Pumpkin Porter - Kegging

After a horrendous flop last year, I'm giving a pumpkin brew another shot...

Original Gravity: 1.048
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 5.1%
Color: 28 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

• 1 Can West Coast Pale Ale
• 1 Can Creamy Brown UME
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Can Cooked Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg

Kegging (2009/10/25)...
I don't want to dwell on the past too much, but seriously, the Pumpkin Lager last year was absolutely awful. It's the only brew that I've poured out to date, a positively harrowing experience, seeing all that time wasted. With that in mind, I made double-sure to follow this recipe completely, and thankfully, I succeeded.

All of that to say, I'm at least a little nervous about how this one will turn out. Even with the correct amount of spices, the cinnamon and nutmeg aroma was definitely detectable even after the beer mix, UME and pumpkin were added. I wouldn't describe it as overwhelming, but it was certainly pronounced. I'm now 4 days into this keg, and it's obvious that I'm brewing with spices when you open the small cabinet in which I store my kegs. I do expect proper conditioning to address this, but you can't know for sure until it's time to open a bottle.

Like with the OSNMA, I strictly followed the Mr.Beer kegging instructions, not boiling the wort as I have become accustomed too, and there are no wilsons to report. The recipe calls for 2-4 weeks of conditioning time, which puts me opening sometime in early to mid December. I was hoping to have it ready for Thanksgiving, so I may sneak a bottle or two then just for fun.

Ol' St. Nick's Midnight Ale - Kegging

Even if it's well before Thanksgiving, it's time to start a Christmas brew...

Original Gravity: 1.058
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.5%
Color: 17 SRM
Bitterness: 14 IBU

Recipe ...

• 1 Can Englishman's Nut-Brown Ale
• 1 Can Creamy Brown UME
• 1 Can Dark Sweet Cherries in Heavy Syrup
• 1 Cup Honey
• 1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/2 Teaspoon Pure Almond Extract

Kegging ...
Down south, the end of Fall and the beginning of Winter tend to blur together. Maybe the recent cold snap we've had something to do with it, but I decided to go ahead and start a Christmas brew. It's a good thing too, because I didn't realize the recipe called for a 2 month conditioning time. The one I kegged up after last Christmas turned out great, and I have high hopes for this one as well.

As there were no extra hops, I followed the MB instructions exactly this time and didn't boil the wort. I also used a smaller pot than I normally do seeing as how I wasn't planning on boiling. Unfortunately, this pot is a little harder to direct when pouring, and I poured a little bit of the wort down the side of keg. Thankfully, I didn't lose much of it.

Not boiling the wort led to another minor wilson. The ice bath cooled the wort faster than I expected, and it started to stick to the bottom of the pot. Fortunately, a little hot water loosened it up enough to get it out without having the scrape the pan.

I'll probably let it go 3 weeks before bottling, then a month and a half to two months warm/cold conditioning.

Pilothouse Pilsner - Opening

Simple recipe, simple taste...


Appearance: 3.0 - It's definitely a pilsner: light, golden brown. The clarity is quite good. This particular bottle didn't really have a very good head, but most of the other bottles seemed to have carbed better.

Smell: 4.0 - It's predominately hoppy, still reminiscent of the Canadian Draft brews I've made. The slight sour note that I detected before seems to have faded.

Taste: 2.0 - It starts watery, but quickly turns bitter and finishes spicy/tangy/sour. It's one of the fastest moving brews I can recall. Even the aftertaste doesn't seem to linger at first, though as you move through the glass, it seems to build up.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 - There is a little tingle to it, but not much. It's coarse, something like drinking homemade lemonade.

Drinkability: 2.5 - It's smooth enough to start with, but gets less drinkable with each sip.



Bottom Line: 2.4 (I can finish it) - It's alright, but I won't brew it again. Perhaps I'm feeling let down because it smells really enticing, but the taste leaves me with a little to be desired. Heck, I'm not really a fan of the style anyway, so I'm not sure what I was expecting.

I'd drink it with...
Pepperoni pizza, hotdogs/hamburgers, my dad (who likes pilsner)

The Velvet Velociraptor - Opening

A long overdue review for decent brew...


Appearance: 3.5 - It's dark brown in appearance right now, something like Coca-cola, but the clarity has improved. The floaters seem to have been kept to a minimum in this bottle as well. The head is small, but not out of line with this type of beer.

Smell: 3.0 - It's quite mild, but what little aroma is detectable is both fruity and wheaty as you might expect.

Taste: 3.5 - The description hasn't changed much here, except that on the whole it's more mild and the various stages have really blended together. It starts out a little sour, then turn tart as the raspberries emerge. Finally, the mellow wheat taste creeps in and merges with the fruit for a beery finish.

Mouthfeel: 2.5 - Again, not much has changed other than it being more mild for the most part. However, I can now detect an alcohol bite just before the aftertaste.

Drinkability: 3.0 - It has smoothed out quite a bit and other than the aforementioned alcohol bite, it goes down easy enough.



Bottom Line: 3.0 - It's interesting and enjoyable enough, but I doubt that I'd brew it again. Personally, I prefer more bitters in my brews.

Black and Booberry Bock - Bottling

A big, fruity brew... again...

Original Gravity: 1.056
Final Gravity: 1.010
Alc/Vol: 6.04%


Appearance - It's a definitively fallish, caramel brown color. As you can see from the snapshot, there are some floaters in it.

Smell - It's fairly weak on aroma. You really have to try to get a whiff of it. What you can smell is fruity, maybe citrusy to be specific.

Taste - It's slightly watery at first, then the accent comes sour and it tails off into something like that fruity/citrus smell as an aftertaste. There isn't much of bitter taste to it at all.

Mouthfeel - It's kind of coarse and fibery. It certainly has an unfiltered feel to it. I think that I detect a slight numbing sensation on the end as well.

Drinkability - It's definitely unbalanced at this point, but hopefully conditioning will tame that.

I reviewed my notes from last year's batch, and it seems that I did a better job of blending the fruit. The floaters aren't quite so pronounced. As for the taste, it's been so long that I'm really finding it difficult to compare. I do remember that the final product turned out quite nice, so hopefully I'll be able to say the same about this batch.

I found myself with basically half the needed quantity of bottle caps, so this batch went into my old glass pints with the extra covered by a few Terrapin Gold Ale bottles with green stickers on the top.

Pater Pumpernickle - Bottling

A mildly surprising start to the Fall brewing season...

Original Gravity: 1.058
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 6.04%


Appearance - It's a dark, thick, creamy brown, reminiscent of Hershey's syrup in milk.

Smell - It's fairly strong, strong enough that you can smell it as your nose is approaching the glass. It's got a malty aroma, and a slight sour note as well.

Taste - It starts easy and mild, turns a little watery in the middle, and then the accent comes a little tangy on the end. The only bitters are very slight and come in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - There is no bite, and it's fairly mild already actually.

Drinkability - It's already pretty smooth and almost drinkable, actually. I don't expect any problems in this department.

Much like the weather has been the past couple weeks, it's pretty mild. The fact that this one is already fairly easy to drink has me a little worried, to be honest. It's not bad for this stage or anything, but a brew that doesn't taste way out of balance at this point seems a little odd to me. I'll still let it go full term on carbing/conditioning, but if it comes out a little mild, I won't be surprised. In any case, it's shaping up to be an easy one that should go over well with most people. This batch went in various New Belgium bottles and 1 Magic Hat bottle (trub) with yellow stickers.

Black and Booberry Bock

At the request of my friends, my first rebrew...

Original Gravity: 1.056
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.6%
Color: 12 SRM
Bitterness: 6 IBU

Recipe ...

• 1 Can Bewitched Red Ale
• 1 Can Golden Wheat UME
• 1 Can Blueberries in Light Syrup
• 1 Can Blackberries in Light Syrup
• 1/2 Pouch Booster

Kegging (2009/08/24) ...
The recipe actually doesn't call for the booster, but since I had the other half of the pouch from the Pater Pumpernickle I had just kegged the night before, I figured it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and add it. The 6.6% estimate ABV may turn out to be a little low due to this, but that's not really something I'm concerned about.

I really have high hopes for this batch. It was a big hit last year, and hopefully this rebrew will live up to my memory of last year's batch. Like the Pater Pumpernickle, I'm hoping to have this batch ready to open just before Halloween. Given the copious amount of fruit in this keg, a little longer conditioning time wouldn't be out of the question. I expect to keep the same schedule as the Pater Pumpernickle (3-4/2/3-4).

Pater Pumpernickle

This year's first fall brew is officially in the keg...

Original Gravity: 1.058
Est. Alc/Vol: Approximately 6.5%
Color: 17 SRM
Bitterness: 13 IBU

Recipe ...

• 1 Can Octoberfest Vienna Lager
• 1 Can Creamy Brown UME
• 1/2 Pouch Booster
• 1 Packet Liberty Pellet Hops
• 1/2 Cup Honey (approx)

Kegging (2009/08/23) ...
I boiled the wort for about 15 minutes with the hops sack in the pot. The recipe also called for crushed caraway seed, but as I had none, and I haven't had the best of luck with added spice anyway, I opted to skip it.

Given the amount of fermentables in this recipe, I'm expecting to let it go at least 3 weeks before bottling. I may even let it go 4, but we'll just have to see how the calendar works out. I am hoping to have it ready to open just before Halloween, which would make it something like a 3-4/2/3-4 keg. Since the recipe does call for a 3 to 4 week conditioning period, it should work out nicely. Now, If I can only find room in the fridge for that long...

Blue Monk - Opening

A fruity brew to win the hearts and minds of beer drinkers and non-beer drinkers alike...


So, I actually wrote this quite a while ago, but only just now realized that I hadn't posted it.

Appearance: 3.5 - It's brown with slight blue tint if you hold it up to the light. Nothing about the appearance says that you wouldn't enjoy drinking it.

Smell: 3.0 - The smell has mellowed out quite a bit at this point, but the hints of wheat toast and jelly do remain.

Taste: 3.0 - At this point, the taste is very mellow. There is a slight sour note to start and finish with the accent coming in the middle on the fruity taste. Honestly, this was all more intense a few weeks ago, and I think that I preferred it then.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - Same as before: there is no alcohol bite and the aftertaste is short lived. It's not very bold, but it is distinct.

Drinkability: 3.0 - Very mellow and very easy to drink.



Bottom Line: 3.0 - My friends who aren't normal beer drinkers have really enjoyed this recipe, and it would work well as a desert beer at a party. Personally, I like more bitters and less fruit, but for my first real try at an original recipe, I'm quite satisfied. This particular bottle had some issues with carbonation, but I did not find that to be representative of the rest of the batch.

The Velvet Velociraptor

The second of what will probably be the last of my summer brews for this year, and my first ever with raspberries...

Original Gravity: 1.052
Final Gravity: 1.009
Alc/Vol: 5.61 %

Recipe ...

• 1 Can Whispering Wheat Weizenbier
• 1 Can Creamy Brown UME
• 1 Can Red Raspberries in Heavy Syrup
• 1/2 cup honey

Kegging (2009/07/03) ...As is becoming my custom, I did boil the wort for about 15 minutes before putting it in an ice bath. Other than that, it was pretty much just a normal kegging phase.


Bottling (2009/07/27) ...

Appearance - It's brown to dark brown in appearance right now, almost chocolaty. It has a few floaters in it too. Like the Pilothouse Pilsner, it is still cloudy.

Smell - The raspberries and the wheat HME seem to be vying for first place here. It's not overly strong though in either category.

Taste - It starts out a little sour, then turn tart as the raspberries really come out strong. Finally, the mellow wheat taste creeps in and merges with the fruit for a beery finish.

Mouthfeel - There's no bite, and it feels pretty standard as far as this metric goes.

Drinkability - It's not quite so smooth at the moment, but it's nothing too drastic. It certainly needs a little time to mellow out.

The day counter has turned over to 25, so on the whole, it was a normal length fermentation period. Like the Pilothouse Pilsner, the mysterious white residue was absent in this batch, making it all the more mysterious. I'm thinking that it was the added hops at this point, but we'll see if it returns in future hop added kegs.

I was able to get the 21st bottle started before tipping the keg, which is not too shabby. I ordered a couple of faster taps from Mr. Beer, and they do seem to speed things up a bit. I used all domestic craft brewer bottle for this batch (a couple Redhook 6 packs, 6 assorted Sam Adams bottles, and a 3 New Belgium bottles), and they all currently reside in the grey tote. I'll probably let this batch carb for 10-14 days before fridging it. It will probably need a little longer to condition than the Pilothouse Pilsner, so perhaps an extra week cold will do.

Pilothouse Pilsner

The first of what will probably be the last of my summer brews for this year...

Original Gravity: 1.048
Final Gravity: 1.012
Alc/Vol: 4.68%

Recipe ...

• 2 Cans Pilothouse Pilsner

Kegging (2009/07/03) ...As is becoming my custom, I did boil the wort for about 15 minutes before putting it in an ice bath. Other than that, it was pretty much just a normal kegging phase.


Bottling (2009/07/27) ...

Appearance - It's kind of a creamy brown color and still cloudy. It almost looks like liquid caramel

Smell - The aroma really reminds me of some the Canadian Draft brews I've made. The hops are the dominant smell, with the yeasty, beer aroma taking a back seat. I think that I am able to detect a very slight sour note as well.

Taste - It starts out very watery with little or no taste at all, but then the bitters hit. These come quickly and intensely, and fade into a tangy, almost fruity aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - There is no alcohol bite, and it sits well. There is a little bit of lemonade like feel to it after the aftertaste

Drinkability - It's plenty smooth, though the bitters do make you think twice about gulping it.

The day counter reads 24 days at the moment. The mysterious white residue that I found in my last two batches was absent this time around. I can only guess that it was due to longer fermenting times (possibly with boiling the wort contributing) or just a different beer mix or hops blend.

I was able to squeeze out 20 bottles before the tap slowed to a drip. The bottles were various Michelob bottles, and they currently reside in the red tote. I'm planning on letting these go the customary 10-14 days warm, followed by probably a week of fridge time. I don't expect this batch to need much conditioning, and in fact, it may be better to finish it off quickly, rather than let it mellow out too much more.

Brew Ha Ha Bock - Opening

Just as summer hits, and the heat waves begin comes a brand new ale to enjoy...


Appearance: 3.5 - It's an even darker brown than before with a slight red tint, and the clarity is much improved. This particular bottle didn't have much of a head to speak of, but the other few that I've opened seemed to have carbed better.

Smell: 3.5 - The Canadian Draft aroma is still dominant (though still not dominating), but there is a slightly sweet smelling note as well. It's certainly a pleasant smelling aroma... if you like beer, of course.

Taste: 3.5 - The phases of the taste haven't really changed, but they do blend together quite nicely. To review, the Canadian Draft stands out the most. It begins slightly sweet and mild, then turns intense and bitter, finishing mild again with a slight sour/tangy note.

Mouthfeel: 3.0 - Again, not much has changed. There is a very small alcohol bite, and it has a sort of coarse feel to it.

Drinkability: 3.0 - The conditioning seems to have smoothed it out some, but you still notice what you're drinking as you're drinking it.



Bottom Line: 3.0 - It's not going to win any prizes, but it's good enough that I'll enjoy the batch, and won't feel weird sharing it with friends.

Lessons Learned - 30 days in the fermenter won't ruin the brew after all. In fact, it may lead to shorter conditioning times, but may cost you on carbonation levels.

The white residue and 15 minutes of boiling time seem to have been nothing to worry about. I had a bottle tonight with dinner (turkey burgers with hot sauce and sautéed veggies) and it paired quite well with the slightly spicy nature of my dinner. I do think that 30 days is probably a little long to leave fermenting, and it's probably why I'm having a few problems with carbonation.

All in all, I probably won't opt to rebrew this one, but I'll certainly be glad to have it in my fridge (and consequently, my glass) until it's gone. Up next will be my Blue Monk review, and then 2 new brews to finish out the summer proper.