THE CALIFORNIA COMMON CHALLENGE

I received a gold medal for my California Common at the Aurora Brewing Challenge in Edmonton, Canada. That made me a qualifier for the 2013 MCAB (Masters Championship of Amateur Brewing. That beer only received 33 points out of a possible 50. So, that means I have to come up with a better recipe/technique to net me a gold in that category. I will be brewing a lot of my "Cali B" over the next 8 months or so to come up with my best entry.
That's all I have to say about that for now, but I will be posting my updates as I make the beer. Should be an interesting Steam Beer year but I will be brewing other beers for more competitions. I have only been brewing for a year but I think I'm going to shoot for the Canadian Brewer of the Year for 2013. This year, I'm in 19th place so far.

It's Time for a Flanders Red (in about 2 years)

I am conflicted. I was all set to make a Flander's Red and went out and bought the ingredients. The only pack of Roselare available was a year old so I bought it at a half off discount. I went home and Tweeted that I did that and Wyeast replied back to me stating that it won't be very good and I should buy the freshest stuff for the best results. So,I don't know what to do: Use the yeast as is or wait until the LHBS has it in stock.

Here's my recipe so far:
The Forgotten Flander's Red
3.00KG 2 Row Pale
1.400KG Vienna Malet
.588KG Flaked Corn
.500KG Honey Malt
.250KG Caraaroma

16 grams Fuggles

Roselare Yeast

I would just pitch the package in the cooled wort and let it sit for 12 to 16 months then blend with newer Flander's red. There are a lot of discussions on line on what type of carboy to use. Apparently, a plastic bucket will allow in too much oxygen and the glass carboy will prevent the requisite oxygen from getting in. A better bottle is supposed to let in a nice amount of oxygen. The Flander's is the only beer that requires the acetic acid (vinegar) flavour profile. There is also the technique of adding an oak stick in the carboy to let in oxygen and wood up the beer. I am going to pass on that. My better bottle is a little scratchy so I think I'll just use the glass carboy. A little vinegar flavour is all right by me.

Wyeast has gotten back to me stating that they would not know what bugs are still alive and that I can pitch another pack down the road (sooner than later).
So, that's what I'm going to do. Pitch the old roselare now and wait until a new pack arrives.

Head Retention

I have made over 20 beers with varying degrees of head retention from okay to good but since I tried a new technique, it is now awesome. My secret? I switched cleaning products. Previously, I just used dish soap to clean all my plastics and then rinsed my buckets et al as well as possible. Obviously, I sanitize after. I was aware of head retention problems due to soap but I figured if I rinsed thoroughly, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Well, I was wrong. I switched to OxiClean two beers ago and now my head retention is phenomenal. The head remains right to the end of the beer. The only drawback is that I have to pour it more carefully or the head gets out of control and I need to wait until it calms down.
I know there are other variables to head retention but a proper cleaning will do wonders for retention.