What's Up
at
Red Train Brewery

December 2000 News:

Sorry for such a long lapse of news and activity here at the brewery, but I am in the process of relocating the brewery. I should have the equipment up and running by spring of 2001.

January '99 News:

   January was R & R month here at the brewery. A whole month devoted to just kickin' back and enjoying the fruits of the trade. February should be a busy brewing month. The plan is to get a batch of Barley Wine made and aged for the Christmas '99 season. I also plan to brew up a batch of Stout and Amber.

December '98 News:

   The Barley Wine, brewed over a month ago by the Bob and Jeff team, was finally bottled Wednesday, December 16th 1998, after six long weeks of fermentation. The plan is to now perfect the beer by aging it in the bottles for at least six months.

When asked what the most difficult step was in the making of their Barley Wine, the boys replied, "The aging process is without a doubt the toughest part. Imagine  buying a brand new car and not being able to drive it for over six months".   

November '98 News:

   Exciting things are happening all around us!  Owner / operator Jeff of The Blankenkenship Brewery, located in Roseville California, and owner / operator Bob of Red Train Brewery, have teamed up to brew a couple batches of special brew. The two breweries put their hop heads together and came up with a batch of barley wine and a special dry hopped I.P.A.

Let there be no misunderstanding though...The two breweries will continue to function as two separate entities; although, they do plan to team up occasionally to brew special batches in the future.

     The word is out that the original four members Gary, Craig, Jeff, and me, are planning to get together in the spring of '99 for a beer brewing reunion. We will attempt to brew four batches of beer in one day. We will be brewing two separate batches at one time in two separate kettles.

The styles of beer we will be brewing is undetermined at this time, but you can bet there will be quite the variety given the diversity of the personalities at hand.

October '98 News:      

  Some changes have taken place among the partners over the past couple months. The four brewin' nuts have sprouted wings and have begun brewing on an individual level. We consider this a positive move in that it provides more variety and creativity in the long run. The boys still plan to get together for group brews on a more occasional basis.

     Brewer Buddy Bob recently invested in a whole new brew kit for his individual brewing ventures. It features a beautiful 12 gallon stainless steel brew pot, with ball valve.

To get his brew cookin', Bob fires up a 100,000 BTU propane burner that could practically send the Space Shuttle to the moon!

Bob also upgraded to 6.5 gallon carboys for a larger yields per batch. This means he actually ends up bringing to boil 8 gallons of brew all at once! But with the burner it's no problem.

To save time and effort at the bottling stage, Bob purchased a great gadget called a bottling rack. It holds 96 bottles and has a bottle sanitizing attachment on top...COOL!

     Another member of the tribe has really made leaps and bounds on an individual basis. Jeff, who is Master Brewer of his new line-up of beers labeled under the name of "Blankenship Brewery", has fired off some pretty good tasting stuff! Jeff's wife enjoys brewing with with him too, and word is out that she is actually the one responsible for the success of the beer at Blankenship Brewery.

     Jeff and Bob decided to expand their home brewing world by joining the Gold Country Home brewer's Association. The club offers it's members an opportunity to learn advanced home brewing techniques, share ideas, and have their beer judged. Bob has a batch of Marzen ready for the fest beer judging at the club's October meeting...Good luck Bob!

Edited: March 17, 2009