Do we need to document this season of Iron Brewer?

I have to come clean.
It's been bothering me so much I can't sleep (or maybe because of the shoulder pain)(I ran out of Vicadin)(they won't give me anymore)(beer is not the same without it)(tears running down my cheeks while moaning "Oh but it hurts").
Anyway, on the way home after the last meeting I got this big case of munchies (it's about a 35 minute drive). So I'm thinking, what could it hurt. Just one would probably be enough, right. Well, to make a long story short (as if I could), I fell asleep at the wheel and when I woke up they were all gone. I thought, where did they go. Let's see, red fingers and lips, little green leaves laying everywhere and the sweet taste of overripe strawberries in my mouth. Yes I did the unthinkable. I ate the secret ingredients.
Three questions.
1) am I disqualified?
2) can I replace them with some more?
3) do I still have to brew (after all it's been a long time since I have)?
You guys wouldn't really make an old guy brew again would you. What if I can't remember how. I think you boil first don't you. I'm sure you mash next. Well pretty sure. And then there is something about strike water, huh. With all the drugs I've consumed over the last four months shouldn't I get a handicap or something. Listen, I'm really getting scared. I have to go see my therapist now.

Old Guy

Yes, you still have to brew. Yes you can replace them with whatever you want. But keep in mind, the idea is for the beer to taste of strawberries.

Brewed my Coo Coo for Cocoa Porter this past weekend. Here are a couple pictures of the mash. Smelled pretty awesome!

So what happened? Did I win? What did everyone think of my Earl Grey Belgian Wit? I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting. I would have loved to try all of the IB2R1 (Iron Brewer II, Round 1 beers).

All of the beers were great. This is a cool deal. I didn't advance to the next round, but I had a lot more fun than I had expected with it.

Winners are as follows....

Sean Sweeney
Brent Stafford

Scott Walters
Kally Gehly

Mike Graessle
Kevin Konlosy

Tim Hayes
Jim Yeager

Bryan Clauser
Rick Francis

Dave Blue
Don Draper

Andrew Wall
Bob Love

Jesse Vierling
Larry Firoved

Sean, you and Scott Walters next ingredient is Tart Cherries. Yours are at O'Fallon. Mike and Jim received almonds. Rick and Dave will be using watermelon and Bob and Jesse got raspberries.

Thanks, Jeff. When I went out on Wednesday to pick up my left over Heritage Festival kegs, Brian and I found the cans of tart cherries and assumed they were for me. BTW, I did not find my empty growler. If anyone took home a clear glass growler with some brewery printing on it (as well as my tape label that said Earl Grey Belgian Wit), please bring it to the July meeting.

I don't suppose it would be fair to just use the Kasteel Rouge clone I already have going as my beer for the next round. It's almost ready, and has taken the better part of 5 months and multiple steps to complete, and probably has the equivalent of 10 cans of Montmorency cherries in it.

And thanks to everyone who voted for my Earl Grey Belgian Wit. Brent, I would like to try your Earl Grey Saison, so if there is any left, save me a bottle for the next meeting.

Sean

I have your growler Sean. I'll bring it to you next month.

I was pretty confident I was going to win, I love my Earl Grey Saison. It turned out exactly how I wanted. Its freaking awesome!

I tracked down some killer Earl Grey leaf tea that I used in addition to the tea bags.

I did not want to go overboard with the tea and I like the amount I used. The tea aromas and flavors are really nice and not subtle at all. I think it complements the base beer perfectly.

Being that it was an Iron Brewer competition I guess I should have added an extra half pound of Earl Grey instead of the extra quarter pound I used.

Iron Brewer is about showcasing the special ingredient, so even though it was not at all hidden in my saison, I guess people thought your wit had more tea character.

I'm going to bottle what I have left for some BJCP competitions before I drink it all. The base saison turned out great too. I'll save some bottles of each for you to try.

I created a thread in the brewing section about what happened after I put the tea into the beer. Crazy coagulation happened, but I was expecting that because I'd done some experiments adding tea to a glass of beer.

Anyway, congratulations on the win Sean. I'll be gunning for you next time around.

Sour cherries went in a secondary today with some reserved wort and another secret fermentable. So far, my Tart Cherry beer for the next round of the Iron Brewer is going great.

Scott, how's your beer coming along?

My Sour Cherry beer is kegged. Wow, that did not turn out like I expected. Needed a few tweaks. Still going to be a winner.

How's about an update to the bracket. Just curious to see how things are hashing out.

Burners are on! My Iron Brewer American Amber Ale is underway.