Buzzard's Brew - A Family Tradition

Buzzard's Brew - A family tradition since February, 2012. Our beer is brewed using only the easiest to find mail-order ingredients and fresh Bloomington tap water.

(This is my prototype "Brewery" logo - I'll work on this to clean is up and select a better font/color combo.)

Vienna Lager Bottled

The Vienna Lager (BB-IV) was bottled yesterday, joining the Irish Stout (BB-III) in the conditioning cabinet. Today, I am brewing the Belgian Dubbel (BB-VI, "Farty Monk") which will join the Czech Pilsner (BB-V) in the fermentation cabinet. That's 8 gallons of beer in the pipeline now!

Current Inventory:
BB-I Angry Weasel Pale Ale - last quart being enjoyed now
BB-II Comfy Chair Nut Brown Ale - 2 quarts left
BB-III Dark Epiphany Irish Stout - Bottled, 1 week of conditioning left
BB-IV Shaved Amadeus Vienna Lager - Bottled, 2 weeks left
BB-V New World Czech Pilsner - In Keg, 1 week of fermentation left
BB-IV Farty Monk Belgian Dubbel - Keg, 2 weeks left

Some Prototype Labels

Here are the prototype labels I'm working on for my next two beers. BB-VI is a Belgian Dubbel I'm calling "Farty Monk", and BB-VII will be named "Original Sin" Blonde Ale.

Discussion:

• Urraca Y: Maybe the blonde ale should have a woman who looks blonde or at least some blonde color in the snake. The Farty Monk label just doesnt do anything for me. The rest of your labels have been very attractive, but this just doesnt say "Beer" or "Fun" or "Tasty" or anything.
• Me: The Monk label was originally in the style I used for my Irish Stout - the only fundamental change there was in terms of color. I decided recently that I want a unique looks for each type of beer, so I struck out in a new direction. I guess this one was just a little too generic. Perhaps if I add little fart clouds under the tails of the lions? Naaah. Will keep on working on that.
• Me: I came across the art for Sin a couple of days ago and am eager to get it onto a label, but perhaps waiting for a dark beer would be more appropriate. I have a Dopplebock I'll be making, but that's scheduled to be BB-XII... I'm not even halfway there yet!

 

• Me: Here's an alternate name/design for the Blonde ... "Nimblejack"
• Urraca Y: I like it.
• Me: And an alternate for the Dubbel... not sure about the palette yet but you get the idea about where I'm going.

From The New World...

New World Czech Pilsner (BB-V) was brewed today and is currently in the fermenter. That means I have some of 5 different batches currently in the pipeline.

Pale Ale (1Q) and Nut Brown Ale (3Q) available to drink, Irish Stout (8Q) was bottled yesterday and is carbonating... will be ready to drink in 3 weeks, Vienna Lager (8Q) will finish fermenting next weekend and will be drinkable in 4 weeks, and the Czech Pilsner (8Q) is 5 weeks away. That's 7 gallons of beer!

Now I gotta decide when to brew the Belgian Dubbel.....

Pretty Bottles

Man, I sure hope the beer tastes good, because these are some great-looking bottles! P and I will be bottling the Dark Epiphany Irish Stout this weekend, then 17 more days before I can crack one open.

• Mark O: Yes. Great looking bottles. A long way from the days of Blatz and Maxx beer at the Oldham castle/

Angry Weasel Label

The Teal color template was the winner, and I fixed the drop shadow and the "BB-1" legibility issue. Can't get the kerning to take, but I can fix that later. The only major change I've made is to swap "Buzzard's Brew" and "Bloomington, Indiana" from top to bottom. I think it's more balanced this way. What do you think?

• Cynthia D: Nice, except I don't like the swap of BB and B,I. The BB is part of the name/brand and should be given the prime space at the top of the label, while the location is more appropriate with the other details at the bottom.
• Me: Concur.  I will swap them back for the new "Final" version.

Label Options

Though I never expect to ACTUALLY slap any labels onto my beer bottles, I need some help because I'm not all that artistically inclined. Which of these two possible labels for my first beer, the Pale Ale, do you prefer?

Discussion:

• Urraca Y: I like the color scheme on the right better. I think you should move the drop shadow under "Angry Weasel" closer to the main words (as in the label on the left) so the the "y" shadow is not touching the "L" in "PALE". Is it "BB-L" or "BB-J" ? Blackletter caps make it hard to tell. Bold block letters might be better. You might also consider tightening the kerning on each side of the apostrophe in "BUZZARD'S".
• Mike W: Will there be any left in July
• Me: Not of this batch of Weasel, but I plan to make another before then. I actually plan to make several other batches of different styles before I get back to the Pale Ale
• Me: @Urraca: good tips, all. I'll go with the right label, but will fix the drop shadow and the kerning. The "BB" element is the batch number, in roman numerals. It should read BB-I but with that font I can make it BB-1 and have it appear as I want it.

Oh No! Not the Comfy Chair!!

(Later...)

Made this one for the Nut Brown Ale I'm currently enjoying. Down to 3 quarts - gotta slow down or it'll all be gone! :(

Rock Me Amadeus!

Here's the name and the label for the Vienna Lager I just whipped-up yesterday.

The name originated in the style of the beer.  As a Vienna Lager, I wanted to name it after something Austrian. The most well-known person I could come up with was Mozart, who while technically was born in and lived in Saltzburg, which was an independent somethingorother at the time, it is now part of Austria... and the Austrians claim him as one of theirs, so who am I to argue with a nation full of German-speaking Anschluss-loving Austrians?

"Shaved" came from the armpits of my model, and because to those unfamiliar with what an "Amadeus" is it sounds naughty.

Online Label Makers

I've been messing around with a couple of online tools. The first is a random beer name generator, the second is a bottle label maker. Whaddya think of this for the Stout that I'll be bottling next weekend? :)

Comments:

• Mark O: Want!
• Me: Not gonna be drinkable for at least 24 days, but I'll save you a quart if you're gonna swing by. But on a positive note, the 3.4%/Vol alcohol content on this label is incorrect. It should be 4.6%.
• Scott D: Brillant! Needs a trademark!
• Bev R: Brilliant!  You need a Spanish Inquisiiton beer, too. (because, you know, nobody expects....)
• Me: Good idea! Inquisition IPA, Torquemada Red Ale, Comfy Chair Pilsner... the options are endless!

Vienna Lager Update

The Vienna Lager has been assembled and is in the keg.

Lots O' Beer!

Wine and Beer update! Down to 1 quart of Buzzard Brew I (Pale Ale) and 4 quarts of BB-II (Nut Brown Ale). BB-III (Irish Stout) was brewed last week and has another week in the keg to go before bottling, and BB-IV (Vienna Lager) will be brewed tonight and stored in keg #2. Heading to Butler Winery tomorrow to hit them up for their semi-annual homebrewing sale (need more Grolsch bottles, and several accessories), then to Oliver Winery to pick up my Spring Wine Club shipment and to hang in the new/old tasting room. Phew - talk about fun with fermentation!

...and I have enough supplies to make 2 more batches of Irish Stout, plus 1 more batch of all of these: IPA, Czech Pilsner, Pale Ale, Canadian Draft and Weizenbier. I *still* think it's gonna be a busy/fun summer.

Local Brewing Supply Sale

Woo hoo! Need to stop at Butler for some brewing supplies BEFORE I go to Oliver for my half-case. Need some hardware (a bottle washer, draining tree, and some replacement Grolsch bottle gaskets), and I want to look into their Nut Brown Ale malt extract.

Butler Winery
We're having our annual Spring Beer & Wine Supply sale all this week at our downtown Bloomington location! Get up to 15% off all brewing & winemaking supplies and ingredients now through next Monday, April 16th!

Nut Brown Ale - WOW!

After four more days of cold conditioning, the Nut Brown is tasting FANTASTIC! I can see myself making this with every-other batch all summer long. Stop by if you want to sample it, I've got 6 quarts left..... well, five now. :)

Nut Brown - First Pour

This is the 2nd batch of Buzzard Brew - a Nut Brown Ale. Tastes remarkably like Newcastle... not quite as good, of course, but plenty good enough to drink. And I've got 8 quarts to go! Next up, BB-III: Irish Stout.