Carbonnade Flamande

I had a recipe for Carbonnade Flamande pop up in my social media feeds about a month or so back. It looked pretty awesome so I figured I'd bookmark it for a future weekend dinner. This is one of those recipes that isn't hard to make, but it takes time so you need to plan ahead. 

I've never had Carbonnade Flamande before, but having made it today I can tell you I'm going to make it again. Carbonnade Flamande is also known as Flemish Stew and my understanding is it's a traditional comfort food in the Flemish-speaking areas of Belgium. I could see this being served on a cold winter night in a Belgian monastery.  Also, giving credit where it's due, here's the source for the recipe I used. Also, I didn't have fresh thyme, so I used dried. Here's the recipe as I made it today.  

2-3# Chuck roast, cubed
12g Kosher Salt
6g Black pepper

All-purpose flour
3 Yellow onions, thinly sliced 
2 Slices bacon, minced
1T Butter
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1-2 Bay leaves
1T Fresh thyme (or 1t dried thyme)
400ml Belgian ale - I used Westmalle Dubbel + a tiny bit of my Irish Extra Stout
400-800ml beef broth - I used ~450ml
1T Apple cider vinegar
1T Dark brown sugar

Instructions

1. Prepare all ingredients (cube beef, slice onions, mince bacon, etc.).
2. Season beef roast cubes with salt and pepper and mix well to coat. 
3. Lightly dust beef with flour, again mixing well so that so sides are coated with salt, pepper, and a small amount of flour. I used about 1.5T of flour.
4. Hear oven-safe braising pot/Dutch oven over medium high heat on your stove. Add enough canola oil to form a thin layer.
5. Sear the beef in batches, being sure to brown all sides. Don't worry too much about the brown bits sticking to the bottom, you'll deglaze the pot later on. 
6. Transfer browned beef to a plate.
7. Add butter, bacon, onions, and garlic to pot and sweat over medium heat. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom of the pot. The liquid from the onions will deglaze the brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
8. Continue caramelizing the onions, stirring regularly to avoid burning the mixture. This should take a minimum of 45 minutes. Add a splash of water as needed to deglaze the pot when needed and to avoid burning. 
9. After 45 minutes, add beer to pot, stirring well. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. 
10. Return beef to pot.
11. Add bay leaves, brown sugar, vinegar, and thyme. Gently stir to mix all ingredients. 
12. Top off with enough beef broth to mostly cover beef, but don't worry if it isn't fully submerged.
13. Partially cover the pot and put it in the oven at 300F for 4-6 hours. I did about 5 hours with the pot lid cracked open about 3/16". Most of the liquid had evaporated leaving a thick sauce/broth behind.
14. Taste before serving and add additional salt, vinegar, and/or sugar to taste. In my case, I thought it was pretty much perfect and didn't add any additional. 

Allow it to cool a little bit before serving. It's often served with French fries (frites), but pretty much any potato or starchy side will likely go well with it. I served mine with Potato Pavé, but you don't have to get too fancy here. 

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My Milk Stout Brings All The Boys To The Yard - 2025

Today I’m brewing a beer that I really love, and haven’t brewed recently, my Golden/Blonde Milk Stout. I’ll be donating this beer to pour at a local homebrew festival in February. If I’m remembering correctly, this beer took bronze at Beehive Brew-off for Spice Herb and Vegetable Beer at least two years in a row, but I’m pretty sure it was actually three years in a row. It was also a crowd favorite at our club booth at the Mountain Brewers Beer Fest in Idaho.

One of the things I love about this beer is that the color looks like a pale ale, but the flavor and aroma are straight up rich and roasty stout due to the coffee toddy and the bomb tincture. It tastes and smells so different from how it looks, it’s a complete mind f’ beer. It leans sweet and malty, but not cloying. Today’s version has a couple minor tweaks compared to the last version. I’m using Proximity Pale Malt instead of Maris Otter, which will likely result in a little less malt-derived perceived sweetness. I'm also toasting the flaked oats, something I've always wanted to try but apparently never planned far enough ahead. The maillard reactions that occur when toasting oats is said to give you more complexity including some nuttiness that you don't get without it. More info on the process below. I’m using LalBrew® House Ale for the yeast. House Ale is described as follows:

LalBrew® House Ale is a next-generation performance yeast strain that is extremely fast and incredibly clean, making it the perfect versatile house strain to meet your brewing needs.

Selected by our partner Escarpment Labs (ON, Canada) for its superior fermentation performance, this strain allows brewers to achieve greater efficiency with faster fermentations, shorter maturations, high stress tolerance, excellent repitchability, and quick cleanup of off-flavors like acetaldehyde and diacetyl.

LalBrew® House Ale is suitable for a wide range of beer styles, including IPAs, Blond Ales, and Stouts, due to its neutral fermentation profile.

• Faster fermentations – to save time and space.​ 
• Shorter maturation times – accelerated clean-up of diacetyl and acetaldehyde.​ 
• High stress tolerance – capable of handling difficult fermentations.​ 
• Excellent repitchability – genetically stable and proven consistency in key brewing parameters.​ 
• High FAN uptake – more stable final product.​ 
• Neutral flavor profile – Versatile for a wide range of ales

Finally, I’m reducing the mash temp slightly because I think it could benefit from a little more restrained sweetness. Also, I tend to shoot for more tailored water profiles nowadays, so this will use the Amber Balanced (7-17 SRM) profile from Beersmith. Hopefully this beer is as well received here in Florida as it was in Utah and Idaho. Here’s the recipe as I’m brewing it today:

Target OG: 1.070

Target FG: 1.020

IBU: 19.1

ABV: 6.4

8.75# Proximity Pale Malt

1.00# Flaked Oats (either toasted or untoasted)

1.00# Gambrinus Honey Malt

1g BrewTan B (Mash)

0.75 # Lactose (10 min)

3.0 ml Hopshot (60 min)

14g EKG (10 min)

28g EKG (0 min)

Wyeast Yeast Nutrient

4.66g BCAA (10 min)

Whirlfloc

LalBrew House Ale

Zinc Buddy

Coffee Toddy (at kegging)

The Bomb Tincture (at kegging)

Mash at 152F, 90 minute boil, ferment at 61F, raising temps to 66F over the course of a week.

Toasted Flaked Oats Instructions

As mentioned above, toasting the flaked oats can add a layer of complexity to your beers. Joe Aruscavage was a member of my homebrew club back in Utah and employed this technique in most of his beers that called for flaked oatmeal, including his award-winning Oatmeal Stout. I'd always wanted to try it myself, but most brewers will recommend you do it a few days in advance as the character from the toasted flaked oats improves when left out to breath over a few days. In my case, I always forgot to do it a few days ahead of my brew day, so this is my first time trying it. Here's the process I'm using:

1. Set oven temp to 325F.
2. Use a cookie sheet and spread the oats out into an even layer. You can optionally line the pan with parchment paper which can make it a little easier to remove the oats after you're done toasting.
3. Transfer the pan to the oven and set a timer for 10 minutes. 
4. After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and give it a gentle stir with a spatula. Spread it back out evenly and put it in the oven for another 10 minutes.
5. After 10 minutes, remove it again and give it another stir before returning it to the oven for the final 10 minutes (30 minutes total).
6. Remove the pan and let it cool.
7. Transfer the oats to a fine mesh, paper bag, or even a grain sock. Being in Florida and the multitude of little critters we have, I put mine into a fine mesh paint strainer bag. Allow them to breathe/off-gas for at least three days, and up to a week before brewing. 

Note: The aroma coming off the toasted oats was pretty amazing. Similar to oatmeal cookies but without sweetness and additional spices. I'm really excited to see how this impacts the finished beer.

The Bomb Tincture Instructions 

6 oz Vodka - Any decent one will do

1 Vanilla Bean, split and scraped, chopped into 1/4” pieces

3 oz Cacao Nibs - I prefer TCHO Roasted Cacao Nibs

1. Mix the vodka and vanilla bean (and parts) in a tight sealing jar like a jelly jar or mason jar. Shake every day, several times, for 7 days. 
2. Add the nibs for another 4 days, continue to shake everyday.
3. Strain the nibs and vanilla out of the dark extract. I have a stainless steel pour over coffee filter that I like to use. Discard solids.
4. Place the extract in the freezer overnight.
5. In the morning, carefully scrape out the fat cap that may have formed and discard. I don’t usually get a fat cap with TCHO nibs, it just depends on the fat content.
6. I use the entire tincture in this beer and add at packaging along with Coffee Toddy.

Coffee Toddy Instructions

I like to use Ethiopian beans for the toddy because I never seem to get the dreaded green pepper character with them. For this batch, I decided to go with Ethiopian Guji Wush Wush from a local roaster named Day of the Dead (D.O.D.) Coffee Roastery. D.O.D describes this coffee as follows:

Sourced from the Guji region of Ethiopia, these beans are meticulously roasted to perfection, resulting in a vibrant and aromatic cup of coffee. With notes of floral jasmine, ripe berries, and a hint of citrus, this medium roast is perfect for any coffee enthusiast looking to elevate their morning routine. Enjoy the unique taste of Ethiopia with every sip of our premium Guji Wush Wush coffee.

Flavor Notes: Berry, Strawberry, Red Wine, Jasmine, Dark Chocolate

For 5 gallons of beer you’ll need:

3 oz fresh coarsely ground beans

3 cups RO or filtered water

1. I usually bring the water to a boil in a microwave safe measuring cup for sanitizing as well as driving off O2, then chill.
2. Add the chilled water to a French press then add ground coffee and cold steep in the fridge for 24 hours.
3. Add to beer at packaging.

Water Profile

Target Water Profile
Ca	Mg	Na	SO4	Cl	HCO3
50	10	15	75	63	40

To 11 gallons of RO/distilled water, add the following salts:

• 2.6g Gypsum
• 4.3g Epsom salt
• 5.4g Calcium chloride
• 2.3g Baking soda

Brewing Notes

Mash pH was low so I added 1/4 teaspoon of chalk after the initial pH reading. I waited about 15 minutes then took another reading and it was at 4.98. I added about 1/8t of chalk then took another reading after about 15 minutes which read 4.99. Rather than risk overdoing it with the chalk, I decided to leave it as is. In hindsight, I should have checked pH before adding an acid to the mash. No other issues with this brew session. I chilled down to about 54F then let it sit for 15 minutes before transferring to the fermenter. By the time I got yeast pitched and wort oxygenated, the temp was 62.8F. 

Session Readings
Beginning mash pH	4.85
Ending mash pH	4.98
1st running gravity	21.4 (1.087)
Pre-Boil gravity	11.2 (1.0 44)
Pre-Boil pH	4.98
Post-Boil gravity	17 (1.068)
Post-Boil pH	4.92

Update 12/29/2025

Gravity is down to approximately 1.061 from an OG of 1.068 today. I bumped the temp controller on my fermentation chamber by 1F this morning.

Update 12/30/2025

Gravity is reading 1.04013 this morning on the Tilt. Fermentation seems to be pretty active as I'm seeing some wobbling in the readings, so I suspect the actual current gravity may be a point or two higher, but it's in the ballpark.

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Cajun Jambalaya

Food recipe today. I made up a boxed jambalaya a couple weeks ago and figured I'd try making one from scratch to see how it compared. I love jambalaya and it's kind of like stews/soups in that it's better the day after you make it. This recipe is Cajun rather than Creole; based on some quick Googling, the primary difference between the two is Cajun style uses broth only. whereas Creole style usually includes tomato sauce and/or crushed tomatoes. 

I really enjoyed this recipe but I think I might try a minor tweak next time. I wouldn't say this dish was too salty, but it was definitely salty. Next time I think I'll dial the Cajun seasoning back to 3 teaspoons total and see how that turns out. The heat level on this dish was great; noticeable spice, but not punishing. Here's the recipe as I made it today:

1# Boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2t Baking soda
4t Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning with salt, divided (consider reducing to 3 teaspoons)

2t Canola oil
13oz Johnsonville andouille smoked sausage, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices
1c Yellow onion, diced 
1c Green bell pepper, diced 
1/2c Celery, diced 
4 Large garlic cloves, minced

2c Long-grain white rice, rinsed
2t Worcestershire sauce
2 Bay leaves
1t Dried thyme
1/2t Ground black pepper
3c Low-sodium chicken broth
4 Scallions/green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Prep all ingredients.  
2. Combine chicken with 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 2t Creole seasoning in a bowl. Mix well and allow to "marinate" for at least 15 minutes. The baking soda will help keep the chicken tender.
3. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  
4. Add chicken to Dutch oven and brown on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. 
5. Transfer cooked chicken to a plate. There should be some nice flavorful brown bits stuck in the pot. Don't worry about them for now, they'll be deglazed later.  
6. Add the sausage to the pot and continue to cook over medium-high heat until browned and some of the fat has been rendered (about 5 mins), then transfer the sausage to the plate with the chicken. 
7. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pot. Sautee until tender and translucent (about 5 minutes). The moisture from the vegetables will deglaze the pot, so stir periodically.
8. Return the chicken and sausage to the pot. 
9. Add garlic, broth, Worcestershire sauce, rice, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and remaining 2t Creole seasoning (or optionally 1 teaspoon for less saltiness).
10. Mix well, then turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. 
11. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. 
12. Fluff with a fork and serve with sliced scallions/green onions and Tabasco sauce to taste.  

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Mostly O-rings

Today's post is mostly about o-rings. Not the most exciting topic, but o-rings are pretty vital to homebrewers especially once you get into things like kegging, a pump, or decide to throw together a weldless kettle fitting. Not to sound like a grumpy old man, but I swear you used to be able to buy all sorts of o-rings at local hardware stores for super reasonable prices; I'm talking less than 10 cents each. Now you go somewhere like Lowe's, Home Depot, or even Ace Hardware and you'll be lucky to find the size you need and/or it only comes in an assortment pack that costs $10-$20. Or say in the case specialty brewing equipment like homebrew pumps, you order from the manufacturer and you pay $5+ for a single o-ring plus $7 to ship it. I believe in supporting the homebrewing industry, but I have a hard time paying inflated prices for something that likely costs a couple cents to manufacture. 

If you're looking for a good supplier of o-rings and similar gaskets, I highly recommend O-rings and More. They have a huge selection plus reasonable prices and very affordable shipping. They do often have minimums (e.g. 5, 10, 50 pieces) but with their pricing, you're still coming out way ahead.   

Side note, I always use silicone lubricant (AKA Keg Lube) on my o-rings. It doesn't take much, but it helps to ensure they seat correctly when assembling equipment and prevents issues with binding and deforming. Material-wise, I tend to use either Silicone or Buna Nitrile rings, and both tend to be 70 durometer hardness. Basically, the higher the hardness, the firmer the material, the lower the softer the material. It's also a good idea to make sure the materials are food safe, but I haven't ever seen any that aren't. Also, Buna-N tends to be less permeable to O2, so I usually use it for keg lids rather than Silicone. 

I'll update this post as I come across additional o-ring needs, but here are the common ones I've encountered so far.

 

Keg and Draft O-rings
Description	Size	Comments
Dip Tubes	-109	The o-rings that slide onto dip tubes (gas and liquid) and seal them against the threaded male posts on the kegs. Use a quad or x-ring style as this will provide much better sealing than a standard round cross section o-ring. This is especially true if you run any high pressure kegs (e.g. nitro beers). I believe I've only ever used Buna-N for these.
Internal Ball-lock	-013	The o-rings that are internal on standard ball-lock disconnects (grey gas, black liquid). I believe it's the same size on standard pin-lock kegs as well. These are easily lost during cleaning. If missing, your disconnect will leak. Quad or x-ring styles seal better.
Keg Lids	-417	The large o-ring that seals between the lid and keg body. Both Buna and Silicone work well, though Buna-N is more common.
Posts	-111	These slide onto the posts and prevent leaks between posts and quick disconnects. Silicone tends to last longer than Buna-N. I often use natural red, but recently switched to green ones from Value Brew to quickly identify gas posts. This is especially handy for connections on Kegmenter fermenters where gas vs. liquid isn't as as obvious.

Blichmann Equipment O-rings
Description	Size	Comments
G2 Linear Valves	-112 and -110	The G2 linear valve has two sizes of o-rings. -112 is the larger and prevents liquid from leaking out the valve body. -110 is the smaller one that seals the cone-shaped stopper that is used to control the rate of flow. By the way, I love these valves as they are super easy to clean and make fine adjustments to flow rate.
Riptide Pump	-143	This is the large o-ring that provides the seal between the pump head and the motor.
Riptide Pump Thrust Washer	See comment	Not an o-ring, but a part that's easy to lose is the thrust washer on a Riptide pump head. I found that a standard Hillman 6mm stainless steel washer worked perfectly. As long as the finish looks nice and smooth, any 6mm stainless washer should work.
False Bottom Washer	See comment	Not an o-ring, but a washer that slides over the kettle pickup tube and prevents grain from getting through the gap and under the false bottom. A standard 1/2" × 1 1/2" stainless fender washer will do the trick here.

Spike Equipment O-rings
Description	Size	Comments
Flo Pump ARV	-012	The o-ring for the Air Release Valve. I haven't confirmed the size on this part, but I saw it referenced online so I've included it here.
Flo Pump Head	66418MMS	This is the large o-ring that provides the seal between the pump head and the motor. It's a metric o-ring measuring 66.4mm ID × 70mm OD × 1.8mm C/S. The size referenced here is O-rings and More's SKU.

SS Brewtech Equipment O-rings
Description	Size	Comments
Bucket valve	16220MMB70	The o-ring that fits between the valve and the body of the SS Brew Bucket. I always use silicone lube on these and be sure not to overtighten them. You want them finger tight, but not so tight that they're deforming or tearing. The size on my buckets are 16mm ID. The C/S on mine vary between 2.2 and 2.3 mm. On SS Brewtech's site, they indicate the C/S is 1.8mm, so this may be an updated size compared to what came with mine. I haven't ordered any yet, but I'd likely go with 16mm ID × 20.4mm OD × 2.2mm C/S, which would be SKU 16220MMB70 on O-rings and More.
Bucket racking arm	851MMB70	These are the two small o-rings that slide over the racking arm and allow the racking arm to push-fit into the valve body. The buckets came with two of these on the racking arm, but they work fine with one. Be sure to use silicone grease on them as they tend to bind and/or deform when used without lube. If lost or damaged, you'll lose siphon and leave beer behind in your fermenter. I've tried both Buna-N (OEM from SS Brewtech) and Silicone, and the Buna-N ones seem to be more durable. These o-rings measure 8.5mm ID × 10.5mm OD × 1mm C/S, and the size listed here is the SKU on O-rings and More's site.

Misc O-rings
Description	Size	Comments
Heating Element	-217	This was used primarily for heating elements on The Electric Brewery style assemblies. These aren't too common anymore with people buying off-the-shelf All-in-One systems. Also, those building their own systems are typically using Tri-Clamp style elements rather than threaded elements.
Temp Probe	-009	This o-ring is used in a compression type fitting in conjunction with a 1/4" diameter temp probe like those used with the BCS-460 controller. These will also work as the outer o-ring on Blichmann Brew Commander temp probe fittings. They create a tight leak-free fitting that can also be easily disassembled.
Old School Weldless	-211	These were often used on old school 1/2" weldless bulkhead fittings, aka The Electric Brewery style fittings. Typically these would be used with a thin washer. The thin washer's ID was slightly larger than the o-ring's OD, and served to keep the o-ring from squeezing out while the fitting was tightened. The washer became less important as locknuts with grooves became more common. Regardless, this o-ring is used primarily in 1/2" bulkheads. I've used these in equipment I've repurposed for brewing so that I could have leak-free bulkheads.

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British Brown Ale 2025

Today I'm brewing another beer designed around using up some specialty malts that I've collected. Like my recent Irish Extra Stout, this recipe is based on an NHC medal winner. This one is based on Jarrett Long and John Bates entry named Cheerio British Brown Ale, gold medal winner in 2024 NHC. For this beer I'm using the Brown Balanced (18-30 SRM) water profile in Beersmith. This should help support the malt character without being overly sweet/malty. The 2021 BJCP guidelines describe the style as follows:

A malty, caramelly, brown British ale without the roasted flavors of a Porter. Balanced and flavorful, but usually a little stronger than most average UK beers. 

I don’t believe I’ve ever used Crisp Brown Malt before. This is one of the malts I got in a judge grab bag and have been wanting to try it out in a recipe. On the Crisp website it includes the following descriptors:

Lightly roasted flavor notes, milky coffee undertones, hits of sweet pastries. The color is produced in the same manner as Amber, but is roasted for a slightly more extended period to achieve a nutty, roasted dryness with a light brown hue, perfect for brown ales and mild beers. 

I tasted a few grains and I’d say it’s definitely roasty, surprisingly so considering it’s a light brown color. That said, it’s not a harsh roast like you might get with darker roast malt. I think it’s going to go really well with the malt contribution from Maris Otter and Crystal malts. 

I went with 11 gallons distilled water for this recipe. That’s more water than I really need but I want to make sure my volume into the fermenter is as close to 5 gallons as possible. I'm also going to keep a close eye on boiling vigor so that I don’t end up with overly 

Target OG 1.052

Target FG: 1.013

IBU: 24

ABV: 5.1

7 lb 1oz Crisp Maris Otter

11 oz Crisp Brown

11 oz Crisp Crystal 60

3 oz. Simpsons Pale Chocolate

1g BrewTan B (Mash)

2 oz. East Kent Goldings (60 min)

4.66g BCAA (10 min)

Yeast Nutrient

Whirlfloc

Zinc Buddy

Lalbrew Verdant IPA

Mash for 60 minutes at 152°F. Ferment at 65°F for 10 days.

Water Profile

Target Water Profile
Ca	Mg	Na	SO4	Cl	HCO3
50	10	27	70	55	90

To 11 gallons RO/distilled water, add the following:

• 1.87g Gypsum
• 4.73g Epsom salt
• 4.73g Calcium chloride
• 4.4g Baking soda
• 0.99g Chalk

Brewing Notes

A couple minor issues today. One of my temp probes, the one I was using on the BK developed a short, so it was reading sporadic temps. I was able to position the wire in a way that it started reading consistent albeit a little lower than actual temps (196 vs 207). The other issue, I had this blog post open on my tablet and my phone and I didn’t realize it wasn’t saving my gravity and pH readings for the middle measurements, so those were from memory and may not be entirely accurate. 

Other than that, things went well. Chilling also worked well again. The post-boil gravity read ~ 13.8/1.054 on the refractometer whereas the Tilt put it spot on at 1.052.

Session Readings
Beginning mash pH	5.18
Ending mash pH	5.20
1st running gravity	16 (1.064)*
Pre-Boil gravity	9 (1.035)*
Pre-Boil pH	5.2*
Post-Boil gravity	13.8 (1.054); Tilt=1.052
Post-Boil pH	5.13

Wort has been oxygenated, yeast pitched, Zinc Buddy pitched, and it’s in the ferm chamber sitting at 64F.

Update 12/8/2025

Gravity is reading 1.042 this morning on the Tilt. It started showing signs of gravity change about 5-6 hours after pitching, so it seems the yeast pitch was quite healthy and things are moving right along.

I forgot to mention one thing. I bought this app called Multi Timer that's kind of cool. I got it more for coffee roasting, but it essentially lets you set multiple timers, group them, and start them all at once. I've screwed up a couple coffee roasting sessions because I stepped away and forgot what I was doing, or I miss-timed one of the steps. I think it could well for brewing, especially if you have multiple hop additions you're trying to keep track of. This British Brown Ale was super straightforward, but here's an example of how I used it. 

Update 12/9/2025

Gravity is currently reading 1.020. Fermentation has been super active causing the Tilt to wobble and record measurements ranging from 1.020 to 1.035 in a matter of hours. It seems to be settling down today showing more consistent measurements. 

Update 12/14/2025

Gravity is currently sitting at 1.010 per the Tilt. That’s a little lower than I was anticipating so I’ll confirm with a hydrometer and/or corrected refractometer reading when I keg the beer. 

Update 12/22/2025

I'm hoping to get this beer kegged tonight. Gravity per the Tilt is reading 1.008, lower than the listed recipe FG, but within the limits in the style guidelines. I haven't tried a sample yet but I'll do that when I keg it.

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