package had been put in the fridge for me (I have trained the receptionist well in hop handling) but another box of hops from NZhops had turned up the same day. So I didn;t realise. Sure enough I just checked in the fridge and there they were. Your a legend! Cheers. I have a bottle of Blonde ready to send up actually, just been giving it a few days to prime. Its on way.

Aug 12, 2009
Bambule

Nice, its not tasting too bad, but the alc % got up a bit higher then intended about 7%. I find that wyeast strain makes the alcohol a bit solventy for the first few weeks so don;t rush in to it unless your a thirsty man, or your hankering for a beer sans hops.

Aug 17, 2009
Bambule

You can find it here.
http://realbeernz.ning.com/forum/topics/1500433:Topic:8?page=201&commentId=1500433%3AComment%3A62190&x=1#1500433Comment62190
Bit of a combination of higher then anticipated efficiency and attenuation, its the 3787 number.

Aug 17, 2009
Nick T

Hi Joking,

Just a note to say thanks again for posting the Yakima Monster recipe, I transferred it to secondary and dry hops last night after 10 days in primary, a sample of it tasted absolutely superb! Even my mainstream-lager-drinking wife thought it was great, and (unfortunately) a mate dropped by and had a taste too - I think I will have trouble keeping the final product in stock for long once it is bottled.....

Can't wait to do an all-grain version!

Sep 1, 2009
Beer_ledgend

Hi Joking

I'm not a homebrewer, but a lover of beer. I understand that the next Western Brewers Conference compition is Hefeweizen Style. If you require a judge or a trainee judge, I would be very keen to assist.

Thanks Chris

Sep 14, 2009
Beer_ledgend

Dam, it's the same day as my wife's xmas party on waiheke island. See what I can do.

Sep 14, 2009
Beer_ledgend

All good for the judging on the 28th, look forward to meeting you and learning new skills :)

Sep 15, 2009
Nick T

Hi there, funny you should ask, just got back from the West Coast and first thing I did was check The Monster - its sitting at 1.5 degrees cold conditioning as you suggested. (Haven't tasted it since bottling). Sooo tempting to rip into it, but given the time I think I will resist the temptation and give it one more week conditioning, have a wee dram instead, after unpacking the car! Can't wait to taste it, my mouth is watering as I type this just thinking about it.....

Oct 4, 2009
Pilgrim

Hi Jo,

Re my question, I decided to leave it alone for a day and then did a Joking Wort Recovery on the whole brew. Lost a few litres but saved most of the brew. First time I've ever put hops in at flame-out, I'll use a hop sock next time. I've now decided to re-name this batch to Recovery APA.

Cheers
Pete.

Oct 5, 2009
Nick T

Wahaay! Cracked the Monster last night. It was great! Had a monthly 'mens mental health' evening with my two neighbours (we all have young daughters so we decided we deserve a man-cave retreat every so often), took over the first tasting of the Monster, and my stout. Was a real hit. Especially for the guy who admitted he was anticipating old fashioned homebrew shite. Can't wait to try brewing an AG version! Thanks again for the recipe and all your help!!

Oct 13, 2009
Arron

Hi there Joesph?
Cheers for the call today.
If thats a sign of the service from Liberty then you can expect plenty of business from me.
Cheers mate

Oct 15, 2009
Bambule

Hey Jo, Will you be bumping into Martin in your travels up to Auckland. Thing is I have a bottle of his champion winning Donkey Oatie clone for him. If so, how do you feel like being the mule. Its in glass so I'm not mailing. Needless to say you'll be gifted a bottle for your troubles.

Nov 7, 2009
jt

Second thoughts ? I bet it was worth a read ....

Dec 8, 2009
jt

Nah, I must have Blogitis .. or maybe the Mild's affected my perception in the land of Ning

Dec 8, 2009
Pilgrim

Hi Joseph,

The yeast is from 'Young's Special London Ale'.

Cheers
Pete.

Mar 7, 2010
Pilgrim

Thanks for that, looks ideal :-)

Mar 7, 2010
Pilgrim

Hi Joseph,

I don't suppose you're heading up to Hallertau any time soon? I'm getting a couple more Corneys from Steve for my son and thought you might be able to bring them back with you so I could get Jodie to pick them up next time she's in the Naki.

Just a thought.
Cheers
Pete.

May 26, 2010
Pilgrim

No problem mate. Just thought I'd ask. Any chance to save a dollar eh :-)

Can't wait to taste your Mike's IPA. Well done mate.

Pete.

May 27, 2010
Tilt

Ran out of space on the Invite friends tag Joseph - sorry for the cryptic message. I'm keen on getting hold of some of the WL Australian Ale yeast (AKA Coopers). You mentioned back in March you might be able to get hold of some in June. What do you think my chances are? Cheers, Mark

Jun 7, 2010
Bambule

Hey Joe, I'll get around to sending a couple of beers up to you this week. My Summit brown ale is tasting the goods and I have a bottle of the maximus clone. A bit disapointing this one. My dry hopping didn't really work, too much time floating on the beer not in the beer perhaps? Anyway, too much alcohol and not enough hop aroma! Still very drinkable however, but not that flash compared to what you'd be used to imbibing.

Nov 7, 2010
Bambule

That IPA sounds great, and the cask conditioned brown...

Nov 7, 2010
Bambule

Sent that beer off today. I chickened out on sending the IPA. It wasn't up to standard, I would have been embarrassed!. But fear not I included my freshly bottled tripel. It should be much better. Give it as much time as you think a 8.5% belgian beer needs to condition before drinking. The brown ale is tasting great just now. Maybe too much cara-munich in it, but that summit is shining through really well. Enjoy.

Nov 12, 2010
Bambule

Hey Joe did those beers turn up? Beer in glass and the postage service make for unhappy bed fellows.

Nov 26, 2010
Bambule

Hey brother Joking, just found a courier bag of beer for me at work. cheers!

Dec 8, 2010
Ian

Hi Jo,
I haven't posted on the realbeer site for quite awhile, but a worse admission is that I haven't brewed for too long either! I have been building a little yacht, which took all my time. But now that's done I'd like to get a brew going again and I need some yeast. I seem to recall that, apart from being a most jacked brewer, you have a shop and supply brewing goodies too, is that correct? But I can't remember how to contact you there. Cheers,
Ian

Dec 8, 2010
Ian

Great, now I know where to come for advice that works and brewing goodies. I got a smack pack of Wyeast 1098 to brew a bitter style. But it was manufactured in March 2009 and I'm a bit concerned it might not work properly. What would you recommend I use to brew a bitter? I don't mind dried yeast - in fact that's fine. The kind of beer I love is stuff like Emerson's Booky. I'll order online if that's the best way.
Cheers,
Ian

Dec 8, 2010
Ian

Hi Jo,

Thanks for the comments on the yeast. Below (just for interest's sake) I attach a comment my Aussie brewing mate made. He is retiring soon to Nelson, which is very cool for tasting, but maybe will strain the old liver ocassionally. We are talking here of meeting at Marchfest.I would like to order some S-04 from you - should I just do that via your web site? Also, can I get most things from you including grains etc?

Cheers,

Ian

regarding the yeast it all depends on your taste preference ( which is why I have set up a 60 litre system ) so that I can use three yeasts on the same wort and experiment, SO4 is foolproof and is excellent for darker ales , SO5 is great for American pale ales it seems to enhance the citrus of the hop Cascade ,but don't let it ferment above 21 degrees C to get the best result, Nottingham yeast is brilliant for pale ales and bitters but also keep below 21 C, so my advice it to try them all over a period of time and test you memory which you prefer, when I am settled in Nelson I will be able to give you tastings and lots of different yeasts ie liquid ones , its amazing what a difference they make according to the hops used.

We look forward to seeing you both again at the festival and it will be fun to have you stay

Dec 15, 2010
Adrian Hayward

Haha all good bro, next time you have a spare Danscade cutting I will be more than happy to flick you that beer. Cheers.

Jan 18, 2011
Brett Mason

No worries. Happy to send some Sticklebract anyway if you keen but it may be a while before they are a decent size. The Sticklebract is growing much slower than the Smoothcone.

Jan 20, 2011
Reviled

Love the collab label bro!! Nice work...

Jun 18, 2011
Chris Banks

Cheers Bro - thanks for all your encouragment!

Aug 15, 2011
Paul Wicksteed - another1

Joe, did you get the email I sent to sales@liberty about the brew courses? keen on your thoughts.

Have been isolated from outside world a tad, with no iPhone, only good thing is er-indoors can't contact me when I am at the pub.

Sep 7, 2011