Welcome to The 501st Brewing Division. Which is my homebrewery. Since I have built a new brewhouse, I needed a new name. Previously the name of my homebrewing operation was “Fat Dead Monk Ales”, but since I am a huge Star Wars fan, something related to that seemed a better fit. It was hard to give up the name I used for seven years, but this one fits me so much better I welcomed the change.

In Star Wars, the 501st (A.K.A. Vader’s Fist) was an elite unit of clone troopers/stormtroopers. Without getting all Sci-Fi geeky because this is a beer blog, the 501st was the most legendary unit in the Star Wars galaxy and the famed unit latter became Darth Vader’s personal unit. As a matter of fact, the 501st was the unit of clone troopers that accompanied Anakin/Vader into the Jedi Temple to wipe out the Jedi in Episode III. So with that, I took this legendary unit, and made myself the brewing division of that unit. After all, the soldiers need someone to supply them with beer after the battles to wind down.

So my emblem is the Imperial insignia, with the hop vine in the center. As a homage to my following of the Brewing Network and being a part of the BN Army, the bottom script says “Brew Strong” in Aurabesh which is the alien script used in the Star Wars universe as seen on the ship readouts and on the walls or such.

Pictures of My Homebrewery

I can do 5 and 10 gallon batches on my system. I have two keggles, two mash tuns (one five gallon and one fifteen gallon), a small 5 gallon pot for heating strike and sparge water, and I use plastic buckets because they are both shatter proof and easier to clean. If on the rare occasion I make mead, wine, or a lager, or basically anything that requires longer fermentation. I do use a glass carboy because of the fact oxygen cannot permeate it.  Below are some pics of my brewhouse, which is built just off the garage. I do have connections to listen to my MP3 player, or to watch TV. However at this time I do not have water hooked up out there. Maybe someday.

View looking East

View looking East

View looking North. Just another portion of my bottle collection.

What I need to complete yet is putting the ceiling in and trimming the windows. I also have to put 2 more shelves in to put all my bottles up.

Below, you will find more personal brewing ideas and recipes. And as always, if you have any questions, Email Me.

My Recipes

I have started to do things a bit differently now that I have a reliable file storage service. Instead of the clunky set up I had, I am going to post my recipes as links with the Brewsheet, BeerXML, and Beersmith Formats. It is important to note that the way I store the main recipes is in a generic term. A lot of times I don’t add my notes or tweaks to the recipe until I am very satisfied with the tweak. Also, portions like my efficiency are usually set to 72%, but that does not always mean that is the efficiency I got. So tweak my recipe to your system is all I am saying. I also want to ensure you that every beer I list on here, I have brewed and liked the result. Maybe not all are award winners or 40+ point beers. But all have been enjoyed by me and my friends. I am not putting any stinkers on here.

Note: Some of these recipes use home roasted malts. I have a section on how to make them. Check it out here if any of the recipes you want to use, have these malts in them.

Angry Gamorrean – American Barleywine
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith

Vader’s Fist (501st Stout) – Oatmeal Chocolate Stout: All Grain Version
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith

Vader’s Fist (501st Stout) -Oatmeal Chocolate Stout: Extract Version
Brewsheet – BeerXML - Beersmith

Hand of Judgement - Smoked IPA (subtle smoke, not heavy smoke)
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith

Emperor’s Hand IPA- American IPA (very similar to Judgement, but no smoke)
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith

Chandrila Common - California Common (not a typical California Common, but seems to do well in competition, despite not using Northern Brewer Hops.
Brewsheet - BeerXML – Beersmith

Fat Dead Monk IPA -American IPA (use of Glacier Hops, not a typical American style “C” hop for something different)
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith

Jaba’s Busted Nut Brown – Northern English Brown (Very Nutty and fairly similar to New Glarus Fat Squirrel, however just a bit drier)
Brewsheet – BeerXML – Beersmith