Mad Zack Brewing
Purveyors of fine ales, ciders and meads for the discerning post-apocalyptic survivor...

Blog of Mad Zack Brewing

Keyword: plagueofkali

Sun, 03 May 2020 06:01:01 -0700

Gear Review: Anvil Foundry 10.5

I recently got a new piece of brewing kit, an electric BiaK (brew in a kettle) system from Anvil Brewing Supplies and Blichmann Engineering called the Foundry. I purchased the 10.5-gallon unit, capable of doing full-size 5-gallon batches or homebrew. more...

kelly jacklin

Tue, 02 Oct 2018 18:30:00 -0700

My brew as a PicoPak!

Well all the Ts finally got crossed, and my "Plague of Kali" recipe is now available on the PicoBrew website as a PicoPak for people who have a PicoC or PicoPro to brew. more...

kelly jacklin

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 19:16:51 -0800

Great Batch of Rye IPA...

This batch of my Rye IPA, Plague of Kali, came out great, nice colour, lovely aroma of Nelson-Sauvin and slightly spice taste of rye. Probably my best batch yet of this recipe, even better than the batch that won the NOBC award, IMNSHO! more...

kelly jacklin

Sat, 20 Jan 2018 08:36:13 -0800

Zymatic batch of Rye IPA...

I've spent the last couple of months furiously brewing PicoPaks on my new Pico C brewing appliance, because of a time-limited unlimited subscription to PicoPaks. It's been a ton of fun, and I've brewed a large variety of brews, some far outside of my comfort zone as a brewer. While it has been a ton of fun, from a brewer's perspective, it's not nearly as satisfying as brewing my own recipes with my own ingredients. more...

kelly jacklin

Sat, 17 Dec 2016 16:21:00 -0800

Racked Rye IPA to Secondary

Today the fermentation on my latest batch of Plague of Kali had subsided, so I decided to rack to secondary and begin dry-hopping. I'm using a new 5-gallon carboy, and I had about a half-gallon space left over after transferring. Specific gravity was 1.017+, so we still have a couple points more to ferment down before it is done. Regardless, I shouldn't keep it more than 7 days on the dry hops, so ready or not, I'm bottling next weekend. more...

kelly jacklin

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 17:10:00 -0800

Brew-day: Another Plague of Kali Batch...

It's brew day again! I was getting low on my Plague of Kali Rya IPA, so I decided to brew a new batch. My ESB is still sitting in primary fermenter, doing its diacetyl rest, but I have 2 more carboys, so I can do some batches in parallel. more...

kelly jacklin

Sat, 19 Nov 2016 15:23:00 -0800

National Organic Brewing Competition Results!

My "Mad Zack's Plague of Kali" Rye IPA brew got first place in the "American IPA" category in the 2016 National Organic Brewing Competition! more...

kelly jacklin

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 18:30:00 -0800

Racked IPA to Secondary

Racked my IPA to secondary fermentation... Tasted it along the way: yum! And I haven't even dry-hopped yet! more...

kelly jacklin

Thu, 11 Aug 2016 08:05:00 -0800

Brew Activity Charting

Overnight brew activity... Note how specific gravity (SG, the light green line) has gone down from original gravity (OG) of 1.062 to 1.035 in less than 18 hours! That's some vigourous fermentation! Those little yeasties are munching their way through my fermentable sugars and farting out alcohol like nobodies business! more...

kelly jacklin

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 17:29:00 -0800

Another Plague of Kali Batch

Started another batch of Plague of Kali Rye IPA... more...

kelly jacklin

Sun, 19 Jun 2016 14:32:00 -0800

Labelling my Beer

Labelling for my "Plague of Kali" Rye IPA, and my "Black Death" oatmeal stout. Used milk for the label glue, and old brewer's trick. more...

kelly jacklin

Wed, 15 Jun 2016 20:16:00 -0800

Plague of Kali Tasting

My "Plague of Kali" rye IPA, after sufficient bottle conditioning. The yeast did a great job on this one! A nice firm head, awesome fruity nose (kinda reminiscent of Muscat grapes, but more herby), fresh hoppy first taste, with medium body and a good mouth feel, and lingering hops after-taste. This one is like night and day compared to my previous (extract) brews, I think I'm sold on all-grain brewing! more...

kelly jacklin

Sat, 04 Jun 2016 18:57:00 -0800

Plague of Kali Bottling

Yum! If I can be so immodest, I nailed this one! Lovely hop aroma, but not overly bitter. more...

kelly jacklin

Sat, 28 May 2016 13:07:00 -0800

Busy Brewing Day

Busy day brewing: bottled my oatmeal stout (Mad Zack's Black Death) and racked my IPA (Plague of Kali) to secondary and dry-hopped it. Kitchen smells wonderful! more...

kelly jacklin

Mon, 23 May 2016 17:55:00 -0800

First All-Grain Brew

My first all-grain, mashed brew... A (very!) pale rye IPA, basically a blonde... more...

kelly jacklin